AN: The people have spoken. I had to write another chapter, a one-shot. Sorry to disappoint anyone who wanted a continuation of the first chapter, but this will remain in the style of one-shots. I'll even try to not disturb the canon of the show with these one-shots. I might break that rule once in a while, but in general it will be grown-up conversations between Lorelai and Luke. The rating will remain T, but consider it a strong T. It won't get too graphic, but sometimes the occasional f-bomb will be dropped. I will sporadically update this, whenever then urge hits.

Thanks for all the lovely reviews, faves and follows I got. And the biggest thanks as always goes to DSLeo, my beta and moral support for all occasions.

Chapter Two: Rachel and Max

Luke watched as her Jeep pulled up on the kerb in front of the diner. This was his favorite part of the week. He did most of the cleaning in the diner, and when he was lucky, she came by for a late cup of coffee. He saw how Rory hugged her mother before she ran across the town square in the direction of the Kims. Soon the bells jangled and Lorelai stepped in the diner.

"Hey," she said and sat down at the counter.

"Hi. Coffee?"

"Coffee is always a good idea," she replied as she sat at the counter.

He poured her a cup and took the carafe to the kitchen to rinse it.

"So, how's your dad doing?" Luke asked her when he returned.

"Better, thanks. The Friday Night Dinners are back on schedule." She drank from her cup and moaned in appreciation of the dark brown liquid soothing her.

Luke hurried to turn his back to her. He wasn't keen on the visual on top of the audio of those noises she was making.

"So? How was it?" he asked her.

"Well, my mother calmed down after finding out I was dating Rory's teacher."

Luke swallowed. "Good, good."

"Yeah, but that's only because we're now broken up."

"Really? I mean, I'm sorry."

"Thanks."

"What happened?"

"Well, my mother found out about Max and me dating, so she made a scene, and I was going to break up with him, but then there was that stupid kiss and Paris saw us, and then he broke up with me."

"Wow. Maybe we should start a club. But you said you were going to break up with him. Why?"

"Why? I mean, there are multiple reasons. For one, I really regret agreeing to go out with him in the first place. He's Rory's teacher. What was I thinking? As Sookie reminded me, my pattern is to break up with a guy before it gets serious, before, I, uh, before I get attached. But with him in Rory's life, how could this not have been serious from the get-go?"

Luke listened to her closely, though he pretended to go through his regular clean-up routine. He wiped the tables before he sprayed them down with disinfectant. Lorelai turned around on her bar stool and waited for a reaction from him. It didn't come.

"Anyway, and then it was pretty much that our relationship was only based on sex."

"What?" Luke asked about an octave too high. Or two.

"You know what I mean, Luke. Those relationships where you don't have a lot in common, you barely can make it through a conversation without ripping each other's clothes off, because duh, that's the only thing you are interested in. Don't tell me you've never had a relationship like that. I think Carrie and the girls referred to it as the fuck buddy."

"No, I've never had a relationship like that."

"I see, you're still doing your little monk shtick."

"I'm not. Who are 'Carrie and the girls'?" he asked with a confused stare at the disinfectant in his hand.

"I've been telling you to get HBO, Luke. You could honestly learn something. Do you never listen?"

"Lorelai," he said and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I do listen, but I'm a bit confused here. Seems to me like you had the perfect relationship. Lots of sex, no attachment, so please tell me what's the problem here."

She lowered her head and her shoulders sagged a little. "I should have started with 'The relationship on my side is like that.' Max didn't really see it like that. He thinks we're soulmates or whatever. I guess that's why he was so determined to ask me out."

He faced her then. He just had to know. "Then why did you agree to go out with him?"

"I was flattered I guess. It doesn't happen a lot that men who know that I'm a mother ask me out."

Luke gulped. It was something he himself had failed to do for the past five years.

"And I'm not really interested in dating guys who only ask me out because of how I look. I want a guy who is genuinely interested in me. And being a mom is part of that, but alas, guys who know that are suddenly no longer interested in dating me. But enough about me. You said earlier we should start a club. Got any good names, Sergeant Pepper?"

He did a little half-chuckle. "How about 'club for idiots who are incapable of maintaining a relationship'?"

"Oh, the CFIWAIMR? Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?"

Now they both chuckled.

"Speaking of which. Is it too much to ask, and I'm asking for a friend here, but when the physical side of a relationship is developed to a greater degree, is it too much to ask to do sexy stuff when you're not in bed? I mean, the guy lives alone, there are no creepy roommates, and yet he was always so determined to stay in the bedroom for, you know, the bedroom stuff. What's wrong with a little action in the kitchen?"

