TITLE: He'll Always be Around
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Lorelai finally tells Luke her feelings, because of a break up with Jason.
DISCLAIMER: Yeah. I own everything. *sarcasm*
A soft breeze blew Lorelai's hair in front of her face. But she didn't move it. She was too lost in thought to care. She was wandering the streets of Stars Hollow, which were basically deserted. It was after eleven, after all. She just needed to think. And although she did have a perfectly nice house, Rory was home for the weekend. If she had gone home, Rory would instantly know something was wrong and make Lorelai tell her. Lorelai just didn't feel like telling anyone right now. She needed to process everything.
The evening had started off normal. Jason had come to pick her up, and then went to a nice, quiet restaurant. They had been seeing each other for almost eight months now, and Lorelai didn't know what to expect. Jason had told her that he needed to tell her something. Lorelai thought he just might be proposing. Proposing. Something that would make almost any woman deliriously happy. But not Lorelai. Not Jason proposing, anyway.
But it didn't matter what she thought on that subject. Before they ordered, he told her the news that should have broken her heart. He had been having an affair with a woman he met in Chicago. He had been traveling so much, and it had frequently taken him there. Lorelai didn't want to cause a scene, something that rarely happened. She calmly told him that he was disgusting, and walked out.
Something that irked her though. She wasn't upset. Well, she was a little upset, after all, her boyfriend cheated on her. But she wasn't upset about losing Jason. Which she should have been. Jason was a great guy. Smart, intelligent, funny. She guessed that it was just because she didn't feel a connection with him. It happens, right?
She couldn't stop thinking about something else, though. A month or so into their relationship, he had asked her something that she vehemently denied. He asked her if she had feelings for Luke. She had taken him there for breakfast one time, and immediately questioned it.
She laughed softly to herself. It had taken Max much, much longer to ask questions. It was back them she had put all feelings she might have for Luke hidden away. Or, at least, so she thought. If Jason could tell she might have had feelings for Luke, and he had known her for a little over a month, she must not be hiding them that well. And she thought that it was possible that she did have strong feelings for him. Feelings that were not strictly platonic.
But it was crazy, right? To have feelings for Luke. He was *Luke*. Sure, he was nice to her and Rory, when he was nice to no one. And sure, he did things for her that if anyone else even had thought to have asked, he would have laughed in there faces. He was always there for her when she needed something. He was a great guy.
She put the thoughts on hold for a second, while she glanced around. She was standing in front of Luke's. She suddenly had a craving for coffee...and to talk. It was if someone had wanted to, placing her there as if it were meant. She went up to the door. It was closed, since the diner closed on ten most days, but she saw Luke cleaning through the door.
He came over and let her in after she knocked. "What are you doing here?" He asked her, stepping aside to let her in.
"Fate's playing what could be classified as a cruel, joke on me."
"What?"
"Nothing. I've just had a bad night, and need coffee."
"You do know, that the sign on the door means we're not serving anymore tonight, right?"
"Yes, and I promise I'll never come after hours again. I just needed to tonight."
"You'll never keep that promise," He said, but reluctantly turned on the coffee pot.
"Well, it's only because you're such a stud, Luke," She said, jokingly. But after she had said it she wanted to take it back. How embarrassing. But Luke didn't seem to notice her deafing silence that came after the comment...he just thought she was being Lorelai.
"Yeah, I know." He rolled his eyes. He gave her her coffee and watched her take a sip. "So, you wanna tell me about your bad night? Did you break a nail again?"
"Ha. You're so funny, really. Does Comedy Central know about you?" She said, sarcastically.
"I guess I'll have to send 'em a letter. But really, do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
"Uhm. Sure," Lorelai started, unsure. He had just unintentionally given her the perfect opportunity to tell him what was going on in her head. But she decided she would start off slow, and if she thought that it would be a good thing, telling him that she wanted them to be more then friends, then she would. But there was always going to be the option of not telling him. Not tonight, at least.
She paused before starting again. "Tonight, Jason broke up with me." Luke nodded slowly and staring down at the counter, slightly grinned, Lorelai not noticing.
"He took me to this nice restaurant, and told me he needed to tell me something. He then proceeded to inform me that he has been seeing someone else. In Chicago." She said, and Luke looked up from the counter and directly at her.
"I'm sorry, he's a jerk. You don't deserve that."
She bit her lip. Luke was standing there, comforting her. He had given her coffee. Why not just go for it? But before she could open her mouth again, Luke spoke.
