Spontaneity

Pairing: Luke & Lorelai

Genre: Romance

Setting: Nothing in particular. After Max, after Rachel, after Jess leaves (before he gets together with Rory.) Before Nicole, before Alex, no Sherry.

Summary: No one would dub Luke spontaneous. No one would dub Lorelai well planned. So why is it Luke who kisses Lorelai in the middle of an argument, and not the other way 'round?

Note: (A) This chapter was extremely longer than expected because I had a scene I planned on, but didn't even end up writing. I changed it a hundred times over. Oh well.

(B) I've got a vague idea of where it will go, but plot suggestions are welcomed.

Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own nothin' so don't sue.

Spontaneity

Chapter 2: Stubbornness

There seems to be a generalization that being stubborn is a bad trait. The inability to change seems to be somewhat of a negative attitude. In some sense, I suppose it's true. On the larger scale, the world is constantly changing, and the only way to coexist is to change with it. However, on some levels stubbornness is not so much of a sin.

If Stars Hollow folk had not been so stubborn about changing the ways of the small town, then the tight, connected towns folk would never have known each other. Neighbors would be ignorant, and the overworked grapevine would probably not exist. Stubbornness has meant a lot to Stars Hollow.

It is not just as a town – and of that, the town council – that is stubborn, but the towns folk as individual characters. As generalizing as it may be, most characters of Stars Hollow have an odd inability to accept change on large – and sometimes small – accounts.

Change, however is not the only aspect of stubbornness. Lorelai, for example, is stubborn in two senses. One in the sense that she is too proud to back down – stubborn to prove that she is right. But then there is that stubbornness that resides in her playful attitude. That inability to stop a joke or a tease as it gets more and more out of hand.

Luke's stubbornness, on the other hand, is all about change, or lack thereof. His life seems to be set in these patterns that no one can break, sometimes not even himself. He is stubborn to not respond to Lorelai's longwinded tease or flirt. And as she is stubborn to not stop it, they have this continuum together that never ends.

-------------

"Okay, rewind it." Lorelai stared pointedly at the television as if it were the last thing she would ever see. And for a late Sunday morning, the prospect wasn't all that bad.

"Again?" Rory looked at her mother incredulously. "Mom, we've watched it twice now."

"And yet I have this little voice in my head saying 'Watch it again, Lorelai, watch it again.' You know how I get with little voices." Her gaze didn't waiver; she had been stubborn a long time.

Rory stood, stretching her legs with her arms high above her head. "Coffee?" The lack of response meant nothing, she was already in the kitchen. "Coffee… Coffee… Coffee…" Cupboards were opened and closed, the sound echoing throughout the motionless house. "Coffee plunger?" She glanced at her mother – her eyes hadn't moved – and returned to looking. "Hmmm… Nope. No coffee. Luke's?"

Suddenly, Lorelai detached herself from the television. "No!"

Rory grinned mischievously, "Aha," she said knowingly, "Aha, aha, aha." She received a death stare from her mother. "Houston, we have found the problem. Don't want to go to Luke's, Mom?" Her voice was high-pitched, false, and worst of all, truthful. "Dare I ask 'why'?"

Turning away from her daughter, Lorelai returned to staring at the television screen blankly. "Okay, rewind it." She clawed blindly around the couch for the remote control.

Rory knew her mother was being stubborn, but she also knew that if anyone could break the stubbornness, she could. She found the remote control, holding it hostage. "Is this about that mystery date of his?"

Finally Lorelai turned to face her daughter. "No, this is about my obsession with 'Return of the Titans.' Can we just drop this?"

"It's 'Remember the Titans."

Lorelai returned to staring at the television, although her expression was slightly guilty. "Whatever. Rewind it, please."

Rory knew that one of the few emotions that could sneak up on Lorelai's stubbornness was curiosity. "We don't even know if he was on a date."

"That's right. And we are not the ones to find out."

Stubbornness ran in both women's blood. "I've never heard you not wanting to butt into Luke's life. Are you feeling alright?"

Lorelai frowned. "What? The first time I'm being civil, and you criticize me?" Finally her gaze began wander, her stubbornness starting to fail. The television might only be the first thing she saw that morning.

Inwardly, Rory smirked. "Well, why don't we just go over there? Ask him. Can't hurt, can it?"

Both thought for a moment that it could hurt, though who would be hurt neither was sure. But the idea was out there, and for the moment it seemed that daughter had outrun her tutor: her mother.

