Fic: Home - Chapter One, General (GG)
Apr. 9th, 2003 10:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rubykatewritingTITLE: Home
AUTHOR:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rubykatewriting
PAIRING: This fic features Lorelai and Luke in an established relationship with children; Sookie and Jackson are still doing what they're doing; and Jess is a widower; it will eventually end up Rory/Jess.
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Now he can’t imagine calling any other place home. Jess returns to Stars Hollow.
DISCLAIMER: Luke Danes, Lorelai Gilmore, Jess Mariano, Sookie St. James, Jackson Belleville, Emily and Richard Gilmore and Rory Gilmore belong to others. I am only borrowing them. No harm intended.
WARNING: Major character death pre-fic, which is discussed and dealt with through remainder of fic.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Multiple chapters.
Jess parks in front of the diner, right between it and the Soda Shoppe, and waits. It’s only a little after six in the morning and there is no movement from within. He rolls his head side to side, two loud pops coming from his stiff neck and rubs the haze from his eyes with his knuckles. Two days of nearly non-stop driving is starting to catch up with him now.
His window is rolled down. He loves the cool autumn breeze, nippy and sharp, a warning of even colder weather ahead. One of the many reasons he missed living up north. Nervous, he studies the square, head hanging halfway out the window, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. The grounds are still as impeccable as ever and the gazebo gives off a ghostly glow in the half-light.
Nothing has changed.
All the tension begins to ease from the back of his neck and along his shoulders. Sighing, he lets his head fall back against the headrest, staring at the ceiling of the car. It’s strange. Over the past few months, the urge to return to Stars Hollow became nearly as strong as his desire to leave it so many years ago. For so long, he wished to put this place behind him, to disappear from its perfect streets and quirky neighbors. To forget.
Now he can’t imagine calling any other place home.
He turns slightly, arm stretching out across the back of the bench seat, and watches her for several minutes. She is sound asleep in the back, softly snoring. Her book has fallen to the seat beside her and her head tilts awkwardly to the side. More than likely, she will wake with a crick in her neck, but she’s slept so little ("I don’t want you to be up all by yourself."), he doesn’t want to disturb her.
A movement in the rearview mirror catches his eye and he looks up to see someone walking across the town square. The backward baseball cap and the athletic, shoulder-driven walk leave no room for mistake.
It’s Luke.
Coming from Lorelai’s part of town.
Grinning, he releases his seatbelt and opens the door, careful not to wake her. He goes around the front of the beat-up old Chevy sedan and stands at the bottom of the steps in front of the diner entrance. "Hiya, Luke," he calls. He doesn’t want to startle him.
Luke stumbles to a stop at the curb and stares at him in bemusement. "Jess?"
"Hey."
"What are you doing here?"
"I’m moving back."
Luke starts shaking his head, disbelief evident in his face even in the iffy light. "Yeah, I’ve heard that before," he says dryly, shoving past him towards the door. He digs a set of keys out of his jacket pocket, then realizes they’re the wrong ones and goes for the other pocket, cursing under his breath.
Jess shrugs it off; he expected it. "I’m serious about this, Luke."
"Again, I’ve heard this somewhere before," he comments sarcastically, jabbing a key into the deadbolt. It’s the wrong key, and Jess smiles at his uncle’s flustered state. "Dammit," he bursts out, and turns on Jess. "What’s happened? Why are you here, Jess?"
"Nothing’s happened. I –"
"Dad?"
Luke drops the keys and they slam into the concrete with a loud jangle. "What?"
Turning, Jess sees Wren standing between the open car door and the backseat, looking unsure. Her gold-brown eyes jump from him to Luke then back again. Jess holds out a hand towards her and she walks forward, still wary. She grips his hand tightly, nervous, and he notices in the crook of her arm, she holds her book (thick and impossibly heavy in her skinny embrace) like any other child would hold a teddy bear.
The top of her head comes to his shoulder and he is reminded just how fast she is growing up. Looking at his uncle, he tries to affect a laid back attitude, but he’s nervous and it shows. This is their only shot. "Luke, meet my daughter Wren. Wren, this is my Uncle Luke." He meets Luke’s eyes and pleads with him to understand. To at least give him the chance to explain.
Bending over, Luke picks up the key ring, the fight leeched out of him by this sudden, strange turn of events. This time he manages to find the right key and opens the door. Without a backward glance, he walks in. Jess and Wren take this as their cue to follow and step inside as he flicks on the lights.
-
Much as her father fourteen years before her, Wren Mariano stands on the curb outside Luke’s diner, getting her first real view of Stars Hollow. The early morning sunlight bathes everything in a cheery golden glow. It reminds her of this postcard she found once stuck in a book of her mother’s, and in the space where you were supposed to write the note, her father wrote: "Heaven."
Was this her dad’s idea of Heaven?
Shaking her head, she searches for something to do. Inspiration, please, she thinks. Looking around, she notices shopkeepers are scurrying about in front of their shops, readying for the coming day’s customers. Someone is setting out huge stands overflowing with fresh fruit and vegetables outside the grocery store. Her mouth waters at the sight of the baseball-size apples in varying shades of red.
Glancing over her shoulder, she spies her father, waiting on a table. As if he can feel her gaze, he looks up and smiles, reading her hesitation. With a jerk of his head, he urges her onward.
Pulling out her headphones, she settles them over her ears and presses the play button on her portable CD player. A mix her father put together for her mother years ago. Miles Davis dominates it; he was her mother’s favorite. As she walks toward the grocery store, she spots a wooded area behind the high school. Might be interesting, she thinks. Tapping on the volume button, she trots off, Miles’ melancholy trumpet crooning into her ears, fretting that he falls in love too easily.
chapter two | chapter three | chapter four | chapter five
chapter six | chapter seven | chapter eight | chapter nine | chapter ten
AUTHOR:
rubykatewritingPAIRING: This fic features Lorelai and Luke in an established relationship with children; Sookie and Jackson are still doing what they're doing; and Jess is a widower; it will eventually end up Rory/Jess.
