Disclaimer : All things GG are not mine, but ASP's. No copyright
infringement intended.
Author : Shay (tlcforever@hotmail.com)
Rating : PG-13
Pairing : Established pairings for L/L & P/J. References to R/D & T/K. Eventual T/R
Spoilers : Anything up through season 3 is fair game, though I'll probably be selective about it.
Distribution : If you want it, take it. Just let me know.
Feedback : Tames the wild beast. Or something. I love feedback and will love you if you give it. :)
Authors Note : WOW. You guys are good! Hee, thankya. Like I promised, here's chapter six. As requested, I have included some Tristan parts, insight to his thinking and what-not. And to those of you who didn't realize/remember why she reacted to hearing about the car accident or who she was mourning, all I can say is go back and read chapter one carefully, it's all there =D Enjoy, you earned it! :)
Subtle Invitation
Part 06.
Tristan sighed, running a hand through his unruly blonde hair. He hated being put on hold. Shifting the phone from one ear to the other, he sat back in the plush leather couch that donned the living room of his apartment. It was early evening, a rare night he was home before ten pm, and he was on the phone with the imbeciles at LaGuardia Airport as he tried to secure his tickets back to Hartford so he could spend Christmas with his family. The holiday was rapidly approaching, no more then a week and a half away now, leaving him scrambling about to get things in order. He had been planning on catching a ride with Josh home, but his parents had changed their destination at the last minute, opting instead to spend the time at their cabin in Toronto, rather then with family. And since Josh would be joining them there, he was left to his own devices. A clicking noise rang in his ear and the aggravated voice of the woman at the airport returned.
"Mr. DuGrey?"
"Yes?" He replied, not even trying to conceal his distaste for the way he was being treated.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Could you please hold?" She asked again, clicking the phone again before he could answer.
Tristan let out an extremely annoyed growl out, slamming a fist into the cushion next to him. He was getting a headache. Twenty-five fucking minutes he had been sitting there, listening to this insipid Christmas music while waiting for the airport to decide he was important enough to help. He should have just ordered tickets online like he had intended. But no, he had never gotten around to it and by the time he had remembered, he was already home, his laptop hidden in the locked closet in his office at work. And there was no way in hell he was going back out tonight. The wind was howling outside, snow flying like crazy, dumping even more of the white stuff on them then they already were cursed with.
He laid back on the couch, staring up at the off white ceiling, letting his mind wander. Might as well, it's not like anyone was helping him at the moment anyway. The whirling white snow could be seen through the large window that was situated across the room from where he was and his first coherent thought was of Rory, of the last time it had snowed, the night they had been, by some weird twist of fate, brought back into each others lives. A light chuckled escaped his throat. Rory Gilmore. Who the hell would've thought it. She was exactly as he remembered her, but even more... enthralling, for the lack of a better word. She was an amazing person. She just had this way about her, this trait that pulled you in and never let go. It was exactly that hold that had driven him near a state of madness at Chilton and the second half of his junior year he had spent at military school. It had been the summer before senior year that he vowed to break loose and forget about her, because certainly she wasn't sitting at home in Connecticut thinking about him.
And break free, he had. He had met a girl, Lauren something or another, at an all school meeting at the beginning of senior year, and they had hit it off. She had managed to erase all thoughts of Rory from his mind and he was happier for it. There had been the incident freshman year at Princeton, but he had moved past that as well. And now, ten years later, she was back in his life, back to controlling his thoughts without even knowing it.
The day they had spent together, just four days earlier, had been one of the best of his life. He felt so free when he was around her, something that was so rare he hadn't even realized that was what it was until the next afternoon as he sat mulling the day over. She had once again enraptured him and that was definitely something to be wary of. He didn't exactly want a replay of before, didn't want to have to try and forget her again. Maybe, he tried to reason with himself, if they were brought back into each others lives, it meant they were going to stay in each others lives? And somehow, that thought made him feel better, more confident with whatever was going on between them.
A large, almost goofy grin spread across his face at that. There was something going on between them. There was something going on between him and Rory Gilmore. If someone had told him that would happen, five, ten years earlier, he would've smirked, inwardly knowing it never would. But now... she had his interest and he had hers. He knew it. After all, there was no way she would ask him out twice if she wasn't interested, right? Yep, that's right, she had asked him out twice. The first time being lunch on Monday, the second, when she had called earlier that day, asking if he'd join her for dinner before he went back to Hartford. That date was set for the following Wednesday and for some reason, he knew he'd end up seeing her before then as well.
