When she and Luke had been apart, Lorelai had claimed she had missed him forcing her to watch baseball games. Right now she wasn't sure why, exactly, she had missed that. She'd fought Luke over what to watch for ten minutes before she had given up and taken up residence on one end of the couch with paperwork from the inn on her lap, her glasses perched on her nose and her legs across Luke's lap.
Every once in a while she could feel Luke glance over at her and away from the game before softly rubbing random circles on her legs.
"Hey," she finally said, glancing at the game on TV and then at Luke, nudging his thigh with her foot.
"What?" he asked, his eyes focused on the screen even as he turned his head in her direction. The announcer said something Lorelai didn't understand, Luke groaned, and his eyes finally came to rest on hers.
"I don't understand baseball," she told him.
"I know that," he assured her. "Believe me, I learned that when I tried to watch the '04 series with you around."
"Oh, hush," she teasingly rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure she would never live down the questions she had asked him during the Yankee — Red Sox World Series.
"Although, I have to admit," Luke went on, clearly ignoring her request to hush, "I think you would be highly entertaining at a game."
She raised her eyebrows at him. "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not."
"Sure, take it as one," he said with an evasive shrug, turning back to the TV before turning to smirk at her.
"Mean," she said, giving his leg a push with her foot. "Hey, did you, uh… how did April like the game I got you tickets for? Or did you not take her?"
"Oh," Luke realized, turning to focus on Lorelai again, serious this time. "Yeah, I took her. It was great. You were right, she's not really a sporting event kind of kid, but she got into it. She bought all this stuff and she was all decked out by the time she got home. She said she likes the team now because I do," Lorelai smiled softly at that, "and we had a good time. It was actually… that day was the first time she called me dad."
Lorelai smiled and sat up a bit, putting the cap on her pen. "I wanted to know more about how that happened so badly," she admitted, excited to finally be broaching the subject.
Luke grinned at her. "Okay, so we were at the game," he began, clearly as eager to share this story with her as she was to hear it. "And we were just talking. We were talking about you, actually, she asked why you weren't around and if our break up was her fault--"
"Yeah," Lorelai interrupted, "she mentioned something about that to me. I had a thought when I was talking to her at the diner that day and I wanted to assure her I hadn't been avoiding her and she said you explained it all to her."
"I did. I tried to, anyway… it was pretty complex. But anyway we were talking, then this guy selling cotton candy comes by…"
"Ahh, see, there is a reason to go to baseball games."
"So she looked and me and she said, 'Dad, can we get some?'"
Lorelai put a hand over her heart, touched by the story. "Just like that?"
Luke nodded. "Just like that. I didn't realize what she had said at first. I started going on about how bad cotton candy is for you--"
Lorelai held her hands out in a knowing gesture. "Of course."
"Then her words caught up with me. But it didn't seem weird, it seemed… normal. I think that's why it took me a minute to realize what she had said."
"Aww, Hon," Lorelai said with a sigh. "I'm so glad this has gone so well for the two of you."
"It is a little strange, though, you know?" he shrugged. "There's suddenly a teenager calling me Dad. I mean, she came out of nowhere… and I'm her dad."
Lorelai sighed. "I hate that you lost all that time with her. Especially when you're so good with her, and I've seen you with Rory and Jess... you're good with them, too."
"Anna didn't think I'd want to be a part of it," Luke explained with a shrug.
"But how could she think that?" Lorelai protested adamantly. "I would have never, ever thought that if it had been me."
"Well, you know me. I mean, I kind of give off that impression to other people… and I was younger then, too, it was probably even worse back then."
"Oh, come on," Lorelai protested. "We've known each other what, ten years now, right? That means April was probably about two at the time we met. And even when we first met I could see the kind of guy you really were. I find it hard to believe you could have changed that much in only two or three years."
"I guess."
She watched him for a moment, clearly reading his expressions. "Luke, don't blame yourself for missing out on April's life. It wasn't your fault, no matter how you acted. Anna should have told you."
"But I should have--"
"It wasn't your fault, Luke. She was wrong."
