title: Watercolors of the Past

disclaimer: Let's just say that if I owned GG, things would be drastically different. Starting with more Michel! And Milo, of course.

notes: Thanks for always being so patient with me when it comes to this story. The reviews and emails that I continually get in between updates really mean the world to me. The always-subtle remarks help, too. ;) I hope the result of your wait doesn't disappoint anyone.

quick refresher: Now that Rory is back, Lorelai and Luke are moving forward with the wedding. Remember, this takes place after 6.08, meaning that Rory's never seen Truncheon. Plus, since I began writing this before 6.18, so Eddie and Todd are my Matthew and Chris. ;)

chapter.eight: smiling faces look on and applaud

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Though uttered in passion, Rory had held true to her promise to stay; they didn't discuss how long. The veil would lift, they both knew that, and she'd have to return to rebuild what had become of her life. However appealing the thought may be, she couldn't hide with Jess forever. But for now she was content just living in the moment with him, all thoughts of train stations and partings dismissed, so easily rekindling what each had felt so many years ago.

Monday rolled around sooner than expected, as is its nature, and Rory was surprised to wake alone, the hollow tapping of water droplets on tile alerting her that Jess was in the shower. He emerged minutes later to find that she had rolled over to his side of the bed, face buried deep into his pillow. To her confusion, he began getting dressed, cotton knit covering up her favorite parts of him. This day brought with it the new workweek, and Jess quietly (quietly because she was not quite yet awake) explained that he had to go to work, at least for a few hours.

She felt a pang of remorse as reality dawned at his words, realizing that for six months she'd had no real responsibilities of the sort.

He continued in an apologetic tone, explaining that he'd return as soon as he could get away, that she was more than welcome to rifle through his things like he knew she'd been secretly dying to do. That he had hoards upon hoards of books, and even cable TV (shock!), and that she should be too bored.

A smile captured her eyes then, the surest of signs that an idea was forming behind their hauntingly blue depths.

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The sky was dark and the wind blew fiercely in Stars Hollow. Power was suspected to go out within the hour, at least according to Taylor's warnings. Kirk was asking about provisions and food storage. Luke argued that it was nothing more than a passing storm, although the statement was laced with a few mild obscenities that Taylor most definitely did not approve of. Lorelai and Sookie, who were seated by the eastern-facing window, bridal magazines spread before them, were oblivious to the commotion before them.

"Oh my god!" Lorelai's impromptu exclamation cut through the uproarious arguing, unintentionally skewing the focus towards herself. "When we get married, the diner will be half mine!"

Sookie waved her arms in excitement. "That's right!"

She pointed a triumphant finger in Luke's direction. "You'll have to put up those little naked cupid babies at Valentine's Day."

"We can paint!" Sookie added.

"I want pink."

Luke snorted in response. "Don't you think that would clash with the flannel?"

"Then the flannel will have to go too!" Lorelai amended while checking her watch and then picking up her cell phone. "And the hat!"

"Hey, now -" he began as she raised the phone to her ear. "What are you doing?"

"Checking my messages."

"I'm standing right here."

She reached forward and patted his hand. "Yes, but you can't be the center of my attention all the time."

Luke's mouth hung open for a second at the sheer audacity of her statement. "I meant the 'No Cell Phone' rule."

Nodding in contemplation, she decided, "Yeah, that'll have to go too."

A moment's breath passed before Lorelai snapped her cell phone closed. Sookie grasped her best friend's arm in anticipation. "Anything?"

"Nope," Lorelai sighed before flipping open the Razr again. "Let me check the machine at home."

"Who's supposed to call you?"

"My other boyfriend. We're running off together," Lorelai replied matter-of-factly.

Rolling his eyes, Luke turned towards Sookie. Smiling, she answered in a very pragmatic tone, matching that of Lorelai's. "Al."

Luke's face twisted in confusion. "Al's Pancake World Al?"

Smiling, Lorelai nodded. "I want him to cater the wedding."

"Of course," he said.

"He's a contractor, friend of Tom's," Sookie interjected. "He was supposed to check out the roof of the barn today, make sure it'll hold up during the catastrophic storm tonight," she explained, borrowing Taylor's much-perfected forewarning tone.

