AN: Betcha thought this was never coming, huh?


Rory studies herself in the mirror, frowning as she turns to check herself out from different angles. She lets out a frustrated sigh, smooths out the invisible wrinkles in her dress, and shakes her head. Nope, not this one either. Rory glares at herself now, leaning against the dresser. This was her eighth outfit in the last hour and she was exhausted by her own neuroticism.

"Everything I own sucks!" A voice declares behind her. Rory looks distractedly back at Lorelai, who has plopped herself down dramatically on Rory's bed.

"You're telling me," Rory grumbles, tugging at the maroon dress. She clicks her tongue in dissatisfaction and returns to her closet, throwing open the doors haphazardly.

"When did we become 'those girls?'" Lorelai muses, eyeing her daughter miserably.

"I don't know, but it's really annoying," Rory concedes, sighing.

"There must be some rule that says you can't be this neurotic the night before your date," Lorelai insists, thinking out loud. "It feels a bit much, even for us."

"I don't know why you're freaking out," Rory interjects. "Luke's seen you in just about everything you own."

"That's the problem," Lorelai groans. "He's seen me in everything so there's nothing I have that will 'wow' him, you know? I'm not looking for the 'Oh hey Lorelai, you look nice,' I'm going for stuttering Luke that can't get a grip on himself."

Rory giggles but looks at her with skepticism. "Mom, please. Luke 'wows' at you in whatever you're wearing before you've had your coffee. You're fine. I bet he's more nervous than you are."

"Yeah, well, you could be wearing a paper bag and Jess would still be drooling over you," Lorelai teases. Rory shoots her a disapproving look before turning back to her closet to hide the slight blush creeping up into her cheeks.

Looking behind Lorelai to see her clock, Rory groans and pushes some hangers to the right. Two hours in and she had yet to find something worth wearing for tomorrow's dinner. Rory sighs for the umpteenth time, turning around to face her mom. She sulks over to her bed and flops down next to Lorelai, crossing her arms over her chest in frustration.

"For what it's worth, I liked your last outfit."

"The green?"

"There was a green outfit? I meant the blue."

"The blue was three outfits ago," Rory whines.

"Hey, we're young. We're attractive," Lorelai tries from her position on the bed, pointing a finger triumphantly up at the ceiling. "It shouldn't be this hard to look good."

"Life is cruel," Rory agrees, furrowing her eyebrows.

Lorelai maneuvers herself so that she's on her side looking at Rory, smiling. Rory returns the smile and mirrors the movement, propping her head up with her palm.

"So are you excited? Nervous? Nauseous?" Lorelai asks in quick succession.

"Nauseous?" Rory inquires, raising an eyebrow, almost wondering if Lorelai knew something she didn't.

"Well, I don't know," Lorelai shrugs. "Sometimes the butterflies have a raging kegger in our stomachs before a big date."

"Ah, and so naturally the aftermath is wanting to hurl all over said date?" Rory says with a smile.

"Naturally," Lorelai quips, taking on a British accent. Rory shrugs, mulling it over.

How did she feel?

Definitely excited This would be the first time she had seen Jess, like really seen him, in three weeks. She missed their banter. With the end of the semester approaching, and the detonation that was her breakup with Dean, Jess had given her space to focus on her studies. They'd tried studying together once or twice, but Jess was only interested in distracting her, so they'd opted for stealing moments in the diner in between coffee and school, talking occasionally on the phone. It never felt like enough though; they hadn't even kissed yet, and Rory was craving to be closer to him.

Nervous? Perhaps. She didn't really know what it meant to have a second boyfriend, one you actually got butterflies around. The last few years had been very predictable and steady with Dean. Jess… Jess was uncharted territory. It scared her and excited her all at once.

"I think… weird," Rory decides. "It's so new, you know? We've barely been able to talk about it since that one night on the bridge."

"Aw, it doesn't have to be, hon," Lorelai says with a sympathetic smile. "You'll figure things out. Things are always weird after your first boyfriend."

"Yeah?" Rory asks softly, picking at her comforter.

"Aw, yeah," Lorelai assures her, squeezing her arm with a smile. Rory moves in for an awkward hug and they embrace, Lorelai dropping a quick kiss on her daughter's head before pulling away.

