Rory had just finished changing out of her work clothes when she heard the buzzer go, she checked her watch just to realize that she was running later than she had thought, as she hurried to open the door.

"Hey, come on in. Sorry I just got home from work ten minutes ago, so forgive me for any disorganization."

"What's your excuse the rest of the time then?" Tristan asked with a smirk as he made his way into the apartment, continuing on to the coffee table to set down the bags of take out he was carrying.

"Haha, very funny. A meeting ran late and then the subway took forever." Rory watched him set the food down, moving to go get utensils. "I thought we were ordering when you got here?"

"We were, but then I realized I go past the Chinese place you like on the way here from Lennox Hill, so I just grabbed all the usuals. That's okay, isn't it?" Tristan asked, suddenly realizing that he maybe should have clarified with her before picking up their meal for the night.

"No, no, it's fine. Was just a surprise, is all. What would you like to drink?" she asked, heading towards the refrigerator.

"A beer if you have one."

Rory carried 2 beers and 2 glasses of water over to the table to have with their meal.

"Movie?"

"Sure, what would you like?"

"Can we do Top Gun?" Tristan asked, turning the puppy dog eyes to Rory.

"Again?" Rory asked, exasperatedly.

"Please? I brought your favorites?" Tristan pointed out her favorite dishes on the table.

"Fine, but this is the last time for at least six months!"

"Yes!" Tristan exclaimed in excitement at his win, quickly bussing a kiss to Rory's face.

"So how is your grandfather?" Rory asked.

"He is doing about as well as expected. He is recovering but he is old, and he isn't exactly healthy. At some point all the liquid business lunches, after dinner cigars, along with golf being your only form of exercise, catches up to you."

"That is true, he is in his eighties, isn't he?"

"He is." Tristan said with a resigned nod. "I hate to say it but I think he probably only has another six months, I don't think this was a wake up call, I think it was a warning to get everything in order and say your goodbyes."

"I'm sorry Tristan," Rory said honestly, looking at him sadly from her spot at the other end of the couch.

"So how did the party go last week in the end? I'm sorry I had to run out in such a hurry." Tristan asked, brightly.

"I think it went okay. I have had some authors be extra approachable this week, willing to listen."

"That is good, did you stay late?"

"A while, I was talking to Rachel, who works with me, and her fiance for a lot of the evening. They are considering getting married in Hartford so they were asking about venues."

"That's good, I felt awful about leaving you. Did that girl, Marissa, tell you?" Tristan asked innocently.

Rory realized he must have forgotten that she had told him the answer to that already, but then again he was so flustered during that call, any memory lapses would be understandable.

"Umm no, she disappeared around the same time as you. I didn't see her again until work on Monday."

"Oh shit, so you just thought I left you?" Tristan asked, paling at the implications. "Did she tell you on Monday, that's why you finally answered me, huh?"

"Well, actually," Rory started carefully, deciding to just put it all out there. "When I saw her on Monday, all she did was say she had met someone at the party and that they had left early and spent the whole weekend together."

"Hang on, You thought that I had left you for a girl I picked up? A girl you work with? Abandoning you at an event you were nice enough to ask me to?" Tristan asked, trying to ensure he was grasping the situation correctly.

"Something like that," Rory answered him quietly, avoiding eye contact. For a few moments the only sound in the room was the noise of Maverick and Goose singing Great Balls of Fire on the tv screen.

Tristan put his food down on the table beside his beer. He slid across the couch to Rory, pulling her feet up onto his lap. He reached over and took her carton of kung pao from her and set it on the table.

"Rory," He started, seeing that she was still avoiding eye contact with him, he tilted her chin towards him. "Rory. I would never do that to you. I wouldn't even do that to a family set up, nevermind to one of my best friends."

"It's okay. I would have understood anyway," Rory said, sounding resigned by that knowledge.

"What is that meant to mean?" Tristan asked sharply.

"No, no. I don't mean that as a slight towards you." Rory said quickly. "I just mean, well I seem to have become a good placeholder. Guys take me to things to make parents happy, no one actually wants to go with me for me, and they definitely don't rush to take me home with them at the end of the night."

"You don't mean that."

"Oh I do. Since that last time we were all out in Boston, I have been more careful in my interactions, paying attention to how guys are acting and treating me. And it's not how I want."

"Rory," Tristan started, stopping to take a deep breath. "I know you said no the last time I suggested it. And for the sake of our friendship, I think this will be the last time I bring this up, because, well it's been ten years."

Rory watched Tristan carefully, unsure what he was getting at.

"Rory, I would really like you to give me a chance. I have wanted a chance since I was a dumb sixteen year old with no clue. Even then I knew you were special. I still knew it when you came back into my life years later. I shouldn't ask because I don't want to put you in an awkward position, but if I don't ask, I will always wonder. Will you go out with me? I want you to be my girlfriend, well more than that. I want you to be my partner. I love texting you as soon as I wake up, you are the first thing I think of, and when something happens you are who I want to tell. I want to be that person for you Rory, I want to be the person you rely on, the one who makes you smile before you go to sleep at the end of the day." He finished, watching her face, trying to predict what her response would be, while hoping he hadn't just ruined one of his oldest friendships.

"Tristan," Rory started, taking a deep breath, she was biting her lip as she thought of her response. "Tristan, I have loved the past month or so of you texting me morning and night. I love talking to you about everything that happens, and that you are there to hear and answer me. When I thought you had left me on Saturday-"

"I still feel awful about that, Rory, please don't hold it against me," Tristan interrupted.

"When I thought you had left me," Rory continued, grabbing his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "It really threw me. I had already been thinking about how attractive I found you that night, and then when I thought you had left, with someone else? Well I had actual pangs in my chest Tristan. It hurt a lot! Which made me realize that I don't see you as just a friend anymore. If I thought you were just a friend, I wouldn't have cared who you went home with, I probably would have just been happy that you had met someone, but when I thought that was what had happened? That is not how I felt. I was jealous. I wanted to be the one that you were going home with."

Tristan squeezed her hand, looking at her hopefully as she continued.

"So I guess what I am trying to say is. Yes, yes I'll give us a chance."

"Really?" Tristan asked, an almost disbelieving look of awe on his face.

"Really," Rory stated emphatically, nodding at him.

He moved quickly, pulling Rory's legs, so she moved from beside him to in his lap, his arms and lap full of Rory Gilmore. Tristan's eyes met Rory's looking for any sign of uncertainty in her eyes. When he didn't see any, his hand moved to cup her cheek, and he pulled her into him causing their lips to meet in a lingering tentative caress, becoming firmer, more searching. The moment Tristan's tongue pressed against Rory's lower lip, they parted, welcoming him into the warmth of her mouth. His tongue slipped inside insistently. Her lips tasted like coffee and chocolate, exactly how he expected. Finally, she pulled away slowly and Tristan groaned softly as he kept his eyes clenched shut for a moment afterward, not wanting to wake up from this dream he'd brought to life, savoring the moment. Resting his forehead against Rory's, Tristan stated breathlessly.

"I've waited a long time to do that."