Merry Fisticuffs, Revisited
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Lorelai quietly climbed out of bed, grabbed some clothes from the dresser, and headed into the bathroom. She'd slept horribly. She'd discovered it was difficult to sleep when a hundred thoughts were running through her head about her relationship with the man sleeping next to her.
Let's make a baby, he'd said. So casually, like it wasn't a big deal.
And it shocked her. She didn't know why her husband bringing up a seemingly normal topic for husbands to bring up with their wives made her uncomfortable, but it did. She'd tried to pretend otherwise for his sake, but... no. She wasn't on board.
It was slightly after 5 in the morning, but she was now up and dressed. She threw on a coat and a hat, and she left the house. She told herself she just needed to walk and clear her head, but she was walking with purpose toward a specific destination, whether she wanted to admit it to herself or not.
She walked to the town square, heading straight for the diner. She hadn't been there in months, not since that fateful night of the ultimatum.
She approached the door and tried the handle. It was still locked, the diner wasn't open yet. But she knew Luke was probably inside getting ready to open, or would be soon, so she sat down on the steps and waited. She hugged her knees to her chest and closed her eyes and tried to keep warm.
Minutes passed by as she sat there shivering until she finally heard a noise inside. She jumped up and looked in the window, and saw Luke starting to take the chairs off the tables.
She knocked lightly on the door, and he looked over toward her. His eyes widened when he saw her face, and then he blinked a few times, as if he was seeing a mirage.
He walked over to the door and unlocked it. He pulled it open slowly, still sort of uncertain as to whether she was actually there.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah, okay," he replied, confused, and he gestured for her to come in.
She walked in, and he shut the door. They stood facing each other, and Luke folded his arms across his chest.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Uh, just taking a little casual stroll," Lorelai replied. "Getting some air."
"At 5:30 in the morning?" Luke asked. "And you ended up at a place you haven't been to in months? I repeat the question, what's going on?"
Lorelai exhaled a deep breath and stared at him nervously for what felt like a really long time. But he stood there and waited for her to speak.
"I'm sorry," Lorelai finally said to him.
"Sorry?"
"Yeah. That's what's going on. I came here at 5:30 in the morning to a place I haven't been to in months to tell the man who owns said place that I'm sorry." She swallowed hard as she added, "For, you know... that thing that happened the last night that I was here at this place." She looked around at the diner. "I'm glad it looks the same."
"Which part of that night?" Luke asked her, his arms still folded across his chest. "Which part are you sorry about?"
"All of it," she said softly, and she shook her head sadly. "That night was horrible, Luke. I shouldn't have given you an ultimatum, I shouldn't have gone to Christopher. I just... I was upset and I made stupid decisions that night." She looked down at the floor for a few seconds, and then at him. "I needed you to know that... that I'm sorry."
Luke really didn't know how to respond to that. It was the very last thing he would've ever expected to happen that morning, and he was still in shock. Finally, he just nodded at her. "Okay... thanks."
"You're welcome."
"I'm sorry, too," he added, his voice softening. "For how I handled the April thing... I should've told you right away. I should've let you be involved."
"I wanted to be," she told him.
"I know."
They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Lorelai glanced at the door. "I guess I should get back home," she said.
"Yeah. And I gotta open up."
Lorelai looked over at the coffee maker, and then back at Luke. "I can't start coming back here," she told him. "I just... I want to, but I can't."
Luke pursed his lips. "He told you not to," he guessed. "That why you're here so early? He's still asleep?"
"No, he didn't tell me not to," Lorelai replied.
"But he wouldn't like it," Luke said.
"No, he wouldn't," she confirmed.
"Well, then... I guess I'll see you around town."
Lorelai gave him a little nod. She took a step toward the door, and then stopped. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. She was finding it hard to walk out the door. She liked being around him again, she liked talking to him, she missed having him in her life.
She looked at him. He had been watching her, waiting to see if she would say more. He was going to offer to make a quick pot of coffee for her, and before he could even get a word out, her arms were around his neck and her lips were against his, kissing him tenderly.
He instinctively kissed her back. How could he not? He'd missed her. He'd been angry at her, but underneath that anger, he still cared for her, he still wanted her.
