Saturday night finally came and the girls (Paris, Rory, Lorelai, and Lane, who had left the twins with her mother) were at a bar, laughing and ogling the male dancer who was gyrating his naughty bits right in front of Paris, who was surprisingly laughing along with everyone else. Once the thong-clad gentleman was satisfied she put enough singles down the front of his barely-there garment, he left, walking toward another eager table. Paris turned toward the table, her cheeks flushed, fanning herself.

"Well, that was quite interesting."

Lorelai chuckled and shook her head, "And the award for the understatement of the evening goes to Paris Gellar, soon to be Huntsburger!" She raises her glass at the blonde woman, and downs the rest of her martini in one gulp.

"It's a wonder that boy can walk straight with that thing dragging between his legs," Paris said non-chalantly, grabbing her glass and taking a sip of her rum and coke.

Rory spit her drink out of her mouth, laughing so hard, the liquid wetting Paris in the process.

"Great, thanks Gilmore. Nothing like showering the bride," she said sarcastically as she wiped her face off.

Rory calmed herself down as much as she could, trying to sound sincere, "Sorry Paris." She then proceeded to burst out laughing along with Lorelai and Lane.

"I have to say," Lane slurred, having downed at least three of her vodka and tonics, "the gentlemen in this establishment are quite well equipped." She nodded vigorously as she picked up her glass again. "I mean, not to take anything away from Zac, he's perfect just the way he is, but OH MY GOD!"

"Yes, yes. No one-inch wonders in here! This is a classy joint!" exclaimed Lorelai, pounding her fist on the table, making the drinks wobble.

"Hey! That's alcohol abuse!" Rory chastised her mother, wiping some of her drink off the table.

"Okay. What do you all say we move this to Lukes and get us some coffee, where we can shower Paris with gifts? "Lorelai asked an evil glint in her eye.

"I say, lead on McDuff," Rory said, standing up on unsteady legs as she finished off her drink. The girls grabbed their belongings and headed out the door, where the limousine was waiting for them right in front.

As they got comfortable in the car, Paris said, "You know, I never understood the ritual of someone who's about to be married going out and watching as another person strips down to practically nothing and gyrates there goods right in front of their face, but now I feel it's an important ritual. Seeing those hot, sweaty, hard bodies dancing and grinding in front of me just reminded me that I will only be seeing one body gyrating in front of me from now on."

The other three in the car grimaced.

"Way to paint a picture," Lane grumbled.

"Yeah, Paris, that's not what I want swimming around in my head along with the alcohol," Rory said, her nosed scrunched up.

Paris rolled her eyes, "Oh please, Rory. It's not like it's nothing you never saw before. Remember, you dated Logan first."

Rory nodded, "And yet, I still do not recall him gyrating at any time in our relationship."

Paris grinned, "Really?"

"Yes, Paris. I guess he saved that little routine for you," Rory winked at the girl.

Paris started giggling to herself, causing Rory to eye her suspiciously.

"What's so funny?"

Paris looked up, mirth in her eyes, "Oh I was just thinking about things. It's funny how things turn out, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

Paris shrugged, "Who would have thought Logan and I would ever have gotten together? Who would've imagined that Logan was, in fact, related to Tristan DuGray? Who would have thought that any of us would be in this situation?" She laughed again, harder, slapping her leg.

Rory laughed softly, not really understanding the humor in the situation. She wondered what her friend was getting at.

"I mean," Paris said, trying to catch a breath, "back in high school, I had this silly little crush on Tristan, who only had eyes for you."

Rory rolled her eyes, starting to get quite annoyed with Paris.

"Then we wind up friends; go to Yale, where you go back to the boy who you clung to in high school so you didn't have to face your feelings for Tristan in the first place."

"Hey! That's not …"

"Then, lo and behold, Logan Huntsburger comes waltzing into your life. He's everything Tristan was, only older."

Rory looked at Paris, her brows furrowed, "What do you mean?"

Paris shrugged, waving her hand in dismissal, "Well, the similarities at that time were quite noticeable. I mean, they are both blonde; they are both rich; they were both playboys; they both loved to do stupid things. Granted, Logan isn't as tall as Tristan, but that's the only real difference."

