Hope you enjoy!
Lorelai walked through the door first, the arm full of bags not slowing her down as she made her way to the living room where she unceremoniously dumped her bags onto the couch. Moments later, she was joined in the living room by Luke and April who each had bags of their own that were soon piled next to hers on the couch with some falling onto the floor. Paul Anka wandered into the living room and warily sniffed the various shopping bags before deciding that they were not a threat to him or his well-being, not like peas or popcorn. When Paul Anka curled up on the floor near the coffee table, Lorelai began to poke through the bags. She quickly surveyed their contents, taking stock of everything that they bought on their little shopping excursion before she turned to Luke and April.
"I think our shopping trip was quite a success," she boasted proudly.
"I think you two didn't leave anything in the store for other people to buy," Luke replied, first looking at Lorelai then to April who stood next to him with a smile on her face that almost matched Lorelai's.
April looked up at her father. "We left plenty of stuff in the store, anything olive colored specifically. I'm over olive, not to wear, not to eat. Bleh." She added a shiver in with her words to show that she was truly over the color.
"I'm with you there kid," Lorelai agreed. She smiled at her future stepdaughter before she dipped her hand into the shopping bag closest to her and pulled out a piece of fabric. "Plus I really love this color you're into now, cerulean right?"
April gave a nod of her head, "Cerulean," she confirmed.
"I'll have to remember that in the future." Lorelai ran her hands over the fabric. "I think this tablecloth will look great in the kitchen. You did a good job of picking it out Luke."
"Well both of you were hinting at a tablecloth," Luke replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He then smiled, "You know, I'm glad we went today. We had fun."
"April how good is your memory?" Lorelai asked, both her tone and expression turned serious.
The young girl looked confused. "Why?"
Luke looked just as confused as his daughter did but he knew Lorelai better and while this didn't make sense to either of them at the moment, it made plenty of sense to her.
In a split second her serious expression was gone and a mega-watt smile replaced it, "Because I don't have a tape recorder on me on the moment and I'm going to want to remember your father saying that he had fun shopping for as long as I live. Play it back for him if he ever grumbles about shopping again."
April laughed at Lorelai and the look on her father's face as he replied to Lorelai. "I've told you before that I don't mind shopping with you, I like going places with you." He turned his focus to April, "With the both of you," he clarified.
"I like it too," April said sincerely. She turned to the couch, quickly peeked into the shopping bags, and carefully selected the ones that contained everything she selected for her room. "I'm going to go put my stuff away."
"Okay kid. Tacos sound good for dinner?" Luke asked.
April nodded, "Sounds great actually."
With that, the young girl left the two adults and Paul Anka in the living room as she disappeared into her/Rory's room, eager to decorate with everything that was bought on their shopping trip after school. Once April was out of the room, Lorelai walked over to Luke and wrapped her arms around his waist.
She looked up at him, "I know you like doing things with me. I was just teasing, poking a little fun at you," she added on with a literal poke of her finger to his chest.
"I wasn't upset that you said that," Luke replied. "I just want you to know that I do like doing things with you, whatever you want to do. And I like doing things with April, it's nice to spend time with the both of you."
Lorelai sighed, "Yeah, it is."
"I was an idiot for not doing this earlier, for not letting you two spend any time together," Luke admitted.
"That fact has been well established." She gave him a reassuring smile, "But we can't really change the past, we're good now. That's what matters."
"Good."
"Now you get in that kitchen and make two of your favorite girls some tacos." She looked over her shoulder at Paul Anka who was sleeping on the floor. "And remember Paul Anka's dinner. You remember how he likes it?"
"Rare plus. Not too rare but not medium rare," Luke listed off dryly. "I remember."
She smiled and unwrapped her arms from around his waist before she started to make her way to the kitchen with Luke following behind her. "Good, he just has a lot of quirks."
"And I have everyone of them memorized. Crazy dog."