He was suddenly jerked out of his thoughts when the employee at the airport came back on the line, deciding now was the appropriate time to help him.
******
"You're going out with him again?" Lane asked two days later, standing in the doorway of her friends room.
Rory, who was fastening a glittering gold necklace around her neck, glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "Yes, I am." She said, turning so that she was facing Lane.
Lane bit the inside of her lip to hide the triumphant smile that threatened to break through. "I thought you guys were going out Wednesday night?"
"We are," Rory confirmed, disappearing into her closet to find an appropriate dress for tonight. "But he called earlier and said his cousin had gotten tickets for 'Cabaret' tonight and asked if I wanted to go."
"Hmmm," Lane murmured, settling down on the bed.
"Why 'hmmm'?" Rory questioned, reappearing, a dark blue dress draped over one arm and an off white one draped over the other.
"No reason. That one," Lane answered to Rory's silent question to which dress she should wear.
"Thanks," Rory replied but then gave her an irritated look. "Your hmmm had reason. What was it?"
"Nooothing," Lane smiled innocently. "I just think it's interesting that you were so adamant about not going out ever again and now here you are, going on what, your third date with this guy? A guy, may I remind you, you once claimed to hate."
"He's changed," Rory shrugged. "I thought you'd be happy. This was all your idea in the first place, remember?"
"So it was," Lane agreed. "Are you guys going to see each other over Christmas?"
"We haven't discussed that yet," Rory sighed, pausing in her hair brushing. "Maybe. I don't know."
"You sighed," Lane exclaimed, her eyes wide with mock surprise. "You want to see him over Christmas. Don't you?!"
Rory rolled her eyes in response. "So what if I do?"
"You really like him, don't you?" Lane asked after a moment of silence, the teasing tone gone, just one of concern in its place.
There was no immediate reply, but the silence was confirmation enough for her. Rory turned to look at her, her blue eyes in a state of confusion, her forehead all bunched up. She bit her lip and after a few seconds of standing there, staring at Lane, she reluctantly nodded. "I do. It's crazy, though, isn't it? He only came back into my life not even two weeks ago and I already can't get him out of my head."
"Sounds like love to me," Lane teased in attempt to lighten the mood.
Rory said nothing, just stood there in thought.
******
"So I finally get to meet the elusive Rory," Josh said with a grin as he joined his already dressed and ready to go cousin in the kitchen of their apartment.
Tristan took a long gulp of his soda and rolled his eyes. "Not a word about you fixing us up."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Josh replied, his grin intensifying.
"Sure you wouldn't."
"So me and Leslie will meet you guys there?" Josh asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah," Tristan responded, screwing the cap back on the bottle of Coke and tossing it back in the fridge. "Show starts at 9?"
"9:15. We'll meet you in the front lobby."
"All right, I'm out of here then," Tristan said, grabbing his coat from its place on the back of the stool he was sitting on.
"See ya in a few," Josh called after him, smiling when the door shut behind his cousin.
******
"I'll get it," Lane called when the buzzer from downstairs rang some time later. Rory was in her room, trying in vain to apply the little makeup she wore while talking to her energetic mother on the phone at the same time. She hit the intercom button to ask who it was.
"It's Tristan," the husky voice replied.
"Hi, Tristan. Rory's still getting ready, you can come up if you want," Lane said, crossing her fingers that he would decide to do just that. She wanted to meet the guy who had made her friend smile again.
"Sure," Tristan said back, grabbing the door when Lane hit the unlock button. He wandered past the main desk, flashing a brilliant smile at the blonde who was working there. She giggled, blushed and went back to her work as he continued towards the elevator. He hit the third floor button and let out a deep breath when the doors closed. A few seconds later he was wandering up and down the hall in search of the apartment number Rory had given him. Though he had dropped her off both times they had gone out, he hadn't ever been inside the building and wasn't quite sure where her apartment was located. Finally he came across it, way down at the end of the hall. He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he had, inhaled loudly and gave a quick knock on the door.
