A/N: This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction. This is centered on the relationship between Luke and Lorelai in Gilmore Girls, starting from Season 1, Episode 14, "That Damn Donna Reed." I've used a bit of dialogue from the show, especially in the first couple of chapters. I don't own the show or it's characters. Hopefully you all like. Will appreciate any comments, follows or anything like that. Thanks!

Are we just going to stay like this forever, floating?

I'm serious, my heart is furious.

Cause I'm confused when we're together.

Feels like I'm choking, these emotions.

I know I'm gonna let you down.

So don't hold your breath now.

–We Won't, Jaymes Young and Phoebe Ryan

A Little Spruce

Lorelai watched as Luke slammed the door behind Andrew and flipped over the "OPEN" sign.

"That's it. We're closed for the night," He said grumpily, turning back around to face her.

"You know, listen," She paused for a moment before deciding he wasn't too grumpy yet, "Since you have to take everything off the walls to decide what stuff you're going to keep and what stuff you're to get rid of."

He looked at her with that hard look of his. "Everything stays."

"OK, there's a plastic dancing pork chop that says…"

"Everything stays," He repeated evenly.

"I lost my head over a good chop. You should too," Lorelai said, her voice taking on a tone that let him know just how ridiculous she thought he was being.

"Everything stays," Luke told her, his tone letting her know that this decision was final.

"Ok. Everything stays," She agreed, understanding that she could only push him so far.

"You know, this place hasn't been painted since my dad was alive," He told her, not liking the look of hurt that had flashed across her face quickly before being replaced by a very nonchalant expression.

"No, I didn't know that," She replied, managing a smile for him.

"He painted it before he opened it and once more when the roof caved in one winter. I think that's probably it," Luke explained.

"The paint lasted a long time. He got his money's worth."

"Yep. He really loved this place, you know. This store was his life. Mine too, I guess. I spent every minute I wasn't in school here. I spent a lot of minutes I was supposed to be in school in here too," Luke admitted freely, liking the look of interest on Lorelai's face. It wasn't very often that they got to have real conversations like this. It wasn't that he disliked their friendly bickering but sometimes it was nice to actually tell Lorelai things about himself, and she do the same.

"How come you opened a diner? Why didn't you keep it a hardware store?" Lorelai inquired.

"I don't know. I didn't love the hardware business the way my dad did, and, you know, I knew how to cook, so I just thought a diner would be more," Luke paused for a moment, considering, searching for the right word, "Fun."

"That's a hard word for you to say," Lorelai told him, laughing. Luke watched as her eyes lit up and her whole face suddenly seemed radiant. She was so bright and cheerful. He couldn't help the satisfied feeling he got from knowing that it was him who had made her laugh.

Luke let himself enjoy the moment with her and laughed too, saying, "Yeah. I just always wanted to work here. Just where Dad did."

"God that's nice. To be so… I don't know, connected to your dad. That's," She broke off before finding the right thing to say, "I would have loved that."

"Well you've got that with Rory," He reminded her. Luke knew of Lorelai's strained relationship with her parents all too well. It seemed like after every one of the Friday Night Dinner's she went to that she was at the diner, looking defeated and requesting coffee and pie to get her through the rest of the night.

"Yeah... I guess so," She said quietly, managing a soft smile. Lorelai was grateful that he always tried to make her feel better. It was nice, knowing that someone wanted you to be happy and would always try to make you happy.

"You know," Luke said, trying to change the subject, "I still think there's a spot on the wall somewhere where my dad took an order one day when he ran out of paper."

"Really?" Lorelai asked, welcoming the distraction. "Where?"

"I don't know," Luke said, "Behind the counter maybe."

He watched as Lorelai stepped around the counter, looking for the order. Luke knew exactly where the order was written, but it was something to distract her from whatever had happened more recently with her parents that was getting her down.

"Next to the door. On the right side," Luke suggested, watching her search.

"Oh. Huh. Here it is: "Three hammers, Phillips-head screwdrivers…" Lorelai started to read to him, now sitting cross legged on the floor beside the order.

"…And three boxes of nails in assorted sizes," Luke finished, stepping around the counter to join her on the floor.

"Oh," Lorelai said, looking at him for an explanation.

"I've seen it from time to time," He admitted, before sharing a quick laugh with her.

"Yeah, well, I guess it is time for a little spruce," Luke admitted.

"Yeah, it is," Lorelai agreed gently, "But let's not spruce this particular spot."

"That sounds good," Luke told her.

"Okay."

Luke looked at Lorelai and wondered, for what felt like the millionth time, what it would be like to just pull her to him and kiss her. But before he could say anything to her, about anything, they heard voices outside. Luke peered around the counter and saw Taylor Doosey, Andrew and the other members of the Town Beautification Committee.

"Oh, jeez," Luke grumbled, moving to get up and tell them to buzz off.

"No, no, don't get up," Lorelai told him, holding his arm so he'd stay with her.

"But if I don't get up…" Luke began to argue.

"…They'll go away. They'll go away, trust me," Lorelai finished, hushing him with a, "Shh."

They stay quiet while Taylor rattles the doorknob, trying to get inside. Lorelai moves so she's on all fours, letting out a little giggle as she watches Taylor struggling to get inside. Luke watched Lorelai watching Taylor, who eventually gives up and leaves with the rest of the Committee following behind him. The way she was smiling, well, it was honestly breathtaking.

"Thank you," He told her softly, trying to not be affected by the soft floral scent of her perfume.