"You are the perfect man," Lorelai complimented. She stopped in front of the open bedroom door where April was quietly rearranging and decorating her space. She lowered her voice to a whisper, "I'm going to see if she needs any help, little bonding time."
Luke smiled, "Go for it."
While Luke moved towards the refrigerator to gather the ingredients for their dinner, Lorelai moved closer to the open doorway. She popped her head in the door before raising her fist and lightly knocking on the door frame until she gained April's attention.
"Hey kiddo," Lorelai greeted. "Want any help?"
"Sure." April moved to the bed, taking the striped cerulean bedspread in her hands. "I need a little help making the bed anyways."
Lorelai smiled and walked into the room. Standing on the opposite side of the bed of April, she stripped the bed of the quilt she put on it a few days ago and laid it gently on the floor. "Well that just so happens to be one of the things that I have years of experience doing. Long, long, before I owned my own inn, I worked as a maid at one."
"Really?" April asked, she held onto the bedspread and copied Lorelai's movements as they began to make the bed.
Lorelai nodded, "Yeah. I wasn't really even qualified to do that, no experience at all, but Mia helped Rory and me out a lot when I first moved here." She smoothed out a few wrinkles in the bedspread, making adjustments here and there as she continued to speak. "Fast forward a few years later when I first met Sookie and we worked together and we became friends. We grew close and both had a dream of opening our own inn one day. Long story short, we went through a lot and eventually opened our own inn."
"Wow, that's impressive," April complimented. She looked down at the now made bed, where Lorelai was fluffing the pillows and propping them up to make the bed look like one out of a home decorating magazine. "And I'm not just talking about the bed making skills."
Lorelai let out a small laugh, "Oh trust me it was a lot of hard work. You're already so smart, I'm sure you'll do far more impressive things one day." She clasped her hands together, "Okay, now the bed is made. Anything else you want help with?"
"Just decorating, putting the lamp of my desk, rearranging my school supplies, if you want to help with any of that."
"Of course I do. But I'll let you handle the school supplies part because if you're anything like Rory, you have an order in which they go that I won't understand so it's best if I just stay away from it." She grabbed the small lamp from the dresser. "I'll just handle the lamp for now."
"There is an order to my school supplies," April replied as she picked up a wire desk organizer that wasn't quite cerulean but close enough. "I like for everything to be in it's place."
"Nothing wrong with that, don't completely understand it because I'm not as organized." Lorelai perched the small desk lamp on the corner that was closest to an outlet. "You want it here?"
April nodded, "Yeah that's good."
"Remind me or your dad to put a light-bulb in it later so you can study." Lorelai moved away from the desk and sat down on the edge of the bed as she watched April grab her backpack and pull a few books out, carefully arranging them on her desk. "So your dad mentioned that you had a test today, how did that go?"
"Well it was in history which isn't my best subject, because my best subjects are science and math, but I'm pretty sure I aced it." April moved on from arranging her books to arranging her assortment of writing utensils. "Dad helped me study though, he quizzed me."
"Yeah he told me, hate that I missed that," Lorelai replied.
She had to work late the night before to help with a convention passing through town, leaving her to come home only after both Luke and April were asleep. April had been staying with them for a couple of days now but between Lorelai's schedule at the Inn and the young girl's schedule of her own, involving school and swim team practice, their time alone together hadn't happened yet. Lorelai had spent mornings and parts of the afternoon and night with both Luke and April but she wanted a little one-on-one time with her soon-to-be stepdaughter. Which is one of the reasons she offered her help in decorating April's room.
"You know that any other time that you need help studying and I'm around, you can always ask me. I spent years helping Rory study, when she would let me help her, so I know lots of studying techniques. We would even turn it into a game, I don't mind at all."
April nodded her head at the offer. "Okay."
"Okay."
