Meanwhile, Luke wasn't doing much better. He called April on his way out to the woods saying that he had to go out of town for a few days and he wouldn't be at the diner. She had been disappointed, but had been satisfied with the lie that he was going to see Jess for the weekend.
Luke soon found himself in the middle of nowhere, setting up camp. When he was done, he sat on a fallen log, and played with the fire he had built.
He still loved Lorelai. He knew that he still loved her, that he had always loved her, and probably always would love her. Of course, he hadn't meant to tell her like he had. She just made him so angry these days. Everything she did made him want to yell at her, and he wasn't really sure why.
As he stared into the fire, he began to think about the fight the night before. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it had been a fight about them. She didn't mention the fistfight he'd had with Christopher or any of their other awkward meetings in Stars Hollow.
Stars Hollow. Half the town must had watched the two of them scream at each other, and now they were all going to be talking amongst themselves about it. He groaned and buried his head in his hands as that thought ran through his head. Not only was he going to have to try and figure out himself and Lorelai, he also was going to have to deal with all those stupid nosey people at home.
Luke was right to worry about what the town was saying. Patty had had a front row seat to the fight, and she had been considering quashing rumors.
But as soon as Lorelai returned Luke's admission of love, that plan flew right out the window. At the moment, she was talking with Babette about the whole debacle.
"Haven't seen her all day," she told Patty. "I've seen Paul Anka wander in and out a few times, but no Lorelai. Sookie did stop by at one point, but she didn't stay for long and she was definitely not happy when she left."
"They're like two mules trying to pull the same cart in opposite directions," Patty said with a shake of her head, casting a glance towards the diner with its 'Gone Fishing!' sign tapped to the door.
"What are we gonna do?"
"Keep Taylor from holding a town meeting about the situation while they're both . . . unavailable," Patty replied.
There wasn't much else to do. No one knew where Luke went when he was fishing and no one really wanted to venture over to see what exactly Lorelai was up to.
"And the ribbons! No ribbons this time."
"Unless they're purple," Patty said as she and Babette nodded in agreement before heading toward Weston's for coffee.
Getting over the wallowing was harder than it had been the first time.
Not only did Lorelai have to deal with the whole Luke incident, everything she had been holding back from the divorce came out to hit her full force.
It took nearly four days for her to get out of bed, and another five to be ready to face the world again -- mostly because of an upcoming wedding at the inn.
Luke returned to life sooner than she had, mostly because he couldn't afford to have the diner closed much longer. He slammed around in the kitchen, burning the food and yelling at the customers, much like he had after the breakup. The only person who didn't seem to notice and whisper was Kirk.
"It's bad, Rory," Lane said over the phone one day. She had gone back to work a few days ago, and was a little shocked at what she walked into. "Remember last year?"
"The funky burgers?"
"Oh yeah. We are totally there again. What happened?"
"What do you mean?" Rory asked. Sookie had just talked about her mother having the flu.
"Seriously, don't hold out on me. I want details about the fight," Lane said, not understanding why her best friend was keeping it close to her chest.
"There was no fight. My mom had the flu," Rory insisted as she continued to peck at the keyboard of her computer, editing an article while chatting to Lane.
"No. . . there was no flu. There was a huge fight in Luke's after he closed, though. Yelling and screaming and confessions of love before your mom stomped out in tears and Luke went fishing for three days." There was a long pause. "Rory? Are you still there?"
"What fight? I wasn't told about any fight!" Rory saved the article and got up from the computer, pacing as Lane told her what she had heard. "Are you sure?"
"I heard it from Miss Patty, who saw the whole thing."
"Damn it!" Rory swore as she stomped her foot. She needed to go home, to be with her mother, but there wasn't time. The last issue of the paper was coming out that week, and she had to start studying for finals.
"How's mom? Is she okay?"
"I haven't seen her in town in a couple of weeks. Sookie and her kids have been making more than a few trips to your house, though."
Rory groaned as she scrubbed her hands over her face, already working on mentally scheduling the time to go home for a while. A baby's cry broke the silence over the phone.
