Title: What You Get
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Chapter 21: Paint by Laughter
Author's note: So this isn't the longest chapter, and it's pretty heavy on the fluff, but it does set a bunch of stuff up. I hope you enjoy it.
Comments and Criticisms always welcome.
Thursday afternoon Lorelai walks up to the diner to find Luke locking up.
"I thought we were meeting here." She says as they lean in for a kiss.
"Well, we kinda need the car, which is at the house. So I assumed that we were meeting at the house." Luke says when they pull apart.
"Oh. That makes more sense." Lorelai responds as Luke slings an arm around her shoulders and they start walking towards the house.
"So what colors do you want to paint the diner?" Lorelai asks Luke as they pass the gazebo, waving to the young guitarist who's taken up residence everyday on the side of the square.
"I was thinking maybe a deeper green with some sort of goldish, not like neon gold or anything, but gold trim along the windows and edges." Luke responds as they reach the house and get into the car.
"That sounds very nice, and it shouldn't be difficult to get those colors." Lorelai says as they head off to the Home Depot in Hartford.
Two hours later they arrive back at the diner, the car loaded with buckets of paint, tarps, brushes and rollers. They take everything out of the car and bring it into the diner.
"So, when do you want to paint?" Lorelai asks Luke as they set the last can of paint down on the counter.
"Well, your day off it Saturday right?" Luke asks her. She nods. "Maybe tomorrow night then? That way we can sleep in on Saturday and then spend the afternoon at the park with Rory and my dad."
"That sounds perfect." Lorelai responds as they head out of the diner and lock up.
When they get home Rory comes running up to them bursting with stories about pre-school and what she and William did that afternoon. Luke picks her up and they walk into the living room and sit down, listening intently to Rory's story about the boy who pulled Lane's pig-tail.
The next night Lorelai and Luke kiss Rory goodnight and say goodnight to William, before heading over to the diner. They set out the tarps and brushes and start to work. About an hour in, Lorelai turns on the radio, getting bored with the silence. When one of her favorite songs comes on, she begins to twirl herself around the diner, getting paint everywhere. Luckily, the tarps are covering everything, so it's not a problem, until a bit of paint hits Luke.
He turns to look at her as he feels something wet and blobby sliding down his back. Lorelai is standing in the middle of the diner with her hands over her mouth, a look of shock and slight fear in her eyes. Luke glares at her and dips his brush into the paint. He advances towards Lorelai as she slowly backs away, eventually hitting the door, with nowhere to run.
"Luke, I'm sorry, it was an accident. I swear." She says as he raises the brush. "Don't do anything you'll regr…" She starts, but Luke has already smeared paint on her face.
Lorelai shoots him a dirty look and slaps her paintbrush onto his face, smearing paint there too. Their little spat quickly escalates into an all out war with paint flying everywhere. After about ten minutes they collapse to the floor, covered in paint and laughing hysterically.
"Oh yeah, we're mature." Lorelai says as she regains her breathing.
"You started it." Luke says, breathing deeply.
"I was dancing and it just flew off my brush. I swear! I wasn't trying to get paint on you." Lorelai says putting her hands up in defense.
"Sure, sure." Luke says as he lifts himself off the floor, extending a hand to help her up.
"I wasn't." Lorelai says indignantly as she takes his hand and gets up as well.
Luke merely shrugs and moves back over to his section of the wall. Lorelai pouts and goes back to work too. Three hours later, they close up the paint cans and roll up the tarps. They lean back against the counter and admire their work.
"Looks good." Luke says after a moment.
"Yeah, it really does." Lorelai agrees.
"Thanks for helping me." Luke says, turning to look at her.
"My pleasure." Lorelai tells him as they lean in for a kiss.
As they break apart Luke looks down at their clothes and chuckles. "I think we better get home and get this stuff into the laundry before it's too late."
Lorelai nods and they lock up and head home, his arm around her waist, her head on his shoulder. When they get back they head upstairs and grab their pajamas quietly. Then they tiptoe into the bathroom to shower. When they get into the shower Lorelai looks down at the floor and notices that the water swirling around the drain has turned green. She begins to laugh and falls into Luke. He looks at her questioningly. She simply points to the floor and he begins to laugh as well. When they've calmed down they meet in a gentle kiss and finish showering. They get out and dry off, putting on their pajamas and brushing their teeth in comfortable silence. They take their paint-stained clothes downstairs and shove them in the laundry, before climbing back up the stairs to go to bed.
As they crawl into bed Luke turns to Lorelai.
"So, your birthday is next weekend." He states as they snuggle into the blankets.
"That it is." She responds, curling into his chest.
"And, not only is it a birthday, but it's your 21st birthday." Luke says, giving her a little squeeze. Lorelai nods into his chest, smiling.
"I was thinking that maybe you'd like to go down to the city for the weekend. Will and Rory could go stay with Liz and Jimmy, and you and I could get a hotel room and go out and celebrate." Lorelai turns head to look at him, an elated grin slowly making its way across her face.
"Of course, we'd spend your actual birthday with Rory, Liz, Jess, Jimmy and my dad, since it's on Friday. We could go out for dinner somewhere nice or something, whatever you want. But Saturday and Sunday, you and I would really go celebrate, booze included if you'd like. You will be 21 after all."
Lorelai squeals and launches herself on top of him, kissing him soundly. He beams at her enthusiasm as they break apart.
"That sounds amazing Luke! I can't wait. That's going to be so wonderful. You're amazing!" She says as she kisses him again.
He smiles at her. "I'm glad you like the idea." He says happily.
"Like it? I love it! Seriously, I can't wait!" She says hugging him tightly.
Luke grins at her and kisses her head. "I'm glad."
They lie there for a few minutes, kissing occasionally. Lorelai starts to yawn after a while, and shifts herself off of Luke's chest to lie down beside him. He places his arms around her again and kisses her head. They rest in silence for a few minutes, both almost falling asleep.
"I didn't mean to get paint on you." Lorelai sighs quietly into his chest.
Luke chuckles and kisses her temple. "I know. But you looked cute in green." He says quietly as he hears her breathing slow into the steady rhythm of sleep. He smiles and pulls her a little closer, falling into sleep himself.