In The Forgotten Gilmore, Alessia Gilmore grapples with adolescence in Stars Hollow, a town where gossip flows as freely as coffee at Luke's Diner. Overshadowed by her mother Lorelai's bond with twin sister Rory, Alessia finds solace in her irrevere...
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The morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting soft lines across Riley's bed. He woke slowly, the early light gently pulling him from sleep. As his eyes adjusted to the dim room, he became aware of Beau beside him, still fast asleep. Beau's arm was draped across Riley's waist, his head nestled into the crook of Riley's neck, their legs tangled under the covers. Riley lay still, letting the quiet of the moment wash over him.
This wasn't the first time Riley had woken up during the night. His insomnia always kept him restless, even in moments like this. But each time he'd stirred in the early hours, there was Beau-curled into him, completely at ease. It had been impossible not to notice every detail: the rise and fall of Beau's chest, the soft sound of his breath, the warmth of his body pressed against Riley's.
In the stillness of the night, Riley had let his fingers trace through Beau's hair more times than he wanted to admit, enjoying the feel of it, or just resting his hand on Beau's back, feeling the rhythm of his breathing. And in those moments, when sleep wouldn't come, Riley found a strange sense of calm just watching Beau, admiring the quiet lines of his face, the way his guard was down completely.
Now, as the morning light grew a little stronger, Riley realized that Beau was still in the same position, curled up and completely unaware of the closeness. Riley's heart gave a strange little twist. He knew Beau would be embarrassed if he woke up like this-so at ease, so unguarded. Carefully, Riley began to shift, sliding out from under Beau without waking him. He moved slowly, not wanting to disturb the peace of the moment, until finally, he slipped out of bed.
He padded quietly out of the room, heading to the kitchen to distract himself. He wasn't much of a cook, but he felt like trying something simple for breakfast-eggs, toast, maybe a bit of bacon. Beau would probably appreciate it. It wasn't long before the kitchen filled with the comforting smell of sizzling bacon and eggs, and Riley found himself relaxing into the task, enjoying the normalcy of it.
A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps in the hallway made him glance up, and Beau appeared in the doorway, still looking a bit sleepy, his wrist wrapped in a bandage from the sprain he'd gotten during the game.
"Morning," Riley greeted with a smile, flipping the eggs one last time. "Hungry?"
Beau rubbed his eyes, yawning. "Depends. Did you make it, or did you call for backup?"
Riley rolled his eyes, though his smile didn't fade. "Trust me, you'll like it."
Beau grinned as he sat down at the table. "You're full of surprises."
They ate together, the conversation light, filled with easy banter as Riley watched Beau begin to wake up fully. The tension that had been slowly building between them over the past few weeks wasn't gone-it was there, quietly humming beneath every word, every glance. But neither of them addressed it. Not yet.
After breakfast, they settled in the living room, falling into their usual routine of playing video games. Riley tossed Beau a controller, smirking as Beau awkwardly held it with his good hand.
"You sure you can handle this with a sprained wrist?" Riley teased, his tone light but with an undertone of challenge.
"I'll manage," Beau shot back, smirking. "But if I lose, I'm blaming the wrist."
The games were competitive, filled with playful jabs and trash talk, but Beau was clearly at a disadvantage. Still, Riley didn't let up-if anything, he leaned into it, enjoying the way Beau tried to keep up, his determination shining through. Every now and then, their shoulders would brush, or their knees would knock together, and Riley felt the tension between them tighten just a little more.
"Dude, your reflexes are shot," Riley teased, after winning yet another round. "Maybe we should switch to a board game-something less taxing on your poor, delicate wrist."
Beau laughed, shaking his head. "You'd think you'd be more sympathetic to a guy who's injured."
"Not when I'm winning."
They both laughed, the sound filling the room. After a few more rounds, they gave up on the games and switched to watching TV, flipping through channels until they landed on a particularly bad sitcom.
"Wow," Beau said, raising an eyebrow. "This is... something."
Riley smirked. "Yeah, it's like a trainwreck. You can't look away."
As the show played in the background, their attention drifted more toward each other than the screen. They sat close-maybe closer than they needed to, but neither of them seemed to mind. Riley could feel the warmth of Beau's leg pressed against his, the easy laughter that came with mocking the terrible TV show doing little to distract him from the growing tension between them.
The quiet moments stretched longer, the space between them shrinking as the tension-once subtle, now undeniable-began to hum even louder. It felt like they were on the edge of something, but neither one of them seemed ready to take the leap. Yet.
As the show droned on, Riley glanced sideways at Beau, his heart doing that strange little twist again. The playful banter was still there, but underneath it, something else lingered. Something deeper.