"I'm sorry, I gotta run. Once one starts, the other usually follows."
"Yeah, I know. Go be a mommy," Rory said sadly.
"I'll call later," she said as she hung up. Rory sighed and hung up as well. She contemplated texting Logan but she knew there was nothing he could do except offer her some encouragement and she didn't really need that right now. So she did the only thing she could think of.
"Hey, it's me, the lovable Gilmore Girl! If you're looking for Rory, no dice! She's off at Yale!" The message on the answering machine greeted Rory.
"You, young lady, have some serious explaining to do! Telling me you had the flu when you were really wallowing? How is that kosher? Now I'm gonna be freaking out until I can see you. You better call me!" Rory called into the phone before hanging up. She tossed the phone onto the table as she flopped down onto the couch, trying to get herself centered to finish that article and then start studying.
"Where did you get that?" Luke demanded, pointing a finger at the purple ribbon April was wearing. It had been a couple of weeks since the fight in the diner and the town had been mercifully quiet about it.
"Kirk gave it too me," she said as she dropped her stuff under the counter and sat down on a stool. "He's giving them out to everyone who wants one."
"Take it off. Right now," he said.
"What? Why? I like purple," she said, placing her hand over it to hold it closer to her chest.
"Because I said so. Take it off. That goes for every one else in here, too. You wear one of those ridiculous ribbons, you will be thrown out!"
Luke cast a critical eye over the diner as patrons grumbled but took the ribbons off, shoving them into pocket and purses. He knew that as soon as they left, they'd put them right back on, but at least he wouldn't have to see them in his diner.
"It's just a ribbon, dad," April said as she took hers off, not understanding why it was such a big deal.
"No more taking ribbons from Kirk. In fact, never, ever take anything from Kirk again. Got that?" He asked, leaning on the counter to look her in the eye.
"Yeah, ok," she said, her eyes getting a little wider at this whole performance.
"Good. Now, what would you like to eat?" he asked her, slipping back to the normal Luke she knew.
"You have got to be kidding me," Lorelai muttered to herself when the site of purple ribbons all over town greeted her.
Her gaze settled on Kirk who had set up shop in the gazebo with the ribbons.
She grinned weakly and gave a small wave to a couple of people who did the same to her, but didn't tear her eyes away from Kirk. Her eyes narrowed and she pointed a finger at him. She was pleased to see him pale visibly when he finally noticed her.
He quickly tossed a few ribbons at the crowd before grabbing the bucket and making a run for it. She followed him with her eyes as he ran off down the street before turning abruptly and heading back the way she had come.
She couldn't remember what she had needed in the first place, so she decided it must not have been important.
"Ribbons!" Lorelai exclaimed into the phone. "Purple ribbons! All. Over. Town!!"
"Mom?"
"Do you know anyone else who would rave about ribbons?" she asked as she paced around the kitchen. "I'm going to kill Kirk. And then Taylor, because Taylor has to be the mastermind behind all of this. Kirk couldn't possibly come up with something like this on his own."
"Maybe this is a good thing."
"Ok, maybe it's because I didn't go to an Ivy League college, but I can't see how the town taking sides again is a good thing."
"They're not taking sides," Rory pointed out patiently. "The ribbons are purple. How do you make the color purple?"
"You put red and blue together. . . " Lorelai said after a minute when it dawned on her. "I'm shifting my blame to Patty and Babette," she said as she sank into a chair at the kitchen table.
"Probably a wise idea. So, what's the plan?"
"Town meeting tonight," Lorelai said firmly.
"No! I can't miss this!" Rory cried.
"Then start driving," Lorelai said firmly.
"I can't!" Rory moaned. "Exams! Study! Make them change it!"
"See ya kid," she said as they signed off, ignoring Rory's please to delay the meeting.
Luke quickly locked the diner after Anna had picked April up before he stalked across the square to the town meeting. He was going to put Taylor Doose in his place once and for all.
"Tell him to stop," he heard Lorelai said. He stopped just around the corner of the dance hall. "Tell him to stop and take the ribbons back."
"Lorelai, dear, you know Taylor will want to have a discussion and a vote on this," Patty replied casually.
