Hey guys! This is just a quick one-shot that popped into my head today. I honestly have no idea why I thought of it...I even picked the song after I wrote it. Usually I hear a song and get the idea but it was reverse this time.

It takes place in season 6 when Luke gets upsets because he thinks Lorelai is trying to get rid of him when she suggests he go camping alone. Lorelai decides she wants to do something nice for him because he was so good to her since Rory left. It goes along with the song "Better Together" by Jack Johnson. It's a lot shorter than many of the other one-shots but I like that it's short and simple and just a sweet moment between them. Hope you enjoy!

"Better Together"

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams,
And they are made out of real things
Like a shoebox of photographs
With sepia-toned loving

Love is the answer.
At least for most of the questions in my heart.
Like: "Why are we here?", "And where do we go?",
"And how come it's so hard?".
It's not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing:
It's always better when we're together

Mmm, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, we'll look at them stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they'll be gone
When the morning light sings and brings new things
For tomorrow night you see that they'll be gone too
Too many things I have to do

But if all of these dreams
Might find their way into my day-to-day scene
I'd be under the impression
I was somewhere in between
With only two
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do
Or places we got to be
We'll sit beneath the mango tree now

Yeah, it's always better when we're together
Mmm, we're somewhere in between together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

Mmm, mmm, mmm

I believe in memories
They look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up,
You look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
And there is no, no song I could sing
And there is no combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing
We're better together.

LORELAI: Hey, Grizzly Adams. Why are you back? The woods closed or something?

LUKE: No, they weren't closed. I was...I don't know. It's...what it is. Nature.

LORELAI: Nature? Nature is...

LUKE: You know, it's there, I saw it. Trees, leaves, whatever.

LORELAI: OK, that's your second answer in the form of a haiku. Let's get beyond that. Why are you back?

LUKE: Because I felt like coming back. I can't do what I want to do?

LORELAI: Of course you can.

LUKE: Good.

LORELAI: But camping is something you want to do.

LUKE: No, it's what you wanted me to do.

LORELAI: When did you turn against camping?

LUKE: I didn't turn against camping. I'm just trying to understand, why you were trying to get rid of me tonight.

LORELAI: I wasn't doing that.

LUKE: Well, you sent me off to the woods. What if I don't want to go off to the woods?

LORELAI: But you always want to go to the woods.

LUKE: Well, I don't like going to the woods when I'm being banished to them.

LORELAI: No one is banishing you.

LUKE: It felt like it.

LORELAI: Well, then, that's my fault. (sits on a nearby stool)

LUKE: (sighs) Look... I like doing things with you. Surprised I have to tell you that.

LORELAI: You don't have to tell me that.

LUKE: I like going shopping with you, I like having dinner with Sookie and Jackson. The actual shopping seems a little pointless, and Sookie's kids drive me up a wall, but you're there, and I like hanging with you.

LORELAI: I know that.

LUKE: And, I could have been fun at this recital. I mean, you're probably sitting there mocking most of it. I can mock stuff.

LORELAI: Oh, you're a great mocker. I was only thinking of you when I mentioned the camping. You haven't been camping since we got together, and I was feeling weird about that. You should do the things you like.

LUKE: I do do the things I like.

LORELAI: Well, I wasn't getting rid of you. I want you to do whatever you want to do with me. I know that sounded dirty, and dirty things count, but I didn't mean the dirty things. You and me can hang whenever, wherever.

LUKE: Yeah, well, maybe I'm being sensitive.

LORELAI: I really wasn't getting rid of you.

LUKE: I mean, I'm not dying to see baton twirling.

LORELAI: I'm happy to be with a man who isn't.

LUKE: Was there baton twirling?

LORELAI: Oh, yes, and it was no fun. She didn't drop it once. You want to come back to the recital with me? Kirk is doing something strange and disturbing.

LUKE: Nah, I think I might go back out camping. Wouldn't mind doing some fishing.

LORELAI: Good.

LUKE: Yeah. Good.

LORELAI: OK.

She stared at him for a moment, "So...are we okay?"

He nodded slowly, "Yeah. I was just...over thinking maybe." He shrugged, "Just making sure you weren't trying to push me away."

She smiled and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, "I don't want to get rid of you Luke. You're the only thinking keeping me together at the moment. I just…" She blushed nervously, "I don't want you to get sick of me or resent me down the road. I've been taking up all your time."

