Unbeta'ed and not on BWR, as my computer is being a prat.
Marys Beware: contains season 6 spoilers.
GREATNESS
Luke stood above the stove cooking dinner. Lorelai had a craving for mac and cheese, which he protested, but caved when she batted her eyelashes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and breathed out "Please?" before she planted a soft and sensuous kiss on his mouth. So here he was, mixing pasta with fake powdered cheese in disgust; he, however, decided to add broccoli to the concoction, to make it somewhat healthier and, in his case, edible. Lorelai would whine when she exited the shower, he knew this, but he had his own ways of persuading her.
He looked around his apartment as the pasta continued to boil, pretty amazed at what they had accomplished in just a couple of hours: Lorelai had managed to unpack her clothes and hang them up in his closet and place them in the drawers he emptied out for her, without much procrastination.
She also had a good time placing various things around the place: her quilt lay folded at the foot of the bed; her fuzzy alarm clock was on her side of the bed; the dancing Rabbi was placed among his trophies; and her hideous monkey lamp took the place of his tasteful one on the end-table by the couch.
Lorelai's stuff had found their place in his apartment throughout their relationship. But having her belongings placed with care in his apartment alongside his own stuff made the tiny flat above the diner a home. She made it theirs.
And she had a great time doing it. She was positively radiant that evening, running about the place, giggling at how un-Luke his place was becoming. She was sincerely happy, which was a rarity considering the situation with Rory. Even their engagement night was marred with sadness: it was a sincere proposal, he knew, which he said 'yes' to without questions (okay, a few questions); but it came out of desperation and hopelessness. And the fact that, afterwards, she couldn't share the good news with her best friend? It nearly killed her. She hadn't seen Rory since the trial, where they both sat in the last row, hidden from view, as Lorelai squeezed his hand tightly. They snuck out right after Rory was sentenced to community service and was put on probation. Lorelai just couldn't take what was happening.
They hadn't even told Rory about the engagement and the renovating of the house. They didn't even know if Rory had somehow found out.
Lorelai had been doing better lately, though. She was focused solely on the Inn and on him. And the prospect of them playing house until the house was ready left her giddy, although not forgetful of her troubles. She confided in Luke every once in a while, which he was happy about, and was more than willing to provide words of comfort and suggestion. Keeping things bottled up was not an option—Luke wouldn't let her—and it was therapeutic to talk about it.
Luke turned back to the task at-hand, removing the pot from the stove to let it cool. He suddenly felt a tugging at his pant leg. He looked down to see the dog (Luke refused to refer to it by the name Lorelai had chosen) biting at his jeans. Luke sighed and gave his right leg a shake until he let go. "Damn dog," he muttered.
The dog was a rambunctious one; almost as relentless as Lorelai. Everywhere Lorelai went, it wasn't too far behind. He yapped happily as it ran after Lorelai throughout the apartment as she decorated. It had been quiet since Lorelai retired to the bathroom; Luke just thought the dog had followed her in there.
It had now run off and was chewing on one of the couch cushions. Luke sighed again and decided to let it be; it was being quiet, after all, and he just hoped it'd stay like that throughout dinner.
He suddenly heard the bathroom door open, and then the light footfalls as Lorelai padded towards him. He began pouring the pot's contents into two bowls, and could smell the scent of Lorelai's vanilla body wash as she grew nearer. He felt her arms snake around his waist and her wet hair dampening the cotton that covered his shoulders. She began nibbling at his neck, which was beginning to leave him body limp—well, not his entire body—and vulnerable.
"Dinner's ready," was all Luke was able to say, an attempt to regain control of himself and of the situation.
Lorelai peered over from behind him and looked down at the bowls on the counter. "Wait a minute," she began, eyeing the bits of green amidst the orange that surely were out of place. "Is that…broccoli?"
Luke just smiled.
---
After a dinner of Lorelai trying to feed Paul Anka her broccoli and Luke chastising her for it, they crawled into bed for some cuddling and Jon Stewart.
They lay there, Lorelai toying with the quilt, Luke's hand making Lorelai's thigh its home, gently stroking all along her leg. Paul Anka sat by Luke's feet, licking his toes at first, but was now still, most probably sleeping.
Lorelai wasn't focusing on the screen at her "second husband-to-be," as she teasingly referred to him, just keeping her eyes focused on the quilt, running her hands past all the patches of Rory's old baby clothes, stopping at a few for closer inspection, and moving on to the next with a sigh and a sniffle.
"You okay?" asked Luke, sitting upright, his back now against the headboard.
Lorelai sat there quietly, finally letting go of the quilt and placed it on her lap. She turned to him with a watery smile. "I'm fine, babe," she said, leaning in to kiss his mouth. "Just thinking about stuff."
"Want to talk about it?" he asked, not to prod too much, but to assure Lorelai that he was there to listen if she wanted him to.
Lorelai looked back down at the quilt, picking it up again and leaning against Luke's shoulder. "Just recalling how tiny she used to be," she began, looking up at Luke with wide eyes. She pointed to a small patch of pink and Luke's fingers immediately went to it, feeling the softness of the material. "This is Rory's hat from the hospital. I swear I can still catch of whiff of that new baby smell on it."
He took her fingers in his and gave them a reassuring squeeze. He moved their hands a few patches over to a fading red section of the quilt. "What about that one?" he asked, curious.
