Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: I have always felt there was some UST between Dean and Lorelai. Freudian as that may be, I always saw it. This is my mind trying to rectify that, so please don't hate me! Be aware that towards the end of this story things heat up and there will be smut. Enjoy.
Background for this Fic:
Dean and Lindsay never got married ergo no adultery between him and Rory.
Rory and Dean gave it another shot after Jess showed up asking her to go away with him, but they couldn't make it work.
Rory is happy and wrapped up in her relationship with Logan, making her relationship with Lorelai come second here recently.
Sookie is really focused on motherhood and hasn't been very available to Lorelai as a friend.
Christopher is divorced from Sherry, but since the drama at her parents' vow renewal Lorelai doesn't want to talk to him.
Altogether, Lorelai is feeling very lonely.
Luke and Lorelai will break up in this story, similar to canon, but she doesn't sleep with Christopher.
Let's get on with the story.
Lorelai couldn't believe it. Luke has a daughter. He has a daughter and didn't even bother to tell her. He'd found out and didn't deem it necessary to let her know. Groundbreaking news that one should share with their betrothed wasn't imperative for her to know? She couldn't wrap her brain around it. She'd left Luke standing there after hearing this information and couldn't keep the tears from falling. The walk home was looking incredibly desolate. It was, until she came upon Dean. Rather, he came upon her.
Tears were glistening in her eyes as she was walking along, head askew. She hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings, so she was surprised to hear her name being called.
"Lorelai? Hey, what's the matter?"
She glanced up to see Dean's concerned face assessing her with care. She tried to wipe the tears from her face and sniffed to make herself a bit more presentable.
"Dean, hi. Look now isn't really the best time-"
"Lorelai, you're crying. You can tell me what's going on. I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but I'd like to think we're still friends," he smiled that boyish smile at her that she'd grown to love throughout the years.
She nodded and wiped her eyes once more before letting Dean pull her to an empty bench near Weston's.
"So, Dean, sorry you had to witness the next great flood. I'm just going through something difficult right now and I couldn't keep the floodgates closed long enough to get home."
Dean chuckled softly, then turned to face her fully. "Care to share what's got you so upset? In all the time I've known you, I don't think I've ever seen you cry. Well, except during movies, but that's different."
She felt her lips lift slightly to form a small smile and looked at him. "Yeah well, growing up Gilmore you don't get to show much emotion. I changed that with Rory obviously, but I'm still not very good at being openly emotional like this," Lorelai gestured to her teary eyes and chuckled. She knew she was purposely avoiding his first question, but she really hadn't wanted to talk about this. She was still trying to process it, maybe find a legitimate reason for Luke not to trust her or care about her enough to inform her of his abrupt fatherhood.
"Look, I didn't mean to bother you. I just saw you like this, and it worried me. I don't like to see you so upset, Lorelai." His face was so open, you could read him like a book. She knew she'd sort of offended him, as all he had been trying to do was lend an ear. She decided to be a bit more forthcoming with information.
"Luke and I are having some issues. He found out something life-altering, like Truman Show style revelation huge, and didn't tell me. I just found out on my own."
Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise but nodded minutely to allow her to continue. "So, you can imagine the hurt I felt finding out on my own, not to mention, he's known for over a month!" Lorelai threw her hands up exasperatedly, then moved to rub the tension from her eyes. She felt Dean's hand grace her arm and squeeze gently in support. Removing her hands from her eyes, she looked down at his hand on her arm and felt the warm feeling of friendship radiate through her that she needed at that moment. Once she realized where they were and the possible implications, especially in the middle of town, she jumped up as though she'd been burned. Dean's arm dropped limply to his side before he stood up to keep her from bolting.
"Say, why don't I go get us some coffee and pie from Weston's and we can go talk somewhere less public?" Dean was so sweet offering to listen to her and ply her with two of her favorite food groups, but she wasn't quite ready to talk about this. Lorelai politely declined and thanked Dean for lending an ear but told him she needed to head home.
As she walked away from him, he couldn't help but feel like he should do something to help. It's not as though he was obligated to, especially considering he and Rory had broken up. But he still viewed Lorelai as a good friend and hated to see her so distraught. He could have called Rory, but that wouldn't really be appropriate, and he didn't even know if she knew about this yet. He didn't want to meddle where he didn't belong. Dean finally decided to just go ahead and get the stuff from Weston's and drop it off to Lorelai so she could have some comfort in one of her favorite forms.
After he got the coffee and pie, he made his way to the Gilmore household and was glad to see Lorelai's jeep was the only vehicle there. He didn't particularly want any awkward reunions at that moment. He moved to knock on the door, shifted the bag of pie containers to his left hand and successfully didn't drop anything as he waited.
Lorelai answered the door and was surprised to see him so soon. "Dean, really you didn't have to come all the way over here.." she trailed off when she saw his hands full. "You didn't have to do that," she smiled slightly and nudged his shoulder.
"I know you're not up to talk about this anymore, but I also know that you're still a Gilmore girl. I brought you two mochaccinos with extra foam and three different kinds of pie," he smiled shyly and proffered the said consumables to Lorelai. She took them gratefully, still not believing how her day had been going.
"Thank you so much, Dean. That was really thoughtful. Listen, I'm not really up for talking all of this out right now but I'll fill you in a bit more later if you really feel up to listening to your ex-girlfriend's rambling and eccentric mother and her issues with her love life."
Dean laughed at her usual banter before he replied, "I definitely do want to listen. My number is still the same if you want to shoot me a text or call me. We can meet and talk if you want. I don't want you to feel like you have to or think this is weird, though." He blushed which Lorelai found endearing.
