Epilogue: Future Tense

"Yes Father," Tristan droned into his cell phone as he leaned up against Paris's locker. He absentmindedly took Rorys hand into his own and kissed it as he continued to roll his eyes at his father. Rory smiled at him puzzled and continued to empty her books into her own locker. "Okay, Ill open them when I get home...okay...yes, Father. Okay!"

He flipped his phone shut and let out an exasperate sigh as Rory shut her locker. "Trouble?"

He reached for her hips and drew her near. "It's always trouble when Fathers concerned."

The hallways were almost deserted so Rory had no problem leaning into him, her hands splayed across his chest. "What's up?"

"An envelope arrived in the mail today," he relayed to her as his lips nibbled under her jaw.

Distracted, Rory sighed, "Yeah?"

"From Yale," he continued, suckling on her goose bump-ridden flesh.

Realization sunk in as she pushed away from him, slapping her hands against his chest. "Tristan! Your acceptance letter from Yale!"

He smiled a bit; ridiculously happy that she had no doubt that he would be accepted. "Yeah so?"

She let out an exasperated sigh and finished dumping books into her bag. She shook her head, smiling as she did so. "If I didn't know better, Tristan DuGrey, I'd say you didn't care about your future."

"Au contraire, Mary," Tristan said as he pushed himself off the locker and slammed hers shut. She leaned back against the metal and looked up at him, his hands on her hips now, both their book bags abandoned on the floor beside them. "I do care about my future. Especially the part where it involves you."

It was corny, she knew, and typically not them, but she grinned anyway as her heart fluttered in her chest. "Is that so?"

He nodded and leaned in for a heart-stopping kiss. When they pulled away, he furrowed his brow. "You know, there might be an envelope waiting for you at home too."

Rory hadn't considered that and her heart skipped two entire beats when it sunk in. "Mom would have...messaged me, called me."

"Your phone's on silent...Paris threatened to confiscate it during the meeting, remember?"

Rory practically pushed Tristan away and dropped to her knees to fetch the phone out of the front pocket of her bag, while hyperventilating, "Oh my God, oh my God!"

Tristan hunched down beside her and watched on amused as she fiddled with her phone. "So?"

Sighing, in relief or disappointment, he wasn't sure, she replied, "Nothing."

"Maybe she's not home yet," he suggested.

She bit her bottom lip. "Maybe."

He laughed and pulled her up as he stood. "You want me to drive at breakneck speed to Stars Hollow so you can go and check your mail, right?"

Hoisting her bag, she started jogging down the hallway, calling over her shoulder. "I knew there was something you were useful for, c'mon DuGrey, times a'wasting!"

Chuckling her followed her and called back. "I'll show you what else I'm good for, Gilmore. You just wait!"

-&-

"Tristan?"

"Yeah?"

"I got into Harvard."

There was still wonder in her voice as she said it out loud, hours later, as they lay entangled, naked in her bed. He smiled against her forehead and continued to run his hand up and down her bare back. "I know, baby."

She shifted, her soft breasts pressing against his chest as she looked up at him. "I got into Harvard and you got into Yale."

Knowing where she was going with this, he shook his head. "We don't know that."

"I know it," she replied and kissed the underside of his jaw.

"I've applied to Harvard and you've applied to Yale," he said as she continued to nibble on his jaw. "Nothing's set in stone."

She sighed against him. "Yeah but..."

He grabbed her shoulders and flipped them over, settling between her legs. "No buts, unless it has to do with either one of our posteriors, okay? Right now I want to celebrate with my girlfriend."

She grinned and tugged at his hair. "We've celebrated already. Twice."

"Yeah and you're mom's gonna be home in a bit and I'd like to have at least one more hurrah, so shut up and let me fu-"

She cut him off by clamping his mouth shut as familiar strands of a favorite song floated through the air. "Wait, wait, I like this part."

Whatever tomorrow brings

Ill be there

With open arms

And open eyes

Tristan kissed her then, long and languorous. "Are you done?"

She rolled her eyes and let him continue to seduce her. "I just like those words...they're so..."

"Honest," he finished for her as he hand closed over her breast. When she looked at him surprised, he grinned. "I like them too."

"It could be our song, you know. Better than 98 degrees."

"Mm hmm," he murmured and kissed a trail between her breasts. "Whatever you say."

She settled against the pillows and gestured between them. "Okay then, proceed."

"Thank you."

Rory closed her eyes and sighed as sensations swarmed her body under her boyfriends talented mouth, hands and fingers. Their past was rocky, their future was uncertain but right now Tristan was kissing her all over and making her feel more alive than she ever had before.

Life was...just as she wanted it to be.

THE END

Authors Note: Well, folks, there we go. The first Gilmore Girls fic I ever wrote finished. Wow, never thought it would be so long and take so long. But almost 6 years later and its done. Finally. Thank you everyone who followed this, asked about it, reviewed it, bugged me to update and basically made this fic into what it was...it was worth it, I hope.