Two Guys and Two Gilmores
By Fiana Muhlberger
A/N - Thanks for all the WONDERFUL reviews! You guys are so awesome! I got about ten reviews each chapter, that's great! Also, I noticed that every chapter that I include Dean in, I tend to get told that he's not in character. He's either "too mean" or "too nice", I can't seem to find a happy medium. I'm sorry! I'm terrible at writing Dean, so I don't think you'll be seeing him too much anymore because I really don't understand his character too well. I can't seem to make him "protective" of Rory without making him out to be a total ass but I also can't make him tolerable without him being sappy so, bye-bye Dean, you're officially out of the fic! It's a L/L and R/J so there's really no need for him, anyway. Maybe I'll make him move away or something, anywho, enjoy the story!
Summary - Taylor asks Luke to do him a favor and he accidentally slips about him and Lorelai. He thinks Lorelai will be angry. Jess and Luke go with Lorelai and Rory to the Friday night dinner with her parents and Emily gets mad at Lorelai for allowing Rory to be socializing with Jess.
Pairing - L/L and R/J
* L/L mostly and Lorelai/Emily drama. R/J get together in Chapter 6! So, keep reading!*
Two Guys and Two Gilmores
Chapter 5 - A Crazy Town and Crazy Parents
Lorelai stumbled into Luke's Diner, dragging her feet in a child-like manner, and walked over to the counter. She sat there silently, waiting for Luke to come out of the kitchen. He came out, clad in a blue and dark purple flannel, and didn't notice her because it was so crowded.
"Luke!" She yelped, rather loudly, and startled Luke.
"God, you have got to stop doing that." He sounded annoyed, but a small smile crept across his face and he looked happy to see her.
"Why? It's so much fun and you get so scared. Not so macho now, are you?" She grinned and clapped her hands together, triumphantly. "I want pancakes." She stated matter-of-factly.
"I'll go tell Caesar." He started walking toward the kitchen.
"No! I want Luke pancakes not Caesar pancakes. Caesar's are yucky! Yours are fluffy." She pouted.
He turned back around to face her. "I have too many customers today to worry about fluffy pancakes."
"You never have too many customers to allow yourself to dismiss the pancake issue, now go, make me some pancakes." She flashed him a big smile.
"How 'bout some muffins?" He asked, sounding exhausted.
"How 'bout some pancakes?" She stuck her bottom lip out and looked into his eyes, silently begging him for the pancakes.
"Fine, but I can't guarantee they'll be fluffy."
"Ah, but Luke pancakes are always fluffy." She smiled at him knowingly.
He threw up his hands and walked back into the kitchen. Taylor came into the diner, looking distraught. He looked around for Luke and when he couldn't find him, he sat down at the counter. A few minutes later, Luke returned to the diner with a plate full of pancakes.
"Here's your pancakes, extra fluffy." He looked at her adoringly while she ate until Taylor finally cleared his throat. Luke turned his head sharply to look at Taylor.
Luke sighed. "What do want, Taylor?"
"Well, nothing. I actually wanted to talk to you about the Stars Hollow Spring Dance coming up next week."
Lorelai looked at Taylor, oddly. "Why, you want Luke to take you?" She smiled up at Luke, who turned pale at the suggestion.
Taylor looked at her annoyed, sighing. "I don't think that's very likely, Lorelai."
"Well, what is it Taylor, 'cause I'm very busy."
"Too busy to help out an old friend?" Taylor asked Luke in a pleading voice.
Luke glared at Taylor. "What 'old friend'?"
"Well, I gotta go. Bye Luke." Lorelai smiled and got up. "I'll see you later." She winked at him suggestively while stuffing the last morsel of pancake into her mouth.
"Bye." He grinned and watched her walk out.
"Luke, as I was saying...."
"I'm busy, Taylor." Luke said bluntly while scribbling on his order pad.
"But, I-"
"Excuse me, I have to go wait on some real customers who actually came here to eat." He started walking away.
"Luke, if I order something will you at least listen to me for a minute." He begged.
"What do want?"
"Eggs. Now, listen, about the dance..."
"I'm not going." Luke said, shortly.
"My sister, Betty, just moved to Stars Hollow and.."
"How nice, is she anything like you?" Luke asked.
"Why, yes, she's a lot like me." Taylor smiled, proudly.
"She has my sympathies."
"Now, Luke, this is serious. She just moved here and I know she wants to go to the dance. So, I thought, since she's single and you're single..."