Luke nodded. "I just hate that she thought…"
"I know," Lorelai assured him. "It makes me angry," she added. "That someone would keep a father, a good father, away from a kid, especially when… well, look at the father my kid had. And he had every chance to be there. It just makes me mad that someone wouldn't even give you the chance."
"There's nothing we can do about it now," Luke said with a sigh. "And April found me. It's going to be okay."
"That's true," Lorelai said with a soft sigh, thinking of how much Luke had missed. "And in the long run … well, you still have a lot of things to be a part of with her."
There was sudden cheering coming from the TV, and Luke and Lorelai both turned suddenly to see what had happened.
"Looks like your team is losing," Lorelai noted.
"Losing by a long shot," Luke agreed.
"See? I know enough about baseball to know which team is losing."
"Yes, I'm very proud of you for being able to discern that the team with the lower number next to their name is the one that's losing." She shot a playful glare back at him. "They lost when April and I went to the game, too. She was bummed about that until I told her we could go to another one."
"That could be your thing with her, huh? Baseball?"
"I don't know…" Luke shrugged. "She thought it was fun once, but after the thrill of it's gone she'll probably get bored of it."
"I'm willing to bet she won't if you're there."
Luke smiled at her and she smiled back, nudging his thigh with her toe.
"Would you stop with the foot already?" he asked with a grumble, swatting at her feet.
She smirked, knowing the expression on his face. "Why? Causing you to get a little excited?"
"Lorelai… jeez."
She laughed. "I mean, I'd expect this from you if my legs were bare, I know your fascination with my legs, but only the toes are exposed." She wiggled the toes in question at him.
"Never mind," he grumbled with a roll of his eyes as she nudged his thigh again in obvious defiance. "Lorelai…"
She pulled her feet from his lap and sat up, scooting next to him. "Besides, what are you complaining about? Is getting a little excited so bad?" she said in a whisper.
Luke sucked in his breath and looked at her as she leaned in to give him a soft kiss. "But we haven't since…"
"I know," she said, sliding onto his lap and straddling him. "But I think we're ready. Do you?"
He thought about it for a moment. He recalled their conversation just minutes ago, where she had been excited to hear his story about April and he had been excited to tell it, their conversation about Anna and how they had really talked about things that were on their mind. Not to mention the fact that he just really, really wanted her. He nodded as her lips found their way to the sensitive spot beneath his ear. "Yeah, I think… I think we are."
She barely heard his answer as she was intently focused on her task. But she had heard the answer and she moved her lips from his neck to his jaw and finally to his lips. Once she fused her lips to his, it was like she couldn't stop. She attacked him with kisses over and over, moaning when he returned them with equal fervor and giggling when his hands slid under her shirt, rubbing circles on her stomach before slowly making their way higher, causing her giggles to turn into sighs and gasps.
"Upstairs," she whispered against his mouth during one of the brief moments their lips were separated.
"Are you sure?" he asked, breathless, as she got off his lap and stood up, grabbing his hand and pulling him up with her.
"Are you kidding?"
He chuckled at that momentarily before kissing her and backing her towards the stairs. They stumbled up the first few steps, making it onto the landing successfully. Unable to fathom the thought of making it up the rest of the stairs at the moment, Luke backed her into the wall and continued kissing her, trailing his kisses from her lips across her face and down to her neck, where he found the sensitive spot beneath her ear and planted a series of kisses there before he began nibbling and sucking on the skin, causing her to gasp.
"Luke," she moaned between breaths. She felt him chuckle against her skin before resuming his ministrations. "God, you're evil," she muttered as her eyes fluttered closed. The next thing she knew, he was pulling at the back of her thighs, and she took the cue, jumping up slightly and wrapping her legs around him as he held her tightly to him. She squealed in surprise and giggled as he carried her up the rest of the stairs that they never would have made it up otherwise.
