Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.

Author's note: Just a little little V-Day story inspired by a prompt I found on Tumblr. A couple things to note before reading the story. Takes in place in Season 4 but we have conveniently not included Nicole or Jason. As far as I'm concerned, they don't exist in this universe except for a brief call-back to Nicole in the next chapter.

This story will only be two chapters. The second will be uploaded a couple hours after this one. And then, that's a wrap.

Lorelai walked up to the diner's steps just in time for Taylor to come sailing down them courtesy of a scowling Luke whose presence filled the doorway. She stumbled out of the way, not to be taken out by a hairpiece and a sweater vest, and watched as Taylor composed himself and dusted off said sweater vest before he attempted to speak again only to be met with a vicious sounding threat from Luke that had him finally scurrying away from the diner. Once the show was over, Lorelai looked up at Luke with curious eyes.

"Are you throwing everyone out or is this just a Taylor thing?"

Luke looked down at her, seemingly just noticing her presence. He stepped to the side and held the door open so she could enter. "Come on."

She took a step and watched him carefully. "Not if this is going to end with me flying down the steps, these boots are not made for that activity."

"Do you want some coffee or not?"

"Yes, please."

"Then come on," he said with a jerk of his head to the inside of the diner. "I don't have all day."

She hurried up the steps. "Such a gentleman," she teased him, making her way past him and into the diner where she settled herself upon her chosen stool at the counter.

Luke was seconds behind her, rounding the corner of the counter and pulling out a mug and the coffee-pot with a well-practiced ease. He slid the cup across the counter to her before finding a stray menu and setting it down next to her coffee mug because he knew as soon as he didn't, she would ask for one even though she knew the menu backwards and forwards.

After taking a sip, she looked at him over the rim of her coffee cup. "Want to talk about it?" she asked, trading the coffee mug for the menu and briefly glancing over the lines.

"About what?" Luke responded as he started to wipe down the counter.

"Uh, the Taylor flying act that happened right outside the diner," Lorelai replied. "I was there, you were there, Taylor was briefly there. I think you may have ripped his sweater vest. I've never seen him move that fast before except that one time he accidentally gave away the wrong coupons for his store."

Luke continued to wipe down the counter. "It was nothing, just Taylor being Taylor." He nodded his head towards the menu. "You gonna order something?"

"Cheeseburger, hold all the healthy stuff, and fries," Lorelai answered. She waited until he gave the order to Caesar in the kitchen and was back in front of her before she spoke again. "You know just because you tried distracting me with food, doesn't mean I'm going to let it go."

"What are you talking about?"

"Taylor and the incredible, amazing adventures that led to him getting literally thrown out of the diner," Lorelai answered. She pushed her used menu out of the way and once again picked up her cup of coffee. "Now, tell me."

He crossed his arms. "Why do you want to know so bad?"

"To make sure that I don't do whatever he did to get whatever he deserved because as I said before but will say it again because it needs repeating, the boots are not made for flying."

Luke sighed, exasperated and knowing that she would eventually wear it out of him. "He wants to use the diner for speed-dating."

Lorelai smiled. "Now, see was that so hard?" she questioned then barreled on before getting a response. "Speed-dating, huh?"

"Yeah," Luke answered with a nod of his head. "He wants me to shut the diner down on Valentine's Day so he can hold speed-dating for all the lovely singles of Stars Hollow," he replied, the last part a direct quote from Taylor himself.

"Stars Hollow has lovely singles?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, not just Stars Hollow," Luke replied, getting worked up again. "He thinks word will spread and it'll get so big that we'll get singles from Woodbridge, and Hartford and Litchfield."

She smiled again, ever amused by his rants. "And he wants to hold it here at the diner, why?"

"He thinks I won't charge him," Luke answered bluntly, seething again from anger. "But, oh is he wrong about that! And he wants me to prepare a special Valentine's Day menu for all the lonely singles that are stupid enough to get roped into speed-dating thinking that they'll find their perfect match with asinine questions like 'what's your favorite color? oh blue, me too!' The whole concept is a waste of time."

"You think in speed-dating when you only spend like what, five minutes, with each other, that people focus on questions like what's your favorite color?"

"I don't know," Luke said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I've never been."

She feigned shock. "I never would've guessed."

He brushed off her sarcasm. "It's a waste of time," he reiterated. "What happened to meeting people the old-fashioned way?"

"Well, grandpa, times are-a changing."

"No, I'm serious."

Lorelai gestured his way. "This coming from the guy with the gut thing when it comes to dating."