"I don't care what Taylor wants to do. I want Kirk to stop with the ribbons."
"Oh, you know Kirk He won't stop until Taylor says so and that leads up back to the discussion and voting."
"Well, good for him but it doesn't matter because I'm pretty sure you put Kirk up to this," she said in an accusing tone.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Patty replied as she turned and quickly headed into the hall. Luke finally came around the corner in time to see Lorelai throw her arms up in the air and pace around a little, debating whether to go in or to simply walk away and hope it would all disappear if she ignored it hard enough.
"Oh!" she said when she bumped into Luke. He reached out to steady her. "It wasn't Taylor," she said to him quickly.
"I know. Taylor isn't smart enough to come up with something like this," he replied as he let her arm go. The two stood there, outside of Miss Patty's, with an awkward silence hanging over them.
"So, uh, should we go in?" she asked, gesturing awkwardly.
"We could," he said, looking intently at her.
"Um, maybe we should," she said, finally looking at him. "What are you doing?" she asked as he took a step closer to her.
"Just stand still," he said quietly as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him as he dipped his head to capture her lips.
She was stiff against him for a moment before relaxing into him. The din from the meeting disappeared as people fell silent to watch the performance.
When they finally pulled apart, she wobbled on her feet for a moment before stepping away from him to catch her breath. He took hold of her waist again and pulled her close. "I love you," he told her. "I can't run from it and I can't hide from it and God knows I tried."
"Why now?" she asked him quietly. "Why all of this, all of a sudden?"
"Because we're both stupid, stubborn fools," he said simply. "And one of us had to make the first move."
"I don't. . . I . . . I can't do this again," she said, pushing away from him. "I can't let this happen again."
"Why?" he asked, staring her in the eye.
"Because we're not ready. We can't just jump into this . . .this us again like nothing ever happened."
"I never said that. Why are you even suggesting I'd think such a thing?" he demanded, angry that she would even think that.
"Why are you the one that's getting mad?" she asked him as she furrowed her brow. "I didn't say anything about you saying or suggesting that!" As the pair of them started to battle it out again, the town gave a collective eye roll but didn't stop watching.
"That's right. You never say or suggest anything, I'm supposed to read your mind!" he yelled.
"That's right! Because you are the good one in our relationship! You're the one who always told me what you're thinking and what's going on in your life!" she shot back. "God! You are such a hypocrite!" she yelled, jabbing a finger in his direction.
"And you're nothing more than some selfish teenager who never grew up!"
"At least I own up to my mistakes and do go running off into the woods every time something goes wrong!"
"At least I didn't sleep with my ex when my big plans didn't turn out the way I had pictured them!" he shot back.
"At least I didn't make promises, commitments, I couldn't keep!" she shouted at him as she stepped closer to him. "What happened to eloping to Martha's Vineyard and lobster at our wedding?"
"What happened to it being okay to postpone the wedding? When did it stop being okay not to rush into things?" he countered.
"It stopped being okay when you stopped including me in your life! It stopped being okay when we stopped having sex and you didn't seem to notice!"
The audience started to buzz at that revelation, but Luke and Lorelai didn't notice. They were too busy trying to hurt each other.
"So why the hell didn't you say anything?"
"If you loved me so damned much, why didn't you notice?" She stared at him long and hard. "Well?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for his answer. "That's what I thought. So much for being all in, huh Luke?" she said in a parting shot as she turned on her heel and headed home.
Luke watched her go for a moment before he turned and headed back to the diner.
"So," Kirk spoke up after a minute or two of silence. "Should we get the pink and blue ribbons out again?"
Lorelai got about half way home before she turned around and headed back towards town, towards the diner. She was going to finish this once and for all.
She was going to march into that diner and they were going to have it out once and for all. They were going to yell and scream and cry and fight until everything was out in the open and they could finally put this all to rest.
"Luke!" she yelled as she pounded on the door. She could see him in the back of the diner. "Open the door!"
"Why? We're done!" he called back, not moving any closer to the door.
"No we're not! We are going to finish this here, tonight!" they stared at each other for a long moment before he finally came over and opened the door to let her in.