"Oh, God." Luke muttered, under his breath.
"That you two might wanna go together." He said, happily.
"Thanks, but no thanks, Taylor." He turned to walk away.
"Why not?"
"Because I have no desire to participate in this stupid town stuff, okay?" He looked down at his order pad, again.
"Can't you ever think about anyone besides yourself, Luke? C-mon, just this once, will you please help me, please?" He begged pathetically. For a second, Luke felt sorry for him, but then remembered that he hates Taylor.
"No." Luke answered, flatly.
"God, you're so stubborn, Luke. You know that? See, I always thought you were a loner because, maybe, you couldn't get a date, but now I see that you're just a cold-hearted beast who...."
"I have a girlfriend." Luke blurted out in the middle of Taylor's rant.
"What?" Taylor asked, shocked.
Luke's eyes widened. "Uh, no. I didn't mean.....oh God. No." Luke smacked the order pad on his forehead just as Miss. Patty walked into the diner.
Taylor repeated loudly. "You have a girlfriend!"
Miss. Patty ran towards the counter. "Luke, sweetie! You have a girlfriend, who is she?!"
The townspeople started walking towards the counter in wonderment of what was just said. Luke was cornered behind the counter. There was nowhere to run.
"Uh.....it's no one you know, Patty." He said, turning pale.
"Oh, but sweetie, I know everyone! C-mon, sweetheart, who is she?"
Everyone started asking him that question, the people getting louder and louder. Then, Miss. Patty got an inspiration.
"Oh! It's Lorelai, isn't it!" Miss. Patty yelled, happily.
"No!" Luke kept repeating it over and over again and just as everyone was jumping up and down with joy about the supposed new couple, Lorelai walked into the diner.
"Hey, I forgot my purse." She then looked around at all of the people smiling, crowding around Luke. She glanced at Luke, confused, when Miss. Patty walked over to her.
"Oh, congratulations honey, Luke's a great guy. I hope you're just so happy together."
"No!" Luke kept yelling, but nobody seemed to hear him.
"What are you talking about, Patty?" Lorelai asked.
"Oh, honey, Luke told us all about it. We're so happy!" Patty said, giddily and all of the people cheered.
"I did not!" Luke screamed at the townspeople.
Patty looked at Luke disapprovingly. "Well, you'll have to get used to that temper, but other then that, I'm sure you two will be so happy. C-mon, let's leave them alone." Patty and the rest of the people left the diner to a shocked Lorelai and an angry Luke. Lorelai turned to face Luke.
"What just happened here?" Lorelai demanded.
Luke stuttered, nervously. "Okay, listen. Those people, out there....they're nuts. Okay, they come into my diner, right? And, Taylor, he starts talking about Betty who can't get a date, and the dance....girlfriend....and Miss. Patty comes and yells at me about my temper and...."
"Okay, Luke, calm down. You know I didn't get a word of that." She smiled at him wryly. Luke looked into her eyes, sadly for a moment, then faced the floor, shamefully. Lorelai saw how sad he looked. "Luke, it's okay."
He looked up. "Really?"
She walked closer to him and smiled at him reassuringly. "Yeah, I mean, they were gonna find out eventually, right? And, I'm just.....so happy, with you, and I don't wanna get mad at something that was probably a total accident anyway."
"Thanks. So, are we okay?" He looked at her worriedly.
"Of course! We're fine, Luke. Don't worry about it." She walked closer to him and hugged him tightly. She pulled away and gazed into his eyes, happily. "Um, actually, maybe the town knowing about us isn't so bad after all."
Luke was confused. "Why not?"
"Well, because....now we can openly express our feelings for each other and have, like, I don't know, uh, little candlelit dinners in the gazebo," They laughed lightly at the thought, "And! Luke, we can go to that dance together!"
"Lorelai, I don't go to dances. Especially not ones sponsored by Taylor Doose." He shuddered at the thought.
"Aw, come on. It'll be fun!" She pleaded with him.
He looked into her eyes for a moment. "Do you really wanna go?"
"I really wanna go." She bent in and grazed her lips over his whiskers. He lifted his arms up and pulled her closer, so her head rested on his chest.
"With me?" He asked.
She gently released herself from his grasp and looked at him sweetly. "With you." They shared a warm smile and sat down at the counter. After a few minutes, customers started piling in again.
Luke sighed. "Well, I better get back to work."
"Yeah, I gotta get back to the Inn. Sookie probably set herself on fire by now."
Luke smiled. "Yeah. I'll see you tonight?"