Finished with the organization of her school supplies, April moved away from her desk and sifted through another bag. In just a few seconds, she pulled out a fuzzy blue rug which Lorelai was quick to help her spread across the floor in front of the bed. Both of them stood back and observed their work with April straightening up just a few of her things that were arranged on the dresser.
"So when are you and my dad getting married?" She asked nonchalantly, her back to Lorelai as she occupied herself with tidying up the items on the dresser.
Lorelai was glad that April wasn't watching her since the question startled her and she knew that she didn't hide the look of shock at all. The nonchalant bluntness that came from the young girl in the form of a question rendered her speechless momentarily which didn't get past April. She turned around to face Lorelai and immediately apologized.
"Mom says bluntness isn't my most attractive quality," April explained. "I just know that you two are engaged, engaged people usually plan a wedding, and I haven't heard anything about a wedding. Sorry if that was a weird question."
Lorelai shook her head and let out a small laugh, "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting you to ask that. You don't have to apologize though, you're just curious." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, wondering just what to say. "You're right, engaged people usually do plan a wedding but..it's just that your dad and I aren't exactly in a rush to the altar at the moment."
"I understand, you two seem to make each other happy and couples don't always need to rush into marriage, it's probably good to take time before, no rush," April said just as nonchalantly as before.
"Okay, that's it, now I'm convinced that your generation is trying to outsmart my generation, make us look dumb," Lorelai joked which, in turn, caused the younger girl to smile. She moved back and sat on the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to her for April to join her. "So tell me about school."
April joined Lorelai on the bed and swiftly delved into details abut her schooling. Lorelai listened on intently, happy to be able to have a few moments alone with April to connect with her and get to know her just a little bit better, since most of the stuff she knew came from Luke and the whatever she gleaned in the past couple of days by having April stay with them. While April was wrapped up in an anecdote about her friend Martha, Lorelai noticed Luke had stopped by the open bedroom door was watching them. She smiled, giving him a thumbs up to let him know that everything was going okay and he could focus back on cooking them dinner.
As April wrapped up her latest story, Lorelai leaned in just a bit closer as if they were going to share a secret. "So any cute boys in your class?"
"Is it okay if I read for a little bit longer before I turn out the lights?" April asked from her position in the chair that was placed close to the bed in her room. Her desk lamp had been fitted for a light bulb and gave her just enough light to pore over her biology.
Luke stood in the doorway of the bedroom with Lorelai by his side. He gave a nod of his head, "Real page-turner huh?"
April chuckled. "Oh yeah, mitosis is insane."
"Knock yourself out then, not too much longer though," Luke advised. "You do have school in the morning."
I know, I won't be up too much longer," April replied. "Goodnight."
Both of the adults bid their good-nights to April before easing out of the room and back into the kitchen. Luke shut off the lights in the kitchen, the small space still illuminated by a nightlight that was plugged into the wall since Lorelai insisted that Paul Anka needed a little bit of light to navigate around the house at night. After also saying goodnight to Paul Anka, Lorelai was the first one that headed upstairs.
While Luke brushed his teeth, Lorelai snuck up behind him and laid her head on his back. After a few seconds, she stretched onto her tip-toes and let her head rest on his shoulder, their eyes connected in the mirror.
"What's going on?" Luke asked.
Lorelai smiled at him in the mirror before she moved to his side and took up residence at her bathroom sink. "Oh nothing. It's just nice seeing you be all fatherly, making sure April's not staying up too late, advising her on a bedtime, helping her study, that sort of stuff. You're doing great."
The couple shared another smile in the mirror as Lorelai began to brush her teeth. "You really think so?"
Lorelai nodded, moving the toothbrush out of the toothbrush out of the way so she could speak. "Yeah, I really do. It's only been a couple of days but you're getting the hang of this fatherhood thing, it's nice to watch you and April together. She's lucky to have you."
Luke pressed a kiss to the side of her head when she started to brush her teeth again. "Thank you."
