OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!! What else is there to say??
"Luke," she said quietly as they stood a few feet apart. Her mind was bursting with things to say, but she couldn't make any of them come out.
"I just. . . Like to see you happy," he said quietly with a bit of a shrug. The bag of charcoal he had just gotten from the diner hung limply at his side as he and Lorelai scanned each others faces. He dropped the heavy bag to the ground when he saw her lean forward and before he knew it, he had welcomed her into his arms and back into his heart as they kissed for the first time in nearly a year. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her tighter against him as his hands fell to her hips. "I'll be right back," he said, his voice barely above a whisper as they finally pulled apart.
Lorelai was hesitant to unwrap her arms from around his neck and he picked up on it.
"Right back," he whispered to her again, resting his forehead against hers.
"Right back," she whispered, finally unwrapping her arms from his neck and letting them slide down to rest on his chest. He quickly kissed her one more time before he pulled away from her, picked up the bag of charcoal and nodded towards the diner. Lorelai drifted towards the empty diner as Luke quickly sprinted across the street to drop off the bag of charcoal.
As she waited for him to return, she took in the chaos that was still in the diner. Bert stood open on the counter, various tools littered the counter, some covered by left over pieces of tarps, tents and rain coats that Luke hadn't sewn into the giant tent he had made. She turned slowly to face him when she heard the bells above the door jingle as Luke slipped in the door.
"Hi," was all he could say.
"Hi," she replied, a shy smile on her face. They stared at each other from across the diner for a moment before they both headed towards each other at the same time. "I didn't have anything left," she muttered when she found herself back in his arms.
"Any what left?" he asked as he enjoyed the feeling of having her back again.
"When you started wearing the hat again, I didn't have anything. Not the earings or the necklace you got from Liz, none of the other jewellery. . . Nothing." Luke listened as Lorelai rattled away about not having anything, about having gotten rid of all of it. He was dying to ask what she was getting at, but he had a feeling she'd get to the point eventually. "I didn't have anything to return the gesture of the hat," she finally concluded.
And he understood, finally.
"The song?" he asked quietly as he pushed her away from him slightly so he could see her face.
"It started out as a joke for Rory," she said, looking away from him. "She was melting down about everything and she said that me singing was what would push her over the edge of happiness, so she ordered shots and got me drunk and sent me up on that stage after I picked the first song I knew from that stupid yellow book." She fell silent as she collected her thoughts and he did nothing but rub his hands up and down her arms gently. The sweater Babette had gabbed for her wasn't really enough to keep the early evening chill away. "And then you walked in," she said, shrugging one of her shoulders as she looked up at him. "You walked in and I was drunk and you know what my filter is like when I'm drunk."
"It's more like a sieve," he agreed with a soft smile.
"And it all came out. It did mean something," she assured him. "I just wanted everyone to leave me alone about it so I could make up my own mind about things, you know?"
"I know," he agreed. She dropped her head forward as she collected herself. She didn't have to ask about his intentions, he had shown them by putting together Rory's party and saving it from the rain. "Wait here," he said after a moment before he slipped out of her arms and headed behind the counter. He opened a drawer and pulled out the pink rectangular box that had been staring at him since Rory's graduation. Luke walked back over to Lorelai and held the box out to her.
"Luke. . . " she started.
"Just open it," he said with a nod. Lorelai reached out slowly and took the box from his hand as he leaned against the counter. She took a deep breath as she held the box in her hands and before she had it open, they had drifted back together again with her leaning against him.
"It's beautiful," she said, a watery smile falling onto her face as she saw the simple necklace in the box.
"Liz said she made it with you in mind, so, you know," he replied with a shrug.
"Thank you," she told him, twisting slightly to look up at him. He leaned down and kissed her again before he gently slipped the necklace from her fingers. She watched as his large fingers struggled with the tiny clasp for a moment before she swept her hair off of the back of her neck so he could do up the necklace.
"Everything starts small," he muttered in her ear as she let her hair drop back down.
"As long as it starts," she said, turning to look at him. The pair studied each other for a long moment before he kissed her again, long and slow. After another quiet moment together in the diner, he took her hand and led her slowly towards the door and back to the party. As they weaved through the crowd, she slid her hand into his and couldn't help but smile when she felt him give her a gentle squeeze. Lorelai quickly scanned the crowd to see if Rory had returned from walking her grandparents to the car.
"She's dancing with Lane," he whispered to her since he had a few inches on her and had spotted Rory first.
"Good," Lorelai replied with a nod as she moved slightly so she could keep an eye on Rory. "Good."