A/N: Hey guys, thanks for the reviews and such! I know this took a bit longer than anticipated but I have the next chapter written so I will upload it as soon as I get a chance!
Disclaimer: The usual
Tristan and Rory pulled into the driveway as Lorelei was walking out onto the front porch.
"Hey kid! What are you doing here?" Rory and Tristan walked up the steps.
"We were going to go to Luke's for food. Do you want to join us?"
"Oh, I can't. There was an emergency at the Inn. Something involving Michele and Sookie and cake batter…I don't know. I was just leaving to get more details." She laughed nervously. Rory glanced at her, knowing something was up.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I have to get going though. It was nice seeing you again Tristan." She smiled and hurried off to the jeep.
"I'm sorry, I have no idea what that was all about." Rory turned to Tristan as she opened the door. He laughed.
"It's ok. I'm sure that the cake batter emergency needs her attention." Tristan took a look around. "So this is your house huh?"
"Yeah, this is where I grew up."
"I like it. It's very…you." Rory laughed. He analyzed all the pictures on the fireplace. "Ahh, look at you!" Rory moved around to see the picture he was holding.
"Oh gosh, that's from my fourth birthday. Mom took me to the circus and insisted that we wear pink boas and crowns."
"Your mom looks so young."
"That's because she was…twenty in that picture."
"Twenty?" Rory nodded.
"She had me when she was sixteen. Of course, this was not what my grandparents had in mind. She ran away from Hartford and never looked back."
"But I thought you and your grandparents were pretty close."
"Yeah, but it wasn't always that way. I didn't even know them until I was sixteen. I needed money for Chilton and my mom had nowhere else to go. We had been planning my whole life for Harvard and Chilton was a chance to get there. She had to ask my grandparents, which killed her. That's why we have Friday night dinners, as a way to pay for my education. But slowly, things got better. They still have their disappointments, and Mom still has her reasons for leaving but it's getting better."
"Wow, and your dad?" Rory thought a bit. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want."
"No, it's fine. Dad was someone who tried, but always seemed to let us down. He was never around when I was growing up. He'd call sometimes. He and my mom actually got married in Paris a couple months ago, but it was a mistake and ended shortly afterwards."
"Really?" Rory nodded. "What makes you say that?"
"Luke and my mom were engaged, but Luke found out he had a twelve year old daughter and he freaked out. Mom, after waiting for so long, didn't want to wait anymore. She knew that Dad had always wanted to marry her and she just jumped. But it wasn't Luke. I'm pretty sure they still love each other but both mom and Luke fervently deny it." Tristan just stared at her. "Wow, I'm sorry, that was way too much information."
"No, I like knowing this stuff. It's good to know it's not just my family that's got issues." He said with a laugh.
"Trust me, it's not just you." She smiled. "So, are you hungry?"
"I could eat."
"Perfect, then let's go to Luke's."
"Wait. Aren't you going to show me your room?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and licking his lips. In all reality, he was honestly curious.
"Do you want to see my room?" He nodded. She pointed the way and he followed eagerly. "Here we are." She said as she opened the door. He took a look around, gazing into her past life.
"It feels like another lifetime doesn't it?" He asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, coming in here. It feels like a completely different world." She didn't say anything so he turned to look at her. "Ror?"
"Yeah. It does." She said, white as a sheet.
"Hey, are you ok?" He asked, grabbing her upper arm.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She was going catatonic.
"No you're not. Here. Sit down." He pulled her towards the foot of the bed. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just…" she struggled to find the words as the realizations swept over her. "I'm done with college. I'm an adult now. I have to start a new life. I have to find a job." She was suddenly finding it very hard to breathe.
"Rory, calm down."
"I can't. I can't breathe." She was having a panic attack so Tristan did the only thing he could think of to do.
"Close your eyes." He commanded, taking control. His tone had taken her so completely off-guard that she followed orders. He began massaging her palms with his thumbs. "Relax." He whispered. Once she had started breathing normally again, he kissed her slowly. It was a comforting kiss, one that made it seem like everything was going to be ok.
"Stop thinking." He pushed her hair behind her ear and whispered. "Everything is going to be fine." She opened her eyes.
"Wow. You are really good at that."
"I've had my fair share of panic attacks." He said with his trademark smirk.
"No, I mean, you are really good at that." She pulled him closer and kissed him again slowly, teasingly slow. Tristan let out a soft moan as he got more comfortable on the bed. After a few minutes, Rory's stomach growled, reminding them why they were here.
"Food." She said as she pulled away.
"How hungry are you?" He asked. Rory shot him a look. He groaned and sat up again. She locked eyes with him.
"Thank you. For earlier."
