Against the Grain

Author: Knowhere

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Nothing.

AN: Bit of humor. Sometimes they have weird problems; ever wonder what might have been of their wedding night?

Summary: Literati. "You're supposed to have sex on your wedding night. It's part of the package. It's expected!" "Exactly!" AU.

---

Passing by their table, she overhears their conversation. Seeing them out of the corner of her eye, she pauses. "I heard that when she went to the diner the other day when he was helping Luke, they disappeared for half an hour and when they finally came back, her hair was entirely too messy for nothing to have happened. I'm telling you, someone said they even saw him smile and be polite." Her eyes bug out, hearing Patty talk about what had happened. Walking by, she's unsuccessful in her covert attempts to get by her gossiping guests.

"Rory, darling! How beautiful you look today. Your dress is amazing."

She smiles. "Thank you Patty. I'm glad you could come."

"Oh, I wouldn't have missed our little girl getting married for the world. I remember when you were just a little ballerina with your pretty pink tutu. You were such a cute kid. Klutzy, but cute. Of course, you're beautiful now. But none of us would have passed up this event. The entire town has showed up."

"Yeah, it's great." She turns and spies him by the punch bowl. "Oh, can you guys excuse me for a moment? I'll talk to you later."

"Sure thing, Honey."

Picking up her dress to be careful not to stain it with the freshly mown grass, she quickens her steps. Sidling up to him, she whispers. "Can we talk?"

"Hm?" He turns to look at her. "Punch? I think it's spiked." He takes a sip and smirks. "Yeah, vodka."

"Who spiked it?" She takes his cup and takes a healthy gulp and gives him a look. "Ooh. That's strong."

He chuckles. "Hey, don't give me that face. I didn't do it." He fills up the cup once more. "But it is good."

Taking the glass out of his hands, she swallows the rest of it.

"Don't get wasted on the punch. There's still plenty of the reception left and I can't handle it all by myself."

She cuts off his rambling. "Jess, they know."

He looks around. "What? That we're married? I hate to break it to you, Babe, but I'm pretty sure the entire town knows. First, they're all here. Second, we're above the fold of today's Stars Hollow newspaper with a headline that reads, 'Rory Gilmore Weds Former Delinquent.' But hey, I made the front page without being led out in handcuffs by Taylor."

Despite his ridiculous statement, she giggles and leans into his body. "Jerk, that wasn't the headline; and I know everyone was just at the ceremony. I'm not talking about that." Her eyes dart around looking for people who might be listening. "Remember Tuesday when mom and I came back from the Hartford mall buying makeup? Remember when I came back and you were helping Luke in the diner?"

He grins. "You mean when you jumped my bones in the stockroom?" He takes another sip of the bright red punch. "You were quite brazen, might I add. And that thing you did with your tongue; where did you learn that? I could have written about it in Penthouse. Oh, what about when you pushed me up against the big fridge? Man, I thought my ass was all freezer burned after you were done with me. And…"

Clear blue eyes wide, she slaps a hand over his mouth. "Jess Mariano, if you finish that sentence I swear…"

Cheekily, he smirks. "What? You gonna spank me?"

"Oh my god!" Bright red, she picks up another clean glass to distract herself with the punch. "You're awful." She chances a look up at his smirking face. "And dirty!"

Chuckling, he bumps her hip with his. "Oh, calm down. It's not like we're kids on prom night. I just made an honest woman out of you. Plus, I put on a tux and everything for you."

"What's up with you?" She giggles. "I've never heard you talk like this."

He shrugs good-naturedly. "I just got married. I finally got the girl. I'm happy." He pauses to kiss the side of her jaw. Quietly, he whispers. "Just don't tell anyone."

"You gonna dance with me again?"

He smiles. "Is that the price of your silence?"

"That and another piece of cake."

He looks over at the dessert table. "You've already had two. The rest is for the guests."

She gives him her Bambi look. "Please?"

"Alright. But you owe me. If I end up having to wrestle it out of Patty's hands and if she pinches my butt again, you're gonna pay for it."

"Oh! Patty. That reminds me." Grabbing his arm, she pulls him over to the side. Settling them behind an oak tree, he pulls her into his body to feel the length of her pressed up against him. "Don't distract me."