She marched in and began to push chairs and tables to the sides of the room. She wanted them to be able to move around and not have things to hide behind while they were discussing. Much to her surprise, he did the same on the other side of the room. She dumped her things on one of the tables and came to stand in the middle of the room, arms crossed. He joined her after a moment, neither willing to go first.
"So? Go on then," he said to her with a nod. "This was your idea."
"I was all in, Luke. All in. I was ready to build a life with you, to let you in the secret Gilmore Girls clubhouse with an all access pass. I've never been willing to do that for anyone, let alone a man."
"And I wanted that, but I had to think of April."
"Of April or of Anna?" she asked him. "Every decision you made about that girl seemed to be based on what would make Anna happy."
"Of course! If she wasn't happy, then I couldn't see April."
"Then why the hell didn't you sit down with her and hammer out a solid plan? You plan everything, why the hell didn't you plan that?"
"She's my kid! I shouldn't have to stick to a schedule when I want to see her!"
"So what? I should have just stood around, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for you to get to know her and for Anna to be happy with the situation? I should have put my life on pause while you got all your ducks in a row?"
They had started to move around in the space they had cleared, almost circling each other as they fought.
"We don't all run a warp speed!" he yelled at her. She was so angry she didn't even crack a smile at the Star Trek reference. "We can't all make split second decisions about everything. We can't all just jump in head-first and damn the consequences."
"I know. That's why you talk to the people you love about things! Let them know what the hell is going on so they can help and offer support!"
"Like you did when Rory was born?"
"Leave her out of this, this is not about me and Rory, this is about you and me," she said in a tone that made Luke back away from the subject.
"Then leave April out of this. This isn't about us and her."
"Yes it is! Why can't you see that? This has always been about her and us! I can guarantee you that we wouldn't be here right now, having this fight if you had come to me and told me about her coming into the diner and stealing your hair! Hell, if you had let me meet her after you started spending time with her, we wouldn't be here!"
"So you're psychic now?"
"No, but I would still have been part of your life!" she said, working hard not to cry out of sheer exhaustion and frustration. "I would have waited without questioning you or your need for time if you had let me in!"
She didn't understand why this was such a hard concept for him to understand.
"What about you and Christopher? Why were you always sneaking around with him?" he asked, changing the subject.
"One time," she said. "I did that one time."
"And we broke up because of it."
"No. We broke up because Christopher got liquored up at my parents vow renewal after my mother invited him in some sick attempt to get her perfect ending."
"I seem to recall a last minute confession at that vow renewal as well," he pointed out as they both came to a stop, still facing each other.
"And that was stupid of me to keep it from you," she agreed. "But after that? After we got back together, did I ever keep things like that from you?"
"No," he grudgingly admitted. A small look of vindication came over her face.
"Were you punishing me?" she suddenly asked. "For Christopher, were you punishing me by keeping me away from April?"
He thought about this for a moment.
"Absolutely not," he finally said.
"Why the hesitation?"
"I was having an aneurism," he quipped. "I kept April from you because I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know how you'd react and all I could ever see happening was you leaving me and I couldn't let that happen."
"And that just worked so well. . ." she said as she rolled her eyes and slumped against the counter.
"I was worried that she'd like you better than me. You're fun and smart with a quick wit and always seem to know what kids like and want to do to have fun. You draw kids to you, especially little girls, effortlessly while I scare them away. I needed time! I needed her to have a chance to get to know me, to like me, love me, before I introduced her to you." Luke leaned against a table as they both collected themselves.
"It wouldn't have been like me and Rory," she told him after a moment as she moved away from the counter and towards the middle of the room again. "Me and Rory. . . we ended up the way we did because we had no one else for so long. Until she started school and met Lane, I was her everything and Mia was almost her grandmother. April . . . April had so much more than Rory did," she concluded, almost sadly, as she sank to the floor to sit.
She looked up at Luke for a moment and finally he came and joined her, sitting across from her. "I really wish you had told me."
"I wish I had, too," he admitted as he played with his shoelaces. "I wish you had said something, about how unhappy you were."
