A/N: Hello gang. Merry Christmas Eve, since it is 1 AM when I am writing this. I tried to get two chapters done, but it just didn't happen. Sorry guys, I'll try to finish one tomorrow (or I guess today). I hereby dedicate this chapter once again to Muffin, because I liked the rambling review. En, get some sleep, but I'm one to talk since I'm still on my college, "do my best work at 2AM," schedule. Oh heck, I'm in the Christmas spirit; I dedicate this chapter to you all!
Chapter 3: Twinkle Lights and Night Frights
"How 'bout this one?" Luke asked for what seemed like the umpteenth time. His hand held on to the branch of a perfectly decent Christmas tree. It was full and bushy with only one hole that could be placed in the back if need be. Soon after arriving at the temporary evergreen tree lot, Luke discovered that Lorelai was very picky when it came to Christmas. The tree had to be perfect. Now, she was facing him, all her weight supported on her left leg, hand on hip. The other was poised at her chin, her eyes looking at the tree, her face scrunched up as if she was deep in thought. She looked like a painter. They had already been there for nearly half an hour and had seen most of the lot. Luke was beginning to wonder if she dragged him along only to torture him.
"Too…floopy," Lorelai stated matter-of-factly, right hand had been taken off her chin and she made circular gestures with her wrist.
"That," he said, letting out a held in breath, "isn't even a word." He was trying hard to be patient with her, but it was almost like she was pulling on his nerve strands one by one.
"Of course it is. It's the word I use to describe something when I can't find a word to describe it."
"Positive or negative?"
"Uh, it could be both. Depends on the context."
"This is a perfectly nice tree."
"I disagree. I mean, Luke, are you even looking at it? Come stand by me, see it through my eyes." Lorelai grabbed Luke's wrist and pulled him next to her. Luke had no choice to be dragged along. She surprised him by looping her arm in the crook of his elbow. Heck, she surprised herself with the gesture, but she felt too awkward to let it go fast. So she held on, trying to hide her inexplicable sharp breathing and heart pounding with quick words and rambling.
"It's, uh, well, it's uh, the wrong color green. Yeah, totally won't match my house. And, oh my God, that hole. Don't tell me that wasn't blatantly obvious to you. Like I said, it's floopy."
"Good thing I didn't bring up the height," Luke muttered to himself as Lorelai slid her hand out of the bend of his arm and walked over to the next tree. He was attempting to distract himself from the way it felt to be so close to her. Stop it, Danes! You guys are friends. You don't have feelings for your friends. That screws up the relationship. Say it, I do not have feelings for Lorelai. I do not have feelings for Lorelai. What do Rachel and the rest of the crazy town know anyway?
"What?"
"Uh, nothing. What about this tree?"
They turned on to the last row, when Lorelai's eyes got wide with excitement, and she unconsciously grabbed Luke's hand once again to run down the row.
"This…is…IT!" She practically squawked, "Would you just look at it!"
"Yeah, it looks nice," Luke said dully, his attention still focused on Lorelai's hand that was still gripping his. He forced himself to stare at the tree. It looks exactly like most of the other trees I picked out.
"You don't sound happy. Where did all your enthusiasm go?"
It went away about five rows ago. "Believe me; I am jumping up and down on the inside."
"Grumpo. Let's go find the tree man, I am ready to pay!" Lorelai let go of his hand and scampered off to find "the tree man." Luke sighed and he followed her.
"You know, we could've taken my truck to the lot then drove the tree over to your house instead of dragging it all through town."
"Yeah, well, it's more fun this way. Now we get to see people turning their lights on as we go."
It was dusk in Stars Hollow and Luke was dragging Lorelai's Christmas tree behind them as they sauntered through the town square. After a quick stop at Luke's for coffee, they were slowly, but surely making their way to the Gilmore home. Lorelai clutched the to-go cup in her hands like a life line, walking in front of Luke like she was Alice and had just stepped through the looking-glass. Luke, on the other hand, was far from Wonderland. The lack of snow discouraged Luke from simply pulling the tree behind him. Instead, he struggled with the ropes clutched in both hands, having a hard time with both curbs and corners. He was having a difficult time paying attention to the blinking lights going on and off in the gazebo or Lorelai's fast-paced chatter. This was the exact reason why he didn't buy a Christmas tree.
"Man, I wish it would snow right now. Everything is so magical when it snows."