Rory stared at the blonde, angered at what she was implying, "Are you saying that I used Logan as some sort of Tristan substitute?"

Paris' glazed eyes looked over at Rory, "Come on Rory, it makes sense. You took the chance with Logan that you were just too scared to take with Tristan."

"How can you say that? You know everything I went through with Logan? Why would I-"

"Because you didn't let yourself before," Paris interrupted.

Lorelai jumped up and sat in between the two girls, "Okay! That's enough talk of the groom and his cousin," she laughs, "so Lane, how is Zach and the twins?" she asked, hoping beyond hope she could steer the conversation away from dangerous territory.

Lane's head was back resting against the leather seat of the car, her mouth open and her eyes screwed closed. She was out cold.

"Right," Lorelai grumbled, then put on a fake smile and turned back to Paris, "So Paris, what kind of dress are you wearing?"

Paris smiled as she turned more toward Lorelai, excitedly explaining her dress in full detail. Rory sat back against the seat and looked out the window, Paris' words echoing in her ear.

She had loved Logan, she knew that. How could her friend say those things? Now that she thought about it, yes they looked similar, and acted similar. Hell, they both decided to brand her with their very own nicknames for her. But that wasn't the reason she was attracted to Logan, was it?

~*~

Meanwhile, in another limousine, Colin and Finn were plotting their next stop while Tristan and Logan were pouring more champagne into glasses. They'd been to two strip clubs already, being thrown out of the last one because Finn couldn't keep his hands to himself. The four of them had left, leaving the rest of the guys who came out to celebrate there on their own.

Tristan got up, crouched over of course, and handed two glasses to Colin and Finn and sat back down, grabbing one for himself and Logan, handing it over to him. He then raised his glassed in the air.

"Okay, your attention please! Colin! Finn! Shut up!" The two men looked over at him, stopping their critiques of the various dancers they had seen, and looked at Tristan. "Good. Now, I'd like to propose a toast. Logan, I never thought I'd see the day that you would actually be getting married. Add that to the fact that you are marrying Paris Gellar, and you've got a Ripley's moment." Logan chuckled and looked down before looking back up at him, "Here's to your last hurrah!!! I've never seen you happier, so here is to you," he said, raising his glass higher as the other three brought their glasses in, clinking them together, then they all took a drink collectively, Finn swallowing the entire glass in one gulp, then letting out a belch.

Tristan rolled his eyes and looked away from the two permanent adolescents, who were back to their assessment of the entertainment and looked at Logan. He patted him on the shoulder and smiled.

"You look happy man."

Logan nodded, smiling, "I am happy, Tris. Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am about it but Paris is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Tristan chuckled, "Now that's something you don't hear every day." He drained his glass and set it down on the side, sitting back and getting comfortable.

Logan nudged his cousin's arm lightly, "Come on, she's not that bad."

Tristan looked at him and sighed, shaking his head, "Man, you are in love."

Logan laughed out loud, "Damn right."

Tristan grinned, "Nah, seriously, I am happy for you. You deserve it."

"Thanks, man," Logan said, giving his cousin a serious man hug, then sitting back against the seat. There was a moment of silence between them before Tristan spoke up.

"So, I guess having Rory around is a little awkward," Tristan said, trying to not look nervous about bringing up Logan's ex.

Logan shrugged, "Yeah, at first I was a little nervous when Paris told me she would be her Maid of Honor. It is kind of weird; I mean I did propose to Rory-"

Tristan's head shot up, "You proposed to her?"

Logan nodded, "Yeah, before her graduation, in front of the entire Hartford elite. Her grandparents threw her a party and I decided to pop the question. She said she'd think about it. I knew she was pulling away from me though. "

"Why do you say that?" Tristan asked, thoroughly interested and immensely jealous that his cousin even had been that close to Rory to propose to her.

Logan shook his head, "We seemed to be going in different directions. I was about to move across country, she was going on the campaign trail. It just wouldn't have worked. I have to say though, she is the reason I'm where I am right now. If Rory hadn't come into my life and make me grow up, I would still be chasing mindless women, "he looked over at his long-time friends who were singing a song he couldn't recognize at the top of their lungs, "like them."

