A/N: I don't own anything! More notes below.
Two weeks had passed since Lorelai had walked into his life and sent it spinning, and in those two weeks Tristan had nothing but time to think. After showing up half-drunk or hungover for two solid weeks at work, Tristan's boss had pulled Tristan into his office and made him take a leave of absence. Basically, go home and clean up before he did something really stupid and would have to get fired. He was onto day 35 of his involuntary holiday.
Tristan lay on the rumpled sheets, he was sure they smelt pretty pungent around now, and waited for the inevitably of his alarm to click on to signify it was 7am and time to start the day. Another day of nothing. Another day without Rory. Logically, he knew that there was no point keeping an alarm on. Hell, there was no point even keeping track of time, but it was a habit which he'd kept for years and if you didn't have tradition to keep you going when life went to hell, what did you have. Surely enough, the radio clicked on, the sounds of Bon Iver's Skinny Love drifting over the airways. Just another thing to remind Tristan of his Mary. Rory had fallen in love with Bon Iver instantly after hearing his music featured on Grey's Anatomy and had dragged Tristan to the CD store as soon as she could to buy For Emma, Forever Ago. He had heard the CD millions of times, in the car, in the kitchen while Rory attempted to cook, drifting out of Rory's study as she used it for mood music, but listening now, Tristan realised he had never really paid attention to the lyrics. As he listened to the acoustic strumming of the song, Justin Vernon's voice spoke to him and it felt like a message from Rory.
I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?
Fight…seemed to be a theme with the messages he was getting lately. Lorelai wanted him to fight, surely that was a clear indicator that it was the right thing to do. This song was telling him to fight, surely that was also…well it probably wasn't a clear indicator of anything, but Rory liked the song so maybe it meant she found the idea of fighting for love a romantic sentiment. Turning his head to his bedside table, Tristan's eyes found the picture which he had sat upright again and came to a conclusion. It was time to get up off this bed and stop being pathetic. He was Tristan DuGrey. He was a fighter. It was time to shake of this fatalistic view of life which had taken a hold of him and time to start going after what he wanted. No, what he needed. It was time to listen to Lorelai and Bon Iver. He could even hear Rory's voice in his head telling him that everyone had to get off the bathroom floor and out of their prom dress eventually. He wasn't just going to get out of his metaphorical prom dress, he was going to burn it. Suddenly disgusted at how pathetic he had been for the last few days, Tristan resolved to go see Rory and begin Operation: Win Back Mary. Sitting up and reaching for the phone, Tristan decided to call in the big guns. Paris Gellar.
Edited as of 13/11