"This conversation sounds familiar," Luke grunted as he attempted to untangle the rope that got caught in Taylor's rose bush. Luke broke off the branch, partly because it was easier than sitting their and trying to untangle the thorns, and partly because he strongly disliked Taylor.
"You know, the best things in my life happened when it was snowing. Rory's first steps, my best birthday…"
"Your birthday is in April. How was it snowing?"
Lorelai was taken aback at first. She supposed it wasn't unusual that Luke remembered her birthday. He came to her parties, brought her a small gift, and made her something special at the diner. But, her nature made her assume that no one remembered those details about her, least of all men. It seemed nice that Luke had always kept this fact about her in his personal knowledge. She didn't even think Christopher kept those kinds of tabs on her and she had known him since prep school.
"Ah," she continued, trying to hide her thoughts, "That was the year that the snow came late. It was the best present I could've hoped for, next to the dollhouse that I got from my parents. It was a happier time for me."
Now I know what to get her next year, Luke thought to himself. He always had a hard time finding something for Lorelai for Christmas and her birthday. He usually resorted to food and hours of service. Lorelai, being Lorelai, milked the service for all it was worth, practically forcing Luke to do labor of slave proportions. Snow, in an ice chest maybe, would be a nice change from normal. She would probably never expect it from predictable ol' Luke. The question was, why did he suddenly want his gift to stand out.
Lorelai had continued to gab while Luke had been thinking. Something about snow, he assumed. The lack of snow this season had made Lorelai stir crazy. Before Luke knew it, they had arrived at her house. She bounced ahead and Luke trudged on behind with his new friend, the Christmas tree. He walked sideways up the steps and entered through the front door that Lorelai held open for him. After struggling through the clutter in Lorelai's living room, Luke propped the tree against the wall that she had pointed out to him.
"Okay, I better be going back to the diner," Luke stated, wiping the pine needles off of his jeans.
"Not so fast, mister. Can you put the tree in the tree stand?" Luke sighed, but decided helping Lorelai was much better than the storage room tasks waiting for him back at the diner.
"A little over to the left…Nope, my left, my left." Lorelai said, her position for setting up the tree the exact same as when she scrutinized trees at the lot.
"Lorelai," Luke grumbled from under the tree, where he was laying on his stomach adjusting the stand. "Your left is my left."
"Oh, haha, sorry. To the right then."
After a few minor adjustments, the tree was set in place and Luke swept up the fallen pine needles, while Lorelai dug the Christmas ornaments out of the hall closet.
"I'm all cleaned up in here," Luke called from the kitchen, tapping the dustpan into the trash can. Man, when was the last time she swept in here?
"What?" She called back to him, tugging on her last box of ornaments that was buried under about five other boxes. Lorelai gave it one big pull and all the boxes came falling on top of her. "Ahhhhhhh!"
Luke ran from the kitchen when he heard her yell, and found the boxes scattered on top of her. She was laughing, or crying; sometimes Luke couldn't tell the difference.
"You okay?" he asked, pulling the first box off of her. He almost dropped it when the weight shifted. "Jeez, what do you got in this?"
"Who…knows…?" Lorelai stated breathlessly, giggles escaping her throat. "Rory…tells…must…clean…me…lazy…Haha!" Lorelai erupted with more laughter, as Luke continued to pull boxes off of her.
"Wait! That's the one I needed," Lorelai managed to catch Luke before he placed the last box up on the top shelf.
"You hurt?" He asked, pulling Lorelai up off the floor. She, in turn, picked up the boxes set aside and marched into the living room.
"I'll check later. It is time to decorate my friend." Lorelai practically squealed. She dug into the first box and pulled out several strands of tangled twinkle lights. Luke walked over to her, curious as to what she was doing. Seeing a perfect opportunity to save a couple of hours, she grabbed Luke's hands and placed two stands of lights in them. Luke's eyes grew wide.
"No, I am not helping you decorate. You may or may not remember that I run a diner."
"Must've slipped my mind. Untangle please."
"No, you don't understand. I didn't sign up for decorating when I agreed to help you find a tree. In fact, I didn't agree to cart it home or set it up for you, so now you owe me." Lorelai decided to change her tactic, since bluntness was obviously not working.
"Please Luke," she asked sweetly, pulling the lights back to her, "But, if you really don't want to, I can just decorate all by myself. I'll just turn on the TV so it sounds like someone else is here, maybe to some old show like 'Leave it to Beaver,' and revel in what it was like to have people around the house. And, don't feel bad for me, because I understand that you have stuff to do…"
"Jeez, for the love of God, give me the lights."