He deposited her on the bed and fell down on it with her, as she didn't release the grip she had around his neck, and she immediately sought out his lips again, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around him. They kissed for what seemed like forever, enjoying the fact that they were together again, making up for all the kisses they had missed over the summer. She slid her hands from his neck to his chest, unbuttoning his flannel shirt and sliding it off his shoulders before quickly removing his hat and tossing it in the same direction as his shirt. She giggled slightly at his hair, messed up from having his hat removed so suddenly, but he shut her up with a kiss.
Pulling away momentarily he gazed down into her eyes and she smiled at him softly.
"What?" she asked softly, noticing the intensity in his stare.
"Nothing. I've missed you, that's all," he said, planting a quick kiss on her nose.
"I've missed you too," she said quietly, afraid her voice would crack with emotion if she tried to speak too loudly.
In what typically was Lorelai behavior, Luke attempted to lighten the mood. "Now can we please get rid of your pants so we can start missing those?"
Lorelai let out an amused laugh, always delighted at any slightly dirty comment Luke would make, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh, I don't think we'll be missing them once they're gone, but be my guest," she gave him confirmation before she began sucking on his neck again.
His hand slowly slid to the snap of her jeans, unbuttoning them quickly and tugging the zipper down. She lifted her hips to allow him to slide them down her legs and off her body, tossing them in some unknown direction. She felt her heartbeat picking up a pace ten times faster than was normal accompanied by butterflies in her stomach.
She was nervous, she realized. She couldn't remember ever being nervous, doing this with Luke, except for maybe the first time. Even when they first slept together again after being apart the last time, it had gone so fast, happened so suddenly, that she hadn't had time to think about being nervous as she had a hundred other thoughts going through her head such as, 'Is Luke really here?' and 'Did that really just happen when I opened the door?'
She couldn't figure out what, exactly, was making her nervous this time. Maybe it was because she knew, and she knew he knew, that the last person she had done this with hadn't been him. Maybe it was because it had been five months since they had done this. Maybe it was because she knew Luke was giving her another chance that she didn't really deserve.
"You're nervous," Luke stated suddenly, running his hands over her thighs and up her sides, coming to rest on her hips. He kissed her softly, reassuringly. "It's just me," he told her in a soft, comforting tone.
That made her smile, and already she felt some of the butterflies dissipate. "I know. I just… it's been a while," she admitted.
"I know," he agreed, pausing momentarily to nip at her ear. "Though not as long as the first eight years we went before doing this."
She let out a laugh, feeling slightly less nervous. "You've got a point."
"All I'm thinking about is you," he assured her, somehow knowing that somewhere deep inside her she was worried that with every move he made she was wondering if he was wondering if Christopher had made the same one, most recently. "You and me and us, and that's it."
She let out a sigh. "How do you always know what I'm thinking?" she asked, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair.
"It's a gift," he joked, kissing her lips again gently. "Lorelai, if you're not ready then we don't have to…"
"No, I want to," she said quickly. "I am ready, I'm so ready it's ridiculous," she added. "It's just that for a while there I thought we'd lost this and... I'm bound to be nervous, I feel like it's the first time all over again."
"Well if that's the case we're in luck, because the first time was pretty damn amazing," he said in that low gravely voice that drove her crazy.
She giggled. "Let's see if we can top it," she challenged, tilting her head up to capture his lips with her own, kissing him furiously. "And while we're at it, maybe we can break our record of six times," she winked.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked again, breaking away from the kiss to make sure she was okay. His eyes locked on hers, and she looked back, unable to break the gaze. Luke. This was Luke, and the look of love and adoration in his eyes was enough to reassure her.
"Yes," she said, looking him in the eyes. "I want to be with you." He could see it in her eyes that she was telling the truth and gave her a little nod before breaking the gaze and resuming kissing her. "Six times," she reminded him. "We've gotta get to work."
Her hands found the hem of t-shirt and she tugged it up, forcing him to break the kiss momentarily as she pulled it over his head. He pulled her shirt off in return and she immediately reciprocated by reaching down and unbuttoning his jeans, helping him slide them down his legs.