His voice took on a low tone that sent a shiver down her spine, "I just want you to be happy again Lorelai."

Her eyes sparkled with tears, "Luke…"

"I know how hard this has all been for you. Rory's your life." He said honestly, "And I know you don't want to talk about it and I'm trying to respect that. But it's killing me that you're sad…"

She looked down at his chest, smoothing her hands over his heart, "I'm trying."

He nodded and rubbed her side, "I know you are. But you have to know that I am too."

She lifted her lead again and nodded slowly, "I know you are. And you've been incredible. I don't know how I would have made it through the last few months without you. I just don't' want you to lose yourself because of me." She smiled and pulled at his collar, "I like my Grizzly Adams."

He smirked, they didn't often verbally express their love but in this moment he needed to hear it, "Just like?"

Her smile grew and she pulled him closer to her, "Not just like." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, "Love."

He breathed her in and felt the tension from earlier begin to float away, "Good. That's good."

She smiled and kissed him again, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

He nodded slowly, "You'll be okay?"

She nodded, "I'll be okay." She shrugged and started to pull away, "I'll miss you though."

"Please…" He said with a playful eye roll, "You'll have all the blankets to yourself tonight. You'll enjoy that."

She laughed and squeezed his hand; "I only take them away from you for the thrill of the fight babe."

He chuckled and shook his head, "I love you crazy lady."

She beamed up at her and shook his head as she stepped back, "Good. That's good." She said with a wink as she turned and walked out the door.

Luke watched her go and smiled as he watched her walk towards Patty's studio again. He definitely felt a lot better than he did earlier. He hated the idea of her slipping away.

Lorelai watched the rest of the performance but her heart wasn't in it anymore. She felt terrible that Luke had thought she was trying to get rid of him. He had been so amazing during this whole debacle with Rory. He had been by her side every step of the way and never hesitated to find ways to make her smile. He endured movies he would never pick himself. He cooked her every food he knew that she loved. He stayed up and held her as she cried but refused to open about her feelings. He went shopping and was even willing to come to this show tonight.

He was her rock.

As she walked out of Patty's studio with Sookie she sighed as she looked back at the empty Diner. "Hey, you okay?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai turned towards her friend and smiled, "Yeah. I'm good."

"Everything alright with Luke?" Sookie asked, "Why did he come back early?"

Lorelai frowned, "He felt like I was trying to get rid of him tonight, that I didn't want him around."

"Oh no." Sookie said with a soft voice, "Poor Luke. That's not what you were trying to do at all. Right? You just wanted to make sure he was still doing the stuff he likes to do."

Lorelai nodded, "Right. And I explained that to him and I think he understands."

Sookie turned her head to the side, "But…? There's something else you're not saying."

Her nose scrunched up and she sighed, "I just feel guilty ya know? I know I haven't been myself lately. And I know that this should be the best part of our life. We should be planning a wedding and moving forward but we're at a stand still because of this thing with Rory."

"Are you afraid he's going to leave you?" Sookie asked curiously.

"Not at all." Lorelai said shaking her head, "That's one thing I'm not worried about. Luke's so loyal. He's been incredible. I'm not worried about that I just feel bad that things have been different. He's been so sweet and I feel like I've neglected his needs."

"Are you guys still having sex?" Sookie asked with wide eyes.

Lorelai laughed and rolled her eyes, "Yes Sookie. We're still having sex. But even that can be different...I feel like he's trying so hard to put me back together. He's more cautious ya know? More reserved. We used too…" She blushed, "We used to have this heat, this passion and I know it's still there. I think he's just afraid to say or do the wrong thing to upset me."

"So what are you saying?" Sookie asked, "I'm a little confused. You said yourself that Rory had to make the next move so where does that leave you?"

Lorelai frowned, "I think I need to do something nice for Luke. To show that I'm still in this ya know? That just because things have been a little off that his feelings still matter to me."

Sookie smiled, "What are you going to do?"

Lorelai's smile grew, "How much do you know about camping?"

The following day, Luke ended up going straight from camping to his apartment. He showered and got ready for work. Calling the Inn he checked in with Lorelai and she told him she'd be home by 7 and was looking forward to seeing him. She also told him to bring his camping gear home. When he had questioned her on why, she ignored him and said she had to run to a meeting. Luke shrugged it off, figuring she just wanted to make sure the last of Luke's things were finally being moved into the house.

