Friendship on the Rocks

by Oh-no-she-di'ent

Sometimes a sacrifice can hurt more than it helps. Lorelai learns that Luke’s new relationship is deepening, though the cost of that may be more than she bargained for. LL-- angst, general, friendship ... leads to romance .. Rated T and complete.

Disclaimer: I am just one person attempting to keep the best show and best couple ever alive through fiction. I claim nothing.

Readers!!! Readers, my readers. You all are the light in my life, the butter on my toast, the…air conditioner throughout this hot ass summer. I adore you all so! I've taken the liberty of posting another story to take up half your day reading. Guess I'm selfish that way. The story takes place in S4. There is no Jason, and Nicole and Luke are not married. I repeat: NOT married. This is complete, and the rating is T. I think it's appropriate for the PG-13 crowd.

Sometimes a sacrifice can hurt more than it helps. Lorelai learns that Luke's new relationship is deepening, though the cost of that may be more than she bargained for. Still, even through opposition, she makes it clear that when it comes to a friend's happiness, there is very little that she wouldn't give up—including her own.

Enjoy the read.

Friendship on the Rocks

Lorelai finished her cheeseburger in record time.

She lightly dabbed at a ketchup stain that had made its way to the lapel of her jacket. After a full minute, she realized how little success she was having and dropped the napkin to the countertop with her lip poked out.

"Oh, Caesar," she began, "I hate to say it, but I think I'm losing my touch."

Caesar looked up from pouring coffee. He grinned. "The ketchup stain?" he inquired.

She nodded with sorrow. "Used to be, I could take down an entire meal, extra condiments, without getting a drop outside my mouth. Even my lips were safe. I scoffed at napkins and wet naps. It's what I like to call 'the good ole days'." She paused and looked down sadly at her newest stain.

Caesar chuckled. "But now?" he asked for the laugh.

"But nooooow, by day's end, I have a reminder of each course. Not even a wet nap can save me." She pointed to her sleeve where there was a small line of syrup. "Here's breakfast…" Next was the ketchup stain. "A little lunch…" She pulled at her collar thoughtfully. "Promising place for some after-dinner pie, don't you think?"

He shook his head. "I'd go for lower. Maybe a pant leg or a pocket."

Lorelai smiled as she piled all trash on her empty plate. "Yeah, you're right. Pie does prefer to cling to the thigh area. Delicious bastard."

Customers entered and turned the near-lull into a lunch crowd. Caesar looked around nervously. "Okay, I guess I better go summon some help."

"Yeah, get Luke's butt down here," she agreed. "Why are you in here alone anyway? Where's Mr. Work Ethic?"

Caesar passed out menus to those at the counter. "He's, um, upstairs. Doing some stuff…and stuff."

She frowned. "Some stuff and stuff?"

"Yeah. Relaxing, taking a break," he supplied instantly.

She accepted that. "Middle of the workday, and he's lounging. I am so incredibly disappointed in him. Not to mention jealous," she added dolefully. Her eyes flashed to her watch. Then, she was standing and pulling out money. "I gotta go." She laid out payment and drank the last of her coffee with greedy gulps. It was warm now, so it went down easily. She slid the empty mug toward Caesar. "Be sure to give Luke hell for me, okay?"

He nodded with a smile.

"I'm counting on you, Caesar. We can't have this laziness become a habit of his. Plus…" She shrugged. "…it's seriously fun to do." She picked up her purse and put it on her shoulder. "You'll see."

"I'll try it out," he promised.

Satisfied, Lorelai turned to exit. Caesar watched with anxious eyes. When she walked out, he rushed upstairs.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Two days later, Lorelai came inside of Luke's for breakfast and found Luke at the register. She made it to her stool and hit the countertop in front of him with her palm.

He looked up, eyes wide. "Hey." His voice was quiet, unsure in a way.

"Don't 'hey' me!" she began, exaggerating her anger. "Where in the hell have you been? I haven't seen you in like a week!"

His face displayed the 'you're insane' look that she was entirely too familiar with. "Lorelai, it's only been a couple of days."

She dropped onto her stool, her face still etched with displeasure. "Well, I've had several meals without you being here to watch me eat them. What do you have to say for yourself?"

He rolled his eyes. "You don't need me here to watch you eat anything. I'm sure your digestion process works just fine in my absence too." He closed the register drawer harder than necessary. "Caesar!" he called, annoyed.

Lorelai scowled. "What, are you trying to pull your posse so you can gang up on me?"

He gave her a hard look. Somewhat contemptuous. Nothing she'd ever seen from him. She recoiled, dropped the playfulness, and picked up genuine confusion. "Uh, wow. That…cut deep."

He looked down, and his features relaxed. Caesar answered his call, but Luke didn't say anything. He just waited for him to stop calling and finally come see what he wanted. "Sorry, I'm tired," he answered monotonously as if the words were scripted.

Lorelai kept her eyes on him. "You're tired?" she asked cautiously. "You just gave me that 'get the hell out of my face' look…" She paused and delivered her words even slower. "…because you're tired...?"

He shook his head at his own thoughts. His eyes stayed low. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I, uh…" He met her eyes then, and Lorelai saw regret. No more words came. She moved passed all feelings that stemmed from his behavior and focused wholly on concern. Suddenly and confusingly enough, it seemed he wanted to apologize for something more than his recent offense.

She opened her mouth to speak.

"What's up, boss?" Caesar asked. He had come out and was standing next to Luke now. His eyes drifted down, and he noticed Lorelai. His light brown eyes widened with understanding. This only confused Lorelai further because, as usual, she missed nothing. "Hey, Lorelai, how's it going?" He looked at Luke in the next second. "I'll go upstairs and get you if it gets busy."

Lorelai's eyes went back and forth between the two. "What's going on? Where are you going?" she asked Luke directly.

He started moving away. "Upstairs--"

Lorelai cut him off. She snapped without meaning to. "Yeah, I got that part. Why are you going upstairs, Luke?"

Whatever explanation he was going to deliver drifted away with her tone. "I have some stuff to do. I'll talk to you later," he dismissed.

She watched open-mouthed as he walked angrily toward the stairs and disappeared.

Caesar appeared oblivious to the tension. He smiled his happy smile. "So, what can I get you? Pancakes, right? I bet you want pancakes!" he beamed.

Her eyes skimmed the countertop in front of her. She heard his words, but they weren't what had her attention. "Is he mad at me about something?" she asked with a thumb pointed where Luke had gone.

He looked over and shook his head instantly. "Oh, no no no. That was nothing," he appeased. "He just, uh--"

"Had to go upstairs," she interrupted calmly. "At this very moment. And upstairs is where he's been on my last four or five visits. That's exactly what I'd call nothing," she finished without altering her voice.

The smile slid off Caesar's face, and he swallowed. He was uncomfortable. Lorelai watched him for a moment. She shook her head lightly as her eyes went to the curtain that led to Luke's apartment. She tried to conjure up reasonable explanations for what had occurred, but it didn't take long before each of them faded away unfulfilled.

She and Luke were good. They squabbled daily as a part of the repartee they'd perfected over the years. But that was it. They had a very solid friendship…or customer-owner relationship as it now seemed with his recent treatment.

It became apparent that Caesar wasn't quite cut out for secrets. His ability to play it cool was horrible, at best. He fidgeted and studied areas of the ceiling. Beads of sweat popped up and refused to roll. They remained motionless on his reddening skin like morning dew on a Poinsettia.

Lorelai knew she could break him easily. If it weren't for the feeling coursing her veins, she would have used her wiles to fish for information. But she felt hurt by Luke. And not one part of her felt like smiling through that to gather details from an informant.

The informant wasn't the one who had put her mood in such an unfavorable place.

Lost in thought, Lorelai unintentionally allowed Caesar to struggle through the painful silence. She collected her things and finally answered his question.

"No pancakes today, Honey. I have to get to the inn soon," she lied. She looked toward the curtain and instantly felt her mood shift farther left. "Tell Luke he can come back down now."

She and Caesar exchanged only a glance, and she tried to smile to show no hard feelings. She was sure she actually succeeded.

She wasted no time heading out, and Caesar sighed and went to get Luke.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Yeah, I get that, Rory." Lorelai drove with one hand, held her cell with the other hand, and made sure to keep strict focus on the dampened highway ahead of her. "But," she continued, "all I'm saying is he acts like he's the first person to ever get a girlfriend. He's not the first person to get a girlfriend!" she unnecessarily noted.

Rory smiled on her end. "Are you trying to tell me something, Mom?" She made sure to drive carefully through the dark, wet Hartford streets also while she spoke on the phone. "Is this your way of saying that you're trading in the hardwood flooring for carpet?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "That's gross, Rory. What are they teaching you at that damn school anyway?"

Rory chuckled, but she did notice how Lorelai's words were missing its usual levity. "This is really bothering you, isn't it?" she asked.

Lorelai tried to calm down. "He's been different. That's all I'm saying. Every since that woman--"

"Nicole," Rory helpfully supplied.

"Yeah. Nicole Whatever…every since she came along, Luke has been acting so weird." Her voice rose. "I mean, I know that we're all just supposed to accept that the sun rises and sets on Nicole, the lawyer now! I get that, and I have no problems with that."

"Um, objection."

Lorelai went on. "That's Luke's business! But Rory, you should have seen him this morning! He was so rude to me!"

Rory sighed. "And that sucks," she placated. "But Mom, I still don't see how Nicole has anything to do with this. You know Luke. He rants, sulks, and has monthly mood swings that sometimes make us question his gender. You're aware of the make-up of Luke. What was different about today?" she asked in a comforting voice.

Lorelai paused as she thought about the look that Luke had given her. A look that had haunted her throughout her entire day. "It was different. Just trust me," she said.

"And this is all Nicole's fault?" Rory made sure to make it sound as irrational as she could.

Lorelai noticed that. Her voice quieted. "I'm not saying it's all her fault."

"But you're sure she has something to do with it…" Rory determined. Silence. "You think Luke is changing because of her?"

She sighed. "I don't know." Her voice sounded depleted then grew stronger. "He better not be, though, because if this is how he acts when he gets a stupid girlfriend, then we're going to have some serious problems."

Rory smiled. "You need to talk to him."

"I don't want to talk to him. He did this. He can come and find me and if I choose to discuss it, then--"

"Mom, I'm being serious. You need to talk to him. When you and Luke are on the outs, it affects your mood in this really weird way. It's disturbing," she added bluntly.

Lorelai realized how true that was on one of their more serious fights—one she actually had a hand in. Her voice was pouty as she offered fact. "Well, no Luke, no diner. No diner, no coffee. No coffee, no happiness. Chain of catastrophe."

"And you know what that boils down to?"

"What?"

She smirked on her end. "No Luke…no happiness."

"My goodness," Lorelai grumbled at Rory's snickers. "I knew a cooking analogy would never work out to my favor. Please de-boil my words and put them all back in place, please."

Rory laughed. She turned into her grandparent's driveway and saw headlights right behind her. "Is that you?"

"It is I. Pulling in last which is good just in case I have to make a quick getaway from Satan's lair."

"Yeah, good thing. You never could take the kitchen's heat."

"Or the kitchen, for that matter. Too scary. Too non-dinery."

"And we're back on Luke."