"So what are we gonna wear?" Rory inquires, looking desperately around her room for a sign of hope. A glimmer. Hell, she'd take a flicker at this point. Lorelai rolls herself off of the bed and walks over to her offspring's closet, pushing some things to the left and then back to the right. She pulls out a hunter green sweater and holds it in front of her, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"What if we're going about this all wrong?" She asks, petting the sweater. "I mean, who wears a dress in December these days? What about this and—"

"Ooh, my black jeans!" Rory exclaims, sitting up with a smile.

"And you can borrow my chunky black boots," Lorelai adds, grinning from ear to ear.

"And what if you wear the baby blue sweater—"

"And wear my black jeans and your over-the-knee boots? Geez, what are we, related or something?" Lorelai giggles, tossing the sweater in Rory's direction to head to her own closet.

Rory smiles and looks at the sweater, rubbing the soft fabric between her fingers. Will this be nice enough, though? Will he think I look pretty?

Rory holds the sweater up to her torso in her mirror, bunching her hair up in a mock messy bun. Lorelai's words from a few moments earlier play in her head. "You could be wearing a paper bag and Jess would still be drooling over you." Rory blushes slightly but smiles, hugging the sweater to her chest and dropping her hair in one swift motion.

She didn't think Jess would quite be drooling over her, but she did think that maybe her mom was right. Jess wouldn't care what Rory's wearing, as long as she was there with him. She smiles again at the mirror before taking a look around her room. She sighs, losing count of how many dresses and cardigans are scattered around her feet.

"Being a girl sucks," she concludes before reaching down to put her clothes away.


Rory makes a note in her book and gently closes the cover, resting it on her nightstand. It was funny how she'd picked up on small habits from Jess over the last few months. She'd never quite been a margin writer; it had always felt sacrilegious to write in a book. But reading Jess's notes was one of her favourite things about their exchanges, and she had promised him she would note some thoughts in the book before letting him borrow it.

Rory takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, looking around her room. No longer a disaster zone, she notes the differences in her décor. The cornstarch she'd long kept out as a memorial of sorts to her first kiss with Dean was gone, as was the bracelet he had made her. Photos of the two of them were also gone from their old home, tucked carefully in the edge of her mirror. They were now all safely in her Dean box, nestled in the back of her closet. Nothing of Jess's had gone up yet, as they had yet to declare themselves dating. But there was a stack of worn paperbacks waiting for her to read. She smiles thinking about the neat little musings she knows are scrawled in the margins.

A lot had changed in the month following Rory's bridge encounter with Jess.

Rory had experienced her first break up, an ugly, snarling monster if she'd ever seen one. She was honest with Dean, telling him that she had developed feelings for Jess. Dean had been less than chill about things, not that she could blame him. He'd yelled, throwing scathing words of hurt and betrayal at her. All Rory could do was just take them in and let him be upset. Some of it hadn't been fair, but she knew she wasn't in a position to defend her behavior if she ever wanted to be friends again. She'd led him on, and at the very least emotionally cheated on him. It hadn't mattered at the time; she had been so confused and so torn. Somebody was bound to be a casualty of that.

And so she'd simply let Dean yell and dodged his questions about whether she was now dating Jess. He had yet to acknowledge Rory since that afternoon. It hurt to lose Dean completely, but Rory knew he needed space from her. After all, she would need space from her given the circumstances. Rory sighs as she recalls the hurt on Dean's face; she could only hope that one day they might speak civilly again. While she didn't miss Dean as a boyfriend, she did miss him as a presence in her life, and losing him completely hurt.

She'd also gotten reassigned from Ms. Leon's group. Rory had been allowed one last visit to say goodbye and let the young men process her termination. When she'd opened the floor for any questions, everyone demanded to know the same thing that Dean had: was she dating Mariano? And if she was, could Phil or Sam or whoever be next in line once he'd blown it? Jess had clenched his jaw and remained quiet as Rory blushed and Ms. Leon dismissed the questions as inappropriate. She wasn't sure whose willpower had been stronger at the moment - hers, for remaining in the room and not bolting or Jess's, for remaining in his seat and not clobbering a guy or two.