"Don't you mock, young lady," Taylor piped up from an adjacent table. Luke turned on him then, reigniting their feud from before. Sookie looked on in fascination until a squeak from Lorelai diverted her attention.

"Oh," she jumped.

Sookie swung her body towards her friend, panic setting in. "Did he say no? Is the roof worthless? Are Desdemona and Cletus going to be okay tonight?"

"No. I mean, no he didn't call. Rory did." Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "She's staying in Philly for a few more days. Says things are really good."

A stunned silence overtook the two then, and Sookie grappled for something to say to make her friend feel better. "Well, she called, though," she finally offered. "That's good."

"Yeah, good," Lorelai agreed disinterestedly, eyes fixed on Taylor and Luke's continued arguing.

"Okay. Talk."

"What?"

"Talk," Sookie pressed, eyeing her friend knowingly.

Lorelai gnawed her bottom lip before continuing - "Does she not want to come home?"

"Sweetie, that's crazy."

"No, what's crazy is that we went six months without speaking. After that, anything's possible."

They sat for a moment, wordless and restless. Rory's deviance and Lorelai's determination created a rift that caught everyone off guard, including the girls themselves. Whether too stubborn or too ashamed (or both, perhaps), all contact between them ceased, and Sookie watched her very best friend become more miserable as the summer faded into fall. Rory's abrupt return was almost as equally shocking, but this most recent development was off the charts.

"You said they just…got back together?" she questioned, even though they'd hashed out the details over margaritas just a few days before. The day Rory left; the day the initial panic had set in for her mother.

Lorelai shrugged her shoulders, obviously not too sure of all the facts herself. "Apparently."

"Wow," was all she said. What else could she say? "Rory and Jess, take two."

"It's weird."

"Really weird. It's bugging you," she added thoughtfully, noticing the brunette's change in demeanor.

"Well, yeah. I don't think it's a good idea, but I don't know how much I can say to her about it," she confided. "I don't know where we stand , I don't know where they stand…"

"She is staying for a few more days," Sookie reiterated, perhaps realizing that they did know where the two stood.

"It's so sudden. Isn't it sudden?"

Sookie nodded, deciding that it would probably be most beneficial to just agree at this point, for the sake of Lorelai's sanity and her own. "Very sudden."

"And she's back for what - a week before she takes off again? She just broke up with Logan, she's had no time to get over that," she explained, adding, "Maybe there wasn't that much to get over, I don't know." Shaking her head, she willed the thought that she didn't know, that she didn't know anything about her daughter or what she was thinking of feeling as of these last few months, out of her head. Her anxiety subsided momentarily, and she continued, "Still, she just got home. We've barely talked. She hasn't fixed things at Yale. She hasn't gotten her things from my parents place, she hasn't even talked to them. I don't even know if she's finished her community service and - oh god, can you leave the state when you're on probation?"

"I'm sure you can." Sookie assured her, albeit not convincingly.

"God, Rory's on probation. That one still sneaks up on me."

Sookie reached an hand across the table, rubbing Lorelai's arm supportively.

"Do you see why I think she should fix herself before jumping headfirst into another relationship? I mean, you do see that, right? It's not just me?"

"It's not," she echoed.

"And this is a relationship that already has issues and history and baggage from both participants and…bad mojo."

"Bad mojo?"

"Bad mojo, Sook."

They sat for a moment, Lorelai too upset to drink her coffee, Sookie too perplexed to notice.

"So, wait, Jess's mojo is bad, or-"

"No, just the relationship," she explained. "Bad mojo, bad vibes-"

"Gotcha!" the red-head nodded emphatically. "Bad mojo, very bad."

"I'm concerned, Sookie." Her voice was low. Considering. A lot of thought had been put into the statement, that much was obvious. She wasn't merely venting a frustration or dislike for the dark-haired boy - she was genuinely concerned for her daughter.

Sookie listened on, wide-eyed attentive, as any best friend would, as rain began to assault the small town.

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"She's cute, classy. Why in the hell is she with you?"