"Well, I'm upset. You're my kid. It's your duty to listen to me gripe until I feel better. And tonight's subject is Luke."

They both climbed from the car and walked towards one another while still talking on their phones.

"Snap a cork on it, Mom. We have to smile nice for Grandma."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, use your cooking trick again, and boil this evening down. Getting out of the car…getting back in the car!" She smiled wide as they neared each other and kissed cheeks. "What do you think?" she finished.

"I think my minutes are being wasted on nonsense." Rory ended the call.

Lorelai did too. "Can't believe you just hung up on me," she mumbled.

"Bad child-rearing. Allow me to apologize."

They stood shoulder to shoulder and Rory rung the bright doorbell.

Lorelai sighed tiredly. "Quick, say something that'll prevent me from jumping back in the jeep and hightailing it out of here before Emily spots me."

"Well," Rory thought, "While conversation will undoubtedly make you want to climb to the roof and test gravity, you have to remember the food here is marvelous."

That delighted her. "Ah, yes. The food is quite exceptional." She grinned.

"And as a brief reminder, you have nothing at home to eat, and the diner is off limits because Luke hates you," she ended mockingly.

"Ugh. Just had to go for the jugular, didn't you?"

She smiled while not looking at her mom. "Are you rooted?"

"Due to shock and betrayal," she scathed.

She shrugged. "As long as you're rooted."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Hi, Caesar."

Caesar smiled and took a few conspicuous glances over at the curtain. "Hi, Lorelai!"

She shook her head and sat down on a stool. "Yeah, that's right. Lorelai Gilmore's here, everybody. Hide the booty. Hide the owner, too while you're at it," she proclaimed.

His hand shook as he got her a cup and tried to pour coffee into it. Lorelai's hand went over his, and she took the pot from him. His panicked eyes met hers, and she smiled. "Allow me," she said kindly. She finished pouring and set the pot in front of him. "Can you relax, please?"

He moved restlessly. Seemed to jump from foot to foot. "I'm relaxed," he said fast. "Tooootally relaxed." His trademark grin appeared.

Lorelai took a sip of coffee. "You look like you're on one of those dance machines. Check your score; looks like you're doing really well."

He looked down at his feet but didn't seem capable of stopping movement. He now tapped the countertop too. "Sorry," he said. "Nervous habit."

She still spoke calmly. "What do you have to be nervous about?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all." He wiped at his brow. "Hey, uh, did you want some chicken…or beef…or food? A-any food? I can get it, you know."

Lorelai laughed. "Caesar, you have got to calm down." She held her hands out innocently. "I'm sitting here being good. I'm not asking you questions about anything. I'm not asking where Luke is or why he's not here, or why he's upstairs because I know that's where he is. But I'm not questioning anything. I'm just here." She felt her pulse racing. Her eyes went down, and her smile stayed falsely bright.

"Oh." Caesar took a deep breath and found reassurance in her words. "Okay, then. No questions is good. N-not that there should be questions because nothing is going on, you see." He paused and tried to catch her eyes. Her smile looked completely wrong. "Uh, you okay?"

She sighed, grew solemn. "Great. Except that I feel like…" She looked up in thought. "…like I'm back in high school, kind of. And I'm a part of this clique who, for some reason that I am completely unaware of…" She chuckled dryly, "…just doesn't want me anymore. And instead of just telling me that, they're going around, talking about me, writing stuff on walls, and spreading rumors. And I just really need to know…" She paused and stared at Caesar with her liquid blue eyes.

He seemed to panic again. "Oh, no, you're gonna start asking questions, aren't you?"

She looked away and pulled her purse from her lap. "Not to you, I'm not," she answered. She stood and walked toward the curtain. She paused when she got there. She called out to Caesar, who now had the diner's phone in his hand. "Seriously?" she asked evenly. "Are you seriously about to call him right now?" He said nothing. She shook her head and just disappeared behind the curtain without another word.

She heard Caesar place the phone back on the hook with nervous mutters.

Do not cry. Do not cry. You have absolutely no reason to cry. Her lips were tight. She made it to Luke's door, to the William's Hardware sign and rapped on the glass.

"Coming!"

She heard his voice, and it immediately brought back memories of the scornful look that he had given her the day before. She tightened her lips and took some deep breaths.

The door opened.

Lorelai found his eyes immediately and tried to read every reaction she could. Before he put on a mask…if that's what he planned to do.

To her relief, he didn't look angry. He just looked really, really…caught off guard.

She spoke first. "Hey?" It was more of a question.

"Uh, what are you doing here?"

She wanted reciprocation. "I said 'hey', Luke."

His wide eyes widened more. "Hey," he said just to get back to his question. "What are you doing up here?"

Her answer seemed lacking. Immature. Just the kind of thing that would make him shut the door and send her back down the narrow stairwell. "I want to know why you haven't been in the diner," she responded.

The look he gave her made her feel stupid. It was a normal look of his—eyebrows furrowed like he was trying to understand. It was an expression that she was used to. But on this day, at this time, with her fragile question hanging between them, that look made her feel utterly dense.

"You came up here for that?"

"Apparently." He stared at her for a long moment, and she blinked rapidly, feeling exposed but refusing to look away. "What?" she asked defensively.

"Why are you looking like that?" Her expression told him to elaborate. She hoped that whatever emotion was threatening to spill over on the way up had receded. His voice had grown softer with worry as he asked his question, and it remained that way as he answered her unspoken one. "You look sad."

She breathed a curt nasal breath. "Never mind how I look. I need to talk to you. Can I come in?"

He deliberated for a second before stepping to the side. She moved past him and Luke secured the door and faced her. Her posture was formal as she stood several feet from him. Luke eyed her with question and leaned on the front door. "Want something to drink?" he asked.

"No." She put no effort into sounding appreciative.

Pause. "Okay."

"Don't be mad with Caesar," she said.

"Why…would I be mad with him?"

"You told him to call, right? If he saw that I was getting ready to do the unthinkable and actually come up here to talk to you."

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't tell--"

"Because you've been avoiding me. That's obvious. You haven't been doing a very good job of it. I mean, you live right above the diner, for pete's sake."

"Lorelai--"

"If you want, I can give you some pointers. Who better to get pointers from than the person you're trying to avoid? Hey, I know what works."

"Would you calm down and let me talk?"

"No!" she exploded. He jumped in shock then appeared frozen. She frowned at him then looked down as she tried to erase the image of his hate glare from before. Luckily, she was now too mad to cry. She was grateful for that. "Stop trying to calm me down. I'm fine. This tone and this attitude are both perfectly fine. Deserving, even. Three days, Luke. For three days, you have been avoiding me and treating me like some kind of a leper. I haven't done anything to you!"

She paused and waited for him to contribute. She was ready to go back at him the second he did. When he spoke, he sounded resigned. And weary. That, she didn't expect.

"I know. You haven't."

Then silence.

"That's it? That's all you have to say?"

He moved away from the door and pressed his hands into his head. Finally dropping them at his sides, he held them out in uncertainty. "And I'm sorry. I wanna say I'm sorry too."

She stared at him with disbelief. "Are you kidding?" she asked.

He shook his head solemnly. He seemed to just be coming to the conclusion that he owed her an apology. "No, I'm not. I'm sorry, Lorelai."

She waited. "Are you going to give me a reason for it? Did you just wake up on Wednesday and think that it was a nice day for an ostracizing? Was that a test of our friendship, of my strength? Was it some sort of perverse game? Tell me something here!"

He sighed. "It was stupid. I was stupid. And I'm sorry. I can't say enough how--"

"Sorry you are. I heard that part. But cut the vagueness for second." She thought back on the last couple days, and she grew angrier. "You had Caesar in on this. You guys had a system worked out to where when I came in, you would leave, and Caesar would serve me in your place. When I left, you would come back. Every time I came in, that's how it was. For days, I've been a punch line. And sorry is supposed to make that okay?"

His jaw flexed. "You weren't a punch line."

"I want to know. I deserve to know."

His voice grew louder. "Lorelai, just accept what I'm saying, okay? Your knowing isn't going to make anything better, and it's not going to change anything. Just…" His eyes pleaded with her. "…let me make it up to you, okay? I promise I will. Do you believe that I'm sorry?" he asked as a lead-in.

They stared at one another for a long moment before Lorelai answered. "I believe you," she answered to his relief. She saw him relax, and she knew her next words would make him tense back up. "But like I said, I deserve to know."

His eyes flashed the anger that she was looking for when he opened the door. He looked thoughtful, though, and something told her that that anger wasn't really meant for her. He finally spoke, and his voice was strained. "You have to promise to hear me out."

She nodded. "I promise."

He squeezed his eyes shut like what he was about to say was causing physical pain. "You're not going to want to," he warned. "But I need you to."

Lorelai didn't hesitate. "I said I promise."

His eyes went to the ceiling. "I'm gonna hold you to that," he said joylessly. He tried to organize his thoughts for presentation, but gave up when he found no ways to make it sound acceptable. The first word out of his mouth made her glower. "Nicole…always had a problem with you." He looked at her for a second then made supreme effort to avoid doing it again. "It started with our first date, which I told you about. But it never seemed to get better. She just couldn't seem to understand us.

It was an issue, Lorelai. Or a battle— a constant battle. We got closer—Nicole and I, and I noticed that she wasn't feeling any better about you. She said this stupid thing…kind of made a joke telling me I'd grow old by myself before I'd care enough to put a woman above you." He paused. "Which you and I know is stupid, but that's how she really felt. I thought about it. About how much I didn't want to lose her and all that stuff. So I made a decision to put some distance between us." He gave up and met Lorelai's eyes. "You and me, I mean." Lorelai listened intently, which only made Luke more nervous in speaking. But he continued as promised. "I told Nicole, and she thought it was a good idea. Or great idea, I think she said. I didn't think it'd be that big a deal, honestly. I don't see you that much outside the diner. When I saw you in the diner yesterday, I felt horrible. You didn't know what was going on. You asked where I'd been, and all I could feel was anger. Imagine that. It's not like my hand was being forced, and there I was angry." He paused. "Caesar told me you were upset, but I brushed it off. Kept moving forward. It didn't get any easier, unfortunately. And having you here now just makes it even clearer that…I can't keep doing this. It was a stupid idea. I can't avoid you. You come here all the time. I didn't think you'd get hurt, you know. I guess I didn't think that you'd…pay it much attention. But you did, and I'm sorry. It was just a dumb idea all around."

He met her eyes and acknowledged the unbearable amount of quiet. She stood there looking at him as if he was still talking. The seconds that ticked by with silence made it obvious he had said everything. More than enough.

"Lorelai." He said her name softly. A plea, really.

"You were…going to kick me out of your life." Her words were quiet, but matter-of-fact.

That stung him. "Not exactly."

She shook her head. "No. Exactly. Very exactly."

His teeth clenched. "I didn't, though." She lowered her head and stared at the floorboards. Luke moved, and she looked up. He had only taken a small step forward, but her eyes told him not to take anymore. He appeared fraught. "Can we just…?" Erase this? Move past this? Forget? he wanted to say. But he went with none of those suggestions he saw as cowardly. He felt hopeless as he decided to test the waters a little. "How mad are you?"

