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Fic: As You Like It (Act Two: Theatre Sports) (Gilmore Girls, Luke/Lorelai, Jess/Rory)
Title: As You Like It (Act Two: Theatre Sports)
Fandom: Gilmore Girls
Pairing(s): Luke/Lorelai, Jess/Rory
Word Count: 2656
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Stars Hollow is holding a talent show. What could possibly go wrong? (Or, wherein there's magic in the air, in more ways than one.)
Notes: Takes place mid-season two. Part two of five.
Previously: Act One
"Where's my blue shirt?"
Lorelai paused for a minute. When there was no answer, she sighed, and went downstairs.
She found Rory in the kitchen. "Where's my blue shirt?" she asked again.
Rory looked up from where she was rummaging on the table. "I don't know," she said.
"Sure you do. It's my shirt. My blue shirt. It has that cute little pattern, and it fits me really well."
Rory shook her head, and Lorelai watched as she went into her bedroom. "Have you seen my french book?" she asked Lorelai.
"No, I've been looking for my blue shirt."
"I can't find it."
"Me either."
"We're late."
"I know."
Just then, someone knocked on the door, and Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Can you get that?" she asked Rory.
"I can't. I have to find my book."
"And I have to find my shirt."
"I'm running late."
"I'm not dressed."
"I'll miss my bus."
Lorelai sighed again. "Fine," she said. "You keep looking for your book."
Adjusting her slip as she walked into the living room, Lorelai ran a hand through her hair and threw open the door. Luke stood on the other side, toolbox in hand.
"Hi," she said, a note of confusion in her voice.
"Hi."
He was looking at her, and after a moment, Lorelai stepped back a little to let him in. She closed the door, brushing past him as she turned back around.
"Hi," she said again. "I wasn't expecting you."
"No," Luke agreed. "I just, um ..."
They both looked up as Rory came out of the kitchen, with what Lorelai guessed was her text book clutched in her hand. She looked from Lorelai to Luke, and they both took a step back.
"Found it," Rory said. "And now I am officially very late." She grabbed her backpack, and Lorelai moved aside to let her out.
"I'll see you after school?" she asked, as Rory ran down the steps.
Rory stopped, and turned. "Yes. I mean, maybe. I'm working with Jess on the show after school, but I'll meet you at the diner afterwards."
Lorelai nodded as she left, almost bumping into Luke as she turned back around. She smiled, and stepped backwards.
"Sorry," she said. "We were kind of in a rush this morning."
"Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ... it's just, the other day you said something about your sink, so I thought I'd see if I ..."
"Oh!" Lorelai shook her head. "Yes, right. The sink. Um, it's just ..." She gestured towards the kitchen.
"Right," Luke agreed. He turned, and Lorelai followed him into the kitchen.
"It's in here," she said unnecessarily, and almost laughed.
Luke nodded, and looked back at her. His gaze travelled up and down, and he smiled. "Nice outfit," he offered.
Lorelai frowned, then looked down. She was still half-dressed. "Oh, right," she said, cringing. "Oh, god. I have to get work. I'm already late."
"Go," he said. "I'll take care of this. I can lock up when I'm done."
"Thank you, Luke." Lorelai turned, bumping into a chair on the way out of the kitchen.
"Lorelai?"
"Yeah?"
"Put some clothes on before you leave."
"Oh, right! Can you see a - oh, never mind." Spotting her blue shirt on the ottoman in the corner, Lorelai shrugged into it, managing to button it correctly on the second try. Grabbing her bag, she glanced back at Luke quickly; he was already looking at the sink, and she left, closing the door behind her.
-
"So, I've been practising."
Rory looked up at Jess, surprised. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. I mean, nothing spectacular, but I figured if we're going to do this stupid magic show, we should probably have some actual tricks."
Rory laughed, a little nervously. "That would be a good idea," she agreed. "So, what have you got?"
They were in Luke's apartment, which Rory still felt a little weird about. After all, it was Luke's apartment. But Luke hadn't seemed to mind, when she'd come into the diner and he'd waved her upstairs, and she hadn't been able to think of a better place to practise. In the meantime, she resisted the urge - the voice which, in her head, sounded a lot like her mother - to wait until Jess went to the bathroom and look through Luke's stuff.
