"I think it's adorable that you chose a Hello Kitty band aid," Tristan teased as they were walking out of the lab.
"Hey, if they're going to poke me with a needle, I at least want a cute band aid," Rory chuckled.
"I'm not arguing the merits of cute first aid supplies; I'm just saying that you're adorable," Tristan replied. He leaned in and kissed her. "You want to drive since you know where we're going?"
Rory took the keys and walked around toward the driver's side of the Escalade.
"Sure, I don't mind. I know this great seafood place on the wharf if that's okay?"
"That sounds great," Tristan agreed.
Rory drove the short distance to Lenny and Joe's Fish Tale.
"This place is great - it was one of my favorite places to eat when I was at Yale," Rory said as they got out of the car and walked into the restaurant.
"It smells great," Tristan agreed. "Table for two, please," he told the hostess.
"Of course. Right this way," the hostess replied. She led them to a table on the covered deck which overlooked the harbor. Tristan helped Rory into her chair and then took a seat across from her.
"What's good here, Mare?" Tristan asked.
"I haven't had anything that wasn't good. The lobster mac and cheese and stuffed shrimp are amazing, and I always get the fried veggie combo," Rory replied excitedly.
"That sounds fantastic - want to just order all three and split them?" Tristan asked.
"Ooh, yes please!" Rory exclaimed just as the waitress walked up to the table.
"Welcome to Lenny and Joe's. My name is Amber, and I'll be your server. Can I take your order?"
"I'll have an iced tea, and then we'll take the fried veggie combo, the lobster mac and cheese and the stuffed shrimp," Rory answered.
"And I'll also take an iced tea," Tristan added.
"Excellent choices. I'll put in your order and will be right back with your drinks," Amber replied before walking away from the table. She returned a few minutes later with their drinks, and Tristan and Rory began talking.
"I know you have a few projects that you want done around the pool house. I thought maybe I could get started on a few of them this weekend?" Tristan asked.
"You can help me fix up the pool house?" Rory asked as she giggled. "I didn't really take you for the handyman type."
"Hey, I'm a man of many talents. I'll have you know I'm very good with my hands," Tristan smirked.
"Oh trust me, I'm well aware," Rory replied huskily. "I've learned just how talented those hands are."
"Mary! You made a sexual innuendo without blushing," Tristan teased.
"You're corrupting me, Bible Boy," Rory shot back.
"Nope, I'm pretty sure you were like this before we started dating."
Rory giggled and stuck her tongue out at Tristan.
"I'm pretty sure you had something to do with my being corrupted - maybe it was all the leering and lewd comments when we were at Chilton," Rory accused him.
"I thought we'd moved past that?" Tristan asked just as the waitress delivered their appetizer. "Thank you, this looks great," Tristan told Amber.
They both dug into the fried zucchini and onion rings, talking between bites, and soon their entrees were brought to the table as well. Tristan moved to sit next to Rory to make it easier to share.
"This all smells incredible," Tristan said hungrily.
"That's because it is incredible. Here, you have to try this." Rory took a forkful of the lobster mac and cheese and fed it him. "Tell me that isn't the best mac and cheese you've ever eaten."
Tristan chewed and moaned. "Oh my god, you're right. That's amazing. We're going to have to come here more often - I can come meet you after work."
"I think it's the perfect comfort food," Rory added.
"You know, we could figure out how to make this ourselves. We could make it a fun kitchen project."
Rory looked up at Tristan and smiled.
"You're the only man who can get me in the kitchen," Rory chuckled.
Tristan and Rory were holding hands, walking through the Yale campus as she showed him around, pointing out all of her favorite places. She'd taken him to Sterling Memorial Library - one of her favorite places in the world - and shown him where she and Paris had lived on campus. They'd grabbed coffee and strolled through some of the buildings, stopping by to see the Yale Daily News room. She'd told him stories from Paris's reign of terror and Rory's subsequent term as editor.
Now they were walking toward the Medical College so he could see her new office and where she would be working.
"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if we'd both ended up at Yale?" she asked quietly as they walked. Tristan thought for a moment before answering.
"Sometimes I do - we might be married with kids by now - but another part of me is grateful that we didn't. I wasn't the same Tristan you knew in highschool by the time I got to college, but I also wasn't the man I am now. I know you've changed since college, too. It might not have been right in college still. We might have ended disastrously or hurt each other. I think things happened just like they were supposed to," Tristan replied softly.