Her answer was so quiet, but Luke heard it. "I'm not."

He hid his shock and relief. "You're not? Really?"

She nodded. "I understand why you did it."

He stared at her. "Glad one of us does." His words were serious, but a tender smile crossed his lips. Again, she looked down. Luke asked shyly, "Would you have done the same thing?"

Her words weren't callous. She tried to maintain understanding, but she answered honestly. "No, I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have even considered it." He backed away a little as he felt the impact of those heated daggers. She continued. "You acted surprised that I bothered to pay any attention to what you did. Do you really think I'm that egotistical?"

"No." He paused. "I didn't think I was that…you know."

"No, I don't know."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, Caesar was still here. You still got your burger and coffee. I didn't think it mattered a whole helluva lot who served it to you."

She allowed that to sink in. "You didn't think you were that important to me," she determined with a crack in her voice.

He turned red. "Well, yeah," he confirmed since he didn't feel he had much else left to hide.

She crossed her arms and looked past him to the wall. "It hurts that you'd think that, Luke." She shook her head. "It hurts that you'd even do this."

"You said you weren't mad, though."

"I'm not." She looked at him. "I wish I were mad. It'd be much easier to deal with." She shifted on her feet. "Is Nicole still around?"

His answer was quiet. He didn't like the tone of the conversation at all. "Yeah. I'm going to tell her that this whole thing is off, don't worry."

"Don't bother."

His reply came fast, panic in his voice. "What does that mean?"

They held eye contact. "It means that it's not necessary."

"Lorelai."

She looked away. "I better get going."

"What the hell did you mean by that?"

"I'll see you around, I guess." She walked toward him and felt grateful when he moved to the side, his eyes still wide and questioning.

"Lorelai."

"Luke…" She paused and looked up at him next to her. His eyes searched hers desperately, thinking of something to say. Her hand went to his chest, and she smiled a shaky smile. "I'm so glad you're happy." She removed her hand and opened the door. "I really mean that."

He nodded. "Okay. But can you…."

She left before he could finish. He clenched his jaw tight as the door closed gently in his face. With a swift turn, he reached over and picked up one of his many baseball trophies. He held it in a tight grip for several seconds before he set it back down decidedly. Throwing that across the apartment definitely wouldn't solve much.

He walked away while mumbling heatedly under his breath.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai lay on her couch staring at the ceiling. The phone rang endlessly on the desk near the kitchen.

The answering machine kicked on, and she wondered if this would be the message that'd put the poor machine at its limit.

'You got the machine! I'm not here, but here's my alternate number: 555-1242. It's for Luke's Diner, my home away from home. The owner's a gem, and he'll put you right through. Toodles!' Beep.

She realized a few hours ago that that message definitely had to go.

"Lorelai." Luke's tone was exhausted. "Lorelai, I know you're home. Sookie told me you're home. Can you answer, please?" Long pause. "I'm outside your house right now looking at your jeep, so I know you're in there."

Lorelai turned her head and listened carefully for sounds coming from outside. When she heard nothing, she figured he was bluffing.

He waited long seconds for her to answer. "Fine," he finally said. "I'll just get the key out of this stupid turtle and come inside."

She listened again, and this time she heard thumping on the porch. She sat up quickly and saw him through the window. He just leaned on the porch rail there. The coming inside was a bluff, but she could definitely see the other part was not. He had really come to her house.

She got up, turned the machine off, and answered the phone.

"Luke." She watched him stand up from the rail with alert.

"Hey! You actually answered!" He paced away from the window. He tried to gather his thoughts quickly. He had a lot to say, and he wasn't sure that his thousand other messages had been received. "Um--" he began nervously.

"Go home, please," she said quietly.

"Can we talk?"

"About what?" she asked. "We've talked. I'm making this easier for you. Just go back to the plan, Luke. I'm on board, I promise."

"On board what?! Listen, I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds to me like you're trying to end our friendship." There was a long silence. "Lorelai! You still there?"

"Just go back to the plan," she said again. "Your plan."

"I don't have a plan!" he exclaimed. She heard him from outside.

She ended the call.

The phone rang again several seconds later. Lorelai's fingers went to the bridge of her nose, and she started to walk away, but turned back. Again, she answered. "Okay, two seconds and I'm turning off my ringer."

"Okay, um, glad I caught you in time, then." It was Sookie.

Lorelai hit her forehead. "Oh, sorry, Sook. Thought you were somebody else."

"Are you having a problem with somebody? Prank phone calls? Cause those are illegal! Be sure to tell them that if they call again."

Lorelai smiled. "I'll do that," she conceded. "What's up? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, Hon, everything's great. I was calling to see if you'd gotten in contact with Luke. He's called here a few dozen times, so I figured I'd call you myself."

Lorelai looked toward the window. Luke wasn't there. "Uh, yeah, I've spoken to him."

"Good, good. Was he okay? He sounded kind of panicked."

She shrugged. "Well, I don't know why he would."

"Hm, probably just read too much into it. But I'm glad he reached you."

Lorelai felt more sadness sweep over her. "Yeah, me too," she said to fill silence. She took a deep breath. Sookie began talking about her evening plans with Jackson, and Lorelai cut her off in the middle of that. "Hey, Sweetie, I'm sorry, but I've gotta go."

"You sound tired."

"I am. I'm so sorry. I'm going to take a bath and clear my head. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, that's fine. Get some rest."

"I will. Have a good night."

She hung the phone up and looked at the window again. It was still without a figure. She stared and wondered if he had given up. The thought of that happening made her feel unhappy. More unhappy, rather. More achy. Until today, she never really knew that sadness could cause physical pains. She wondered if tears would make it better. If she cried, that'd be outlet, and maybe the aches would go away.

Sadness without tears was agonizing.

But she didn't want to cry. She didn't really feel like she had a reason to. Luke had given up on their friendship on a whim, without batting an eyelash. Surely, she could do it without bawling like a baby.

Bawling did sound inviting, though. She had to admit.

She moved toward the front door, and she heard her bare feet on the wood flooring. The house was noiseless. She'd been home for hours and hadn't bothered turning on anything to take away the quiet. She had been alone with her thoughts—just her, her thoughts, and the phone going off every twenty seconds.

She pulled open the door to see if he was still in her yard.

Immediately, her eyes cast downward as Luke fell onto his back at her feet. He was just as surprised as she was. Probably tired and out of sorts from all the calling he'd done, all the worrying that had creased his forehead, his reflexes left much to be desired.

He'd been sitting against the door, and as soon as she opened it, he was on his back in an instant—partially in, partially out of the crapshack.

"Hey," he greeted while looking up at her.

He looked comical. Sprawled under her, his knees bent on the other side of the threshold.

She didn't want to. She really didn't want to. Lord knows he didn't deserve it. She fought it the best she could. But…it only ended with a more defined smile.

It didn't help that he didn't even attempt to sit up. He just stayed in place.

"Are you okay?" she asked, pulling back on her smile.

He seemed cautious. "Yeah. Thanks." His eyes moved anxiously over her features. "Can we talk now?" he asked. Her smile finally went away. "Please, Lorelai." He swallowed. "I'll stay here all night if I have to."

She sighed. "Never knew you could be so pigheaded."

"Only when it's worth it."

She looked away then back down at him. "Get up, Luke."

He stared up at her for seconds more trying to read her unreadable expression. Then, he got to his feet while staying on the other side of the door. He rested wide eyes on her, hoping she'd invite him in. "Please?" he asked quietly.

She shut her eyes and moved to the side. "Really quick. Then, you have to leave."

"Deal." He rushed past her and into her house. Lorelai closed the door and joined him in the living room.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai sipped the bitter coffee and made a face as she stuck the thermos back in the jeep's cup holder.

She turned the key and sat idle, allowing the engine to warm up before she left for work.

Normally, she'd be rushing so she could stop at the diner and still make it to work on time. Today, she'd taken twice as long to get ready, and she still had half an hour to kill. One day, and already, the non-Luke's lifestyle was sucking.

She threw her head back onto the seat and closed her eyes. She saw Luke's face—his face from the evening before, the face of someone who refused to listen.

'I'm just doing what you started, Luke. It'll be easier for you now.'

'Why do you keep saying that?'

'Why won't you just let it go? It's no big deal, right? You wanted this. You started this. All I'm doing is going along with it.'

Teeth clenched. 'I tried something, and it didn't work out, Lorelai. How many times can I say I'm sorry?'

'It's not about being sorry. You're in a relationship, and you made a choice. I screwed that up. If I hadn't come to your apartment, you would have continued--'

'That's not true.'

'—With this whole thing. You don't owe me anything, so why won't you just let me do this? I can handle it. I'm a big girl. And I can find another damn diner, Luke.'

'Another…diner?'

'Yes. Another diner. It doesn't do any good to say I'd miss you, now does it? You didn't even think I'd care when you squeezed me out.'

Eyes down, fists tight. 'Do you have any idea how much this has been killing me?'

'Well, I'm not exactly sliding along a rainbow here, myself.'

Anger. 'So, why are you doing this, then?'

'To help you!'

'You're not helping me!!'

Shaking head. 'You'll get over this, Luke.'

'Don't tell me what the hell I'll get over.'

'You will. You managed to for three days.'

'Lorelai, it feels like you're punishing me.'

'I'm not.'

'It feels like it.'

'Were you punishing me?'

'Of course not.'

'Exactly. You did what you had to do. Now, it's my turn.'

Jaw clenched. 'This isn't worth it.'

'What's not worth it? You being here?'

'No.'

'Then what?' Pause. 'You can't mean Nicole.'

No acknowledgement. 'I'm not going to let you leave the diner.'

'Make your relationship work, Luke.'

'Lorelai.'

'You care about her. Make your relationship work.'

Words quiet. 'I can't believe I did this.'

'I think we're done talking.'

'So, you're going to avoid me forever?'

'That sounds a lot better when it's left unsaid.'

'Are you serious?'

'Odd for me, I know.'

'Do you want this?'

'Are you kidding me with that question?'

'Do you?'

'Why would I want this? Of course I don't want this!'

'That's all I need to know.'

Lorelai jumped when someone tapped on the jeep's plastic-made window. She opened her eyes to Babbette who waved and told her she just wanted to be sure she hadn't fallen asleep.

"No, I'm awake, Babbette. Just resting my eyes. Thanks."

"Alright, Suga! You get to work safe. If you're tired, cut the car off, and go get back in the bed. The inn'll be okay until you're back on your feet."

Lorelai smiled and waved her away. With another sip of her substandard coffee, she shifted to Reverse and backed out of her driveway.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"You're starting to worry me."

Lorelai looked from the wall of her office and over to Sookie who stood in her doorway. She unfolded her arms and looked around her desk for something to busy herself with. "What are you talking about, Sookie? I'm fine."

"You're so totally not fine. You've been acting like a zombie all day. Do you not want to be here?"

She sighed. "Trust me, I'm okay, Sook. Now, what's up?" she asked, suddenly irritable.

Sookie sighed, feeling helpless. She gestured a hand out toward the lobby. "Luke's here for you."

Lorelai scanned the doorway, unable to see beyond that. "Why?"

