A/N: Thanks to iheartbridges for the beta-read!
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters/setting. I just like to play with them.
Yellow
May, 2005
The yellow rays of the morning sunshine shone through the windows in Lorelai's bedroom, the soft illumination slowly waking Lorelai out of a sound sleep. She looked at the clock- 6:30 A.M. Luke was still with her in bed, she was cradled against him, their legs tangled together, and his arm slung protectively over her waist. She smiled to herself, always loving waking up in Luke's arms. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, and she would never get tired of the feeling of warmth and security that it gave her. After reveling in these feelings for a moment, she knew that Luke was late waking up, and that he wouldn't be too happy when he found out. She shifted in his arms so that she was facing him, and began to kiss him awake. Very softly, she repeatedly kissed his lips, until she felt him respond in kind. She pulled away slightly to whisper a "Good morning" before pausing and adding, "It's six-thirty."
"So?" he mumbled sleepily, his eyes still not fully open
"So, you own a diner. You are usually opening it by now," she answered while planting a kiss on his neck.
"Caesar is opening today," Luke responded, still not fully awake.
"Really?" Lorelai pulled back to look at him.
"Yeah, I wanted to spend more time with you. I thought it would be nice for us to sleep in, and then I could make us breakfast before you set out for the Inn." Luke tightened his arm around her, pulling her closer.
"Ooh! Can you make pancakes?" she asked with more energy than any human being should have at that time of morning.
"Uh huh," Luke murmured, eyes closed, almost asleep again.
"Eggs?"
"Yup."
"French toast? Bacon? Waffles?" she wasn't even waiting for his answers anymore.
Luke took a deep breath. "Yes, now go to sleep."
Lorelai giggled at his sleepy annoyance. "Okay, just one more thing…"
"What?" he asked, opening his eyes now with that same look of irritation on his face that was there every time she asked for her sixth cup of coffee.
"This." Lorelai whispered with a playful smirk on her face. She pressed her lips to his and lingered for a few moments while running her fingers through his hair.
When she pulled away, his features had softened, and he answered, "Okay… Now go back to sleep."
"Yes, sir!" she joked, and then eagerly snuggled up closer to him, making contact with as much of his body as possible. She lay with her head nestled into the crook of his neck, her arms surrounded his middle, pulling him snugly to her, and her legs were intertwined with his.
Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was that this would be the day-- the day she would ask Luke to move in with her.
……………………………………
Slowly, Lorelai awoke a couple of hours later. Reaching out for Luke, all she found was the cool sheets next to her. As she stretched and inhaled deeply, waking herself up, she smelled the scent of coffee drifting up from downstairs.
Luke was in the kitchen making breakfast and brewing the coffee. He was startled at first when he felt Lorelai's arms snake around his waist from behind, but relaxed as she kissed the back of his neck a couple of times.
"What's cookin', good lookin'?"
Luke rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Eggs, bacon, pancakes… the works."
"Ooooh. Sounds yummy," Lorelai plopped herself into a chair at the kitchen table while she continued waking up. She yawned and passed a hand over her face, "Ugh. Need coffee."
"One step ahead of ya," Luke placed a large yellow mug filled to the brim with steaming hot coffee in front of Lorelai. Her eyes lit up, and she made a little squealing sound of appreciation. Luke couldn't help but smile as he went back to finish cooking breakfast.
Lorelai loved this- having Luke here in her house when she woke up in the morning, to cook breakfast so they were able to eat together before going to their respective workplaces. She was anxious to ask Luke to move in with her, but she of course had to consult Rory first. It was, after all, her house too.
……………………………………
Rory was on her way to class. Tired, and exhausted from staying up until all hours of the morning completing the homework that she had neglected while recently afflicted by her hangover, she felt a bit fuzzy, and because her reaction time was clouded, as she rounded the corner of the building where her class was held, she ran smack into the person coming around from the other side.
"Sorry!" she exclaimed, looking up, and noticing that it was Marty.
"Oof!" She almost knocked the wind out of him. "You okay?" Marty's hand was at Rory's elbow, supporting her while she caught her balance again.
