A/N: I've read and appreciated a fair amount of fan fiction over the
years, but I've never felt the need to write my own. Still, I've often
felt if there's a story that needs to be written then there's only one
thing to do--write it. When I saw the finale, I was as excited about
that much anticipated kiss as anyone but I also noticed that Lorelai
wasn't lovingly gazing into Luke's eyes after that kiss. She looked
shocked and a little scared, like someone she had come to rely on and
even take for granted a little had turned her world upside down.
Lorelai scared is an interesting character and the Luke we've seen in
recent weeks, who knows absolutely what he wants, is also a very
interesting character.
Both of which hopefully lend themselves to an interesting story.
Thus this will likely only be a few chapters. Be kind, it is my first fanfiction. But lots of feedback is good, because it is my first fanfiction.
SPOILERS: Probably just for the season 4 finale, but consider anything that has already aired to be fair game at this point.
COPYRIGHT: The characters belong to the wonderful writers who created them.
......
...........
Lorelai's head was swimming as she drove her jeep back from the house to the Dragonfly. Too much had happened that night and, even in the dead, quiet streets of a sleeping Star's Hollow she couldn't seem to process it all.
She had opened an inn.
Luke had kissed her.
Her parents were officially splits-ville.
She had kissed Luke.
She had seen a naked Kirk running through the square.
Rory had become an adultress.
After their fight Rory had come sobbing back into the house and locked herself in her room. Part of Lorelai had wanted to stay and comfort her, but another part just didn't know what to say. Rory and Dean had done the unthinkable and there was nothing Lorelai could say--or would say--that could take the shame out of it.
For now though, she needed to be back at the inn and so she continued to wind her way through the night.
......
...........
Luke sat on the front steps of the inn waiting for Lorelai to return. He had just calmed Kirk down enough to send him back upstairs to Lulu for what was certain to be an interesting talk. On any other night Kirk's eccentricities would have driven Luke to distraction, but tonight was not like any other night and oddly Luke knew all about the crazy things people do for love.
He had kissed her.
He could still feel her on his lips and under his hands, as if he had been branded by her touch.
He had kissed her and it had been everything.
It was the reason that man scaled mountains and wrote sonnets. A hundred cliches about romance he once would've been far too jaded to utter aloud, suddenly made sense. Everything made sense. The answer to the question of the universe was not 42--it was Lorelai.
Luke smiled at this. He'd done a lot of smiling lately. He was vaguely surprised that all his smile muscles still worked.
There was only one person that could ruin Luke's mood and it was in that moment that he strolled around the corner.
......
...........
The headlights of the jeep swept the darkened inn as Lorelai turned into the inn's small parking area near the entrance. It was between the warm porchlights that she and Luke had shared their first kiss.
It still seemed unreal. It was as though someone had told her "today the sky will be lime green and the oceans bright orange" and then walked away leaving her dazed in a world that had quite suddenly gone fluorescent. It wasn't that she didn't like fluorescent. She did own a fair amount of shockingly coloured attire after all. It was just, she was used to the sky being blue and the oceans being blue. She liked blue. Blue was reliable. Blue had always been there. Blue like the hat she'd given Luke so many moons ago.
As Lorelai stepped from the jeep, she heard voices carrying across the dimly lit square. Angry voices. Oh, what if they woke the guests? If Taylor lost a minute of his beauty sleep she'd never hear the end of it.
Lorelai jogged toward the inn's entrance and found yet another crisis unfolding--Luke and Jason ripping into each other with heated words. They didn't even notice her approach.
"I won't ask you again," Jason was saying. "Where is Lorelai?"
"I... don't... know," Luke said slowly as if speaking to a five year old. "And even if I did, I think she's made it very clear that she doesn't want you here so why don't you just go home."
"What are you, her bodyguard?" Jason snapped. "You get to approve or disapprove of who she dates."
"I think Lorelai can make up her own mind about who she dates," Luke said smugly, perhaps a little too smugly.
Jason's eyes narrowed, "So is that it, burger boy? You think you're good enough for her. You think you can offer her half as much as I can."
"I've proven to Lorelai what I can offer her," Luke said firmly. "Fancy car, big money and sueing her father. Yea, you've done loads for her."
"We are right for each other," Jason said glaring Luke down.
"No, WE are right for each other," Luke said taking an omnious step closer.
"ENOUGH!"
