Disclaimer: Still not mine. Some of it is, but mostly not.
He stepped in the door, soaking wet from just over an hour spent in the pouring down rain. She stood in front of him with a huge towel, as if she'd anticipated this moment all along. He gave her a questioning glance.
"I thought I heard you coming," she smiled.
He returned the smile, and stripped off his wet sweatshirt. She handed him the towel, which he rubbed over his hair a few times before wrapping it over his shoulders.
"You really should get out of those wet clothes," she said, as she ran her eyes down his body.
He nodded thoughtfully, "You're right. I think a hot shower is in order."
Stepping forward, he picked her up at the waist and propped her up over his shoulder, carrying her upstairs with him. It wasn't until an hour later, now clean, satisfied, and lazing about in bed did Tristan find out that they were alone for the remaining duration of their stay. His reaction to this news made Rory sink yet again deeper into the mattress, breathlessly happy.
&&&&
"Hey, Billy, want to go to the school and shoot some hoops?" Jake asked as he and Ambrose headed for the door.
"Nah. I think I'm just going to walk out to the park."
"Alright. Later."
"Yeah, later," he said, nodding to the other boys. He glanced over at Ella before grabbing his own jacket and exiting the house as well.
Ella, who'd been paying close attention to the boys' conversation, stood up from the couch.
"Hey, Gramma, I need to run to the market. I'm out of nail polish."
Lorelai smiled, "Right. Nail polish. Red?"
"Gramma," Ella sighed, hoping she'd at least try to be subtle.
"Have fun."
Ella smiled, turned, and headed out, passing the center of town (and the market) before finally reaching the park. She continued past the old shed that was so dear to her mother, where she used to bring her when they went to feed the ducks when she was little. She heard someone ahead making noise as their feet hit the wooden planks of the footbridge. Smiling, she continued ahead, hoping to find what she was looking for.
Luke looked up from his book five minutes after Ella had left the house. He and Lorelai had been curled up on opposite ends of the couch, both reading.
"Damn it!"
"What?" Lorelai looked at him after his sudden outburst.
"Kid code?"
"Oh, yeah," she stifled a laugh.
"Damn it!"
"You're getting better at it, though. Maybe with our great-grandkids," she patted his knee.
He rolled his eyes, hoping that if Lorelai knowingly allowed these children privacy, they wouldn't do anything too stupid, and went back to reading.
&&&&
Will and Davey sat on the couch, watching The Goonies. They'd probably seen the movie 500 times, but they never tired of watching it. At least they weren't actively quoting the film line for line—it had been known to happen.
Anna came out from her shower, dressed and feeling human again, just as the popular girl tried to play the skeleton piano in the cave. She smiled at the boys, glad that some things never change. She'd thought a lot about Dave's advice to her, but she wasn't sure she could tell Will something like that. Neither of them was ready for a relationship right now, she told herself. She sat in the armchair, half-watching the movie with them.
"Did you sleep well?" Will asked, startling her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, yeah, I did, thanks. You didn't have to give up your bed."
"Not a problem," he smiled at her before turning back to the movie.
"So, Dave, when do we get to meet Mallory?"
"Never," he replied, never looking away from the screen.
"Dave, the whole family has to meet her. How long has it been?"
"A couple of months," he shrugged, now looking at his sister who was perfectly happy to talk through the movie it seemed.
"Dave," she stared intently at him.
"Not everyone! I like her, I'm going to ease her into everyone. How about just you first?"
"Hey," Will complained, hitting his friend in the leg.
"Okay, you and Will can go out with us tonight, if that goes well, I'll do Mom and Dad next week."
"Sounds fair."
"Can't believe you were going to leave me out of this," Will feigned hurt.
"Whatever. Just be ready to go at six, both of you."
Will and Anna glanced at each other, happy to have 'won'. Realization that they were in effect double dating with Davey hit both a moment later, sending all eyes back to Astoria.
&&&&
Tristan was lying with his face against Rory's stomach, his cheek on the smooth, flat plane between her hips. His torso was cradled lovingly between her legs. She stroked his hair absent-mindedly. He loved to feel her moving her fingers through his hair, and even more so that she did it all the time without even realizing it.
"What do you want to do today?" she asked, causing him to move so his chin pressed lightly into her abdomen.
"More of the same?" he raised a hopeful eyebrow.
Rory giggled, "Shouldn't we do something else as well, like dinner or sightseeing?"
"I like the sights here just fine."
"Tristan,"
"What? I do," he paused, "Fine. If you need to leave the house, I'm sure we can find something to pass the time."
"Good. But first things first."
He smiled that smile that made her ache before sliding his hands to her hips and trailing kisses down her stomach.
&&&&
Billy was on the footbridge when Ella caught up to him. She slowed her pace before stepping onto the wooden planks.
"Hey," she ventured, mentally slapping herself for the lack of originality in her opening line.
"Hey," he smiled, "Wanna sit?"
She nodded, and sat amongst the fallen leaves next to the red-haired boy. Neither spoke for a beat. He cleared his throat, feeling the moment stretching too long.
"How long are you guys staying?"
"'Til tomorrow. If Mom and Dad ever get back."
"Where'd they go?"
"Up to the Vineyard house. Something about Uncle Jess and Aunt Erin."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
He looked at her, then back out over the water before asking his next question.
"So, are you, uh, dating anyone?"
"Not anyone in particular."
"I just wondered, I mean, if I should have, you know, earlier."
She smirked at him. "Now you're babbling."
He nodded, praying that her smile wasn't due to her thinking that he was a moron. He noticed her gaze dip down from his eyes to his lips. He leaned forward, encouraged, meeting her halfway as she kissed him. She placed a hand on his chest, and he moved one hand to hold her head gently at the nape of her neck.
When he pulled back, she smiled. "You do that so good," she said softly.
He half-laughed before leaning into her a second time.
&&&&
Six o'clock finally rolled around on Saturday evening, at which time Anna arrived back at the guys' apartment. She'd gone home to change, and Sookie had helped her with her hair; as well as offered to pay her good money to take pictures of Mallory for her. Sookie had been very pleased to hear that Anna had been spending so much time with Will, despite her claims that they were just friends.
Davey let out a low whistle as Anna stepped in the door.
"Damn, you lookin' hot!" he mocked her.
"Bite my ass, Dave," she stuck out her tongue at her brother.
"Alright, kids, separate corners," Will instructed, "But, you do look gorgeous," he added.
Her stomach lurched as she blushed. "Thank you," she managed.
Davey rolled his eyes, their incapacity to see what was happening to themselves physically painful to him at this point.
"In my car, let's go."
"We won't have to see Bree, will we?" Anna asked on the way out the door.
"It's her Lamaze class night," Davey said, as he locked the door behind them. He turned and jogged to catch up with the other two.
"Will, aren't you going to tell me how gorgeous I look?" he joked, then ducked back as both Anna and Will made to smack him before climbing into the car.