Windows

by Blu

Title: Windows

Author: Blu

Email: Blu2cool@AOL.com

Rating/content: G-PG.

Summary: An answer to the "Bored Saturday poll" (I'm paraphrasing) on the L&L board: how Lucky and Liz's first kiss should be/have been. It from Lucky's point of view (oh, you didn't know I could write for him, did you?) and it's pretty much the whole "tape in her bedroom" scene from inside Lucky's head (would I *love* to go in there?!) plus some other stuff that I added.

Disclaimer: You all know I don't own them. And I don't own "Come to My Window" by Melissa Etheridge. I thought it was fitting.

=) Enjoy! (and don't forget to send feedback) Oh, and I'm not neglecting "Free" to write this. I have today's part of "Free" almost done, and I wanted to write this too. So I did. AND, once again, Lucky's thoughts are enclosed in these < >.

**

Come to my window

Crawl inside, wait by the light

of the moon

Come to my window

I'll be home soon

**

When I tapped on her window, I fought a losing battle with my stomach.

< If she hears that tape, I'll die of embarrassment. >

Liz turned to the window, a surprised look on her face. She hurried over and immediately opened it for me.

"Hi-"

"Hi." I didn't mean to interrupt her. My anxiety over that tape got the best of me. "Could I see that?" I motioned to the tape, hoping Liz would ignore my blunder.

"What?"

< Uh oh. > She sounded perturbed.

"Is that the cassette I gave you? Because I lost the other one." I hoped Liz couldn't hear the way my words ran together. She stepped away from the window and I crawled through it and into her room. "I went back to Kelly’s, and I couldn’t find it."

Liz turned her back to me and wandered away.

"I thought you were so mad at me, you could barely stand to look at me." I followed her, but not too closely.

"I never said that." I hadn't had to, evidently.

"And now you come knocking at my door to talk about cassettes?" She sounded mad herself.

I began to get antsy. "Could I just see it, please?" My hand flopped around in front of me of its own accord. A sure sign of nervousness. I decided to just take the tape. I reached out and almost had it in my fingers when Liz whisked it out of my reach. I reached further around her. "Come on. Elizabeth, I’m not kidding." If I wasn't so worried about her listening to that tape, I would've been proud of the way she was teasing me. I reached for the tape again and she again moved it just out of my reach. We mock fought for a few seconds until we fell onto the bed. Liz looked at me with those big blue eyes. I backed off as quickly as I could.

"Sorry."

Liz sat up and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She smiled a bit. "Lucky. It's ok." She stood up and offered me the tape. "Here."

I took it from her hand, being careful not to touch her. I glanced at it for a second, my mind whirling. It wasn't the One. I held it out towards her. "This is the right one." She reached out and took the tape from me, moving towards her stereo. I absently waved my hands, relief surging through me. "I’m sorry I bugged you so late at night."

I was about three feet from the window when I heard the opening strains of her song waft through the room. I froze, stopping dead in my tracks.

< Should I run? Should I hide? What if she hates it? What if she laughs? Oh, I'll never show my face again if she laughs. >

My voice erupted into the room, on Elizabeth's name. I couldn't face her. I was turned a little to the side, so if I looked straight ahead I wouldn't have to look at Liz. Unless I turned my head.

The lyrics got to "breathe" and Elizabeth drew a deep breath. I knew she would say something.

"That’s you."

I let my eyes go to her face. She wasn't laughing yet. Always a good sign. She was almost smiling. I looked away, but couldn't keep my gaze away for long. I opened my mouth to say something, I don't know what, but her gaze locked on mine stopped me.

The song ended with neither of us saying anything else. I walked toward Liz, unsure of exactly what to do. My face reflected my mortified state. I knew that much. My hands slapped against my legs nervously.

  "Well, now you know what I didn’t want you to hear," a deep breath, < Breathing is good. > "and why I didn’t want you to hear it. I’m not a singer. I’m not a songwriter or a musician."

I didn't let myself look away from her.

"How can you say that? I’ve never heard anything so," she paused, "so beautiful." She looked like she was about to start crying. I couldn't tell if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

  "I think it needs work." Lots of it.

  "That was you playing the guitar, too?"

  "Yeah, it’s summertime. I got time on my hands. What am I going to do, teach myself Latin?" I fought to keep from smiling. I didn't know why I suddenly had an urge to grin. "It’s not like I was going to keep it a secret for life.  I just--I just wanted it to be perfect."

