Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author’s Note: Just a little thingy that came to mind. I’m working on a bigger piece but that’s not really working out right now. Please note that this has not been beta read. It’s too late and she’s in a place with no internet right now.
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She sits at the counter tonight because all the tables in the diner are taken. There’s a plate in front of her with uneaten fries and a large hole in the middle where a burger used to lie. It’s gone from the spot because said burger (the poor thing) is in the process of being wolfed down.
Luke watches, amused, as she tries to stuff the remaining part – which is more than half of it – into her mouth all at once, without biting off tinier parts.
He wonders idly why she’s so hungry. He knows she’s in a tight spot financially but he doubts that she saves her money by not buying any food and coming to the diner every night for her only meal of the day. Maybe it’s because Rory hasn’t come home from college in two weeks and she feels the need to eat for two.
And suddenly he wonders if she is indeed eating for two. After all, she and the sleaze bag have been seeing more of each other lately.
But he dismisses that possibility too, because she would have told him. After the fiasco of him not telling her about the move to Litchfield, they vowed to tell each other everything.
He likes having her at the counter actually. Even though it’s busy, there’s a lull because everybody’s eating and nobody needs a refill on their coffee.
So he’s just casually leaning against the back counter, arms crossed in front of his chest, facing her. Watching her eat. If she notices him looking at her, she doesn’t acknowledge it.
He likes watching her, too. To some people it might sound a little creepy, but everything about her enthralls him. Even though that is too big a word; he can’t really think of an other one right now. Captivates maybe.
He loves to hear her voice, no matter what tone it takes. Whether she’s annoyed with him, or teasing him or nagging at him about some personal detail that he refuses to reveal to her; it does something to him. Especially, he notices every time, to his heart. Hearing her voice makes his heart constrict in a way, makes it beat just a tad faster. He keeps marveling at the power she has over that one organ.
And then there’s her general way of doing things. Having a conversation, laughing at a joke, reading the menu. The way she pays attention to every little detail. Her gesturing.
And her overall appearance of course. No matter what she is wearing – and usually she looks impeccable – he always finds her beautiful. She is beautiful in a stylish dress, but sometimes he finds that her beauty radiates even more when she’s wearing a t-shirt or ratty sweatpants.
He sighs a little. He knows he should snap out of it, and soon. But before he has a chance to really get to his senses and walk away, into the kitchen to check on more food, she takes a gigantic bite out of the burger and a drop of ketchup smears on her cheek.
Without thinking, Luke grabs a napkin out of the dispenser, takes a step closer and reaches out, dabbing the ketchup away.
She pauses and looks up, slowly putting her burger back on her plate. He feels uncomfortable under her close scrutiny and can’t help but think if the gesture was too personal, too intimate.
But then she smiles a little, and says, “You’re a riddle wrapped in an enigma, Luke.”
He smiles a little back, although he has no idea what she means by that.
And then a customer waves for the check and he goes back to work. She finishes her burger, puts some money on the counter and stands up to leave.
He is standing over a table refilling a cup of coffee when he notices her presence next to him. He stands up straight, faces her. She’s got another one of those strange smiles on her faces, but before he can wonder at how he will never figure out that particular facial expression, she leans over and kisses him, very lightly, on the corner of his mouth.
Two seconds later, she’s out of the door and he still stands there, for some reason the happiest man in the world.
END