A/N

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Luke wiped down the counter, trying to ignore the giggling coming from the table in the corner. He hadn't been successful so far, sneaking looks at the Gilmore girls whenever he thought he could get away with it. It had been a week since he had kissed Lorelai in his apartment and true to their words they hadn't mentioned it since. Luke tried his best to act normal around her but found the whole situation infuriating. He didn't know what he could do to convince Lorelai to give them a chance. The only thing that gave him any kind of hope was that, if the kiss was anything to go by, she was attracted to him too.

"Luke?"

The small voice pulled Luke out of his musings, he glanced up and saw Rory standing behind the counter watching him with a nervous smile.

"Yeah?" he asked in surprise, he hadn't noticed her moving his way.

"This Saturday is my birthday," Rory stated with a happy smile.

Luke didn't know why she was telling him this and stared at her awkwardly, "Ok..."

"We are having a party at my house for it."

"That will be nice," he said, deciding to humour her.

"Did you want to come?" she asked eagerly.

Luke felt the surprise shoot through him, "Oh...err..."

Rory's eager face fell into a small frown, "It's ok if you don't want too. Don't worry if you can't."

"No...wait!" Luke said desperately as Rory turned away, he felt like an idiot but he honestly hadn't realised that she was inviting him. "I'll come. You just caught me off guard."

Rory's face split into a wide smile, "Really? You'll come?"

"Yeah. It's not fancy dress or anything is it? Because I'm not dressing up." Luke hadn't been to a kid's party since he was a kid and didn't really know what to expect.

Rory giggled, "No you don't have to dress up."

"Ok then, thanks for the invite," Luke replied with a small smile and a nod of his head.

He watched as Rory bounced back towards her mother and caught Lorelai's gaze. She offered him a small smile which he returned. When the duo had gone back to their gossiping Luke let out a big sigh. He knew that the best course of action was to forget about Lorelai, just be her friend and move on with his life, but he also knew that that was easier said then done.

"I don't get what the problem is," Sookie said slowly, her brows furrowed as she tried to work it out.

"There isn't really a problem, I'm just saying it might be a bit awkward with him there." Lorelai took a big gulp of her coffee before continuing, "We haven't spoken properly since the day in his apartment."

"Isn't that the whole point of you two not dating though? So he can be in Rory's life?" Sookie said thoughtfully.

Lorelai sighed, they had only kissed twice and it was already affecting Rory. "Yeah, I know. It's just... whenever I see him there is this tension in the air, I feel like I'm suffocating."

Sookie chuckled, "Well I can keep an eye on you at the party and if it looks like things are heating up I could throw water over you?"

"Sookie!" Lorelai laughed.

"Or I could make sure you both get some privacy?" she said undeterred, eyebrows raised.

"I definitely think I prefer the first option," Lorelai said dryly, "The last thing I need is privacy with Luke."

Sookie laughed before turning her attention back to the chicken she was preparing.

"Well?" Lorelai prompted when she realised that Sookie wasn't going to say anything.

Sookie looked up in surprise, "Well what?"

"Sooookiee," Lorelai whined.

"Oh you want advice?"

"That would be nice, yes."

Sookie laughed, "Sorry! I thought we were done. Well my advice would be to talk to him."

Lorelai groaned loudly, she wanted to be friends with him but talking to him now seemed too soon. "Talk to him like a mature adult you mean? I'm not feeling very grown up right now Sooks."

"Sorry, that's all I've got," Sookie replied, attention now firmly back on the chicken.

"How about you talk to him for me?"

Sookie guffawed, "We're not in the 5th grade Lorelai."

"If only we were, life was so much simpler then," Lorelai said with a dreamy expression.

"Even though you lived with your parents?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that, maybe not then," Lorelai shuddered.

She watched as her best friend put the chicken into some marinade. She knew she was being an idiot but she couldn't help it. Luke had managed to get under her skin and she was finding it very difficult to dislodge him.

With a sigh she put her coffee mug into the sink, "Talk to him eh?"

"Yep," Sookie replied distractedly.

"Fine I will. I don't know if I'll have a chance too before the party though." Lorelai said seriously, biting her lip. She had a lot of stuff to get sorted before the party if she wanted to make it fun for Rory.

"Talk to him there then," Sookie replied simply.

Lorelai doubted that she would get any time with Luke at the party but smiled at her friend anyway. Life had definitely gotten complicated since moving into her house.

Luke made his way to the Gilmore house. He was nervous. He had no idea what to expect from the day but he knew that it was going to be a spectacle with Lorelai involved.

