Chapter Twenty: There's no place like home
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Late-Third Season
Rating: PG -13
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.
Summary: Luke and Lorelai finally! take a step forward....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
It was a steamy late August night and Lorelai drove her jeep into the town center; she was returning from dropping Rory at Yale for the fall semester. The day was busy with finding Rory's dorm assignment, helping her unpack and of course, meeting her new roommate. Jill was a Stuyvesant grad from New York who was planning to major in Art History. She and Rory hit it off right away and were already swapping books and CDs. Lorelai took them out to dinner at Hector's Tacos in New Haven and hoped that this would become another Gilmore food tradition.
She pulled up in front of the diner and noticed Luke doing his usual end of the day tally and cleanup. The sign on the door was flipped to "closed" but Lorelai hoped he would make an exception for her, like he usually did.
She rapped on the door and Luke looked up. He wasn't too surprised to see her, considering today had been the big day. Rory had dropped by earlier that day to say goodbye and have a prolonged good-bye kiss with Jess. They were planning to stay together and Rory would come home weekends to spend time with him. Jess, meanwhile, planned to take classes at the community college in Hartford and split the rest of his time between the diner and Wal-mart.
He approached the door and opened it for her.
"Thanks, Luke."
"Coffee?"
"You read my mind. Do you have any regular left? I really need it."
"Sure."
"What no fight, no lecture?"
"I'm out of decaf."
"Don't tell Dr. Lieberman on me, okay?"
He nodded as he poured her a cup. "Your secret's safe with me."
Lorelai sipped her coffee. "Mmmm, this is heavenly. Have I told you lately that you're my angel?"
Luke wondered if she was just doing her usual Lorelai flirty thing. Give her coffee, and she'll feed your fantasies.
"No, not lately. So, how did everything go?"
"Fine, I guess. I mean it was a pain in the ass lugging all of Rory's stuff up three flights of stairs to her room. I mean, I know the dorms are old and have all this academic history, but do you think they could splurge for an elevator? I mean with the amount of room and board we're paying, they should have bellboys."
"Yale's not a hotel, it's an academic institution."
"Yeah, I know. But at least Rory's happy and she likes her new roommate, so that's all that matters."
"Good for her, I'm glad she's adjusting. Jess, meanwhile is all bummed about her leaving."
"Well, I'm with Jess. Luke, this sucks."
"You seem to be doing fine."
"I was. I didn't even cry when we said good-bye. Leaving her at Yale wasn't the hard part, it's the coming back to an empty house. Luke, I don't know if I want to go home."
"Ah, the empty nest."
"Yeah, it's gonna be so quiet there without her. Well, not like Rory was ever the loud type. But it just won't be the same." She paused as tears welled up in her eyes. "They say your home is where your heart it, well without Rory there, it won't feel like much of a home."
Lorelai began to cry and let out the tears she had been holding back all day.
Luke was still for a moment but he could never stand to see Lorelai cry. He came around from behind the counter and took Lorelai into his arms. She got off her stool and embraced him tightly as she cried into his shoulder. He gently stroked her hair and back and murmured words of comfort as she shuddered against him.
A minute or two later, her tears subsided but Lorelai didn't want to let go. He was offering her the love, comfort and safety she craved and didn't want to give that up so soon. Neither did Luke; he noticed that her tears had stopped but she was still holding on. He thought he would feel uncomfortable but something was different. Lorelai wasn't just seeking comfort from him, it was something more. He pulled back a bit to look at her and she gave him a shy smile. He grabbed a napkin off the counter and handed it to her.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Then the awkwardness set in and Lorelai pulled away and turned her attention back to her coffee cup. As she wiped her face and took another sip, he wondered if he had seen something in her eyes. Or was it just his imagination?
"My coffee's getting cold."
"Well, that's the last of the batch, I'm afraid."
"Hey, Luke, would you do me a favor?"
