A/N: Thanks to jesouhaite for the quick beta. This was written before they referenced The Way We Were on the show;
it's just a weird coincidence.

Part 3
It fell with a thunk on the floor. It fell like a dead weight on Lorelai's unexpecting heart.

"It's my birthday," she whined to no one in particular. Rory was at school, there was no one she could call out to. She just stood there, frozen in the entryway, staring it down. It stared back unblinkingly from the hardwood floor. "You deserve it down there," she kicked at it. Not wanting to waste more time looking at it than necessary, Lorelai put on a jacket, threw the envelope on the kitchen table, and strolled into town to Luke's. "I need a plate of brownies pronto. And some coffee."

"Let me guess, this is on top of birthday Pop-Tarts, cookies, possibly cake?" Luke responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Pie," she corrected. "And no, it's not for my birthday. It's to celebrate the arrival of my divorce papers today. Hurrah," Lorelai toasted her mug toward Luke, who suddenly looked pale.

"Aw geez, Lorelai. Why didn't you tell me that to begin with?"

"It's a little bit depressing for an opening line, don't you think?"

"I'm sorry. I feel awful."

"No, it's okay, Luke," she waved it off. "You didn't know."

Luke looked unsure, but nodded. "Plate of brownies then. On the house."

"Luke, you don't have to-"

"It's your birthday. You get a brownie on the house for your birthday."

"Oh yeah? Since when?" She asked, her eyebrows arched upward.

"Since you know, whenever."

"Yeah, we need to work on that vague thing."

"So any big plans for tonight?" Luke changed the subject.

"Well you know me and birthdays," Lorelai winked. "But Rory has school, then she's taking me out for dinner and then we'll probably rent a movie tonight. Why?"

"No reason. I might bring something over later." He shrugged.

"Wait. Whaaat?" Lorelai caught his shirt sleeve. "You didn't have to Luke. Really."

"Well just wait and say that when you actually know what it is."

Lorelai laughed. "Okay. Deal."

As Luke refilled her cup, her phone rang. "Hello? Oh hey babe. What? Well did you explain to her—well, I'm sure you did, hon. Yeah, tomorrow's great. Right now? I'll be there in twenty." Luke stood poised and ready with the brownies.

"Hold that thought," Lorelai slugged half of her coffee down and pulled on her jacket. "Rory's stuck working on newspaper stuff this afternoon. We're going to have a quick, early dinner."

"Geez, that sucks. It's your birthday." Luke shook his head, frowning.

"It's fine. It's fitting for today," Lorelai tried to act nonchalant but Luke could tell she was disappointed.

"I'll bring the brownies by later."

"That would be perfect. Thanks, Luke." She patted his hand briefly before rushing out the door.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Lorelai pulled up into her driveway after dark only to notice a figure on her porch. She shook her head in disbelief as she approached him. "Luke?"

"Hey," he smiled up from the porch step.

"How long have you been out here?"

"Not long. What's all that stuff?" He motioned to the shopping bags weighing her down.

"Oh, retail therapy, I guess." He stood up, taking some of her bags and their hands brushed together. She paused as she unlocked the door, giving him a smile. "Thanks," she murmured, suddenly feeling light headed. There it was again—that feeling—swirling around them.

"I brought the brownies," he stated as they made their way into the darkened house. They were standing so close in the entryway that Lorelai could feel the heat from Luke's body. She wanted to slide a hand around his neck and pull him close, but she composed herself.

She shot him another smile instead. "What would I do without you? You know you don't have to keep me company because it's my birthday."

Luke shook his head. "I'm not. But it is your birthday, you should have fun." He pulled out a bottle of wine. Lorelai's eyes widened.

"Hey, I'm all for that." She headed into the kitchen to get two glasses and Luke followed her, looking for the corkscrew. He froze when he saw the envelope on the table.

"Lorelai," he said gently. "You sure you want this here?"

"Oh, yeah." She shrugged, turning back to the cabinet. "Leave it. I have to open it at some point."

"Okay," Luke sounded unsure. "It's kind of thick, isn't it?"