"Oh, shoot! I forgot, I have my parents dinner tonight, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
Lorelai slumped down onto a stool and smacked her head against the counter.
"What's wrong?" Luke sat down again, too, even though his customers were starting to get rowdy.
Lorelai lifted her head up. "Ugh, me and my mom aren't really getting along too well, right now."
"Why?"
"Because of that stupid Sherrie thing. Also, because Rory showed up at their house in, like, the middle of the night. And of course, my mother immediately assumed that it was all my fault Rory was upset and that I should just go off and die somewhere." She let her head hit the counter again and shook it mournfully.
"I'm sure she doesn't want you to go off and die somewhere."
"You haven't met my mother, have you?"
"Numerous times." He lifted her head up from the counter and looked at her knowingly.
"Well, have you ever suffered through the experience of sitting through an entire meal with her?"
"What's the big deal? You always eat there."
"Yes, but now it's different. Everything's all weird between us, now." She shook her head. "I just won't go tonight."
"Lorelai, Rory will be there with you. She'll help you avoid any awkward situations."
"No, no. You don't understand. All of the weirdness between us is centered around Rory."
"How?"
"Well, there's the Sherrie night. Rory. The showing up at her house at an ungodly hour. Rory. Me getting pregnant. Rory. Me being a horrible mother. Rory. The-"
"Okay, I'm sensing a pattern." He held out his hand in front of her face. "I'm sure she's over that stuff by now."
"Well, she's not." She sat thoughtfully for a second. "I need a hostage."
"What?" Luke smiled a bit.
"Yeah, you know, someone to be there with me to keep my mom from opening her big yap. Okay, well, Christopher's out. Uh, Sookie, no, she's all hyper, that would scare my mother. You! I can bring you!"
"What? You can't be serious."
"Yes I can."
Luke looked scared. "Why would you want me to go with you?"
"Well, let's face it, my mother loves you. She keeps asking me why I don't go out with you. That would make for some good news, we're going out."
"Since when does your mother love me?"
"Since always. Now, you'll need to spiffy up a little bit. Ditch the plaid, lose the hat, and those shoes? We have got to talk about those shoes."
"Hey, did I say yes to this insanity?" She looked him in the eyes as though she was about to kill him. Luke smiled. "Yeah, okay. I'll go, fine." Lorelai leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Great. Be ready by 6:30, okay?"
"Okay." He leaned in and kissed her again then she turned to leave. "Oh, uh, Lorelai?"
She whipped around, smiling. "Yeah?"
"You don't mind if I bring Jess, do you?" Luke asked, nervously. Lorelai's face froze. "Lorelai?"
"Uh, Jess?" She sounded worried.
"Yeah. We've been getting a lot closer lately, so I think he'd be a little hurt if I didn't ask him to go. Plus, he's been real down lately because it's spring break next week and his mom still hasn't asked him home, yet." He looked at her, pleadingly. "Please? I'll make him look presentable." He said with a small smile.
Lorelai walked over to him and stared into his eyes, deeply. "Do you really want him to go?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Well , then you got it." Lorelai smiled, but still looked uncomfortable.
"Why? You don't want him to go?"
She answered unconvincingly. "I do."
He leaned in closer to her face and smiled. "You do not."
"Luke, are you listening? I want Jess to come."
"Okay."
"Good." She hugged him one last time.
Luke moved away gently. "I really appreciate this."
"Aw, that's okay. Don't mention it."
"Okay. I'll see you tonight."
"Okay, bye."
They kissed again before Lorelai left the diner.
*****************************************************************
Lorelai, Rory, Luke and Jess all were walking up her parents' driveway, heading for the door. Jess had a neatly pressed shirt and pants on while Luke still looked a little scruffy in a sweater and khakis. Lorelai dragged her heels all the way up to the front door.
She was reluctant to ring the doorbell. "You know, it's not too late to go home and tell my parents' we all caught a bad case of gingivitis or something."
"Gingivitis?" Rory asked, looking at her mother, oddly. "What's the big deal about tonight anyway?"
"My mother is extremely unhappy with me, Rory."
"Well, she shouldn't be."
Emily swung the door open after Rory pushed the bell. "Hi girls. Hi....boys? Lorelai, who are these people?"
"Mom, you remember Luke and this is his nephew."
"Luke? The diner man who doesn't know how to use a razor?"
Luke shifted his feet, awkwardly.
"Yes, mom, that would be him."