It was on the tip of her tongue to snip back that he should have noticed, but she didn't.
"So do I," she said. She knew he was right and she should have said something. "I was afraid of pushing you away."
"I'd say I did that just fine by myself," he said with a small chuckled. A small smile began to twitch at the corners of her mouth.
"So, um, anything else we need to get out in the open?"
"Why Christopher? Why go to him?"
"Because I had cried on Sookie and Jackson's couch the night before and Rory was throwing Logan a going-away party that night. I couldn't go home and I didn't know where else to go," she said truthfully. "I didn't go there with the intention of sleeping with him. I was upset and needed a friend to talk to. And then he pulled out old Jose and, as usually, his magical powers took over and I ended up in his bed, naked, as usual."
She looked everywhere but at him before settling her gaze on her own shoelaces. They had been bright pink with black stars at one point in time. Now they were dirty and the ends were tattered.
Lorelai looked up in surprise when she heard him move and was more than a little shocked to see that he had moved to sit beside her, his knee touching hers.
"I miss you," he said, taking her hand and lacing his fingers through hers. "I miss you as a friend, my best friend."
"Me too," she said, her voice a little shaky.
"So, You'll be here tomorrow for breakfast?" he asked her, still holding her hand. "I'll save a seat at the counter."
"Ok," she said, nodding her head as she cast a glance at their hands before bringing her eyes up to his face. He smiled when she finally looked at him and he stood, helping her up off the floor. He let go of her hand and grabbed her things for her as she brushed off her jeans. "The tables. . . "
"I can do it," he told her, handing her her things. "Go home, I'll see you in the morning."
"See you in the morning," she said softly as she slipped out of the diner and headed home. He watched her disappear into the night before he began moving the tables around.
Lorelai did show up the next morning for breakfast and she sat at the counter.
"Where's the blue mug?" she asked when he presented her with a large pink one.
"It had an unfortunate run in with the door," he said before leaving to take an order, giving her no time to question him.
Breakfast went smoothly and he asked her if he could expect her again tomorrow. She paused for a moment but eventually agreed that yes, chances were good. Mercifully, the ribbons never reappeared and no one talked about the very loud, very public fight they'd had in front of the town that night and for that, both of them were extremely grateful.
As time passed between the two of them, their relationship started to fall back into what it had been before they had started dating. She had him wrapped around her little finger, and he didn't fight it.
"April, you remember Lorelai, right?" Luke asked one day a while later when April showed up and Lorelai was still lingering over after dinner cups of coffee.
"My friends still talk about my birthday," she said as she took a seat beside Lorelai at the counter.
"Good. I'd hate to think my reputation was slipping," she answered with a smile. Luke stood back and watched them interact as he waited on the few remaining customers. April called out to him eventually and he ventured over and joined in the conversation, listening, as Lorelai was actually able to discuss some of the things April was learning about in school.
"I should go," April finally said. "I have home work to finish."
"Well, don't go and get too smart," Lorelai said with a smile. "You're too cute for a swelled head."
April chuckled and grabbed her bag, saying good-bye to Lorelai as she headed up stairs. "I should probably go to," she said, leaving some money on the counter. "Let you close up, spend some time with your kid while I go harass mine over the phone."
"Hey, you maybe wanna go catch a movie some time?" he asked her when she was just about out the door.
"Like. . . a date?"
"Freak you out?"
"A little," she replied honestly, her hand resting on the door handle.
"Then no, not as a date. Consider it part of my education," he said with a small grin.
"My place," she said suddenly. If they were going to do this, they were going to do it on her turf. "Saturday night, 8 o'clock. Bring April if you have her. I'll bring Rory."
"Sounds good," he agreed with a nod. "See ya tomorrow."
"Yeah, tomorrow," she said as she left. "I think I'm going on a not date date with Luke," she told Rory over the phone when she got home.
"A not date date with Luke?" Rory asked, putting her book down. This conversation was obviously going to require her full attention.
"And you have to come. I told him to bring April if he has her, and I said I'd bring you so you have to come. Saturday night."