"Uh, oh. Lorelai I'm not making more coffee, sorry. No whining and pestering, please."
"No, it's not about the coffee. Would you mind taking me home?"
Luke looked confused. "But your jeep is parked outside."
She gave him a pointed look. "You could drive me."
Luke decided not to protest, she was asking him to take her home. Lorelai never asked him that before.
"Okay, just give me a minute to lock up."
A few minutes later, Luke pulled the jeep into Lorelai's driveway. He took the keys out of the ignition and handed them to her. He got out of the driver's seat and went around to the passenger side to open her door.
"Such service, thank you."
"Well, I figured after the day you've had, you deserve it."
They walked to her front door and Lorelai unlocked it. Luke gave her an uncertain look but she nodded and smiled at him, so he followed her into the house.
Luke felt nervous despite the fact he had been inside Lorelai's house many times before, mostly to fix things. He had even been there before late at night while they hunted around for Stella. He was pretty sure when Lorelai called him frantically that night that she wanted to do more than look for a baby chick. But that's all they wound up doing, to his disappointment.
Now, it was almost three years later and he still wasn't sure what Lorelai wanted from him. He decided, as always, to let her take the lead. He followed her into the kitchen as she flipped on the light.
"Do you want some tea?"
Luke nodded. "Sure, what have you got?"
"Oh, I have some peppermint, your favorite."
"It's actually not my favorite anymore. Nicole introduced me to this lemon- ginger blend stuff. But I'll take the peppermint."
Nicole. The mention of her name was like a nail in her heart.
"Oh, so how is Nicole?" Lorelai tried to sound nonchalant.
"She's good, I guess." Luke shrugged.
"What do you mean, you guess?"
"We broke up a few days ago."
It was good Lorelai's back was to Luke's as she prepared the tea because she had broken into a big smile of relief. So Dr. Lieberman was right, Nicole must've dumped Luke.
She turned around and gave him her best 'concerned friend' look.
"I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really." He paused. "Um, I guess things weren't working out. She wanted something more permanent, and I didn't."
"Sounds like me and Alex." She paused. "Except in my case, I realized I was falling for someone else."
Luke looked surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah, I realized I was in denial about it, too. Dr. Lieberman helped me see what I didn't want to face."
"Yeah, she did that for me, too."
"You mean you're in love with someone, too?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah, but the truth hurts."
The tea kettle whistled and Lorelai got up to get Luke his tea. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, the person I love doesn't return the gesture." Luke said quietly.
She set the tea cup in front of him and sat down again.
"How do you know? Have you ever told her? I'm assuming it's a she unless there was some other big secret you're in denial about."
Luke chuckled. "Oh, yeah, I've been carrying a torch for Taylor. All my hostility towards him was just misguided passion."
Lorelai laughed. "I knew it! Although I thought it was Kirk. He never has any girlfriends around. And neither do you, except for Nicole. And she was your beard."
She paused and grew serious again. "So this mystery woman, have you told her?"
Luke shook his head. "No." He took a sip of tea.
"Why not? I think she'd like to know, maybe she's just waiting for the word from you."
"Maybe. Well, what about you, Lorelai? This guy you're in love with. Have you told him?"
Lorelai shook her head. "No, until very recently he was seriously involved with someone, I'm not sure if this is the right time to tell him. I don't want to be the rebound chick."
He looked her in the eye. "I doubt you'd be the rebound chick. I'd even bet on the diner that you're the one he's been waiting for all his life."
She held his gaze. "Well, in that case, I'd bet on the Inn that you're the one she's been waiting her whole life for, too."
Luke put down his cup. "You're that sure?"
She smiled at him. "As sure as you are, diner betting man."
The kitchen was silent, except for the clock ticking on the wall, while the meaning behind their not-so-veiled conversation set in. Neither was sure what to do next.
Lorelai drummed her fingers on the kitchen table. "So, what now?"
