The other day I found myself wishing that Luke HAD gone into Ms. Patty's party that night... so here's my version.
Everyone began swaying slightly as Ms. Patty launched into her rendition of Frank Sinatra's "Coffee Song." Lorelai Gilmore smiled slightly at the mention of her favorite beverage, but she had something else eating at her mind. She glanced at Sookie, then saw something outside. She leaned closer to see that he was standing out in the cold, waiting for her.
"I'll be right back," she muttered to Sookie, setting down her drink.
She closed the door softly behind her, partially blocking the noise from the crisp night air. She pulled her jacket closer to herself and stepped gracefully, as always, down the stairs. The apology was evident in her eyes.
"Hey…" she half-whispered.
"See, there's a reason I stay away from people on this particular day - it's 'cause i kinda suck."
"Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. I should have stayed out of it. You were right, I didn't think. I mean, I didn't think like you would think. I thought like I would think. And my thinking is sometimes very, very wrong if you're not me, and occasionally if you are me -"
He cut her off with a sweet kiss. "You just keep thinkin' like you think."
"I can do that." She smiled brightly at him. "Do you wanna come in? You can get drunk just standing next to the punch bowl.
"Yeah, okay."
She looped her arm through his and they quietly slipped back into the party. Luke glanced around nervously, but no one seemed to have noticed the new arrival.
"Hey Sookie," she whispered when she reached the front again, dragging Luke behind her.
Patty finished her song with a flourish and looked out into the crowd. "That was one of the very first songs that I performed on Broadway. You see -" She paused in her story. "Luke? What are you doing here?"
Everyone suddenly noticed that the invisible man had finally shown up on his infamous Dark Day. He pulled his arm away from Lorelai and stuffed his hands in his pockets. She had forgotten that no one had seen him on this day in quite a long time. She closed her eyes in regret and breathed in deeply.
"Well, well, well!" announced Kirk. "Luke has finally shown his face on his darkest day of the year!"
"Kirk!" she yelled, aggravated.
"I believe, my fellow townsmen, that Lorelai Gilmore has finally unveiled the evil within him! Now she unleashes it on us? What is this town coming to!"
"Shut up!" Lorelai almost tackled him, but Luke grabbed her arm to restrain her, while trying to keep in his own frustration.
"I think Luke's evilness is starting to spread!" cried Kirk in exasperation. Luke gladly let go of her and she jumped threateningly at Kirk. "I'm sorry!" he yelped.
About an hour later, things had started to calm down. Lorelai made her way back through the crowd to Patty's couch at the back of the studio, where he sat. She folded her legs under her on the couch and handed him a drink. He took a sip, then made a face.
"Not your thing?" she asked lightly.
"Not really."
"Hmmm…" she muttered several inaudible words and laid her head softly on his shoulder.
Her gesture relaxed him. He draped an arm casually around her shoulders.
"Luke?" she asked softly.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about your dad." she whispered soothingly into his ear. He gave no response except to pull her into his lap. She smoothed down a stray hair and looked sympathetically into his blue eyes. "You miss him, don't you?"
For the first time in her life, she saw tears spring to his eyes. He nodded quietly and she hugged him tightly. "I'm sooo, so sorry, honey." She could feel the wet tears make contact with her warm skin. He held her close and cried for the first time in many moons. As he started to calm, she pulled away. Thankfully, no one had noticed his meltdown. Before she could think, he had kissed her. This light and thankful gesture turned quickly into a passionate kiss. Soon, they were surrounded by the many patrons of Stars Hollow. All they could think about was the glorious feeling. Their tongues danced in graceful motions, but they soon broke apart for air.
His head was spinning - he hadn't meant for that to happen. But on this day, of all days, his emotions were so mingled, that he couldn't really think anyway. Love, anger, mourning… all of these thoughts played over and over again in his head… and then, as the dizziness and lack of oxygen subsided, he looked up at her again. Her gorgeous blue eyes were opened wide in curiosity, her head cocked slightly to the right. His expression didn't quite match… hehad kissed her, but the frown andthe tear stains greatly confused the townspeople.
Lorelai stood and put on her coat, then gently took his hand and led him through the crowd. He followed her blindly, walking in a daze, unaware of the inquiries being asked of him. He saw only one thing… the person leading him back to the diner and upstairs to his apartment. She carefully removed his clothes and helped him into his sweatpants and a green t-shirt. She guided him to the bed and he laid down, still not speaking. She crawled under the covers on the other side and turned to face him. for the first time in twenty minutes, he spoke.
"I love you."
That night, for the first time since his father's death, Luke Danes had cried himself to sleep. The only difference was that his comfort and support was stronger than he ever could have imagined.