As he neared the house he heard music blaring and groaned. It was loud and obnoxious and exactly what Lorelai would consider fun. He clutched the present he had bought Rory in his hand, at the time monogrammed Unicorn towels had seemed like a great idea but now he wasn't so sure.

He turned the last corner, the house finally coming into view and he stopped short in shock. If he had to guess he would say that the entire population of Star's Hollow had come to celebrate Rory's birthday. Children squealed with delight, running around playing games while the adults watched with happy smiles. A table in the corner groaned under all of the weight of presents. Sookie stood guarding the food table, a large cake taking centre stage.

Luke scanned the crowd and instantly saw Lorelai, dancing on a make-shift stage with Rory. He watched them, a smile tugging at his lips as they laughed and sang along with the music. He found himself transfixed by Lorelai; her eye's bright and her face flushed with happiness.

He made his way towards the present table, glancing at the dance floor every couple of steps, and put his present on the groaning table. He was amazed that it hadn't collapsed already. He paused, unsure of what to do as he watched the happy scene before him.

It wasn't long before Lorelai caught his gaze. She waved, causing Rory to turn around, her face splitting into a large smile when she spotted Luke. He watched in trepidation as the girls headed his way.

"You came!" Rory squealed excitedly, her blue eyes sparkling.

"I said I would." Luke said with a smile, taking in the proudly worn birthday badge and crown. "Happy birthday Rory. I got you a present, not that you needed another one. Do you think that table is stable enough? I think it is going to collapse any second now."

"Relax Luke! The table is fine. She definitely got a good haul this year though. She did much better than I did, I didn't get a single thing" Lorelai pouted slightly, Rory giggling at her side.

"It is my birthday, I should get more presents than you!"

Lorelai turned to her daughter in mock outrage, "How can you be so cruel? After all I have done for you?"

Rory giggled madly as Luke rolled his eyes at the woman's antics. "Seriously, you need professional help," he sighed.

"Nah, I've been organising these parties for years now. I've gotten pretty good at them, no need for professional's here," Lorelai quipped back, deliberately choosing to misunderstand him.

"Are you bad at anything?" Luke asked sarcastically.

"Not that I can think of," Lorelai laughed.

Luke shook his head in amazement, he had never met a woman like her before in his life, "You're an amazing woman," he said drily.

Lorelai took a bow, "Why thank you sir."

"You know that wasn't a compliment right?"

"Oh yeah, I know," Lorelai smiled.

Luke shook his head, she really was the most infuriating person he knew. He was about to say as much when he caught her gaze, the look she was giving him made his mouth run dry. The world around them seemed to disappear and he felt like they were the only two people left of earth. He swallowed nervously, wanting nothing more than to grab her and kiss her senseless until she agreed to give them a chance.

"Lorelai?"

The sudden voice caused Luke to come crashing back to his senses. He looked around them and saw Sookie making her way towards them, looking determined. Luke turned back to Lorelai, surprised to find himself within inches of her. She seemed to realise how close they were at the same time and took a hasty step back. He quickly looked around for Rory, embarrassed when he caught her staring at them with an excited gleam in her eye.

"Lorelai, I need help with the food," Sookie said with a pointed look at her best friend.

"Coming Sooks!" Lorelai said, a little too brightly. "I'll see you later Luke, eat some food and have fun!"

Luke watched as the two women walked away, heads close as they spoke. He turned back to Rory, uncomfortable when he found her staring at him. "Having fun?" he asked lamely when she continued to stare.

"Lot's of fun," she replied sweetly, before dashing back to the dance floor.

Rory's mind was whirling. She knew that they liked each other and they had just proven it. They had both forgotten that she was there and had stared at each other like they wanted to devour one another.

She quickly told Lane all about it, eager for her best friend's input.

"Luke and Lorelai? Are you sure?" Lane asked seriously.

"Yeah! I think they would have kissed if Sookie hadn't interrupted." Rory tried to be annoyed with Sookie for interrupting but couldn't be. The woman had done too much for her in the past.

"Do you want them together?"

Rory took a moment to ponder the question before nodding, "He makes her happy. And she makes him happy I think."

"What are they waiting for then?" Lane asked excitedly. Her own mother's life wasn't anywhere near as exciting.

"I don't know," Rory shrugged, "Adults are idiots."

Lane giggled. "Do you think we should help them?"

Rory's face split into a large, devilish smile, "Yes, I think we should."