AN: In case anyone besides my beta was wondering, no, I'm not taking a break from CF to write this fic. Whatever fic I update first is pure coinsidence, depending on my mood that day. Besides, this one only have 4 more chapters to go. CF has a lot more than ten times as much left... lol And a big thanks to steph for the beta.
smileyGGfan - Well, at least you managed to do it in the end.
rollsdownhill - Honestly, for a fic to get to the length of CF, I will have to give it all my focus, meaning I will have to finish CF first. Who knows, maybe a future fic can get that long. But right now, the only thing I can write in addition to CF is short fics, preferably one-shots.
Copop - What other fic? I really hope this won't be too similar to anything else. All I'm doing is following the prompt that I was given the best way I can. Read the prompt at the end of chapter 5 and you'll hopefully understand :P
Chapter 1: The beginning
It was where they had their first date. A date that neither of them realized they were on, until about halfway through. If it hadn't been for Miss Patty's attempt to meddle with Lorelai's love life, it probably wouldn't've happened at all. It would've been just another day of him serving his customers food all day until he turned off the light, wiped off the counter one last time and went upstairs to watch a game or something before heading to bed. Maybe Lorelai would've stopped by. Probably was more like it as the content of that basket she'd put up for bidding hardly had qualified as a meal, not even for Lorelai Gilmore's iron stomach.
But Miss Patty did meddle. Lorelai did come into the diner. She dragged him away from his customers and even persuaded him to empty his whole wallet of fifty-two dollars and fifty cents for a Doose's market basket containing only two stale Pop-Tarts and a Slim-Jim...
- What on earth is this, Lorelai asked, opening one of the two containers he'd brought back from the diner. - I thought you said you were gonna bring back food.
Luke glanced over to see that she'd taken the wrong bag and thereby ended up with his turkey on rye and mini carrots.
- That's mine, he explained, handing her the other bag containing her double cheeseburger and fries. - Here's your future heart attack masqueraded as food.
- Hey, you're the one who made it, pal, Lorelai quipped, digging into it.
- And I've warned you on several occasions what it'll do to you if you keep eating it, Luke pointed out. - You're a grown woman, Lorelai. You won't take my warning, so your early death is on you.
- But what a way to go, she responded, her mouth full from having just taken a gigantic bite out of her burger.
- Oh, now that's attractive, Luke chuckled, shaking his head as he took a noticeably smaller bite out of his food.
He was impressed he'd even managed to catch what she was saying with her mouth full. That usually indicated you knew a person a tad too well. Lorelai swallowed the food and flashed him a grin.
- You know, she said. - Your burgers actually taste better outside.
- Good, he replied, dryly. - Next time the roof in the diner's leaking, I'll just rip the stupid thing off.
This earned him a soft laugh from her as she took another bite out of her burger, to his relief a much smaller bite than the last.
- So this is nice, huh, she asked, after swallowing.
He didn't give her a single gesture of confirmation when he looked at her.
- Come on, she nagged. - Admit it.
- Never, he quickly replied, partly just to tease her.
- What, she exclaimed. - Admit it, you would much rather be sitting out here than inside working.
- The diner's probably on fire by now, he grumbled, not really ready to give her the satisfaction of knowing he was in fact very much enjoying himself.
- You are stubborn, Lorelai concluded.
- I'm stubborn, he chuckled, raising his brows, finding the statement funny considering who was saying it.
- Yeah, you're stubborn, Lorelai confirmed.
- Says Miss Flexibility over here, he challenged.
- Hey, I can be flexible, Lorelai objected.
- Oh, please, he rolled his eyes.
- Yeah, I can, Lorelai nodded, holding his gaze for a couple of seconds before continuing. - As long as everything is exactly the way I want it, I'm totally flexible.
- My mistake, he chuckled.
- You want a fry, she asked, dangling one of the grease infested objects in front of him as if it was a treat.
- You want a carrot, he countered, holding one up, despite already knowing her answer.
- Impossible, she responded, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
- Right back at ya.
They shared a smile as they both shook their heads over their very different viewpoints on what could be considered a treat.
- So, here's what I'm wondering, Luke said, after swallowing his carrot. - Who did you want to get your basket?
- What?
- Well, before you knew Patty was gonna put you on the Dating Game, you did pack this disgusting lunch and bring it out here, he pointed out. - So, who did you want to get it?
- Well, she said with a coy smile. - Last year Roy Wilkins bought it and I got my sprinklers fixed for half the price.
- Uh huh, Luke chuckled, not really surprised to find a hidden agenda behind her entering.
- And this year my rain gutters are completely clogged, she continued. - And I thought if I could get the Collins kid to bite, I'd get that taken care of.
- Very practical, Luke acknowledged.
- I thought so, Lorelai grinned.
- So the participation in this thing was purely for home improvement reasons, he enquired.
- Yes, she confirmed.
- You know, he said. - If you want I could probably take care of those rain gutters for you.
- Yeah, she asked, grinning at the generous offer.
- Well, he shrugged. - I'd hate for you to feel like you missed out just because things didn't turn out the way you planned.
- I don't know, she shrugged. - I kinda like the way things turned out.
- Yeah, he asked.
