"Hey!" Lorelai greeted as she entered Luke's, early Tuesday afternoon. "Do
you have any extra baseball caps?"
"Hello to you too," he grumbled in response as he walked away from a customer and towards the counter. She took a seat in her regular stool and smiled casually at him.
"I need a baseball hat for today's practice, and I know you have a whole rack of them hidden away in that secret closet that is common in a Boo Radley residence, so baseball hat please!"
"You know, generally a diner only has a specific selection of things to offer."
"Pleaaaaaase. I left mine at the park on Sunday, you know after that lovely tie of zero zero, and I need one, sooooooooo permission to go upstairs and poke around in your hermit underwear drawer?"
"No. You can have coffee but that's where I'm drawing the line." He poured her a welcome mug of brown goodness and she took a sip, but headstrong as always she persisted on.
"Luke, if you don't give me a baseball cap, my head will get burnt, I'll get sun- stroke, I will not be able to play in the game, therefore insuring that your team will lose because I won't be around to distract the other players by yelling random movie quotes at them."
"You never give up."
"It's what I'm renowned for."
"Ok. Just wait a second. My lull starts in around 2:00 after everyone's done eating lunch."
She took another sip and looked pleadingly at him over the rim.
"It's 2 minutes until 2. Does your lull always begin at 2 o'clock on the dot?"
Luke started at her in exasperation.
"No. Come on." He ushered her behind the counter and she followed him up the stairs and into the apartment.
"Why can't you just get one at the clothing store anyways?"
"Hah. Trust you to know any town boutique as "the clothing store". Anyways, I tried one and all of the caps said something stupid on them like "Foxy" or "Spoilt 55" or "Flirt". Not really my style. I don't like to give away the package by the hat."
Luke chuckled to himself. He was still edgy about having her in his apartment, but he made his way over to his dresser as casually as possible and opened it up. As he was rummaging through to see if he could find any old baseball caps, Lorelai took in her surroundings for the first time since Rachel had left.
"Ah I see you still have the frilly curtains. Funny, I thought after Rachel had left you would've torn them down and sought after the nearest garbage can as fast as you could."
Luke flushed, as he turned around to reply, gesturing to the curtains.
"Yeah, well, Rachel made me promise to keep them.....uh, doesn't look like I have any extra baseball caps in here."
"Ok, try a drawer?"
"Oh right, yeah." He walked over to the little bedside table beside his bed and opened it up. He didn't see Lorelai lost in contemplation, nor her sudden change in expression, one that would've motivated a little light bulb to turn on top of her head had she been a cartoon.
"Luke, why did Rachel leave? I remember you were about to tell me that time when you came over to pick up your toolbox but you never really got around to it."
"Oh. She had her reasons."
"Such as....?"
"Well, Stars Hollows got too small for her once again, so she took to the road, I knew it was coming, it's no big deal, nothing to fixate on."
"Yeah, but I'm curious...." Lorelai trailed off, as she wandered over to the bedside table on the other side of his bed and opened the drawer. She knelt down and began to rummage through.
"You said "reasons", that implies that there was more then one thing. It couldn't just have been her quench for adventure taking the better of her again."
Lorelai shuffled past a clump of baseball cards, and found herself staring at a package of condoms. She almost choked holding the laughter in, not quite sure why she found this discovery so amusing. She continued to question Luke as she dug underneath the package.
"Was it something else?"
"Uh...no, no....nothing else...it was just that."
"Oh." Lorelai replied, somewhat disappointedly, "Because if there was another reason, which you've assured me that there wasn't, you know you could tell me, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah."
"Just because- you know- that's what friends do."
Luke laughed, though it sounded a bit forced, "Hey, who said we were friends?" he demanded playfully.
"You're about to lend me one of your baseball caps, those things are like your most prized possessions, if this isn't friendship, then I don't know what is."
"Well, there isn't anything in here," he said, shutting the drawer and standing up.
"Or here," she added, following suit.
"Who gave you permission to look through that anyways?"
"A dust bunny under your bed, it said, "Lorelai, why don't you sort through one of Luke's drawers to speed the process up a little?" And of course I couldn't say no, because it was such a cute piece of dust, so I sorted through your drawer, put the dust bunny in my pocket and named it Fred."
"Did you ever consider taking up residence in a mental asylum?"
"Once, but that was when I was six and I got brain freeze from a slushie, I took the term a little too literally."
He acknowledged her statement with a chuckle. "So, there are no baseball caps here."
Lorelai glanced around for one last time, "Wait! What's that?" she pointed to a bit of green material peeking out from underneath a bunch of "Home Hardware" books on his coffee table. She hurried over and lifted up the pile of books, revealing a flattened green baseball cap.
"Aha! My work here is done!"
"You can keep that one." He answered shyly.
"Thanks. Maybe once I buy a few more I can start a fan club and merge it with yours!"
He rolled his eyes, so accustomed to her teasing, that it no longer perturbed him.
They headed out of his apartment and down the stairs. She made her way out from behind the counter and smiled at him.
"Thanks Luke. I'll see you in an hour, ok?"
He nodded, but stopped her in her tracks when he noticed her half empty mug sitting on the counter.
"Wait! I forgot to mention an idea I had the other day, a payment plan for your coffee here."
"That's a good idea! Tell me about it after you teach me how to catch?"
"Sounds like a plan."
"See ya Luke."
"Bye," he waved to her and watched her progress down the street, a smile dancing on his lips.
