A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I've decided this is Chapter 2 of 3. Don't worry about our favourite couple. Just hang in there.
.....
..........
As much as Lorelai wanted to convince herself that she had left Luke standing in the lobby because she had things to do, it was well after midnight at this point and Luke had been right, everyone was asleep. A quick check on Kirk and Lulu revealed that even they had comfortably settled in for the night. Desperate to keep the mad buzzing of her thoughts from completely taking over her brain, Lorelai found herself striding across the grounds toward the darkened bungalow where her parents were supposed to have been staying that night.
As she turned on the lights and stepped inside, Lorelai half expected that her parents might have destroyed the place. Perhaps Emily in a fit of rage had hurled one of the elegant vases from the mantle at her father, while her father had defended himself with a chair from the sitting room. But no, everything was in perfect order as if no one had stayed there at all that night. Come to think of it, her parents' house had that same emmaculate, unlived in quality as well and the Gilmores had lived there for decades. One big happy family...
Lorelai sunk into the sitting room chair by the window, bathed in the light of the lamp on the table beside her. Her parents' marriage had never been sweetness and light but she had always counted on it being there. It was like their house and like they were, solid and unchangeable as nature. How could this have happened? If they, of all people, couldn't make it work then how did anyone else stand a chance?
She was suppose to be the impulsive one. When Luke had first pulled her into his arms tonight she had understood, it was an act of impulsiveness. The logical bubbling over of years of friendship and harmless flirtation. She had been surprised by it certainly. Surprised by the raw desperation she heard in his voice. Surprised that it had been good. Really, really good. Fireworks on the 4th of July and Pavarati with a full orchestra behind him kind of good. Like his waltzing abilities, Luke's kiss had quietly blown her mind. After he had pushed her away looking startled and dazed, she'd had to kiss him again. She had to know if the magic of that kiss was real or if she had only imagined it.
Then it happened. Lorelai shivered at the memory. Luke had clutched her to him and somehow, between the sparkly lights and the singing tenor, she knew... everything that the crazy townsfolk had been saying about Luke for years was true. This was not harmless flirtation. He was not trying to date her because he was alone or she was alone or he had nothing better to do with his Friday nights. He was serious about them. Very serious. Rory had been wrong about a great deal that evening but she was right about one thing. Lorelai couldn't "date" Luke. If she was with Luke, then she was WITH LUKE.
Lorelai snapped back to the present at the sound of light tapping on the bungalow's door. Her head still feeling like it was stuffed with cotton and bumblebees, Lorelai slowly crossed the room and opened the door.
Luke stood in the doorway with a mug in hand.
"I couldn't sleep," he said quietly not quite meeting her eye. "I saw the light on here and I figured since your parents had gone that maybe... that you might still be up too and I thought... well... I don't know if this is as good as the diner's coffee. Sookie had some weird blend I'd never heard of and..."
Lorelai looked from the steaming cup of coffee, to the dark sweater of the coffee bearer that looked both sexy and unnatural, to Luke who was babbling like a smitten teenager. She shook her head slowly and stepped back from the door.
"Who ARE you?"
Luke's head snapped up, "What?"
"You with your flowers and your dancing and your spontaneous cups of coffee..."
"Lorelai," he said with a small smile, "I would think by now that me supplying you coffee would be one of the cornerstones of our-"
She held up her hand in alarm, "Don't say it!"
"What?"
"That word," Lorelai said taking a couple more agitated steps from the door. "That R word."
"Relationship?"
Lorelai through her hands in the air and flopped back down in the sitting room chair. Luke was completely baffled and fast approaching panic. What had happened here? They had been doing so well. He took the seat opposite her, placing the coffee down on the little antique table between them.
"Lorelai."
She looked up, quietly marvelling at how much he could say with only her name. A question. An act of comfort. A warning that she was being crazy. Luke was never one for a lot of words, but he seemed to make do with very little.
"Everything is changing," she told him. "My parents, Rory... YOU."
"I haven't changed," Luke said.
"Oh no?" Lorelai said, jumping to her feet and pacing about the room. "Hi, I'm Luke and I never wear anything but flanel. Hi, I'm Luke and I hate dancing. Hi, I'm Luke and I never buy flowers for anyone!"
