A/N: Love oneshots after fighting with long stories. This one sneaked up on me while I was writing something else so naturally it needed to be written right away. It's sweeter than my usual work, I think, but I hope you like it. And remember people! Read = very good, Read&Review = even better :)
Lorelai hurried down the street and pulled the sweater she was wearing tighter around her. Dressed only in light dress, matching sweater and flip-flops she was starting to feel the chill of the night air as she almost run towards the center of her silent hometown. She had been in such a hurry to get out that she hadn't changed her clothes before stepping out of the door.
Lorelai had spent the night going over last things for the wedding with Sookie. Her wedding, Lorelai had thought when she had been staring at herself from the mirror after Sookie had left. Lorelai and Christopher's wedding, the wedding that had been in coming for the past two decades where the Gilmores were concerned. Lorelai had stood there, in her now big bathroom, thinking how wrong this felt to her, and how bizarre it was that it felt so right to everyone else. Even Christopher, no, especially Chris was excited about the event.
After staring at herself for an hour she had finally snapped. This wasn't right, none of it. This wasn't how it was supposed to go and Chris wasn't the person she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. So she had ran down the stairs, almost tripping on Paul Anka and then out of the door and down the street. Thanking the higher powers that the streets were empty she made her way to the place that she had been avoiding ever since she and Chris had come home from Paris engaged.
Lorelai took in the sign that said 'Luke's' and then looked inside, where the man of her dreams, the love of her life, the one that had always been the one, even when she hadn't known about it, was wiping the counter. She didn't notice the tears falling down her cheeks and she didn't take a deep breath or stand there waiting for him to notice. She walked through the door and surprised him.
"Tell me not to marry him" she told him and for the first time noticed that she was crying from the squeakiness of her voice.
"What?" he asked, frozen still, his eyes wide with shock of seeing her at all let alone in a state like this.
"Tell me not to marry him" Lorelai repeated and wiped at the tears.
"I… Lorelai" Luke looked down and put the cloth to the counter.
"Please" she pleaded with her voice breaking. "It's you. It's been you all this time. I love you" she punctuated as clearly as she could. "I want you. I… I need you." She could keep herself from sobbing. "Please Luke, please. Tell me not to marry him. Tell me…"
"I love you" Luke interrupted her and made her look up into his eyes. "I love you" he said again and Lorelai smiled.
"Tell me not to marry him" she whispered and suddenly she was pulled into his arms and she clutched to the chest of his shirt, planning on keeping on forever.
"Don't marry him. You're mine. I won't let you go" he said and cradled her in his arms, his plan being pretty much the same than hers: never let go.
"Thank you" Lorelai whispered and closed her eyes. They stood there for a while simply holding each other until they could both breath evenly.
"I'm sorry" Luke said and Lorelai lifted her head to see his face. "I never should've let you go" he told her and cupped her cheek.
"I never should've gone to him."
"He never should've taken you in, but that's aside the point. I should've fought for you, even after that. I should've…"
"Shh…" Lorelai sneaked her hand higher in their deep embrace so she could place her fingers to his mouth. "It's over. You have me."
"I do" he confirmed her, knowing that it had been both a statement as well as a question. "And I'm not letting you go."
"Good."
They stared into each other's eyes and then slowly moved their lips closer until they touched for a sweet and slow kiss that woke memories in both of them. They had both been missing this ever since they had separated that horrible day that she had given him an ultimatum and he had let her walk away.
The kiss slowly deepened and it took all Lorelai's willpower to tare herself away from it.
"I shouldn't be doing this. Until I've told… you know."
"Yeah. Yeah, I get it" he nodded and slowly, unwillingly, let go of her. "Now?"
"He's not home yet" she said and bit her lip. Home. Her house had been home for her and Rory when it had been just the two of them. It had been the future home of their family when she had been engaged to Luke and they had renovated it to suit them better as a couple. And now… Well, it hadn't truly been a home with Chris. Of course she had talked about it as 'theirs', but it had never been that. In her heart it had always been her and Luke's. "I'll tell him as soon as I see him" she promised and got another nod. "I love you" she said once more and kissed him once more before backing out of the door that Luke then locked.
They stared each other through the window as Lorelai backed away and finally turned. She didn't get very far when she stopped and turned around again. Luke who had been staring at her from the window opened the door in time for her to walk in once again.
"Marry me."
"Of course. Wasn't that what we were talking about just now? I thought that was what we were talking about" he said, slightly bewildered from her train of thought that wasn't too clear to him.
"Next Thursday."
"What?"
"I have a church, and guests, though most of them won't come since they really have nothing to do with us, but you can replace them with your guests, whoever you want. And there's cake, and flowers, and music, and a priest and it's all been paid for. Though we might have to pay some of it, or even all of it back, but I can do that and..."
"Whoa whoa whoa. Take a breath" Luke grabbed Lorelai's shoulders who stopped ranting and tried to do as she was told. "You mean… Marry you at your and… his…"
"It wouldn't be mine and… his. It would be mine and yours" she said, sounding crazy even to her own ears. "It's okay. We don't have to, I just thought... I don't know what I was thinking."