"It's a little bit weird, but only because I haven't seen you in a bit and I don't know that Rory will like it much. But like I told you before, just because you and Rory aren't together doesn't mean we can't still be friends. Just, do me a favor and don't mention anything to Rory. I just found this out myself and I need time to process it for a while before I tell her."
Dean nodded affirmatively, "No worries. I don't see her much around town anymore and we don't really talk anyway. Regardless, my lips are sealed."
She wondered if Dean knew about Rory seeing Logan, or if it bothered him at all that their last go around wasn't successful. No matter, he was here and being sweet and thoughtful.
"I appreciate that Dean. I'll see you around, and thanks again for the coffee and pie."
Dean left and Lorelai couldn't help but think how odd that encounter had felt. She didn't want to make Dean feel like a leper, but she knew for sure that Rory wouldn't take too kindly to her forming a newfound friendship with him either. Lorelai didn't see the harm in it ,though, and she had been feeling pretty lonely lately anyhow. Rory was so involved with Logan that she hadn't been coming home as often, and their phone calls were more like check-ins instead of real conversations. Luke had also been distant, which she now knew the reason for. Sookie had Davey and Jackson to care for, so they only really interacted at work, and she really just needed a friend.
That night, Lorelai dove into her slices of pie gratefully, while thinking through this situation with Luke and watching The Seven Year Itch. She decided to call Dean the following day to give him more details and see if he could offer her some fresh perspective.
Dean showed up at the Dragonfly the next day with flowers in hand, yellow daisies in fact. Lorelai could feel the blush that graced her features as she graciously accepted yet another gift from this young man that dated her daughter. She really couldn't understand how he and Rory couldn't make things work. The guy was such a sweetheart. But really, who was she to judge? It's not as though she'd had the most stellar track record when it comes to dating.
She grabbed some coffee and crumb cake for the two of them from the kitchen and they headed out to the porch to sit and chat. They made small talk for a bit to ease into the big stuff. Lorelai told him about Luke's daughter, and very insistently swore him to secrecy as it wasn't her secret to tell. Dean reiterated that Lorelai could trust him with anything and offered his sincere empathy toward the situation. He had no idea what it was like to have children, nor did he know how he'd react if he were in Luke's position. Although, he knew that this had to be killing Lorelai. Secrets of any kind are hurtful, boy did he know that. But he could only imagine what this had done to her emotionally. Trust is imperative in any relationship, and once its broken its extremely hard to repair.
Dean filled Lorelai in on his life since she'd last seen him. She'd learned that he was now a carpenter and was working on his credit to open his own shop in town. He offered to show her his work, and even give her a discount if she ever wanted to buy any of his stuff for her inn. He had his own apartment on Peach Street and seemed to be doing really well for himself. He reminded her a little of herself at his age. Very work-oriented and focused on opening his own business. She offered him the option to pick up some extra money any time she needed work done at the Dragonfly, and he was very accepting. Little did he know that she had tons of small repairs that needed to be done asap. She laughed a bit in her head at this. They parted ways and promised to keep in touch.
It had been a few months since the day that Dean bumped into Lorelai after the whole debacle. He had been doing work for her around the inn and spending his breaks talking to her at reception. He brought her coffee often and they laughed and joked constantly. Sometimes they confided in each other when things were a little heavy, and it felt really good to the both of them.
Luke and Lorelai had somewhat worked things out, but things were still rocky. Luke asked to postpone the wedding, and Lorelai had been distraught about it lately. Rory tried her best to offer support, but she felt like her mother was overreacting a little. He didn't not want to marry her mother; he just had a lot on his plate. She'd said as much to Lorelai, which caused an argument between the mother and daughter. Dean once again brought Lorelai daisies, and they talked about the whole situation on the porch at the inn. Lorelai hadn't realized that Sookie was viewing their friendship as more than what it was.
Sookie decided to ask her about it one day.
"Hey Lorelai, you got a minute?"
"Sure, Sook. What's up?"
"It's just.. I really don't want to ask but.. What is going on with you and Dean?"
"I'm sorry?"
"I mean what's up with you two. He's been here a lot the past few months, and you two are awfully chummy."
Lorelai scoffs, "Sookie, if you're insinuating what I think you're insinuating…"
"I wasn't insinuating, but it's nice to know where your head is at," Sookie looked at her friend knowingly.
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at her best friend, "He's been doing work for us here, you know that. And he ran in to me the day that Luke and I had the fight about him not telling me about April. We've been talking since then. I don't see why you're asking about it, Sookie." Lorelai was clearly on defense, which made the situation more delicate than it already was.
"I'm glad you found someone to talk to, but don't you think that it's a little inappropriate? I mean he's Rory's ex-boyfriend, he's way younger than you, and you could have come to me to talk about things."
"Really feeling your support here, Sookie. I don't think it's inappropriate. We're just talking and palling around, that's it."
"Do friends bring friends flowers all the time? Or coffee? I mean, we have coffee here."
"I'm done talking about this Sookie. You're making me out to be Mrs. Robinson here. Besides, he's only brought me flowers twice! He was trying to cheer me up."
"Whatever you say…" Sookie knew that Lorelai was oblivious to what she'd been doing. She and Jackson had a bet about whether Lorelai and Dean would hook up or not. Jackson didn't believe they were anything more than friends and accused Sookie of reading too much into things. But she knew her friend, better than she thought it turned out.