"Well," Jess said, and reached behind her, pulling a quarter from the crook of her elbow. He ran it across the fingers of his right hand, then opened his palm as the quarter disappeared. Rory smiled, and he held up a hand. Rory blinked as nothing happened, and finally shrugged her shoulders.
"Well?"
Jess smiled. "Check your pocket."
Frowning, Rory fished in the pocket of her jacket, and laughed as she drew out a quarter. "Wow," she said. "I'm impressed."
"Cool, huh?" Jess was barely smiling, but Rory thought he looked happy at the praise.
"Very," she agreed. "But I think we might need something a little ... bigger for the show. You know, flashier."
"Flashier?" he repeated, and shrugged. "I could cut you in half. Is that flashy enough?"
She bit her lip. "Do you know how to do that?"
"No," he admitted. "But I could give it a shot. I mean, what, what have we got to lose?"
Rory just looked at him, and he laughed. "Relax," he said. "We'll start off with something a little easier."
Jess stepped forward, and Rory stiffened as he reached out a hand towards her. He traced a line down the side of her neck, his fingers brushing against her shoulder and down to the top of her Chilton uniform. She was about to swat his hand away when he smirked, and pulled a red silk scarf from her shirt. He was still standing too close to her, and Rory stepped back, trying to regain her composure.
"So?" he asked.
"So?"
"The trick. What do you think?"
Rory attempted a smile. "Um, maybe we should rethink that whole cutting me in half thing," she said, her voice a little higher than usual. She glanced at her watch perfunctorily, barely reading it. "Oh, look at the time," she said quickly, and she knew that she sounded as nervous as she felt. "We should get downstairs. My mom's probably waiting."
"Yeah," Jess agreed, and Rory pretended that he didn't sound like he was trying not to laugh at her. "Downstairs."
-
"Kirk, you are not in charge here."
"Not in charge? Then what do you call the official Stars Hollow Talent Show Backstage Coordinator?"
"I call him the official Stars Hollow Talent Show Backstage Coordinator. Which, seeing as we are not currently backstage at the Stars Hollow Talent Show, means that you are not currently in charge."
"And what are you, Taylor?"
Lorelai entered the diner just as Taylor spun around, nearly bumping into her. She waited for an apology, but Taylor barely seemed to register her presence.
"This entire show was my idea," he told Miss Patty indignantly.
She sniffed. "Yes, and now the idea has been had, you're not exactly in charge either."
"What, and I suppose you are?"
"I'm in charge of the talent, Taylor. As far as I see it, that's the entire show."
Taylor guffawed, and Lorelai stepped back to avoid his arms as he gestured. Reluctantly turning away from the unfolding drama, she slid onto a seat at the counter, watching as Luke practically ran back and forth across the diner. Though less crowded than it had been two mornings ago, it was almost twice as loud, and Kirk, Taylor and Miss Patty weren't the only ones arguing. By the window, Gypsy was sniping at Andrew, and Babette seemed to be shouting across the diner to nobody in particular. As Luke came back behind the counter, Lorelai caught his eye, and they shared a sympathetic look before Cesar called out an order from the kitchen.
"Busy?" she asked him, as he rushed past.
He paused, plates in hand. "You have no idea," he said. "It's been like this all day. People fighting, people yelling. Hell, I had a couple of people in earlier who tried to practise their damn routines in here."
Lorelai smiled. "What were the routines?"
Luke shook his head. "You don't want to know."
Lorelai opened her mouth to speak again, but suddenly she heard Taylor's voice cut across the diner.
"Oh, Luke. We ordered those sandwiches over half an hour ago, and they're not going to get over here by themselves."
"Yeah," Kirk piped in. "And I wanted an orange juice, no pulp."
"And I still haven't got my coffee," Gypsy offered, and shrugged as Luke turned to glare at her.
"You know, Luke, the service in this place -"
"All right, that's it!" Luke put the plates he had been holding down on the counter, and Lorelai moved back a little. "I've had enough. Everyone participating in this stupid show, leave right now."