"You said you liked the flowers," Luke muttered, but she continued to plow over him like a freight train.
"You with your intentions and your right track and your book-" Lorelai gasped. "Jess' book! That was YOUR book, wasn't it?"
Luke winced. It served him right for falling for someone both brilliant and perceptive.
Lorelai stared at him stunned, "A self help book? LUKE is taking romance advice from a self help book?!"
"I thought we were done mocking the book..."
She shook her head, "Of course, it all makes sense now. The perfect recipe for romance and none of it was really you."
"Now just hold on a minute," Luke said angrily getting to his feet. "I meant all of it. I meant every word I said."
"But it wasn't YOU, Luke!" Lorelai cried. "Why did you have to change? Why did you have to change everything?"
"Because I had to!" Luke shouted. "In all these years you've never seen... I had to make you see... I couldn't just-"
"But you never asked me if I wanted it to change!"
Luke's heart was pounding. After their encounter on the porch he had been sure that the shouting portion of the evening was over. Now Lorelai was staring at him, looking so scared and hurt. His precious book had never covered any of this. Everything he'd done was suppose to make her happy. Make him happy. How could he make her understand he'd done it all for her?
Lorelai turned from him, "Luke, I'm sorry. I just can't deal with this right now."
"Lorelai..."
She shivered. He'd done it again, except this time he'd filled her name with such pain and longing that it made her soul ache. "Just go. Please, just go."
Luke walked silently from the bungalow and Lorelai fought the urge to watch him leave. She knew she had hurt him. She always hurt them, these insane men who wandered into her life. If he'd only told her what he had planned, she could have warned him what a mistake he was making. He deserved far better than to cross the path of Typhoon Lorelai.
.....
..........
Luke walked across the moonlit grounds back toward the inn. He'd done everything right. He'd done every damn thing right and it still hadn't been enough! He knew Lorelai was scared. He'd played spectator to enough of her failed relationships to know all about her tendency to bolt. It was part of the reason he'd been so careful, so meticulous in his courtship. He would make it perfect for her and then she wouldn't run.
But she ran anyways. Why? Because it had all been TOO perfect. Because Luke, good old diner man, coffee supplier, fix anything at the drop of a hat Luke, wasn't capable of being that perfect on his own. He knew it. She knew it.
He passed a birdbath on the path back to the inn with two happily kissing cherubs pouring water into the basin. Seeing it Luke had the overwhelming urge to kick their happy, stone heads right off their shoulders. Of course he couldn't. He could never do anything that would hurt her.
The pain in his chest swelled. It felt like someone had dug out his heart with a dull icecream scoop.
Heartache, he mused silently. The cliches had been right about it too.
.....
..........
Lorelai woke lying crossways on the bed with the first rays of sunlight spilling through the bungalow's windows. At first she was disoriented but a glance to the clock on the bedside table brought it all back in flash. The Dragonfly! Her inn! Her guests! She leapt from the bed and ran out of the door.
Racing through the backdoor of the kitchen, Lorelai was immediately grabbed by Sookie and pulled into a frantic hug. "Lorelai! Thank heavens! We've been looking all over for you!"
"The guests. The table cloths. Breakfast." Lorelai shook her foggy head, "Need coffee before can speak in complete sentences!"
Sookie pressed a mug into Lorelai's hands and something about the act made her heart twinge. She pushed the thought aside and drank deeply.
"Where were you?!" Sookie asked again.
"In the bungalow," Lorelai said absently.
"Oooh," Sookie said knowingly. "I thought something like this might happen after Jason showed up last night."
"What?" Lorelai shook her head violently, "No! God, no! No, no, no, no, no..."
"Then what were you doing down there? I mean, didn't you and Rory have a room upstairs?"
Lorelai dodged the question, and stepped over to peer into the dining room where the guests were already assembling for breakfast. "Are you sure everything is okay?"
"Everything is fine," Sookie assurred her. "Everyone is happy and everything is going perfectly."
Lorelai scanned the group taking their seats, "Where's Luke?"
"Oh, Michel said something about having to check him out early," Sookie said. "Apparently something came up back at the diner."
