Everything comes back to you -J.MARIANO

[1.25]

𝓞n the final Sunday leading up to the dance marathon, Tas and Taryn  decided to get lunch in the diner. It was partly her idea, as Tas' mom and sister were out for the day, and she wanted to make sure that he was fed something other than snacks at least once in the day. Unsurprisingly, the diner was heaving with people and Caesar yelling orders but they thankfully managed to get the final table. Luke took their orders quickly before returning to another table that wanted coffee refills.

"What happened to your necklace?" Tas asked as she looked around the diner for Jess, wondering why he wasn't helping out.

"Oh it broke in the shower this morning, caught it on a braid," she shrugged and smiled softly to herself as Jess walked out of the kitchen with two plates in hand. He heard her voice and instantly turned in her direction, returning the smile briefly before plastering on the fake customer service expression once more. "Fifty bucks to fix it. So I have to wait till like Christmas or my birthday because I cannot afford that."

"You won't let me pay for it will you?"

She shook her head instantly, "Absolutely not."

"Taryn -"

"No Tas," she interrupted, not wanting him to waste breath on an argument that she simply wouldn't hear.

He sighed in subtle annoyance, "It's not like you're taking advantage-"

"Tas I made a promise years ago," she interrupted once more and lifted her fingertips to hold onto her necklace as per usual. She frowned ever so subtly when her fingertips touched skin and not metal, once again reminding her of the lack of comfort that she usually found there.

Now getting somewhat aggravated by the way she simply refused to let him pay for anything apart from the odd inexpensive gift on her birthday, Tas frustratedly raised his voice as he responded, "We were six!"

"Doesn't matter," she shook her head and held such an expression that Tas knew that he once again would not get anywhere.  She paused her planned response as Jess dropped off their food and a plate of free unordered fries after 'accidently' getting an order wrong. She smiled her thanks, whilst Tas held back the want to roll his eyes. As Jess turned to walk away, she continued, "It's fine I'll just go necklace-less for a while, though it does feel weird." 

Tas laughed, "Like you're walking around naked right?"

She cocked a brow, "You wish."

"Ew," he instantly blurted, eyes filling with almost fake disgust. "I think I'd throw up."

Taryn  laughed and made no attempt to muffle it and Tas soon joined as she threw a fry from the plate at her side at his face. Luckily it wasn't hot enough to burn and just added to their stomach aching laughter. Their laughter was stilled as Lorelai Gilmore stormed into the diner and looked around frantically, eventually gesturing towards Taryn as she yelled, "Taryn!Will you do the dance with me?"

The diner stunned into momentary and partial silence as clattering still came from the kitchen. Taryn  frowned and shook her head in response, "Can't sorry, dress fixing duties."

"Rats!" Lorelai exclaimed in annoyance before hurrying out of the diner, most likely on the search for the next person on her list.

"Bets on Rory being her partner?" she asked whilst the chatter in the diner built up again. "You buy lunch if I win."

"I win you, let me fix your necklace," Tas countered, eyes filled with intrigue into the idea of such a bet. He wondered if he could somehow convince either of the Gilmore girls to not partake in the dance, just for the sake of something that brought his best friend great comfort.

She, even though there was a momentary consideration, shook her head as she picked up her burger. "Bets off."

He sighed in annoyance, "Taryn!"

-

The day of the dance, Taryn was woken by her Dads just before they were meant to leave the house. She quickly dressed, grabbed her sewing kit and pre-packed bag of books and food before following them out of the door. As Taylor had promised when she agreed to the dress fixing role two years ago, Taryn took her designated seat in the hall whilst all the dancing participants chatted and sorted out everything they needed to before the dance began. She fixed about six dresses and sewed fifteen buttons on shirts by the time the dance actually began. People often chose costume over quality for this dance, making her quick fixing abilities extremely necessary throughout.

Through the dance, up until the ten minute break, Taryn watched her Dads have the time of their lives dancing around the floor. During the run around before the break, her Dads would continuously send her dirty looks whenever they ran past her and Taryn could only laugh. As they both fell to the floor at the sound of the horn, Taryn hopped up from her seat and walked over to the pile of her parents and handed them both breakfast bars and bottles of water. "You're a good kid Taryn," Da mumbled in exhaustion as he opened up the bottle of water before passing it to his husband.

"Love you too Da," she replied with a soft laugh before Sookie waved her down from the floor so she could fix a tear on the sleeve of her dress. She fixed the tear quickly before getting commandeered by someone else with another wardrobe malfunction. Taryn spent the entire ten minutes pinning and sewing various sided tears or fallen buttons before the alarm sounded again and all her customers were back out onto the dancefloor.

At around the time she'd have her evening meal, Jess walked into the hall with a rather large bag of hot food and two drinks in the other hand. He brought food that her stomach welcomed and conversation that her overly bored mind so desperately needed. She could not be more grateful for both of those, especially because he had made a big thing about being busy all day so was unable to make an appearance. The joy of their mini picnic found itself ruined when her Dads were pushed out of the competition due to their exhaustion. After the two of them lay on the floor for twenty minutes and took a nap, they headed home leaving Taryn to wait until the end. She was invested now, no matter how tired she felt. "Am I going to have to carry you home?" Jess asked in earnest as Taryn watched Rory dance happily with Dean instead of Lorelai as her shoe had broken.

She yawned softly and muffled it with the back of her hand, being careful not to accidentally stab herself in the eye with a pin, "Maybe."

"Are you awake enough for this?" he asked whilst pulling a black box out of his coat pocket.

She looked between him and the box, silently surveying the situation. After a second, where her exhausted mind worked in overdrive, she whispered, "I don't want you to spend-"

"I didn't, I swear," he responded before opening the box.

She grinned upon instantly recognising the chain within and quickly pulled out her comfort necklace. "You fixed it?" 

He shrugged and kept his cool despite the fact that her grin filled his chest with something entirely positive. "One of the loops was broken, it was an easy fix. Just pliers."

"You fixed my necklace," she repeated in almost disbelief, still staring at the now complete chain that looked as if it had never been broken. "Thank you."

He smiled ever so subtly before helping her to put the necklace on. She moved her hair out of the way whilst he clasped the chain shut at the back of her neck, making sure it was tightly closed before she let her hair fall back into place. She sighed contently as her fingertips touched the necklace in its rightful place. "Still might have to carry me home though," she yawned as her head dropped onto his shoulder. Taryn fell asleep as Jess chuckled lowly, his head resting atop hers for just a second until he realized they were in public and straightened up again.

As the air horn sounded to finalize the end of the dance, Taryn jolted awake and blinked repeatedly as she watched Lorelai do celebratory laps around the gym while Kirk fell to his knees in tears. "Did I fall asleep?" she asked whilst rubbing her eyes, hoping that it would get rid of some of the heaviness they held.

"Drool and everything," Jess nodded. In a panic and embarrassment, Taryn looked down at his shoulder and found relief flooding through her soul upon realizing that there was not anything there. In annoyance at his choice of joke, she jokingly shoved his shoulder.