"You were thinking that you want to marry me as soon as possible so that nothing goes wrong anymore" he said and rubbed her arms up and down. "I feel the same way, trust me. But stealing somebody else's wedding…" he made a face and she understood.
"Okay. I'll go now."
"Okay." They kissed again and this time Lorelai left and made it all the way home, where she called Chris, leaving him a message to come back as soon as possible. She didn't use the word home.
It hadn't been the easiest of talks that Lorelai had had with Christopher, but somehow it hadn't been the worst either. There had been shouting, screaming, crying and pleading, but in the end she had felt so relieved. She had even managed the courage to call Rory and tell her what had happened. She kept her feeling pretty close to her vest, but somehow Lorelai got the impression that her daughter was as happy about the turn of events as she was. Sorry that Chris had gotten hurt, of course, but happy that Luke was back where he belonged.
The news about the wedding being cancelled had gotten around Stars Hollow as quick as any other major news, but the fact that she and Luke were back together stayed a secret to the day that they moved his things into the house. Before that there had been shopping for a new bed and quite a lot of other new things, but all in all Luke had been very good about moving to the house that Chris had been living in for a couple of months, ever since they had gotten engaged.
Life took a turn to a normality that Lorelai had always dreamed about. She and Luke, and April and Rory as well every once in a while. Rory had even thrown them a little housewarming party where even Jess showed his face. Everything was so normal and so good that it was almost weird, whenever Lorelai thought about it, but she always came to the conclusion that she shouldn't search for a problem where there weren't none.
Few months into their new life together Lorelai got a message from Luke to come quickly home, it was an emergency. She had tried to find Sookie from the inn to tell her she was going but the chef hadn't been anywhere to be found. In panic Lorelai ran to his car trying to call Sookie, then Luke, then Sookie and then Luke again. No answer anywhere. She drove home as fast as she could and when she got to their yard she was surprised by a crowd of people standing there. She jumped out of the car and ran to Luke who was waiting for her in a tuxedo.
"You didn't answer your phone! What happened? And WHAT… are you wearing?"
"It's a wedding" Luke said at the same time slightly nervous and very excited.
"Who's wedding? Wait, OUR wedding?" She asked and looked around to see a crown of smiling faces.
"If you'll marry me" Luke said took Lorelai's hands to his.
"Of course she'll marry you!" Sookie shouted while running from the house.
"I tried to call you too!"
"I know, I was busy with the food. The cake is to die for! Wait till you see it" her best friend was basically giddy, jumping and clapping her hands. "Now tell him you'll marry him so we can get this party started!"
Lorelai smiled wide and looked into the eyes of her soon husband-to-be. "Of course I'll marry you" she said and tried to lean in to kiss Luke but Sookie grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
"You can get to that in a minute, now we need to get you into the dress" she said and pulled Lorelai behind her into the house that had been decorated and upstairs to her bedroom where Rory was waiting for them with a beautiful white dress. The dress she was originally bought for her and Luke's wedding.
"Oh, kid" she said and hugged Rory who run to her with tears in her eyes. "I can't believe you were in on this. And not even the tiniest hint!"
"I vowed to secrecy" Rory told her and wiped the tears away. "Now let's get you married" she declared and she and Sookie started fussing around Lorelai to get her into the dress and do her hair. When she was fully ready they all looked at each other with tears in their eyes one last time, hugged and then started downstairs. Sookie went first and gave sign for the music, Rory went next and finally Lorelai. She walked down the stairs and towards the front door where she, to her millionth surprise that day, found her father waiting.
"Dad?"
"Will you give me the honor of walking you down the aisle?" Richard asked and Lorelai swallowed hard as she nodded and hugged him.
"Thanks dad."
"I love you Lorelai. I only want you to be happy. And if he makes you happy…"
"He does."
"Well then. There's nothing more to it. Now, shall we?" he offered her his arm, smiling at her and getting a smile back as her daughter took the arm and they started out of the door and down the aisle.
The yard was filled with white chairs that left an aisle in the middle of them, and in the end of it, under a white chuppah, a new one, made for only them, stood Luke. He looked so out of place that Lorelai would've laughed if he hadn't looked so handsome. All she could think about was how on earth she had gotten so lucky, to spend the rest of her life with this wonderful man.
The seremony was beautiful as was the reception and all the night Lorelai was in awe that they had been able to keep the whole thing a secret. Her parents didn't stay long and she could tell that Emily hadn't been too happy to be there in the first place, but she did acknowledge that they looked right together and ordered them to come to a Friday night dinner when they returned their honeymoon.
"What honeymoon?" Lorelai asked when the Gilmores had left.
"Hamptons" Luke answered and grinned.
"You have your bag of spaghetti ready to go?"
"Always. Whenever you wanna take up go I'm ready to go with you" he said and kissed her.
"I don't need to go anywhere. I have everything I need, right here" she told him and gave her a look of pure devotion.
"That mean that we don't need to go to the Hamptons?"
"No. We're going to the Hamptons, and you better bring as much food as you can, cause I don't plan to let you leave the room for a long, loooong time."
"Mmm… I'll hold you to that" he told her and kissed her so deep that they got a 'whoo' from the guests. Laughing they enjoyed their friends with arms around each other and celebrated till the end of the first day of the rest of their lives together.