Almost immediately the door opened to reveal a small Korean woman who smiled brightly at him. "You must be Tristan. I'm Lane, Rory's roommate. Come on in."
"Thanks," He said, stepping into the front hall of the apartment. From where he stood he could see into the living room which was decorated in light blue and beige. To the left was a door that he assumed was a closet and to the right was the darkened kitchen. "Nice place you got here," he finally said, in attempt to get a conversation going. Standing there with Lane just staring at him thoughtfully was beginning to make him nervous.
"Thanks. Rory's grandparents bought it for us. Well, her, but I live here too." Lane babbled before shaking her head. "Sorry. Have a seat," she said as they entered the living room.
Tristan did as he was told, sitting down on the comfortable looking navy couch, glancing around the room. It wasn't messy, per say, but definitely a contrast from his museum like living room. Lane shot him an apologetic look as she stood up again. "I'm sorry, I'll go see if Rory's ready yet."
"Thanks," He mumbled, though she had already left the room. Alone, he took the chance to get a better look at the place where Rory lived. There was a good sized TV taking up the space in the entertainment center, a dvd player sitting on the shelf above it. There was a huge rack next to it that held a wide assortment of DVD's and CD's. A state of the art cd player was on the other side of the entertainment center, pictures littering both the top of the entertainment center, but also the top of the stereo's speakers. Standing, he walked over to them, smiling at the picture of a much younger Rory and who he assumed was a much younger Lane. There were pictures of Rory with large groups of people, obviously from her graduation from Yale. One with her grandparents, many with a woman he figured was her mother, some with Paris and a dark haired guy that had to be Jess. There was also a picture of Paris and Jess standing beside each other, Paris decked out in a white wedding gown, a goofy look on her face, one that he had never seen in all the years he had known her.
"Hey," Rory's soft voice came from behind him and he turned, a smile spreading across his face as he took the image of her in. Her long hair was down, a few soft curls gently framing her face. She had on a dark blue dress that accentuated her beautiful eyes.
"Hey," He replied, unable to tear his gaze from her. "You look... amazing."
Rory flushed and glanced down, muttering a quiet thank you.
"You ready to go?" Tristan asked, stepping closer to her, nearly sighing in contentment as he caught a whiff of her sweet scented perfume.
She nodded, finally meeting his eyes again and smiled. "Let me grab my coat and we can leave."
******
Things that night went smoothly. Josh and Rory hit it off right away and the foursome enjoyed the show immensely. Afterwards Tristan suggested they grab a bite to eat and drove around the city until they found a quaint diner that was still open, despite the late hour. There they had sat talking for over an hour, laughing as Josh and Tristan took turns letting the others date in on little secrets the the other had done as a child. It was nearly three in the morning when Tristan came to a stop in front of Rory's building.
"You want to come up?" She asked, surprising the both of them, but just not wanting the evening to end.
"But it's so soon," Tristan protested with a smirk on his face, resulting in her smacking his arm.
"For coffee, DuGrey. Get your head out of the gutter."
Smirk still firmly in place, he turned the ignition off and turned to face her. "It's three in the morning, Mary. You drink coffee now and you'll never get to sleep."
"That's the point," Rory informed him with a grin. "I have to be up for work in three hours, it'd be pointless for me to go to bed now."
"I probably shouldn't stay, but I'll walk you up," Tristan replied.
"Okay," she chirped, unbuckling her seat belt and waiting for him to do the same before she climbed out of the car. Carefully sidestepping a pile of snow that sat on the curb, she met him on his side of the vehicle. There, without even realizing it, the two of them linked hands as she led him into the mostly darkened building.
They made small talk on the elevator ride up to her floor, mostly discussing show they had seen earlier that night and how much like Josh he was, Rory had said, despite is protests that they were very much different.
Once they stopped outside the apartment door, Rory turned to face him, her back against the wooden door. They exchanged smiles. "I had fun tonight, thank you."
"You don't have to thank me, Rory. I had fun, too."
"I'll see you Wednesday, then?"
"You bet. I'll pick you up around 7."
"Okay," Rory grinned, which faded as her eyes met his, shock running through her as she recognized the look that resided there. Hunger. For her.
Tristan's mind had stopped working as their eyes met, his hand took on a life of its own as it came up and cupped her cheek within itself. Rory bit her lip, instinctively leaning into his touch. Their gaze never broke as he silently asked for permission, which was given without even a moments hesitation.
