Waking up with a foggy head and a mouth full of cotton, rolling over Rory was scared to open her eyes, she knew that the brightness of the day would hurt. The night before came flooding back to her, causing her to sit up in shock. She was in a bedroom that she didn't recognise, it didn't look like a hotel, there were piles of books and DVD's stacked around the room, along with a pile of laundry in a corner. Panicking, she looked down to check she was wearing clothes, hoping she wasn't naked, and that she didn't have company. Rory let out a breath of relief when she realized that she still had her dress from the night before on, and she was alone in the bed, so she hopefully hadn't done anything too extreme, but that didn't answer the question of where she was.
Rory swung her legs around on the bed so that her feet were touching the ground, she gingerly stood up, fully feeling the after effects of the previous night's tequila. She could hear noise from the other side of the door so she decided that she might as well grab the bull by the horns and see if she could work out where she was. Looking out she could see she was in an apartment, she could see a tall brunette man standing in front of the fridge moving things around in it, from this angle it wasn't anyone she recognised, and none of the belongings that she could see were giving her any clues.
"Morning," Rory started nervously. "I apologize for being rude but where am I?" The man in the kitchen turned around with a jump, but even with a full view of them, it wasn't someone that Rory recognized.
"DUDE, YOUR LITTLE FRIEND IS AWAKE!" he shouted, before turning around and resuming cooking without saying anything further to Rory.
"WHAT?" returned another male voice which came from behind a closed door, this voice sparked a sense of recognition but Rory was still struggling to place it.
"Oh hey Gilmore, you're awake!"
Rory almost broke her neck, turning to see if the voice was who she thought it was. "TRISTAN? What are you doing here?"
"I think a better question is what are you doing here, seeing as this is my apartment. I bumped into you last night. You don't remember, do you?" Tristan asked, as he walked further into the room, heading towards the coffee pot in the kitchen. "Would you like a cup?"
"Yes please, and no. I don't remember much about last night after the first few tequilas." Rory answered, gratefully accepting the cup of hot coffee.
"I found you in our local bar, pretty drunk, you recognized me and we had a chat. The barman asked me to take you home before you got yourself into trouble, but you passed out. I couldn't take an unconscious woman to a hotel without running the risk of getting arrested, so I brought you here and put you in my bed. I slept on the couch," he added hastily, pointing at the couch covered in blankets.
"Well thanks, I suppose for making sure I was safe. Sorry, this isn't exactly a situation I've ever been in before, so I don't mean to sound dismissive. I do completely appreciate you making sure that I was safe." Rory said, taking another gulp of her coffee. "You said we had a chat last night? How much did I say?"
"Enough that I know how you were supposed to spend yesterday evening, and roughly why you spent it the way that you did." Tristan answered, the sympathy obvious in his tone.
"Sorry about that, I'd appreciate it if- hang on what time is it?" Rory asked suddenly.
"930. Why?"
"Crap. I told Logan I was moving my stuff at 10am today. Shit. How far are we from the Plaza? Walk or Cab?" Rory asked, setting her cup down, and starting to pace in a panic.
"Walkable, but if you are in a hurry a cab. Go and wash your face before you do anything," Tristan said, gently but pointedly.
Rory walked into the bathroom, and after relieving herself she was washing her hands when she finally looked in the mirror and realized why Tristan had prompted her to wash her face. Her makeup was smeared and her eyes were red, whether that was from the alcohol or the tears she had spent the night before was up for debate, but the result was the same, she looked rough. Washing the makeup residue off her face, Rory thanked her mother for the good genes that meant she could look relatively fresh faced when makeup free, she finger combed her hair into submission, thankful that for once it wasn't crazy when she woke up. With a sigh Rory returned to the living room, prepared to thank Tristan for saving her, and then to get on her way.
"You ready?" Tristan asked, standing up as she entered.
"Yep. Thank you Tristan, you really saved me last night, and I know you didn't have to. I really appreciate it. I'll just grab a cab from outside and be on the way. Thanks again." River spoke, walking towards the apartment door.
"Not so fast, I'm coming with you."
