"Come on, which one looks better?" Lorelai asked.
"They're pennants. They look the same," was Luke's reply.
"They are so not the same! Look, this one has a sportier font, while this one has a more classic look."
Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. "They are both fine. They're blue pennants. Get 'em both."
"Good idea."
"Now can we go? You've bought enough Yale stuff to fill up your whole house!"
Lorelai continued to peruse the plethora of blue and white merchandise. "Don't you want Rory to be happy?"
"You know I do, but her happiness doesn't depend on whether or not you picked the right Yale pennant! We've been in here for over an hour, not to mention the other two hours we spent getting supplies, most of which were unnecessary."
"That jacket was a million percent off and fit you like a glove."
"I have jackets."
"That all smell like smoke right now."
"I can get the smell out."
"You may not be able to."
"I still don't need all of that stuff."
"Yes you do, Frugal MacDoogal. Plus, you're also providing for your nephew."
"Jess doesn't need much, either. He came to Stars Hollow with one bag."
"Like uncle, like nephew. Whatever happened to 'Thanks, Lorelai, for helping me get what I need so we can live comfortably in your house'?"
"I do appreciate it, but we've been shopping long enough."
"One more sweatshirt and I'll be done."
"Fine."
After a beat of silence, Lorelai heard, "She'll love the board, you know."
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, she will."
When they arrived back at the house, Lorelai was the first to spot the box sitting on the porch.
She hurried to see if it was what she thought it was. "Yes! Kirk finished them already!"
"Finished what?"
Lorelai opened the door, dumped her many shopping bags, and pulled the box into the foyer. "The pièce de résistance of Rory's Yale transformation."
She opened the box and triumphantly pulled out a "rory's going to yale!" shirt.
"You didn't."
"Didn't what?"
"Buy Kirk's ridiculous shirts."
"They're not ridiculous when Rory's name is on them. I thought she'd get a kick out of it. Plus, I got a few extras, so if you and Jess want to join the celebration, you can."
Luke rifled through the box. "Geez, how many others did you want to celebrate?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, there are several shirts in here, way more than ones for me and Jess."
"Huh, that's weird. I only ordered a few. Let me see."
Lorelai pulled out all the shirts. "I don't get it. Maybe Kirk was just being extra generous? This doesn't make sen—"
Then she saw them.
"Oh, no, no, no."
"What?" Luke asked, clearly curious.
She hesitantly pulled open a shirt in front of Luke, causing his eyes to bug out.
"'luke moved in with lorelai'?!" he read.
"Ugh, Kirk sucks!"
"So you didn't order these?"
"No, Luke! Why would I order these?!"
"I'll kill him."
"And then we'll bring him back to life, and I'll kill him!"
"Come on, let's go."
"Where?"
"To commit murder."
"Right behind you!"
They found Kirk and his little folding table by the gazebo, with a small cluster of people. Luke and Lorelai restrained themselves until everyone dispersed.
"Luke! Lorelai! I see you got the package," Kirk greeted, noting the shirt in question that Lorelai's hand was gripping.
"Are you insane?!" Luke exploded.
Lorelai put an arm out to hold him back. "Relax, I've got this. Yes, we did get the package, Kirk. You did a great job on Rory's shirt, but we're trying to figure out why we have this other one?"
"Aren't they great? And don't worry, since they were a surprise, you can pay for them in installments rather than all at once. Plus, I waived the delivery fee this time."
Lorelai took a deep breath and tried again. "Kirk, what were you thinking?"
"Did I get the sizes wrong? I know you told me the sizes for you and Rory, but I wanted to make sure Luke could fit into one as well. I even eyeballed him for a while when you both were in the diner yesterday, but Luke, sometimes when you lean a certain way it's hard to tell if there's a pooch there—"
"Make him stop before I do," Luke growled near Lorelai's ear, then walked away towards the diner.
"Kirk, why did you think this was a good idea to print these?"