Lorelai said nothing, but her hands clutched the mug so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Yes, of course. She should have expected that.
.....
..........
As much as Lorelai wanted to convince herself that she had left Luke standing in the lobby because she had things to do, it was well after midnight at this point and Luke had been right, everyone was asleep. A quick check on Kirk and Lulu revealed that even they had comfortably settled in for the night. Desperate to keep the mad buzzing of her thoughts from completely taking over her brain, Lorelai found herself striding across the grounds toward the darkened bungalow where her parents were supposed to have been staying that night.
As she turned on the lights and stepped inside, Lorelai half expected that her parents might have destroyed the place. Perhaps Emily in a fit of rage had hurled one of the elegant vases from the mantle at her father, while her father had defended himself with a chair from the sitting room. But no, everything was in perfect order as if no one had stayed there at all that night. Come to think of it, her parents' house had that same emmaculate, unlived in quality as well and the Gilmores had lived there for decades. One big happy family...
Lorelai sunk into the sitting room chair by the window, bathed in the light of the lamp on the table beside her. Her parents' marriage had never been sweetness and light but she had always counted on it being there. It was like their house and like they were, solid and unchangeable as nature. How could this have happened? If they, of all people, couldn't make it work then how did anyone else stand a chance?
She was suppose to be the impulsive one. When Luke had first pulled her into his arms tonight she had understood, it was an act of impulsiveness. The logical bubbling over of years of friendship and harmless flirtation. She had been surprised by it certainly. Surprised by the raw desperation she heard in his voice. Surprised that it had been good. Really, really good. Fireworks on the 4th of July and Pavarati with a full orchestra behind him kind of good. Like his waltzing abilities, Luke's kiss had quietly blown her mind. After he had pushed her away looking startled and dazed, she'd had to kiss him again. She had to know if the magic of that kiss was real or if she had only imagined it.
Then it happened. Lorelai shivered at the memory. Luke had clutched her to him and somehow, between the sparkly lights and the singing tenor, she knew... everything that the crazy townsfolk had been saying about Luke for years was true. This was not harmless flirtation. He was not trying to date her because he was alone or she was alone or he had nothing better to do with his Friday nights. He was serious about them. Very serious. Rory had been wrong about a great deal that evening but she was right about one thing. Lorelai couldn't "date" Luke. If she was with Luke, then she was WITH LUKE.
Lorelai snapped back to the present at the sound of light tapping on the bungalow's door. Her head still feeling like it was stuffed with cotton and bumblebees, Lorelai slowly crossed the room and opened the door.
Luke stood in the doorway with a mug in hand.
"I couldn't sleep," he said quietly not quite meeting her eye. "I saw the light on here and I figured since your parents had gone that maybe... that you might still be up too and I thought... well... I don't know if this is as good as the diner's coffee. Sookie had some weird blend I'd never heard of and..."
Lorelai looked from the steaming cup of coffee, to the dark sweater of the coffee bearer that looked both sexy and unnatural, to Luke who was babbling like a smitten teenager. She shook her head slowly and stepped back from the door.
"Who ARE you?"
Luke's head snapped up, "What?"
"You with your flowers and your dancing and your spontaneous cups of coffee..."
"Lorelai," he said with a small smile, "I would think by now that me supplying you coffee would be one of the cornerstones of our-"
She held up her hand in alarm, "Don't say it!"
"What?"
"That word," Lorelai said taking a couple more agitated steps from the door. "That R word."
"Relationship?"
Lorelai through her hands in the air and flopped back down in the sitting room chair. Luke was completely baffled and fast approaching panic. What had happened here? They had been doing so well. He took the seat opposite her, placing the coffee down on the little antique table between them.
"Lorelai."
She looked up, quietly marvelling at how much he could say with only her name. A question. An act of comfort. A warning that she was being crazy. Luke was never one for a lot of words, but he seemed to make do with very little.
"Everything is changing," she told him. "My parents, Rory... YOU."
"I haven't changed," Luke said.
"Oh no?" Lorelai said, jumping to her feet and pacing about the room. "Hi, I'm Luke and I never wear anything but flanel. Hi, I'm Luke and I hate dancing. Hi, I'm Luke and I never buy flowers for anyone!"