At 6:58, he pulled up in front of the house and grabbed his stuff from the back of the truck. He figured he'd store it in the garage, but for now he'd bring it inside. He just wanted to see Lorelai. As much as he loved camping, he had to admit he missed her last night. He had become quite accustomed to her sleeping beside him...even if it meant not getting any of the blankets.

He smiled to himself as he opened the front door and stepped into the foyer. The smile faded slightly when he began to smell a burning fire and heard what sounded like crickets and owls. "Lorelai?" He called into the room.

"In here!" She called from the living room.

Luke pulled his sleeping back up over his shoulder and walked towards her voice. He stopped in his tracks when he saw that the living room had been transformed. Somehow Lorelai had brought in fake trees and a tent small enough to fit in the living room. She was standing by the fireplace, hands on hips with a hunting hat, tight jeans, one of his flannel shirts and a pair of hiking boots.

"Hiya!" She said with a little giggle in her voice.

Luke looked around the room and saw the CD player where the noises were coming from, "What am I looking at?"

Lorelai stepped around the tent and walked over to him, "Well...I was thinking that you were right. It's much better when we do things together. And I know you like camping…" She said slowly, "But the idea of sleeping out in the woods is kind of terrifying and weird to me."

Luke chuckled, "Yeah, you're not much of an outdoorsy kind of girl."

"Which sometimes I'm sure you appreciate seeing as I always shave my legs." She said with a smirk.

He laughed, "Yes that's a plus."

"But I also know that sometimes you would probably like it if I put more effort into doing the things that you like the way you do the things I like." She said poking him in the stomach.

He smiled, "Lorelai we talked about this last night. I like doing things with you."

"I know." She said slowly, "But this is a relationship which means give and take. So while I'm not exactly ready to head out to sleep on the dirt with Smokey the Bear for a night…" He laughed, "I figured we could give indoor camping a try and work me up to the real thing."

He shook his head and pulled her close, "You're crazy, you know that?"

She hummed thoughtfully and smiled, "I may have been told that a time or two. Yes."

Luke pulled her all the way in and kissed her hard on the lips, "How the hell did you do all of this?" He asked as he pulled away.

"Sookie helped. She even cooked what we thought would be camping foods." She said with a smile. "And Jackson put together the tent. Said he had to learn when Sookie stopped refusing to let him bring in the plants at night and he was to afraid to leave them out in the garden."

"That would explain the time you slept in the zucchini patch at the Inn." He said remembering the day he had finally found the courage to make a move.

She started to step back, "Ah yes, the day you asked me to go to Liz's wedding with you." She paused and beamed at him, "Was that technically our first date?"

He shrugged, "It was kind of a pre date-date."

She laughed, "A pre date-date? What does that even mean?"

"Well I wasn't really sure if you would even want to cross that line so I figured the wedding was a safe place to test the waters a bit." He said with a smile.

She nodded slowly, "And you obviously thought it went well because you asked me to go to the movies when you walked me home. Didn't call it a date...but it felt like that's what it was."

He placed his sleeping bag down on the ground and walked towards her, "I thought I was going to pass out when I walked away. You looked confused." He chuckled, "I almost felt like I had tricked you into saying yes."

She smiled and pulled him towards the tent, "You didn't trick me. I was surprised as hell yes but I said yes because I had had fun at the wedding with you."

He nodded, "That's good."

She rocked back and forth on her tiptoes, "Hey, you like my outfit? This camping stuff is comfortable."

He chuckled and pulled at the oversized shirt on her, "Well this is my shirt. And the jeans I'm sure you had. Hat and boots look new though."

She put her hands on her hips, "I always love a good excuse to buy new shoes."

Luke rolled his eyes, "Oh I know it. How many times have you worn the boating boots?"

She smirked, "Well if you'd get the boat out on the water I'd have more reason to wear them mister."

His lips formed a straight line and he nodded, "Touché."

"So…" She said not wanting to upset him with talk of the boat, "Sookie cooked trout which I'm a little leery to try. But she also made hot dogs in case I started to gag."

He laughed again, "She's a good friend."

"She is!" Lorelai said with a smile, "And she made Smokes Pie because we weren't sure how it would work making smokes in the fireplace."

"Probably smart. That thing hasn't been cleaned in years." He said nodding towards it.

