A couple weeks later, Luke helps plan a graduation party for Rory. Liz comes to the diner with Doula for a visit. She asks Luke if he gave the necklace to Lorelai.
"That was just a backup gift for Rory." He tells her.
Liz doesn't buy it, "Oh, come on that was no backup gift and what about the song?"
"Forget about the song. The song meant nothing. We're friends. That's it." Luke says. He doesn't want Liz to pester him about Lorelai when he heard her say that the song didn't mean anything.
"Oh, and you're good with being just friends?" Liz says, clearly wanting Luke to admit his feelings.
"Yeah," Luke says, in a nonchalant way. If all she wants to be is friends then I'm going to have to accept that. We were just friends for eight years before being in a relationship, it shouldn't be too hard.
"I don't buy it." Liz replies.
"Well, then maybe you should give her the necklace then. I'm really busy here." He wants Liz to stop talking about it.
Liz gives up and asks Luke to make Doula's favorite food. Luke agrees, but he knows Liz will try to leave while he makes it so he tells her, "Don't slip out while I make it."
The next day, Lorelai and Rory come to the diner. Luke greets them with a friendly smile. Lorelai tells him that Rory's party is cancelled. The town members that are in the diner react sadly to the news. Lorelai says that Rory got a job.
"Congratulations, that's great news." Luke says to Rory. He happy for her, but he's wondering how Lorelai will deal with Rory being away for so long.
"Thank you. Yeah I'm really excited, but I'm nervous. I have to be a real reporter, yikes."
"You'll be a great one." Luke tells her sincerely.
Lorelai tells everyone that they can't have a party without Rory. The townies seem disappointed and Babette claims that they were promised a re-enactment. Lorelai and Rory quickly and awkwardly do their own little re-enactment. The townies aren't impressed. Lorelai says there's no time for the party, as Rory is leaving in two days. Lorelai tries to cheer everyone up by saying that it's more of a "see you later" than a goodbye. The townies still seem upset and so is Luke. He could tell that Lorelai really wanted to have this party for Rory. Well, maybe we can still have the party. He thinks, coming up with a plan.
Luke goes to the Dragonfly to find Sookie. He knows that she'll be happy to help. He tells Sookie they should throw the party anyway; it could be a surprise party. He has all the food anyway.
"You know, that's a very sweet idea, Luke." Sookie says.
"Yeah, I think Rory would really love it." Luke replies, nodding his head.
"I think Lorelai would love it." Sookie responds, clearly wanting him to respond a certain way.
Luke nods again, "Yeah, Rory and Lorelai."
"Yeah, Rory and Lorelai," Sookie grins and giggles a little. "I think we should do it."
"Yeah," Luke is thrilled that Sookie loves the idea. He tells her he'll need desserts and she says Jackson will help with whatever he needs.
Luke quickly plans a town meeting. Taylor was hesitant on the unofficial meeting, but he still attends. When he complains about Luke not having any permits for the grills, the town complains right back. They get everything planned, despite all of Taylor's protests. Everyone agrees to have everything ready to set up in the square after dark.
Lorelai and Rory almost see them bringing the tables into the square, but they somehow manage to get out of their before being seen. Later that night, with help from the town the party planning goes pretty smoothly, until Babette comes running up to Luke, she tells her ankles are swollen, which means it's going to rain. Luke can't believe it, after planning this whole thing; the weather is going to ruin it. He tries to think of a way to still have the party. They can't just give up; Rory deserves this party for all of her hard work at Yale. She's a great kid and the town loves her too much, cancelling the party will devastate them. And Luke knows Lorelai will have a hard time letting Rory go without a proper goodbye. Finally, Luke comes up with an idea that will have to work. He can sew all the town's tarps, tents and raincoats together. Hopefully, they will keep everyone and everyting dry. He tells everyone his idea and collects all their tarps, tents and raincoats. Sookie seems ecstatic about the idea, and Luke makes her promise not to tell Lorelai that he planned it all. She doesn't need to know.
While sewing the items together, Luke thinks about all the good times he's had with Rory and Lorelai. He remembers the necklace and takes it out of the drawer. He puts it in his pocket. Maybe I can still give it to her. Maybe she needs me to show her that I still love her. Or if she still wants to be just friends, that's fine too. As long as she's happy, that's all that matters.
