Title: Right There (Chapter eight of Tea and Sympathy)
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Third Season, future fic
Rating: PG -13 (maybe treading on R rated material here)
Summary: Luke and Lorelai have another heart-to-heart
A/N: Here's where the story ends.or begins, depending on your point of view. It's been a fun ride.
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
"Well, Rock.."
Suddenly Lorelai was at a loss for words, a very rare occurrence. How could she tell Luke how she was feeling? She didn't want to scare him with the intensity of her emotions and wanted to be sure that it wasn't just lust that was she was feeling. She looked at Luke's expectant face and then turned to face the ceiling. It might be easier to talk without having to look at his intense gaze.
Luke noticed that she had grown uncomfortable. He hoped that she wasn't changing her mind. He didn't want to things to go back they way they were before last night, he wanted to move forward. Well, she was still lying on his bed, so that was a good sign. Patience was in order.
"Feel free to take your time. I'm not reopening the diner until 5." He looked at his watch. "We have almost three hours, and I'm not going anywhere, you know."
She glanced over - he was still watching her intently. "Three whole hours, huh?"
She pondered the possibilities, but didn't want to go down that road yet. "So you're not going anywhere. You've said that before, but I think I'm starting to understand the meaning of it."
Luke would've nodded but she couldn't see him. He wasn't good at this stuff - talking about feelings, he was better at listening and offering astute observations. "Yeah, I'm not going anywhere - I mean, I don't want to go anywhere, unless you tell me to." This conversation was already making him anxious. He exhaled sharply. "Do you want me to?"
Lorelai heard the anxiety in his voice and immediately turned her attention away from the ceiling to his worried face. "Do I want you to go? Oh Luke, no, of course not. Why would you think that?"
He sighed in relief. "I don't know - I guess I keep thinking that this is all some kind of dream and I'm gonna wake up and you won't be here."
She reached out and took his hand in hers. "Luke, I'm not going anywhere."
He smiled and inched towards her. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.
"Glad to hear it." He placed her hand back on the mattress. "Hey, is that what you wanted to tell me?"
She was still looking at him. "I think those few words say a lot of what I'm feeling." She paused. "But there's more I want to say, but I'm afraid that it's gonna come out all wrong."
He chuckled. "You said "come."
She smiled wickedly at him. "Dirty!"
His grin faded and it was time to get serious again. "Lorelai, what are you afraid of? I mean, we've always been pretty frank with each other."
She let go of his hand but still faced him. "But that was before, when we were friends. and now that we're, you know..I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing, that I'll screw this up before we even get started. I've told you before, I don't have this dating thing down. I mean, I couldn't even hang onto Alex for two months...."
This was a minefield but Luke was used to Lorelai's freak-outs. He decided to tread carefully but firmly. "Lorelai, we're still friends, first and always. Second of all, it's entirely possible you'll say the wrong thing - it's ok. Third, the reason you didn't hang on to Alex was that he wasn't the right guy for you."
Luke wasn't finished yet and took a breath. "And dating, do you really think I'm some kind of expert? I mean, I didn't date for long time because I was pining after Rachel. And the only reason I went out with Lisa was to convince myself that I wasn't still in love with you!"
Luke hadn't meant to reveal all of that. But it was out in the open and he couldn't take it back. It was his turn to face the ceiling.
Wow. So it was true. What everyone had said. Lorelai remembered Sookie's words of wisdom from a while ago. Just look the guy in the eye, it's right there
"Luke, please look at me?"
He turned to face her and held his breath.
She inched closer to him and took his face in her hands, his stubble was rough against her palm. In the past twenty-four hours, she had seen a range of emotions in Luke's eyes - pain, humor, affection, and passion, to name a few.
But now, she could finally see it. It was right there the whole time and she had never allowed herself to see it. She hadn't been ready before. But now it was right in front of her, as plain as day. Her eyes filled with tears and she was speechless.
Luke saw her tears and let out a shaky breath. "Lorelai, I never thought I'd say this to you, but please say something."
She smiled through her tears. Luke still knew how to inject a little wry humor to release the tension of the moment. But there really was only one thing to say.
"I love you, Luke."
