AN: This is my first fanfic, so I'm counting on your reviews so I know if I should ever attempt another fic.

AN: This takes place after episode 5.20. It's just a different way for Lorelai to tell Luke about the meeting with Mike Armstrong.

"Luke, this is amazing."

"Ah, it's no big deal."

"No, seriously, this lasagna is fantastic! Terrific! It's almost better than sex." Lorelai replied with a smile on her face as she shoved a huge bite of lasagna into her mouth. Luke raised his eyebrow and shot her a skeptical glance. She swallowed the lasagna and smirked, "I said almost." He didn't reply, but the smirk on his face that mirrored her own spoke for him, so she gave him a suggestive wink.

They were having a simple little dinner in her kitchen. They had both finished work earlier than usual, and since Luke didn't have to open the diner the next morning, they'd decided to spend the evening at Lorelai's house.

"So, I had that meeting with Mike Armstrong, like you suggested."

"Oh really? How'd that go?"

"Oh," she paused. "He wants to buy the inn. He made a really great offer actually, and not to just buy the inn, but he said he could just invest in the inn and Sookie and I could stay on as a consultant for the whole Durham Group. You know, travel and all that. When I was a kid, I used to always wish that I could see the world, and say things like 'I'll be back from I'll be back from Düsseldorf on Friday'! He told me to think about it for a few days, and get back to him when I made a decision." She took a breath and shoveled more lasagna into her mouth.

"Hmm," was Luke's only response.

"Hmm?"

"So, did you tell Sookie?"

"About the offer? Yeah, we were talking about it today actually."

"So, she's okay with it?"

"Ok with what?"

"With selling the inn?"

"What? Luke, I'm not selling my inn."

"Lorelai, this is a great opportunity. You just said, you've always wanted to travel. What's stopping you now?" At this, Luke jumped up from his seat and started pacing around the kitchen in a full blown rant. "You'd still basically run the inn, right? And then you could go to freaking Düsseldorf and get back whenever you want. I mean, Rory's away at Yale, so you'll probably still see her just as much as you do now. And you're already attached to that damn cell phone, so you could still call her just as much. I mean, why wouldn't you take this job? What's holding you back?"

He stopped and stared at her with such intensity that she was tempted to look away. But the hurt was obvious in his tone, though she could tell he'd tried to hide it. And as she looked at him now, his face revealed nothing, his gaze unwavering, but just moments before, she'd seen a look of fear sweep across his face. She refused to break his gaze.

"Luke," she said softly, almost whispering his name as she stood up and walked toward him. "I am not taking this job. I do not want to take this job."

"Why?" Luke challenged, still holding her eyes. The fierce intensity had momentarily vanished as he'd uttered that word, as a mixture of hope and fear overtook his features. She could tell he was struggling to control his emotions.

She now stood only a foot away, still refusing to break his gaze as she spoke in a low even tone. "Luke. If I took this job, I could very well end up traveling all the time. I could end up spending weeks in France, a month in London, maybe even a couple days in China. I'd meet tons of crazy and interesting people, and see sights that the average person only sees on tv. I'd spent my days doing whatever it is that consultants do, and my nights would be spent in fancy hotel rooms ordering room service for dinner and chatting away on the phone to Rory. I wouldn't have to deal with Michel on a daily basis, and any Friday that I was out of town would mean no Friday night dinner with my parents. I mean, this job would completely change everything about my life."

"You said you don't want to take this job, but you're standing there making it sound like it's your dream come true. I don't understand, Lorelai." He had never seen or heard her be so serious about something, but the way this was going was making him nervous.

"It doesn't matter how great this job might possibly be. It couldn't be any better than this." She spread her arms around vaguely implying the small space between their bodies. "This is all I've ever really wanted. You are all I've ever really wanted." She paused to take a breath and then continued. "When they made me this offer about the inn, my first thought was 'Hmm, traveling could be fun. I wonder if Luke would like the south of France?' That thought was immediately followed by 'Oh no, Luke couldn't leave the diner for that long, not all the time like I'd have to be traveling.' And Luke, I wouldn't want to travel alone, and I understand that you couldn't just leave the diner for weeks at a time just to hang out with me in crazy countries while I consult. But then I realized, that this wasn't just about me traveling alone. It was about me being away from you."

She stepped closer, placing one hand on his chest and the other around his neck. Their eye contact broke only when she leaned into him completely, burying her head in his flannel, as he wrapped his arms around her. As she breathed in his scent, she murmured, "Right here, in your arms, this is the greatest place I could ever be. I really thought you knew that already, but Luke, I'll say it again if I need to." She pulled back only slightly so she could look in his eyes again, and brought a hand to caress his cheek. "I love you. I love you so much, and I don't ever want to be anywhere without you."