"You are very welcome." He said with a smile. "Come on, let's get you fed." She rubbed her stomach and walked out of the bedroom.
OOOOO
Tristan and Rory walked into Luke's and sat down at the counter.
"Rory?"
"Lane!"
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm officially done with school so Tristan and I came to celebrate. Tristan, this is my best friend Lane. Lane, this is Tristan."
"It's nice to finally meet you." Lane said as she shook his hand.
"You too." He said as Luke walked out from the kitchen.
"Lane, order up. Who are you?" He asked as he looked Tristan up and down.
"Tristan DuGray." Rory grabbed his hand.
"Be nice Luke, he's with me."
"What happened to Logan?" Tristan couldn't stifle his laugh.
"He isn't in the picture anymore." Rory moves just as fast as her mother does when moving on, Luke thought bitterly, but instantly regretted it. This wasn't her fault. "Tristan and I went to Chilton together but we met again when Mom and I went down to Mia's wedding in North Carolina."
"Mia got married?" Rory nodded.
"Didn't Mom tell you?"
"No. Your mom hasn't been in here since…well for a long time." Rory handed a menu to Tristan, but never took her eyes off Luke. What was he saying?
"Luke!" Kirk yelled, breaking the tension at the counter. He went off to see what the trouble was, thankful for the distraction.
"You had no idea your mom stopped going to Luke's, did you?" Tristan asked from behind a menu.
"No, I didn't."
"That explains the cake batter situation doesn't it?"
"I mean, how could she not tell me she stopped eating at Luke's? We've eaten here everyday since I can remember." She said, completely ignoring his previous sentence.
"How long has it been?"
"She broke things off with Luke a year ago."
"Whoa."
"Yeah."
"So, what does this mean?"
"I don't know."
OOOOO
Tristan and Rory had crashed at the apartment after eating at Luke's. He had insisted on staying, especially when he found out Paris was at Doyle's. He hadn't trusted the place enough to leave her there for the night alone. She stirred awake when she heard Tristan making a small noise. She removed her head from his chest and watched him. His face was contorting and he seemed to be writhing underneath her. Sweat was dripping from his temples and he looked like he was in pain. She jumped off him.
"No," he muttered, still asleep. "No." He shook his head.
"Tristan?" She whispered. Please wake up, she thought. Please? She didn't want to shake him, who knew what he would do, so she decided to say his name again. "Tristan!" He bolted up and looked around, realizing it was a dream. He slowly sat up and turned so his feet were on the floor and took a deep breath. With his elbows on his knees, he ran his hand through his short hair. It was then that he saw Rory standing to his left. She looked terrified.
"It's ok." He said, reaching out for her. Rory didn't move. "I'm fine," he said laughing at her, "Come here." He nodded towards the bed. She walked over and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close, although it was more to comfort herself than him. "Did I scare you?" He asked, simultaneously kissing the hair on the top of her head. She nodded.
"Your heart is racing." She noticed, pressing her ear to his chest.
"My heart always races when you're around." He said with a smirk, returning to his smooth self and acting like nothing had happened.
"Don't change the subject." She said concerned. He sighed and let her go.
"We have to talk about this don't we?" She nodded. "What do you want to know?"
"What were you dreaming about?"
"This time it was the accident. I turned around and there was an explosion and searing pain shooting through my body."
"This time?"
"It differs, you just saw the worst of it, don't worry, they aren't all that bad."
"Tristan." She said, her voice showing her pity for him. He closed his eyes; it was the look he hadn't wanted to see.
"Please, don't look at me like that. Remember when I told you I was affected?" He asked.
"Yeah."
"This is what I was referring to."
"You made it seem like it wasn't that big of deal. I never realized how…" She trailed off.
"That's because it isn't a big deal." He said. "After awhile you get used to it, well, you learn to live with it. This is what it's going to be like for the rest of my life."
"Have you tried therapy or…"
"Yes." He cut her off. "Therapy helped lessen the intensity, but I still had them every night so my psychiatrist gave me sleeping pills. They just made it impossible for me to wake up, which was almost scarier than the actual nightmares."
"I can imagine." Rory said. "So, you've had them every night since the accident? But I haven't experienced it yet and we've slept like this before."
"You've slept, I mostly just stay up and watch you." He admitted with a guilty smile. "I guess this time I actually fell asleep." He wrapped his arm around her and ran his hand over her shoulder. "I'm sorry I scared you. I should have told you before this, but I didn't want you to feel sorry for me."
"Tristan, we are in a relationship, which means you are going to have to share things like this with me. I know it's hard but I need to know this stuff." Tristan nodded, feeling like he was getting scolded.
"Yes ma'am." He raised his eyebrows and smiled a little, trying to get her to smile. She grinned and shook her head. She couldn't stay serious with him.
