Title: Moonlit Window

Author: Cathy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Gilmore Girls, they all belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino

Rating: PG13

Couples: Development of Rory and Tristan, Rory and Dean

Chapter 7: Leaving You

It was Saturday morning and Tristan had barely slept all night. He had twisted and turned on the living room couch. All he could think about was the kiss. What had happened last night? It was like a repeat of the year before when they had kissed at Madeline's party. Well, at least she didn't cry this time, he thought. He sat up on the couch and closed his eyes as he envisioned the moment in his mind again. It had been the way he had wanted to be, he had dreamt about those lips kissing his all his days in military school. But now, what was he suppose to do? Did Rory feel what he had felt last night or was it like how it was last time? Was the kiss just a mistake? She must have felt what I had felt, he thought. Just then he looked up and saw Rory shuffle into the living room and was slowly heading for the stairs. She was wearing a pink fuzzy robe and her hair was all tousled. She looked beautiful.

"Hi," she said, nervously. She looked at him sitting there in his t-shirt and jockeys and quickly blushed. He quickly grabbed the blanket and covered himself.

"Hey," he said to her. She began walking up the stairs but then turned around and sat beside him on the couch.

"Tristan, I think we need to talk," she said. He nodded gently. "I don't know what happened last night," she began. He looked at her blankly.

"Umm… we kissed," he said.

"I know, I meant," she continued, playing with her hair.

"Yeah, I get it, you don't want me to tell Dean, right?" he said, irritated. She looked up at him, a weak smile.

"Tristan, I didn't mean that, it's just that…" she said, but she was a lost for words again.

"Then what?" he asked. She looked at him and then looked back down to the ground.

"Forget it," said Rory, getting up but just as he had the night before, Tristan reached out for her arm and pulled her back down beside him.

"Rory, I'm not going to let it happen again like I did last time," he said. Rory continued to look at the floor.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't play dumb Rory," he said. Rory glared at him.

"Tristan, just leave it," she cried.

"No, we always leave it, you know what I'm talking about," he said, pulling her face towards him, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Why would you kiss me again, like you did at Madeline's party?" he asked.

"I didn't kiss you, you kissed me," she exclaimed. He looked at her unbelievably.

"I was confused," she protested.

"Last time you were broken up with Dean, this time you weren't," challenged Tristan. Rory stood up and glared at him.

"What do you want me to say? You just think that every girl likes you, it's not true, last night was a mistake!" she cried and then rushed towards the stairs. He sat there looking at the stairs. It was unbelievable.

***

Rory walked over to Luke's Diner alone. She had left the house with an angry Tristan glaring at her. She was upset with him as well. He was just so cocky and conceited and… a great kisser. All night she hadn't been able to sleep, all she could think about was the kiss. It was the same as the kiss at Madeline's party. They had both been vulnerable and it was just part of the moment. Finally she saw a softer side of him, the Tristan that no one else saw. She hadn't known how his life was, even though they'd known each other for a while now. But then again, their relationship had always consisted of bickering, nothing personal. But last night she had felt so close to him, it was different. Though she denied that she hadn't felt anything with both kisses, she knew that there had been a spark. But what was she to do? She loved Dean and Dean loved her. Slowly she walked into the diner and the door chimed. Rory saw Dean sitting at the counter; he turned and smiled at her.

"Hey Rory," he said, leaning in to kiss her on the lips. She smiled weakly at him.

"Hey Dean," she said, sitting down beside him.

"Finally, a whole day together," he said, putting an arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I missed you," she said. He smiled at her.

"So, what do you want to do today? A movie, the bookstore…" he suggested. She smiled up at him.

"No, you decide, today's all about you," she said. He kissed her again.

"I'm starting to like that idea," he replied.

"Well, you deserve it," she said, her voice slightly distant.

"I love you, Rory," he said, not noticing that her mind was far away.

***

Lorelai had been out all day at the inn since Michel had another one of his 'emergencies'. It had been a pretty exhausting day. She was now at home, changing into her jeans and t-shirt. She was ready for a nice evening and a cup of coffee at Luke's. She quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail and hopped down the stairs just to see Tristan putting his things into his backpack.

"Whatcha doing Richie?" she teased, as he continued stuffing his things into his bag.

"Oh, what's wrong? Cat caught your tongue?" she asked, amused at him.

"No, just thought it was time to go," he said, in a serious tone. Lorelai laughed and plopped down beside him on the couch.

"Tired of us already?" she asked, pouting.

"I guess I am," he said, his eyes focused on this backpack.

"Oh come on, tired of mooning over Rory?" she teased. Tristan got up and brushed passed her and walked out the door.

"Hey Mr, you come back here!" cried Lorelai, in a mocking voice.

