A/N: So I know it's been a while, but I wrote half the chapter and then entered this huge writers block. Instead of writing I just kept myself busy and finally I came up with a way to end the chapter. I'm not necessarily a hundred percent happy with it, but I gave it my best shot so I hope you like it. You shouldn't have to wait too long for the next update- I think I've figured out where I'm going with this story at long last. And as always, please review! It's incredibly encouraging to hear what you guys think and to actually know you're engaged in the story! Thanks everyone.

Home is an hour away.

And I don't even know my name.

And time bent like an hourglass.

We want to forget about ourselves.

Just 'til the night is through.

But the way back is sliding out of view.

- Midnight River, VAULTS

Lorelai hadn't thought about kissing Luke since the moment Rory had come home from her 3rd month anniversary with Dean, in tears because they had broken up. She hadn't had any time to think about anything. Rory had reacted to the break-up by holding in her feelings and refusing to let herself wallow, even if it was just for a day. She had jumped straight to being constantly busy. While Lorelai did admire her daughters ability to not think about the break-up, she knew that if Rory didn't let it all out soon, she would explode.

Late at night however, her thoughts turned to Luke. She still quite believe he had accepted her proposition and she really couldn't believe that before they had even put their arrangement into affect, bloody Rachel had shown up all perfect and exotic. And she had babbled on stupidly about coffee machines and sitting in closets, making a fool of herself in front of Luke and Rachel.

Lorelai wasn't quite sure where her and Luke stood anymore on the whole kissing thing. Would he still be willing, now that Rachel was back? Or would he change his mind? Lorelai wasn't quite sure which scenario she would prefer. Right then however, it was very early on a Saturday morning and her mind was occupied by Rory.

"Who are all these people?" Lorelai asked her daughter, as they stepped into Luke's Diner. She tried very hard not to think about what had happened between her and Luke. Rory was more important right then.

"It's the 6:00 am crowd," Rory responded, with a little shrug of her shoulders.

"I officially recognize nobody in this place," Lorelai commented, wondering if she had met any of them before around town, ever. She didn't think so. In all honesty Lorelai was certain she hadn't seen any one of them at a single town festival, event or meeting.

"Hey," A slightly accented voice said, sounding a bit too chirpy for 6am.

"Oh hi," Lorelai said, trying not to do a double take as she saw Rachel, Luke's on and off again long-term girlfriend, step behind the counter. What was Rachel doing, serving people and wearing Luke's apron like she owned the place? And where the hell was Luke?

"Coffee while you wait?" Rachel asked, in that annoyingly accented voice of hers.

"Oh bless you," Lorelai thanked her with a too bright smile, asking, "So Luke put you to work huh?"

Rachel acquiesced, "Yeah well I figured if I'm going to be hanging around here for a while the least I could do is help out."

Lorelai tried not to frown. "So you're gonna be hanging around for a while... Here?"

"Yeah I think so," Rachel responded with a small smile.

"Oh well that's nice," Lorelai told her. Too bad you're the spawn of Satan, flitting in and out of Stars Hollow, playing with Luke's feelings and leaving him high and dry every time.

"Yeah," Rachel responded, as Rory appeared at Lorelai's side, most likely looking for coffee.

"So where is Luke?" Rory asked Rachel, asking the one question her mother had been trying not to ask.

"Well we were kind of up late last night so I let him sleep in," Rachel explained to Rory, not noticing Lorelai's eyes narrow a little.

Lorelai tried her best not to choke on her coffee at the last part. Rachel and Luke had stayed up late, and now he was sleeping in. She knew all too well what that meant. They had slept together. "Sleep in? Luke?" She asked, the back of her mind selfishly wondering what it was like to sleep with a man like Luke Danes. She hadn't considered it before, but Lorelai had to admit that the prospect of sleeping with Luke didn't freak her out. It was actually kind of intriguing.

"Oh, believe me, it wasn't easy to get him to agree to it," oh, I bet, Lorelai thought bitterly, "But in the end, a little sweet talk, a couple of Excedrin PM he finally caved."