She shrugged. "No idea. If…you don't want to see him, I can tell him you're busy," she offered. Her tone let Lorelai know that if that were to happen, there would be a million questions about it later. And she had no desire to talk about any of it with anyone. She realized that she'd eventually have to explain to many people why she was staying away from the diner. But for now, she needed the time to get used to that fact, herself.

"No, it's okay. Send him back here for me, will you?"

"Yeah, no prob."

"And Sookie?"

Sookie ducked back in. "Hm?"

She smiled. "You know this isn't your job, right?"

Sookie giggled. "Yeah, I know. Things are slow in the kitchen. I'm talking to Michel at the front desk, and he was a little busy when Luke popped up, so…" She shrugged.

Lorelai feigned shock. "Oh my! You two are actually getting along?"

"For the time being."

"Oh, okay. Well, go before the moment passes!" She shooed her away.

Sookie winked and disappeared. Seconds later, there was yelling. "Michel, don't pick those off!"

"These are unnecessary calories, and I don't like them anyway!"

"If you didn't want almonds in your stupid muffin, why didn't you just say that before I made it?!"

Lorelai chuckled. "Guess the moment's gone," she muttered.

Luke appeared at the open door. They met eyes. He held up a diner bag. "Mind if I come in? Sookie said it was okay."

"Come in."

He took a seat. "Are you hungry?" He reached back and closed the door. Lorelai felt the space get smaller.

"No, I've eaten. Thanks."

He nodded nonchalantly, but his doubt came with his question. "What'd you eat?"

"Luke, I have one of the best chefs on the east coast as a business partner. When I say I've eaten, just trust that I have."

She hadn't eaten a thing all day.

"Sorry." He sat the bag on her desk. When she looked at him, he shrugged. "Save it for dinner, then."

She stared at the name on the bag. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

He sat back in his chair. "I dunno."

Her eyes went to him. "Luke."

"I said I don't know," he said again before the questions could come.

"I heard what you said," she said quietly. "And you know what I'm about to say."

He looked away. Lorelai looked down.

Quiet filled the office.

In that silence, Lorelai's stomach gave her away.

She rolled her eyes, and Luke leaned forward and pushed the bag at her. "Can you just eat the food? You don't have to think about where it's from."

She didn't reach for the bag. He stood and opened it. She watched as he removed a take-out container.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" she asked.

"Well, I know you're hungry."

"No, not the food, Luke. This. This whole thing. I made a promise that I would stay away from the diner…away from you. It doesn't work if you won't respect that."

"Who says I want it to work? I think it's stupid. I've made that clear." He pushed the open container toward her. On it was a cheeseburger and fries.

Lorelai didn't take her eyes from him. "I'm doing this for you."

He dropped into the chair with a loud breath. "Lorelai, if you say that anymore, I swear I'm going to lose it."

"Well, it's true."

He shrugged, gave up. "Whatever. Just eat."

She didn't move. They both stared at the desk thoughtfully. When Lorelai's eyes finally went back to him, she found he was already looking at her. "Look, Lorelai, it doesn't help me when you're not in the diner, okay?" He paused and searched for a way to avoid sounding pathetic. He found none, so he made the choice to not give a damn. "I miss you."

Lorelai's heart reacted—an awkward beat, an aberrant skip. "I miss you too, Luke."

Their eyes remained locked. "But you won't come back?" he determined.

She shook her head.

He sighed. "Are you sure you don't hate me?"

She smiled. "I'm sure."

"I'm sorry I hurt you. You have no idea." She smiled again, just a bare one. "I just always thought that I wasn't--"

"Well, you were wrong," she said, not allowing him to finish.

He looked down. "Just figured the only one I'd be hurting was me."

"Like I said…you were wrong."

He looked at her. Lorelai's eyes fell. And went to the mouthwatering burger in front of her. Her stomach growled loudly. Luke smiled. "Eat. I'll go." She'd been telling him in so many words to leave, so both were surprised when her breath noticeably hitched in her throat. She moved her eyes around the room in diversion, and Luke stood. "I'll see you later." He paused. "So expect to see me later, Lorelai," he stressed.

She watched his intense eyes go further back as he moved toward the door. He twisted the knob, paused there like he had something else to say, then he was gone.

Lorelai took a heavy breath. Her fingers were wrapped around the thick burger before Luke made it to the front door.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Five days later.

Lorelai's alarm clock went off, and she slapped a hand over the silencer and sat up. Both feet went to the floor. She walked over to her closet and took her robe from its hook.

She exited her room while straightening her pajamas. Her fingers went to her face and she knocked away all signs of sleep as she descended the stairs. By the time she was at the bottom, she was finger combing her hair. In the foyer, she snuck a quick look at herself in the mirror before unlocking all locks on the door.

She opened it and instantly spotted the person who'd been there the past four mornings.

She shook her head with a slothful grin as she walked to the steps. "You again?" she asked. Luke shrugged. He was leaned on the rail, and he held her newspaper, a cup of coffee, and a bag with breakfast. "Paper, please," she requested. She slid it from his fingers, and then sighed as he automatically shoved the other items in her hands as well.

With his hands now empty, he backed down the steps. "Have a good morning," he said. He cracked a smile at her insincere glare.

"You need to stop this, Luke," she called to him.

He turned and waved a hand over his head. "I'll see you later." He hopped in his truck and pulled out of her driveway.

Lorelai looked down at the things given to her. "That man," she whispered in complaint. She worked the lid off the coffee cup and brought her nose over it. She inhaled the aroma and closed her eyes. "Oh, god...that man." She secured the lid and hurried inside.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Here, give me your hand."

Luke shook his head. "No, I'm okay."

Lorelai reached over and took his hand anyway with both of hers. She carefully placed it above Cletus' nose. The horse made a snuffling noise but otherwise seemed at ease with the contact. She removed her hand from his and rubbed comfortably below Cletus' ear.

She looked at Luke. "Not too bad, huh?" He petted awkwardly for a second then pulled his hand away. Lorelai laughed. "You're such a chicken."

Luke frowned at Cletus then looked around the inn's barn. "How can you stand this smell?"

"What smell?" She ran her hand softly along the horse's shiny coat.

He wrinkled his nose. "What smell? It smells horrible in here. Like…like…"

She leaned in. "Like a barn?" she offered.

He looked away and dismissed both her and her laughter. "You know, if you came back to the diner, this could all be so much simpler."

"Who likes simple?"

"I do."

She rolled her eyes. "Besides you, Lame Mcgee."

"You can come back and keep me from having to chase you down."

"No one's telling you to chase me down, Luke. You know my stance."

"Your stance sucks."

"Yeah, well, it is what it is."

He sighed. "I brought you some lunch. Put it in your office for you."

She smiled. "So pigheaded."

"You want me to stop?"

She kept her eyes on the horse. "I want you to make this easier."

"Is that a yes?"

"I see more of you now than I did before this whole thing started."

"Probably. Is that a problem?"

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" she muttered.

"Hey," he called softly. She looked at him with reluctance, and he focused on her eyes. "Your friendship is important to me, and I won't ever bargain with that again. If you don't wanna meet me halfway, as you can see from these past couple of weeks, I will do the work. I made my own bed. But if you want me to leave you alone, I'll leave you alone."

Her eyes narrowed. "I want you to leave me alone," she declared without hesitation.

He shrugged tactlessly. "Too bad. Not gonna happen."

She lowered her head to hide the smile that had formed even before he'd spoken. Her hands smoothed more gently over Cletus' back. "What am I gonna do with you?"

He smiled too. "Just keep puttin' up with me, and I'll be good to go."

Lorelai left Cletus' side and walked past Luke while eyeing him. "Seems I don't have much of a choice, now does it?"

"Good point."

She walked out of the barn, secretly delighted that Luke followed right behind her.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Hey, Sookie, what are you up to?"

Sookie sounded out of breath on the line. "I just put Davey down, and I'm in the middle of cooking dinner. Jackson and I are going to try to do the romance thing tonight. Let's see how long it lasts. Why, what's wrong?"

Lorelai paused. "Uh, nothing. Just a little bored. Thought I'd call to bug you for a minute."

"Jeez. It hurts that you have to be bored to call! But…" There were some noises, and then a relaxing sigh that suggested Sookie had taken a moment to listen without distraction. "I'm here for you, Honey. Best friend reporting for duty. What do you wanna talk about? Boys? Clothes? Baby puke? Got the market cornered on that last one."

She chuckled. "No, get back to dinner. I'll just…try to see what escape plan Gilligan foils tonight. I'll be fine."

"Really?" Sookie asked worriedly. She looked at the stove. "I have ten minutes, easy. And don't worry. I don't have anything boiling tonight, so there's nothing to drop the phone into."

"Yeah, our last conversation did get a little heated, didn't it?"

Sookie laughed. "No chance of that tonight, though. You sure you don't want to test my dexterity? It gets better every day, I think."

"No, no, get back to Jackson. Make a nice dinner, enjoy your dinner, and I'll see you tomorrow at work."

Sookie shrugged. "Okay. Call me back if you change your mind."

"I will, Sook."

They disconnected.

Lorelai took a breath and dialed another number on her cell phone.

"Luke's."

"Hey, Luke. It's Lorelai."

There was a brief pause. "Wow. Can't believe you called me. Isn't this against the rules?" he mocked.

She rolled her eyes. "I see and talk to you every day."

"Yeah. Because of my doing. You spend ninety-five percent of that time telling me to get lost," he reminded.

"And you spend one hundred percent of that time ignoring what I say, so what's the difference?"

He smiled. "What's the reason for the call? Don't tell me you want coffee. I know I'm trying my damndest to get us back on track, but I'm gonna draw the line on that one. It's too late at night to have that crap sitting in your system."

She sounded tired. "It's never too late for coffee. It even makes the perfect midnight indulgence."

"Leading right into the perfect midnight hypertension problem or the perfect intestinal disease, or--"

"Luke, I didn't call you to discuss coffee."

"Oh." He covered one ear to drain out the chatter of townspeople in the background of the diner. "Is something wrong?"

"Kind of. I, uh, need your help. I have a flat tire."

"Where are you?"

She looked up at the street sign. "Off of 2nd street. Corner of 2nd and Black."

He thought for a moment. "That's near Sookie. Right by Sookie, actually. Did you try to call her?"

She shook her head at herself and dropped her head into her hands. "Yes, Luke," she began with traces of edginess, "Of course I called Sookie. She had plans."

He frowned. "She had plans that she couldn't put on pause to help her best friend who's stuck alone on a dark street?"

She lifted her head with a sigh. "Do you not want to come help me?"

"Of course I'll come help you," he answered, insulted. "Wait there. I'll be there before you know it."

The line went dead.

"Damn tire!" Lorelai complained aloud. She picked a spot outside, and stared at it intently through her windshield. She willed herself not to think of how easy it would have been for Jackson to run down the street and help her with the flat. A few minutes of his time, and she would have been on her way.

He wouldn't have minded in the least.

She reasoned that he and Sookie were both exhausted because of the baby. They needed whatever rest they could get. And if, miraculously, they found time to enjoy one another's company, it definitely couldn't be ruined by a spinster friend with a flat. She made herself believe that she'd done the right thing by calling Luke. These days, when he wasn't around, she missed him more than she understood.

She thought of him more. She thought of him often, actually.

