Title: Happy Anniversary
Written for: Bubble Ficathon
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Luke/Lorelai

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He wanted everything to be perfect. His biggest problem was his extremely unconventional girlfriend. He knew the standard romantic gestures and the things that made typical women swoon and go weak in the knees, but he was trying to plan an anniversary celebration for a woman who made the word eccentric an understatement.

With a glance at the clock, he finally caved and picked up the phone, dialing a number that had become all too familiar in the last two weeks.

“Rory, it’s Luke,” he said when the phone was answered.

“Yes, Luke, I knew it was you.”

“How’d you know that?”

With an exaggerated sigh, Rory replied, “Well, for one thing, my cell phone has Caller ID…”

He cut her off before she could continue. “But your mother calls you from here sometimes.”

“Not at seven in the morning.”

“Oh. Good point.”

“And for another thing, I knew it was you because you’ve been calling me at seven every day for the last two weeks!”

He realized that she was right and started to feel bad.

“Don’t worry, Luke, I know you want everything to be perfect for mom and I don’t mind helping you. What’s on your mind today?”

Luke took a deep breath. There were certain aspects of planning this night that he had been exceptionally uncomfortable discussing with Rory. But he had to ask, so he plunged right in, so to speak.

“Does your mom like bubble baths?”

“Bubble baths?”

“Yeah, well, the hotel we’re staying in asked if I wanted a room with a whirlpool tub. I hesitated and the woman on the phone told me that bubble baths can be very romantic.”

Rory was silent on her end. Luke wondered if he had totally grossed her out with the thought of her mom taking a bubble bath with him.

“Rory, I’m sorry if I…”

She cut him off. “You didn’t gross me out, Luke. I’m just trying to remember if I’ve ever known my mother to take a bath of any kind, let alone a bubble bath.”

“She’s never taken a bath?” he asked incredulously.

“Well, no. She’s always on the verge of being late and has mastered the art of the world record shower.”

Luke thought about that and realized that Rory was right.

“I guess that’s a bad idea then,” he said, resigned to starting back at square one.

“I didn’t say that,” Rory said. “I actually think it might be perfect.”

“Really? But…” he trailed off, completely confused by the Gilmore logic, not an uncommon occurrence.

“Well, think about it. It’s totally different from anything she usually does, so it would be a total surprise. Plus it would force her to slow down and relax and enjoy the evening.”

Luke was surprised. “That actually does make sense,” he said slowly. Before he could continue, he heard the bell jingle, indicating that he had a customer. He looked up and saw Lorelai entering the diner. “Thanks, kid, I gotta go,” he lowered his voice.

“No problem, Luke. Tell mom I said hi,” she joked as he disconnected the call and walked over to the counter where Lorelai was sitting, her head resting on top of her folded arms.

“Good morning,” he dropped a kiss on her forehead as he poured her a cup of coffee.

“Morning,” she mumbled, keeping her head down until her nose perked at the scent of coffee wafting nearby. She groggily reached for the mug and took a healthy swig, which was enough to bring a smile to her face. Luke started to smile back, but her smile quickly turned to a frown.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, knowing a frown after coffee was a bad sign. He wondered if the coffee didn’t taste right.

“Are you cheating on me?” Lorelai asked bluntly.

“What?”

“Well, like every day for the last few weeks, you’ve ended a phone call when I walked in to the diner and it occurred to me that maybe you were trading me in for a younger model.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Why would I cheat on you?” he asked, hoping to distract her from thinking about the phone calls.

Lorelai shrugged. “Because I talk during movies, drink too much coffee, forget when we have dates or am late if I remember…”

Luke silenced her with a kiss. When he pulled back, he chuckled at the surprise on her face.

“What’s the deal with the sudden public display of affection, Mr. Danes?” she asked with a glint in her eye.

“It seemed like the easiest way to convince you that I still love you, even though we’ve been together for a year.”

A soft smile crossed Lorelai’s face.

“I love you, too, Luke.” They shared a loving look for a few moments.

“That’s it!” Lorelai suddenly exclaimed, almost knocking her coffee mug over.

“What’s what?” Luke asked, completely thrown by the abrupt change in the conversation.