He grins. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Whatever. I originally came over to tell you about what I overheard. Patty and the rest of them were gossiping about our…indiscretion in the diner."

His eyebrows lift. "Our indiscretion? You make is sound so proper, Miss Bennett. Perhaps you should have said 'the yielding of favors.'"

"Could you just be serious for one moment? Of all the times to be playful…" She trails off mumbling to herself.

"Oh alright." He presses closer to her and nods. "Go on. I'm serious. Tell me what's got you bothered."

"Jess, they were talking about how we were having sex the other day."

"I'm pretty sure they know we do it. We have been together for a couple years. Not counting when we together in high school."

"Aren't you embarrassed?"

"About sex? No." He nuzzles her neck for a moment. "You get embarrassed way too easily. Just relax and enjoy the day. How many times does a girl get married?"

She smiles. "Only once."

"Good answer."

Pulling back, she kisses him lightly. "Yeah, you're right. Okay." She stands back. "I'm gonna go talk to Mom. You going to be okay for a little bit on your own?"

"If Emily comes and corners me into a conversation about what exactly are my intentions with you, will you come to divert the interrogation?"

She laughs. "Sure, you big baby."

"Your grandmother's mean. Remember when she got so mad she almost slapped me the time we told her I proposed?"

"She wasn't going to slap you."

"It looked like it." Raising a hand up to her cheek, he leaves it there for a moment. "I'll meet up with you later?"

"Yeah." She smiles.

---

"Honey!"

"Hi Mom." She reaches up for a hug.

"Oh, my only child. I can't believe you've gone and married that hoodlum. I'll never have my little girl anymore."

"Hey, you like Jess, and I'll always be your little girl. You can still call me first thing in the morning and tell the birthday story like you've done each year."

"But I can't crawl into bed with you."

She giggles. "You did last year."

"Remember how Jess screamed like a girl when he woke up?"

"You would too if you saw your girlfriend and her mother in bed with you."

"Wife, now." She begins to tear up. "I still can't believe you're married, Rory."

"I know. I love you, Mom. Always."

"Me too. Oh, no more of this. You'll ruin my makeup. Just give me a hug and let's talk about your honeymoon."

"Well, we're going to California to spend some time with Jimmy and his family. But Jess rented this little house for us to have time to ourselves for about a week."

She leers. "Time for some nudge, nudge, wink, wink? Speaking of which, I gave you guys the largest suite at the inn. And don't worry, I made sure no one's booked into any of the adjacent rooms so you guys can have all the fun you want tonight." She laughs.

"Mom!"

"Oh, don't act like that. You know you're totally gonna be all over each other. Jess has barely left your side all day." She looks over her shoulder. "Speaking of the devil…"

He comes up to them and places his arm around her waist. "Hey."

"Hey Son." She jokes.

"Hey Mom."

Lorelai makes a fake look of disgust. "Okay, we better stick to first names. That was creepy. Look Mister, you better take care of my Rory." She pokes his chest with her index finger.

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay, I'm going to find Luke and make sure he hasn't hidden somewhere. That man owes me a dance."

"See you later." Watching her walk away, she turns to her husband. "You know what Mom just said?"

"What?"
"She told me she gave us the honeymoon suite and that she didn't book anyone else near our room."

"That was nice of her."

"Nice?"

"Sorry, are we upset for some reason?"

"Jess, she blatantly implied what we're going to be doing tonight."

He looks confused. "Do what?"

"You know…" She waves her hands to stress her point.

He knows exactly what she's getting at, but he won't let up the opportunity to hear her say it aloud. "Sleep? Play Twister? Watch a Lifetime movie?"

"Sex, Jess! Sex."

He chuckles. "I know. What's with you and the topic of sex today?"

"It's just that everyone's implying it. It's embarrassing, that's all."

"Again with the embarrassing. Why can't you just relax? Come on." He takes her hand. "Let's get liquored up with that nice champagne your grandfather bought. I'll even dance with you to a song of your choice."

She smiles but doesn't complain one bit as he leads her back to the heart of the party.

---

"Man, I'm tired. My feet are killing me." He watches her unlock the inn door.

She walks over to the bed and begins to pull at the zipper of her dress. "Jess? Can you help me undo this?"

"Get you undressed? Yeah." His eyes light up.

"I'm just changing into comfy clothes."