But since she'd made the choice to sever ties, she determined that she was just feeling the effects of that decision. Shooting down a decade-long friendship wasn't exactly easy. However, due to Luke's persistence, the plan hadn't yet come to fruition. Still, he and the entire subject matter headed her daily absorptions.

Bright lights shined in her rearview, and she didn't bother looking. She knew it was Luke. It didn't surprise her that he'd made it to her so fast.

She heard his truck door open and close, and he was at her window in only seconds.

"You could have at least left the window up, Lorelai. It's dark out here."

She finally looked away from her point of focus and over at him. "Duly noted for next time." She scanned his features. It'd been hours since she saw him last. "Thanks for coming."

"What, you thought I'd just leave you out here?" he asked gruffly. "Speaking of which, remind me to have a little chat with Sookie and Jackson."

"That's not necessary."

"Oh, yes it is," he insisted with a quick glance in the direction of Sookie's house.

She rolled her eyes tiredly and opened the door, prompting him to back away. "Let it go, Luke." She hopped out. "Did you bring a tire with you?"

Fully prepared to argue some more with her about Sookie, Luke's brows creased greatly at the question. "You don't have a tire?"

"No…should I?

"Oh, jeez," he mumbled to himself. He tossed his hands out. "How am I supposed to change your tire when you don't have a spare, Lorelai?"

"So, you didn't bring one then?" she asked, hopes waning.

"No! I kinda thought you had that taken care of!"

She looked down at her flat. "Shoot," she whispered. With weary and sincere eyes, she looked at him. "I'm sorry for dragging you out here for nothing, then. I'll get a ride home from Sookie and take care of this tomorrow."

"No, I'll take you home."

She shook her head. "I wouldn't ask you to do that."

"What do you mean you wouldn't ask m--Lorelai, I wouldn't mind giving you a lift," he responded, chagrined.

Lorelai had constant reminders in her head of the distance they were supposed to be keeping. A flat tire exonerated that, somewhat. But with that issue temporarily on pause, she wasn't going to pretend like he was her only option. Sookie was right down the road.

She could tell from his tone that she'd insulted him. Dragging him out was bad enough, and she definitely didn't want to make him feel unappreciated.

"If you're sure you don't mind," she conceded.

He relaxed. "Course not." He gestured at the jeep. "Go on and lock up." He walked back to his truck while keeping an eye out for her. He opened his door only when she'd made over. They climbed inside the truck together. He started the engine and drove off slowly.

"You uh..." Lorelai looked over at him. He smiled in a way she rarely saw him smile. "You can relax, you know. I'm not going to kidnap you or anything."

She realized how tense she was and smiled. "Well…you better not. If you think regular Lorelai talks a lot, just imagine pleading-for-her-life Lorelai. You'll blow your brains out before we get halfway to wherever we're going."

He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Jeez, I'll be sure to put the word out to all the psychopaths out there, then. No one will ever dare touch you."

"Well, thanks but unfortunately, that may only work with you."

"You underestimate yourself."

"Maybe. But I can't be sure with them. You, I can be sure of. I just know how you operate. I know that when I talk really really fast and for a really really long time and maybe throw a dirty reference or two in my speech, then I can certainly, without doubt, no question whatsoever get you to--" She laughed and pointed at him. "—roll your eyes like that and rub the side of your forehead like that--" she said with another point. "—meaning that you are on the brink of explosion. Another five minutes of this, and boom. I'm wiping your blood splatters off my face and exiting the truck unharmed."

He shook his head. "So, you think you know me, huh?"

She smiled and looked out the windshield. "He said think. That's cute."

He looked over at her and smiled. "Now, you're talking to yourself?"

She feigned offense. "Well, I was, but since you wanna abandon all manners and interrupt, I'll open discussion. Yes, Luke. I know you. Better than you know yourself probably. You're not as big a mystery as you think you are."

"Sure."

"You don't think so? Ask me something."

He chuckled. "No."

"Favorite color maybe?"

"Not necessary."

"Anything, Luke. Seriously, ask me."

He rolled his eyes and after a moment, came back with, "How about some trivia?"

Lorelai looked over, surprised he'd actually agreed. "Works for me."

He adjusted himself in his seat and flashed a smile. "What was the first thing I ever said to you?" She stared at him while thinking. He smiled more. "Oh no, you can't be drawing a blank," he teased. "I thought you were supposed to be so omniscient. Where's the smugness?"

She held back a smile. Unfortunately, she had no clue, but she took a shot anyway. "You asked me if I wanted some coffee. Right?"

"Wrong. And I won't even mention the lack of creativity. Am I still talking to Lorelai?"

She rolled her eyes. "You asked what a lovely humina-humina person like me was doing in your midst, and I, not knowing exactly how to respond to a creature such as yourself, consulted my eye purse which led to a series of odd, dangerous kisses which you seemed to not mind. Then, with a sneeze, earth was saved."

Luke looked over at her blankly. "Uh…no. But at least now I know who I'm talking to."

She smiled. "Now, what'd you say?"

"I told you that you were being annoying and to sit down and shut up."

"Well, I was close."

"Who knew that would become the tune of our friendship?"

"Wait, is this your way of telling me--"

"That you're being annoying?" He tapped the wheel. "Well, no. Not now. We've moved on from all that I know you better than you know yourself stuff. So, let's just tuck it away for later."

Lorelai watched her house come into view. "You know, you're a mean and cruel cabbie. No tip for you."

He put the truck in Park. "Damn. Meter's broken too, so I guess I'm screwed all around."

She undid her seatbelt with a light smile on her lips. Luke turned the truck off, and her smile faded. She sighed and turned her eyes to him. He issued a fast apology and twisted the key until the engine was roaring again. "Sorry 'bout that." He pointed at her door. "Get in safe," he said civilly.

In an instant, she felt like knocking her head against the dashboard. She mumbled admonishments under her breath as she reached over and turned the truck back off. "I'm sorry, Luke." She took the key out and held it out to him. "Stay for a minute?"

He made no movements. Just kept looking at her like she was an unstable wildlife animal. "Are you sure you want me to?"

She smiled, though the way he looked at her made her hate herself for toying with him. But in all fairness, his confusion didn't hold a candle to the chaos in her own head. She answered his question. "I don't want to be rude. You went out of your way for me tonight, and I figure the least I can do is invite you in for some tea. Or some hot water with a peppermint when I realize I have no reason for the stuff to be in my house."

Hesitantly, he raised his hand and took the keys from her. "Um…peppermint water sounds good."

Another smile appeared and stuck around this time. "Come on."

They met up by the porch and walked inside of the dark house. Lorelai didn't make it very far before she tripped on a shoe. Luke reached for her blindly. Nothing but luck allowed him to save her from that fall. Lorelai thanked him and apologized for the strewn items in her foyer. Once something was kicked off or thrown there, generally days would pass before they'd be put in their proper place. She clicked on a few lights on the way to the kitchen, and soon Luke was sitting at the kitchen table while she prepared water for their hot beverages.

Luke watched her just for a moment before he scoped out his surroundings. "So, how has it been since Rory left?" he asked.

She glanced back at him then continued her task. "Pretty dead. Gets lonely and boring, of course, giving me a much better chance of going crazy." She got coffee going. "But you already know that since I used to spend all free time with you in the diner."

"Yeah, I guess you did."

She sat down next to him. "Was an okay routine I had worked out for myself."

He shrugged. "You could start it again if you want. You know I'd like that."

"I know you would," she answered. "You know I can't do that, though."

"No, you won't do that."

"Same thing."

"No, it's two very different things. One is a choice, which, may I add, is a bad one."

She sighed. "Luke, don't make me rethink this."

His eyes widened, and he appeared elated. "Rethink it!" he exclaimed. "I wish you would!"

She looked away from him. "No, I don't mean the diner. I mean inviting you in here."

He rolled his eyes. "Lorelai, you don't need my help rethinking anything. You've been doing it just fine by yourself these past few weeks. I swear you're like a human magic eight ball walking around. And it's no surprise because you're forcing yourself to do something you don't really want to do. Like it or not, we've already gotten under each other's skin, so we're going to be friends regardless. You not coming into the diner isn't going to change anything. Sorry to have to be the one to tell you that."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "My decision is set. You're the one that keeps messing with it."

"And you keep letting me."

"By doing what?" she asked, amused.

He pointed around them. "By inviting me in for tea. Has friendship written all over it."

"And what does kicking you out say?" she asked, now with irritation.

He folded his arms. "Doesn't say anything because you wouldn't do that."

She stood up suddenly and almost knocked her chair over in the process. Luke tensed but relaxed when she walked past him with a muttered, "The hell I wouldn't." He watched her go to the cabinet and pull out a mug.

Luke scoffed. "Nice follow through," he goaded.

She stopped and glared at him before yanking up the pot from the machine. It dripped and sizzled on the hot base. She poured herself half a mug of coffee and returned the pot. "You can forget about the drink, too. If you think I'm gonna put in the effort and dig through my couch cushions for you now in search of a peppermint, you are sadly mistaken," she revealed.

"You mean to tell me that I missed out on my butt mint?" His following words mocked her even more if that was possible. "Oh, dear, how will I ever cope?"

She sipped her coffee as if he wasn't even speaking to her. She moved back over and took her seat again. Her and Luke's eyes met, and she shook her head away when Luke smiled. She fought her own. "As long as you refuse to give up, I'm going to keep slipping up," she said to him.

His tone was breezy. "Well, prepare to keep slipping up."

"You could just…make it easy on me."

"I could," he said carelessly.

She regarded him for a long moment. "Mind if I ask you a serious question?"

"Well, a serious question coming from you is a little scary, but you only live once. Ask away."

She gently twirled the ring on her index finger as she stared at him. "Why'd you do it?" she asked quietly. He kept his eyes on her. Neither his expression nor his words asked her to get more specific, but she did anyway. "I know you did it to satisfy Nicole and to maintain your relationship. I get that she's uncomfortable with me. But your choice….what you did doesn't equate with who you are. I'm really curious."

There was a long pause before he answered. His eyes didn't give much away. "It doesn't go much deeper than that. Relationships are about sacrifice."

"Sacrificing your principles? I can't see you doing that."

"Well, I did. And it wasn't my principles. It was just--"

"A meaningless friendship with some girl. Got it."

"Jeez, will you cut that out? You know you're the furthest thing from that. I've been here. You've been pushing me away, and I've still been right here. And that's how it's gonna be whether you accept it or not."

Lorelai blinked a few times and tried not to show how that affected her. "Just tell me why you did it, okay?"

"Didn't I just do that?"

"You're lying." He scoffed. "Or kind of lying. You're not being all the way honest."

He sighed and pushed away from the table. "Look, thanks for the hospitality and the idea of tea. I had a blast." He stood. "But I have to get home."

She looked up at him. "Is this it?"

He pushed his chair in its place. "I'll be waiting for you when you wake up. You know that."

Her eyes went down, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She stood up with him and left her coffee on the table steaming. "I'll walk you out," she said quietly.

Luke nodded and looked for her eyes, which she kept lowered. "Thanks."

He led the way while thinking of something to say that would let them end on a good note. It was bad enough showing up every day, having her tell him to get lost…though she never said it with anything but her mouth. But he didn't want to have her genuinely mad at him on top of that.