"That works," Luke punctuated his point by jabbing his finger into the diner counter. "Speed-dating doesn't."

She held up her hands in mock-surrender. "I'm not pro speed-dating, it sounds like a nightmare. Sitting at a table while man after man rotates around spitting out what they think are interesting facts about themselves but it's just a reason that you wouldn't want to date them. I'm with you, it seems like a waste of time."

He tapped the counter with his fingers again. "I'm gonna go check on your food."

Lorelai nodded her head in response and traded their conversation for sipping on her coffee that had started to cool off. Her mind drifted to what had ultimately drove her to the diner in the first place. Not that she would've avoided the diner if the events of today hadn't happened but when the small things started to pile up, she needed the warmth of the diner. And the coffee.

Valentine's Day was approaching and that meant Stars Hollow was fully decorated in various shades of reds and pinks and there were cut-out hearts and cartoon cupids that plastered every store window. All except Luke's of course. And usually she would bug him into decorating the diner for the holiday, even if it was one red heart in the window, but this year, she couldn't even work up the nerve to bug him. It was as if everyone around her was in love or coupled up and planning something for the holiday and yet, here she was, single and no dating options in her near vicinity. And it didn't help that her last date was months and months ago.

Earlier this morning, she had spent the time she had devoted to meeting with Sookie and Michel about renovations for The Dragonfly, listening to Sookie gush over everything she was planning for Jackson for Valentine's Day and how he kept hinting at what he had planned for her. She thought that she could at least commiserate with Michel over their mutual lack of plans but apparently even he had plans for the holiday. To top it all off, her mother had graciously offered her a package deal that she had been gifted since it would go to waste with them since they had their own plans for Valentine's Day, like every other couple. It was an all-inclusive deal for a swanky restaurant in Hartford that promised a delicious multi-course meal, the best, bubbling prosecco, and fancy-shmancy desserts. Her words, not the restaurant's, but it still rang true. And, if she had a date, it would be something that she would've loved to take advantage of, not that she would let her mother know that, but she had no date. She didn't even have any prospects for a date.

And so, to the diner she came because if she could commiserate with anyone over this, it would be Luke. As far as she knew, he was in the same boat as her when it came to dating options. As expected, he was doing an excellent job of commiserating with her even if he wasn't aware of it.

"Dead cow," he deadpanned, placing the cheeseburger in front of her.

"Your customer service is top-notch, I hope you know that," she replied sarcastically.

"Need anything else?"

She smiled and pointed to the ketchup bottle that was clearly within her reach, if only she stretched a little. "Ketchup?"

He rolled his eyes but slid the ketchup bottle closer to her plate. "Anything else?"

She shook her head. "All good here." She waited for him to walk off before dressing her burger to her liking but when he didn't budge, she looked up at him. "Can I help you with something?"

"It's all a sham anyway," Luke answered.

"My burger?" She looked closely at the burger on her plate. "Did you give me a turkey burger?"

"Valentine's Day."

"Oh," Lorelai said as lifted a fry to her mouth and took a bite. From the sound of it, she was going to get dinner and a show. "Let me guess, it's a holiday created by a greeting card companies to pry hard-earned money out of the suckers willing to give in and participate?"

"Exactly," Luke agreed, unaware her intentions of egging him on. "They create this holiday that says there's one day a year that it's mandatory to show your love for your partner by buying flowers and candy and making reservations at a restaurant that's booked out weeks in advance, all because of the expectations people place on one day."

Lorelai nodded and agreed through a mouthful of burger, trying to encourage his rant on. She loved his rants. And it was perfect for the commiseration she sought.

"You could do any of that any other day of the year but that doesn't matter, not if you miss planning something for this one day of the year. It's manufactured to draw as much money out of consumers as possible. They jack up the prices of flowers and there are chumps stupid enough to fall for it all because of a fake holiday. It's a sham, it's not real."

"Hear, hear," Lorelai bellowed, holding up her nearly empty coffee cup in agreement and as a request for more coffee.

"You're agreeing with me?" Luke asked incredulously while he poured fresh coffee into her cup. "But you're crazy about every holiday. Last Valentine's Day, you badgered me into putting up decorations."

"I'm a new woman this year," Lorelai replied. "This year I'm on your side, I'm anti-Valentine's Day."

After putting the coffee pot back in its warmer, he leaned down on the counter in front of her. "Feels good to have someone to share this with."

Lorelai smiled at him. "Agreed."