"Oh, yeah, just tired, and not paying attention, that's all," Rory said as she caught her balance, rolling her eyes at her own clumsiness. "So, um, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a while."
"Oh, I'm pretty good." Marty kicked at some pebbles on the ground, and then started again, "So, Rory—," he was cut off by the ringing of her cell phone. Rory looked at him apologetically and answered it, "Hey, Mom!"
"See you later, Rory," Marty whispered.
Rory waved goodbye to Marty and watched him until he had disappeared around the corner.
"Hey, kid! How are you feeling?" her mother's voice sounded from the other end of the phone.
"Oh, I'm tired, but doing okay. I'm on my way to class, actually."
"Oh. Umm… do you have about… seventy seconds? I have to ask you something, but it'll be quick." Lorelai sat down on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her.
"Yeah, I think I can spare seventy seconds. What's up?" Rory found the nearest bench to sit on.
"Hey, it sure is pretty outside isn't it, with all the daffodils, and the sun, and--"
"Mom!" Rory cut her off, "You've used up most of your seventy seconds on flower talk. What's up?"
Lorelai sighed loudly in preparation, and then gave it a go, "Sweets, what would you think if I asked Luke to move in with us?"
Rory jumped off of the bench with excitement. "What? Did I just hear you correctly?"
"No! I-I don't think I just said what you thought I said," Lorelai answered, misunderstanding Rory's shock, and trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"What? Yes you did! You just asked me what I thought about Luke moving in with us," Rory said excitedly.
"No, I said… 'What would you think if… Luke… drove… to the inn with us'!"
"No, you did not! Plus, that doesn't make any sense." Rory sat back down on the bench.
"Okay, fine, I did say what you first thought I said," Lorelai admitted quietly, frowning.
"Mom, I think that's a great idea." Rory was smiling the largest she had in a week, so happy that first of all, Lorelai was finally letting a man that much into her life and that second of all, this man was Luke- Rory couldn't think of anyone else that would be better for her mother.
"You do?"
"Yes! We love Luke! He practically lives there anyway, right? Might as well make it official and actually have him move his stuff in."
Lorelai was grinning now. "Thanks so much, kid. This means so much that you are okay with this."
"I'm happy for you, Mom… oh, and I'm almost late for class. Tell Luke hi for me!"
Lorelai was so relieved that Rory seemed so happy about the idea of Luke moving in. She hoped Luke would be just as okay with the idea. She hoped Luke would love the idea.
Lorelai was on her way out the door. Luke had left for the diner a little while ago. She had kissed him in her doorway, watched his truck pull out of the driveway, and then lunged for the phone to call Rory. Now, she was just getting her stuff together that she needed for the day. As she opened the front door to leave, she was shocked at who she saw standing on the front porch, arm raised, poised to knock.
"Mom! W-What are you doing here?" Lorelai was perplexed. Her mother came here to Stars Hollow, apparently to see her. Part of her (even though she would deny it forever) was a bit hopeful. Maybe her mother was here to apologize. Sure, it wouldn't fix everything, but it would be a step. Lorelai was also still feeling bad about the way that she had yelled at Emily the last time that they saw each other. She had totally deserved it, but still, she felt horrible afterwards.
"Hello Lorelai. You know, it's rude to receive guests on the front porch." Emily's expression was unreadable.
Lorelai hesitated for a moment, but then opened the door wider. "Right. Well, come in then."
Emily stepped into the house. The morning sunshine bounced off the yellow walls, creating a cheery air inside, contrasting with the tension that actually filled the room. "I haven't seen this place in a while. I see not much has changed," Emily said as she looked around the living room, clearly avoiding the subject at hand.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Lorelai was growing increasingly impatient.
Emily looked Lorelai square in the eyes and stated, "Lorelai, I want you to come to Friday Night Dinner this week."
Lorelai's eyes grew wide. "Mom. Are you on something!"
"Excuse me?" Emily was taken aback.
"Are you on drugs or something? Because that's the only thing that makes sense as to why you would ever expect me to just come to Friday night dinner after what you did to me and Luke."
"Lorelai, believe it or not, I care about you. I know you can do more with your life, be more important. That's why I did what I did."
