Author's Note: This fic was written for the Trory Valentine's Day Fic Exchange. My Challenge was set by the wonderful Susie.

I had to include: Chilton Trory, Valentine's Day and Tristan and Rory alone in either the DuGrey mansion or the crap shack, without interruptions and not on a bed.

And not to include: Rory as Queen of Chilton/Friend of Summer and a bunch of made up Chiltonites. Tristan pining for Rory. The phrase the elixcer of life. PWP. Tristan constantly calling Rory, Mary. psycho!Dean and psycho!Paris.

The Exchange is over now so you should all check out the fics. They were all very good. And I hope you like this one.

The Exchange

Valentine's Day was an evil evil invention created to make all single people in the world feel even crappier than they usually did. It was the day that couples seemed to materialise out of nowhere, never letting you escape the truth that you were alone. You couldn't escape their happiness, their laughter and their sickening love.

This was Rory Gilmore's take on Valentine's Day. She was in her second year of Chilton and had broken up with her boyfriend, Dean, only three months ago. Had she still been with her boyfriend, she might have been viewing this day a lot differently.

But as she was single, she decided it was just a stupid day that she could live without.

"So, why aren't you outside giggling over what your boyfriend got you for Valentine's?" Tristan DuGrey asked when he took a seat next to Rory on the Chilton grounds. It was lunch time and Rory had been sitting outside, away from all the other Chilton students.

Tristan and Rory had had a rocky relationship since the moment she started school. In her first few months of Chilton Tristan had done his best to make her life hell. And he had pretty much succeeded. But Rory was a pretty forgiving person, and when Tristan had apologised, she had decided to wipe the slate clean. It also helped that she'd run out of the room after he had kissed her, thus making her feel slightly guilty.

After that they hadn't exactly become friends, but there was a sort of truce between them which had lasted until now.

"He's not my boyfriend," Rory muttered.

"Really? The jerk dumped you again?" he said incredulously.

Tristan had never liked Dean. In fact he thought Dean was a moron. He had called him an idiot to Rory's face when he found out Dean had dumped Rory last year. Of course Rory didn't really seem to mind that he was an idiot since she went straight back to him when he turned up at Chilton to win her back.

Rory glared at Tristan. "It was a mutual break up," she told him.

He made a disbelievingly sound. "So, he dumped you. Why did you even go back to that idiot?"

"That idiot happens to still be my friend," she told him sternly. "And he didn't dump me. It was my…"

"You gave up the chance to be with him?" he asked, disbelievingly. For some reason Rory seemed to adore the stupid bag boy Tristan had always hated. "Your perfect farm boy?"

"Why are you always putting him down?" Rory asked, annoyed with him. She hated it when Tristan just made judgements about Dean like that.

"He deserves it," he said simply.

Rory wanted to argue with him about that, but it was so hard to argue with him when he didn't have that annoying smirk on his face.

"It just wasn't working," she told him, surprising herself. "Things were never the same after we broke up the first time. He just…" She stopped suddenly realising what she was doing. "It's none of your business anyway."

Tristan got the message that she didn't want to talk about Dean anymore so he changed the subject. "So, Valentine's Day really sucks, huh?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it must really suck for you. All those girls falling all over you."

"Jealous, Mary?" Tristan said, with a grin.

"You wish."

"Maybe. Anyway this day does suck for me. It's all about relationships, and I suck at those," he told her truthfully.

"Maybe you suck at them because you've never really tried having one?" she said. "If you ever looked beyond the big boobs and stunning figure you might realise that relationships aren't so bad."

"Says the girl who broke up with her boyfriend recently."

"At least I tried to make it work. My relationship wasn't all about…" she trailed off.

"Sex?" he finished for her.

"Well, yeah."

"You know, sex isn't as bad as you think it is. Why do you assume that a relationship based on sex isn't a good one?"

"Because it isn't," she said simply.

"You've never had sex so how would you know?" he countered.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Well you've never had a meaningful relationship," she shot back.

"By meaningful relationship, you mean opening up to someone and letting them in, only to have them walk out of your life a few months later?"

"No!" She sighed, frustrated with him. "You have to stop hiding behind these walls you put up around you," she told him.

She had realised quite soon after their truce that Tristan wasn't as bad as she had first thought. But he never let anyone close enough to see the real guy. She really did believe that if he just let someone close enough they would discover the guy he really was.

"I don't put up walls," he argued, although he knew he was lying. It was safer for him to hide behind his reputation and status. His name alone was enough for people to judge him, he didn't think it was necessary for anyone to know the real him.

