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.
Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Priya, who prodded me in the direction of the Trory Secret Valentine fics, thereby providing me with some much needed inspiration. Shout-outs to Jamie, Ash, Janine, and toughfluff, who give me all the love and props I could possibly want.
Incidentally, this chapter's title quote is from Star Wars. I realize that I've used that particular movie before, but it's been my favorite for going on 23 years now, so I feel entitled to do whatever I want with it. That, and it's my story anyway. J
Unholy Alliance
By Grace
Part Thirty-one: "He's got to follow his own path. No one can choose it for him."
Tristan and Brooke were nursing their second cups of coffee before they advanced the conversation beyond the usual getting-to-know-you pleasantries. They had bonded over their shared love of North Carolina—it turned out she had grown up about twenty miles from where he had attended military school.
Finally, she said, "So tell me about your business partner's almost-fiancé."
Tristan dunked a piece of biscotti in his coffee and avoided her gaze. "It's a long, boring story. I'm sure you wouldn't be interested."
She flashed him another dimpled grin. "You'd be surprised." Brooke paused, and leaned back in her chair. "Tell you what—I'll share some of the dirty details of my pathetic love life, and you'll see how much better your story is."
"I don't know if I believe that, but go for it."
"You actually remind me a lot of the first guy that I truly fell for. It was high school, of course, and I was enjoying it to the fullest. Cheerleading, parties, hot guys, the works. But then I met Luke. At first, he seemed totally hung up on my best friend, but eventually I won him over with my undeniable charms." She laughed, but it was tinged with bitterness.
"So what happened?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. We dated, I fell for him, and he cheated on me with my best friend."
"Brooke, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be! After all, you didn't cheat on me."
"Then I apologize on behalf of the entire male gender. We're all jerks, especially in high school. Trust me—I was a jerk in high school. That's part of the reason I got shipped off to military school."
"At least you learned from your mistakes."
"What about Luke? Did he ever learn?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen or heard from him in years." She paused. "You want to know the really sick part?"
"What's that?"
"Ever since, I've been convinced that every guy I dated was going to cheat on me. After all, if a great guy like Luke couldn't stay faithful, how could anyone else?"
"He couldn't have been that great, if he cheated on you."
Brooke sighed, and stared into her coffee. "That's the thing. Luke was an amazing guy. But we were young, and there was a lot going on, and he made a mistake. A mistake that I never let him live down."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you still have feelings for him."
"You've known me an hour, Tristan. How could you possibly know better?"
"Are you saying that you do still have feelings for him?"
"All I'm saying is that if I had the opportunity to see him again, I wouldn't pass it up."
"Reminds me of how I feel about Rory. Kind of."
"So tell me about her, already!"
"We never actually dated, but she intrigued me the first time I met her…"
* * *
Rory and Ryan were taking a few turns around the makeshift skating rink at the festival, while Paris and Jess sat on a nearby bench, sipping hot apple cider.
"I wonder what Tristan's doing tonight…" Paris mused.
"Maybe Ryan's right—maybe he went out on the town. Tristan does have a lot of connections in New York."
Paris shook her head. "You didn't talk to him. There's no way he would have been in the mood for a party tonight. Besides, even if he had gone out, he would have taken his cell phone with him."
"Then maybe he just went to bed early. He's a big boy—he doesn't need you worrying about him."
"I can't help it. I just want him to be happy."
"Tristan has to find his own happiness. You can't find it for him."
She exhaled loudly. "I know that. I just wish Rory wasn't being so stupid."
"Regardless of what you may think of him, I think you need to accept that Ryan is going to be a part of our lives. I really think that Rory is going to accept his proposal."
"And I'm just supposed to sit back and let that happen?"
"What else can you do? You, Lorelai, and Lane have thrown Rory and Tristan together a ton of times, and nothing has happened."
"Not true. Rory and Tristan kissed on Christmas Eve."
"Yes, they did—under the mistletoe. After which they decided it meant nothing."
"Rory decided it meant nothing. Because she's stupid."
"You're arguing in circles."
"Hormones. But that's not the point. There has to be something I can do."
"Like what? Tristan is effectively walking out of Rory's life tomorrow. If that doesn't spur her to action, nothing will."