Emily smiled warmly at Luke. "Well, you certainly look nice tonight. Come inside, the food is out."
They walked inside and sat down in the large dining room. Lorelai sat next to Luke and Rory sat next to Jess. Lorelai cringed when she saw Rory giggle at something Jess had said. On their last date, Luke told Lorelai everything about what Jess told him and how the only reason he took the bracelet is because Jess likes her and Jess also had recently apologized to Lorelai again about the bracelet issue, but Lorelai still had a hard time adjusting to Jess being around and an even harder time adjusting to the fact that there could be something between him and her daughter.
Richard came out of the living room and was surprised at the unexpected guests
He sat down across from Emily. "Lorelai, who are your friends?"
"Oh, Dad, this is Luke, you saw him a few weeks ago at the diner, and this is his nephew."
Richard reached his hand out to Jess. "Jess, isn't it?"
"Yeah, that's my name." He shook Richards hand.
Emily looked up in shock and her voice shot through the room. "Lorelai. This isn't the boy you told me about last month, is it?"
"What boy?"
"The boy who Rory's been running off with, is this him?" Her voice pierced the ears of everyone there, and a silence came over the room.
Lorelai spoke sharply. "Mom, stop it."
Richard looked at Emily in disgust. "Yes, Emily, we have guests. Try to control yourself. Please."
Emily's face reddened. "What kind of mother are you to allow your daughter to fraternize with a known hoodlum?"
"Mom, I swear to God, if you say one more thing I'll-"
"You raised Rory to be a good girl and now you're willing to ruin it by allowing her to mess her life up, like you did? I don't see the sense in it."
"And I don't see the sense in this conversation." Lorelai snapped back at her mother. Rory's stared down at her salad, Luke just twitched nervously and Jess stared at Emily.
Emily stared at Jess coldly. "What is your relationship with my granddaughter?"
Lorelai closed her eyes and cringed angrily.
Jess stared back at her equally as cold and spoke with a sarcastic tone. "Well, Mrs. Gilmore, I'm not so sure, I mean, how long after you've been sleeping with someone, do you know if it's true love?"
"Jess!" Luke bellowed.
Emily snapped at Jess. "This isn't funny, young man. I don't want you messing around with my granddaughter anymore!"
Rory spoke softly. "Grandma, we're just friends, he didn't do anything-"
"Damn right he didn't do anything, and he never will either because you won't be seeing him anymore."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, you cannot tell Rory who to date."
"I'm not telling her who to date, I'm telling her who not to date."
Jess got up from his seat and looked at Emily. "I wouldn't worry about this anymore if I were you, Mrs. Gilmore."
"And why is that?"
"Well, I have a funny feeling I won't be in Stars Hollow too much longer."
Luke looked up at Jess. "What are talking about?"
Jess looked down at the floor then back up to Luke. "Well, Lizzie asked me if I wanted to move back in with her."
"What? When did this happen?" Luke's voice had obvious confusion in it.
"Well, I called her and asked her why she never invites me home and I yelled at her and stuff and the next thing you know she's asking me back."
The room was silent and Lorelai glanced around at the angry look on her mom's face and the sad looks in Rory and Luke's eyes and her emotions got the best of her. She stood up also and tapped Luke's shoulder gently.
She spoke quietly without looking at her mother. "C-mon, let's go."
Luke looked up and nodded his head. Jess and Rory followed Luke and Lorelai out the door and down the driveway. They piled into the car and sat silently for a while, still parked in the driveway.
Lorelai's quiet voice broke the silence. "I am so sorry. I didn't know she would act like that." She looked over at Luke, next to her, and leaned towards him. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. He kissed her cheek before pulling away from her.
"No, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong, Lorelai." He told her softly.
Lorelai smiled then turned to look in the backseat where Rory and Jess were sitting. She smiled apologetically at Jess.
"You know, I really think she likes you." She told Jess sarcastically, smiling.
Jess looked at her for a moment before a small smile crept across his face. "You think so?"
"Oh, are you kidding? Two minutes longer in there and she'd be calling you son, I'm serious."
They all laughed lightly and Rory leaned her head back onto the seat and stared at the ceiling. "Let's just forget this whole night ever happened, okay?"
Everybody nodded their heads and Lorelai drove them all home.