"Remember the time you tried to clean it? Didn't a dead squirrel fall on you when you were poking that stick thingy up there." She said with a wrinkled nose.

"That was kind of dirty." He said pointing a finger at her, "And yes. A squirrel and an unidentifiable dead creature that had clearly been up there for a while. He was burnt to a crisp."

"Poor creature." Lorelai said with a frown.

"There's a reason you're supposed to close the flue after you're done using it." He teased.

She shrugged, "To much work…"

He laughed and glanced around the room, "I still can't believe you did all this."

She smiled and sat down in the opening of the tent, "I need to do more nice things for you." Her voice faltered off sadly.

Luke knelt down in front of her and then joined her in the opening; "You do nice things for me all the time." He smirked, "Like last Wednesday when you woke me up in that oh so special way you know I love."

She blushed and nudged him with her elbow, "I didn't mean just dirty things. I mean gestures to show you that you know I…" She shrugged, "That I care."

"I know you care." He whispered to her, "Besides you've been a little preoccupied lately and I understand it."

She sighed and took his hand, "I know you don't like the way I'm handling all of this."

He squeezed her hand tightly in his, "It's not that I don't like it. I just don't know how anything will get better if you keep pretending that nothing's wrong."

She nodded slowly, "I just don't know what to say to her. I feel so angry...and I hate feeling angry. Rory and I don't fight like this. It just doesn't happen. It's never been this bad. The worst part about it is…" She sighed sadly, "I'm really disappointed in her Luke. I never thought I could be disappointed in her…"

He nodded, "I know. She's not been herself lately. I never saw this coming either. But the thing is...she's human. And we all make mistakes. Right?"

She laughed, "You're talking to the Queen of mistakes Mister."

He smiled sadly, he hated it when she was so hard on herself, "We've all done stupid things Lorelai. We can hope that this is her last big mistake. But at some point one of you has to make a move here. I can see that this is slowly killing you inside. You miss her."

She swallowed hard, "I do miss her. So much. I'm worried about her…"

"So am I." He said scooting closer to her, "And you know I have your back in this. Whatever you decide I'll be right there. But I do think we need to make a move here. I already told you I'd drive over there and drag her home myself if you need me too."

She laughed and leaned in and rested her forehead against his, "Look at you. I try and do something nice for you and once again you're taking care of me. Damn you Danes."

He smiled and lifted his face to kiss her forehead, "We're in a relationship. It's about give and take, right?" He asked repeating her words from earlier.

She took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent that was Luke Danes, "Right."

He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze again before looking around at the tent, "This is a nice tent."

She smiled and pulled herself back to the task at hand, operation thank Luke. "Oh wait! I forgot to show you the best part!"

Luke watched her stand up and begin to run around the house turning off all the lights. He watched her curiously and moved over as she sat down beside him again. She took a pillow and placed it on the ground and lay down patting the space beside her. Luke smiled and scooted closer to her and lay down beside her. He felt her slide her hand into his and heard her click something on; he looked straight up and then smiled.

"Wow." He whispered as he took in the sight above him, the ceiling had been transformed into a night sky. "How are you doing that?"

"Andrew's friend works in a Planetarium and he said I could borrow this for the night." She slid over closer to her him and rested her head on his shoulder, "Probably not as beautiful as the real thing but I thought it could be good enough for tonight."

He let his eyes wander over the fake stars, "The real thing is pretty spectacular. But I enjoy the company here much better than the loneliness of the woods."

She smiled and moved her hand out of his to squeeze his arm, "You're sweet."

Luke kissed the top of her head and let the moment sink in, "Thank you for doing this."

She snuggled into him again, "Tell me a camping story."

He frowned, "Like from when I was a kid?"

She shrugged and moved her head so she could see him, "If you want too…"

Luke stared into her eyes for a moment. He didn't often like to talk about his childhood. It was too painful to think about his parents. Especially now. He was engaged to the woman of his dreams and she would never get to meet them. But every now and then in moments like this when it was just them, he felt comfortable enough to open up to her.

"One time when I was about six I think…" He smirked, "We went up Maine which was supposed to be for a week in the summer. Dad was so excited. He packed up the truck with everything we'd need. He checked and double-checked. We got all the way up there after stopping a million times for bathroom breaks and because Liz and I wouldn't stop fighting. She threw my cassette player out the window and we spent 30 minutes trying to find it on the side of the road."