Before Lorelai had the chance to respond, Rory butted in with, "Hey there's a seat over there."

"Great," Lorelai replied, managing another small.

"Oh go, go! I'll be over in a sec," Rachel said, waving her off towards the empty table.

"Okay," Lorelai replied, not able to get rid of the nagging feeling that Rachel wanted her to leave sooner rather than later.

After Rachel left, Lorelai busied herself with reassuring her daughter that no one in town knew about the breakup, even though in all honesty she didn't believe her assurances herself. They lived in Stars Hollow. When something like this happened to someone like Rory, the towns beloved angel, the news spread like wildfire.

Lorelai's suspicions were confirmed after Patty approached her and offered to shoulder some of the blame. The whole idea that the breakup could be Patty's fault was entirely ridiculous but Lorelai humoured the dance teacher satirically. She then made the move to ask Patty to try and keep the rest of the town from talking to Rory about the situation. She knew Patty could get everyone under control, hopefully before anymore damage was caused.

"Oh well, uh, good morning sleeping beauty," Lorelai said to Luke in a knowing tone, as the flannel wearing diner man made an appearance. She took in his appearance and noted that he did indeed look tired, like Rachel had claimed.

"Yeah, well you know Rachel thought I looked a little tired," Luke offered in explanation.

Lorelai nodded. Maybe you're tired because you were up half the night banging your Runaway Bride, Lorelai thought to herself a little bit bitterly before she said to Luke, sunshine in her voice, "No, it's good. You need a little break."

Luke wasn't going to disagree with that fact because ever since Lorelai's proposition, sleep hadn't come particularly easy to him. "I guess."

Lorelai shot him a quick smile, saying, "You do." She hesitated a brief second before she asked Luke, not quite knowing if the topic of Rachel was open to be discussed or not, "So she seems pretty comfortable here, huh?"

"Yeah well she always could just fit in places, you know. It's a talent of hers," Luke replied, quickly glancing over at Rachel. He was glad she was busy with the diner right then. He didn't want her overhearing anything Lorelai said to him until he figured out where they stood.

"She looks good in your apron," Lorelai commented, turning her own eyes towards the woman being discussed.

"Yeah well, can I get you anything?" Luke asked, obvious uncomfortable with the direction their conversation was taking.

Lorelai took the hint. She didn't want to argue with him, and especially not over Rachel. "Oh, um," Lorelai began, "Do you think you could make those really crazy chocolate chip pancakes and go extra heavy on the chocolate?"

Luke blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Lorelai to back down so easily. "Yeah sure, any special occasion?" He asked to cover his surprise.

Luke watched Lorelai as she bit her lip softly then let out a long sigh, admitting to him quietly so that no one else could hear, "Dean broke up with Rory."

"What?!" Luke demanded, voice rising a little.

"Keep it down!" Lorelai told him, eyes commanding, "She doesn't want anybody to know about it."

Sadly for Lorelai, Luke was lost in the beginnings of a rant.

"Oh I knew it, I just knew that kid was trouble."

Lorelai nodded, quickly interjecting, "Yes you did, you knew it. Pancakes please".

Luke however was oblivious to anything but his rant, "Oh God, he's got a nerve. I mean what does he think he's gonna do better than Rory? Is he crazy? Jeez. Alright, well forget it ok. Good riddance, adios, bienvenidos, hasta la vista."

Lorelai raised her brows at his reference, but made the decision not to mock him right then for it. The pancakes were more important. She had a daughter pretending not to be heartbroken and while no food in the world could fix it, chocolate in any form was a good place to start. "Could we get off the small world ride and start cooking please?" Lorelai asked him, getting a little annoyed.

"How is she?" Luke asked softly, glancing over at the young Gilmore.

Lorelai's face softened, "She's been dumped by her first boyfriend."

"Oh man, I swear I would love to," Luke began, before breaking off when he noticed the expression on Lorelai's face, "Okay, I'm gonna put some whipped cream on the pancakes too."

Lorelai smiled. They were finally getting somewhere. "Thank you Luke," she told him sincerely.