The diner was in a lull and besides her, there weren't too many customers. Still, Luke left her alone for a minute to tend to the other guest's needs before he was behind the counter again and striking up a conversation centered around the holiday that they were now both against.

"I'm guessing you don't have plans for Valentine's Day," he said.

She shook her head. "Nope. No cupid with a special love arrow for me this year."

"If I decide to gouge Taylor out of all his money, you could always come to the diner for speed-dating," Luke joked.

She let out a small laugh. "With my luck, I'd get matched up with Kirk."

"Not even with Kirk, he has Lulu," Luke reminded her. "He's also approached me with a deal about renting out the diner for the night."

"Aw, that's kind of cute though," Lorelai pondered. "I'm sure Kirk would make it weird but it's a nice gesture."

"It's not happening," Luke said definitively.

"Again, I'm shocked," she replied sarcastically.

He grabbed the rag from underneath the counter and began to clean it again. "No plans at all, not even with Rory?"

"You think I have Valentine's plans with my daughter?"

His face was screwed with confusion, "Seems like something the two of you would do. You two have traditions for other holidays, this one doesn't have to be any different."

"I'm joking," Lorelai assured him from her tone before. "Rory and I usually do have a Valentine's Day traditions that involves lots of movies, the really cheesy rom-com ones, and all the heart-shaped candy we can buy for ourselves."

"But not this year?"

"Right. She's been seeing someone from Yale and he's made plans for Valentine's Day."

"Chump." When he noticed her expression, he continued on. "Him for falling for the manufactured holiday, not Rory."

There was a grin on her face as she shook her head. "You make things like this too easy."

"Glad I can amuse you."

"That's why I come here, dinner and a show."

He gestured down to her mostly devoured burger and fries that she was just playing around with at this point. "You done with that?"

She nodded and pushed the plate towards him. "Pie?"

"Apple or cherry?"

"Both."

He cleared the plate in front of her and returned mere moments later with a new plate covered with her requested two pieces of pie. "I'm out of ice cream so don't ask."

She pretended to salute him, "Yes, sir," before she started to dig into her pie. "But you know," she began, after finishing a bite of the combined apple and cherry pies, "Valentine's Day isn't all that bad."

"I thought you were being anti-Valentine's Day."

"I still am but I can see the value in it still, even if you do believe it's a made-up holiday. It can be nice to have a special someone willing to woo you on this day with flowers and candy, even if everyone else is doing the same thing with their special someone," Lorelai explained away with a small shrug of her shoulders. "It's a nice thought, that's all."

"I guess," Luke half-heartedly agreed. "If they're not placing too many expectations on the day, it could be nice."

"Aw, look at you Mr. Softy," Lorelai teased. "Falling for Valentine's Day."

"Not another word or I take back the pie."

She pulled her plate closer to her. "Don't you dare."

He shook his head and the tiniest of grins threatened his features. "If you're really into the holiday, it could be nice."

Scared that her pie might really be taken away, she chose to stay silent and settled for a smile that meant she appreciated his agreement on the topic. It could be nice. And this was nice; having a person to commiserate with and easy-flowing conversation with no hiccups where one person wasn't sure what to say. It was nice to have a friend. Honestly, it was kind of a shame that Valentine's Day was only reserved for couples, friends could spend time together and take advantage of great deals that were offered. Like the package deal that her mother had offered her and that the details for currently resided in her purse.

"Ugh, I wish friends could go on Valentine's Day dates," Lorelai sympathized with herself out loud, catching the attention of Luke. For him to not think that she was completely crazy, she retrieved the offer's details from her purse. "My mother gave this to me because her and my father passed on it, I guess she thinks I have a reason to celebrate, but look at it. A fancy dinner at a swanky restaurant, bubbly prosseco, and look at those desserts! They look amazing!"

Luke took the paper from her that laid out the specifics of what she was rambling on about. He saw it as another ploy to drag money out of those willing to shell out as much as it cost but she was clearly excited. "So why don't you go?"

"It clearly states it's for couples, Luke," Lorelai replied. "As in a couple of people. As in more than one. And I'm just one. No date."

"I'm sure you could find someone willing to tag along."

"And what, find someone that wants to date me and doesn't think it's crazy that I'm asking them out on a date on a day that has all these romantic expectations?" Lorelai questioned. "Yeah, that wouldn't come off crazy at all."

"I meant," Luke began to explain. "I'm sure you could find someone, like a friend who doesn't expect it to be a date, to go with you. Ask around."