Tristan laughed softly and looked down. He understood exactly what Logan was talking about. When Tristan was in military school, he was forced to look at himself and the stupid decisions he'd been making. One day, while he was scrubbing the CO's toilets because he got caught putting plastic wrap over the seat as a prank, he realized that this is not someone who deserved someone like Rory. So he changed. He didn't think he'd ever see her again, but the thought of her and what she thought of him made him want to be a better person.

"Rory has a way of getting to you," he said softly, his head turning to look out the darkened window.

Logan looked over at his cousin, noticing his expression. In that moment, he knew that his cousin's feelings for Rory were still there, still present, and still very real.

"So, were you guys friends in high school?" he asked non-chalantly, taking a sip from his glass.

Tristan smiled and shook his head, "I wouldn't call us friends, no. I kind of tormented her from the first day she came to Chilton."

Logan chuckled, "Knowing Rory, I bet she didn't take too kindly to that."

"No, she didn't. She basically let me know in no uncertain terms that I was not worth her time."

Logan smiled, "Why do I get the feeling you didn't get the hint?"

Tristan laughed, "Not at all. She just made it a challenge." His smile turned down a bit, "Then it became more than that. I wanted to get to know her. I just didn't know how to do that. I was the King of Chilton. How do I tell a girl that I genuinely care about her? So, I decided on childish pranks to get her attention."

Logan chuckled, "I'm sure that worked like a charm."

Tristan shook his head, "No, just made her resolve that much stronger. There was one time though; I thought things were looking up." He looked up at Logan, who seemed genuinely interested, then over at the other two, who were looking through the phone book for another strip club to go to. "We were at a party, and my latest girl-of-the-minute decided to dump me in front of everyone. I went to hide away from everyone and Rory found me. Seems she had just gotten dumped by Bagboy...um...Danny or Donald-"

"Dean?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, we had a real conversation for the first time and then I kissed her. She ran away crying."

Logan chuckled, "Now there's an ego boost."

Tristan laughed, "Wasn't my proudest moment."

"What happened after that?"

Tristan shrugged, "Things were weird between us, but I thought we came to a friendly understanding. That was until she got back together with Dean and told him she hated me. I knew she didn't mean it, even at the time, but it still hurt like hell to hear. Then I got into trouble and shipped out. I got a chance to say goodbye though. Wanted to do so much more but Bagboy was standing not far off." Tristan rolled his eyes.

Logan was quiet for a moment. "Sounds like you guys missed the boat to me." When Tristan looked at him quizzically, he continued, "She didn't grow up like us, man. Her mother made sure of that by moving her to Stars Hollow. You and me, we were the exact reasons Lorelai took her away from all of that. She didn't want her daughter subjected to the Hartford elite. She wanted Rory to have a normal, happy life. Rory saw in you, and in me too, the very thing her mother tried to shield her from. Maybe at the time you were around, she just wasn't ready to deal with that."

Tristan nodded, "Well, then what do you think changed with you?"

Logan shrugged, "She was older, maybe a bit wiser. I know she had just gotten dumped, in front of me and every other eligible bachelor in Hartford by Dean. Maybe she was just ready for something different. Maybe she was intrigued enough to give it a chance. Now that I think about it, it makes sense."

"What does?"

"That she was so willing to keep it casual in the beginning. That she was so adventurous. She felt like she passed that up before, so she embraced it. Granted, she got into a lot of trouble for it, but I can see now that she was just trying to take a hold of something she let go of."

"What's that?"

Logan looked straight at him, "You, man."

Tristan's eyes got big as he looked at his cousin.

"I'm not saying she didn't love me. I know she did. I loved her too. But now, knowing what you guys went through together, I can see what attracted her to me in the first place. I was her do-over for you."

Tristan sat back, trying to absorb what his cousin was saying. He was scared to hope that what Logan was saying was the truth. She never really did anything to try to fit in with anyone else at school. He would love to believe that Rory had had feelings for him all those years ago. He just didn't want to be let down if it turned out that it was all a lie.