"Me and Nicole broke up too, last night."
Lorelai almost choked on her coffee. She had completely forgotten about Nicole. Who was Lorelai to think that she could just have Luke? Luke wasn't hers...he wasn't waiting for her. She shouldn't have just automatically assumed that it would be all right to tell him how she was feeling and screw up anything he had going.
She sharply inhaled. But they had broken up. If anything did happen between the two of them, at least Lorelai could say she didn't have anything to do with the break up.
"Aw, I'm sorry Luke. What happened?"
"Nothing, really. It was just that thing where you know you're not with the right person, and you can't go on that way anymore."
Lorelai nodded. "Oh, yeah." She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.
"Which brings me to something I wanted to talk to you about."
Luke raised his eyebrow. "Okay." He said.
"You see, when I was with Max, he asked me a question. And I kind of felt really uncomfortable when he did, and totally denied it. I thought that although it was out of line for him to be asking that, he might be right, in some sort of twisted way. I didn't let him know that, and I pushed it aside. A few months ago, Jason asked me the same question. And what I pushed aside came back. And I'm sad about what happened tonight...really. But not that upset. And I think it's because of the person the question was about.
Luke was staring at her with a confused expression on his face. "What?" He asked, still trying to process what she had said.
She wanted to scream in frustration. Did this mean she would actually have to say it? In the real words, and not some other way that wouldn't be as embarrassing?
"What question?" Luke asked, still confused. She sighed. She guessed so.
She gave a short nervous laugh. "Uhm, never mind. I'll just come out and say it. Okay, the reason why I'm not upset about Jason breaking up with me, is because I realize that I have feelings for someone else."
Luke nodded. "Who?" He asked slowly, wanting to completely understand what she was saying.
She looked down at the counter for a second, and back up at him. "You." She said, clearly.
Luke opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He didn't have an exact expression on his face, so Lorelai couldn't tell if he was happy or not.
"Luke?" She prodded.
"You're telling me that you have feelings for me?" Luke asked, clarifying.
"Yes."
"You're telling me you basically figured this out more then a year ago?" He asked.
"Yes."
"And you want to be with me?"
"Yes, Luke, yes! I wish I knew how to say it in a few more languages because just saying 'yes' is getting a little redundant! Now I told you what I was feeling and I don't really want to be interrogated. Just say it if you don't have feelings for me." She didn't wait for him to answer though. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the diner.
She walked really, really fast. She needed to get away from the diner, because for all she knew Luke now thought she was crazier then he had thought to begin with, and felt nothing but friendly feelings for her. She was such an idiot. How could she have put herself out there, and taken down the walls that she had worked so hard to put up when she was around him?
Someone grabbed her shoulder. She whipped around, and found herself face to face with Luke.
"I really have to get home Luke, so maybe you should go." She told him, in a voice that sounded nothing like hers.
"Lorelai. It was really brave of you to tell me that you had feelings for me."
"Well now I feel better. I'm so brave...maybe I'll go skydiving tomorrow." She said, exasperated, holding back her tears.
"Lorelai, listen. I have feelings for you too. And I know that you freaked out because I didn't say it right away, but I couldn't believe that you had told me first. I've been trying to figure out a way that I could tell you for a really long time."
Lorelai glanced down at the ground. "Oh," She said softly. Luke had feelings for her. Everything was better.
"So, are you okay now?" Luke asked her, grinning.
"Almost..." She said, and being the brave her, she leaned up and kissed him.
He was a little surprised, but none the less happy. If she hadn't he sure as hell would have. He placed his hands on her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck, as they both deepened the kiss.
When they broke apart, Lorelai smiled. "So." She said.
"So." He answered.
"What do we do now?" She asked him.
"I don't know. I guess we just take things a step at a time, you know?"
"Yeah, that could work. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," She grinned and gave him a peck on the lips before turned and heading home. He watched her go, and she knew it.
She turned around one last time.
"You really are a stud," She called, only half-joking this time. She smiled and inhaled deeply. Everything felt like it was falling into place.
&!*
Lorelai quietly opened the front door. With any luck, Rory would be in her room reading, and Lorelai could sneak up to her room. She hung her coat on the rack by the door, and began to tiptoe to the stairs.
"Hey, mom," Lorelai heard. She quickly turned around.
"Don't do that," Lorelai told her rolling her eyes and coming to sit next to Rory on the couch.