"Besides the fire, this is the biggest headline I've had to work with so far. My mother thought a t-shirt about the fire was in poor taste, and I agreed. So, I made these, and they have been my best sellers so far. People have been snatching them up left and right, even tourists! Of course, the tourists had no idea who you were, but once I told them your story, man, were they rooting for you two crazy kids!"
"Kirk!"
"What?"
"These shirts, they make it sound like Luke really moved in with me."
"Luke really did move in with you."
"No, I mean like we're living together."
"You are living together."
"Arrrgh, yes, in the technical sense, as in we're under the same roof, hey-he-knows-the-spatula-is-in-the-second-drawer kind of way. But Luke and I are not a couple! I'm simply helping out a friend who is down on his luck at the moment. The shirts are misleading, and I'd like you to stop selling them."
"Well, I have about twenty shirts left at $19.95 apiece."
"I thought they were $14.95."
"Inflation. Will you be paying with a check?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm assuming you're buying the rest of my inventory?"
"Well, you know what they say when you assume something."
"No, what?"
"That you…shouldn't." Why doesn't that line work on anyone? "Fine, give me the stupid shirts."
"Cash or check?"
"A one-week internship at the Independence."
"Done. Pleasure doing business with you." Kirk handed her the box the rest of the shirts were in.
She turned to leave.
"Lorelai?"
"Yes?"
"This is a paid internship, correct?"
"Bye, Kirk."
"Can you fax me a copy of your dress code?" Kirk called out as she walked away.
"Ta-da!"
Rory had followed her mother's voice into her own bedroom and was now standing in shock looking at her newly adorned Yale wall.
"You gave it a makeover!"
"Do you like it?" Lorelai asked, biting her lower lip in excitement.
"It's amazing! Thanks, Mom!" Rory fell into Lorelai's waiting embrace.
"And don't worry, your Harvard stuff is safely tucked away, just in case you ever switch allegiances again. Oh, and I almost forgot the best part!" Lorelai grabbed one of the t-shirts sitting on the bed and opened it up.
Rory gave a little giggle. "Well, that certainly beats 'babette ate oatmeal.' Thank you." She took the shirt to hold it up to herself. "I hope Kirk gave you a good deal."
"More or less, but he didn't stop there." Lorelai pulled out the other shirt design.
Rory's mouth dropped open. "Did you—"
"Oh no, Rory, this was Kirk's brainchild all the way. Apparently, the whole town has been buying these up. Not anymore, though. Luke and I put a stop to it. Well, I did, mostly. Luke was too mad. I found him pacing down by the lake after I dealt with Kirk. We griped about it all the way back to the house."
Rory gave Lorelai a curious look. "Why were you guys so upset? I mean, yeah, maybe the shirts shouldn't have been made, but Kirk was just being Kirk. I wouldn't think it would bother you so much."
Why was it bothering her so much? Lorelai was not one to get easily ruffled by gossip or by being thrust into the spotlight of conversation. Heaven knows she'd endured her fair share of it walking the halls of high school looking like a beached whale. She'd endured it again when she received the curious stares and whispers from inn guests wondering why someone so young was working as a maid. She'd heard it all. So why was a t-shirt making her so crazy? Why did all the questions and raised eyebrows around town have her so on edge? She wasn't sure she could put her finger on it, but she had to tell Rory something.
"It's just not fair to Luke, you know? He's dealing with enough as it is without having the whole town sporting shirts and making insinuations. Luke and I are not a topical headline!"
Rory put a hand on Lorelai's arm to soothe her. "The whole thing is still new in people's minds. Give it a couple more days and I'm sure it will all be forgotten."
"I wonder if Guy Fawkes ever said that."
"It will blow over, I promise."
Jess burst into the room, freezing when he saw the girls standing by the corner.
"Is this a surprise party or something?" he asked.
"Sorry, Jess, I had to show Rory her new Yale wall. We can give you your space."
"It looks good," he said noncommittally.
