𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚☕︎

The inn was glowing with soft yellow light, its windows fogged gently from the warmth inside.

Brooke and Jess walked up the path toward the front porch in no particular rush, their hands still linked, quietly swinging between them.

His thumb brushed over the back of her glove every so often, and she swore she could still feel it even through the fabric.

Dinner wasn't for another ten minutes, but the front hallway was already humming with life.

A wreath hung slightly crooked on the inn's door, and the smell of roasted garlic and pine drifted faintly through the cracks in the wood.

They stepped inside together, cheeks pink from the cold.

Jess didn't drop her hand.

Inside, the lobby was full of motion—people greeting one another, coats being shed, boots squeaking against the hardwood.

Brooke's gaze skimmed over the room, searching for her mom or Rory and maybe even Lorelai, but before she could spot either, she heard familiar voices behind her.

"Okay, back up," Lena said, stepping in from the side entrance, scarf halfway untied. "Did you two just walk in... holding hands?"

Brooke turned, already smiling, cheeks warming again for a different reason.

Rae appeared right behind Lena, eyebrows raised, eyes bouncing between Jess and Brooke with barely-contained energy. "Is that what I think it is?"

Brooke opened her mouth, but Jess cut in first, deadpan.

"I'll leave you to your coven meeting," he said to her, the corner of his mouth tilting up. "Try not to hex anyone."

Then he was gone, disappearing through the parlor doorway without waiting for a response.

Lena gave Rae a wide-eyed look.

Brooke sighed, stepping to the side where they'd have a little more privacy, near the hallway that led to the coat closet.

"It's not what it looks like," she said, even though it sort of was.

Rae crossed her arms. "Do I look like someone who buys that line?"

Lena leaned in, curious but quiet.

Brooke hesitated for half a second—then she gave in. "Okay. So maybe it is what it looks like. Sort of. I don't know. We kissed."

Both of them blinked.

"Wait—what?" Lena said.

Brooke ran her gloved hand through her hair. "It wasn't planned. It just... happened. A few times"

"That sentence has way too much happening in it," Rae said, eyes wide. "I'm gonna need a little more detail."

Brooke smiled, soft and a little dreamy now. "It wasn't even supposed to be a thing. I mean, we're sharing a room, and we've been hanging out, and it's been—fun? But then today just... shifted something. And it wasn't a big dramatic moment or anything."

Lena reached for her hand. "Okay, first of all, I'm obsessed. Second, are you guys, like, together?"

Brooke shrugged, the smile still on her lips. "No label. We didn't talk about it. We kissed a few times that's it But there's something there. And I think we both know it."

Rae was beaming now. "I told you. I told you from the first time I saw you two."

Brooke let out a laugh, bumping her shoulder against Rae's. "Okay, maybe you were a little right."

"You're welcome," Rae said.

Just then, from a few feet away, a voice chimed in—slightly hesitant but still clear.

"I knew I saw something."

They turned to find Matthew standing near the coat rack, adjusting the sleeves of his sweater.

He nodded toward Brooke, then glanced subtly in Rae's direction. "When you guys walked in. I figured something had happened."

Brooke raised an eyebrow, teasing. "Were you spying?"

He gave a small smile. "I was walking in, not spying."

Then, a beat later, he looked at Rae again. "Your friend's kind of cute."

Brooke blinked, then looked at Rae—who was frozen for a second, then turning bright pink.

"Oh," Brooke said, eyes lighting up. "I ship it. I ship it so hard."

Lena grinned. "This week just got interesting."

They moved toward the dining room slowly, everyone a little warmer than when they arrived, a little more connected.

And Brooke—despite the quiet of it—couldn't stop smiling.

Something was happening.

And this time, she wasn't scared to let it.