For a moment, there was silence, and Luke stared at the crowd expectantly. "Get out!" he yelled again, and a second later there was a scraping of chairs as people gt up, mumbling as they left the diner.
Lorelai caught Taylor's muttered "Well, I never," and smiled for a second before she looked back at Luke. He had Angry Luke face on, and she got up quietly, moving towards the door as she followed everyone else out.
"Where are you going?"
She turned as Luke spoke again, the anger mostly gone from his voice. She gestured towards the door.
"I thought ..."
"No." Luke shook his head, and moved back behind the counter. "I didn't mean you. You can stay."
Lorelai smiled as she sat back down, and took the cup of coffee Luke slid across the counter to her a minute later.
"Sorry about that," he said as she drank. "It's just that ..."
"Oh, no." Lorelai waved his explanation away. "Don't worry about it. I've wanted to do that more than once at the inn, believe me."
Luke smiled, and she smiled back as she met his eyes. He leaned across the counter sightly, and she toyed with the handle of her mug as neither of them spoke for a second. Eventually, she dropped her gaze, and took another sip of her coffee.
"I like the shirt," he said quietly, and Lorelai frowned for a moment before she remembered that morning.
"Oh," she said, feeling herself beginning to blush. "Um, thanks. It's really nothing special. Just clothes. Can't leave home without them. Well, I mean, you can - and I almost did - but you shouldn't, really, unless you're at a nudist colony, which, really, in Connecticut? Not such a great idea. And ..." Lorelai paused for a minute, as the combined images of Luke and naked slid into her mind, and pushed them out again. When she looked up, he was staring at her with the expression she'd come to know well, and she laughed, picking up her mug. "Thank you," she said finally.
"You're welcome."
Her eyes fell on Luke's again, and Lorelai really wished her coffee cup wasn't empty. He looked like he was about to say something else, but as he opened his mouth to speak, they both turned at a noise on the stairs.
"Oh, hi," Rory said from the stairs. Lorelai frowned, and when Jess appeared behind Rory, her frowned deepened.
"Hi," she said coolly.
Luke was still leaning across the counter, and Lorelai hadn't realised how close he was until he stepped back. Jess smirked, and shook his head.
"I'm going out," he said, and turned to Rory. "We'll catch up later?"
"Um, yeah," Rory replied. "Sure." As Jess left, she moved to stand beside Lorelai, and looked around the diner. "Where is everyone?"
"Um -" Luke began, but Lorelai interrupted him.
"Slow day," she answered, and smiled as she caught Luke's gaze.
"Oh." Rory shrugged. "Okay."
Lorelai slid her mug across the counter, her smile widening as Luke frowned but refilled it anyway. "You want some coffee?" she asked Rory, who shook her head.
"I should probably get home. I didn't get to study yet, because I was rehearsing with Jess, and I really wanted to get started on my biology paper tonight."
Lorelai frowned. "I thought that wasn't due for another month."
"Your point?"
She rolled her eyes. "Fair enough. You go do that, and I'll see you at home in a bit, okay?"
Rory nodded. "Okay," she agreed, stealing a sip of Lorelai's coffee before she left.
Lorelai shook her head, then turned back to Luke. She suddenly missed the earlier noise of the diner; with just the two of them around, it seemed unnaturally quiet.
"So," Luke said, after a minute where Lorelai studiously looked into her coffee. "The talent show."
She looked up. "Yeah."
"I guess ... we're performing?"
"I guess so."
There was silence for another moment, and Lorelai almost laughed.
"We should probably decide what we're going to do," Luke said.
"Probably." She paused. "Do you have any ideas?"
"I guess ... we could maybe do a play."
"A play?"
"Yeah. You know, like a scene or something."
"A scene."
"Yeah."
"Really?"
Luke raised his eyebrows at Lorelai's tone. "All right, so not a play. What did you have in mind?"
Lorelai toyed with her coffee mug as she thought. Eventually, she shook her head, and looked back up at Luke with a sigh. "A play, huh?"
-
"So. Pizza?"
Rory looked at Lorelai. "We just had dinner."