- You think I'd have this much fun with the Collins kid, she asked.
- Probably not, he chuckled.
- With my luck we'd probably sit the entire lunch talking about x-box or some other gaming device, Lorelai shrugged. - And I don't even want to think what kind of day I'd have if the snorkeler or even better the avid Ghostbusters fan had been sitting here in your place.
- I have a feeling you'd manage to talk whoever bought it into taking care of your rain gutters if you put your mind to it, Luke pointed out.
- I know, Lorelai nodded.
- So the reason you came into the diner begging me to buy the basket, is...
- I don't like strangers bidding on me like I'm some sort of prize, Lorelai shrugged.
- You do realize you're contradicting yourself by saying this, Luke pointed out. - It was, after all, you and no one else who signed you up for this thing.
- Cause I like the concept, Lorelai shrugged.
- What concept?
- Having someone you love or have a crazy crush on bid on your basket and then share a romantic lunch with said person. It's a nice concept, you know?
- Yeah, I guess, Luke acknowledged.
They fell into a comfortable silence. Lorelai took a sip from her coffee, while Luke contemplated on whether or not saying anything more was a good idea. He wasn't sure if it had gone sufficient enough time since her engagement for her to be open to something new or not. Sure, she'd been out on dates since then, but so far it hadn't seemed like she was interested in anything serious. He settled on saying something not too suggestive, but also that possibly could carry a hint of what he wanted to tell her.
- You know what, he told her. - This is nice.
The smile he got in return was of the kind that reached her eyes and he was yet again struck with how breathtaking she was. It wasn't just that she was an incredibly attractive woman, it was the whole package; her many quirks that she loved driving him insane with, but that he couldn't imagine going a day without; the way she could talk him into anything with just a pout and flipping her hair; the way she always made him feel comfortable, never asking or expecting him to be anyone but himself. He had been mesmerized with her from the start, how someone so rude and seemingly obnoxious as she had come off that day in the diner simply couldn't get out of his head. It had taken him a long time to figure it out. For months he carried a horoscope she'd scribbled on in his wallet and he didn't know why he had put it there in the first place. Then one day she stopped calling him 'Duke' and began showing him the other side of herself. It was almost like she'd put him through some sort of test; that if he could accept her many annoyances and faults, he would get to know the wonderful woman that shared a much bigger portion of her persona.
That was when he began falling in love with her. At the same time, he'd become a friend for her, a confidant. She unknowingly created a new barrier for him; by letting him in on her many hopes and fears. Suddenly there was a line to cross, something to loose. Sure it was possible in certain situations to go from a relationship and back to friends, his on and off again romance with Rachel since high school had more than proven that. They had been friends long before they began dating, which was probably why it was hard, but at the same time easy to resume their old friendship after being months or even years apart. Easy, because the time apart had healed some of the wounds. Hard, because each time a part of him wanted more. Rachel was probably the main reason he was so reluctant in letting Lorelai know how he felt. Not because he was pining for Rachel. If that had been the case, he would've made a proper effort that last time she'd shown up. He just didn't want to go through with Lorelai what he had with Rachel. And, as it turned out; he didn't want Rachel.
He didn't know how long they had been staring at each other, but what had originally been a comfortable silence had turned into tense moment, filled with expectation. He remembered that he'd brought brownies, as he'd promised when bribing her to get out of having to eat the content of the basket. Apparently Lorelai had realized the same thing, as they both bent forward, reaching for the bag, which, of course resulted in them bumping heads hard. This caused a fit of laughter from Lorelai as she rubbed her temple.
- That wasn't at all cliché, she laughed, still hunched forward in a way that they were only inches apart.
Luke smiled at her statement, despite his head throbbing from the impact. As her laughter stilled, neither one of them had moved away and Luke used the opportunity to close the small space between them and plant a soft peck on her lips. He only managed to move an inch away before she moved in and planted one on his lips. He brought a hand up to grace her cheek as he kissed her properly. Which one of them it was that promoted the kiss to a semi-heated make-out session was lost on them. As they parted, both panting heavily from the intensity of the kiss, Lorelai grabbed the bag of brownies as a way to distract herself.
- You want a brownie, she asked.
- You wanna go out with me sometime, he asked, simultaneously.
- Yes, she replied at the same time as he said his 'no'.
They broke out in a fit of laughter over the silly exchange. She leaned in for another kiss, giving him a second-hand taste of the brownie she'd just eaten.
- Remind me to thank Patty, he told her, in between pecks.
- Shut up, she replied.
...it was a wonder that no one in town had witnessed those very public kisses. Could be that everyone was too pre-occupied with their own thing. Either way, it wasn't until Luke and Lorelai's third date that the town even noticed that the dynamic between the two had changed. This of course was brought up at a town meeting, where Luke ended up telling everyone to shut up and mind their own business.
This of course didn't stop Miss Patty and Babette from hounding both him and Lorelai for details on where it happened, how it happened. Luke swore he once heard the two ask Lorelai to grade his abilities in the sack. Had he not interrupted them by coming up to the table, asking them to order, knowing Lorelai, she probably would've answered as well. If she had at a later time, he didn't know, but he was dead sure he saw some very knowing gazes from the two women for weeks afterwards...
TBC