His hand left her back as he reached up to slowly stroke along her hair and her face. As she closed her eyes and leaned into his caress, he roughly whispered, "Lorelai, I love you, more than you could ever know. I just," his voice broke slightly but he continued on, "I don't want to hold you back from this. I mean," he sighed, "just the thought of you being away for weeks at a time…" he trailed off. "But this job could be perfect for you. I mean, are you sure that you'd rather be here? In boring old Stars Hollow?"

"God Luke!" She shrieked. "I just told you! Do you not believe me? Is that it? Don't you trust me?"

He had stuttered and stumbled, trying to form some kind of response, but she pulled out of his arms, the anger evident in her glare. Her eyes softened when she looked back up at him, and saw something there she hadn't really seen before. She'd seen the love, the annoyance, the hurt, the hope, the uncertainty. No, she'd seen all those things in his eyes before. But this was stronger. This was pure. This was need. She saw in his eyes that he needed her, and she'd never really known that until now. But this look in his eyes reflected what she felt in her heart. Her voice calmed as she stepped back to him, grabbing his hands and interlocking their fingers. "You have to understand, Luke. This town is our home. It's your home. I know you couldn't ever really leave here. And it's not just that I love you and don't want to be without you. It's that I need to be with you."

He pulled her even closer, bringing his lips down to hers for a soft loving kiss. When they broke apart, they remained close, foreheads touching, Lorelai grinning at him, while Luke in turn had a shy smile on his face. He had one hand in her hair, stroking and winding his fingers through her curly strands, and the other hand on her waist, his fingers slightly moving in small circles. He kissed her again and then quickly stepped back. He moved them towards the kitchen table, and gently pushed Lorelai to sit in a chair. Standing in front of her a moment, he took a breath.

"I've always liked to think of myself as a self-sufficient guy." A smirk appeared on Lorelai's face and as she started to interject he raised his hand. "Dirty. I know. That's too easy. But just give me a minute here to be serious." He lowered his hand as the smirk disappeared from her face and her features softened into a small smile. "Look. I just, after losing my mom, and then my dad, and then Liz running off…I just. I stopped letting myself let people in. I didn't want to get used to having someone in my life because they always ended up leaving, in some way or another. And I've kept going and kept living and doing things cuz what else can I do? But with you it's just…"

Luke paused a moment here to take a breath, but then attempted to continue. "I just, I can't, if you…" he forced out a sigh and then caught her gaze. "I have never needed someone the way I need you. You drink way too much coffee, you eat too much junk food, you're pushy and you rarely shut up, sometimes you annoy the hell out of me. But I love all of it. I wouldn't change a damn thing about you, because you're an amazing mother, a loyal friend, an intelligent businesswoman, and I love you. I'm not too good with words and romance and all that stuff that I know you want and deserve." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, then bent down on one knee, but never his eyes never left hers.

She let out a small gasp, realizing what he held in his hand, and what he was about to say. "Luke," she whispered softly, her eyes tearing up as his free hand reached for hers.

"Lorelai. I'm not an extravagant man. This isn't a thousand yellow daisies, or a knight in shining armour on a white horse, or even a walk through snowfall at night. It's just me, and a ring. But I love you so much, and after all that you said to me tonight, I thought that maybe we were on the same page here. And I figured that it just couldn't hurt to ask." His voice wavered but never broke as he opened up the box during his little speech. "Will you marry me?"

She didn't glance at the ring. She didn't wish for daisies or horses or snow. She saw this amazing man in front of her, offering himself to her.

"Yes."

And with that one word uttered from her mouth they reached towards each other, kissing deeply, holding each other softly. Luke pulled back slightly and asked with a slight laugh, "Did you even look at the ring?"

"Ha. No." She responded with a slightly smile, kissing him again, then pulling away and looking down at the contents of that velvety box. The white gold band had a nice sized diamond in the middle, surrounded by smaller diamonds on either side of it. "Wow," she breathed. "Where'd you get this? Luke, it's beautiful."

"Well, actually," he responded as he took the ring, setting the empty box on the table, "this was the ring that my dad gave to my mom when he proposed to her." He held it up to the light, looking at the ring as he slightly blushed. "There's an inscription on it here," he said, holding the ring so she could read what was written inside.

"Semper amemus?" She asked, not quite sure what it meant.

"It's Latin," he answered as he reached for her left hand and held the ring to the tip of her finger. "My love is forever," he said as he slid the ring into place.

She looked at him, reaching her hands around her neck to pull his face to hers. She paused, their lips almost touching, their breath mingling, and she softly murmured, "Semper amemus."

AN: Yes. I realize that this was extremely sappy. Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, good or bad, it doesn't matter to me, but I'd really like some feedback.

AN: My Latin is a bit rusty, but I know the inscription and it's translation is right because I found it on a website dedicated to wedding ring inscriptions.