A/N: After I watched "Last Week Fights, This Week Tights" for a second time recently, I was smacked in the face with a sudden urge to tap into both Luke and Lorelai's brains in the time span directly following their "moment" on the walk home and his movie invitation. Here's the result. Enjoy, and please review. =)
Lorelai watched incredulously as Luke walked away from her house and faded into the darkness of that warm Stars Hollow evening. There were a thousand things going on in her head, so many thoughts jumbled together about the events of the past few hours. She walked toward her front door, unable to comprehend any of it, only able to let out a slow, confused, breath.
"Oh. My. God," she whispered shakily. A cool breeze took the words away into the night sky.
She sat down on her front step and replayed the night in her head. Wow, they really did have a great time. She had been so stressed out lately, with the opening of the Dragonfly just weeks away. She had so much to do and so little time to do it, and hadn't had a night off in so long. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard. Who knew spending an evening at a wedding with Luke could be so much fun?
Lorelai was startled to find that her heart skipped a beat as she thought about Luke, and she felt some butterflies in her stomach. A smile came across her face from nowhere as she looked back on sitting and eating dinner with him. She loved talking with him- he kept up with her, which she knew was not an easy thing to do, and he took her crap and gave it right back. Their witty banter kept her going, and though she didn't like to admit it, she went to the diner as much as she did not just for the coffee, but because she loved seeing him. She had been thrilled at the idea of spending a night away from work with him, and the night exceeded her expectations. Especially that dance. She hadn't known how to react at the time- Luke didn't dance, that just wasn't supposed to happen! But she had been shocked to find that he knew what he was doing, and that she liked dancing with him, being close to him.
Her smile grew wider as she thought back on the dance, and she felt a shiver up her spine, which made her nervous. This was Luke. Where were these feelings coming from? The guy was one of her best friends, and the supplier of her life source. Yet suddenly it was hitting her, with the force of a raging bull, that maybe there was something between them- and there probably always had been. Dammit, there were those butterflies again. Lorelai couldn't remember the last time a guy had given her butterflies. And yet here she was, sitting on her front porch, thinking about her best friend, feeling like she was going to throw up about a thousand of the little buggers.
The whole evening had been fine until Luke had walked her home. Something had clicked then, though she couldn't put her finger on what. Being there, with him, felt right. A little awkward, but in a good way. Then came the movie invite. Lorelai was afraid to admit it to herself, but she was really glad that Luke had asked her out again, she wanted to spend more time with him. But she was also nervous as hell. This was all so new, so different. And given the feeling she still couldn't shake from the put of her stomach, she was starting to fall for him.
"Falling for Luke? This is too much!" she thought to herself, but a big grin appeared on her face for the hundredth time that night.
She glanced at her watch. "Dammit! I spent so much time out here daydreaming I can't call my psychoanalyst and get her to translate this mess I call my brain." The thought of Rory made her smile too, she was coming home from Yale in a few days.
Lorelai yawned and shook her head, trying to comprehend her evening, knowing it would never work. So instead, she headed up to bed, but she had a feeling there wouldn't be much sleeping going on tonight.
Luke breathed a sigh of relief as he walked down Lorelai's lawn and headed for home. He wanted so badly to turn and get one more glimpse of her- she had looked so beautiful tonight- but he knew that was a bad idea. He could tell the movie invite had startled her a little, and he didn't want to push his luck. He knew Lorelai well enough to know that if he wanted her to stick around, he was going to have to take things slowly and carefully at first. Which was fine with him for now- he was still really nervous about this whole thing. He'd loved her for so long that making a move was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. But after tonight, he knew it was worth it.
He slowed his pace a little, in no rush to get back to his apartment and end what had been one of the best nights of his life. He played the evening back in his head, unable to wipe the smile off his face. He was glad the streets of Stars Hollow were empty, people would talk if they saw him looking this happy. Not that he cared what the town thought. Now that he had Lorelai- well, almost anyway- nothing else mattered.
Tonight really had been a dream come true for Luke. He had finally gotten to spend an evening with Lorelai, just relaxing and having fun. And they had a really good time. He was always amazed at how much she could make him laugh. Her smile was so beautiful, her laugh so contagious. And her wacky humor never ceased to make him chuckle, as much as he wanted to deny it. She just made all his problems melt away, and his world seemed better because she was in it.
And they danced. The thought of their dance made Luke want to fly. Initially, it had been a little weird. Lorelai had been surprised, and rightly so, he knew he wasn't exactly the dancing type. But as the song had gone on, they had moved closer and closer together, and the feel of her body so close to his was thrilling. She eventually rested her head on his shoulder, and he loved the way they fit together so perfectly.
"God she makes me into such a sap," he thought.
And the walk home had been just as excellent as the rest of the evening. They just talked some more, and Luke could tell that something was going on in Lorelai's head. He knew her too well. She had made his night, saying she enjoyed the dance. He hoped that moment would be the first of many they would share. The movie invitation had been an impulse thing- he hadn't planned on it initially, but the feel of the moment just pushed him to want more. He felt good about it, despite Lorelai's shock at the move. Things would work out, he was sure of it. He didn't know where this sudden burst of confidence came from, but one thought of her face, and that smile, reminded him. He just couldn't let her go.
He looked up and realized he'd reached the diner, and Jess was inside packing up. He'd have to put his daydreams on hold for a bit until he could head to bed, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be doing much sleeping tonight.