"Sorry. Someone's a little jumpy tonight."
Lorelai smiled and bit her lip. Rory saw this and raised her eyebrow.
"Mom? What happened tonight?"
"You know, I knew you were going to be asking that question tonight. But now I have a way better answer."
"Did something happen with Jason? Oh God, are you going to become Mrs. Digger Stiles?"
"Actually, no."
"Okay...still waiting for an answer."
"Well. Tonight, Jason broke up with me. For reasons that I'm not going to get into right now. Because I don't want to think about him at all. I want to think about someone else."
"Still confused here."
"Right, okay, okay. After he broke up with me I went to Lukes. And I kinda of ended up telling him I had feelings for him and then he told me he had feelings for me and now I think we're a couple."
"A couple of what? Mom, are you drunk?" Rory asked, in disbelief.
"Nope. I didn't drink at all tonight, as a matter of fact. It's just I've been thinking about the whole possibility of having feelings for Luke for a while, and after tonight I wanted to do something about it."
"You're crazy. But aw, that's so cute mom. You and Luke are finally together. I think I have to tell Ms. Patty."
"No, no. Don't tell anyone Rory."
"I was just joking about the Ms. Patty thing," Rory told her.
"Okay, but don't tell anyone. I don't even know if Luke wanted me to tell you."
"Is he embarrassed of you?" Rory asked, jokingly. "Because sometimes I don't want to tell people we're related, if it makes him feel better."
"Thanks, hon. And no, he's not embarrassed of me, it's just Luke is very quiet about who he's dating. Hell, I forgot he had been going out with Nicole until he mentioned it."
"You broke him and Nicole up?" Rory asked, her eyes widening.
"No, no. I wouldn't have. Well, I probably would have. But they broke up too. Anyway, I don't know if he wants me to tell anyone because even I know that the minute it gets out people are gonna be freakin' out. I don't really mind it so much, I mean, how much do I want my picture in the Stars Hollow Gazette? But I don't think Luke wants that. At all."
"Okay, so I won't tell anyone."
"Thank you. Now, Mommy is going to watch a re-run of Dr.Phil and talk to the screen telling him that I can work out my own problems, thank you very much."
"Good night, mom." Rory said, rolling eyes.
&!*
The next morning, Lorelai was awake and dressed before her alarm clock even went off. down the stairs to wake up Rory. But when she got downstairs, Rory was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper.
"What are you doing up already?" Lorelai asked, disbelievingly.
"Mom, I get up at 9:00, the latest. I did not inherit the gene which requires almost 13 hours of sleep.
"You ruined my moment. I was going to wake you up all nice."
"I'm sorry. Would you like me to into my room, put the covers over me, and then in five minutes you can come get me?" Rory asked, sarcastically.
"Don't think it didn't cross my mind."
Rory smiled and rolled her eyes. "What are you doing up anyway? I was going to come get you in fifteen minutes, I'm starving."
Lorelai's face showed a mixture of emotions.
"What?" Rory asked, noticing Lorelai's expression.
"Nothing. It's just, I know when you talk about food, you're talking about Luke's. And when you're talking about Luke's, you're talking about Luke. I just got this weird feeling of nervousness and excitement at the same time."
Rory giggled.
"Stop." Lorelai said, her face back to normal.
"What?" Rory asked, pretending not to know what she was talking about.
"You're laughing at me."
"Aw, no I'm not. It's cute, mom." Rory said, still laughing.
"Once you're done mocking your mother, we can go."
Rory stopped. "Okay, I'm done. Let's go."
&!*
They were almost at the diner, when Lorelai began to walk very slowly.
"Mom?"
"What?" Lorelai asked, as if she was doing nothing out of the ordinary.
"You're kinda walking a little slow there."
"Uhm, no I'm not."
"Seriously, there goes a turtle."
"I'm not walking that slowly."
"Aha! You admit you're walking at a pace you would not normally walk at."
"Maybe."
"Whhhy?" Rory asked, and came to walk beside her.
"Because I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"Luke," Lorelai said.
"Mom." Rory said, and looked at her as if she were crazy.
"I mean, how am I supposed to act now? What should I say?" Lorelai pleaded.
"Wow. Alright. Just act as you normally would. Most things aren't different...they shouldn't change."
"It's going to be awkward."
"Yes. Yes it is. But you'll work through it. Now, suck it up soldier. I'm hungry."
"Yes, sir." Lorelai rolled her eyes and went back to walking at a normal pace.
