A/N: I know I'm behind on updating "Hard to Express", but I have a week long break coming up so hopefully there will be more for that story soon! I wrote this little fic for #AGilmoreChristmas on Tumblr, and I hope you enjoy! Please leave reviews with your thoughts, positive or negative; I'm always open to feedback. Happy Holidays!

1995

He met Lorelai Gilmore on a Thursday. She gave him his horoscope and he gave her coffee and he thought that would be the end of their 'relationship' if one could so much as call it that. He thought she was just a visitor passing through, never to be seen again.

To his immense surprise, she returned a few days later with a little girl in tow. As she walked through the door, he heard the distinctive voice of the elder Gilmore Girl, as loquacious as ever, he would soon realize, remarking loudly, "the best coffee in town, I swear. And now that you're eleven, my big girl, you can have some!"

The diner was relatively empty, being in its post-lunch/pre-dinner lull. They took a seat and, upon seeing him, Lorelai exclaimed, "Two cups of coffee, please, Luke!" and then returned to talking a mile a minute to the girl. How she could be clearly understood was beyond him. Absently, he wondered how she remembered his name when he was certain he had not said it during their previous encounter.

When he brought, against his values, two mugs and a steaming pot of coffee to them, the little girl looked at him with bright blue eyes and stated, "My mommy says you have the best coffee in the whole world!" 'Mommy'?! He almost did a double take. Lorelai, obviously expecting such a reaction, calmly said, "This is my daughter, Rory. Rory, this is Luke, the amazing man with the coffee." Rory stuck out her hand, shyly though assertively. Her endearing expression made him feel compelled to shake it, even through his strong aversion to jam hands.

Lorelai smirked, though not unkindly. It was as if she understood the effect the little girl immediately had on him. "It's Rory's birthday today, and we were hoping to celebrate with some extra special french toast."

"Well, happy birthday. How old are you?" He did not normally converse with customers so much, children least of all, but the girls' presence brought out his talkative side.

"Eleven."

"Eleven, wow. Practically an adult. Special french toast coming right up."

He observed their conversation from afar, overhearing bits and pieces of their plan to celebrate. Close to the end of their meal, Lorelai handed Rory a bright pink envelope, her birthday present. "But I thought being able to drink coffee was my birthday present?" she replied. Lorelai just prompted her to open the envelope.

She pulled out a key and a picture. At the look of confusion on her face, Lorelai clarified, "That's where we're going to live from now on. Happy birthday!"

Luke flinched at her high-pitched squeal. "We have a house?! A real house that's all ours! This is the best birthday present ever, thanks Mom! I love you."

"I love you too."

(He did not charge them for the meal. Behind her protests, Luke noticed a hint of relief in Lorelai's expression. Money must be a bit tight, he deduced, especially with a new house.)

After that, he saw more of the Gilmore Girls, especially of Rory; she would come into the diner after school to read her enormous books and wait for Lorelai to finish work for an early dinner. He was reluctant to admit how fond he grew of the way she sweetly looked at him whenever she politely asked for a cup of hot chocolate, insisting she would have the money to pay for it as soon as her mom came. (He never added it to their bill.)

(She brought by Lane, her best friend, one afternoon, and introduced him as her friend. He could not help a warm feeling from spreading throughout his body, attempting to mask it by maintaining an expression of indifference and what the young girls believed to be anger. He swore his heart broke when she asked him uncertainly, "Are we friends Luke? I'm sorry, we don't have to be. I just thought…"

"No, we're friends Rory." His gruff voice grew softer.

Her grin was precious. "Okay. Good!" He almost smiled in return, but managed to maintain his mask of apathy.)

(He was growing soft.)

As the weather grew colder, Rory would stop by every day after school and for hours on end during the weekends. Lorelai asked him to allow her to just sit at the counter and read a book: "She enjoys spending time here, and the house is pretty cold and I don't want her to get sick, and of course I'll reimburse you for all the food and everything-" "It's fine, I don't mind." He truly did not mind; he had grown accustomed to the girl's presence and reluctantly admitted to himself that he missed her on days she did not visit. And he knew heating bills were expensive (Lorelai had confided to him about her financial troubles) and Lorelai was saving every penny she had to give Rory a nice Christmas.

It was a week or so before Christmas and Rory was exactly 26 minutes later than normal coming to the diner after school. Not that Luke knew the precise time she normally came in. However, he was quite worried at this unusual tardiness. He decided that if she did not come in ten minutes, he would call Lorelai to let her know.

She came in eight minutes later, visibly upset, not greeting him with her usual bubbly "hi, Luke!" He set down a donut and a mug of steaming candy cane hot chocolate (made especially for Rory) in front of her.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" His awkwardness had not faded with time.

She shook her head, attempting to smile, though it came across as more of a grimace. "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine. Thanks for the donut."

"C'mon, Rory, I know when you're upset. Something's up. You know you can tell me anything. I mean, we're friends, right?"