Lorelai sighed. "We just had Friday night dinner. Which, in this case, was leftover salmon puffs from Emily's latest D.A.R. meeting."
"I liked the salmon puffs."
"Yeah, I liked the salmon puffs, too. Until your grandmother took them away and told us to eat our quail."
Rory made a face. "Yeah, the quail was ..."
"Gross? Vomit inducing?"
"It was okay."
"It was disgusting. And small. And then she wouldn't let us have dessert because we didn't finish our dinner."
Rory paused for a minute. "Okay," she said after a minute. "It was bad."
"The worst."
"At least you and grandma weren't fighting."
Lorelai shook her head as she sat down on the couch. "That's because we were barely speaking. There are only so many times I can ask luncheons and meetings I have absolutely no interest in before I run out of things to say to her."
She glanced over at Rory, who looked like she was having a hard time believing that Lorelai would run out of things to say, ever. "You could have told them about the talent show," she offered.
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "The talent show?"
"Yeah. I mean, she asked you what was going on in your life."
"And you want me to tell her that I'm getting up on stage to make a complete fool of myself in front the entire town." With Luke, her mind added treacherously. Like she needed to give her mother any more ammunition on that front.
Rory shrugged. "It would have been something to talk about."
"And I never would have heard the end of it. Besides, I didn't hear you volunteering to tell her that you were performing with Jess."
Rory bit her lip. "Well, we weren't talking about that." Lorelai watched as she picked up a takeout menu, idly flicking through it. "So, have you and Luke decided what you're doing yet?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Luke suggested a play."
Rory looked sceptical. "A play?"
"What?" Lorelai asked.
"Nothing." Rory shrugged, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile. Lorelai thought about pressing the issue, but decided she probably didn't want to hear it. "What kind of play?"
"I don't know. We haven't really got that far yet."
Rory looked up, and her expression gave Lorelai a minute's pause. "You could do a love scene."
"What?" Lorelai stared at her daughter for a moment, trying to decide whether she was kidding. "We're not doing a love scene."
"Why not?" Rory smiled. "Luke might want to."
Lorelai frowned, and took the menu from Rory. "We should order dinner."
Next: Act Three
Fandom: Gilmore Girls
Pairing(s): Luke/Lorelai, Jess/Rory
Word Count: 2656
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Stars Hollow is holding a talent show. What could possibly go wrong? (Or, wherein there's magic in the air, in more ways than one.)
Notes: Takes place mid-season two. Part two of five.
Previously: Act One
"Where's my blue shirt?"
Lorelai paused for a minute. When there was no answer, she sighed, and went downstairs.
She found Rory in the kitchen. "Where's my blue shirt?" she asked again.
Rory looked up from where she was rummaging on the table. "I don't know," she said.
"Sure you do. It's my shirt. My blue shirt. It has that cute little pattern, and it fits me really well."
Rory shook her head, and Lorelai watched as she went into her bedroom. "Have you seen my french book?" she asked Lorelai.
"No, I've been looking for my blue shirt."
"I can't find it."
"Me either."
"We're late."
"I know."
Just then, someone knocked on the door, and Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Can you get that?" she asked Rory.
"I can't. I have to find my book."
"And I have to find my shirt."
"I'm running late."
"I'm not dressed."
"I'll miss my bus."
Lorelai sighed again. "Fine," she said. "You keep looking for your book."
Adjusting her slip as she walked into the living room, Lorelai ran a hand through her hair and threw open the door. Luke stood on the other side, toolbox in hand.
"Hi," she said, a note of confusion in her voice.
"Hi."
He was looking at her, and after a moment, Lorelai stepped back a little to let him in. She closed the door, brushing past him as she turned back around.
"Hi," she said again. "I wasn't expecting you."
"No," Luke agreed. "I just, um ..."
They both looked up as Rory came out of the kitchen, with what Lorelai guessed was her text book clutched in her hand. She looked from Lorelai to Luke, and they both took a step back.
"Found it," Rory said. "And now I am officially very late." She grabbed her backpack, and Lorelai moved aside to let her out.
"I'll see you after school?" she asked, as Rory ran down the steps.