Luke for a moment considered drinking the contents of the spray bottle that he still clutched in his left hand. Was he hallucinating? No, he slightly shook his head. He hadn't drunk the disinfectant yet. He was convinced this was the universe's punishment for not having asked out Lorelai. She was going into detail about her sex life and he wished he could vanish. As he was plotting disappearing from the scene, he was also wondering how anyone would or could not fulfill her every wish and fantasy. That teacher guy clearly was an unworthy loser. But then, at least he had managed to take the first obstacle of asking Lorelai out.

"Sorry," she whispered sheepishly, "I know I shared too much."

"No!" Luke said too quickly, too loudly. "I mean, not at all. We're friends, right? We should be able to talk about... things."

"Yeah, but maybe those are topics for a woman friend. And you're my man friend." She let that statement hang in the air for too long, so she quickly added, "Sorry, that sounded wrong. Man friend. Sounds like we're two 55-year-olds who can't call each other boyfriend and girlfriend because we were left on the scrap heap." She chuckled. "OK, I'm shutting up now," and sipped from her mug.

They were both silent for a long while. Luke kept cleaning tables and she nursed her coffee, desperate to drink more, anxious to empty her cup. She turned around and watched him. He was still wearing the blue hat she had given him. Now that she was trying to think, she couldn't come up with one occasion where the hat hadn't sat atop his head ever since she gave it to him last month.

"Hey Luke?"

"Hm?"

"You said you were incapable of maintaining a relationship. Why?"

"I, uh, I don't think I'm at an age where I like to change much. Relationships often require you changing for the other."

"Yeah. Why is that? I mean, why do I have to change? Aren't I enough?"

"Sometimes, you're too much," he smiled that rare smile that told her he was really enjoying himself. It was close to the smug grin he shot her when they were in the hospital.

He then made the mistake of walking right past Lorelai, which gave her a chance to punch him in the shoulder.

"I probably deserved that," Luke mumbled.

"Humility becomes you well, friend. Who was the last person that asked you to change for them?"

"That would be my ex-girlfriend."

"Does she have a name?"

"Rachel."

"Rachel? Sounds made up."

"What?"

"It sounds like you made her up just now."

"Why?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I have never ever seen you with a woman. It seemed to me as if you had seen Friends earlier and the name Rachel popped in your head ten seconds ago."

Luke then put the spray bottle down and reached into his back pocket. He put his wallet on the counter and produced a photo of a pretty redhead with curls and a killer smile.

"Oh," was all Lorelai could force herself to say.

He put the photo back where it belonged and refilled Lorelai's coffee.

"You're confusing me with Kirk. I didn't make her up. I wish. Would've saved me a lot of heartbreak."

"If you don't mind me asking. What happened?"

Luke took a deep breath and sat next to her. "We were in love. And then she left. And she took my heart with her. But she came back, and I thought I'd get my second chance. But she left again and I was dumb enough to take her back when she returned. And since I'm apparently not only incapable of maintaining a relationship, I'm also incapable of learning from my mistakes, we spent the better part of a decade holding on to each other in spite of knowing it wasn't gonna last. At times it felt like that dumb Bill Murray movie where he wakes up to live the same day over and over again."

"Groundhog Day."

"Yeah, that's the one. Anyway, every time she asked me to come with her. But I can't, Lorelai. This is my home. I might mock everything and everyone in this town, but I can't exist anywhere else. I guess that's the curse."

"Where did she want you to go?"

"Brazil, Nigeria, Israel, Pakistan, you name it. She's a photographer. Her work takes her everywhere. I think I maybe could have handled starting over. Once. But a constant loop of starting over? That's simply not who I am. I'm not someone who can easily adapt anywhere, multiple times over."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out."

"Yeah, me too," he said wistfully.

"Would you take her back if she came back again?"

"No," came the quick reply.

"That was fast. Why are you so sure?"

"Because that last time she really broke my heart. She promised to stay that time. She didn't ask me to come with her. We wanted to stay here in Stars Hollow. Two days later she was gone."

"Oh Luke, I'm so sorry. That must have been tough. Can I ask you one more question?"

"Yes, we had sex in the kitchen," he grinned.

Lorelai laughed. "I was gonna ask why you still keep her picture in your wallet when you're so sure that you don't want to get back together with her."

"Um, out of habit, I guess. I never clean out my wallet."

"OK. But you just took the photo out. You could have left it out."

"Lorelai..." he said, exasperated.

She held up her hands in defense. "Sorry, shutting up now."

Lorelai drained the last of her coffee and got up from her stool. She put two dollars on the counter and took her purse. But Luke stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't go. I'm not used to be called out on that kinda stuff."

"I know. I don't wanna go full-on Sigmund here, but could it be that you don't let anyone come close to you, besides potential romantic partners?"

He exhaled. "Yeah. I'm aware of that. Believe me when I say that you and Rory are much closer to me than anyone. I guess the both of you are very insistent."

