What's this? I'm writing another one-shot? I promise that Yale will get updated soon, but I've had this idea in my head since I wrote 'Apology'. All my one-shots are in the same universe, and they actually all fit into canon! How crazy is that? Well that's enough babbling from me, enjoy the story. Which is maybe sort of based on 30 Seconds to Mars' song 'Closer to the Edge'. Maybe.

Disclaimer: Fanfiction is cool, no copyrighting and so on. Also I should probably point out that I have very limited knowledge of American politics and the 2008 presidential thing. Basically I skimmed a Wikipedia article. Hopefully my woeful ignorance doesn't offend anyone. I'm just a humble foreigner.

Maybe We'll Meet Again

She was crazy. Stupid. Masochistic, narcissistic and altogether a big scaredy-cat. Rory Gilmore had been standing at the end of the same unremarkable but still surprisingly inviting street for fifteen minutes. It was as though her feet were plotting against her, their desire to have her run in the opposite direction combatting with her brain's wish to walk forward, resulting in this stalemate. She knew it wouldn't be easy, not after the last time she walked down this street and into his life. But to come to Philadelphia and not see Jess? That seemed the worst thing imaginable right now.

It was the fact that the early January weather was tearing through her coat that finally got her moving. Even if she had to tell her traitorous legs that it was to find coffee. She hoped Jess hadn't changed in the years he'd lived away from Stars Hollow and still knew how to make a strong cup. That is, if he was willing to see her. Emails had been sent, of course (Luke was a wealth of information), and she had casually mentioned that Obama's campaign would be in Philly this week. Naturally the offer to visit was made, but Rory wasn't sure if it was out of extreme politeness. That made her smile: Jess never did things just to be polite. At least her Jess didn't. This new, improved hard working Jess might be the kind of guy to take pity on an ex-girlfriend then realise how much he hated her. She'd hate her too, considering the circumstances.

She was probably thinking too highly of herself, she decided as she reached the steps that lead to Truncheon Books. He probably hadn't thought of their last encounter, or at least not for longer than a moment. She was so used to Jess being this unshakable force, it almost surprised her to think that he might very well never think of her at all. After all, it had been almost exactly four years since he told her he loved her for the first (and last) time. Plenty of time to get over anything he may have felt. But surely if they were two adults with platonic feelings for one another, they could be friends. Weren't they friends at some point, in what felt like another lifetime? Arguing about different authors and music at the diner, as she tried her best not to notice the way his face softened when she started to rant, forming traces of a smile on lips she wanted desperately to taste.

Perhaps not, then.

It was too late to run away now though, he'd already opened the door. Hoping he would excuse the red on her cheeks for a reaction to the cold, she greeted him with a warm smile which he returned easily.

"You look like you could really use some coffee."

"The government should really hire you for your mindreading skills."

"Considering they apply only to you and your coffee needs, I don't think they're that highly coveted. C'mon, I know a place down the street. They even have pie." He smirked slightly as her smile seemed to grow even wider. Grabbing his jacket and keys he slammed the door and set off at a brisk pace, clearly not willing to spend any more time outside than necessary.

"But I just had breakfast!" She shouted slightly as she hurried to catch up with him.

"I thought it went against some bizarre Gilmore rule to deny pie?"

"I wasn't saying no, I was just stating facts."

They lapsed into a companionable silence that lasted the walk to a small café that featured people outside smoking and one man with a poodle wearing a leather jacket. A smiling young waitress ushered them to a table and offered them menus, but Jess just shook his head.

"I'll have a blueberry pie, she'll have cherry. And two coffees. Three sugars each." The waitress hadn't glanced for a second at Rory, and she flounced off with a look of pure girly excitement.

"I'm not sure what to comment on first: the fact that you remember my pie/coffee combo order or that you're about two minutes away from being seriously hit on by that waitress."

"For the first thing, I have a photographic memory."

"And the second thing?" Rory ventured, unsure if they were entering awkward territory.

"Do you think she's legal?"

"Jess!"

"What? Do you know how many guys get in trouble because 'she said she was eighteen'?"

"Yes, my friend Finn once got into some hot water due to laws being different in Australia."

"He one of Logan's friends?"

"Yeah. Which I guess means he isn't really my friend anymore. That's sort of sad."

"Can I ask what happened? Or is that breaking the casual acquaintances thing we've got going right now?"

"We were bound to break it eventually." Their conversation was interrupted when miss perky waitress arrived with their food. Rory smirked at the fact that Jess had been given free ice cream with his pie, while she'd been given the tiniest slice imaginable. With a giggle and her best attempt at a come hither look, the girl was gone once more.

"Who eats ice cream in the middle of winter?" Jess asked incredulously. Rory just smiled knowingly before stealing his plate and switching it with hers. "Hey! No fair, what did I do to deserve the jealous piece of pie?"

"How can pie be jealous?" She asked in between mouthfuls of blueberries and what seemed to be homemade ice cream.

"Not the pie, the person serving it." He said as though explaining it to a five-year-old, before reluctantly beginning to eat the cherry pie. It had been his least favourite flavour for years, reminding him of a certain blue-eyed person who sat in front of him.

