Follow the Leader
One Shot
Disclaimer: I do not own this. The end.
Summary: People always leave. Maybe the problem is that he just never followed… LL
A/N: I wrote this sometime last summer, I think. I just found it, and figured, hey why not? It's a One shot. It has a happy ending, and isn't that what we need now a days? So, yes... Please review.
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It all happened so fast. One moment they were eating dinner together and she got a call from her father. The next moment, he was driving her to airport.
Every night, he lies in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if he did the right thing. Maybe he shouldn't have told her to go. Maybe he shouldn't have let her leave.
But then he thinks about the great opportunity she had. He thinks about how guilty he would have felt for making her stay. He thinks about how she might have resented him for not letting her go. He thinks about how heartbroken he would have been if she went anyway, after he asked her not to
He knew letting her go was the right thing to do.
But, maybe he should have followed her.
-
She never asked him to go. So, sometimes he thinks it wouldn't have been a good idea to ask.
What would he do in Europe, anyway?
It wasn't permanent yet. So, maybe she'd come home. Maybe she wouldn't like it. Maybe she wouldn't want to travel, and work for Mike Armstrong. Maybe she wouldn't sell the Inn and leave him.
Maybe she'd stay.
Or maybe she wouldn't. Maybe she like all of it.
But, what would he do?
He couldn't just let her leave, could he? They couldn't have a long distance relationship, like that, could they? Would she want to?
Would she meet someone while she was there? Would she forget about him?
Would she ask him to come with her? Would he follow her if she asked?
He had to, right? How could he stay here, without her?
And what about Rory? Would Lorelai really leave Rory?
Would she really leave him?
-
He was used to people leaving him. He was used to being left behind. It was nothing new to him.
His mother left, before he even really knew her.
Rachel left him with some pictures, some memories, and broken heart.
His father left him with a Hardware store, and a broken sister.
Liz left him for the father of her child, who they both knew, would never be there for her in the way he should be.
Rachel left him again for a job in New Mexico and a chance to get away from the small town he had never left.
Rachel left again with a stupid explanation that actually wasn't so stupid.
Jess left him with a summer of not talking to Lorelai, and Rory's broken arm.
Jess left again without an explanation, and a broken-hearted girl, who Luke almost thought of as a daughter.
Nicole left him for a sock man with a dent-proof car.
And now, Lorelai had left.
It wasn't permanent, yet. Yet.
Lorelai was out living a dream. Luke was waiting by the phone.
It was all too familiar.
-
She calls a lot. She tells him that she misses him.
She says she sleeps in his flannel shirt every night. She says she thinks about him a lot.
She says she misses his coffee, and his pie. She says she misses his bed, and watching late night TV with him.
She says her toothpaste misses the shelf in his bathroom. She says she's cold at night without him beside her. She says she can't wear bracelets anymore, because she has no one to help her put them on.
She says that she can't wait to come home. She says she can't wait to see him. She says she can't wait to show him the new dress she bought. She says she can't wait to make him do tons of ridiculous things, because the dress is that short and looks that good on her.
She says she's already made a list.
Sometimes he thinks she just says those things to make him feel better.
-
"Hello?"
"Luke?"
"Lorelai?"
"Hey." She says, as if she's breathing a sigh of relief. "I need you to do me a favor?"
"Lorelai…"
"Please, Luke?"
"What is it?" He asks.
"Just go check the house." She tells him.
"What?"
"I think I left the door unlocked."
"You've been gone two weeks and now you think you left the door unlocked?" Sometimes he just can't believe this woman. Sometimes he isn't sure why he's so in love with her.
"Yes."
"What do I see in you?" He asks, out loud.
"Can you please check?" She asks, like she's in a hurry, and can't talk long. That makes his stomach hurt a little.
"Why are you so worried? You leave the door unlocked all the time." He asks, just trying to keep her on the phone longer. He misses hearing her voice.
"Yeah, but never for long, long periods of time. Kirk has probably started using it for an office for God knows whatever new job he has this week."
"Telemarketer." Luke answers, without missing a beat.
"Great." She replies, with a sigh.
"He called last night wondering if I wanted a subscription to Golfer's Weekly." Luke continues, still trying to prolong their conversation.
"You and my father could read it together. Make a club. Have membership cards." She tells him.
"Can't wait." He replies, again without missing a beat.
"Are you going over?" She asks, with that hurried voice again.
"Yeah, I'll check tonight." He tells her.
"Luke…" She whined.
"Fine, I'm going right now." He says. They both knew he'd give in.
"Bye."
"Bye."
-
He walked up her drive way. He hadn't been to her house since she left. He hadn't even looked at it since then.
It just brought back memories that he didn't want. It just made him think about things he didn't want to think about.
He reached for the door knob, and it opened. Two weeks it had been unlocked. Leave it to Lorelai.
Sometimes he just couldn't believe that woman. Sometimes he wondered why he loved her so much.
She left the door unlocked. Her version of cooking was putting a Pop-Tart in the toaster. She always lost things and left things places. She used her car light as a porch light. She didn't keep anything remotely healthy in the house. Half the time he didn't know what she was talking about.
Yet, he loved her. He loved her despite all of those things. He loved her for all of those things.
Maybe, some things were just never meant to be understood.
He walked inside.
-
"Damn. I knew I left it unlocked." She says, from the couch, still staring at the TV screen.
He thinks he must be dreaming. He isn't moving. He's staring at her. What the hell?
"What are you-"
She turns the TV off and gets up to see him. "I missed you." She informs him, with a shrug. She puts her arms around him and hugs him.
His arms did the same. "But what about Mike Armstrong?"
"What about him?" She asks, like she has no idea.
"The job. It's a great opportunity." He says, like he has being saying the past few weeks.
"So?" She asks him.
"So?" He asks, in disbelief.
"Luke, I don't want to sell the Inn. I don't want to leave you or Rory or this town. I'd miss it too much."
"But-" He can't believe this. He has to be dreaming. SHe's really here? He's really holding her?
"Two weeks was too long to go without you or Rory or coffee… How would I survive months of doing it?" She asks him. He can't give her an answer.
He sighs. "I don't know." He tells her with a smile.
"I missed you." She tells him, leaning in for a kiss.
He pulls away. "I would have followed you, you know." He tells her. He thinks it has to be said. She has to know. He doesn't want her to not take the job because she misses him. He wants her to not take it only if that's what she really wants. "I'd follow you, anywhere."
She smiles at him, and kisses him again.
Then, she pulls away.
"Luke?"
"Hm?"
"Will you follow me to the kitchen, because I'm starving."
-
There you go. It's just something I found while going through all my files. I hope you guys liked it.
Please let me know. It takes just a few seconds, and it pretty much makes my day. My life is pathetic, isn't it?
Well, time for my math project. Woo... I get to scale a crayon box. Lucky me.
Oh, also, if you guys have any ideas for One Shots, I'd love to hear them. A lot of my stories are ending, and I need some more ideas. I'm going to start writing another story soon, about Lorelai and Luke in the beginning, where Lorelai knows Luke's Dad and stuff... but I'd still like some ideas for One Shots or even like two or three parters. So, yes, if you have any, let me know and maybe I'll write it.
Don't forget to review. Thanks.