After that, the damn broke. Luke tried to kiss away some of Lorelai's tears but it turned out he was no competition for Kleenex. He went into the bathroom to retrieve the tissue box. While in the bathroom, he remembered that Jess had stocked up on some Trojans with his Wal-Mart discount. Hey, Luke IF you ever get lucky, you know where these are
He didn't want to be presumptuous but he also wanted to be prepared. Lorelai and he had another two hours to themselves before the world of coffee and burgers intruded. He returned to the bed and handed her the tissue box, hiding the small packets in his left hand.
She sat up, blew her nose and wiped her eyes. "I must look frightening, worse than Michael Jackson and Jocelyne Wildenstein's hypothetical love child."
Luke grimaced at the notion and sat beside her. "Not at all. Hey, when you love someone, even when they look like crap, they're still the most beautiful thing in the world."
"Oh, Luke, that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard you say." Her tone was sarcastic but affectionate.
He chuckled. "And probably the most romantic thing you'll ever hear me say. Lorelai, you know I'm not the hearts and flowers type."
"Don't worry. You don't even own a vase, so I'm not bringing you any flowers. But you're going to have to learn some things about the art of romance if you ever want to use those condoms you're holding in your hand."
Luke gave her an embarrassed look, how did she know?
"I may be in love, but I'm not blind."
Luke had an idea. "Well, why don't you teach me? We've got time for a few lessons and I'm a quick study."
Lorelai smiled. "Great idea."
She took the packets out of his hand and put them in the pocket of her sweatshirt. She then removed her sweatshirt and hung it on the bed post behind her. "I want to keep these safe, just in case." Lorelai lay back down on the mattress and gave him an expectant look.
"Ok, so where were we?"
Luke lay beside her and tried to remember what they were doing before they had their pillow talk. Lorelai grew impatient, grabbed his right hand and placed it under her shirt. Oh yes, it was all, ahem, coming back to him. When his hand reached its intended destination, Luke looked up at her in surprise.
"Lorelai, you're not wearing a bra."
She rolled her eyes at him and giggled in anticipation. "Such an astute observation. Luke, you are a quick study."
She then took her other hand and pulled him into a deep kiss.
The End
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Third Season, future fic
Rating: PG -13 (maybe treading on R rated material here)
Summary: Luke and Lorelai have another heart-to-heart
A/N: Here's where the story ends.or begins, depending on your point of view. It's been a fun ride.
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
"Well, Rock.."
Suddenly Lorelai was at a loss for words, a very rare occurrence. How could she tell Luke how she was feeling? She didn't want to scare him with the intensity of her emotions and wanted to be sure that it wasn't just lust that was she was feeling. She looked at Luke's expectant face and then turned to face the ceiling. It might be easier to talk without having to look at his intense gaze.
Luke noticed that she had grown uncomfortable. He hoped that she wasn't changing her mind. He didn't want to things to go back they way they were before last night, he wanted to move forward. Well, she was still lying on his bed, so that was a good sign. Patience was in order.
"Feel free to take your time. I'm not reopening the diner until 5." He looked at his watch. "We have almost three hours, and I'm not going anywhere, you know."
She glanced over - he was still watching her intently. "Three whole hours, huh?"
She pondered the possibilities, but didn't want to go down that road yet. "So you're not going anywhere. You've said that before, but I think I'm starting to understand the meaning of it."
Luke would've nodded but she couldn't see him. He wasn't good at this stuff - talking about feelings, he was better at listening and offering astute observations. "Yeah, I'm not going anywhere - I mean, I don't want to go anywhere, unless you tell me to." This conversation was already making him anxious. He exhaled sharply. "Do you want me to?"
Lorelai heard the anxiety in his voice and immediately turned her attention away from the ceiling to his worried face. "Do I want you to go? Oh Luke, no, of course not. Why would you think that?"
He sighed in relief. "I don't know - I guess I keep thinking that this is all some kind of dream and I'm gonna wake up and you won't be here."
She reached out and took his hand in hers. "Luke, I'm not going anywhere."
He smiled and inched towards her. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.
"Glad to hear it." He placed her hand back on the mattress. "Hey, is that what you wanted to tell me?"
