Lightning
A/N: I'm sorry this took longer than I expected to post. Thanks to those who reviewed. You are my heroes.
Chapter Seven: Meeting the Gilmores, Pt. 1
Rory and Tade had spent almost everyday of the last three weeks with each other since the night at the beach. They had told each other their life stories, leaving out no details if they could help it. They felt an overwhelming comfort and safety in the other. It just felt right.
It was a chilly, Sunday afternoon and they were staying warm in Tade's room. They lay curled up on his bed, under his down comforter, munching on M&M's and Cap'n Crunch, watching Mary Poppins.
"I have a theory," he began with a gesture of his hand towards the television before he tossed an M&M into his mouth. Rory looked at him with smiling anticipation. Tade had a theory about every Disney movie. Not pretentious theories. No. They were just little thoughts that he liked to share with her. "That Mary Poppins, that umbrella guy, and the carpet bag are symbols that represent the Holy Trinity. You see? Obviously, Mary Poppins is Jesus. The umbrella dude is God. And the carpet bag is the Holy Ghost, because no one knows what that one's about." He explained with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "You could even go as far as to say that Bert is Mary Magdalene. It all works." He turned to Rory as he finished. She was grinning at him. Like she knew something he didn't. "What?" he asked with a furrow of his brow although his lips were smiling.
"I love you." Rory stated. She just had to say it. It was the truth. She loved him. She felt like she always had. Even before they met, she loved him. She looked at his sparkling eyes, the creases at their edges, created by his broad smile, his glowing cheekbones, his nose that made her feel like she knew him as a child. She loved him. She loved his passion that he saved only for her. She loved the way he could wear Prada pants with a K-Mart shirt without thinking twice about it. She loved the way he sang to her. She loved the way he refused to make lists and just laughed at her instead. She loved that he could smile away her fears. She loved him.
"I love you too." He said with a grin too big for his face. He did love her. She was the most important thing in his life. He hadn't realized that before, but she was. He couldn't go a single day without speaking to her. He loved that his clothes smelled like her shampoo. He loved that she kept lists at his dorm. There was one in the bathroom for drug store needs, one near the fridge for food items, and one near the TV for books, movies, and Cds. He never used any of these lists, but he loved to see her handwriting all around his room. He loved that they could make fun of each other without ever hurting the other's feelings. He loved the way she lost all her fears when they were together. He loved her.
Later that night, Rory walked back to her room with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. She was in love. Some of the people she passed gave her a knowing look, others a look of disapproval because she was happy and they weren't. She didn't care. She was in love.
She kicked open the door to her suite and twirled over to the couch where Paris sat reading a book, purposely ignoring her. Eventually the beams from Rory's smile could no longer be disregarded and Paris put her book down.
"Are you going to tell me what's causing this solar powered smile of yours?" Paris asked with a practiced glare.
"He loves me. And I love him. I said it first, which was strange, but he reciprocated the emotion and it was perfect and he's perfect." Rory gushed.
"You only just shared those three words with each other? I assumed it had come up before. I mean you do spend every day with each other." She said.
"I feel like I loved him all along, but I don't know, the only other person I ever said I loved was Dean and that was no piece of cake." Rory explained.
"Oh yeah, I forgot that you have some weird emotional flaw. I like it. It's nice to know that you're not perfect. It keeps me sane." Paris said with a smile.
"Well, your sanity can be argued and I guess my damage is healed because I had no trouble telling Tade that I love him. Because he's perfect and I feel perfect with him. I have to go call my mother." Rory replied getting up and heading for her room.
She plopped down on her bed and took out her cell phone and pressed the one button.
"Al's Pizza, this is Doris, how may I service you?" Lorelai answered.
"I'd like two large pizzas with everything except anchovies and vegetables." Rory responded to humor her mother.
"I'm sorry but we seems to be out of sauce and cheese and bread and we don't know how to work the oven so it seems that we will not be able to make your pizza." Lorelai replied with a smile.
"Well it's a good thing I wasn't actually calling for a pizza." Rory said with a smile she reserved for her mother.