Slowly, almost painfully, they leaned towards each other, their lips meeting in an explosive kiss. It deepened without either of them forcing it to, their tongues meeting and dueling for possession of the other. Simultaneous sighs escaped both of them as Tristan pressed Rory into the door, his one hand still on her cheek, the other cradling her head as their mouths continued to dance with one another. Rory's hand was curled into a fist, holding onto the lapels of his jacket tightly, as though she never wanted to let go. The other, while tentative, made its way up his back and into the soft locks of his hair.
They were so lost in each other that they didn't notice when the lady across the hall exited her apartment to head off to work. They didn't notice when the lights flickered, as it had once again begun to snow outside. It was only when the loud bang of a door slammed, followed by the sounds of glass breaking against a wall that they did break apart, their breathing labored.
"Wow," was the only coherent word that would form in Rory's brain as one hand came up and gently touch her kiss swollen lips.
Tristan nodded his agreement, scratching the back of his neck as he searched for the words to say. "I.. I should probably go. Work. You, too. Work, I mean."
"Yeah," Rory said softly, glancing down at the carpeted floor and then back at him. "I'll... Wednesday."
"I'll call you," Tristan promised as she shoved his hands into the pocket of his pants.
"Okay."
"Night, Rory," He said as he turned to leave. She stood there watching him until he was halfway down the hall.
"Tristan, wait," she called, causing him to turn around in mid step.
"What --" He began, but was silenced as she was suddenly in front of him, kissing him again.
It didn't last nearly as long as the first, but meant so much more. When they broke apart, she smiled. "Sweet dreams, Tristan," she said before heading back down the hall and disappearing into her apartment, leaving him standing there, a grin spreading across his features.
"Sweet dreams. Oh yeah, I'll definitely have sweet dreams tonight," he murmured to himself, stepping into the elevator.
******
Tada! You like? I hope so! But trust me, this is the calm before the storm, so to speak. Can't have a story without some drama, now can we? But it'll all end happily, promise =D Review and review some more, because it's the nice thing to do! I should more next week or so. :)
-- Shay
6/15
Author : Shay (tlcforever@hotmail.com)
Rating : PG-13
Pairing : Established pairings for L/L & P/J. References to R/D & T/K. Eventual T/R
Spoilers : Anything up through season 3 is fair game, though I'll probably be selective about it.
Distribution : If you want it, take it. Just let me know.
Feedback : Tames the wild beast. Or something. I love feedback and will love you if you give it. :)
Authors Note : WOW. You guys are good! Hee, thankya. Like I promised, here's chapter six. As requested, I have included some Tristan parts, insight to his thinking and what-not. And to those of you who didn't realize/remember why she reacted to hearing about the car accident or who she was mourning, all I can say is go back and read chapter one carefully, it's all there =D Enjoy, you earned it! :)
Part 06.
Tristan sighed, running a hand through his unruly blonde hair. He hated being put on hold. Shifting the phone from one ear to the other, he sat back in the plush leather couch that donned the living room of his apartment. It was early evening, a rare night he was home before ten pm, and he was on the phone with the imbeciles at LaGuardia Airport as he tried to secure his tickets back to Hartford so he could spend Christmas with his family. The holiday was rapidly approaching, no more then a week and a half away now, leaving him scrambling about to get things in order. He had been planning on catching a ride with Josh home, but his parents had changed their destination at the last minute, opting instead to spend the time at their cabin in Toronto, rather then with family. And since Josh would be joining them there, he was left to his own devices. A clicking noise rang in his ear and the aggravated voice of the woman at the airport returned.
"Mr. DuGrey?"
"Yes?" He replied, not even trying to conceal his distaste for the way he was being treated.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Could you please hold?" She asked again, clicking the phone again before he could answer.
Tristan let out an extremely annoyed growl out, slamming a fist into the cushion next to him. He was getting a headache. Twenty-five fucking minutes he had been sitting there, listening to this insipid Christmas music while waiting for the airport to decide he was important enough to help. He should have just ordered tickets online like he had intended. But no, he had never gotten around to it and by the time he had remembered, he was already home, his laptop hidden in the locked closet in his office at work. And there was no way in hell he was going back out tonight. The wind was howling outside, snow flying like crazy, dumping even more of the white stuff on them then they already were cursed with.