She was still looking at him. "I think those few words say a lot of what I'm feeling." She paused. "But there's more I want to say, but I'm afraid that it's gonna come out all wrong."
He chuckled. "You said "come."
She smiled wickedly at him. "Dirty!"
His grin faded and it was time to get serious again. "Lorelai, what are you afraid of? I mean, we've always been pretty frank with each other."
She let go of his hand but still faced him. "But that was before, when we were friends. and now that we're, you know..I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing, that I'll screw this up before we even get started. I've told you before, I don't have this dating thing down. I mean, I couldn't even hang onto Alex for two months...."
This was a minefield but Luke was used to Lorelai's freak-outs. He decided to tread carefully but firmly. "Lorelai, we're still friends, first and always. Second of all, it's entirely possible you'll say the wrong thing - it's ok. Third, the reason you didn't hang on to Alex was that he wasn't the right guy for you."
Luke wasn't finished yet and took a breath. "And dating, do you really think I'm some kind of expert? I mean, I didn't date for long time because I was pining after Rachel. And the only reason I went out with Lisa was to convince myself that I wasn't still in love with you!"
Luke hadn't meant to reveal all of that. But it was out in the open and he couldn't take it back. It was his turn to face the ceiling.
Wow. So it was true. What everyone had said. Lorelai remembered Sookie's words of wisdom from a while ago. Just look the guy in the eye, it's right there
"Luke, please look at me?"
He turned to face her and held his breath.
She inched closer to him and took his face in her hands, his stubble was rough against her palm. In the past twenty-four hours, she had seen a range of emotions in Luke's eyes - pain, humor, affection, and passion, to name a few.
But now, she could finally see it. It was right there the whole time and she had never allowed herself to see it. She hadn't been ready before. But now it was right in front of her, as plain as day. Her eyes filled with tears and she was speechless.
Luke saw her tears and let out a shaky breath. "Lorelai, I never thought I'd say this to you, but please say something."
She smiled through her tears. Luke still knew how to inject a little wry humor to release the tension of the moment. But there really was only one thing to say.
"I love you, Luke."
After that, the damn broke. Luke tried to kiss away some of Lorelai's tears but it turned out he was no competition for Kleenex. He went into the bathroom to retrieve the tissue box. While in the bathroom, he remembered that Jess had stocked up on some Trojans with his Wal-Mart discount. Hey, Luke IF you ever get lucky, you know where these are
He didn't want to be presumptuous but he also wanted to be prepared. Lorelai and he had another two hours to themselves before the world of coffee and burgers intruded. He returned to the bed and handed her the tissue box, hiding the small packets in his left hand.
She sat up, blew her nose and wiped her eyes. "I must look frightening, worse than Michael Jackson and Jocelyne Wildenstein's hypothetical love child."
Luke grimaced at the notion and sat beside her. "Not at all. Hey, when you love someone, even when they look like crap, they're still the most beautiful thing in the world."
"Oh, Luke, that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard you say." Her tone was sarcastic but affectionate.
He chuckled. "And probably the most romantic thing you'll ever hear me say. Lorelai, you know I'm not the hearts and flowers type."
"Don't worry. You don't even own a vase, so I'm not bringing you any flowers. But you're going to have to learn some things about the art of romance if you ever want to use those condoms you're holding in your hand."
Luke gave her an embarrassed look, how did she know?
"I may be in love, but I'm not blind."
Luke had an idea. "Well, why don't you teach me? We've got time for a few lessons and I'm a quick study."
Lorelai smiled. "Great idea."
She took the packets out of his hand and put them in the pocket of her sweatshirt. She then removed her sweatshirt and hung it on the bed post behind her. "I want to keep these safe, just in case." Lorelai lay back down on the mattress and gave him an expectant look.
"Ok, so where were we?"
Luke lay beside her and tried to remember what they were doing before they had their pillow talk. Lorelai grew impatient, grabbed his right hand and placed it under her shirt. Oh yes, it was all, ahem, coming back to him. When his hand reached its intended destination, Luke looked up at her in surprise.
"Lorelai, you're not wearing a bra."
She rolled her eyes at him and giggled in anticipation. "Such an astute observation. Luke, you are a quick study."
She then took her other hand and pulled him into a deep kiss.
The End