He settled himself down on top of her, placing his hands at the side of her head, guiding her mouth to his again. They kissed slowly and deeply for a long time, simply enjoying the moment and the presence of each other. She was the first to break the kiss, and she looked up at him with desire in her eyes.
"Luke," she pleaded softly, shifting impatiently beneath him. He took his cue and reached behind her to unclasp her bra, tossing it away from the bed. She laughed when his gaze inevitably dropped to her breasts as soon as the garment was gone. "Missed them I see," she teased, laughing as he kissed his way down her chest. "Mmm," she mumbled when his lips found her breast. "I've missed that."
He chuckled against her, and she let out a moan from the vibrations. He kissed his way back up to her lips, planting a quick kiss on her mouth before pulling back to look in her eyes as his hands trailed down her legs, coming to rest at the waistband of her underwear. He watched her face to make sure that she was okay before sliding the material off of her, and she gave him a broad smile.
He leaned down to kiss beneath her ear. "You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear.
"Thank you," she said softly. He had said these words to her so many times, but she never found them any less satisfying. Maybe it was because the tenderness in his voice and the sincerity and awe with which he spoke them was so unlike the grumpy Luke she had known for so long. She reached down to push off his boxers and grinned at him. "And so are you."
He pressed himself against her again in response and their bodies came together barrier free for the first time in months. They stared at each other for a moment, their gazes locked, a million thoughts running through their minds. Lorelai was the first to sum them all up and vocalize what they were both thinking.
"I love you," she exhaled in a content sigh. Luke ran his hands up her sides and back down to her hips, causing her to shiver.
"I love you too," he replied without missing a beat. He leaned down to give her a soft kiss. "So much."
With that she slid her legs up on his hips and wrapped her hands around his neck, grinning at him before capturing his lips with her own again.
When the kiss broke, he looked down at her, and she gave him a slight nod as confirmation to continue. He slid inside her carefully and watched as she shut her eyes, overcome by the moment. He paused for a moment as they adjusted to the feeling of being connected together again after so long. Lorelai let out a soft sigh.
"Luke," she muttered in contentment, sliding her hands down to his back and rubbing circles over his skin.
"Lorelai," he returned with a smile, and she grinned back at him knowingly. He began to move, slowly at first, her eyes fluttering shut at the feeling. She pushed her hips back at him and he groaned in response. He began to increase the speed of his thrusts as he could see she was in need of more. Her mouth dropped open in pleasure and a moan escaped. "God, Lorelai. So good," he told her, reaching for her left hand and entwining it with his right.
She mumbled something incoherent in response and he let the fingertips of his left hand skim her side. The light touch caused her to gasp and then giggle. Her giggles turned into moans when Luke suddenly shifted and hit a different spot inside her.
"Luke," she gasped breathlessly, raking her nails across his back with her free hand and squeezing her eyes shut. "Oh my God. Don't… don't stop."
He grunted in response, indicating that he couldn't stop if he wanted to. She laughed, partially because she knew exactly what he was saying with his grunt and partially because he felt so good she couldn't take much more, which caused him to laugh in return and it was as if they had never been apart. They were them, just as they always were. Connected together in the most intimate way, laughing and grinning at each other as if there was nothing else in the world but the two of them. And at the moment, there wasn't.
They kept their eyes locked together, realizing how far they had come, how much they loved each other, how much they were willing to bend for each other and how willing they were to forgive each other for screw-ups. They'd gone through so much. Ten years of history, of good and bad, of Luke being wrong and Lorelai being wrong, of Luke messing up and Lorelai messing up, of Luke willing to do anything for her and Lorelai willing to do anything for him, and they still loved each other, needed each other, as much as always.
Their eyes remained locked until Lorelai closed them as she muttered Luke's name over and over as she felt the waves of pleasure wash over her. The feeling of Luke pressed so close to her, his hands runnng over her, while experiencing so much pleasure was quite possibly the best feeling in the world. Luke's thrusts became frantic as he released himself inside of her with a groan only moments later.