They both had to smile. "I know it's scary, Luke, but we're not going anywhere. Well, Rory will go to college at some point, but I'm here to stay. This is my home. I wasn't born here, but I chose to come here. And like you I can't imagine living anywhere else."

"That's good to know," he remarked with a sense of relief.

She was quiet for a while. It was unfamiliar to have Luke sit next to her on a barstool. She felt his eyes on her, but not having him on the other side of the counter meant that she'd have to make the conscious choice to turn toward him instead of just looking up. A grin spread across her mouth as she faced him. "So, how was the kitchen sex?"

His grin was broader than hers. "Not bad."

"Aha! So you're not a monk after all!"

"No."

"Which kitchen?"

"What do you mean, which kitchen?"

"Well, you have the diner kitchen and probably one upstairs. I can't be sure, you haven't ever invited me upstairs."

"Do you think I would violate the health code and have sex down here?"

"Well, who knows what happens in the throes of passion? Besides, you'd probably clean up afterwards."

"What if anyone heard or saw us?"

"Well, then they'd know you're getting some."

"Maybe that would make Patty stop getting on my nerves. So, um, does that mean you've never had, uh, kitchen sex?" he asked carefully and slightly embarrassed. But he had told her so much, he felt the need to learn something about her as well.

"No."

"I don't get more than that?"

She cleared her throat and blinked once. "As you can imagine, for kitchen sex you need a kitchen, which we didn't have when we lived in the old potting shed by the inn. And now my kitchen is right by Rory's room. Besides, when you have a child you're not out on the town all the time and if you meet someone on that rare occasion you do things by the book."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that," he nodded.

All sorts of thoughts were rushing through his head. Did Lorelai just allude to the fact that she hadn't had sex a lot of times? It made sense now that he was thinking about it. Part of him wanted to take her upstairs right this instance to let her experience kitchen sex, but he knew she'd never want him that way. At least it was his experience that their relationship window was firmly closed. This didn't stop him from going through the contents of his fridge in his head to take inventory of anything that might be of assistance to make this an experience she'd never forget.

"Hey, where did you drift off to just now?" she asked him as she poked his upper arm.

"Oh, nowhere."

"OK, since you're clearly lying and it's gotten late, I better get home." She knew he was thinking about kitchen sex with Rachel. He clearly was still hung up on her. Why else would he hold onto her picture?

"All right, if you have to." Those words of his surprised Lorelai. He had never expressed any kind of fondness for her company other than getting him out of awkward situations with customers or Taylor.

They both got up and he walked her to the door.

"So, um, this was fun. I really envy you for all the wild sex you had with Rachel."

He grinned.

"What?" she asked. "Was it really so good?"

"No, I mean, yes it was, but you almost made it sound as if you would have liked to taken my place."

"You have shown me her picture. She sure is beautiful. But in a more traditional sense, I was probably talking about taking her place instead of yours."

Luke's grin got broader. A lightbulb went on and Lorelai's face turned into a deep crimson.

"Geez, that came out wrong. I meant that as a woman I wasn't thinking about being the man in that scenario."

"I get it," he chuckled.

Lorelai really enjoyed seeing him so cheerful, even though it meant she had just gone to hell and back. It wasn't exactly her plan to let it slip how turned on their conversation had made her and that it was absolutely in the realm of possibilities that she saw Luke as a sexual being. But she had to be real. He had never shown any interest in her. Most guys she did have even the briefest relationship with would make their intentions known in the beginning. But Luke obviously had never seen her that way. She said goodnight and went to her car. She was glad she had told Rory to walk home so that she had the five minutes it took to drive herself home to calm down somewhat.

Luke locked the door after she had left and walked up the stairs that croaked under his weight. When he opened the door to his apartment, he routinely put the keys on the kitchen table and reached for his wallet to put it next to them. He took off his hat and started stripping. When he was halfway to his bathroom to have a shower, he came back to the kitchen table and opened his wallet. He took out the portrait of Rachel and fingered the paper. His look went to the kitchen counter and back to the photograph in his hands. He slightly smiled at the memory and put both items back on the table. This time he wasn't so sure the picture belonged in his wallet anymore. He questioned if it ever had belonged in there.

Now he was thinking about Lorelai's words from before. It was true that he had never invited her up to his apartment. Maybe it was time to take that step in their friendship. Because it was clear to him that this was all it was ever going to be, a friendship. On the other hand he had never talked with any other friend about explicit sex stuff. He was confused. At the end of their conversation he swore he could detect embarrassment in her eyes. There was only one explanation for that, but he didn't want to allow himself to hope. Hope was what got him into a vicious cycle with Rachel all those years ago. With a nod to no one but himself he picked up the photograph and threw it in the trash.

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