Disclaimer: Ok, I forgot to put this in before. I could go into the whole
"We don't own anything" speel, but really.who thinks we do? Honestly, if
we did, Rory wouldn't be bouncing between Dean the Bean and Jess the Mess.
Jess isn't bad, definitely better that Dean, but still. We're just fans
having some fun and don't own the show or the characters. Feel better now?
"So, where are we headed?" Rory asked as he pulled her out into the sunlight.
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know. I've never been here." She shrugged. She and her mother stuck to the mall and the movie theatre when they visited Hartford. She had never seen the downtown area.
"You've never been here?" Tristan graced her with a huge grin that sent shivers up her spine and grabbed her hand dragging her down the street. He had a plan to put another chink in her armor. "I know just the place to start."
"Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise." He was glad she hadn't tried to pull her hand away from him as they wove through the lunch hour crowd of pedestrians and came to stop in front of another small shop with no windows beyond the door. "Here."
"Here?" She read the sign on the door and turned to him cautiously. "Over the Rainbow? Tristan is there something you aren't telling me?"
"Yeah, cause that wouldn't get your ass kicked in military school." He rolled his eyes. "Welcome to Oz, Mary." He pulled her into the shop before she could protest. It took her a minute to adjust to lack of light in the store but once she did her eyes went huge.
"Wow." Any misgivings she might have had from the humble storefront flew out the window. Before her sat a two story bookstore.
"It's filled with antique books, mostly fiction." Tristan whispered into her ear as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
"How did you find this place?" She whispered back with the reverence one would find in a church. To Rory, this place was as holy as they come.
"Kelly brought me when I was old enough to get my first real book." He shrugged. "Don't just stand there, look around." He gave her a soft nudge and watched her slip up and down the aisles, brushing her fingers over the spines like a soft caress.
"So tell me about you. How was military school?" She made no attempt to turn and look at him, too wrapped up in the treasures before her eyes.
"Exactly how you would expect it to be, early mornings, screaming drill sergeants, bad food in the mess hall." He shrugged. "Chilton with different uniforms and a shooting range."
"A shooting range at Chilton would definitely be a bad idea. There would be some very dead socialites." He chuckled slightly and nodded in agreement. "How is the family?" She missed the dark look in his eyes as she studied an old copy of Crime and Punishment.
"Avoidance is key." She looked at him waiting for him to explain. "They are in Europe."
"You're staying all by yourself in that museum?" Concern flashed in her eyes before he doused the flame.
"Are you volunteering to keep me company, Mary?" He smirked out of habit. She sighed at the break in the peaceful conversation they were sharing.
"No, but I'm sure you could find someone on this short notice. Louise perhaps."
"No thank you." He chuckled and relinquished the battle he knew would come next. "I'm staying with my grandparents."
"Ahh. That's better anyway right? I mean you like your grandfather."
"Yeah, it's definitely better than a summer with my parents. You know, except for not being able to parade me around like some circus pony, I think they were relieved they didn't have to deal with me all summer."
"My mom rented a circus pony for a party one summer." She blushed furiously realizing that she had truly spoken the words out loud.
"Oh yeah? And what did the legendary Lorelei Gilmore want a pony for?"
"To get back at my grandmother. She put a sign on the saddle that said Lorelei Leigh Gilmore and paraded it around one of my grandmother's garden parties."
Tristan felt a bubble of laughter fighting to break loose. "How old was she?"
"Twenty nine. I was in the saddle." Rory frowned, then started to chuckle. "She was always rubbing grandma's nose in it, you know? That they didn't her support when she needed it." Rory shrugged. "I could count the number of times I saw them on one hand before I started at Chilton." She smiled sadly.
"Do you wish they had been around more?"
"Yes and no. I mean I wish I knew them better, but I like the way I grew up. You can't beat Stars Hollow. The people are great." She started to laugh. "Could you imagine my mother and I at all of those society functions hyped up on coffee and sugar?"