"Um, another cup of tea?" Luke suggested. Lorelai started to get up but he motioned to her to sit down. "I'll get it."
Luke picked up his cup and saucer and brought it to the kettle. He poured the water into the cup even though his hands were shaking.
"Careful, it's hot." Lorelai's voice closed in behind him as she took the tea kettle out of his grasp. "You don't want to burn yourself."
Luke set the teacup on the counter and watched her watching him. "Yeah, I don't want to get hurt."
"Neither do I, if we're both careful, we won't." She whispered.
Luke was leaning with his back to the counter and Lorelai was just inches in front of him. She took Luke's trembling hands in hers and pulled them down on either side of her hips. She deliberately kept her voice low and soft. "I want you to hold me again. Like you did tonight in the diner."
Luke nodded, not quite believing what was happening. "I can do that."
"Only this time, I won't cry. Although I can't promise anything."
Luke pulled her close and she put her arms around him again. They just stood there for a moment. They were in hyper awareness of each other's breath, heartbeat and the slow realization that their embrace was as inevitable as the loud ticking of the kitchen clock over their heads.
Luke pulled back slightly to look at her. This time he looked into her eyes and saw it. It wasn't just something he had imagined. Encouraged by that, he leaned in to kiss her. They took their time, savoring the kiss. It was soft and chaste, neither wanted to rush for fear the other might retreat to their respective corners and try to explain away what happened.
Lorelai pulled back first. "Kirk and Taylor are going to be so jealous."
Luke chuckled; leave it to Lorelai to cut the tension with a silly joke. "Yeah, too bad for them."
They were still in each other's arms and suddenly Lorelai had an idea.
"Hey, Luke, have you ever seen 'Donnie Darko?'
"No. Isn't that some Johnny Depp mob flick?"
"No, that's 'Donnie Brasco.' Rory recommended it; she said it's the Gen Y version of 'Heathers.' I know you like that movie, so maybe we could watch it sometime?"
"Sure, you mean like a date?"
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah. Unless you don't want to date me and go straight to the sex part."
Luke turned close to several shades of red. "Um, well not to be presumptuous or anything but I'm hoping the dating might eventually include the sex part."
"Well, you won't know unless you say 'yes' to my invitation."
Luke smiled. "Yes, I'd love to see that 'Donnie what's-his-name' movie with you."
"Good, how about tomorrow night? Why don't you close early and come over at nine? I'll make the popcorn and go to the video store."
"So all I have to do is show up?"
"Yes, I'm making this very easy for you."
"Okay, then nine it is. Should I bring anything, maybe some food from the diner?"
"Sure."
Lorelai pulled away from him and noticed the time, it was a little after ten.
"Luke, isn't it getting close to your bedtime?"
"Is that your way of telling me you want me to leave?"
"Well, no, but maybe I should get used to being in this house by myself."
"Good idea. Although, I have a strong feeling you won't be spending too much time here alone."
"Which is why I'd like to enjoy the quiet time while I have it."
"So you'll be okay?"
Lorelai nodded. "I'm gonna be."
Lorelai walked Luke to the front door. He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss goodnight while she squeezed his hand.
"Sorry, you have to walk back without an escort."
"That's okay, I'll be fine. Good night Lorelai."
"Goodnight Luke."
Lorelai closed the door and smiled to herself, taking in this bittersweet moment. With Rory now living at the dorm, she did feel a little lonely. But with her and Luke finally headed in the right direction, she felt she was starting a brand new chapter in her life.
Lorelai decided to pick up the phone and check in with Rory, she did tell her she'd ring her when she got home. She also couldn't wait to share the latest development in her love life.
A/N: Forgive me for not including a Rory/Jess or Rory/Lorelai sappy good- bye scene. I wanted to get straight to the good stuff.
Epilogue? Anyone? Bueller? I will most likely write one but not one where they're happily married with a brood of little Lukes and Lorelais. While those are nice, I feel that others have already covered that ground.