He was torn out of his thoughts by Finn, who tried standing up in the car, only to hit his head on the roof.

"Bloody hell!" the drunk Aussie exclaimed, rubbing his head, then looked over to Tristan and Logan, "Mates, I think we need to find another establishment, where we can observe the beautiful female form" he crawled over to the mini bar and grimaced at the selection, "and get some good scotch!"

Logan and Tristan laughed and shook their heads at him, then noticed Colin sprawled out on the floor of the limousine, his mouth open and drool slipping down his chin.

"Looks like Colin is calling it a night," Logan deadpanned.

Tristan laughed as his cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket and settling back in his seat again, he looked at the display and smiled. He was glad Paris insisted they all exchange cell phone numbers. That meant he'd have Rory's. What she didn't know was that he had taken a picture of her while she was looking out the window of the sitting room onto the backyard. The sun was streaming in, hitting her in such a way that it made her look angelic. He opened the phone and put it to his ear.

"Why, Mary, are you missing me tonight?"

"Tristan, what have I told you about feeding your ego after midnight?" she said, and he could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well, we're in our limousine, and Paris just decided that all she wants is to see her fiancé. So is there any way you guys can meet us at my mom's? We were going to go to Luke's for some coffee, but Lane's passed out cold."

"Yeah, Colin isn't doing any better on our end, I'm afraid."

"Well then, why don't you guys come on over? We can drop Lane off at her house first and then meet you there."

"Sounds good."

He hung up with her and informed the other occupants of the car where they were going. Logan got a huge smile on his face when he heard that Paris had been missing him. They decided to drop Colin off at his apartment and then head over. They didn't feel it was right to just leave him in the car.

An hour passed before the limousine holding the guys pulled up to the Gilmore-Danes home. Tristan and Logan were the only ones left, as Finn decided to call it a night as well.

They were coming up the walkway when Paris stormed out of the door, jumping into Logan's arms. He stumbled a bit, letting out a whoosh as the air was almost completely let out of him by her.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Paris said, her head tucked into Logan's neck.

"Me too," Logan whispered, his hands sliding tightly around her middle. He kissed her temple and closed his eyes.

Tristan felt as though he was intruding by the way they were holding each other. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down at his feet, then turned and walked into the house, leaving the two lovebirds alone. As he walked up the steps onto the porch, Rory came into view, standing in the doorway. She looked past him and smiled softly. Her gaze then moved to him, and to his surprise, her smile grew just a bit.

"Well it looks like you guys are still in one piece."

Tristan laughed, "It seems as though Colin and Finn's all-nighters are a thing of the past."

Rory sighed dramatically, "Ahh, the end of an era."

"Did you guys have fun?" he asked as she moved to the side, motioning for him to come in. She closed the door behind her and they walked to the couch.

"Yeah, it was fun. I think I've seen enough men in thongs to last me a lifetime."

"Awe, and that's what I was going to wear to the Rehearsal Dinner," Tristan teased.

"Well, in that case, I think I can take one more, " Rory laughed. "Mom decided to meet Luke at the apartment above the diner. He had planned on staying there since we were all going to crash here for the night. I guess she decided she wanted to be with him."

"Seems she's not the only one that couldn't stand to be away from her man," Tristan looked over his shoulder out the window to the porch, where Logan and Paris were cuddled up together on the swing.

Rory turned and looked at the same thing, smiling.

"I've been around them a full week now and it still amazes me," she said.

"Yeah, well I guess you can't help who you fall in love with," he said, his eyes drifting from the window to the woman next to him, whom he noticed was closer to him than before.

Her eyes looked down from the window and over to him, noticing that both of them had moved closer to each other as they looked out the window. She could feel his breath on her cheek. Her eyes met his, and she saw that same look he'd given her the first time they'd seen each other again.

Tristan's breathing became shallow, his eyes moving from her eyes to her full lips. The urge to kiss her was more overwhelming in that moment than when they were on that piano bench. He leaned forward slowly, giving her more than enough time to pull away. When he realized she was moving toward him, he closed the distance, his lips finding hers.