Title: It All Starts With A Kiss
Chapter 14: RainBlest
A/N: It is now New Year's Eve, 2003. Luke and Lorelai are leaving Stars Hollow (still buzzing from the shocking Gilmore/Danes baby news) to visit New York, where Rory and Jess are newly moved into their apartment(and by moved in, I mean their stuff is there and in boxes. They have furniture but they can't see it). Uncle and nephew and best friends mother and daughter are going to Times Square on New Year's Eve, all Lorelai's idea, because "it's fun to be in a crowd and get your eardrums blown out by senseless noise. Why else do you think metal rock's done so well in concerts?"
~~~~
"Is that their bus?"
"I don't know."
"I think that's their bus."
"Great, Rory."
"Come on!" Rory pulled Jess from his stubborn position on the bench in the bus station and dragged him with her to the bus arriving from Stars Hollow. "Gilmore!!" Rory yelled as her mother walked off the bus, Luke not far behind.
"Little Gilmore!!" Lorelai dropped her bag and both girls ran to each other. As they were hugging (without falling down), Jess and Luke walked towards them, Luke carrying a suitcase.
"Jess."
"Luke."
By now the girls were sitting on the floor, still hugging.
"Didn't they just see each other a week ago?" Luke asked.
"Yep." Jess nodded.
"Why are they hugging like they haven't seen each other for a few decades?"
"Because this is the first time I've come to see her in New York." Lorelai looked up. Rory nodded, and then stood up. Lorelai held up her arms, and Luke and Rory pulled her up. "Okay! What do we do first?"
"Drop off your stuff, I guess." Rory said.
"Away we go!" Lorelai started leading the group away. Rory ran after her and turned her around.
~~~~
"Which key is it?"
"That one."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it goes square key, copper key, round silver key, gold key."
"I thought it went gold, square, copper, round silver."
"No, I'm pretty sure gold's last."
"Just open the damn door!" Lorelai yelled.
"Okay!" Jess and Rory yelled back. Jess used the sequence Rory had said--square, copper, round silver, gold--from top to bottom and pushed. The door swung open a foot and stopped. Jess looked at Rory; she nodded, and they both rammed into the door, pushing the cardboard boxes piled behind it to the wall. Then they stood aside as Luke and Lorelai entered the cluttered apartment.
"It's...nice." Luke said, taking in the boxes piled all over everything.
"It's great, sweets." Lorelai said, noticing the coffee table upside down on the floor.
"Thanks. We like it." Rory smiled at Jess, and they looked proudly around their apartment. There were four half-empty six-foot-tall bookcases against the wall, and three couches covered in boxes. The counter into the kitchen had boxes on it, too, but not as many. There was a dining table off to the right from where they were standing, and an amazing home entertainment system to the left. Lorelai wandered over to the electronics.
"These are top of the line."
"Yeah, Joe left everything behind when his dad dragged him away."
"Uh-huh. How did you know ultra-rich Joe, anyway? Was he your drug dealer?"
"Mom!"
"He was my best friend in elementary school, and after middle school we kinda moved apart, but when I visited after I moved to Stars Hollow, I met him again, and we got to be good friends. When I told him I was thinking of moving back to New York, he offered me the apartment, and I took it."
"How did Joe get this apartment?"
"Sixteenth birthday present from his dad. It's where he had parties during high school."
"So in other words, there has to be drugs somewhere in this apartment."
"Mom!"
"What? I'm pregnant and can't have coffee. I want fun!"
"We'll go stand in a crowd of twenty-five zillion screaming people and watch a big silver ball drop in the freezing cold." Rory said.
"Now that's fun." Luke spoke up.
"Yeah, and speaking of New Year's Eve in Times Square, we've got to go soon."
"Jess, I hate to break it to you but...it's three-thirty."
"Thanks, Lorelai, but have you ever seen it on TV? You've got to get there at least by five to get close to the ball and not get crushed by the crowd."