Lorelai smiled. That's Rory's old blanky. My parents bought it for her after she was born, so, of course, it cost a fortune. Thus, I had a blast cutting it up after Rory had outgrown it and stopped carrying it around wherever she went," she joked.
Luke laughed lightly along with her as they continued their exploration of the various patches, from Rory's lamb-laden footie pajamas to her first pair of big-girl underwear with Strawberry Shortcake on the front.
"I miss her," Lorelai confessed softly when they were done and she had wrapped herself tightly with the quilt, as if it were Rory's once-tiny and pudgy arms giving her a hug. "I miss her and we're engaged and the house she grew up in is getting an extreme makeover, and she doesn't even have a clue!"
"There is a way to fix that, you know," he replied matter-of-factly, but gently.
"I know," she admitted. "I just don't know how to go about it. We haven't spoken in so long."
"Tell you what: we both have the day off tomorrow," he suggested, wrapping his arm around her. "Why don't we head over to Hartford?"
"You'd really come with me?" she asked in wonder. "I mean, there's a good chance we'll run into Emily and Richard. I don't even want to see them. But you'd really put yourself through that again?"
"Hey, we're in this together, aren't we?" he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Admittedly, he didn't want to incur the elder Gilmores, but he had to be there for Lorelai. He wanted to.
"Have I ever told you that you're the perfect man?" she asked, turning her body to face him. "Because you are."
"I've heard it a few times, but a few more wouldn't hurt," he teased as he leaned in for a kiss. They embraced, Lorelai repeating "perfect man" against his lips, over and over again.
They pulled away reluctantly, their foreheads still pressed together, letting their breathing return to normal, reveling in their closeness a little bit longer.
"You'd make a great dad, you know," said Lorelai in a whisper, unsure of whether or not the topic of children needed to be broached at the moment.
Luke said nothing at first, just reacting by wrapping his arms tighter around her, letting her words sink in. Having children had been mentioned fleetingly as of late, but he'd be a liar if he said he hadn't thought about it numerous times, particularly during his attempt to purchase the Twickham House. Heck, the wall in Lorelai's bedroom had been knocked down to build a nursery. Both he and Lorelai knew it, but even though they were being good at communicating just about everything, they've yet to exhaust the topic of children, save for Lorelai saying that kids would be "nice".
"You think so? Luke finally let out, feeling Lorelai's body stiffen at the length it took him to answer, probably thinking she had brought up the topic too soon.
Lorelai breathed out a sigh of relief at his response and pulled back to look into his eyes. "I know so."
"Thank you," Luke said gratefully. He'd always hated kids and was weary of fatherhood, thinking himself lucky that his hermit state would prevent him from having to deal with annoying brats and jam hands. But he had been secretly excited when Jess first came to him, hoping to mold him into the proper young man he ought to have been. When the results proved less-than-successful, Luke thought himself a screw-up and a failure at potential fatherhood. He wouldn't admit it then, but that knowledge made him nauseous. So it was a comfort to know that someone thought he was capable of it. And Lorelai's words and opinions meant everything to him.
Lorelai beamed at him, looking into the features that would perhaps someday grace a future son. For his part, Luke took in Lorelai's blue eyes and her long brown curls, picturing them on a little girl. Both their smiles widened.
"Hey, you think we'll end up raising a child like Rory?" asked Lorelai. "Recent events notwithstanding, of course," she added sourly.
"Rory was, and still is," he emphasized, making sure Lorelai heard him clearly, "a special kid. I think a child like her is one-in-a-million; but with you as a mom, it could happen again. But our kid just may end up like the masses of other kids: whiny, bratty, annoying, resentful," he joked. "I'd still love him or her, though."
"Aw, I'm sure we can make it two-or-three-in-a-million. The kid will be an avid reader. A geek, but still rather cool and respected among his peers," she prophesized.
"A great athlete," Luke added.
"Coffee addicted, like me," she giggled.
"God, no!" said Luke. "I won't let you lead our child down that destructive path. No coffee, no burgers, no fries, no candy!" he went on, counting on the fingers of his left hand. "And no sitting in front of the TV gorging on popcorn and pizza, either!"
"But how else will he pick up on all my pop culture references?" she demanded in mock-protest, as she knew that Luke knew how ridiculous he was sounding: even he knew the importance of indulging every once in a while.
"He'll just have to remain ignorant to it all," Luke decided. "Outdoor activities instead of marathons on TV, you hear?"
Lorelai just stared at him. "Rant over?" she asked with a smirk.
Luke slumped his shoulders. "Yeah, I'm done. And, you know, we'll talk about this more at a later date. I know I came off sounding maniacal just now."
Lorelai laughed. "Yeah, you did. But that's what I love about you. I've told you before how much I love ranting-Luke."
Before Luke could say anything, the lump of fur at his feet started moving and starting half-barking, half-whimpering.
"I see you just woke someone up," Lorelai noted, as Paul Anka looked very unhappy.
"Aw geez," said Luke, getting up and scooping the dog in his arms. He took the dog into Jess' old room, making sure Paul Anka was comfortable and asleep before returning back to Lorelai.
"See? Great dad," she told him again sleepily as he lay back down beside her. She lazily shut off the TV with the remote, and then covered both their bodies with the tiny quilt, leaving their legs exposed to the cool of the room. They spooned their bodies together as closely as they could, and Luke reached over her and turned off the light.