"The big problem isn't that you want 'more' for me. Although, I don't like that you think that either. The problem is that you seem to have no disregard for my feelings, or for Luke's feelings, or for Rory's feelings! You put together this plan to break up me and Luke! Do you know how devastated I was?" Lorelai paused, and then added, "I love him, Mom, and what you did almost caused him to leave me, forever! I can't just pretend like nothing ever happened and come to Friday Night Dinner!"
Emily stood there, staring. She didn't intend for this to turn out this way. She had come here to try to apologize. She wanted her daughter back in her life, and though she didn't fully understand what she was apologizing for, she knew it had to be done. "Alright, fine, Lorelai, I apologize, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Lorelai stood dumbfounded, unable to form any words. Her mother just apologized to her, which was something she thought she would never hear.
Lorelai stood, speechless, her mouth slightly agape, wondering if she really heard what she thought she had heard. Before she could recover enough to form actual words, Emily was already out the door.
…………………………………
"Sookie, I need coffee!" Lorelai exclaimed as she entered the kitchen at the Dragonfly.
"Everything okay, hon?" Sookie asked, placing a hand on Lorelai's arm.
"Why? I always want coffee. How would that be a giveaway to me not being okay?"
"See? You just admitted it! You're not okay. What's wrong?" Sookie asked, pouring Lorelai a cup of coffee.
Lorelai leaned against the counter and sighed. "Oh, my mother just came to see me. Sookie, I think she apologized."
"You think she apologized?" Sookie furrowed her brow in confusion.
"Oh, you know, she said the words, but I don't know if she's just trying to manipulate me back into her life so that I can be her personal hand puppet again." Lorelai sighed and took a sip of coffee.
"Well, maybe she really meant it. I know sometimes she has funny ways of showing it, but she does care about you, and I'm sure she doesn't want to lose you forever."
"I don't know, Sook…"
"It'll be okay!" Sookie tried to make her friend feel better.
"Thanks, Sookie." Lorelai paused for a moment. "I told my mother that I love Luke."
"Well, do you?"
Lorelai smiled then. "Yeah, I really do."
"So, what's the problem?" Sookie asked, stirring the contents of a pot on the stove.
"I haven't told Luke yet."
"You haven't told Luke that you love him?"
Lorelai shook her head and then took another sip of coffee.
"I think you should tell him."
"I know… I'm just- it's just- well, I know how much he cares about me, but at the same time, I'm afraid that he doesn't feel the same way."
"Lorelai! That man has loved you forever! Of course he feels the same way!"
………………………………
Luke walked into Lorelai's house to find her curled up under a yellow blanket on the couch in front of the TV, restlessly flipping through the channels. When she saw him, she smiled, but looked distracted.
Luke walked over to the couch and sat down next to her, placing a hand on her leg. "You okay?"
Lorelai waved him off. "Oh yeah, I'm fine." She wanted to tell him about her mother's visit, but she had other more important things to ask him first, and she didn't know how he would take the news about her mother.
"Are you sure?" his look of concern touched her.
"Yes! I'm fine." She said, drawing out the last word. "Come here," she whispered, readjusting herself on the couch, so that she was now facing him. She took his face in her hands, and kissed him slowly, softly, lovingly. Luke's fingers tangled in her hair, as he deepened the kiss.
After a few blissful moments, Lorelai pulled away, looking him in the eyes. "Luke, I need to ask you something."
Luke's stomach dropped, and as Lorelai noticed the look of fear on his face, she quickly added, "Don't worry! It's something good!"
"Okay, I like something good." Luke smiled and ran his fingers up and down her arm.
Lorelai was suddenly struck with overwhelming nervousness. She took a few deep breaths. "Luke, I've been thinking about this for a little while, actually, and I think you should move in. Here."
She didn't know how to read the look on Luke's face. She was honestly terrified. The silence was killing her.
"You want me to move in with you?"
Lorelai smiled tentatively. "Yeah."