"Well you couldn't be calling to speak to little old me. I mean I haven't heard from you in two days. After all, I am just your mother. Why should you bother to call me? You've found someone else. A prince no less! What good am I anymore? I've already passed on the DNA and taught you everything I know except for one or two things that you're not old enough to know, unless I'm out of loop in that department too. I don't know anymore. You don't tell me anything." Lorelai rambled.
"He told me he loved me!" Rory cut in on her mother.
"Really?" Lorelai responded with excitement, completely forgetting about her previous babbling.
"Well, I said it first, but he said it back and it was wonderful." She spewed.
"Wait, you said it first? Wow." Lorelai thought aloud.
"Why is that wow?" Rory asked.
"No reason. Except of course for the fact that you are the same person who let her first love break up with her just because you were afraid of saying those infamous three words." Her mother said with her raised eyebrows reflected in the tone of her voice.
"This is different. It wasn't scary. It was just the truth." Rory responded in a dreamy manner.
"So when am I going to get to meet this boy?" Lorelai asked.
"Eventually." She responded vaguely. She didn't know why she didn't want to bring Tade home. It was just so special when they were alone. She wasn't ready to bring in the scrutiny of the rest of the world.
"And when's that?" Lorelai prodded.
"You go past Soon, but stop shortly before Never." Rory explained with a smile.
"You think you're so clever don't you?" Lorelai chided.
"Just clever enough." She retorted.
"Let's see how far that cleverness gets you at dinner tomorrow. Your grandparents have requested our attendance at a "traditional Friday Night Meal". Emily's words, not mine." Lorelai replied.
"Do you have any idea what may have instigated grandma's desire for such a meal? We haven't had any since they told me they were splitting up." Rory asked.
"I may have accidentally mentioned that I rarely see you when my mother caught me on a particularly lonely afternoon." Lorelai answered hesitantly.
"What are you talking about? I see you all the time. I came home two weeks ago." Rory argued.
"Hey that's a long time. I miss you." Lorelai said seriously.
"I'm sorry. Well, I guess I'll see you at dinner tomorrow." Rory said slightly ashamed that she hadn't thought about her mother's feelings.
"Oh. There's one more thing. Please don't hate me." Lorelai began.
"That's never a good way to prepare a person for news." Rory joked.
"I may have let slip that you, my wonderful daughter who I love more than life itself, have a new boyfriend." Lorelai coward away from the phone as though she was expecting a hand to fly out and slap her.
"Mom!" Rory half shouted half whined.
"I'm sorry! I didn't tell her anything about him. I just mentioned his existence. I'm really sorry. I'll buy you ice cream and cookies and shoes to make up for it." Lorelai promised.
"Well I guess it's not that bad that she knows." Rory conceded.
"There's one more thing. Just a little, tiny something else." Lorelai prepared.
"Uh-oh.
"She wants you to bring Tade to dinner tomorrow." Lorelai rushed.
"Oh crap." Rory moaned. Apparently her and Tade's solitude would have to end. She knew it would happen at some point. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"Are you mad?" Lorelai asked with audible fear in her voice.
"No. It's ok. It was bound to happen sooner or later." Rory grumbled.
"That's the spirit. Hey, maybe the two of you can come spend the weekend in Stars Hollow after dinner." Lorelai suggested with a huge grin.
"Maybe." Rory responded vaguely. Maybe.
The next evening Rory and Tade were loading up his convertible with overnight bags. Tade even seemed somewhat excited to be meeting her family. He had a natural ability to charm strangers that he hadn't had a chance to exercise recently. He was particularly eager to meet Lorelai. He had heard so much about her and couldn't wait to meet her in person. She was almost like a celebrity in his eyes. Why wouldn't she be? She had spawned the love of his life. She could be nothing if not amazing.
Rory, however, seemed rather nervous. She had explained her worries about the effect this meeting would have on their relationship and had warned him about the large chance of some race-oriented comments, but he was fine with it. He knew everything would work out. He just smiled at her. She smiled back, but with a reservation that Tade could sense. So, he did the only thing he could think to do in this circumstance. He began to sing. Not just any song either, but a special song that was very important to them.