*****************************************************************
*In Chapter 6 - Rory confronts Jess about how she feels (Finally!) when she hears that he might be moving back home. Luke and Lorelai take their relationship a step further.*
*I hope you liked it, sorry if it's bad. I don't quite have the characters down, but I'm trying. Please review! :)*
By Fiana Muhlberger
A/N - Thanks for all the WONDERFUL reviews! You guys are so awesome! I got about ten reviews each chapter, that's great! Also, I noticed that every chapter that I include Dean in, I tend to get told that he's not in character. He's either "too mean" or "too nice", I can't seem to find a happy medium. I'm sorry! I'm terrible at writing Dean, so I don't think you'll be seeing him too much anymore because I really don't understand his character too well. I can't seem to make him "protective" of Rory without making him out to be a total ass but I also can't make him tolerable without him being sappy so, bye-bye Dean, you're officially out of the fic! It's a L/L and R/J so there's really no need for him, anyway. Maybe I'll make him move away or something, anywho, enjoy the story!
Summary - Taylor asks Luke to do him a favor and he accidentally slips about him and Lorelai. He thinks Lorelai will be angry. Jess and Luke go with Lorelai and Rory to the Friday night dinner with her parents and Emily gets mad at Lorelai for allowing Rory to be socializing with Jess.
Pairing - L/L and R/J
* L/L mostly and Lorelai/Emily drama. R/J get together in Chapter 6! So, keep reading!*
Two Guys and Two Gilmores
Chapter 5 - A Crazy Town and Crazy Parents
Lorelai stumbled into Luke's Diner, dragging her feet in a child-like manner, and walked over to the counter. She sat there silently, waiting for Luke to come out of the kitchen. He came out, clad in a blue and dark purple flannel, and didn't notice her because it was so crowded.
"Luke!" She yelped, rather loudly, and startled Luke.
"God, you have got to stop doing that." He sounded annoyed, but a small smile crept across his face and he looked happy to see her.
"Why? It's so much fun and you get so scared. Not so macho now, are you?" She grinned and clapped her hands together, triumphantly. "I want pancakes." She stated matter-of-factly.
"I'll go tell Caesar." He started walking toward the kitchen.
"No! I want Luke pancakes not Caesar pancakes. Caesar's are yucky! Yours are fluffy." She pouted.
He turned back around to face her. "I have too many customers today to worry about fluffy pancakes."
"You never have too many customers to allow yourself to dismiss the pancake issue, now go, make me some pancakes." She flashed him a big smile.
"How 'bout some muffins?" He asked, sounding exhausted.
"How 'bout some pancakes?" She stuck her bottom lip out and looked into his eyes, silently begging him for the pancakes.
"Fine, but I can't guarantee they'll be fluffy."
"Ah, but Luke pancakes are always fluffy." She smiled at him knowingly.
He threw up his hands and walked back into the kitchen. Taylor came into the diner, looking distraught. He looked around for Luke and when he couldn't find him, he sat down at the counter. A few minutes later, Luke returned to the diner with a plate full of pancakes.
"Here's your pancakes, extra fluffy." He looked at her adoringly while she ate until Taylor finally cleared his throat. Luke turned his head sharply to look at Taylor.
Luke sighed. "What do want, Taylor?"
"Well, nothing. I actually wanted to talk to you about the Stars Hollow Spring Dance coming up next week."
Lorelai looked at Taylor, oddly. "Why, you want Luke to take you?" She smiled up at Luke, who turned pale at the suggestion.
Taylor looked at her annoyed, sighing. "I don't think that's very likely, Lorelai."
"Well, what is it Taylor, 'cause I'm very busy."
"Too busy to help out an old friend?" Taylor asked Luke in a pleading voice.
Luke glared at Taylor. "What 'old friend'?"
"Well, I gotta go. Bye Luke." Lorelai smiled and got up. "I'll see you later." She winked at him suggestively while stuffing the last morsel of pancake into her mouth.
"Bye." He grinned and watched her walk out.
"Luke, as I was saying...."
"I'm busy, Taylor." Luke said bluntly while scribbling on his order pad.
"But, I-"
"Excuse me, I have to go wait on some real customers who actually came here to eat." He started walking away.
"Luke, if I order something will you at least listen to me for a minute." He begged.
"What do want?"
"Eggs. Now, listen, about the dance..."
"I'm not going." Luke said, shortly.
"My sister, Betty, just moved to Stars Hollow and.."
"How nice, is she anything like you?" Luke asked.
"Why, yes, she's a lot like me." Taylor smiled, proudly.
"She has my sympathies."
"Now, Luke, this is serious. She just moved here and I know she wants to go to the dance. So, I thought, since she's single and you're single..."
