#me: *wakes up to post at 7 am on a saturday*

[television-overload]

of our own making

(an X-Files fanfic)

Chapter 26/34 - madeline

[Read on AO3]

Feeding the baby is slow going, but Mulder thinks they ought to cut her a little slack. It is her first day, after all. Eventually, she takes a longer pause and yawns, her tiny mouth opening wide and showing off her gums.

“That’s a big yawn for such a small person,” Mulder says, watching as Scully sets the bottle aside, lifting Madeline to her shoulder to pat her on the back. It isn’t long before she successfully expels a burp, drawing a chuckle out of Mulder. She’s so good with her already. He can’t wait to see his partner grow and change as a mother. Which reminds him: Mother’s Day is coming up. He’ll have to do something to celebrate.

“It really happened,” Scully says, marveling once more at their situation.

“It did,” he says, then thinks. “Should we tell your mom now?”

She laughs, nodding her head in agreement. Yeah, it’s probably safe to share the news now, isn’t it? “She’s gonna be beside herself.”

“She’s not gonna speak to us for months, for keeping this from her,” Mulder says, the joke an attempt to alleviate the tinge of genuine worry he has.

“I don’t know, I think we’ve got a pretty good Get-out-of-Jail-Free card here,” Scully says, looking down at the baby and bouncing her gently. “She won’t be able to stay away from her first granddaughter.”

Just then, Mulder gets a whiff of something not so pleasant, and he chuckles nervously. “Phew, are you sure? Cause this little stinker certainly knows how to clear a room.”

Scully gives him a thinly-veiled look of amusement, but he can tell she’s put off by the smell too, even with her strong forensic pathologist’s stomach. This will take some getting used to.

“Well, I got to be the one to give her her first bottle,” she says. “You want to do the first diaper change?”

“Somehow, I don’t feel like that’s a fair trade,” Mulder says, laughing. Even so, he doesn’t hesitate to lift the baby from Scully’s arms and carry her over to the changing table, which is outfitted with all the supplies they could possibly need. 

Scully stands by on the opposite side of the table for moral support, watching him with a funny smile on her face. It takes a second for him to find his rhythm—a real live baby with flailing legs is a bit different than an inanimate baby doll, after all—but he vows that in no time, he’ll be a pro. 

“There we go,” he says, tossing the dirty diaper into the trash can from a distance. “A 3-pointer! And the crowd goes wild!”

Scully rolls her eyes, lifting the baby back into her arms and burying her nose in Madeline’s hair.

“How’d I do?” Mulder asks.

Scully smiles up at him from beneath her thick lashes. “Fresh as a daisy,” she says. “I should probably try to get her to sleep. Are you going to call your mom?”

“Yeah,” Mulder says, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, I’ll call her later tonight. She usually plays bridge with some friends Tuesday afternoons. At least, I think she still does.” In truth, he hadn’t talked to her much since her release from the hospital, a fact that he really needs to remedy.

Scully nods.

“Well, could you get my mom on the phone and let her know to come? I’m going to get Maddie cleaned up a little before we have visitors.”

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea, Scully,” he says. “When I call her from the hospital, it’s usually not good news.”

Scully gives him an encouraging look before laying the baby in her bassinet for a quick sponge bath. “Well, this is the perfect chance to change that up, don’t you think?”

She’s right, of course. He owes Margaret Scully an awful lot. Let this be the first step toward earning the kindness she has so freely bestowed so many times over the years.

He fishes his cell phone out of his pocket, pressing the buttons for speed dial 4. It only rings twice before it connects.

“Hello?” her voice projects.

“Hey, Mrs. Scully.”

“Fox? Is there something wrong?”

He sighs. He can almost see the pinched Scully look of concern on the elder woman’s face. That’s what he gets for constantly being the bearer of bad news, he supposes. He glances at his partner and then back at the boring pastel colored painting of a flower on the wall.

“Nothing’s wrong, Mrs. Scully,” he assures her. “Actually, it’s kind of the opposite.”

“I don’t understand—”

“How quickly can you get to the hospital in Annapolis?” he asks. “Bearing in mind that no one’s hurt, there’s been no disaster. For once, it’s good news.”

“The hospital?” she questions, still sounding worried despite his reassurances. “I can leave now, so maybe 45 minutes? You’re sure everything’s alright?”

“Promise,” he says. “Dana would have called you herself, but she’s… busy.”

“If you say so,” Maggie says doubtfully.

Gee, he wonders where Scully got her skepticism from. 

“Room 509 when you get here,” he says into the phone, checking his watch for the time. “See you soon?”

He can hear the rustle of a jacket and car keys on the other end of the line. “Yes– yes, I’m on my way. I’ll be there soon.” 

-.-.-

“No, you must have misunderstood me,” Maggie says to the nurse leading the way through the hospital corridors, “I’m looking for Dana Scully in room 509. This is the maternity ward.”

“Yes, ma’am. Room 509.”

“But that can’t be right,” she says, her brows furrowing in confusion.

Maybe Dana is working a case that involves a pregnant woman that required her medical expertise. But why would Fox call her asking her to come?

“You can go on in,” the nurse says as they arrive outside the room.

Thoroughly confused and not knowing what to expect, she pushes open the door. On the far end of the room, Dana sits on a couch, her arm resting against a cart of some kind, while Fox stands, his back to the door, hunched over the same cart. He turns and a smile spreads across his face, and Dana quickly gets to her feet, looking equal parts excited and nervous.

“Mom!” she says.

“Dana? What’s going on?”

She’s not dressed in her doctor garb. She is, however, wearing her usual FBI clothing, though it looks a little rumpled. Her daughter is usually so prim and polished—to gain the respect of her male peers, she supposes—it’s unusual to see her looking anything less than professional on a work day.

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” she says, walking quickly toward her with only a cursory glance back at Fox. “There was always a chance it wouldn’t work out, but…”

She runs out of words to say, opting instead to grab her mother’s arm and start tugging her to the other side of the room. The beaming smiles on their faces are unlike any Maggie had seen in quite some time.

As they get closer, Maggie sees that the cart she saw earlier is in fact a hospital bassinet, and inside lays a baby, wide awake and blinking as she holds tight to Fox’s finger.

“What– how–?” she begins, stuttering, her hand coming up to clutch her metaphorical pearls. “Dana, is that–?”

“Mom, I’d like you to meet your granddaughter,” Dana says, her voice shaking with emotion. Maggie looks up at her, then back at the baby. Tears pool in Dana’s eyes, and she supports her mother as they step up to the bassinet so she can get a good look.

“Oh, she’s beautiful, Dana!” she says, feeling her own eyes begin to water. “But, how? I was with you just a few weeks ago. And, is Fox–?”

“Mulder and I– Well, it’s a long story,” she starts. “Last year, I decided to try in vitro fertilization, and Mulder agreed to… help.” 

Maggie looks up at that, and she doesn’t miss the blush as it spreads across the man’s cheeks. He ducks his head, trying to focus only on the baby.

“It didn’t work, which is why I didn’t tell you,” Dana continues. “I didn’t want to… get your hopes up.”

“Oh, Dana,” Maggie says, looking sad. She wishes her daughter would confide in her more. She stores things up for so long, that when it all finally comes out, it’s hard to be of any help. She has so many questions, and she’s not sure Dana will give her all the answers.

“I thought that was my last chance to be a mother. But then, a few months ago, Mulder said that—” 

It clearly makes her emotional to think of, now, whatever her daughter’s partner had offered to do. 

“He said that if I wanted to try adoption, he’d do it with me.”

Adoption.

“I can’t believe it,” Maggie says, in awe of the tiny baby, and of the man who had made all of it possible. Fox Mulder had changed her daughter’s life forever, and she doesn’t think there’s any way she could possibly repay him.

“I can’t believe it either,” Dana laughs, and she sees Fox nod his agreement. This is a crazy thing that they have done. She'd thought that something was up with the two of them lately, of course, but never in a million years would she have guessed this. 

“Would you like to hold her, Mrs. Scully?” the man asks, gently lifting the baby out of her bassinet.

Overwhelmed and caught off guard by the sight of Fox Mulder holding a child, Maggie can only nod as she accepts the tiny bundle into the cradle of her arms. Tears spring to her eyes.

“Oh…” she sighs, unable to keep the tears at bay. “This is such a… a wonderful surprise. What’s her name?”

“Madeline Samantha Mulder,” Dana says proudly, glancing up at her partner in some form of unspoken communication.

That grabs her interest. 

“Mulder?” she asks curiously. “So you’re…” She gestures between the two of them with her free hand, and catches the glint of a ring on Fox’s left ring finger. Her eyebrows raise.

“We decided we’d raise the baby together. To make the application simpler, we got married,” Dana answers.

Married?!

“When?” she asks, equal parts thrilled and furious that she’d been left out of these plans.

“Christmas Eve.”

“Christmas…” she whispers, thinking back to that day. “That’s why you two had to go rushing off? You were getting married?” she says, aghast.

“Mom—”

“Your entire family was in town, Dana, even Charlie! Don’t you think we would have liked to be there for you on your special day?”

“It isn’t like that,” Dana says, her frustration rising. “It was just a formality. We went to the courthouse. We needed the papers so that we’d be seen as a couple looking to adopt on our applications. Otherwise, we might have been rejected. And you know they’re not the most accepting of single mothers—”

Wait, wait, wait. Back up. 

“I don’t understand,” she says, “You’re married but not… together?”

Fox and Dana look at each other, and Maggie knows the answer before they say it. Her stomach sinks.

“No,” Dana says, a little hint of disappointment in her voice. “Not really.”

Glancing between the two of them, Maggie detects disappointment from both sides, not that either of them can probably tell. They’re so blind to what the other is feeling, that it would be funny if it didn’t make Maggie so sad. All the things they’re missing out on, just because they’re both too stubborn to admit the truth. 

It’s probably only a matter of time anyway, she decides, no use harping on about it for now. If another month goes by with no sign of progress, she'll say something. That's as far as she'll go.

“You two are ridiculous, you know that?” she says curtly, pressing her lips together. “Frustrating.”

“Now you sound like my mother,” Fox jokes, in that self-deprecating tone of voice she wishes he’d stop using.

Maggie sighs, glancing back down at the gurgling baby in her arms. She sure is awfully cute.

“You’re lucky you gave me a granddaughter for all this nonsense I have to put up with,” she says, though not unkindly. She can say this at least about Fox and Dana: this baby will know a kind of love few people in this world get to experience.

They just have to pull themselves together first.

-.-.-

Maddie falls asleep on Mulder’s chest sometime after Mrs. Scully starts talking about breaking the news to Scully’s brothers, and to be honest, he’s glad for the distraction. It does, however, mean he’s kind of trapped there when Scully decides to go ask a nurse about bringing up some lunch for them from the cafeteria, leaving him alone with her mother and the baby.

They sit in silence for a while, neither really knowing what to say. At a certain point, though, Mulder can’t take the quiet anymore.

“You think Scully’s crazy, don’t you,” he says, more of a statement than a question.

“I’m not sure I know what to think,” Maggie answers. “About Dana.”

Mulder winces. He’d have to stop doing that. “Sorry, habit.”

“Ever since she met you, her life has been upside down and backwards from what I always thought it would be,” she continues.

“I know.”

“I don’t blame you, Fox.” Maggie’s hand settles atop his on the armrest of the couch, almost weightless. “She’s happy with you, otherwise she wouldn’t have stayed this long. I may not know much about my daughter these days, but I do know that.”

“I’m happier with her than I have ever been,” he admits. “And now—” he looks down at Madeline. “I didn’t know this much happiness existed.”

Maggie smiles, a little sadly. He’s used to people looking at him like that, the poor kid with the tragic backstory. He just wishes she wouldn’t. 

The room falls silent again. A funny look comes over her face, and he gets the sense that she's holding something back.

“And, where will you live?” she asks, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

“We’re going to be looking for a house,” he answers, “but for now I’ve been sleeping in… Dana’s spare bedroom.”

Maggie purses her lips. “No nursery?”

“Not yet,” he says, shaking his head. “We figure she’ll sleep just fine in a bassinet for the first few months.”

“And that will be in Dana’s room?”

“I suppose so.”

“So, will you be helping when she wakes up needing to be fed or changed in the middle of the night?”

What is this, some high-stakes interview for a job? He really hadn’t been prepared for this.

“Of– of course I will,” he answers, perplexed by the fact that she even has to ask. Of course he’ll help take care of the baby, he and Scully are in this together, as they are with everything.

Maggie hums. You could almost hear a pin drop.

“Seems like it would just be easier if you were both in the same room to begin with,” she states, shrugging her shoulders like what she’d said was no big deal. She sips nonchalantly from a styrofoam cup of coffee and doesn’t look at him.

Now, Mulder doesn’t want her to get the wrong idea... “Mrs. Scully—” he starts.

“It’s Maggie, Fox,” she says kindly but firmly, interrupting him. “You’re my son-in-law now, I think you can call me by my first name.”

He sighs, and feels the baby let out a sigh against his chest. You and me both, kid. 

“Maggie…” he corrects. “Look, Scully—Dana—is my best friend. And we’ve agreed to be parents and raise Madeline together, but we’re not—”

“Fox,” she interrupts again. “It’s very sweet that you’ve taken on this role as Madeline’s father, but what about Dana? Doesn’t she deserve a real marriage, with a husband who does more than care for her as the co-parent of their child? Don’t you deserve more?”

The very idea that Scully might not be enough for him offends him deeply, and he’s quick to tell her so. “I couldn’t possibly ask for more than your daughter,” he says. “She’s– she’s all I need. Her and Madeline. As for Dana…”

“She needs you, too.”

“No, but–”

“Don’t take what I’m saying the wrong way,” Maggie says seriously, leaning toward him. “Dana deserves a real husband, who loves and cares for her in all the ways a husband should.” 

She levels a stare at Mulder, and he waits for the other shoe to drop. 

“I’m not saying that shouldn’t be you.”

What?

It’s not like he hasn’t thought of this before—he has—but to be talking about it with her mother? Twenty years from now, if Madeline were to have a friend like Mulder, he’d tell her to run away as fast as she possibly could. But—that isn’t what Margaret is saying, is it?

In fact… it seems like she’s saying the exact opposite.

“You care for her, don’t you?” she asks.

“I do, but—”

“You love her?”

Mulder’s jaw hangs open, his automatic reply dying on his lips. His heart pounds in his chest, and he spares a quick thought toward Maddie and hopes it won’t disturb her somehow. He wants to answer her, but he doesn’t know how. His throat closes up almost completely as tears pool in his eyes, and he doesn’t trust his voice to come out right if he tried. 

He glances down at Maddie, this precious little life he and Scully have vowed to take care of.

“It doesn’t matter if I do,” he says quietly. “She doesn’t… feel the same way.” 

He can’t look at Margaret right now. He’s afraid of what he would see if he did. 

“She deserves better than what I can give her,” he finishes, taking comfort in the warmth of his daughter burrowed into his chest.

Maggie is quiet for a moment. Then, she says, “It looks, to me, like you’ve given her quite a lot.”

True or not, there’s still the matter of everything else his presence in her life has done for her. To her.

“It doesn’t compare to how much has been taken...” he says.

“Which you are not responsible for.” Maggie’s stare is unrelenting, he has no choice but to take every word she speaks to heart. “Ask yourself who else in Dana’s life would have been able to make this possible for her. Who else would make such a life-changing decision, just to make her dream come true?”

“Any guy would have to be stupid not to,” Mulder states the obvious.

“You sell yourself too short, Fox,” Maggie says, shaking her head in either annoyance or disappointment. He doesn’t like either of those directed at him—not from Margaret Scully. “There’s no one she trusts more than you,” she says emphatically. “She wouldn’t have done this with anyone else by her side.”

Maggie sits back, apparently finished dressing him down. The baby squirms and then settles in her sleep, still exhausted from the eventful day she’s had. He can’t help but think about what Maggie had said—that Scully would only ever do this with him, no one else. He wants to push back, to say that isn’t true, but he knows in his heart that it is. 

The question is: what does that mean for him? What does it mean for them?

Maggie gives a tiny smile, watching as he absentmindedly rubs tiny circles on Maddie’s back, lost in thought.

“Dana has told me some of the more unbelievable things you believe in, Fox…” she says quietly. “Aliens, ghosts, monsters… Given that, I would think it would be easier.”

“That what would be easier?” Mulder asks, the drone of his murmur matching the tone she had set.

Maggie smiles at him fondly, her knowing eyes meeting his. 

