𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞...𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

tis the damn season: Literati (1)

In which...
Rory and Jess see each other again in their adult years. Lorelai is desperate for her lonely, heartbroken 28-year-old spinster daughter to get hitched (or at least date someone who isn't a married Logan) or a lumberjack who's afraid of his mother. (For the sake of this story, that'll be Paul.) Luke wants his gloomy nephew to find happiness, and all their friends are equally hopeless... however, no one thought that the two old flames would reunite in Stars Hollow for the holidays and fake-date to appease their relatives...
'tis the damn season.

Playlist for part I-
001. where you lead
002. people watching
003. tis the damn season
004. coney island

This is more of an AU and doesn't exactly follow AYITL, (barely anything happened) but Rory still had the affair with Logan (sorta regretted calling it off afterward), and already broke up with Paul. Most of the events from the original series also happened, but the characters are slightly younger. Hope you enjoy it!!

-
Stars Hollow, Luke's Diner
Act I - in which Rory Gilmore is indulging in the act of people watching

"Rory, for fuck's sake, would you stop moping about the fact that you slept with an engaged, now married Logan, you ended the affair, and you're regretting it, what the hell?" Luke Danes groaned as he handed one of his most frequent customers a pot of hot coffee and a Danish. "Honestly, would you just look at yourself?! It's been two weeks, LORELAI LEIGH. TWO WEEKS."

"Maybe I was wrong to have rejected his proposal," Rory replied sadly. "I was so young, I was naive... ugh! I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and get rid of all my champagne problems and commitment issues! And don't call me Lorelai Leigh!"

"Alright, that's enough talk on this matter," Lorelai the Elder curtly said, cutting in. "Tell you what. By this Christmas, I'll expect you to come home to Stars Hollow with a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. Honestly, here's the point: I'm giving you three weeks to get over Logan and Paul."

"Who's Paul?" Rory scrunched up her eyebrows. "Never mind that, why? What happens if I don't?"

"I'll get Luke to ban you from the diner," her mother answered matter-of-factly.

"Hell no," Rory chuckled. "What makes you think that just because you two are on good terms that you can ban me from the diner I've been to my entire life?"

"What makes you think I won't?" Luke asked.

"What makes you think I'd believe that?" Rory questioned indignantly, folding her arms over her chest.
Sure enough, when she went for her coffee and Danish fix the next morning...Luke was hammering up a sign that read, "NO LORELAI LEIGH "RORY" ALLOWED WITHIN SIX FEET OF THIS BUILDING" while Lorelai looked on approvingly and turned to Rory. "You might want to take your old mother up on that challenge."

Rory scoffed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I can go one day without coffee and Danishes. What the hell, I'll just go to Starbucks while I'm at it!"

Unfortunately, Rory's car tires had been smashed flat, she ran out of gas, and no one could offer her a ride since they all had "stuff" to do. "So what, you're going to ruin my car too?"

So...
This was life.
Paris, Lane, Lorelai, and Luke could seriously not stop bothering her about a boyfriend. It had been three days, and so far, no one had been willing to offer her a ride to any coffee shop within Stars Hollow, everything broke down, and worst of all, their incessant chatter about a potential love interest in Rory's life. Therefore, she was utterly miserable and found herself longing for someone to hold...even if it was just for the damn season. It was hardly believable that Rory Gilmore, once a hopeless romantic who had four incredibly amorous boyfriends, now sat on a park bench in Milford Square, watching people pass by with their partners and wishing she had what they had.
Perhaps I'll get my tragical romance after all...

—

LA, Jess' apartment
Act II - Jess Mariano decides to visit Stars Hollow

Meanwhile, Jess Mariano wasn't doing any better.

LA was where he'd went after his breakup with Rory and the whole leaving Stars Hollow ordeal. He had published some books, mostly romance novels with tragically romantic and/or painful endings. He couldn't deny the fact that the inspiration behind his characters and stories was all from people in that little town. Truly some of the best...bittersweet, yet magical, years of my life.

Sure, there were one-night stands. Days where he'd completely waste himself at a bar, probably wake up in a random person's bed, and just leave without any word of warning. However, none compared to the woman his heart still belonged to...even after all that had occurred.

Jess set the pad of paper down on his desk. Maybe it was just the holidays. They could bring back memories, melancholy ones, bittersweet ones, romantic ones...
Perhaps he'd be more inspired if he paid a visit back to that little town where he'd spent his teenage years. (Well, last year too, but that was a distant memory.)
He finally hoisted himself out of his desk chair. "Looks like I'm booking a last-minute holiday flight to Stars Hollow."

—

Stars Hollow
Act III - leads to you in my hometown

Jess Mariano stepped off the airplane and looked around at the frosty scenery, an unconscious smile creeping onto his face. Ah, it was good to be back.

It had been a year or so, yet it seemed like forever. The last time he'd come back was last Christmas with Lorelai and Luke. Yes, Rory had been there. Sure, they had gotten into some fights over the past. Yes, they'd almost kissed. Yes, he ended up leaving her behind and skipping town again. And yes, Luke had called him over the phone and yelled about how Jess needed to settle down and find happiness for two hours. Did Jess regret it? Yes. Of course.

However, even though the bad lingering perfume of the previous year still hung in the air, Jess decided that it was a time for new beginnings. Yes, showing up all of a sudden would be unexpected, but it wouldn't be out of character. He'd done this before, and he'd had plenty of experience. Dramatic was his thing.

Suddenly, somewhere along his way to Luke's Diner, Jess found himself bumping into someone. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," the woman apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going, and-"

"No, it's alright," Jess smiled as he helped her pick up her book. When he looked up again, he could not believe who it was.

"Rory Gilmore."

-

Dedications: (mwah)

TheatreGirl03
-coralrf
Average_fangirl
tomdayasluv