Rory pulled back the curtain, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips as she let it fall back into place. She turned slowly on her heel and returned to the couch. She sat down on the couch and tucked her feet under her, pulling a blanket down off the back of the couch to cover her lap. Her smile still hadn't faded.

"What are you smiling about?" Theo asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. He closed his book over his finger and shifted on the couch to face her.

"It's going to snow today," Rory replied, reaching for her book off the end table and opening it on her lap.

"How do you figure?" Theo asked, furrowing his brow. "I mean, it's a cold December day in Hartford, so it's entirely possible, but that's not a guarantee."

"I can smell it in the air," Rory said, looking up at Theo's confused face and laughing quietly. "You think I'm insane, don't you?"

Theo opened his mouth to respond, but he closed it for a moment to think about what he was about to say. "I'm more curious as to how you can smell it in the air, and all I can smell is the firewood burning," Theo said, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's something my mom always says when the weather starts getting colder," Rory said, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

Theo nodded his head slowly and leaned forward to put his book back on the coffee table. He reached out and squeezed Rory's calf as a smile grew on his face. "So, what do you want to do on this potentially snowy day?"

Rory shrugged, scooting down to rest her head against the arm of the couch, and stretched her legs out into Theo's lap. A giggle escaped her lips when he tickled the bottoms of her feet, causing him to get kicked a few times as she tried to move away. "Don't do that," she laughed, pushing herself back up to a seated position on the couch next to him. "You know my feet are super ticklish."

"Do I?" Theo asked, raising a brow as a smirk pulled wider on his face. He crawled over to where she was sitting, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her down onto the couch beneath him. Theo pressed a kiss to her nose before trailing kisses against her cheek to her lips.

This kiss was soft at first, but after a few moments, Theo slid his tongue along the seam of Rory's lips. A moan escaped her lips, and he took the chance to deepen the kiss. A smile pulled at his lips when he felt her arms wrap around his waist and her head tilting beneath him to get comfy. The fireplace was crackling as they remained wrapped up in one another's arms for a little while longer.

A loud knock at their apartment door pulled Rory and Theo apart as he jumped up from the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced at Rory with a puzzled look on his face as she repositioned her clothes before getting up. Theo walked over to the door and looked through the peephole, chuckling as he took a step back and pulled the door open.

"Hey Lorelai," he said, ushering her in with a smile. "Luke. To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Theo and Luke shared a firm shake and a laugh when they realized Lorelai had ignored the question and made her way into the living room in search of Rory. As the men rounded the corner into the living room, they found Lorelai and Rory huddled up on the couch, whispering away.

"Smell of snow?" Theo asked, turning to Luke with a raised brow.

Luke nodded his head, chuckling. "Yeah, can Rory smell it too?"

"Apparently," Theo replied, laughing for a moment as he turned his attention back to the girls. "So, what will we do today as we await the snow?"

Lorelai and Rory exchanged a glance before turning to the men as a grin pulled at the corners of her lips.

"Gingerbread houses," Lorelai and Rory said in unison.

"And cookies to eat," Lorelai added, pushing herself up from the couch.

"From scratch?" Luke asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've never made gingerbread."

"Theo has," Rory said, jumping up from the couch and making her way over to Theo. She interlaced her fingers with his and squeezed tight. "You don't mind, do you?"

Theo brought his hand to his chin, scratching the scruff there to delay answering her question momentarily. He couldn't help smiling when he saw the sad puppy dog eyes growing on Rory's face. "I don't mind at all," he replied, leaning down to kiss her cheek. He leaned into her ear. "I'll even add something to the dough to make the houses last longer than they normally do."

"Really?" Rory asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Really," Theo laughed, pressing one last kiss to her cheek. "But you owe me big time."

"I'm sure it'll be worth the cost," Rory replied, tugging him towards the kitchen.

. . .

"I'll be right back," Theo said, stepping away from the kitchen and making his way down the hall to his small office at the back of their apartment. He closed the door to the room shut behind him and went to the closet. It took him a few minutes to find what he was looking for, but once he found it on the top shelf, he pressed up on his tiptoes to grab it.

"Everlasting Elixir," he mumbled, shaking his head. "The things I do for the woman I love."

With the bottle in hand, Theo made his way back to the kitchen. However, just as he was about to step through the doorway, Lorelai stepped in front of him with her hand up.

"Hold on," she said, turning to Rory and motioning for her to come here. "Theo, look up."

Theo refrained from rolling his eyes as he slowly tilted his head back. When he left the room, he felt something would get added to the holiday decorations in the apartment, but he hadn't been expecting it to be mistletoe. He shook his head as he lowered his head, shrugging his shoulders with a laugh.

"You can't move until someone frees you with a kiss," Lorelai teased, taking a few steps back and wrapping her arms around Luke's waist.

Theo nodded his head slowly. "I see," he mused, glancing over to Rory. He lifted his hand and curled his finger, motioning for her to come over to him.

Rory took a few steps closer to him but kept just far enough away that he couldn't reach out and grab her to pull her into him. "What's the magic word?" Rory asked, raising a brow with a smirk on her face.

"Please?" Theo asked, cocking his head to the side and pouting his lip. He batted his eyelashes as he waited for her to respond.

"Nope!" Lorelai laughed, ignoring the fact that Luke was pleading with her to put an end to the torment. He knew far too well that if this was what she planned for her daughter's boyfriend, then she had something even more in mind to torment him with later.

Rory shook her head but took another step towards him. "Not quite," she said, reaching out a hand to him, which he took happily, but when he started to pull on her hand, she shook her head. "Don't cheat. Think about it."

Theo's eyes flitted between Rory's and Lorelai's faces as he thought about the possible magic word and moments from earlier flashed in his mind. However, something outside caught his eye. "It's snowing," he announced, pulling Rory into him and wrapping his arm tightly around her waist as his lips crashed into hers.

Lorelai turned towards the window and let out a squeal. She grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him past Rory and Theo, wrapped up in one another's arms, before making her way outside to investigate.

Rory pulled back after a moment and shook her head. "That was a dirty trick."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Theo laughed, pulling her in for another kiss.