His arms started to wrap around her body before he came to his senses and he pulled back from her. "Lorelai, stop, you're married," he said softly; he didn't want to say it, but he knew he had to.
Lorelai's eyes were wide as she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, my God," she said, the words muffled against her hand. "Oh, my God." There was a distraught look on her face, guilt about what she'd just done.
"Lorelai..." he started.
"I have to go," she quickly said, and she pulled open the door.
He watched after her as she rushed down the street toward her house, and when she was finally out of sight, he slowly shut the door.
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That afternoon, Lorelai and Chris met with Emily and the party planner for a food and wine tasting, and the awkwardness was embarrassing. Chris was upset and his attitude toward Lorelai aggravated her enough to almost completely erase any guilt she'd felt about kissing Luke that morning.
That evening she stayed late at the inn doing inventory, and when she left, she didn't drive straight home. She drove to the diner, and as she parked her Jeep on the street behind Luke's truck, she noticed some holiday decorations in the square had been knocked over.
She walked to the diner, which had the Closed sign up, but luckily the door was still unlocked.
"We're closed, read the sign," Luke's voice called from the kitchen when he heard the bell. He stepped out of the kitchen to see who was there, and much like that morning, was shocked to see her. He was holding ice wrapped in a towel against his face, and he slowly lowered it to reveal his reddened cheek.
Lorelai's eyes widened and she walked toward the counter. "What happened to you?"
"You told him about the kiss?" Luke asked her.
"What? What are you talking about?" Lorelai asked narrowing her eyes, and then she gasped. "Did Chris do that?"
"Yeah. What did you think was gonna happen when you told him?" he snapped.
"I didn't tell him, I swear," Lorelai told him. "No one knows but you and me. Did he say anything?"
"Neither of us did," Luke replied. "We just locked eyes across the square, walked toward each other, and started fighting near the gazebo. Not a word was said. I just assumed it was about the kiss."
Lorelai glanced out the window. "That explains the mess out there."
"What are you doing here?" Luke asked her. "You said you couldn't come back here."
"I don't know," she admitted. "I was working late, and then... I drove here."
"Yeah, well, your husband's probably waiting for you at home... hopefully with his own bruised face," Luke said.
"He's kind of in a particularly snippy mood today, so I'm not exactly in a rush to get home."
"Well, he took his mood out on me, so he's probably feeling pretty good now."
Lorelai frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry."
Luke dropped the towel of ice on the counter. "Well, since I sucker punched him a few months ago, I probably had it coming." He nodded toward the coffee maker. "Little bit of coffee left if you want it."
Lorelai's eyes wandered over to the coffee maker. She hadn't had his coffee in so long, and just the thought of it was making her salivate. "Sure... thanks." She took off her jacket and sat down on a stool.
Luke poured her the coffee, and then walked over to the door and locked it. He didn't want anyone else thinking they were open.
He started lifting chairs on top of tables, and she turned around in her stool to face him while sipping her coffee. "You look dressed up," she remarked, and she suddenly felt a pang of jealousy that he was out on a date.
"I met with a lawyer today," Luke replied.
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What? Why?"
"I have to sue Anna to get partial custody of April," he replied, and then he shook his head. "I don't really wanna talk about it right now, though, okay?"
"Oh, okay." She looked down at the floor, and then at her coffee cup. "Still the best coffee in town."
"Thanks."
They were quiet as Luke continued lifting chairs, and Lorelai drank her coffee. She sat there, her mind spinning with things she wanted to say to him, but she kept talking herself out of it. She kept telling herself she should go home, she should go talk to Chris first.
Luke interrupted her thoughts to tell her he was going to get the broom from the back, and when he walked away, she immediately jumped off her stool and followed him.
He went into the storage room, grabbed the broom, and when he turned toward the door to leave, he was startled to see her in the doorway. "Whoa," he replied, jumping a little. "Jesus."
"Sorry." Lorelai stepped into the room and stood in front of him. "I realized something today and I just need to get it out."
Luke felt weirdly nervous. "Okay."
"I realized that I didn't hesitate with you," Lorelai said. "I hesitated with him, but not with you, and that means something."