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Late-Third Season
Rating: PG -13
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.
Summary: Luke and Lorelai finally! take a step forward....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
It was a steamy late August night and Lorelai drove her jeep into the town center; she was returning from dropping Rory at Yale for the fall semester. The day was busy with finding Rory's dorm assignment, helping her unpack and of course, meeting her new roommate. Jill was a Stuyvesant grad from New York who was planning to major in Art History. She and Rory hit it off right away and were already swapping books and CDs. Lorelai took them out to dinner at Hector's Tacos in New Haven and hoped that this would become another Gilmore food tradition.
She pulled up in front of the diner and noticed Luke doing his usual end of the day tally and cleanup. The sign on the door was flipped to "closed" but Lorelai hoped he would make an exception for her, like he usually did.
She rapped on the door and Luke looked up. He wasn't too surprised to see her, considering today had been the big day. Rory had dropped by earlier that day to say goodbye and have a prolonged good-bye kiss with Jess. They were planning to stay together and Rory would come home weekends to spend time with him. Jess, meanwhile, planned to take classes at the community college in Hartford and split the rest of his time between the diner and Wal-mart.
He approached the door and opened it for her.
"Thanks, Luke."
"Coffee?"
"You read my mind. Do you have any regular left? I really need it."
"Sure."
"What no fight, no lecture?"
"I'm out of decaf."
"Don't tell Dr. Lieberman on me, okay?"
He nodded as he poured her a cup. "Your secret's safe with me."
Lorelai sipped her coffee. "Mmmm, this is heavenly. Have I told you lately that you're my angel?"
Luke wondered if she was just doing her usual Lorelai flirty thing. Give her coffee, and she'll feed your fantasies.
"No, not lately. So, how did everything go?"
"Fine, I guess. I mean it was a pain in the ass lugging all of Rory's stuff up three flights of stairs to her room. I mean, I know the dorms are old and have all this academic history, but do you think they could splurge for an elevator? I mean with the amount of room and board we're paying, they should have bellboys."
"Yale's not a hotel, it's an academic institution."
"Yeah, I know. But at least Rory's happy and she likes her new roommate, so that's all that matters."
"Good for her, I'm glad she's adjusting. Jess, meanwhile is all bummed about her leaving."
"Well, I'm with Jess. Luke, this sucks."
"You seem to be doing fine."
"I was. I didn't even cry when we said good-bye. Leaving her at Yale wasn't the hard part, it's the coming back to an empty house. Luke, I don't know if I want to go home."
"Ah, the empty nest."
"Yeah, it's gonna be so quiet there without her. Well, not like Rory was ever the loud type. But it just won't be the same." She paused as tears welled up in her eyes. "They say your home is where your heart it, well without Rory there, it won't feel like much of a home."
Lorelai began to cry and let out the tears she had been holding back all day.
Luke was still for a moment but he could never stand to see Lorelai cry. He came around from behind the counter and took Lorelai into his arms. She got off her stool and embraced him tightly as she cried into his shoulder. He gently stroked her hair and back and murmured words of comfort as she shuddered against him.
A minute or two later, her tears subsided but Lorelai didn't want to let go. He was offering her the love, comfort and safety she craved and didn't want to give that up so soon. Neither did Luke; he noticed that her tears had stopped but she was still holding on. He thought he would feel uncomfortable but something was different. Lorelai wasn't just seeking comfort from him, it was something more. He pulled back a bit to look at her and she gave him a shy smile. He grabbed a napkin off the counter and handed it to her.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Then the awkwardness set in and Lorelai pulled away and turned her attention back to her coffee cup. As she wiped her face and took another sip, he wondered if he had seen something in her eyes. Or was it just his imagination?
"My coffee's getting cold."
"Well, that's the last of the batch, I'm afraid."
"Hey, Luke, would you do me a favor?"
"Uh, oh. Lorelai I'm not making more coffee, sorry. No whining and pestering, please."
