A/N: For the wonderful jordana60, who I feel as if I have known forever (it has to be quite a few years now!) and who has supported my GG/Literati writing endeavours throughout. Wishing you the most amazing birthday, my friend. May this AU version of A Year in the Life bring joy to you... and to anyone else who might like to read it too ;)

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and dialogue from Gilmore Girls belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and other folks who aren't me.

The Party's Never Over

"Is this where the cool kids are hanging out these days?"

Rory looked up into Jess' smirking face and fought to the urge to smile. In the end, she lost the battle, but rolled her eyes to prove he really wasn't as funny as he thought he was.

"A guy once told me he couldn't care less about being cool," she said smartly, even as he came over and levered himself down to sit beside her on the kitchen floor, their backs against the unit. "I wonder whatever happened to him?"

"Good question," Jess considered, raising the beer bottle in his hand to his lips and taking a swig. "He was probably lying anyway."

"I don't know." Rory shrugged, stealing the bottle from him and taking a drink herself. "Of all the people around at the time, I'd like to think I was the one he was least likely to lie to."

Jess smirked as he stole his drink back. "Probably true."

Smiling, she bumped his shoulder with her own, not bothering to right herself afterwards, letting them just lean together like two sloppy, out of work bookends. He didn't seem to mind too much, but then Jess was never the type to complain, not to her, or at least not about anything she did.

They had known each other almost half their lives at this point, which was a crazy thought all on its own. It was absolutely not the craziest one that Rory had had tonight and she wasn't even sure she could blame the alcohol yet.

"So, you wanna tell me why you're hiding in the kitchen at a party your grandparents are throwing in your honour?"

"Not really, no," she admitted, shaking her head. "Except to say that everybody in there loves me and it's driving me crazy," she said, nodding her head towards the door.

Down the hall, a mass of people were assembled, her family and friends, even some of the townsfolk from Stars Hollow, all there for Rory. It wasn't that it didn't make her happy to be amongst them or to know that they cared about her and were proud to know her. It was just a lot of pressure, sometimes. That was something she found hard to explain.

"All the adoration getting the town princess down?"

That made her smile, but then she supposed it was Jess' intention.

"No, I just... needed a little quiet, I think," she said thoughtfully, moving to look at him then. "While we're explaining things, how did you get the chance to drink beer from a bottle in my grandparents house? Grandma has had people publicly flogged for lesser crimes than that."

"What she doesn't see can't hurt her." Jess shrugged. "Pretty sure the beer is here for Luke, plus a few other Hollow denizens, and yes, it's supposed to go in a glass, but like I said, if people don't see me drinking from the bottle, am I really even doing it?" he asked, taking another swig.

"Wow, heavy philosophy for this time of night."

"Somebody has to keep up the intelligence quotient around here. You know, Paris is so sloppy drunk, she just hit on me?"

Rory smirked. "I have news for you, Paris doesn't need to be drunk to want to hit on you," she said with a look, amused by the look of surprise and slight horror those words brought to Jess' face. "Anyway, I know she wasn't serious. For all the fights she and Doyle have had lately, divorce came off the table almost as fast as it went on there. They love each other too much to give up now."

She didn't mean to sound maudlin when she talked about her friends' relationship, not least because she was thrilled to know that she helped get them back on track. It was only that, seeing Paris and Doyle, and Zach and Lane, and Luke and her mom, all so happy together, it made her ache inside. Rory didn't have that. She still didn't have that.

"So, Ms. Gilmore, Soon-To-Be Published Author," said Jess then, nudging her shoulder. "You really only in here because you needed quiet?"

"Mostly," she said, then shook her head. "Not really. Grandma was talking about Logan again. How he and Odette are going to have the most wonderful wedding and produce the most beautiful children and live happily ever after."

"You don't look so good in green."

"I am not jealous!" Rory snapped immediately, knowing the way she said it absolutely made it seem like a lie. "I broke up with Logan, not the other way around," she reminded Jess, "and yes, some of it was because he was engaged, but the rest was... I don't love him. I mean, I do, sort of, in that way you love people because you've known them forever and you just can't help it. I care about him, I guess, but I don't think I've been in love with him for years. Sometimes, I wonder if I was ever in love with him at all, but I know for sure that I'm not now. I've known for a while. If I'm jealous, it's because he has what I want. They all have what I want." She sighed, pulling herself to her feet just long enough to grab a bottle of tequila from the counter above, then sitting back down too hard on the cold tile. "You wanna be a man, ese?" she asked in a terrible attempt at a Mexican accent.

Jess rolled his eyes, took the bottle from her and pulled out the stopper. He drank down a shot without flinching and handed it back to her, his eyes daring her to do the same. Rory kept his gaze and took a gulp, struggling not to react as her throat burned horribly.

