A/N: I've been watching a bunch of Christmas movies this week and this idea just came to me from stealing loads of different scenes from that movie. Fluff. Maybe Smutty. Definitely fluffy.
This is an A/U kind of fic where Lorelai runs the Dragonfly inn, but its in a more remote location than usual. Luke has the diner but he is literally after setting it up, shortly after his dad's death.
Luke stopped at the junction and looked both ways. The wipers on his truck were doing their best to keep the snow off the window, but it was coming down heavier than they could cope. He grabbed the map from the passenger seat and tried to find the best route home, but that detour he encountered 10 miles ago was proving to be more than a minor inconvenience.
Guessing it would be better to move towards his original direction, Luke took the right turn and followed a winding mountainous road to another junction. He could not make out any of the signage and the map he was reading was useless, so he gambled on a left turn. The radio returned only static and the snow was getting heavier. Luke looked into the back seat to see his fishing tackle box and a woolen blanket. He knew there was a gallon of water in the trunk but it didn't stop a wrinkle of worry tingling up his spine.
By the time darkness had fallen, he hadn't passed another car in over an hour. Luke had all but resigned himself to parking up and sleeping in his truck when he spotted a light in the distance. He gripped the wheel a little tighter and kept one eye on the road and the other on his destination. On the side of the road he saw a large entrance, lit up with solar powered spotlights, highlighting a sign that read "The Dragonfly Inn".
"An inn." He turned on his signal light, though wondered if anyone would even be able to see the blinking light in this blizzard, then pulled across the road and up the driveway. Small torches in the ground lit the way and soon he parked in a spot by the door. Luke killed the engine then sat back in his seat and let out a tight breath between clenched teeth. He didn't want to admit to himself how worried he was about being caught in that blizzard. But now under the soft porch light of the Dragonfly Inn he was able to relax a little. He pulled his coat closed, before he got out of the truck and hurried through the heavy snow to the front door. He stomped his feet on the welcome mat to knock off the loose snow, before walking through the door and quickly closing it behind him.
The lobby of the inn was warm and welcoming. Right in front of the doorway was an ornate staircase that led up to the second floor. To the right an open library room with large arm chairs and sofas surrounded a roaring fire which was framed by a rich oak mantle piece that held a rich Christmas garland and other ornaments. Several people sat around the room sipping what Luke assumed to be hot chocolate or hot whisky, talking quietly over the soft music that was playing from a vintage record player in the corner. To the left was the reception area. A tall standalone counter stood by a window with a modern computer on top of it, a bowl of seasonal candies next to it and a racks of keys on the wall at the back. There was a large sofa against the other wall and a coffee table adorned with many leaflets and magazines advertising local amenities.
Three people stood behind the counter, two of them talking amongst themselves, the third with a customer. An irate customer Luke noted. He approached the counter and tried to get the attention of the other two staff members but one of them, a dark skinned male, turned to him with a frown, looked him up and down, scoffed then turned on his heel and disappeared through a door next to the rack of keys. Luke watched in shock as the door closed then turned back to the other staff member who was looking at him with a smile.
"Hi, how can I help?"
"I'm looking for… directions…to Stars Hallow?"
"Stars Hallow?" The staff member was smaller than Luke. She was curvy and by the uniform she was wearing, Luke guessed she was a chef. She was laughing, seemingly at him, one hand on her hip, the other on the counter as if she needed assistance in standing up. "That's hilarious." she dabbed her eyes with the corner of her apron then turned and left through the same door the guy had walked through.
A little taken aback by the abrupt departures by both of the staff members, Luke turned to the other one member of staff who was now working on the computer. He first noticed her piercing blue eyes and the deep frown she wore as she typed furiously on the keys, obviously searching for a solution to the irate customers problem. She wore a tight fitting navy blouse and she wore a name badge that said "Lorelai - Manager"
"Excuse me…" he said softly as he took a half a step in her direction.
"One second sir, I'll be right with you." she spoke without looking up and Luke clenched his teeth in annoyance.
He waited a moment but she only continued to work on the computer. After a few minutes had passed, Luke tried again, "Excuse me, I'm looking for-"
"One second sir, I'll be right with you." This time she lifted one hand off the keyboard long enough to hold up one finger in his direction but just as quickly took it back and continued to work on the computer.