"Oh, God." Luke muttered, under his breath.
"That you two might wanna go together." He said, happily.
"Thanks, but no thanks, Taylor." He turned to walk away.
"Why not?"
"Because I have no desire to participate in this stupid town stuff, okay?" He looked down at his order pad, again.
"Can't you ever think about anyone besides yourself, Luke? C-mon, just this once, will you please help me, please?" He begged pathetically. For a second, Luke felt sorry for him, but then remembered that he hates Taylor.
"No." Luke answered, flatly.
"God, you're so stubborn, Luke. You know that? See, I always thought you were a loner because, maybe, you couldn't get a date, but now I see that you're just a cold-hearted beast who...."
"I have a girlfriend." Luke blurted out in the middle of Taylor's rant.
"What?" Taylor asked, shocked.
Luke's eyes widened. "Uh, no. I didn't mean.....oh God. No." Luke smacked the order pad on his forehead just as Miss. Patty walked into the diner.
Taylor repeated loudly. "You have a girlfriend!"
Miss. Patty ran towards the counter. "Luke, sweetie! You have a girlfriend, who is she?!"
The townspeople started walking towards the counter in wonderment of what was just said. Luke was cornered behind the counter. There was nowhere to run.
"Uh.....it's no one you know, Patty." He said, turning pale.
"Oh, but sweetie, I know everyone! C-mon, sweetheart, who is she?"
Everyone started asking him that question, the people getting louder and louder. Then, Miss. Patty got an inspiration.
"Oh! It's Lorelai, isn't it!" Miss. Patty yelled, happily.
"No!" Luke kept repeating it over and over again and just as everyone was jumping up and down with joy about the supposed new couple, Lorelai walked into the diner.
"Hey, I forgot my purse." She then looked around at all of the people smiling, crowding around Luke. She glanced at Luke, confused, when Miss. Patty walked over to her.
"Oh, congratulations honey, Luke's a great guy. I hope you're just so happy together."
"No!" Luke kept yelling, but nobody seemed to hear him.
"What are you talking about, Patty?" Lorelai asked.
"Oh, honey, Luke told us all about it. We're so happy!" Patty said, giddily and all of the people cheered.
"I did not!" Luke screamed at the townspeople.
Patty looked at Luke disapprovingly. "Well, you'll have to get used to that temper, but other then that, I'm sure you two will be so happy. C-mon, let's leave them alone." Patty and the rest of the people left the diner to a shocked Lorelai and an angry Luke. Lorelai turned to face Luke.
"What just happened here?" Lorelai demanded.
Luke stuttered, nervously. "Okay, listen. Those people, out there....they're nuts. Okay, they come into my diner, right? And, Taylor, he starts talking about Betty who can't get a date, and the dance....girlfriend....and Miss. Patty comes and yells at me about my temper and...."
"Okay, Luke, calm down. You know I didn't get a word of that." She smiled at him wryly. Luke looked into her eyes, sadly for a moment, then faced the floor, shamefully. Lorelai saw how sad he looked. "Luke, it's okay."
He looked up. "Really?"
She walked closer to him and smiled at him reassuringly. "Yeah, I mean, they were gonna find out eventually, right? And, I'm just.....so happy, with you, and I don't wanna get mad at something that was probably a total accident anyway."
"Thanks. So, are we okay?" He looked at her worriedly.
"Of course! We're fine, Luke. Don't worry about it." She walked closer to him and hugged him tightly. She pulled away and gazed into his eyes, happily. "Um, actually, maybe the town knowing about us isn't so bad after all."
Luke was confused. "Why not?"
"Well, because....now we can openly express our feelings for each other and have, like, I don't know, uh, little candlelit dinners in the gazebo," They laughed lightly at the thought, "And! Luke, we can go to that dance together!"
"Lorelai, I don't go to dances. Especially not ones sponsored by Taylor Doose." He shuddered at the thought.
"Aw, come on. It'll be fun!" She pleaded with him.
He looked into her eyes for a moment. "Do you really wanna go?"
"I really wanna go." She bent in and grazed her lips over his whiskers. He lifted his arms up and pulled her closer, so her head rested on his chest.
"With me?" He asked.
She gently released herself from his grasp and looked at him sweetly. "With you." They shared a warm smile and sat down at the counter. After a few minutes, customers started piling in again.
Luke sighed. "Well, I better get back to work."
"Yeah, I gotta get back to the Inn. Sookie probably set herself on fire by now."
Luke smiled. "Yeah. I'll see you tonight?"