Did Jess just give her a compliment?
"Yeah, Mom did a great job. It's helping my excitement level."
"You should be excited. Did I tell you I'm proud of you?"
"You did, but I don't mind hearing it again," Rory replied with a smile. "Where have you been?"
"I went to Gypsy's after school. My car was making a weird noise. She's fixed it for now, but she said she's planning on seeing me in a couple of weeks. This stupid car. So, I'm going to work tonight while you have your dinner thing."
"So you are going to school then," Rory stated.
"Wait, that's what you took away from all that? Yes, I'm going to school, learning my ABC's. I heard they're starting the letter Q next week, which should be extra challenging. Why would you think I wasn't?"
"Oh, no reason." Rory shrugged.
Lorelai had to do something, seeing as how she had somehow gotten stuck in the middle of this whole exchange. "It's my fault, Jess. I'm the one that put the thought in her head. You've just been working so much we were wondering how you were managing it all, so we questioned Rory about it."
"We?"
"Well, Luke was wondering, too. He really wants you to graduate." Luke was probably going to kill her for throwing him under the bus.
Jess ran his fingers through his hair. "You can tell Uncle Luke that's it's all under control. I go enough. I'll graduate."
"Jess…." Rory began.
"It's fine, I swear. Don't worry, Rory."
"But if you need help catching up…."
"Got it covered."
"If you say so."
"I do."
"Then if you're not behind, can we do something this weekend? We've been living in the same house for two days and I've hardly seen you. Andrew said he's having a really good sale this weekend."
"Sounds good, only if you let me read what you buy since you'll be storing them in my room."
"We'll see."
Lorelai slipped out of the room while the couple embraced each other, grateful for the escape opportunity. She was almost about to turn to go up the stairs when Luke came barreling down them.
"Whoa, cowboy, what's your hurry?"
"Oh, hey, sorry. I was just getting ready to head out."
"To see Nicole."
"Yep."
She took in the bright blue dress shirt that was making his eyes pop. "I see you're wearing some of my purchases."
"Yeah, I gotta admit they've come in handy over the years."
"Well, you look, um…oh my god, the smell! What did you do, run laps in the cologne section at Macy's?"
"Nicole likes when guys wear cologne."
"So you decided to swim in it for her? This isn't you, Luke. It's not your diner smell."
"I have a diner smell?" Luke asked, looking somewhat amused.
Lorelai got an awkward feeling creeping over her. This conversation was taking a weird turn. "Look, all I'm saying is that when it comes to cologne, subtle is better."
"I'll remember that for next time. Meanwhile, I need to get going."
"And you're telling her tonight, right?"
"Yes, hence the cologne."
"Well, I hope she's understanding."
"I'm sure she will be. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah, see you later," Lorelai said with a wave as he headed out the door. She went upstairs to change clothes, Rory joining her moments later to do the same.
"Ok, so strategy session for tonight. I'm telling Grandma and Grandpa about Yale."
Lorelai bristled a bit, knowing that what seemed like good news could easily take a turn for the worse in the Gilmore house. "So soon?"
"Yes, they deserve to know. My question is that since this is a night of revelations, are we telling them anything else?"
Lorelai held up a blouse with one of her skirts to see if it would match. "Are you referring to our newly acquired houseguests?"
"I am."
"No, no way, absolutely not, Rory. There is no reason why Richard and Emily need to know who is staying with us. Do you honestly think they'd be ok with the idea of your boyfriend staying here? And don't even get me started on what they will say about Luke. As far as they're concerned, the diner is still intact, and the guys are still living above it. There was no fire. In fact, we had breakfast at the diner this morning. I was going to have an omelet, and you were going to have pancakes, but then Lane intercepted us in the square talking our ear off about Dave and some new cd they've been bonding over. By the time we reached the diner, the place was packed. Luke forced us to sit at the table closest to the storeroom. I mean, how is that good customer service? After all we've been through. By that point we were running behind, so we just got doughnuts and coffee to go, but not before Kirk tried to be Luke's newest waiter and Luke threw a bagel at him. It was pretty funny!"