***

Rory and Dean had gone practically everywhere all day together. They had stopped into practically every shop that Dean wanted to go into and had even stopped by a book fair for Rory. It had been a great day but something was still bugging her. Rory still couldn't keep all of her focus on him. Even though they'd gone all over town, she was surprised that they hadn't run into Tristan. She had half hoped to have seen him. Her mind was just so jumbled. She kept drifting in and out so often that Dean was beginning to notice.

"Rory, are you ok?" he asked as they strolled back to Luke's for a bite.

"Huh?" she asked, looking at him blankly.

"There you go again. All day you've been half here. What's wrong?" he asked as they walked into Luke's.

"Nothing's wrong, I guess I'm thinking about the test on Monday," she said lamely. He looked at her, not believing her but he let it go.

"Ok," he said, gently. They walked over to the counter and then noticed Lorelai sitting at the end of it, talking to Luke.

"Hey Lorelai," said Dean with a smile. Lorelai smiled and waved.

"Hey Mom," said Rory, giving her mom a hug.

"Hey, I'll go order us some stuff," said Dean walking over to the other end of the counter where Luke was standing. Rory hopped onto the stool beside Lorelai.

"So, how was it with Dean?" asked Lorelai, smiling.

"We had fun," said Rory, not very enthusiastically.

"Wow, you sound ecstatic." Said Lorelai, sarcastically.

"I didn't mean it that way, just had a lot on my mind," replied Rory.

"Care to share?" asked Lorelai.

"No, it's nothing," replied Rory, looking down at her hands.

"Hmm… does this have to do with a certain blond that was living at out house?" asked Lorelai, leaning into Rory.

"No… wait, did you say was living at our house?" asked Rory, confused.

"Yeah, well, last I saw him he was leaving the house." Said Lorelai.

"But…" began Rory.

"Honey, I know what's happening," said Lorelai.

"Nothing's happening," replied Rory.

"Rory, don't lie to me," said Lorelai, a hint of strictness in her voice.

"Mom…" said Rory.

"Rory, I saw what happened. Now, I love you and I know you have a great sense of judgement, but are you sure you want to jeopardize the great thing you have with Dean? I mean, this has happened before, and maybe you're right like last time. It was an accident. Don't do anything you're going to regret." Said Lorelai, stroking Rory's hair.

"I'm just so confused, I love Dean, but something happened," explained Rory.

"Rory, you really need to think things through, before you do anything. You just said you loved Dean, are you ready to let go of what you guys have?" asked Lorelai. Rory sat there, completely blank.

"I have to go," said Rory, getting up from the stool.

"Rory, what are you doing?" asked Lorelai.

"Mom, I need to think," said Rory. Lorelai was about to protest when Dean came up to Rory.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Dean, curiously.

"Dean, I need to go…" she slurred. Dean was beginning to say something but Rory had already run out the door.

"Dean, I'm sorry," she called out. Dean walked over to the stool beside Lorelai and slumped down. He began to slowly munch on a fry,

"Could you tell me what just happened?" he asked her, pleadingly.

"I have no idea," lied Lorelai.

***

Rory ran as fast as she could to her house. Her legs were aching but she kept on running. She needed to get there. She ran up the steps to her house and busted the door open. She scurried into the living room, her face dropped when she discovered that he wasn't there. Nothing was there. His bag was not there, no stray bags of chips or even a t-shirt on the floor. Rory sighed. She sat down on the couch and remembered his touch. From the first day that she had arrived to Chilton Tristan had constantly annoyed her. He called her 'Mary', insisted that she was in love with him. He never quit. She was still unsure about how she felt, thinking that if she saw him again all her answers would be answered. Well, he has finally decided to quit, to give up on me, thought Rory. Even though she had never believed that he liked her, what happened that morning at changed her mind. She had seen the way he had looked her that morning when they had fought.

Rory looked down at her hands. He was gone and she was too late. I guess fate was just not on our side, she thought, then got up and decided to go back to the diner. She needed to apologize to Dean for the way she had acted. Rory stepped outside onto the porch and closed the door. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked up into the night sky. Everything was so peaceful, the moon was so clear and the stars were sparkling so pretty just as…

"Aww… thinking about me, Mary?" said a cocky voice. Rory jumped, and turned around and saw Tristan, his backpack hanging off his shoulder, climbing onto her porch from the side.

"No," she replied, pretending to be mad, as he hopped over the railing and stood beside her.

"Hmm… weren't going to say goodbye either?" he asked, grinning at her.

"Fine, 'goodbye'," she said, then spun around and walked away from him, but he caught her arm and pulled her towards him.

"Come on, that's not a goodbye. I thought you were the perfectionist. If you're going to say goodbye, you need to do it right," he said, arrogantly.

"Really? I didn't know there was a right way," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, yeah, and this time your boyfriend's not watching," he said and then kissed her passionately on the porch. Rory kissed him back, running her fingers through his slightly wavy hair. Her eyes were closed tightly as she let all the rush travel through her, because right now everything just seemed clearer.