BON VOYAGE, CON'T
Continuation of episode 7x22 "Bon Voyage." An exploration of Luke and Lorelai's reunion. Rated M. _
"I just like to see you happy." He had said, his voice sincere and soft.
Lorelai had never been one to be easily moved to tears. Sure, she would cry sometimes - out of frustration or sadness or hurt. She had cried more often when Rory was younger – when she was younger – and she was figuring out how to live on her own. She had cried the night before as she watched her grown daughter sleep. She cried when heartbreak knocked the breath out of her lungs. She had cried during the culmination of her relationship with Christopher, understanding that a lifetime of familial connections and friendship would not sustain her in their marriage.
Now, on her last day for the foreseeable future with her newly graduated daughter, at a town-wide declaration of love for the Gilmore girls that only Luke could have pulled off, Lorelai felt her throat close with emotion. All she had been able to muster when she had found him carrying charcoal back to the party was a small "Thank you."
Luke liked to see her happy. Despite everything, despite the years they had tolerated, loved, and tormented one another, what Luke wanted was to see Lorelai happy. Lorelai knew that seeing her happy was their relationship, distilled. The weight of that rendered her speechless and defenseless.
Their reunion kiss was gentle and inevitable. Lorelai's throat was thick with emotion as they softly pressed their lips together. Lorelai assumed Luke felt something similar. They pulled other as close as they could, Luke wrapping his arm around her shoulder and neck, Lorelai fisting his flannel and pulling his body to hers.
Lorelai let out an involuntary sob.
Luke pulled her into a hug. The longest, tightest hug she'd thought they ever had, one hand holding the back of her head as a gesture of comfort. Lorelai let a few more sobs escape as she buried her head in Luke's chest.
They stood that way for a while, Lorelai letting his solidity anchor her. She had felt so lost, for so long. More than just the profound changes that she had endured this last year, Lorelai recognized the force of all of the events over the last few years: her daughter becoming an adult – an adult that she had been estranged with more than once in the last few years; her relationship with Luke finally transitioning from friendship to partnership and the feeling of powerlessness and loss as their relationship broke down; owning a business; the evolution of her relationship with her parents. They'd been so sincere in their admiration of her tonight. Her relationship with Christopher. Whether or not Luke recognized the full extent of the tidal wave of emotion that rocked Lorelai, he was cautious in how he spoke to hear.
With care, Luke let Lorelai pull away from their embrace on her own time. He held on to one of her hands as she used the other to wipe moisture from her eyes.
"I'm sorry," her voice was quiet. Lorelai didn't know whether she was apologizing for her tears or for the last year. Luke didn't ask her to clarify. He held her hand in his, peering at her. "You didn't have to do all this."
Luke considered her for a moment. After a moment, when Lorelai turned her eyes up to meet Luke's gaze, he asked, "Lorelai, do you… know how I feel about you?"
The question was rhetorical, but Lorelai knew that her answer would vary depending on when he was referring to. For years, they had stayed firmly planted in not quite knowing how the other felt.
Luke didn't wait for her to answer. "Liz told me I'm lovesick for you."
Lorelai felt her cheeks flush and she looked down.
He continued. "She's right. She was right then, and she's right now."
Lorelai's eyes snapped up, wide with wonder.
"After everything?" She probed, "Before, you said… we weren't right together." Lorelai's voice was filled with hurt. "That we should stop pretending."
Luke looked tired. "I was hurt. I was… heartbroken." Lorelai had never heard Luke use that phrase. He continued, "I was mortified at how I let things fall apart. I guess I was trying to convince myself that this is how it was meant to be. That I didn't screw it up because it was never meant to be."
Lorelai felt her throat tighten with emotion again. "Luke," she said softly, tugging his hand. "You didn't screw it up." This time, Luke's eyes shot up to look at Lorelai. "At least not all by yourself." She smiled wryly for a moment, before thickly adding "I'm so sorry. For everything. For everything I put you through…"
Luke nodded.
