Disclaimer: Rory's job takes her to North Carolina, and her first assignment is to interview one injured soldier. She walks into that army base expecting to get her first story, but that's not all she gets, right? This is a Trory! :)
I'd like to thank Courtney for her help in editing this chapter, and also, I'd like to wish you all a very happy 2013!
Jake was right. The first thing that Lorelai did when they arrived at the house was tell Tristan how Justin blushed like a schoolboy when she asked if she could keep him. Tristan laughed until he cried and spent most of the night making fun of Justin, as any best friend would. He knew that Justin would get back at him for all the teasing, but it was totally worth it. It was high time Justin made a fool of himself in front of Tristan, and not the other way around.
Justin wanted to go and leave them to their little gathering, thinking that they deserved some family time, but Lorelai wouldn't have it. She told Justin that if he was family to Tristan, then he was family to all of them and he was more than welcome to stay. She had heard from Rory, after that disastrous dinner back in Hartford, that when Tristan first arrived in North Carolina Justin's family took him in. She was prepared to like him just for that. Plus, she told Justin that she didn't want to feel like a fifth wheel sitting between two couples who would most likely spend the night making googly-eyes at each other.
So the six of them spent the night eating junk food and talking. Justin quickly picked up on all of the quirkiness of the relationship between Lorelai, Jake and Rory. Juliet and Tristan were more than used to it by now, and they usually went along with their antics. Rory and Jake behaved so much like brother and sister that Justin had to remind himself they used to go out. But he could totally understand now why neither Tristan nor Juliet had a problem with their close friendship.
And he could also see the way that Jake looked at Juliet. He was head over heels for her. If there were any lingering feelings between Jake and Rory, the four of them wouldn't be so at ease together. And Justin particularly liked Lorelai. She was absolutely different from any parent he had met, she was a lot of fun, and she must have driven Rory crazy sometimes with her larger than life attitude.
After a lot of laughing, Juliet excused herself to take a shower and go to bed, saying that she was exhausted, and Rory and Lorelai seized the moment to get the guest room ready for the couple, and the office ready for Lorelai, leaving the guys alone in the living room.
"So, Jake, Tristan never really told us about that party you gave." Justin started.
Honestly, when Tristan called Justin, and gave the order for him to go to New York, the party was the last thing on his mind. They were focused on finding out what the hell had happened and saving Cameron's life. And then, when the mission was over, there was the 'Ryan situation' to deal with. They never even got the party. It was only after Juliet mentioned something about all the boys fussing over Rory that Justin remembered it.
"Oh, man, you should have been there. It was awesome. By the way, Tristan, I forgot to thank you. I think I made almost three hundred bucks that night." Jake said.
"I can't believe you guys were betting on me..." Tristan shook his head and got up to take another couple of beers from the fridge. He should have expected the conversation to turn to that damn party, after the girls left the room.
"Three hundred bucks? I should have raised my bet... All I got was a measly ten bucks." Justin laughed.
"What did you bet on?" Jake asked.
"Well, after the scene he made when you called Rory that one morning, I was sure that you would do something to piss him off. So I bet ten bucks that he would be seeing red by the end of the night." Justin told him.
"Don't you two have anything better to do than talk about that damn party?" Tristan asked from the kitchen. He wasn't really expecting an answer, he was sure that he'd have to endure a lot of mocking from Justin and Jake through the night.
"Well, you got one thing right. He was ready to punch someone by the end of the night... It wasn't me, though." Jake said, thoroughly ignoring Tristan.
"Do tell, Jake." Justin asked, wanting to hear it. Jealous Tristan was always easy to make fun off, and Jake seemed to have a lot more stories to tell.
"It was all Logan. I still don't know what he said to Tristan, but you could see the fire in his eyes from miles. He just marched straight to Rory, and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. In the middle of the living room. I swear to you, they were going at it like teenagers in the backseat of a car. I wouldn't be surprised if he threw her down in the floor and -" but he was cut off by Tristan.
"He got the point, Matthews." Tristan said, walking back into the living room and tossing Jake and Justin their beer. He sat down, and glared at Jake while opening his own beer.
"Oh, man, what I would have given to see that." Justin laughed. "What did he say to you, man?" Justin asked.
"It's none of your business, Meyer." He answered, and took some time before sipping his beer, no doubt thinking about that night. Well, not so much about the party, really, but the little game he and Rory played after that.