"Okay. So we'll hang out here for an hour, and at four-thirty we'll grab supper and snacks from the diner downstairs and head over there." Rory, the voice of reason, suggested.
"I'm fine with that." Luke shrugged.
"Okay." Jess nodded.
"Fine." Lorelai gave in. "But what do we do till then?"
"You want a tour of the apartment?"
"Sure!"
"Okay, this is the living room and dining room. That's the kitchen." Rory pointed at the counter separating the kitchen and dining room. "And this is the hall." Rory led her mother away. Luke sat down on a box, and Jess started looking through the piles of CDs on the floor.
"So how you doing, Jess?"
"Good. You?" Jess found the CD he wanted and stuck it in the state-of-the-art player.
"Okay," Luke said just as a song heavy on the guitars blasted out of the speakers.
"'Smile on Me'!" Rory shouted from her room. Jess smirked and skipped songs until the song she wanted started playing.
"Who's this?" Luke asked.
"RainBlest," Jess answered.
"RainBlest?" Lorelai asked Rory incredously. They were standing in her room. Well, Lorelai was standing, looking around, but Rory was dancing.
"Yeah," Rory nodded, "it's a twist on Sunkist. They're this really cool girl group. They live right down the hall."
"They've got a CD?"
"Yeah, and they're really big in Europe. It's basically the only CD Jess and I can listen to for hours together."
"Okay, whatever. So, how are things with Jess, anyway?"
"Great. It's kinda weird, though."
"Yeah, it's the first time you've had to share your house with someone else. Besides me."
"Yeah. I mean, I had to share a room with Paris, but that's different, cause it was a dorm. Now it's like a whole house."
"I know what you mean."
"Who did you live with, besides Grandma, Grandpa, and me?"
"Chris and I tried it once, right after you were born. We kept fighting, though, about who got to go out and who got to stay with you, and so one night, he just split."
"I never knew that."
"Yeah, I never told you. It's not something I meant to keep from you, I just never found the right time to tell you, you know?"
"Sure."
"Anyway, I'm hoping that after this one's born, Luke doesn't split."
"No way, Mom, Luke's not like that."
"People change, babe. It's a fact of life."
"Luke won't."
"Things busy at home?"
"A little. Patty's always telling me remedies for morning sickness, Taylor's on my case because Larry's always going to Doose's and harrasing the customers. Is it my fault the kid hates Taylor worse than I do?"
"Probably."
"It is, but still." Luke sat back for a second. "I've been opening the diner later now."
"Why?"
"Cause I've been spending my nights at Lorelai's."
"Every night?"
Lorelai nodded. "I've even got him opening later now."
"Wow."
"Yeah. Although, it's not always that sexy, cause I throw up a lot."
"I'm sure that dampens the mood."
"Yeah."
"You wanna see the study?"
Rory led her mother out of her room and past Jess' closed door to the largest bedroom. Only, instead of a bed, there were two desks and an overstuffed loveseat, next to another bookcase.
"It's just like both of you. I'm glad you guys are so happy together."
"Yeah, the same for you and Luke."
"Well, that's amazing. Both of us are with guys who make us happy! I'd think it sounded like someone else if I wasn't pregnant."
"At least I'm not."
"That's true."
~~~~
"Time to go!" Jess called back to the girls. They walked into the living room, both looking stunning in sparkling silver dresses.
"Wow." Luke breathed as he looked at Lorelai.
"I agree." Jess said, staring at Rory. "Although, no offense, but you guys know we're just going to be standing in a crowd all night, right?"
"Yes, but we can still look our best, true?" Lorelai looked at Rory.
"Oh, yes, very true. We girls need to look our best for you boys."
"But if you don't like them, you can stay here while we go to get noticed." Lorelai headed for the door.
"Ta-ta." Rory waltzed out of the apartment after her mother.
"Wait!" Jess and Luke both ran out after them.