Lorelai took a steadying breath. "And all this 'meant to be' stuff…" She shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know how you know. I do know that I just wanted you. I wanted to marry you. More than anything… clearly –" she scoffed at herself, "More than anything."
The weight of those words, the layered significance, hung between them.
"I wanted that too."
They exchanged sad looks.
Luke let Lorelai's hand fall from his as he reached around to his back pocket, producing a pink box. "I wanted to give you this when I gave you Rory's graduation present," he said, holding the plain rectangular box out to her.
Lorelai knew it was jewellery. Luke had almost always given jewellery to her in the same way – with little fanfare, as a gesture of love, most often something that his sister had made by hand. Lorelai opened the box gingerly, her blue eyes once again filling with tears as she saw what was inside.
"I love you, Lorelai." Luke said simply, as he watched her take in the necklace. "I've always loved you." He shrugged. "I'm not sure there's ever gonna be a time when I don't love you."
Lorelai fingered the necklace in its box. She wiped a tear that threatened to spill down her cheek. "I love you too." She whispered.
Luke nodded, seemingly accepting this, and pulled her into him again, clamping his arms around her middle. Lorelai slid her arms around his neck, the box with her necklace gripped in one hand. The tenderness of their earlier kiss remained, but both felt freer to let their longing for the other be known. Luke's tongue slipped easily into Lorelai's eager mouth, his hands, snaking up from her waist to cradle her face. They parted for a moment, appraising one another with gleaming eyes. Lorelai pulled Luke back into her, doing all she could to channel her emotion into a physical declaration of love and appreciation. "I love you, Luke." She repeated with resolve, pressing her forehead to his.
Luke let his eyes fall closed for a moment before kissing her on her forehead. "Here," he said, reaching for the jewellery box in her hand. Lorelai reached her own hands up to unclasp the gold pendant she had been wearing. Both wore nervous grins as Luke pulled the necklace from the box and fastened it around her neck. He let his fingers brush along her collarbone and chest, both admiring the piece and the gesture. "It's perfect." Lorelai whispered; her eyes locked on Luke's. A beat passed, Luke breaking eye contact first to look over Lorelai's shoulder at the party carrying on.
"You should probably get back," he said, tucking the empty box back into his pocket.
Lorelai looked over her shoulder, taking in the party that was still in full swing. Still toying the pendant of her new necklace, she turned back to Luke. Lorelai inhaled sharply to summon her courage. "I have some time."
Luke's response was tentative. They both knew the intended meaning of her words immediately. "This is your night with Rory." Luke responded.
Lorelai wondered about Luke's resolve. Throughout their friendship and later their relationship, both had struggled to clearly communicate how they felt and what they wanted. It wasn't that Lorelai worried now about the significance of this exchange with Luke and needed further assurance of where they were. It was just that she didn't want to wait – she wanted to seize fully this moment of realignment and comfort with Luke. She wanted to let herself be loved and to show him, without apprehension, how she loved him.
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks to you, it's the whole town's night with Rory." She took a step closer to Luke. They both grinned as Lorelai reinitiated their embrace. She slipped her arms around Luke's neck again, drawing herself impossibly closer to him. She let him follow her gaze to his lips.
"Lorelai…" Luke began faintly.
Lorelai pressed her nose to Luke's, a tender show of vulnerability and affection they hadn't shared for a long time. Luke couldn't help his hands from grasping Lorelai's waist. If he had intended to resist any further, it didn't seem that he could find the words. "There's time." Lorelai's voice was soft.
Luke parted his mouth involuntarily and slowly drew his hands up Lorelai's back.
"Can we… go inside? Lorelai breathed, caressing Luke's nose with hers.
"We don't have to… tonight…" His eyes searched hers.
