When His Mind is Made Up Part II
-All Jokes Aside-

Lorelai didn't bother trying to go through another period of absence at the diner. She returned the next day, the day after that, and so on. Though she was hesitant at first, Luke seemed okay with conversing normally with her. He no longer gave her looks, and his smiles were usually brief and directed downward. She noticed every time he did it. It wasn't done maliciously, and she knew this because she knew Luke. She wanted to apologize. For something. And, she felt worse everytime he'd communicate with her normally like he had not been hurt by her.

At the end of two weeks, Lorelai had settled on her office design, right down to the pen holder. Her and Tonya worked closely and collaborated openly to make it happen. As the two of them stood in Lorelai's office moving out clutter, Tonya began to discuss feelings that she was starting to have for Luke. As soon as Lorelai heard her broach the subject, her eyes rolled on their own. Luckily, she was facing away from her.

"He's incredibly sweet. We've been on two dates already, and I swear he is the most considerate man I've ever met."

"Mm-hm," Lorelai mumbled indifferently.

One thing that Lorelai had noticed was that Tonya couldn't really take much of a hint. No matter how disinterested she appeared to be, it would affect Tonya's stories none. Part of her was happy about that because she wasn't doing it to cause tension. It was just something that she had very little control over.

Tonya continued. "I know he's your friend, and you may not want to hear this--"

"Then, by all means, don't say it," she said quickly. She slowed her voice and added with a smile, "Because you're probably right. It'll be weird." So far, Tonya had kept from telling her details about her and Luke's dates...and things. And, frankly, she had absolutely no desire to know if there was an and things.

"Oh, don't worry, it's not about sex," Tonya said with a wave of her hand.

Lorelai sighed tiredly and smiled. "Good."

Tonya laughed. She stopped working and folded her arms. "He has the softest--"

"Tonya, seriously, I do not want to hear this," Lorelai said, unable to hold a smile.

She looked over at her. "Are you okay?" She asked hesitantly.

Lorelai sighed and collected herself. "I'm fine," she answered a little more blunt than she intended. "Can we just change subjects because...this is making me a bit uncomfortable," she said, now working more vigorously.

There was silence.

"Uh, d-did you two date?"

Lorelai kept touching her hair nervously. "No." She picked up a frame. "Do you think that we'll be able to work with this? I don't really want to get rid of it."

"Whatever you want to do," Tonya said, her mind somewhere else entirely.

"Then, why am I paying you? You're the damn designer," Lorelai mumbled smartly. Tonya still heard her loud and clear.

"Um, do you want to do this another day? I can come back," she said politely.

Lorelai shook her head with a soft sigh.

If guilt was a bullet, she would have been dead in that moment. It hit her hard and fast. She looked up at Tonya as she stood across the room from her. "No, you don't have to come back. We can do it now...and I apologize for that..." she said waving her hand as if pointing to her words before. "...back there. I'm having a weird day," she said looking down.

Tonya smiled slowly. "Are you sure? Because I can come back."

"I'm sure," Lorelai said genuinely. "Let's continue."

Tonya began to work again. "For a second there, I thought that you'd begun to dislike me."

Lorelai shook her head. "Of course not," she said quietly.

"That's good," Tonya said relieved. "Because I like you and this project." Lorelai smiled. "And, I really like Luke, and I think that in the future--"

"Yeah, okay," Lorelai began, "this really isn't going to work out. Maybe you should go."

Tonya looked dumbfounded. "But..."

Lorelai walked toward the door quickly. "I'll mail you a check for what you've done so far," she said before opening the door and slamming it shut behind herself.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Hey, do you mind hanging out for a few after I close?" Luke had asked Lorelai as she sat eating a half hour before lock up. She agreed, remembering that her plans for the rest of the evening only included her remote control.

When Luke and Caesar finished cleaning and Luke walked Caesar out, Lorelai was resting on her arms on the counter.

"Lorelai, you asleep?" Luke asked as he leaned toward her. When she said nothing, he reached up and slid his hand through her hair before thinking better of it. She sat up sluggishly and focused on him. "Come on. Follow me," he said as he turned out the last light and headed up the stairs. She slid off the stool and followed him up.

He held open his apartment door. When she entered, he shut it and headed toward his kitchen. Lorelai walked straight toward his couch, sat down, and leaned on the arm tiredly.

"You want a beer?" He asked loudly.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks," she said, eyes closed.

He made his way over to her, and Lorelai felt the couch dip as he sat down a small distance away from her. "Here's your beer," he said as he extended it to her. She sat up and took it from him with a smile.