It hung, for a beat, in the atmosphere, each with their own thoughts about stubbornness. Rory about her mother; Lorelai about Luke. Her mother would never go. Luke would never tell.

Never say never.

--

The jeep pulled up in front of Luke's Diner, and both Gilmore girls jumped out. Only one headed towards the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Rory turned towards her mother innocently. "Well, I told Lane that I'd meet her after her nine o'clock bible readings." She turned quickly before her mother could reach out with her death grasp. "Have fun!"

"You're abandoning your only mother!" The words rang out a little too late, so Lorelai turned, opened the door to the diner, and resided to her fate.

Most tables were full, so Lorelai reluctantly sat down at the counter, watching Luke pour an old man coffee intently. He moved to another table, pouring more coffee, making a point of not returning Lorelai's gaze.

Eventually, however, he made his own way to the counter. "Coffee, please."

"You know, there are five scientifically proven lifestyle habits that will ensure you to have a heart attack before you're fifty."

Lorelai grinned; perhaps things were back to normal. "Oh, I know! Is one of them surliness?" Luke sighed, turning to get his number one customer a mug, pouring coffee into it as he went.

"I thought you and Rory were having a movie morning."

The smell of fresh, hot coffee filled Lorelai's nostrils obsessively. "Oh, we were."

Luke's reply wasn't audible as he moved to another part of the counter, picking up dishing and wiping down countertops. Once again he avoided Lorelai's gaze; he was stubborn like that.

The steady diner noises held off the awkward silences as Lorelai got her thoughts together. She had been pushed all too suddenly into the situation – she wasn't prepared. Thoughts bustled around her mind uncontrollably, settling only as she made a decision.

"I know it's not really any of my business," Luke scoffed at this, it was never a good start to a conversation, "but we are friends. So, uh, I'll only ask you once, and you don't really have to answer, though, uh, an answer would be nice." Lorelai paused, and made to take a sip of her coffee, but thought better of it halfway through. "Where were you, Friday night, when I usually meet you here?"

Luke had been thinking about the inevitable question last night, when Lorelai had failed to turn up for dinner, like she usually did. Lying, avoiding, and being truthful were the options, and he had decided last night. He would not back out, he was stubborn in that different way. "I was on a date."

Lorelai slouched more obviously than planned. "Oh," she hadn't thought he would answer, and if he had, she had not suspected the truth. She had trouble putting words together. "Well, uh, did it go… good?"

"Yeah, it went okay." The words were directed at the toaster he was wiping down, but Lorelai heard them just fine. Had Luke been watching, he would have seen the disappointed look cross Lorelai's face, before she buried it into the large coffee mug. But he hadn't, and so he didn't.

Again Lorelai thanked the people sitting in the diner for being so noisy. Perhaps if they had been silent, she wouldn't have been so bold. "Did you sleep with her?"

Luke turned. "Lorelai!" His brows furrowed in such a way that Lorelai felt a need to explain the question – even though it had no truthful explanation.

"What?" She looked him in the eye. "You were out pretty late, it was a Friday night, you were alone - at least, I assume you were alone – it's not completely unreasonable that you would…" The words trailed off, Lorelai went back to studying her coffee, and Luke's brows furrowed further.

"Did you sleep with Rory's dad when he came here last?"

Lorelai looked up. "Luke!"

"What?" He looked her in the eye, mocking her. "You were in the same house, for several days, you must have been alone once or twice. It's not completely unreasonable to assume that you would…"

Pulling her handbag up to counter, she shuffled around its contents for her wallet. "I have to get to… the Inn." She lied blatantly, pulling out several one-dollar notes.

"You don't work on Sundays." He picked up the notes nonchalantly.

"I… I know," she pushed the wallet back into the handbag, "But, uh, Mia asked me if I could just check in, because, uh, we have a new girl." Luke stared at Lorelai for a moment, this time Lorelai being avoidant; both knew she was lying.

"Okay."

Lorelai walked out the diner without half the dignity she wanted. Luke watched her leave, a hint of amusement at the excuses, but moreover a frown at the events of the past few days. They were not what he was expecting.

--

The Inn lobby was deserted; Lorelai hadn't needed to go in, but she felt she had nowhere else to go. She wondered briefly if Katrina – the Sunday chef – would make her some coffee. The mug at Luke's was still half full.

