Tristan woke up to a loud crash. He jumped at the sound and rolled right off of the couch. When he heard giggling he looked up to see Lorelai coming down the stairs. He glared at her.

"That was not funny."

"Oh yes it was. Trust me," she said, still laughing.

"What was that noise?" he asked.

"Sounds like it came from the kitchen. Rory!" she yelled.

"Yea?"

"What are you doing?"

"Umm…" she said her voice sounding incredibly guilty. "Promise you won't be mad?"

Tristan and Lorelai looked at each other before heading directly into the kitchen. There they found Rory, covered in flour and a huge mess on the floor. Tristan couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked in her pajamas and a 'Kiss the Chef' apron on. She had flour all of herself. When she saw him smiling she stuck her lower lip out in a pout.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked.

"I was trying to cook breakfast," she defended. "I watched Dad do it while he was here, and I read the instructions. But it just wasn't working out, and then as I was trying to carry the skillet over to the sink…I kind of dropped it."

"Honey," Lorelai said. "You know that we can't cook, there's no use trying."

"I thought it would be nice."

"It would have been," Tristan said covering up another smile. "Hey, it's the thought that counts."

"I guess we'll just go to Luke's for breakfast then," she sighed.

"I can't join you," Lorelai said. "I agreed to have brunch with Grandma today."

"What? Tristan is the world coming to an end?"

"Oh be quiet," Lorelai said. "She tricked me into it."

"Alright. I guess it's just you and me Tristan," Rory smiled.

"Why don't you…go get cleaned up and I'll start in here," he suggested.

"Alright," she grinned before heading up to take a shower.

"So, Rory told me that you two are going to have a talk today," Lorelai smiled, leaning down to help him clean up.

"Yea," he nodded. "I don't know what it's about though."

"Hmm, we'll I'm sure you'll be pleased," she said.

Tristan looked up at her questioningly but she just shook her head indicating she wasn't going to say anymore. Sighing he went back to cleaning up.

By the time that Rory came back down he'd finished the kitchen and Lorelai had left. He grabbed the extra set of clothes that he'd stashed in Rory's room and headed to shower himself. When he was finished they walked to Luke's hand in hand. As they ate their breakfast they talked briefly about Brooke and school and other trivial things and Tristan wondered if she'd decided against the 'talk'.

"Let's go for a walk," she suggested after they were finished. He followed her and they walked in silence. A few minutes later they came to a secluded bridge and Rory took a seat on the edge, letting her feet dangle. When he sat beside her she didn't immediately say anything so he just waited patiently.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately," she said.

"About?" he asked when she didn't continue.

"Me. You," she shrugged. "My feelings."

His heart started pounding and he knew that this was the moment. She had decided if she wanted to be with him. He knew that the words that soon would be coming out of her mouth would either break his heart or make him incredibly happy. She was going to tell them if they were going to remain friends or if they could venture into something more.

"Okay," he said. "And what have you concluded."

"You have done so much for me these past few weeks Tristan and I'm not sure if I can ever repay you," she started.

"You don't have to repay me," he insisted. "I wanted to be here for you, I wanted to help you."

"I know," she nodded. "You showed me what kind of guy you really are. You're not the arrogant ass that I thought you were, you're so much more than that. Do you remember our kiss?"

"Every day," he replied.

"Yea," she smiled faintly. "I think that's what started everything. The night that everything happened, before it all happened, I was dancing with Eric. I remember thinking that there was nothing between us, no spark. He didn't make me feel…nervous or excited. It was like dancing with a friend. I wanted the butterflies, the racing heartbeat, the excitement. The kind of feelings I had that night with you on the piano bench."

"I didn't know I made you feel like that," he said.

"You did. And I ignored it. I pushed it all to the back of my mind and wouldn't let it surface. Dean and I had just split and I needed to deal with that. Then, I don't know, you were still…the King of Chilton Tristan. The kind of guy that I could see breaking my heart so I never dealt with my feelings for you," she explained. "But you've showed me what kind of guy you really are. You let me see the real you. The sweet and caring guy that will do anything for me. That night after…after Eric, you told me that you'd tell me one day why you were being so nice to me. I know you didn't want to push me into anything and I really appreciate it because I wasn't ready then. But now I am."

"You want me to tell you why I changed?" he asked.

"Yea."

"Okay," he nodded. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm in love with you."

Rory looked at him in shock, obviously not having expected that to come out of his mouth. Her mouth was opening and closing and she slightly resembled a fish at the moment. He would have laughed, but he was too nervous about her reaction.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," she said quickly. "I'm sorry, I was just shocked. I mean, I thought you liked me, but I didn't realize…I didn't know that…"

"That I loved you?" he asked. She nodded. "I do. I'm not just saying it. I fell in love with you Rory. You're so different than any girl I've ever been with. You're special. You make me want to be a better person, different than the type of guy I used to be."

"So you're in love with me," she said, obviously still a little surprised.

"I am," he said. "I'm sorry if this makes you feel uncomfortable."

"It's fine," she said. "I just didn't realize. I mean, I like you Tristan, but…"

"I don't expect you to say it back," he smiled. "If you ever tell me that you love me, then I want it to be because you feel that way, not because you think it's what I want to hear."

It was his turn to be surprised because all of a sudden she leaned forward, grabbed his shoulders and kissed him. It took him a second to realize what had happened but when he did he returned the kiss with equal fervor.

"Well," Tristan said once they pulled back. "That was unexpected."

"I can't tell you that I love you," Rory said. "But I can tell you that I like you. I want to try a relationship with you. And I think that I'll be able to fall in love with you."

Tristan grinned. "Does that mean I can kiss you whenever I want?"

"Oh yea."

"Great," he smiled, pulling her in for another kiss.

They spent several hours sitting on that bridge alternating between long kisses and talking. By the time they got back to the house Lorelai was already home. She took one look at them and grinned. "So I guess that means no more sleepovers?"

Rory and Tristan looked at each other and laughed.

And that's it guys. I have some ideas for a sequal, but I haven't started yet. Until I completley finish it, I won't post it.