"I guess so. Yeah, it is." Lorelai rubbed across a hand across her forehead as she waited for Luke to fill up the glasses. She took a sip and hummed slightly as she swallowed. "Do you mind if we watch a movie? I got one of my favorites."

"I thought all movies were your favorites."

"Okay, one of my old favorites." Lorelai consented.

"The Way We Were?" Luke guessed.

Lorelai almost gasped. "How did you know that?"

"I saw it on the coffee table," he chuckled.

"You snoop," Lorelai teased, hitting him on the arm. "So have you seen it?"

Luke shook his head. "Nope."

"It's a sappy girl movie. I promise not to cry though." She smiled devilishly.

After they got settled, Luke noticed they weren't sitting too far apart on the couch. For one split second he wished he could lean over and kiss her. The moment passed, however, and they started the movie with Lorelai squished down in the couch cushions and Luke sprawled out on the other end.

She wasn't sure who drank more wine, but by the time the theme song played for the millionth time and Lorelai reached over to pour another glass, she realized the bottle was empty. Luke chuckled at her perplexed look. "It's gone," she said simply. She set her glass down, not feeling any effects until she got up to eject the tape and promptly collapsed back on the couch. "Oof," she groaned, only realizing then that her head had landed almost directly on Luke's lap. And there he was looking down at her with those intense eyes of his and the little bit of scruff he always wore seemed to be beckoning her. Lorelai found herself wondering how it would feel against her cheek and she slowly reached up a hand to touch it. She slid her fingers over the slight cleft in his chin she hadn't known was there. Something in the back of her mind made her realize this was probably weird for Luke until she felt his hand slide beneath her shoulder blade and sort of cradle her as he lifted her towards him, their lips touching tentatively.

As Lorelai's lips brushed his, she let her hand come back up to cup the side of his face, his other hand brushing back her curls as they let themselves fall into the kiss, fingers sweeping across smooth skin, the neediness as they drew each other closer. Lorelai knew she was drunk, but she wanted more of him. Luke pulled away, breathless.

"Lorelai, I-" He panted. She ignored him, still rubbing circles on his cheeks with her fingertips.

"You're so good to me Luke. Why are you?" Luke was stunned, unsure what to do. Lorelai in his lap was a little too much for him to process right now. She would probably regret this in the morning. In fact, he knew she would. She couldn't think straight about Max, much less adding himself into the mix. Luke didn't answer her, just sat Lorelai up on the couch and got up to retrieve two glasses of water from the kitchen.

It was getting late and just as he was wondering about Rory, she walked in.

"Oh hey. Luke," she greeted him, obviously startled. "What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging out. You know." He shrugged, not sure how to tell her Lorelai was tipsy.

"Yeah. Okay." Rory frowned.

"Where were you?" He changed the subject.

"Oh, school. Newspaper stuff. And I dropped by Dean's. I can leave—go—if you want to-"

"Oh Rory, no. It's fine. I brought some brownies and wine by. She asked me to watch some movie with her. And now, well, she's a little drunk."

"Rory!" Lorelai announced, giggling.

"Here. Drink this." Luke instructed, handing her the glass. Rory looked freaked. "She'll be fine. She'll have a headache in the morning, but she'll be okay."

Rory swallowed and nodded. "I have, um, homework to do so would you mind—I mean, could you stay?" Luke wasn't sure if Rory was thrown off by the fact that her mother was drunk, that he was there, or a combination of the two.

"Oh, sure. I mean I guess. You don't mind?"

"Stay, stay." Lorelai chimed in.

"Yeah, stay. Sleep on the couch. We've got blankets and I have an extra toothbrush if you need it." Luke just nodded and gave Lorelai's hand a squeeze as he led her up to bed.

Before the clock turned to seven the next morning, Luke was gone. He wanted to be there for both of the girls but he didn't want to be overbearing. He'd always had completely innocent intentions when it came to Lorelai. He admitted that he may have had feelings for her, but those had always been put on a shelf, not wanting to risk their friendship. He had especially never wanted to add stress for Lorelai. But it was too late now. He was baffled by the previous night's events. The game he and Lorelai played had always confused him, but these past few weeks, he had sensed it even more.