The two men snapped their heads around to see Lorelai, her arms full with CDs and bandaids, staring at them in disbelief. "Unbelievable! So what's it going to be? Pistols at noon? Duelling swords at sunset? Plastic shovels at the sandbox?"
"Lorelai, I-" Jason began, but Lorelai cut him off with a wave.
"Jason, leave now or I swear to God I will sick Michel or Michel's Chows on you--whichever I can lay my hands on first."
She watched as Jason's face fell, that impossible ego of his crumpling slightly. "Please Lorelai," he was begging now. Lorelai doubted he'd sincerely begged for anything in his life, in his world where he always got his way. Always.
Pained and exhausted, Lorelai closed her eyes, "Just go."
Jason left, saving one parting dark glance for Luke. Luke had the presence of mind not to gloat, although he edged closer to Lorelai as Jason strode off. Even though she and Jason were over, Luke could see she was in pain and wanted only to be near her. And he could now. After years of watching Lorelai shoulder the world alone, he could finally show how much he cared without awkwardness or pretense.
Lorelai was lost in thought as she followed Jason's retreating form across the square, only jolting from her trance when she felt Luke's hand upon her shoulder. She turned, and felt his shirt brush against her arm, not flanel but something crisper and cleaner. She gazed up at him, seeing but not seeing him. His hair looked softer now that it wasn't confined under that blue baseball cap.
"I'm sorry," he said, his thumb brushing lightly across her shoulder. "I tried to get him to leave. I figured you'd probably had enough excitement for one evening. Not that a little excitement can't be nice too just that-"
Lorelai stepped suddenly away from him, "I really need to get inside."
"Okay," Luke said, a touched baffled.
"I mean, between naked Kirk and everything else tonight, who knows what could be going in there by now," Lorelai said as she backed her way up the stairs.
"Well, the naked Kirk problem has been dealt with," Luke told her, "and as far as I know everyone else is asleep and enjoying the restful experience of staying at your inn."
"Good. Thank you. Very good," Lorelai nodded. "Maybe you should be doing that too. Enjoying a good night's sleep at the inn. It is after all what you came for, right?"
Luke walked slowly up the stairs as Lorelai continued to back her way into the lobby. He felt a wave of unease wash over him as he watched her set down the CDs and bandaids on the table in the lobby. She couldn't seem to look at him.
"Lorelai..." he whispered.
She turned, smiling a little too brightly, "'Night. I'll see you at breakfast." Without another word, Lorelai beat a hasty retreat.
Both of which hopefully lend themselves to an interesting story.
Thus this will likely only be a few chapters. Be kind, it is my first fanfiction. But lots of feedback is good, because it is my first fanfiction.
SPOILERS: Probably just for the season 4 finale, but consider anything that has already aired to be fair game at this point.
COPYRIGHT: The characters belong to the wonderful writers who created them.
......
...........
Lorelai's head was swimming as she drove her jeep back from the house to the Dragonfly. Too much had happened that night and, even in the dead, quiet streets of a sleeping Star's Hollow she couldn't seem to process it all.
She had opened an inn.
Luke had kissed her.
Her parents were officially splits-ville.
She had kissed Luke.
She had seen a naked Kirk running through the square.
Rory had become an adultress.
After their fight Rory had come sobbing back into the house and locked herself in her room. Part of Lorelai had wanted to stay and comfort her, but another part just didn't know what to say. Rory and Dean had done the unthinkable and there was nothing Lorelai could say--or would say--that could take the shame out of it.
For now though, she needed to be back at the inn and so she continued to wind her way through the night.
......
...........
Luke sat on the front steps of the inn waiting for Lorelai to return. He had just calmed Kirk down enough to send him back upstairs to Lulu for what was certain to be an interesting talk. On any other night Kirk's eccentricities would have driven Luke to distraction, but tonight was not like any other night and oddly Luke knew all about the crazy things people do for love.
He had kissed her.
He could still feel her on his lips and under his hands, as if he had been branded by her touch.
He had kissed her and it had been everything.
It was the reason that man scaled mountains and wrote sonnets. A hundred cliches about romance he once would've been far too jaded to utter aloud, suddenly made sense. Everything made sense. The answer to the question of the universe was not 42--it was Lorelai.
Luke smiled at this. He'd done a lot of smiling lately. He was vaguely surprised that all his smile muscles still worked.