~~~~
The sleeping arrangements for that night went like this: Luke kicked Jess out of his room and slept on Jess' bed. Lorelai spent almost three hours in the bathroom after the smells of the crowd and the taste of the giant soft pretzel she'd had, and then forced Rory to scoot over and slept on her bed. Jess got to sleep in the study, but basically read until six-thirty, when he finally dropped off to sleep. The next day, Rory and Jess showed Luke and Lorelai around Washington Square Park, and Lorelai showed Rory and Jess her favorite coffee place. At five-thirty in the afternoon, the group was back at the apartment, and Rory and Jess were dancing to the sounds of RainBlest when there was a knock on the door. They headed over and opened it to a twenty-year-old girl.
"Vanessa! Hey!" Rory said as she pulled the girl into the apartment.
"I see you still haven't unpacked."
"Of course not. So, whatcha doin?" Rory sat on a cardboard box labeled 'books'.
"I just heard the music, and it drew me like a moth to a flame."
As the group laughed, Lorelai cleared her throat. "Why?"
"Oh! Mom, this is Vanessa Steele, she's RainBlest's bassist. Vanessa, this is my mom, Lorelai Gilmore."
"Hi."
"Hi," Lorelai shook hands with Vanessa. "This is Luke Danes, my boyfriend."
"Hi." Vanessa shook Luke's hand, too.
"So, uh, Steele, that's an interesting last name." Lorelai said.
"My mom's first name is even more interesting."
"Oh, really? What is it?"
"Michael."
"Oh, my God, it's true! Your mom is in the Bangles! Oh, my God, that's so cool!"
"Yeah. Vanessa, my mom loves the Bangles."
"I noticed."
"Oh, could you get me tickets?"
"To a Bangles concert? I guess so."
"Wow!" Lorelai fell on the only couch that was free of boxes.
"O-kay. So, Vanessa, when are you guys playing next?" Jess said.
"Actually, that's the real reason I stopped by. We're playing tonight at Flying Cups and Saucers, and so I wanted to invite you guys."
"Oh, yeah, we'd love to go!" Rory said.
"Okay, well, it's starts at eight, which means I gotta head over there soon, and it's five bucks each at the door."
"Right."
"Guess I'll see you guys later. Bye." Vanessa left. Lorelai, who had now recovered from her slight I-love-the-Bangles trance, ran to her room and grabbed the only CD she'd brought. She slipped the "Best of" disk into the player and "Walk Like An Egyptian" started playing. Lorelai fell back into her place on the couch and back into her trance.
~~~~
Smile on me from afar
Smile on me from afar
Smile on me from afar
Smile on me from afar
You're smilin' on me and it's making me blue
For you
It's making me blue
With a final clang from the cymbals, the lights went down on RainBlest.
"Oh, I love 'em, I love 'em, I love 'em!" Lorelai yelled. Luke and Jess clapped and whistled, while Rory just clapped(cause she can't whistle).
"See, I told you they were great!" Rory said.
"Yeah, but they're even better in person." Luke said.
"I wish they'd come back on." Lorelai said as they all kept clapping. Right on cue, the lights came back up on the band and they started playing again. "Hey, I've got magical powers!"
"Shut up!" the other three hissed.
~~~~
"Bye, sweets."
"Bye, Mom."
It was the next morning in the bus station, and Luke and Lorelai were headed back to Connecticut. Rory backed out of their hug and hugged Luke, much to his surprise, and none to Lorelai's.
"Bye, Luke. Take good care of Mom and the baby."
"Sure." Luke said after he separated from the awkward hug. Lorelai punched Jess in the shoulder and said "Bye." He responded with the same word, and after another Rory/Lorelai hug, Lorelai slid her arm around Luke's waist and he slid an arm around her shoulders and they walked onto the bus. Rory and Jess, in an almost identical position, waved goodbye. Rory made Jess stand in the same spot until the bus had disappeared from view, and then they walked home.
