"It's too cold. Come back," Lorelai murmured, not even opening her eyes to the pre-dawn light as she felt Luke roll away from her, rolling forward herself and extending her arm around him to stop him from getting out of bed.
"I've got to shower." He told her tiredly, moving his chin to kiss her arm where it was closest to his lips.
"No, I'm not letting you go. It's too early to get out of bed." Lorelai protested weakly, closing her eyes even tighter as if this could get him back to sleep as well.
"I have to open," He explained, rolling back towards her to kiss her soundly, running a hand through her hair as he did so. "Your hair's really soft." He commented. He kissed her again, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Mmm, you're warm," He remarked.
"That's right. Soft hair, warm girl, comfy bed. Don't go." Lorelai tried to lure him.
"I wish I didn't have to." Luke told her. "You're cute when you're half asleep like this."
"Cuter when I'm talking a mile a minute?" She asked.
"Sure," He told her. "I need to take a shower, so you should probably join me. For purposes of conserving water, of course."
"Oh, yeah. Water conservation. Of course. Wouldn't want to be an environmental plight, like a golf course. The shower sharing is for purely non selfish reasons." Lorelai agreed, smiling as she allowed Luke to help her out of the bed and peel off her clothes, then returning the favor until both of their pajamas were strewn in a careless path from the bed to the interior of the bathroom.
"Just wait until the water's warm enough. I'll show you how non selfish I can be," He teased, pulling her into the warm water with him.
Lorelai had been lulled into a satisfied sleep after her shower, and awoke again a few hours later, rolling over to find a blue sticky note on the bedside table left behind by Luke. "Come in for breakfast?" It read. A question, not a demand. But she would do it anyway, she decided. She rolled out of bed, figuring that even with a pair of leggings, his flannel that he had thrown on after their shower was not appropriate outerwear. She pulled a more appropriate outfit out of the closet and threw it on quickly, as if she didn't trust herself to get moving and get out the door if given time to think about it. She went to the bathroom and faced the mirror, taming her bed-wild curls and applying a little makeup to her eyes. She wasn't entirely with it as she finished getting ready and walking to the diner, instead letting her mind wander to thoughts of work, of Rory and of Jess, and her parents.
Sooner than she expected, she made it to the door of the diner. She'd never really paused to look at it before. The white paint was faded and chipping at some places. She made a mental note to tell Luke she'd notice it. He hated sprucing, sure, but she also knew he put a lot of value and pride in the appearance of the diner, and why shouldn't he? She had just as much pride in the appearance of the inn. Besides, this was nothing a simple coat of paint wouldn't fix, and she loved to break out the painting songs. She peered through the glass panes and saw all the usual suspects, Patty, Babette, Morey and Kirk, namely. Just at the right moment, Luke looked up from the spot of counter he was scrubbing and caught her eye. He gave her a quick smile of reassurance and then walked away from the counter to refill coffee cups, and Lorelai smiled back even as he walked away, knowing that the space he was giving her meant just as much as the support.
Slowly, carefully, but confidently, Lorelai swung the diner door open, expecting some greater impact than the gentle thud of the door against the stopper in the interior of the diner. There was none. She breathed out a sigh of relief. Smiling, she went to take her normal stool at the end of the counter, remembering a time when the rounded curve of her stomach prevented her from sitting there, but chasing away that memories with brighter ones: shared card games on nights Luke had to close, many, many, many good morning kisses always punctuated with a cup of coffee. Things were more good than bad.
"Lorelai, dear," Mrs. Patty said from behind her.
"Good morning Mrs. Patty," Lorelai said brightly as she turned to face Ms. Patty, praying that the gossip mill hadn't sent her on a fact-finding mission.
"We've missed seeing that beautiful face out and about, sweetheart. Promise us you won't hide away forever?"
"Oh, I promise not to return to my cave for another 32 years or so." Lorelai bantered in response.
"Good to have you back with us, dear." Patty smiled and returned to her seat.
Just then, Luke appeared with a coffee mug in one hand and a carafe full of the sweet elixir of life in the other. He poured the coffee into the cup and slid it towards her, practically beaming.
"If you aren't careful, you're gonna lose your tough guy reputation."
"Don't care," he said gruffly and a little more true to form. "I'm not embarrassing you, am I?" He asked with a bit more genuine concern.
"No, babe. It is nice to know that my presence isn't completely revolting to you," she teased, raising the mug to her lips and taking a deep sip, closing her eyes and relishing in the taste. Luke's coffee just tasted better in Luke's Diner.
"How's it feel?" Luke asked softly.
"Feels like coming home," Lorelai smiled.