Lorelai repeated the same gentle "Luke" that she had at the beginning of their conversation. She wanted to let go of hesitation or pretense, to just give in to the mutual longing they had both experienced for so long. Yes, they had been engaged, but old habits die hard. Her relationship to Luke had changed so radically over the course of the last few years. Urging them to just stay yes to each other – again – felt familiar and thrilling.
Luke captured her lips resolutely. The decision was made, and the flood gates were opened. Their kisses were fervent, Luke finding Lorelai's tongue again hungrily. Historically, Luke and Lorelai had refrained from such unbridled physical or emotional displays of affection, but right now, neither could be bothered to think about the town gathered only a few yards from them. They were mesmerized by the experience of kissing and touching one another again. It felt like a homecoming.
Lorelai reluctantly disengaged from Luke after a few moments, their breathing labored, lips swollen. Luke pressed a gentle kiss to Lorelai's mouth then tilted his head back to the diner. "So, inside?"
Lorelai noddled, lacing her hand with Luke's. She sidestepped the abandoned bag of charcoal and let him gently pull her from where they stood on the street toward the darkened diner. He held their interlocked hands to his chest, dropping kisses to the back of her hand, as he let them in the diner door. Lorelai could feel Luke's heart beating in his chest. She wondered if he was nervous.
Luke turned around to flip the lock on the door. He took Lorelai's hands into his, kneading them for a moment before flicking his eyes up to meet hers. His gaze was intense. "We'll talk more later."
Lorelai didn't know if he was asking her or telling her. She nodded. "We'll talk more later."
Luke's jaw tensed, accepting this. Rubbing his thumbs across her knuckles, Lorelai watched intently as Luke worked his jaw, considering his words. "We'll make this work this time." His voice was thick with emotion. "I'll make this work." Lorelai felt tears prick her eyes again at Luke's earnestness. "I won't lose you again," he broke.
"It's going to work," she whispered.
This time, tears pricked at Luke's eyes. Lorelai couldn't remember ever seeing Luke cry. The tears in his blue eyes glinted in the glow of string lights decorating the diner's exterior. "Okay," he smiled softly.
With a contented smile, Luke brought their lips together again, kissing one another with expertise. They were entirely wrapped up in one another. After a few minutes, the need for more was evident. Luke was hard against her, and they were mutually tugging at the other's clothes in distracted attempts to increase their connection.
"Take me upstairs?" Lorelai asked, grinding against the hard plains of Luke's body as best she could in their vertical position, in the doorway of the diner.
Lorelai watched Luke struggle to restrain himself against her movements, but she saw caution in his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"I'm ready for this if you are."
Luke closed his eyes and exhaled hard. "I've missed you so much." He ducked to kiss her again, his hands cupping her face, holding her to him with intensity.
Lorelai took that as confirmation that he was ready, too. She disengaged from him, biting her lower lip with a mischievous grin, and tugged Luke by the hand toward the staircase to his apartment. He followed closely behind her, groping hungrily at her lower back and the swell of her bottom. When she reached the top of the stairs, Lorelai paused outside the door. The weight of being back at this doorway was not lost on her, though she had little time to take in the moment. Luke tugged at their entwined hands to turn her around to face him. He kissed her solidly, urgently, causing Lorelai to fall back, hard, against his closed apartment door. He ground against her, his hands coming up to squeeze her breasts with unbridled longing. He was so hard in his jeans, straining against the zipper. The intensity of his grinding, kissing, devouring left her breathless. Luke ran his hands from Lorelai's breast down her body, rounding and squeezing her butt. He pulled her into him again, hard, against his concealed erection. Lorelai moaned into their open mouths. Their tongues continued to duel.
It was such a unique experience, this titillation for someone that felt at once both tantalizingly new and deeply familiar.
Luke moved his grip from her backside, circling one hand up between her things. He rubbed her hungrily through her jeans, eliciting a primal moan from Lorelai at the contact. It was overwhelming to be touched by him again. She friction her jeans provided as Luke massaged her – in fact, the intensity of the entire experience, of the last fifteen odd minutes, and the sensations Luke was creating for her had her rapidly approaching release.