"Hey, I'd like to know that, too, you know?" Lorelai said, appearing in the doorway. "Come on, Army Boy, tell us."
"See what you did, Matthews, now they are all ganging up on me." Tristan told Jake, narrowing his eyes, his mind back at the discussion at hand.
"Come on, man. That can't be worst than what you overheard when I was talking to Ryan." Justin said.
"Oh. I love 'let's pick on Tristan' day. I want to know that one too." Lorelai said, sitting down. Rory was still in the guest room, with Juliet. Thank God, or she would put a stop in all the fun.
"That one I can tell you, Lorelai." Justin said. "I'm sure you are aware that your daughter is a real heart-breaker. An adorable heart-breaker, mind you. It seems that Tristan was not the only one to fall for her graces."
"She is adorable, isn't she?" Lorelai said proudly.
"Ryan, the kid that she interviewed for the paper, had a major crush on her. The thing is, Tristan overheard us on the phone, when I figured it out." Justin started telling them.
"Oh, my. Not at all awkward, was it, Tristan?" Lorelai asked him, smirking.
Tristan just shook his head. He was doomed. Knowing Justin like he did, they really would spend all night making fun of him. Maybe it was not such a great idea to have Justin and Jake in the same room.
" I was all 'Tell him, Ryan, how long do you think he's going to take to figure it out?' you know? When I turned around and almost tripped into Tristan, and saw the look in his eyes, I knew he had heard most of what I said, and I was sure he was going to beat the crap out of me." Justin continued.
After the laughter died down, Justin looked at Jake, grinning, and continued teasing Tristan.
"I can only imagine what he heard in that party, but I can imagine it was far from good. And, more importantly, knowing Tristan's temper like I do, and having been on the verge of getting my ass kicked more than once because of it, here's something that I can't seem to get: How did Logan manage to escape unscathed, Jake?" Justin asked.
"Okay, okay. All right. I get it. You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" Tristan asked, putting his almost untouched beer back on the table. Sure, he didn't mind being mocked, but three against one? It was so not fair. And he didn't want Justin telling them more embarrassing stories where he behaved like a ten year old... "I didn't like the way he said that my girlfriend used to like him just fine, or what he was trying to imply."
"Wait a minute... I know Logan. Sure, he can be an asshole, and he lives to stir up trouble. But he wouldn't say something like that unprovoked." Jake said, and Lorelai nodded her agreement.
"Spit it out DuGrey. What did you do?" Justin asked, knowing that there must be more to the story.
"Well, I may have implied that I couldn't understand why Rory had gone out with him, when she clearly hated guys like him before, you know, in high school." He told them. He felt like they were all in 6th grade all over again, gossiping like little girls...
"You didn't!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"Well, Lorelai, what do you suggest I should have done?" Tristan asked her, but it was more like a rhetorical question, that was totally lost on Lorelai, who was still laughing, imagining the two boys fighting over her daughter.
"Well, I have to tell you Tristan, you were not the first boy to engage in a fist fight over her..." She said, thinking about when Dean and Jess got into a fight over Rory in a party. That turned out to be mocking material for a long time.
"There was no fist fight, Lorelai. There was barely a fight. Sure, I wanted to hit him, but I still know how to behave at a social gathering." Tristan quipped.
"Still know? What about that Chilton Gala, when you almost got into a fight with Rory's old boyfriend?" Lorelai teased him
"Well, that was a long time ago, Lorelai, and I didn't have the best manners then. Military school really improved my social skills and manners. Even my parents agree with that."
"Oh, I can see it did, Army boy." Lorelai smirked.
Just when Tristan thought that he managed to get the conversation away from Logan and the party, Jake turned it all back.
"So that was it..." Jake said, leaning back on his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "I knew you must have said something to him."
"Well. I still didn't like the way he said it." Tristan argued, if he didn't like Jake so much, he would wipe that smile off his face. "Now can we move on?"
"Oh, I can imagine you didn't" Justin said, thoroughly ignoring Tristan's pleas. It was even better that he expected. He just hoped he would be there to see the next confrontation.
"Now I understand why you two were late for lunch. All that pent-up energy..." Jake continued.
"Okay, stop right there." Rory said, from the doorway. "No more discussing my sex life. Mom, you should know better. This is weird even for you."