Rory stopped, and turned. "Yes. I mean, maybe. I'm working with Jess on the show after school, but I'll meet you at the diner afterwards."
Lorelai nodded as she left, almost bumping into Luke as she turned back around. She smiled, and stepped backwards.
"Sorry," she said. "We were kind of in a rush this morning."
"Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ... it's just, the other day you said something about your sink, so I thought I'd see if I ..."
"Oh!" Lorelai shook her head. "Yes, right. The sink. Um, it's just ..." She gestured towards the kitchen.
"Right," Luke agreed. He turned, and Lorelai followed him into the kitchen.
"It's in here," she said unnecessarily, and almost laughed.
Luke nodded, and looked back at her. His gaze travelled up and down, and he smiled. "Nice outfit," he offered.
Lorelai frowned, then looked down. She was still half-dressed. "Oh, right," she said, cringing. "Oh, god. I have to get work. I'm already late."
"Go," he said. "I'll take care of this. I can lock up when I'm done."
"Thank you, Luke." Lorelai turned, bumping into a chair on the way out of the kitchen.
"Lorelai?"
"Yeah?"
"Put some clothes on before you leave."
"Oh, right! Can you see a - oh, never mind." Spotting her blue shirt on the ottoman in the corner, Lorelai shrugged into it, managing to button it correctly on the second try. Grabbing her bag, she glanced back at Luke quickly; he was already looking at the sink, and she left, closing the door behind her.
-
"So, I've been practising."
Rory looked up at Jess, surprised. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. I mean, nothing spectacular, but I figured if we're going to do this stupid magic show, we should probably have some actual tricks."
Rory laughed, a little nervously. "That would be a good idea," she agreed. "So, what have you got?"
They were in Luke's apartment, which Rory still felt a little weird about. After all, it was Luke's apartment. But Luke hadn't seemed to mind, when she'd come into the diner and he'd waved her upstairs, and she hadn't been able to think of a better place to practise. In the meantime, she resisted the urge - the voice which, in her head, sounded a lot like her mother - to wait until Jess went to the bathroom and look through Luke's stuff.
"Well," Jess said, and reached behind her, pulling a quarter from the crook of her elbow. He ran it across the fingers of his right hand, then opened his palm as the quarter disappeared. Rory smiled, and he held up a hand. Rory blinked as nothing happened, and finally shrugged her shoulders.
"Well?"
Jess smiled. "Check your pocket."
Frowning, Rory fished in the pocket of her jacket, and laughed as she drew out a quarter. "Wow," she said. "I'm impressed."
"Cool, huh?" Jess was barely smiling, but Rory thought he looked happy at the praise.
"Very," she agreed. "But I think we might need something a little ... bigger for the show. You know, flashier."
"Flashier?" he repeated, and shrugged. "I could cut you in half. Is that flashy enough?"
She bit her lip. "Do you know how to do that?"
"No," he admitted. "But I could give it a shot. I mean, what, what have we got to lose?"
Rory just looked at him, and he laughed. "Relax," he said. "We'll start off with something a little easier."
Jess stepped forward, and Rory stiffened as he reached out a hand towards her. He traced a line down the side of her neck, his fingers brushing against her shoulder and down to the top of her Chilton uniform. She was about to swat his hand away when he smirked, and pulled a red silk scarf from her shirt. He was still standing too close to her, and Rory stepped back, trying to regain her composure.
"So?" he asked.
"So?"
"The trick. What do you think?"
Rory attempted a smile. "Um, maybe we should rethink that whole cutting me in half thing," she said, her voice a little higher than usual. She glanced at her watch perfunctorily, barely reading it. "Oh, look at the time," she said quickly, and she knew that she sounded as nervous as she felt. "We should get downstairs. My mom's probably waiting."
"Yeah," Jess agreed, and Rory pretended that he didn't sound like he was trying not to laugh at her. "Downstairs."
-
"Kirk, you are not in charge here."
"Not in charge? Then what do you call the official Stars Hollow Talent Show Backstage Coordinator?"
"I call him the official Stars Hollow Talent Show Backstage Coordinator. Which, seeing as we are not currently backstage at the Stars Hollow Talent Show, means that you are not currently in charge."