She twisted her cap off and took a small sip. "Good," she said.

Luke took another gulp. "Yeah," he agreed before setting his bottle on the table.

Lorelai ran her fingers down the side of her bottle. "So, what's up?" She asked looking at him.

He slid his hands along his jeans. "I talked to Tonya yesterday," he said casually.

"Hmm, did you?" Lorelai asked calmly before taking another sip.

He looked at the side of her face. "Yeah." She nodded and looked straight ahead. "So, what happened there?"

She shook her head. "Nothing happened. I'm going to go with someone else."

"Was she not doing a good job? She wasn't what you wanted?" He asked.

She took another drink. "You can say that," she finally replied.

Luke released a sigh. "Okay," he said patiently.

Lorelai took several sips of her beer as she looked ahead. "Did you know that she broadcasted your relationship all over the place?" She asked suddenly.

Luke shook his head. "No, I didn't," he answered with slight shock. He looked into her eyes for a moment. "She did?"

She shrugged. "Kind of."

He paused. "Not much to broadcast," he said picking his bottle back up. "What did she say?"

Lorelai looked down. "Nothing really. I'm just..."

He watched her actions. "Did that bother you, what she said?"

She blinked nervously. "It didn't so much bother me as it..." She shook her head, "...it bothered me."

A crackle of thunder sounded, and they both looked at the window. Rain had already begun to fall. They turned back to each other casually.

"Uh, why do you think it bothered you?"

She looked into his eyes. Sookie was wrong. Gorgeous didn't do them much justice at all. "I don't know, Luke. You're one of my best friends, and I guess it was...awkward."

Luke smiled sadly. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear. "I can understand that."

Lorelai watched him intently. "I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

There was a small pause. "Tonya," she said simply.

"Don't worry about it. We wouldn't have lasted anyway."

"You broke up?"

"Yeah. But it's best, you know? I'd rather her break it off with me than me end up hurting her later on."

Lorelai nodded slowly. She dreaded to even think about how much influence she had over Tonya's decision. Though she didn't have to think about it to know.

She looked toward the window and watched the rain fall outside for a moment. "Luke," she said quietly as she focused on him once again, "I value our friendship a lot. It really means everything to me, and if I were to ever not have that...I just don't want to think of how that would feel."

Luke smiled and nodded. "I feel the same way." He paused. "It's a good thing we'll never have to find out," he said reassuringly.

"That's a pretty bold statement to make."

"Doesn't stop it from being true."

She looked down to her lap. "You say that now because nothing has happened. Our relationship is still the same."

"What's going to happen?" He asked confused.

She met his eyes for several long seconds. "I just need to know that your friendship will always be available to me."

He stared at her intently as her words tried to find clarity in his mind. Finally, giving her a kind smile, he replied, "It will."

He wanted her. He wanted to be with her. But, if she wanted and/or needed only his friendship, he would happily oblige. Even if her reasons were only out of fear of losing something he'd never take away. He would respect her wishes entirely.

She sat looking at him piercingly.

He looked away, then back at her. "You feel better now?" He asked, sensing how much worry she had on the subject.

"Yeah, I do."

He cleared his throat. "Well, I just wanted to talk to you about..." His voice drifted away, "But, I didn't mean to keep you..." he said pointing outside to the rain.

"Oh, it's okay."

Luke stood up and sighed as he looked toward the window. "Well, uh, I'll get my jacket and give you a lift, okay?"

Lorelai glanced outside, then back at him. "Don't worry about it."

"What, you want to walk?" He asked doubtfully.

She smiled. "No," came her soft response. She stood up too. "Why don't I just stay here until it lets up?"

Luke shrugged. "Sure. If you want. It may be a while, though."

"I don't mind," she said quietly. "You know, if you don't."

"No, of course I don't mind." He started swinging his hands nervously. "Okay, well, I know you're tired so, uh, let me get some more sheets for the bed."

Lorelai nodded as he went to get them. She looked down and picked up the bottles on the table and took them to the kitchen. Setting them on the countertop near the sink, she paused and looked back at Luke as he now worked on securing the sheets on the bed. She walked slowly over to him.

"Hey," she said. He looked up, and she smiled. "Do you have something that I can put on?"

He looked back toward his drawer. "Sure." He finished fixing the sheet before he went over and took out a shirt, some boxers, and some sweat pants. He extended them to her. She took only the shirt and the boxers.