Immediately after she felt him pull the blankets around them and she snuggled up into his side, kissing him quickly, over and over. She buried her head in his shoulder as they caught their breath and the next thing she knew, she was crying. Softly at first, but then she began sniffling and letting out shaky breaths. Luke gently rubbed his hand over her back and pulled her closer to him as she cried, seeming to get it. She finally tilted her head up towards him, despite the fact that her tears were completely embarrassing, and he wiped away a tear that was on her cheek.
"Good tears, right?" he asked softly, running a hand through her hair, looking at her as if there was nothing in the world he could love more.
She nodded, reaching up to wipe at her eyes, having composed herself. "Yeah, good tears. I just…" she sighed, not knowing how to explain.
"I know," he assured her, kissing her on the head. She sighed and snuggled down into him, draping a leg over his middle.
"I love you," she said with a happy sigh.
"I love you too," he replied immediately, giving her thigh a squeeze, causing her to smile against his chest.
"Wow," she said, wiping away any remaining tears. "Could I be any more vulnerable?" she joked. "Here I am both naked and crying because I love you so much. Talk about letting someone see all of you."
"You're safe with me," he assured her.
"I know," she said in a whisper, removing her head from his chest and gazing up at him. "That's why I let you see me like this. And not just now but all the time when I'm vulnerable." She placed her head back down on his chest and felt him nod from where her head was resting. "I love this moment," she went on. She'd been unusually quiet during sex, and was apparently making up for this by adapting her chatty behavior afterwards. "I always love this moment, afterwards, when we're like this," she said, gesturing to their position. "I just feel so safe and happy and loved and I could just stay like this forever," she said with a sigh, letting her eyes pop open to sneak a peek at Luke.
"I'd have no complaints about staying like this forever," Luke agreed, letting his hand slide down her arm, rubbing it gently. "We can try and recreate this situation as much as you'd like during the rest of our lives," he teased.
She grinned at him with that smile that he knew only he ever saw–that smile that had always been just for him, even before they had gotten together-- and let out a laugh. "Sounds good," she giggled as she leaned up to kiss him on the lips. "Mmm I don't want to get up. But I should get clothes."
"I strongly disagree," he said, wrapping his arms around her more tightly as if that would stop her from getting up or getting clothes. "I like you like this," he whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver.
"Mmm okay," she agreed, making herself comfortable against him again. "But you're going to be in charge of keeping me warm tonight, then."
He chuckled and gave her a squeeze. "Deal."
xxxxxx
Lorelai awoke the next morning with a strong arm wrapped around her. She had never felt so comfortable, safe, secure, and loved in her life. She'd woken up in Luke's embrace plenty of times, but this time there was something unmistakably different and comforting about it. It was a feeling she would never be able to describe.
She let her eyes open and glanced down at the arm wrapped around her, then turned to find its owner, who was already awake and peering down at her. He smiled at her when she turned to him, and she grinned in response.
"You're here," she observed, her grin getting larger.
"I am," he said with a grin of his own.
"I've missed having you here in the morning," she said. "Especially like this," she added, gesturing to their situation. Even when he had spent the night there, with her, before, she hadn't woken up with him in bed with her.
He chuckled. "I've missed that too," he said, kissing her on the top of her head.
"The bed welcomes you back, also," she teased. "Although I think we kind of wore him out last night."
He chuckled. "Why is the bed a 'him'?"
"Because he doesn't have a name, what else should I call him?"
"No, I mean--"
"We should name our bed!" she said, suddenly excited.
"We're not going to name our bed, Lorelai," he said, shocked. "That's where we... we can't have a name for the place that we..."
"Have sex?" she teased. "Funny, you have no problem having all the sex with me, but you can't say the word 'sex.'"
"We're not naming the place where we have sex," he finished adamantly.
"Well we've had sex on the couch before, and her name is--"
"Don't tell me," he cringed. "I don't want to know."
"Think of how you could confuse people, though!" she laughed. "'Oh, last night was real hot. Me, Lorelai, and Enrique had some fun.'"
"First of all, I would never even say that even without the mention of 'Enrique.' Secondly, Enrique? And what started all this in the first place... why is the bed automatically a 'he'?"
