This fic was for the Bubbleficathon over at LiveJournal.
For: kissmecassie
Pairing: L/L of course
Object: those foam numbers/letters that stick to tile walls and that little kids can play in the tub with.
Rating: PG
Summary: He tried to put it out of his mind, the things they might have lost out on, and he was always grateful to walk in the house, exhausted from a day on his feet, and have Lorelai greet him at the door, offer him tea or a massage, or both.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Which is really a pity.
More Than You Wanted
"Was that as bad as you thought?" Luke asked as they came in the house. He gave her a hug, rubbing her shoulders as she leaned in for a kiss.
"Yes and no. I can't be jealous of Sookie. She's such a wonderful mom. But I just had that ache in my stomach, you know? We can't have that." She frowned.
She and Luke had talked and talked about having a child for months, until only a couple months earlier they had found out Lorelai wasn't able to. It broke her heart even more knowing Luke would never have a child. With Rory, who at 23 needed very little supervision, he was the perfect dad. And while she would have been the luckiest woman in the world to have a kid with Luke, she had gotten used to it being just the two of them.
"Let's get you upstairs." Luke coaxed Lorelai out of her jacket and upstairs to start a bubblebath. He'd often found Lorelai in that tub when he came home from the diner. Though he rarely joined her, he would take a seat or stretch out on the bathmat and watch her. She'd laugh about a story he told or about something Sookie had done. Later, she'd twirl the ring on her finger, letting the diamond glisten wet from the water. Luke had listened to her worry about Rory, who was spending a year abroad. And she'd practically pulled him into the tub when he brought home two tickets to Paris. She'd told him she wanted to elope in that bathroom and broke down in it when yet another pregnancy test had come out negative.
As Lorelai sat in her robe as the tub filled, the room bathed in a vanilla scent, Luke noticed something new in the closet. "What are these?" He held up the package.
Lorelai actually smiled. "I'd forgotten all about those. They're letters you can play with in the tub, like they stick to the tile."
"Were they Rory's?" They'd never been opened.
"No, I bought them a few months ago. For Davy. Or for--" She shook her head and Luke realized who she had bought them for.
"Oh Lorelai," he breathed. "Don't cry." Too late. Luke turned off the water in the bath and gathered Lorelai in his arms, her robe falling open as he carried her to the tub. He slid her robe slowly off her shoulders, kissing the hollow in her neck and wiping away her tears. "I love you."
Lorelai nodded as she slid into the bath, her breath hitching as her body met the hot water. She reached for Luke's hand. "I love you too." As she relaxed, Luke started to play with the letters. "Uke and Orelai?" She questioned, laughing slightly.
"There was only one L," he looked up bashfully, knocking the letters aside.
"I wish--" Lorelai broke off, her face serious again.
"What? Please tell me."
Her eyes glistened as they met his. "I wish you—I wish this had happened earlier so Rory could have grown up with a dad."
Luke felt a lump rise in his throat. "God Lorelai," he breathed. "That's the sweetest—I wish I could have too. Thank you." He kissed her softly for a long time, his hand running through her wet hair. "You did a beautiful job with Rory though. I only hope our kids would have been like her."
Lorelai smiled. "She was a little devil when she was younger." She caught Luke's glance and put her hand on his cheek. "You're still okay with all this? We can adopt or--"
"No, I told you, its fine. I never even thought about having kids until I met you. You made it seem so easy, and Rory never despised you." Lorelai smiled sadly. "But I don't feel like I'm missing anything," he reassured her. "Being with you is more than I could ask for. I love the way things are." Luke sighed, not really sure he'd said all those things. He must be going soft as he got older.
"Luke, I—thank you. I love the way things are too." She stroked his arm, her fingers moist from the water.
"Good."
He tried to put it out of his mind, the things they might have lost out on, and he was always grateful to walk in the house, exhausted from a day on his feet, and have Lorelai greet him at the door, offer him tea or a massage, or both. Sometimes he felt that little tug in his gut: when he saw a couple come in with a baby in a stroller, on the rare occasions he went shopping with Lorelai and he saw her glance in the windows of the Baby Gap.
But eventually they had Gabby to fill in that void. As they celebrated their ten-year anniversary, Rory had announced that she was pregnant and that she was moving back to Stars Hollow. So now whenever Lorelai visited Luke at the diner, Gabrielle was in tow, her blue eyes and dark curly hair exactly like her grandmother and her laugh so much like her mother's. Luke would lift her over the counter, giving her a kiss on the nose, their special greeting. And he realized he hadn't missed out after all: he had gotten everything he had always wanted and more.