AN:crawls out of hiding: Please don't hurt me! I know I haven't updated this in two months. I was having trouble deciding what I wanted to do next. But I finally figured it out. I hope you guys don't hate me. I promise it won't happen again.
But tell me I've learned quickly and I know each trick
I'm sure love's gonna last
Love may be new to you but I'm catchin' on fast
They had decided to drive straight through the night to Tennessee. Well, Tristan had decided, Rory just went along with it. They took turns driving so the other could sleep. Twelve hours later they were pulling into Nashville. Rory peered over the steering wheel taking everything in. It had been her idea to come here. Who said every place they went had to be a learning experience? They were entitled to have fun. She had so many things she wanted to se while they were here. Graceland, Sun Studios, and The Grande Ole Opry. Tristan had thought she was joking when she had mentioned it. He had since learned that she did not joke when it came to Elvis. She was the last person he thought would like Elvis.
She found the nearest hotel and went inside to get them a room. Tristan was still sleeping when she came back out. She opened the passenger door and gently shook him. He stirred then looked over at her.
"We're here." She said running her fingers down his arm.
He got out of the car taking in his surroundings. Every building was lit up like it was Christmas. A building across the street had a sign in the front window advertising the best gumbo in the state of Tennessee. He followed Rory up a set of stairs and across a balcony to their room. Rory flipped a switch by the door and light flooded the room. They looked at each other before laughing. In the middle of the room was a heart shaped bed and the red wallpaper reminded them of the color of blood. It wasn't what they were used to, but it was a welcome change. It was something different. They could deal with it.
"Are you hungry?" He asked once they were settled in.
"I'm starving. Then I'm going to crash."
"You don't want to try out the tub?" He asked raising an eyebrow at her.
Rory walked into the bathroom. Tristan could hear her laughing at the sight of the kidney shaped hot tub.
"We'll try that out first. It's huge!"
"Plenty of room."
"Don't get any ideas mister. I'm going to go to bed early tonight."
"We'll see." He said sounding cocky.
"Yeah we will." She said as he before he shut the door.
She lay across the bed not bothering to kick off her shoes. She was asleep a few minutes later.
XXXX
Tristan walked for a couple of blocks before he found an all night diner. He stood at the counter waiting for the waitress to come up to him.
She came up to him a minute later and she took his order. She went to fill someone coffee cup but never took her eyes off of Tristan. She walked back over to him and wiped down the counter in front of him.
"You're not from around here are you?"
"No, I'm passing through."
"Really? When did you get here?" The girl asked stopping what she was doing.
"A little while ago."
"Where you stayin'?"
"At the Double Tree with my girlfriend." He said knowing that the girl was going to ask next.
"I should have known a good lookin' guy like you would have a girlfriend. Where you from?"
"Connecticut."
"Well, you guys are a long way from home."
"We're on a summer road trip."
"You enjoy your stay." She said as she handed him a bag.
Tristan smiled in reply before walking out the door. In the distance he could see a crowd of people waiting to get into a club. The blues music coming out the front doors made Tristan stop to listen. The lyrics to Heartache Tonight flowed into the night. He continued down the street singing the song to himself. He made his way up the stairs and back across the balcony to the room. He opened the door and smiled when he saw Rory asleep on the bed. He kicked off his shoes then pulled hers off. He lay across the bed next to her and she snuggled closer to him in her sleep. They could eat later. They weren't in a rush.
XXXX
Rory woke the next morning feeling her stomach growl. She had thought Tristan would wake her when he got back. He must not have slept much in the car. She walked over to the bag on the table and opened one of the Styrofoam containers. It wouldn't be the first time she'd had cold french-fries for breakfast. She would leave the steak sandwich for lunch. She sat at the table watching Tristan sleep. He looked so peaceful that she didn't want to wake him. She finished her fries and walked into the bathroom to start a bath. She went back into the room and Tristan turned over in his sleep. He groaned as she ran a finger down his foot. She had to mess with him somehow.
"Stop!" He whined throwing an arm over his eyes.
"Fine. I guess I'll take a bath on my own then." Rory said zipping her bag.
Tristan sat up and glared at her through half open eyes. Rory stuck her tongue out at him then made her way back into the bathroom. Tristan stared at the closed bathroom door before rolling his eyes. He fell back onto the bed with a grunt.
"Tristan?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you coming or not?" Rory asked over the water running.
"I'll be there in a minute." He said before grabbing a change of clothes.
XXXX
An hour later they were on the shuttle bus waiting to get into Graceland. It wasn't as big as Tristan thought it would be. The gates opened and Rory grabbed onto his arm trying to hold in her excitement. He kissed her forehead before getting up from his seat. Everyone filed off the bus as someone met them at the front doors to the mansion.
Tristan didn't expect the tour to be so hands on. You would think that they would be able to touch anything. But when Rory pulled him over to a couch in the Jungle Room and asked him to sit down the tour guide didn't so much as look at them. Tristan slouched down and put his arms on the back of the couch. He gave Rory his best 'I don't give shit' look. Rory shook her head and laughed. Everyone around them turned to look and got out their camera's.
"And you say you hate having your picture taken." Rory said teasing him as they walked out of the room.
A little while later they were in the garage and Tristan stood in awe at all the cars before him. His granddad would have loved to see this. He took a picture and decided that he would send it to Janlan when they got back to the hotel. Rory stood next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him. He was glad she had talked him into coming here.
XXXX
They went back to the hotel to eat lunch then Rory talked him into walking to Sun Studios. The map said that it wasn't far from where they were staying. Ten minutes later they were standing in front of the building and Rory was staring through the glass at all the pictures on the walls. The building was closed for renovations. Which made Rory make Tristan promise that they would come back once it was open. The next thing he knew he was being dragged to the curb so that they could catch a cab. Rory asked the driver to taken them to the Ryman Auditorium and Tristan slouched against the seat.
He had never seen Rory like this. He was going to have to ask her about it tonight. He was glad that she was excited but it threw him off. He had never seen her like this.
"I'm acting weird I know. Me and mom have always wanted to come here."
"Really?"
"We're closet Elvis fans. And you can't get the full Memphis/Nashville experience without going to the Opry or Sun Studios."
"Sorry we weren't able to go to Sun Studios." He said taking her hand.
"It's not your fault." She said looking out the window.
Twenty minutes later they were standing at the ticket office at the Ryman waiting to buy tickets.
"I can't wait to tell mom that we're doing this. She'll never believe me."
"Make sure to keep me out of the pictures." He said warning her.
She stuck her tongue out at him as they found their seats. The show started and neither of them knew had never heard of any of the performers. But the music wasn't bad. Rory got a picture of someone named Brad Paisley because he was cute and she thought her mom would like it.
Later that night Tristan watched Rory as she read in bed. She looked at him over the top of her book and raised her eyebrow at him.
"Did you have fun today?"
"Yeah I did."
"Good. I have an idea where we should go next."
"Where?"
"Mississippi."
"Why?" She asked laughing at him.
"You'll find out when we get there." He said kissing the tip of her nose.
He turned over and fell asleep a few minutes later. Rory looked at his back wondering why he had the sudden urge to go to Mississippi. A hundred reasons ran through her head. And none of them sounded like a reason he would want to go there.
AN2: I seriously doubt Lorelai and Rory are Elvis fanatics. But it's something that I added for the story. I've never been Nashville, but I've always wanted to. So I decided to put that in the story. As usual, let me know what you think.