"Do you, uh, have anything planned tomorrow?" he asked. He looked back and caught her eyes.

She shook her head. "Nope. Just a lot of work with no play. Same old, same old."

He nodded. "Yeah, I hear you. Same here. Busy day tomorrow. Caesar's working half a day." He turned and entered the foyer while walking backwards. "So, however long your day is, double it, and you'll have mine."

She smiled at his words. "If it's going to be too crazy for you, you can cross me off your list. I don't want to be a problem."

He shook his head. "It'll be fine. Besides, my coming here isn't exactly a choice of yours," he reminded.

She shrugged. "Yeah, but still you ooohhh--" The shoe that had nearly taken her down on the way in was suddenly given a second chance. Again, Luke saved her from ground collision. She tumbled right into him, and he steadied her. Her fingers gripped his flannel on instinct, but with his secure hold on her, it wasn't necessary at all.

Her face very nearly connected with his, but she caught herself just in time. Luke helped her to a standing position of her own and kept his hands high on her waist while hers were on his forearms. Lorelai's eyes went to his, and her expression dared him to find humor in what had happened. A smile came first across his face. It was due to her expression. She smiled also, though rather grudgingly. And with that, Luke remembered her hurling toward him and laughed.

"It's not funny," she admonished. Again, he laughed. Her eyes dropped to his shoulder and remained there for a long while. He watched her blink and then slowly lift her gaze. Her blue irises went to his neck. His chin. "Stop laughing," she murmured. Luke wondered where she was. Because if she were here, she would have noticed that no sounds were coming from him. He watched her curiously. From his chin, her eyes flashed to his then went back to his shoulder. One blink took her gaze to his lips.

He dropped his head and became extremely aware of the way he held her. Two seconds ago, it was him saving her from disaster. Now, it was just her standing close. Close enough to feel body heat.

"Luke." He looked up and saw a beautiful smile that was sure. "Your hands are shaking," she whispered.

He realized, then, how tightly he was holding her waist. If his hands were shaking, she would most definitely know about it. "Sorry."

She nodded and brought her hands to either side of his face. She left no time for reconsideration before she pulled his lips to hers. Soft breathing gave way to heavier breathing when Lorelai moved her hands from his cheeks to his neck, allowing passion to inspire momentum. He touched his tongue to her lip, and she parted and let him in. Their kisses went from lukewarm to hot. From sizzling to scorching. From scalding, back down to temperate. All in a matter of seconds.

Lorelai's hand went to his chest to stop. Still, she let the kiss end on its own.

They broke away and allowed air back in their lungs. She opened her eyes to him.

"You better go, Luke." She whispered the words.

He didn't make a move to do so, and it didn't surprise her at all. She didn't sound too convincing. With two small steps, his mouth was at hers again. Breathing intensified. Lorelai whimpered when she felt Luke close his lips around her shivering bottom one. "S-stop." Nothing more than air. She gave in and kissed him. It ended sooner than the last. When he attempted to kiss her again, she moved her lips away from his. When he retreated, she leaned in and pecked his lips softly before resting her head against his. She whispered unsteady words that made him freeze.

"Don't tell her, okay? Don't tell Nicole."

After a moment of unsuccessful processing, Luke moved his forehead away and looked at her. "What?" he asked. He sounded shocked. Her eyes went down. She couldn't find the words for an explanation. She pulled at her fingers nervously as she searched for them in vain.

In Lorelai's eyes, Luke cared enough about Nicole to get rid of one of his closest friends. That meant there was love there…or something like it. She didn't want to interfere with that. That was reason enough, she thought. Even if she found a way to reveal that, she would also have to deal with the kiss. She'd have to explain why she'd kissed him. Because she had kissed him. The reason for that, however, wasn't easy to explain. She wasn't exactly swimming in translucence, herself.

Luke nodded his head at her silence. He looked off.

Nicole wasn't an issue. It would be easy to tell Lorelai that. But he held back as he replayed her words. He felt every bit of her regret with that plead. With a moderate resolve, he pulled together his poker face and told her, "I'm gonna take off."

She raised her head and met his eyes. "Okay," she said quietly. She spoke louder. "I know we're going to have to talk. And we will." She paused. "I can understand if you don't want to continue coming by, so I'll figure--"

"Nothing's going to change." His sincere eyes bored into hers. "I'll be here bright and early like usual."

She stared at him. "Do you…think that's a good idea?"

He set his jaw and looked away in thought. Finally, he shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not. But I'm here in whatever way you need me to be." He walked toward her and placed a kiss on her forehead like it was their normal action when departing. He turned and spoke with his back to her. "I'll see you in the morning." Lorelai watched him walk away with her brows furrowed.

"Okay." The door opened and closed. "See you…then."

Confusion. There was such confusion in her face. In her heart, a great deal of remorse for the relationship she'd come between. But despite Luke's odd reaction and despite her conscience, which always aimed toward the right thing to do, only one thing sat on her mind.

In spite of everything, all she could think about was the sweet, alluring taste of his tongue.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai sat on her couch with her legs folded in front of her.

With her remote pointed toward the TV, she flipped through the stations without pausing to check out the programs. TV was really the last thing on her mind. She settled for TLC then sat back and let the television watch her.

Minutes more went by. And all she did was look around her house in thought. The sound of an engine made her grab the remote and turn the TV off. She listened more carefully and heard the unmistakable sound of Luke's old truck door closing. She looked at her clock and saw that it was five minutes before she usually woke up.

She waited a minute more before she climbed from her sofa with a light sigh.

"Nice situation you created for yourself, Gilmore," she muttered. "Very nice."

She took a deep breath and opened the front door. Luke brought his attention from the yard and over to her. Food and coffee rested on the railing next to him. "Hey," he greeted with bewilderment. His eyes swept over her. He noticed she was dressed. Not for work—she had on jeans—but still she was dressed. He looked at his watch and discovered she still had a few more minutes of sleep. He had found that she used up every minute and never made it down a second before 7:10am. Even then, she was fresh from bed dressed in a robe.

She smiled her 'hello' and answered the question in his gaze. "I've been up for a while," she said simply.

He nodded. "Guess that explains why the jeep is here," he said as he pointed to it.

"Yeah. Had Gypsy take care of it." She leaned down to get her newspaper and found Luke with a look of apology when she stood again.

"Sorry about that," he said with a wave in her direction. He normally had the paper ready to hand off to her.

Lorelai almost laughed at his need to apologize for that. "Don't worry about it," she said instead. She hugged the paper to her chest and looked at him. "Do you want to come in to talk?"

He smiled a crooked smile. "Not really," he answered honestly. This wasn't exactly a conversation he was looking forward to having. He'd rather she said nothing about what had happened than to bring it up, apologize, and sound like a clichéd character with her let's-be-friends speech. Though, he figured she'd fall under a slightly different category since she wasn't even okay with the 'friend' title. He shook his head at that.

She smiled at his unease then waved him in the house. "Won't take but a second," she promised. She went inside and left the door open for him.

Luke gathered her breakfast and followed her in.

"Look," he began as he closed the door behind him. "Before you start talking about mistakes and all that other stuff…" He walked into the kitchen where she was. "Let me just tell you that it's not necessary. I don't wanna hear it, first of all. And second of all, it's gonna just make this harder—what I'm trying to do here," he ended.

Lorelai was leaning against the counter by the sink. She slowly rubbed her hands along her face before she crossed her arms tiredly. "What you're trying to do?" she repeated while watching him set the items on the table. "What do you mean?"

He sighed and put his hands on his hips. He stretched his eyes at her. "You know, following you around all over the damn place. Trying to set things right again." He pointed at the table. "All this stuff."

"Oh." She pushed herself from the counter and walked toward the bag. She smelled sausage. She was curious to see what else was on the menu. "So, why exactly don't you want to hear what I have to say?" she asked with a casual glance up at him.

He spoke while watching Lorelai peek into the diner bag. "Because I don't need to hear it. You told me not to tell Nicole. I didn't tell Nicole. What else could you have to say?"

Lorelai pulled out a clear tray with eggs, biscuits, sausage, bacon, and hash browns. Her mouth watered instinctively, and she swallowed and looked at him standing next to her. "You don't think we need to talk at all?"

"Nope. But I'm sure you think different."

She turned on her feet to face him. "What happened…was my fault. It was my doing. We're clear on that, right?"

"Crystal." He rolled his eyes simultaneously. "With me standing there stiff as a board, it's a wonder it lasted as long as it did."

Lorelai's eyes fell to the floor and she sighed. She didn't even think to make him blush by flipping his words to a dirty place. "You know what I mean," she insisted.

"No, I don't. Not when you say crazy stuff like that, I don't." He pointed at the table. "Now eat before everything gets cold."

She glanced at the food then regarded him again. "So, you didn't tell Nicole?" she asked quietly. He'd already said as much.

He shook his head. "No reason to. Eat your breakfast."

She rocked on her foot and kept her eyes on him. Her fingers skimmed along the chair nervously. "Guess I brought all her fears to life, huh? Everything she hoped wouldn't happen, I made it happen." She tried to keep her tone light, but her true discomfort with that was obvious.

He sighed. "Don't worry about that okay? You didn't do anything wrong."

She shrugged and stood up straight. Her eyes were piercing. "I wish I could tell you why I did it, you know? It's not exactly true to form. At least I hope it's not."

"Lorelai--"

"Kissing another girl's guy. Definitely not something you look back on with smiles when reviewing the ole life story, huh?"

He rolled his eyes in a resigned way. "Lorelai, listen, there's something--"

"Wait," she whispered. She rolled her eyes and appeared resigned herself. She approached him and closed the distance completely. Without warning, she pressed her lips onto his. Her kiss was firm. She pulled away and breathed a soft jagged breath when she felt him kiss her back. She leaned back in and linked her arms behind his neck. Luke's hands rested on her sides and slowly, he came to hug her waist. Lips parted effortlessly. Tongues touched and moved. Explored in a rushed then slower rhythm before Luke pulled away.

Lorelai—eyes still closed, tingling still very much in effect—pulled his lips back to hers. They kissed deeper and took that form of intimacy to its peak.

The next separation was mutual. Lorelai's rear-end hit the table, and she fought like crazy to avoid leaning back and using that flat surface for something it wasn't exactly intended for. Before she regained her head from the kisses, Luke's mouth went to her throat, and she moaned.

Her mind flashed images of Nicole, and she pushed them away, swallowing hard at Luke's suction on her neck.

"I was…here f-first," she whispered.

"Hm?" He hardly cared what she said as long as it wasn't 'get off me'.

More images.

"My god, Luke." Her head spun, and she trusted Luke to keep her from hitting the floor. "Oh my god." She pushed him…then pulled him. "Luke." She thought of Nicole again and pushed him harder. "I'm sorry."

He backed away but his hands moved up and down her sides. It took a moment for his brain to start working again. "S-sorry?" whispered breathlessly.

Her hands slid down his arms and laid on top of his hands, keeping them still. "We can't do this. I can't do this," she said shaking her head furiously. "This is--" Her mind was relentless. "Oh man! This is so wrong. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeated about ten times. She peeled his fingers away and moved back, nearly falling over the chair in the process. "We have to stop. You have to go."