The thought, however, was not needed, as when Lorelai walked into the kitchen, Katrina was nowhere to be seen. "Sookie?"

"Lorel – Oh! Ow, ow, ow, oh…" A small sizzling sound could be heard as Sookie rushed over the sink. "It's okay, I'm okay." She held up her sleeve, as if proving she was all right. "Just a singed sleeve." The sleeve held many black spots, making a dark ring around the end of it – it had obviously been singed before. Sookie moved back to large pot she had been at, before Lorelai had startled her, and returned to stirring. "What are you doing here?"

Lorelai perched lightly upon a tall stool next to the refrigerator. "I was about to ask you the same thing. Where's Katrina?"

"Oh," Sookie shook her head, amused at the thought, "She called me up – apparently you weren't answering your phone like you said you would –" Lorelai thought guiltily about the phone on the door side table, the one she had left to go to Luke's. "- And told me that she had to go home, because her brother got into a car accident – nothing broken, apparently he's just in shock – and that no one was here accept for an old couple who just wants chicken soup every few minutes."

Lorelai found herself becoming comfortable on the stool, listening to her friend ramble on about Jackson's vegetable meeting and the old couple's chicken soup cravings. She felt oddly relaxed, her mind leaving thoughts of Rory, and Luke, and coffee, and mystery dates.

Somewhere deep into Sookie's ramblings – about thirty minutes, three refills of the old couple's soup bowls, or one and half cups of coffee later – Sookie started to question Lorelai. "You never told me why you're here. Weren't you and Rory having a movie morning?"

"Oh, we were." However, the answer did not satisfy Sookie, as it had done Luke, and she was questioned further.

"So what happened?" Silence crept in on the two women, as Lorelai contemplated answering and questioning at the same time.

"Sookie," She started, in a serious sort of voice that one rarely finds in Lorelai, and generally makes people stop and listen and not interrupt.

However, she was interrupted. "Wait!" Sookie washed and wiped her hands, turning her full attention to Lorelai. "Okay, go."

Lorelai sighed, but continued. "Do you think that I'm ever jealous of … people that Luke sees?"

Her face screwed up in slight concentration, Sookie contemplated only for a moment. "As in, the people who come into the diner?" To her, it didn't make any sense, no matter how close she was to Lorelai. No matter how much trust she put on Lorelai's naivety of Luke.

"No," said Lorelai softly, she didn't really want to discuss it, but if she couldn't discuss it with Sookie, it was unlikely she could discuss it at all. "No, as in girls. Uh, women."

Once again, Sookie's face screwed up in concentration. This time she contemplated for several beats. "I'm not sure if I should be the comforting friend here, or the honest friend." She looked to Lorelai for help.

Lorelai herself looked slightly pained. "Can't you be both?"

"Sorry hon."

"Well," Lorelai looked down at the mug of coffee in her hands, she briefly thought that she been staring at coffee mugs quite a bit lately. "Be honest first, then if I'm in real trouble, we can switch to comforting later."

"Okay. Everyone knows that Luke has a thing for you, and, if we're being honest, that you have a thing for Luke –"

"Whoa. Not that honest."

"- Fine. You are. You always are." Sookie looked at the growingly painful look plastered across Lorelai's face. "If it's any consolation, he's jealous of guys you date as well." It didn't seem to be, so Sookie continued to contemplate. "More coffee, hon?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." Sookie poured coffee, and then continued to ramble. Lorelai started to return to her relaxed state. The coffee felt warm in her hands and smelt nice in her nose and she appreciated just how good of a friend Sookie was.

The rambling – of which Lorelai was only paying slight attention to – stopped. "I've got it!"

Lorelai broke out of her relaxing daze unhappily. "Got what?"

"Well you see," Sookie moved to a chopping board, bringing out a knife and waving it around haphazardly before starting to cut up carrots. "Maybe you're not jealous, but protective." Lorelai raised a quizzical eyebrow as her friend shook her head, narrowly missing chopping off her finger. "You know, you told him to get back together with Rachel, right? And then Rachel left him. So, you don't want to support this new girl because you're afraid it might hurt him!"

"Sookie – watch the fingers, hon – are you just saying that so you can be the comforting and honest friend?" Lorelai moved her hands around the coffee mug nervously. Sookie didn't look up from her chopping, though Lorelai knew it was nothing offensive – had she looked up, blood could've been spilt.

