Chapter 24

He didn't know what he had been expecting from her, but he knew it wasn't this. Of all the possible reactions he'd envisioned, none of them involved her throwing herself into his arms. Most of the reactions had involved her smacking him for making her life so difficult. However, as surprised as he was, he wasn't about to stop her. He'd wanted to feel her in his arms since the moment he met her, and now that he had her there, he couldn't imagine letting her go.

She hadn't meant to react the way she did. She couldn't believe she had poked him like a complete idiot and then thrown herself at him. Despite her embarrassment, she couldn't bring herself to let go. She'd spent the better part of a year wishing he was home, and now he was. Not only was he here, he was here, holding her in his arms, clutching her with the same fervor she was clutching him. She didn't know what was going on, or why he was back in Connecticut, only that he was here, but she found herself realizing it didn't matter. She was just happy he was.

Tristan knew she would have to let go first, because he simply didn't have it in him, but it didn't seem like she was planning to anytime soon. He could feel her heart racing with the same excitement he knew his had accelerated. He shifted slightly so that he was leaning against the bookcase, allowing him to hold her tighter and use the bookcase for balance. He buried his face in her hair, inhaled the scent of her shampoo and sighed contented. "I have missed you so much, Rory." he murmured.

Rory shivered slightly as his voice vibrated against her the shell of her ear. She smiled the first real smile in months and clung tighter. "I've missed you too, Tristan," she said honestly. She wanted to stay like this forever, but she knew they couldn't. Obviously, they couldn't stand in the library hugging for the rest of the day. She felt her heart sink at the idea of letting go but ultimately decided she had to. She heard him groan audibly when she started to pull away.

Tristan pulled her back to him. "Just a moment longer," he said softly. He smiled when Rory simply let him draw her back into his arms. Taking one last deep breath of her, he released her and smiled widely as she looked at him happily.

She smiled as she realized that sometime between the first hug and the second, he'd dropped the book again. She reached down and plucked it off the floor and slipped it back onto the shelf, her arm brushing against him softly. She turned back to him, and she could tell by the look on his face he was expecting the Spanish Inquisition. "What are you doing here?" she finally asked.

Tristan sighed, unsure if he should tell her he knew everything or not. He gestured to one of the many places in the library that held chairs, "Let's sit," he said holding out his hand for her to take in his own.

Rory nodded and took the hand he offered. She allowed him to lead her to the chair and sat then smiled when he pulled his own in front of hers. "How have you been?"

Tristan sighed. "Good. Military school is hard. We get up way too early and work way too hard, but apparently they're grooming us for life," he said smirking.

Rory laughed. "Well, you didn't honestly think that military school was going to be the easiest place in the world, did you?"

Tristan shook his head. "Of course not," he answered honestly. He'd known from the minute he stepped on that plane to North Carolina, his life was going to suck from there on out. He'd never imagined that barely a year later, he'd be on another plane coming back to Connecticut for the sole purpose of seeing Rory Gilmore. "What about you? How have you been?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.

Rory nodded. "I've been ok," she lied.

Tristan sighed; he'd known she was going to say that. It would be too easy if he didn't have to pull it out of her, too easy if he didn't have to reveal he knew everything already. "That's good. I'm glad to hear that." He wanted to confront her, but there was no way he was going to spoil the moment they were having.

Rory smiled again. She couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled this much, and she had to admit it felt good. "So are you back for good or…"

"Just the weekend," Tristan answered sadly.

Rory's smile fell to a frown.

Tristan reached out and grabbed her hand. "But, I intend to make sure that by the time I leave you're sick of me."

Rory laughed. "Do you now?"

Tristan nodded. "Yes, I do. That is unless Dean will have a problem with it. I don't want to cause problems for the two of you…"

"Dean and I broke up."

Tristan feigned surprise. He, of course, already knew that. "You don't seem to upset about it."

Rory shrugged. "I'm not. We were growing apart. We weren't right for each other anymore; I knew that before you…"

"Before I what?" Tristan prodded.

"Before you left," she admitted. "I held on much longer than I should have because I didn't want to hurt him."

Tristan nodded. "Did that work?"