“For you to believe she loves you.”

~~~

Lovely tag list ♡: [if you would like to be added or removed, let me know!]

@today-in-fic @ao3feed-msr @agent-troi @angegova @baronessblixen @calimanc @captainsolocide @clo-thespin @cutemothman @danasculls @deathsbestgirl @edierone @enigmaticxbee @figureofdismay @frogsmulder @gillian-anderson-in-the-tardis @hippocampouts @invidiosa @monaiargancoconutsoy @msrafterdark @numinousmysteries @primrose19 @randomfoggytiger @skelavender @skylarksong @stephy-gold @teenie-xf @the-redhead-in-a-dress @vincentsleftear

[vote2]

god like. the problem okay actually no more posting the screen is like 4 words behind what im typing oh my god

[lorarri]

★ . . . 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 , 𝐉𝐁𝟓

summary , the daughter of lewis hamilton and a 3 time f1 world champion life is pretty great especially now that you have found a special someone

pairing , jude bellingham x fem! hamilton! redbull! f1 driver! reader

main masterlist | football masterlist

yourinstagram . 4hrs ago

seen by lewishamilton judebellingham 76,389,589 others

yourinstagram

liked by lewishamilton judebellingham 102,890,199 others

yourinstagram winter break photodump pt. 5

view comments

user my wife is a madrid...I don't know what to do with why self now

user stay away from my wifey mr. hey jude lookin ass

user MR BELLINGHAM WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE

user it couple is cookin ya'll

user love that mother is living her best life

user bae wake up Y/N posted a winter break photo dump

user OKAY BUT THAT LAST PIC EXCUSE ME?!?!?!

user madam who got you those flowers

user jude better be careful or papa hamilton gonna have his head if he even thinks about trying anything with his daughter

user why am I kinda living from the idea of these two being a couple

user are you dating jude?

user Y/N come home the kids miss you

user 4th wdc pending...

user so we all know who the guy in the last slide is right?

user love my soon to be parents

user the queen soft launching wasn't on my 2024 bingo card

view more comments

TRENTSKI

JUDITH

EXPLAIN YOUR SELF

JUDITH

huh?

RICE RICE BABY

did you really think you could sneek your way into Y/N Hamilton's ig dump and we wouldn't find out?

JUDITH

yes?

SANCHOOOO

SO YOU ADMIT IT

IT IS YOU

MEEK MEALS

glad you finally got together

I was getting sick and tired of you talking about her 24/7

JACK RABBIT

I'm surprised he even got the strength to talk to her

STAR BOY

right?

his brain normally turns to mush when ever her name is mentioned

proud of you bro

JUDITH

thx kyo

I always knew you were a real one

TRENTSKI

damn I see how it is then....

RICE RICE BABY

trents going dark lads

in his sad girl era

PHIL CHEESE STAKE

so wait who knows about you 2 being together?

SANCHOOOO

besides the entire intent after that photo dump?

MEEK MEALS

LMFAOOO

STAR BOY

tell lewis he's the goat

JUDITH

hahah funny

let us have our damatic soft launch

obvi you guys know

the only others that know are max, sebastian, and charles

I'll let lewis know when he figures out I'm dating his daughter this Saturday

JACK RABBIT

mate your fucked

TRENTSKI

DAMN

secret forbbiden romance

didn't know you were built like that jude

MEEK MEALS

what do you mean Lewis fucking Hamilton doesn't know you are dating HIS DAUGHTER

SANCHOOOO

pray for jude guys

these might be his last days with us

STAR BOY

he shall be missed

JACK RABBIT

dw jude I'll delete your search history of you stalking Y/N's ig and twitter

JUDITH

thanks guys...

wiss me luck

TRENTSKI

break a leg

RICE RICE BABY

don't die

MEEK MEALS

good luck

SANCHOOOO

you going to die

STAR BOY

what colour coffin do you want?

I'm thinking bright pink and rinestones

JACK RABBIT

do you need a get away driver?

PHIL CHEESE STAKE

before you die get me and ronnie a hat singed by Y/N and Lewis

JUDITH

I feel so loved rn

yourinstagram . 4hrs ago

seen by lewishamilton maxverstappen1 98,328,479 others

lewishamilton replied to your story!

he's a good lad

but if he hurt's you

winning a trohpy will be the last of his concern

okay dad I'll relay that message to him

good

also don't forget to use projection...

DAD OMG STOP

carlossainz55 replied to your story!

¡HALA MADRID!

maxverstappen1 replied to your story!

Christian is asking if Jude wants to come to the team dinner before the livery launch?

also if he hurts you I will run him over with our matching aston martins

landonorris replied to your story!

what does he smell like?

[themoonchildwhofell]

all my ghosts

pairing: Farleigh Start x reader

content/warnings: fluff (im so sorry guys), pretty fast paced lol

summary: HC of a healthy farleigh x reader relationship (thank fucking god)

note: really wanted to write farleigh finding a nice partner that helps him with his trauma lol. possibly post saltburn. I'm so sorry my dudes. I really am a sucker for fluff! still based off of a Lizzy Mcalpine song.

"'Cause I hate all of my habits but I happen to love you."

Farleigh met you at a 7/11 near the place he works at. He's pretty bummed about not having to go to Oxford as well as fully disconnecting from the old life he had.

It was exactly July 11th. He remembered because you got a free slurpie at the convenient store.

You looked good for someone who was staying up due to an exam. You finally decided to claim that free slurpie they had since sugar wakes you up.

Farleigh, on the other hand, was just exploring the place. He didn't really want to stay at his mum's place. So he decided to get his own place.

He didn't really want to go out that night. It was a not-so-impulsive decision due to the fact that his case of cigarettes were all out.

The fluorescent lights weren't really giving you justice. As well as the bags under your eyes but who cares? You really need to pass this math exam tomorrow.

He approached you being the extrovert that he is and asked for your name and number. His excuse was to tour him around since it was his first time back at the States. (he was already living there for 3 weeks)

You agreed to tour him around. Praying that he wasn't a murderer of some sort.

You two went out the very next day to "tour" him around. At the end of the day, he did ask if this was a date.

"No. But maybe we can set a proper one?" you suggested.

He liked that. It means he gets to see you again.

Months pass and you both seem to connect really well.

The relationship progresses to you both being a couple.

Everything felt great. There was the usual fights, of course. I mean Farleigh is kind of a diva. You expected him to be annoying at times.

But most of the time, he's the loveliest.

It's the same with Farleigh as well. He loves your company. You make him feel good and sane. Especially after all the loss he experienced.

There are times that he feels like you're too good for him especially with all the baggage he has. All the trauma from Saltburn and his cousins passing.

These trauma did manifest some bad habits that he's actively fighting. But it helps him when he thinks that he might have a lot of ghosts with him haunting every piece of him left in Saltburn; He still has you.

Dates with him are always unpredictable. You both tried to do cocktails once at his apartment but failed. You both decided to just drink the wine and eat all the fruit.

You also tried cooking. Which was fun and messy. But the mac and cheese was good. He was really convinced that he could make a better mac and cheese than Gordon Ramsey. You giggled at how adorable he was and agreed. That night ended in a sink full of dirty dishes, slow dancing to Master & A Hound by Gregory Alan Isakov and tiny sweet kisses.

Sometimes, you both try clubbing. But end up going home early to just drink at home and watch some movie or have sex.

You both tried to finish two bottles of brandy one time.

"You really think you can beat me at drinking?" Farleigh smirked.

"Fuck! I'm 3 shots deep, my boy. And I feel sober." You we're not. You both didn't finish the bottles of brandy. And he had to carry you to bed.

"You know... I'm pretty drunk right now. But I really love you, Farleigh. You and all your ghosts." You passed out right after. He did say he loved you too. But he'll probably just repeat it once you both are sober. That was the first time you both said I love you.

You had the realization that you'd want to spend the rest of your life with him one Saturday morning. You both we're on the couch watching Bluey. You made him watch Bluey because at first he didn't want to since it's a kids show. But he saw the one episode with Chili and it really stuck with him.

He was laughing at a particular scene when he said. "I think we're like them. Chili and Bandit."

You stared at him. "Yeah. I guess so." It kinda dawned on you how compatible you both are. How you can live like this for the rest of your life.

He had the realization that he wanted to marry you the time you we're at his mom's home celebrating Christmas. You were helping with decorating the tree. He decided to quickly grab the star at the top of the cupboard in the hallway. While going back to the living room, he saw you sweaty, with your tongue out and concentrating on placing the lights on the tree. He realized he has never felt happier than that exact moment. He would love to spend every christmas decorating trees with you.

[girlietips]

Weekly reset day🤍🤍

I was asked to make a day in a life post. But I tend to vary my routine depending on my mood and vibe. I do have one very specific routine that I do on either Saturday and Sunday every week.

Rest routine

I usually sleep in until around 7:30-8:00 (which that sounds wild but I’m a morning person and I usually wake up at 4:30-5:00)

I do the typical hygiene stuff then I go downstairs put on a kettle for tea and chug a bunch of water with my supplements and medicine.

I then drink my tea while a write my brain dump list of all the maintenance tasks I need to do.

I then throw my bedding in the wash because it takes a while.

After that I throw on a cute workout set and go on a walk with my dog while listening to my favorite songs. Depending on my energy level it ranges from a 30 min to and 1 hour long.

When I get home I put my hair in a hair mask while I make myself breakfast and a protein shake. I try to eat very high protein and I always eat some fruit with breakfast.

I then take my everything shower and do my whole skin care routine and blow out my hair.

After I finish getting ready I then do an hour speed clean of my apartment.

I then dedicate 2 hours to completing tasks I wrote down earlier. Usually these tasks are paying bills, studying, deep cleaning things that don’t get touched during the speed clean. Stuff that hasn’t got done but needs to.

Next I go to the store and buy my weekly groceries I also will buy myself lunch as a weekly treat. I don’t eat fast food often but I set aside money for a weekly coffee shop run and a weekly lunch the rest I make myself.

Usually after I eat I like to do my hour of down time. I’ll watch tv, play the sims, or read my fun book. I try not to go on my phone and watch short form content for that long of a time usually I only go on my phone for that kinda content when I’m waiting for my food to cook.

After I eat I make sure to prep my ingredients for all my meals for the week so I do not have to think about my meals.

The rest of day depends on the week. Sometimes I go to a yoga class or go for a swim at the gym. Or sometimes I go do something with my friends.

Once I come home I immediately make a kinda big dinner (I put the rest away for lunches).

After dinner I usually take a bath and read for the rest of the night. Then I go sleep in my fresh bed.

A lot of my routines vary a lot because I find it is difficult for me to be consistent when I am really strict with my time blocks (which is why I didn’t really put time stamps) but this is all I typically do on my reset routines.

[charlesswife]

My Experience Working For The Formula One Miami Grand Prix 2023 (please read)

Hello dear readers,

In this post I will share with you about my experience working at the Formula One Miami Grand Prix of this year. As well as footage - just in case you don’t believe me. Trust me, I have NO reason to lie to you about the things I’m about to say. I want to bring this post into awareness because I think not a lot of people know what actually happens behind the scenes at all.

I would really appreciate if you guys take the time to read this. It would mean the world to me. Please reblog and share to your formula one friends so they can be aware of this.

You may or may not know, but I’m just getting into Formula One and although there is still some stuff to learn about this sport, it has grown into me and I love this sport as well as the drivers.

When you see videos of people working for the Formula One, you only get to see the good, pretty and wonderful side. You don’t see the nasty, horrendous and overall awful side. That’s why I’m here to tell you the actual truth of what I went through.

I work for this company (safety reason I won’t say which) as an usher, I work for different stadiums and I get to choose my own schedule. To work for F1 you need to fill an application and it’s just a very long process. Initially they only needed security for the job — I am not security, I’m usher so they almost didn’t take me until last minute. I’m a strong believer of manifestation.

My schedule was Friday 9:30am to 9:30pm, Saturday from 7:30am to 8:30pm and Sunday from 8:30 am to 9:30pm

When I got there on Friday at 9:30am I had to park so far and then walk to the Shuttle that was going to pick us up from the parking and take us to the stadium.

I picked up my credential and went looking where to clock in. Here are some of the pics I took

When I finally found where to clock in, I was on hold until 11am trying to figure out where I’m supposed to work. Nobody knew where to go and it was just very disorganized on their part. Since nobody picked me I had to be taken to gate 8. The worker that was taking us got confused and I literally went through the whole place trying to find gate 8. This is what it looked like.

Imagine having to walk all that, under the Miami heat. The sun literally burning in your back. I finally got to my spot at 12pm. They confused me as a security and they put me to work on something I wasn’t supposed to be at by mistake, but regardless I worked it because it was a good one. I was in turn 17, which I saw the drivers slowed down in the turn. I saw Alex Albon get of the grid twice during practice.

I met the flag marshalls there. They were so nice and caring as well.

(I thought this was funny to add)

This is when they were taking Charles’ car out of the race.

I was at this spot until 8pm, which is way later than when they told me I was going to leave the spot, and during the whole day I was surviving in water. Unfortunately that day I did not receive any food. One of the marshalls gave me an apple and another one gave me a vegetable wrap, but after a whole day of not eating; once you eat, your body rejects it. So I literally wanted to throw up at this point. I was very weak.

I was asked to come in at 5am the next day, to which I agreed (big mistake).

I did let my supervisor know that I didn’t eat and while he was worried and was trying to find a way for me to get lunch box, I never received one - so I was dehydrated, starved and lightheaded.

Once I clocked out, I had to walk for 40 minutes to get to the shuttle again and drive for 30 minutes to get into the parking and then a few more minutes to get to my car (since I was parked very far away) and THEN drive 30 minutes to get to my house. I got home at 10:40pm took a shower, set my alarms and went to sleep. I had to wake up and leave my house the next day at 4:10am — drive 30 minutes, get in the shuttle, another 30 minutes to the stadium and walk to clock in.

I’m surviving on 4 hours of sleep. They asked for my security card, which I told them I don’t have because I’m usher. Just then, they realize the mistake they made and told me I couldn’t work the same spot I did yesterday because that’s only for security. So they had me 2 hours earlier than the original time plan for absolutely no reason.

everybody got there in between 6:30am to 8:30am.

I got to work with a nice supervisor to which I worked before for another stadium, I talked to him about the lunch and he ensured me that he’ll make sure I’ll eat.

I was in Marina (big information to know, iykyk) bathroom duty - basically making sure only women were getting into the bathroom (you would think it’s common senses, but the about of men almost accidentally getting into the women’s bathroom and viceversa it’s insane)

I was able to see the practice and qualifying because of a big screen that was in front of me.

I was there when Charles crashed again in the same section too.

Roll the clip!!

I watched the clip replay and saw myself running and also saw how close Charles was to my section. I really wanted to die when I saw the distance between us.

I have another video explaining the distance between us but tumblr only lets me post one video per post.

I really did enjoy myself. However, I was standing since 5:20am to 6:30pm, the whole day… standing up… and this my be tmi but I have thicc thighs so they rub with each other, my feet were sore and swollen and my pussy lips were HURTING, when I peed it felt like acid going down there.

I was drained and sunburned and overall this job is not for the weak. I had to cancel my shift for today because I would definitely not do it again.

I got paid 15/hour, which overall I don’t think it’s worth it at all. Housekeeping gets paid the same and they’re job is making sure the entire arena is clean for the guests. They should get paid more. The food voucher that I was given only covered for $15 so if I went over the limit I had to pay the remaining, which is fucking dumb because I am literally working there, the least they could do is give me a free meal, but they didn’t. They offer you the minimum but expect the best outcome from you. I was met with false advertisement left and right and for that reason I had to leave. You’re telling me that a multimillion dollar event in one of the biggest stadium in Florida is only paying their staff $15/h and can’t even cover their full meal? Please do better.

I cried to my friend after everything that I went through because I although had great memories, and I can brag to my friends and everyone I met that I went to F1, the day was pretty shitty tbh. There’s always a limit to something and I had a limit, that’s why I had to cancel my shift. I knew I couldn’t do this anymore. My love for this sport is big, but I passed my limit point.

I would’ve rather pay $5000 to with paddock pass and everything to see the race, than working in it. For those two days I think I only made $300, and to be honest. I didn’t see worth it.

I would much rather watch the race in the comfort of my house than working in it.

Whenever you go to an event, game, concert, etc. please be kind to the staff you see, the staff that helps you get to your desired place. We do so much, we stand there for hours, sometimes we get breaks, sometimes we don’t— sometimes we get to eat and sometimes, unfortunately, we don’t.

This was definitely an experience, and I am a strong person that likes to work, but I would rather die than do that again.

With much love,

CW

——————————————————————

anyways new chapter coming up tomorrow!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know this might not be a post you guys had in mind, but I really wanted you guys to know what I went through. If you guys know about any other better ideas to work for Formula One pls let me know. Also please tell me what are your thoughts in this situation. I want to know your thoughts as well! If you have Formula 1 friends, please share this with them and let them know what actually happen to me.

Since I don't work today, I'm going to focus on watching the race, and writing the new chapter for you guys!!!