Rory just raised her eyebrows. "You expect me to believe that this whole reputation you've built for yourself is all you are?"

"Why is that so hard to believe? Not every guy you meet is going to be a nice guy."

"No. But you are," Rory said, admitting it for the first time.

Tristan seemed shocked. "Woah, Mary, if I didn't know any better I'd think you've made me out to be your Prince Charming."

"Not mine," she said, rolling her eyes. "I could never put up with that big ego of yours," she joked. "But you could be someone's if you give it a try."

"And here I thought Valentine's Day was getting rid of your romantic side."

"Nah. It's still there unfortunately."

"I don't know. I still think relationships are overrated. When do they ever work out?"

"Such a cynic."

Tristan got what she was trying to say, but he didn't believe in relationships. Relationships made people vulnerable. They let down their guard and in the end the person who claimed to love them ended up breaking their heart.

"Tristan…" Rory touched his hand softly, noticing he was lost in thought.

He looked up, surprised at the gesture, and then Rory realised what she had done. Suddenly it dawned on her that Tristan was sitting so close to her. It hadn't mattered before, but in that moment something had changed.

"If you don't let anyone in, you're going to end up lonely," Rory told him quietly.

"And if you keep hiding away from the real world, you're going to have a really boring life," he said back.

Rory let go of his hand then, looking away from his eyes. "Not having sex does not make me boring. It makes me sensible."

Tristan touched her face softly, turning her head to face him. He didn't know what had come over him really, but the atmosphere between them had just changed.

"I don't mean go and have sex," he told her, his voice low. "But just allow yourself to experience the world around you. Get lost in the feelings of new experiences."

She closed her eyes and felt his hand against her cheek. The innocent touch seemed like so much more and she was starting to realise what he was saying.

He watched her eyes flutter closed, and he suddenly realised what he was doing. Why was he touching her? But he couldn't make himself stop. He craved her touch more than he had ever let on. She looked so beautiful with her eyes closed. She had given him her full attention and he couldn't stop himself from leaning in to kiss her.

Her eyes opened as she felt his lips touch hers lightly, but she didn't pull away. His kiss was soft and gentle and she felt a weird sensation building in the pit of her stomach. He didn't force the kiss, and it wasn't very long, but just feeling his lips against hers made her heart beat loudly in her chest.

Finally he pulled away. "See what I mean?" he told her.

Rory didn't get to say much as he got up and left, as if he hadn't just kissed her breath away.

******

"Could this day get any suckier?" Rory mumbled to no one in particular. She had just come out of Chilton after school only to find it was pouring down with rain and the bus stop wasn't sheltered. She was going to get soaked.

"Probably," Tristan said as he came up behind her. He pointed across the street where Rory's bus has just pulled up. Even if she ran for it now, she wouldn't make it.

Rory sighed in frustration. "This is just perfect," she muttered.

"Getting stuck in the rain with me is perfect?" Tristan smirked. "I never thought you'd admit it. I think you're going soft."

She rolled her eyes. "This is so not that time for your unamusing banter."

"Unamusing?" Tristan pretended to be upset. "Really, Rory, I thought you enjoyed our witty banter."

She turned and glared at him, and he just laughed.

"You want a lift?" he asked her.

"Oh…er…no, it's okay," she said.

She had tried not to think about him since he had kissed her at lunch. That simple kiss had stirred too many weird feelings inside her. Ever since she started school Tristan had a way of getting under her skin, but the way he had kissed her today was completely different.

She didn't think about Tristan like that. Even when they had kissed at Madeline's party last year, she had just dismissed it as a mistake they both made. But for some reason she hadn't been able to forget about his kiss today.

So, sitting in his car for half an hour didn't really seem like a good idea. She was only going to end up enjoying his company again, and confusing herself even more in the process.

"You sure?" he asked again. "I don't mind."

He was being so sincere that Rory felt bad. He had only been proving a point by kissing her, right? So really there should be no problem accepting his ride. Anyway, she didn't really have any good options. Waiting in the rain for half an hour soaked to the skin? Or putting up with Tristan for half an hour in a warm car? It was really a no-brainer.

"Okay, thanks."

They both looked across the parking lot to where Tristan's car was parked. It was raining hard and they were definitely going to get wet.

"Want to run for it?" he asked.

Rory nodded and to her surprise Tristan took her hand as they ran through the Chilton grounds. She suddenly felt stupid, gripping Tristan's hand and running through the rain. It was a little surreal. This was the second time she'd ended up with Tristan today and it was weird. Although she didn't exactly hate him anymore, being around him still caused strange feelings to emerge. Feelings that she preferred to ignore.