"I can show you the world. Shining, shimmering, splendid. Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide? I can open your eyes. Take you wonder by wonder. Over sideways and under on a magic carpet ride." He began. "A whole new world. A new fantastic point of view. No one to tell us no or where to go or say we're only dreaming." He belted in his strong, sandy voice. He nudged her with his elbow in a gentle way as her cue to join in. she sang with him. Only him. She wasn't embarrassed about not being very talented. Talent wasn't the point.
"A whole new world." Rory sang in her quiet, gentle voice. "A dazzling place I never knew. But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear that now I'm in a whole new world with you.
"Now I'm in a whole new world," he cut in with his loud voice as he hit the part that Rory loved.
"Unbelievable sights. Indescribable feelings. Soaring, tumbling, reeling through an endless diamond sky. A whole new world." She was smiling by now in anticipation of her favorite parts of the song.
"Don't you dare close your eyes!" Tade whispered loudly. He knew this part always made Rory laugh.
"A hundred thousand things to see." She sang.
"Hold your breath it gets better." He sang at the same time.
"I'm like a shooting star. I've come so far. I can't go back to where I used to be." Her voice had gotten louder by this point. Full of laughter and confidence. Everything was going to work out.
"A whole new world." He bellowed.
"Every turn a surprise." She giggled.
"And new horizons to receive." He smiled.
"Every moment gets better." She sang sincerely as she reached out to stroke the nape of Tade's neck.
"I'll chase them anywhere. There's time to spare. Let me share this whole new world with you." They sang together.
"A whole new world." He sang into the wind with a grin.
"A whole new world." She followed.
"A thrilling change." He laughed.
"A wondrous place." She smiled.
"For you and me." They shouted together intentionally off key as they drifted into fits of laughter. This was his secret weapon. It had taken a few tries in the beginning to get her to sing with him, but eventually she gave in because she realized that there was no reason not to sing with him. It was nice.
They turned into the driveway of the elder Gilmore's house a few minutes later, still smiling. Everything would be fine. How could they not love him? They got out of the car just as Lorelai was pulling up in the Jeep. Rory and Tade waited for her to get out of the car so that they could have separate introductions. Lorelai came around the car to greet the couple in front of her. Tade looked at the tall woman with the bright blue eyes and the dazzling smile. She was exactly the way he had imagined. Coffee cup and all.
"Tade, this is my mother, Lorelai. Mom, this is Tade." Rory introduced with a smile.
"Nice to meet you Lorelai." Tade said with twinkling eyes as he shook her hand. He knew not to call her Ms. Gilmore, Rory had warned him.
"You too Tade." She said with a smile of her own as she looked him over. He was dressed in black, pinstripe, dress pants, and a white cashmere sweater. She looked impressed. Her eyes widened as she looked over at his car. "So rumor has it you're a prince." Lorelai said with a smirk. "Does the title come with a hot car?" she asked.
"I am indeed a prince. And unfortunately, no, the title does not come with a lady pleasing mobile, but I'm having that looked into by my royal servants." He joked. Rory was glowing as she watched her boyfriend impress her mother.
"Well if that gets fixed I'll have to see if you have an older brother I could meet." Lorelai joked.
"It just so happens that I have six." He responded with a smirk as they neared the front door.
"I like this one." Lorelai said in a loud whisper to Rory.
"I do too." Rory said as she slipped her arm around Tade's waist.
"I just hope he survives Emily and Richard." Lorelai said ringing the doorbell.
"Me too mom. Me too." Rory responded as the front door opened.
The look on Emily's face was almost enough to make the entire night worthwhile. In one moment it went from a practiced smile, to surprise, to shock, to distrust, to a charitable, politically correct smile.
"Come in. Come in." She said ushering the small group into the living room. "Richard, look who's here." She said with her huge, fake grin to the large, older man fixing himself a drink.
"I know who's here, Emily." He said turning to face the group. He looked slightly perplexed for a moment, but one could almost see his eyes shrug as he walked over to extend his hand to Tade.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I almost forgot." Rory rushed. She had been so absorbed in watching her grandparents that she had forgotten to introduce Tade. "Grandpa, grandma, this is my boyfriend Tade Ntekim. Tade, these are my grandparents, Richard and Emily Gilmore." She said with a smile towards Tade who seemed to be holding up well.
"Mr. Gilmore." Tade shook Richard's hand firmly. "It's nice to finally meet you." He said with a nod that meant nothing.