"So, now's your chance, what else haven't you told me." Tristan glanced at her. He pretended to ponder.
"Did I mention I'm falling in love you?" He asked. She froze. The magnitude of his words echoed in the silent room.
"Not yet. No." She said, shocked. He hadn't planned on telling her this information yet. In fact, he didn't even realize that he had said it until after it came out. Rory was still staring at him.
"You don't have to say it back." He said, surprising himself with how calm he was. "I wasn't expecting you to." She was going catatonic again. "Rory?"
"I'm falling for you too." She said quietly, Tristan almost missed what she said entirely.
"I'm sorry?" She smiled at him.
"I'm falling too." She said clearly this time.
"Well ok then." He said with a stupid grin on his face. "I guess now we've covered all our bases."
"Bases? I don't know that much about sports, but you mean like, first," She kissed him. "Second." She brushed her tongue across his bottom lip. "Third?" He groaned out a response. Rory giggled at her newfound audacity with him. There was something comforting in knowing that he felt the same about her. She wanted to tease him, which had never crossed her mind with anyone before. She straddled him and pushed him back down on the bed. "Wanna know a secret?" She asked.
"I think it's your turn, yes." He said, trying to maintain his cool. She leaned down and whispered into his good ear.
"You make me want to do very…"She shifted her weight, pressing herself into him. In return, he also got a perfect cleavage shot when she bent over to whisper in his ear. "Non-Mary things."
"Oh really?" He said, his voice never faltering, even at seeing her lust-filled eyes. "Like what?"
"Sometimes, when I'm all alone in bed and thinking of you, I get these feelings." She was playing this role to a T. Tristan couldn't believe his ears, but he was going with it. He nodded.
"Really?" She nodded. "What kind of feelings?" He said with a filthy glint in his eye.
"Dirty feelings. The kind that make it necessary for me to do," she paused as she ran a hand down her neck "certain things to myself." She whispered, watching Tristan gulp and close his eyes. They let the silence reign for a minute while Tristan processed what she was telling him.
"Will you show me?" He asked, softly. She glanced down at him. He saw the flick of uncertainty flash before her eyes but she recovered quickly. She nodded and moved off of him. She crawled under the covers, pulling them up to her chin. As she was removing her clothes, Tristan moved to the other side of the bed. Tristan had yet to see her naked, but that was fine with him. It left even more to the imagination. Once she was done, she glanced over at him.
"Kiss me?" Rory asked before she started. He smiled at how nervous she had become almost instantly. He moved over to her, nothing separating them but the comforter. She wrapped her fingers through his hair as he kissed her slowly, letting his tongue explore her mouth. He could feel the ease settle into her body as her stiff muscles relaxed. He pulled away and settled down next to her. She never opened her eyes as she went to work below the sheets. She started slowly at first, slipping into her rhythm. Her fingers rubbed over her engorged clit, dipped lower into her wet folds and back again.
Tristan watched as her face conveyed every emotion she was feeling. Never in a million years would he have thought that this was actually happening, although he had pictured himself here many times. Rory moaned, lost in her own ecstasy and Tristan, long forgotten, had to hold back from doing the same. But then came something that Tristan wasn't expecting. In the middle of her moaning came a name, his name. She was thinking about him. Tristan was so hard, it was painful. He felt slightly guilty for enjoying this as much as he did, but he couldn't pull his eyes away. Faster and faster she moved, coming closer and closer to the edge.
"Oh, Tristan, yes, ohhhhh, please, yes, yes, yes!" She came with a shout. Her body melted into the sheets. With a tired smile, she opened her eyes. Without saying a word, she moved over to him, finally letting him see all of her.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this," He said, his voice rough. "But I think that was better than sex." She put her finger on his mouth, silencing him.
"It's your turn." He grabbed her finger in his mouth, tasting the remnants of her. She laid him out on the bed. Her fingers moved to his shorts and quickly pulled them down, so that he was finally naked for her. She wrapped her small hand around his massive erection and she began to milk him. Her eyes never left his while she replaced her hand with her mouth. Instantly, Tristan's eyes closed and he began to moan her name over and over. She ran her tongue over his head, causing him to shiver.
"Mar…I'm" She nodded. That was all that he needed. He came with a hard shudder. Completely spent, Tristan slowly opened his eyes. "Thank you." She smiled and laid next to him, wrapping her legs in with his.
"I've never done that before, in front of anyone I mean." Tristan smiled. That knowledge made him feel important.
"If I had known you were going to do," he paused, "what you just did," she blushed, "I wouldn't have let you do all the work."
"Don't worry, you'll pay me back." She said with a wink.