Lorelai went home that night and stewed about what Sookie had said to her. Okay, so she hadn't told Rory about the friendship. She'd told her that Dean was doing work for her at the inn, but that was the extent of it. She didn't want to cause any further issues between them since they couldn't agree on the Luke situation. And Dean had been really sweet to her, bringing her flowers, and sweets and coffee. But he'd never been untoward with her or made her feel like he was into her. She could see how it looks weird from an outside perspective, especially given Dean's age. She really needed to talk to Dean about this. She just didn't know how to broach the subject without feeling incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. She didn't sleep very well that night.
The next day at the inn, Dean came up to her during his break to chat. She suggested they move to the porch for more privacy.
"So, what's up Lorelai?" Dean was curious as to why she had wanted to talk privately. Normally it was when they confided in each other about serious things that they came out to the porch.
"Um, Dean. Listen… Shoot- here goes…" Lorelai struggled to get it out, wishing Sookie had never said anything in the first place.
Dean reached out his hand to calm her and laid his hand on her wrist gently, smiling.
"What is it?"
"So, Sookie said something to me yesterday that I can't seem to get out of my head. I think I may be losing it. I just need some clarification."
"Yes…?" he questioned patiently.
"What we've been doing here," she gestured between the two of them, "Do you think it's inappropriate?"
Dean was sipping his coffee when she'd asked him her question and choked a bit and ripped his hand from her arm before answering.
"What!? No, why?"
"It's just that Sookie seems to think that you may like me in more than a friend way."
Dean sat in silence, digesting what Lorelai had just said. He knew that the flowers made it somewhat obvious that he cared a bit more than a friend should. He just couldn't help it. Lorelai's big blue eyes drew him in that day he found her in tears, and ever since then he'd been infatuated.
"Lorelai, it's common knowledge that you're beautiful, there's no denying it," Lorelai blushed at the compliment and looked down.
"And yes, I may have gone a bit overboard with the flowers, and the coffee and the desserts from Weston's," he was rambling which Lorelai found charming, crediting herself with some of the responsibility for making him that way.
"But what we've had going on has been platonic. I haven't made a move on you, have I?" he asked.
Lorelai shook her head no, but she couldn't understand the pit in her stomach at what he'd said.
"I don't see why Sookie would think that anyway, I mean you and Luke are still together," he huffed, clearly embarrassed by the whole situation. That makes two of us, she'd thought.
"You're right, I am still with Luke," her face fell a bit as she said this. Almost as though she was disappointed at that fact. Seeing that had given Dean hope that maybe he'd have a chance. He wasn't naïve. He knew that there would be tons of judgement from the townspeople, and from Rory especially. Hell, he didn't even think he had a true shot, but if Luke and Lorelai were ever to split up, Dean was seriously considering putting himself out there to see what would happen.
Lorelai was incredible. She was driven, beautiful, hilarious, and her eyes saw into his soul. He had always thought Rory's eyes were the most beautiful he'd ever seen until he and Lorelai became such good friends. The more he had looked into her eyes, the more entranced he'd become. Yes, he was screwed.
"So, okay then. Glad we cleared that up. Sorry for the weirdness, its just I could not get what Sookie said out of my mind."
He nodded in understanding. Yep, definitely screwed.
Lane's wedding was approaching, and Mrs. Kim had told Lorelai in no uncertain terms that she must bring a man with her as a date in order to attend. This was an issue because Luke had been out of town, and she didn't have any other contenders. Chris had offered to be her escort, but she didn't think it was a promising idea given their history. She did not want to bring him along and have the town assume that she was back on with Christopher, and off with Luke. She had only had a day left to find someone to take as her date or she wouldn't have been able to attend. There was no way she was not attending Lane's wedding. She had been a huge part of she and Rory's lives and it wouldn't be right not to go.
Lorelai had told Dean about her dilemma, and he had offered to take her. She felt that after their awkward conversation about their friendship it was not the best idea. Besides, Rory still hadn't been privy to just how good of friends Lorelai and Dean had become. She knew if she took Dean it would lead to tons of questions, many of which she didn't think she could handle again.
The day had come for the wedding, and Lorelai decided to doll herself up for the occasion. She had settled on a beautiful brown spaghetti strapped dress with a light wrap in case it got chilly later in the evening. Her hair was in flowy waves that cascaded around her shoulders, and her make up complimented her eyes perfectly.
Rory had come out of her bedroom and gave her a whistle, "My, my Scarlett, looking to impress Rhett at this shindig?"
Lorelai had smiled at the joke, knowing she had done herself proud by creating herself a mini me.
"Why thank you my dear," she bowed dramatically then spun a few times to add a little flair.
Rory had giggled but continued, "Really, mom, you look amazing. It is too bad Luke isn't here to see it."
At the mention of Luke, Lorelai's face fell. She decided to fake a smile and agree to avoid talking about the subject any further.
"Ready to go, sweets?"
"Yep, let's go get my best friend hitched!"
The two Gilmore girls linked arms and headed to the Kim residence to commence with the day's festivities. Upon arrival Mrs. Kim glared at Lorelai. "I told you, come with a man. You cannot attend alone, people will think dreadful things about you," her glare didn't ease up one bit.
"But Mrs. Kim-"
"No! No man, no wedding," Mrs. Kim then turned her attention to Rory, "Lane needs you upstairs," to which Rory nodded and looked apologetically at her mother before she ran inside.
Great, Lorelai thought. She wracked her brain for a possible solution, but only one came to mind. She knew that Rory would ask her a ton of questions, but she really wanted to attend the wedding. With a large sigh, Lorelai pulled out her cell phone and dialed Dean's number.
