A/N: Short, very short, I know. But at least it's something. And hopefully enough to get the story rolling again. I really should probably have more of an outline when I start these things, but I never end up following them anyway.

Also, I hate to beg, but please review with some feedback. I've got almost 500 hits, but only 15 reviews. Come on. I could really use the feedback, and it really would make me write more often.

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Disclaimer: I don't own it

"So…" Rory stared across the table at Dean expectantly.

"So…" He repeated.

After a few moments of silent eye-contact, Rory looked down at the coffee mug in her hands. It was empty.

"So," she began again, "I'm going to go get a refill. I'm hoping that when I get back we'll be able to have a real conversation." She got up and went over to wait in line. She looked around her and took in her surroundings. This really was a pretty nice coffee place. The decorations were nice, the service was fast, and, most importantly, the coffee was good. She got her refill and headed back over to the table.

Another few moments of silence passed.

"Why is this so awkward?" She asked. "We were doing fine yesterday. Why is it weirder today?"

"I think that yesterday's conversation was fueled by the shock of seeing each other again." Dean guessed.

"But this shouldn't be weird. It's not like we've never been in this situation before. We've always managed to stay friends after… well, everything. Can't we now?"

"I hope so."

---

"So, what do you think of these colors?"

Luke glanced at the palette Lorelai was holding in her hands before grunting that they were nice.

"Come on, Luke! A little more emotion would be nice."

He settled back further onto the couch in his apartment. "Lorelai, you've been selecting color schemes for everybody's houses for over a week now. It was kind of amusing at first, but now… not so much."

"These aren't for anyone's house, Luke."

"Then what are they for?"

Lorelai grinned at him. "They're for our wedding."

That got his attention.

"What?"

"Yeah. This one would be the color of the table settings, this is the color I want for the flowers, and maybe this color here for the bridesmaid dresses. So, what do you think?"

"When I see you walking down the aisle towards me, I can guarantee you I won't even notice the color of the tablecloths."

Lorelai smiled, and leaned in for a kiss.

"But what about the dresses?" She asked jokingly as she pulled away.

Luke just ignored the question and pulled her onto his lap before pressing his lips to hers again.

---

Rory looked at Dean, noticing the slight lines beside his eyes from his laughter. They were cute. She smiled at him and placed her hand gently over his.

"See?" She smiled wider. "This is how it should be. We have fun together. We always have, and we should still be able to."

"Yeah." Dean had stopped laughing, because once she touched his hand, he was having enough trouble just breathing. He settled for a goofy smile, happy to be sitting there with her. He knew that all she wanted was friendship, and he was willing to take what he could get. Why did I ever break up with her? He wondered, before the image of her standing with all those rich, Ivy League guys at her grandmother's house. He remembered that she had told him at their last coffee "date," that she had ended up seeing that blonde guy, but that they had just broken up because he was cheating on her. What an idiot! Who would cheat on someone this incredible? Yeah, I cheated with her, and that was bad… but to cheat on her?

When he tuned back into the conversation he caught the tail end of something Rory was saying before she started laughing again. He gave a little chuckle too, so she wouldn't realize he hadn't really been listening. He needed to wait until she was gone to start daydreaming about her. He wanted to make the most of the time actually spent with her.

"So… Friends?" Rory asked with a shy, unsure smile.

Dean nodded and squeezed her hand that was still lying on top of his.

"Friends."

---

Luke woke up and blinked, barely making out the figure curled up against his body. He smiled at her dozing figure and took the opportunity to just look at her. He used to always sneak little looks at her when she wasn't paying attention, and now, he didn't have to. She was his, and he could look at her all he wanted, but it was nice sometimes to be able to watch her while she was sleeping. He loved her crazy talk as she bustled about him throughout the day, but he liked to watch her once in a while like this too—when she couldn't make and little jokes to ruin the moment.

He slowly began to stroke her hair, twisting it absentmindedly in hi fingers, loving the soft feel of every individual strand. He took a deep breath and smelled her sweet perfume. He kissed her gently on the top of her head, before he felt her stir.

"Good morning," she yawned.

"It's not actually morning. We fell asleep on my couch. You haven't even had dinner yet."

Her stomach growled.

Luke laughed at her timing. "I should have known you'd have realized that soon anyway." Lorelai smiled back at him and kissed him quickly on the lips before getting up to find some coffee. It may not have been morning, but she still had that drowsy, just-woken-up feeling.

As Luke got up to help her, thinking how great it felt to wake up next to her, he realized: I'm going to get to wake up with her every day… for the rest of my life.

He grinned wider and made Lorelai a full pot of coffee without any complaints.

---

Rory glanced quickly at her rear-view mirror, laughing at what she saw. Dean's car. Following her. It had been for a while, and it would be for a while more; they were both heading back to Star's Hollow after all. Why have we been getting coffee out here, when we could have just talked at Luke's or something in town? How could I have forgotten that we live so close to each other?

Dean was laughing in his car as well. He honked jokingly and yelled something out the window. Rory couldn't' hear what he said, but she honked back anyway.

Once they arrived back home, Rory pulled the car over and waited for Dean to follow suit.

"I just wanted to say, that I had a really nice time chatting with you today, Dean."

"Yeah, me too."

"Well, I was hoping we could keep this up. I really meant it when I said I wanted to be friends with you. Why don't we make the coffee-place visits a regular thing? I've missed you lately. You're so easy to talk to."

"I'd really like that," Dean agreed, his heart still hung up on "I've missed you."

Dean stuck out his hand to shake on it, and seal the deal, but Rory leaned in closer and pulled him in for a hug instead. She wrapped her arms around her neck, and he put his around her waist, marveling at how perfectly they fit. He gave her a quick "friendly" squeeze before he jumped into his car and drove off to his house.

He had to get out of there before he admitted something that Rory wouldn't want to hear…

Would she?