Sookie grinned. "Well, kind of, but I am being honest." The carrots went straight into the large pot that seemed to be on the stove perpetually. No fingers went flying, and Lorelai found it oddly comforting.

--

The door bell echoed loudly throughout the empty diner. Lorelai let go of the door, shutting out the cold of the night. She grinned, goofily, "I'm not too late, am I?"

Luke – mid swipe of a tabletop – made an awkward glance to the sign that proclaimed the diner 'open;' hiding the movement - and the disapproving look that went with it - by turning the swipe into a large circle. "Nope." He couldn't refuse her, even if technicality were to be on his side.

"Oh good," Her faced mocked extreme relief, "'Cause I haven't had coffee since I left this morning, and let me tell you, coffee-less Lorelai is not a pretty sight, especially to old ladies wanting chicken soup." The mention of the morning was a subtle and well-planned move of Lorelai's. She plunked down at the counter heavily – this time by choice.

Coffee followed the brief exchange of words, yet this time there were no diner sounds to hide the uncomfortable silence. Lorelai sipped her coffee; Luke wiped the tables, and somewhere along the line the tension in the room decreased to a point where Lorelai was able to try making up.

"Look, I'm sorry about this morning. It wasn't my business." She tried to make eye contact, but Luke remained emotionless and avoidant.

"You're right. It wasn't." He continued to wipe down the tabletops; Lorelai thinking about the possibilities of wearing holes in the tables, as Luke seemed to be wiping table- and countertops all of the time.

"Well, okay then. It wasn't my business. I mean," Lorelai used her head to gesture to the words – her hands were wrapped tightly around the cup of coffee. "It's not as if you never met Chris, or Max. But, you know, I didn't introduce you to all of my dates, so, I guess, it's, er, it's all good."

She looked guiltily at the hot coffee. For a second – and only for a second – she resented the coffee, as it was there, and she needed to resent something. But the second passed and coffee saved her as she drank long and deep from it, feeling the warm liquid wash down her throat. She loved the feeling she got from the energy just pouring out into every part of her body, and for a moment got lost in it, forgetting Luke.

Luke watched the guttural process. Lorelai loved her coffee, of that everyone was sure, but only Luke could identify when she was drinking coffee for the sake of drinking coffee, and when she drank coffee because it made all of her limbs tingle with an odd sort of pleasure. When she looked as if an orgasmic moan should follow the drink, as sometimes a mock one did.

Both held their fantasies to themselves.

Luke coughed; he had awoken. Lorelai followed suit. She sat, for a moment, thinking about coffee, and how Luke was the one who always held it. "Can I ask her name?"

"I guess."

Her hands rubbed around the warm mug. "Well, uh, what's her name?" She didn't like the direction in which the conversation was going, but she couldn't back down then. It was too late, and she was too stubborn.

Luke tried to remain emotionless. It was something he had mastered over the years, but with Lorelai it was always especially hard. "Melissa." A frown tugged at his lips. He turned his head, so that it wouldn't be shown to Lorelai.

She saw him turn his head. He always did that when he was nervous, just as she rubbed her hands around whatever she was holding. She looked guiltily at her hands, moving quickly and quietly around the mug yet stayed quiet. The hand loosened.

"You know," He said quietly, the frown slowly making way for an emotionless expression. "You don't have to pretend to not want to know anything about her." Moving to another table, he signified that he was more relaxed. "You're pretty bad at it."

Lorelai didn't sip from her mug. "I know," she moved the mug away from her slightly, as if making an unconscious point. "But I shouldn't ask; I shouldn't even want to ask." The mug rested several inches in front of her, as stubbornness held it there.

Luke held on with his own sort of stubbornness. A type that resided in actions; wiping down tabletops was never high on his to-do list, yet it kept him quiet.

Perhaps it was stubbornness that didn't let either of them speak for several minutes. Perhaps it was a grim game, or a silent bet. Whatever it was, neither spoke until Lorelai found an excuse to leave, Luke an excuse to agree.

The silence never did really end, even as both left the diner. Stubborn held onto the silence with a death grip that could rival Lorelai's, and the silence hung with Luke and Lorelai for the rest of the night.

--

A/N I mentioned before that I need plot suggestions, right? Well, here're some questions for you: Do we want Melissa to come into the diner? Do we want Luke to be happy about their relationship? What does Melissa look like? (That last one is important for the little bit of plot that I have left.)