Thank you for supporting my writing. The main reason why I started this blog is because I love to write (I want to publish books) and I wanted to put my ideas out in the world and received feedback as well. I am very thankful for you guys! I can't believe I'm almost at 500 followers too! You guys are awesome, truly!

@fandomxs1 @teti-menchon0604 @moonclaine @AmsOffTrack @fandoms-stuff @mac-daddy-210 @bisexual-desi @miureiz @diasnohibng @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @im-just-here-toread @tyskills @rafaaoli @heavengirls111 @lighttsoutlewis @leclerc13 @c4ssi4-luv @livsans @ynbutbetter @marigoldgasly @vita-di-moda @sbrn0905 @leclercsbae @bhiees @empathypostsf1 @marauderlover22 @ushygushybaby @zendayabelova @lord_leclerc @itsmesofia @sebbybucky12 @notleclerc @dicaprio-leo @starkeyellow @spngi @mskeisha69 @prrttyposts @vex-et-soleil @dessxoxsworld @thesurielscheesecake @severenswife @67-angelofthelordme-67 @booksobsess @buckleyverse @mickslover @formula1-bichyslut16 @allgaslynobrakess @shyshva @rossy1080 @celestialcharles @glitterf1

[mayrine]

Ramons letter to fit

[start id: eight screenshots of pages of Minecraft books

First screenshot: page 1 out of 1, it reads: “fit for reasons I will explain to u whenever u wake up! I have moved my bed to the elevator shaft. ramon”

Second screenshot: page 1 of 7, it reads: “good morning fit if you’re reading this, it is probably now Saturday and I’m really sorry if I’m not awake to tell u goodbye. The last few days have been…. exhausting and I really need to sleep”

Third screenshot: page 2 of 7, it reads: “I know u will go to bed soon for some time but…. I wanted to express that I am really happy u think of me as your priority.”

Forth screenshot: page 3 of 7, it reads: “but I need u to also prioritize urself. I am capable of fighting danger and I am capable of coming back form long adventures. U don’t need to worry about me too much.”

Fifth screenshot: page 4 of 7, it reads: “prioritize urself and do me a favor and stop taking baby steps omg >:(“

Sixth screenshot: page 5 of 7, it reads: “in the end though… I’m also happy to go on adventures whit u and explore the whole server if we have to. I hate emotional letters goddamn but I am happy u are my dad, fit. I would not want anyone else for a dad.”

Seventh screenshot: page 6 of 7, it reads: “sleep well. I hope you find what you need and I hope to see you again once you wake up. I’ll make sure to wake up on time. Maybe if you sing me a lullaby, I’ll hear it in my sleep? Who knows.”

Eighth screenshot: page 7 of 7, it reads: “anyway. Sleep well. I’ll see you again soon. … post script (XD): te quiero mucho, dad”

/end id]

[littlegirlgohome]

smooth - d. remer x f!reader

in which you’ve been hiding your feelings for your best friend for years now, until everything comes to light after a wild night out.

warnings - post breakup depression ig? anxiety, drinking, cursing, & more but it’s not too bad :)

word count - I have no idea

for you <3

— saturday, 12:27 PM —

It was a seemingly normal day off for you. you slept in (which felt like a luxury compared to waking up at 7 am every morning) and plopped on your couch looking for something to watch on tv. You had spent most of your time flipping through channels though, and by the time you decided there was nothing to watch,the clock had hit 12 o’ clock noon.

you stumbled lazily into your apartment kitchen, grumbling something about how you had already wasted half the day. pouring yourself a bowl of cereal, you heard a knock on your door. You didn’t even have to look outside to know exactly who it was. there was only one person you knew who it could be. your best friend, mr “sir swish” remer.

it wasn’t rare for him to visit you without any notice, and less rare for him to just come in your home without asking. it kinda seemed that to him, this was his home too.

as he came in (having to crouch a little in order to not hit his head on the doorframe) he looked around your living room, which he had helped you decorate. among the walls were pictures of you and remer from photo booths, magazines and after parties, which he had given you as a “housewarming gift.” it sometimes made things awkward whenever you brought a guy home, but you kept them there nonetheless.

“in here.” you called out , and he made his way into the kitchen.

“hey,pretty. nice pants.” he teased, referencing your pj shorts, as you took your bowl of cereal to sit down at the table. he took note of the open box on the countertop and began to pour his own bowl. the nerve..

he was wearing a loose t-shirt and black basketball shorts. pretty similar to what you had on, except your pajama shorts happened to be a hell of a lot shorter. you didn’t mind though, because it was remer. your remer. you were comfortable around him, and you knew he was too. maybe a bit too comfortable at times.

-

you met remer (and coop) a few years ago when you were in college through a mutual friend. even though they ended up dropping out extremely early,you managed to stay friends while you pushed through and graduated. you had been known to be a little stuck up sometimes, as anyone would be with a strict 9-5 office job, and the two boys helped you relax and let loose a little. granted, it was because they were losers, but it didn’t hurt for them to rub off on you a tiny bit.

then out of nowhere, they became famous athletes. while you stayed friends with coop, doug had changed for the worse. coop had told you about how the once broke loser you loved so much became a sell out and started sleeping with new women everyday. naturally, you drifted apart. you understood why, though. he was rich and famous now, why would he want to stay friends with you?

eventually, he visited you after the beers’ win of the denslow cup and apologized for letting his fame drift you apart. you forgave him, because he was being surprisingly sincere. well,for remer at least .

-

“shut up. where’s coop?” you asked, shoving back a spoonful of your cereal. It wasn’t uncommon for him to show up alone, but you still wanted to ask. “oh uh, he went to take jenkins to a vet appointment. but knowing him he’s just gonna use it as an excuse to be out all day. then he’s gonna meet with jenna , and I would’ve been home alone all day. so I came here.” he replied, mouth half full.

“what, to bug me and eat my food?” you laughed. you didn’t really mind though, and you knew he knew it too. he shrugged,mouth too full to speak, then nodded. “guess so.”

“how’d you get in anyway? I could’ve sworn I locked my door last night.”

“you did,” he said. “I used my key.” you rolled your eyes. his key. the key you had given him when you first moved in to this apartment so he could help you move in your things. he was supposed to give it back right after you were done, but according to him, he had lost it. you knew then he was lying, but you didn’t mind. “I want that key back, you know.”

after a couple bites, you decided you weren’t hungry anymore. you stood up from your chair, him quickly taking your place. he ate the rest of your bowl, making you shake your head in disbelief. it scared you how he could always eat so much and stay stick thin.

“you’ve got the day off, right?”

“yeah, whaddya wanna do?” you asked, looking over at the curly haired man sitting in your kitchen. his mane was way too grown out and disheveled, but still pretty. his glasses fit perfectly on his face, his perfect nose. the way his eyes looked, so gorgeous with the added sunlight shining through the window, jesus. was he hot. he looked like a literal greek god. you probably could’ve just ogled at him all day, but snapped out of it when he answered your question.

“I dunno. what do we always do?”

“watch tv and rot on the couch?”

“ugh,” he groaned, throwing his head back like a child. “fine. but just until I think of something else to do.”

you went to your room, coming back with extra blankets and pillows. then, the both of you plopped on the couch, shoulder to shoulder under a blanket while he looked for something good to watch, and after a couple of hours of being glued together and getting way too invested in a cheesy soap opera, you finally got up to stretch.

remer groaned at the feeling of your body weight leaving his. “I was just getting comfortable!”

“we can’t just do this all day,rem. I don’t wanna waste my day off. thought of what to do yet?”

“ i mean, yeah I have an idea, but you won’t like it….” you furrowed your brows.

“we could go to the club.”

you rolled your eyes. seriously..you hadn’t been to the club in forever, and you definitely didn’t feel like it now.

“rem,no. you know I haven’t felt like partying since,” you tried to say it, but it was stuck in your throat.

“what,since steve?”

•••

it wasn’t a secret that you and remer were slightly more than friends. it seemed to your dear friend coop that anyone could see the way you looked at him with “fuck me eyes” (as he called them) and the way remer would always flirt, even if you wrote it off as him just being remer. the two of you had even made a pact that if you both couldn’t find anyone to date , you would settle for eachother. that was why everyone was so surprised when you started dating your ex, steven .

you met him at a bar one day while you were out with your girlfriends. he was sweet, charming, and handsome. the total catch, you thought.

nobody had expected you two to get so serious so quickly, but there you were moving in with him after a couple months. It might have been stupid, but you know what they say about being young and in love.

except, you weren’t even really sure you loved him. you liked him, alot. he took care of you, and made you feel safe. your heart just wasn’t in it 100%.

that didn’t make it hurt any less when out of nowhere, he dumped you.

if anything, it made you feel worse. you had finally settled for a guy who you felt actually loved you, and he dumped you out of nowhere and pushed you out of your apartment. you felt like such a loser. you moved in with a guy you didn’t really love, got dumped, and now you were homeless. maybe it was karma or something.

so naturally, you went to the only people you knew who would be happy to take you in. coop and remer. and when they found out what he did, they wanted to kill him.

you moved into their apartment for a couple of months, just until you found another place, and while you loved the two boys, it was hell. being the only female in a house of two lazy guys was torture. there were a lot of fun times, and times where you almost pissed yourself of laughter. still, you felt more depressed than ever, and they knew it. your environment just reminded you of how stupid you had been, how little you had thought things through. suddenly, you weren’t fun. you never wanted to go anywhere anymore, not even to the beers games. it made you feel terrible, like a horrible friend.

eventually, though, you found your own apartment. it was nice, and the boys helped you move in (which was how remer got his key). you felt a little better now that you had your own place, but hearing his name still had a way of ruining your day.

•••

you sighed at the sound of his name . remer noticed. he always noticed. the way every time he brought him up it was like your heart dropped…and it killed him.

“look, y/n, i know you don’t like to talk about it, but this could be good for you! you could finally realize hotter guys exist. none hotter than me, of course.” he joked, trying to lighten the mood. he flashed his toothy grin, showing off that gap that you always thought was so dorky, but cute.

you knew he was used to going out every night, and any night he didn’t spend at your place he probably spent partying, drinking and most likely taking girls home with him. you shuddered at the thought.

“doug..no.”

he reached out for your wrists in his seated position , while you were still standing in front of him. he held your smaller hands in his large ones, sort of begging.

“y/n, i can’t remember the last time we went out together and had fun. you’re letting this guy ruin your life and it’s annoying. we used to go out all the time. cmon,let’s just let loose for once. please? for me? ” he pleaded, looking up at you through his stupidly pretty eyes, making you give in.

you rolled your eyes. “fine..for you. but i don’t think it’s a good idea at all.” you knew you’d do anything he asked you ,and you hoped to god he didn’t know it.

“alright!” he cheered, standing up and hugging you, lifting you off the ground with his height and spinning you. you punched his shoulder and groaned, making him let you down a little too hard. “get yourself super hot and I’ll pick you up later tonight. see ‘ya!” and with that, he was almost running out of your house.

“fine, but you’re driving! if I’m gonna be forced to go I’m at least getting drunk!” you yelled as he slammed the door, making you jump.

———————————————————————

-saturday, 10:16 pm -

it had been at least 6 hours since remer had left, and while you had been dreading going out, you still liked the idea of getting dressed up. You hadn’t really felt confident in a long time, and if you were gonna go out, you wanted to look hot! you styled your hair, put on makeup, and wore your best dress. it was tight fitting, and a little short, but you were going to a club after all , and you had seen more naked girls at the beers games, anyway. you had to admit, you really were feeling yourself.

you were looking at yourself in the mirror, reapplying your lipgloss when you heard your front door open. you knew it was remer, so you went outside to greet him.

“i think you were right,rem. i should get out a little more,” you said walking into your living room, not even looking at him as you scrambled around for your purse. “I’m ready. how do I look?” you said , smiling as you did a little twirl. for the first time since he arrived, you looked up at him. granted, not as much as you used to have to because of your shoes.

he was wearing a cute silk-ish button up that showed off his figure, and his “good pants” as he called them. you made a note not to stare and instead just waited for an answer.

“um-great i guess. i gotta use the restroom.” he muttered quickly as he dashed by you, his eyes glued to the floor. you were confused. normally he would flirt with you, say you looked hot, and neither of you would think twice about it. you decided to just let it go and went back to your room to keep looking at yourself.

———

remer closed the door behind him and suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment rush over him. he hated how awkward he had been just now,and currently, he was feeling stupid. the truth was, you looked gorgeous. when he saw you he actually almost choked on air. as cliché as it sounded, you literally took his breath away. before, he had thought this would be a fun night without consequences, hoping you would forget about your ex , but he forgot that to actually accomplish that, you would have to meet someone else…

remer was known for being selfish and a little arrogant. he had slept with a lot of girls in his lifetime, and he wasn’t one to be exclusive to anybody. this was why his flirting had meant nothing to you, and frankly, to him as well. the truth was, he never had real feelings for any of the girls he was with. but seeing you, with a genuine happy smile on your face, the biggest he had seen in a while, he had made a realization.

doug remer had feelings for you.

and no, it wasn’t just lust. real, genuine feelings. he felt a pit in his stomach.

what the hell was he thinking? he was literally right about to take you to a club to meet new guys, and here he was having a weird epiphany in your restroom. he gulped and got out to find you sitting on the couch waiting for him.

“you ready to go?” you asked gently as you stood up and grabbed your purse, walking towards him in an attempt to talk to him face to face. “you feeling okay?”

“on second thought, maybe you were right. let’s stay home, yeah? we can finish that show from earlier.” he was still avoiding eye contact, making you worry.

“are you feeling sick or something?” you asked as you reached out your hand to feel his forehead. he took a step back, away from you, which hurt your feelings a little. “aw, i was getting excited. it’s okay, though. I’ll get you some medicine or something, and we can-”

he looked into your eyes and felt guilty. he was being selfish and he knew it. you were really looking forward to getting out, and he decided to suck it up, push all his feelings down and have fun tonight, for you. he shook his head.

“y’know what, nevermind. I’ll be fine. let’s go,” he said with that dorky smile you loved so much. unbeknownst to you, it was fake. you smiled and grabbed all your stuff before the both of you walked out the door.

———

the tension in the car ride there was thick. you knew it was on doug’s end, and you were confused why. everything had been normal earlier, and now he was acting cold and distant. you tried not to let it bother you, and leaned forward to turn on the radio.

once you arrived, he helped you get out of the car . throughout the time your friendship with remer, he learned to read you. and right now he was reading that you were nervous. he tried to comfort you,holding your hand in his along the walk .

“hey, it’s okay. I’m here. if you ever need anything or feel unsafe and shit, just holler and I promise I’ll help you. just.. be smart, and you’ll be okay.” you nodded, letting out a content hum that he had finally relaxed a little.

by the time you had actually gotten in to the club, you already wanted to leave. everyone looked like they were having so much fun, the music was blaring and you felt a little out of place. “I won’t be too far,” he told you as he looked around. you noticed the look on his face. he seemed happy, a smug grin on his face as opposed to a smile. you could tell he was used to this. “you can drink if you want, I’m driving.” you nodded in approval and with that, he had disappeared.

you decided to go straight to the bar, hoping a drink would help you loosen up. as you sat down, you held your head in your hands, your head pounding as the music blared in your ears.

“you okay?”

you snapped out of the state you were in when you heard someone speak to you and felt a tap on your shoulder. you looked up to see a guy you had never met before. He was cute, sure, really fucking attractive , but you didn’t really take it into account when you saw him.

“yeah im okay,” you answered, projecting your voice to speak over the music. “this shit is hurting my ears though.” you laughed lightly in an attempt to be polite, when in reality the last thing you felt like was joking.

“i get you,” he replied, smiling at you. “let me buy you a drink.”

you nodded, ordering your drink and thanking the nice man next to you. you prayed to god it would get drunk enough to forget this whole night.

after what felt like forever of you talking to him back and forth sipping on the same drink (which tasted like shit now that the ice had melted) you finally asked him to dance. you led him to the dance floor,finally starting to feel like yourself there. you had lost sight of remer a long time ago, and you figured he was probably having the time of his life with another girl somewhere. the thought alone made you want to throw up.

what you hadn’t known was that remer was just as miserable as you were. it was supposed to be a fun night, and there he was, standing in a corner watching you dance with another guy.

he was kinda good looking, he noticed . not as much as him,though. he didn’t know anything about you. he didn’t know your favorite color, or the tv show you knew every line to by heart. he wasn’t there for you when you got a haircut and cried all night because you hated it, just to love it the next day. he never comforted you from a break up. that guy was just a rebound, he thought. and that thought helped (temporarily) settle the stupid,dull ache in his chest .

but once he looked over at you, with your arms around his shoulders, seeing his hands on your waist,your bodies a little too close for his liking, that ache came back 10 times worse.

this wasn’t like remer at all. it wasn’t at all his character to miss out on partying for a girl. he didn’t know why he was acting like this,but it was taking a lot of restraint for him to not step in and pull you apart.