Chapter 14: RainBlest
A/N: It is now New Year's Eve, 2003. Luke and Lorelai are leaving Stars Hollow (still buzzing from the shocking Gilmore/Danes baby news) to visit New York, where Rory and Jess are newly moved into their apartment(and by moved in, I mean their stuff is there and in boxes. They have furniture but they can't see it). Uncle and nephew and best friends mother and daughter are going to Times Square on New Year's Eve, all Lorelai's idea, because "it's fun to be in a crowd and get your eardrums blown out by senseless noise. Why else do you think metal rock's done so well in concerts?"
~~~~
"Is that their bus?"
"I don't know."
"I think that's their bus."
"Great, Rory."
"Come on!" Rory pulled Jess from his stubborn position on the bench in the bus station and dragged him with her to the bus arriving from Stars Hollow. "Gilmore!!" Rory yelled as her mother walked off the bus, Luke not far behind.
"Little Gilmore!!" Lorelai dropped her bag and both girls ran to each other. As they were hugging (without falling down), Jess and Luke walked towards them, Luke carrying a suitcase.
"Jess."
"Luke."
By now the girls were sitting on the floor, still hugging.
"Didn't they just see each other a week ago?" Luke asked.
"Yep." Jess nodded.
"Why are they hugging like they haven't seen each other for a few decades?"
"Because this is the first time I've come to see her in New York." Lorelai looked up. Rory nodded, and then stood up. Lorelai held up her arms, and Luke and Rory pulled her up. "Okay! What do we do first?"
"Drop off your stuff, I guess." Rory said.
"Away we go!" Lorelai started leading the group away. Rory ran after her and turned her around.
~~~~
"Which key is it?"
"That one."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it goes square key, copper key, round silver key, gold key."
"I thought it went gold, square, copper, round silver."
"No, I'm pretty sure gold's last."
"Just open the damn door!" Lorelai yelled.
"Okay!" Jess and Rory yelled back. Jess used the sequence Rory had said--square, copper, round silver, gold--from top to bottom and pushed. The door swung open a foot and stopped. Jess looked at Rory; she nodded, and they both rammed into the door, pushing the cardboard boxes piled behind it to the wall. Then they stood aside as Luke and Lorelai entered the cluttered apartment.
"It's...nice." Luke said, taking in the boxes piled all over everything.
"It's great, sweets." Lorelai said, noticing the coffee table upside down on the floor.
"Thanks. We like it." Rory smiled at Jess, and they looked proudly around their apartment. There were four half-empty six-foot-tall bookcases against the wall, and three couches covered in boxes. The counter into the kitchen had boxes on it, too, but not as many. There was a dining table off to the right from where they were standing, and an amazing home entertainment system to the left. Lorelai wandered over to the electronics.
"These are top of the line."
"Yeah, Joe left everything behind when his dad dragged him away."
"Uh-huh. How did you know ultra-rich Joe, anyway? Was he your drug dealer?"
"Mom!"
"He was my best friend in elementary school, and after middle school we kinda moved apart, but when I visited after I moved to Stars Hollow, I met him again, and we got to be good friends. When I told him I was thinking of moving back to New York, he offered me the apartment, and I took it."
"How did Joe get this apartment?"
"Sixteenth birthday present from his dad. It's where he had parties during high school."
"So in other words, there has to be drugs somewhere in this apartment."
"Mom!"
"What? I'm pregnant and can't have coffee. I want fun!"
"We'll go stand in a crowd of twenty-five zillion screaming people and watch a big silver ball drop in the freezing cold." Rory said.
"Now that's fun." Luke spoke up.
"Yeah, and speaking of New Year's Eve in Times Square, we've got to go soon."
"Jess, I hate to break it to you but...it's three-thirty."
"Thanks, Lorelai, but have you ever seen it on TV? You've got to get there at least by five to get close to the ball and not get crushed by the crowd."