"Smooth, huh?" said Jess, smirking hard.

"Mm-hmm." Rory nodded, then coughed some.

"So, we're getting drunk on tequila because you didn't get the husband and two-point-four kids yet?"

"No, I'm getting drunk because... because no matter what I do, I can never get all the pieces of my life working together at the same time," said Rory, considering it all. "I mean, this past year, I really thought I was getting things together. Deciding to write the book, breaking up with Logan, getting a decent job and a place of my own nearby, it's all positive. This party is to celebrate me and how great my life is, and it is great. I have so much to be thankful for."

She stopped to take another drink then passed off the bottle to Jess.

"But?" he prompted, before taking a gulp of his own.

Rory sighed. "But... there's something missing. If I'm honest, there's someone missing."

She didn't know if she was being clear. Honestly, without the booze, maybe she wouldn't have been so bold. She and Jess, that ship was supposed to have sailed such a long time ago. For a long while, Rory genuinely thought she had gotten over him, but lately, with them being around each other more, for one reason or another, she had started to realise her mistake.

What she said about breaking up with Logan, it was true, she really wasn't in love with him anymore, if she ever had been, but what she had come to realise, more certainly with each passing day, week, month, was that she was definitely still in love with Jess Mariano. A brief and unexpected conversation with another ex had confirmed it to her, just the other day. Dean could never have known what he caused, but by bringing up so many memories of days gone by, speaking of his own family and happiness now, Rory realised what it was she truly wanted. More specifically, who it was she truly wanted.

"Jess..."

She didn't know what came after that, or maybe she did and she was just too terrified to say it. After all this time, after everything that had happened, she wasn't even sure she deserved him anymore. A cruel twist of fate, given how many people used to think he wasn't good enough for her. Maybe it was too late, maybe the bridges were all burned and she was just going to have to live with that. Hope sparked in Rory's chest when suddenly Jess' hand was at her hair, her cheek, and he was guiding her close enough to kiss.

Of course, it felt good. She never expected anything else. No matter what else happened between them, that part always worked. The difference this time was that, for once, nothing was really standing in their way. She didn't have a boyfriend; he didn't have a girlfriend. They were living within a decent distance of each other, their families had become almost one and the same, everybody getting along and accepting each other. The emotional crap they both had to go through was down to a dull roar and they were about as close to the fully-formed, well-adjusted adults they were supposed to be as they were ever likely to get. There were no hurdles, no barriers, no problems anymore, and good grief, did the kissing still feel amazing!

"Hi," she said when they finally parted, faces still so close, he was wonderfully out of focus.

"Hey," he replied, pushing her hair back from her face. "So, that still works."

"I never doubted," she countered, leaning into his touch. "What happens now?"

Jess shook his head. "I don't know. It's been a long time."

"Too long." Rory swallowed hard. "Don't you think?"

"Probably," he agreed easily enough. "Rory, if you're serious about this...?"

"You know I am. Jess, it's you and me. At this point, either it's serious or it's not anything, right?"

He had to know what she meant. After all the attempts, all the almosts and maybes, all the connections built up between them, by themselves and those around them, it was pretty much everything or nothing now. Rory wanted the everything, so badly that it hurt.

"So, we're doing this?"

"On my grandparents' kitchen floor?"

"Not that, not here," he confirmed, rolling his eyes. "You know what I mean."

She did know. She also knew that if he really had meant what she had implied, she might just have thrown caution to the wind and gone for that too, screw the consequences. Not that she really believed it should be that way, not with them, not after everything. They deserved something more special when it came to that, but the getting back together, that could happen this way. Anytime, anyplace, anywhere. She just wanted it to happen so much.

"You and me, together again," she said softly. "It's what I want, Jess. I think, deep down, it's what I've always wanted. So, if you-"

"You know I do. Come on, Rory, you've always known."

She nodded her agreement, then pushed forward and kissed him again - she had to, she couldn't bear not to for a second longer. They were so lost in the moment, by the time she realised her name was being called, it was too late. She glanced up fast, just as the door opened, she and Jess no more than an awkward tangle of limbs on the tile as her mother stared down at them.

Lorelai's eyes widened a little, then she shook her head, a smile pulling at her lips.

"Nope, not in here either!" she yelled behind her, presumably to other members of the search party. "I can't think where they disappeared to..." she continued as she left, even more quickly than she had arrived on the scene.

Rory hid her face in Jess' shoulder, laughter making them both shake in each other's arms.

"Sixteen years later and still getting busted in on by your mom while we're making out. That has to be some kind of record."

"Some things never change," Rory agreed, looking up at him.

Jess knew what she meant, she was sure of it, never more so than when he kissed her one more time, whispering 'I love you' against her lips, a sentiment she readily returned. Now, she really believed that everything was going to be alright.

The End