Luke cocked his head a little with confusion, waiting for her to explain what that meant.
"When you mentioned wanting us to have kids, I didn't hesitate to say yes," Lorelai explained. "I wanted a family with you."
Luke exhaled a sigh and shook his head. "Lorelai, stop."
"And when he asked me last night, I hesitated," Lorelai continued. "I didn't get that same excited feeling that I got when you brought it up."
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, starting to get a little angry. He let the broom fall to the floor. "Why are you making this harder than it has to be? What good does it do talking about things we missed out on?"
"Because I still want them!" she exclaimed, and then she softened her voice as she added, "With you, not him... I want them with you."
"Well, you're with him now," he reminded her. "So, that ship has sailed."
"Ships come back all the time," Lorelai said. "That's why there are docks and ports and marinas, for ships to sail back to after they've left."
Luke shrugged at her. "I don't know what you want me to say here, Lorelai. You're married to another man. You need to figure that out."
"I did figure it out," Lorelai told him. "Tonight, in between counting hundreds of items at the inn, I was debating in my head whether or not it was worth fighting to stay in a marriage that my heart isn't truly in just so I wouldn't look like a fool who couldn't make yet another relationship work, and I decided... it's not." She exhaled a soft sigh. "It's not worth it. I don't want to work extra hard just to be in an unhappy marriage. I have to end it."
"Okay, well, then end it," Luke told her.
"I will," she told him. "It's done, it's over. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I'm going to end it."
"No, you wanted to make sure that I'd be here waiting for you when you do," he countered.
Lorelai blinked a few times, and then took a step closer to him. "Will you be?" she asked with hopefulness.
Luke's eyes stared into hers. They were bright and blue and beautiful and sincere. God, he'd missed them, missed the way she looked at him when they were together. He missed her smile and her lips and her hair and her smell and everything about her. And now she was standing there telling him that she still wanted to be with him.
He'd had a rough day, and knew he'd have a long journey ahead of him with the custody situation, and the prospect of having her back in his life was the light in his dark tunnel of a day.
He leaned in and kissed her, a kiss she returned with passion. She moaned when she felt his tongue brush against hers, and chills rushed down her spine. Despite their months apart and all that had happened between them, the connection she felt with him was still the strongest she'd ever felt with anyone.
Their lips parted, and he pulled at the tie at her waist, loosening her wrap dress. She quickly pulled her arms out of the dress and shimmied it off of her. Their lips reconnected and his hands started caressing her body. He sucked on her neck, nibbled on her ear, and when he took off her bra, his mouth went to her chest.
She was moaning softly as he delicately used his tongue, lips, and teeth on her breasts, reminding her how good he was at foreplay. He always took time to build up her arousal, to make sure every inch of her body received plenty of attention. Not everyone was good at that, she'd realized.
After a few minutes, Luke stepped back to take off his shirt, and Lorelai took off her boots and her pantyhose. Once she was down to her underwear, she started on his belt and pants, and he was soon stripped down to his boxers.
Luke lifted her up to sit on the table by the door, and stood in front of her. Her legs wrapped around his thighs, pulling him against her as their mouths connected once again. Their kisses were deep and passionate and left them both gasping for air every time they parted, and their hands were all over each other.
During a brief oxygen break, Lorelai started to slip her fingers down the front of his boxers, and Luke gently put his hand on her wrist to stop her. "Wait," he said, still panting for breath.
Lorelai looked at him expectantly.
He knew they should stop. He knew they could both end up regretting this. He wasn't the type to cheat on a partner or have an affair with an unavailable woman. But God, he'd missed her, he wanted her, and he wouldn't be able to say no to her if this was what she wanted.
"Are you sure about this?" Luke asked her. "You sure this is what you want?"
"Yes, I'm sure," Lorelai quickly replied, not wanting to overthink it. She needed this. She needed him.
He let go of her wrist, and she reached her hand into his boxers and wrapped her fingers around his cock. Luke groaned and leaned in to kiss her again, and he started rubbing his fingers against the front of her underwear. It wasn't long before his boxers and her underwear were frantically pulled off.
Lorelai was perched on the edge of the table, her naked body quivering with arousal. Her legs were spread for him, and Luke slipped his finger between her folds to check her wetness.