"Hey, Lorelai. What's up? I thought you would be at Lane's wedding by now."
"I am, but see, Mrs. Kim is denying me entry. She said I must have a man on my arm. So… I know that I told you it was a bad idea before, but do you think you could come over here and be my escort? Please, please, please?"
Dean chuckled, "Sure, no need to beg. I kept my schedule open in case you changed your mind anyhow."
Lorelai sucked in a breath. This is what Sookie was talking about, she thought.
"Thanks, Dean! I will be standing right out front. But don't take too long, I have a lot of judgmental Korean family members staring at me like I'm a prostitute!"
He chuckled again before they'd disconnected the call and got up to get ready.
Dean arrived ten minutes later dressed in a nice suit that fit his form perfectly. Lorelai smiled up at him gratefully, "Dean! Thank goodness, I felt like Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink getting stood up by Blaine!"
Dean smiled at her antics but extended his arm for her to loop hers through, "Glad I could save the day."
As they approached the Kim house together, Mrs. Kim blocked the entryway.
"Lorelai, I tell you a man has to come with you. Not your daughter's ex-boyfriend!"
She could feel the disdain rolling off of Mrs. Kim, but smiled, nonetheless.
"Well, Mrs. Kim, you said I needed to have a man on my arm to attend," she moved her arm for added effect and motioned toward Dean, "Arm, man, I am all set!"
Dean had to stifle a laugh, especially when he saw Mrs. Kim's face. He thought she might explode, but all she did was huff, through her hands in the air and walk away to greet other guests.
"Shall we?" he asked Lorelai.
"We shall," she replied.
To say Rory was surprised would be an understatement. Dean came to her mother's rescue. Dean! How Freudian is that? Why couldn't she have just called Dad?
Rory held her tongue throughout the Korean wedding portion of the evening, not wanting to cause a scene at Lane's wedding. But her mother would not be getting by that easy. How weird is it that she invited my ex!?
Rory's mind raced as she tried to focus on the matrimony that was going on in front of her. She always knew that Dean had a little crush on her mom, he had admitted as much when they were dating. She had called him on it when they were joking around one day. She didn't think Lorelai was aware of that fact, as she had been too embarrassed to mention anything to her about it before. She had written it off as teenage boy hormones, because even Tristan and Zach had thought Lorelai was hot. Rory shivered with disgust and tried to put it out of her mind.
Dean had been a perfect gentleman the entire time, and once Mrs. Kim's mother was put into a cab, he grabbed onto Lorelai's hand to bolt to the church for the "real wedding". Lorelai felt a jolt where their hands had joined, and her stomach turned into knots. He smiled his big, beautiful smile at her as he pulled her along, and she returned it. What have I gotten myself into?
Later that evening, Lorelai's mind wandered to the fact that Lane got married before she had. A girl she has known she since was 5 years old was now married, yet Lorelai was not. It hit her hard and fast like a giant wave, and suddenly she had never felt so alone. She had ordered a tray full of shots and had started throwing them back at the reception. Dean's worried face was sweet, but she did not want to think about things anymore. He had tried to talk her out of drinking so much, so quickly. But it was to no avail, he had known that she was hurting over Luke postponing the wedding. It wasn't such a leap to assume that Lorelai was upset that Lane was getting married and she was.
Rory had been shooting him daggers all night, which he had assumed was because she had held resentment towards him from their past. But he had been sorely wrong. Lorelai went on stage and made a scene by talking about not saving the date June 3rd. Dean and Rory carried her to the Jeep and made their way to the Gilmore house after bidding farewell to the happy couple. Rory helped Dean get her mother out of the Jeep and Dean lifted her into his arms to carry her to bed. He hated seeing her that way. All he wanted was for both she and Rory to be happy. It seemed that Rory had found happiness in a guy name Logan at Yale. It made Dean happy that Rory found a guy that met her needs. However, Lorelai was holding on by a thread. She unraveled that evening in front of the whole town. Word travels fast and it would only be a matter of time before Luke found out about what Lorelai had said. He worried about how she would manage him finding out.
After putting Lorelai in her bed and removing her heels, he tucked her in lightly. Then, he went into her restroom to grab her some aspirin and water to leave on her bedside table. He gently closed the door and trudged down the stairs to face Rory, who he could tell was unhappy with him.
What he was faced with was something he was not expecting. Rory grilled him about being Lorelai's escort and wanted to know why her mother felt so comfortable with asking him in the first place.
"I mean I knew that you two were sort of friends because you've been doing some work on the Dragonfly, but this seems different."
"Listen, Rory, she and I have been talking a lot lately. She's been really going through it with the whole Luke situation, as you can tell," he gestured upward towards Lorelai's room.
"She hasn't really had anyone to talk to and I've been here for her. I know it seems a little weird but just because you and I aren't together anymore doesn't mean that I can't still be friendly with your mother."
"Friendly? Dean, you two seem like you're more than just friendly. What are you two not telling me?"
"Nothing, really. I ran into her the day she found out about April, and we have sort of been talking ever since. It was weird to see your mom cry, I'd never actually seen her that upset before. Anyway, she offered me some side work doing things for her at the inn and we've been talking lately. That's it."
He had the good nature to look abashed under Rory's scrutinizing gaze, but Rory could tell that there was something he wasn't telling her. "I appreciate that you've been there for her, Dean, but you showed up to be her date to my best friend's wedding! You cannot tell me that you just see her as a friend. You're acting very similar to how you did when we were first dating."