He laid back on the couch, staring up at the off white ceiling, letting his mind wander. Might as well, it's not like anyone was helping him at the moment anyway. The whirling white snow could be seen through the large window that was situated across the room from where he was and his first coherent thought was of Rory, of the last time it had snowed, the night they had been, by some weird twist of fate, brought back into each others lives. A light chuckled escaped his throat. Rory Gilmore. Who the hell would've thought it. She was exactly as he remembered her, but even more... enthralling, for the lack of a better word. She was an amazing person. She just had this way about her, this trait that pulled you in and never let go. It was exactly that hold that had driven him near a state of madness at Chilton and the second half of his junior year he had spent at military school. It had been the summer before senior year that he vowed to break loose and forget about her, because certainly she wasn't sitting at home in Connecticut thinking about him.
And break free, he had. He had met a girl, Lauren something or another, at an all school meeting at the beginning of senior year, and they had hit it off. She had managed to erase all thoughts of Rory from his mind and he was happier for it. There had been the incident freshman year at Princeton, but he had moved past that as well. And now, ten years later, she was back in his life, back to controlling his thoughts without even knowing it.
The day they had spent together, just four days earlier, had been one of the best of his life. He felt so free when he was around her, something that was so rare he hadn't even realized that was what it was until the next afternoon as he sat mulling the day over. She had once again enraptured him and that was definitely something to be wary of. He didn't exactly want a replay of before, didn't want to have to try and forget her again. Maybe, he tried to reason with himself, if they were brought back into each others lives, it meant they were going to stay in each others lives? And somehow, that thought made him feel better, more confident with whatever was going on between them.
A large, almost goofy grin spread across his face at that. There was something going on between them. There was something going on between him and Rory Gilmore. If someone had told him that would happen, five, ten years earlier, he would've smirked, inwardly knowing it never would. But now... she had his interest and he had hers. He knew it. After all, there was no way she would ask him out twice if she wasn't interested, right? Yep, that's right, she had asked him out twice. The first time being lunch on Monday, the second, when she had called earlier that day, asking if he'd join her for dinner before he went back to Hartford. That date was set for the following Wednesday and for some reason, he knew he'd end up seeing her before then as well.
He was suddenly jerked out of his thoughts when the employee at the airport came back on the line, deciding now was the appropriate time to help him.
******
"You're going out with him again?" Lane asked two days later, standing in the doorway of her friends room.
Rory, who was fastening a glittering gold necklace around her neck, glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "Yes, I am." She said, turning so that she was facing Lane.
Lane bit the inside of her lip to hide the triumphant smile that threatened to break through. "I thought you guys were going out Wednesday night?"
"We are," Rory confirmed, disappearing into her closet to find an appropriate dress for tonight. "But he called earlier and said his cousin had gotten tickets for 'Cabaret' tonight and asked if I wanted to go."
"Hmmm," Lane murmured, settling down on the bed.
"Why 'hmmm'?" Rory questioned, reappearing, a dark blue dress draped over one arm and an off white one draped over the other.
"No reason. That one," Lane answered to Rory's silent question to which dress she should wear.
"Thanks," Rory replied but then gave her an irritated look. "Your hmmm had reason. What was it?"
"Nooothing," Lane smiled innocently. "I just think it's interesting that you were so adamant about not going out ever again and now here you are, going on what, your third date with this guy? A guy, may I remind you, you once claimed to hate."
"He's changed," Rory shrugged. "I thought you'd be happy. This was all your idea in the first place, remember?"
"So it was," Lane agreed. "Are you guys going to see each other over Christmas?"
"We haven't discussed that yet," Rory sighed, pausing in her hair brushing. "Maybe. I don't know."
"You sighed," Lane exclaimed, her eyes wide with mock surprise. "You want to see him over Christmas. Don't you?!"
Rory rolled her eyes in response. "So what if I do?"
"You really like him, don't you?" Lane asked after a moment of silence, the teasing tone gone, just one of concern in its place.