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Now he can’t imagine calling any other place home. Jess returns to Stars Hollow.
DISCLAIMER: Luke Danes, Lorelai Gilmore, Jess Mariano, Sookie St. James, Jackson Belleville, Emily and Richard Gilmore and Rory Gilmore belong to others. I am only borrowing them. No harm intended.
WARNING: Major character death pre-fic, which is discussed and dealt with through remainder of fic.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Multiple chapters.
Jess parks in front of the diner, right between it and the Soda Shoppe, and waits. It’s only a little after six in the morning and there is no movement from within. He rolls his head side to side, two loud pops coming from his stiff neck and rubs the haze from his eyes with his knuckles. Two days of nearly non-stop driving is starting to catch up with him now.
His window is rolled down. He loves the cool autumn breeze, nippy and sharp, a warning of even colder weather ahead. One of the many reasons he missed living up north. Nervous, he studies the square, head hanging halfway out the window, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. The grounds are still as impeccable as ever and the gazebo gives off a ghostly glow in the half-light.
Nothing has changed.
All the tension begins to ease from the back of his neck and along his shoulders. Sighing, he lets his head fall back against the headrest, staring at the ceiling of the car. It’s strange. Over the past few months, the urge to return to Stars Hollow became nearly as strong as his desire to leave it so many years ago. For so long, he wished to put this place behind him, to disappear from its perfect streets and quirky neighbors. To forget.
Now he can’t imagine calling any other place home.
He turns slightly, arm stretching out across the back of the bench seat, and watches her for several minutes. She is sound asleep in the back, softly snoring. Her book has fallen to the seat beside her and her head tilts awkwardly to the side. More than likely, she will wake with a crick in her neck, but she’s slept so little ("I don’t want you to be up all by yourself."), he doesn’t want to disturb her.
A movement in the rearview mirror catches his eye and he looks up to see someone walking across the town square. The backward baseball cap and the athletic, shoulder-driven walk leave no room for mistake.
It’s Luke.
Coming from Lorelai’s part of town.
Grinning, he releases his seatbelt and opens the door, careful not to wake her. He goes around the front of the beat-up old Chevy sedan and stands at the bottom of the steps in front of the diner entrance. "Hiya, Luke," he calls. He doesn’t want to startle him.
Luke stumbles to a stop at the curb and stares at him in bemusement. "Jess?"
"Hey."
"What are you doing here?"
"I’m moving back."
Luke starts shaking his head, disbelief evident in his face even in the iffy light. "Yeah, I’ve heard that before," he says dryly, shoving past him towards the door. He digs a set of keys out of his jacket pocket, then realizes they’re the wrong ones and goes for the other pocket, cursing under his breath.
Jess shrugs it off; he expected it. "I’m serious about this, Luke."
"Again, I’ve heard this somewhere before," he comments sarcastically, jabbing a key into the deadbolt. It’s the wrong key, and Jess smiles at his uncle’s flustered state. "Dammit," he bursts out, and turns on Jess. "What’s happened? Why are you here, Jess?"
"Nothing’s happened. I –"
"Dad?"
Luke drops the keys and they slam into the concrete with a loud jangle. "What?"
Turning, Jess sees Wren standing between the open car door and the backseat, looking unsure. Her gold-brown eyes jump from him to Luke then back again. Jess holds out a hand towards her and she walks forward, still wary. She grips his hand tightly, nervous, and he notices in the crook of her arm, she holds her book (thick and impossibly heavy in her skinny embrace) like any other child would hold a teddy bear.
The top of her head comes to his shoulder and he is reminded just how fast she is growing up. Looking at his uncle, he tries to affect a laid back attitude, but he’s nervous and it shows. This is their only shot. "Luke, meet my daughter Wren. Wren, this is my Uncle Luke." He meets Luke’s eyes and pleads with him to understand. To at least give him the chance to explain.
Bending over, Luke picks up the key ring, the fight leeched out of him by this sudden, strange turn of events. This time he manages to find the right key and opens the door. Without a backward glance, he walks in. Jess and Wren take this as their cue to follow and step inside as he flicks on the lights.
-
Much as her father fourteen years before her, Wren Mariano stands on the curb outside Luke’s diner, getting her first real view of Stars Hollow. The early morning sunlight bathes everything in a cheery golden glow. It reminds her of this postcard she found once stuck in a book of her mother’s, and in the space where you were supposed to write the note, her father wrote: "Heaven."
Was this her dad’s idea of Heaven?
Shaking her head, she searches for something to do. Inspiration, please, she thinks. Looking around, she notices shopkeepers are scurrying about in front of their shops, readying for the coming day’s customers. Someone is setting out huge stands overflowing with fresh fruit and vegetables outside the grocery store. Her mouth waters at the sight of the baseball-size apples in varying shades of red.
Glancing over her shoulder, she spies her father, waiting on a table. As if he can feel her gaze, he looks up and smiles, reading her hesitation. With a jerk of his head, he urges her onward.
Pulling out her headphones, she settles them over her ears and presses the play button on her portable CD player. A mix her father put together for her mother years ago. Miles Davis dominates it; he was her mother’s favorite. As she walks toward the grocery store, she spots a wooded area behind the high school. Might be interesting, she thinks. Tapping on the volume button, she trots off, Miles’ melancholy trumpet crooning into her ears, fretting that he falls in love too easily.
chapter six | chapter seven | chapter eight | chapter nine | chapter ten
