[karana]

~*~
Lorelai woke up the following morning feeling more comfortable than she had in a long time. Opening her eyes she realized why that was. She was lying in Luke’s arms. He was still asleep and she watched him for a while and from time to time placed a kiss on his cheek, careful not to wake him.
Then she felt the sudden urge to tell Rory what happened and she untangled herself from Luke. She got out of the bed, making sure Luke wouldn’t wake up. Slipping into her bathrobe she watched Luke sleep again for a little while. Then she left the room and went downstairs. While filling the coffee maker she dialed Rory’s number. She answered after a few rings.

“Mom? What’s wrong? Why are you calling this early?” came the tired voice of her daughter through the phone.

Lorelai looked at the clock and saw it was only 6.30. She grunted as she realized she could have been in bed with Luke at the moment, because it was still so early, but smiled when she thought about him in her bed.

“Mom? Are you there?” Rory brought her back to reality

“Yeah I’m here. I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“Uhuh… what’s wrong?”

Lorelai smiled. “Nothing is wrong. Everything is absolutely right.” She said giddy and nearly giggled into the speaker.

Rory shook her head. She was definitely not awake enough for this. “Mom, I need some more information here.”

“Luke and I are back together. He came here yesterday after he brought April to the airport and we watched Casablanca. I ended up falling asleep in his arms and when I woke up and I stared in his eyes there was a moment. Before I knew it we were kissing each other and he said he is ready now and the rest is history.”

“That’s great mom.” Rory sat up in bed, clearly awake now. “This is what you wanted all along. Are you happy?”

“You bet I am.” She smiled widely and suddenly felt two arms close around her waist and wet lips on her neck. She giggled as she turned her head backwards, staring into Luke’s eyes.

“He’s there isn’t he?” Rory concluded when she heard the giggle and then the long silence which followed.

“Yeah. You want to talk to him?”

“Nah. Just say hello to him for me okay? I’ll call you later. I better get ready for school now that I’m wake. I have tons of stuff to do anyway.”

“Okay. I talk to you later.”

“Bye mom.”

“Bye Rory.”

“And mom?”

“Mmm…?” Lorelai said, because Luke’s lips had found their way to her neck again and she had realized that he was standing barefoot and only in his boxers in her kitchen.

“I’m happy too.”

Lorelai turned off the phone and placed it on the counter. Then she turned in Luke’s arms and gave him an appropriate ‘good morning kiss’, which lasted a while.

“Rory says hello and that she’s happy for us.” Lorelai told Luke after she broke their kiss and hugged him, put her head on his chest.

He nodded and kissed her again. “I’ll call April later today to tell her the news.”

“You think she’ll be happy?” she asked and looked up at him again.

“I know she will be. She gave me this speech about how you and I are like magnets a couple of months ago.”

“What?” Lorelai raised her eyebrows, confused as to what he was talking about.

“Why don’t you sit down, then I’ll make us breakfast and tell you all about it,” he said, gave her another peck and a squeeze and then untangled from her tight grasp to make breakfast.


~*~
The days went by quickly after Luke and Lorelai had gotten back together. It was Thursday now and Luke was supposed to come by with dinner and they would go to the town meeting and tell the town about their reconciliation. When the phone rang she expected it to be Luke.

“Hey, what’s keeping you so long?” she asked and smiled, only because she was talking to him.

“Lorelai? It’s me Chris.” The voice she had least expected said and her face fell.

“Oh. Hey, how are you doing?” she asked, because she was at a loss for what to say.

“I’m great. I’m calling to inform you that our divorce is final,” he said and Lorelai let out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding.

“That’s good news,” she replied.

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t call it good news, but it is news”, Chris remarked and some bitterness swung in his voice.

“I know. I am sorry, Chris. I didn’t mean to sound so…”

“Cheerful?” he completed.

“Yeah, well… maybe” she said and was a bit ashamed, that the only regret she had was that she had ever gotten married to him, while he was still hung up on the marriage, on her and everything that came with it.

“So how have you been?” he asked then. “You sound happy”.

“I am Chris”, she admitted quietly.

“Good. I am glad to hear that. Can I ask what makes you so happy? Is it just the end of the marriage or something else?” he asked.

“I’m back together with Luke”, she told him after taking a deep breath.

“Oh, okay, that’s explains a lot.” He said.

“I’m sorry, Chris, I didn’t mean to rub it in, but you asked and I’m done lying and pretending”, she said.

“It’s okay, I’m happy for you”, he told her.

“And you? What are you doing?” she asked to keep the awkward small-talk going.

“I am packing our stuff right now, because Gigi and I are moving to Paris”, he informed her.

“Wow, so you’re back together with Sherry?” she asked him and was relieved when she felt not even a pang of jealousy.

“No, we’re not. I just thought that it might be better for Gigi to keep in contact with her mom and I need a change of places as well. Somehow I can’t stay here anymore”, he said and Lorelai knew what he wanted to tell her with this, the connotation that swung with his words was loud and clear.

“I think you’re right. It will be good for her to be near her mother. She’s a nice kid, she deserves to be happy”, she told him, somehow relieved that he started to think about his daughter finally.

“Well Lor’ I have to go and pick up Gigi from her grandmother. Tell Rory I’ll call her before we leave so we can see each other before we leave for Paris.”

“Okay, I will. Take care Chris”

“You, too! Bye”, he said.