Dean let out a long sigh and slapped his hands on his knees. This was what he was hoping to avoid.
"Okay, this is an incredibly uncomfortable conversation. But yes, lately I have felt something different towards her." Dean looked up to see Rory's appalled face but continued on, "It's not like I have acted on anything, Rory. I know you think this is really messed up, but I do care about her. It's not like she'll ever see me as more than your ex-boyfriend anyway," he ran a hand through his hair and looked at the floor.
Rory felt like a jerk. She definitely wasn't comfortable with Dean and her mother hanging out or with the fact that Dean was developing feelings for Lorelai. But she hadn't been there for her mom lately and Dean had. It's not completely unexpected for Dean to develop feelings for her mother. Lorelai is amazing, she knew how much she loved her. She couldn't expect others not to love her too. But what about Luke?
"Dean, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be a jerk here but try to see my side of this. You're my ex-boyfriend and you're palling around with my mom. Plus, you just admitted you have some sort of feelings for her that I hope you won't elaborate on," she visibly winced.
"I do see your side. And I'm sorry that this is even happening. It wasn't my intention to feel this way, but I can't help it."
"Look, I'm not going to give you my blessing or anything…"
"I didn't expect you to."
"Okay, but you see how she's handling this stuff with Luke. So just be there for her, and I will too. You two are obviously really good friends and I don't want to be immature about it and put her through anymore added stress. We just won't talk about this anymore; I don't think I can handle it."
Dean nodded, knowing this was as far as they would get for now. "I guess I'll see you around," he waved and headed for the door.
Lorelai awoke the next day with a massive hangover, and a giant hole in her memory. What had she done at Lane's reception? She winced as she sat up against her pillow and held her hand to her head. Stupid tequila shots. She glanced over to her nightstand and saw that someone had left her some water and aspirin. She took it gratefully and chugged the water until her glass was empty.
Once she was able to move from her cozy bed, she made her way downstairs to get some coffee. Her daughter was sitting at the table with bags of tacos waiting for her.
"Bless you, child," she smiled at Rory and turned to the coffee pot to get a cup.
"I figured after your performance last night, you might need some hangover food. And coffee, but that goes without saying," she smiled at her mother's disgruntled face. Hangovers were no fun, so she knew being prepared was a great idea.
"I'm trying to remember everything I did last night, and it's sort of coming back to me, in pieces."
Rory nodded, "Yeah, well you definitely had a lot to say. I knew you and Luke were going through a lot, but I didn't realize just how much it was affecting you. You know that Luke loves you, right?"
Lorelai nodded, "Yes, I do know that. But he lied to me, babe, and then he decided to postpone our wedding. It's not exactly the direction I had hoped we'd be headed in. Quite the opposite actually."
"I know. I just wish you had talked to me about it more."
"Rory, I don't want to intrude on your happiness. You have a whole life going on at Yale, between Logan, classes, Paris, and the Daily News. I just don't want to pile my stuff on you when you have a lot going on already."
"Mom, I'm never going to be too busy for you. I know that Logan and I have been spending a lot of time together lately, but if you need me I'll be here. I feel like crap knowing that I wasn't here for you when you needed me. I feel even worse because of our fight before. I cannot believe that I didn't see how affected you were by all of this."
"Honey, it's okay. I've been talking to Sookie, and.. Dean. He's been coming around the inn and fixing things as you know, and we have been talking a lot. I know it sounds weird, but he's been a good sounding board lately."
"I talked to him for a while last night, after we got you inside. He put you to bed and we had a conversation."
"Oh? Do tell."
"We just talked about you two being friends, and how it was weird to me. But now I know why you've been talking to him so much. I wasn't here."
"Rory, it's not just that. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. But, yes he's been here for me, and I enjoy spending time with him as well. He's always been such a sweet guy, and it's nice to have a friend."
Uh oh, Rory thought. "Do you um-, mom do you like Dean?"
"Excuse me?"
"Do you like Dean?"
"Rory! I'm with Luke. Plus, Dean is 16 years younger than I am. Why are you being weird?"
That wasn't a no.
"This is weird, don't you see that?"
"Wow, tell me how you really feel."
"You can't honestly expect me to be completely okay with you and my ex being such good friends, can you?"
"Well, no, but-"
"No, you can't. I need to get back to Yale. I'll call you tomorrow."
With that Rory left for school, and Lorelai consumed her massive amount of tacos and washed them down with a pot of coffee.
Luke had come back home that evening and called Lorelai.
"Hey, I'm back home. Want to come by around 8? Or I could come to you?"
"Sure," she replied hesitantly.
"Sounds good, I gotta go my bread guy is here. See you tonight."
"Bye."
After spending the day tracking down Ms. Patty to keep her from spilling the beans to Luke about her outpour at Lane's wedding, Lorelai wasn't looking forward to seeing Luke.
She didn't want to keep on pretending like she was okay. How long can one person keep everything inside until they implode? Not long, she was betting. She decided that she was going to tell Luke that they should get married, tonight. No muss, no fuss, just marriage and happily ever after. At this point there was nothing else she could think to do. She spent more time with Dean than with her own fiancé. How messed up was it that Dean was there to listen to her and care for her, and the man she was supposed to marry was becoming inconsistent. Maybe this was her karma for breaking off her engagement to Max. Maybe she just wasn't meant to be happy. Well, she thought, we're about to see what my fate is.
She headed up to Luke's and arrived just in time to see Luke locking up.
He realized she was there when he turned his head and removed his key from the lock to face her.