Luke didn't know what to say. He felt his future plans—his plans for buying the Twickham house for he and Lorelai to raise a family in together— slipping from his grasp, and he was desperately trying to think of a way to inform Lorelai of said plans without hurting her feelings and making her feel like he was turning down her offer..
"Oh… Okay… I understand." Lorelai said softly, after Luke hadn't said anything in response.
"No, Lorelai, you don't understand."
"Yes. Yes I do understand, Luke. You don't want to live with me. I thought we were on the same page, but apparently we're not." Lorelai moved away from him a bit and sat towards the opposite side of the couch.
"Lorelai, listen to me!" Luke said, exasperated.
Lorelai looked up at Luke, surprised.
He moved closer to her on the couch, and took her hand in his. "I was actually going to ask you to move in with me. I was just taken off-guard when you asked me just now. I wasn't expecting it."
"Oh. Okay." Lorelai didn't quite know what to say. "You want me to live with you in your apartment?" It seemed a bit odd to her, seeing as his apartment was so small. She always pictured them living in her house.
"No, no. I uh, actually thought about buying the Twickham house, and… wanted to live there with you."
Lorelai's eyes grew large. "Oh Luke, but-- but this is my home." She didn't know what to say. She knew it was probably the wrong thing to say at this moment, but she was taken so off-guard that she couldn't stop taking in order to think. It all just came rambling out. "I have memories here. Rory grew up here, and in a way, I did too. I bought this house when I was 27 with money I had saved up from working as a maid… I love this house."
Luke was upset. He was planning on buying a house for him and Lorelai to raise a family in and she was too busy thinking about how much she'd miss her old house. "Ok, fine. That's just fine!" Luke let go of her hand and stood up from the couch.
Lorelai got up to follow him. "Why are you mad?"
"You care more about this house than you care about me or our future!" His arms waved around in typical Luke-rant fashion.
"No Luke, that's not true! You know I'm not good with change. You know—,"
Luke cut her off. "No Lorelai, it's fine. I'm gonna go." And with that, he was out the door; she couldn't stop him.
…………………………………
Rory was in her room doing some homework when she heard a knock on the common room door.
"Paris, can you get that?"
No answer. "Paris?" Rory sighed and got up, annoyed at the interruption. Finals were coming up the following week, and she had 3 papers due, and wasn't getting very far on any of them. She opened the door, and saw Marty standing there wearing a yellow T-shirt and jeans, his hands were thrust in his pockets. "Hey," he greeted her.
"Hey." Rory said, surprised to see him. Marty hadn't dropped by since… before the time he told her that he liked her, and she told him that she liked… Logan.
"Can I come in?" he asked almost shyly.
"Oh, sure. Come on in." She opened the door a bit wider to let him in. "So… what's up?" She asked looking at him as he awkwardly stood in the middle of the room.
"Oh, not much. I just realized that I haven't talked to you in a while, so I thought I'd drop by and say hi. I hope this isn't a bad time."
"Oh no, it's fine. I'm glad you stopped by." Rory smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Hey, how about we go get some coffee? We can talk, catch up…"
"Sure, sounds good. Let's go," Rory said as she grabbed her jacket.
…………………………………………
"So, almost the end of the semester," Marty said, before taking a sip of his cappuccino.
"I know. This semester went by so fast!" Rory paused, "It's too bad we didn't get to hang out much."
"Yeah." Marty agreed in a way—He did miss Rory over the past couple of months but at the same time, it would have been to hard for him to be around all the time knowing that Logan, the guy she really had feelings for, could show up at any minute.
"I do have to take a class this summer, so I'll still be here until July," Rory said, changing the subject. She sensed Marty was a bit uncomfortable with the previous topic.
"Oh yeah? So am I. I figured, as long as the class is being offered, I might as well take it now."
Rory smiled. "Yeah, people think I'm crazy for taking a class during the summer when I could have three months off, but I really don't mind. So I'm taking one of those pesky required General Ed. Courses—British Lit 112."
Marty grinned, "So am I, Monday through Thursday, 12:00 – 2:00 P.M."
"Oh, hey, we're in the same class!" Rory smiled back, glad that she'll have a friend with her on campus when not many other people will be around.
