p e e p

[celeb-head]

Samara Weaving via Instagram

[lostslightly]

"i'm not surprised. the people know quality content when they hear it but even more when they see it. i'm cool with you using my gorgeous face and rockin' bod for clout, btw," he added with a grin. it felt like bow had never been gone, you know? it was so easy to fall back into their banter and bullshit. "mhm... and by 'new things to do', you mean you've been a bad girl and you need to be arrested?"

[itsbowpeep]

"i'll keep that in mind if i ever want to terrorise the good public by advertising your dashing good looks" she grinned in return. god, she had missed her friends. seeing slightly had only confirmed that more. bow shot him a look with a mischievous smile "maaaybeee...we've not seen each other in years. he might not want to talk to me. i do still want to catch up with other people as well. what about you? what have you been up to? still running around with your unhinged leader and the rest of the lost boys?"

[guidoalza]

"yeah? that sucks. this is the first place i've stayed where everyone is is close to one another both in physical space and friendships. she's a character, but can get in your business and can't be tamed"

[itsbowpeep]

"they were a nightmare. the endless number of stories i could tell you about them. absolutely hellish." the stories still baffled her and she lived it. "she sounds like my kind of woman" she laughed "i'll be sure to keep an eye out for her"

[queencfharts]

smart arse. lorelai had put as much distance between them as she could, and yet there were still times she couldn't deny she was looking in a mirror. and no one liked having a mirror set in front of them. "well, as you so astutely pointed out, it's not like we ever speak to one another let alone see each other. you should have made an appointment." it was a pointless and petty thing to say, but she couldn't help it.

"who? who could possibly have duped you into believing coming back here was a good idea? it was one thing for you to be running around california with your little podcast but this... gabe-," she scoffed, absolutely incredulous that she was throwing that man back in her face! gabe. "what a wonder it is gabe has the time to do anything while he chases down adulterers and asks them to say 'cheese'."

[itsbowpeep]

she wasn't intending to throw in any digs but her mother brought it out in her. it was that lorelai hart petty gene she inherited. "what can i say? i am my mothers daughter. like you would ever let anyone tell you to make an appointment"

"no one duped me into moving back here. i have friends here and my career allows me to move freely so i can do it here just fine." that little podcast of hers pulled in weekly listeners or around ten million per episode "careful now, you don't want anyone thinking that you actually want a relationship with your daughter. gabe finds the time, something you could never do"

[paxtonpatterson]

"uh sure, you got a pen and paper and i'll write them down for you? i don't have her business card on me"

[itsbowpeep]

"sure, there's a notepad around here somewhere" she said, turning and rummaging through one of her boxes on the counter until she found a notepad "here you go. thanks for that. i'd really like to thank her for the lovely gesture. so what's new around here? it's been a while since i've been here"

[zachzerocasper]

"i work for jack. he gave me a job when i finished my studies and i guess i've just stuck around out of loyalty"

[itsbowpeep]

"that's sweet of you to stick around out of loyalty. you don't think you'll ever move onto something else? loyalty is a pretty rare trait these days"

[gabe-guzman]

"wh- alright," he breathed, wrapping an arm around her instinctively as she hugged him tightly. "you're alright, baby girl. i've got you." he tried to steel himself, knowing that when she pulled back with tears in her eyes, it would hit him hard. lorelai's relationship with bowie had always been complicated. it was his greatest regret that he hadn't been there more, especially since the divorce.

"come on, let's sit down," he said softly, grabbing her coffee and leading her to a table in the back. gabe stayed sitting right beside her before asking, "do you want to talk about it?"

[itsbowpeep]

a whimper escaped her while her face was pressed into his jacket. there was nothing that a hug from her stepdad couldn't fix. the tight sweeze she was experiencing was already making her feel better. she felt stupid that one encounter with her mother could nearly send her over the edge, she was supposed to be stronger than that.

bowie let gabe guide her over to a table and sunk into the seat. "she's so frustrating to deal with. how did you stay married to her for so long?"

