A/N: Written for the OLC ficathon. Prompt was to include snow, singing, pizza, Friday Night Dinner, and something disgusting. Enjoy!
Winter Wonderland
Lorelai balanced the phone between her shoulder and ear as she reached into the fridge and pulled out a pizza box, took a sniff, and threw it into the trashcan.
"It was amazing. There were 29,000 people packed into this town hall," Rory told her. "He spoke so well, and the crowd went absolutely wild. I get the feeling most people were there to see Oprah, not him, but he was so good he won them all over by the end."
"Huh. Where are you again? I forget."
"Columbia."
Lorelai scrunched up her face in confusion. "Columbia? Like D.C.?"
Rory groaned. "Columbia, South Carolina. Did you completely zone out during Geography class?"
"Doesn't ring a bell. It also doesn't ring a telephone, or a jewellery shop. I must have had morning sickness the day we studied South Carolina... argh!"
"What's wrong? Mom?" Rory's voice was panicked.
Lorelai had thrown the Chinese box she had just opened on the floor, and was backing away from it slowly. "Uh... the Chinese in the fridge. It's... it's... growing. I think I saw legs, and a briefcase."
"So, it's a white-collar, growing, Chinese man?"
"Yes. He's thinking about going for his Ph.D in Applied Marketing of Asian Food Products next year." Lorelai continued backing out of the kitchen, keeping her eye on The Artist Previously Known as Chinese Food.
"How long has it been in the fridge?" Rory asked her.
"Um.... what day did we order Chinese when you were here?"
"Ew!" Rory exclaimed, holding her hand over her mouth to try and stop the vomit which seemed to be making its' way up her esophagus. "That is from my visit? That was five weeks ago! Mom, that's disgusting!"
Lorelai pouted. "I've been eating at the diner a lot. Freddie the Fridge hasn't had a lot of use in the last month."
Rory hid her giggles with a sigh. "You're terrible, Muriel. So what are you going to do with the Darwin experiment?"
Lorelai flopped on the couch tiredly. "Oh. I've surrendered. I've tied a white flag to the doorway. He can have the kitchen. I'll take the rest of the house. I'm Napoleon."
"Maturity. Thy name is Lorelai."
"Well, what do I need a kitchen for? Ever since the upstairs renovation, I don't need to store my shoes in the oven. Luke moves in here in five days and 11 hours. If he wants to use the kitchen, he can tend to Chairman Mao."
"And what were you planning to have for dinner tonight?"
"I've ordered pizza. Joe should be here any minute now."
Rory laughed. "So you know that you're going to have to eat that entire pizza yourself, since you now don't have access to the fridge?"
"I'm okay with that. It will be my greatest accomplishment to date."
"Your greatest accomplishment?"
"Well, I am only one highly gifted person. If I were two, I would be unstoppable."
The doorbell rang, and Lorelai jumped up from the couch with the energy of the Red Bull bull.
"Ooo ooo!" she squealed into the phone, causing Rory to pull the phone away from her ear. "Pizza's here. I've got some serious eating to attend to." She quickly pressed 'End', and flew to the door, grabbing her purse on the way. "Joe, love of my life!" she called as she wrenched the door open.
It wasn't Joe standing on the porch. Luke looked at her, confused. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
She grinned at him cheekily. "Oh you know, just your run of the mill affair with the pizza guy. But if you'll let me smother marinara and cheese all over you, I'll consider giving him the flick."
"Will this help my case?" Luke asked her as he pecked her on the cheek. As he pulled away, he produced a pizza box from behind his back.
"How did you....?"
Luke let out a low chuckle. "I intercepted him in the driveway."
Lorelai laughed, took hold of his collar, and pulled him into the house. Within seconds, the pizza box was open on the coffee table, and a piece was half demolished. Between bites she looked at Luke, who was hovering near the end of the couch. "Not that I don't love all things impromptu, but aren't you supposed to be tending to your business?" she asked him.
"I just came to confirm our plans for tomorrow night," he started. "Caesar isn't able to come in until six, but I should be able to be ready and pick you up at half past."
Lorelai's face turned towards amusement. "Luke, it's fine. If you have to work, you have to work. I'm sure my mother will understand. Well, no, she won't understand, but she'll at least have to accept that you won't be there. It's fine. I'm a big girl. I can go to dinner by myself."
Luke was quick to interject. "No. No. I'll be there. I may not have time to shave, but I'll be there. I want to go."
She looked at him as if he were recently escaped from Bellevue. "You do know that this if Friday Night Dinner with the Gilmores, not the Ringling Brothers?"