Rory and Marty continued talking. It felt like old times again, very unlike the awkwardness that had been there after Marty had told Rory how he felt about her.
They lost all track of time, and by the time Marty walked Rory back to her dorm three hours later, she realized that she had just gone three whole hours without dwelling on Logan, and on whether or not he'll ever call her again.
…………………………………
Lorelai had just watched Luke walk out on her. Everything from their breakup came rushing back to her- all of the feelings she felt when she had thought she had lost him, they all came flooding to her, along with the tears. She ran upstairs, struggled with her tear-clouded vision to change into some pajamas, crawled under the covers, and cried herself to sleep.
Lorelai awoke feeling that warm and safe feeling that she always felt when she woke up in Luke's arms. She gave herself a moment to fully become conscious, and noticed that there was an arm around her waist, and that she felt warm breath at the back of her neck. It was 4:00 A.M.
Was that all just a dream? Maybe this was a dream.
She was completely confused. She pinched herself. "Ah, crap! That hurt." Okay, this part isn't a dream. She turned around to face Luke, and saw him looking at her. He was awake.
"Luke?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"For what?"
"For walking out on you before, for freaking out, for everything."
Okay, that part wasn't a dream either. "Oh Luke, I'm sorry too. I didn't even think about your feelings. I was just thinking about how I could never leave this house, and didn't even think about the fact—"
He kissed her then. He had found that it was the most effective way to get her to stop talking.
"No, Lorelai, I thought about it, and if you feel so strongly about this house, then I shouldn't make you leave it."
"But Luke, it's just a house." She reached up and smoothed a hand over his hair.
"No, not to you it's not. It's full of memories. I can't ask you to leave all that behind. I know how important it is to you. Plus, I realized that I already feel at home here. I've fixed probably everything there is to fix in this house. I feel like it's partly mine anyway."
"Are you saying you'll move in here with me?"
Luke smiled. "Yeah. I'd love to."
"Are you really sure? I mean, I love you and I want you to be happy…" She paused when she felt Luke's fingers tighten around her waist where his hand had been resting, and realized that she just told him that she loved him. She stared into his wide, wondering eyes, and hoped she hadn't scared him away. Just as she was about to apologize for possibly speaking to soon, she felt his lips on hers, gently, yet passionately. After a few moments, he pulled away, looked into her eyes, and responded in kind, "I love you too. And yes, I'm sure— I want to move in with you, here, in your house."
"Our house," she whispered, and pulled him into a tight embrace.
………………………………
The next weekend was spent moving Luke's stuff in. They enlisted Rory's help, and she brought Marty along to help out with any heavy lifting involved.
"So, I see you're hanging out with Marty again, huh?" Lorelai asked Rory later on in the kitchen as they took a break; the guys were upstairs re-assembling Luke's bureau.
"Oh yeah, we're both taking that same summer class, so we've been keeping each other company on campus."
"Oh yeah, of course. It's always good to have a friend around." Lorelai said, emphasizing the word as she took two sodas out of the fridge, one for Rory, and one for herself.
"Mom! How many times have I told you that Marty is just a friend!" Rory whispered loudly.
"Well, you seem to be spending a lot of time with him lately, and I haven't heard another word about Logan in the past couple of weeks," Lorelai said, sitting down at the table across from Rory.
"Well, I haven't heard anything from Logan either, and you know what? I don't care anymore," Rory said, playing with the tab on the top of the soda can.
"Well, I'm glad you've got Marty to keep you company."
Rory shot her mother a don't-say-another-word look.
Lorelai giggled and took a swig of her soda.
Later on, after all of Luke's stuff was moved in, the four of them, Luke, Lorelai, Rory, and Marty, crashed in front of the TV to watch a movie. An old favorite was chosen—"Willy Wonka".
Not too far into it, Marty had fallen asleep on the floor. Rory looked back to the couch, and Lorelai had also fallen asleep. Rory got up and sat on the couch next to Luke.
"I can't believe Mom fell asleep during 'Willy Wonka'!" Rory said, looking over at Lorelai on the other side of Luke.
Luke laughed, "Yeah it's a shocker."