"No, Luke, that's okay. You don't have to feel sorry for me. I will just decorate alone, in the dark, childless-"
"Lorelai," he groaned, "do you ever stop talking?"
"Do I really have to answer that question?"
"No, don't think I'm ready to listen to the answer. I'll start to untangle the lights then."
The two of them worked in silence for awhile, Luke untangling the lights and Lorelai dressing up the mantle. When Lorelai couldn't stand the silence anymore, she popped in the Christmas mixed CD that Lane gave her as a gift, and sang along with Bono, Elvis, Johnny Ramone, and, of course, The Waitresses. Luke tried to look sour while she serenaded him, but every so often, she caught his gaze soften. After he untangled all the lights, Lorelai managed to convince him to put the outdoor lights up while she decorated the tree. Luke grumbled, but deep down, she could tell that Luke would rather be helping her out than go back to the diner.
After another hour, Luke walked into the house rubbing and blowing into his hands. It was starting to grow colder outside. He managed to put up the lights quickly, a task he had helped the Gilmore girls with before. In the living room, Lorelai was putting the finishing touches on the tree with tinsel placed here and there. It was funny that she placed one stand at a time on each branch.
"Looks good," he said, coming in close behind her. She jumped a bit at the sound of his voice. She heard him come in, but he made her jump all the same. Her entire focus had been on perfecting the tree.
"Thanks stranger. How goes the lights?"
"On and working."
"Great, I want to go see them later. But now, we must focus on the tree. More or less tinsel?"
"I think you have enough."
"Then I am finally done!" She exhaled loudly and made her way over to the couch to crash. Luke went into the kitchen and returned with two beers before he sat down next to Lorelai. She rested her head on the back of the couch, her head pointed to the tree.
"I love Christmas," she said when she felt Luke's weight next to her, "but it can take it out of you."
"The house looks good though. Interesting decorations," he said, handing her the beer.
"Rory and I collect ornaments when ever we go somewhere unique or find something interesting. Makes for a pretty eclectic tree." Both Lorelai and Luke rested their heads on the back of the couch and listened to the music. Lane's CD was over and they heard crooning Frank Sinatra come on. Lorelai had always loved Sinatra, possibly one of the few things she had in common with her mother. This CD she found while rummaging in a store with Rory and Lane was the exact same as the one her mom put on when Lorelai unwrapped her gifts on Christmas Day. Funny how you remember things like that.
"My dad liked Sinatra," Luke simply stated, breaking the train of her thought.
"Really?" she asked, secretly hoping he would say more. He didn't talk about his father much, and Lorelai always found herself wanting to hear more about his family. Maybe because his home life seemed so different than hers. 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,' filled the darkened room, lit only by the twinkle lights on the tree and mantle.
"Yeah, we had a Sinatra Christmas record that my dad was attached to and we started listening to it Thanksgiving after dinner. He didn't stop playing it until Liz and I went to bed on Christmas Day. Jeez, I used to have that record memorized. I used to be so sick of it when Christmas Day came along" Lorelai smiled at nostalgic Luke. His lips curved up in return.
"Did your mom go all out for Christmas?"
"Uh, yeah, she did. Dad used to say that it was her holiday. Everything was so perfect; the food, the presents, the wrapping, the decorations. You know, it's funny. You reminded me of her when I saw you putting on the tinsel." Lorelai felt her grin grow a little shy and her cheeks redden.
"Why is that?"
"Well, she used to put it on one strand at a time. I never met anyone else who did that until I saw you tonight. When Liz and I were little, we used to want to help decorate the tree and Mom gave us the job of holding the tinsel while she put it on one by one." Lorelai felt her heart pounding for the second time that day. She felt the unnatural desire to lace her fingers in his while she listened to him speak. Her feelings scared her a bit. What's going on with you, Lorelai? You and Luke are just friends. You don't have these kinds of feelings for friends. Get a grip!
"Sorry, I'm probably boring you with all that talk about my parents."
"No, Luke. I liked hearing about it." Her hand reached out and found his, covering it lightly. She surprised herself and shivered a bit, hoping that Luke didn't notice. She wondered if he noticed her heaving breathing or heard her beating heart. Luke laughed nervously.
"You okay?" he asked, shaken himself by Lorelai's hand on his.
