Chapter Text
The party had already started to wind down. Babette and Ms. Patty were drunkenly chatting with Taylor and remembering “the good old days” when they all knew Luke and Lorelai were in love before they did.
Lane and Zach had gone home as the twins insisted on pranking Kirk out of boredom. Luke and Lorelai had snuck out somewhere, but Jess remained there. Sitting at a table alone, a book opened in front of him. He didn’t know what was keeping himself still there even after most people had left. At least, that’s the lie he told himself. But when he felt a pat on his shoulder, a subtle smirk surfaced on his lips and he didn’t even need to look up to know who it was.
“Hey, there you are,” Rory said with a soft, tired voice. He glanced up to find her smiling back at him and his stomach flipped.
“Here I am,” he replied, sounding more casual than he actually felt. He closed his book and pulled the chair next to him for her to sit, which she readily did.
“Some light reading?” She quipped, pointing to the book now resting on the table.
He glanced at it. In Cold Blood. And huffed a laugh. “And what have you got?”
She tilted her head.
“Come on, I know you have a book with you as well.”
With a triumphant smile and without taking her eyes from him, she held up the book a few inches away from her left ear.
Crosstown. Written by Jess Mariano.
He raised an eyebrow. “I’ve heard the author’s kind of a prick.”
“Misunderstood,” she corrected gently, placing the book beside his.
They were quiet for a while. Not the kind that was comfortable, like two old friends who enjoyed each other’s company and words seemed unnecessary, but not quite that awkward silence of two people with too much history between them and unsure how to be near each other.
“You know, it’s kind of tradition for the Best Man and the Maid of Honor to share a dance,” she said tentatively, cocking her head.
“Never pegged you for a traditional woman, Rory Gilmore. I’m surprised,” he quipped. His fingers tapped the cover of the book he had brought, tempted to take up her offer. Her fingers resting dangerously close to his on the table.
“Well, I am a woman of many surprises,” she shot back. Then, she stood up and offered her hand for him to take it.
“Can’t argue with that,” he chuckled, his gaze fixed in her hand, before he took it and stood up.
He guided her to the dancefloor. Lane’s band had already left, Kirk had left his position as DJ. The only sound around them was drunken chatter.
They stopped in the middle. His hands resting around her waist as her arms wrapped around his neck.
“What’s the plan now? Do we just sway around to the silence like a couple of idiots in a crappy rom-com?” He deadpanned, immediately regretting the way he phrased the question.
Rory however, seemed unfazed. She bit her lower lip and took her phone from her pocket. Of course her Maid of Honor dress would have a pocket, where else would she keep her book of choice and cellphone? She scrolled through it and soon the first chords of Vienna started playing. She smiled again and put her phone back in her pocket.
“Problem solved,” she replied.
“Is that your way of telling me you’re moving to Austria?” He asked, moving his body slowly and she followed.
“Just... been thinking of this song a lot lately. But no moving to Europe. I promise. I have been considering Queens, though.”
“Huh,” he replied.
“Of course you have opinions.” She rolled her eyes, but there was no heat to it.
He laughed. “Hey, at least this time I’m keeping them to myself.”
They kept dancing quietly for a while. Their bodies close. Jess trying to think about anything else but that. Rory’s mind racing thinking of what to say next.
“Jess, I want to thank you for the book idea,” she finally said.
“You don’t need to thank me, you’d have thought about it yourself eventually.”
“Maybe,” she agreed. “But you got me there more quickly. It feels like you’re always the one to put me back on track.”
“Good thing I’m still around, then,” he replied warmly.
“Definitely,” she nodded with a genuine smile. “I’m sorry we haven’t been so in contact lately.”
“Yeah, me too.” He looked into her eyes again. Her mouth was slightly open, and as their gaze locked, she bit her lower lip.
She closed her eyes and leaned forward until her forehead touched his. He matched the motion without thinking, eyes falling shut as he pulled her closer by instinct more than decision. He could feel her breath, warm and shallow, and then her lips ghosted over his.
It was barely a kiss at first. But then she tilted her head and pressed in more fully, and he kissed her back. The rest of the world dropped away.
Her hand slid into his hair, fingers threading through gently, pulling just enough to keep him grounded. The other hand came to rest over his chest, directly above his heartbeat, like she was trying to feel what he wouldn’t say out loud. His own hands moved too. One at her waist, the other settling between her shoulder blades, holding her like she might disappear if he let go.
They parted only because they had to. Even then, their foreheads remained pressed together, breaths mingling, lips close enough to touch again. His eyes fluttered open.
"I’m glad this part still works," he murmured, voice rough, a crooked smile tugging at his mouth.
But then he saw her expression shift. Just like the first time he’d said that. The flicker in her eyes.
A beat passed. The music still played faintly in the background, a distant echo compared to the silence settling between them now.
"Jess," she started, then stopped. Her throat worked like she was swallowing something too big to name. She didn’t step back, but her gaze flickered down to where his hands still rested on her waist, like she was memorizing the moment, or bracing for what would end it.
His chest tightened. "Hey. What’s wrong?"
She exhaled, shaky. "I’m pregnant."
For a moment, he didn’t move. He didn’t even blink. She even wondered if he had heard her at all. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Just breath.
“I’m sorry,” she added quickly, like she needed to fill the space between them before it turned cold. She was looking right at him, but he couldn’t meet her eyes.
“For what?” He asked a little too quickly, harsher than he intended.
She flinched. “You’re hurt…” Her voice broke on the last word.
“No, I’m just...” he cut himself off, jaw tightening. He looked down, only now realizing his hands were still on her. Still holding her like the moment hadn’t changed. He dropped them like they’d betrayed him. “Well. Yeah.”
Rory hugged herself, arms tight across her middle. "This isn’t how this was supposed to go," she muttered, more to the floor than to him.
“And how was it supposed to go?” he asked, again more bitter than he intended.
“Well, for starters,” Rory said, voice tight, “I should probably tell the father.”
Jess blinked. “Okay…”
“I should, right?” she asked, almost defensively now. “Even if I’ve already decided we’re not getting back together.”
“I wouldn’t know,” he said flatly. “But I guess that means you and... ‘P’ are officially done.”
“Who?”
He raised an eyebrow. “When I saw you at the Gazette, you wrote down you had to break up with P.”
“Oh.” Her face shifted. “Right. That. Yeah, we broke up. But, uh…” She hesitated. “It’s not his.”
He nodded once, slowly. “Huh.”
“It’s...” She exhaled, then blurted it out before she could second-guess herself. “It’s Logan’s.”
Another beat.
Jess let the name settle in his mind. At first, it didn’t register. Then the pieces clicked.
“Logan,” he repeated, voice low, like tasting something sour. “Right.”
“I’m really sorry,” she said softly, eyes shining. “I never meant to...”
“Please don’t,” he cut in. “You don’t have to apologize.”
“I do.”
“No,” he said, and then added, quieter but sharper: “Guess you're not too bothered by cheating anymore.”
She flinched. “That’s not...” Her voice caught. And then, against her better judgment, she decided not to hold back. “I’m actually the other woman. He's engaged to someone else.”
Jess blinked. His laugh was brief and humorless. “My point still stands.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“You don’t owe me anything. Stop apologizing.”
“I’m not,” she corrected. He met her eyes, confused. “I’m just saying I wish things were different.”
“Yeah, me too,” he nodded.
She kept her head down. Her shoulders were shaking, her hand covered her mouth as she breathed heavily.
“Come here,” he murmured.
She hesitated, then stepped into him, resting her head on his shoulder.
He let her. Even if he still wasn’t sure what it meant to stay.