Rory paused for a moment. "Hey Luke?"
Luke looked over at Rory again, she had a serious look on her face. "Yeah?"
"I just wanted to say that I'm really happy for you and Mom, and I'm glad you're moving in here."
Luke smiled, relieved. He had been a little worried about what Rory thought of their new living arrangements. He wasn't really afraid that Rory wouldn't want him there, but he had some natural apprehension seeing as Rory had lived her whole life in that house, just her and her mom, and now he was moving in. It was a change, and he was really glad that Rory was okay with it. "Thanks Rory, it means a lot to know that you're okay with this."
"'Okay'? I think it's wonderful, in fact."
"Yeah?" Luke smiled again.
"Definitely." Rory answered, smiling back.
………………………………
May 20th
Lorelai arrived home after a long day at the Dragonfly. She picked up the mail on the way in, and as she placed it on the kitchen table, she gasped a little as she saw a vase full of roses— six red, and six yellow. There was an envelope leaning against the vase with her name written in familiar handwriting. Slowly, she opened it, her heart beating quickly in anticipation. Taking out the card that was inside, it read:
Lorelai,
A year ago today was a day full of firsts. The first time I'd ever given anyone flowers… and the first time we kissed.
Happy Anniversary
Love, Luke
Lorelai was overwhelmed that he remembered the date of their first kiss, and that he would do something this sweet. She wiped away the tears that had escaped down her cheeks, headed towards the door, and slipped on her pink flip-flops. She couldn't wait for Luke to come home to thank him for the flowers; she had to see him now. But as she opened the front door, he was already heading up the sidewalk.
As he reached the door, Lorelai threw herself at him, and hugged him tightly. "Luke. Thank you, you sweet man." Lorelai pulled back from Luke in order to look him in the eyes.
"You're welcome." Luke smiled softly, and kissed her tear-stained cheeks.
Lorelai pulled him into the house with her and shut the door. "So, why red and yellow?"
Luke looked at the floor, clearly embarrassed. He paused for a moment, and then replied, "You'll probably make fun of me for being such a dork about this, but I actually looked up the meanings of different colors of roses."
"Of course it's dorky, but that's why I love you." Lorelai smiled playfully. "What do they stand for?"
Luke rolled his eyes, but smiled. "The red signifies romance and passionate love. And the yellow signifies happiness and friendship."
Lorelai was touched that Luke would think to not only celebrate their love for each other, but also the friendship that had brought them to this point. She hugged him again, and after a few moments, not wanting to pull away just yet, she spoke into his neck, "I feel bad, I didn't get you anything… I didn't know you'd count this as or actual anniversary."
Luke pulled back to look at her. "Why? You think we have a different anniversary?" He looked perplexed.
Lorelai giggled. "Yes, we didn't actually go out on our first official date until after you got back from Maine six weeks later! You know, dinner at Sniffy's Tavern, and later on that night, the first time we made love…" Lorelai slid her hand up to the back of his neck and ruffled the curls that peeked out from underneath his baseball cap. She noticed him blush at her mention of their first time together, and couldn't help but smile.
"Actually, I thought our first date was when I took you to Liz and TJ's wedding." His hands were at her waist, his fingertips idly tracing circles on the skin there underneath her shirt.
"Well, I didn't know it was a date at the time." Her eyes looked steadily into his.
"I know. That's why I don't count that as the beginning of our relationship." He spoke just above a whisper now, his face moving closer to hers.
"But you count the day of our first kiss as the beginning of our relationship?"
"Yes," he breathed. Their lips met then in a tender kiss which slowly elevated in intensity.
"Ok, now we are on the same page," Lorelai spoke against his lips, "and our official anniversary is May 20th." She kissed him again, and then pulled back just a bit to look him in the eyes. "Hey Luke?"
He rested his forehead against hers. "Yeah?"
"I have never been in a relationship before that lasted this long." She played with one of the buttons on his shirt.
Luke's eyes softened, and then his expression turned mischievous as his eyes darted to the stairs and back to her again. "Just another reason to celebrate."
Lorelai giggled, kissed him quickly, and then led him towards the stairs and up to their bedroom.