A Glimmer of Hope

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: It's not mine. Happy?! runs away to cry

So what if it's been done before? I present to you, possibly the zillionth "Partings" fic!

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"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. And... I have to go." The sight of her retreating back brought the real Luke out of the cave that Pod-Luke had been keeping him in for months. The love of his life was walking away, perhaps forever, and he was just standing there, looking like a moron.

"Lorelai!" he called. She stopped, but kept her back to him. "Lorelai, wait." He took a few steps so he wouldn't have to yell. "I'm sorry. Alright? I'm so, so sorry. Maybe I've been pushing you away." She snorted. . "Okay, I have been pushing you away. But you know I love you, right?" Lorelai didn't answer. "Right?"

"I haven't been so sure lately." Luke felt his heart break. She sounded so sad, so desperate. He had promised himself he would never let anyone hurt her, yet in an ironic twist, he had been the one that had hurt her the most. And he had been completely oblivious to it all.

"Well, I do," he told her. "I always have, Lorelai, and I always will. My life means nothing if you're not in it."

"Then why don't you want to marry me, Luke? If I mean so much to you, why won't you elope?" She began to cry, and Luke wanted nothing more than to comfort her.

"Lorelai, you know I want to marry you. That's why you have a ring on your finger! But we can't elope. I mean, don't you want a big wedding, with all our friends there?" Lorelai shook her head.

"Luke, I just want a wedding! I want to be married to you! I need to know I haven't lost you yet!"

"Lost me? Lorelai, you could never lose me, even if you tried."

"You called the apartment 'your place'!" Lorelai burst out.

"What?"

"Our house is supposed to be 'your place'!"

"Lorelai, you know I didn't mean anything by that!"

"And you let Rory meet April," she continued, turning around so that he could see her tear-stained face. "You introduced Jess to April. You didn't even bother to mention her to me, Luke! Your fiancee!"

"Lorelai... I..."

" Want me to go on? Because I could."

"Lorelai..." She finally broke down, collapsing onto the sidewalk, sobbing. Luke rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her, struggling not to cry himself.

"Luke... Luke, what happened to us?"

"I was stupid, Lorelai, and you didn't tell me how stupid I was." Lorelai cried even harder.

"Can we ever get back to normal?"

"I hope so."

It wasn't an answer to their problems, not yet a solution, but it was a start. A tiny glimmer of hope that someday, everything would be okay. That their June third would happen, maybe not on that day, but it would happen. That someday soon, Lorelai would walk down the aisle in her perfect dress, to marry the only man she could ever want.

The end

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It wasn't long, and it most certainly wasn't original, but there you go. Reviews are appreciated.