Summary: JJ. Oneshot. Luke and Lorelai still share a dance at Liz and TJ's wedding, but end it very differently. Their thoughts and memories are shown, leading up to the moment.

Disclaimer: They aren't mine. Don't sue.

Author's Note: The words written in italics are quotes from previous episodes, and the first sequence of dialouge is from episode 4.21

She hears Kirk's invitation for everyone to join Liz and TJ on the dance floor, and attempts to save Luke from the uncomfortable situation, "Oh, hey, so your food's probably cold. You want to go get some more?"
His response is different from what she expected, "Sure, or we can... you know."

A confused expression stretches across her face, "We can... do what?"

"You want to dance?"

She looks at him questioningly, "Really?"

"Yeah."

She looks down, a smile playing at her lips, "Um, you said before you don't dance."

"Well, I'm a compulsive liar."

"Um, okay, yeah, let's dance."

She places her hand in his and nervously follows his lead to the dance floor. As he slides his arm to the small of her back, she can feel a shiver tingle through her entire body. She places her hand on his shoulder, and looks him in the eye. She finds it difficult to do so without smiling. She doesn't know why, but the idea of her being this close to Luke seems silly. She adverts her gaze and tries to focus on something else, but she can still feel his eyes on her. The attention is embarrassing her and she almost breaks out in laughter.

"Mom, I swear. Luke keeps me in coffee, nothing else."

"He seems to like you."

"And you're judging this by what?"

"By they way he looked at you."

"Which is how?"

"Like you were about to give him a lap dance."

She decides to restrain herself from this immaturity, and gathers her composure, looking up at him. She studies his chin, his lips, his nose, his eyes. Those eyes. Who knew a man could have such beautiful eyes? They were staring back at her too. Almost filled with a sense of adoration. She questions this for a moment; Maybe he likes me more than he would ever admit? He slightly draws her closer into him, only furthering her thinking. She finds that as she looks at him, memories are coming back. Memories of all those accusations her friends and family had made.

"Sookie, what is your point?"

"My point is that you called Luke. Out of all the people in town that you could have called that would have come over and dropped what they were doing, you called Luke."

-

"Patty, me and Luke are just-"

"Just friends. Yes, yes, I know..."

-

"This is crazy. Why is everybody making such a big deal about this?"

"Because everyone knows that Luke has a thing for you."

"Rory, Luke does not have a thing for me."

They were wrong. They were so wrong. He couldn't like her like that. They were friends. They had been for the past eight years. She would annoy him with her repulsive eating habits and coffee addiction. He would annoy her with his rants on the craziness of the town and the government's backwards ways. They're all wrong.

No. He may have rolled his eyes, but he loved the fact that pie, next to a danish and coffee, always made her day. She may have mocked him constantly, smirking at his uneasy squirming, but she loved listening to the monosyllabic man talk at an on-going rate.

And then there were those moments. He would shut her out. He would overreact at customers, and avoid her as much as possible. She wasn't realizing it until now, but these rare silent treatments always occured when she was with someone. Whether it was serious, with Max or Chris or Jason, or more casual with Paul or Alex... Luke always seemed jealous. Jealous of the men she dated. Maybe Sookie was right.

"Don't you understand that Luke is so into you?"

"Sookie, stop."

"He has had to watch you go from one guy to another, and then the engagement, and then the engagement was off, and patiently he's waited. And now in walks this kid and he says, 'My God, will she date anyone else in the world before she'll date me?'"

Is it possible that Luke could feel this way? About her? There was always that small amount of flirting between them, but she never thought it could turn into something more. That's probably not true, she thinks. That possibility of crossing the more-than-friends line, had always been at the back of her mind, whether she was willing to admit it or not.

But how could she not hope for something more? He was attractive and sweet, although he may think otherwise. He was guilty of his constant share of impressing. He was always there for her. Always. It was clear as day, and to more than just her. Her mother saw the same,

"This man was at Rory's birthday party, he came to the hospital with you, he's the male lead in every story you tell, you go to the diner every single day. I've seen the way he looks at you, the way you look at him. I'm not a fool."

"Mom, please."

"Do you have feelings for this man?"

"I don't know. Maybe I do."

What happened? Four years ago, there was a time when she 'maybe' liked Luke. Oh, that's right. Rachel happened. And Max happened. It seemed like whenever one was free, the other was taken. But Lorelai wasn't waiting for Luke. He may have - He possibly - There was the slightest chance, that he was waiting for her. But not the other way around. Right?

"Well, on our first date, I was a little nervous and I wasn't having any luck coming up with topics, so I was just kinda blabbing a lot. And then she ordered extra fries at dinner, so it reminded me of you and I told her a quick story about you and French fries, and that seemed fine. And then later, she ordered a third cup of coffee..."