There was only one person that could ruin Luke's mood and it was in that moment that he strolled around the corner.
......
...........
The headlights of the jeep swept the darkened inn as Lorelai turned into the inn's small parking area near the entrance. It was between the warm porchlights that she and Luke had shared their first kiss.
It still seemed unreal. It was as though someone had told her "today the sky will be lime green and the oceans bright orange" and then walked away leaving her dazed in a world that had quite suddenly gone fluorescent. It wasn't that she didn't like fluorescent. She did own a fair amount of shockingly coloured attire after all. It was just, she was used to the sky being blue and the oceans being blue. She liked blue. Blue was reliable. Blue had always been there. Blue like the hat she'd given Luke so many moons ago.
As Lorelai stepped from the jeep, she heard voices carrying across the dimly lit square. Angry voices. Oh, what if they woke the guests? If Taylor lost a minute of his beauty sleep she'd never hear the end of it.
Lorelai jogged toward the inn's entrance and found yet another crisis unfolding--Luke and Jason ripping into each other with heated words. They didn't even notice her approach.
"I won't ask you again," Jason was saying. "Where is Lorelai?"
"I... don't... know," Luke said slowly as if speaking to a five year old. "And even if I did, I think she's made it very clear that she doesn't want you here so why don't you just go home."
"What are you, her bodyguard?" Jason snapped. "You get to approve or disapprove of who she dates."
"I think Lorelai can make up her own mind about who she dates," Luke said smugly, perhaps a little too smugly.
Jason's eyes narrowed, "So is that it, burger boy? You think you're good enough for her. You think you can offer her half as much as I can."
"I've proven to Lorelai what I can offer her," Luke said firmly. "Fancy car, big money and sueing her father. Yea, you've done loads for her."
"We are right for each other," Jason said glaring Luke down.
"No, WE are right for each other," Luke said taking an omnious step closer.
"ENOUGH!"
The two men snapped their heads around to see Lorelai, her arms full with CDs and bandaids, staring at them in disbelief. "Unbelievable! So what's it going to be? Pistols at noon? Duelling swords at sunset? Plastic shovels at the sandbox?"
"Lorelai, I-" Jason began, but Lorelai cut him off with a wave.
"Jason, leave now or I swear to God I will sick Michel or Michel's Chows on you--whichever I can lay my hands on first."
She watched as Jason's face fell, that impossible ego of his crumpling slightly. "Please Lorelai," he was begging now. Lorelai doubted he'd sincerely begged for anything in his life, in his world where he always got his way. Always.
Pained and exhausted, Lorelai closed her eyes, "Just go."
Jason left, saving one parting dark glance for Luke. Luke had the presence of mind not to gloat, although he edged closer to Lorelai as Jason strode off. Even though she and Jason were over, Luke could see she was in pain and wanted only to be near her. And he could now. After years of watching Lorelai shoulder the world alone, he could finally show how much he cared without awkwardness or pretense.
Lorelai was lost in thought as she followed Jason's retreating form across the square, only jolting from her trance when she felt Luke's hand upon her shoulder. She turned, and felt his shirt brush against her arm, not flanel but something crisper and cleaner. She gazed up at him, seeing but not seeing him. His hair looked softer now that it wasn't confined under that blue baseball cap.
"I'm sorry," he said, his thumb brushing lightly across her shoulder. "I tried to get him to leave. I figured you'd probably had enough excitement for one evening. Not that a little excitement can't be nice too just that-"
Lorelai stepped suddenly away from him, "I really need to get inside."
"Okay," Luke said, a touched baffled.
"I mean, between naked Kirk and everything else tonight, who knows what could be going in there by now," Lorelai said as she backed her way up the stairs.
"Well, the naked Kirk problem has been dealt with," Luke told her, "and as far as I know everyone else is asleep and enjoying the restful experience of staying at your inn."
"Good. Thank you. Very good," Lorelai nodded. "Maybe you should be doing that too. Enjoying a good night's sleep at the inn. It is after all what you came for, right?"
Luke walked slowly up the stairs as Lorelai continued to back her way into the lobby. He felt a wave of unease wash over him as he watched her set down the CDs and bandaids on the table in the lobby. She couldn't seem to look at him.
"Lorelai..." he whispered.
She turned, smiling a little too brightly, "'Night. I'll see you at breakfast." Without another word, Lorelai beat a hasty retreat.