A/N: So this story takes place in the first season, the last episode, where Lorelei and Max are just starting their relationship back up. Luke did get weird and possessive, and Lorelei and Max did fight, but in my world, he didn't propose. At all. They just fought and he left. And that is where my story begins. Also, a disclaimer, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS OR THE SHOW.

Once Luke had left her house, things with Max were dicey. Their fight had been loud. He accused her of having a relationship with Luke, and despite all she said, he was convinced that he was right. He left her home in a huff, slamming the door behind him. Lorelei was mad too, mad that Max didn't trust her to tell the truth and mad that he threw the relationships he had while they were apart in her face.

Her dinner plans ruined, she decided to walk over to the diner. As she walked, she began thinking about Luke's behavior towards Max. It was definitely not polite. In fact, Luke was a bit rude to Max. Not just rude, though, possessive. Like a dog making his mark and growling at another dog. Did Luke feel threatened? Why?

She walked toward Luke's with new purpose. When she got there, she didn't see him in the diner, so she walked directly to the stairs she knew led to his apartment. She knocked lightly, not knowing what to expect. Luke opened the door fairly quickly.

"I thought you had a date," was his greeting.

"I did. But then we had a fight," she said. Luke stepped aside and Lorelei walked past him into his apartment.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that," said Luke. His brow was furrowed in a confused fashion. Lorelei's frustration leaked through her calm exterior.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked, "Why were you acting all weird? Max got it in his head that there was something going on with us…and he like freaked out at me."

"I wasn't doing anything," replied Luke defensively.

"You got all possessive and weird," countered Lorelei.

"Possessive, why would I be possessive?"

"I don't know," said Lorelei, "but what was all that, telling him that you do stuff around the house?"

"What, like I don't?"

"You do, but you acted all…I don't even know," Lorelei told him, frustrated with her inability to understand him, "Is it because you are upset about Rachel leaving?"

Luke scoffed.

"Now why would I be upset? That's apparently entirely my fault, just like your fight with Max," he barked.

"It's not your fault Rachel left."

"Well if it's not my fault, then it must be yours," Luke snapped. Lorelei stood back, stunned.

"Mine? What?"

"You," confirmed Luke, "with all your encouragement and advice, you with your crazy coffee obsession and asking me to fix things…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that was such a problem," she told him apologetically.

"You are the problem, Lorelei," he shouted so loud it echoed throughout his whole apartment.

"I'm sorry," she answered, hurt in her eyes, turning her body towards the door, "I guess I'll just…leave you alone forever."

"That'll never work!" yelled Luke, taking a step towards the door and blocking her exit.

"Why not?" she yelled back.

Luke strode up and wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her roughly to him. And then, he kissed her.

Deeply, passionately, with an intensity Lorelei always knew was there but had never thought she'd experience. It was Luke, his lips and tongue and teeth. She was completely stuck. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she responded the best way she knew how: kissing him back. How could she stop herself? She wondered if she should be stopping herself. Not one ounce of her being wanted to stop, even if the voices in her head kept telling her what a mistake she was making. How this was crossing a line she was in no way ready to cross. And even if she was ready, did she want to? Her entire body screamed yes.

It could have been mere seconds, though it felt more like hours before either could pull away. She let her forehead rest against his as they caught their breath. The crease between Luke's eyebrows grew deeper. He looked her directly in the eye.

"Because I've been crazy about you since the moment I met you…" he said softly. His voice was raw and quivered slightly. Lorelei's eyes welled up. She untangled herself from his arms and backed away to the door. With one final terrified expression, she ran out of his apartment.

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Lorelei ran home as fast as she could, and found Rory sitting on the living room couch when she got there.

"Hey, Mom."

Rory looked up and spotted the singularly petrified look on her mother's face. She dropped the book in her hand onto the couch.

"Mom?"

Lorelei finally looked at her daughter, a wild, panicked look in her eyes. She blinked rapidly and shook her head as Rory walked towards her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the couch. Once she made sure her mother was situated, she sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?"

"I…uh…I don't even know…weird, weird, crazy, insane night…"

"I heard the fight with Max. Or at least vaguely. Not enough to understand what it was actually about. Really, it was the volume I heard, not the context," Rory admitted.

"It was…nothing…or something, as it turns out," she let out a groan of frustration and annoyance, "I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."

Rory knew to leave it alone, walking over to turn on the movie she had been planning on watching. Lorelei stared blankly in the direction of the TV, clearly lost in her own thoughts.

They finished the movie and Rory went to bed. Lorelei got into her own, where she continued to stare at the ceiling for the majority of the night.

Did Luke really tell her that? Did he honestly kiss her like that? What on earth was she supposed to do with that? He's Luke, for pity's sake. He's the gruff and monosyllabic at times. He does nothing but argue with her about her diet and her love of coffee and how she is going to die young. They bickered and they fought.

And yet there were these moments. Moments where the lines of their friendship got a little blurry. Moments when Luke made her thoughts fuzzy and she felt exhilarated. And Luke was the best and closest thing to a real father figure that Rory had ever had. But him being basically in love with her? For years, everyone told her Luke liked her and then he just up and freaks out and tells her his feelings? He's her friend, one of her best friends. Was her friendship with him ruined? That was an unbearable thought. She chewed her nails down to the bit.

She finally managed to drift off at four in the morning. When her alarm went off, she felt like complete and utter crap. She passed herself in the mirror and quickly decided she looked like the crypt keeper's wife.

"Mom, come on, hurry up. I want to get coffee at Luke's before I catch my bus!"

Lorelei groaned.