he was seriously considering the idea. no, he thought. you’re having fun. that would be selfish of him. after all, that was why he brought you here. to have fun. and it seemed to be working.

you had been dancing for a while now. you weren’t sure how long exactly, but you were sweating, and your head and feet were killing you. the only thing keeping you from calling a cab and getting the hell out was remer . you imagined you were dancing with him instead. fuck. how you wished you were the actual girl he was probably dancing with right now.

remer didn’t like you to know it, but you knew what a playboy he really was. he refused to tell you anything, but coop often let it slip that remer didn’t come home every night, and jenna, who you had become somewhat close to,had even told you that he tried to flirt with her before she got with coop.

you always knew that it was just how he was. In the time you’d known him, he’d never settled down and been exclusive . and even though you knew how you felt about him, and you had known for a long time, you pushed it down. you knew he would probably never change for just one girl, and you weren’t any different.

you were an expert of pushing down your feelings, bottling everything down. right now , you were doing exactly that. you tuned out everything around you as you danced. the energy drowning out the stupid music, only listening to the rhythm so you could dance properly. you were tired, but you knew the moment you stopped your head would be flooded with anxious thoughts and it would be unbearable. so for now, you had to distract yourself.

you were suddenly snapped out when your dance partner (who’s name you had forgot by now) pulled you off of the dance floor, huffing to try and catch his breath.

“shit, you have a lot of energy.” he laughed breathily. like you knew would happen once you stopped moving, your surroundings caught up to you, and your heart was racing out of your chest. you started thinking about remer again, where you imagined that he was, and who he was with.

you had to do something to push everything back down, so you did something horrendously stupid.

“wanna make out?”

—

your sudden question caught him off guard at first. it had come out of nowhere, even for you. you were still feeling horribly anxious, tapping your foot rapidly. after what felt like 10 awkward minutes (it was closer to 10 seconds) he crashed his lips into yours. and now, like you had been doing all night, you pushed down the crippling feeling of embarrassment in your stomach, and made out with a random guy you didn’t even know the name of in the middle of a club. it’s remer, you thought. pretend it’s remer..

he was starting to get closer as your kiss progressed. his arms wrapped around your waist, hands resting on your ass. you put your arms around his shoulders, resting on his neck.

you didn’t know what the fuck you were doing. you weren’t the type of person to do this kind of thing, and you knew it. you’re kissing remer, you thought. shit,I’m turning into him.

he pulled away after a while , catching his breath.

“let’s get out of here?” he said, taking a hold of your hand. your lips parted, thinking of what to say, and before you had time to really answer, you were being led outside. you took the time to ponder if you were really gonna do this. how dangerous and stupid this was, and..remer.

you cursed at yourself in your head. you had been with this guy all night, and the thought of your stupid best friend wouldn’t leave your mind. you didn’t care what happened to you, and he probably wouldn’t either. you figured he was doing the same as you were now, right?

but you were wrong. you didn’t know that since you two arrived, he had been watching you like a hawk. watching in disgust as that man grabbed you the way he did. it might’ve seemed creepy, sure. but he was glad he was, because he almost lost his shit when he saw you leaving with that guy. now he felt he had to intervene.

he did a double take when he saw that stupid guy make you walk out the door, and ran outside to try and stop you.

-

when you stepped outside, the cold night air hitting your face, you felt numb. you had stopped walking , something in your brain stopping your legs from moving. and there you were once again tuning out the guy, who’s name you had just remembered was mike, and his constant questions. you couldn’t tune out what you were hearing now, though.

“y/n! where the fuck are you going?” “y/n!”

you turned around and saw remer, out of breath and walking directly towards you.

you didnt know why, but your first bodily instinct when you saw him was to let out a long, shaky sigh. you didn’t know whether it was that of relief, or embarrassment, or guilt.

“rem…” you called out lowly, bringing the cold palm of your hand to touch your face. you now knew it was all three.

you reached out for him instinctively and hugged him, and you were surprised that even in his seemingly angry state, he hugged you back. “it’s okay,hon. it’s okay.” he whispered sweetly, but you could still make out the anger in his voice.

“where were you gonna go? with this asshole?” he said, gesturing to…uh…mike. he had pulled away from you, looking right in your eyes while you looked at the floor, the height difference making you feel like you were being scolded.

“my head hurts..” was all you could manage to answer , moving your hands up to your temples.

“and what the fuck is wrong with you? can’t see she’s drunk, asshole?” lord, he had moved on to scolding him now.

“im not drunk.” you clarified, feeling a huge wave of shame after seeing doug’s indifferent face, his jaw clenched.

you looked over at mike, who was clearly confused by the whole situation. doug rolled his eyes.

you muttered something to him about having to go, how it was complicated, and he left begrudgingly, leaving just you and an extremely angry remer.

“what the actual fuck were you thinking running off like that and not telling me ? do you know what that shithead could’ve done to you?”

you looked into his eyes for the first time since he had interrupted you, and shit he was mad.

“didn’t care, I guess.” you muttered shyly like a kid who had just gotten scolded by their mom .

doug said nothing, just scoffed and looked at you incredulously. “we’re leaving.”

you gulped in utter embarrassment, following him as you both silently walked to his car, which was a couple blocks away. the only sound was the clicking of your heels, doug’s breathing, and the sound of the cars on the busy street. you held yourself with your arms in an attempt to stay warm.

you had been able to keep up with him pretty well. that was until you couldn’t hear the music from the club anymore, and all the adrenaline you had previously was gone. suddenly , the pain in your feet (caused by your ridiculously high heels) was excruciatingly bad. you figured it was from all the dancing. you hadn’t felt it before, but now it was really starting to kill you. you stopped in your tracks.

“shit!” you yelped in pain somewhat loud enough for remer to hear you and turn around. he seemed to already know what was wrong, letting out a small sigh.

“c’mere,” he told you gently, grabbing your hand and leading you to a nearby bench, and making you sit down.

he stood infront of you, his arms crossed in front of him. you hid your face in your hands as you sat. “shit, rem, I’m so sorry.” you sniffled. “I ruined your night, didn’t I?”

he didn’t say anything, instead opting to sit closely beside you. he gestured at you to take off your shoes, and you did. you looked over at him and saw him leaning down. you noticed out the corner of your eye that he was taking off his sneakers.

“you don’t have to do that, doug. I can just-“

“it’s fine. we only have a block left to go, I don’t want you in pain.” and with that , his shoes were off , and he was putting them on you, tying them as tight as he could so they wouldn’t fall off.

“I tell ya’, I don’t know why you wear these things..” he mumbled, standing up.

you got up, immediately feeling a lot better pain wise , but still so guilty. remer was walking down the block in just his socks, holding your shoes in his hand. you didn’t understand why he was doing all of this for you, why he was looking out for you more than you were for yourself. you had to admit, it gave you a little bit of hope.

once you made it to the car, it was still awkwardly silent, and you gave him his shoes back so he could drive.

you broke the silence with another apology, feeling so stupid.

“im really so sorry, doug. I feel so dumb,” you admitted, hoping he wouldn’t stay so tense with you. at first you had thought he was mad, but now you saw that wasn’t the case. he looked like the epitome of “im not mad, just disappointed.”

“you’re not dumb,y/n. just…how much did you drink?”

“i told you doug, I’m not drunk . I literally had one drink. and it was honestly more ice than anything. I swear.” the car had approached a red light.

he took this time to look at you, look into your eyes, and it was clear to him that you were telling the truth. you really weren’t drunk. and that confused him more.

“i don’t get it then,” he said , starting to drive again, breaking the awkward eye contact. “ why would you do something like that? i mean, going home with a stranger…it’s not like you at all. it’s more like me,if anything.”

“i uh.. I dunno. I think I was just, really trying to have fun or something. I figured you were,” you slumped more in your seat, half to ignore his staring, and half trying to relieve the nervous feeling you had in your stomach.

“were you really having fun?” he asked, once again turning to look at you. you avoided his eyes, looking at the floor. he sighed at your lack of answer.

“no, I get it. you’re still not over steve . I shouldn’t have made you come .” your eyes widened, and you didn’t even think about what you said next.

“stop.” you blurted out, more loud and mean sounding than you had intended. “shit, I’m sorry, rem. It’s just.. it’s not that. it has nothing to do with him, I promise.” you gulped. you wondered if he had any idea of what this was really about.

“y/n-“ he started, and by his tone you already knew what he was going to say.

“remer. i told you, i don’t care about steve. I’m serious. I don’t give a shit about him , rem.”

he turned to you once again, a confused yet pitying look on his face. you sighed, thinking of how to elaborate. “I don’t think I really loved him. it fucked me up, remer. he treated me so well, took care of me and I just couldn’t love him. and it made me feel like shit. it still does. but I can’t fix it now. “

your heart was racing now. you had just dropped a bombshell on him, told him a secret you thought you never would tell anyone. he took some time to process your words before responding.

“you had me convinced,” he said, and you pretended not to notice the slight bitterness in his tone.

you laughed at his comment. you figured he was trying to lighten the mood, and it worked.

“I guess I’m just a good actress,” you sniffle laughed, still embarrassed about your confession .

“were you acting today? did you really like that guy? ‘cause I don’t believe it.” he inquired, and you knew he was right. you took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling shakily because of nerves you didn’t even notice were still there.

“just had to distract myself, I guess.” you said, focusing out your window. you could see in the mirror that remer was facing you.

“distract yourself from what,y/n? what’s going on with you?”

“I’m fine, seriously. just feeling whiny I guess.” you looked towards him , his eyes focused on the road now. you admired his side profile for a bit, making your heart flutter. the same feeling you had whenever you really took the time to look at him, and you got used to it.

“you’ve never been one to keep secrets n’ stuff,y/n. I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but I know enough to know something’s wrong with you.” he was still looking at the road, not bothering to look at you as you talked. you knew he was right. he always knew when something was wrong and to you, it was annoying because he never shut up until he knew what it was.

“ i said i’m fine.” you replied abruptly. you immediately regretted your tone being so cold , and you sounded a lot more bitchy than you meant to sound. remer didn’t say anything, and you felt terrible . you decided to not say anything either, not wanting to make things worse than they were.

then, 10 minutes of awkward silence had gone by, you were nearly at your house, and you didn’t want to end things off on such a sour note. you leaned over and turned on the radio.

you smiled when you realized the song that was playing.

it was the relatively new release, “smooth” by santana. it had been all over the radio this year. you thought by now you would be tired of it, but everytime you heard it, it was always that much better than you remembered. you turned up the volume, doug rolling his eyes playfully.

the song worked as a nice icebreaker. this one specifically, because it always gave you an excuse to poke fun at him.

—

a few months ago, you and remer were hanging out as normal. you had just moved into your new apartment, so there really wasn’t much to do.

“oh,uh, I almost forgot-“ he told you, reaching into his pocket. “here. it’s for you.”

a smile quickly crept its way onto your face when you saw what he handed to you. it was a brand new santana cassette tape, for their new album, supernatural. “i saw it the other day, and it reminded me of you or whatever. think you told me you liked them once.” he said sort of nonchalantly, pretending to be focused on the tv. he wasn’t though, and it showed through the way his eyes were set on you, waiting for a reaction.

“aww remer, you big softie,” you joked, pulling him into a hug as he groaned. “it’s nothing, dude. just thought you’d like it.”

“it’s not nothing,” you said, pulling away from him. “you looove me,” you cooed teasingly, dragging out your words.

you knew he was playing it down. this was a big gesture. well, for remer at least. you’d sometimes buy him little gifts you found when they reminded you of him. but you never expected anything in return. “thank you, dougie,” pressing a kiss to his cheek. “i love it.”

“yeah,whatever.” he mumbled, clearly flustered, playfully pushing you away lightly before pulling you back in .

—

now, he was turning onto your block, and he seriously wondered if the night was gonna end with you giving eachother the silent treatment.

“and if you said this life ain't good enough,I would give my world to lift you up,” the song continued as he pulled into your driveway. you didn’t know what to do, or say. you took a shaky breath, trying to think of what to say.

“rem, I’m sorry for being so bitchy. honestly, I’m sorry for everything today. i think you were right about me not being ready or whatever.”

remer had that smug grin on his face he always had when you were wrong. “i know,” he smirked.

you sighed, turning around in your seat to face him, him doing the same. you looked into his eyes, his cocky demeanor dropping.

“you gotta stop undervaluing yourself, pretty...” he half whispered, reaching out his hand to grab your face. you lightly gasped as a reaction to his cold hand pressed again your face.

there it was. his nickname for you that you loved so much, but simultaneously hated because it made you melt everytime it came out of his mouth.

“stop,” you said quietly, trying to turn your face away to hide the tint on your cheeks. but his grip was firm. your eyes were staring into his as he caressed your cheek with his thumb.

“im serious. you’re so much more than a hookup..you really think that asshole would know how to treat a girl like you?” you put your hand over his, barely managing to cover any of it.

“a girl like me?” you asked, your hand squeezing his. you were almost scared to see the look on remer’s face, worried you wouldn’t be able to handle the way he was gazing at you. suddenly, you perked up, turning to look at him, your eyes staring into his intently.

“you really mean what you said..? about me being more than a hookup?” you asked him , trying to push his words a little in an attempt to see what he really meant. he looked back at you, with that cute pout he sported whenever he was confused or thinking about something.

“i mean, yeah. look at you. I mean, you’re hot. any guy could see that. but you’re also funny, you’re caring, and god knows you’re patient. I mean, you deal with me.” he laughed, but you didn’t. you just kept looking in his eyes, your lips slightly parted as you took in what he was saying. remer gulped at the sudden change in tone. then suddenly, you both did something you never thought you would ever do sober.

he leaned closer to you, hovering over the console as he grabbed your face, waiting for you to make the next move. you did, of course. you always thought you would . you pushed your lips against his, putting your arms around his neck, pulling him closer to you.

you always knew remer was promiscuous, and never thought that kissing him could be so caring and soft . his hand was resting on your cheek, giving you butterflies. he was more gentle than you ever imagined he could be.

that was the one thing you loved most about remer. you always felt so safe around him. so comfortable that you always wanted him close to you, which is why you were so hesitant to pull away. eventually, you did.

he put his large hands on your waist, using them to guide you to climb over the console, settling in his lap. you once again wrapped your arms around his shoulders, hearing a soft hum as you settled your face in the crook of his neck, the smell of his cologne mixing with your perfume.

“you’re so perfect,” he mumbled against your hair as he hugged your middle, pulling you closer to him. the song was almost over , and you were dreading it. in the span of almost 5 minutes, your relationship with your best friend had changed. you had definitely done shit like this before, but always drunk off your asses. never sober. before, it never meant anything, but now, you knew you couldn’t brush it off anymore. you couldn’t ignore the way your heart was felt like it was leaping out of your chest. you knew this was right, and you hoped by the way he was holding you that he felt the same way.

“y/n?”

you perked up, pulling away to see him face to face. “yeah?”

“i think i’m in love with you,” he said gently, in that sweet tone you almost never heard from him, only when he spoke sincerely, which wasn’t often. you stopped moving completely, taking in what he told you.

“you think?” was all you could manage to say. you didn’t know if you were relieved or in shock. you only knew that you had been bottling up your emotions for so long, and with his sudden confession, you wanted to just have him hold you in his big arms, and let everything out.

“i-uh-no. I know i do. i love you, y/n. It’s just, I’ve never known how it feels, you know? I’ve never been exclusive with one person before, and i didn’t want to screw things up, and-“

you cut him off with another kiss, not wanting to hear his explanation and just wanting him close again. taking in the sight of him like this was almost breathtaking. lipstick smeared all over his cheek, his hair frizzy and a mess from your hands pulling on it, and his shirt, which had once been smooth and probably ironed, now a wrinkly mess.

“I love you too, rem.” you confessed, out of breath, and your state of vulnerability was almost humiliating. the both of you in your driveway, sitting in remers car, out of breath and giggling after making out like teenagers.

“stay the night?”

“yeah, of course.” he laughed, fixing his glasses which were close to falling off his face, and opening the door . he used his hands to lift your waist, helping you stumble out, and he quickly got out to walk with you to your door.

the circumstances were definitely weird. today had definitely sucked, but you had a feeling it wouldn’t end so bad. not if you were spending it with your best friend. or, maybe more..

———————————————————————

a/n

omgg i finally got this out.. school has been kicking my ass recently and I really wanted to make sure my first post wasn’t terrible. if you read the whole thing thank youu and I’m working on another fic that should actually be out somewhat soon!!