He shook his head. "Wait, let's--" He stepped toward her, but she moved.

"Luke…I'm losing sight of everything I stand for right now. Please don't make it worse." She looked pained. "I'm so sorry."

His frustration came fast, and his resolve left with the same speed. "Jeez, Nicole and I aren't together, Lorelai!" Blood rushed to his face, and it was obvious he'd said something he hadn't really intended to. He watched Lorelai's confused expression turn to shock. He cursed himself and went on in a quiet voice. "I ended it…like a month ago."

Her jaw all but hit the floor. "A month ago?!"

He nodded and watched to see how she would take that news. "It was, um, the night after you found out about…you know."

One day, two days, three days…thirty days whizzed through Lorelai's head. Thirty days that she spent avoiding him so that he could make it work with his damn girlfriend. Her shock transformed to horror. "Why wouldn't you tell me that? Why the hell have we been going through all this, Luke, if Nicole isn't even in the picture?!"

He inched forward cautiously, and she took a gigantic step back. Okay, bad move. He stopped.

He spoke like a hostage negotiator. "Listen, I have an explanation for this, okay?" He wasn't sure if it was a good one or not, though. Of course it'd seem worse since they'd gone and upgraded the relationship to making out and whatnot. He paused and his eyes darted off as his mind went blank. "Um…just give me a second to think what it is."

Lorelai grew angry. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you'd broken up with her." Flashbacks. "God, especially after last night! Do you have any idea how horrible I felt about that?"

"I know. And I'm sorry. See, it's--"

She shook her head. "Get out."

He paused. "What?"

"You heard me, Luke. I said get out. Now. I am beyond pissed, and I just think you need to leave."

He rolled his eyes. "Wait, I don't think that's--"

"Luke! Door. Bye."

He scoffed and backed away with his hands up. "Fine. Whatever. I'll see you."

She crossed her arms tightly as he walked off. Her eyes went to the table where he'd placed her breakfast, and the childish side of her wanted to yell for him to take his dumb food and coffee along with him. But she hushed that part of her with urgency. The overwhelming smell of that breakfast made it even more obvious that it deserved to stay.

She stamped her foot when she heard the door open and close. "Damn it!" The heels of two trembling hands went to her eyes, and she moved from side-to-side restlessly. Fury rolled through her to the point she felt like breaking something.

Thirty days.

Thirty. Days.

She screamed at Luke in her head. For a month, he'd kept a secret that could have turned her life right-side up. All this time she could have been back in the diner. Back to enjoying…

She stopped the jittery bouncing and felt the subsiding of welcomed anger. She thought of the next part to scream at Luke in her head as she tried to count out all that she'd given up at her sacrifice. Other than the diner, itself, she drew a blank. She was fully prepared to go inwardly ballistic on Luke, and that blank, unfortunately, made anger turn to befuddlement.

What had she given up? If anything, she'd gained…

She put an end to that thought and tried to summon the anger back.

Luke should have told her about his break-up. Period.

She knew she was justified in telling him to leave. She told herself she was justified. She dropped her hands from her eyes and looked around. Her eyes went back to the food again. She looked away. She wanted to cry at how fast the anger in her stabilized. She fought to hold on to it, to grasp it, but it was gone too quickly. Almost as quickly as it had come.

Again, she stamped her foot.

She wiped moisture from her eyes and hurried across the floor. "Luke," she whispered. Her fast walk turned to a jog as she left the kitchen. She dashed toward the foyer, prepared to really pick up speed once the door was open. She yelled this time. "Lu--"

The rest faded out when she made it around the corner and saw Luke leaning against the front door.

She froze mid-run, and they stared at one another for a long while. Luke was the first to speak.

"Um, didn't really think this through. But I figured there was a small chance that you wouldn't see me here and want to hit me with a frying pan."

It took a moment, but she finally cracked a smile. "I wouldn't have hit you with a frying pan," she admitted quietly. She pointed back. "Kitchen's too far. I would've just gone for a framed picture or some kind of decorative glass."

He smiled and moved away from the door a little. He noticed her expression was nothing like the one he had left in the kitchen only a minute ago. "Are you feeling violent?" he asked in jest.

She shrugged. "Not yet."

"Oh boy." Her smile widened. "Think you can hold off while I explain?" he asked.

She stared into his eyes and watched him inch closer to her. Whatever barriers of hers remained fell like dominos when he got close enough to radiate body heat. As if he knew this new effect he had on her, he leaned forward and placed the lightest kiss next to her mouth. Then, on her mouth.

Lorelai pushed him back with a shutter. She peeled her eyes open. "Explain, Luke," she said. She backed against the nearest wall and prepared herself to listen. "This better be so good," she warned.

He took a deep breath. Again, he wasn't sure it would be good, but it would be the truth.

"Okay, here it is. I cared about Nicole." He didn't want to lie by acting like he felt nothing for her when all was said and done. He went on. "But when it came down to it, if keeping that relationship together meant breaking this one up…" He gestured between his body and hers. "Then, it was a no brainer for me. And I know the first choice I made kind of went against that, but it honestly didn't become clear until…it became clear. Hope that makes sense."

He didn't bother explaining Nicole's reaction. He'd told her about his change of heart, and she refused to accept it. After all, he'd made the choice to stay away from Lorelai. Nicole felt she was perfectly within her rights to make him follow through with that decision. Unfortunately, it backfired majorly for her.

Luke continued. "I didn't really mean to keep the break-up a secret. It just kinda happened. The reason I didn't tell you was because…I don't know…I guess I just didn't want you to think I'd given something up just to get you back to the diner. All it would have done is make you feel bad, and I didn't want that. As much as I wanted you back, I didn't want it to happen that way. I wanted you to come back on your own, not because of some stupid technicality."

Lorelai watched his eyes, looking for signs of dishonesty that she knew she'd never find.

"And just so you know," he added. "All this—the food and me bugging you all the time and showing up at the inn—it would have happened anyway. Whether I was with Nicole or not, I don't care. It would have happened." He flushed a bit. "And it's not because of the stuff that just happened either. I mean it would have happened with us as friends."

She was thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, forget why you didn't tell me this past month. Why didn't you tell me last night when things got…" Her words faded. "Why didn't you tell me then?"

He snapped. "Well, as soon as it was over, the first thing you told me was not to tell Nicole! What the hell was I supposed to say to that? 'Oh, don't worry about her, Lorelai. She's out of the picture. Has been for a month. What do you say we continue this discussion on the couch!'?" She smiled at Luke's ridiculous impression of himself, which sounded like nothing he'd ever say. He didn't find humor in it, though. "To me, you sounded terrified that something may actually clear the path for something more to happen between us. All I did was help you keep your little road blocks up."

She took offense to that, but it wasn't clear in the sound of her voice. She spoke in a gentle timbre. "I wasn't scared, Luke. Not of us. I was scared that I had messed up something for you, though. I didn't want my actions to ruin your relationship."

"Our actions," he corrected.

She shook her head lightly. "My actions." Her eyes dropped to his chest. "I kissed you, remember?"

"Why'd you do that anyway?"

Her eyes went back to his, and she locked and unlocked her legs repeatedly, creating sort of a fast, subtle bounce. "I don't know. You were just standing there and…" Her words drifted into thoughts, and finally, she shrugged. "I just really wanted to," she ended shyly.

"To hell with girlfriends, huh?" he teased.

She stopped bouncing. "Please don't bring that up anymore. It's not my proudest moment."

"The moment didn't exist. I was single, remember?"

"I didn't know that."

"Well, you know it now. Besides, it can't all be your fault. I was probably giving off some kind of single man vibes that you picked up on." He grinned.

She rolled her eyes. "You weren't giving off vibes. You're Luke. You were acting like Luke."

"Gee, thanks."

Lorelai couldn't help but smile. "I wouldn't spit at that if I were you."

He smiled again. "Oh, yeah?" He moved closer to her, and what was left of her smile went away. Her breathing came through his ears, and he felt secure in asking, "So, was my explanation good enough? Are you still contemplating assault?"

It took her a moment to answer. "I can, um, say in complete confidence that that is the very last thing I want to do to you right now."

"Mind if I take a stab at the first?" he whispered. He kissed her softly on the lips and smiled. He did it again, unable to get over her obvious desire. He pulled away once more and heard Lorelai breathe his name in irritation. She brought his lips back to hers and pressed herself to his body, letting him know she planned to keep him there.

They kissed with intensity for long seconds, and then followed it with a slower, deeper, much longer session.

Lorelai moaned with such satisfaction when Luke's eager mouth went to her jaw, below her ear, then to her neck. It jostled her thoughts, and she had no clue how any individual one managed to squeeze its way out. "This…should…feel…way weirder than…this, right?"

He half whispered and half breathed the words out before he was pulling skin between his lips. "Feels great."

She swallowed. "Too great," she breathed. "Friends. Years. And now. So not weird…why not weird?"

"Too much talking."

Breathing. Kissing. More breathing. Luke took a step back when Lorelai pushed him away, but his lips stayed on hers. She stepped around the wall and walked backward, pulling him forward. Luke realized what destination she had in mind after a few seconds of movement. He broke the kiss. "Right now?" he whispered.

She pressed her lips to his neck and pulled back. "Is that a problem?"

He swallowed and looked up the stairs. "No, no problem. Just timing. Kinda early. Day hasn't even started yet."

"So?" She stood on her toes and attached her lips back to his. They kissed passionately before they parted for air.

Luke's head felt light. "Um…I suppose the day can wait," he re-evaluated.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Good. 'Cause I can't," she said against his mouth.

Luke lifted his eyebrows at her in surprise. He wrapped her waist tight and wasted no time getting them both upstairs.

---

Lorelai stepped out of the bathroom while tying a large beige towel around her waist.

She entered the bedroom to find Luke flat on the bed in just his jeans. He was looking at the ceiling with his hands resting under his head but looked over at her as she came in. He grunted a little and dropped his hands to her waist when she hopped on top of him.

A corner of his mouth quirked up as he felt her bury her face in his neck. He'd showered just before she did and already, her soap—one he'd never used before—had languished under the natural scent of his skin. Lorelai breathed deeply for several seconds.

He closed his eyes and regulated his own breathing. "You feel that?" he asked huskily.

Her legs went to the outside of his, and she pulled herself up while straddling him. The towel fell. "How can I not feel this?" she asked with an evil glint as she rocked her hips on top of him.

He avoided looking at her chest. "That wasn't an invitation to make it worse, Lorelai," he said. "I was about to tell you to ease up."

Her smile only grew as she continued. "Reason?" she asked sexily.

He moaned, and she chuckled. With irritation, he stilled her motions, then pointed to the clock on the nightstand. "Is that reason enough for you?"

She froze as she took in the time. "Oh, yeah." With a sigh and a quick kiss to his chest, she climbed off him. "Sorry, Hon. We've gotta get a move on here."

"That's what I was trying to get you to see," he mumbled as he sat up. He sighed as he noticed the situation in his jeans. Lorelai giggled and ran to her closet to dress. While steering his mind to something a lot less sexual, Luke swung his legs to the floor and started putting his boots back on. "Caesar is probably going berserk right now wondering where I am," he mentioned.

