Reunion
Chapter Nine – Reclaiming the Lost
XXX
Luke woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. He could barely move, let alone see or hear. His entire head was ringing. He tried to think back over the previous day's events. Lorelai, and… and Max? No… no. Wait… Luke pinched his forehead, and it all came flooding back. She slept with Max. They, they… He couldn't bring himself to think the word.
He slowly swung his legs over to bring his feet to meet the cold wooden floor of his small apartment. He could hear the faint noise of customers downstairs and silently thanked Caesar for… well… for being Caesar.
Luke tiptoed to the sink, trying to not be too loud for fear that he would somehow make his migraine worse. There was a glass sitting in the sink that had been used to drink water from the previous morning, and he grabbed it and filled it with tap water. He fumbled over to the bathroom and opened the cabinet, praying that there was some sort of pain killer to be found. He finally found some Aleve and popped three into his mouth, then gulped down half his glass of water.
Reluctantly, Luke trudged back to his bed and sat down. After a minute, he found himself lying down again. I need her. I can't think straight without her. I… I just want her back. But, all the things she did. I wanna believe her. I really do. But…He slowly drifted back to sleep, but was soon awoken by a knock at the door.
XXX
Lorelai woke early the next morning. She was up by 6am and was at the inn by 7:30. There were few people there. Michel had just arrived as Lorelai walked back into the lobby from the dining room.
"Michel! Hey. There is something wrong with the computer. I hit this button and it just went crazy!" Lorelai swiftly walked to the front desk and pointed to the key she had pressed. "I don't know what I did."
"Why did you press that button?" He asked blankly, and then started to peck away at the keyboard.
"Well, because it was screaming "push me, push me" and I don't do well under peer pressure." She smiled innocently. "I don't know, Michel. It was an accident. Can you please just fix it?"
"Yes. Whatever. I can fix it." Michel rolled his eyes and Lorelai turned away. "I do not get paid enough for this," he added under his breath. Lorelai gently hit his back and said thanks, then left. "Why do I continue to put up with this?" He said when she was finally out of earshot.
Lorelai casually strolled into the kitchen for her fourth cup of coffee. When she opened the door, Sookie was standing over the stove, stirring something. She looked up at Lorelai.
"Seriously? I mean, I know that you live on the stuff, but four cups in an hour and a half? There has to be something medically wrong with that." Lorelai simply smiled and continued pouting her coffee.
"Sookie, I need coffee. Okay? I just, I need it." Lorelai took a long sip and the expression on Sookie's face changed from silly to serious.
"What happened?" Sookie bluntly asked then put her hands on her hips.
"It's just… uh…" Lorelai started, then, deciding she didn't want anyone else to hear her, she closed the distance between the two of them and leaned in to Sookie's ear. "I, uh, had sex with Max yesterday." She leaned back so she could see Sookie's face.
"WHAT!" Sookie yelled. Lorelai shh-ed her and repeated her statement adding "in my living room" to the end of it. Sookie calmed herself then whispered back to Lorelai. "How did this happen?"
"Well, he came over to tell me that he wanted me back and he kissed me, and, I don't know, one thing led to another. I just, I really wish I hadn't done it." Lorelai held a pregnant pause. "Luke found out." She looked down at the floor.
"Oh my God. How?" Sookie was astonished. Lorelai had been here for nearly two hours and was just now giving her this information.
Lorelai fidgeted again, feeling awkward as she told Sookie about how Luke had come over to confess his love, and he had found her in the aftermath of her mistake. As she finished recounting the previous day's events, she sighed heavily. "I just, I wish that I could change it all. Luke actually wanted to tell me that he loved me, you know? I hope he will, I don't know."
And then, softly, Lorelai began to cry.
Sookie pulled Lorelai into a hug, and she continued to cry. "I love him so much. I just want him to know that. I want him to know how much I love him!" Sookie comforted her by pulling her hand down over Lorelai's hair repeatedly.
XXX
Luke stood and wobbled to the door. He pulled it open and Caesar was standing on the top stair.
"Caesar? What…" Luke spoke slowly, as if it was physically difficult to squeeze the words from his throat. Caesar stepped forward slightly, griping his hands together.
