Three Ex Boyfriends Part I - Winter Wedding
A/N: I do not own anything. Copyrights remain with their respective owners.
Thanks to Kate and Guest for your reviews. Hopefully this one has more RT interaction that you like.
Kate - it's cool that you like my characterization of Tristin's family. Thanks. Do you like the characterization of Tristin's brothers? mother? father? or the whole package?
A/N2: As you can see, this one is a Winter Wedding - that is Luke and Lorelai's wedding in Winter, hence why I didn't have the Tristin/Rory wedding in Winter because writing two different Winter Weddings would have been awkward.
You are cordially invited to the wedding of Mr Luke Danes to Miss Lorelai Gilmore, the wedding invitation had said. Tristin Dugray held the redundant wedding invitation in his hand, since he was definitely going as his girlfriend Rory, Lorelai's daughter, was the maid of honour for the wedding.
In fact, he was driving down from New York back to Stars Hollow as soon as filming for the movie wrapped up for the day. Rory had gone down earlier as she was helping out with the wedding that was to take place at the Gazebo in Stars Hollow town square. The bride had insisted on an outdoor wedding in winter much to the chagrin of the bride's mother.
By the time Tristin arrived at the Gilmore's house and parked his BMW in the driveway, it was late at night. Walking up the porch stairs and quietly opening the door, he was greeted by a shocking sight. He saw his girlfriend, eyes puffy and red, as if she had been crying, sitting curled up in the couch in the lounge room. He immediately rushed to her side, sitting down next to her, putting his arms around her, to comfort her.
When Rory felt Tristin's touch, his hands rubbing small circles on her back, comforting her she looked up into his eyes and promptly burst into tears again. "I'm so glad you are here, Tristin," she said, as she continued to bawl.
"What's wrong Rory?" he asked, resting his chin on top of her head as he continued to hold her close to him.
"Jess," she said, "he kissed me and said he still loved me," she started to say, "but I don't love him, I love you. But now it's going to be so awkward because he's Luke's best man and I'm the maid of honour. He's going to be my cousin after Luke and mum get married. Oh my god, what am I going to do," she continued to ramble on as words came out of her mouth, "I don't want to ruin mum and Luke's wedding, but it's going to be so bad. I don't know what to do. Tristin, I'm scared of there being a big scene and then mum and Luke's day will be ruined and she'll hate me."
Tristin sat there shocked, angry at first, that someone else had kissed Rory, but as soon as Rory uttered the words 'I love you', he had stopped paying attention to what she was saying. He had zoned out, because he hadn't expected her to say 'I love you' so soon. He himself, wasn't one hundred percent ready to say those three words even though he felt it. They had taken things slowly, to make sure that their feelings were deep and real. Tristin continued to offer comfort to Rory, through physical touch.
"Your mum won't hate you." Tristin replied, "she could never hate you." Although Tristin knew about the estrangement between Lorelai and Rory, because of Logan Huntzberger, he also knew that it was more anger and hurt rather than hate. There was a big difference between being angry and hurting and really hating someone. He knew, because even he did not hate his parents although they had hurt him and made him angry at them a lot of the time. "Even if something happened at the wedding, she would never hate you."
Rory looked up into Tristin's eyes, and saw the truth that was reflected in them. She knew deep in her heart that her mother could never hate her. But still, she was scared at how awkward the wedding tomorrow would be, with the best man, Jess, her cousin to be still in love with her, and her, well she loved Tristin, her boyfriend. She needed his support now, more than ever, and that was what was so great about Tristin Dugray, the man, as opposed to the Tristin from high school. She knew that Tristin would support her when she needed it. He wouldn't go away when it was too hard. She could guess, no, she knew intuitively that he loved her, even though he hadn't said it yet because they were taking it slow and she knew that she loved him back.
With her past relationships, they had had to say 'I love you' over and over again, as if to affirm and convince themselves that they were in love. With Tristin, it was intuitive, words did not need to be expressed to know that they were in love. Saying it was just a bonus. And that was what was different about this relationship than her previous three relationships that had all failed.
Tristin continued to comfort her, "Maybe it's best to talk it out with Jess before the wedding. I'll come with you to give you the support you need."
Rory replied, "Maybe..." as she yawned involuntarily, "but what should I say. Do I tell him that I moved on. That I feel that I can't really trust him to be there with me, because he ran away from me, once. That I feel that even though he's turned his life around, I can't trust him to support me always, that I don't love him any more, that we never had the deep and meaningful and true love that we share. That he doesn't love me the way that I know that I am loved by you."
Tristin smiled, knowing that Rory knew that he loved her, without expressing it in words, and that she loved him too, that they were truly in love. "I don't know what you should say, Rory," he said, "but I'll be with you every step of the way. And I'm sure that Jess doesn't want to ruin his uncle's wedding to your mother either. Just smile, have a good time tomorrow at the wedding." He saw Rory yawn once more, and looked at the clock. "You only have about six hours to sleep, come on, let's get you up to bed."
He lifted her up off the couch, and up the stairs of the house to Rory's bedroom. Last time he had been here, Rory had showed him her childhood bedroom. It had been different to how he had imagined it back in high school, but it was still so essentially Rory. As he gently nudged the door open, and lay her down on the bed where she now lay, she pulled him down with him onto the bed. "Sleep with me tonight," Rory said, "I need you with me." Suppressing his own yawn, Tristin lay down next to Rory and soon the couple fell asleep.
The next morning, Tristin and Rory were curled around each other, entwined, but still clothed in their pyjamas. One arm of his was draped over her body. That was how Lorelai Gilmore, who was to become Lorelai Gilmore-Danes today found her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend. Clothed but asleep.