"And what are you, Taylor?"
Lorelai entered the diner just as Taylor spun around, nearly bumping into her. She waited for an apology, but Taylor barely seemed to register her presence.
"This entire show was my idea," he told Miss Patty indignantly.
She sniffed. "Yes, and now the idea has been had, you're not exactly in charge either."
"What, and I suppose you are?"
"I'm in charge of the talent, Taylor. As far as I see it, that's the entire show."
Taylor guffawed, and Lorelai stepped back to avoid his arms as he gestured. Reluctantly turning away from the unfolding drama, she slid onto a seat at the counter, watching as Luke practically ran back and forth across the diner. Though less crowded than it had been two mornings ago, it was almost twice as loud, and Kirk, Taylor and Miss Patty weren't the only ones arguing. By the window, Gypsy was sniping at Andrew, and Babette seemed to be shouting across the diner to nobody in particular. As Luke came back behind the counter, Lorelai caught his eye, and they shared a sympathetic look before Cesar called out an order from the kitchen.
"Busy?" she asked him, as he rushed past.
He paused, plates in hand. "You have no idea," he said. "It's been like this all day. People fighting, people yelling. Hell, I had a couple of people in earlier who tried to practise their damn routines in here."
Lorelai smiled. "What were the routines?"
Luke shook his head. "You don't want to know."
Lorelai opened her mouth to speak again, but suddenly she heard Taylor's voice cut across the diner.
"Oh, Luke. We ordered those sandwiches over half an hour ago, and they're not going to get over here by themselves."
"Yeah," Kirk piped in. "And I wanted an orange juice, no pulp."
"And I still haven't got my coffee," Gypsy offered, and shrugged as Luke turned to glare at her.
"You know, Luke, the service in this place -"
"All right, that's it!" Luke put the plates he had been holding down on the counter, and Lorelai moved back a little. "I've had enough. Everyone participating in this stupid show, leave right now."
For a moment, there was silence, and Luke stared at the crowd expectantly. "Get out!" he yelled again, and a second later there was a scraping of chairs as people gt up, mumbling as they left the diner.
Lorelai caught Taylor's muttered "Well, I never," and smiled for a second before she looked back at Luke. He had Angry Luke face on, and she got up quietly, moving towards the door as she followed everyone else out.
"Where are you going?"
She turned as Luke spoke again, the anger mostly gone from his voice. She gestured towards the door.
"I thought ..."
"No." Luke shook his head, and moved back behind the counter. "I didn't mean you. You can stay."
Lorelai smiled as she sat back down, and took the cup of coffee Luke slid across the counter to her a minute later.
"Sorry about that," he said as she drank. "It's just that ..."
"Oh, no." Lorelai waved his explanation away. "Don't worry about it. I've wanted to do that more than once at the inn, believe me."
Luke smiled, and she smiled back as she met his eyes. He leaned across the counter sightly, and she toyed with the handle of her mug as neither of them spoke for a second. Eventually, she dropped her gaze, and took another sip of her coffee.
"I like the shirt," he said quietly, and Lorelai frowned for a moment before she remembered that morning.
"Oh," she said, feeling herself beginning to blush. "Um, thanks. It's really nothing special. Just clothes. Can't leave home without them. Well, I mean, you can - and I almost did - but you shouldn't, really, unless you're at a nudist colony, which, really, in Connecticut? Not such a great idea. And ..." Lorelai paused for a minute, as the combined images of Luke and naked slid into her mind, and pushed them out again. When she looked up, he was staring at her with the expression she'd come to know well, and she laughed, picking up her mug. "Thank you," she said finally.
"You're welcome."
Her eyes fell on Luke's again, and Lorelai really wished her coffee cup wasn't empty. He looked like he was about to say something else, but as he opened his mouth to speak, they both turned at a noise on the stairs.
"Oh, hi," Rory said from the stairs. Lorelai frowned, and when Jess appeared behind Rory, her frowned deepened.
"Hi," she said coolly.
Luke was still leaning across the counter, and Lorelai hadn't realised how close he was until he stepped back. Jess smirked, and shook his head.