  "It is perfect." I released my fears. She wasn't going to laugh.

Liz took the tape out of her stereo and I stepped toward her. She looked up at me with those gorgeous eyes.

  "Do you have to take it back?"

I wasn't sure I had heard her right. "'Have to'?"

  "Can I keep this?" I couldn't breathe. She wanted to keep it.

  "Elizabeth, I can do a better one."

  "I want this one." Well, if she insisted.

  "Ok." My voice lowered. I stared at her.

  "Ok." She gazed right back at me. "Thanks." Her voice was almost a whisper. I boxed up my urge to kiss her and pushed it to the back of my mind.

  "I--I better go before your grandmother hears me." Ask me not to go. Ask me.

  "Are you still mad?" I couldn't answer that question myself. So I said nothing. I moved toward the window and climbed through it.

"Uh, Lucky?"

  I turned around so swiftly I almost slid off the roof. "Yeah?" I hoped she didn't hear the hopefulness in my voice.

  She walked across the room, looking like she wanted to say something pretty profound. I waited. "Good night."

  "Night." My voice luckily didn't betray my disappointment.

*****

I paced up and down Liz's street for over an hour. Something was missing from my encounter with her earlier. I didn't know what, but I felt like a had a hole the size of Texas deep in my heart.

I was passing by Liz's house for the fifteen -or was it the sixteenth?- time, when I took hold of all my courage and snuck around to Liz's window. I stood on the ground staring up at the darkness insde.

< She's probably asleep. >

I ascended to her window anyway. I peeked inside.

< I've become a peeping Tom. >

Her bed was empty and the door to the hallway was wide open. A light glowed from somewhere far inside the house. I took a little initiative and slid the window open and entered Liz's room.

I heard a faint shuffling downstairs and figured Liz was getting something from the kitchen. I sat down in her desk chair to wait.

I was half asleep when Liz came in. She was humming. Her song. I smiled on the inside and continued to play possum.

Liz finally noticed me and let out a startled gasp. "Lucky Spencer!" she exclaimed under her breath. She walked over and squatted down in front of me. I opened my eyes lazily.

"Hi." My voice was low, so Audrey wouldn't hear.

Liz looked like she wanted to burst out laughing. "That's all you have to say for yourself?" she whispered, sipping something out of a mug that she held in her hands.

I reached out and took the mug from her hands. I asked her with my eyes if I could have some; she nodded silently. I sniffed the dark liquid cautiously before taking a drink. Hot tea.

"Does this help you sleep?"

Liz shrugged. "Sleep? What's that?" She smiled a sweet smile at me. I took another drink and handed the mug back to Liz.

"Well, it's kinda hard to explain..."

Liz shook her head, still smiling. "I tried listening to your song," she admitted. My heart stopped beating. "But *that* didn't work."

I swallowed roughly. "Why not?" I rasped.

"Because I kept thinking about you and getting this really silly grin on my face."

I raised my eyes to her face, and she did have a somewhat silly look on her face. It was instantly replaced with a look of pure anxiety.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worry creeping into my voice.

"Nothing," Liz breathed, licking her lips.

I shot a disbelieving look at her. Her next move completely surprised me. I was leaning halfway over her; she straightened out of her squat suddenly.

And raised up and kissed me.

It was soft and sweet and I knew I'd never forget it. Just as suddenly, Liz pulled away. She turned her back to me and stepped away, a dark flush spreading up her face.

I must have had the stupidest look on my face at that point. I stood up and stepped up behind Liz. I reached out and touched her shoulder gently. She turned to me, but her eyes didn't meet mine. Her face was serious.

"I-" she began. I nudged her chin upwards with my knuckles. Her eyes shot upward and met mine. I grinned a wide grin at her. She stared at me like I was crazy for a brief moment, then her face eased into a smile to match me. We laughed silently at each other.

I moved toward the window for hopefully the last time that night, but Liz stopped me with a hand on my arm.

"Lucky?" she murmured. I turned back to her. "Will you sing me to sleep?" she asked softly, her grin a bit smaller, but still safely in place.

My own grin widened. Liz pulled me over to her bed and patted the edge of it. I sat. She laid down on her stomach, facing me, and closed her eyes. I watched her for a minute. She opened one eye.

"Well?" she asked sleepily. I cleared my throat and began the first part of her lullaby.

"Elizabeth..."

End