A/N: Thanks for the reviews and support guys! I hope you like their "date!"

Rory stood in front of her closet and debated on what to wear. After trying on a few selections she picked a simple dark blue dress that fell to her knees, and hugged her body in all the right places. Satisfied with her outfit, Rory went about putting on a touch of make up and left her hair down. She grabbed a coat and scarf, December was just around the corner and it was getting cold out. She locked the door behind her and took off to the Hartford Stage.

Tristan looked at his watch, it was 7:15, and Rory would be arriving any minute. He was excited to see her outside of work, even though it was just as friends. He stopped at a local coffee shop and picked up a couple of cups to go, predicting that they would need them since the play didn't start till 8, and would probably go past 10 with an intermission. Rory noticed him standing out front and approached him.

"Hi," she smiled.

"Hey, you find the place ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I've been here before with my grandmother, she's really into musicals." She explained.

"Oh, I guess I didn't think about it. Here, I got this for you." He said as he handed her the cup of coffee.

"My hero. Thanks, that was nice of you."

"Not a problem, I thought we'd be up late." He smirked.

"And there is that arrogant 16 year old making an appearance." She responded and rolled her eyes.

"Oh Mary, I was just kidding. Come on, let's go get our tickets."

They walked up to the box office and picked up 2 press passes, they entered the theatre and found their seats. Tristan watched as Rory took off her coat and folded it over her seat. She looked beautiful, and the blue in her dress seemed to bring out the blue in her eyes even more. He wondered how one person could be so smart, nice, and gorgeous, sometimes the universe was just not fair.

"Wow, you look absolutely stunning." He told her.

"Thanks," she blushed. "You don't look half bad yourself." She complimented him.

He thought about making a smart remark, but decided it was better to drop it. "Seat's aren't too bad." He changed the subject instead.

"Yeah," She agreed, "These are definitely decent for being free. Writing for the newspaper has its perks."

"Indeed, and I'm not even the one writing the story." Although he would have bought a ticket just to come be with her tonight, he thought to himself.

"Must be nice for you, considering this is my first article." She said.

"Are you nervous?"

"A little, I mean, I have the experience, and writing a review of a play isn't too difficult, but I still want to make a good impression. Once while I was writing for the Yale Daily News, I wrote this review of the ballet and let me tell you, it was not a nice, but it was honest. Just a little brutal."

"Rory Gilmore, dazzling reporter and hater of ballerinas?"

"I didn't hate them, they just weren't good. I'm not one to judge, since I dropped out of Miss Patty's ballet school, we all know I have zero athletic ability, but I do know what a good performance is supposed to look like. If I could take it back I probably would, the entire ballet ensemble was pissed off at me."

"Ha, I would've liked to see that. Not that I would want them to be mad at you. It just sounds funny."

"I can assure you, it was not." She pouted.

Tristan looked at her, with her big blue eyes looking up into his, and her lip all pouty. What he would give to be able to kiss her. Maybe in time.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he lied. "The show's about to start we should pay attention."

"Ok." That was weird, she thought to herself.

The first act went on, and Rory thought the actors were wonderful and that the director did a fantastic job. Then intermission came.

"So," Tristan started, "has this been anything like the time I was supposed to be in a Shakespeare play with you?"

"Ha! Not at all! You left, and Paris had to play Romeo!"

"That couldn't have been fun."

"No, it wasn't at all. You know how she was in High School. She hated me. I felt the wrath of you leaving that night. Even though afterwards it was a lot better between Paris and I."

"I'm sorry I had to go. I wouldn't have if it was up to me." He apologized.

"I know. I just think kissing you would have been a better option than kissing Paris." She admitted. Oh my god, did I just say that out loud?

"I knew you had a thing for me Mary." He winked at her.

"I see your ego hasn't changed much." She retorted. "I'm surprised it fits in this room."

"I'm just teasing you."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"I sleep just fine, how about you?"

Rory thought about the dream that interrupted her sleep the other night and blushed.

"Shh, intermission is over." She avoided the question.

They sat silently and watched the rest of the play. They both enjoyed themselves and thought everything was well done. The lighting and sound went off without a hitch, and the actors knew exactly what they were doing. It was a spectacular performance, especially for it's debut. Afterwards, they exited the theatre and stopped out front looking at each other.

Tristan shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. "So…" He trailed off.

"So…" She echoed.

"You want to take a walk? Grab a coffee?" He suggested.

"I don't know Tristan. It's getting late." She checked the time. It was 10:30. She hadn't talked to William all day, and was feeling a little guilty. He knew she was coming to the play tonight, but didn't know she was going to be meeting up with anyone. "All right," she conceded, "I guess one more cup wouldn't hurt."

"I'll lead the way." He took her down the street to a Starbucks, as it was the only coffee shop in the area that was still open. They ordered drinks to go, and continued their stroll around the block.

"So what was Military School like?" She asked him.

"It was tough, I'm not going to lie. I had to get up at 4:30 every morning, make my bed, and make sure everything else in the room was tidy in case they inspected it. I was required to run 5 miles every weekday, in addition to other physical exercises. It definitely put some perspective on what was important in life. I used to think my life was so difficult, with me not getting along with my parents, or being rejected by the one girl in school that I had a crush on." He smiled at her. "But being in the academy, and having the physical demands and what they expect of you in class work, it was a lot more difficult than being the King of Chilton. Not to mention some of the people that I met and became friends with had much more difficult lives than I did. It made me appreciate everything I had taken for granted." He explained.

"Wow." She had never heard him be so humble. "It sounds like it was tough but it did you some good."

"Yeah, I'm glad I went and had the experiences I did. There's only one thing I regret about it."

"What's that?" She wondered.

"Leaving you behind." He admitted in all seriousness.

Her heart skipped a beat, before she recovered. "Come on, you know I was just another Mary to conquer." Or at least she kept telling herself that.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." He reflected her earlier statement and grinned.

"Very funny Tristan." She smiled back at him.

He walked her back to her car, she unlocked it and he opened the door for her.

"I had a nice time tonight." He told her.

"I did too, it was nice having company. Typically I have always had to do these assignments on my own."

"Well I owed you, for missing the last play, and from the looks of it, I owe you a lot more considering you got stuck with Paris. I really am sorry." He apologized.

"You don't owe me anything. Paris and I are friends now. High school is all behind us."

"Yeah." He said, although he still felt that there were some parts of high school that were still with him, like his feelings for her.

"Thanks for coming tonight Tristan."

"Anytime, Mary." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Drive safe."

"I will. Goodnight." She said.

"Night." He replied.

She got in her car, and he closed the door for her. As she drove away she saw him wave. Her cheek was still warm from where he kissed it. On the drive home, her cell phone rang. She checked the ID, it was William. She pressed ignore and continued her drive. It can wait till tomorrow, she thought. She wanted to reflect on what a great evening she had, mostly due to Tristan.