Lorelai slipped into a bra and panties. "Yeah, and I'm sure Sookie isn't doing any better. And everybody knows that Sookie's berserk is the grandest of them all."

"Can't argue that."

"Hey, you want to meet up for lunch later?" she asked casually as she pulled on a skirt and zipped it up on the side.

Luke tied his boots. "Yeah, that sounds good. Diner, right?"

She frowned in thought. "Hm. Guess I can come back now, can't I?"

"Well, I've been saying that for a month."

Lorelai turned and rested a hand on the door of her closet. "Seems weird, though. It's been so long that I'm not sure how accepting the diner will be. Do you think we should warm it up to me? Maybe start with a nice sit-down at the ice cream shop….you know, kinda peek at it through the connecting glass so we don't frighten it?"

He didn't even look up. He just continued to pull at his laces. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. For your sake, that better be the case." He finally finished and stood up, displaying his bare chest. "Because I'm cutting you off. No more door service."

She gasped and finally took her eyes from his body to his face. "Oh my god! What is this? Do you think now that we've had sex, you can just treat me like dirt?"

He rolled his eyes and shrugged his undershirt over his head. "Inviting you back in my diner isn't treating you like dirt. And there's no reason for you not to come back in. Nicole is long gone; you know that now."

She twirled back to the closet with a pout. "I liked you coming to see me, though."

He smiled and picked up his flannel. "I liked it, too," he admitted.

She continued. "It made me feel like royalty being pampered by my servant." She could almost feel his new glare on the side of her face. "I think I was starting to feel closer to my mom." She looked at him. "Do you want to be the one to mess that up for me?"

He made the choice to ignore her. "I'll ease you in good, how's that? I'll give you extra refills, make sure everybody keeps a comfortable distance, and anything you want is on the house."

She chuckled. "You must really want me back."

"I do," he said sincerely.

"Consider it done." She winked. "See you for lunch."

"Wow. Feels weird to actually succeed. All it took was a month of begging."

"I like to see you sweat a little bit. S'kinda sexy."

His eyes raked down her body as he fastened his buttons. "I've got a much better view of sexy. So, that being said, hurry up and finish dressing before we never get out of here."

Lorelai grinned and went overboard to accentuate her body parts. In her mind, she achieved the goofiness she was going for. She underestimated Luke's attraction to her, and therefore remained absurdly clueless to how close she came to having her clothes ripped off right at the closet door.

Luke, the embodiment of self-control, merely looked away with an eye roll. Lorelai laughed and leaned low in search of shoes.

"Hey, I hope you don't think you're going to get away without answering my question from last night," she called over.

"What question?"

She pulled out a pair of grey pumps and looked them over. She held them by her outfit and looked at Luke for confirmation. He looked wide-eyed at the shoes before meeting her eyes with a bemused expression. She sighed and bent her leg so that she could slip the first shoe on. "Leave it to me to fall for a guy who's completely useless in the fashion department."

He shrugged. "You made your bed."

She smiled wryly as she balanced herself on one leg. "That, I did. But don't expect for me to do much sleeping in it." Luke met her gaze and blushed at her wink.

"Where the hell is my belt?" He conveniently distracted himself.

She pointed. "Side of the nightstand."

"Oh."

"So, anyway, what was the reason you chose to do what you did? What made you turn your back on me?"

"Exactly how long are you going to hold this over me anyway?" he asked exhaustedly.

She laughed. "I don't plan to, don't worry. I'm over it."

"Good," he said in relief.

"But I still need that answered," she said quickly.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course you do."

Her smile faded a bit as she spoke his ex's name. "I know you were crazy about Nicole and everything, but I know she wasn't what made you do it. You're way too stubborn to give in to something like that. Even if it was Taylor instead of me, you would have held your ground."

He sighed. "Leave it to me to fall for a girl who likes to analyze every-damn-thing."

Lorelai's smile reappeared and spread wide. "Guess you made your bed, too."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he responded simply. Lorelai found herself locked in his serious gaze. He held his hand out to her. "Come here," he said with a soft kind of authority. Lorelai floated over and almost wanted to laugh when she found herself in front of him, no questions asked. What exactly was he doing to her?

He touched her cheek and then let his hand fall. "I was curious to see how you would react," he confessed quietly. He paused to see if she wanted to say something, but all she did was blink receptively. He went on. "I've wanted this for a long time. And I was committed to Nicole, don't get me wrong, but when she came along, it sometimes…seemed like you felt a certain way about me. I guess I used this as an excuse to push you…get a reaction, I'm not really sure."

"So, this was some kind of game intended for clarity?"

He cringed at the break down. "I wish you wouldn't call it a game because I didn't see it like that. But…in some sick, twisted, very subconscious way, I guess it was kinda along those lines."

There was silence for a moment, but Lorelai didn't move an inch. "Wow, Luke, that's really quite despicable," she replied evenly.

He nodded and looked down. "If you think it's that to you, you should step inside my head for a sec. Think I hear mumblings of castration."

Her eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait! Let's not get carried away here." She pointed at his noggin. "Do I need to go in there?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, you stay out of my head. You have too much control over my thoughts as it is."

She pulled his face gently to hers where she kissed him.

Luke parted with confusion. "You mean you're not mad?"

She shook her head. "Little shocked, but not really even that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've had a month to think this through, Luke. And to be honest, that kind of popped up in my mulling process." She shrugged. "But it didn't stay long. I figured that was beneath you and moved on from it." He appeared insulted, but Lorelai only smiled. "But," she went on to say, "It does make me feel better because apparently I'm capable of throwing morals out the window too when it comes to you." Her smile broadened. "You just made me feel a lot better about myself."

He frowned. "Glad I could help," he said dryly.

"Don't beat yourself up. We ended up here, didn't we? Besides, you backed out before you could see if it would have worked, so it doesn't count."

He remembered her face in his apartment on that day. And he felt the pain that hadn't yet died from that. "It'll always count, Lorelai, and I'll always feel bad about that. I'm really sorry."

Using his flannel, Lorelai shook him lightly in an attempt to erase the serious look on his face. "Hey, enough of that," she stated. "Stop getting so serious on me!" She stopped shaking him when the look was replaced with annoyance at the, now, crazed yanking. She smiled. "Thank you. Now, could I trouble you for a kiss?"

His expression softened, and his lips were on hers before she could blink.

They made an effort not to take it too far. Pulling away shortly after, Lorelai squeezed Luke's bottom. "We have to get going, Babe."

"Right." Another peck and they hurried off in opposite directions. "Hat?" Luke called after her.

"Foot of the bed," she said without looking.

"Got it. Thanks."

Luke waited for her to apply her makeup, and then they met by the bedroom door where he ushered her out. They both hurried down the stairs. On the way to the door, Lorelai skidded to a stop, making Luke crash into her.

"Jeez, what the--!"

"Sorry," she said with laughter. She changed direction and rushed toward the kitchen. "But I forgot about my breakfast. It's probably ice cold by now, too. Damn it. And my coffee! Oh, my precious coffee," she whined.

Luke followed her with impatient breaths. "You can take it with you and warm it up at the inn, can't you?"

"Exactly what I plan to do," she replied as she placed everything back in the bag. She spoke to the food. "I'm sorry I had to leave you to go have sex." Luke rolled his eyes as his patience continued to thin. "But if it's any consolation…" She grinned. "It was so worth it." She picked up the coffee cup. "I still love you, though." She kissed it.

"Lorelai!"

She rolled her eyes unaffectedly and hurried past him. This time she spoke aloud to no one. "You know, usually people are mellow once they get laid, but not Luke," she mumbled.

"We're both running too late right now to be mellow," he barked.

"My gosh. We're already acting like an old married couple. Running out of the house late as ever bickering over who forgot to set the alarm clock last night." She made it to the door and just as she reached for the knob, a yelp passed her lips as she was swung around by her waist.

Luke pulled her against his body and covered her lips with his. He pushed his tongue past her lips, and her breathing turned ragged before she caught up and kissed him back fervently. When it started to get a little too passionate, a little too slow and deep, Luke pulled away. Both their hearts pounded frantically as air made its way back to their lungs.

"Bickering or no bickering, let's not remember what made us late," Luke breathed out.

"Nice reminder," she said thickly.

"Thanks."

"I didn't need that in order to remember, though. But thanks for messing up my makeup and making it hard to remember how to open the damn door." She fumbled for a moment while Luke chuckled behind her. She pointed at him in warning. "Don't you dare laugh, or I'll see to it that we don't make it out of here at all today."

He stopped abruptly.

She got the door open and left out with Luke behind her. She mumbled to him how she planned to make him pay when she found that her legs were embarrassingly wobbly as she descended the porch steps.

"Never thought I'd say something like this, but I look forward to your revenge," he replied.

She shook her head and walked toward her jeep. "You say that now. I doubt you'll be that cocky when you're watching your manhood drain away, and you're singing soprano," she threatened with a smirk he couldn't see.

He looked down and smiled slightly while entertaining all kinds of scenarios. "Man," he said quietly. "Then, I uh, really look forward to your revenge," he revealed.

She laughed. "So, I have a masochist on my hands, do I?" she teased.

He shrugged and headed toward his truck parked behind her jeep. "All I can say is bring all you got." He smiled at her laughter. "Tonight?"

She opened her door and looked over at him. "Still on for lunch, right?"

"Of course."

"Okay. First lunch, then…" She winked. "Definitely tonight."

He threw her a wink back and produced a smitten smile. "See ya," he said. He opened his door and climbed in.

"Hey, Luke?" she called.

He put one foot back on the ground and looked over his door at her. "Yeah?"

She took a deep breath. "Just so you know, I'm sure it would have worked."

He squinted. "What would have worked?"

She smiled. Strange relief flooded her when he didn't get her meaning. "I'll see you for lunch." She climbed in her jeep and closed the door.

Luke stood there for a moment in confusion. Lorelai cranked her car up, and when he saw her brake lights come on, he got inside his truck and started it so that she could get out. His brow remained creased at her words. "What would have worked?" he repeated quietly to himself. Words and sentences zoomed across his memory as he recalled earlier conversations. His movements in the truck appeared calculated as he searched for something he was obviously missing.

He ran through his explanation to her. Her words came fast, like they were strapped directly to the memory to alleviate any self-inflicted torture.

'…You backed out before you could see if it would have worked, so it doesn't count.'

Realization set in a few moments later, and even he had to laugh at how slow he was in getting that light bulb to click on. He responded to Lorelai like she was there. "Well, whaddya know?"

His heart jumped in his chest when Lorelai laid on her horn. He looked up and saw her laughing at him in her rearview.

He wondered if she knew that he'd figured it out. Knowing her, he was sure she did.

He glared at her through his windshield, and she kissed her hand and blew him a kiss, which he knew was only meant to make it worse. He shook his head. He released the brake quickly and turned in his seat to back out so she wouldn't see his lips curl. "Guess I better get used to smiling like an idiot," he grumbled.

-The End-

I hope you all enjoyed that. :) Was this sad for anyone? I read over it when I finished and realized it may be. I didn't intend for that to happen, though. One thing I hope you all aren't walking away with is ill feelings toward Luke. I'd never want that to happen. I know what he did isn't exactly laudable. But it's still Luke, and he'll always come through in the end. Review and let me know what you think. Thanks!!!