"Hey, I thought I was coming to you?"
"Yeah, well…"
"Lorelai? What's going on?"
"Let's get married."
"What? Lorelai, we talked about this."
"No, Luke. Let's get married tonight. Let's elope. I want to be married to you. I don't want to wait. To much has happened, and I feel like if we don't do this now, we won't get married at all."
"That's not true. I want to marry you, just not right now. April-"
"She's one of the reasons why we need to, Luke. Anna said-"
"Anna? You talked to Anna?"
"Yes, while you were away I went to her store, and we talked."
"What are you doing talking to Anna? This is my business, Lorelai, with my daughter."
Ouch.
"I know it is, it's just that after the birthday party I wanted to clear the air with Anna.. show her that I'm here to stay and she can trust me."
"Why would you go and do that? Are you trying to ruin this for me?"
"What!? No! Anna said if we get married, I can be around April, and that will fix things between us. I don't want to be separate anymore, Luke. I wanted to get married, now, and be together and be a part of this, with you and April."
"I can't believe you did this. Lorelai we can't get married right now. I need to get to know my daughter."
"So, marry me, and get to know her! It doesn't have to be one or the other!"
"Yes, it does. I'm not ready to get married right now. You should understand this, Lorelai. You were a single parent. Your focus has always been Rory, and my focus right now is April."
"You don't want to marry me?" her face fell, and she could feel the tears pooling in her eyes.
"I do, just not right now."
"Well, that is all I can offer right now. Marry me, Luke. Let's elope, tonight. Then we can finally start our life together, which includes April."
"I don't like ultimatums."
"Yeah, well tough. I don't like being ignored by the man I'm supposed to get married to."
"Lorelai-"
"Do you want to elope?"
"No."
"Got it," she stepped back and walked toward her home, the sound of Luke's voice the last thing she heard before she rounded the corner.
After a sleepless night, Lorelai headed to the inn to start her day. She walked into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and Sookie stopped her.
"Hey sweetie, good mor-," seeing Lorelai's distraught face Sookie switched to comfort mode.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
"Luke and I are over."
"Come again?"
"Luke and I, we're done. I gave him an ultimatum and he didn't choose me."
"Oh, honey, I'm sure you two will work this out."
"No, Sookie, we won't."
Lorelai went on to explain her bumper theory to Sookie, letting her know she was letting go of that bumper.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Just keep the coffee fresh and maybe make something with chocolate in it?"
"You got it, hon," she smiled at her friend, but her face fell once Lorelai went back out front.
This is not good.
Dean walked into the Dragonfly a while later to begin his tasks for the day. He'd heard about the showdown between Luke and Lorelai the night before, and he wasn't sure what he would be walking into that day. Lorelai was at reception organizing some files when he approached.
"Hey Lorelai, what's on the to-do list for today?"
She looked up at him with a small smile and handed him a sheet of paper with different things that needed fixing and where.
"All of this, but no biggie if you can't get it all done today."
"Alright, sounds good. Listen, I hate to bring this up, but Babette caught me today and filled me in on what happened last night in front of Luke's. Just, let me know if you want to talk, okay?" he smiled at her and grabbed his tool bucket so he could get to work. She nodded and got back to work, hoping that if she focused on what she was doing hard enough, last night would vacate her mind.
Sadly, she was wrong. She couldn't believe that Luke wouldn't choose her. If he had, he could have both her and his daughter, and the issue would have been resolved. She just didn't understand. Lorelai headed out to the porch with a cup of coffee to take a breather, and it was there that she found Dean fixing one of the broken railings. He glanced up at her and smiled as she sat down to watch him. He departed from his task for a moment to sit down with her and see if she would talk.
Lorelai filled him in on what transpired, and what led up to her moment of desperation. She couldn't handle feeling alone anymore, not when she was supposed to be with someone. He understood the feeling, he'd felt that way when Rory was in love with Jess while they were still together. His hand had grazed her knee, which he squeezed in support. She smiled at the gesture, placing her hand on his for a moment.
"Thanks, Dean. For being here for me lately. I don't know what I've done to deserve it, but you've really been great."
It killed him to see her so hurt. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and hold her, make her pain go away. He nodded, "Of course. I mean, I'm no Rory but I enjoy talking to you."
"That you are not, but I'm glad for that. You're a different kind of friend."
His ears perked up at that. Maybe he did stand a chance.
Lorelai assessed him. He really was a beautiful man. He'd grown out of his boyish charm the past few years, and into a charming man. His hazel eyes showed such emotion, and she could swear she saw a flicker of what Sookie was talking about before. His hand was still on her knee, with hers atop it, and they sat there staring at one another. Lorelai thought about testing out her feelings for him, though she knew it was insane, and not to mention wrong. Somehow, they drifted closer together and she knew that it was now or never, so she lifted her face up to meet his in a slow kiss.
Dean couldn't believe what was happening. He almost wanted to pinch himself to make sure it was real, but instead he deepened the kiss, cupping her cheek with his left hand sweetly. Once Lorelai felt Dean's hand on her face, she came to her senses and pulled away, standing up quickly.
"Oh my God, Dean… I'm so sorry that was-"
"It was amazing."
"Huh?" she thought she may be going insane.
"I said," he sauntered closer to her, the gap between them getting smaller, "It was amazing."
He looked down at her and grabbed her by the arm before she could escape into the safety of the inn. Pulling her toward him, he sank into another kiss with Lorelai, and relished in the feeling of kissing her. His tongue swiped her bottom lip seeking entrance which she surprisingly allowed, and their tongues finally met. It was unlike any other kiss he'd shared. She was just as demanding as he, and he felt her knees begin to buckle, so he supported her back with his arm, his hand coming to rest in the center of her back.