"She was jealous of the pie?"

"You're really slow today. She was jealous of you."

"Jealous of me? Why? Because she thinks you and I are… oh!"

"If this were a game show there would be no way you'd win the showcase."

"You're mean. Hey, do you think if I gave her your number she'd give me free pie?"

"You don't have my number."

"True… hey Jess, can I have your number?"

"No."

"Why not? She's pretty! And conveniently placed."

"Not my type."

"Not a fan of redheads? Do gentlemen truly prefer blondes?"

"I don't know about gentlemen, but I'm more of a fan of brunettes." He chastised himself for a second for that response, but noticing that Rory was nowhere near fleeing the scene he decided to make things a little more personal. "Speaking of blondes, you were telling me what became of Logan?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Him. Let's just say I'm not a big fan of blondes at the moment either."

"He dumped you?"

"He proposed."

Jess was not surprised in the slightest. He remembered back to a conversation with Lorelai almost a year ago. 'He's going to make it all or nothing, and she's going to say no'. Apparently the woman knew her daughter very well, which was something he never really doubted. Except about the stuff involving him, and even then her point was valid. But it was different now. So very different and he needed to let her know.

"I take it my congratulations would be out of place."

"You're supposed to say 'best wishes' to the bride. Ha, bride. That sounds so crazy now. Long story short, he wanted marriage or nothing, and I chose nothing."

"Ultimatums suck."

"Amen to that. I wasn't even twenty-three yet, and he wanted to get married? And live in California! Do I look like I belong in California? I'd melt in the sun, and that's not even considering all the soybean super-healthy tofu carb-free… whatever! I bet Jasmine loves vegan food. The bitch." It was clear that they had reached a sore spot of conversation, but Jess had a feeling she needed to vent to someone. So here he was, ready to take the crap of a girl who probably hadn't thought of him in years. His masochism was boundless these days.

"Woah, careful with the language or I'm going to have to tell Taylor. What's a Jasmine?"

"Jasmine is this charming blonde socialite Logan chose to hook up with after we broke up. At first I figured they were just messing around, it'd take someone with mental problems to try and turn Logan Huntzberger into boyfriend material. Believe me, I tried. And succeeded a little too much. They got married in November."

"What an ass."

"Oh, but that's not the best part. They're having a baby! No wonder they had such a quick wedding! And you know what the worst part is? That was almost me! I was almost the girl who gave up her career to marry a man who could provide for her. Whose only duty would be to produce an heir to the family legacy!" She was crying freely now, and the waitress that had snubbed her was gossiping and pointing with her co-worker. Clearly they thought they were witnessing a breakup, not a breakdown.

"Rory, calm down. Listen to me: you were always more than that. Even if you married the jerk, which personally I'm glad you didn't, that wouldn't have changed who you were. You're driven and passionate about what you do, and amazing at it. Nothing would've stood in your way. Nothing stands in your way now, either. It sucks that things didn't work out the way you probably hoped they would, but that doesn't mean they won't turn out better in the long run. Oh, and I'm sorry. Thought I'd get that out there."

"Jess, that was so… wait, why are you sorry?"

"For everything I've ever done to hurt you?" He said with a shrug, making a small smile appear on her tearstained face. Out of all the things she expected to come from today, a public meltdown and an apology from Jess were not remotely anticipated.

"The apology sounds pretty lame compared to the motivational speech you just gave me."

"Shadowed by my own greatness."

"This apology thing? It goes both ways."

"I figured it would." He smiled softly at her, trying not to laugh at her awkward attempts to wipe her face with napkins that practically dissolved when you touched them. Eventually they went back to eating pie and the air around them seemed considerably lighter. They'd both been carrying around that apology for too long, it was good to get it out in the open.

"You know, I always thought this conversation would be a lot different to this."

"With yelling, insults and just a dash of telling each other to go to hell?" She nodded. "Yeah, me too. Maybe everything between us doesn't have to be this big overdramatic angst-fest."

"If we completely ignore the fact that I've been crying for the last ten minutes, that's one hundred per cent accurate." She smiled widely at him, but it was different than before. More carefree, the kind of smiles she'd give him at Luke's when her mother wasn't looking, or when they were along for two seconds before making out like the teenagers they were.

"It's completely stricken from the record. Tell me about this job of yours."

"I've gotten used to having no privacy, as keeping secrets when you're on a bus of forty is completely impossible…"

"… And then Kirk jumped on top of the hotdog cart and the dogs dragged him home!"

"You're making that up!"

Somehow it was already getting dark. They'd spent another hour or so in the small café watching the redheaded waitress getting more and more anxious until she just snapped and gave Jess her phone number. It was subsequently tossed into the street in front of the establishment as they left. Funnily enough the man and his poodle were still there, both sipping from the same bowl of soup. Jess explained that the man was the owner. He was eccentric, but he brewed excellent coffee and stayed away from customers as much as possible, so he was looked upon similarly to a strange relative to the business owners in the area.