!!!!!
AN: Hey! I hope you liked this! Please review!
"Hello to you too," he grumbled in response as he walked away from a customer and towards the counter. She took a seat in her regular stool and smiled casually at him.
"I need a baseball hat for today's practice, and I know you have a whole rack of them hidden away in that secret closet that is common in a Boo Radley residence, so baseball hat please!"
"You know, generally a diner only has a specific selection of things to offer."
"Pleaaaaaase. I left mine at the park on Sunday, you know after that lovely tie of zero zero, and I need one, sooooooooo permission to go upstairs and poke around in your hermit underwear drawer?"
"No. You can have coffee but that's where I'm drawing the line." He poured her a welcome mug of brown goodness and she took a sip, but headstrong as always she persisted on.
"Luke, if you don't give me a baseball cap, my head will get burnt, I'll get sun- stroke, I will not be able to play in the game, therefore insuring that your team will lose because I won't be around to distract the other players by yelling random movie quotes at them."
"You never give up."
"It's what I'm renowned for."
"Ok. Just wait a second. My lull starts in around 2:00 after everyone's done eating lunch."
She took another sip and looked pleadingly at him over the rim.
"It's 2 minutes until 2. Does your lull always begin at 2 o'clock on the dot?"
Luke started at her in exasperation.
"No. Come on." He ushered her behind the counter and she followed him up the stairs and into the apartment.
"Why can't you just get one at the clothing store anyways?"
"Hah. Trust you to know any town boutique as "the clothing store". Anyways, I tried one and all of the caps said something stupid on them like "Foxy" or "Spoilt 55" or "Flirt". Not really my style. I don't like to give away the package by the hat."
Luke chuckled to himself. He was still edgy about having her in his apartment, but he made his way over to his dresser as casually as possible and opened it up. As he was rummaging through to see if he could find any old baseball caps, Lorelai took in her surroundings for the first time since Rachel had left.
"Ah I see you still have the frilly curtains. Funny, I thought after Rachel had left you would've torn them down and sought after the nearest garbage can as fast as you could."
Luke flushed, as he turned around to reply, gesturing to the curtains.
"Yeah, well, Rachel made me promise to keep them.....uh, doesn't look like I have any extra baseball caps in here."
"Ok, try a drawer?"
"Oh right, yeah." He walked over to the little bedside table beside his bed and opened it up. He didn't see Lorelai lost in contemplation, nor her sudden change in expression, one that would've motivated a little light bulb to turn on top of her head had she been a cartoon.
"Luke, why did Rachel leave? I remember you were about to tell me that time when you came over to pick up your toolbox but you never really got around to it."
"Oh. She had her reasons."
"Such as....?"
"Well, Stars Hollows got too small for her once again, so she took to the road, I knew it was coming, it's no big deal, nothing to fixate on."
"Yeah, but I'm curious...." Lorelai trailed off, as she wandered over to the bedside table on the other side of his bed and opened the drawer. She knelt down and began to rummage through.
"You said "reasons", that implies that there was more then one thing. It couldn't just have been her quench for adventure taking the better of her again."
Lorelai shuffled past a clump of baseball cards, and found herself staring at a package of condoms. She almost choked holding the laughter in, not quite sure why she found this discovery so amusing. She continued to question Luke as she dug underneath the package.
"Was it something else?"
"Uh...no, no....nothing else...it was just that."
"Oh." Lorelai replied, somewhat disappointedly, "Because if there was another reason, which you've assured me that there wasn't, you know you could tell me, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah."
"Just because- you know- that's what friends do."
Luke laughed, though it sounded a bit forced, "Hey, who said we were friends?" he demanded playfully.
"You're about to lend me one of your baseball caps, those things are like your most prized possessions, if this isn't friendship, then I don't know what is."
"Well, there isn't anything in here," he said, shutting the drawer and standing up.
"Or here," she added, following suit.
"Who gave you permission to look through that anyways?"
"A dust bunny under your bed, it said, "Lorelai, why don't you sort through one of Luke's drawers to speed the process up a little?" And of course I couldn't say no, because it was such a cute piece of dust, so I sorted through your drawer, put the dust bunny in my pocket and named it Fred."
"Did you ever consider taking up residence in a mental asylum?"
"Once, but that was when I was six and I got brain freeze from a slushie, I took the term a little too literally."
He acknowledged her statement with a chuckle. "So, there are no baseball caps here."
Lorelai glanced around for one last time, "Wait! What's that?" she pointed to a bit of green material peeking out from underneath a bunch of "Home Hardware" books on his coffee table. She hurried over and lifted up the pile of books, revealing a flattened green baseball cap.
"Aha! My work here is done!"
"You can keep that one." He answered shyly.
"Thanks. Maybe once I buy a few more I can start a fan club and merge it with yours!"
He rolled his eyes, so accustomed to her teasing, that it no longer perturbed him.
They headed out of his apartment and down the stairs. She made her way out from behind the counter and smiled at him.
"Thanks Luke. I'll see you in an hour, ok?"
He nodded, but stopped her in her tracks when he noticed her half empty mug sitting on the counter.
"Wait! I forgot to mention an idea I had the other day, a payment plan for your coffee here."
"That's a good idea! Tell me about it after you teach me how to catch?"
"Sounds like a plan."
"See ya Luke."
"Bye," he waved to her and watched her progress down the street, a smile dancing on his lips.
!!!!!
AN: Hey! I hope you liked this! Please review!