Jess continued rearranged the book display, trading out old non-sellers for newer, more promising work – a task he should have completed before tonight's reading began an hour ago. Eddie's eyes trained on Rory across the crowded floor of Truncheon as she eagerly read through the latest 'zine.

"Eddie…"

"Don't worry, dude." He slapped Jess on the shoulder reassuringly. "I approve."

Jess's eyes rolled back almost of the own accord, an obviously common reflex to Eddie's musings. "Oh, thank god," he replied, voice laden with sarcasm.

"Really, man. She's awesome." Eddie punctuated the last word with a waggle of his eyebrows, causing Jess to stop and pay him his full attention.

"Stop there."

"What?"

"I know where you're going with this," he sighed knowingly.

"I wasn't going anywhere." Eddie paused innocently before shifting his gaze back to the youngest Gilmore. Grinning, he continued. "But I have to point out, that girl right there? Ass that won't quit. A little light on top, but-"

Jess cut him short by delivering a swift punch to his shoulder.

"Ow. Okay. I'll be good. But remember," he warned, "You owe me details."

Smirking, Jess shook his head and started towards Rory. "Like that's ever gonna happen."

"Hey! We had an agreement," Eddie called after him, arms held up and mouth agape. "What the eff, man?"

Jess continued past the refreshment table and a group from a local paper discussing the impact of the growing popularity of online publication - Todd was in the middle; "Dudes, it's gonna fuck us up," – and onto the north side of the store, to the couch near the window where his girlfriend sat.

"Hey." He took a seat next to her, his thigh gently brushing hers. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't be," she smiled. "I like to watch you work. It almost makes you seem like an adult."

"Ha-ha."

"This is all so amazing, Jess," she breathed, turning in awe to the packed room before them.

"Please," was the gruff reply, and she could tell by his sarcastic tone that he was uncomfortable. Her grin widened, and she pressed forward to reassure him.

"This place is packed. That guy doing the reading is hilarious. Everyone is laughing and having a good time."

"That's all alcohol-induced, Rory. The first thing we learned when we started doing this? Serve beer."

"You can't stand being praised, can you?"

"I'm not a fan of it, no."

Relenting, she decided to change the subject. "How often do you do this whole open house thing?"

"A few times a week, depending. It can be more subdued, like when the serious artists are displaying their serious work."

"Is it always this busy, though?"

He shrugged, easing back into the sofa. "You get a couple regulars, and they bring a few friends, and the place is immediately packed because it's so small. It's not like it's a big deal."

She leaned back with him, resting her head comfortably against his shoulder. "This is the coolest place in Philly, isn't it?"

"Hardly."

"The coolest place on Locust Street, then."

"Well, that's not saying much." Jess was skeptical, unable to fathom why this woman, the most astonishing woman he'd ever known, could even be remotely impressed by these people, let alone by him. Todd was wearing a shirt with a picture of a keg on it, reading 'If you tap it, they will come,' for god's sake.

Rory didn't seem to notice, though. She wasn't focused on the décor or the mismatched furniture of the cigarette burns on the fraying carpet. She saw the people, with their smiling faces and relaxed attitudes. A blasé air was palpable in the room that put everyone at ease. "I think it's wonderful," she said, eyes wistful and earnest. "And it's yours, and that makes it even more wonderful."

"It's hardly mine," he argued lamely, spouting half-truths that he himself only sometimes believed. "I share it with two other guys, remember? Plus our publisher is always on our asses, and it's really just more of a pain than it's worth."

She grinned as the evasive nature of his teenage years came back. Somehow it didn't frustrate her like it used to. She understood more about him now. "You love it," she decided.

"Well I have to say, you add a decorative flair to the room."

"I am an official member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I can add a decorative flair to anything."

Dipping his head lower, he whispered to her in what she now knew to be his most secretive voice, husky and heavy and choked and always a little insecure. "I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too," she breathed back, looking him in the eye. "It's a good thing you convinced me to stay."

"It didn't take too much to get you to agree, if I remember correctly." She could see the previous night's activities reflected in his dilating pupils as his mind's eye recalled them. Looking away, Rory tried to suppress an embarrassed flush as it crept across her cheeks.