They arrived at Luke's a few minutes later, and Rory and Lorelai sat down at a table. Lorelai kept glancing over to Luke, and quickly looking away.
"Mom, he's going to realize you're doing that."
"Shush. I'm not doing anything. And why is he so calm?"
"Because he's not a freak."
"I remember helping you with the relationships, missy, and I never once called you a freak."
"Thinking hard?" Rory asked her.
"Okay, maybe, twice. Okay, okay, all the time. But mommy is about to have a breakdown so I'd really appreciate it if you left the name calling out until we get home."
"As you wish." Rory said, and they both glanced over towards Luke. He was looking at Lorelai, and as they turned to look at him, he quickly busied himself with telling Caesar the customer sitting at the counters order.
"Looks like Mr. Calm has left the building." Rory said.
"I know," Lorelai said happily.
"Maybe you should go over there."
"I'm going," Lorelai said and she stood up. She stood at the counter and waited for Luke to come out of the kitchen. When he saw her, he looked startled.
"Hey, Lorelai," He said.
"Hi,"
"So,"
"So."
"I wanted to talk to you about tonight."
Lorelai smiled. "What's tonight?" She asked.
"Well, nothing really, I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out. I'll let you mock the fact that I haven't seen three movies in the past 2 years again."
"Are you asking me out?" Lorelai asked playfully.
"Yup."
"Well, okay then." Lorelai said, and laughed. "Do you want to come over my house...around seven?"
"That would be good." Luke said, and grinned.
"Okay. See you tonight." And she smiled back at him, before walking back to Rory.
When she sat down, Rory had a look on her face that told Lorelai she was ready to make fun of her. But the look went away for a second.
"Mom. Did you forget to order the food?"
"Shoot. Okay, let me go order and then when I get back you can start on the comments."
Lorelai began walking back to the counter. "Thanks!" Rory called after her.
&!*
A/N: Alright. That's it for part one. I don't even know where all of those words came from, lol. I usually have such a hard time writing it all. And I know I got them together really fast, but it's just I usually don't and then get bored with it before they actually do get together. Anyway, I'll probably have another part written by tomorrow night? Yeah, I think so. If you liked it so far, or hated it, then leave me a review? Please? Thanks. :- )
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Lorelai finally tells Luke her feelings, because of a break up with Jason.
DISCLAIMER: Yeah. I own everything. *sarcasm*
A soft breeze blew Lorelai's hair in front of her face. But she didn't move it. She was too lost in thought to care. She was wandering the streets of Stars Hollow, which were basically deserted. It was after eleven, after all. She just needed to think. And although she did have a perfectly nice house, Rory was home for the weekend. If she had gone home, Rory would instantly know something was wrong and make Lorelai tell her. Lorelai just didn't feel like telling anyone right now. She needed to process everything.
The evening had started off normal. Jason had come to pick her up, and then went to a nice, quiet restaurant. They had been seeing each other for almost eight months now, and Lorelai didn't know what to expect. Jason had told her that he needed to tell her something. Lorelai thought he just might be proposing. Proposing. Something that would make almost any woman deliriously happy. But not Lorelai. Not Jason proposing, anyway.
But it didn't matter what she thought on that subject. Before they ordered, he told her the news that should have broken her heart. He had been having an affair with a woman he met in Chicago. He had been traveling so much, and it had frequently taken him there. Lorelai didn't want to cause a scene, something that rarely happened. She calmly told him that he was disgusting, and walked out.
Something that irked her though. She wasn't upset. Well, she was a little upset, after all, her boyfriend cheated on her. But she wasn't upset about losing Jason. Which she should have been. Jason was a great guy. Smart, intelligent, funny. She guessed that it was just because she didn't feel a connection with him. It happens, right?
She couldn't stop thinking about something else, though. A month or so into their relationship, he had asked her something that she vehemently denied. He asked her if she had feelings for Luke. She had taken him there for breakfast one time, and immediately questioned it.
She laughed softly to herself. It had taken Max much, much longer to ask questions. It was back them she had put all feelings she might have for Luke hidden away. Or, at least, so she thought. If Jason could tell she might have had feelings for Luke, and he had known her for a little over a month, she must not be hiding them that well. And she thought that it was possible that she did have strong feelings for him. Feelings that were not strictly platonic.
But it was crazy, right? To have feelings for Luke. He was *Luke*. Sure, he was nice to her and Rory, when he was nice to no one. And sure, he did things for her that if anyone else even had thought to have asked, he would have laughed in there faces. He was always there for her when she needed something. He was a great guy.