"Maybe…" Her voice drifted off as she watched Rory and Ryan skate in awkward circles. Jess followed her line of sight, and felt a frisson of trepidation uncurl in his stomach.
"Paris, what are you thinking?"
"It just occurred to me that with all the scheming and plotting we've been doing, I'm not sure anyone has tried talking to Rory."
Jess rolled his eyes. "Okay, that's it. I'm declaring a moratorium on all discussion of the Tristan-Rory-Ryan situation. It's New Year's Eve, which means that tomorrow we're starting a whole different year in our life together. We're going to become parents this year. Parents. That means you'll have a whole new life to mold and shape and just generally screw with."
At that comment, Paris elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Watch it."
"Aw, you know I'm just teasing. Sort of."
"Do you want to sleep on the couch?"
"No. Just—promise me you'll leave the Terrible Triangle alone until next year, okay?"
She leaned into his body, taking comfort in his warmth. "Fair enough."
* * *
Brooke drained her coffee while pondering Tristan's story. She set down the insulated cup, and asked, "Are you really going to go through with it? Are you going to walk away from the life you've built because of unrequited love?"
"I have to, Brooke, or I might lose my mind. It's time to move on with my life, and I can't do that when I'm around Rory. What would you do?"
The dimples were shallow this time, the smile tired. "I'd have been on that plane to Europe weeks ago. But that's me. Do you know the one thing I regret most about my relationship with Luke?"
"What's that?"
"That I didn't fight for him. I berated him, I belittled him, and I made his life a living hell. But never once did I try to make him see that I would have been better for him than Peyton. I would have been, too. She was one messed-up ball of emotional instability, and she fucked with Luke's head for years. She was my best friend and I loved her, but she couldn't manage a healthy relationship with a 200-page manual. She loved the idea of being with Luke, but she didn't know what to do once she had him."
"So why did you let her have him?"
Brooke shrugged. "I was hurt and in high school. I was too angry to think clearly, and it was easier to drink myself numb and sleep my way through the rest of the basketball team. Then, as I got older, I started to think I had done the noble thing—they wanted each other, so who was I to stand in their way? I was sacrificing my feelings to make them happy. But they weren't happy—and neither was I."
Tristan cocked his head and gazed at her thoughtfully. "How many years of therapy did it take for you to figure all this out?"
She threw her head back and laughed full out, a golden sound that echoed through the nearly deserted café. "How do you know I didn't just go off to college and become deeply introspective?"
Tristan simply arched an eyebrow at her.
"Fine, you caught me. I went to a shrink for three years. Never told anyone I was doing it. It was the best money I ever spent."
"Sounds like it. But this isn't a high-school relationship. We're talking about potential marriage here."
Brooke reached across the table and laid her hand on top of Tristan's. "Doesn't that make it even more important to fight for? This could be the rest of Rory's life. Do you want to spend the rest of yours wondering if you could have been the one to make her smile every morning? You love her. Everyone deserves to know that they're loved. And you deserve to tell her."
Sighing, he squeezed her hand. "You make a persuasive argument. I can't promise you've changed my mind, but how would you feel about keeping me company at a little soiree tomorrow? Maybe if you're next to me, slapping me upside the head enough times, I'll make the right decision for once in my life."
"You want me to go to the party where you announce to the world that you're running away?"
"If you're there, I might not run away," he pointed out.
"I'm in."
* * *
It was New Year's Day. How did it get to be New Year's Day? Rory wondered. She smoothed back a miniscule wisp of hair that had slipped from her elegant chignon. The diamond earrings her grandparents had given her for her twenty-first birthday winked and sparkled from her earlobes, and she lifted her favorite diamond-and-opal necklace off her dresser.
"Excited about your big day?" Lorelai asked, stepping up behind her and taking the necklace from Rory's hands.
She shrugged as her mother fastened the delicate gold chain around her neck. "I guess it's a little bittersweet, actually. This is an amazing new beginning for G & G, something that has the potential to open countless new doors for the business. But at the same time, it feels like something is ending."
Lorelai dropped her hands to Rory's shoulders, and searched her daughter's face in the mirror. "Something like…working with Tristan?"
"Mom, why do you keep doing this?"
"Doing what?" Lorelai replied, feigning innocence.