Thankfully the rest of the group had gone smoothly, and thankfully Lorelai had agreed to get her that night. It had been her own protection from choosing to hang out with Jess rather than study for her test the next morning. At the end of group, Rory had said goodbye to the group, smiled apologetically at Jess, and hugged Ms. Leon. Rory was sad to leave but didn't blame Ms. Leon. She'd learned so much from watching the elder woman, and after a serious talk with Lorelai, Rory knew she could only hold herself responsible for the decision. Still, Rory missed the guys. She'd become quite fond of them and hearing how they'd moved away from destructive patterns. At least she didn't need to start her new group until the following January.

"Speaking of which," Rory remembers, grabbing the binder next to her bed. She pulls out her term paper and glances at her final assignment, reading over Ms. Gialli's comments, reminiscing about her day at school.


"You got an A," Paris growls, snatching Rory's paper out of her hands.

"What gives, Paris?" Rory retorts, grabbing her paper back.

"You got a stupid A, Gilmore, pay attention!"

"So did you," Rory points out, pushing her final into her binder before shoving it in her bookbag. The bells rings and Rory stands, sighing with contentment. Winter break was almost here.

"I got an A minus," Paris hisses. "And I finished my assignment," she points out, shouldering her bag. "You got kicked out and you still got an A."

"I didn't get kicked out, Paris," Rory grumbles, moving past her towards the door. That wasn't exactly true; she had gotten reassigned, which technically meant kicked out. But she wasn't going to give Paris the satisfaction.

"You did," Paris insists. "You got kicked out and you still got an A and you got another boyfriend out of it, and all I got was a crappy A minus, a 'see you next semester Ms. Gellar,' and a rash from the bathroom."

"He's not my boyfriend," Rory defends, tugging the strap of her bookbag. "Well, he isn't," she replies indignantly at Paris's look of disbelief.

"That group should've been mine," Paris continues, grumbling. Paris huffs and pushes past Rory.

"You would have benefitted from it, that's for sure," Rory mutters, walking out of the classroom and to her locker. She looks behind her to make sure that Paris is out of sight and pulls her binder back out. She smiles as she looks over the comments. Ms. Gialli has notes of praise throughout the assignment, especially around her characterization of Jess.


Rory glances at the final comments written in neat red script at the end of the assignment.

'Your notes from your case study read like poetry. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're quite taken with the young man ;-) Extraordinary work as always, Rory. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with next semester.'

Rory smiles to herself, unsure if she should be bothered or not that her writing indicated she'd fallen for Jess. Rory scrunches up her face. Fallen? Had she fallen for Jess? That felt like such a strong word. Had she ever fallen for Dean? Maybe at first.

"That wouldn't be your final assignment about me, would it, Teach?"

Rory startles but recovers quickly with a bright smile at the sound of his voice. Rory looks expectantly at her window, where Jess has leaned in to prop himself against the pane. Just seeing his crooked smile sends the butterflies in her stomach into a rage. Maybe she had fallen for him, after all.

"It might be," she teases, holding the paper tightly to her covers before tossing it on the floor and scooting down her bed to be eye level with Jess. He adjusts his weight, laying his head in the palm of his hand.

"Huh," he says coyly, looking past her at the discarded essay. "D'ya do well?"

"I did okay," Rory says nonchalantly, shrugging.

"You got an A?" He asks knowingly, offering her a small smile. It comes off as more of a statement than a question, and Rory looks up at him, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She nods shyly, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. Jess smiles at her and really looks at Rory for the first time. She looked adorable.

Rory, however, feels even more self-conscious under the deep scrutiny and tugs at her shirt. Why didn't I pick out better clothes? she scolds herself.

"Ducks, huh?" He asks, feigning serious inquiry. Rory's blush deepens as she eyes the bright pink and blue duckies patterned on her shirt and pants. Jess smiles and reaches for her hand with his free one, but Rory pulls away quickly, tucking her hand under her thigh.

"Oh!" She exclaims disapprovingly. "Your hands are cold."

Jess smirks sheepishly and shrugs, resting his hand on the windowpane again. "Well, I am outside in the frigid December air."