She put the thoughts on hold for a second, while she glanced around. She was standing in front of Luke's. She suddenly had a craving for coffee...and to talk. It was if someone had wanted to, placing her there as if it were meant. She went up to the door. It was closed, since the diner closed on ten most days, but she saw Luke cleaning through the door.
He came over and let her in after she knocked. "What are you doing here?" He asked her, stepping aside to let her in.
"Fate's playing what could be classified as a cruel, joke on me."
"What?"
"Nothing. I've just had a bad night, and need coffee."
"You do know, that the sign on the door means we're not serving anymore tonight, right?"
"Yes, and I promise I'll never come after hours again. I just needed to tonight."
"You'll never keep that promise," He said, but reluctantly turned on the coffee pot.
"Well, it's only because you're such a stud, Luke," She said, jokingly. But after she had said it she wanted to take it back. How embarrassing. But Luke didn't seem to notice her deafing silence that came after the comment...he just thought she was being Lorelai.
"Yeah, I know." He rolled his eyes. He gave her her coffee and watched her take a sip. "So, you wanna tell me about your bad night? Did you break a nail again?"
"Ha. You're so funny, really. Does Comedy Central know about you?" She said, sarcastically.
"I guess I'll have to send 'em a letter. But really, do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
"Uhm. Sure," Lorelai started, unsure. He had just unintentionally given her the perfect opportunity to tell him what was going on in her head. But she decided she would start off slow, and if she thought that it would be a good thing, telling him that she wanted them to be more then friends, then she would. But there was always going to be the option of not telling him. Not tonight, at least.
She paused before starting again. "Tonight, Jason broke up with me." Luke nodded slowly and staring down at the counter, slightly grinned, Lorelai not noticing.
"He took me to this nice restaurant, and told me he needed to tell me something. He then proceeded to inform me that he has been seeing someone else. In Chicago." She said, and Luke looked up from the counter and directly at her.
"I'm sorry, he's a jerk. You don't deserve that."
She bit her lip. Luke was standing there, comforting her. He had given her coffee. Why not just go for it? But before she could open her mouth again, Luke spoke.
"Me and Nicole broke up too, last night."
Lorelai almost choked on her coffee. She had completely forgotten about Nicole. Who was Lorelai to think that she could just have Luke? Luke wasn't hers...he wasn't waiting for her. She shouldn't have just automatically assumed that it would be all right to tell him how she was feeling and screw up anything he had going.
She sharply inhaled. But they had broken up. If anything did happen between the two of them, at least Lorelai could say she didn't have anything to do with the break up.
"Aw, I'm sorry Luke. What happened?"
"Nothing, really. It was just that thing where you know you're not with the right person, and you can't go on that way anymore."
Lorelai nodded. "Oh, yeah." She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.
"Which brings me to something I wanted to talk to you about."
Luke raised his eyebrow. "Okay." He said.
"You see, when I was with Max, he asked me a question. And I kind of felt really uncomfortable when he did, and totally denied it. I thought that although it was out of line for him to be asking that, he might be right, in some sort of twisted way. I didn't let him know that, and I pushed it aside. A few months ago, Jason asked me the same question. And what I pushed aside came back. And I'm sad about what happened tonight...really. But not that upset. And I think it's because of the person the question was about.
Luke was staring at her with a confused expression on his face. "What?" He asked, still trying to process what she had said.
She wanted to scream in frustration. Did this mean she would actually have to say it? In the real words, and not some other way that wouldn't be as embarrassing?
"What question?" Luke asked, still confused. She sighed. She guessed so.
She gave a short nervous laugh. "Uhm, never mind. I'll just come out and say it. Okay, the reason why I'm not upset about Jason breaking up with me, is because I realize that I have feelings for someone else."
Luke nodded. "Who?" He asked slowly, wanting to completely understand what she was saying.
She looked down at the counter for a second, and back up at him. "You." She said, clearly.
Luke opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He didn't have an exact expression on his face, so Lorelai couldn't tell if he was happy or not.
"Luke?" She prodded.
"You're telling me that you have feelings for me?" Luke asked, clarifying.
"Yes."
"You're telling me you basically figured this out more then a year ago?" He asked.
"Yes."
"And you want to be with me?"
