Noticing
Disclaimer: I own nothing. But I wish I did.
Summary: Lorelai makes a list of questions for Luke.
A/N: This will probably be a OneShot unless people think otherwise. Set in late Season 1, before Max's proposal.
Noticing
She's never really noticed.
It's always been this idea flitting around in the back of her shifting conscience, coming to her attention for a few seconds, then drifting away. The theory that he's more than he is. That he's more than she thinks he is. She spends a few moments deciphering her cryptic thoughts and tries to move on. But she can't. Because today, today she finally noticed.
She's not sure, but she thinks it was the coffee. It's always the coffee. This morning, she sat there thinking about Max, which led to Chilton, which led to Rory, which led to coffee, which led to Luke, which led to… Luke. So she tried to think about something else. She thought about the inn, which led to Sookie, which led to food, which led to the diner, which led to Luke, which led to… Luke.
She's never really noticed. But sitting there at her kitchen table, she knows she should have seen this sooner. Everything comes down to him. Scary, for her. And yet, at the same time, not. Safe. Right. Good.
But then there's Max. Max Medina, the man an alliterating name. For a few seconds, she becomes sidetracked, listing other alliterating names in her head. Luke doesn't have a strange name. His is normal. Luke Danes. Does he have a middle name? She makes a mental note to ask him that. She grabs a piece of paper and, in an attempt to channel Rory, makes a list. Of questions to ask Luke.
Number one – that whole middle name thing. She's really confused about that. Number two – she'd like to know more about his family. All she knows is that his dad died when he was young, and that his mother died before that. So there's a lot of asking to do in that area. Number three – she wants to know why his coffee is always better than hers, or anyone else's. Number four – she'd like to ask him why, even when she's wearing heels, he manages to be the exact right height.
And then there's the matter of his eyes. They're strange to her, a shade of imperceptible blue that makes her feel warm in her heart. Make that number five. But she'd also like to know why he's so good to her. Why he puts up with all her whining, why he fixes her house without taking money, why he cares about her coffee drinking habits. So that's numbers six, seven, eight, and nine.
She keeps writing, questions forming in her mind quicker than she can write them down. She's surprised, really, that Luke can induce this many questions. After all, she's known him forever. She does the math in her head. Forever turns out to be four years. But it feels like longer than that, she thinks. Well, she's never been good at math. Maybe she did the subtraction wrong. If she used subtraction, which she's not sure she did.
She wastes a few seconds redoing the math, and gets three hours as a result. She decides that 'forever' is a more accurate estimate and sticks with that. The list beckons, and she begins again. This time, however, her questions take a different turn, shifting to a more emotional level.
And finally, she comes up with the last one. Looking over her list, she knows it encompasses everything. It's all-knowing. Actually, it's more like all-asking. She laughs softly to herself. This final question took her a long time to think up, but it's a good one, one even Rory would approve of.
Number Eighty Seven: Why Luke loves her. Because she's never really noticed, but sitting at her kitchen table, she knows he does.