They ran as fast as they could, but by the time they got in the car they were soaking wet. Rory shivered as Tristan tried to warm up the car.

Rory's hair was sticking to her head and rain drops were falling from it. She was sure Tristan's leather seats were getting ruined. Tristan's usually perfectly styled hair was dripping with water and Rory got the sudden urge to run her hands through it, which she quickly squashed.

"We should probably stop by my place and dry off," Tristan said as he started driving.

"Okay," Rory agreed, knowing she couldn't sit in these clothes for too long.

Tristan's house was only about five minutes drive from Chilton and they had both been too cold to make conversation in the car. When they got to there Tristan stopped the car directly outside the entrance and they both ran inside as it was still raining.

"Just wait in there," Tristan told Rory before disappearing upstairs.

Rory walked towards the living room where Tristan had asked her to wait. The house was pretty similar to Rory's grandparents place. Immaculate looking and very different to her own. Not one thing was out of place and Rory tried to imagine living there herself. She couldn't. Her grandparents place was okay, because she knew they were very clean. But imagining Tristan living in this house just didn't fit.

She wondered if Tristan's room was this clean. She had the urge to see it, but she obviously wasn't going to tell him that. He would turn it into another innuendo before she even finished her sentence.

He came down only a couple of minutes later, having quickly changed out of his uniform and into a dry pair of jeans and shirt.

He was carrying a towel in his hand which he wrapped around Rory. She started to take it from him, but he began to rub it against her body, trying to warm her up and she was captivated by his look of concentration.

He wasn't even thinking about what he was doing as he moved the towel over her body. Rory however could feel his hands on her even through the towel. She closed her eyes, reliving the moment he had kissed her earlier today. It had felt so right then, and this felt right now.

"You probably need to change," he said, not realising Rory was lost in her thoughts. "I can try and find…"

His words were cut off as Rory's lips found his. He was surprised by the sudden action, but that didn't stop him wrapping his arms around her body and kissing her back. He had only been dreaming about this moment for he didn't even know how long, and yet it had happened when he wasn't expecting it.

The kiss seemed to grow more urgent with every passing moment. It was like everything else didn't matter at that moment. Tristan had told her to enjoy the sensations he was creating and that was exactly what she was doing. She wasn't thinking about anything else, but the way he was holding her against him, his tongue caressing hers.

"Tristan…" she mumbled as he pulled away from her.

"Huh?"

"I'm really cold," she admitted, shivering slightly. Although Tristan's touch was hot, she was still wearing her soaking wet uniform.

"Really? I thought it was getting hot in here," he joked.

But Rory wasn't joking. "Warm me up?" she asked quietly and he almost thought he was hearing things.

But the way she was looking at him led him to believe he had heard right. Rory Gilmore really was in his living room asking him to give her something he was sure she hadn't experienced before.

Tristan guided her to his couch as they both sat down. The towel he had brought earlier was quickly discarded and then Tristan worked on her shirt buttons, slowly undoing them one by one.

He was in a bit of a daze, sure that he was dreaming. But no, Rory really was sitting there, letting him undress her. She allowed him to take control as he pulled away her wet shirt. She shivered as the cold hit her bare skin and Tristan quickly ran his hands up and down her arms, gently bringing warmth back into them.

He leaned forward and kissed her shoulder blade softly, and then moved to her neck as Rory let out a soft moan.

She didn't want to think about how unlike her this was, because she felt safe with Tristan. She knew in her heart that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. He touched her as if she was a delicate flower, but his touch was still strong and possessive, and Rory had never felt this aroused before.

She lay back on the couch as Tristan continued to undress her. As he reached her panties Rory felt herself tense under him. She was suddenly aware of her almost naked body lying underneath Tristan.

But Tristan kissed her inner thigh softly, and all she could feel was an intense desire for him. He waited until he felt her relax under him before slowly removing the garment.

"You okay?" he whispered to her, not breaking the mood around them.

She nodded, not trusting her voice to work at that moment. And then Tristan started to attend to her every need and she knew she couldn't say anything. Except mumble his name.

His fingers were creating a strange sensation inside her that she had never experienced before. She had never even been half undressed in front of Dean, let alone let him touch her like this. But with Tristan it just felt different. It felt right.

He was sending her tumbling through the sensations he was creating until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Tristan…" she moaned as she went over the edge.

Tristan moved up to half lie next to her, kissing her on the lips. She smiled, kissing him back softly.

"Hey…" he smiled at her.

"Hey."

"You warm now?"

"Very," she agreed, feeling content.