He deftly unzips her and kisses the bare skin of her shoulder from behind. "Comfy clothes? Shouldn't you be changing into something insanely sexy so you can seduce your new husband?"

She giggles. "I can be wearing sweats and you'd still be all over me."

"That's true." He reaches down to unhook her bra. "So, sweats? The gray bottoms with that tiny tank top? 'Cause I love that outfit."

She bends down to slip off her heels. "Can I ask a favor of you Jess?"

"Hm?" He starts to unbutton his shirt. "Don't know, can you?" He rolls his eyes at the overused response.

"Well," she places her hands flat against his bare chest. "Would you mind if we didn't…"

"Didn't what?" He rubs her bare arms.

"Didn't…yield favors?"

"Huh?" He scrunches his face. "You mean, not have sex?"

She bites her lower lip. "Maybe?"

"Maybe? You're asking me not to sleep with you on our wedding night? You're kidding, right?"

She shrugs and walks over to sit on the large bed. "Well, I was thinking about it and maybe we just don't do it tonight. Plus, you just said yourself you're tired."

"But not for sex! It's the big culmination of the wedding night. Sex. It's part of the deal."

"Deal?" She raises her eyebrows. "Marrying me is a deal?"

He sighs. "You know what I mean, Rory. What's gotten into you?"

"It's just that everyone's expecting us to do it. I don't want to sleep with you just because it's tradition."

He chuckles at the absurdity of the situation. "So, basically you're refusing to have sex with me because you're afraid of what people may or may not be thinking."

"Not what they're thinking, what they know. I bet when they were watching us have our first dance, they were thinking about all the ways we'd be getting it on tonight."

He smirks. "Getting it on?"

Despite it all, she laughs. "Jess, come on."

"Yeah, come on, is right. I totally thought I'd be coming on my wedding night, but…"

"Jess!" She can barely control her laughter. "Stop."

He's laughing as well. "Rory, this is ridiculous. You can't seriously be saying that you're not sleeping with me because people at the wedding will be expecting it?"

"It's embarrassing."

He falls back onto the bed with a silent thud. "I'll probably be the only guy in history who didn't get laid on the night of his own wedding."

"I'm sure you're not the only one."

Sitting up quickly, he reaches for her hands. "Rory, think about it. You only get 'wedding night sex' only once. The only thing that beats this is probably 'after you wake up from a coma sex,' 'being released from prison sex,' and 'end of the world sex.' And I really doubt we'll have any of those kinds of sex. 'Wedding night sex' is all we'll get."

She laughs loudly at his line of reasoning. "What was that?"

Sighing, he dramatically plops back down on the bed again. "That was my feeble attempt at coercing you into sleeping with me tonight."

"We'll sleep together. Just…" She looks down at his pathetic form. "Not have sex."

"Please?" He gives his best shot at a sad puppy face.

"You're not very good at that." She states matter of fact. "It's not like it'll be the only night ever were we didn't have sex."

"But this is a big night. I was looking forward to it all throughout the engagement."

"You were not."

He concedes with a smirk. "Okay, maybe not all throughout the engagement, but at least today. The hope of some kinky sex was what got me through the entire day."

She wrinkles her forehead. "Kinky?"

"Maybe not kinky, per say, but at least some pretty mind blowing orgasms." She shakes her head and gets up to go to the bathroom. He follows suit. "Aren't you curious? Don't tell me you didn't think about what tonight would be like?"

Squeezing some toothpaste onto the inn provided toothbrush, she speaks through the foam. "Of course I thought about it. But I refuse to have sex when everyone's speculating about our love life. It's no one's business."

He leans charismatically on the doorjamb and watches her. "Sure it's no one's business, but people expect newlyweds to fornicate like bunnies. It's a requirement."

She rinses her mouth. "Fornicate?"

"Sorry." He smirks and pretends to be nonchalant as he inspects his fingernail. "Fuck like bunnies. That better?"

"Dirty boy." Walking by, she kisses his cheek.

Turning the corner, he trails her half a step behind. "Rory, you'll probably never hear me do this again but…" He pouts and sticks out his lower lip. "Please?"

Hands move to her waist and she gives him her most serious look. "Jess. No sex. Just accept it."

"I don't suppose me trying to seduce you by taking off my clothes and such would help you change your mind?"