"Sure," she said. "I'll be there with bells on."
The not-a-date date had gone well. April and Rory had hit it off like they had known each other for years. And with them there, the awkward factor was cut way down.
Within a month, their not date dates were a regular occurrence. Some times both kids were there, and some times it was just them. They had officially reached pre-relationship friendship again, and they both were reveling in it. Luke would listen patiently as Lorelai ranted about the latest Friday night dinner, and she would return the favor when he needed someone to complain to about the custody hearings.
The town was cautious about the renewed relationship between the diner owner and the inn owner. Patty and Babette both realized that it was a fragile thing this time around, and they treated the relationship with distance and respect. The rest of the town did, too. There were no cracks about how they were finally back together and hopefully they could make it work this time. People bit their tongues and kept their distance, coming in only when invited by the pair.
Lorelai had casually mentioned to Rory one day about how they didn't need a chaperone any more, and Rory had nearly spit her coffee across the Gilmore's kitchen. She knew that they were friends again, but she hadn't realized that they had moved to dating in only a few short months.
"You're okay with this, right?"
"If he makes you happy, I don't see how I couldn't be," Rory replied with a smile that Lorelai returned.
"I think things are going to work out this time," she said, playing with the rim of her coffee mug.
"Don't play things too close to your chest," Rory cautioned. "Don't keep it all bottled up."
"Fool me once," Lorelai said with a nod.
"Good luck," Rory said, raising her coffee mug in a small salute to her mother. Lorelai smiled as she returned it and their conversation quickly drifted back to lighter topics.
Her parents had had an opinion on matters as well, but they weren't the opinions Lorelai had been expecting.
"You only find your soul mate once, Lorelai," her father had told her quietly as the evening drew to a close.
"I know," she said with a nod, tears pricking at her eyes over the fact that her father would say something so meaningful to her.
Emily held her tongue when Lorelai had announced that she and Luke were seeing each other again and she had appreciated that. She had arrived that evening, ready to do 10 rounds with her mother over this decision but the battle never started.
"Don't lose yourself again," was all Emily said as she bid her daughter good night.
"I was wondering," Luke said one night when they were the only two left in the diner.
"Yes?" she prompted.
"I want to take you out," he said. "I want to take you out to a nice dinner, maybe even some dancing," he said confidently as he watched her reaction. "I want to have an awkward meeting at your door and at the truck and afterward, I want some suspense before I kiss you good night and leave you on your porch to think about what just happened before you rush in to call Rory and tell her all about it."
"You hate dancing," was all she said.
"But you don't," he answered simply. "I was thinking somewhere in Hartford. Not to upscale, but nothing with jeans either. Something mildly GQ-y."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Okay," she said after a pause. "Okay, but you can't promise dancing and then not deliver."
"Gotcha," he said as he handed her a to-go cup of coffee. "I'll call you after I have the reservation made."
"Good," she said as she stood up from the stool.
"Good night Lorelai," he said with a smile. She gave him a saucy little smile as she sauntered out of the diner and headed home, enjoying the mild evening.
"So," she said when they found themselves on her porch after their date.
"So," he replied, leaning against the doorframe slightly.
"Do you want to come in? Have some tea?"
"Sure," he said, not really sure where this was going. They went in and she made tea for him and coffee for her. She offered him a pop tart, but he declined so she did as well. They eventually fell into a rambling conversation that just didn't seem to want to end.
"You're stalling," he said, finally calling her on it.
"I am," she admitted with a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.
"Why?"
"Because I want more," she said truthfully. He looked at her across the table and he understood.
"There will be," he said as he stood and pulled her with him. "Many more dinners, many more movie nights with the girls, many more everything," he said, the last part in a whisper as he leaned in to kiss her.
It was long and slow and gentle and she melted into it, snaking her arms up around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist and pulled her close. The fit together like they had every other time they had kissed but something unidentifiable was different this time.
"Good night Lorelai Gilmore," he whispered when they finally pulled apart. He rested his forehead against hers for a moment before he pulled away and headed slowly for the door.