"Oh, shoot! I forgot, I have my parents dinner tonight, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
Lorelai slumped down onto a stool and smacked her head against the counter.
"What's wrong?" Luke sat down again, too, even though his customers were starting to get rowdy.
Lorelai lifted her head up. "Ugh, me and my mom aren't really getting along too well, right now."
"Why?"
"Because of that stupid Sherrie thing. Also, because Rory showed up at their house in, like, the middle of the night. And of course, my mother immediately assumed that it was all my fault Rory was upset and that I should just go off and die somewhere." She let her head hit the counter again and shook it mournfully.
"I'm sure she doesn't want you to go off and die somewhere."
"You haven't met my mother, have you?"
"Numerous times." He lifted her head up from the counter and looked at her knowingly.
"Well, have you ever suffered through the experience of sitting through an entire meal with her?"
"What's the big deal? You always eat there."
"Yes, but now it's different. Everything's all weird between us, now." She shook her head. "I just won't go tonight."
"Lorelai, Rory will be there with you. She'll help you avoid any awkward situations."
"No, no. You don't understand. All of the weirdness between us is centered around Rory."
"How?"
"Well, there's the Sherrie night. Rory. The showing up at her house at an ungodly hour. Rory. Me getting pregnant. Rory. Me being a horrible mother. Rory. The-"
"Okay, I'm sensing a pattern." He held out his hand in front of her face. "I'm sure she's over that stuff by now."
"Well, she's not." She sat thoughtfully for a second. "I need a hostage."
"What?" Luke smiled a bit.
"Yeah, you know, someone to be there with me to keep my mom from opening her big yap. Okay, well, Christopher's out. Uh, Sookie, no, she's all hyper, that would scare my mother. You! I can bring you!"
"What? You can't be serious."
"Yes I can."
Luke looked scared. "Why would you want me to go with you?"
"Well, let's face it, my mother loves you. She keeps asking me why I don't go out with you. That would make for some good news, we're going out."
"Since when does your mother love me?"
"Since always. Now, you'll need to spiffy up a little bit. Ditch the plaid, lose the hat, and those shoes? We have got to talk about those shoes."
"Hey, did I say yes to this insanity?" She looked him in the eyes as though she was about to kill him. Luke smiled. "Yeah, okay. I'll go, fine." Lorelai leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Great. Be ready by 6:30, okay?"
"Okay." He leaned in and kissed her again then she turned to leave. "Oh, uh, Lorelai?"
She whipped around, smiling. "Yeah?"
"You don't mind if I bring Jess, do you?" Luke asked, nervously. Lorelai's face froze. "Lorelai?"
"Uh, Jess?" She sounded worried.
"Yeah. We've been getting a lot closer lately, so I think he'd be a little hurt if I didn't ask him to go. Plus, he's been real down lately because it's spring break next week and his mom still hasn't asked him home, yet." He looked at her, pleadingly. "Please? I'll make him look presentable." He said with a small smile.
Lorelai walked over to him and stared into his eyes, deeply. "Do you really want him to go?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Well , then you got it." Lorelai smiled, but still looked uncomfortable.
"Why? You don't want him to go?"
She answered unconvincingly. "I do."
He leaned in closer to her face and smiled. "You do not."
"Luke, are you listening? I want Jess to come."
"Okay."
"Good." She hugged him one last time.
Luke moved away gently. "I really appreciate this."
"Aw, that's okay. Don't mention it."
"Okay. I'll see you tonight."
"Okay, bye."
They kissed again before Lorelai left the diner.
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Lorelai, Rory, Luke and Jess all were walking up her parents' driveway, heading for the door. Jess had a neatly pressed shirt and pants on while Luke still looked a little scruffy in a sweater and khakis. Lorelai dragged her heels all the way up to the front door.
She was reluctant to ring the doorbell. "You know, it's not too late to go home and tell my parents' we all caught a bad case of gingivitis or something."
"Gingivitis?" Rory asked, looking at her mother, oddly. "What's the big deal about tonight anyway?"
"My mother is extremely unhappy with me, Rory."
"Well, she shouldn't be."
Emily swung the door open after Rory pushed the bell. "Hi girls. Hi....boys? Lorelai, who are these people?"
"Mom, you remember Luke and this is his nephew."
"Luke? The diner man who doesn't know how to use a razor?"
Luke shifted his feet, awkwardly.
"Yes, mom, that would be him."
Emily smiled warmly at Luke. "Well, you certainly look nice tonight. Come inside, the food is out."