When she gave him a nod of her head in response since she was busy with her nighttime rituals, he exited the bathroom and climbed into his side of the bed. He pulled back the covers on the bed as he waited for Lorelai. The past couple of days served as an eye-opener for him since his fatherly duties were now called into question for more than just a few hours at a time. A rhythm was established though as the times were set to drop and then pick-up April from school, a task solely done by him. An after school routine was established as well, depending on April's various activities that Luke fit into his schedule at the diner. Before she remembered the convention at the Inn, Lorelai offered her time to pick April up from school if needed, but since the past couple of days were a whirlwind for her, Luke handled everything. Though at dinner, she did once again remind him that now that her schedule calmed down a little, she was more than happy to help whenever needed.
A few minutes later, Lorelai slid into bed next to Luke and pulled the covers up over her legs. She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Goodnight babe."
"Goodnight," Luke automatically replied. When she started to turn away from him and settle down into the bed, he tapped on her leg to get her attention. "Hey, what did you and April talk about earlier?"
Lorelai leaned up on her elbow. "Oh you know, just girly things."
"Girly things?" Luke questioned.
"We talked about school, her friends, a boy that she likes -"
"I know all about Freddie," Luke cut in.
Lorelai grinned as she fully sat up on the bed, "She talked to you about Freddie?" When Luke nodded, she added on, "Hm, I thought I might be special, learning about her crush and all. I would have never talked to my dad about a boy."
"Well she hasn't said much about him, she told me when I went on that trip with her math team," Luke replied. "She told me that she liked him but she was ignoring him. And I wasn't to stay too close to her at some times, keep a little distance."
"All normal teenage girl stuff," Lorelai informed him. "It's good that she told you though, shows that she wants to share things with you. I liked talking with her, just the two of us. You have a very smart kid."
Luke sighed and gave a slight shake of his head, "No idea where she got that."
"That's me with Rory." Lorelai paused for a minute. "There is something that April asked me about that I feel like I should mention. Just something that I wasn't really expecting her to ask."
"What is it?"
"She asked me when we were getting married since we're engaged and all. At first I didn't know what to tell her and she apologized for being blunt, but I told her that she didn't have to apologize, I just wasn't expecting that question from her, from my parents yes, but not her," Lorelai had began to ramble. "But I just told her that we weren't really in a rush or anything. Then she said it was probably good to wait and not rush. I don't know, I just thought you should know that, know some of what we talked about."
"We are getting married," Luke reassured her.
Lorelai smiled, "Well I know that, and I know we haven't set any plans yet which I'm fine with since things are really just settling down now after the custody battle and all. I just thought since April mentioned it to me, I should mention it to you."
"I'm glad that you did." Luke leaned in closer and pecked her lips. "Goodnight."
"Night hon."
When Luke settled down underneath the covers and turned his back to her, her smile faltered. Of course she knew that they were getting married, she no longer doubted that, not like she did months ago. But she still wasn't sure what was holding them back from at least setting a date and starting to plan for a wedding. Like she told April, she wasn't really in a rush but at the other hand they both weren't getting any younger and if there were any more kids in their future, which they both wanted, she wanted to be married before she got pregnant. And she wanted to get pregnant, provide Luke with a child, one that he could actually watch and father as the kid grew up so he wouldn't miss out on anything like he did with April. But she did want to be married first, go about things in the order that most people did.
Lorelai reached out for Luke, she wanted to further talk about a wedding, a marriage, their life together, the life they were already sharing together, talk without really rushing anything but also maybe have a plan to set a date or at least talk options – but the steady rise and fall of his chest told her that he was already asleep. She sighed deeply, the opportunity gone for now. Before she snuggled up underneath the covers, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and told herself that she wouldn't drag this out like before. She would approach him with how she felt and they would talk like a real couple.
Soon.
Little April/Lorelai talk, setting things up, will have more Luke and April time soon as well.
As always, reviews are appreciated.