"Um, yeah, of course." Say something, Lorelai. Cover your tracks. "It's just, um, my neck. Yeah, I think I hurt my neck a bit when the boxes fell on me." Okay, good lie, he may leave you alone. What the hell is going on with me? One minute, Luke and I are all chummy, and the next I am feeling weak in the knees. Okay, I guess I would be lying if I said that Luke and I didn't have 'moments' before. How is it that I didn't notice the mood before? The lights, the music. No wonder my heart is beating so fast.
"Uh, let me see it." Crap! Luke reached for the lamp, letting Lorelai's hand fall. He guided her shoulders, making her turn away from his face. She felt his hand brush her neck, then rest at her nape. Get a grip Danes, nothing is going to happen. You are just going to see if anything is wrong with her neck. He applied pressure at different areas around her neck, but Lorelai was silent. She was glad he couldn't see her face. The sensation of his hand on her neck was almost unbearable. She and Luke were definitely crossing lines here, but she was still fuzzy on what had prompted these sudden different feelings for her friend. What inside of her had changed in an instant? What made her see Luke differently now? Was it the lights, the tree shopping, or the reminiscing? Lorelai found herself having to remind herself to breathe.
"Did I find the spot yet?" Luke asked, having a hard time concentrating with her skin in contact with his.
"Ah, yeah. Um, right there." Luke began to rub and Lorelai found herself leaning into it. I still don't know what's going on with me or why I am feeling this, but God, this feels good. Luke's hand brushed her curls away, the softness unnerved Luke. Sinatra was still filling the room, but it felt so far away to him. Get your hands off her before you do something rash. Luke still wasn't sure what had changed in the matter of a few seconds. One moment, he was talking to Lorelai to his parents, the next he was rubbing her neck. Was he just imagining her leaning into his touch? Was he only picturing her eyes closed?
"Better?" Luke asked, managing to find voice to speak, "I really should go help close."
"Okay," she said warily, suddenly not wanting Luke to go. Lorelai turned to face him, even though it was now hard to make out his features in the dark. "Are, uh, we still on for Christmas Eve?"
"Yeah, of course." Luke brushed off his jeans and started to get up, but felt Lorelai's hand on his arm pulling him back down on the couch. Oh, my God. What the hell did you just do? What is Luke going to think of you now?"
"Lorelai?" he questioned, saying her name in a tone she had rarely heard him use, but, at the same time, sounded familiar in her ears. It was both confusing and exhilarating.
"Sorry, that's one good arm. Who knew flannel could be so soft?" She tried to sound funny, she really did, but her voice quavered and she didn't even believe her self. Instead of getting up, like she thought he would, his hand found her face in the dark, brushing curls away from her eyes. Jeez, what are you thinking, Danes?
"What are you doing?" she asked Luke, her voice quite and shaking. She was still trying to process what was happening. His thumb now rubbed her cheek gently, slowly making its way down to her lips. Lorelai felt like her heart was going to explode.
"I don't…know," he laughed nervously, "Trying something, I guess." Luke leaned in closer, thumb now rubbing just below her lips. He brushed her nose slightly and Lorelai found herself leaning into him. She felt nervous as she felt Luke's hot breath on her face. Luke took the final plunge and his lips brushed Lorelai's, leaving him wanting more.
DING DONG! It took Lorelai a second to realize that her doorbell was ringing. This was followed by Taylor's voice calling out a song and the group with him singing Silent Night. Their foreheads were touching. Both were breathing heavy. Luke as if he suddenly realizing what he was doing, pulled apart fast and got up.
"I really need to get back to, uh…"
"The diner?" she supplied, even though the only thing going through her head was Oh my God, oh my God.
"Yeah, that. See you later?"
"Ha, yeah. Coffee."
"Okay," he laughed nervously again and made his way to the front door.
"Wait," she called, "go out the back."
"Yeah, uh Taylor."
"And gang."
"Night," he said quickly and walked to the kitchen.
"Goodnight," Lorelai whispered back, not sure if she had just screwed up her friendship with Luke or not. Terrified, but excited at the same time. She lay down on the couch after hearing the door shut, hoping Taylor and the carolers would get the hint and go away. She wasn't in the mood for Christmas anymore. What did I almost just do?
A/N: Well, what did you think? I know things may have gone a little fast, but I don't want this story to be too long. I decided to move the romance along. Hope it was to your liking. Please click on the purple button and drop me a review if you want. I would love to hear what you think or suggest. I shower the love on all my reviewers. Merry Christmas. In the desert, we decorate a cactus…j/k but its funny to revel in these stereotypes.