Lorelai wondered if Luke sensed this. He knew her so well. He clasped his arm around her waist to steady her as she writhed against his hand, reaching behind her to open the door to his apartment. Luke guided her in, walking her backwards. They left the door open.
Once inside the threshold, Luke and Lorelai hurried to undress one another. There was little savoring or teasing, both utterly desperate to remove the barrier of clothing between them. To feel the other again, skin to skin. But with their lips welded together frantically, and neither of them willing to break that contact, undressing each other was difficult. Lorelai had unbuttoned Luke's plaid and had it pulled halfway down his shoulders when she reached down to his belt buckle. Luke had managed to remove Lorelai's cardigan sweater and had been tugging distractedly at her blouse. Her top was fitted around the bust and wouldn't slip off over her head easily, she knew. Realizing this, Luke went to the button of her jeans, popping it open and hurriedly pulling at the zipper. Having slackened her waistband, Luke slipped his hands more easily inside her pants, once again palming the curve of her ass, revelling in the feeling of her skin.
Lorelai moaned again at the contact. Frustrated, she retreated from their kiss, laughing as she tried to focus her attention on removing his clothing. "Off." She instructed, breathless. Luke chuckled at their shared frustration. With the space that Lorelai had granted them, Luke shook his flannel the rest of the way off his shoulders. He kept a piercing gaze on Lorelai as he pulled his brown undershirt over his head. His movements knocked the blue cap off his head onto the floor, but neither broke eye contact. Lorelai took in his bare torso with a strained inhale. Wanting to meet his intensity, she shimmied her top over her head and let it fall to the floor. Luke drank her in, reaching out instinctively to caress her breasts that remained in the simple black jersey bra she wore.
His touch felt incredible. Every touch, every look, sent waves of pleasure through her body. As Luke fondled her breasts with restrained reverence, Lorelai worked her tight jeans down her hips and stepped out of them. She bent over to unzip her black ankle boots and slipped her shoes and her socks off.
Luke regarded her with wonder. His belt was unbuckled, his top button and zipper fly undone. The circumcised head of his straining erection peeked out from the waistband of his boxer briefs, but Luke seemed too stunned by Lorelai's nearly naked presence to move to undress himself the rest of the way.
Lorelai reached behind her back to unclasp her bra and let it fall to the ground. Luke licked his lips.
"You're so…" he began, shaking his head in disbelief, "You are so beautiful Lorelai."
Lorelai blushed. Luke seemed stunned in place, hypnotized by her form in front of him. It was incredibly erotic watching Luke at such a loss for words. He'd always been enraptured by her, she knew, but Lorelai saw in him now a reverence for her that she knew was compounded by their traumatizing separation.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Luke reached out to hold her waist. "I can't believe this is happening." He traced his fingers up her abdomen to her naked breast, gently running a thumb across her pert nipple. Lorelai shivered. Bravely, Luke continued, his voice barely above a whisper, "I thought I lost you."
Luke's words shifted the atmosphere. Where they were previously ravenous, desperately hungry for the other, Luke's solemn gaze brought the emotional intensity of the moment into focus. He dropped his hands from her breast.
Lorelai stepped closer to him. Unwilling to break his gaze, she lowered black bikini-cut underwear down her hips, letting them fall down her legs and pool at her feet. Still maintaining Luke's gaze, she reached over to hold his hands that had fallen by his side. She placed his hands at her hips tenderly, reeling at the contact. "Touch me, Luke." She whispered.
Luke swallowed hard. It wasn't necessarily hesitation that Lorelai saw on his face. At least not the same hesitation she recalled seeing the first time they had had sex. Their first time, he'd been nervous. Lorelai had been, too. Their being together in that way was new and something they'd both fantasized about for a long time. Now, it was an apprehension that spoke more to their arriving to this point in their journey together. Finding their way back to one another.