She shook her head smiling lightly. "Nope, I still hurt him, I just realized that not hurting him was less important than hurting myself."

Tristan nodded. "That makes sense."

Rory nodded and sighed as her phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her pocket and groaned. She shot an apologetic look his direction. "Sorry, it's Paris. She'll just keep calling."

Tristan held up his hands in surrender. He knew she was right. "Well then, by all means, answer it."

Rory smiled. "Thanks." She flipped her phone open and held it to her ear. "Hey, Paris."

"What are you doing Gilmore?"

"I'm sitting in the library, why?" she said purposely leaving Tristan out of it. If she knew he was there she'd have been there in a flash, and Rory was enjoying having her moment alone with him.

"Everyone's talking about how you shut Summer down this morning."

"I was there, Paris, I don't need a recap," she said bitterly. She still couldn't believe that Summer had actually grabbed her in the hallway.

"Well, aren't you feisty today? What's gotten into you?

Rory looked over at Tristan anxiously. She could tell he was trying not to listen but she knew it was unlikely that he was accomplishing it. "Can we talk about this later? I'm in the middle of something."

"What, did a puppy wander in there that you have to go kick?" she snapped sarcastically.

Rory laughed. "Yes, that's exactly it. You know how I feel about puppies, they must be destroyed." She said before hanging up her phone and turning her attention back to Tristan. "Sorry about that."

"No problem." He was curious as to why she hadn't told Paris he was there. Hell, he was curious as to why he hadn't told Paris he was there. "Why must all puppies be destroyed?" he added inquiringly.

Rory shook her head. "It's not important."

He nodded and watched as she looked at her watch. "Tired of me already?"

"Huh?"

He pointed at her wrist. "You were looking at your watch."

"Oh," she paused, "No, it's just that lunch is almost over."

Tristan looked at his own watch. It surprised him that he could still remember the Chilton bell schedule. "You're right."

She sat there, unsure of what to say or what to do. She hated that they were going to have to say goodbye, she hated that she had to walk away from him again. "So…" she said nervously.

Tristan smiled at her nervousness. A lot of things had changed for Rory since he left but she was still the same nervous, shy girl for whom he'd fallen. "What are you doing after school today?"

"Nothing," she responded immediately. She wasn't sure if that was true, but if he was about to suggest they spend some time together it would be. She wouldn't hesitate to clear her calendar.

Tristan smiled pleased. "Do you want to get some dinner or something?"

"You're not doing anything with your family?" she asked.

Tristan shook his head. "No, I'm staying as far away from my family as possible. Well, except for Grandpa. He was the one who agreed to let me come home for the weekend."

Rory nodded, "Oh, well then sure. I'd love to have dinner with you."

Tristan smiled excitedly. Given what he knew about her year he'd known she would say yes, but for some reason he was still shocked she was willing to spend time with him. "Great."

She nodded again. "Yeah…"

Tristan laughed at her nerves. "I can pick you up from school…"

"Are you sure? I mean I found you hiding in the library for a reason. I got the impression you didn't want people to know you were here."

Tristan shrugged. "You found me in the library because I was looking for you. I don't care if people know I'm here. I just wanted to see you. So yeah, I'm sure. I'll pick you up after school."

Rory blushed slightly. He'd been looking for her, he'd wanted to see her. "Ok, so… I guess I'll see you then."

Tristan stood up and held out his hand for her again. He smiled as she took it without hesitation. "Definitely." He said entwining their hands for a brief moment before pulling her into another hug. He hadn't planned on hugging her again, but he couldn't help it. "I really did miss you, Mary."

Rory pulled out of the hug smiling. For the first time in a long time, the nickname she used to despise didn't make her feel worse. She wanted to tell him that she was miserable with him gone, that she wasn't actually alright, that she needed him back in her life, but she didn't want to make him feel anything other than the joy he was obviously feeling right now. She was saved from having to restrain her faults and further when the bell rang. "I have to go." She said her voice barely above a whisper.

Tristan nodded. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." She said forcing herself to turn away from him and walk towards the exit. She stepped out into the halls with a new sense of clarity. There was no way Summer could get to her now.