Moments
Authors Note: A new fic how very exciting. I was watching A Tisket A Tasket the other day and I was wishing like I do every time I see it that there was a little more Luke and Lorelai and a little less Rory/Jess saga. So that is how this particular fic was born. I could probably end it here, but I figure since I am done with All That's Left I might as well make this fic into an ongoing thing. I think at this point every episode has had its fair share of fics that surround it so I know this isn't anything ground breaking but please review, and let me know what you think.
Premise: A lovely little Luke and Lorelai story that starts right after Dean Interrupts the pair eating in the gazebo in A Tisket A Tasket and goes from there….
Chapter 1 "Coyote and The Road Runner"
After Lorelai had finished hearing from Dean about the dangers of Jess she quickly made her way back over to where the buyer of her basket was waiting.
"So what was that about?" Luke asked as Lorelai sat back down next to him.
"Nothing worth repeating…" Lorelai said as she popped a fry in her mouth.
"Are you sure?" Luke asked. "Dean looked pretty intense."
"So, you were saying this is nice." Lorelai said trying to change the subject off of anything Rory, Dean, and Jess related. She wasn't going to let some weird teenage love triangle ruin her perfectly nice day. Lorelai found it interesting that it was Luke of all people that she was having such a nice time with, but she quickly put the thought into the back of her mind as Luke began talking.
"Was not," Luke quickly replied.
"Yeah you were. You said it. I heard it. Just because Dean came and interrupted doesn't change the fact that you just said it was nice." Lorelai countered.
"I thought that is exactly what it meant. Dean interrupted the moment hence no more moment." Luke concluded.
"So you thought you and I were having a moment?" Lorelai asked and couldn't help but shoot a smile at him.
"No, not like that, not like a moment moment. Just like a moment as in a moment of time, not like a special Luke and Lorelai moment." Luke stumbled nervously.
"So we have had special Luke and Lorelai moments before?" Lorelai asked teasingly. God it was easy to bait him.
"Oh jeez," was Luke's only reply.
"Nothing better than watching a flustered Luke Danes," Lorelai said with a laugh. For some reason Lorelai couldn't seem to stop smiling at him. He was so cute when he was flustered.
"Oh come on Lorelai you know…" Luke said still trying to get himself out of whatever scary path he was heading down.
Luke just didn't think now was the right time to admit to her, well anything. For starters, any admission he had should not be shared with her when they were both eating food off of their own laps. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't even sure what he would be admitting. Would he admit that they had special moments, or that he liked them, or that he lo—liked her ? No way, he wasn't that stupid. If he knew one thing, he knew Lorelai. If he actually said any of those things out loud she would be out of there faster then he could say Road Runner.
"Would it be so bad…" Lorelai started to say. Her head still lost in the romantic notion of basket making.
"What?" Luke asked.
"To have a moment, it's not a big deal." Lorelai wondered absently.
"So you think we have moments…" Luke began cautiously. Maybe Lorelai wouldn't pull a Road Runner after all.
"That is not what I said…" Lorelai tried to back track.
The romantic basket daze lifted as she realized what she and Luke were delving into. Whatever that weird sparky thing she constantly felt with Luke was she knew it was better if they didn't talk about it. It was better if she didn't think about it. It was better if she didn't ruin one of the best friendships she had ever had.
"Right, okay." Luke quickly said. No, he was right. If he said anything about his feelings towards her he would be the preverbal coyote. Always getting hit in the head by acme brand anvils and never actually catching up to that stupid bird.
Lorelai was getting increasingly uncomfortable about the hole she was digging for herself. So in typical Lorelai fashion she decided on a quick subject change.
"So I have been thinking…" Lorelai began excitedly.
"That's always dangerous…." Luke quipped.
"Hey! I resent that. Anyway, I was thinking about proposing a deal to you." Lorelai continued.
"Proposing, why Lorelai this is so sudden." Luke said in his gravely sarcastic tone.
"I didn't say proposing marriage, silly. I said a deal." Lorelai quickly corrected.
"And what deal is that." Luke asked slightly intrigued.
"I eat one of the carrots you have over there, and you give me free coffee for the rest of my life." Lorelai smiled. She was extremely proud of her idea.
"You are one funny lady." Luke deadpanned.
"I will have you know I am completely serious." Lorelai returned.
"You really think that I am so concerned about whether or not you eat a carrot that I will give you free coffee for life?" Luke wondered.
"Yes I do." Lorelai confirmed with a shake of her head.
"Well keep dreaming there kid." Luke laughed.