But today was the big day of her wedding and she needed Rory to get ready for the wedding, after coffee from Luke's. Although she would have to send Rory to pick up breakfast and coffee before the make-up lady and the hairdresser came to style her hair and do her make up, as well as Rory's and Sookie's.
Sneaking over to Rory's bed she leaned over Rory's head, whispered in her daughter's ear, "Rory." Lorelai saw her daughter turn over to try to block out the noise. She reached over to grab Rory by the shoulder to shake her so that she could awake.
"Go away," she heard Rory mutter in her sleep. Next to her Tristin began to stir as well, his mouth stretching out as he yawned. As his bleary eyes opened he saw Lorelai looming over the bed. He gently reached over and shook Rory awake, "Rory, it's time to get up."
Rory moaned as Tristin and Lorelai woke her up. "Five more minutes please," she states as she tries to keep her eyes closed.
"Come on," Tristin said, "you and I have to go to Luke's to get your mother breakfast and coffee." At the mention of coffee, Rory slowly opens her eyes and begins to get up. Lorelai, seeing that Rory has indeed awoken makes her way out of the room to continue to get ready for her wedding day.
Rory got up out of the bed, and made her way to the bathroom to change clothes and get ready to make the quick stop at Luke's for morning coffee and breakfast. Caesar would be cooking today. By the time she got out of the bathroom, Tristin was ready to duck into the bathroom.
Five minutes later, both Rory and Tristin made the short walk from the Gilmore house to Luke's diner. As they entered the door, the doorbell jingled. Picking up their food quickly from the diner, Rory and Tristin quickly left the diner. As she looked back at the closing door, she caught Jess's eyes as he came down the stairs from the apartment above Luke's. She continued to walk home with Tristin, knowing that today was her mother's day, and not her day to rehash old history.
By the time they got home, the hair and make-up team had arrived to start their work. Gulping down the coffee, Lorelai ate a danish that Rory and Tristin had gotten before allowing herself to be subjected to the whims of the hair and makeup artists.
Half an hour later, Rory and Sookie were undertaking the same process, and Emily Gilmore and Richard Gilmore both arrived at Lorelai's house. Tristin greeted them at the door, and he and Richard sat down and had some tea, whilst Emily moved upstairs to join the other women.
Soon, the time of the wedding came, and Lorelai, Sookie, Rory and Richard all bundled into the limousine. Emily and Tristin had left earlier to go to the town square to make sure the wedding place was set up perfectly.
As the limousine pulled up outside the town square, Rory saw that everyone in Stars Hollow had arrived. After all, they had all waited years and years for Luke and Lorelai to get married. In fact, Rory thought, Babette and Miss Patty probably had some betting pool going on the marriage date.
As she awaited her cue to step out and walk down the red carpet which had been set up, Rory couldn't be more happy for her mother. As she walked down the aisle, as the maid of honour, she caught Tristin's eyes in the front row on the bride's side of the seating. He smiled back at her and she continued her walk, taking her place next to Sookie. Her mother made her way down the aisle, accompanied by her grandfather, Richard.
As the marriage vows were exchanged, a light blanket of snow began to fall down, powdery white, the first snow of the year. As Rory recounted what her mother always said, that magical things happen in the first snows, she heard clapping, and her mother and now step-father, Luke kissed for the very first time as husband and wife.
As the processional then walked back down the aisle, she found herself walking next to Jess. Keeping quiet for the sake of her mother as they made their way to the marquee where the reception would be held, she left Jess at the entrance and made her way back towards Tristin.
Tristin and herself were seated at the main table, along with the newlyweds, the bridesmaids and groomsmen, Jess and Jackson, and Lorelai's parents, as both of Luke's parents were already deceased. As each table rose to get the self-service food, Tristin and Rory lingered behind, allowing everyone else on the table to get food first. Underneath the table, they held hands.
Across the table, she could see Jess still staring at her. After the reception she thought to herself, she would have to tell him straight up that she had moved on. The speeches at the reception and the food were soon finished, and the wedding party began to break up. Rory and Tristin headed back towards the Gilmore house, to change out of their clothes into something more comfortable before she wanted to talk to Jess.
After they had changed, they headed back out to Luke's diner. Rory, dressed in a casually styled top and jeans with her nice jacket on top, Tristin dressed in his cargo pants and a nice tee-shirt with a woollen jumper and jacket on top for the cold.
When they arrived at Luke's diner, they saw Jess coming down the stairs. Rory motioned for Jess to come sit with Tristin and herself at the table. She started by saying, "I'm sorry, Jess," she continued to hold onto Tristin for strength, "I can't return your feelings. I don't love you in the way that you deserved to be loved, I just don't feel the love I know is true romantic love with you." Rory could see Jess's angry stare at her. She continued, "but we are family now, cousins, so I hope that we can at least be good cousins to each other."
She looked into Jess's eyes, seeing the hurt in them. "Look, if it takes time for you to come to terms with this, I'm okay with it. But I don't love you in a romantic sense." Rory waited for Jess's reply, but he just got up, silent, and left the table.
Rory and Tristin walked back out of the diner. Tristin spoke as they walked, "look, you've said what you needed to say. Just give him some time to process everything. I'm sure he'll come around."
Rory looked up at her boyfriend, "I hope so. Thank you for being there with me all the way."
Tristin smiled back down at her, "of course, I'm with you all the way, Mare."
A/N: Please read and reviews are very much appreciated. I'm new to this fandom so any help on characterization and facts and tidbits is very much appreciated.
A/N: This is a Tristin/Rory fic. Happy to debate about who is the best guy for Rory in the forums but please don't start a shipping war in the reviews. Part II and Part III of Three Ex-boyfriends are the next two chapters. I may or may not treat Rory's ex's nicely in them.