“The secret morning phone calls!” she said. “You’re planning something for our anniversary!”

Luke sighed, not surprised that she had figured him out. He was actually surprised that it had taken her this long to catch on. The resigned look on his face confirmed her suspicions. “I’m right! Oooo , where are we going? What are we doing? When?” She nearly bounced off of her stool in excitement.

“I think you missed your calling,” he remarked, ignoring her questions.

“What are you talking about?”

“You should have been a journalist.”

Lorelai pouted. “I guess that means you won’t tell me.”

He smiled. “Not a word, sweetheart.”

She sat in thought for a moment. “What if I threaten to withhold sex until you tell me?”

Luke snickered. “Yeah, that worked real well when you were trying to find out what your birthday gift was.”

She frowned as she remembered how quickly her resolve had crumbled then. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to wait another week to find out.”

Luke smiled as she looked at her watch, gulped the rest of her coffee and kissed him quickly. “Crap, I’m going to be late.”

“See you later,” he called after her as she ran out the door. He smiled smugly to himself once she was gone. He was very pleased with his plans for the anniversary and he couldn’t wait until the following Friday night.

***

“Is it really necessary to blindfold me?” Lorelai complained as she sat in the front seat of Luke’s truck.

“Yes.”

“But why?”

“Because I do not want you to figure out where we’re going until we get there. So you’re going to stay blindfolded the whole way.”

“And why did you make Rory pack my bag?”

“Because if I had told you what to pack, you might have figured out what we were doing. This weekend is going to be a total surprise. It’s my anniversary gift to you.”

“Aw, Luke. You’re so sweet.” Lorelai suddenly realized she didn’t mind being blindfolded. She realized that Luke had worked really hard to plan this weekend and she wanted it to be perfect too. “Wait until you see what I got you for our anniversary,” she coyly added, adopting her sex kitten voice.

Luke’s imagination began to run wild. Saying it in that tone of voice meant that Lorelai had most likely gotten something related to sex. And with Lorelai, that could be just about anything. He shuddered as he remembered the outfits she had wanted them to wear last Christmas.

He was also nervous over the biggest part of his plan for the weekend. It was something he hadn’t discussed with Rory in any of their conversations. Unconsciously, his hand dropped to the pocket of his jacket and touched the square jewelry box.

“Are we there yet?” Lorelai asked, sounding like a bored, impatient two year old.

Luke chuckled as he made the left turn in to the hotel’s parking lot. “As a matter of fact, we are.”

“Oh good,” she said, reaching for the blindfold.

“That doesn’t mean you can take off the blindfold yet,” he added quickly.

She sighed, but waited for him to come around to help her out of the truck.

“Don’t you think the desk clerk might call the police if you lead me in there blindfolded?”

“No, because I already checked in and got the room key and they already know,” he said, guiding her by the elbow through the main doors.

Lorelai tried to pick up clues about their location by listening carefully and sniffing a few times. All she could hear was the soft strums of instrumental elevator music and all she could smell was fresh cut flowers. They could be at any hotel on the East Coast.

The desk clerk smiled at Luke as he guided Lorelai past the front desk to the large bank of elevators. Lorelai’s stomach lurched as the elevator started going up.

“It’s really weird to ride an elevator blindfolded,” she commented.

“Well, give it a few more minutes and you can take off the blindfold,” he promised.

Luke finally led Lorelai into the luxurious suite he had rented for the night. His hands were shaking a bit as he sat her on the edge of the loveseat.

“Stay here for a minute and leave the blindfold on,” he instructed. “I’ll be right back and then you can take it off.”

He ran into the bathroom and poured the vanilla scented bubble bath into the tub before turning the water on. As the tub filled, he began to frantically light the numerous candles he had purchased and set out earlier in the day. The soft scent of vanilla began to waft through the room. He prayed the ventilation was good enough that the smoke alarm wouldn’t go off and start the sprinklers. He took one last look around the room, satisfied that everything was perfect, then he fished the small box out of his pocket and hid it behind the shampoo bottle.

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he returned to the small living area in the suite and took Lorelai’s hand. He pulled her to her feet and began to kiss her while reached up and untied her blindfold. After a few minutes, she broke the kiss, took a step back and looked around.