"I don't think you understand I would eat the whole thing. Swallow it and everything." Lorelai explained.
"Lorelai, I have seen you eat vegetables before. Not as much as I see you eat horrible things that will lead to your untimely death but still…"
"So you are saying me eating a carrot would not be a big enough sacrifice…" Lorelai concluded.
"Well, not exactly my point." Luke stated.
"Fine, you drive a hard bargain mister. I will eat two carrots. You can't say no to me eating two carrots." Lorelai said with an overly exasperated tone.
"Lorelai, you do realize I give you most of your coffee for free as it is." Luke said becoming slightly agitated.
"Yes, but how can I ensure that will continue for my whole life if I don't form some kind of binding agreement." Lorelai cajoled.
"So you are willing to eat carrots for something you already get. I don't understand." Luke said. He took his baseball cap off and then put it quickly back on. Fiddling with his cap was some how soothing him as Lorelai and her craziness upped his level of frustration.
"It was just a thought. Fine, you win. I get coffee free for the rest of my life and I don't eat the carrots." Lorelai said with a satisfied smile.
"Its times like these where I am faced with a dilemma. Do I A, let it go and agree with whatever crazy thing you just said. Or do I B, get so frustrated with you that some of that cartoon steam begins to actually explode out of my ears." Luke began to rant.
"Well I have to say that option A sounds better for the both of us." Lorelai pretended to contemplate.
"Option A it is." Luke quickly agreed. Not wanting to ruin the perfectly nice time they were having. There was that word again, nice.
"So I have a question. If you have seen me eat healthy before why do you give me such a hard time?" Lorelai wondered.
"Because I care about…." Luke started, and as the words slipped out of his mouth he immediately tried to erase them. With a stumble, he finished his sentence with, "About all the innocent animals you consume."
Luke knew how lame it sounded. He owned a diner full of various meat products. How concerned could he really be about the animals? But, he has just mentally told himself admitting any type of Lorelai related feelings was a mistake. So he went with the animals.
"The animals, really," Lorelai wasn't buying it. "The poor defenseless animals, huh, Luke suddenly a PETA spokesman are you?"
Lorelai wasn't an idiot. She knew he was about to say that he cared about her. Or at least she was pretty sure that what he had started to say. She didn't know if she was disappointed or relieved that he hadn't. She supposed the word care was not that big of a deal. She cared about whether or not Carrie and Big were ever going to get back together on Sex and the City. That was just a TV show, care didn't necessarily mean much. But she also cared about Rory, and that care meant love.
"Well, I should probably be getting back to the diner. " Luke said quickly. He felt the overwhelming urge to flee before he made a complete fool out of himself.
The sound of Luke's voice snapped Lorelai out of her thoughts on the various meanings of the word care.
"Oh okay." Lorelai said not able to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
Whatever that weirdness was about she didn't want him to leave. It was a rare opportunity that she and Luke got to be alone together. Lorelai began to wonder if maybe that's what all this was about. They didn't know how to be alone together without having some kind of well weird moment type situation.
Luke quickly squeezed Lorelai's leg and got up.
"This was nice." Luke admitted. "We should do it again sometime." And the hits just kept on coming… Luke immediately chastised himself. Why did things just keep flying out of his mouth? It must be the fresh air. It was Luke's only explanation for saying the completely inappropriate things he kept saying.
"Eat in the gazebo? Talk about your love of animals? Maybe a different cause next time, you could go all Abby Hoffman and try and change the world. That is until the CIA busts you for drugs, and you are forced to leave your wife and kid and go into hiding. Start a new life, and rename yourself Barry." Lorelai nervously rambled.
Lorelai began to feel a little faint. A million questions ran through her head. Had Luke just asked her out on a date? When did something in her stomach start doing insane incessant back flips? Did she just make an Abby Hoffman reference?
"Yes, that is exactly what I meant." Luke quickly replied before he practically ran off to the diner. Luke's mind was racing. Had he just kind of sort of asked Lorelai out? And then did he proceed to run away as she rambled about 60s radicals? What in the hell was wrong with him?
After Luke was out of ear shot Lorelai spoke, "Okay, that is so not what he meant."
But if that wasn't what he meant, what exactly did he mean? The thought made Lorelai both extremely nervous and uncontrollably excited. Luke wanted to do this again sometime and he possibly cared about her. Or Lorelai was freaking out and Luke really was a lover of all animals, and he just really liked eating on a bench… Lorelai wasn't sure which explanation was scarier.
Well, whatever has just happened Lorelai knew one thing for sure. Whatever that weird sparky thing between Luke and Lorelai was it didn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