"What! Why?" she asked, shocked.
"Well if you are meant to be getting your stuff at 10 you probably have quite a bit to get? Or is it just a few days worth of clothes?"
"No, it's everything. We live- lived together." Rory answered, her face paling as the amount of work ahead of her began to dawn on her.
"Okay, so I will come with you and help you get everything packed up and moved, and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble while you are doing that. Really, I'm invested in this now, I want to make sure you're okay."
Rory looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since they had bumped into each other the night before. He had grown up, he was taller than he had been at Chilton, probably hitting the six foot mark, he had gained muscle, probably from military school, his hair was longer, more gently tousled looking than his old spiky style. His hazel eyes were looking at her kindly, he looked good, more mature and came across as less cockly than he had at school.
"Are you sure that you can? You don't have anything planned for the day?" Rory asked, biting her lip as she asked, thinking that it would be helpful to have someone stronger than her but at the same time she hadn't seen him for years, he was bound to have more important things to do than drop everything to help someone he knew in high school.
"I'm sure. I had nothing planned for the day anyway. Come on, let's get going," he said, opening the door and gesturing for her to go ahead of him. "Mike, I'll be home later or tomorrow if anyone is looking for me, I have my cell," he shouted as they left.
"So Mike? Is that your roommate?" Rory asked as they waited for the elevator to take them to the lobby.
"Yep, we were in dorms together the first two years of school and it worked well, so we decided to share this year as well instead of trying to find someone else."
"Sounds like a good plan. I should have stuck with Paris." Rory muttered bitterly.
"Paris?" Tristan asked, as they left the elevator, heading out to the street to hopefully find a cab. "Paris was your roommate?"
"Yep, first two years at Yale with her. Man was that a surprise on the first day." Rory said, as a cab stopped for them.
Tristan held the door open for Rory, telling the driver that they were going to the Plaza. "I can't even imagine that. You pair hated each other at Chilton."
"We were actually almost friends by graduation, but living together has worked well, we even went on spring break together and met up with Madeline and Louise."
"Now I know you are pulling my leg," Tristan said laughing.
"No really, we bumped into them at the beach in Florida, it was a totally crazy coincidence." Rory said earnestly.
"Do we need to go into the hotel for anything or can we just get your car?"
"We can just get the car, I was late arriving so I hadn't moved my stuff from my car to the room yet, so at least that's a win."
"Okay, so where are you living anyway? Off campus?" Tristan asked, as the cab stopped between Central Park and the Plaza to let them out.
"You didn't have to do that," Rory said, as she watched Tristan hand the driver a twenty and tell him to keep the change.
"It was no problem."
"So yeah, the apartment is off campus but still not too far from Yale. Walkable, you know?" Rory looked around, they were standing at the corner of the park, looking over at the Plaza, where she knew she needed to go to get the valet to get her car for her. "Pretzel?" Rory asked, spotting the vendor. "I didn't get breakfast, and I can't come to New York and not get a pretzel."
"Sure actually, I never got to eat that breakfast that Mike was making," Tristan agreed as they walked over to order. They both leaned against the edge of the fence to eat, in silence. Tristan just happily ate and people watched, while Rory was focused on the hotel, making sure she didn't see anyone from the wedding.
"Okay, let's go," Rory said, as she wiped her hands on the napkin and moved to cross to the hotel. As they waited for the valet to appear with her prius, they both looked around, Rory trying to avoid looking in through the hotel doors into the lobby. There were plenty of people milling around the lobby but thankfully no one she recognised.
"Would you like me to drive?"
"What? Sorry I didn't hear you," Rory answered, shaking herself out of her daze.
"Would you like me to drive? That leaves you free to phone Paris, or student services or even your grandparents. I'm assuming you don't have anywhere to move into this afternoon. So you probably need to phone around and organize something," Tristan said, his voice full of sympathy.
"Actually that would be pretty helpful. I'm assuming you know where you are going? Are you sure you have time to be doing all of this to help me today?" Rory asked, looking at Tristan uncertainly.