"Oh, Luke..."

"And I mentioned you and your coffee thing, and I noticed that Nicole kind of reacted a little, and ever since then, she's been a little sensitive to the issue."

There he was, confessing to the fact that he was talking about her, Lorelai, on his first date with Nicole. Secretly, Lorelai was happy. She shouldn't have been, but she was. She always felt threatened by Nicole, she didn't like that she was with Luke. It was true, Lorelai found herself waiting for him, despite her relationship with Jason. Luke must have been waiting for her. Everyone in town couldn't be wrong. That wasn't possible. There had to be some truth to their statements.

"Hey, maybe it's crazy, maybe it's irrational, but it's there. Just look the guy in the eye, it's right there."

She was looking him in the eye. It was definitely there.

-x-

As her body presses against him, he feels that familiar lump in his throat begin to form. But he isn't about to let her see he is nervous. No, he will act confident. He will act normal. He will place his hand on her back, and act normal. He won't let the fact that his arms are wrapped around a beautiful woman, show how insecure he is.

As he locks his eyes with hers, he finds many thoughts running through his head. The same thoughts that nagged him every second of every day. There had been many accusations over the years, most everyone could see right through him. Except for Lorelai. She always seemed oblivious to all of the flirting and longing in him. He wanted her more than anything, but she never showed the same want. He tried his best to hide it, but he couldn't. He couldn't hide the fact that he was in love with Lorelai Gilmore.

"So Luke, what exactly is going on between you and my daughter?"

"Nothing. Really. We're friends, that's it."

"You're idiots, the both of you."

Her mother questioning him was one thing, but Rachel leaving him was another. He wasn't going to lie, he was thinking of Lorelai when he was with Rachel. He loved Rachel, but in a different way.

"Rachel, she and I are just friends. I told you that a thousand times."

"No. You told it to me once. And you could barely get it out then."

He figured he was more upset about Rachel leaving because he would be alone. It didn't matter who left him, he would be alone, and Lorelai would be taken.

"So don't wait too long, okay?"

"To what?"

"To tell her."

He couldn't tell her. He could never tell her. She would reject him. He would just have to suffer through her relationships with other men, and try and wait it out. Maybe some day she would see him as something more.

"Hey, the girls that I like don't give a damn about me! And unlike some other people I know, I'm not gonna sit around hoping that they change their minds and suddenly notice me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You fixed any neighbor's porches lately? Or you go on a picnic or you get rooked into giving a ridiculous speech at a high school?"

"Shut up."

"At least I've got a little self-esteem."

"Shut up."

"I'm not playing Golden Retriever, hoping one day she'll turn around and fall in my arms. If she doesn't wanna be with me, then fine."

"Jess, you have no idea what you're talking about!"

No, he did know what he was talking about. Jess was right. Luke couldn't just wait for her. He needed to either move on or do something about it. But as the years passed, he didn't move on and he still didn't do anything about it. He continued to wait. But, they did get closer. And those special moments continued to occur. He found himself going through that on-again-off-again relationship with Nicole. And as the months dragged along, he couldn't help but think, that for once, Lorelai was jealous of him. Or jealous of Nicole, rather. He'll never forget that night in the church.

"Lorelai, how much adjusting did you have to do? Nothing's changed! I still see you everyday, I still cook your food, I still serve your coffee. What do you care?"

"I care."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to move."

They continue to sway to the music, oblivious to everything around them, it's like they are the only two people in the world. No one else matters. Nothing else matters. Luke leads her in their small space around the dance floor, and she follows. Neither of them wanting this moment to end.

As the gaze between them becomes more intense, Luke finds himself leaning towards her. He doesn't care if he is crossing any boundaries. He wants this, and she wants this. She can feel his warm breath playing at her lips. Her eyes begin to flutter, the weight of the intensity causing them to close. After a second of hesitation Luke closes the remaining space between them. His lips, soft and gentle against hers. He lets go of her hand, and slides both of his firmly to her waist. She finds herself caressing his cheek, her fingers brushing against his stubble. When breathing becomes a necessity, she pulls back, only to capture his lips again.

She smiles against his lips when hearing Miss Patty's whistles. He rolls his eyes at Sookie's 'jumping up and down' fit. They chuckle at Taylor's comment about their 'display of public affection' being inappropriate.

-x-

"I don't have very many people in my life who are in my life, permanently forever. They will always be there for me. I will always be there for them, you know? There's Rory, and Sookie, and this town and ... you. I mean, at least I think I've got..."

"You do."

"Good."