"Yes, Luke, yes! I wish I knew how to say it in a few more languages because just saying 'yes' is getting a little redundant! Now I told you what I was feeling and I don't really want to be interrogated. Just say it if you don't have feelings for me." She didn't wait for him to answer though. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the diner.
She walked really, really fast. She needed to get away from the diner, because for all she knew Luke now thought she was crazier then he had thought to begin with, and felt nothing but friendly feelings for her. She was such an idiot. How could she have put herself out there, and taken down the walls that she had worked so hard to put up when she was around him?
Someone grabbed her shoulder. She whipped around, and found herself face to face with Luke.
"I really have to get home Luke, so maybe you should go." She told him, in a voice that sounded nothing like hers.
"Lorelai. It was really brave of you to tell me that you had feelings for me."
"Well now I feel better. I'm so brave...maybe I'll go skydiving tomorrow." She said, exasperated, holding back her tears.
"Lorelai, listen. I have feelings for you too. And I know that you freaked out because I didn't say it right away, but I couldn't believe that you had told me first. I've been trying to figure out a way that I could tell you for a really long time."
Lorelai glanced down at the ground. "Oh," She said softly. Luke had feelings for her. Everything was better.
"So, are you okay now?" Luke asked her, grinning.
"Almost..." She said, and being the brave her, she leaned up and kissed him.
He was a little surprised, but none the less happy. If she hadn't he sure as hell would have. He placed his hands on her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck, as they both deepened the kiss.
When they broke apart, Lorelai smiled. "So." She said.
"So." He answered.
"What do we do now?" She asked him.
"I don't know. I guess we just take things a step at a time, you know?"
"Yeah, that could work. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," She grinned and gave him a peck on the lips before turned and heading home. He watched her go, and she knew it.
She turned around one last time.
"You really are a stud," She called, only half-joking this time. She smiled and inhaled deeply. Everything felt like it was falling into place.
&!*
Lorelai quietly opened the front door. With any luck, Rory would be in her room reading, and Lorelai could sneak up to her room. She hung her coat on the rack by the door, and began to tiptoe to the stairs.
"Hey, mom," Lorelai heard. She quickly turned around.
"Don't do that," Lorelai told her rolling her eyes and coming to sit next to Rory on the couch.
"Sorry. Someone's a little jumpy tonight."
Lorelai smiled and bit her lip. Rory saw this and raised her eyebrow.
"Mom? What happened tonight?"
"You know, I knew you were going to be asking that question tonight. But now I have a way better answer."
"Did something happen with Jason? Oh God, are you going to become Mrs. Digger Stiles?"
"Actually, no."
"Okay...still waiting for an answer."
"Well. Tonight, Jason broke up with me. For reasons that I'm not going to get into right now. Because I don't want to think about him at all. I want to think about someone else."
"Still confused here."
"Right, okay, okay. After he broke up with me I went to Lukes. And I kinda of ended up telling him I had feelings for him and then he told me he had feelings for me and now I think we're a couple."
"A couple of what? Mom, are you drunk?" Rory asked, in disbelief.
"Nope. I didn't drink at all tonight, as a matter of fact. It's just I've been thinking about the whole possibility of having feelings for Luke for a while, and after tonight I wanted to do something about it."
"You're crazy. But aw, that's so cute mom. You and Luke are finally together. I think I have to tell Ms. Patty."
"No, no. Don't tell anyone Rory."
"I was just joking about the Ms. Patty thing," Rory told her.
"Okay, but don't tell anyone. I don't even know if Luke wanted me to tell you."
"Is he embarrassed of you?" Rory asked, jokingly. "Because sometimes I don't want to tell people we're related, if it makes him feel better."
"Thanks, hon. And no, he's not embarrassed of me, it's just Luke is very quiet about who he's dating. Hell, I forgot he had been going out with Nicole until he mentioned it."
"You broke him and Nicole up?" Rory asked, her eyes widening.
"No, no. I wouldn't have. Well, I probably would have. But they broke up too. Anyway, I don't know if he wants me to tell anyone because even I know that the minute it gets out people are gonna be freakin' out. I don't really mind it so much, I mean, how much do I want my picture in the Stars Hollow Gazette? But I don't think Luke wants that. At all."
"Okay, so I won't tell anyone."
"Thank you. Now, Mommy is going to watch a re-run of Dr.Phil and talk to the screen telling him that I can work out my own problems, thank you very much."
"Good night, mom." Rory said, rolling eyes.