-gloria!

[hepbaestus]

I'm not ready for this

Now screen reader friendly underneath the read more

Start ID: a Minecraft chest with a white sign that says "dad" on it and in that chest is a 7 page book.

Page 1) good morning Fit. If you're reading this, it is probably now Saturday and I'm really sorry if I'm not awake to tell you goodbye. The past days have been... exhausting and I really need to sleep.

Page 2) I know you will go to bed soon for some time but... I wanted to express that I am really happy you think of me as your priority.

Page 3) but I need you to also prioritise yourself. I am capable of fighting danger and I am capable of coming back from long adventures. You don't have to worry about me too much.

Page 4) prioritise yourself and do me a favour and stop taking baby steps oh my god >:(

Page 5) in the end though... I'm also happy to go on adventures with you and explode the whole server if we have to. I hate emotional letters goddamn but I am happy you are my dad, Fit. I would not want anyone else for a dad.

Page 6) sleep well. I hope you find what you need and I hope to see you again once you wake up. I'll make sure to wake up on time. Maybe if you sing me the lullaby, I'll hear it in my sleep? Who knows.

Page 7) anyway. Sleep well. I'll see you again soon. Post script (xD): the quiero mucho, dad (I love you a lot, dad in Spanish) /EndID.]

[greazyfloz]

Lovers & Strangers -Chapter 7

Previous

I sat in the airport early Saturday morning probably still drunk waiting for my flight. Somehow Ethan convinced me to stay on Wednesday night, and he was serious about me coming to Minnesota. His parents arrived yesterday, and will be waiting to pick me up when I get there. I don’t know why I couldn’t just take a later flight but here I am, sitting in the airport at 5:45 am for my 6:20 am flight. I literally was only able to have a 2 hour nap… I shouldn’t be here. 

When I got to my seat on the plane I fell asleep immediately and slept the entire 2 hour flight. This time when I woke I was hungover. 

I got off the plane and made my way past the baggage claim to not only see Ethan’s parents but mine… Great. I walk over and my parents each give me a hug, then Ethan’s parents proceed to give me a hug next. “Hey! How have you been?” Ethan’s mom says and I smile slightly

“Good!” I say and she looks at me again

“You feeling okay?” she says grabbing my parents attention

“You look white” my mom says 

“Plane sick” I lie

“Since when have you gotten plane sick? You love plane rides.” My mother says again

“Lots of turbulence this time, I don’t know mom” I say before we head out of the airport.

We go to breakfast at some small cafe as our parents chat about this afternoon's plans to go to the Mall of America, since we can’t really see him until after his game tonight. “No offense but I just want to have a nap” I say to them. 

“You don’t want to shop?” my mother looks at me confused. 

“Not really, I was up late last night” I say

They continue talking about last night and seeing Ethan as I swirl my food around the plate, as I’m really not hungry. My attention was suddenly grabbed at the sound of Mark’s name. “And that Mark is a sweetheart” my mother says and I look up

“Oh he is the sweetest, a really good boy! Always greets us when we go down to the school.” Ethan’s mother confirms

They continue talking about Mark, where he is from, what his parents are like, what his parents do for a living, his academic standing, etc.. It really amazes me how Mark comes off as so sweet to everyone else except for me. 

After breakfast they drop me off at the hotel giving me a key. I walked into the hotel and up to the room where I layed for a bit, I pulled out Instagram and posted the pictures I took last weekend. After I posted I fell asleep. 

Ethan and I’s parents arrive back into the room and gently wake me up. As I’m getting ready to roll out of bed I pick up my phone checking my Instagram notification on my recent post as commenting back. 

yourusername

liked by edwards.73, nicoleeee, savswrld, and others

Tagged: savswrld, edwards.73, nicoleeee, cassidyholms & khlofosho

yourusername last weekend's photodump #goblue 💙

view all 15 comments

edwards.73 who's that handsome man? 🤤

mackie.samo I was wondering the same thing

nicoleeee no one I'd rather pee with 💓

savswrld Um, hello? cassidyholms we are irrelevent

khlofosho All the good pictures get taken when I don't go 😭

I start getting ready for the game quickly as it took me awhile to roll out of the bed. As I am in the bathroom putting makeup on, my mother comes in and shuts the door behind her. “Can I help you?” I ask her giving her a side eye in the mirror. 

“Have you been checking your grades lately?” she says looking at me through the mirror

“Last I checked they weren’t that bad” I say before batting my eyelashes on my mascara wand, “calm down” I say rolling my eyes

“You’re at risk of academic probation, you lost your scholarship for next year, and you’ve been absolutely hell to be around, and you are trying to tell me I should be calm. Y/f/n I will tell you right now, If you end up on academic probation I won’t even allow you to go back in the fall to correct that!” she says sternly at me, “understand me?” 

“Yes! Okay! Jeez, I’ll try harder” I say and my mother shakes her head leaving the bathroom. I finish up before going back out to meet everyone in the hallway. We went out for supper and then headed over to the game. 

After the big win, we all headed down to the ice level to meet with Ethan. I stand with our parents as they chat about the game Ethan just played as I see him walk around the corner. When we make eye contact, he makes a funny face to me and I scrunch my nose and smile back as he approaches our group. He hugs both his parents, then mine. 

“So what’s the plan for tonight?” Ethan’s father asks him

“Just bed, celly starts tomorrow when we're back” he says and a small chuckle escapes his lips. “You guys going right back? He asks our parents

“We might go out for a drink” his mother tells him right before someone yells out that they are loading up the bus

“Okay, well if I don’t see you tonight, we are eating breakfast at the hotel tomorrow morning at 8” he says, hugging us all one last time before walking towards the group. 

I get dropped off at the hotel and make my way to the room. As I get off the elevator I make the turn around the wall entering the hallway where my parents and I’s room is when I see Ethan standing outside my door. It’s been quite a few days without sex, so I knew exactly what he wanted. And I wanted it too. 

“Oh, I thought the celebration starts tomorrow” I say as I approach him. 

“I was thinking we could get an early start,” he says, making me instantly weak in the knees. 

“Alright, but we gotta be quick” I say unlocking the door and we both enter. I shut the door that connects to Ethan’s parents room and turn to Ethan taking my shirt off in the process. Ethan takes his off as he watches me unclasp my bra, and we take our pants off at the same time so we are both completely naked.

I walk up and press my lips to his and we being making out. He pushes me hard against the door I just shut. He trails kisses down to my chest as he massages my tits. He then begins sucking hard on them, making me gulp. “C-careful!” I say to him and he begins massaging my tits a little more rough making me throw my head back on the door behind me. 

I begin to slowly lower myself and he releases my tits so I can face his cock. I spit down on it before grabbing it and stroking him. I look up to make eye contact with him, “You don’t know how bad I needed this” he says then releases a heavy breath. I tilt my head and lick from the bottom of his cock up to his tip, kissing it before sliding it in my mouth. I begin sucking on his tip first as I stroke his the rest of his cock with my free hands. I release my mouth and look up at him before entering him back in my mouth even further. I continue sucking back and forth and I hear Ethan give me praises through his soft moans. “C-come’ir” he says and I release his cock from my mouth standing in front of him. He grabs his cock and strokes it a few times as he brings his lips to mine to makeout with me again. He lets go of his cock when he feels my hand try to take over and reaches down rubbing circles around my clit fast, “I’m already so close” he says breaking from the kiss so he can watch me moan as he slips two fingers inside of me pumping it a few times before curling his fingers hard inside of me. 

“Fuck E” I moan out as Ethan bites on to his lip enjoying watching me moan for him. He then pulls his fingers out and I whimper slightly at the loss of friction between us. He pulls me over to the bed and leans me down so I was bent over the bed laying on my stomach. His foot hits mine hinting to push them apart so both my legs take to steps apart opening my legs for Ethan. 

I hear his balls swing back and forth hitting skin and he strokes himself hard before thrusting into me deep, “Fuck Ethan!” I whimper loudly and he stops himself deep inside of me before saying: “Shhh! We can’t be too loud”. 

He begins thrusting inside of me as he grabs my hips so he can become more forceful as he pushes himself in me. He pumps hard and fast, making my legs weak. I can’t help but to arch my back slightly. At this new angle Ethan repeatedly his my g-spot over and over, “Fuck Ethan right there! OH MY GOD!” I whimper loudly again. He doesn’t shush me this time instead I feel him twitch inside of me slightly as he continues thrusting into me. He cums inside of me as he is thrusting me quickly becoming sloppy. 

“Oh Fuck!” he says pulling himself out of me fast

“Again Ethan?! Seriously?” I ask him as he runs to the bathroom grabbing some toilet paper to wipe up the cream oozing out of me. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry!” he says handing me another bit of toilet paper to clean what he missed. I clean myself and take the cream filled toilet paper and throw it into the toilet flushing it as Ethan gets changed. I come back out and get myself dressed as Ethan lays on the bed watching me. 

After I get dressed I open the door between the two rooms and crawl beside Ethan. He puts his arm over my shoulder as he turns the tv on. We watched the tv before I accidentally fell asleep and Ethan slipped away without waking me. 

In the morning, the alarm goes off at 6:30 am and I sit up immediately rubbing our eyes. I look over at my parents bed to see them already up scrolling through their phones on Facebook or reading some article or something. I roll back over falling asleep for a bit before another alarm goes off at 7. I finally get up and make my way to take a shower. 

I get myself ready then grab my bag and heading down to put it in the car. When I put the bag in the car, I then turn back towards the hotel and join Ethan’s parents for breakfast. As we eat the whole team came down. Ethan sat at the table with us waiting for the area to be less squished by the breakfast area, before getting up to get his own, then sitting with his team. 

After I finished eating, it was time for us to leave so I could catch my flight. Ethan quickly came over and gave his parents and my parents a hug, telling him that he will see them next weekend before hugging me, “I’ll see you in a bit” he says with a soft smile.

[faeriemarie]

how i tried to manifest a 1600 on the SAT and failed miserably 🤪

9/30/2023

Starting today, I will vaunt as the first thing I do every morning and the last thing I do before I go to bed at night.

10/4/2023

Today, I am taking my first practice SAT. It is Wednesday and it is my first day of studying. The SAT is on Saturday. I am listening to an SAT subliminal while I complete the 3 hour test. UPDATE: I got a 1280 on the practice test.

10/5/2023

Today, I am taking my second practice SAT. It is Thursday and it is my second day of studying. I am listening to a different SAT subliminal while I complete the 3 hour test. I am not feeling confident in the least, but we press on! UPDATE: I got a 1330 on the practice test and I only got 1 wrong on the reading section :)) most of my math mistakes were just silly and that's somehow worse than me not knowing the content. i still feel inadequate.

10/6/2023

Today I am only taking the math section. It is Friday and it is my 3rd day of studying. I listened to the same subliminal while I did this test. UPDATE: I got a 680 on the math section which is literally the highest it has ever been!!

10/7/2023

Today it is Saturday and the SAT is today in 25 minutes. Last night, I listened to my subliminal out loud all night (~7.5 hours). I also did a little prayer at my altar for Hera to help me since she is my deity of choice <3. And possibly a sign, I saw a rainbow driving to the test center and it was the brightest and most vivid rainbow I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I plan to keep up my vaunting until the scores come out so until then, wish me luck!! UPDATE: i think i did really bad. The reading section (which is normally my best section) was SUPER hard and I just filled in random bubbles at the end. I feel like an actual failure and my reading score probably will be in the 500s. The math section was easy and actually felt too easy. I don’t even know what to think. I probably just need to put it out of my mind and let life take its course…

10/18/2023

There are less than 48 hours until SAT scores come out… i am shitting my pants. i’ve been vaunting every morning and night but still like…. fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck i’m getting rejected from everywhere i apply for sure

10/19/2023

ahhh fuck fuck fuck 30-ish hours until the big reveal. im so nervous. my stomach is churning, i don’t even want to wake up tomorrow morning. let me just stay on thursday night forever and ever and ever. i can’t take it.

10/20/2023

12 hours, give or take… 3 hours, give or take… okay time for the BIG REVEAL: i actually got a 1300. math score went down but my reading score went up. at this point, i'm gonna have to superscore (even though that is far from being enough). my shifting break cannot end fast enough. i'm so miserable. i hate it here so much. i wanted this to be an inspirational post about how i'm such a master manifestor, but i'm a failure. i hate my life. i hate myself. i hate everything.

[jfleamont]

Opening lines

Thank you for the tag @mppmaraudergirl and @eastwindmlk for tagging me!

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (or however many you have) posted fics and see if there’s a pattern!

1. Divination (from Jily drabbles and one shots)

“What the hell is wrong with me?”

2. The Falcon and The Squid

Marlene: what are you guys doing right now? wanna help us build our lego millennial falcon?

3. I Want To Hold Your Hand

Her legs are intertwined with his; she’s curled around him, and the palm of her hand is resting on his chest.

4. Ticket To Ride

The last few days of term are always spent like this, leisurely lying in the sun in front of the lake without a care in the world.

5. Treat Me Like You Did The Night Before

The common room was packed, filled to the brim with students celebrating the beginning of the Christmas break; the train was set to leave the following morning, and everyone was busy saying goodbye.

6. All The Things I Would Do

“Make it make sense, Moony. Why did Poland deserve to win the last Quidditch World Cup when their strategy relied solely on defense?”

7. The Love You Take

The sounds coming from the kitchen are her favourite.

8. Your Eyes The Door To Hell And All Within

Waking up early on a Saturday morning wasn't exactly Lily's thing.

9. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

“I am finished.”

10. The Tree House

The radio had drowned out her footsteps, but not his thoughts.

Well, I rarely start with dialogues, I prefer setting the scene first and the sentences are all quite short; other than that, I haven't noticed anything else :)

I'm tagging @juniperpyre, @thecasualauthor18, @tinyluminaryzombie, @ohmygodshesinsane, @uncertainwallflower, @arianatwycross, @apalapucian, @annasghosts, @flowerpottlady @emeralddoeadeer and whoever wants to do it since I'm sure I'm forgetting someone lol

[eclairfromleclerc]

Hello people of tumblr! I am alive and no one kidnapped me. This chapter took forever to write because of uni duties and exams and summer in general. It’s super long (a good 14.2K words to be exact) and it has many different styles because it was written in many many different days. I felt like I needed to get this chapter to some point of the storyline so I can eventually develop it a bit more. I hope that you will enjoy it. I am sorry for the extra long wait and the extra long chapter (you can read it as 2-3 seperate ones). You guys keep me fueled to keep writing this story and I thank you all for waiting for this-if you were. Again I will remind you that english is not my native language so pardon any mistakes. Hope you will enjoy it and that I will be able to update the story sooner than I did with this chapter. All my love <3

All’s Fair

(Toto Wolff x Reader) Chapter 7

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6

It is the first morning after many days that you can eventually wake up without an alarm and even though you traveled all the way back from Australia, you managed to reduce the jet lag by taking your sleeping pills.

You open your eyes and check the time. 1 pm. You always loved long naps. You ask Siri to open the windows for you, to get some light in the room. Thank you, Apple Home. You try to wake up, stretching while you are still laying in your bed. After you manage to open your eyes properly and adjust to the daylight entering the room, you check your phone notifications. As always, instagram and tons of story reactions and messages from fans and not, messages from your friends and other F1 related posts. You open your What’sApp and you see you have a new message. It’s Beth letting you know about your schedule.

Since the last time you saw Toto you kept reminding yourself not to get your hopes up about what is happening between you two. He promised that he would text but he still hasn’t. It’s not like you are going to beg him more than this. If he wanted to, he would have texted, you say to yourself and you stand up from your bed and walk down to the kitchen to have breakfast. You eat and go back to your room without seeing anyone from your family. You get ready and leave for the factory where you create your schedule for the next race week, alongside Beth. The next week goes away just like this. Going to the factory on a daily basis and trying to exercise, playing tennis and golf with your friends. Before you even realize it is time to leave for the next round of the championship, Bahrain. Still on your phone there’s radio silence. Toto hasn’t texted since you last talked in Melbourne. You had seen some of his statements, but you just read his words, not trying to analyze anything behind them or to justify why he hasn’t even bothered to look for you even though he said he would do it. Now your main concern is packing whatever you need for the race weekend. You look at your schedule to figure out if you have any events to attend that need any special attire. 

Red Bull Racing Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 Schedule (Ms. Horner)

Friday: FP1, FP2, Press Conference (Subject to Christian Horner’s schedule)

Saturday: FP3, Qualifying, Post Qualifying Interviews, Qualifying Debrief (Until 6 pm).

‘Grand Opening of the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Center’ organized by The Royal Family of Bahrain {Additional Charity Auction to help the “SHAMSAHA” foundation} (Event To be hosted at the newly built BIECC, Black tie attire is obligatory.) 

Sunday: Pre-Race interviews, Race, Post Race interviews, Race Debrief. 

Reading your schedule you realize you had not approved the Grand Opening Event so you text Beth.

You

Hello Bethy. I was just packing for tomorrow and I was checking the schedule to plan my outfits.

Beth the Lifesaver

