Cause and Effect: Chapter 6: One Big Freudian Slip
Disclaimer: If I own Gilmore Girls then my name is also Mrs. Kevin Costner. Your call.
A/N: Sorry it's been such a long time. I suck, I know. I've been sick and I had a huge psych paper to write. Cross your fingers for me that when I get the paper back I don't have the urge to swallow a large flame-engulfed knife. Okay, that's enough.
"Michel, did you place that order for the new cutlery like I asked?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. When you asked me to do it eleven times, I was a little confused, so no, I did not."
"A simple, 'yes, boss,' will do, Michel."
"Yes, boss."
"Better...but next time, cut down on the sarcasm. Alex Trebek would totally kill you for talking like that."
Michel rolled his eyes and picked up the ringing phone, "Independence Inn, Michel speaking."
"Yes...yes, she is. Who is calling? Very well."
"Milkshake-Man is on the phone." He held the phone to Lorelai, who was busy signing employee checks.
"Excuse me?"
"You know...the hamburger man...the one who looks like he owns not one bar of soap."
Lorelai's pen froze in mid-air. Could it really be him?
She wasn't ready to find out.
Abandoning the pen and Harry the awkward new bell boy's check, she began huge over-the-top arm gesticulations, trying to get the message across to Michel.
"I'm not here!" Lorelai hissed, so the phone wouldn't pick up her lie.
Michel sighed and brought the phone back to his ear, "I'm sorry. I thought it was her, but it was the plumber, Chuck. Try back later."
Hanging up the phone, Michel shot a look towards Lorelai, who was shuffling papers without really looking at them. His foot tapping impatiently, Michel asked the question Lorelai was dreading.
"Why are you avoiding the Diner Man? I mean, besides the obvious reason, that he is a Neanderthal."
"I am not avoiding Lu...uh, the Diner Man." It hurts just to say his name.
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am...agh. Stop! I don't need to explain myself to you! It's none of your business if I'm avoiding him or not, so stop asking me questions!"
"Um, excuse me. Sorry to interrupt, but I have a reservation..." A timid looking woman trailed off, obviously intimidated.
"Michel, help the nice woman, unless you want to find your lazy French butt on the street. I need some coffee."
Lorelai stormed out from behind the desk toward the kitchen, leaving the woman alone with Michel.
"Sookie, I can't take it anymore. I can't take the waiting, the worrying, the what-ifing and the hiding. I'm a grown woman, I shouldn't have to hide from anyone, right?"
"Sure honey-"
Cutting her off, "I mean, I should just go over there, get him alone, and tell him everything."
"If you think-"
"And I do mean everything. I'll tell him about the doctor's appointment, how I feel, that I love him, although the conversation might make him a little uncomfortable since I'll have to share more information about my menstrual cycle then he will ever want to know, but too bad. Too damn bad. I'm sick of hiding and I deserve to get everything off my chest and he deserves to know everything, right?"
Sookie remained silent.
"Sookie? Right? Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Oh, I'm sorry hon. I just wanted to make sure you were done before I started."
Lorelai rolled her eyes as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Yes Sookie, I'm finished."
"Lorelai, do you realize what you just said?"
"Um...'yes Sookie, I'm finished?'"
"No, before that."
"My menstrual cycle?"
"Lorelai! You said you love him!" She reached over and snatched Lorelai's mug out of her hands, replacing it with a mug full of decaf.
"Hey! Why'd you do that?"
"Lorelai, you could be pregnant. You can't drink caffeine. Gah! Stop trying to distract me! Lorelai, you just said you love Luke. I heard you, and Raul heard you too, so don't try to ignore it."
Sookie gestured toward the man chopping shallots behind them, who was trying to look inconspicuous. At the mention of his name he nodded. "Si, si, tu amor!"
"Shut up, Raul!"
"Don't take this out on Raul, honey. Just calm down. Take a sip of your coffee and breathe. Just breathe."
"This? This isn't coffee! I've gotta get out of here. Now I know just how Greg Louganis felt." Slinging the mug in the sink, Lorelai pushed open the door.
"Don't do anything irrational!" Sookie called after her, but it was too late. Lorelai was gone.
"You can't blame her. Her hormones are all out of whack." Sookie explained to Raul, who accepted this and went back to chopping.
The bells jingled and Luke didn't even bother to look up. It'd been a week, and he'd accepted that she wasn't coming in. He figured it was Kirk, back for the fourth time that day.
"You. Me. We need to talk."
It was her. He knew he wasn't dreaming, because she looked mad. In his dreams, he pictured her grinning and running into his arms. Damn naivety.
She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the storeroom before he could get a word in edgewise. Shutting the door behind them, she pushed him against the door and leaned into him, brushing his lips with hers. Their bodies melded together and she deepened the kiss before pulling away.
"Lorelai-"
"Shh. Let me talk, please." Silencing him with her finger on his lips, she continued. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. I was terrified. Terrified. Do you know how many trees I wasted writing out what I wanted to say to you? Seriously, Anne Sexton would be proud. I threw all of the papers away, because I could never get it just right. I wanted to show you how I felt, about...you know..."
At this point Lorelai began gesturing between the two of them, creating a symbol Luke could only guess stood for sex.
"So, I came here and decided to take a more direct approach to show you how I feel. Kissing you was supposed to tell you that yes, what happened was a mistake, but no, it was not a mistake I regret. The only part I regret was being drunk." Well, that's not the only part I regret, thinking about their lack of protection. We'll save that for another time. Don't want to give the guy a heart attack.
"Lorelai-"
"Wait Luke, not yet. Over the past week, I've had a lot of time to think. Too much time, probably. I've thought about me, and about you, and about us. I've thought about what happened and I started thinking of it as one big Freudian slip. It was unexpected, yes, and the timing was completely inappropriate, but I think it happened for a reason."
Luke stood, eyes wide, mouth slightly agape.
"Luke, please say something. Even if you're about to break my heart, please say something."
"Lorelai, is this for real?"
"What?"
"I just...this is not how I imagined this happening."
"You imagined this?" Lorelai grinned slyly, happy he wasn't mad.
"Yes, and I imagined you never speaking to me again, or you screaming at me and...I imagined never seeing you again..."
"Aw."
"Shh, now it's my turn. Lorelai, you're right. What happened shouldn't have happened when we were both completely smashed, but I don't regret it either. In fact I've..." Luke looked down, avoiding Lorelai's gaze.
"Yes?" Lorelai prodded.
"I've wanted this for a long time."
"How long?" She asked quietly, afraid of the answer.
"Too long."
"I was afraid of that. So, why did it take us so long? Why did we have to be drunk to realize this?"
"I never thought you'd feel the same way. You dated English professors and fancy guys, and I'm just...not like that."
"You're right Luke. I did date guys like that. The key word being did. It never worked out with them, and I think I'm beginning to see why." She moved closer to him, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
"Why's that?" He grinned, playing along.
"Because I had the perfect man right in front of me all those years, just on the other side of the counter."
Her lips met his, awkwardly at first, it wasn't perfect, but it was damn close.
She broke apart and touched her forehead to his, capturing his gaze.
"Hey?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we pretend this was our first kiss? It's a lot more fun when I only see one of you and when neither of us have beer breath."
He laughed and pulled her closer. "Of course."
A/N: Sorry if it was too fluffy for your liking, but remember, there are troubled waters ahead. (That's the last time I ever use a nautical reference. Ever.) Also, if it seemed like Lorelai was a bit OOC at the beginning, don't worry. I have my reasons. I promise next chapter will be up within a few days. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.