Tristan took off his shirt and draped it around Rory's shoulders and she quickly slipped into it. It was a little big, but that was a good thing since she wasn't wearing much else. Her clothes were lying discarded on the floor.

Tristan picked them up. "I can put these in the dryer if you want to wait for a bit. I don't think I have anything that will fit you."

"You know how to use a dryer?" she teased.

"Ha. Ha."

He leaned forward and kissed her again, and she felt herself getting lost in him again. He pulled away finally and left her on the couch.

When he came back a few minutes later Rory had fallen asleep.

******

Rory woke with a start, feeling uneasy. Where was she?

Her eyes adjusted to the light and she spotted Tristan sitting at the end of the couch and it all came back to her. She had let Tristan…

"Hey," Tristan smiled at her, noticing that she was awake.

"Hey," she said back, a little tenser than she had been before she fell asleep.

Before she had just been lost in his touch, but now things were a little clearer. She had just had her first sexual experience with Tristan DuGrey, number one ladies man and King of Chilton.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked him.

"About an hour."

"Oh no! My Mom's going to freak."

She stood up quickly and then realised she was only wearing Tristan's shirt, which barely came down to mid thigh. She sat down again quickly, and Tristan noticed her jumpy behaviour.

"Do you want to call your mom and tell her you'll be late?" he asked.

"What am I supposed to say? I fell asleep after you…"

"…gave you the best orgasm or your life?" Tristan finished and Rory blushed furiously.

"The only actually," she muttered.

"I'm sure you can make something up. You are supposed to be the smart one."

"I guess."

"I'll go and get your clothes; they should be dry by now."

He handed her the cordless phone and then walked out of the room. Rory called her mother and told her that she went to Paris' to study after school because of a project. She felt really bad lying, but she couldn't exactly tell the truth. Lorelai started to say something about her and Paris being the only girls studying on Valentine's Day, but Rory quickly cut the conversation short and hung up the phone.

Tristan came back and handed her uniform back to her, which was thankfully now dry. He guided her to the downstairs bathroom so that she could change her clothes in private.

Rory changed quickly, feeling very self conscious. Taking a look in the mirror she realised she looked a mess. Her hair was damp and frizzy and all over the place. She pulled it back into a ponytail as smoothly as she could.

Her heart was beating loudly now, wondering what the hell she was going to do. Was she going to go back to being a nobody in Tristan's life? Did what happen between them even matter to him?

He had said it himself. He didn't believe in relationships. He treated every girl as sex and nothing more.

That thought brought tears to her eyes, which she pushed back. She didn't want to forget what had happened. And more importantly she couldn't forget it. But if that was what he wanted, she didn't really have a choice.

Taking a deep breath she left the bathroom and looked around for Tristan. She couldn't find him, but heard some noise coming from a room in the back.

"Tristan?" she called, but he didn't answer.

Following the sound Rory headed towards the back room. When she opened the door, she nearly fell over herself in shock.

She had stumbled into the dining room, to find the table set for dinner. There were candles lit on the table, casting a romantic glow in the room.

"I…uh…thought you might be hungry," Tristan mumbled, his usually calm demeanour now unsure.

Rory stepped towards him, feeling her earlier fears disappear. He pulled her towards him, kissing her again fully. And she knew from that kiss that she wanted him. Really wanted him. She had been right before, if he just let someone close they would realise what Tristan tried so hard to hide. And she wanted to be the one to discover the real him.

"So, what is this in aid of?" Rory asked as his lips left hers.

"Well…I was thinking…Since you trusted me with your body, it would only be fair for me to trust you with my heart. And I'm no authority on relationships, but I figured a little romance never hurt anyone."

Rory smiled brightly, wrapping her arms around him. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"I don't." Tristan laughed. "But I'm willing to try. If you want to that is."

"I do." Rory smiled. "Although I don't know if I'll be able to get out of the habit of calling you the Evil One."

Tristan laughed. "I can work on that later."

They sat down quickly, the food he had quickly prepared laid out in front of them. It wasn't anything fancy and it was obvious he had made it himself.

"You know, I can't guarantee that I won't still annoy you," he told her jokingly.

"You always do," Rory said.

"And make you crazy."

"Pretty much all the time."

"And I can't do this romance thing all the time," he warned.

She laughed. "Are you trying to get me to back out?"

He grinned. "I'm just letting you know what you're letting yourself in to."

"I think I have a good idea."

She smiled and him, and then leaned over and kissed him softly, lingering against his lips for a while.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he said finally and she just laughed.

Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't that bad after all.

THE END!