"And why are you outside in the frigid December air?" Rory asks, challenging him with a smile.

"I just wanted to see how your paper went," he offers noncommittally. He blows hot air into his hand, rubbing his fingers together.

"That's all, huh?" She presses, crossing her arms lightly against her chest. Jess raises his eyebrow. He didn't want to take the bait, but he really was freezing his ass off out there.

"And I might've wanted to see you, too," he concedes, choking on the sappiness of it all. Rory gleams triumphantly and tugs on his jacket. Jess eagerly takes the welcome and hoists himself into her room, expertly maneuvering his feet onto the windowpane and then down to her floor.

Like clockwork, the pressure in the room intensifies as the two sit across from each other, their knees bumping together gently. The space between them was minimal, maybe only millimeters wide. The two teenagers exchange an intense, almost embarrassed look at one another before looking away uncomfortably. Jess is the first to recover and he knocks Rory's knee with his own playfully.

"Missed me, huh?" Rory cooes, gaining her confidence again. Rory smiles at his look of disgust, returning the knee bump. Jess looks down to bite back a small smile but decides against it, instead sharing it with her.

"Maybe," he admits, pressing his back into her wall.

Some few months ago he'd had pride. Now, in the presence of this blue eyed girl in front of him, it dissipated. Jess was a good liar, but he found that with Rory, he didn't really want to lie. He had missed her; he'd finished his finals at Stars Hollow High with ease, and he'd all but driven himself and Luke crazy waiting for Rory to finish her semester at Chilton. The intermittent coffee moments and phone calls weren't enough for him. Hell, him grabbing her hand just a moment ago, sans this little physical vacuum that had just been created, had been the closest they'd been in weeks. He just wanted to be next to her.

You're getting soft, Mariano, he scolds himself. His heart's not really in it though, so he reaches back out. This time Rory smiles and offers her hand. She scoots herself gently backwards, pressing her back against her bed to give Jess space. She offers her other hand and uses it to create friction, rubbing his left hand quickly.

Jess smiles softly at the look of determination on Rory's face, trying to free him from the winter chill. He chuckles lightly.

"I think the rest of me could use some warming up," he flirts, smirking as she turns red. She pulls her hands away and tucks them into her sides protectively, crossing her arms over her chest. Jess watches as Rory recovers from his comment and stands up, leaning over her bed to her nightstand. Jess watches her bed shirt ride up, exposing the curve of her hip, and he swallows, averting his eyes. He shifts in his position on the floor; at least the December cold was good for something.

"Here," Rory says, handing him the book from her nightstand. She smiles at the look of confusion on his face before understanding settles in.

"You finished?" He asks, nodding his head at the novel in his hands.

"As much as it pained me, yes, I did," Rory nods, leaning back on the palms of her hands. "It was the worst marking up Betty Smith, but I really think you'll enjoy it."

"I'll make a rebel out of you yet, Gilmore," Jess jokes with a smirk.

I hope so, Rory's subconscious shoots off involuntarily. Rory's eyes widen at her own thought but she shrugs it off, ignoring the inquisitive look that Jess throws her way. The two sit in a comfortable silence as Jess flips through the book, glancing at passages she's underlined. Suddenly he glances over at the clock and closes A Tree Grows in Brooklyn with a thud, tucking it into his jacket.

"So I should probably go," Jess offers, nodding at the clock. "Let you get your beauty sleep."

Rory mocks offense and swats a hand at Jess, which he swiftly ducks.

"Mean! You don't think I'm pretty just like this?" she teases boldly, sweeping a hand over the length of her duck pajamas. Jess balks for a minute, unsure of what to say at first. This was a bolder Rory than he'd known a month ago, certainly, but this was a game he was better at than she was.

"I think you're gorgeous no matter what you wear," he says seriously, locking eyes with her. The familiar blush finds itself back onto Rory's cheeks and she finds herself leaning closer to him, resting her hands in her lap.

"Yeah?" She asks shyly, looking up at him through thick eye lashes. Jess nods without missing a beat, leaning in.

"Yeah."

Rory smiles. She frowns at the sight of Jess shivering and she looks back at the clock, sighing.