There was no immediate reply, but the silence was confirmation enough for her. Rory turned to look at her, her blue eyes in a state of confusion, her forehead all bunched up. She bit her lip and after a few seconds of standing there, staring at Lane, she reluctantly nodded. "I do. It's crazy, though, isn't it? He only came back into my life not even two weeks ago and I already can't get him out of my head."
"Sounds like love to me," Lane teased in attempt to lighten the mood.
Rory said nothing, just stood there in thought.
******
"So I finally get to meet the elusive Rory," Josh said with a grin as he joined his already dressed and ready to go cousin in the kitchen of their apartment.
Tristan took a long gulp of his soda and rolled his eyes. "Not a word about you fixing us up."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Josh replied, his grin intensifying.
"Sure you wouldn't."
"So me and Leslie will meet you guys there?" Josh asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah," Tristan responded, screwing the cap back on the bottle of Coke and tossing it back in the fridge. "Show starts at 9?"
"9:15. We'll meet you in the front lobby."
"All right, I'm out of here then," Tristan said, grabbing his coat from its place on the back of the stool he was sitting on.
"See ya in a few," Josh called after him, smiling when the door shut behind his cousin.
******
"I'll get it," Lane called when the buzzer from downstairs rang some time later. Rory was in her room, trying in vain to apply the little makeup she wore while talking to her energetic mother on the phone at the same time. She hit the intercom button to ask who it was.
"It's Tristan," the husky voice replied.
"Hi, Tristan. Rory's still getting ready, you can come up if you want," Lane said, crossing her fingers that he would decide to do just that. She wanted to meet the guy who had made her friend smile again.
"Sure," Tristan said back, grabbing the door when Lane hit the unlock button. He wandered past the main desk, flashing a brilliant smile at the blonde who was working there. She giggled, blushed and went back to her work as he continued towards the elevator. He hit the third floor button and let out a deep breath when the doors closed. A few seconds later he was wandering up and down the hall in search of the apartment number Rory had given him. Though he had dropped her off both times they had gone out, he hadn't ever been inside the building and wasn't quite sure where her apartment was located. Finally he came across it, way down at the end of the hall. He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he had, inhaled loudly and gave a quick knock on the door.
Almost immediately the door opened to reveal a small Korean woman who smiled brightly at him. "You must be Tristan. I'm Lane, Rory's roommate. Come on in."
"Thanks," He said, stepping into the front hall of the apartment. From where he stood he could see into the living room which was decorated in light blue and beige. To the left was a door that he assumed was a closet and to the right was the darkened kitchen. "Nice place you got here," he finally said, in attempt to get a conversation going. Standing there with Lane just staring at him thoughtfully was beginning to make him nervous.
"Thanks. Rory's grandparents bought it for us. Well, her, but I live here too." Lane babbled before shaking her head. "Sorry. Have a seat," she said as they entered the living room.
Tristan did as he was told, sitting down on the comfortable looking navy couch, glancing around the room. It wasn't messy, per say, but definitely a contrast from his museum like living room. Lane shot him an apologetic look as she stood up again. "I'm sorry, I'll go see if Rory's ready yet."
"Thanks," He mumbled, though she had already left the room. Alone, he took the chance to get a better look at the place where Rory lived. There was a good sized TV taking up the space in the entertainment center, a dvd player sitting on the shelf above it. There was a huge rack next to it that held a wide assortment of DVD's and CD's. A state of the art cd player was on the other side of the entertainment center, pictures littering both the top of the entertainment center, but also the top of the stereo's speakers. Standing, he walked over to them, smiling at the picture of a much younger Rory and who he assumed was a much younger Lane. There were pictures of Rory with large groups of people, obviously from her graduation from Yale. One with her grandparents, many with a woman he figured was her mother, some with Paris and a dark haired guy that had to be Jess. There was also a picture of Paris and Jess standing beside each other, Paris decked out in a white wedding gown, a goofy look on her face, one that he had never seen in all the years he had known her.
"Hey," Rory's soft voice came from behind him and he turned, a smile spreading across his face as he took the image of her in. Her long hair was down, a few soft curls gently framing her face. She had on a dark blue dress that accentuated her beautiful eyes.
"Hey," He replied, unable to tear his gaze from her. "You look... amazing."
Rory flushed and glanced down, muttering a quiet thank you.
"You ready to go?" Tristan asked, stepping closer to her, nearly sighing in contentment as he caught a whiff of her sweet scented perfume.