"You're welcome," She tells him, softly, her eyes meeting his.

Luke couldn't help it. She was so beautiful, and so, so close. Too close for her own good, if he was being honest. He had dreamed about something like this for years. It was the perfect opportunity to just kiss her, to let her know what she had been missing all these years.

Lorelai's clear blue eyes looked brighter than he had ever seen them. They stayed trained on his, unblinking in the stillness of the moment. He knew that she was thinking about it too. He knew she wanted him to, maybe just to see what it was like. Luke Danes knew she had certainly thought about it before. It was only yesterday that he had caught her staring at him from her table near the window in the diner. She had blushed and quickly turned away. Luke had never mentioned the stolen glances before, but only because he did it too.

The blue shirt she was wearing matched her eyes, making them look bluer than he had ever seen them. That was a miracle in itself, as he had seen her almost every day for the last five years of his life. Not that he would openly admit it to her, but he had spent the last five years waiting and hoping she would walk through the diner door speaking a mile a minute in a caffeine frenzy and a warm, sparkly smile plastered across her face.

His eyes drifted down uncontrollably to her lips. He could see her teeth pull at the inside of her bottom lip, reminding him of just how much he wanted this; wanted her.

Luke leaned in slightly, his lips only a few centimeters from hers. He watched as her eyes suddenly gained focus. Lorelai pulled away a little, turning her head from him. He knew then he had crossed a line with her. She wasn't ready. But would she ever be?

"Luke…" She murmured, as she felt his hand reach for her and rest on her shoulder. He wanted far more than she could ever give him. Lorelai knew she wasn't enough good for Luke. She could never be that stable, constant women he needed and deserved.

"Lorelai," He answered, not saying anything more. She knew what he wanted. There was no way she couldn't know.

"The line, Luke," She reminded him quietly.

"What line?" He asked her, genuinely confused about what she was saying.

"The friendship line, the no going back line, Luke," Lorelai told him. "Us… Rory… She's not ready… I'm not ready."

"What line, Lorelai?" Luke asked her again. "We crossed that line a long time ago."

"No, Luke, no," She told him, pulling back from his touch entirely. "I can't cross that line with you."

"Lorelai…" Luke said softly, drawing out the end of her name.

He watched her in silence as she crossed her arms tight over her chest, holding herself together. Luke didn't want to scare her away or make her feel uncomfortable, but he had reached a stage in his life where he felt it had to be now.

Indecision swept across her delicate features. Lorelai didn't know what to do. Could she stay? And what about Rory? How would she feel, how would it affect her? What happened if, no, when, she screwed up their relationship? Where would she get her coffee? And what about Danish Days? There were too many questions that she couldn't or didn't want to answer.

It wasn't that she hadn't thought about Luke like that before. She certainly had after comments from the others around town about the way he looked at her. It was more about the fact that she wasn't ready to be committed like that, not in the way she would have to be if she ever did choose to cross that line.

"Lorelai," Luke repeated, concerned about her silence. For a women who was almost never stopped speaking, she was disconcertingly silent.

"I can't," Lorelai said finally, standing up and chewing on her bottom lip as she did. She brushed her dark brown curls over her shoulders, just looking back at Luke. She didn't feel like he had anything more to say to him but from the expression on his ace, she could tell he wasn't quite ready.

"Okay," Luke said quietly. "I respect that, I do," He told her, before adding, "But I want more, more of you. So, please, just don't…" He fell silent. He couldn't finish his sentence, not when she was looking at him with those shimmering, blue eyes of hers.

"Don't, what?" Lorelai asked quietly, feeling guilty. She couldn't remember if she had ever seen Luke look so uncertain, so lost. He had always been a strong pillar for her to lean on. Seeing him looking like that was almost unfathomable to her. It was worse knowing that he looked like that because of her. She had hurt Luke, and she wasn't even in a relationship with him.

Luke hesitated. Should he tell her, or should he not? After a few moments, he decided he had nothing left to lose. "Just don't shut me out. I don't want to lose you, or your friendship, by asking you for something you might not ever be ready for."

He watched her as she considered what he was saying. "You won't lose me, Luke, not as a friend," Lorelai told him quietly, before picking up her jacket and her bag. She took a few steps towards him, but stopped, considering. Luke stood entirely still, just watching her and waiting as she made up her mind about what to do.

Lorelai closed the gap between them and slowly stood up on the tips of her toes. She leaned in to kiss his cheek softly, murmuring, "Goodnight, Luke," against his skin. Lorelai turned away from him and walked out of the dinner, the bells on the door jangling behind her.

Luke stayed where he was, his eyes unable to leave her turned back as she walked away from him. When she disappeared around a corner, he raised a hand to touch the place on his cheek where she had gently pressed her lips. Luke could still feel her breathe against her skin.

He knew he was insane lusting after Lorelai Gilmore like he was, but for him, there was no one else he would rather have. She was strong, determined and passionate about everything she did. Unlike Rachel, Lorelai had been a constant figure head in his life for years. She hadn't flitted in and out of his life like some kind of lunatic butterfly. And Lorelai would do anything for those she loved. He had seen her sacrifice everything from meals to professional development courses just so she could buy Rory a new book she wanted. Lorelai gave up hours of her time to volunteer for the ridiculous town festivals and had helped him, Patty, Babette, and countless others numerous times without being asked. In his mind, Lorelai Gilmore stood on a golden pedestal and other women he knew could compare to her.