"Okay. So we'll hang out here for an hour, and at four-thirty we'll grab supper and snacks from the diner downstairs and head over there." Rory, the voice of reason, suggested.
"I'm fine with that." Luke shrugged.
"Okay." Jess nodded.
"Fine." Lorelai gave in. "But what do we do till then?"
"You want a tour of the apartment?"
"Sure!"
"Okay, this is the living room and dining room. That's the kitchen." Rory pointed at the counter separating the kitchen and dining room. "And this is the hall." Rory led her mother away. Luke sat down on a box, and Jess started looking through the piles of CDs on the floor.
"So how you doing, Jess?"
"Good. You?" Jess found the CD he wanted and stuck it in the state-of-the-art player.
"Okay," Luke said just as a song heavy on the guitars blasted out of the speakers.
"'Smile on Me'!" Rory shouted from her room. Jess smirked and skipped songs until the song she wanted started playing.
"Who's this?" Luke asked.
"RainBlest," Jess answered.
"RainBlest?" Lorelai asked Rory incredously. They were standing in her room. Well, Lorelai was standing, looking around, but Rory was dancing.
"Yeah," Rory nodded, "it's a twist on Sunkist. They're this really cool girl group. They live right down the hall."
"They've got a CD?"
"Yeah, and they're really big in Europe. It's basically the only CD Jess and I can listen to for hours together."
"Okay, whatever. So, how are things with Jess, anyway?"
"Great. It's kinda weird, though."
"Yeah, it's the first time you've had to share your house with someone else. Besides me."
"Yeah. I mean, I had to share a room with Paris, but that's different, cause it was a dorm. Now it's like a whole house."
"I know what you mean."
"Who did you live with, besides Grandma, Grandpa, and me?"
"Chris and I tried it once, right after you were born. We kept fighting, though, about who got to go out and who got to stay with you, and so one night, he just split."
"I never knew that."
"Yeah, I never told you. It's not something I meant to keep from you, I just never found the right time to tell you, you know?"
"Sure."
"Anyway, I'm hoping that after this one's born, Luke doesn't split."
"No way, Mom, Luke's not like that."
"People change, babe. It's a fact of life."
"Luke won't."
"Things busy at home?"
"A little. Patty's always telling me remedies for morning sickness, Taylor's on my case because Larry's always going to Doose's and harrasing the customers. Is it my fault the kid hates Taylor worse than I do?"
"Probably."
"It is, but still." Luke sat back for a second. "I've been opening the diner later now."
"Why?"
"Cause I've been spending my nights at Lorelai's."
"Every night?"
Lorelai nodded. "I've even got him opening later now."
"Wow."
"Yeah. Although, it's not always that sexy, cause I throw up a lot."
"I'm sure that dampens the mood."
"Yeah."
"You wanna see the study?"
Rory led her mother out of her room and past Jess' closed door to the largest bedroom. Only, instead of a bed, there were two desks and an overstuffed loveseat, next to another bookcase.
"It's just like both of you. I'm glad you guys are so happy together."
"Yeah, the same for you and Luke."
"Well, that's amazing. Both of us are with guys who make us happy! I'd think it sounded like someone else if I wasn't pregnant."
"At least I'm not."
"That's true."
~~~~
"Time to go!" Jess called back to the girls. They walked into the living room, both looking stunning in sparkling silver dresses.
"Wow." Luke breathed as he looked at Lorelai.
"I agree." Jess said, staring at Rory. "Although, no offense, but you guys know we're just going to be standing in a crowd all night, right?"
"Yes, but we can still look our best, true?" Lorelai looked at Rory.
"Oh, yes, very true. We girls need to look our best for you boys."
"But if you don't like them, you can stay here while we go to get noticed." Lorelai headed for the door.
"Ta-ta." Rory waltzed out of the apartment after her mother.
"Wait!" Jess and Luke both ran out after them.