"Thanks," she said before making her way inside the bathroom. Luke took the time that she was in there to change out of his clothes and into a T-shirt and the sweat pants that he had offered her. When Lorelai came out moments later, Luke was twisting his body like he was getting ready to run a race. She smiled at him and stepped over to the bed. He stretched several more minutes as Lorelai watched him silently.

He smiled at her. "I'm sorry. I'll be done in a minute."

"No, it's okay. Take your time," she said, not bothering to take her eyes off of him.

When he was finished, he headed into the bathroom.

Lorelai made herself comfortable on the bed and looked at the bathroom door thoughtfully. She got underneath the covers and ran her fingers through her hair.

When Luke came out, he went to his linen closet to get more sheets for the couch.

"You don't have to sleep on the couch if you don't want to. You can sleep in your bed," she said to him.

He looked at her and the bed. "But, you're in the bed."

"Very astute."

He glanced around. "No, I don't mind. It's no big deal," he said as he turned back to his task.

Lorelai just looked at him. "Luke," she whispered. He moved his eyes to her. "Get in the bed," she urged lightly. She scooted over to one side, glad that he had finally gotten rid of the twin-size.

He stood contemplating that action for several seconds before sighing deeply and walking over. He turned off all of the lights and climbed into the bed beside her. After settling himself in, he looked over at Lorelai. The lights from outside helped to see her face, her eyes looking back at him as she lay on her side.

"Are you still tired?" Luke asked softly.

"No," she whispered as she shook her head against the pillow.

Luke lay on his back as he continued to look at her. "Come here," he said quietly as he stretched his arm out to her. She moved without hesitation into him. She lay her head on his chest a bit as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You okay?" He asked.

Lorelai knew he was referring to all that had happened, all that she had caused to happen. And here he was asking her if she was okay. "How many times can you call someone amazing before it loses all meaning?"

"What?"

Her lips curled up into a smile. "I'm good. You?"

"Same." He looked toward the window as lightening lit up the room. "Nothing radical happened today at work?" He asked soothingly.

"No, Michel had off."

Luke smiled. "Oh."

Lorelai used her hand, which was lying languidly on his chest, to rub across him slowly. "How was the diner?" She asked.

Luke breathed deep at her hand movement. "It was okay."

"I'm glad," she said. She got a bit more confident as her hand moved over his side, then back to his chest in a not-so-subtle way.

"Um, Lorelai?" he whispered.

"Luke..." she followed.

She slid her hand gently across him again and placed her palm on the other side of him. She moved slowly to lay on top of his body. She looked into his face, and he looked back to her. She kissed his lips, then lightly brushed her lips over his before pulling back. Her voice came out in a soft whisper. "Luke, I want this with you. All of it." Her eyes scanned his face, and she smiled. "I want to lay in bed next to you while you ask me about my day. I want to be held by you. I just want to be with you. It feels too right."

"But, before, you said--"

"I know. I was scared...and, I thought that I was doing the right thing for us."

"And now?"

She stared into his eyes. "I'm doing the right thing for us," she repeated softly.

His hands came to rest lightly on her hips. "You sure about this?"

"I've never been more sure." Lorelai felt him expand beneath her. Still, with a serious expression, she asked, "Do you feel the same way?"

"Well, you're laying right on top of me," he said lightly. "Why would I say 'no'?" He teased.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking adoringly at him. "But, aside from that..."

He moved one hand from her hip to her face as he ran it against her cheek. "I'm way ahead of you."

She smiled. Looking into his eyes one last time, she lowered her mouth onto his. Slipping her tongue into his mouth, the kiss was heightened in seconds. Luke rolled her over as she grasped his head and kissed him sensually.

They slowly removed one another's clothes until they were lying naked on top of each other. Luke retrieved and secured a condom before they began a slow, fulfilling night of making love. The kissing, so tender and passionate, continued throughout, providing a pleasant muffle for them both.

After their peaks had been reached, Luke lay behind Lorelai. His arms lay wrapped around her middle as she stroked his fingers with hers. He continued to kiss her neck and shoulder softly.

"I can do this forever," she said quietly. They hadn't spoken, so her voice caused him to pause. But just for a second.

"We will," he said as he started to replace his lighter pecks with longer, more lingering ones. She moaned and moved her neck to allow him better access.

"Mmm, I hope you're right," she breathed out.

He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed another condom. "I know I am," he said before kissing her deeply.

-The End-

The last story was little too 'ooh, yeah, give it to me!' so I had to bring it back some. Hope you all don't mind.