"Maybe," Lorelai agreed. "It could just be a friend. Someone I already know."

"Right."

"Because then we'd be a couple of people," Lorelai followed up. "Taking advantage of a great deal. As friends."

"Shouldn't be that hard to find someone."

A plan started to form in her mind and a devious, little smile crossed her face. "You're right, it shouldn't be that hard."

He continued on, unaware of what she was thinking. "You have lots of friends. You could find someone."

She leaned her face into her hands and watched him. The same conniving smirk on her face. "I could find someone."

He caught her eye and the gears began to twist and turn in his mind. He knew that look. That was the look she gave him whenever she wanted something. The look he usually gave into. "No."

"I didn't say anything."

"But you were going to and the answer is no."

"You don't know that."

"I know that look."

She put on a mask of innocence, pretending to be blissfully unaware that he was indeed catching on to her newly formed plan. "What look?"

"That look!" he exclaimed with a finger pointing at her. "I'm not going to say yes."

Lorelai leaned across the counter, giving him her best and brightest smile as she asked, "Do you want to go on a Valentine's Day date with me?" Before he could answer, she tacked on. "As friends."

"No."

"Come on Luke, you just said..."

He interrupted. "I know that I said but I'm not that friend. You have other friends."

"Not that many."

"Go ask one of the not many."

"They're all coupled up," Lorelai replied. "But we're not. And it wouldn't mean anything, just two friends taking advantage of a great deal. Did I mention it's free because my parents know someone that know someone that gave this to them? It wouldn't cost either of us a single penny. Just a couple hours of your time."

"Find someone else," he said before he walked away from her.

But she was quick and popped up from her seat and followed him around the diner as he began to check in with other customers and bus a couple of dirty tables. "Come on, now, you gave me the idea."

"I'm working, Lorelai."

"And I'm not stopping you, just following you," Lorelai replied as she did continue to follow him. She even picked a up a few dirty dishes herself. "See, I'm helping. It's just one night, Luke."

"I'll take those," he said, ignoring her plea.

She tried to follow him into the kitchen but was stopped when he stopped in the doorway and wouldn't let her pass. "Like going out with me would be that terrible that you have to hide in the kitchen to get away from my questions."

"I said no," Luke shouted back, trading places with Caesar in the kitchen since it's the one place Lorelai wasn't allowed. "I'm working."

"There's no new customers and I can help with those dishes if it'll get you to agree to this with me." She wasn't opposed to begging and it looked like that's where this was headed. "Please, Luke. Just one night. It'll get you away from the diner, it'll be a nice night out. When's the last time you went out?"

"I'm fine with not going out."

"Okay, Unabomber, everyone needs to get out of the house every now and then," Lorelai chimed in. "Look at it this way, if you agree to this, you'll be away from the diner for the night and won't have to deal directly with couples on the holiday you hate and, bonus, you won't have to deal with Taylor and his constant nagging of wanting to have a speed-dating event and why you don't participate in the town's events."

When he didn't immediately respond and seemed to be thinking about what she was saying, she smiled. "I see I've piqued your interest."

"Being rid of Taylor for the night is promising," Luke said, meeting her half-way.

"That's the cherry on top," Lorelai quipped. "And all it'll cost you is spending a couple hours with me, away from the diner. Am I really that annoying to you that you'd rather spend the time listening to Taylor nagging you?"

He didn't answer that question because it was loaded and instead, he met her with a question of his own. "Would I have to dress up?"

"All I ask is that the flannel and the hat take a break for the night," Lorelai reassured him. "But if they're essential to getting you to agree to this, I'll allow it."

He blew out a breath. "Fine. I guess it won't kill me."

She let out a little squeal and clapped her hands together. "I love when men say that to me."

"I'm not wearing a suit."

"Oh, hon, I wouldn't ask that of you," Lorelai said, through a grin. "I'll pick you up at 8."

"You'll pick me up?" he questioned.

"I asked you out on this non-date," Lorelai reminded him. "So, therefore, I'm the non-dater and you're the non-date-e, so I'll pick you up."

"I can pick you up," Luke offered.

"Whatever works for you." She clapped her hands together again in excitement. "It's a date!"

His eyes widened and he clarified and repeated what she had said before. "Not a date."

"Not a date date," Lorelai agreed. "But a friend date."

He sighed and wondered exactly what he was getting himself into. "I'll pick you up at 8."

"It's not a date!"

I hope you enjoyed and as always, reviews are not required but very much appreciated!