SIX: Oh, It's So Much Bigger Than A Breadbox

"I liked how he did that thing with his hands at the end," said Lorelai as she got down from the truck. "He had that "Yah-I'm-So-Gonna-Pound-Your-Sorry-White-Ass look. He should patent that."

"Well, he'd better hurry, or not someone's going to beat him to it," said Luke sarcastically.

"Hey, don't mock the Jackie," said Lorelai. "If it weren't for him, we'd only have Chow Yun Fatt. By the way … Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? What Tiger? What Dragon? What are they talking about? Why would they have a title that would mislead you like that? At least for Not Another Teen Movie, I knew what I was getting into."

There was a short pause before Luke answered. "I don't know how to respond to that one."

"Well, that's okay," said Lorelai, "If you notice, I don't really need a response. I can just keep going."

"Yeah, I've noticed."

Lorelai walked up the steps to her porch, Luke right behind her. She peered into the window by the door, noticing that the lights are still on. "Gosh, is Paris still going at it? Poor Rory."

"You wanna go in and put a stop to it?"

"Nah, not right now," said Lorelai as she walked away from the door and leaned against the porch rail. "To tell you the truth, Paris scares me. And I'm not talking scared like 'ah, lizard!' but more like 'so the Book of Revelations *is* true!'."

"So, what, you just want to hang out here until Paris goes away?"

"Yeah, either that or until Rory breaks and lays some smack down on that Chilton broad."

"That's nice to hear."

"Don't underestimate Rory. She has that whole 'floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee' thing going on."

"I'm sure she does."

The two of them stayed in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, Lorelai looking out at Stars Hollow, and Luke looking at his feet, shuffling it like a nervous schoolboy.

"Hey, Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming with me tonight for this," said Lorelai. "I think I really needed it."

"You're the first person I know who actually needs to see Jackie Chan," he said, "Or at least the first person to admit it."

"No, not just the Jackie," said Lorelai. "This whole thing. It's nice to get out once in a while, especially with someone other than Rory. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love that kid to death, but she really needs to cut those apron strings."

"Didn't you say you wished they would get around to inventing some form of surgery which could fuse you and Rory at the hip so she would never have to leave you?"

"Yeah, well, clearly, the Health Ministry has been ignoring my petitions," said Lorelai. "What I meant it was just nice to go somewhere, you know, just be with a friend. And it's nice to see you without a cap for once."

Luke ran his hand through his hair. "I still feel naked without it."

"This whole standing on a porch after a movie bit." Lorelai looked at him. "You know what this reminds me of?"

"A time when you once stood on a porch after a movie?"

"No," said Lorelai, "Although the experience is vaguely similar. It kinda reminds me of those old movies where the guy and the girl come back from a date, and they just stay on the porch because they are both afraid of the girl's shotgun-toting father."

"This reminds you of that?" Luke swallowed, trying not to think about the connection between what they did and 'a date'.

"Yeah, if Rory knew how to handle a shotgun, we could recreate that scene," said Lorelai. "Unfortunately for us, Rory can't shoot for nuts. I remember yelling at her 'How are you going to defend yourself if you can't even handle a simple shotgun?!' , and she just sat there crying and crying for hours. Eight year olds can be such babies."

"I'd just like you to know that it has actually reached a point where I can no longer tell when you're joking."

"Heh," said Lorelai. "So, Luke… you ever been afraid of shotgun-toting fathers?"

"Well, I've never had the opportunity to meet one," he said, "So I can't really tell."

"What? You've never dated a redneck's daughter? Never had your eye on the lovely lass of a manic depressive lumberjack?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"I must say, my deepest sympathies to daughters of lumberjacks all over the world," said Lorelai, turning back to look at the sky. "They missed a really good catch."

"Thank you," said Luke. "I think."

Luke turned and put his hands on the porch railing, standing close to Lorelai. He looked out with her. Neither of them said a word. It was one of those moments where neither of them knew what to say next.

"Lorelai?"

"Yeah?" She turned to look at him.

"You think that, maybe …" He swallowed again, this time, hard, as he struggled to find the words. "Maybe, some day, you know, you might, you know, want to …"

He didn't say anything for the next several seconds, which caused Lorelai to prompt him. "Want to what?"

"Well, maybe …"

"Maybe?"

"Maybe…you know, you might…" He stopped short again, unable to get the words out.

"Luke, you're not making any sense," said Lorelai. "Is it bigger than a breadbox?"

"What?"

"I don't know," she said, "I figured we're playing Twenty Questions or something, because you're definitely not telling me anything."

"It's … ah, nothing," Luke said, and resumed looking at his feet again. He was embarrassed, and highly irritated with himself. "Forget about it."

"Hey, don't do that," said Lorelai. "You know that whenever somebody tells me to forget about it, I'll do anything but forget about it. In fact, I make it the sun upon which my earth revolves around."

"It's nothing important."

"Is it something you want to talk about?" asked Lorelai. "Because you know, while it may seem that I'm only capable of talking, I'm also quite adept at listening as well."

Luke turned to her and leaned against the porch rail. He took a deep breath. "It's just… you ever had one of those moments where you want to say something, but you just can't … it's not that you don't want to, but the words just don't … oh , wait, I forgot who I was talking to."

"That was unnecessary," said Lorelai, "And I'll have you know that there have been numerous occasions where I can't say what's really on my mind, although most of these scenarios involve me being sick."

Luke sighed. "It's okay. We don't have to talk about this tonight."

"Luke, if something's bothering you…"

"Nothing's bothering me."

"Something's bothering you."

"I'm telling you it's nothing."

"No, it's not."

"It is."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No." Lorelai sighed. "I think this could take awhile. Luke, you know that you can tell me anything."

"I don't think I can tell you this."

"Maybe you could mime it out."

"What?"

"You know what they say," said Lorelai. "Actions speak louder than words. My mother once told me that they probably made that up after listening to me."

"Not a dubious theory."

"Luke."

"So, you think that it would help if I showed you, instead of telling you?"

"Maybe," said Lorelai. "Of course, since I clearly don't know anything, this might be the wrong approach. Who knows?"

Luke paused and looked into Lorelai's eyes. God, they were so beautiful, he thought. Lorelai didn't say anything, but as she was waiting for his answer, she noticed that he was staring at her. Maybe all that popcorn she had was making her hallucinate, but it seemed that his eyes were a little more … intense than usual.

He leaned forward, inching his face towards hers, the silence of the night making the tension even thicker. Their lips were just a few inches apart, and when it looked like he was finally going to do what he has always wanted to do … he jerked away and turned around.

"I have to go."

"What?"

"I … I have to check on Jess," said Luke, "He may have burnt down the diner while I was gone. You never know what's up with that kid."

"Luke."

"Night Lorelai," he said as he nearly ran down the steps, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Lorelai stared dumbfoundedly at Luke's retreating form, as he got into his truck and started it. She tried to sort out her thoughts, trying to figure out if she was reading too much into it, or if she honestly believed that something was going to happen.

Strangely enough (and as hard as she tried to deny it), Lorelai couldn't help but feel that she felt somewhat disappointed that nothing did.



* to be continued *
[I know, the last part was a little serious, but it had to happen somewhere in this fic :) ]