Luke squeezed Lorelai's hips and rubbed circles into her hip bones with his thumbs. Lorelai tilted up to capture his lips again and sought his tongue with hers. He let his right hand move from her hip to her vulva. Lorelai rocked herself against his hand, drawing in a tight breath. Luke pressed his middle finger up into her folds. The sensation caused them both to gasp. Pressing his forehead to Lorelai's, Luke slowly moved a finger to stimulate her.
"Aghh, Lorelai," Luke's breath was caught in his own throat. He pressed his forehead harder to hers and watched their connection, taking in the feeling of touching her again. "Oh my god." His moan was guttural. "You're so wet. You feel so…" He was overwhelmed, she knew. He was slowly thrusting his hips up at the visual of having what was now two fingers inside of her. He seemed to entirely forget that he was still in his jeans.
Luke's reaction to touching her transfixed Lorelai. He caressed her labia, penetrating her vagina with skilled fingers. He found her clit by memory and let out a deep grunt as Lorelai bucked against him.
Lorelai felt tension build inside of her.
She needed more. Lorelai continued to move on Luke's fingers as she kissed along his jaw, taking his earlobe into her mouth. She suckled on his lobe for a moment, gasping his name into his ear as he brought her up with rhythmic persistence. "I need you," Lorelai breathed, her teeth tugging on his earlobe. She ground down harder on his fingers. "I need you inside of me, Luke."
At her words, Luke let out a loud, gratified groan. He slipped out of her vagina, but unwilling to pull away, he continued to massage her labia and clit.
Lorelai again attempted to finish removing his jeans but found herself distracted by his ministrations. "Luke," she begged, tugging frantically at his jeans to pull them down his hips.
Reluctantly, Luke withdrew his fingers from Lorelai's centre. He kissed her heatedly as they both clambered to rid him of his pants. Finally, his jeans fell to the floor, pooling around his feet and boots. Neither cared about removing them the rest of the way.
Eagerly, Lorelai sidled against Luke, reaching down to take hold of his erection, so substantially solid her grasp. She stroked him hungrily and Luke mewled her name. He held her at the waist again, his fingers at her hips wet with her own juices. Luke let her pleasure him for a moment, watching with awe as she worked his length.
Finally, Luke took steps backward toward his bed, pulling Lorelai with him, his movements restricted by the jeans at his feet. He sat down on the mattress, eyes still on Lorelai standing before him. He kicked his jeans and underwear from his ankles. Lorelai reached down to unlace one boot as Luke worked on the other. Once they'd been untied, Lorelai pulled his boots and socks off. Luke watched her, his mouth gaped open.
"Come here," he whispered to her, reaching out to help her up from her knees. She widened her stance around his legs, straddling him fully. She could feel her own heat radiating off her. Luke kissed her from her belly down to her mound, returning to attend to her vulva, this time with his mouth. He fixed himself to her thirstily, again unable to control his hips from thrusting as he pleasured her by sucking, licking at her earnestly.
"Luke," Lorelai whimpered, reminding him again of her need to feel him inside of her. Her hands were balancing on the curve of his upper back as he was slouched over, tasting her. She extricated herself from his eager mouth. He grinned up at her, lips and chin glistening with her arousal. Lorelai gave him a tender grin in return.
She inched knees up Luke's mattress, continuing to straddle him, crawling in tandem with him as he shuffled himself back further onto the bed. Lorelai let her full weight rest of him, her centre aligned with his. They moved together for a few moments in this position, revelling in the heat and wetness of Lorelai's sex on Luke's.
Suddenly, with a pained face, Luke halted their movements. He stared at his erection that she dragged through her folds, wet with his own pre-ejaculate and Lorelai's arousal. After his last year of fatherhood, Luke knew responsibility had to take over here.
Luke winced with reluctant recognition at his own lack of birth control in the apartment. He hadn't had any need for it in the last year. Keeping a box of condoms in his apartment while he and his adolescent daughter learned how to create a home together just didn't seem like a priority. "I don't h-have… anything here," he said lamely. He let Lorelai fill in the subtext.