"Uh, well, you see, Luke… there is this loud noise in the kitchen. I'm not sure what it is but it won't stop. I didn't want to bother you but…" Caesar, seeing the look on Luke's face, paused. "Uh, why are you looking at me like that?" Luke grew slightly angry, and he mumbled something under his breath.
"Everyday, Caesar, you ask me this. You can touch the oven. Okay? I won't hit you again. It happened once, and it was an accident." Luke turned to re-enter his apartment and Caesar spoke again.
"You sure? You were pretty mad last time I touched your oven without permission." The statement was thrown out stupidly, and Luke let it drop, closing the door and leaving a very confused Caesar to scratch his head, then turn to descend the stairs back to the dining room.
Luke walked around the apartment for another two hours, trying to regain his composure. He drank more water, and after a while the throbbing in his head began to recede. He finally decided that he needed to get some work in that day. It was already one in the afternoon, and things needed to get done.
After walking into the closet to retrieve some books, Luke set to work on the business part of running a business.
XXX
By five in the afternoon, Lorelai had yet to do any actual work. She spent most of the morning crying on Sookie's shoulder and after that she had been too emotionally drained to do any work.
At seven, Lorelai finally started doing actual work. She went upstairs and mindlessly began to straighten up beds and bathrooms. Sookie found her a half an hour later trying to clean her office.
"Lorelai. Come here." Sookie called out. Lorelai walked over, expressionless.
"Yea?" She said lamely. She looked at Sookie unexpectantly.
"Okay, this is exactly what I mean. You have been walking around here for hours like a zombie. You are scaring Michel." Sookie's comment elicited a small giggle from Lorelai.
"I'm not acting like a zombie. I'm just, I'm not in a really good mood, that's all. You know the story. You know what is going on." Lorelai brought her hands together at her thighs, loosely intertwining her fingers. Sookie sighed and touched Lorelai's arm.
"I know, but, you've been walking around here like you think it's all going to go away if you work long enough. You can't mope around here like that. Plus, you are doing everyone else's work. You need to stop." Sookie remained serious, but Lorelai began to giggle more. "What is so funny?"
"Nothing is. It's just that I realized how screwed up my life is. I am completely in love with someone, and all I can do is sit here and scare the staff." Lorelai ran her hands through her hair. "Okay, you are right. I will just finish some things here, and then I am gone."
Sookie smiled at this. Lorelai needed to try to fix things with Luke. And she was going to try tonight.
XXX
It was nine o'clock and Luke had just received payment from the last customer of the night. He had sent Caesar home early for his hard work earlier in the morning, and he was busy with closing the diner. He walked to the door and flipped the sign to 'closed' and locked it. Then he nonchalantly pulled the blinds. He was sure that Lorelai would have tried to come by sometime that day, but she had never shown.
Maybe she didn't care.
Ten minutes had passed and he was wiping down the last of the tables when he heard a gentle knock on the door.
"Luke. Please. I know that you are there. I just, I need to see you. I have to talk to you." Luke could hear pain in her voice, and it brought out his own. He was frozen to his spot as she spoke. He listened to her words, each one tugging at his feet to let her in.
"Please. I know you probably hate me, and you really have every right to. I am so sorry." She rapped lightly on the glass again. "Please, Luke." The plea came out as more of a plea to herself than to Luke. After a moment, she heard the door being unlocked.
"Luke," she spouted. He stood there, just as confused as her.
"Lorelai." He smiled, and she took that as a sign that it was okay for her to be there. He had wanted her to come. "I didn't know if you were going to come or not." She gave him a half smile and he gestured for her to come in, which she did.
"Luke, I… I just, I don't know what to say. I am so sorry for what happened. I truly am." He smiled faintly at her, repressing the rest of the smile, trying to demonstrate to her that not everything was okay. He was still upset, but the look he gave her conveyed anything but anger.
She smiled when he did, seeing a look of longing in this eyes. She couldn't help but throw herself at him.