Hello you. Is everything okay with the schedule? Are there any issues?

You

That thing about the Grand Opening of the BIECC. Is it obligatory, do we have to go or is it just an invitation that we can turn down?

Beth the Lifesaver

No, you cannot skip the event. Team executives and drivers are expected to be present in the events planned by the Grand Prix’s Organizer according to contracts. 

You

Isn’t this event planned by the royal family of Bahrain?

Beth the Lifesaver 

Isn’t the race planned by the royal family?

You 

Fair enough, now I have to find something to wear. No black tie dress for me

Beth the Lifesaver 

Come on, you have been to each and every FIA prize giving gala, you surely have something to wear to a Grand Opening

You 

I am not wearing what I wore last year to the prize giving gala

Beth the lifesaver 

You are such a diva, I hate you

You 

I’ll figure out something myself, hate you too, see you tomorrow

As soon as you lock your phone you feel the panic coming at you. You realize that you have nothing to wear to this event, plus everyone from the paddock will be there-including Toto and other really important people. Without being able to find out what to do, you text Max.

You��

You are coming to this Grand Opening as my date, no isn’t an option. 

Max Emilian Verstappen 

No. :)

Joking, of course I will. 

After that you lay in your bed staring at the ceiling trying to find a solution to your problem. And then it hits you. Lewis. The guy knows so many people in the fashion industry that he could probably get you a dress in the next 5 hours. Even though he is in a different team you loved discussing with him about your interests, music and fashion. He is a rival but he is nice. He had given you his phone number after Spa last year, where you had your first long encounter and discussion. And rumor has it that he doesn’t give his phone number to anyone, unless he likes them a lot. So you decide to text him, against your best judgment.

You

Hello Lewis, it’s Christian Horner’s daughter here. I am really sorry to be bothering you but it is kind of a fashion emergency that I am currently having and I hoped that you could help me. 

Five minutes later you open your phone

Read by Lewis Hamilton at 12:36 am

Well, he left you on read. Expected. He’s Lewis Hamilton, he isn’t going to help you.

You throw your phone on the couch opposite to your bed and it lands between the pillows as you turn your face on your bed’s headrest and start crying, letting the anger and the pressure from the past days take over. After 2 or 3 minutes your phone starts ringing. You stand up, get it from the couch and you look at the screen to see an incoming FaceTime call from Lewis. You accept the call.

“Oh My God Lewis thank you so much for answering.”you say and you hear him laugh

“First of all stop crying and freaking out about the Grand Opening, it’s really not that big a deal. Toto is in the same situation, totally freaked out. I remembered that you loved Chanel but I figured out it might be a bit too much for just an opening so I called Tommy.

“Tommy?” you ask

“Hilfiger. He said he’ll take care of it. I called and gave him your number. He said he already had something in mind since he has seen the way you dress and that he just needs your measurements. He assured me that he will have something sent to Bahrain by Friday morning.”

“You are top Lewis, thank you so much for helping me.”

“Always happy to help a friend. Hope you are glad.”

“Very. Thank you very much again.”

“Send me the designs as soon as you get them, I want to see them.”

“I will. Have a goodnight, see you soon in Bahrain.”

You hang up your call with Lewis and several minutes later you get a call from Tommy, where you discuss his visions so he designs the dress within an hour and you send the first draft of it to Lewis, who agrees with the concept. You thank him for working so late for you. Later on, you make sure that you have prepared everything you need for tomorrow and fall asleep. 

The following day you wake up and go to the airport where you take the first flight to Bahrain. It is already Wednesday, which means that you are 2 days earlier to the start of the race weekend. Your first days in Bahrain include a lot of relaxation, since you didn’t need to go to the track until Thursday afternoon for the team meetings. You enjoy as much silence as you can get before starting the race weekend. 

They say that time flies when you are actually enjoying yourself and the first two days of your stay in Bahrain are proof of it. Friday comes as fast as a blink of an eye and you wake up in this hot and sunny morning to hit the track for the first practice session of the weekend. Everyone in the team is anxious about the car performance since the day when the rear wing of your car was deemed illegal by the FIA and everyone back in Milton Keynes worked their asses off to fix it. Now what remains is to see if it performs as good on the track as Adrian has calculated. Max and Sergio complete several laps that help you compare data to the ones that you saw in testing earlier this year. They don’t top the session but they are giving the team significant data that make you optimistic. The second session of the day is completed in the exact same way. Mercedes is still the fastest, even though the simulator correlation shows that both the Red Bull and the Mercedes car have similar paces. After the practice sessions you do Press as scheduled by Beth and you conclude your day. Thank god Toto wasn’t there today. Something about his business in Vienna got held up and he had to be there so Mercedes let people know that he would only be there in time for the qualifying sessions tomorrow. 

The next day Toto is indeed nowhere to be seen during the third practice session, which Max tops, giving Mercedes a taste of what’s to come in qualifying. After FP3 you chill out in your office as usual until qualifying time. Christian comes and knocks on your door. 

“You in?” he says from outside

“Yes, come in dad” 

“It is quali time. Aren’t you ready?” 

“I am ready, let me take my iPad and I’m coming.” you say and you take your phone in your hands and scroll down on twitter seeing that he has eventually arrived and you feel slightly angry seeing him walking in the paddock so chilled. 

“Ah I forgot to tell you, the obnoxious guy from the garage on the left has arrived.” he laughs

If only he knew about what has happened between you and him, he wouldn’t be laughing right now but rather crying. That’s what he always does anyways. Lost in your thoughts you are stuck frozen with your phone in hand. 

“Are you coming?” 

“Yes, sorry. My brain just froze” you laugh 

“We want you on the top of your game today.” he says and you walk to his side as you leave the Red Bull Motorhome and get to the garage. You try to peek through the Mercedes fantasy island but you can see nothing but Bono’s ass. Damn Bono. By the time quali starts Beth messages you.

Beth the Lifesaver

The dress is in the hotel. Tommy also sent someone to do your fitting before the event

You 

Thank you. 

You lock your phone and look at the qualifying in front of you. Q1 is pretty much indifferent to you, no way that your drivers won’t pass through. Q2 is usually indifferent as well but out of the blue Yuki crashes his Alpha Tauri 2 minutes before the end of the session, triggering a red flag and leaving Max temporarily out of Q3.

“Is this the end of the session?” 

“It could be. Probably not, 2 minutes are enough for one more timed lap.”

“Can’t we ask the FIA to continue the session? Yuki shouldn’t have done this.”

“That was last year, honey. Helmut will have a chat with him later.”

Half a minute later the FIA updates you that the session will be resumed so Max gets his timed lap and goes through to Q3. In Q3 he manages to get pole. The whole team is celebrating for your first pole of the season. Later on Max comes to the garage and you have a chat with him. 

“Everything was perfect Max” Christian says

“The car is better than before thankfully.” you reply

“We did a good job back in Milton Keynes to be honest. I should go to my driver's room to relax a bit.”

“I’ll be in the media pen for post quali interviews so I’ll see you at the debrief.”

“My proposal is to do the debrief now and the interviews later so you can leave and get ready for the event.”

“Thanks dad.” you say and the three of you leave for the debrief. 

After a productive session you head towards the media pen. On your way there you check on your phone, focusing there and not noticing anything around you when you suddenly bump into someone. 

“Oh my god, I’m sorry” you say and the person turns on your way revealing a stressed Toto talking on the phone.

“Sorry, I gotta go. Paddock business, I’ll call you back later once I am done” he says and he ends the call then turns to you “Hello”

“Hello Toto.”

“How’s everything going?”

“It’s quite funny, you pretending to care. Have a nice day.” you say and leave him standing in the same place. “Wait” you hear him say

“What is it?”

“Will I see you at the Grand Opening today?”

“Sadly” you turn and leave for good. You do your interviews and then pick up all of your stuff and drive back to the hotel. 

When you arrive, you take a long and relaxing bath. You go back to your suite’s living room and Beth is already in there with the dress on a hanger. She opens the zipper and shows you the design.

“Try it on” she tells you and you walk back to your room to try the dress on. After 2 minutes you emerge from your bedroom back to the main area of the suite.

“How is it?” you ask feeling nervous about how the dress looked

“It looks amazing, probably the best dress you’ve ever worn to date” Beth replies and you feel a weight lifted off your shoulders. Half an hour later a team of hairstylists and makeup artists come to your suite to get you ready so you just sit on the chair and enjoy being taken care of. Once you are done you call Max and ask him to come by to your room to get you, which he does. You get in the hotel parking and enter Max’s Porsche and drive to the event. 

When you arrive there you see some fans before entering a high security zone. Max parks the car and someone opens your door and holds out a hand for you. You get out and you feel the flashes all over you. Max comes to your side and guides you to the red carpet that the organizers had set. 

“Why are there so many people just for a grand opening?” you ask

“I don’t know, just smile and pose so we can get inside please.” 

Following Max’s instructions you smile and pose together and then individually and as soon as you’re done, someone from the organizing team leads you inside, where you can spot several well known people from the paddock.   

“Who are all those people?” Max asks

“We aren’t the only ones invited Max, we will have to socialize today.”

“Isn’t like talking to Stefano Domenicalli enough socialization?”

“Not with F1 people you idiot. Company owners, that’s what I mean, think about the sponsorships” 

“Oh that kind of socialization. Aren’t you supposed to do that?”

“I am but Christian is not here yet so you will be the one assisting till he comes.” you say and hear Max shrugging. Meanwhile you see Lewis approaching you. 

“Hello Lewis”

“Hello, how are you doing?”

“Good, how about you?”

“All great, how’s the opening?” 

“Oh I wouldn’t know, I just arrived. How long have you been here?”

“Literally just arrived.”

“The dress looks amazing, better than it was on the design.”

“Tommy did a great job. I can’t thank you enough about it. Skydiving will be my treat” 

“I was just helping you out, but I am up for some skydiving if you want to.” he says and he looks at his phone which is vibrating. Toto’s name and his face pops up on the screen. “Gotta take this, it’s Toto. I’ll see you later.” he says and you say goodbye to him

“What does he have to do with the dress?” Max asks as soon as Lewis is far enough to not hear the conversation

“I asked for his help because I had nothing to wear”

“Couldn’t you just wear what you wore last year in the FIA gala?” 

“Oh Max, you are so annoying.” you say and you leave him. You go around and grab a glass of champagne while you discuss with people that have already arrived. After an hour or so you feel your phone ringing on your Hilfiger clutch and you open it to see that Beth is calling you

“Hey, could you please come by the main entrance? They are asking about some statements and Christian is busy chatting with some Bahraini millionaires, trying to talk them into a sponsorship.”

“Yes, I will be there in a second.” you reply and end the call excusing yourself from the discussion you were involved in. 

You get at the entrance and Beth is waiting for you, guiding you to the place where every journalist is. You answer the same questions about how amazing it is to be here and how great the place is. 

“Will you please tell us what you are wearing?” an interviewer asks

“It is a custom dress by Tommy Hilfiger. Mega thanks to Tommy for designing it and to Lewis for introducing me to him”

“Lewis who?”

“Lewis Hamilton.”

“He helped you get the dress?” the journalist asks impressed

“Yeah” 

“You look stunning, an amazing option indeed. Thank you for your time”

“You’re welcome” you say and you leave. As you turn you realize the majority of the invited people have moved inside at a certain place. You look a bit lost until your lifesaver comes into your rescue

“It’s the auction. It is about to start, shall we go?” Beth asks. You nod and follow her through the enormous place that is the exhibition center. You arrive at the auction site and someone from the organizing team asks for your name, then he guides you to your seat which is next to Christian and Max. You check your number, no. 45. The auction begins and people are bidding for some jewelry, paintings from locals, signed memorabilia and all of those things that are typically up for auction at a fundraising event. 

“Next up we have an amazing 5 day trip for 2 to Bali. Starting price is 4000 euros.”

You raise your placard “4100” you say 

You don’t even get enough time to lower it when you hear the familiar voice from the Mercedes table “4200” Toto says and the room goes a tiny bit silent. You get what he’s doing. He’s trying to get your attention and he’s managing very well. You don’t even know who you are going to take with you on this expensive trip but you have decided that you are getting it. Money is not the problem you think

“4500 euros” you state and then you glare at his side. 

“5000 euros” he says and does the same

“Okay, we have a nice little battle between the lady with the beautiful dress holding number 45 and the charming man with number 18. 5000 euros was the last offer, do we have another one?” she asks and you take some time thinking if it’s worth it. It is about a charity, it is about abused women, it is worth all the money you can provide. 

“Going once, going twice…”

Before she manages to get to number three you raise your number for your final offer. 

“6500 euros.”

“6550” Toto replies once again

“6600” you say back

“6600 euros, do we have any more offers?” she asks and you turn to look at Toto once again who smiles and shakes his head realizing he has no chance in getting the trip. That’s how stubborn you are. 

“Going once, going twice…Sold to the lady no.45” she says and then everyone applauds. The charity auction continues for another half an hour, and you do 2 or 3 more bids without actually getting something. Your dad does instead. 

As soon as it finishes you move to the main area where everyone is mingling. At some point while you are speaking with Stefano Domenicalli you spot Lewis and Toto alone, discussing. Lewis looks totally chill like he’s enjoying himself while Toto is much more tense and grumpy. You can’t understand what they are saying because of people talking and the music.

“Isn’t the dress crazy good?” Lewis asks as soon as he spots Toto staring

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Toto replies

“Little Horner’s dress. She called me the other day and asked me for fashion help. I called Tommy and he designed it.”

“Tommy as in our Tommy?”

“Yeah, Tommy Hilfiger Tommy”

“And she dared to call you to ask for fashion help?”

“Yes Toto, we are kind of talking to each other outside the racing track”

“So you are friends with her?” 

“I wouldn’t call it that but I guess.”

“With the rival? And you have her phone number?” 

“Yeah I do” Lewis replies slightly confused 

“I need you to give it to me” Toto says

“Why Mr Wolff? Do you fancy her?” Lewis laughs teasing Toto

“No Hamilton, I am just going to ask her to kindly stop calling my drivers for fashion advice”

“Don’t you dare do it.” 

“Give. Me. The. Number”

“No”

“Remember that bonus Million that I was supposed to give you by the end of the season? If you don’t give me the number, you can forget it.” Toto jokes

“Fine,” Lewis laughs. It’s not that he cared about the extra money, he just wanted to roast Toto a bit more. He takes out his phone and texts the number to Toto. As soon as he gets the text he greets him and leaves to socialize with the other guests. Toto stands there opening his phone tapping the phone number Lewis is giving him. 

Later on during the evening you discuss with your father and several potential investors and sponsors for the team, trying to convince them that you should reach a deal since the team is performing at the optimum level, going for not only the world driver’s championship but also the constructors championship. Max is by your side trying to show a good face to the investors as well. You have your champagne in hand when you feel your phone buzzing.

Beth the lifesaver

Seems like Mr. Boss Man didn’t like your little auction game.

You read the message as you tap on the attached link

Toto Wolff when asked about a small auction battle between him and Christian Horner’s daughter replied jokingly “The trip was a nice proposal, I would spend some time in Bali so that’s why I decided to bid. Clearly Ms. Horner wanted the time in Bali much more than I did so she did her best to get it. It’s okay, she can take Max, her date with her to spend some bonding time.”

You laugh out loud as you read his lines and everyone turns to look at you. Max especially peaks in your phone and you hand it to him. He laughs much more quietly and then turns to you

“Is this guy for real?” he asks

“Haha, I can’t even”

“Are you alright girlfriend?”

“Shut up” you whisper to his ear and you keep paying attention to the conversation you were in while your father is staring at you. After a while you decide to freshen your makeup so you excuse yourself and go to the bathroom. 

There are 3 more women in the bathroom so you get to the free mirror and start reapplying your makeup. The 2 of them stare at you and you can’t really understand why, but you let them do whatever they are doing and return back to retouching your makeup. Once you are done you check that everything is okay with your dress and go outside to the corridor that leads to the toilets. Before you can manage to take some steps you can hear the women in the toilet discussing. You stop dead in your tracks to listen to what they were saying. “She’s Horner’s daughter. She came here with Verstappen and they are most probably dating. That’s why she wanted to bid on the Bali vacation, she wanted to take him there for their holidays.” 

“Omg, I figured out they were dating, everyone’s been saying that since she started working for Red Bull. Although I believe that she’s been dating him for quite some time now.” 

Before you can even attempt to go back to the room, you feel someone grabbing you by your arm leading you to a dark room that you haven’t even noticed existed. 

“What the fuck?” you yell

“Shhhh. It’s me” says the familiar voice

“Why did you grab me in this room?”

“Because I wanted to tell you to stop messing with my drivers.”

“Is this about me asking Lewis to help me get this dress?” you ask 

“Yes, it is” Toto replies in a somewhat strict tone

“What, you thought that since I won the auction about the trip that I might actually defeat you by taking your drivers?” 