Lorelai let out a little moan in appreciation. Boy did he know how to kiss. Her hand came to rest on his solid chest, and she could feel the definition of his muscles beneath his shirt. She pulled away once more before this headed in a direction she knew they couldn't come back from.
"Wow."
"Yeah.." he breathed. "Please don't freak out about this Lorelai, I have wanted to kiss you for a while now."
She nodded, "I'm the one who kissed you first," she laughed nervously.
"Maybe I should get back to work, let you have some time to yourself."
For this she was grateful because she wasn't sure what to think anymore. She went from despair over this situation with Luke, to lust for this 21 year old guy who's been such a good friend to her. And she thought the Asher and Paris thing was weird. Pot meet kettle. To say her head was spinning would be an understatement. She stood and walked back inside to work, with Dean watching her the entire way.
Lorelai and Dean hadn't spoken again after what happened. They both needed some time to think about what happened between them. They said goodbye to each other, and each went to their homes to end the day. Once Lorelai arrived home, she found Luke in her driveway, standing next to his truck which was loaded down with stuff.
"Luke.. What are you doing here?" she asked with trepidation.
"I was wrong before, you were right. Let's elope."
"No, Luke. I can't do this."
"What you mean, you can't? Last night you said we should do this, and you're right we should. I thought about what you said, and I've been stupid. Let's go away for a while and get married."
"Luke, no. You don't get it. I gave you a choice, and you chose wrong. You shouldn't have had to think about this at all. You don't want to marry me."
"Yes, I do. So come on, get in the truck and let's go."
"I can't."
"Why can't you?"
"I kissed someone else."
Luke stumbled back as though she'd struck him. "You what?"
"I kissed someone else. And… I didn't feel guilty." She knew that last part would do it, which it did.
Luke couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could she? He backed away from Lorelai and hopped inside his truck to leave. Gravel flew everywhere at his exit, and she knew it was the end.
Things had been weird in the following weeks. Lorelai and Dean hadn't talked much about what transpired between them. They acknowledged that it happened, but Lorelai told Dean she couldn't just jump into something with him right now. She didn't want to treat him like a rebound, and aside from that, she didn't want to hurt Rory. He had said that he understood, but he wasn't around as much anymore. He still did some things for her at the inn sometimes, but they had kept missing each other, which she was sure was on purpose. It was just as well, she supposed, given the circumstances.
Lorelai and Dean both buried themselves in their work. Lorelai was working on different marketing strategies for the Dragonfly, and Dean was finally getting his loan to open his carpentry shop. The two hadn't really talked in three weeks and it was starting to get to both of them. Lorelai was really snappy at work and Dean just felt depressed. He couldn't believe that he let another Gilmore girl get to him so much. He felt like a glutton for punishment.
Sookie had finally had enough of Lorelai's sour attitude and decided to talk to her about it.
"Good morning, hon. How are you today?"
"Fine."
"Mmhmm, well, what's going on with you lately?"
"Nothing, why?"
"You've just been on edge lately, and I was wondering if I could help."
"I've been on edge? Sookie, I've been busy. There's still a lot to do around here."
Sookie nodded, "I know that, but you're never like this. I don't like to see you so miserable."
"Thanks for the concern, Sook, but I'm fine. I need to get back to work," and with that Lorelai left the kitchen and went back to reception.
Sookie sighed, what was she going to do?
It was late in the evening a few days later, and everyone had gone home except Lorelai. They closed the Dragonfly for kitchen repairs, and she was trying to get some other things done before she went home. A knock at the front door startled her from what she was doing, but she went to go see who it could be. Dean stood there awkwardly, next to a beautiful table.
"Hi, Dean. What brings you here?"
"Uh, Sookie actually. She ordered this table for the sitting room, and I finished it today, so I figured I'd come install it before tomorrow."
"Uh huh," Sookie leaves that stuff up to me, what is she up to? Lorelai thought.
"Well, come on in," she gestured for him to come in, and he grabbed the table and took it to where Sookie had designated days prior. Grabbing his screws, drill, and anchors, he began to secure the table to the wall as Lorelai watched. She admired the muscles in his arms and back as he worked, wishing she'd touched him more during their encounter.
Dean had the feeling of being watched and turned to see a flustered Lorelai, who was clearly ogling him. He smiled at the revelation, feeling good about himself. He knew she was denying her attraction to him for real reasons, but that didn't mean she wasn't still attracted to him. He turned and finished anchoring the table to the wall, then packed up his things.
"Heading out already? That was fast. Thanks for building us such a beautiful table. Looks… sturdy."
He loved that she was babbling, and that he was the cause of it. He inched towards her a bit.
"Yeah, you're welcome. Sookie insisted that you guys needed it and pronto, so I got it done for you."
"Yeah, we have very important table needs."
It was Lorelai that got closer this time, as though she was being drawn to him. He sat down his tools and moved to sit on the couch in the sitting room. "So, what's been going on with you lately? We haven't really talked much." She felt a pang of guilt for shutting him out so completely, but he hadn't made much contact either.
"Been busy with stuff here. Rory brought Logan to the Hollow for a brief visit, and I've been marathoning some 80's classics. You?"
He chuckled, "Ah, you know, opening the shop, arguing with Taylor about permits, fun stuff."