They walked inside and sat down in the large dining room. Lorelai sat next to Luke and Rory sat next to Jess. Lorelai cringed when she saw Rory giggle at something Jess had said. On their last date, Luke told Lorelai everything about what Jess told him and how the only reason he took the bracelet is because Jess likes her and Jess also had recently apologized to Lorelai again about the bracelet issue, but Lorelai still had a hard time adjusting to Jess being around and an even harder time adjusting to the fact that there could be something between him and her daughter.
Richard came out of the living room and was surprised at the unexpected guests
He sat down across from Emily. "Lorelai, who are your friends?"
"Oh, Dad, this is Luke, you saw him a few weeks ago at the diner, and this is his nephew."
Richard reached his hand out to Jess. "Jess, isn't it?"
"Yeah, that's my name." He shook Richards hand.
Emily looked up in shock and her voice shot through the room. "Lorelai. This isn't the boy you told me about last month, is it?"
"What boy?"
"The boy who Rory's been running off with, is this him?" Her voice pierced the ears of everyone there, and a silence came over the room.
Lorelai spoke sharply. "Mom, stop it."
Richard looked at Emily in disgust. "Yes, Emily, we have guests. Try to control yourself. Please."
Emily's face reddened. "What kind of mother are you to allow your daughter to fraternize with a known hoodlum?"
"Mom, I swear to God, if you say one more thing I'll-"
"You raised Rory to be a good girl and now you're willing to ruin it by allowing her to mess her life up, like you did? I don't see the sense in it."
"And I don't see the sense in this conversation." Lorelai snapped back at her mother. Rory's stared down at her salad, Luke just twitched nervously and Jess stared at Emily.
Emily stared at Jess coldly. "What is your relationship with my granddaughter?"
Lorelai closed her eyes and cringed angrily.
Jess stared back at her equally as cold and spoke with a sarcastic tone. "Well, Mrs. Gilmore, I'm not so sure, I mean, how long after you've been sleeping with someone, do you know if it's true love?"
"Jess!" Luke bellowed.
Emily snapped at Jess. "This isn't funny, young man. I don't want you messing around with my granddaughter anymore!"
Rory spoke softly. "Grandma, we're just friends, he didn't do anything-"
"Damn right he didn't do anything, and he never will either because you won't be seeing him anymore."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, you cannot tell Rory who to date."
"I'm not telling her who to date, I'm telling her who not to date."
Jess got up from his seat and looked at Emily. "I wouldn't worry about this anymore if I were you, Mrs. Gilmore."
"And why is that?"
"Well, I have a funny feeling I won't be in Stars Hollow too much longer."
Luke looked up at Jess. "What are talking about?"
Jess looked down at the floor then back up to Luke. "Well, Lizzie asked me if I wanted to move back in with her."
"What? When did this happen?" Luke's voice had obvious confusion in it.
"Well, I called her and asked her why she never invites me home and I yelled at her and stuff and the next thing you know she's asking me back."
The room was silent and Lorelai glanced around at the angry look on her mom's face and the sad looks in Rory and Luke's eyes and her emotions got the best of her. She stood up also and tapped Luke's shoulder gently.
She spoke quietly without looking at her mother. "C-mon, let's go."
Luke looked up and nodded his head. Jess and Rory followed Luke and Lorelai out the door and down the driveway. They piled into the car and sat silently for a while, still parked in the driveway.
Lorelai's quiet voice broke the silence. "I am so sorry. I didn't know she would act like that." She looked over at Luke, next to her, and leaned towards him. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. He kissed her cheek before pulling away from her.
"No, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong, Lorelai." He told her softly.
Lorelai smiled then turned to look in the backseat where Rory and Jess were sitting. She smiled apologetically at Jess.
"You know, I really think she likes you." She told Jess sarcastically, smiling.
Jess looked at her for a moment before a small smile crept across his face. "You think so?"
"Oh, are you kidding? Two minutes longer in there and she'd be calling you son, I'm serious."
They all laughed lightly and Rory leaned her head back onto the seat and stared at the ceiling. "Let's just forget this whole night ever happened, okay?"
Everybody nodded their heads and Lorelai drove them all home.
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*In Chapter 6 - Rory confronts Jess about how she feels (Finally!) when she hears that he might be moving back home. Luke and Lorelai take their relationship a step further.*
*I hope you liked it, sorry if it's bad. I don't quite have the characters down, but I'm trying. Please review! :)*