"You should probably go," she finally agrees. "The last thing we need is mom coming down here to find out what's going on. And you're cold."

"Sure don't need Lorelai coming down here," Jess agrees, frowning. Lorelai had certainly loosened up around Jess since Rory and Dean had broken up, but he wouldn't go so far as to say she liked him. He wasn't Mr. Perfect like Dean was, and he never would be. But Lorelai seemed to trust Rory, and what's more, seemed to trust him with Rory. Jess was in no position to meddle with her unexpected blessing.

Jess stands up, tugging his jacket down, and swings a leg over the windowsill. Rory shifts so that she's resting her weight on her heels, slightly more elevated than her previous position on her butt.

"So…" Rory trails off, chewing her lip.

"So…" Jess repeats, cocking his head curiously.

"I'll see you soon," she whispers, reaching out to squeeze his hand one last night.

Unable to fight the urge anymore, Jess tugs on Rory's hand. Her whole body responds and she effortlessly comes closer. He expertly shifts his weight, twisting toward her. He locks his heel under her windowsill and reaches out his other hand to run it through Rory's hair, tilting her head for just the right angle. He hears Rory sigh in contentment as he captures her lips with his, lacing his fingers with Rory's.

Rory makes a soft noise, sparks ignite behind his eyelids, and the two melt together in a delicious mix of static and yearning. Encouraged as Rory's hand lets go of his to gently tug at the back of his neck, Jess deepens the kiss, enjoying the softness of her mouth and the eagerness of her tongue.

After a good moment, Jess pulls away for air, leaning his forehead gingerly against Rory's. They're both breathing heavily with goofy grins on their faces.

"See you soon," he finally answers softly, offering her a rare smile. Rory smiles back, gently stroking his cheek with feathery fingers. He looks at her softly before throwing his other leg over the windowsill and landing softly on the ground.

"It looks like you've done this before, Mr. Mariano," Rory teases, gesturing at the now empty window.

Jess shrugs and smirks, and Rory feels the butterflies again. Something catches her eye and she cocks her head, reaching down for the small brown package on the floor where Jess once was. She stares at it a minute before holding it up for him to see, her eyes bright with realization.

"You got me a gift?" She asks.

"It's Christmas Eve," Jess points out simply, shrugging again. "Goodnight Rory."

And with that, he zips up his jacket and retreats in one swift motion. As Jess walks away, he turns around, walking backward to watch Rory. He smirks as he sees her turn the package over delicately, as if it were made of glass. He nods his head and disappears across her lawn, not one to really give gifts and definitely not to watch others open them. He hoped she got the reference, but he was sure she'd let him know later that night.

Until then, he would go home and think about how his damn toes tingled when she moaned into his mouth, pulling him closer to her. The feeling that lingered with him was something different than he'd ever experienced before. It felt warm, and light, and almost like he wanted to sing.

At the realization of this, Jess groans. He knows he's in over his head with Rory, but for once, he doesn't really care. There was no Dean to fight off, no Shane to worry about. It was just the two of them now, to determine whatever that meant for the future. They hadn't placed a label on things just yet but he was fine with that, having never really stuck it out long term with a girl before anyway. But if that kiss had been any indication, Jess wouldn't let himself be worried.

He wouldn't admit to anger management changing him, but he would allow himself to think about how Rory being in his life had radically altered things. Before where he'd been easily aggravated and frustrated, he now opted to take a breath. Sure he hadn't spoken to Liz yet, but he felt that as long as he had Rory as a calming force, he could tackle that with ease. For the first time in a long time, as lame as it felt to admit, Jess had hope in something. No, in someone. He'd never before let himself be so vulnerable with any one person, but somehow Rory seemed worth it. Nothing and no one could convince him that she wasn't worth setting his pride aside for.

Filling his head with images of crystal blue eyes, Jess lets the wave of happiness wash over him as he quietly heads into the diner and up the stairs to Luke's apartment. He needed to brace himself for tomorrow, when Luke would question the good mood he was undoubtedly going to be in. As he opens the door and shrugs off his jacket onto the floor, he takes a precursory glance in Luke's direction to make sure he's still asleep. A loud snarling snore from the darkness offers Jess the answer to his unspoken question. He tiptoes to his bed and lays on his back, stretching his hands behind his head.

