Pairing: Established relationships for L/L and P/J; R/T…eventually
Rating: R
Spoilers: May reference anything from seasons 1 & 2
Summary: Seven years after graduating Chilton, Rory and Paris are business partners. What happens when they strike up a joint venture with Tristan DuGrey?
Disclaimer: The characters depicted here were created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, and are the property of Hofflund-Polone and Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions. They are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made from their use.
A/N: This chapter's title quote is from High Fidelity. John Cusack is a god. And this is dedicated to Chris, 'cause she's a WSC-updating goddess.
Unholy Alliance
By Grace
Part Twenty-six: If you really wanted to mess me up, you should have gotten to me earlier.
Thanksgiving had come and gone, and the Christmas holidays were rapidly approaching. Since returning to Boston, Lane and Andy have been going on occasional dates, their burgeoning relationship hampered slightly by Lane's busy schedule at the hospital. Rory and Ryan are still dating, but not engaged. Rory's refusal to give him an answer to his proposal has become a point of contention between the two. Meanwhile, Rory and Tristan continue to work long hours together, the launch of the Internet magazine now just weeks away.
It was Friday, December 17th, and Rory Gilmore was baking cookies. Technically, this only entailed slicing the Pillsbury dough with the green Christmas trees in the middle, and then putting them in the oven, but it was better than nothing. Glancing at her watch, Rory began to cut faster. Lane was coming to Hartford for the weekend, and she was due to arrive any minute.
Just as Rory slid the sheet of cookies into the oven, there was a knock at the apartment door. Grinning widely, she hurried to answer it.
Her smile faltered slightly when the door swung open to reveal Tristan. "Tristan. Hey. What's up?"
"I'm sorry to bother you, Rory, I know you're expecting Lane soon."
She waved her hand dismissively. "It's no problem. Do you want to come in?"
"No, I won't keep you. I was just wondering if you had half a cup of sugar I could borrow."
She smirked at him. "If I didn't know better, I'd think that was a bad pick-up line. Sure, I think I have sugar. What's it for?"
He flushed slightly. "I'm cooking dinner. For a date."
Rory's eyebrows shot up, and she felt a funny twinge in her stomach. "A date, huh? It's about time you got back into the game."
"Yeah, I guess."
"So who is she? Anyone I know?"
"No, just a woman I met a few weeks ago. She works at the little deli down the street from your office."
"Is this your first date with her?"
"Third, actually. Um, could I get that sugar now?"
"Sure. Hang on just a second."
He stood just inside the apartment while Rory disappeared into the kitchen. Before she returned, Tristan heard someone coming up the stairs. Turning, he caught sight of Lane, hauling a small suitcase up behind her. Smiling widely, he hurried over to help her.
"Lane, hi!"
She looked up and returned his smile. "Hi Tristan. Are you joining us for dinner tonight?"
He reached for her suitcase and lifted it easily. "I can't. I have a date."
"A date? Really?"
"You sound so shocked, Lane. Am I not worthy dating material?"
She swatted him playfully. "Of course you are! But what about…"
Lane trailed off as Rory stepped into the hallway, holding what appeared to be a measuring cup.
"Lane!" she squealed. "I'm so glad you're here!" When Lane and Tristan reached her, Rory thrust the sugar towards him and enveloped her best friend in a bear hug. "How was your drive?"
"The usual—heavy traffic, stupid drivers. All that matters is that I'm here now."
"Well, come on in, I have some cookies in the…" She was cut off by the shrill beeping of the smoke alarm. In a panic, she rushed back into the apartment.
Chuckling, Lane and Tristan exchanged amused glances.
"I should get in there, make sure Rory doesn't burn down the building," Lane commented. "You and I will finish this discussion later."
"Oh we will, will we?"
"Have fun on your date Tristan." Gently, she pulled her suitcase out of his grasp and disappeared into Rory's apartment, shutting the door behind her.
Glancing down at his cup of sugar, Tristan headed back into his own apartment.