"Yeah," Luke said, like he wasn't doing anything nice. For him, doing something like making a Gilmore girl something nice on a bad day was just part of his job description. He had made it his job to look after them a long time ago- much to Lorelai's initial chagrin- and he wasn't about to stop now just because Rachel had finally showed back up in his life.

"Not a word, ok?" Lorelai said, raising her brows. She didn't need Luke say anything to Rory either.

"I got it," Luke responded, turning to go and make the pancakes as requested.

Lorelai smiled at his retreating figure before she turned. The sight before wasn't surprising in the least. Kirk was standing next to Rory, offering his sincerest apologies in the same vein as Miss Patty had done. Lorelai let out a sigh before she headed over to save her daughter from further public embarrassment.

Not long after, Lorelai found herself manhandling Luke back into the diner after pulling him away from a fight with the 16 year old boy who had been accused of breaking her daughters heart.

"Inside now," She told him, giving him one last shove towards the diner doors. While she appreciated the fact that he loved Rory enough to try and keep Dean from even entering the diner, Lorelai didn't appreciate the Fight Club moment.

"I was just-" Luke started to explain, as he entered the diner and turned to face Lorelai.

"I know what you were doing, but don't Luke! That kid is 16. You don't try and beat him up in the middle of the street," Lorelai told him, "I love that you care enough about Rory to do that to Dean, Luke, but you can't do that to Rory. You can't air her dirty laundry or provide more fuel for the gossip machine."

Luke let out a sigh. Lorelai was right. "I know, you're right. I'm sorry," He told her with a little shrug of his shoulders.

Lorelai nodded and told him, "I know you are."

Luke took a moment then to glance around the diner and noticed that all eyes were on them. The whole room was silent, everyone concentrating on the exchange between the two of them with wide eyes. Luke noticed that Rachel was looking between them with a confused expression on her face. He filed that away in his brain for later. Now was not the time to deal with that can of worms.

"I'm, ah, going to go in the back and cool off for a bit," Luke told Lorelai.

Lorelai nodded, crossing her arms over her chest as he turned from her and headed through the door to the storeroom.

The diner erupted in conversation as the townies began to discuss excitedly exactly what had just gone down with the Rory-Dean-Lorelai-Luke situation they had just been witnesses to. With Luke gone, Lorelai noticed a couple of patrons had pulled out their cellphones to spread the news as quickly and effectively as possible.

Lorelai just shook her head and took a seat back at the table. Rachel came over and refilled her cup of coffee in silence, a thoughtful expression on her face. Lorelai smiled her thanks at the other woman, grateful for the gesture and forgetting for a moment that she didn't currently like Rachel.

She sipped her fresh cup of coffee as she waited for Rory to rejoin her, and wondering in the back of her mind what she was going to do about Luke.

Lucas Danes had never before met a woman as vivacious and full of life as Lorelai Gilmore. He had never met someone who could be strong and vulnerable, wise and foolish, loving or cold at the same time, in the same way that Lorelai could.

She had always intrigued him. Since the day she had walked into his diner five years ago, in a caffeine frenzy, Luke had been hooked. He had spent years trying to make sense of her constantly changing emotions and thought patterns, but now, he felt like he was back to square one.

During his cool off in the storeroom, Luke had found himself thinking about their new arrangement and the fact that she had said the word 'love' to describe the way she felt about how he had gone to defend Rory's honour like some white knight.

Thinking had only made him angry and frustrated. He didn't know where they stood in their friendship. He knew what he wanted from Lorelai ultimately- a proper relationship. But Lorelai didn't seem to know what she wanted from him and that was incredibly frustrating for him. Rachel's accusing eyes also hadn't helped. She had come back to town expecting him to be waiting for her and instead he had found a man who was very not in love her and very much in love with someone else. Whether or not she had picked up on the fact that it was Lorelai was a whole different question.

Luke had taken a moment to try and collect himself. He hadn't actually managed to get in control of his emotions- he still felt a rush of anger towards Lorelai for putting him in this position. But he had made himself go back out into the diner and continue on as if everything was okay. He brushed off Rachel's attempts to make sure he was okay. Instead, he threw himself into cleaning the tables and the counter, looking for something, for anything, that would help him not focus on the fact that Lorelai Gilmore was in the diner still.