"Don't you think I've noticed how Tristan and I keep 'coincidentally' ending up together?"
"Maybe it's fate," Lorelai countered.
"And I suppose it's also fate that you, Lane, and Paris continually sing Tristan's praises while barely giving Ryan the time of day?"
"We refer to that as 'taste,' actually."
"Mom!"
"Sorry. I'm sure that Ryan is a very nice…robot."
Rory was near tears now. "What is so wonderful about Tristan DuGrey? Ryan loves me and wants to marry me. Why can't you just be happy for me?"
Lorelai tugged on Rory's hand, and the two of them sat down on the bed. "Because," she said gently," so far I haven't seen much evidence of you being happy for you. You keep telling people that Ryan loves you, but how do you feel about him? And as for people in love, Tristan is head-over-heels crazy about you."
"Right," Rory scoffed. "I sincerely doubt that Tristan DuGrey even knows the meaning of the word love."
Lorelai stared at her daughter. "After all this time, are you really still judging him on his sixteen-year-old behavior? You've seen him with Emma and Charlotte, and I've seen him with you. You know he's better than that now."
"If he loves me so much, why hasn't he ever said anything? I have a hard time imagining him in the role of noble, silent martyr. He certainly never bothered to disguise his interest when I was with Dean."
"Again, I remind you of defense exhibit A: he was sixteen. Just out of curiosity, what would you do if Tristan suddenly expressed his feelings for you?"
Rory's face blanched. "I…I don't know. But it's not going to happen anyway, because he doesn't have feelings for me, so what difference does it make?" She paused and exhaled loudly. "Now come on, we need to finish getting ready for the launch party." With one final glance in the mirror, she stalked out of her mother's bedroom.
"My darling, stupid Rory," Lorelai murmured. "The real question is, how do you feel about Tristan?"
* * *
The car ride to Hartford started out quietly, at least for Rory and Ryan, who were driving in with Paris and Jess. Luke, Lorelai, and their brood required a separate vehicle altogether. After fifteen minutes of deathly silence, Paris spoke up.
"Are you sure your speech is ready, Rory? Remember, it's important that we make a good impression. We're going up against on-line magazine juggernauts like Slate and Salon. Even trash like Cosmo and Vogue has had an online presence for years. I told you we should have done this sooner. The last thing we want is to be perceived as some worthless upstart trying to capitalize on a passe trend. Internet editions are all but mandatory for the print media these days, and we're getting into the game in the seventh inning…"
Rory tuned out Paris' rant as soon as her excitable partner swerved into baseball metaphors. It had been decided that she would give the formal address at the launch today, since Paris had a tendency to allow her speeches to devolve into diatribes. Plus, she didn't feel her six-month-along pregnancy presented the best image for the company, which Rory thought was nonsense. Tristan would also be speaking on behalf of ILRG. In truth, after the conversation with her mother, Rory was more concerned about seeing him than about the actual presentation. She gave her head a mental shake. This was getting ridiculous. She simply needed to give Ryan an answer to his proposal and be done with it. Then, perhaps, she could stop feeling as though she was being pulled in countless directions.
Paris was still rattling on, working herself into a frenzy, when Jess pulled into the parking lot of the country club. Rory's grandmother had insisted upon using her numerous connections to stage the launch party there. Besides, Tristan's parents were also members there, and in the mind of Emily Gilmore, that was an additional plus.
A frigid blast of wind assaulted Rory's cheek when she opened the car door, not bothering to wait for Ryan to come around and assist her. Which, she realized with a glance behind her, he apparently hadn't planned to do anyway, since he was already halfway to the main entrance of the club.
Slamming the door shut and pulling her calf-length wool coat tight around her slim frame, Rory walked around to the other side of the vehicle. She positioned herself on the opposite side of Paris from Jess and the three of them slowly made their way to the building, not wanting the pregnant woman to slip on an errant patch of ice. By the time they got inside, Rory couldn't feel her cheeks, and Ryan was nowhere in sight. With an aggrieved sigh, she headed to the coatroom, where she accepted the claim check with a tight smile, since the muscles in her face were still frozen.
As she turned around to leave, she ran smack into a gorgeous, smiling brunette woman—who was clinging to the arm of one Tristan DuGrey.
To be continued…