"They would have been a hell of a lot more interesting that's for sure."
"I think I'll take that as a compliment." Rory smiled brightly. "So what are your plans for the summer?"
"To seduce you." He shrugged lightly.
"What?" He was positive the veins in her neck were going to burst, they were bulging dangerously close to the surface as it was.
"Well, you know, I have to finish what I start."
"And of all your unfinished projects," she half glared, "you're choosing THIS one?"
"I have to keep bringing you by to see Rick and Kelly, so why not? Besides, this one's the most fun." He stepped up behind her and slid his arms back around her waist. She broke free of his hold despite her overwhelming desire to stay there. She could still feel the strong muscles of his chest singeing her skin where it had rested against her back.
Rory's face scrunched as she turned to go up the staircase, "You are an unbelievable jerk sometimes, Tristan."
He followed closely and pulled her behind a bookshelf at the top. "Would you rather I simply keep bringing you back and let the coffee seduce you?" Seeing the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, she relaxed and took a moment to consider it.
"Meaning you'll let me have all the coffee I want and behave like a gentleman?"
"As much as I possibly can," he agreed, holding up his hand in a mock salute.
"That's not very encouraging."
"I refuse to make promises I can't keep," he shrugged.
"Ok, fine. You keep bringing me by for coffee, be on your best behavior and I'll-"
"Keep the claws in?" he finished.
"As much as I possibly can," she smirked in return.
"Great," he rolled his eyes. "Now you're picking up habits of mine that you've always hated."
"Payback's a bitch," she quoted, grabbing a book from the shelf.
"And you're no angel," he whispered in her ear before sauntering down another aisle. Rory stood pondering his statement a moment before giving up and following after him. Sometimes he was so confusing. Tristan stopped suddenly as he replayed their conversation in his mind. If his imagination wasn't running away with him, and he was quite positive that it was, then Rory had just given him permission to seduce her. He stepped quietly beside her and laid a comforting hand on her back as she paid the cashier for the book she had selected.
"What do you want to do now?"
"I don't know. How about food?" She let him guide her out the door before allowing him to take her hand.
Across The Street
"No, I want to know who he is," the woman whined as she stomped her foot at the man in front of her.
"And you'll find out, just as soon as she goes home and tells you," he assured her in his most patronizing manner.
"Come on, Lukey, you wanna know, too!"
"Not enough to stalk Rory. Come on, Lorelei, I'm taking you home.and keeping you there until your poor daughter gets home."
"But what if he's some serial killer who we'll hear about when they find Rory's mutilated body?" she persisted as he pushed her backwards towards his truck.
Luke squinted his eyes as he regarded the crazy woman in front of him. "You get the most disgusting ideas. Where do you come up with this stuff? I take it back! I don't want to know. Come on." He opened the door and waited until she flopped in the seat. Crossing her arms over her chest, she frowned petulantly as she looked out the window. Luke took one last look at her, sighed, and started the car. This should be a fun car ride.
9:17 That Night
Rory closed the door and jumped back as her mother pounced on her. "So Calvin, tell me, tell me!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"My God, what did you do to her?" she asked Luke as he walked past her to open the door.
"Trust me, this one's all you," he said. "Night, guys."
"Night, Luke," Rory mumbled.
"Night, Lukey! Love ya!" Lorelei called at the closing door. "Come on, say something!" She bounced on the balls of her feet and studied Rory's face closely.
"That you're insane? Gladly," Rory told her, confusion still evident in her eyes.
"You know what I'm talking about Calvin!" She recoiled for another pounce.
"No, I really don't, Hobbes," she countered as she disentangled herself from Lorelei's grasp and walked into the living room.
Lorelei huffed in annoyance, her eyes doing the squinty thing Rory knew too well. "I know I have raised you better than that."
"What? What do you want to know?" Rory finally gave up as she dropped to the sofa. Lorelei followed suit and grinned at the younger woman.