"Mrs. Gilmore." He said with a softer shake. "You have a lovely home." He added although he knew that she didn't live there anymore.
"Thank you." She replied with a tight smile.
"Can I offer you anything to drink?" Richard asked the group for lack of anything else to say.
"I'll have a martini, Dad." Lorelai said her first words.
"I'd love a white wine if you have it." Tade said. Everyone was silent for a moment. Rory looked to her mother who stifled a laugh. Tade looked to Rory and shrugged his shoulders slightly. She almost laughed out loud.
"Will you be driving later, young man?" Richard asked with a stern face. Rory cringed. She was positive Tade had never been referred to as "Young man" in his life.
"No. I promised Rory she could drive my car tonight." He answered as he attempted a charming smile.
"What kind of automobile do you drive?" Richard asked in an interrogatory tone.
"A '57 Corvette." Tade answered nonchalantly. Richard looked impressed for a fleeting moment. Lorelai smiled at her daughter.
"Why don't we move into the dining room?" Emily interjected. The group walked to the dining room. Tade couldn't help but notice that he had never gotten his wine. He took a seat beside Rory and to the right of Emily.
"So, Tade, you're a Sophmore and you're twenty-one, explain." Lorelai directed. She already knew almost everything about Tade because Rory had told her, but she felt that it was time for her parents to be impressed by his past. Rory smiled at her mother gratefully and Tade sent her a warm smile.
"Well, Lorelai, after high school I took a year off to live in Paris with my sister and her eleven year-old son." He explained.
"How old is your sister?" Emily asked before she had a chance to wonder if this was a rude question.
"Thirty-two. She's only my half-sister, from my father's first marriage." He clarified.
"Do you have other siblings?" Emily asked.
"Yes. I have nine older siblings." He answered as he smiled into his forkful of food as looks of amazement ran across Emily and Richard's faces.
"Wow. Are you close with all of them?" Lorelai asked. She was actually very fascinated by this.
"It's difficult because we're scattered all over the world, but I try to keep in touch." He replied.
"Did your father move around a lot?" Richard asked trying to keep out the sound of distain.
" No. No. He stays at home. It's just his children who relocated." Tade responded shrugging off the distinct sound of distain in Richard's voice. He was used to hearing bad things about his father from the press at home. He threw a smile to Rory to show that he was ok with the questioning. She was ready to jump in and save him at any moment.
"Where is it that you're from?" Emily asked.
"Sable D'Or. It's a small country near Nigeria." He answered.
"Oh." Emily seemed oddly relieved to hear this. Almost as though a black person from Africa was better than a black person from America.
"What is it your father does for a living?" Richard finally asked. Lorelai and Rory both sat back in their seats with expectant grins on their faces.
"Oh." Tade paused as he took a sip of his water. "He's the king of Sable D'Or.
"Pardon me?" Richard looked at a loss.
"He's the king, grandpa." Rory reiterated.
"And Tade's the prince." Lorelai added with a partial smirk. She had been waiting for that moment all day.
"I'm just one of the princes, Lorelai. It's no big deal. All of my brothers and sisters are in line for the crown before me." Tade added with a humble wave of his hand.
"What does the position of prince entail?" Emily asked after a brief moment of regrouping.
"My family acts mostly as a symbol of ancestral power before the French took over for a while. The country has a prime minister and the such. We're pretty much like the royal family in Great Britain, but without all the international publicity. As the prince I have to do a lot of schmoozing with political figures and royalty from neighboring countries. Stuff like that." He explained.
"Tell them about the time you had to take the prime minister's son camping." Rory requested with a smile and look of excitement. Her grandparents were in shock and Tade was still as charming as ever.
