Everything comes back to you -J.MARIANO

[1.27]

𝓞n Thanksgiving, the three families joined together in Luke's after he closed early for that specific reason. The tradition had begun completely by mistake one year and they had all enjoyed the collective to such an extent that it was repeated every year that followed. Whilst this year they didn't have the Gilmores, as they were booked and busy because of an Emily Gilmore overhaul, the evening was still planned and adhered to with the two remaining families. Taryn loved the tradition for three reasons. One, she hardly ever got to see Luke so natural and relaxed in the walls of his diner. Two, her Da would join Luke in the kitchen and the two of them always got along (to a certain extent.) And three, she liked being surrounded by people who didn't make her feel any less than themselves.

This year however, with all the differences, Taryn began to feel rather overwhelmed far too quickly. Her leg jittered rapidly under the table as the various clinking pieces of cutlery and the scraping of knives against porcelain crept into her mind and set her on edge. She found brief solace in a moment where everything stopped because there was a singular warning beep from her hearing aids where everyone paused their chewing. When she dismissed them all, saying it was only the first beep and she had a good few hours left, the noises began again and her leg bounced back into movement once more. Jess, noticing this as he sat next to her, reached a hand underneath the table and placed it on top of her knee. He traced shapes atop her thigh with his thumb and she focused on that whenever things got to be too much again. It wasn't much but it helped enough to take some of the edge off. 

As per the ritual, Taryn  stayed to help clean up. Though somehow Jess managed to convince Luke to go upstairs and leave them alone to do the job. She piled up the dishes and various other things on the table and took them to a pile on the counter where he would collect them and take them into the kitchen. They talked through the entryway to the kitchen whilst he washed the dishes then dried them together, after Taryn had convinced Jess that there was no risk of her injuring herself as all the ovens were off and other dangers eradicated. As they finished up and decided to make hot chocolates as she was craving them, Taryn's ears beeped yet again. This time it was the louder, more dangerous sounding beep that usually meant she had about twenty minutes left. Twenty minutes that would be filled with other beeps and distant humming. "Crap," she muttered under her breath as the beep resonated within her skull, her hand raising to the device attached to her left ear.

"Wait there," Jess spoke abruptly, practically throwing the pan he had picked out of the cupboard down on top of the cooker. Whilst he ran up the stairs and presumably to his side of the apartment, Taryn fought with the idea of stepping into the kitchen and making the drink herself. She found herself increasingly tempted the longer she looked at the 'no entry for Taryn  sign' just above her head. Jess, as if knowing her plan, stepped just in front of her as he helped out two of her batteries in his hand.

"Did you steal these from my room?" she laughed softly whilst accepting the batteries.

She pocketed one then removed the wires on the side of her head, quickly replacing the battery within as he responded. "Maybe," he shrugged before turning back to the stove top and the cocoa powder.

"Jess..." she sighed softly. "I've been looking for those." Whilst overly grateful for the gesture, Taryn  had spent many a panicked moment wondering where those batteries were. She could get new ones, for a hefty price even with her parents insurance, but she was just more annoyed by the fact that she had lost them in the first place. Given that they were the one thing that helped her to hear somewhat, she was always careful with the location of those batteries.

"Just wanted to be prepared in case they went whilst you were here," he paused whilst reaching into the old fridge within the kitchen for her milk. Suddenly, as if the thought had suddenly crossed his mind, he turned and quickly asked, "You still use these ones, right?"

She nodded and watched as his grip on the carton of almond milk relaxed subtly. "Careful I might start to think you care about me," she smiled whilst settling the magnet back into place on her head.

He turned with a subtle smirk that sent her stomach through loops. "I can't have that."

Ignoring the rule completely, Taryn  walked into the kitchen and pulled him away from the stove. "Thank you," she whispered whilst draping her arms over his shoulders. The corner of his lips turned up and, just as he was about to make a comment about her being in the kitchen, she silenced his lips with her own with the ferocity of how thankful she truly felt to have him do such a thing. His hands lifted up underneath her shirt and rested atop the fizzling skin of her torso. As they kissed, he moved his hands up and down and sent shivers through her spine as a bubbling licked every surface in which he touched. She tangled her fingertips in his hair as he moved the kisses down her jaw, settling on the spot he knew drew the most reaction out of her. They jumped apart as the hot chocolate bubbled over and the liquid fizzled against the flame of the stove. Having thought the sound was Luke, the two were reminded of their surroundings and Taryn quickly hurried out of the kitchen whilst Jess ditched the pan and moved to make her a fresh cup.

They sat next to each other in the very middle of the counter and talked until hours after her hot chocolate was empty. They had both picked from a bag of mini marshmallows as they talked and didn't even notice as the diner became cast in the darkness of night. She liked these kinds of nights. Where the air felt quiet and the conversation flowed incredibly quickly, never dulling even as their stomachs ached with laughter. The only reason that it paused for even a second was due to the shrill yell of the diner phone. Jess sighed and walked to get it so Luke did not have to come down and dispel the air that surrounded them completely. "Your dad requested you come home as it is thirty minutes past your curfew," he announced after hanging up the phone with a soft, inaudible sigh.

"Oh shit," Taryn  blurted after glancing at the forgotten clock on the wall. Her parents weren't exactly too hard on her for missing curfew if she explained the situation and returned quickly after their reminders. They assured her that it was only for her safety and to make sure she was in bed at a good time on school nights as they hoped it would help beat her morning lateness. She hurried up out of her seat and instantly walked towards the door. She opened it quickly then, once feeling the cold, closed it back up again almost as quickly as she had opened it. Without any hesitation, she picked his jacket off of the hat rack and began to put her arms inside the sleeves.

"That's mine," Jess cleared his throat as he walked towards her, watching with a smirk as she struggled to put her arm into the second sleeve.

"Do you want me to die of hypothermia?" she asked with a chuckle as she settled her shoulders in the jacket. She wondered if she had exactly chosen the right one for warmth but didn't want to waste any more time changing into another. She shrugged, "Plus you'll get it back."

"Don't go adding any rhinestones or patches," he warned whilst taking her face in his hands. She smiled softly before he connected their lips for the trademark goodbye kiss. She refused to let herself sink into it and slowly stepped backwards but he chased after her in slight desperation.

"But you'd look so good in a bedazzled leather jacket," she whispered in complete earnest whilst opening the door to the diner. As his brow furrowed in concern, she laughed softly. "Relax... Anyway I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation."

"You sure you don't want me to walk you home?"

"No, that's okay. It's just across the road," she smiled once again and this time kissed him on the cheek. "See you later."

"Good luck tomorrow," he yelled after her as she walked out into the road in front of the diner.  Tomorrow just happened to be the day that could have a huge positive effect on her life but could also have an overly negative effect. The day in which she sent off all her portfolios and various applications for all the different fashion schools that she had liked the look of. There were five in total, ranging from close to really really far away. She had her favorites, of course but just hoped that at least one of them would accept her. She smiled her thanks then continued her walk, suddenly realizing how cold it actually was. She pushed her hands into the pocket off the leather jacket and frowned as her fingertips reached a cylinder tube and a cold metal lighter. She, whilst pulling them out of the pocket to double check what it was, rolled her eyes before placing them back inside. As she walked, the cold bit against her nose to the point where she found it necessary to bring the jacket up to her nose. Taryn inhaled and became surrounded by the smell of him and his cologne, a smell she greatly enjoyed and refused to ever forget.