Still straddling him, his throbbing erection nestled in her in own throbbing folds, she touched his cheek. "I'm still on the pill."
Now, she let Luke fill in the subtext. The difference between their respective last year was stark. Lorelai stroked Luke's cheek. A deep pain passed over Luke's features as the reality – the memory, she hoped he reminded himself – of her marriage to Christopher hung between them.
Lorelai could sense his hesitation, his stoney reluctance to ask more. They were going to talk more, she reminded herself. Right now, it was about them. "Luke?" she asked gently, "You ok?"
Luke's face tightened. She thought he looked… ashamed?
"Hey," her voice was even gentler still, "I know we said we'll talk more – and we will. About everything." She stroked his cheek again. "Anything." Lorelai emphasized, wanting to quell what she suspected was Luke's racing mind.
Her gentle insistence eased him out of his head. He cast his eyes down in self-consciousness as the heat that had been building between them was tempered by their very real, very complicated past. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, shifting a bit under her.
"You don't need to be sorry. It's a lot, I get it."
Luke met her eyes again.
"You can ask me anything," Lorelai assured him softly.
Indecision washed over his face. "Were you… uh, did you two…" Luke sighed at himself, "Were there going to be, uh, … kids?"
Lorelai's heart swelled in her chest. God, he could make her feel.
"Sorry," He murmured again, once again dropping his eyes from hers. "It's not my –"
Lorelai tilted his chin back up so she could meet his eyes. "Chris wanted to have a kid," she watched Luke closely. "I didn't." His eyes dropped again. "Not with him." Lorelai clarified. She brought her caressing hand back up to his cheek. "Not the right person." She smiled, recalling their conversation years ago as he fixed her shoe at the dance marathon.
A grin broke out on Luke's face. His voice was hoarse when he repeated, "I love you, Lorelai."
Expressing their love so freely, so openly was a joy. "I know you do." Her voice was just as hoarse with emotion as his. She closed her eyes, running her hands over his chest and shoulders with affection as she tried to contain the tears that so persistently sprung forth this evening. "Although I don't understand how you do—"
Luke interrupted her with a kiss, grasping at her forearms to pull her down to him. He worked her mouth over hers with searing purpose, running his hands over her face and hair, down her back, massaging circles into her lower back.
"Never known it any other way," he told her with sincerity, breaking away for only a second before he started kissing a hot trail across her jaw and down her neck He settled in the sensitive spot beneath her ear. Lorelai sighed with contended pleasure and began moving against him again.
The tone between them had shifted to one that was decidedly more tender, but time – both the time apart over the last year, and their time constraint now – fueled them.
Lorelai pulled herself back from Luke's attentive mouth, grinding her hip hard against him. With eyes locked on one another, Lorelai lifted her hips to allow Luke to position himself underneath her. They both cried out as Lorelai sank slowly down onto his shaft, her mouth hanging open at the feeling of thickness filling her tight heat. Luke wore a look of naked longing as he watched himself, transfixed, as his considerable length disappeared inside of her. Lorelai threw her head back in pleasure at the feeling of him inside of her. He filled her in a way so utterly incomparable to anyone else.
Lorelai braced herself with hands flat against Luke's chest, relishing in the sensation of him filling her. Her arousal allowed her to slide easily up his length before lowering herself again, taking him deeper. Impossibly, Luke grew harder, bigger, as she accommodated his full size. Lorelai felt as though she could cry when he was fully sheathed inside of her. Not out of discomfort, and not necessarily out of pleasure, but out of an overwhelming feeling of wholeness.
She continued moving on him.
After a few moments, Lorelai stilled on him, their eyes meeting, each recognizing how deep he was buried inside of her. In the literal sense, but also figuratively. "I love you so much." Lorelai couldn't help but repeat it. The emotional intimacy absolutely heightened the physical.