As she let out a soft moan at his touch, Luke raised an eyebrow. "You're so wet."
"Gee, I wonder why," she joked.
Luke paused for a second. He looked down at his finger between her legs, and then back at her face. "Does he make you this wet?"
Lorelai cocked her head to the side, surprised at the question. "Luke... come on."
"Does he?" he asked, and he pushed his finger in a little deeper, making her gasp.
"Oh, God," she moaned toward the ceiling. "Jesus, Luke."
He gently started thrusting his finger into her, slowly moving it in and out. "I just wanna know," Luke said. "Do you get this turned on for him?"
"Luke, please," Lorelai said softly. "This isn't a competition." She said it to him as much as she was saying it to herself, because it was so hard not to compare the two. She nodded toward his hand between her legs. "Don't you have something else you'd rather be doing than talking about him? Let's focus on that, please?"
Luke obligingly dropped it. He guided himself to her opening and rubbed the tip of his cock against her folds. "You want this?" he asked her, and she moaned in anticipation.
Lorelai nodded eagerly. "Yes, I want it."
"You're sure?" he asked, dragging it methodically up and down her lips. He let his head dip ever so slightly into her and then he pulled it back out and continued stroking her with it.
The sensations rushing through her body were the most intense she'd felt in a long time, and Lorelai felt like she was going to burst. "Please, Luke..."
Luke leaned his face close to hers, kissing her before he said, "You know I like to hear you say it."
Lorelai stared into his eyes for a moment before she said, "I want you inside me." She knew it wasn't exactly what he wanted, but it was a start.
Luke cocked his head to the side, waiting for more.
The fact that he was teasing her and making her wait was turning her on even more. She leaned in close to his ear and purred, "I want you to fuck me."
Luke pushed forward and entered her in one swift motion, and she gasped and moaned, "Oh, my God!"
It had been months since they were together intimately, but it felt like yesterday. It felt so right, so comfortable. He felt so good inside of her. They were still for a moment before she ran her hand over his face and whispered, "I missed you."
"I missed you, too," he replied. She cradled his neck in her hands and pulled him into a kiss. When they parted, he ran his fingers through her long, wavy hair. "You're so beautiful."
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." He was always good at complimenting her, he always made her feel sexy.
Luke pulled out of her and gently eased himself back in, and continued thrusting into her at a slow pace. They kissed a lot, they smiled, they told each other how good it felt... and they both temporarily ignored how incredibly wrong this was.
This was not Lorelai's intention when she drove to the diner that night. She wanted to see him, to talk to him, to let him know what was going through her head. She didn't intend to be unfaithful, that was not the plan... but she got lost in the moment.
And now, overwhelmed with how amazing it felt to be with him again, she felt guilty for not feeling guilty enough about her actions.
Luke stayed at a slow pace for awhile, trying to make their time together last as long as he could. But his pace eventually picked up, and their moans and groans grew louder and more frequent. It drove him crazy to once again hear her moan his name over and over. He never thought he'd experience that again.
Luke still knew her like the back of his hand... he knew when she was getting close and knew exactly when and how to use his fingers to send her over the edge. Watching her climax while her moans of pleasure echoed through the storage room was almost enough to make him explode.
Once she had settled down from her high, she leaned back to steady herself on her forearms on the table. She knew what to expect from him, she knew he'd finish roughly... strong and hard and fast.
She was right, and he began slamming into her with a force she was glad she'd prepared for. It was rough and felt amazing, and she couldn't stop moaning. His motions were intensely quick until he spilled inside of her with the sexiest grunt she'd heard in a long time.
She sat up straight and wrapped her arms around his neck as they kissed passionately. He caressed her back and her sides and her front, savoring the physical contact with her that he'd been missing for months.
They kissed for a while before they started to get dressed. As Lorelai finished up by pulling on her boots, Luke asked her, "How do you feel?"
Lorelai thought it over for a moment, and then shrugged with uncertainty. "I really don't know... nervous, I guess."
Luke narrowed his eyes. "You're not going to tell anyone about tonight, right?"