Rory pulled on his hand to stop him and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. "When did you become the girl in this relationship?" she teased.
"I can always find a dark corner and remind you how much of a man I am," Tristan growled as he nipped playfully at her lips and pulled her hips flush against his.
"Down, boy!" Rory giggled. "I'm just giving you a hard time - no pun intended. I love that you're so thoughtful. Now, let's go show you my office before you get me too distracted."
Rory took Tristan's hand and continued across campus to the building that her new office was in. She stopped as she walked past Kimberly and introduced Tristan.
"Kimberly, this is my boyfriend, Tristan Dugrey. Tristan, this is Kimberly," Rory introduced the two. "He and I were in the area today, so I thought I'd show him around campus and let him see my office," she continued to explain.
"It's nice to meet you, Tristan. Rory, we're excited to have you in the office next week. We'll see you soon," Kimberly replied before answering the phone that had begun to ring.
Rory led Tristan around the corner to her office. She turned on the light and smiled brightly as she saw the results of her and her mom's trip from earlier this week. She couldn't wait to start work here next week.
"This is it," she said with a flourish worthy of Vanna White.
"Very nice, Mary. You and your mom did a great job decorating. Is there anything you still need for your office?"
Rory thought for a minute and shook her head.
"No, I think I'm all set. I can just walk in the door and get to work with whatever it is that they want me to start with. I'm actually really excited."
"As well you should be." Tristan looked at his watch - a gift his grandfather had given him before he passed away - and noted the time. "We should probably get going if we're going to make it to our appointment with the leasing agent."
Tristan and Rory walked back out to their car and drove the short distance to the leasing agent's office. They walked into the trendy office and were immediately greeted by a twenty-something blonde who was far too perky.
"Good afternoon. May I help you?" the blonde asked.
"Yes, I'm Tristan Dugrey, and this is my girlfriend, Rory Gilmore. We have an appointment to view some apartments this afternoon," Tristan answered. He watched the blonde look him up and down appraisingly and moved behind Rory to wrap his arms around her.
"Of course! I'm Janet; I believe I spoke with you on the phone. Let me just grab my keys and we'll be off to find you an apartment," the blonde answered. She walked away, presumably in search of her keys, and Rory couldn't help but giggle. She turned in Tristan's arms and kissed him chastely.
"You okay there, Tris?" she smirked.
"I'm fine, Mare. I'm just trying to head off any attempts at flirting on her part before they get started," Tristan admitted.
Rory wrapped her arms around him more tightly. "Don't worry, baby - I'll protect you," she teased.
"You'd better," Tristan grumbled.
Janet came back and led Tristan and Rory out to her car. Tristan helped Rory into the front passenger seat, not wanting to be stuck quite that close to the blonde who looked at him like he was on today's menu. Janet drove them to several locations, showing them a variety of apartments that met their requirements, but none of them seemed just right.
"There's one more place I can show you. It's a little more of a luxury apartment than the others you've seen today, but I think you might like it," she offered. Rory nodded her consent, and they soon pulled up to a very familiar building. Rory swallowed hard. She was over Logan, but that didn't mean that she wanted to live in the same building they'd lived in together in college.
"I think we're good, actually, Janet. There's no need to look here," Rory said before anyone could get out of the car.
"Are you sure? The units are quite nice. They have these beautiful loft apartments with a fantastic view," Janet pressed.
"No, I'm sure. I think we can head back to the office, and we'll go home and think through what we've seen today," Rory insisted.
They drove back to the leasing office in silence, and soon Tristan and Rory were alone again.
"You okay there, Mare?" he asked as they got into his car.
Rory nodded absentmindedly and ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's just... I lived there for a while in college, and I don't want to live there again."
Tristan thought for a moment and frowned. "I thought you said the apartment you and Paris lived in was a dump?" he asked.
"I did. I lived there with Logan, and I just don't want to live there again," Rory whispered.
"Oh. Yeah, of course. I can see how that probably wouldn't be a fun walk down memory lane - knowing our luck, it would be the same apartment," Tristan chuckled awkwardly.
"I know, right? And really, I'm just ready to pick up the dogs and go home and relax with you," Rory said as she leaned over to kiss him.