"Ok, I get it. We won't say a word."
"You do realize you're going to have to do this every week, don't you? The challenge will be to find an announcement every week that rivals your Yale announcement." Lorelai commented as they pulled back into their driveway later that night.
"I've never seen them so happy."
"Me, either! I could have dropped another pregnancy bomb on them and they would have started picking nursery colors. And the dancing! Your grandparents twirling around to Chuck Berry is a sight burned into my brain for life."
"It was a pretty great night. It would have been a good moment to tell them about the guys after all," Rory said, getting out of the car.
"Come up with a better announcement for next week, and I'll think about it."
They walked in the house and were heading towards the kitchen when they heard a steady, calm female voice. "Hi, Lorelai."
"Gah!" Lorelai exclaimed as she clutched her chest. She peeked into the living room, where Nicole sat perched regally on the couch.
"N-Nicole. Hi. Where's Luke?"
"Just getting me a glass of water."
Luke returned from the kitchen just then, looking a bit deer-in-headlights. "You're home already."
Rory made a beeline for the stairs. "I think I'm going to go start my homework."
Sure, leave me alone with the ice queen. Thanks, daughter of mine.
"So, you guys came back here."
"Well, you know, we, we were talking," Luke stammered. "And I mentioned our situation, and well, so then—"
"I wanted to see it for myself," Nicole finished for him.
"Well, as you can see, there is nothing to be concerned about here. My room is about twenty stories up that way. I mean you have to pack a lunch to get to it, you know? And Rory, that studious blur you just saw, is staying up there with me. And Luke has the couch down here, the one you're sitting on."
"I see that. I'm just wondering how this will work exactly," Nicole said, stone-faced.
"How what will work?"
"This whole girlfriend-boyfriend-roommate trio we have here. Am I even welcome here?"
"Of course you're welcome here, Nicole," Luke interjected. He looked over at Lorelai. "Right?"
"Yes, right, of course. You guys can come and go as you please. I promise I won't get in the way."
"I'm not so sure of that."
Lorelai's defenses went up. She and Luke were close but she certainly didn't go around sabotaging his relationships! At least, not intentionally.
She tried to remain calm. "Nicole, I just wanted to help him out. Believe me, you have nothing to worry about with Luke staying here."
Nicole gave Lorelai a tight smile that looked awfully fake. "Let's hope not." She stood then to give Luke a kiss on the cheek goodbye.
"I'll call you tomorrow, Luke."
"Bye, Nicole."
After she walked out, Luke collapsed onto the couch. "I gotta apologize. I had no idea she'd want to come back to the house, and I really didn't expect you to see her here. But she insisted. She needed to see where I was staying for herself. I explained everything but I'm still not sure she trusts me being here."
Lorelai sat at the other end of the couch and drew her knees up to her chin. "That's not a good sign."
Luke nodded. "Well, you've sort of been a sore point with me and Nicole."
"How come?"
"It was our first date, I, uh, ended up telling a few too many stories about you, you know, just trying to make conversation."
"Oh, Luke, no."
"I told her you and I are just friends, but ever since then, she seems to clam up if your name is mentioned. I know this arrangement bothers her but I don't know what else to do."
"Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you really want to be with her?"
Luke thought for a moment. "I don't know, I think so."
"You need to know, Luke! This seems to be getting kinda serious."
"So serious that she wants me to meet her parents."
"What?"
"Yeah, she tells me tonight they're coming into town next week, and she wants me to meet them. That's a big step. It's been a really long time since I've done that. Is that where we're at now? The meeting-parents stage?"
"It appears that way."