* * *
The cookies were a total loss, but several cartons of Chinese food and a bottle of wine Lane had bought in California helped compensate for the lack of a sugar fix. Once they finished dinner, the two girls relaxed on the couch and played catch-up.
"I'm so glad you were able to come down this weekend," Rory said.
"I am too. It kind of sucks that I have to work next weekend, though."
Rory patted her hand sympathetically. "Just think, in a few more years, you can sentence some poor resident to Christmas duty while you jet off to the Bahamas."
"I can hardly wait."
"So what's Andy doing this weekend? I thought you'd want to spend some time with him, since you actually have a couple days off."
Lane made a face. "The one weekend I have free, and he gets sent to D.C. on assignment. Ooh, I did bring my pictures from California, though!"
"Let me see!" Rory squealed excitedly.
Retrieving the photos from her bag, Lane settled back on the couch beside Rory, narrating each shot.
"Wow, Lane, Andy is gorgeous."
"I know," the other woman sighed happily. "He's like my own personal Greek god."
"Are you two getting serious?"
Lane shrugged. "I don't know about serious. We have a lot of fun together, but with our schedules, we're still getting to know each other. I really like him, though."
"I can tell," Rory responded with a smile. She paused as Lane flipped to a picture of herself and Tristan clinking their wine glasses at a vineyard. "You and Tristan have gotten to be pretty close, haven't you?"
"Yeah, he's a good guy."
"What's his family like?"
"Completely insane. Well, most of them. Obviously, I don't have a problem with Andy, and Tristan's sister Natalie is pretty cool. Hey, what's up with him having a date tonight?"
"No clue. I didn't even know he was seeing anyone until today."
"So who is she?"
"Some girl from the deli by work. I don't even know her name."
Lane gave her friend a contemplative look. "You sound bothered by your lack of knowledge of Tristan's love life."
"I guess I am, a little. I mean, he's supposed to be my friend, you know? And I don't even know he's dating anyone until he happens to need sugar."
"Are you sure that's all it is?"
"What else would it be?"
"Just making sure you weren't, you know, jealous or anything."
"Why would I be jealous?"
"No reason, I guess."
* * *
Tristan glanced surreptitiously at his watch. His date had only been underway for thirty minutes, but it felt like it had been hours. Sasha was a nice enough girl, and he had enjoyed their coffee date and their movie date. Tonight was different, though.
From the moment she arrived, it had been clear that Sasha was expecting their relationship to progress to a new level tonight. Her top was tight, low-cut, and practically transparent, while her black leather pants clung precariously to her narrow hips. She had practically sat in his lap while they sipped glasses of wine. He gratefully escaped to the opposite side of the table as soon as dinner was ready.
Now, Tristan was worried that Sasha was never going to stop talking.
"…and so then I was like, 'Look, man, you ordered a turkey club, and the turkey club comes with mayo, and you, like, didn't say you didn't want mayo, so, like, there's nothing I can do.' So then this jerk totally went off on me, and I thought Jerry—he's my manager—was going to go into cardiac arrest, and he made me give no-mayo guy a brand new sandwich for free, and he told me that if I caused another incident like that, he would fire me."
As soon as she paused for breath, Tristan jumped into the conversation. "Wow, that's awful. How long have you worked at the deli?"
"Hmm… About three years, now. You know, it was just supposed to be a temporary gig, but then I realized how much I liked the people there, and then I started to get to know the regulars, and the next thing I knew…"
And we're off and running again, Tristan thought with resignation.
* * *
"Lane, there has to be a reason. You wouldn't be asking if I was jealous unless you thought I was jealous."
Lane gave Rory a funny look. "Okay, I think I followed that. It's just…sometimes there's this weird vibe between you and Tristan. Sparks, you might say."
"The only sparks I have with Tristan are from when we argue."
"If you say so, Rory."
She threw up her hands in frustration. "Why on earth won't you believe me? I mean, I'm practically engaged to Ryan."