“Oh wow,” she said softly, taking in her surroundings.

Luke smiled and led her to the bathroom where the tub was just about full. He reached over and turned the water off and flicked the on switch to start the whirlpool jets.

Lorelai’s eyes were wide with amazement and she grinned at Luke.

“This is quite possibly the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. It even surpasses the time Christopher dug up one of his mother’s prize rosebushes to make me a corsage for a school dance.”

“Well, why don’t we get in the tub then,” he suggested, unbuttoning his shirt.

Lorelai waggled her eyebrows. “I guess that means its time for your anniversary present, Mr. Danes,” she said suggestively. “How about you get in that tub and I’ll give it to you.”

Luke quickly finished disrobing and stepped gently into the whirlpool tub. Once Lorelai was satisfied she had his undivided attention, she began to do a slow strip. Luke was enjoying the show and gasped when he saw what she was wearing underneath. Lorelai smiled seductively and struck a sexy pose to show off the red lacy lingerie she was wearing.

“Okay,” Luke finally managed. “I really like my present. But I think I’d like it more if it was on the floor and you were in the tub with me.”

Lorelai rolled her eyes. “Oh, Luke, you never struck me as the type to use trite clichés,” she said as she reached behind her to remove the bra. She gave it a little twirl above her head and then slowly stepped out of the panties. Instead of throwing the sexy undergarments on the floor, she turned around, neatly folded them and placed them on the closed toilet lid. When she turned back around to face Luke, his eyes were wide in shock.

With an innocent smile, she walked towards the tub and began to step in.

“Wait a second,” he commanded, shifting to his knees. “Turn around.”

Lorelai complied with a sly grin. Luke ran his finger over the small of her back where she was sporting a heart shaped tattoo with an arrow through it. Inside the heart, Luke was spelled out in fancy scroll.

“When… how… why…” he stammered.

Lorelai laughed. “Gee Luke, I think you missed your calling. Maybe you should have been a journalist.”

“But…”

“It’s a temporary tattoo, Luke. I just put it there to get a rise out of you.”

He shook his head. “Well, you certainly managed a rise out of me with that red lacy stuff.”

She laughed again. “You’re so cute when you try to be dirty,” she said, sinking into the tub and leaning back against him.

He pushed her hair to one side and started kissing down her neck. Despite the temperature of the bath, Lorelai shivered a little. Luke took that as a sign that she was enjoying his exploration and continued kissing down to her shoulder.

Lorelai scooted forward in the tub, out of his arms. Luke was going to ask if something was wrong, but she turned around and wiggled back towards him, facing him. She had a glint in her eye as she managed to wrap her legs around his waist. He gulped as he fought the urge to slide inside her. He still had one present to give her before they got distracted.

“Wait,” he said to her dismay. He reached behind him and picked up the shampoo bottle so he could get at the box behind it.

“Are you going to wash my hair?” she asked, surprised.

“No. Just hang on a second.” He grabbed the box and put the shampoo back down. “Close your eyes.”

With a furrow of her brows, she complied.

He opened the box quietly to reveal the sparkling diamond ring inside. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he could handle it if she said no and told her to open her eyes.

She did and gasped when she saw what Luke was holding. For the first time in her life, Lorelai Gilmore was completely speechless.

“Lorelai,” he began. “It took us a long time to get here. I love you more than I could have ever imagined loving anyone. Our relationship is right and I think we’re ready to take it one step further.” He took another deep breath. “Lorelai Gilmore, will you marry me?”

Tears shone in her eyes. “Oh, Luke,” she managed before the tears started streaming down her face. Luke started to get nervous, thinking he had overstepped his bounds or moved to fast or done something wrong. He struggled to form an apology in his brain when Lorelai finally wiped away the tears and continued speaking. “I would be honored to be your wife,” she managed to choke out before the sobs overtook her again.

Luke realized she was crying happy tears and sighed with relief as he took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger.

They smiled at each other and suddenly remembered they were naked in a hot, steamy bubble bath. Luke grabbed Lorelai’s hips and pulled her close to him. She wrapped her legs back around his waist as they began to kiss and celebrate their new engagement.

End