Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own these characters, however the story line is mine, ALL MINE! Hahaha
Chapter 1
Rory sighed as she walked into the modest apartment she and Dean shared. It had been a trying day, and she wanted nothing more than to cuddle up with a good book and go to bed. She had had a stressful week; Dean had lost his computer-programming job, and was becoming restless. There were bills to pay, and Rory was working overtime to try and make up for Dean's lost income.
"Dean? Are you home?" Rory called softly, she didn't want to wake him if he was sleeping.
She heard a faint noise coming from the kitchen, and went to see what it was. She found Dean standing over a steaming pot, obviously attempting to cook dinner. She quickly scanned the kitchen and smiled, there was spaghetti sauce all over the walls, and the sink was filled with dirty dishes. Dean was obviously not having an easy time of making dinner.
"This" she said referring to the state of disarray the kitchen was in, "is why Gilmore's don't cook." Dean turned around and smiled at her. Rory had to stifle her laughter when she saw his face, covered in sweat with a very determined look in his eyes.
"I wanted to do something nice for you," he said sheepishly, "I'm home all day, the least I could do is make diner."
Rory smiled and walked over to Dean. She slipped her arms around his waist, and reached up to kiss his cheek. "I appreciate the effort, but from now on, order delivery."
"Will do." Dean said, smiling. "I think its ready" Dean said hesitantly as he spooned the spaghetti onto the plates.
Rory smiled, "Is that a question or a statement Emeril?" she asked tauntingly.
"Shut up and try it" Dean countered.
Rory took a small hesitant spoon, chewed slowly and swallowed. She remained silent.
"Well?" Dean asked expectantly.
"Hold on, I'm waiting for the aftertaste to go away." Rory answered.
"It can't be that bad." Dean said, putting a spoonful of spaghetti in his mouth. Rory watched him and smiled when his face contorted and he reached for his glass of water.
"Told you so, next time, call Luke." Rory said smiling cheekily.
The Next Morning
Rory stepped off the bus tiredly, shouldering her heavy bag and dreading mounds of paperwork that were waiting for her on her desk. Rory had recently passed the bar exam, and was thus inundated with research tasks and boring paperwork that the experienced lawyers didn't want to do. She walked towards her small cubicle and was surprised to see an unkempt blond head over the walls.
"Excuse me, I think this is my desk." Rory said tentatively.
The man turned around, And Rory gasped as his deep blue eyes connected with hers.
"Hey Mary" Said Tristan cockily.
"Oooohhh Boy." Rory muttered as she rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. "This is going to be a long day."
"So, did you miss me?"
"I was too busy celebrating," Rory smirked.
"Celebrating in advance for my homecoming?" Tristan
"Some people never change."
"Speaking of people who don't change, how's bag boy?"
"Okay, this is MY cubicle, what are you doing here?"
"Ummm… sitting?" Tristan said smirking.
"Ahh.." Rory screamed as she stormed off in search of coffee and her supervisor.
5 Minutes Later
Rory returned to the cubicle armed with a cup of coffee and her supervisor, Dave.
"I came into the office, ready to work, and I find this… this… this arrogant egotistical jerk occupying my space!!!! How am I supposed to get any work done, His ego is suffocating me!"
"This is cubicle number 14 right?"
Rory's wrath was now fully turned on Tristan "Shut up, I'm sooo mad at you know, talk to my coffee while I have my supervisor!"
"Ohhhh, dirty! Does Bagboy know about this?" He smirked
"Ahhh, shut up, I cant think straight when you're around. I meant talk to my supervisor while I have my coffee."
"The sexual tension is too much for you huh? I feel it too, don't worry."
Dave looked at the two quizzically and said, "Rory, I see you've met your partner Tristan DuGrey. You two will be working very closely from now on."
"This is too much for just one cup of coffee, I need a whole starbucks." Rory said, as she stormed off.
"Well" Dave began, "that went.... Ah hell, that just went. How do you guys know each other?"
"We went to high school together. I should probably go find her," Tristan said getting up.
"Yeah, and I know its hard for you, but try not to be a jerk" Dave smirked.
Tristan smiled slightly and left in search of Rory. He couldn't believe he had managed to screw up their relationship again. What was it about her that put him on edge? Why was he always such a jerk to her? He was always condemning high society for being fake, but he couldn't be real around the one person in his life who didn't conform. Tristan walked to the coffee machine, and saw Rory bending over the Styrofoam cup she was clutching in her hands breathing in the heavenly aroma.
"Rory?" Tristan said quietly.
Rory looked up from her cup long enough to shoot a glare at Tristan and then went back to her coffee.
"Okay, well.. I know we weren't friends or anything in high school, and I know you hate me and all, but I think we should at least try and be civil to each other. We do have to work together." Tristan said hesitantly.
Rory looked up into his blue eyes and saw the sincerity in them, along with something else she couldn't quite name. "You're right," Rory admitted, "We're both adults, at least one of us is," she added lightly, "We can be civil to each other.
"Great," Tristan said enthusiastically, "So, can I take you out for coffee while we talk about our project?"
"I'd do anything for coffee," Rory returned.
"Hmmm.. anything, I like the sound of that." Tristan smirked.
"You know, if we're going to be friends, you're going to have to stop the innuendos." Rory said smiling slightly. She didn't know if she really minded the light banter they had fallen into, in fact it was kind of nice.
"What innuendos? I was talking about you doing all the research for us. Your dirty mind twisted my innocent statement into an innuendo." Tristan smiled.
"Right.. right. Well come on, I can't wait forever for coffee, let's go, let's go!" Rory said as she rolled her eyes. "And Tristan, I don't hate you." Rory said softly.