“Ha, you think you are funny? I don’t give two fucks about the trip to Bali, I can go by myself if I want to. I just don’t want you hitting on my drivers, collecting them like pokemon cards” 

“It didn’t seem to me that you didn’t give two fucks when you were bidding your ass to get the trip” you tell him trying to make him angrier than he already is. “And oh it also didn’t seem like you don’t give a fuck when you actually said that I did all of that to enjoy a trip with Max” 

“I was bidding because I was trying to get your fucking attention.” Toto says

“Well you did get it, congratulations Mr 5 year old.” you say and you turn to leave the room, they will be looking for you after all. 

“You should have fun with your boyfriend Max in Bali.” he says as you have your hand in the door handle. When you hear it you drop your hand and turn to him.

“Why are you so obsessed with Max, Toto?”

“I am not obsessed with him. You just paid for a trip to Bali, it’s not like you won’t take your boyfriend with you. I am just stating the facts.” 

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“You are going everywhere together, he came here as your escort. Of course he’s your boyfriend.” he says

But then it hits you and it sounds so funny in your head. You turn to him and ask him 

“Jealous much, Wolff?” 

“I am not jealo-”

“Save it Toto, you are not convincing me.” you stop and take a moment to laugh “Just so you know I would have taken you in Bali, but you didn’t even text me for a full week after you said you would.” 

He looks at you speechless to what you said to him. When he tries to tell you something you turn to him once again

“Right now I am going to walk out of this room as carefully as possible so no one will see me and I am going to get a multi million deal from this rich Bahraini guy. I suggest you do the same. If you want to give this any chance, please stop acting like a jealous high school chick and find a way. I am done with trying. Goodnight.” and you leave before he can even register what you told him. You leave and go back to Christian and Max. You spend the rest of the night feeling slightly irritated with the whole situation until you are finally able to leave the event.

You and Max are driving back to the hotel 

“Can you believe that Toto said we are dating?”

“He’s a joke. The guy is a joke.” 

“To be fair we do look like a couple sometimes.”

“Max, that's fundamental when your best friend is of the opposite sex. People always do that.”

“Yeah you’re right.” 

A few minutes later you feel your phone buzzing in your clutch, you open it to see that there’s a Message from an unknown number

Unknown Number

Up for a coffee pre race?

You try to understand who is this from

You 

Sorry, who is this?

Unknown Number

This is me trying.

Sorry if this is weird, I got your number from Lewis. He still thinks that I wanted it to scold you about asking for help from him.

You

Oh hey. 

Maybe I should snitch on you to Lewis.

You laugh at your phone screen loud enough to take Max’s attention from the road. You still can’t realize that he actually got the guts to text you. You navigate through your iPhone and save Toto’s mobile number, forgetting to wipe the smile off your face. 

“Who got you smiling like this?” Max asks

“No one, keep driving” you reply and you peak at your phone as soon as it vibrates with another notification

“Doesn’t seem like no one to me”

Wolff

I’d appreciate it if you didn’t. 

Anyways, are you in for a coffee tomorrow morning?

You 

Jk, I won’t do it. Lewis wouldn’t leave you at peace if he knew

What’s your idea about tomorrow?Paddock?

Wolff

I don’t know, paddock would seem like a random meeting, somewhere else would be a bit suspicious if fans find out?

You

Okay then, coffee on the paddock, pre race. 

Max keeps his eyes locked on the road but he talks to you

“Fine, go ahead, don’t tell me.” he whines

“I will tell you when I feel ready.”

“Whatever”

Wolff

You know what, screw the paddock,I have a better plan.

You 

So no paddock then?

Wolff

No, I’ll have someone to pick you up from your hotel at noon

Don’t be late

You 

See you then

You arrive back at the hotel and go back to your suite and fall asleep after a tiring day

The next morning you wake up at 10 am to get ready for your date with Toto. Well it’s not a date but if you think about it that’s the only thing you can call it. You take a shower and fix your hair, which thank god you had already gotten done from a professional yesterday. You open your closet seeing all of your clothes hanging in there including Toto’s shirt from Melbourne. You didn’t give it back but for some reason you still brought it with you in Bahrain. You stare at your clothes not being able to decide what to wear but you finally decide on wearing a louis blue midi floral sundress with a pair of matching high heels. Then you think to yourself that you don’t know where you’re going so the shoes might be a tad uncomfortable and you decide to text Toto.

You 

Hello, I am just doing some outfit planning for our meeting and I thought I should wear a pair of high heels, is this alright?

Wolff 

Yes, it will be really comfortable, just wear whatever you want.

You read his almost immediate answer and smile but before you can think of a reply he sends you another message

Wolff

Besides, you love to wear high heels so do whatever you please.

You 

So high heels it is then

Wolff

Good.

You smile again to yourself thinking how he remembered that wearing heels is your favorite. You dress up, do light makeup and check the time. 11:45am. You wait a bit more in your suite checking yourself in the mirror and thinking of how this meeting with Toto has affected you. Yesterday night you were telling him that you are done trying and right now you are acting like a schoolgirl on her first date with her crush. It’s not like you have a crush on him. You just feel different when he’s around, like he has something that instantly pulls you towards him. A magnet. That’s what he is. You cut your train of thoughts off and spray some of your signature Chanel perfume on your neck and hands. You take your purse and leave the suite. You go downstairs to the hotel lobby and outside to the hotel entrance where you spot the same man that drove you back to your hotel in Australia waiting outside an AMG SUV. Not so subtle you think to yourself

“Hello” you say 

“Hello Miss” he replies and opens the door for you. You get in the car and he does the same.

“Mr Wolff will be waiting for us with his own car.” he says

“Okay, thank you” you say 

He drives 5 minutes and you arrive at a place with no people or cars, desert, very Bahrain like. The only thing in the area is a black car that you are approaching. Once you get close enough you see Toto waiting outside the car, black Mercedes, GT63, of course. The car comes to a stop and the driver -you found out his name is Jonathan- opens your door. You thank him and step outside. 

"Who's chasing us?" You joke about the whole secrecy thing

"James bond, I'm the villain" he answers and laughs, you do the same. Toto waves at Jonathan and thanks him.

"Bye Jo!" You say and go to the passenger side of the cat where Toto is already waiting for you with an open door.

"Such a gentleman" you say

"Always"

Toto gets in the car joining you, reaching for the two cups on the board.

"The invitation was a pre race coffee, so I got some" 

"I actual-" you try to talk 

"Don't drink coffee unless I know it is really good or I made it, I know. That's why I got you tea"

"I d-" he interrupts you again 

"Black tea, iced, honey instead of sugar, a bit of milk. You're welcome" he says and hands you the plastic cup

"How'd you know?" 

"Got my information." 

 "Nice." You say trying to figure out what is happening. "Are we going to stay here or?"you ask slightly confused

"We are going to drive in Bahrain" 

“That’s your plan?” 

“Exactly. You don’t like it?” 

“No, actually it is a pretty good idea.” 

“Thought so myself.”he says and starts the car driving away to the streets of Bahrain.

For a while you sit in silence, drinking your iced tea, thinking about how he got to know everything about the way you like to drink tea. You had mentioned it in a really small feature in an interview several years ago, maybe he had read about this.

“What do you think will happen today?” you ask him 

“It’s going to be a nice day, pretty relaxed.”

“Easy win you believe?” 

“Oh, you are talking about race predictions.” he says, keeping his eyes locked on the road while he takes a sip from his coffee. “Yeah, I'm not discussing it right now.” 

“Why not?”

“Because I think about it all day long while I’m working. This is work, and I don’t want to work when it’s not the right time” he replies and you stay quiet.

Without asking you grab your phone and connect it to the car bluetooth to put some music on, hitting play on a spotify road trip playlist and Dua Lipa starts playing on the gtr’s speakers. 

“For christ’s sake” he says 

“What is it?”

“What are we even listening to?”

“I believe it’s Dua Lipa.” he turns to look at you with a confused face “English singer, reeeally famous nowadays, she has several hits, super viral on tiktok.” 

“I will never understand the taste that people of your age have.”

“Com’on, it’s a nice bop”

“Every single song sounds exactly the same.”

“And what do you want to listen to, old man?”

“Did you just?”

“I actually did.” you say “Just admit you’re old”

“I am old?” 

“Yes,Grandpa old to be exact” you tease him and he seems to understand but before you can say anything he accelerates the Mercedes, eyes on the road

“Let me show you some grandpa driving then.” he says while you sit petrified next to him

“Toto stop.” you yell laughing at the same time, thinking how dangerous it is driving like this on public streets. 

“Sorry? I am too old, can’t hear you.” he says and smiles at your reaction. He keeps driving fast for quite some time and you keep yelling at him for the whole duration but you can see he enjoys it. You actually do too. At some point he hits the brake, lowering the car’s speed and you mentally thank him for doing so.

“What was that Toto?” you ask once again feeling the rush of adrenaline running through your veins

“Showing you how old people drive, you should have seen yourself, you were scared to death.”

“I wasn’t.” 

“Yes, you were, you were yelling at me for 10 minutes straight.” he laughs “For a person so passionate with racing, I didn’t think you would be so afraid of the speed.”

“I am not afraid of the speed, I don’t quite like it when I don’t have control over it though.”

“Sure” he says ironically. 

“I won’t even comment on the fact that all this was done on public roads which makes it 100% more dangerous than it already is.” you say “Actually, I am going to prove it to you.”

“Huh?” he says and turns to look at you. 

“That I like speed.When you find a space that you can pull over to, please do it” you command him “I imagine you are okay if i drive the car right?”

“You really do want to drive?” “Yes, pull over.” you say again and he stops the car at the first chance he gets. “Get out.” you tell him and he does as you say, you hop on the driver’s seat and start the car. You feel the AMG engine roaring in your feet and you feel a little nervous. You have driven countless sports cars even though according to everyone you are too young. As soon as you get to the main road and have gained enough speed to drive safely you start to accelerate as Toto did earlier. He looks at you terrified. 

“Maybe you should not drive that fast.” he says

“Oh I am very capable of driving like this, thank you for pointing it out though.”

“I am not sure you are completely in control of what you are doing right now and that’s not very safe you know?”

“So what I am doing is not safe but when you’re doing it it is?”

“I was a racer back at the time” 

“You were, now you’re not. Plus, I have driven like this multiple times, especially sports cars. I used to kart as well.” 

“You were karting?” 

“Yes,I did but it turns out I love managment way more than I loved racing.” 

“You are not bad.”

“I know, I am doing my job really well, you seem so terrified that you wouldn’t even understand.”

“I am not terrified.”

“Whatever”you say and you reduce your speed. 

“How much time do we have?”

“I’d say nearly 2 hours before we should be on track.Why?” 

“Nothing, I am just bored” you say dead seriously even though you don’t even mean it 

Toto turns to you looking offended “You are?” he asks 

You start laughing “No, I am joking, I just wanted to do something while I am driving but we will need time, time that we don’t have.” 

“What is it?” he asks

“Do you have your Saudi visa on you?” you tell him

“This is not happening.” 

“Why?” 

“Because you are not driving us to another country while we have to be at the paddock in a while.”

“What if we didn’t have to go to the paddock? Would you come?” 

“I don’t know, I would think about it.”

“Com’on be a little spontaneous Toto.” you tell him 

“I’ve already said no” 

“If we win, I’ll drive us to Saudi Arabia and if you win, you will” you pause to think

“I will take you to dinner.” he says and you look at him “Bet.” he says and gives you a handshake to seal your deal. 

For the next two hours you and Toto drive carelessly in the highways of Bahrain seeing a lot of places that you didn’t have the chance to see during your past visits. Toto is trying to show you around a bit, using his little knowledge that he got in the past years while F1 was racing there. You discuss a lot of things about yourselves but you don’t say a word about what is happening between you two. This ride was more like getting to know each other. Like a good coffee with a friend. But you can always sense the underlying tensity between you two, just never acknowledging it out loud. After you finish your ride, he drives you back to the place that Jonathan left you several hours earlier. He’s still waiting there, in the Mercedes SUV that waits to get you back to the hotel. Both the car and Jo become more apparent as Toto approaches the site and the car stops. 

“So” you say

“I’ll see you at the track” Toto replies

“Thank you for the tea and the ride. And for letting me drive.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

You open your door and turn to look at him before getting in the other car. You see him looking at you, noticing every move of yours. 

“I had a nice time. Hope you did too”  he says and you smile as you stand up.

“It was nice, the bet payback will be better though” you say and you shut your door leaving him in the car getting in the SUV. 

Jonathan drives the same road that you did earlier. He doesn’t speak, that’s why maybe Toto chose him to pick you up from the hotel. You are too curious not to ask

“Jo, are you able to talk to anyone about this?” 

“No miss.” he replies “NDAs are involved here, my job is at stake as well so I wouldn’t want to discuss this with anyone. It’s like I've never seen it, a secret.” 

“Are you okay with that though?” 

“Even if I am not, it is part of the job. Toto hired me to drive him or people he knows privately. We have been working together for quite some time so I trust him and he does the same.” he replies

“I understand.” you tell him and you can see the hotel at the end of the road. 

“I really enjoy having you here Miss Horner. The people I am driving are really cold in general, no one’s ever called me Jo before but you did and you didn’t even know me.” 

“Sorry if it bothered you.” you say

“No no, my point is, I understand Toto” he says and he smiles friendly to you and he pulls over at the hotel parking lot. 

“Thank you Jonathan, you are really kind.”

“You’re welcome.” he says and someone from the hotel staff opens your door and you get out. “I guess I’ll see you around” 

You close the door and go back to your suite to pick your stuff for the race. After you chill for a while you drive to the track which is flooded by fans. At the entrance you see your father who comes to your side

“Where were you earlier?”

“Hello to you too father” you say feeling a bit angry that that was the first thing he said to you

“Were you sleeping?” he continues

“Yes” you reply to avoid the conversation. 

Just beside you you hear the well known sound of an electric scooter. The only two people moving around the paddock on electric scooters are Toto and Lewis. You keep walking alongside your father when the sound stops and the tall Austrian is next to Christian. 

“Christian” he says 

“Hello Toto, how’s it going?” 

“Really great Christian, had an amazing day so far” he says keeping his eyes locked on you “I am hoping it will get better later though” 

You don’t waste any time and before Christian can answer you decide to talk

“We’ll see about that, tough fight today.” you say and you smile, your father looking at you surprised that you decided to interrupt the discussion between him and his counterpart. 

“I really hope so, I enjoy a good race” Toto replies “Plus it makes the winning feeling a bit better.” 

“It sure does Toto, may the best team win” 

“Don’t look at me, she said it all for me” Christian jokes but really none of you find him funny, you are too invested in this little interaction.

“See you around” Toto says and drives off with his mercedes scooter. 

“I enjoy a good race” Christian repeats mocking the Austrian “And when we have a good race he bitches on every single pre and post race interview” 

“Oh please Christian you are the king of bitching, just leave him be '' you tell him and walk to the red bull hospitality center. You spend some time there discussing with the mechanics about possible outcomes of the race and then you go to the grid to see the cars getting ready and to give some pre race interviews. Max is on pole so it is the first time as an official member of the team that you will get to be there. 

“Let’s go dude” you say to Max

“I’ll do my best.” 

“You should absolutely win this, I have so much faith on you I even made a bet” 

“What do we win?” 

“You, a race, I, a superiority feeling. Go get em” you say and then Max gets in the car. 

You leave the grid and go back to the pitwall, sitting on your chair. The race starts and Max easily leads from Lewis. You squeal a little seeing that your team is winning but you stay relatively calm. Lewis stays right behind Max, pressuring him as well as the strategy team to an ultimate level. At some point Mercedes calls Lewis to pit, but knowing mercedes’ pit crew and Lewis’ recent luck the pit stop kinda sucked, leaving you a tiny but significant space to breathe. Max pits in the next lap, the red bull pit crew always fast and precise gives him enough time to come out of the pits just in front of Lewis, 2 tenths keeping them apart. Lewis’ tyres are already at temperature so he overtakes Max in the next DRS zone. However, 5 laps later Max fights back and retakes the lead from your rivals. A while after the overtake you take your phone on your hands

You

Is the GT ready for the trip?

Wolff

Nothing’s done yet

You

See you, at the podium in 15 laps

Also, tell Jonathan to pick me up from the hotel at 8 pm, post race celebrations, I will be late.

Wolff 

I am not saying anything until the checkered flag 

You  

Whatever

Max cruises at the front for the next 10 laps with 5 laps to go, Lewis increasing pace reaching him but at this point he’s not even a threat. Max keeps going until lap 53 when he comes on the team radio and yells

“No fucking pace,bro” 

Lewis is coming like a rocket behind him while GP tries to talk to Max to press some buttons on the steering wheel to get the PU working but nothing seems to fix this goddamn engine. 

“Max I am afraid we should retire the car, I am so sorry. We will discuss it in the debrief”

“Fuck” is what Max says as he strugles to steer his red bull at a place where the marshalls will be able to collect the car

Wolff

Sorry about that

You 

Oh fuck off

Wolff

I guess the trip to Saudi won’t be happening after all 

Just before replying you hear Crofty through the track speakers “And Lewis Hamilton wins the Bahrain GP”

You 

Just send me the details 

Wolff

Will do

Gotta go to the podium celebrations

You 

Congrats on the win though :)

Wolff

You’re classy

I like it

Thanks :D

You leave the pitwall heading inside to see Max