"I love you." Luke replied earnestly. He made no effort to encourage her to start moving on him again, waiting inside her instead with an unfailing gaze.
Lorelai blinked back tears as she began circling her hips with Luke deep inside of her, her breath hitching as she enjoyed his girth igniting every nerve ending in her walls. She quickly increased the intensity of her movements and gasped as Luke's solid shaft provided friction against her clit.
Luke continued to observe her in awe. He enjoyed the sight of her on him almost as much as he enjoyed the feeling of being inside of her, almost in equal measure. "You're so beautiful." He told her again with unwavering sincerity.
Lorelai continued to grind on top of him, alternating between rolling her hips against him and riding his length for as long as she could before the need for more took over. She began to ride him with fervor, Luke now bending his knees to be able to thrust up into her. His hands moved eagerly from her ass, up around her waist, grabbing at her breasts with abandon. He thumbed her nipples again, tweaking them as he increased his pace into her. Concentration and ecstasy were plain on his face.
Missing the proximity and heat of Luke's body on hers, Lorelai dropped down to hold herself over him with her forearms. He kept himself inside her as they adjusted to this new angle. Lorelai gasped at the pleasure this slight adjustment brought. Spurred on by her vocal response to the incredible change in sensation, Luke increased the power with which he bucked up into her. Lorelai ground against his thrusts with equal intensity. They shared unrestrained cries of pleasure.
Lorelai needed more contact and pressed herself breasts and torso impossibly further into Luke. Her nipples on his bare flesh felt incredible. They were both soaked with sweat. Lorelai was desperate to feel his lips on hers again. Their kisses were open-mouthed and wanton as Luke continued to hit her deep.
With an agonized groan, Luke broke their kiss and threw his head back on his pillow, thrusting up into her mercilessly. "Ah, Lorelai – " he cut off his own words as he squeezed his eyes closed, "Agh." He pounded into her, reaching under her to work her clit. "I'm close." He opened his eyes with a look that Lorelai read as embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he said, unable to slow their pace, "I…" he squeezed his eyes shut again, "I haven't… since…" he opened his eyes to look at her and could barely form the rest of his sentence, "… since we…" he shook his head, clearly unable to find the words.
Lorelai's heart swelled. He had nothing to be embarrassed about. He had tended to her thoroughly and her orgasm had been building steadily. But something about the admission of not having slept with anyone since her, coupled with his earlier admission of having been lovesick and so willing to tell her now how wholly he still loved her, sent her barrelling over the edge. She cried out his name as she came, hard, physical pleasure rivalling the intensity of her emotions in that moment.
Luke continued to thrust into her furiously as she rode out her orgasm, following her with his own unrestrained cry. Lorelai continued to move against him, milking him fully as he jerked and gasped at the intensity of his own release.
They gave themselves a moment to come down. Their bodies were entirely melded together, slick with sweat and their release. Luke pressed his forehead against Lorelai's and caressed her hair, lazily pumping up into her until the sensation became too much for either to bear.
"You're incredible," He whispered, finally stilling himself. He didn't pull out of her. Instead, Luke reached up to gingerly touch the necklace he had given her earlier. It was the only thing that she wore. Lorelai's hand clasped his and they held the pendant together. Neither spoke. They let a comfortable, meaningful silence fall over them as their hands and bodies remained connected.
Lorelai struggled to parse through the magnitude of the moment. She felt elated, comforted, safe – and beyond exhausted. As she came down from rollercoaster of emotions with Luke, she remembered her daughter and the town outside. She remembered that Luke had stayed up the entire night to ensure that she and Rory got this send off.
Luke seemed be at a similar loss for words. Lorelai clocked the sheer exhaustion on his face for the first time, noting that this exhaustion likely represented more than just the one sleepless night.
Reality seemed to dawn on them both. Still, without moving, Lorelai laced her fingers with Luke's on the hand that been toying with her necklace. She mirrored his affectionate gesture from earlier and brought their intertwined hands to her lips, kissing them gently.
