A/N: ok, this is my first fic ever, so I wish for reviews, but try to be nice! This fic is basically what every javajunkie fan wishes would have happened in some classic episodes. Each chapter is a new story, they don't relate to each other at all. Thanks for reading!

Chapter One- The Bracebridge Dinner

Luke Danes was never one for the small talk. But here, in a horse-drawn sleigh on a snowy evening, he felt like it was called for. Something, anything to take his mind off of exactly who was in the seat beside him, exactly whose scent he could smell, exactly who was so close that he could almost imagine a world in which he would lean over and…

"I gotta say, sleigh ride's a little much, but these horses are really beautiful." Good, he thought, words are always good. As the master of the monosyllable, I should be proud of myself.

"Yes, especially from this angle."

"Not just from this angle." Well, she called me on it. She always does.

"Oh seriously, don't backtrack. Horse has got a nice butt there."

Aw, jeez. "It's not what I'm saying."

"Nice firm hiney."

" Stop talking about the horse's hiney." In her words: please let something big fall on my head right now.

"God, the town looks beautiful."

Then something happened inside Luke Danes. He didn't know what it was, what caused it. Maybe it was relief at not having to focus on the horses butt that loomed ominously in front of him. Maybe he had a sip too many during cocktail hour. Maybe Lorelai was right, maybe the snow was magical. Whatever it was, it chose that moment to seize control of his mouth, brain, conciense and anything else that it could, and made him say two words that in a normal day, at a normal time, would never ever come out of his mouth.

"You're beautiful"

It was like Sesame Street, it was like you could see those words dangling there in the air, and as much as Luke wanted to grab them and throw the back to wherever the hell they came from, both Luke and Lorelai knew that they weren't going anywhere.

Her eyes got as wide as a little kid's when they step into Willy Wonka's factory. Her mouth just hung open for a while, then finally she spoke.

"What did you say?"

"I said..." side-step you imbecile, avoid it, change the subject, do SOMETHING! "I said that you're beautiful" way to go, nice side-stepping you frickin idiot. Just pack you bags now and go home. Oh no, wait you can't cause you're on a moving horse drawn sleigh…you're not going anywhere.

But as Luke mouth and brain were pounding the hell out of each other, Lorelai had pulled herself together enough to muster a phrase. Well a word, actually. Just one word.

"Why?"

Luke wasn't quite sure how to answer this, he needed a little more time to ponder why in fact he had said it. So he did the patented Luke Danes response. Another question.

"Why what?"

"Why did you say that I was beautiful?"

"Well…" Ok now here, you may be able to save yourself. Just don't freak her out. You were just trying to compliment her. "…because you are. Lorelai, you're the most beautiful woman I know." We interrupt this sleigh-ride to report the Luke Danes is grade-A certified idiot. Just off the horse ass-hole, cause you've done it now. That's it for you.

If it was possible, Lorelai's jaw dropped even further down. As her eyes grew even wider, they met Luke's. And all of a sudden, she couldn't move. Because she was looking at something in those eyes. Some thing that she knew, something she had never said, something she had never so intensely until tonight. And in patented Gilmore fashion, it scared the hell out of her.

Oh, and apparently Luke's earlier internal reveling about not being able to escape from a sleigh-ride was wrong. Because as soon as she was able to tear her eyes away from those of the formerly familiar diner owner, she had jumped out of the carriage and was running back in the direction of the inn. In pumps, no less. Luke wasted no time following her.

"Lorelai, wait!" Now you've done it…

"No!" she cried, still running for her life. "I just…I forgot something back at the inn! I have to go get it!"

But Butch Danes wasn't a gold-medal track star in high school for nothing. Plus well, he wasn't wearing the "shoes-that-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time." He caught up to her in no time, and grabbed her by the arm, whirling her around.

"Lorelai, don't do this!"

Gilmore aversion tactic number one: Play dumb.

"Do what?"

"Don't run away! I'm sorry alright, that was totally uncalled for, and I shouldn't have said it."

Gilmore aversion tactic number two: Get mad. Yell if necessary.

"Damn right you shouldn't have!" she screamed at him, throwing his hand off of her arm. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Now Luke was confused. Why was she yelling? People love to hear that they're beautiful! Right?

Danes confusion tactic number one: Get mad. Yell if necessary.

So he yelled.

"How can you possibly be mad at me? I just told you…"

And she yelled.

"I know what you told me, Luke! What I'm wracking my brain for is why the hell you think you have the right to just…"

And he yelled some more.

"The right? I don't have the right to tell you what's on my mind tonight? Dammit, I don't have the right to say what's been on my mind for years? You're not a goddamn cop Lorelai, please don't lecture me about my rights!" he added a big flourish at the end, which progressed to throwing a hand over hi mouth in shock at what exactly he had just revealed to her.

And all of a sudden, it got very quiet. And uncomfortable. And uncomfortably quiet.

Until she finally spoke.

"For years? You've…for years?"

And he broke.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"Luke, everyone's said things at one time or another but I never…I just thought" She had no idea what to say…

And he broke some more.

"You just thought what? That 'oh there's no way, and even if there is who cares? He's just my coffee boy?' Is that it?"

Tears started to form in her eyes. The effect that this man's words had on her…

"You know that's not it! Stop being so goddamn self-deprecating!"

Now he was back to angry.

"Then what is it, Lorelai?" he roared.

And she knew there was only one thing left that she could do. So she kissed him. Just a simple kiss on the lips to show him what she didn't have the nerve to put into words. But as she pulled away, that 'thing' in his eyes held her there. Held her there long enough for him to get a grip. Literally. He grabbed her face and kissed with eight years worth of …whatever it was. She almost fell over because, well, when your knees turn to jello, there's not much supporting your body weight. Lucky for her, he chose that moment to move his hands to around her waist and managed to support her.

He was always catching her…

And as the need for oxygen slowly separated them, she looked deep in his eyes and told him just what was on her mind. Except she translated herself, switching from the verbiose Gllmore language to that of her monosyllabic diner man.

"That's it."