"Nope."

"You sure?"

She lifts the covers off the bed and slips in. "Yep. I'm totally unaffected."

"What if I started stripping?" Slowly, he jokingly shimmies his way out of his pants. Pushing down his boxers, he tosses them on the bed next to her.

She giggles. "Give it up."

"Oh?" He winks at her and crawls up the bed, making his way closer to her inch by inch. Coming up to her, he presses her down into the bed with his weight.

Smiling, she glances up at him and runs her hands through his hair. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you some of my best moves." Dipping down, he lightly presses kisses along the path of her neck, stopping to take her earlobe between his teeth.

"The no sex thing includes no fooling around."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Fooling around inevitably leads to sex when it comes to you."

"That's the plan." Brushing the side of her chest, he cups her breast through the material of her tank top.

"Hey, you're breaking the rules."

"Huh." Capturing her lips, he pulls her into a passionate kiss. Leaning his weight on her, he raises her chin and nips at her upper lip. "Don't care."

Shifting her position, she feels his erection press into her and groans. "Jess…"

Smirking, he continues his way down her body.

---

He grins and looks down at her resting her cheek on his chest. Tucking a strand of slightly sweaty hair behind her ear, he kisses her forehead tenderly. "Love you."

"Hm." She nuzzles his neck and tucks her body into his side. "I can't believe I gave in so easily."

"You're a sucker for my body."

"You're lucky I'm so worn out that I don't even have the strength to argue with you."

He chuckles. "Don't feel too bad. You held out for a lot longer than I thought."

She sighs melodramatically. "I guess I'm just another victim of tradition. I succumbed to pressure."

"You're such a drama queen."

"Hey, that's your wife you're insulting."

He shakes his head. "Not insulting. I'm just stating the fact."

"I thought I'd be the one to go against the grain. It would've been a good story to tell."

"At future cocktail parties with Emily's DAR pals?"

She laughs. "Well, maybe not parties, but it would've been a good anecdote to tell Mom." She sits up and brings the sheet along with her. "I can't believe I gave into your sexual advances!"

He props himself up on the pillows and rubs her back. "Don't be upset."

"I really thought I could be the exception."

He shrugs. "You gave it your best shot, that's all you can ask for."

She turns around. "You're mocking me, aren't you?"

"Just a bit."

Flopping back into his chest, she settles into his warmth. The green numbers catch her attention. "Hey, look at that."

"Hm?"

"It's after one o'clock."

"Yeah, so?"

"How long were we…you know?"

He chuckles. "I don't keep track."

"It means I did hold out! I didn't have sex with you until after midnight. That means…" She looks pointedly at him to finish her statement.

"That you actually held out and didn't have sex with me on your wedding night? We actually did it first thing in the morning?"

"Yes! That's right."

"Congratulations."

Smiling broadly, she lays back down next to him. "Thank you."

They relax in silence for a while, taking in the moment. Under the covers, he nudges her with his toes. "Hey."

"What?"

"We just got married today." He kisses the side of her mouth. "Yesterday, I mean."

"I know."

"You feel different?"

"Like how?"

He shrugs. "Dunno." He tightens his hold around her bare waist. "I feel different."

"Feel like you can take on the world? Or like the world's on your shoulders?"

"It feels like the long awaited end to an exhausting journey." He muses.

"Dating me was exhausting?"

"No. But the time we spent apart…"

Breathing out, she traces his jaw with her fingertips. "Yeah, I know. Those were a lot of wasted years."

"No, not wasted. Just…recycled."

She laughs, body vibrating against his. "Recycled?"

"We wouldn't have gotten here without taking that time apart."

"Guess you're right." She reaches over him to turn off the bedside lamp. Shifting their bodies down into the bed, he traces sloppy circles on her lower back. She relaxes against him. "So, what do you think about married life?"

"Pretty good. Now you can stop shaving your legs and our sex life can begin to diminish."

She snickers. "We'd better get a jump on things then if the sex is going to slow down."

"What do you have in mind?"

She pretends to give it some real thought. Pursing her lips, "I was thinking we could do it again."

Hovering over her, he kisses her fully on the mouth. "But what will people think?" He teases her.

She adopts a smirk very much like his. "Screw 'em."

"That's my girl."

---

AN: Give the story some love.