Disclaimer: They are not mine. I own nothing but my ideas.

Lazy Day

When Rory woke several hours later, she sleepwalked to the bathroom, did her usual morning things then dressed in a sundress and sandals fit for a D.A.R. luncheon. Only then when she was pouring out coffee from the carafe Martha was so thoughtful to fill did she realize that the house was unusually silent. With Finn and Alison and Tristan there besides herself and the help, one would assume there would be noise of some sort coming from any area of the house. With her coffee in hand and the tottering bumbling walk of one who has yet to consume adequate amounts of caffeine, Rory took off in search of her companions.

The games room, TV room, den, kitchen, foyer, lounge and bar were all empty. Curious more now than anything, she continued her individual exploration of the house. One of the bedrooms she entered had a large queen sized bed that obviously was not slept in last night. The room had a cosy lived in quality, done in warm rich autumn colours that invited her to cuddle under the comforter even in the humid weather. With the air conditioning on full blast, a day in that bed would be heaven. She checked the hallway with the guilty look of a two year old doing something naughty, Rory slipped off her sandals and jumped onto the bed, giggling as the reverberating bounce jostled the blankets and pillows. Across the bed on the full length mirror closet, there was a note taped on with her name in block letters. Curious as to what a note meant for her was doing in a room that she'd never been in before, she pulled it off and once again bounced onto the bed to read it. On her stomach with her feet waving in the air, she admired the neat script that greeted her on the inside.

The note was dated that morning, and read.

Mary, Mary quite contrary,

If you are reading this note then you've found my bedroom. And I suspect you are terribly bored or everyone has already left for the day. Today is the helps' day off and Alison and Finn told me that they were heading to the Cricket Club for a morning match of tennis and breakfast. Depending on what time you read this they will either be calling soon to see if you're awake or be heading back to get ready for their little side trip. I'll be busy all day with terribly boring legal things however I should be done in time for a late dinner. Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to dinner tonight? I'll call you later to confirm.

-Tristan

The letter in all its simplicity couldn't help but touch Rory, and she allowed herself a moment of childishness, bringing the note to her face she inhaled hoping to find the scent of the writer, then hugging a pillow bounded off the bed for the living room, sandals forgotten.

A little while later, Rory was flipping through the channels on the TV with Tristan's pillows burying her into the couch. The front door opened and Finn and Alison walked in.

"You didn't beat me love, I let you." Finn's voice was petulant as he tried to salvage his pride.

"Oh yea Finn, that's why I won every game and you didn't even manage to take a single set off of me right?" countered Alison.

"That's right, what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't let the lady win?" cajoled Finn.

"The kind that you aren't Finn. I say if I had wagered alcohol or a date on those matches you could have taken me easily. I could tell you were restraining the power on the serves. I'm a grown lady, I can handle a vigorous match."

"Can you?" Finn wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Well then, we'll just have to see about that, my stamina is infamous."

"Probably infamously short."

"You wound me, fair Alison."

"In your dreams."

"No in yours…"

Finn and Alison's sexual tension began to stifle their unknown audience so Rory decided to cut in.

"Well it seems like you've had a productive morning."

Unfazed at all, Finn answered, "yes, and we were wondering if you'd like to see the real Singapore. When you only go to the high class areas, they're all the same. Whether you buy Dior in France, England or Asia, it's the same product."

"Sure." Rory replied.

"Just go change into comfortable clothes and we'll go explore. How's that?" Alison offered. "We'll just quickly rinse down and meet back here in say…20 minutes?"

Finn leered at Alison. "Better make that an hour."

Alison simply looked at Finn and lobbed a tennis ball at his head. "Nope, make that 20 minutes and SEPARATE showers."

Finn groaned and relented.

An hour later, Rory, Finn and Alison entered an open air building, the heat and humidity stifled Rory and heavy but incredibly fragrant smoke filled the air. "Welcome to your first hawker center experience." Alison began.

Rory took in her surroundings, plastic tables and stools were bolted into a tiled floor. There were different food stalls lining the walls, each stall sold a varying number of dishes. Some were soup stalls, barbecued meat stalls, vegetarian stalls, noodle stalls, drink stalls and dessert stalls and those were only the ones Rory could identify at a glance.

Unsure, Alison continued. "I know it's a huge culture shock, the floor looked well trod upon with mud tracked in from the outside and spilled food that stray cats were fighting over. But it's the best food, everyone eats at food areas like this. From the poorest people to the richest."

Rory could see the types of people eating here, there were the rich in their branded polo shirts and khakis and the poorest in mismatched clothing and rubber flipflops. The cars in the parking lot just meters from the entrance also told the story. Every kind of car, motorcycle and bicycle packed the parking lot. With a smile and a sniff of the food a vendor carried past her, Rory simply grinned and said, "So where do we begin?"

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A/N: Hawker Centers have absolutely the best food and often its dirt-cheap. I find them hard to describe cause the closest thing North America has in comparison are wet markets. I spend a lot of time there and I actually think for local specialities its better to go to a hawker center (out door food court than a posh restaurant). Pure filler chapter.

Thank you for the reviews, and don't worry, a real foot popping kiss is coming soon. We want there to be warm fuzzy feelings behind it right? Patience dear grasshoppers.