"We'll talk more." She pressed another kiss to their hands. "Okay?"
Luke seemed relieved at the reassurance. He nodded.
"Tomorrow." Lorelai told him. She kissed their hands again. "I'm taking Rory to the airport. But after…"
"Hey," Luke said softly. He moved to shift them from the position they were in, rolling them both to their sides as he let himself slip out of her. "It's no rush."
Lorelai felt her eyes well up again. This time, she knew it was from the grief she felt at Rory's departure. "I know, but…" emotion stuck in her throat, and she couldn't finish her sentence. As overwhelmed as she was by the impending change in her and her daughter's lives, Lorelai wanted to be clear that she intended to address her and Luke's reconciliation with care. It dawned on her then that she didn't know if this was, indeed, their reconciliation.
Again, Luke seemed to anticipate her thoughts. "I'm not going anywhere," he told her, caressing her cheek. "Rory comes first. Take however long you need." He spoke firmly, resolute. "I'll be here. We will figure this out."
Lorelai smiled at his insistence. "I'm ready, though. I don't… want to wait."
"Okay." Luke smiled at her. "I don't want to wait, either."
Lorelai smiled broadly despite the tears in her eyes. She blinked to keep tears from rolling down her cheek. "Then we won't. And we'll talk – about everything. Soon. For as long as we need to."
Luke nodded. He pressed a kiss to Lorelai's forehead and pulled her into a hug. "I love you." Lorelai squeezed her eyes to bask in his words. Hearing Luke tell her that he loved her never got old. She expected it never would.
"You should get back to Rory. To the party," he reminded her, kissing her forehead once more with finality.
"You're right. You should get some sleep." She stroked his hair. "You must be exhausted."
Lorelai saw a look of panic cross his face, Luke seemingly realizing that he had yet to say goodbye to Rory one on one. This time, Lorelai read Luke's thoughts.
"You stay here. We'll come for breakfast tomorrow. So you can say a proper goodbye." Lorelai smiled softly. Luke's unending care for Rory had always been constant. "It'll be early." She warned.
Luke pressed another kiss to forehead. "Doesn't matter what time." He told her. "I'll be there." Lorelai recalled him saying something similar to her years ago, in the entryway of her house right before Max's hasty proposal. She smiled at Luke's remarkable consistency.
Lorelai pressed her lips to his in a reluctant goodbye. "Okay." She said, peeling herself from the warmth of Luke's bed and embrace. He held out his arm to touch her as long as he could before she stood up fully, searching for her discarded clothing on the floor.
Luke watched her dress.
"I'll walk you out." Luke started to sit up, pushing away the covers that enveloped his naked form. He started scanning the floor for his own clothing.
Lorelai had made quick work dressing, not caring in the slightest how she looked. She held her boots and her cardigan in her hands. "Stay. I've got it," she told Luke gently. He relaxed into a seated position against the pillows, his covers pulled around his waist. "Get some rest." Lorelai leaned down to press another kiss to his lips. She clutched her boots and sweater to her chest. "We will see you tomorrow."
Luke kissed her again, holding her to him by the back of her head. He kissed her soundly, sucking and tugging on her lips. Lorelai felt herself getting drawn back into him. "Tomorrow," she told him with resolve, "Bright and early."
Luke accepted her retreat. "Take my key," Luke told her, his eyes searching the floor. "They're in my jeans pocket. Lock up and let yourselves in tomorrow morning whenever you're ready." He gestured to his pants that were discarded right next to the bed. "I'll be here." He told her again.
Lorelai reached down and retrieved the key from his pocket. "Thank you, Luke. For… all of this. For everything."
This time, Luke refrained from telling her it was no big deal. He just shook his head and smiled at her, adoration plain on his face. "I love you." He said again, and then, with a hopeless grin repeated her words: "Tomorrow."
Fin.