It was something easier said than done.

Lorelai was sitting at a table, animatedly chatting away to Rory. She looked like she didn't have a worry in the world. Luke found it hard that she could brush things of so easily. He had always struggled with emotions and handling things, but Lorelai seemed to never let anything important affect her to the same extent that it did him.

Luke wiped a few more times at the counter, trying to look somewhat busy. As he wiped he became increasingly frustrated at Lorelai's giggling. It was loud and obnoxious. He gritted his teeth. Yelling at her would not help the situation at all. He was being ridiculous. Lorelai was always like this but for some reason, he found her carefree attitude particularly annoying today.

Actually, it wasn't for just some reason. He knew that. It was because he wanted her and he couldn't have her or yell at her or deal with any of his feelings with a diner full of people, and especially not with Rory and Rachel present.. Instead of yelling at her though, no matter how badly he wanted to, Luke headed back into the storeroom.

The silence in the storeroom made Luke sigh in relief. There was no more giggling, no more pretending nothing had happened between them and no more worrying about whether or not Lorelai and him had any relationship or friendship to speak of. Not speaking about the friends with kissing agreement was making Luke feel too insecure for his liking. It just felt like too much had been left unsaid. He started to count some of the stock he had, needing something to keep his mind busy.

"10, 15, 20…" Luke said, counting the pickle jars.

A pair of heels clicked on the ground behind him and he knew who it was, even before she opened her mouth or before the scent of her perfume registered in his brain. Lorelai's walk had always been so distinctive. It was how he knew she had entered the diner without looking up. The way she walked always made the bells jingle differently for her than anyone else. In the past, he had enjoyed her individualism. Right then however, he wished she was someone else.

"Luke?" Lorelai asked, in the same tone she used when she wanted him to do something for her.

"…25, 30…" Luke continued to count, ignoring her. He didn't want to talk to her right then.

"Luke," Lorelai repeated, this time a little more firmly.

Luke stopped counting. He didn't turn around to face her, because he was worried that if he did, she would use those blue eyes on him and he would feel his resolve crumble. Lorelai had that effect on him.

"Could you turn around please?" Her voice was suddenly hesitant to his ear. Luke couldn't help but frown a little. Lorelai rarely lacked any confidence. Her ego was taller than the Empire State Building.

Luke sighed, then turned around. "Yes, Lorelai?" He asked her, voice even. He was very careful to avoid looking directly in her eyes.

Lorelai stepped forward, and tilted her head to the side a little as she considered him. She was clearly a little self-conscious about whatever it was she wanted from him- maybe she needed a few roof shingles fixed again- but was now reconsidering even asking.

"Just say it, Lorelai," Luke told her, frustrated, "I don't have all day."

"Alright, um," Lorelai said, her gaze dropping to her feet for a moment and then back up to his eyes before she asked, "Are we okay?"

Luke considered her question. Were they okay? He didn't actually have an answer for her so he responded softly, "I don't know."

He watched as Lorelai pursed her lips and nodded slowly, doing that thing he knew she did when she was struggling to not get emotional. He mentally berated himself for a quick moment because he hated being the cause of that face.

"Okay," Lorelai said.

"Look, if you want to talk," Luke began after a few minutes of silence passed.

Lorelai looked at him, her face a little angry. There was a look, a spark, in her eyes that he was happy to see- mainly because it meant they were no longer shimmering with tears- but then he remembered that it wasn't necessarily a good thing to be on the receiving end of that expression.

"Okay, yeah, lets talk," Lorelai said a little scathingly, "So, Rachel, huh? What is she doing back here? Why did she come back? Did she come back for you? Are you together?"

Luke sighed. He should have known this was coming. Even if they didn't have this weird kissing arrangement, Lorelai still would be asking these questions. Maybe she wouldn't be asking in the same tone, but she would still have asked.