She nodded, finally meeting his eyes again and smiled. "Let me grab my coat and we can leave."
******
Things that night went smoothly. Josh and Rory hit it off right away and the foursome enjoyed the show immensely. Afterwards Tristan suggested they grab a bite to eat and drove around the city until they found a quaint diner that was still open, despite the late hour. There they had sat talking for over an hour, laughing as Josh and Tristan took turns letting the others date in on little secrets the the other had done as a child. It was nearly three in the morning when Tristan came to a stop in front of Rory's building.
"You want to come up?" She asked, surprising the both of them, but just not wanting the evening to end.
"But it's so soon," Tristan protested with a smirk on his face, resulting in her smacking his arm.
"For coffee, DuGrey. Get your head out of the gutter."
Smirk still firmly in place, he turned the ignition off and turned to face her. "It's three in the morning, Mary. You drink coffee now and you'll never get to sleep."
"That's the point," Rory informed him with a grin. "I have to be up for work in three hours, it'd be pointless for me to go to bed now."
"I probably shouldn't stay, but I'll walk you up," Tristan replied.
"Okay," she chirped, unbuckling her seat belt and waiting for him to do the same before she climbed out of the car. Carefully sidestepping a pile of snow that sat on the curb, she met him on his side of the vehicle. There, without even realizing it, the two of them linked hands as she led him into the mostly darkened building.
They made small talk on the elevator ride up to her floor, mostly discussing show they had seen earlier that night and how much like Josh he was, Rory had said, despite is protests that they were very much different.
Once they stopped outside the apartment door, Rory turned to face him, her back against the wooden door. They exchanged smiles. "I had fun tonight, thank you."
"You don't have to thank me, Rory. I had fun, too."
"I'll see you Wednesday, then?"
"You bet. I'll pick you up around 7."
"Okay," Rory grinned, which faded as her eyes met his, shock running through her as she recognized the look that resided there. Hunger. For her.
Tristan's mind had stopped working as their eyes met, his hand took on a life of its own as it came up and cupped her cheek within itself. Rory bit her lip, instinctively leaning into his touch. Their gaze never broke as he silently asked for permission, which was given without even a moments hesitation.
Slowly, almost painfully, they leaned towards each other, their lips meeting in an explosive kiss. It deepened without either of them forcing it to, their tongues meeting and dueling for possession of the other. Simultaneous sighs escaped both of them as Tristan pressed Rory into the door, his one hand still on her cheek, the other cradling her head as their mouths continued to dance with one another. Rory's hand was curled into a fist, holding onto the lapels of his jacket tightly, as though she never wanted to let go. The other, while tentative, made its way up his back and into the soft locks of his hair.
They were so lost in each other that they didn't notice when the lady across the hall exited her apartment to head off to work. They didn't notice when the lights flickered, as it had once again begun to snow outside. It was only when the loud bang of a door slammed, followed by the sounds of glass breaking against a wall that they did break apart, their breathing labored.
"Wow," was the only coherent word that would form in Rory's brain as one hand came up and gently touch her kiss swollen lips.
Tristan nodded his agreement, scratching the back of his neck as he searched for the words to say. "I.. I should probably go. Work. You, too. Work, I mean."
"Yeah," Rory said softly, glancing down at the carpeted floor and then back at him. "I'll... Wednesday."
"I'll call you," Tristan promised as she shoved his hands into the pocket of his pants.
"Okay."
"Night, Rory," He said as he turned to leave. She stood there watching him until he was halfway down the hall.
"Tristan, wait," she called, causing him to turn around in mid step.
"What --" He began, but was silenced as she was suddenly in front of him, kissing him again.
It didn't last nearly as long as the first, but meant so much more. When they broke apart, she smiled. "Sweet dreams, Tristan," she said before heading back down the hall and disappearing into her apartment, leaving him standing there, a grin spreading across his features.
"Sweet dreams. Oh yeah, I'll definitely have sweet dreams tonight," he murmured to himself, stepping into the elevator.
******
Tada! You like? I hope so! But trust me, this is the calm before the storm, so to speak. Can't have a story without some drama, now can we? But it'll all end happily, promise =D Review and review some more, because it's the nice thing to do! I should more next week or so. :)
-- Shay
6/15