Lorelai started to laugh, "I wish I knew you both back then. I would have killed to see that."

He chuckled, "Anyway, we got there finally just as the sun had completely set. My Mom looked exhausted and like she just wanted to go to sleep. So my Dad started to unpack the truck while Liz and I fought even more and then suddenly he just stopped."

She turned her head towards his, "What do you mean he stopped?"

"He was just staring into the back of the truck in disbelief and we didn't understand why. My Mom who had the patience of an angel must have finally had enough because she started sighing and walked to him. She asked what the problem was and he whispered something to her and for the first time in my life I heard my Mom swear." He said with a laugh.

Lorelai smiled, "What did she say?"

He chuckled and said in a high pitch voice, "Are you fucking kidding me?" He said.

Lorelai gasped, "Oh the big one!"

He smiled and looked back at the ceiling, "The swear of all swear words. Liz started running around the truck repeating it."

"I can picture that." She said with a smile as she continued to watch him, she loved hearing his stories, "So what was the problem?"

He smirked, "Because despite the fact that my Dad had checked and double checked...he forgot one key thing for camping. Especially when you have two kids."

"What did he forget?" She asked pulling at his arm.

He started to laugh and looked towards her again, "The tent."

Lorelai gasped again and started to laugh, "No!"

He continued to laugh and nodded his head, "Yup. We spent the entire day driving all the way up there and there was no tent to sleep in."

She put a hand over her mouth and suppressed her giggles, "Oh my God. Your Mom must have been so mad."

"Yep. She was fuming." He said with a chuckle, "And she never got mad. She was just so tired and Liz was still running around screaming the F word and we were in the middle of nowhere."

"So what did you do?" Lorelai asked, "Did she make you find a hotel or something?"

He smiled and shook his head, "Nope. After a few minutes in which my Dad just stood there nervously...she started pulling out the sleeping bags. We all just stood there and she set them all up in a circle. She told my Dad to build a fire close to it and he did. He would have probably done anything she said just to diffuse the situation. I remember that when Liz finally stopped running around she asked what we were going to do." He smiled at the memory, "And my Mom said we were going to sleep under the stars."

Lorelai felt her heart squeeze in her chest, she wished so desperately that she could have met the two people responsible for raising this incredible man beside her. "Wow."

He smiled and stared up at the fake stars above him, "She and Dad taught us about the constellations. Helped us find our signs. Dad told ghost stories until Liz crawled into his sleeping back with him because she was too scared and we fell asleep to my Mom singing to us." He sighed happily, "It was probably one of the best trips we ever took."

She smiled and rested her head against his shoulder again, "Sounds like a great memory."

"It is." He said in a thick emotion filled voice, "I always thought that someday if I ever had kids I'd like to take them camping and sleep under the stars like that."

A warmth spread through her body, "Well then I guess it's a good thing we are taking baby steps with this. I'd like to be there with you too." She paused, "At least I'm assuming I'd be the one there with you."

He chuckled, "You're insufferable."

She smiled and kissed his shoulder, "Just checking to make sure I'm in that scenario."

"To be honest I always thought it was a pipe dream. I never saw it happening. When I did think about it then the person I was with had no real face." He smiled, "Not until you that is."

She smiled, "I hope I look good in that dream."

He chuckled, "You always look good."

She blushed and held him closer; "I'd like to do that with you…" She paused, "And our children someday."

"Yeah?" He asked turning his head to look at her.

She beamed up at him, "Definitely."

Luke smiled and rolled over so that he was staring down at her, "You know...there's always one other thing I've wanted to do under the stars."

The deep raspy timbre of his voice sent a spark from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. She loved when he used that voice with her. She felt like the only woman in the world when he was with her like this. She felt important, beautiful and sexy. She felt free, safe and above all she felt loved.

Swallowing hard, she scratched her nails against the flannel on his back, "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I'll give you one guess…" He whispered as he lowered his head to the crook of her neck and began to suckle her skin gently.

She arched into him and sighed happily, "Oh I think I might like this camping thing…"

Luke chuckled and slipped his hand under her shirt, "Good. That's good."

As they made love under the fake stars they both couldn't help but think that everything was really better when they were together.

Hope you liked it guys. I wish we could have seen more little moments like this with our favorite couple. Here's hoping we see more in the Revival! Less than a month! Can't wait ;)