"So, who was the blonde god you were with?"
Rory sighed, her eyes automatically rolling, and slumped back against the couch. This was going to be an incredibly long night!
"So, where are we headed?" Rory asked as he pulled her out into the sunlight.
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know. I've never been here." She shrugged. She and her mother stuck to the mall and the movie theatre when they visited Hartford. She had never seen the downtown area.
"You've never been here?" Tristan graced her with a huge grin that sent shivers up her spine and grabbed her hand dragging her down the street. He had a plan to put another chink in her armor. "I know just the place to start."
"Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise." He was glad she hadn't tried to pull her hand away from him as they wove through the lunch hour crowd of pedestrians and came to stop in front of another small shop with no windows beyond the door. "Here."
"Here?" She read the sign on the door and turned to him cautiously. "Over the Rainbow? Tristan is there something you aren't telling me?"
"Yeah, cause that wouldn't get your ass kicked in military school." He rolled his eyes. "Welcome to Oz, Mary." He pulled her into the shop before she could protest. It took her a minute to adjust to lack of light in the store but once she did her eyes went huge.
"Wow." Any misgivings she might have had from the humble storefront flew out the window. Before her sat a two story bookstore.
"It's filled with antique books, mostly fiction." Tristan whispered into her ear as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
"How did you find this place?" She whispered back with the reverence one would find in a church. To Rory, this place was as holy as they come.
"Kelly brought me when I was old enough to get my first real book." He shrugged. "Don't just stand there, look around." He gave her a soft nudge and watched her slip up and down the aisles, brushing her fingers over the spines like a soft caress.
"So tell me about you. How was military school?" She made no attempt to turn and look at him, too wrapped up in the treasures before her eyes.
"Exactly how you would expect it to be, early mornings, screaming drill sergeants, bad food in the mess hall." He shrugged. "Chilton with different uniforms and a shooting range."
"A shooting range at Chilton would definitely be a bad idea. There would be some very dead socialites." He chuckled slightly and nodded in agreement. "How is the family?" She missed the dark look in his eyes as she studied an old copy of Crime and Punishment.
"Avoidance is key." She looked at him waiting for him to explain. "They are in Europe."
"You're staying all by yourself in that museum?" Concern flashed in her eyes before he doused the flame.
"Are you volunteering to keep me company, Mary?" He smirked out of habit. She sighed at the break in the peaceful conversation they were sharing.
"No, but I'm sure you could find someone on this short notice. Louise perhaps."
"No thank you." He chuckled and relinquished the battle he knew would come next. "I'm staying with my grandparents."
"Ahh. That's better anyway right? I mean you like your grandfather."
"Yeah, it's definitely better than a summer with my parents. You know, except for not being able to parade me around like some circus pony, I think they were relieved they didn't have to deal with me all summer."
"My mom rented a circus pony for a party one summer." She blushed furiously realizing that she had truly spoken the words out loud.
"Oh yeah? And what did the legendary Lorelei Gilmore want a pony for?"
"To get back at my grandmother. She put a sign on the saddle that said Lorelei Leigh Gilmore and paraded it around one of my grandmother's garden parties."
Tristan felt a bubble of laughter fighting to break loose. "How old was she?"
"Twenty nine. I was in the saddle." Rory frowned, then started to chuckle. "She was always rubbing grandma's nose in it, you know? That they didn't her support when she needed it." Rory shrugged. "I could count the number of times I saw them on one hand before I started at Chilton." She smiled sadly.
"Do you wish they had been around more?"
"Yes and no. I mean I wish I knew them better, but I like the way I grew up. You can't beat Stars Hollow. The people are great." She started to laugh. "Could you imagine my mother and I at all of those society functions hyped up on coffee and sugar?"
"They would have been a hell of a lot more interesting that's for sure."
"I think I'll take that as a compliment." Rory smiled brightly. "So what are your plans for the summer?"