"I'm going out," he said, and turned to Rory. "We'll catch up later?"
"Um, yeah," Rory replied. "Sure." As Jess left, she moved to stand beside Lorelai, and looked around the diner. "Where is everyone?"
"Um -" Luke began, but Lorelai interrupted him.
"Slow day," she answered, and smiled as she caught Luke's gaze.
"Oh." Rory shrugged. "Okay."
Lorelai slid her mug across the counter, her smile widening as Luke frowned but refilled it anyway. "You want some coffee?" she asked Rory, who shook her head.
"I should probably get home. I didn't get to study yet, because I was rehearsing with Jess, and I really wanted to get started on my biology paper tonight."
Lorelai frowned. "I thought that wasn't due for another month."
"Your point?"
She rolled her eyes. "Fair enough. You go do that, and I'll see you at home in a bit, okay?"
Rory nodded. "Okay," she agreed, stealing a sip of Lorelai's coffee before she left.
Lorelai shook her head, then turned back to Luke. She suddenly missed the earlier noise of the diner; with just the two of them around, it seemed unnaturally quiet.
"So," Luke said, after a minute where Lorelai studiously looked into her coffee. "The talent show."
She looked up. "Yeah."
"I guess ... we're performing?"
"I guess so."
There was silence for another moment, and Lorelai almost laughed.
"We should probably decide what we're going to do," Luke said.
"Probably." She paused. "Do you have any ideas?"
"I guess ... we could maybe do a play."
"A play?"
"Yeah. You know, like a scene or something."
"A scene."
"Yeah."
"Really?"
Luke raised his eyebrows at Lorelai's tone. "All right, so not a play. What did you have in mind?"
Lorelai toyed with her coffee mug as she thought. Eventually, she shook her head, and looked back up at Luke with a sigh. "A play, huh?"
-
"So. Pizza?"
Rory looked at Lorelai. "We just had dinner."
Lorelai sighed. "We just had Friday night dinner. Which, in this case, was leftover salmon puffs from Emily's latest D.A.R. meeting."
"I liked the salmon puffs."
"Yeah, I liked the salmon puffs, too. Until your grandmother took them away and told us to eat our quail."
Rory made a face. "Yeah, the quail was ..."
"Gross? Vomit inducing?"
"It was okay."
"It was disgusting. And small. And then she wouldn't let us have dessert because we didn't finish our dinner."
Rory paused for a minute. "Okay," she said after a minute. "It was bad."
"The worst."
"At least you and grandma weren't fighting."
Lorelai shook her head as she sat down on the couch. "That's because we were barely speaking. There are only so many times I can ask luncheons and meetings I have absolutely no interest in before I run out of things to say to her."
She glanced over at Rory, who looked like she was having a hard time believing that Lorelai would run out of things to say, ever. "You could have told them about the talent show," she offered.
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "The talent show?"
"Yeah. I mean, she asked you what was going on in your life."
"And you want me to tell her that I'm getting up on stage to make a complete fool of myself in front the entire town." With Luke, her mind added treacherously. Like she needed to give her mother any more ammunition on that front.
Rory shrugged. "It would have been something to talk about."
"And I never would have heard the end of it. Besides, I didn't hear you volunteering to tell her that you were performing with Jess."
Rory bit her lip. "Well, we weren't talking about that." Lorelai watched as she picked up a takeout menu, idly flicking through it. "So, have you and Luke decided what you're doing yet?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Luke suggested a play."
Rory looked sceptical. "A play?"
"What?" Lorelai asked.
"Nothing." Rory shrugged, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile. Lorelai thought about pressing the issue, but decided she probably didn't want to hear it. "What kind of play?"
"I don't know. We haven't really got that far yet."
Rory looked up, and her expression gave Lorelai a minute's pause. "You could do a love scene."
"What?" Lorelai stared at her daughter for a moment, trying to decide whether she was kidding. "We're not doing a love scene."
"Why not?" Rory smiled. "Luke might want to."
Lorelai frowned, and took the menu from Rory. "We should order dinner."
Next: Act Three