Luke felt his annoyance increase and was on the verge of just turning around and walking out when he remembered the blizzard that was going on out there. "Look," he said, clapping his hand flat on the counter, a little louder than he intended, in an attempt to get her attention. "I just need to get directions."
Lorelai stopped typing and slowly turned her head to face the guy who just slapped her counter. "I'm sorry sir, I should have dropped everything the minute you walked in. Forget that the paying customer I was talking to before you arrived, needs assistance in sourcing a new suit for his wedding tomorrow that our dry cleaning service are unable to deliver in this blizzard, that's a non issue now that you are here. So… what can I do for you?"
"I'm sorry, I tried to talk to the other staff members that were here earlier but one ignored me and the other laughed at me."
"Oh but that's ok, I'm here now ready to bow to your every whim." Her voice was flat and dripping in sarcasm and Luke felt his anger bubbling in waves around his body.
"I need directions."
"Directions?" She arched an eyebrow at him as if questioning his sanity.
"To Stars Hallow." He scratched the back of his neck under the bill of his cap. "I was driving on the 405 but there were roadworks on and I got detoured. I think I missed the detour turn and got turnaround. So I'm looking for directions to Stars Hallow."
"Okay, well first, you're about 20 miles from Stars Hallow, and in normal conditions it would take about 30 mins to get there. But the road is closed, the state police called earlier to let us know. So unless you have an ATV you will not make it to Stars Hallow tonight."
"Closed?"
"Perhaps you didn't notice the blizzard going on out there?"
"Is there any way to get there?"
She came around the counter and walked to a large topographical map on the wall. Luke followed and found the marker for the hotel on the map was a small dragonfly. She pointed out their current location and then showed him stars hallow. "So you see us and you see Stars Hallow."
"Yeah…wow I'm really off course." Luke rubbed his hand over his face and screwed his eyes shut for a second, then took a step closer to the map. "So the 405 roadworks are here, and my detour brought me this way…And you say this road is closed?"
"According to the state police, this road, this one… and this one, are closed."
"Shit." Luke studied the map for a little while longer and found one questionable route that would take him home in what would normally take an hour and a half, but in this weather could be 3+ hours.
"Feel free to study this map, as long as you need." She pursed her lips and returned to the counter where she got back to work on the computer.
Luke weighed up his options. He didn't relish going back out into that blizzard, but neither did he fancy staying at this inn, which he was sure would make more than a small dent in his wallet that wasn't really able to take much more abuse after all diner refurbishment cost he had just shelled out.
He turned back to the counter to ask about cost and if there were any vacancies but as he approached the counter and put his hand on the edge another customer came rushing over and slapped the bell a few times.
"Hey, hey, so the priest cannot make it, half the guests are snowed in elsewhere, the catering company is charging us whether or not they can deliver the food and my parents are stuck in New Haven."
Lorelai turned to the lady who was still slamming her hand on the bell and smiled in sympathy. "I understand you are stressed-"
"Stressed?" the lady covered her face with both hands and Luke thought she was crying but when her hands came away, there were no tears there, instead it was pure fury. "Stressed does not begin to describe what I'm feeling right now. You have guaranteed me the perfect wedding venue and instead I may not even get a wedding. This location, which you assured me was easy access from multiple directions, has proven to be impossible to breach from ANY direction!"
"Hey now," Luke stepped in and held his hand up in front of the frazzled woman. "This is a freak snowfall this year and we have not seen anything like this in 20+ years in this area. There is no way it could have been predicted."
There was a pause.
The customer stared at Luke. She looked him up and down her mouth agape at his audacity at trying to calm her down. She turned to Lorelai and shouted, "Who the hell is this guy?"
"I apologize for the inconvenience you are experiencing-"
"Inconvenience? You mean my wedding being destroyed?"
"Its not her fault!" Luke said not understanding that he was making it worse.
"Stay out of this, it's got nothing to do with you!"
"Please refrain from interrupting sir." Lorelai looked at him with a pointed glare.