"Good night Mr. Danes," she said when they reached the door. He kissed her once more before he left and she stood in the doorframe and watched as he got into his truck and pulled away.
With a happy sigh she finally closed the door and returned inside. Her eyes fell on the phone and she contemplated calling Rory to tell her what had just happened, but she decided against it. She wanted this to be theirs, hers and Luke's, just for a little while.What they had was still so fragile and new that she was afraid it would fall apart if they thrust it into the world too quickly. So, instead of calling Rory, she simply put the used dishes in the sink, turned off the lights and called Paul Anka to follow her to bed.
"It's going really well, Rory," Lorelai said as she talked to Rory over the phone. She had moved down to New York to freelance while living with Logan.
"Are you sure?" she asked, casting a critical eye over an article she was working on.
"I am," she said confidently, and Rory was sure she could hear the smile. "Some nights? Nothing but talking."
"Good," she said, hitting the save button. "When do I get to start calling him 'daddy'?"
"Don't go," she said softly a few dates later. Luke hesitated on the porch. He had been aching to be with her for a while now, but he was afraid of pushing her.
"Lorelai," he started.
"I wouldn't be inviting you in if I wasn't ready," she said as she pulled on the lapels of his leather jacket again, bringing him forcefully into the house.
"Rory," he stated again.
"Is a big girl who is living with Logan in New York for the foreseeable future," she assured him as she closed the door and shut off the porch light. She slipped her hands under his jacket and slipped it off his shoulders, hanging it up by the door.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered to her finally as he pulled her in for a searing kiss which she eagerly returned. Her hands ran up his back until they tangled in his hair. One of his was at the small of her back, pulling her lithe frame tightly against his as the other tangled in her curls.
"You want to know a secret?" she asked him when they pulled apart and she began to lead him up the stairs.
"What?" he asked with a mildly amused smile.
"You are totally getting lucky tonight," she informed him with a giggle that he quickly silenced as they made it into the bedroom.
Luke immediately went for the zipper that he knew ran down the side of the dress as hers went to his shirt, working to get all the small buttons undone while she kicked off her heels. He stumbled a little as she was suddenly a few inches shorter and they both laughed as he shrugged off his shirt and she shimmied out of the dress.
They were instantly back in each other's arms and he was slowly leading her towards the bed and when she finally fell back onto it, he was right on top of her, following her down.
"You're over dressed," she muttered against his lips.
"Fix it then," he told her as he busied himself with her bra. She took his advice and quickly had his belt and pants undone as he kissed his way down her neck, paying attention to the indentation where her neck met her collarbone.
He smiled a little as she sighed contentedly. "Better?" he asked, pulling away from her to shuck his pants and shoes.
"Much," she said as she eagerly pulled him back down. His hands quickly found her breasts as hers relearned the curves of his chest and arms. She arched under him and gave a quiet moan as he brought his mouth down to her breasts and he echoed with one of his own as her hands skimmed over him and it wasn't long before they were naked and he was holding himself up above her.
"You're still. . . ?"
"Yeah," she said breathlessly as she guided him in. They both groaned at the contact and he buried his face in her neck for a moment before he started to move.
They had done these countless times before but something was different this time and neither could tell exactly what it was but as he snaked a hand down between them and she finally cried out his name, neither really cared.
They lay quietly afterwards, wrapped in each other's arms, afraid to break the still peace that settled over the room
"I love you," she finally whispered. "I never stopped loving you. I think I just forgot for a while," she said as she rolled over slightly to pillow her head on his chest. He squeezed her shoulders tightly for a moment.
"I think we both did what we needed to do," he replied in a whisper as well. "We needed to grow up a little more before we were ready. Needed to get some things out of the way," he finished.
No specifics were mentioned, but they both understood. On some level, Lorelai had needed to take one last stab with Christopher and he had needed to do things with April on his own.
"I was thinking," he said after another long moment of comfortable silence. "Maybe April could stay over here this weekend, in Rory's room." He played with the ends of her hair as he waited for her to answer.
"I think that would be good," she said with a smile. He kissed the top of her head, still playing with her hair as they both drifted off, naked and happy, in the moonlight.