"Rory loves this story, I don't know why." He began. "About six years ago, my father talked three of my brothers and me into taking the prime minister's son on a camping trip in the Sahara. Just the edge that's in the country's boundaries, but still the desert. Well, this tub of lard wanted to do things traditionally. Camels and all. So that's what we did. It was me, my brothers, the fat kid, and two bodyguards all on camels in the desert. On the second day we decided to do some sand boarding down the dunes when Mr. Brilliant tries to impress us with a fancy move and he falls and breaks his leg. It's a horrible mess. He can't move. He's crying. The bodyguards don't know what to do. My brothers sure aren't helping. And I only have one band-aid. I'm the only person with any first aid experience because I took a course so that I could volunteer at an orphanage. The cell phones don't work, because I mean, if you can't get service in certain places in New York, there's no way you're getting service in the Sahara. Eventually, I have to get on a camel and race back to the nearest town, commandeer a truck, drive back to the sorry group in the desert and drive the broken boy home without a license. Needless to say he never went camping again." He finished with an animated smile. Rory beamed with pride as she looked at the astonished faces around her. He really was a prince.
The dinner went on in much the same manner until they were finally able to extricate themselves from the house. They gave polite good-byes and promised to get together again in the near future. Once outside the door, Rory gave Tade a hug and they all began to laugh.
"That was the most fun I've ever had in that building." Lorelai said, wiping a tear of laughter from her cheek.
"Mom, you're horrible." Rory reprimanded before turning to Tade. "Are you ok? You did a very nice job. You're very polite." she admired as she slid her hand over his neck.
"Yeah, did you see the looks on my parents' faces. It was like my birthday and Christmas all at once." Lorelai began laughing again.
"It was actually quite fun. I've never been called "young man" by anyone except my mother. I'll have to call her." He said with a grin as he wrapped his arms around Rory's waist.
"You may need to have a talk with another mother tonight as well." Lorelai said. The laughter had gone. She was attempting to be serious. She still hadn't really talked with Tade.
"Uh-oh." Rory whispered loudly in Tade's direction. "My mother wants to talk to you." She said with exaggeratedly wide eyes.
"I'll wait till we get to Stars Hollow though. There could be spies at every corner near this place. Let's get out of here." Lorelai joked as she headed towards the Jeep.
"Sounds good to me." Tade said with a smile as he walked to the passenger side of the Corvette and opened the door for Rory. "M'Lady, your chariot awaits." He said with a small bow. Rory got in and exchanged a small smile with her mother before the Jeep drove away closely followed by the Corvette.
After driving for a few minutes, Tade noticed Rory's eyes getting droopy.
"Tired?" he asked with a smile.
"Yeah." Rory answered with a sigh. "All that worrying made me sleepy." She breathed into the seat cushion.
"It's a horrible habit you have. Worrying. You should really give it up." He said as he brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
"I'll give it up tomorrow. Cold turkey. I promise." Rory mumbled. "Will you sing to me?" she asked after a moment.
"Of course. What do you want me to sing?" he asked.
"Anything." She sighed.
After a moment of silence Tade began to sing softly, in a private voice, just for Rory. "Da da da da da da da da. Da da da da da da da da. If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do, just call on me and I'll send it along with love from me to you. I've got everything that you want, like a heart that's oh, so true. Just call on me and I'll send it along with love from me to you. I got arms that long to hold you and keep you by my side. I got lips that long to kiss you and keep you satisfied, ooooh. If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do, just call on me and I'll send it along with love from me to you." He hummed the tune he knew. "From me," he sang the chords of the guitar. "To you. Just call on me and I'll send it along with love from me to you. I got arms that long to hold you and keep you by my side. I got lips that long to kiss you and keep you satisfied, oooh. If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do, just call on me and I'll send it along with love from me to you. To you. To you. To you." He drifted into a soft hum as he looked over to see a sleeping Rory by his side. She was so beautiful. He felt lucky every time he laid eyes on her. He loved her and she loved him back. He would go through any number of awkward conversations and inhumane dinners if that was what she needed. He would do anything for her.
After a few more silent minutes of driving, Tade pulled into the Gilmore driveway behind Lorelai. He turned to rouse Rory from her sleep, but found he couldn't bring himself to disturb the peace he could see on her face. Instead, he walked around the car and gingerly lifted her into his arms. She moaned softly as he arranged his grip on her. The feel of her warmth in his arms combined with that little sound almost made him die he wanted to kiss her so badly, but her mother was watching him from the porch. He took a breath to calm himself and carried her into the house. Lorelai directed him towards her bedroom. He could sense that she was staying nearby so he took Rory into her room, laid her on the bed, removed her shoes, wrapped a comforter around her, and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. He turned off the light and left the bedroom door slightly ajar as he walked into the kitchen to join Lorelai.