"I need you to fix this." The customer was pointing at Lorelai then offered one final glare at Luke before turning on her heel and walking away.
Luke looked at Lorelai who was now glaring at him with full force. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Butt in where you're not wanted? Cause my paying customer to yell even more? Stop me from having a chance to calm her down?"
"Look I was only trying to help!"
"Help?" Lorelai scoffed. "So you're an expert in customer service?"
"No I-"
"Then you have the solution I need to this blizzard."
"No."
"Then what in the world were you thinking?" Lorelai's voice was louder than she meant but it had been a hell of a day and she wasn't able to reel it in, despite the glances from other customers.
"Clearly I was thinking I could help."
"You were wrong."
"Message received." Luke made sure his coat was buttoned up "Thanks for the wonderful hospitality." He turned and stalked across the room to the front door.
"My pleasure!" Lorelai called out after him. The door slammed after him and he hurried through the snow to his truck. His anger was raging and he gripped the wheel tight enough to whiten his knuckles. Whatever time it took him to make it to Stars Hallow, it would be time better spent than staying at that Inn. He went over the route in his mind before reversing out of the parking space and driving slowly down the drive. Half of his brain was screaming at the insanity of his leaving the warm comfort of that inn, the other half was egging him on in his stubborn storm out. He reached the bottom of the drive and took the left turn then drove as fast as he dared, all the while willing his wipers to improve.
Lorelai brushed her hair back from her face, and puffed her cheeks out with a hot angry breath. She turned and walked through the door behind the desk into the kitchen. Sookie, the head chef, was singing a Christmas tune as she stirred a large pot of stew then tasted it, added a pinch of salt then put the lid back on and continued to sing.
"Hey Sookie, is there any hot chocolate left?"
"Sure I just made a new batch, with caramel."
"Oh god, hit me up, make it a double."
"Everything ok?"
"Yeah," Lorelai sat on the high stool by the centre island and dropped her head into her hands. "I mean the grooms wedding suit never arrived, half the guests can't get through the storm, the catering will never deliver the food, and the most important component, the priest, is stuck in new haven. But apart from that… everything is ok."
"Oh honey," Sookie soothed her and rubbed her arm then reached into the pantry and took out a few large marshmallows to add to her hot chocolate. "Here, drink this." she handed her the cup and squeezed her arm. "You can't be responsible for this storm." Sookie rubbed Lorelai's back in soft circles as she spoke. "I know we can find a suit around here somewhere, I can cover the catering for the wedding."
"Oh Sookie thats great but their family cannot make it and we don't even have a priest."
Sookie sighed. "We're going to lose a bomb on this wedding."
"I'll offer to host them again, free of charge."
"I'll cater. We can get discount on the food then."
They both looked at each other with sad smiles. "I'll go chat to the bride and see if I can salvage anything from today's disaster."
Lorelai took a long sip of her chocolate then stood and brushed down the front of her grey skirt before leaving the kitchen to look for the disgruntled bride. She was walking through the lobby smiling at guests and making her way towards the stairs when one of the groundskeepers cam bursting through the door.
"Ms Lorelai!" he called. "Ms Lorelai, there's been a crash!"
"What?"
"Down at Culver's cross, a truck is off the road."
"Oh god, is anyone hurt?"
"I'm on my way down there now, I'm going to take Cletus, and Harry is riding Desdemona to get down there quick. I need a first aid kit, just in case."
Lorelai rushed to a cupboard under the stairs and pulled out a small first aid kit. She handed it to the groundskeeper who ran off to the stables to get to the crash site. Lorelai followed him to the door and looked out at the heavy blizzard that was falling. She grabbed the phone by the door but there was still no signal. "Dammit." She hurried back to the staff room and found Tom eating a sandwich and watching the game. "Hey Tom! The snow chains are still on the truck right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Great, where are the keys?"
"The keys? You're not going out in that are you?" Tom stood up and took a few steps towards her.
"There's been a crash down at Culver's cross, Ollie and Harry are riding horses down there now."
"I'll go, you wait here." Tom hurried off leaving Lorelai in his wake. She hated being left behind, she hated being left to stew. She needed to keep busy until the staff got back with news. She took a deep breath and got back to her original task.