"No, it's not about the coffee. Would you mind taking me home?"
Luke looked confused. "But your jeep is parked outside."
She gave him a pointed look. "You could drive me."
Luke decided not to protest, she was asking him to take her home. Lorelai never asked him that before.
"Okay, just give me a minute to lock up."
A few minutes later, Luke pulled the jeep into Lorelai's driveway. He took the keys out of the ignition and handed them to her. He got out of the driver's seat and went around to the passenger side to open her door.
"Such service, thank you."
"Well, I figured after the day you've had, you deserve it."
They walked to her front door and Lorelai unlocked it. Luke gave her an uncertain look but she nodded and smiled at him, so he followed her into the house.
Luke felt nervous despite the fact he had been inside Lorelai's house many times before, mostly to fix things. He had even been there before late at night while they hunted around for Stella. He was pretty sure when Lorelai called him frantically that night that she wanted to do more than look for a baby chick. But that's all they wound up doing, to his disappointment.
Now, it was almost three years later and he still wasn't sure what Lorelai wanted from him. He decided, as always, to let her take the lead. He followed her into the kitchen as she flipped on the light.
"Do you want some tea?"
Luke nodded. "Sure, what have you got?"
"Oh, I have some peppermint, your favorite."
"It's actually not my favorite anymore. Nicole introduced me to this lemon- ginger blend stuff. But I'll take the peppermint."
Nicole. The mention of her name was like a nail in her heart.
"Oh, so how is Nicole?" Lorelai tried to sound nonchalant.
"She's good, I guess." Luke shrugged.
"What do you mean, you guess?"
"We broke up a few days ago."
It was good Lorelai's back was to Luke's as she prepared the tea because she had broken into a big smile of relief. So Dr. Lieberman was right, Nicole must've dumped Luke.
She turned around and gave him her best 'concerned friend' look.
"I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really." He paused. "Um, I guess things weren't working out. She wanted something more permanent, and I didn't."
"Sounds like me and Alex." She paused. "Except in my case, I realized I was falling for someone else."
Luke looked surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah, I realized I was in denial about it, too. Dr. Lieberman helped me see what I didn't want to face."
"Yeah, she did that for me, too."
"You mean you're in love with someone, too?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah, but the truth hurts."
The tea kettle whistled and Lorelai got up to get Luke his tea. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, the person I love doesn't return the gesture." Luke said quietly.
She set the tea cup in front of him and sat down again.
"How do you know? Have you ever told her? I'm assuming it's a she unless there was some other big secret you're in denial about."
Luke chuckled. "Oh, yeah, I've been carrying a torch for Taylor. All my hostility towards him was just misguided passion."
Lorelai laughed. "I knew it! Although I thought it was Kirk. He never has any girlfriends around. And neither do you, except for Nicole. And she was your beard."
She paused and grew serious again. "So this mystery woman, have you told her?"
Luke shook his head. "No." He took a sip of tea.
"Why not? I think she'd like to know, maybe she's just waiting for the word from you."
"Maybe. Well, what about you, Lorelai? This guy you're in love with. Have you told him?"
Lorelai shook her head. "No, until very recently he was seriously involved with someone, I'm not sure if this is the right time to tell him. I don't want to be the rebound chick."
He looked her in the eye. "I doubt you'd be the rebound chick. I'd even bet on the diner that you're the one he's been waiting for all his life."
She held his gaze. "Well, in that case, I'd bet on the Inn that you're the one she's been waiting her whole life for, too."
Luke put down his cup. "You're that sure?"
She smiled at him. "As sure as you are, diner betting man."
The kitchen was silent, except for the clock ticking on the wall, while the meaning behind their not-so-veiled conversation set in. Neither was sure what to do next.
Lorelai drummed her fingers on the kitchen table. "So, what now?"