"But it's all happening too fast. I mean, yeah, we've gone to see a couple Broadway shows, but are we a serious couple? I mean, at this rate, the next thing you know is we'll be going on some ridiculous cruise together, or worse, talk about moving in together! I'm not ready for that! I wasn't really expecting it to last this long. I mean, geez, the only reason I even asked her out in the first place is because you—"
"Because me?!" Lorelai cut him off.
Luke shifted on the couch. "Because you were dating that fish guy and I realized it's been a while since I've dated, I guess since Rachel was here last if you can count that. I figured I needed to get out there again, too."
Lorelai was still incredulous. "You're dating because I'm dating?"
"No, you just, uh, inspired me to get back in the game."
"Ok, you're welcome?"
They sat for a minute in silence, always a feat when Lorelai was involved. She knew she had to get the rest of her thoughts off her chest.
"Luke, I don't think you're fully yourself around Nicole. You need someone who you can feel completely comfortable with, someone who will let you show all your sides, even the crazy ones. Nicole doesn't do that. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just my observation. But if you think you are comfortable, and you see a future with her, maybe it's worth pursuing after all. Do you see a future with her?"
After a pause, Luke quietly answered, "I don't know."
"Well, you should probably figure that out."
"Yeah."
"Meanwhile, I'm going to bed. You're alright here?"
"Blankets, couch, dancing rabbi. I'm all set."
"Ok, goodnight, Luke."
"Goodnight."
Lorelai kept hearing the word "dating" in her head as she climbed the stairs. Technically, she was still dating Alex, but when was their last date? It had been several weeks ago. It wasn't anything bad that had happened; she knew he was bogged down in opening his coffee shop, and she had gotten caught up in her own stuff. She'd even kissed Max the other week! But was Alex even her boyfriend?
She knew the answer to that immediately. No. I mean, they'd had fun on the few dates they had been on, and the trip to New York had been great, but as she thought back, that probably had more to do with Sookie and Jackson being there than feelings of great romance.
There was some attraction there, no denying that. And the coffee shop was a major turn-on, but she already had access to the world's greatest coffee, now in her own home even! When she turned the questions she'd asked Luke onto herself, she knew there was no future with Alex. They didn't need to keep stringing each other along anymore.
After filling Rory in on the events of downstairs, where Rory hung on every word, Lorelai asked, "Hey, when you go get ready for bed, do you mind brushing your teeth an extra-long time for me?"
"Sure. I'm going out on a limb here and guessing this isn't because I suddenly have terrible breath?"
"I have a not-so-fun phone call I need to make."
Rory didn't know specifics, but seemed to understand what Lorelai needed right then and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Take your time. I can always gargle a few times as well."
Lorelai dialed the number she hadn't used in weeks. "Hello?"
"Alex? It's Lorelai."
"Hey, how are ya? I'm sorry I haven't called. The shop is opening in a couple weeks and we've been scrambling to get everything done. But I've been thinking about you. Of course, I was going to invite you to the grand opening."
"That's sweet, thanks." She took a deep breath. "Listen…Alex…."
"That sounds ominous."
"No, it's not. Well, yeah, I guess it kinda is. You're a really great guy, Alex, and we've had a lot of fun. But I think that's all there is between us. I mean, if we were really serious, I don't think we would have gone weeks without talking, right?"
"Yeah, you're probably right. I really like you though, Lorelai."
"I like you, too, but I really don't see a relationship happening with us. I'm sorry."
"This is really over then, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Well, it was fun. I'm really glad I got to know you."
"Ditto."
"Hey, listen, you're still more than welcome to come to the grand opening. I'll mail you a flyer."
"I will think about it. Thanks."
"Bye, Lorelai."
"Bye, Alex."
A/N: Happy November! Can you believe we're just days away from Luke and Lorelai's first wedding anniversary? :)
For those wanting an actual FND scene in this chapter, not to worry! I promise there will be FND scenes ahead! I cannot wait to take a crack at writing Emily!
Also, I am so appreciative of all the continued support for this story! Your reviews mean the world to me, so feel free to let me know what you thought about this chapter!