They spent the rest of the day doing 'lame touristy things', which Rory was shocked Jess had never participated in. Though she was infinitely disappointed that museum of art didn't sell tiny Rocky statues. Jess suggested they run up the stairs, only to be met by a pout. Gilmores didn't run anywhere, especially when full of cheesesteak. Now they were walking back to his street, small amounts of snow drifting past them as Rory recounted Christmas in Stars Hollow.

"You should visit sometime. They're severely lacking in the town hoodlum department since you left. Though considering you're a part owner of a business and about to write your second book, maybe you're too soft."

"I am not! I could, uh… dye Taylor's hair blue while he sleeps?"

"That's too risky and nowhere near as clever as a designated Stars Hollow Hoodlum needs to be."

"Oh well, consider me retired. I'll probably have to stop in around June, being the best man in my uncle's wedding and all."

"I swear if they call it off this time I'm going to lock them in a closet until they figure it out."

"I think we're good. Unless Luke's got another kid running around out there."

"Well it better not be a girl because April's already the flower girl."

"That would be the biggest concern."

"I'm just glad they decided to postpone the wedding until after I'm done with this campaign."

"When do you finish?"

"First of June. My contract expires then and I've already told my boss I'm not interested in extending it further. I have to train the new guy, but that's it. I'm finished by the twelfth. Wedding's on the fourteenth, which gives me two days to catch up on a year's bad sleep so I don't look like a zombie in all the photos."

"Do you know what you're going to do when you're finished?"

"Mom's promised me the house plus shifts at the diner while she's on her honeymoon. So that's at least three weeks planned. I'll have some money saved by then too, so I can find a job in a place I like. Probably end up in Connecticut or New York, I hope."

They'd reached his building, and hurried up the stairs into the warmth awaiting them. It was fairly empty, with a few people browsing shelves and one man sitting at a desk typing furiously, occasionally letting out a loud profanity.

"You'd think Chris cussing would put off customers, but I swear- no pun intended- it makes business better."

"Weird, if you were in Stars-" She glanced at the clock on the wall and swore loudly. "That's the time? I've got an article due in four hours and I haven't even proofread it."

"Cutting it a bit close, aren't you? I'll make your coffee a to-go and drive you to your hotel. If that's cool?"

"The coolest. Ew, did I just say that?" She crinkled her nose making Jess laugh before going into another room. He came back a few minutes later with a Styrofoam mug and a wrapped package.

"I'm parked outside, take these and we'll go." He handed her the items and she looked back at him, confused.

"Why am I carrying a book-shaped present wrapped in Christmas paper?"

"Because… Merry Christmas?"

"You didn't have to get me anything, you silly man!"

"I didn't. Open it while I drive, or you'll be late for a deadline. We can't have my surprise ruining your perfect record now, can we?"

They hopped into Jess' car (about a million times nicer than his bucket of rust she remembered from Stars Hollow) and before he even had the key in she began squealing and flailing around with excitement. It was moments like this he truly appreciated that she was Lorelai's daughter.

"This isn't out for another month!"

"How do you know that?"

"I checked your Wikipedia page." She said with some resignation in her voice, as though she could sense the mocking she was about to receive.

"You Googled me." He said, both shocked and amused.

"Shut up."

"You Googled me!" It was full-on mocking now.

"I just hit a couple of buttons on a computer!"

"Googler."

"Oh shut up and let me hug you for giving me this book!" Hugging in cars is no easy feat, as Rory soon learned. Especially when you're already wearing your seatbelt. But the gesture was thoughtful all the same. "So tell me, what's Cast of Thousands about?"

"Read it and find out."

"No fair."

"You'd hate me for spoiling it."

"True. So, I can't help but notice that this is novel sized. Over four hundred pages."

"Novellas are okay, but sometimes you need to say more, you know?"

"I've been writing about one man for the last eight months. Believe me, I understand."

"Branching out is a way to live for weirdo book freaks like us."

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Oh, this is my hotel!"

"Really? I expected something a little… fancier for a journalist."

"I write for a blog, you know."

"I do. I haven't missed an article yet." And there it was. The words that seemed so inconsequential but were heartfelt and so uniquely Jess that she often wondered if she was right in rejecting him so harshly and (at one point) frequently. He never gave false compliments, and seemed to know exactly what to say to get the best reaction from her. He'd always been this way, and it wasn't until right at that moment that Rory realised that all she wanted was a heartfelt, intelligent man to fall in love with the way she had with Jess. Maybe, after all this time apart, with failed relationships and heartbreak and everything in between, all she needed was Jess himself.

"We didn't talk about you much today. Are you planning on staying in Philly forever?" The question took him by surprise, but when he saw the look in her eyes he understood. She'd felt the same sparks as he did throughout the day. There was always something between them, some inexplicable force pulling them towards each other, and she was wondering if it was time to just let it happen.

"I like it here, but New York has always been my home. I won't be surprised if I end up there in a year or two."

"New York, huh?"

"Where else?"

"I'll see you at the wedding."

"Bye, Rory."

"See you soon, Jess."

So the apology part wasn't very big, but that was necessary. It just seemed right, you know? I wouldn't mind a review or two. Oh, and for people who read Yales, Yachts and Other Distractions, a little clue as to what's coming up: Christopher, Dean, Logan. Yikes!