"Of course not," Lorelai replied. "I'm not nervous about people reacting to this. I'm nervous about having to go home and tell my husband that I'm ready to end the marriage."
Saying the words out loud finally brought her back to reality, and she glanced down at the ring on her finger. "Oh, God." She looked at Luke, a pained look on her face. "Oh, my God."
"It's okay," Luke assured her, rubbing her arms.
Lorelai shook her head. "I can't believe we just did that."
"We got caught up in the moment," he told her. "It was an accident."
"We accidentally ended up naked in the storage room and you accidentally ended up inside me?" Lorelai replied with a scoff. "That's what you call an accident?"
"Okay, sorry, wrong word," Luke agreed.
Lorelai groaned at herself. "He's been an immature ass today, but he didn't deserve that. What is wrong with me?"
"He doesn't have to know," Luke said. "You can end it without telling him what happened. It'll be easier that way for both of you. Trust me on that."
Lorelai stared at Luke for a few moments, pondering, distracted, lost in thought.
Luke's eyes suddenly widened at her silence. "You're not going to end it."
That snapped her out of her daze, and she gasped. "What?"
"You're changing your mind."
"I am not changing my mind. I know this marriage isn't right, I know it has to end." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath and added, "I'm just thinking about how this is a pattern of my relationships ending. I went to him when you and I were over, and now to you when he and I are over... both with not exactly the greatest timing."
"Yeah, that pattern crossed my mind, too," Luke admitted.
Lorelai shook her head in disbelief and exhaled a disappointed sigh. "Why? Why do I do that? I don't mean to do it... I didn't come here tonight for sex, and yet that's where it went."
Luke shrugged a little. "Maybe you subconsciously did. Maybe your mind encourages you to do something big that will put an end to a relationship once you decide you're done with it."
Lorelai nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment. "You think that's what I did with us by going to Chris," she stated.
"Yeah, I do."
Lorelai swallowed hard, and started to get emotional about how that must've felt for him. "I didn't mean to hurt you like that, Luke. I was just... I was so upset and frustrated and I felt like I had already lost you."
"So you went to him to make sure that you did lose me," he finished.
"I guess, maybe, subconsciously. I don't know. But I knew we were done when I went there, in my mind we were definitely over." Lorelai groaned and covered her face with her hands again. "I'm sorry that I'm horrible. That was the worst night of my life."
Luke put his hands on her arms. "Lorelai, look at me."
Lorelai slowly removed her hands and looked up at him.
"There were a lot of things going on back then that were confusing for both of us," Luke said. "And whatever happened... happened, we can't take it back. We can just make sure it doesn't happen again."
"How?"
"We talk to each other," Luke told her. "We communicate. We tell each other when we're frustrated. We don't hide stuff."
Lorelai hesitated for a moment before saying what she wanted to say, but it had to be done. "We let each other be involved with the other's kid?" she asked hopefully.
Luke exhaled a deep breath as he nodded. "Yes, we do. I mean it. And yes, I know that's what started making things weird between us, I know that now. Things will be different, I promise."
Lorelai smiled at him. "Okay." She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her and rubbed her back comfortingly, and kissed the top of her head.
When they separated, they shared a kiss, and Lorelai asked, "Can I freshen up in the bathroom before I go?"
"Sure. I'll wait for you out front."
Lorelai headed down the hall to the bathroom, and Luke headed out front to the diner. He walked over to the window, making sure nobody was around to see her leave. The town looked dark and deserted.
She returned from the back and retrieved her coat from the stool where she'd left it. She pulled it on, reached into the pocket for her keys, and then he walked her out to her Jeep. She got into the driver's seat and put the window down.
"So... um... you'll let me know how it goes?" he asked.
"I'll fill you in tomorrow when I come in for breakfast," she told him, and she nodded toward the diner. "Save me a good table."
Luke smiled and nodded. "You got it." He leaned in to kiss her. "See you tomorrow."
"You'll see me tomorrow," she confirmed, and after he took a few steps back from the Jeep, she pulled away and headed home.
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Author's Note: Thanks for reading, let me know your thoughts! This was intended as a oneshot so I'm marking this story complete for now, but I may add one more chapter in the future if the urge hits, and if there's interest.