&!*
The next morning, Lorelai was awake and dressed before her alarm clock even went off. down the stairs to wake up Rory. But when she got downstairs, Rory was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper.
"What are you doing up already?" Lorelai asked, disbelievingly.
"Mom, I get up at 9:00, the latest. I did not inherit the gene which requires almost 13 hours of sleep.
"You ruined my moment. I was going to wake you up all nice."
"I'm sorry. Would you like me to into my room, put the covers over me, and then in five minutes you can come get me?" Rory asked, sarcastically.
"Don't think it didn't cross my mind."
Rory smiled and rolled her eyes. "What are you doing up anyway? I was going to come get you in fifteen minutes, I'm starving."
Lorelai's face showed a mixture of emotions.
"What?" Rory asked, noticing Lorelai's expression.
"Nothing. It's just, I know when you talk about food, you're talking about Luke's. And when you're talking about Luke's, you're talking about Luke. I just got this weird feeling of nervousness and excitement at the same time."
Rory giggled.
"Stop." Lorelai said, her face back to normal.
"What?" Rory asked, pretending not to know what she was talking about.
"You're laughing at me."
"Aw, no I'm not. It's cute, mom." Rory said, still laughing.
"Once you're done mocking your mother, we can go."
Rory stopped. "Okay, I'm done. Let's go."
&!*
They were almost at the diner, when Lorelai began to walk very slowly.
"Mom?"
"What?" Lorelai asked, as if she was doing nothing out of the ordinary.
"You're kinda walking a little slow there."
"Uhm, no I'm not."
"Seriously, there goes a turtle."
"I'm not walking that slowly."
"Aha! You admit you're walking at a pace you would not normally walk at."
"Maybe."
"Whhhy?" Rory asked, and came to walk beside her.
"Because I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"Luke," Lorelai said.
"Mom." Rory said, and looked at her as if she were crazy.
"I mean, how am I supposed to act now? What should I say?" Lorelai pleaded.
"Wow. Alright. Just act as you normally would. Most things aren't different...they shouldn't change."
"It's going to be awkward."
"Yes. Yes it is. But you'll work through it. Now, suck it up soldier. I'm hungry."
"Yes, sir." Lorelai rolled her eyes and went back to walking at a normal pace.
They arrived at Luke's a few minutes later, and Rory and Lorelai sat down at a table. Lorelai kept glancing over to Luke, and quickly looking away.
"Mom, he's going to realize you're doing that."
"Shush. I'm not doing anything. And why is he so calm?"
"Because he's not a freak."
"I remember helping you with the relationships, missy, and I never once called you a freak."
"Thinking hard?" Rory asked her.
"Okay, maybe, twice. Okay, okay, all the time. But mommy is about to have a breakdown so I'd really appreciate it if you left the name calling out until we get home."
"As you wish." Rory said, and they both glanced over towards Luke. He was looking at Lorelai, and as they turned to look at him, he quickly busied himself with telling Caesar the customer sitting at the counters order.
"Looks like Mr. Calm has left the building." Rory said.
"I know," Lorelai said happily.
"Maybe you should go over there."
"I'm going," Lorelai said and she stood up. She stood at the counter and waited for Luke to come out of the kitchen. When he saw her, he looked startled.
"Hey, Lorelai," He said.
"Hi,"
"So,"
"So."
"I wanted to talk to you about tonight."
Lorelai smiled. "What's tonight?" She asked.
"Well, nothing really, I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out. I'll let you mock the fact that I haven't seen three movies in the past 2 years again."
"Are you asking me out?" Lorelai asked playfully.
"Yup."
"Well, okay then." Lorelai said, and laughed. "Do you want to come over my house...around seven?"
"That would be good." Luke said, and grinned.
"Okay. See you tonight." And she smiled back at him, before walking back to Rory.
When she sat down, Rory had a look on her face that told Lorelai she was ready to make fun of her. But the look went away for a second.
"Mom. Did you forget to order the food?"
"Shoot. Okay, let me go order and then when I get back you can start on the comments."
Lorelai began walking back to the counter. "Thanks!" Rory called after her.
&!*
A/N: Alright. That's it for part one. I don't even know where all of those words came from, lol. I usually have such a hard time writing it all. And I know I got them together really fast, but it's just I usually don't and then get bored with it before they actually do get together. Anyway, I'll probably have another part written by tomorrow night? Yeah, I think so. If you liked it so far, or hated it, then leave me a review? Please? Thanks. :- )