Luke nodded emphatically. "I think that would be scarier. I'm going to your parents."
"Fine. Your funeral."
"Not exactly the event I was hoping for, but good." With a short kiss on the cheek, he was gone back into the night, leaving one Lorelai Gilmore alone in a house with what she now thought was the entire Terracotta Army.
Lorelai slammed the truck door, not waiting for Luke to help her in. "You left me alone with my mother. Why would you do that? She kept on and on at me as to why I hadn't started planning the spa yet. How many languages can you say 'It's not happening, leave me alone' in?"
"Five."
"Really?"
Luke rolled his eyes as he started the ignition and pumped the gas pedal.
"What was so interesting in the study anyway?" she pressed. "Is there, like, a secret passageway that leads to a strip club or something? Because who's saying that I wouldn't be interested in something like that?"
"Would you?"
"Well, if it gets me away from my mother for half an hour, I'll try anything once."
Luke smirked. "I'll keep that in mind."
"You are a dirty, dirty man, Luke Danes," Lorelai sighed, shaking her head.
"Says the Queen of the Double Entendre."
"Tell me what you were doing in the He-Man Woman Haters Club. Please, Luke!"
"You will find out in good time. Later tonight, okay?"
Lorelai crossed her arms across her chest, and stared out the window, pouting. "What's wrong with now? Huh?"
Luke reached across the seat, and released her hand from the crossed arms, leaving their joined hands laying casually on the bench seat between them. "Later. Trust me on this one."
She looked at his profile, in the depths of concentration, forlornly. "You're a big fat meanie. I don't know why I put up with you."
Luke held the door open for Lorelai. "Out," he commanded.
"Yes Daddy," she smiled at him coyly.
"Can you not do that? I've just been talking to your Dad."
"About...?"
"Which part of 'Later' did you not understand?" he groaned.
"Well, I do know that 'La' is a note to follow 'So'. Therefore, it must be the '-ter' part that I don't get."
"I'm surrounded by idiots."
"Yeah, but you love me anyway."
Luke turned to face her, his expression serious. "Yes, I do." He grabbed her hand firmly. "Now, come on. Let's go."
"Luke, the house is the other way. Where are we going?"
"For a walk," he explained, and headed in the direction of the square. "Come on. Can you not smell it? Even I know it's coming."
Lorelai stopped in her tracks, and sniffed. "You're right. It's almost here! I must be rubbing off on you if you can smell it too!"
"Either that, or I checked the weather forecast."
Lorelai let go of his hand, and starting skipping around him as he continued on his determined path.
"Sleigh Bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a Winter Wonderland." she sang out, slightly off-key.
"Please stop," Luke pleaded.
"Gone away is the bluebird. Here to stay is a new bird. He sings a love song, as we go along. Walking in a Winter Wonderland," she continued, unheeding to Luke's pleas.
Luke grabbed her shoulders to stop her dancing and kissed her firmly. He pulled away hesitantly. "Are you done?"
She considered this for a second. "Hmmm.... okay. I'm done."
"Good. Because if you had stayed still, you would have noticed something different." He let her shoulders go, but wrapped an arm around her waist instead. His free hand was outstretched in front of them, where a single snowflake landed gently on his glove.
"Flakage!" she gasped. "It's begun! I have to call Rory, see if it's snowing there too." She attempted to pull her cellphone out of her pocket, but was halted by Luke's firm grip.
"Later," he commanded.
"God, what is it with you and that word today?"
A small smile spread across his face. "Well, now you get to find out what we were talking about."
"Ooo! Ooo! Tell me! Were you putting into action your plan to dress in tutus and sneak into a ballet recital?"
He came to a stop just outside the diner, and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Shhh!"
She mumbled something incomprehensible through his fingers.
Luke took a deep breath. "I was asking your Dad's permission to marry you. I want to do this right this time." He dropped his hand from her mouth.
No sound was forthcoming from her. For once in her life, Lorelai was speechless.
He reached under his coat, into the pocket of his dress pants, and pulled out a small jewellery box. "And this time, I came prepared." He opened it slowly to reveal a princess cut diamond on a white gold band.
Still Lorelai said nothing. Her mouth hung open in a combination of shock and awe.
"Are you going to say anything? Is that a 'yes'?" he asked, a slight look of panic emerging.
She paused, looked at his face, and nodded slowly. "Of course," she managed to whisper.
As the snow became harder, landing and contrasting with her hair, Luke placed the ring on her extended finger. "Okay. Now you can call Rory," he chuckled.