"It's no problem, and yep, I know how to get to New Haven, I will just need directions then to find your apartment building. Is this you?" he asked as a silver prius approached.
"Yes, it is." Rory tipped the valet and then started to climb into the passenger set of her car. Just as she was clipping her belt into place, Rory looked up, and she could have sworn she saw Mitchum smirking through the glass doors, but when she took a second glance he was gone.
Multiple phone calls later, and Rory had persuaded Paris to let her move in with her and Doyle, for at least the short term period. Promising to call just before she arrived with her things Rory hung up, and turned to Tristan with obvious relief.
"Okay, so I feel like I have been very rude, I know nothing that is going on in your life anymore?" Rory asked.
"Well, I told you last night that I'm at Columbia, which I'm not sure if you remember or not. I'm an architecture major."
"Really? Aren't most of your family lawyers?"
"They are. My father was a bit disappointed at the start, sad I wasn't following the plan."
"Those Dads and their dynastic plans," Rory muttered bitterly.
"Then he bumped into someone at a gala who was singing their architect's praises and he suddenly decided it was acceptable enough for me to do. He might change his mind again but for now he is okay with it."
"That seems like it would be really interesting. Are you enjoying it?" Rory asked, genuinely curious.
"I actually am. It's different than anything I ever thought I would do, but in a good way, if you know what I mean. What about you? What are you studying at Yale?"
"I'm studying English with a focus on journalism."
"Why am I not surprised? I remember you at Chilton, always carrying a book, and doing everything for the paper."
"I've had some doubts about it recently, so I'm not quite as set on journalism as I was."
"Really?" Tristan asked, shocked.
"Yep. although you are the first person I have actually said that to." Rory said. "It really is easier to talk about to someone more removed from the situation."
"You still have time, you could probably even go to grad school if you need more time to plan, I know you are smart enough."
"Tristan you haven't seen me in four years, how do you know what I'm like?"
"I don't, but I know what you were like in high school, and I can't see anyone surviving living with Paris and not killing her without some intelligence and tenacity."
"Thanks, I think."
"That was probably more of an insult to Paris than it was a compliment to you."
"My building is just coming up here on the left hand side," Rory said, suddenly realizing they were already in New Haven.
"The Taft building?" Tristan asked, checking where he needed to park.
"That's the one. You can park here, it's free parking at this time of day." Rory said, as they pulled over.
"This looks fancy." Tristan said, surveying the street as they walked towards the building's lobby.
"It's alright," Rory said, leading him towards the elevator.
"Alright she says," he states, as he watches her press the button for the penthouse. "Do you have a lot of stuff?"
"Not that much," Rory said, thinking. "And no furniture, that all stays. I hope he listened to me and isn't home yet," she says while opening the door.
"Wow, this is quite the place Mary," Tristan whistles as he takes in the apartment.
"Ah there it is, I was wondering where the nickname went."
"I was trying to show you that I had matured, did it work?"
"Almost," Rory says, walking over to the closet and pulling out suitcases before beginning to fill them with her clothes.
"What can I pack for you?" Tristan asked, looking around to see what was obviously Rory's, but the only thing that was obvious was that she had moved into an already settled guy's apartment with the suit of armor and the pool table.
"Would you be okay with finishing my clothes and I can do the bathroom?"
"Yep, no problem, it should be obvious what is yours in the closet," he said, as he started to take clothes off the hangers.
In no time at all they had everything packed, and were ready to start carrying it to her car.
"Wow, it's kind of depressing how little room all my stuff takes up." Rory said, looking at the 2 suitcases and the handful of boxes.
"I'm sure that you still have things at home in Stars Hollow and it's not like this is all your belongings," Tristan said, trying to reassure her again, he knew she was holding it together well for the amount of upheaval she was going through, and he just needed her to hold it together until they got to Paris' house and she could deal with it. "Now come on, I need coffee, and we probably need some junk food as bribery for Gellar." Tristan said, giving her shoulder a nudge.
"Okay, I'm ready to go. I will leave the key with the doorman on the way out," she said, taking a final look around the apartment that she had grown attached to.
"Let's go."
