p e e p

"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?"

"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?"

"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"

"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"

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.

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"

"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"

"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"

"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"

"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"

"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.

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.

"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?"

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"

"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."

"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"

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

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.

"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."

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.

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"

"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.

"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"

"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"