"Because if it's a 'she' that would just be weird on my part."
"And 'he' isn't wierd on my part?"
"Hmm," she pondered that. "Maybe a unisex name."
"Maybe no name at all," Luke suggested.
She turned in his arms so that she was able to kiss him. She kissed him once, twice, quickly on the lips, before securely attaching her lips to his own for a proper good morning kiss.
"Mmm," she mumbled against his lips when they broke away for air. "Morning."
"Good morning."
"Oh, no, we haven't put the 'good' into that saying just yet," she said, giving him a knowing look. She leaned down to kiss his lips quickly, again, before moving her kisses across his jaw and to the area beneath his ear, causing him to groan. "I see someone's still very sensitive right there," she teased, nibbling playfully at the area.
"Lorelai," he groaned.
"Yes?" she teased, muttering into the skin beneath his ear before moving to nibble on his earlobe.
"You're making it awfully hard to--"
"I'm making it awfully hard?" she cut in with an evil grin. "Hmm, Hon, I have to tell you, I don't see the problem with that."
He couldn't help but laugh and rolled them over so that he was on top of her. She squealed in surprise, but then sunk into their new position and looped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss.
"Let's make this a good morning now, shall we?" she giggled.
"I think it already is," he said softly, and she smiled at him lovingly before kissing him again.
After their proper good morning, Luke had only been allowed out of bed when he explained to Lorelai that he was intending on going downstairs to make her breakfast. She'd eagerly allowed him to leave the comfort of their warm bed at that, especially when he told her he would make her whatever she wanted, including chocolate chip pancakes, despite the fact they are so horribly unhealthy and "the exact opposite of the point of breakfast."
She'd toyed with the idea of taking a shower while he was downstairs in the kitchen but decided to hold off on it, thinking that if she waited until after breakfast she could possibly snag some company in the shower. It was so easy, falling back into life with Luke, she realized. She had been nervous momentarily the night before, but that had gone away as fast as it occurred and by morning all of the nerves and hesitation were gone.
They'd had breakfast together, though he had refused to consume anything involving chocolate for himself despite her begging him to eat a chocolate chip pancake, and then he told her he had to get to the diner in time for the lunch rush, which was when she managed to coerce him right into a shower with her, not that it had taken much to persuade him.
Luke had been the man she had ever taken a shower with. Before Luke, no man had ever spent the night at her place, and with other men, she rarely stayed at their places overnight because of Rory. The only person other than Luke she had been with since Rory had been away at Yale was Jason, and he wouldn't even sleep in the same bed with her so she hadn't even considered showering with him as a possibility. She was pretty sure that Luke was unaware of how many things he was the only one to experience with her… the first man she'd had sex with in her house, the first man she took a shower with, the first man she'd ever loved, the first man she didn't run away from, and the only man she had ever considered having another child with. Rory was so special to her that she had never even thought about having another baby at any point in her life, not seriously, until Luke. She realized he should probably know these things. That was part of their whole 'better communication' thing, wasn't it?
"I missed you!" she half-joked that night when she opened the door to reveal Luke. "And what am I going to have to do to get you to stop knocking? I'll do just about anything," she said with a raise of her eyebrows.
"I was gone six hours," he said, focusing on her first question. She shrugged and stood back, gesturing for him to come in. "Come outside with me," he said, rejecting her offer to come in.
"Why?" she asked with a frown.
"Just because. Trust me."
Lorelai shrugged and followed him outside. He took a seat on the top step and she followed his lead, plopping down beside him.
"What's up?" she asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
"I just thought it would be nice out here."
"Sure, I guess so. It's a nice night," she agreed and looked over at the yard then back at him. "So seriously now, what's up?"
"Jeez," he said, pretending to be frustrated with her. "I wanted to ask you something," he admitted.
"Okay." She watched him for a moment as he stared down at the steps before looking up at her. He looked her deep in the eyes for a moment before finding his voice.