~~~~
The sleeping arrangements for that night went like this: Luke kicked Jess out of his room and slept on Jess' bed. Lorelai spent almost three hours in the bathroom after the smells of the crowd and the taste of the giant soft pretzel she'd had, and then forced Rory to scoot over and slept on her bed. Jess got to sleep in the study, but basically read until six-thirty, when he finally dropped off to sleep. The next day, Rory and Jess showed Luke and Lorelai around Washington Square Park, and Lorelai showed Rory and Jess her favorite coffee place. At five-thirty in the afternoon, the group was back at the apartment, and Rory and Jess were dancing to the sounds of RainBlest when there was a knock on the door. They headed over and opened it to a twenty-year-old girl.
"Vanessa! Hey!" Rory said as she pulled the girl into the apartment.
"I see you still haven't unpacked."
"Of course not. So, whatcha doin?" Rory sat on a cardboard box labeled 'books'.
"I just heard the music, and it drew me like a moth to a flame."
As the group laughed, Lorelai cleared her throat. "Why?"
"Oh! Mom, this is Vanessa Steele, she's RainBlest's bassist. Vanessa, this is my mom, Lorelai Gilmore."
"Hi."
"Hi," Lorelai shook hands with Vanessa. "This is Luke Danes, my boyfriend."
"Hi." Vanessa shook Luke's hand, too.
"So, uh, Steele, that's an interesting last name." Lorelai said.
"My mom's first name is even more interesting."
"Oh, really? What is it?"
"Michael."
"Oh, my God, it's true! Your mom is in the Bangles! Oh, my God, that's so cool!"
"Yeah. Vanessa, my mom loves the Bangles."
"I noticed."
"Oh, could you get me tickets?"
"To a Bangles concert? I guess so."
"Wow!" Lorelai fell on the only couch that was free of boxes.
"O-kay. So, Vanessa, when are you guys playing next?" Jess said.
"Actually, that's the real reason I stopped by. We're playing tonight at Flying Cups and Saucers, and so I wanted to invite you guys."
"Oh, yeah, we'd love to go!" Rory said.
"Okay, well, it's starts at eight, which means I gotta head over there soon, and it's five bucks each at the door."
"Right."
"Guess I'll see you guys later. Bye." Vanessa left. Lorelai, who had now recovered from her slight I-love-the-Bangles trance, ran to her room and grabbed the only CD she'd brought. She slipped the "Best of" disk into the player and "Walk Like An Egyptian" started playing. Lorelai fell back into her place on the couch and back into her trance.
~~~~
Smile on me from afar
Smile on me from afar
Smile on me from afar
Smile on me from afar
You're smilin' on me and it's making me blue
For you
It's making me blue
With a final clang from the cymbals, the lights went down on RainBlest.
"Oh, I love 'em, I love 'em, I love 'em!" Lorelai yelled. Luke and Jess clapped and whistled, while Rory just clapped(cause she can't whistle).
"See, I told you they were great!" Rory said.
"Yeah, but they're even better in person." Luke said.
"I wish they'd come back on." Lorelai said as they all kept clapping. Right on cue, the lights came back up on the band and they started playing again. "Hey, I've got magical powers!"
"Shut up!" the other three hissed.
~~~~
"Bye, sweets."
"Bye, Mom."
It was the next morning in the bus station, and Luke and Lorelai were headed back to Connecticut. Rory backed out of their hug and hugged Luke, much to his surprise, and none to Lorelai's.
"Bye, Luke. Take good care of Mom and the baby."
"Sure." Luke said after he separated from the awkward hug. Lorelai punched Jess in the shoulder and said "Bye." He responded with the same word, and after another Rory/Lorelai hug, Lorelai slid her arm around Luke's waist and he slid an arm around her shoulders and they walked onto the bus. Rory and Jess, in an almost identical position, waved goodbye. Rory made Jess stand in the same spot until the bus had disappeared from view, and then they walked home.