The Most Wonderful Time

"I'll be right back; I need to powder my nose," Rory said, excusing herself from her two best friends.  Paris had run into Tristan Dugrey while she was at Harvard for med school and he was there for law school.  They had become fast friends, and before long Paris invited Rory to join them for dinner one night, and the three had become inseparable.  Rory had worked on the campaign trail for a few months and then taken a job at the Boston Globe as a features writer.  They had all traveled from Boston to Hartford together for the annual Gilmore Christmas party at Emily Gilmore's insistence.

Tristan looked across the room as he was talking to Paris and noticed Rory getting cornered by her infamous ex - Logan Huntzberger - on the way to the restroom.  The girls had filled him in on the Logan years, and Tristan would like nothing more than to make Logan regret ever meeting Rory.  He got angry every time he thought about the bridesmaids or the ultimatum, but he couldn't help but be a bit grateful.  Rory might not be his girl, but at least he got to be part of her life. 

Paris noticed Tristan looking distracted and shifted her gaze to see what had captured his attention.  "Damn, I was hoping Huntzberger wouldn't be here.  I'm going to go put an end to this," she said, noticing how uncomfortable Rory looked.

"No, I'll take care of it," Tristan interjected quickly before Paris could walk away.  The last thing they needed was for Paris to cause a scene at one of Emily Gilmore's events.  He strode over to where Rory and Logan were standing quickly and slipped his arm around her shoulders.  She looked up at him at smiled gratefully.

"Hey, you," she said softly.  She leaned into his side and wrapped her arm around his waist, grateful that he'd come to her rescue.

"Hey, I was looking for you," replied Tristan.  He noticed the shocked look on Logan's face and couldn't help himself - he leaned down and kissed Rory's temple, enjoying seeing Logan squirm.

"Well, since my girl seems to have forgotten her manners, I'll introduce myself," Tristan teased.  "Tristan Dugrey," he said as he reached out his hand to the other man.

"Logan Huntzberger.  It's nice to meet you," Logan replied insincerely as he reached out and shook Tristan's offered hand.

"Likewise," Tristan replied.  "Mind if I steal her away for a dance?"

"Not at all," Logan practically growled, obviously unhappy with the intrusion.  He watched as Tristan took Rory's hand and led her off toward the dance floor.  He had hoped that he could reconnect with Rory tonight and perhaps they could start seeing each other again.  He'd asked around and everyone seemed to say that she was single, so he was caught unaware at seeing her interaction with Tristan moments before.  He turned and walked toward the bar for another scotch; it appeared it was going to be a long night.

*                    *                    *

Tristan led Rory onto the dance floor and pulled her into his arms.  True, she was his best friend now, but in truth the feelings had never gone away.  He loved her - it was as simple and as complicated as that.  He was terrified to put himself out there and lose her entirely, so instead he thanked the heavens that he got to be her best friend. 

"Thank you for rescuing me back there," Rory said softly as they swayed to the slow beat of the music.

"You know I'll always rescue you," Tristan whispered.  She took a step closer to him and laid her head on his chest, enjoying the warmth and safety of his arms.  She breathed in deeply and relaxed as she took in his unique scent of spice and sandalwood.

"You're so good to me, Tris," whispered Rory.

Tristan swallowed hard as his heart beat wildly in his chest.  It was so bittersweet to be so close to her and have her in his arms.  He treasured it, but it would end - it always did.  He tilted her chin up and stroked her cheek with his thumb.  "You deserve good things, Mary," he said softly.