"These past few months when we were apart I missed you like I never thought I could miss anyone. We've gone through so much, Lorelai, and we're still here, clawing our way through this. I knew I loved you and wanted to marry you before but now I'm even more convinced, after everything we've made it through, because no matter how bad things got, I still loved you more than I ever thought I could love anyone, and I…will you marry me?"
She couldn't help but laugh when she heard that come out of his mouth. "God, Luke, seriously. What do you think my answer will be to that one, huh?"
"I'm serious," he said with a roll of his eyes, which caused her to giggle again. "Jeez, I'm asking you to marry me and you're laughing."
"I'm not laughing at that, I'm laughing at… the irony of it all."
"Well you're still not answering me," he mumbled. "See? This is why you had to propose the first time."
She chuckled at that, and put a hand on Luke's shoulder gently, giving it a squeeze. "Yes, Luke. Of course I'll marry you." She slid her hand around his neck and pulled him to her for a long kiss. When they broke apart they grinned goofily at each other for a moment before Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out her engagement ring as her eyes widened. "How'd you get that?" she squealed in surprise.
"Well since you kept it--"
She grimaced. "Yeah, I wasn't supposed to do that, was I? I was planning on getting around to returning it one day."
He let her off the hook. "Anyway, your daughter can easily be persuaded to steal from you," he smirked. "Were you really keeping it in the bathroom? Why was it in the bathroom of all places?"
"Why not?" Lorelai asked with a raise of her eyebrows, daring him to question her ideas in engagement ring storage.
Luke sighed. "Sure why not," he repeated her answer with apparent acceptance as she held her left hand out in front of him.
"Well? You asked me to marry you, I said yes."
"I'm serious about this this time, Lorelai," he said seriously, taking her hand and holding it in his own.
"So am I, Luke," she replied in the same serious tone.
"I want to marry you more than anything," he added softly. "I always have."
She nodded, feeling tears pricking at her eyes. "I know that. And the same goes for me."
"I'm not going to be an idiot this time. I'm not going to let this fall apart again. No more postponing, none of that crap. I'm ready. I'm ready to marry you, and we can do it whenever you want. Set a date and it's a deal." She laughed. "And I don't want you to think it has to be soon because everything will fall apart before a date far in the future gets here or anything like that. I'm serious, you set a date, no matter how far in the future, and we will get married on that day. We'll be a normal couple." She laughed again. "So when this goes on your finger," he said with a smile, rubbing her currently bare ring finger gently, "it's not coming off."
She waved her finger at him. "Deal. Bring it on, baby."
He shook his head in amusement and slid the ring onto her finger. She grinned at him and leaned in to kiss him again, moaning softly when she felt his tongue on top of hers. She put her hands onto his face, cupping it gently before they pulled away.
"I get it now," she said gently, sliding closer to him as he slid an arm around her. "It's like the first time you gave me the ring. Out here, on the porch, at night."
"I'm unoriginal, what can I say?"
"I think it's sweet." They fell into silence for a moment before she spoke again. "I really never thought this is where we'd be over a year later."
"Me either," he admitted with a sigh. "But we're moving forward now, this time."
"Good," she said softly. "Forward is good."
"And if you want," he began, "I was thinking about this before… I can get you another ring, a new one to symbolize the new start and everything. One that doesn't remind you of a failed engagement."
"No!" she exclaimed, pulling her hand towards her protectively. "I want this one. It's kind of a symbol of everything we've made it through. And besides, it's pretty."
Luke chuckled and kissed her on the side of the head. "Okay."
"But thank you for the very sweet offer."
"Sure."
"Luke?"
"Hmm?" he asked, rubbing circles on her back absentmindedly.
"I love you, too."
He turned and smiled at her. "I know."
"Come inside?" she asked, smiling happily.
He stood up and extended his hand to her, pulling her up off the stairs. "We can celebrate with real alcohol this time," she added. When they were both standing, she threw her arms around him and gave him another kiss. "I need you to know something," she said softly.
"What?"
"You're the only person I've ever taken a shower with."
The first step to better communication, in true Lorelai form.
tbc…
I think the next part might be the (really long) end in a (very long) epilogue kind of form.