A genuine smile now. "Right. Okay, I'll tell you, but it's not a big deal. And… don't tell Mom, okay?"

He hesitated a bit. He knew how close the two girls were, and it concerned him that Rory was keeping something from Lorelai. He decided that if it was anything truly bad, he would tell her no matter what. "Okay."

"It's just that… I was late today because I want to buy Mom a Christmas present. I know how hard she's been working this year, and she bought the house and all, and I know she's trying to save money, and she doesn't ever buy anything for herself, and I just want her to be happy and have nice things. So I tried to buy this really pretty necklace, but it's too expensive, even though I've been saving up my allowance for three months now. And I obviously don't want to ask Mom for money to buy a gift for her, so I have to find something else. But this necklace was so perfect, and she's gonna get me a great present this year, I just know it, even though I told her not to, and I just want her Christmas to be as amazing as she always makes mine." She took a deep breath, evidently done with her long-winded rant.

Luke nodded, and then asked, without hesitation, "How much more money do you need?"

Rory sighed. "Another fifty dollars. And even if I work really really hard and save the money she gives me to buy snacks here, I won't have enough in a week. I just wish-" she halted, seeing Luke fiddling with the cash register.

He handed her a stack of bills. "Here you go. If that's not enough, just let me know and I can give you more."

Rory's eyes widened in disbelief. "But I can't accept this, Luke. It's your money. I didn't mean to make you feel like you needed to give me anything, I'm sorry that I did. I can just find something else."

"No, Rory, it's okay. I want you to have the money. I mean, like you said, your mom deserves to have nice things. And if giving you this money will make her happy, then I have no problem doing it."

"Are you sure?"

He smiled. "Yes, I'm absolutely sure."

Her smile made it all worth it. "Thanks, Luke! I really appreciate it. And I'll pay you back, I promise!" He shook his head at the offer and watched her run out the door.

The next day, she was only ten minutes late, and she showed him a beautiful necklace that he was sure Lorelai would love. She thanked him again profusely, and tried to give him back the extra twenty dollars he knowingly gave her, but he refused. (He wanted her to have some money, just in case she needed it, knowing that she spent all her savings on a present for her mother.)

She handed him a crudely wrapped package; she had apparently gotten creative with her brown paper lunch bag and some festive tape.

"What's this?" he asked, his stern expression masking the warmth he felt from the thoughtful gesture.

"Open it!" she insisted.

He pulled out a hand-made candy cane ornament that had evidently been painted by a child, and likely dropped several times, resulting in an odd pattern of red, white, and glitter. He could feel her analyzing his facial expressions in case he disliked it, but his smile was very much genuine. "Do you like it?" she asked, hoping for confirmation.

"I love it." He did not think he had ever spoken truer words.

"I know Christmas is still a week away and it's a little early for presents, but I just wanted to thank you for the money and for looking out for me for the past couple of months and for being my friend even though maybe you didn't want to. I'm sorry that it's a little messy; Chuck Presby knocked it over while it was drying so the glitter and paint kind of got messed up, and I wanted to make you a new one but the teacher said we only got one, and if you don't like it because of that it's fine, you don't have to use it or hang it up or anything…"

"Of course I'm gonna hang it up. Rory, really, it's perfect."

She smiled and turned to leave. As she was halfway out the door, he called back to her: "And I really did want to be your friend." Her heartwarming smile was enough to show the sentiment was returned.

December 24, 2007

The door to the Gilmore-Danes household, as the former insisted on calling it, burst open at a quarter to seven. Rory Gilmore, and several flurries of snow, flew into the foyer, where they were both met by an enthusiastic Lorelai Gilmore: "Rory! You're here! You even brought the snow with you! I was worried you wouldn't be able to make it."

"I took an earlier bus," the younger Gilmore replied. "Senator Obama wanted all the reporters to be able to get home to their families in time for the holidays."

"Well, that's it, he just won my vote! Sorry, Hillary!" Lorelai quipped back.

She was then ushered into the living room, and similar greetings and hugs were exchanged with Luke and April, who was spending the winter break with her father. Rory noticed the undecorated tree in the corner. "We had to wait for you to even think about having Christmas," Lorelai said regarding its lack of decorations.

After having a delicious dinner - because how could they not have the famous Luke's burgers on the night of the Rory Gilmore's visit home? - they started decorating the tree. Just as Lorelai was declaring that year's tree decorating a success, Luke quickly insisted that they hold on, and rushed upstairs to get something. The three women looked at each other, mystified.

He returned with a worn brown paper bag covered with tape featuring mistletoe and reindeer, out of which he pulled an equally worn, clumsily-crafted candy cane ornament. He placed it in what Lorelai would have called 'prime tree real estate location' and declared, "Now we're done."

"I've never seen that before. Where did you get it?" asked Lorelai.

Luke smiled. "A friend," he said simply. While the explanation did not quell the questions of two of the room's inhabitants, two other sets of teary eyes connected across the room in understanding.

Rory nodded to him. "A friend."