"But you aren't engaged to Ryan. There must be a reason for that too."
Rory ducked her head, no longer willing to meet her best friend's gaze. "I don't know, Lane. I know I'm being ridiculous. He's handsome, smart, funny, successful, and he wants to marry me. There's really no good reason why I didn't say yes to him the minute he asked me. But I just…I couldn't."
Lane put a comforting arm around the other girl's shoulders. "Rory, if you're not sure, that's a perfectly good reason. You saw what your mom went through with Mr. Medina. She said yes because she thought she should…"
"…when deep down she was in love with Luke, and had been for years," Rory finished the story.
Lane didn't respond, not wanting to push too hard. She remembered how Lorelai had protested that she and Luke were just friends, no matter how many times Miss Patty, Babette, or Emily Gilmore insisted otherwise. In a way, it had probably kept Luke and Lorelai apart for more years than necessary."
"I'm not my mother," Rory murmured.
"No, you're not. All I'm saying is, you've learned from her mistakes your entire life. Don't let that trend stop now."
"So you think marrying Ryan would be a mistake?"
"I didn't say that. All I'm saying is that if you do decide to marry him, make sure it's for the right reasons."
"I will, Lane. I promise."
* * *
Tristan glanced at the clock and groaned. Eleven o'clock and he had just gotten rid of Sasha. After placing the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, he returned to the living room and collapsed on the couch. Dating Sasha had been a mistake—he had known that the moment she arrived tonight. Still, he kept hoping it would get better, that she would help keep his mind off of Rory and her possible pending engagement.
Instead, it only served to remind him just how amazing Rory was, and how incredibly…annoying so many other women were.
His maudlin reverie was interrupted by a sharp knock at his door. Rolling off the couch, Tristan walked over and opened the door to a very agitated Lane Kim.
"Lane? What are you doing here?"
Without preamble, she barged into the apartment. "I told you we were going to finish our discussion. I didn't think that bimbo was ever going to leave."
"Hey, you've never met Sasha. How do you know she's a bimbo?"
Lane leveled a hard stare at him. "Is she?"
"Well…yeah. But that's not the point. Won't Rory wonder where you are?"
She waved off that possibility. "She's been on the phone with Ryan for an hour, and we've already said our goodnights. I don't expect to see her until tomorrow morning."
He grimaced at the mention of his partner's name. "I'm surprised you two aren't staying awake all night, catching up."
She settled into his recliner and flipped up the footrest before replying. "One of the interesting things about my friendship with Rory is that, no matter how long we've been apart, after only an hour together, it's as if we've never been separated."
"Wow, that's pretty special."
She shrugged. "Multiple phone calls per week help too."
He grinned. "What exactly did you want to discuss?"
"Let's get straight to the point. Why are you dating the Deli Ditz when you're in love with the girl next door…or at least the girl across the hall?"
"Because the girl across the hall isn't in love with me. I'm tired of pining over Rory. I thought dating might help."
"Did it?"
He snorted. "Not exactly. I'm starting to think it's a lost cause. But enough about my pathetic love life. How's Andy?"
"He's great. We don't get to see each other as much as we'd like, but we're making the best of it."
"Have you told your parents about him yet?"
"Are you kidding me? I'm not subjecting myself to that kind of torture until I absolutely have to."
"Fair enough," Tristan said.
"Will you be seeing your family for Christmas?"
He shook his head. "After the Thanksgiving fiasco, I doubt I'd be welcome. I think I'm just going to head back to New York and have a quiet holiday."
Lane's face fell. "Tristan, you can't spend Christmas alone! You know I'd invite you to spend it with me, but I'll be working."
"Don't worry about it, Lane. I'll be fine."
She wasn't about to be deterred. "Why don't you go to Stars Hollow?"
"I am not crashing Rory's Christmas."
"What if you were invited?"
"Lane, I don't want you saying anything to Rory about this."
"I won't, I promise!"
He leaned back and sighed. "Somehow, that's not entirely reassuring."
To be continued…