"Yes, Rachel is back. Why? I'm not quite sure that she even knows. She got a plane to Hartford on a spur of the moment. She didn't know what she was doing and when she showed up on my door I couldn't turn her away because she's one of my oldest friends... And if I had started a relationship with her, it would be any of your business would it?" Luke asked Lorelai, getting angrier as he spoke.

"None of my business?" Lorelai asked him. "I'm your friend, Luke!"

"Oh, is that what we're calling it now?" Luke asked, incredulous.

"We're calling what, Luke?" Lorelai demanded.

"Our-" Luke started, "Whatever the hell is going on between us!"

Lorelai stared at him, suddenly comprehending exactly what was going on. Neither of them knew where they stood and so they were yelling at each other. Communication had never been their strong suit.

"What?" Luke asked, suddenly sobered and confused by the small smile on her lips.

"Nothing," She responded, grin growing wider.

"Obviously something's up because you're grinning like a Cheshire," Luke commented.

"You know the Adventures Of Alice In Wonderland?" Lorelai asked, letting out a laugh.

"What if I do? I'm not a complete shut in. I have a little sister, Lorelai, and anyway, that's beside the point," Luke told her, shaking his head at her laughing face, "What's going on?"

"Remind me to mock you later," Lorelai told him before taking a step closer to him. "Kiss me," She ordered, looking up at him with her blue eyes.

Luke stared at her, not quite sure how they had suddenly reached this point where she was asking him to kiss her in the middle of the storeroom, next to a box of pickles. Obviously the friends and kissing arrangement was still in affect. He blinked as she took another step closer to him. He could smell the scent of her perfume now, and it was as intoxicating as he remembered.

"You can kiss me, Luke, I'm not going to break, or run. I like kissing you, remember?," Lorelai reminded him softly, her eyes trained on his.

Luke nodded, his hands moving automatically to her waist to pull her closer. She leant in and Luke met her halfway, feathering a series of light kisses in her lips. Lorelai returned the gesture, her hands moving to hold his face to hers as they kissed each other again and again lightly.

They pulled away a little to rest their foreheads together. Lorelai's eyes had closed at some point- she wasn't quite sure when. Luke's eyes were open, watching her breathe in and out.

"Wow," Lorelai breathed out. It was the only word she had to describe what she was feeling. Kissing Luke was definitely a good thing if the warm feeling in her stomach was anything to go by.

"Yeah, wow," Luke murmured back, closing his eyes to enjoy their moment.

"Again?" Lorelai inquired.

In answer, Luke pressed his lips back to hers. They kissed each other softly again, both getting used to each other in away that was only necessary when friends were crossing a line to becoming something more. He ran his tongue across her bottom lip, forcing Lorelai to let out a soft moan. The sound only encouraged him to seek entrance into her mouth, which she granted readily. Lorelai's hands moved from the sides of his face to his hair. The kiss deepened naturally as their tongues glided against each other.

It was Lorelai who broke away first, breathing heavily and eyes filled with desire.

Luke leaned back against the pickle shelf, his eyes opening to watch Lorelai who seemed to be struggling to get in control of herself. Luke wasn't finding it particularly easy either because he had just been kissing the woman of his dreams. The kiss had surpassed any of his expectations a hundred fold.

"Okay, I'm going to go back out before Rory gets suspicious," Lorelai told Luke the minute she got in control of her breathing and her face no longer felt flushed.

Luke nodded mutely.

"I guess I'll, ah, kiss you later?" Lorelai joked before she hurried from the storeroom.

Luke fixed his gaze to the spot she had been standing, trying to figure out how he felt about all of this. He raised his hands to his lips, feeling gently and realising slowly that they were a little swollen from Lorelai's fervent kisses.

He let out a slow, choking laugh. Lorelai had kissed him hard enough to make his lips swollen and that idea was as ridiculous to him as their whole kissing-but-still-friends relationship.

Luke heard Lorelai's laughter come from the diner and it sobered him up completely. He knew he should be feeling ecstatic right then, considering the fact that Lorelai Gilmore wanted him to kiss him. But the truth was, he felt like he had somehow sold his soul to the devil.