“Bye”, she replied and hung up and sighed in relief, that this chapter was finally closed now. When she put the phone down she saw Luke standing in the doorway, next to the desk, watching her.

“Hey”, he said and although she was sure he knew to whom she had just talked to he didn’t seem upset.

“Hey” she replied, slung her arms around his neck and kissed him hello.

“Chris called to tell me that the divorce is final and that he’s moving with Gigi to Paris so she can be with her mother”, she told Luke and waited for his reaction.

“Good. That’s really… good news” he replied and she started to giggle.

That’s what I said”, she laughed and gave him another kiss, just because she could do that again.

“Mmmh, what smells so heavenly?” she asked then.

“My new after-shave?”, he mocked her and hid the bags in his left hand behind his back, while he played with the hem of her shirt with the right one.

“You have a new after-shave? I don’t think so. You still smell like you and I hope that will stay that way, ‘cause I just love your after-shave”, she said and kissed his cheek repeatedly, made her way up to his lips with her own and then kissed him soundly. His right hand moved under her shirt as the kiss quickly escalated, but just as he reached her bra, she snatched the food bags out of his hand and broke the kiss.

“You’re so easy”, she laughed, gave him one more peck and walked into the kitchen slowly, before Luke caught up with her and held her back by her waist.

“You’ll pay later”, he whispered into her ear and his hot breath against her ear caused goose bumps on her skin.

“You’re being playful and cocky, I like that”, she teased him with raised eyebrows when she had found her voice again and together they walked into the kitchen, to eat something.


~*~
After a quick dinner Luke and Lorelai walked to the town meeting together. They sat down in the back and listened to Taylor’s weird proposals and waited until Taylor asked the town if anyone had some news they wanted to share with the town. Lorelai raised her hand and stood up, pulling Luke with her.
The room fell silent when the town saw the two walking up onto the stage together.

“Uhm.. we uhm…” Luke started and cleared his throat nervously. Lorelai smiled at that and took his hand in hers, gave it a reassuring squeeze. All eyes were on their joined hands and slowly one after the other inhabitant started to smile.

“My divorce is final and Luke and I are back together”, Lorelai announced with a wide smile.

“We knew it!” both Babette and Miss Patty exclaimed and the rest mumbled things like “Finally”.

Only Taylor didn’t seem too pleased.

“Well, then that brings us back to the same problem we had before: What if the two of them break up again. I mean let’s face it, even the engagement didn’t stop those two from separating again and Lorelai even got married” Taylor pointed out.

“I don’t believe it! Not this again!” Luke said angrily and Lorelai wanted to say something when her cell-phone rang again.

“Oh Lorelai, come on” Luke exclaimed when she showed him the phone and excused herself outside, but then he went back to yelling at Taylor.

“Hello?” she said.

“We have ants” came her mother’s voice through the speaker.

“What?” Lorelai asked confused.

“We have ants” Emily said again.

“Well say hello to them for me and offer them a drink”, Lorelai remarked dryly.

“Oh Lorelai, please! This is not something you should joke about”, Emily lectured her.

“Well, sorry mom, but I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about!” Lorelai laughed.

“I am talking about the fact that we have ants in our kitchen and the storeroom. They are everywhere”, Emily yelled into the phone.

“Geez, mom, the ants aren’t in my ears, you don’t have to scream”, Lorelai shot back and rubbed her ear.

“Well, I m sorry, but I’m going crazy here. I wanted to eat a sandwich and opened the fridge and they were everywhere”, Emily replied.

“And what do you want me to do? Come and scare them away or take them to my fridge? Sorry mom, but I don’t think my fridge will satisfy the needs of your upper-class ants.”

“Lorelai, seriously, is it too much of a hustle not to mock me once I call you?” Emily asked and sighed.

“Sorry. But honestly, why do you call me when you have ants in your fridge?” Lorelai asked her and just then Luke stormed out of the dance-studio. When she saw him she waved at him to get his attention and held her hand out for him to take it, which he did. She just rolled her eyes when he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

“Because I thought you might know this problem from the Inn and could give me some advice on what to do”, Emily explained.

“Ah, sorry, mom, but we never had ants. When we do, I will call you immediately”, she said and leaned back against Luke.

“Ants?” he whispered in her ear and she turned around and looked at him.

“My parents have ants in their kitchen and my mom wants to know what she can do about it” Lorelai explained to him.

“Put baking powder on the traces of them”, Luke shrugged.

“Did you hear that mom? You should put baking powder on their traces”, Lorelai told her mother and once again leaned back into Luke’s arms.

“Who was that?” Emily asked immediately.

“Who was what?” Lorelai played clueless.

“Who said “baking powder”?” Emily made it clear.

“Well… that was Luke”, Lorelai informed her and couldn’t keep herself from smiling when Luke tightened his arms around her.

“Luke? Why is Luke with you?”

“Because we’re back together mom”, Lorelai smiled widely now and Luke placed a soft kiss on her sleeve.

“Oh really. Then we’ll see the two of you tomorrow at dinner. Goodbye Lorelai” Emily said and hung up. Lorelai’s smile froze on her face.

“What?” asked Luke when he saw her expression.

“Dinner, tomorrow, you have to be there”, she informed him.

“Ah Jeez!” he exclaimed and she had to smile again, because that was so typically Luke and it was so good to have him back.

TBC