[lostslightly]

"i have my priorities in check, bow. yeah, you got me there... i'm the same as ever. sexy and annoying," he added, flashing her a bright grin. "boring? well, i guess you were deprived of my presence every other day. i can understand how that might start to weigh on you. my darling face is at your disposal." slightly linked their arms, directing them to the nearest bar. "is it secret unfinished business or do you wanna share your bucket list with the class?"

[itsbowpeep]

god, she had really missed him and his catty little attitude. bowie grinned and laughed at him "oh yes, how ever did i cope without your face? the fans of the podcast demanded your return." she happily walked alongside him, arm in arm, it was nice being back when she got to see people she liked "some family business, some friend business...maybe find some new things to do"

[lostslightly]

"i'd be insulted if i wasn't actively dying of thirst right now, thank you very much. you better watch it, bow. when the slippers come knockin' next time, they won't be so kind as to get the bill!" as if slightly had ever paid, but still. he shook his head, barely fighting off a grin. god, he'd missed her. "what are you even doing here anyway, babe? you got out."

[itsbowpeep]

"and yet you still manage to find hydration to speak. since when have you ever picked up a bill? is that a new thing since i've been away" she asked in amusement knowing damn well what he was like. thank god he was still here. "the plan was to stay out in la but the city life is boring now. i've got some unfinished business here and it made sense to come back and see that through and to see your darling face obviously"

[lunedits]

[gabe-guzman]

gabe turned almost instantly when he heard the door open. he'd recognise her anywhere - all blonde hair and fiery fury, he knew better than to ever compare her to her mother. that must have been the cause, of course. there was no one who got under bow's skin like lorelai hart. he waited for her to order, appearing at her side to hand over the cash for her coffee.

"hey there, kiddo. rough day at the office?"

[itsbowpeep]

she jumped at the sound of his voice and could've burst into tears when she saw him in person; feeling like that abandoned kid she did years ago when her mother left her on the family farm, watching the car pull away. bowie didn't wait to answer, she rushed to hug him tightly, hiding her face in his jacket while her eyes stung at the tears threatening to spill over

"rough meeting at the hart office, for obvious reasons"

[ellasweetfontaine]

Dandelion frowned at the woman when she squatted down to meet her at eye level. She didn’t like this lady, who seemed nice but was still a stranger. Her mommy had told her not to talk to strangers, not to take their candy, and not to follow them into creepy—or even normal—vans. She was always to stay near Mommy or Sally.

“Dandelion is Dandelion, and Mommy’s name is Ella. But I call her Mommy, and Daddy is called Eddy.”

Ella shook her head. “His name is Edmund Charmant. He is a soldier in the navy; he is currently abroad on a mission.”

“Yes, he is on a plane, on a boat, and goes whoosh, whoosh!” Dandelion said, waving her hands in the air.

“As for gossip, we have plenty—so much that we even have a gossip newspaper,” Ella continued. “There have also been quite a few breakups lately, though a couple has managed to find their way back to each other, even when times get rough.”

She found herself thinking about the couples in town—Tina and James, for example, or Mary and Adam, even Babette and Victor.

Perhaps the town was cursed in a way. Her own heart felt heavy about her relationship and the lack of communication. Although she loved Sally, she wondered if they might be better off as friends.

[itsbowpeep]

"it's lovely to meet you and your mum, dandelion. i'm bowie, but you can call me bow if you'd like" she smiled to the young girl and stood back up to her mother "the same applies to yourself obviously."

she was sorry to hear that he was away on deployment "that must be stressful for you, i hope he returns soon for you both" the young girl was adorable and full of life, she loved seeing that.

