22. Californian Christmas
'Verse: AU canon
Timeline: three years post-series
Date: December 2010
"Damnit!"
Jess was just locking up at Dante's when he turned at the sound of a female voice cursing and immediately went to assist its owner. It seemed as if the strap on her purse had snapped, tipping the contents all over the boardwalk. Crouching down beside her, he gathered up what he could and handed it back to her with a winning smile.
"Thanks," she said, smiling back. "I don't even know what happened, except this bag is old, I guess," she considered. "Maybe Santa will bring me a new one," she added, rolling her eyes.
"Could happen, I guess." Jess nodded, feeling more than a little dazzled by her amazing blue eyes. He watched her stand and moved to follow before spotting one last spilled item on the ground. Grabbing it, he rose to hand it to her, catching sight of the name on the envelope as he did so - Rory Gilmore.
"Thanks. Wouldn't want to lose this," she muttered, stuffing it back into his bag. "Two days before Christmas and what does the mail bring?" she asked Jess, though he assumed it was a rhetorical question. "Confirmation of my divorce. Merry Christmas, Rory, you're free of the cheating asshole," she said, sighing heavily. "I should've known the kind of day I was going to have when it started with that."
"I'm sorry." Jess frowned, unsure what else to say. "Everything else that's coming into my head right now is clichés," he realised aloud. "Today is the first day of the rest of your life. You're better off without someone who would treat you that way, etc."
"Yup, heard all of those." Rory smiled. "But thanks anyway. I just... I don't know, I changed my whole life around for Logan, moved away from everyone and everything I knew to build a new life here, and then... Well, now it's over, and here I am, in California, by myself for Christmas. My family all have their own plans so there's no point in flying home, but even after three years all this sun and heat feels so wrong, you know? Well, actually, I guess you don't know if you're from here."
"New York," said Jess, smiling when she looked surprised. "Yup, East coast boy originally. I've been here a few years now, but I gotta admit, I still miss the snow in winter too. It's just not Christmas unless you can't feel your toes."
"Exactly!" Rory exclaimed, grinning wider. "God, I miss New England winters. Actually, I just miss real seasons and people who know what they are," she said, hoisting her busted bag higher in her arms. "You ever just feel like you really screwed up your life, uh... Wow, I don't even know your name," she realised then, almost laughing at how dumb that was.
"Jess Mariano," he said, offering a hand for her to shake.
The moment she made an attempt, her bag started to spill again and Jess dove to pick up what fell. The divorce envelope was in the pile again and he almost felt bad about it, even though it was obviously not his fault.
"Hey, you think maybe a drink would make you feel better?" asked Jess, trying to meet Rory's eyes even as they began to water. "There's a bar two streets away, I know the owner, or if you're not an alcohol lover, there's a coffee place-"
"Coffee," said Rory definitely. "I would really, really love a good cup of coffee right now, and I probably got a little too intense about a drink, right?"
"You're fine," Jess assured her. "Okay, coffee it is," he said, leading the way, happier than he could really explain that Rory was following without question.