"Um, another cup of tea?" Luke suggested. Lorelai started to get up but he motioned to her to sit down. "I'll get it."
Luke picked up his cup and saucer and brought it to the kettle. He poured the water into the cup even though his hands were shaking.
"Careful, it's hot." Lorelai's voice closed in behind him as she took the tea kettle out of his grasp. "You don't want to burn yourself."
Luke set the teacup on the counter and watched her watching him. "Yeah, I don't want to get hurt."
"Neither do I, if we're both careful, we won't." She whispered.
Luke was leaning with his back to the counter and Lorelai was just inches in front of him. She took Luke's trembling hands in hers and pulled them down on either side of her hips. She deliberately kept her voice low and soft. "I want you to hold me again. Like you did tonight in the diner."
Luke nodded, not quite believing what was happening. "I can do that."
"Only this time, I won't cry. Although I can't promise anything."
Luke pulled her close and she put her arms around him again. They just stood there for a moment. They were in hyper awareness of each other's breath, heartbeat and the slow realization that their embrace was as inevitable as the loud ticking of the kitchen clock over their heads.
Luke pulled back slightly to look at her. This time he looked into her eyes and saw it. It wasn't just something he had imagined. Encouraged by that, he leaned in to kiss her. They took their time, savoring the kiss. It was soft and chaste, neither wanted to rush for fear the other might retreat to their respective corners and try to explain away what happened.
Lorelai pulled back first. "Kirk and Taylor are going to be so jealous."
Luke chuckled; leave it to Lorelai to cut the tension with a silly joke. "Yeah, too bad for them."
They were still in each other's arms and suddenly Lorelai had an idea.
"Hey, Luke, have you ever seen 'Donnie Darko?'
"No. Isn't that some Johnny Depp mob flick?"
"No, that's 'Donnie Brasco.' Rory recommended it; she said it's the Gen Y version of 'Heathers.' I know you like that movie, so maybe we could watch it sometime?"
"Sure, you mean like a date?"
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah. Unless you don't want to date me and go straight to the sex part."
Luke turned close to several shades of red. "Um, well not to be presumptuous or anything but I'm hoping the dating might eventually include the sex part."
"Well, you won't know unless you say 'yes' to my invitation."
Luke smiled. "Yes, I'd love to see that 'Donnie what's-his-name' movie with you."
"Good, how about tomorrow night? Why don't you close early and come over at nine? I'll make the popcorn and go to the video store."
"So all I have to do is show up?"
"Yes, I'm making this very easy for you."
"Okay, then nine it is. Should I bring anything, maybe some food from the diner?"
"Sure."
Lorelai pulled away from him and noticed the time, it was a little after ten.
"Luke, isn't it getting close to your bedtime?"
"Is that your way of telling me you want me to leave?"
"Well, no, but maybe I should get used to being in this house by myself."
"Good idea. Although, I have a strong feeling you won't be spending too much time here alone."
"Which is why I'd like to enjoy the quiet time while I have it."
"So you'll be okay?"
Lorelai nodded. "I'm gonna be."
Lorelai walked Luke to the front door. He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss goodnight while she squeezed his hand.
"Sorry, you have to walk back without an escort."
"That's okay, I'll be fine. Good night Lorelai."
"Goodnight Luke."
Lorelai closed the door and smiled to herself, taking in this bittersweet moment. With Rory now living at the dorm, she did feel a little lonely. But with her and Luke finally headed in the right direction, she felt she was starting a brand new chapter in her life.
Lorelai decided to pick up the phone and check in with Rory, she did tell her she'd ring her when she got home. She also couldn't wait to share the latest development in her love life.
A/N: Forgive me for not including a Rory/Jess or Rory/Lorelai sappy good- bye scene. I wanted to get straight to the good stuff.
Epilogue? Anyone? Bueller? I will most likely write one but not one where they're happily married with a brood of little Lukes and Lorelais. While those are nice, I feel that others have already covered that ground.