"our own gossip paper? that really is something." bowie listened to ella giving her the run down. she wondered what people had fallen to the couple curse of seasonal breakups. "i'll need to get caught up on what's been happening in town then. i can't go on my podcast uninformed"

[queencfharts]

lorelai was going to fire whoever had let her office door open without an appointment. the last person in the world she expected to walk through the door was her daughter. lorelai was stunned into silence and she wished more than anything it had been some stupid intern she could tear into instead. how had she missed that she was back in town? if lorelai knew anything, it was where bowie was, at least. she hadn't been prepared. damn it, she hadn't been prepared.

the venom in bowie's voice when she said 'mother' helped to ground her at least. she schooled her face to neutrality - annoyance, even - as she looked back at her from behind her desk. regardless of what the papers said, lorelai felt in her bones that this accursed town was no longer safe. and she didn't want bowie here.

"what on earth are you doing here?"

[itsbowpeep]

catching her mother off guard might've been the best thing for them both, there was no time for each of them to rehearse answers "wow, speechless, there's a first time for everything i guess" she said, entering the room and closing the door behind her. bowie made her way to the chair across from the luxurious desk and collapsed into it. "you look like you've seen a ghost"

ah there was that stone cold expression the was used to seeing from her. the glacial face. "does it matter? it's not like we ever speak to one another." she shrugged, picking up a pen to twirl it in her fingers "you'd know about it if you took an interest in my life. i moved back here to get out of the city and to reconnect with old friends..." which was true but she had a very specific old friend of woody pride in mind. "gabe knew about it. he makes the effort to keep up with me"

[itsbowpeep]

"fuck" she muttered to herself as she stormed out of hart law firms building. the reunion was never going to be a predictable affair but maybe some part of her hoped it would go better than it did "fuck!" she repeated, forcing her feet to take her as far away from the building as possible. this was stupid. it was stupid to feel rattled over a parent who didn't want to be in your life, right?

bowie kept walking until she found herself at the enchanted rose café, it would have to do since it was too early for the bar. she pushed open the door and went right to order a coffee with as many extra shots of espresso they were allowed to serve.

@gabe-guzman

[itsbowpeep]

there was one person that bowie was not looking forward to seeing in town. it was the very person who had spent the whole of bowie's life avoiding her as much as bowie had spent avoiding her in retaliation. that being said, being back in town meant that she had decided to rip the band-aid off and just get the dreaded reunion over with.

walking into hart law firm, bowie strolled past the front desk and anyone else that was trying to stop her and headed straight for the door in question her was looking for. opening the door, she leaned against the doorway

"hello mother"

@queencfharts

[ellasweetfontaine]

Dandelion’s gaze lingered on the bouquet as Ella handed it to Bo, curiosity dancing in her eyes. She wasn’t used to seeing Ella give flowers to anyone but Sally, and the small gesture seemed to carry an unspoken significance. The petals caught the light, flecked with droplets from the storm that had passed, and Dandelion couldn’t help but wonder what this unusual gift meant.

"Of course," Ella said, her voice gentle but tinged with concern. "Welcome to our little town. I do hope your journey was safe—considering the storm, I imagine it wasn’t exactly easy." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, glancing at the dark clouds that still lingered on the horizon. Her worry was subtle but palpable, as if she carried the town’s safety in her chest alongside her own.

She stepped a little closer, lowering her voice as though sharing a secret. "If there’s anything you need, my home is on Pumpkin Road, number 1950. Don’t hesitate to come by—I’d be happy to help with whatever you might require. Even if it’s just a cup of tea while the storm passes."

@itsbowpeep

[itsbowpeep]

"thank you. it was a safe one apart from it getting a little rocky near the end but it was nothing to be too concerned about. it looks like i dodged most of the storm." she had been lucky. it had been a big relief to her that she hadn't been caught in it. she was too far down the road to stop in anywhere else before redwood hollow.

bow smiled at the woman and her daughter "that's generous of you, thank you. i might just take you up on that and you can give me the run down of the town of any news or gossip i need to know about in advance." after that, she crouched down to see ella's daughter "and who might this little angel be?"

[paxtonpatterson]

"they're a welcome note from my step-mum. she was intending to drop them over herself but she got called into a meeting and asked me to do it for her"

[itsbowpeep]

"that's kind of her. can you please give me her details? i'd like to send her a thank you card for the flowers"