Chapter Four: Snow White and Blush Red

She walked through the white streets of town with a thermic cup of coffee in her hand and a smile plastered on her face. She loved it when it snowed, and she loved it even more when it snowed in Stars Hollow. Having it covered in snow gave it the look of a fairytale town. She recalled winter days when she was a little girl, remembering how she and her mom built hideous snow men and threw snow balls at one another. In her mind she recalled those nights when her mom woke her up, smiling so widely, telling her it's snowing outside. She almost never missed the first snow of the season, and her smile faded a bit when she realized she's been missing it for the last three years.

Her cheeks and nose were rosy from the cold, but she didn't mind. She took another sip of her coffee, feeling the warmth of it sliding through her slim, frozen body. In her eyes she saw her destination getting closer and closer.

She heard muffled voices of horses coming from the stables, and she was thrilled. It was just so special, this place. She pulled the front door open and entered. It was so silent inside. She wasn't surprised, though, as it was barely even 7am. She figured not everyone had trouble sleeping, like she did. She walked around for around, her eyes glittering both with joy and from the reflection of glittery decorations all around her, then walked into her mother's office. She stood in the entrance for a few moments, then walked inside. On her mom's desk she saw a pile of Ivory napkins with the names Luke and Lorelai engraved on them with golden letters. On one corner of the room she saw a big picture of mom and Luke, and she chuckled. Her mom looked so deliriously happy while Luke looked totally flushed and uncomfortable. She sat down on her mother's office chair and laid back, closing her eyes.

She really missed this place.

-

Luke was already at the diner when he woke up. He went down the stairs in black baggy pants and a t-shirt on top of a long-sleeved shirt and entered the diner carefully. He had no idea who might be there.

He looked around. Fortunately, he saw no familiar faces. Only Kirk, and he already figured out he would be there. The guy was always in the diner. He was there when he lived in Stars Hollow, he was there when he came back and he was there when he came back again.

And now, there he was, and Kirk was still there. Jess couldn't help but smirk a little. As sad as it was, it was actually kind of funny.

Coming out of the kitchen with a plate in his hand, Luke slowed down when he saw Jess.

"Hey," he greeted, then placed the plate on the counter. "Hey." Jess replied back.

Luke took a few steps to Jess's direction until he faced him completely. He put his hands in his pockets and looked up at his nephew. "Did you sleep well?" He asked.

Jess nodded. "Yeah," and a moment of silent later he added "Thanks, again."

Luke took a deep breath and exhaled as he shook his head. "It's not a problem, really."

The two faced each other for a few moments, none of them saying nothing.

"Hold on a second, will you?" He suddenly told Jess, then turned to look at Caesar, who was in the kitchen, cooking. "Caesar, cover for me for ten minutes, will you?" he called to his direction, and he turned around and gave him thumbs up. Luke took the plate he formerly placed on the counter in his hand and went to one of the tables, motioning Jess to follow him.

And he did.

Luke places the plate in front of a woman, then turned to Jess. He gestured at a random empty table. "Shall we?" Luke asked, and Jess just shrugged. He sat down, and Luke did, too.

"So." Luke crossed his arms against the table. "How are you?"

Jess gazed down at the table and smirked. Luke seemed nervous. He could tell, he knew the man. He knew his expressions and he knew how to recognize when he was nervous or mad or hiding something. "Everything's fine." He looked up.

Luke gave him a sole nod. "That's good to know," he started, "Now, how are you?" he emphasized his last word, looking straight at Jess.

"I'm fine, too."

Luke nodded. "How's work?"

"Fine." Jess replied.

"Good." Luke nodded again. "Anything new?" He asked, "Are you... dating... someone, or..."

"No," Jess looked down and shook his head, a small smile on his face, "No."

"Okay." Luke said, and the conversation – if you could call it that – between them went silent again.

Luke strummed his fingers against the table, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence. Jess, at the meantime, looked around the diner again, examining it. He couldn't do it last night, but now at daylight, he could. Just like at the apartment, nothing really changed around it. Even the specials board stayed the same. Luke was one strange person, he thought. His life get all turned around, but his habitat and business stay exactly the same.

"So you finally caved for a Christmas wedding, huh?" He broke the silence, looking away and then back at Luke, a smirk still plastered to his lips.

"Shut up." Luke glared at him.

He raised an eyebrow at his uncle. "You're Lorelai's bitch. You're aware of it, right?"

"I'm not Lorelai's..." Luke burst, feeling his face burning up and his cheeks turning red. He stopped and took a deep breath, "I didn't care, she did, end of story."

"Still doesn't make you any less of a bitch." Jess stated.

Luke leaned closer, glaring at Jess. "You just got here. You want me to already with you were gone?"

Jess's raised both his eyebrows, amused, letting his eyes do the talking.

"Fine," Luke sighed, "Fine. So I'm Lorelai's bitch, so what?" He leaned back, "And tell you what? I enjoy it! I enjoy being her bitch. Here! Does that make you happy?"

"Delirious." Jess replied.

His comments could really get on his nerves sometimes, but Luke he had to admit, he really liked having Jess over. He knew exactly who was the person to lie beneath the sarcasm, although sometimes it seemed like this guy was impossible to figure out. But he was smart, and he did care. And he was family.

When the silence returned, this time as a truce of some sort, Luke wondered if he should tell him about Rory. He figured Jess would have a better clue of Rory being in town than maybe Rory had. But was getting into it necessary? Rory was always a touchy subject with Jess. He knew what he felt about her. He didn't know if he still felt the same way after two years of having no contact with her, but it still wouldn't be the nicest thing to bring up, especially just a few hours after Jess came over. He didn't want to scare him away.

He sighed. Glancing at his wrist watch, he saw his ten minutes were coming to an end. "I should get back to work." He muttered, and Jess nodded as Luke got up.

Jess got up as well and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Luke called after him, and Jess turned back and shrugged. "Just... a walk."

Luke nodded. "Okay."

"Talk more later?" Jess asked, or maybe even suggested, just as he opened the door.

Luke's eyes widened with surprise. "Yeah," he said with a small smile, "Sure."

Jess nodded again and walked out the door as Luke stared after him. It took time, but things would get good, he knew.

He hoped.