At the party, Luke barely sees Lorelai. She comes to get food, but Emily pulls her away before Luke can serve it to her. A little while after that, the grills need more charcoal, so Luke goes back to the diner to get some. When he walks back outside, he sees Lorelai walking towards him. He walks up to her slowly. She stops in front of him and greets him, "Hey."
"Hey." He greets her back.
They both inhale. Lorelai meets his eyes and says, "Thank you."
Sookie must have caved and told her. "Oh, it's no big deal." He tells her with a small shrug.
She keeps eye contact with him and says: "Luke." Her voice barely above the volume of a whisper,
Luke looks into her eyes and tells her the truth, "I just… like to see you happy." He smiles softly.
Lorelai smiles back and drops her head a little and his eyes never leave hers. They both move in at the same time, as if there's some sort of invisible magnetic force pulling them together. Luke drops the bag of charcoal right before their lips meet in a tender kiss. He wraps his arm around her and when he feels her place her arm on his shoulder, he wraps his other arm around her and pulls her closer. The kiss feels new, but it also feels familiar. Luke moves his arm to around her neck and deepens the kiss. He feels Lorelai cling onto his arm. They kiss until they have to pull apart for air. When Luke pulls back barely an inch, Lorelai pecks him on the lips. Then, she pulls away and stares at him.
Luke grins at her and she smiles back. "Lorelai…" He whispers. He looks at her, wondering what the kiss meant to her. "I've been wanting to do that since that night at K.C.'s… but then I heard you tell Patty and Babette that the song didn't mean anything so, I j-"
Lorelai interrupts him, "No, Luke… I'm sorry you heard me say that. I just didn't want the town talking about us until I could figure out how I felt. The song meant something, Luke. I want you back, I want us back." He sees tears welling up in her eyes.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Luke replies simply.
Lorelai smiles and steps closer to him, she wraps her arms around his middle. He immediately hugs her back, savouring the feeling of having her in in his arms again after so long. They embrace a little longer, Luke being the one to pull away. "Oh, I uh… got you something." He says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the necklace box. He places it in Lorelai's palm. Lorelai opens it and gasps.
"Oh, Luke, I love it. Thank you." She tells him.
He smiles, "You're welcome."
"Can you help me put it on?" She asks. He nods and she hands it to him. He walks behind her and she holds her hair to the side while he puts the necklace on. When he moves back in front of her, he tells her what he needs to say and what he thinks she needs to hear.
"Lorelai, I love you. I don't think I ever stopped loving you." He says, somehow finding it easy to tell her his feelings.
"Luke… I love you too." She smiles softly, then frowns. "We need to talk still, but not tonight."
"I know." Luke agreed; he knew they couldn't just magically make everything right again. "But you're right, tonight is about Rory and we should get back to the party."
Lorelai nods then reaches out for his hand. He lowers his head and pressed his lips to hers again. They share a couple of short, sweet kisses. When they pull apart, he cups her face in his hands and takes her in, memorizing how she looks in this moment. She smiles at him again and he moves his hands off her face and picks up the forgotten bag of charcoal. She grabs his arm and they walk back to the party together.
About an hour later, they walk back to the diner. "You get some sleep." Lorelai tells him.
"I will." He replies. Then, he has a thought. "Hey, do you and Rory want to stop by for breakfast before you head to the airport?" He asks.
"Well, she's got an early flight, so it would have to be around five." Lorelai answers.
"That's fine." He tells her.
"Okay. We'll see you tomorrow morning." Lorelai says with a small smile.
He smiles back. She turns around and walks away.
The next morning, Rory and Lorelai come to the diner as promised. Rory thanks Luke for opening up the place.
"I've got to take care of my best customers." Luke tells her honestly.
They joke around about not knowing what to order. Lorelai looks right at Luke and says, "You know, I'm gonna need a minute, I can't decide." She has a big grin on her face and Luke is happy to see it.
"Take all the time you need." He tells her, knowing that there's another meaning behind her words. She still needs time to make sure she ready to be with him again. He's fine with that and he gives her a smile of his own to let her know it. He knows everything will work out for the best.
THE END
Author's note: Thank you for reading and reviewing. When I first read news of the revival, I didn't really believe it, and then I read "this is not a drill."… I'm so excited! I hope WB, Netflix and the actors can confirm it soon. I need to see Lorelai and Luke get the ending they deserve, an ending the fans deserve. I will find it hard to believe if they're not married or not even together in the revival… Please don't pull that kind of crap, ASP! Lol
I can't wait to see Scott and Lauren on screen together again!