Jess smiles in the dark to himself but immediately tries to quell his mood as the sound of Luke snoring reminds him of the impeding interrogation. He practices his signature scowl but fails miserably, the smile fighting its way back onto his lips as he replayed the night's events over in his head for what felt like the hundredth time since he'd left Rory's room.


Rory stares out across the yard as Jess's figures disappears. She sinks against her mattress, hugging the package to her chest. That kiss. God, did that kiss really happen? Rory giggles dreamily, touching her lips softly. They were still tingling from the heat of it all. Did that ever happen with Dean? No, Rory was certain it hadn't. She thinks for a moment about going to wake up Lorelai and tell her about it - after all, she'd been listening to Rory pine for weeks - but decided against it. Somehow, waking her mother up at two o'clock in the morning to tell her that Jess had dropped by and made out with her didn't seem like the best move. Lorelai was still coming around to Jess.

"Better not rock the boat," she says aloud.

Instead, she allows herself to take in the moment of finally kissing Jess, and looks back down at her lap at the carefully wrapped package. Her curiosity gets the better of her and for a moment she abandons the thoughts of Jess's lips, allowing her giddiness to transfer into the fact that Jess had gotten her a gift. Tough, moody Jess, who had expressed nothing but disdain for the holiday in previous weeks, had bought her a present.

Rory carefully rips off the paper and stares at the book in her hand. Pride and Prejudice is printed delicately on the worn paperback. Really? She thinks to herself, flipping open the cover. He got me Jane Austen?

She wasn't surprised that it was a book, given that most of their conversations were about literature. It was more so this particular book that was throwing her off. Inside the front cover by the title page, Rory sees a note from Jess. She shifts to get more comfortable, bringing the book up to her face.

Rory –

I would have gotten you Hemingway, but this felt like a better fit. I'll never say I'm your Mr. Darcy, but I'd like to think you got something good out of therapy other than an A on your paper (which I know you got. You're too brilliant to have gotten anything less). I know that I did.

Jess.

Rory pulls the book away, grinning like an idiot. She thinks back to the very beginning of group, when a certain dark haired, brown eyed boy dropped a Pride and Prejudice reference to defend her against the lecherous remarks of another guy.

She didn't know it at the time, but looking at the book now, Rory realizes that that was the beginning of things. That was the pivotal moment, where they each went from a random person to a person of interest.

Rory considers whether she's always somehow known that was when it started for her. I never really thought about it, she admits honestly to herself. She'd been too busy denying her feelings all those months.

Not Jess, though. Leave it to him to be the closet romantic, letting her in on the moment his feelings for her began. Aside from the Shane debacle, Rory notes, Jess had always been relatively transparent. No denial, no frills, just... Jess.

Rory's eyes fill with small tears as she realizes that Jess - dark, serious, walled-up Jess - had always been the more vulnerable one. Sure, she'd opened up on the bridge, but Jess had truly orchestrated that. Thinking about it all, all the nervousness she'd felt earlier about having a second boyfriend and the unpredictability of Jess knew it would get messy at times; they were eighteen. The unexplored tension between them alone was enough to make her head spin.

But at the end of it all, Jess found ways to communicate where he saw them going. So even if she didn't know, he did, and she knew she could trust him.

Rory smiles, rereading Jess's words. 'I'd like to think you got something good out of therapy… I know I did.' Rory nods, closes the book, and hugs it to her chest.

I got more out of it than you did, Jess. I promise.

Rory sighs to herself happily as the waves of excitement, uncertainty, and expectation for the future wash over her.

End.


AN: It's finally here! I hope it meets all of your expectations. A special thank you to my beta, who has believed in my ability to overcome my writer's block for the last eight months, and to chelsbaby who made a small suggestion that unlocked how I wanted this to play out. It's been so fun, and I love this story and this Rory/Jess so much. I don't know if a sequel is in store, but for now, this'll have to do. I even threw in a small Luke/Lorelai bit for those of you who'd been asking. Please review, it would mean the world. x