"Are you ready for that talk now?" Tade asked, trying his best not to mock.
"I guess." Lorelai replied unenthusiastically as she took a seat.
"Hey, I'm supposed to be the reluctant one here." He said with a small smile as he too a seat across from her.
"Let's just get this over with. I like you. Rory loves you and you love Rory. I can see it in the way that you look at each other, the way you act around each other. It's nice, but it can be blinding. I don't want you guys to get hurt and because Rory's my daughter, I'll take her side no matter what, so if you hurt her, I will kill you." Lorelai calmly stated.
"Lorelai, if I hurt her, I will kill myself." He said honestly.
"And take away all my fun?" Lorelai asked jokingly.
"Tell you what, if it ever comes up, I'll video tape it for you." He said with a smile.
"Works for me." She said standing up from the table. "Now let me show you where you'll be sleeping." She said walking into the living room with Tade behind her. "The royal couch." She exclaimed. "I laid out some blankets earlier today, but there are more in the closet if you get cold. There's a spare key under the turtle on the porch if you need to run out to your car to get your bags. Goodnight." Lorelai said with a smile as she walked up the stairs.
After running out to get his and Rory's bags, he changed into his pajama pants, took out a book, and read until midnight at which point, he took out his cell phone and pressed the number one button.
"Hi mom." He spoke quietly into the phone.
"Shombay! How have you been? How's that girl?" his mother asked in her steady voice.
"Rory's fine. I'm wonderful. I'm actually staying at Rory's house right now. Her mother threatened to kill me if I inflicted any harm on Rory and her grandfather called me "young man." I feel like scum and I love it. I'm thinking that I should start wearing very baggy pants so that I can get total strangers to glare at me." He joked.
"Perhaps if you move to the Midwest they might even start throwing garbage at you." She teased somewhat distractedly.
"Wouldn't that be great?" He mockingly sighed.
"Shombay, can I call you back? I just got to the gallery and everyone is incompetent." She excused.
"Oh, yeah, no problem. Talk to you later mom." He said somewhat dejectedly.
"Goodbye." He heard the phone click and he flipped his cell phone shut. He took off his shirt and lay down on the couch.
Rory had woken up and walked to her door in time to hear the disappointment in Tade's voice when he hung up with his mom. She had changed into her pajamas and headed out to talk to him.
Tade heard the soft padding of Rory's feet on the floor as she came into the living room. He opened his eyes to take in her slightly disheveled appearance as she sat down on the coffee table across from him.
"I'm a bad host." She said quietly.
"I like your tactic. Fall asleep so that your guest is left alone with your mother. Nice." He joked.
"Oh no. Was she mean? I thought she liked you. Did she threaten to kill you?" she asked with knotted eyebrows.
"There was one death threat, but we reached an understanding and I think it's all ok." He reassured. As he sat up Rory's eyes couldn't help but roam over his exposed chest. She loved his chest. Tade watched as her eyes darted across his body. He loved her eyes. Suddenly they were kissing. Neither knew who initiated the kiss, but there it was. It was becoming heated as they tumbled back onto the couch. Tade's hands hoisted Rory on top of his chest while her hands grazed over his dark torso. All the while their lips intermixed harsh and soft kisses in a demonstration of their passion. After a short time the two pulled apart for air and they quickly remembered where they were.
"Oh, wow. We should not be doing this with my mother so near by." Rory managed between breaths.
"Yeah, that's probably a bad idea." He agreed.
"I should go back to my room." She said, pulling away slowly.
"Do you have to? " he pouted as he brought his arms around her waist, pulling her back onto the couch.
"A few more minutes." Rory sighed contentedly as she curled into his body.
"Sounds good to me." He replied as they snuggled together. Each had his or her hands wrapped around the other. Tade, with his hands resting dangerously close to her behind, and Rory with one hand holding the back of his neck while the other gently stroked the long scars on his back that she loved so much.
"If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do, just call my name and I'll send it along with love from me to you." He sang softly into her hair. She smiled into his chest and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
A/N: The songs in this chapter were "A Whole New World" from Aladdin and "From Me To You" by the Beatles.