m_findlow

Title: Cruel and unusual punishment
Fandom: Gilmore Girls
Characters: Lorelai, Rory, Luke
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 578 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for mirrored_illusions prompt "Gilmore Girls, Lorelai, she had gotten herself and Rory out of her parents house, but now what" at fic_promptly
Summary: Escape seemed like such a good plan.

'Freedom!' Lorelai cried as she slammed the car door and made to peel out of the driveway before Rory had clipped her seat belt.

'Geez, Mom, could you at least wait for me to get in the car before you make your getaway to Columbia!'

Lorelai gripped the streeing wheel hard. 'Rory, you don't understand. When Emily Gilmore gives you permission to leave early, you take it, without question, before she comes to her senses and realises she can torture you some more.'

'Point duly noted for next time,' Rory replied. 'So, now what?'

'What do you mean, now what? We're free!'

'Yeah, but you also managed to break out before Grandma gave us any food.' As if to emphasize the point, her stomach growled loudly. 'I don't think we have any food at home except for a box of stale Cheerios and some peanut butter.'

'That's okay. We'll go to Luke's. We always go for coffee at Luke's after the Gilmore Spanish inquisition.'

'Yeah, but we don't go there for dinner, first. Besides, didn't he say he was closing early so he could go visit Jess?'

'Damn, you're right. He should be banned from closing. Ever. Okay,' she said thinking long and hard. 'What about Fran's?'

'Closed.'

'Okay, Al's Pancake World, then.'

'Except he doesn't sell pancakes. Oh, pancakes! Oh, and still closed on a Friday night.'

'Right, Doose's Market, then. There's gotta be something there we can eat.'

'Doose's Market for Friday night dinner?'

'So, we'll make it our new Friday night dinner. It's gotta be better than a ham salad.'

'Oh, I'm so hungry,' Rory complained, grabbing her stomach. 'Even a ham salad sounds amazing right now.'

'And I missed out on my gin and tonic,' Lorelai replied. She slammed the steering wheel. 'Damn you, Emily Gilmore! Do you see what she's done? This was all part of her cunning plan to break us down one little bit at a time.'

They drove around Stars Hollow unable to find anywhere that was open, let along serving food.

'This town sucks,' Lorelai cried.

'I know,' Rory replied. 'And we love this town. It has to do a lot to suck. Wait!' She rapped her palm against the side window. 'I see a light on at Luke's!'

'Really? It's not one of those stranded in the middle of the desert, starving to death mirages, is it?'

'Yes! Stop the car!'

They both rushed out and towards Luke's, shining like a beacon in a storm, banging on the windows. Luke's ever familiar outline approached and opened door, the pair of them just about falling over themselves to get inside.

'Oh my God, Luke, you're an absolute lifesaver, do you know that?' Lorelai said. 'Two coffees, two burgers and the biggest bowl of chips that has ever been made on the face of this earth.'

'We're closed,' Luke replied.

'Not for us, 'Lorelai said. 'You're never closed for us.'

'You wouldn't dare turn away two starving waifs, would you?' Rory said, giving him puppy dog eyes.

Luke rolled his eyes. 'Fine. But I thought you were having dinner at Emily's.'

'And we thought you'd abandoned us for Jess,' Lorelai countered.

'He ditched on me,' Luke replied, setting the coffee pot on to warm. 'Did you have another falling out?'

'No, just Grandma using Russian torture tactics to make us appreciate Friday night dinners,' Rory said, taking a seat at the counter.

'And did it work?'

'Never,' Lorelai replied. 'Just don't ever close on a Friday night ever again.'