"Letting Go" by Romantique
Disclaimer: The characters, locations, etc. are the creation/property of Amy Sherman-Palladino et al, as well as the property of the WB...the following work is my humble homage.
A/N: This was written for CineFille's Imagined Scenarios Challenge, so of course this story is completely L/L and standalone.
The summer passed by more quickly than they had expected.
Luke didn't think he'd ever spent so much of his free time with one person who wasn't a relative, and he was surprised that he didn't long to have some time alone. In fact, in the rare moments that he found himself on his own, he ended up missing her.
Lorelai couldn't imagine getting through the summer without him. The first few weeks that the Dragonfly was open, she had to deal one mishap after the next. She couldn't believe the turnover rate in staff the first month, but at the end of it all, the Dragonfly was beginning to show signs of becoming profitable.
"Finally!" Lorelai saw Luke walking down the Dragonfly's driveway and leaped into his arms, hugging him so hard he winced and nearly fell over. Luke was already used to this greeting. He put her back on her feet and kissed her. "So glad we're past the PDA awkwardness..."
He smiled at her. "Who said we were past it? I'm not late, am I?"
"No, no. You're right on time. So can you come tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? What's tomorrow?" Luke teased.
Lorelai playfully punched him. "Shut up!"
"You sure know how to sweet-talk...yeah, yeah, Caesar said he could cover for me tomorrow. You're going to have to suck up to him real good when you see him. You're not exactly one of his favorite people lately." He put his arm around her waist as they walked up the porch steps.
"Aww, is Caesar jealous?"
"Lorelai, there you are! I need your help in Room 12." Michel rushed up to them as they walked into the lobby. "Hello, Luke."
"Hi."
"Michel, you know tonight's my night off," said Lorelai as she looked up to Luke. "It's our last night alone until my kid gets back."
"Oh, Rory is coming back tomorrow?"
"Yes. And would you believe it, my mother decides they're going to arrive at the crack of dawn."
"Why don't they take a taxi?"
"I've already tried to convince her," said Luke with a sigh. "But she wants the big dramatic reunion scene in the airport."
Lorelai grinned. "I've been picturing it in my mind...me and Rory running toward each other in the baggage claim...you know, 'cause they won't let us in to the gates anymore..." Her face fell. "What if I don't recognize her? What if she took up smoking? What if she decided not to come back?"
"What if Emily sold her into white slavery? Stop that, crazy lady," said Luke as he held her closer. "This is Rory we're talking about, remember? She probably misses you as much as you miss her. And I'm sure she's dying to come back stateside. Didn't you tell me when you got back last year that she was actually talking to her clothes because she missed them so much?"
"My mother probably bought her a whole closet full of clothes that she won't even miss the ones she left behind here. Besides, if the presidential election goes the wrong way, I wouldn't blame her for not wanting to come back."
"For once, I agree with you," said Michel. "Fine, go have your fun. I'll take care of Room 12 by myself."
"You can do it, Michel! I believe in you," said Lorelai as Michel walked away, ignoring her.
They started to walk from the Dragonfly toward Lorelai's house.
"Hey, don't you think I motivate my staff pretty well?" asked Lorelai.
"Yeah, you're a regular Tony Robbins."
"At least I'm not Dr. Phil." Lorelai looked up at him and winked. "Kidding!"
"You're never going to let me live that down, huh?" Luke told Lorelai about the books a few weeks ago, when she asked him about Jess. He had almost instantly regretted being so honest with her. However, to his surprise and hers, talking about the self-help books actually brought them closer as their conversations got deeper than their usual witty banter.
"Well, I have a hard time with letting things go."
"Yeah, I noticed that." Luke grinned mischievously. "Like Jason?"
Lorelai punched him playfully in the ribs. "You know it's the other way around. He's the one who wouldn't let go. "
"Okay, what about Max? Or Christopher?"
"Oh my god...I am not going through a litany of my exes unless we go through yours too. What about Nicole? Or Rachel?"
"Ugh, fine. So that's what we have in common. Letting go." They stopped in the middle of the bridge over the pond. "I guess I've always had a problem with letting go of people, 'cause they kept letting go of me."
Lorelai nodded. "I think I know what you mean. But, as you know, my problem with letting go has more to do with holding grudges or control issues."
Luke smiled. "No comment."
"Good answer." Lorelai put his hand in his. "Don't worry about me. I'm not planning to go anywhere."
Luke squeezed Lorelai's hand, and turned toward her, stroking her cheek with his other hand. "Neither am I."
"I know." She and Luke kissed and the world seemed to slip away until they heard a duck squawk from a distance. They pulled away and laughed, as they continued to walk over the bridge, arms around each other.
"I don't get it, Luke."
"Ducks...no accounting for taste."
"No. I don't get how all these people could just walk out of your life."
"It wasn't as if they all had a choice. My mom, my dad."
Lorelai nodded. "You've never really talked about your mom."
Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "She and I were close. It was hard on all of us when she died. Liz, I didn't think she'd ever be the same, but I guess you don't stay the same after a parent dies, huh?"
"I can't imagine, Luke."
"And my dad, well...he kind of closed up to me and Liz. It seemed like he cared more about his store and customers than he did about us. But I guess we reminded him of her. I could tell by the look in his eye. I remember trying to keep us together, make things normal. Cook my mom's dishes. But things just got worse."
"Did your mom teach you how to cook?"
Luke nodded. "Among other things. She always told me that I shouldn't rely on anybody else to get by in this world. She taught me how to bake – and she taught me how to do an oil change."
"She sounds like an amazing woman."
"She was. I remember her telling my dad, 'You can't fix everybody's problems.' But I think my dad spent the rest of his life trying to prove her wrong."
Lorelai sighed. "I feel horrible. The other day I was going on and on, whining about my parents' problems, and here you are without any parents."
"Don't feel horrible. Don't feel guilty 'cause you've got parents. That's just the way it is."
"I just feel like I'll never be able to understand them. I've already accepted the fact that they're never going to understand me." They got to her house, and they sat out on the porch swing. She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"When'd you figure that out?" Luke put his arm around her.
"Hmm, I think I was four. I wanted to wear my favorite nightgown to a Christmas party. My mother insisted that I wear this hideous lacy green velvet dress. I looked like a Christmas tree. I remember thinking...Mom, Dad, they just don't understand me or respect my choices."
"You remember thinking that at the age of four?" asked Luke skeptically.
"Yes! Yes I do. I was deep and philosophical at that tender age. I blame my dad. He has always talked to me as if I was an adult, even when I was a baby. I don't think he even really knows how to talk to a kid."
"He may not understand you, but he loves you. He just isn't good about communicating it, that's all."
Lorelai looked up at Luke, about to ask how he would know this, but she looked into his eyes and knew he was right. "Thanks. I guess I just don't let myself see past the pettiness, because I forget that people don't see the world the same way I do."
"And you're just learning that now?"
Lorelai smiled at Luke. "See, what would I do without you?"
They fell silent as they watched the sun go down, both of them feeling content to share a moment of peace in a particularly busy summer.