"To seduce you." He shrugged lightly.
"What?" He was positive the veins in her neck were going to burst, they were bulging dangerously close to the surface as it was.
"Well, you know, I have to finish what I start."
"And of all your unfinished projects," she half glared, "you're choosing THIS one?"
"I have to keep bringing you by to see Rick and Kelly, so why not? Besides, this one's the most fun." He stepped up behind her and slid his arms back around her waist. She broke free of his hold despite her overwhelming desire to stay there. She could still feel the strong muscles of his chest singeing her skin where it had rested against her back.
Rory's face scrunched as she turned to go up the staircase, "You are an unbelievable jerk sometimes, Tristan."
He followed closely and pulled her behind a bookshelf at the top. "Would you rather I simply keep bringing you back and let the coffee seduce you?" Seeing the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, she relaxed and took a moment to consider it.
"Meaning you'll let me have all the coffee I want and behave like a gentleman?"
"As much as I possibly can," he agreed, holding up his hand in a mock salute.
"That's not very encouraging."
"I refuse to make promises I can't keep," he shrugged.
"Ok, fine. You keep bringing me by for coffee, be on your best behavior and I'll-"
"Keep the claws in?" he finished.
"As much as I possibly can," she smirked in return.
"Great," he rolled his eyes. "Now you're picking up habits of mine that you've always hated."
"Payback's a bitch," she quoted, grabbing a book from the shelf.
"And you're no angel," he whispered in her ear before sauntering down another aisle. Rory stood pondering his statement a moment before giving up and following after him. Sometimes he was so confusing. Tristan stopped suddenly as he replayed their conversation in his mind. If his imagination wasn't running away with him, and he was quite positive that it was, then Rory had just given him permission to seduce her. He stepped quietly beside her and laid a comforting hand on her back as she paid the cashier for the book she had selected.
"What do you want to do now?"
"I don't know. How about food?" She let him guide her out the door before allowing him to take her hand.
Across The Street
"No, I want to know who he is," the woman whined as she stomped her foot at the man in front of her.
"And you'll find out, just as soon as she goes home and tells you," he assured her in his most patronizing manner.
"Come on, Lukey, you wanna know, too!"
"Not enough to stalk Rory. Come on, Lorelei, I'm taking you home.and keeping you there until your poor daughter gets home."
"But what if he's some serial killer who we'll hear about when they find Rory's mutilated body?" she persisted as he pushed her backwards towards his truck.
Luke squinted his eyes as he regarded the crazy woman in front of him. "You get the most disgusting ideas. Where do you come up with this stuff? I take it back! I don't want to know. Come on." He opened the door and waited until she flopped in the seat. Crossing her arms over her chest, she frowned petulantly as she looked out the window. Luke took one last look at her, sighed, and started the car. This should be a fun car ride.
9:17 That Night
Rory closed the door and jumped back as her mother pounced on her. "So Calvin, tell me, tell me!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"My God, what did you do to her?" she asked Luke as he walked past her to open the door.
"Trust me, this one's all you," he said. "Night, guys."
"Night, Luke," Rory mumbled.
"Night, Lukey! Love ya!" Lorelei called at the closing door. "Come on, say something!" She bounced on the balls of her feet and studied Rory's face closely.
"That you're insane? Gladly," Rory told her, confusion still evident in her eyes.
"You know what I'm talking about Calvin!" She recoiled for another pounce.
"No, I really don't, Hobbes," she countered as she disentangled herself from Lorelei's grasp and walked into the living room.
Lorelei huffed in annoyance, her eyes doing the squinty thing Rory knew too well. "I know I have raised you better than that."
"What? What do you want to know?" Rory finally gave up as she dropped to the sofa. Lorelei followed suit and grinned at the younger woman.
"So, who was the blonde god you were with?"
Rory sighed, her eyes automatically rolling, and slumped back against the couch. This was going to be an incredibly long night!