In the middle of the diner, Lorelai met Luke's lips with her own. She quickly tangled her arms around his neck, and after a moment of surprise, Luke's wound themselves around Lorelai's waist. He deepened the kiss by opening his mouth and letting his tongue silently ask for entrance into hers. She moaned into his mouth as she opened her own. Their bodies were pressed flush against one another's and Lorelai could feel how happy Luke was that she had come over. She smiled to herself as Luke's mouth found its way to her neck. She quickly pulled at his flannel shirt, letting it fall to the floor, and it was then his turn to moan into her mouth. They began to walk backwards, until Lorelai bumped into the countertop, and Luke picked her up, placing her on a bar stool. She smiled flirtatiously as he pulled at the zipper of his jeans.
"Luke! " Lorelai managed to whisper, and he merely kissed her mouth again. When his jeans had pooled at his feet, he kicked them off. He looked at her hungrily, and then reached up under her skirt to pull at her panties. She lifted a little to allow him to pull them all the way off, then he scooted her forward on the stool. She smiled again and unzipped the skirt, finally pulling it off. He leaned in and kissed her hard on the mouth again. She let it deepen for a moment, and then pulled away from him to peel her shirt off. Luke reached around to her back to unclasp her last piece of clothing.
Realizing that he was the only who remained to be fully stripped, she began to tug at his tee shirt. She pulled it up and off of him. Then she smiled and hooked one finger into the top of his boxers and slowly pulled them down.
When they were both finally naked, they came together again, pressing their bare skin together. Luke kissed Lorelai with a ferocity he had never felt before.
Oh, God, she feels so good. He told himself this everyday, but now, it was real. He had proof.
She smiled against his lips as he pulled her even closer to the edge of the seat, so that she was now barely sitting on it. He moved one thigh between her knees and she acquiesced to his requested. She let her legs surround his, and he moved slightly closer, this time entering her. She pinched her eyes shut as the feeling of being filled by him returned to her. He let his hands roam for a moment, exploring familiar territory, before he began to move within her.
Lorelai's hands found Luke's back and she held on to it, letting her nails push harder with every thrust he made. She soon found herself panting. With each stroke, Luke quickened the pace.
Lorelai began to mumble something, but it was inaudible over Luke's moans. Their voices rose as Lorelai climaxed. She felt her muscles become tense around Luke, but he hadn't stopped moving. Finally, after four more strokes, he fell over the top as well, calling out her name as he did. They stayed in their positions for a moment, and then Luke extracted himself from her moved to the side to lean against the counter.
"Wow…" Lorelai breathed out. She was panting heavily, as was he.
"Yea." He added. Lorelai giggled a little and Luke questioned it.
"We just made love in the diner." She continued to laugh. He liked that she said 'made love' instead of 'had sex'. After getting past the first part of her comment, he finally heard the second part and looked around.
"Oh jeez. Lorelai!" He quickly scrambled to gather his clothes.
"Hey, shhh, Luke. It's okay. No one is here." Lorelai stood and followed his lead in collecting clothes. When Lorelai found her under garments, she began to put them on, followed by her skirt. She looked down, still unsure of what Luke was thinking.
Was this just sex to him, or does he want to be with me again? She questioned herself.
Luke turned to find Lorelai picking up her shirt. "Hey, what are you doing?" He asked.
She paused, and looked up at him. "Oh, I was just… I should go." She suddenly took an interest in a spot on the floor, not moving to put her shirt the rest of the way on, but not moving to disrobe either.
"No. Please don't go. Stay with me tonight." As he spoke, Lorelai broke into a smile. "Stay with me every night." He added, and she closed the distance between them once more.
They kissed passionately. And then he grabbed her hand, and pulled her to the stairs.
Lorelai knew, in that very moment, that things would turn out okay.
THE END
XXX
Okay. I know… you all hate me. Hell, I would hate me too. But the good news is that this story is done and you will no longer have to hear me make promises that "I'll update soon" only to find that the new chapter was added a month later.
I honestly want to thank you ALL who read this. It's not good, I don't have a beta reader (obviously) or anything, so my mistakes go unnoticed by me.
To all who commented. I LOVE YOU! No effing joke. You make my world go round.
I promise that I will write one shots from now on. That way there is no waiting period. Okay?
You all are the best readers in the world. Stay awesome and someone, for the love of GOD… take care of David Sutcliffe for good! He needs to go away!