"You said you liked the flowers," Luke muttered, but she continued to plow over him like a freight train.
"You with your intentions and your right track and your book-" Lorelai gasped. "Jess' book! That was YOUR book, wasn't it?"
Luke winced. It served him right for falling for someone both brilliant and perceptive.
Lorelai stared at him stunned, "A self help book? LUKE is taking romance advice from a self help book?!"
"I thought we were done mocking the book..."
She shook her head, "Of course, it all makes sense now. The perfect recipe for romance and none of it was really you."
"Now just hold on a minute," Luke said angrily getting to his feet. "I meant all of it. I meant every word I said."
"But it wasn't YOU, Luke!" Lorelai cried. "Why did you have to change? Why did you have to change everything?"
"Because I had to!" Luke shouted. "In all these years you've never seen... I had to make you see... I couldn't just-"
"But you never asked me if I wanted it to change!"
Luke's heart was pounding. After their encounter on the porch he had been sure that the shouting portion of the evening was over. Now Lorelai was staring at him, looking so scared and hurt. His precious book had never covered any of this. Everything he'd done was suppose to make her happy. Make him happy. How could he make her understand he'd done it all for her?
Lorelai turned from him, "Luke, I'm sorry. I just can't deal with this right now."
"Lorelai..."
She shivered. He'd done it again, except this time he'd filled her name with such pain and longing that it made her soul ache. "Just go. Please, just go."
Luke walked silently from the bungalow and Lorelai fought the urge to watch him leave. She knew she had hurt him. She always hurt them, these insane men who wandered into her life. If he'd only told her what he had planned, she could have warned him what a mistake he was making. He deserved far better than to cross the path of Typhoon Lorelai.
.....
..........
Luke walked across the moonlit grounds back toward the inn. He'd done everything right. He'd done every damn thing right and it still hadn't been enough! He knew Lorelai was scared. He'd played spectator to enough of her failed relationships to know all about her tendency to bolt. It was part of the reason he'd been so careful, so meticulous in his courtship. He would make it perfect for her and then she wouldn't run.
But she ran anyways. Why? Because it had all been TOO perfect. Because Luke, good old diner man, coffee supplier, fix anything at the drop of a hat Luke, wasn't capable of being that perfect on his own. He knew it. She knew it.
He passed a birdbath on the path back to the inn with two happily kissing cherubs pouring water into the basin. Seeing it Luke had the overwhelming urge to kick their happy, stone heads right off their shoulders. Of course he couldn't. He could never do anything that would hurt her.
The pain in his chest swelled. It felt like someone had dug out his heart with a dull icecream scoop.
Heartache, he mused silently. The cliches had been right about it too.
.....
..........
Lorelai woke lying crossways on the bed with the first rays of sunlight spilling through the bungalow's windows. At first she was disoriented but a glance to the clock on the bedside table brought it all back in flash. The Dragonfly! Her inn! Her guests! She leapt from the bed and ran out of the door.
Racing through the backdoor of the kitchen, Lorelai was immediately grabbed by Sookie and pulled into a frantic hug. "Lorelai! Thank heavens! We've been looking all over for you!"
"The guests. The table cloths. Breakfast." Lorelai shook her foggy head, "Need coffee before can speak in complete sentences!"
Sookie pressed a mug into Lorelai's hands and something about the act made her heart twinge. She pushed the thought aside and drank deeply.
"Where were you?!" Sookie asked again.
"In the bungalow," Lorelai said absently.
"Oooh," Sookie said knowingly. "I thought something like this might happen after Jason showed up last night."
"What?" Lorelai shook her head violently, "No! God, no! No, no, no, no, no..."
"Then what were you doing down there? I mean, didn't you and Rory have a room upstairs?"
Lorelai dodged the question, and stepped over to peer into the dining room where the guests were already assembling for breakfast. "Are you sure everything is okay?"
"Everything is fine," Sookie assurred her. "Everyone is happy and everything is going perfectly."
Lorelai scanned the group taking their seats, "Where's Luke?"
"Oh, Michel said something about having to check him out early," Sookie said. "Apparently something came up back at the diner."
Lorelai said nothing, but her hands clutched the mug so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Yes, of course. She should have expected that.