"Yes, I know how that goes. How does it look? Are you almost done, or have you got a while until its finished?" she moved to sit next to him on the couch, and their hands grazed for a moment. They glanced at each other sheepishly and continued their chat.
Dean was talking about what he still had left to do for renovations and Lorelai became enraptured by his eyes. His big, beautiful hazel eyes were alight as he talked about his goals. She smiled softly, feeling a sense of pride. She was so proud of him for seeing his dreams through. He smiled back, and her gaze dropped to his lips. Lorelai was hit with the memory of what those lips felt like against her own, and longing took hold.
Dean noticed her staring at his lips and began to move closer to her slowly, afraid he'd spook her if he moved too quickly. She didn't appear to be spooked at all really, so he spoke again, "So how are you, with the whole Luke thing?"
Her face fell a bit, but she answered, "I'm good, really. I think he's happy with being a dad and I'm happy for him. I know what it's like to be a parent and looking back I can understand why he was pulling away from me. Anna took years away from him and April that he has to try and make up for, and now they have the chance to do that. I'm good with not being with him anymore. Besides, I realized I care about someone else. I shouldn't be with him if I'm not only thinking about him."
Dean sucked in a breath. Please be talking about me, he thought.
"Oh, yeah?" he gulped, "Who's that?"
Lorelai smile a sultry smile at him, and he was a goner. She moved to close the distance between them and grabbed his neck to pull him to her. Their lips met with fervor and immediately she felt a flash of heat at her core. Her hands slid into his dark locks and took hold, while she scooted as close as she could to him without sitting on his lap. Dean wrapped his arms around her torso, and it felt like coming home. Their kiss deepened quickly, and soon their tongues were battling for dominance.
Dean pulled her closer and brought her to rest on his lap. Lorelai's skirt hiked up as she straddled him, and her center came into contact with his hardness through his jeans. This caused both of them to groan. Dean felt brave and ran his hand to the top of her butt, using said hand to pull her down to grind into him some more. Their lips separated as they let out a breath of relief at the same time. Dean looked into Lorelai's cerulean eyes, hooded with lust, and knew he was wasted on this woman. She smiled wickedly and kissed him again, continuing the grinding motion that he'd set in place. This caused Dean to get incredibly harder if that was even possible. He couldn't take it anymore, and stood up, securing Lorelai's legs around his mid-section before walking her over to the table he had just brought in. He sat her down on it, and Lorelai used her legs to pull him into her again, her body craving the contact. They kissed each other with abandon, each drowning in the other. Consequences be damned. They needed each other. Dean's left hand drifted slowly over the side of Lorelai's breast, down her side and to her exposed thigh. He began to rub her thigh sensually, gradually getting higher and higher, with one destination in mind. Lorelai opened her legs a little wider to grant him entrance, knowing what he wanted. She moaned into his mouth and his fingers found purchase on her panties, rubbing the damp material in circles. He groaned at the feeling of her wetness and needed to feel more. He slipped her panties to the side and glided his fingers through her wetness, coating his fingers. Lorelai trembled in anticipation of what was to come, her kisses became much dirtier in nature and Dean was loving every second of it. He circled her clit a few times before slipping two fingers into her with ease.
Lorelai pulled away from his lips to let out a long moan that Dean couldn't believe he'd had the good fortune to elicit from her. He pumped his fingers in and out of her and his forehead fell to rest on her own. Dean kissed her one more time before sinking to his knees in front of her. He used his hands to gently push her legs further apart, then pull her to the edge of the table and his head dove in between her legs. Lorelai was so close to an orgasm. The whole situation was turning her on to no end, but then he decided to go down. That amped things up another notch and she began to moan wantonly as Dean's tongue drew excruciatingly delicious circles around her clit while he continued to pump his fingers inside her. She was gripping the edge of the table with both hands tightly and before she knew it, her orgasm hit her, and she thought she could die right here and be happy.
Dean looked up at the beautiful sight before him, drinking in the reaction he'd caused from his actions. He was hard as a rock now, and really wanted nothing more than to sink into Lorelai's silky heat. She must have read his mind, because she began pulling him up from the floor and wrapped her legs around his middle to pull him back into her. He was still fully clothed, so Lorelai brought her hands between them to undo his pants. She kissed him again as she pulled him out of his pants and stroked his hardness a few times. He moaned into her mouth and bucked his hips at her ministrations. Lorelai pulled Dean into her some more with her legs and lined his erection up with her entrance. The pair groaned together when his erection made contact with her slickness, and then Dean pushed inside her. Lorelai moaned loudly as he began to move, and Dean felt everything so intensely that he slapped his hand on the table next to them and rested his forehead against hers. They set a rapid pace and soon they came undone together, each of them shouting as they came. Relief washed over the two of them, and Dean moved to slip out of her.
Lorelai righted her clothes and watched as Dean tucked himself back into his pants. She bit her bottom lip and stared at him, basking in the glow of what just happened. Of course, Lorelai being Lorelai, she had to break the silence with a joke.
"Good thing you anchored the table to the wall, huh?"
Dean laughed out loud at her antics and moved over to her again.
"Sure is," and he kissed her softly.
Gotta love that Sookie, Lorelai thought.
They had no idea what their next steps were, but they both knew that there was no going back now.
A/N 2: I drew inspiration from season 4 when Sookie mentioned she always picture Lorelai and Luke doing it on a table. I know that its commonplace to anchor dressers/chests to walls to prevent falling, but not tables. Alas, this is fanfiction, and I decided to have Dean anchor the table to the wall to make it secure 😉. I hope you enjoyed this one-shot. I needed to get it out of my brain.