"Let me go make sure the guys have things partially under control, then we can take off," he offered, wanting nothing more than to have her alone, away from the noise and distraction of Truncheon. Alone so that he could perfect focusing all of his attentions solely on her.

"Actually, I want to stay. Please? Just for a little while longer." She fisted her hands in his shirt, knuckles grazing against coarse hair on his abdomen, encircling his bellybutton and skimming lower. Actions that clearly betrayed her expressed desire to stay. Acknowledging his quizzical look, she explained, "Eddie's going to do an interpretive dance to 'Circle of Life' and I really don't want to miss it."

"Huh," he nodded, more focused on her whisper-soft touch than anything concerning Eddie. "Okay."

She beamed at him, face aglow in excitement, and in that singular moment he realized that she had no idea that she was driving him positively crazy with her touch. That knowledge made it even worse.

"Are you sure you're not bored?" he attempted to hint, desperate to get her home and into his unmade bed.

"Are you kidding me? Your friend-"

"Coworker," he corrected tersely.

"-is about to shake his tail feather and bust a move to a song from the Lion King. All at once."

"As long as you're having a good time…" he began sarcastically.

"The best."

Her hands continued their small, concentric circles against his skin even as the irksome opening bars of the dissonant classic began playing on radio in the far corner of the room an hour later.

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Lorelai trudged into the foyer, careful to kick her shoes off by the door to avoid trekking mud in the house along with her. Taylor's apocalyptic storm predictions were proving to be more accurate than anyone expected, much to the town's dismay. Shrugging off her purse and jacket, she let the items fall on the wooden floor without any regard for them.

Her lip gloss rolled underneath the coat rack by the door. She didn't bother to pick it up.

A sudden wave of frustration irked her as she exhaled all of her energy along with a shaky breath. Rounding the corner, a red light blinked accusingly in the darkness. Lorelai pressed down the offending button, effectively dimming it, and sat down on the couch without turning on any lights. As she leaned back, Rory's voice filled the vacant room.

"Hi. It's me. I guess I missed you. Well, I obviously missed you, since I'm talking to the machine and not…to you. You're probably out with Luke, or Sookie, although I don't know that she goes out much now that she has two kids. Not that she shouldn't. She wouldn't be abandoning them or anything. I mean, you went out and I never felt abandoned." A pause. A nervous sigh. Then, "Anyway, I just called to let you know that…that it looks like I'll be staying over here for a few more days. I'm not sure how long yet, but…things are good. Really, really good. So, I guess I'll talk to you later. Hopefully. Or I'll see you. When I get back. Bye."

Her head lulled towards the machine, throwing it a disapproving frown. The rain came down heavy on the roof, the sharp ring of water droplets on tin sounding throughout the house. Everything felt empty then. Vast and spacious and positively empty.

The clouds opened even wider and threw their perils down to pool and overflow in a frustration mirroring that of Lorelai's.

To cry would be redundant, she thought bitterly.

Instead she pushed the 'play' button on the answering machine again, and six more times after that, before deleting the message altogether. She finally came to the conclusion that her daughter sounded genuinely happy, and it scared her more than she'd have liked to admit.

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He gasped for breath as she grasped for him. This phantom feeling unlike everything she'd ever felt before was slowly becoming all consuming. But even as they reached their simultaneous release, it didn't dissipate. Breathe, breathe, motion, color, dizzy, lips, teeth, sleep.

The blessed, wonderful delirium that should have lasted only a minute, less than a minute, spread and settled, overpowering the delightful buzzing of her body that she always felt after sex. The crushing weight in her chest remained. The same weight she associated with lust, that uncontrollable need.

It was something strangely akin to love, but not quite. It was stronger, so much stronger. Heavier. Harder to breathe.

Alone, the lovers wore only sunlight; the soft dawn gently casting a glow on the small room and it's two inhabitants. One of those mornings where she absolutely could not, under any circumstance, fire or Armageddon, will herself to shake the vestiges of sleep from her heavy eyes. Instead, she pulled closer to the warm body next to her, equating this feeling as the closest to heaven she could ever imagine getting.

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Notes: Success! Chapter 9 is currently in progress. Wish me luck.