“I am so sorry” he says

“No, it’s not your fault, you were great”

Christian comes by your side “Let’s discuss the race at the debrief please.” and then he turns to you “You can go to the hotel after the debrief, I will do the post race interviews. We will be having lunch with the Bahraini investors tomorrow so I want you there and at the top of your game, the deal is almost done.”

“Yes dad.” When did he become so bossy? You’re his daughter, not his random employee. You act like everything is alright and just keep your day going. Before heading inside for the race debrief you step in the pitlane and watch the whole Mercedes team outside the garage celebrating the team’s 1-2. Toto is in the side using his phone

Toto Wolff

Hello Tommy, I found out that you designed a dress for Ms. Horner yesterday and I wanted to know whether you have her measurements at hand

Tommy Hilfiger

Hello Toto. First of all congratulations on today’s win. I do have her measurements, I don’t know why you need them though. 

Toto Wolff

Nothing significant, a colleague of mine has the same body type and she wanted a dress for a formal dinner that we will be having today so I thought that maybe I can find something to her size so that she can wear it. 

Tommy Hilfiger

That’s great. Lucky for you, I actually had a second dress made for Ms. Horner’s measurements that she didn’t wear yesterday. It is less formal though, not black tie like the first one was so i think it will match the concept. My fitting team has it at the Hilfiger house in Manama. I can have someone drop it off at the Ritz. 

Toto Wolff

Thank you very much. No worries, I will have someone to pick it up from the store.

Tommy Hilfiger

Glad I helped a friend out. 

The debrief is pretty quick, mostly analyzing the reasons why Max DNFd. PU failure, more details after the engine is sent back to Milton Keynes for further investigation. The team is relatively happy with Checo’s P4. After you are done you pack your stuff and check your phone

Wolff

I will have someone to pick you up from the hotel at 7.30pm.

Take everything you need to be comfortable with you

You 

Where are we going?

Wolff

Dinner, that’s all you need to know

Also request your package when you arrive at the hotel

You 

Package?

Wolff

You’re asking way too many questions

Just do as you are told. 

You read the last message and take everything you left in your office. You drive back to the hotel and as Toto told you you ask for the package.

“It is already in your room Ms.Horner” the receptionist says

As soon as you get in your suite you find a dress hanging from your closet door just like the one yesterday, inside the same Hilfiger case. You open it feeling kinda curious as to why yesterday’s dress is hanging from that door but when you see the dress inside it you smile to yourself. Another design is in the case, a totally different one than yesterday’s but a similar concept to a dress that Tommy was talking about. Toto got it for you just to wear it for tonight. You put on the black dress with a pair of matching pumps feeling like a princess. You fix your hair doing a chignon and you put some makeup on, wearing red lips. Your phone pings with a new notification

Max Emilian Verstappen

You up for dinner ?

You 

Nah, I will be sleeping from early on, I got an important business meeting tomorrow.

You lie to Max but you feel like he’s going to ask so many questions and he’s going to make you feel bad for yourself. He always brings people down but it’s Max. You ignore him and check the time. 7:20 pm. You head to the hotel lobby and outside where Jonathan is waiting for you for the second time today. You get in the car and he drives off but he doesn’t stop

“Where are we going? Isn’t Toto waiting somewhere?” 

“No, we are going to the final destination together.”

Somewhat of 10 minutes later you arrive at the Bahrain International Airport, the private terminal to be exact. The car doesn’t stop at the entrance, instead it goes in the airport area heading to a private jet that you had seen before. 

“Don’t tell me that we are flying” 

“No I just brought you here for fun” Jonathan jokes and he pulls over. 

You get out of the car, thank Jo and walk up the jet’s stairs. You get inside where you see Toto chatting with Mike. 

“Knew it” Toto whispers

“Hello gentlemen.”

“Miss Horner.” Mike says and offers you a hand, you reach for a hug instead, seeing Toto eying you for the move you just did. “Glad to see you again” he says

“My night just got better Mike.” you say winking at him 

“You have a flight to focus on” Toto turns and tells him and both of you stare at the floor. 

“I’ll see you afterwards.” Mike replies and gets back to the cockpit. 

“After you” Toto says and lets you go first in the main cabin. 

You eye the seat that Toto was sitting the last time so you sit there determined to be a brat today. He takes a sharp breath seeing what you just did and takes another seat. 

“Thank you for the dress.” you say

“Tommy had it made alongside the one you wore yesterday, so why waste it?”

“How do you know?” 

“It’s not your job to ask.” he replies

“Where are we going?” 

“Stop asking so many questions.” 

In the next minutes the airhostess locks the door and the jet starts moving. 

“Mr. Wolff, Ms.Horner welcome to our flight from Bahrain to Abu Dhabii. Our flight is predicted to be smooth and our arrival to Abu Dhabi is estimated in 1 hour and 10 minutes from now. Enjoy.” 

“We’re going to Abu Dhabi?” you ask

“December seems so far away and I couldn’t resist my urge to go to Hakkasan. So yeah.”

“What is this?”

“Fine dining restaurant, run by michelin starred chefs”

“Are you serious?”

“I told you I would take you out for dinner.”

“In like a normal restaurant”

“This is a normal restaurant, an exceptional one to be exact.”

“I don’t like fine dining.” you lie

“Did I ask you though?”

“I just said I don’t like it” 

“Then I’ll have someone to buy you a happy meal at McDonalds.”

You don’t react 

“Also I thought you were too impressed from Marko Pierre last December”

“Okay.” is your answer

“Thought so” he replies

For the rest of the flight you completely ignore Toto who has his iPad on the table checking data from the race earlier. He always lectures you for discussing work when it’s not work time but he does exactly the same so you decide to make him slightly angry by going to the cockpit. You stand up, adjust your dress when you feel Toto’s eyes on you. Instead of turning around and going to the toilet as he thought you head to the cockpit and you knock on the door

“Yes?” you hear Mike saying

“Hey Mike, can I come in?” you say

“Of course” By the time he replies you hear Toto standing and coming by your side

“He’s working” he says

“So do you.” 

“Sit down.” he whispers to your ear. You have never seen him this way before. Well you have but you were mostly drunk.

“If you stop working in non-work time I will.” you tell him “Otherwise I am going in. I haven't been in a cockpit while flying in ages, it will be nice to remember how it is.”

“Sit down.” he says once again and you go back to your seat while he follows you. You grab his iPad before he can and you put it in the bag that you brought with you

“This is mine for tonight”

“What are you going to do, spy on us and then go tell papa?”

“Do you really think that about me?” 

“Knowing Christian,yes” 

“Well Christian is a bitch, I am not.” 

“I didn’t say you are” 

“I’d like to think that I am a serious person, not someone that can be told what to do.” you say “Especially in my workplace.”

“I don’t believe that you follow orders, you were born to be the leader.”

“Tell that to Christian. He believes that I am his little employee, that he can boss me around, make me do things. I can decide for myself, you know?”

“Why don’t you talk to him?” 

“Because he's Christian, do you think he will understand?” 

“No frankly, I don’t” he says

“Christian is a bitch. I am pretty sure that I would dislike him if he wasn’t my father”

“You can’t choose your family right?” 

“Right” 

Just on time you hear Mike through the radio

“We will be landing at Abu Dhabi in 5 minutes, take your seats if you haven’t already” 

“Oh we’re here” you say  

Mike lands the plane smoothly but you are off the plane before he opens the cockpit door to greet you. Toto was in a rush, and you assume the young pilot who’s flirting with you is the reason why. After you get off the plane you immediately get on a black shiny Mercedes that has been waiting for you and Toto drives off the airport and to the main streets of Abu Dhabi that you have seen before, coming so many times for the season finale there. Half an hour later you arrive at the Emirates Palace where the restaurant is located and Toto leaves the black Mercedes to the parking valet. You go inside the enormous and glamorous hotel and head towards the restaurant where someone is waiting. 

“We have a reservation for 2, Wolff”

“Of course Mr. Wolff follow me”

The young man guides you to the outside area of the restaurant, a huge balcony with amazing views, everything is perfectly set, the people around you minding their own business, no one recognizing you, thankfully. Toto asks for the menu while people offer you some water.

“What would you like to eat?” 

“I told you I don’t really know a lot about fine dining and especially Chinese, I’ll take what you are having”

“But i don’t know your tastes”

“You should be able to guess them Toto.”

“Okay then.” he says “Should I decide on the drinks as well?”

“Yes please” you say and he reads the menu carefully while you look around you taking the view in. You grab your phone, open the camera app and snap a quick picture of Toto while he’s reading the menu, he notices you but he doesn’t say anything, instead he keeps reading but this time there’s a faint smile on his face. Once he is done choosing he leaves the menu on the table looking at you and then taking in the view around you just like you did before. 

“Can I see my picture?” he asks

“No” you smile

“It’s me in the picture, I can sue you for that”

“And then take me to court to solve the case? Everyone will find out that we were together at this dinner” 

“You are right, I haven’t thought about this” Toto says and you have the ‘I am smarter than you’ face on slightly pissing him off. By the time you get ready to talk to Toto about you being right once again someone from the staff stops by your table

“Should I take your order sir?” he asks

“Of course.” Toto smiles, handing him the menu “We would like one Crispy duck salad, one serving of dumplings and for the main course two Black Truffle ducks.” he shifts his gaze to you and asks “Is the food okay, do you like it?”

“You’ve only ordered it Toto but it sounds good, I’ll let you know when I actually try it” 

“Okay sir, have you decided on the deserts?” 

“No, not yet.” 

“Anything to drink?”

“A bottle of 2016 Meerlust Pinot Noir.”

“Excellent choices sir, exquisite taste.” the man says “Thank you, enjoy” 

Toto thanks the man who leaves the two of you alone in silence. You don’t even know what to say, what to discuss, but it doesn’t feel weird to you, it’s like it was meant to, a relaxing but expensive dinner after an exhausting day, neither of you need to say anything, however you feel like you have to discuss something with Toto at this moment, discuss anything. 

“That’s a really nice place Toto”

“It has become one of my favorite places during the past year. It’s not that we come here on a monthly basis but when I am nearby I feel like I have to come here”

“How did you find out about it?”

“I mean Hakkasan is really famous back in London, Michelin stars as well, but I hadn’t given it a chance until last year after the final race” 

“What about it” you ask

“It’s Lewis’ favorite restaurant in Abu Dhabi and he took us here the day after the race. No one saw us arrive nor leave, we were in the private section of the restaurant since Lewis didn’t want to see any fans”

“You know what, I am really sorry about what happened here last year.” you tell him 

“Us going to the private section?”

“Ugh no Toto. I meant Lewis being robbed of his 8th. I really regret doing that, celebrating the championship.” 

“Are you sure that you are Christian’s daughter?” he jokes

“I am positive.” you say feeling a little bitter, Toto notices immediately and before you can react your appetizers arrive on the table as well as the bottle of wine that Toto ordered. The young man pours some wine in your glasses. 

“Thank you” says Toto and returns to the conversation you were having. “You are so different to Christian, he is always so entitled, he’s afraid to lose, he does anything he can to make other people angry.” 

“How am I different?” you ask and you take a bite from the food that you just got on your plate 

“Let me see” he says and holds his palm up counting with his fingers. “You are not entitled, you are able to recognize other people’s achievements, you are not afraid to lose, and you are not afraid to show your softer side to your opponent”

“I shouldn’t show weakness to any opponent, that’s what our professors used to say.” you reply and take a sip from your wine

“Oh go off, those professors were shit.”

“They were teaching in Oxford Toto, I am sure they know something.”

“I taught at Harvard once, and I say we are all human and we should show our weakness to each other.”

“Thank you professor, I'll keep that in mind”

“You better do” he says and he turns his attention to the food in front of you two. 

You make small talk as you eat the salad and the dumplings, both of you downing easily your glasses of wine pouring another one and another one. Time passes and you finish your appetizers. As soon as the staff notices the empty plates are gone and replaced with your black truffle duck, which looks and smells amazing. Toto is a man of taste and this, this is just another confirmation. 

“Excuse me, can we have another bottle of the same wine?” Toto asks and the person serving you nods in acceptance. 

“Crazy how we already drank the first one.” you laugh 

“As you’ve realized we love alcohol a bit too much, both you and me”

“That’s right” you laugh with slight dizziness coming to your head. Only 2 and a half glasses but you already feel slightly confident. “The wine is good” you comment

“I thought so. Lawrence recommended it.” 

“Lawrence Stroll?” you ask and Toto nods, unable to talk due to his mouth being stuffed with a huge bite of his black truffle duck “Oh, right i forget you rich people have expensive tastes.”

“Your father has a net worth of 50 million, why do you consider me rich and not you?”

“We do have money but it’s not like we’re Stroll or Wolff rich.”

“So you have to be a billionaire to be rich?” he laughs

“You are a billionaire?”

“Yeah. Lawrence has twice as much as I have though”

“And you still did insider trading to get more” you tease him and you take a small bite off your plate

“That’s bullshit, who says we did?”

“It was all over twitter Toto.” you laugh

“Oh, big news for you, I don’t use social media.” he tells you and sips some wine

“I still know that you have a twitter burner.”

He lets out a laugh “That’s a really nice place, and really nice food don’t you think?”

“You are changing the subject” 

“I am because the subject is a joke”

“I am only teasing you Toto” you say and you smile at him

“Well, if you continue to do that I’ll get angry and you’ll have to swim from Abu Dhabi back to Bahrain” 

He’s not going to do that but in any case you stop, you keep drinking and eating until you finish your main course, Toto orders dessert and another bottle of wine. You are now on the third bottle and you feel tipsy. 

“Are you a bit tipsy or am I a lighthead?” 

“No, you’re not, I am tipsy as well” 

“Why did we order another bottle of wine though?”

“Because the night is beautiful, we like drinking quite a lot and we are enjoying ourselves.” he says and you nod 

Next you eat your dessert and drink the rest of the wine making jokes with Toto, seeing a side of him that you’ve never seen. Both of you get a little bit more dizzy than you should and decide to go back to Bahrain. Toto asks for the bill and several minutes later a man brings it to the table

“How much is it?” you ask

“It’s none of your business.”

“You are not paying for all of this.” you insist and reach for your wallet

“I brought you here, it was my choice. My decisions, my rules. Be a good girl and follow them.” Toto reaches for his credit card and pays for your dinner. 

“Thank you Wolff.” you say as you stand up grabbing his arm to steady yourself due to the alcohol dizziness. 

“Pleasure is all mine Horner.” he replies and you leave the restaurant.

You walk to the main lobby of the Emirates Palace and you remember that both you and Toto are drunk 

“How are we getting to the airport?” you ask

“I’ll drive” he says casually as if he didn’t drink 3 bottles of wine with you.

When you hear his words you leave his toned arm and walk to the reception of the hotel. 

“Excuse me, how can I help you?” asks the receptionist.

“I would like a room for 2, just for tonight” you tell her 

“Sea view, garden view or plain?” 

“Sea view please.” you turn to look at Toto who’s just standing by the door looking lost and confused as to why you are taking so long to go back.

“Can I have a name?” she asks

“Horner.” you reply “Can I pay now because tomorrow we’ll probably be in a hurry ?” 

“Of course.” she replies

You take your credit card from your wallet making sure that it’s the one in which Christian has no access so that he won’t be able to track you and ask you where you had been. 

“It's room 344.” she tells you and hands you the key card “Enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you” you reply as you turn and walk to Toto

“What took you so long?” 

“Follow me” you say and you hear him asking you where you are going.

You walk in the corridors of the luxury hotel until you are able to locate the place where room 344 is, Toto is still asking you where you two are going and you stop in front of the room’s door, you slide the card and get in. Toto stands still just outside the door. 

“We are both drunk and you can’t drive in this state. We are staying for the night and we will be leaving early in the morning.” you tell him

“Yes but”

“There are no buts, we are drunk, Mike is probably hooking up with that airhostess of yours and the room is already paid.” you tell him and he gets in the room closing the door behind him. 

The room is really nice with a huge window to the sea and a queen size bed with white and gold sheets, there’s also a desk where you put your bag.

“How much was the room?” Toto asks while he approaches you

“I can’t tell you, my decision, my rules.” 

“You are a pain in the ass.”

“I am only learning from the best Mr.Wolff” you tell him 

“Thought you only trusted Oxford professors.” he replies and you take a step back towards the wall

“I think Harvard professors are closer to my taste.” you tell him and smirk at him

“Oh” 

“Like the way they are teaching, more engaging, makes you wanna follow their advice.”

“I think they really like teaching to their students, answering questions, and giving them examples.” he replies and takes some steps towards you until you are trapped between his tall frame and the wall.

“Wanna know a question I would ask if I had someone who taught at Harvard in front of me? Management related always”

“I’m all ears.” he says and looks right in your eyes as you feel his breath on your face

“How should you react if you really crave your most hated rival who’s just across from you?”

“I feel like I know the answer,” he says and he inches closer and closer. You close your eyes as Toto leans in and kisses you desperately. You kiss him back in the same way feeling the heat between you two as you reach for his neck to pull him closer. 

“If that’s the professor's advice, I’d better follow it.”

“Agreed.” he says 

You lean and kiss him again grabbing the collar of his shirt as he pins you against the wall leaving you no space to breathe his tongue threatening to enter your mouth and he bites your lip. You don’t fight him, you just let him do what he wants, feeling his hand tracing your body. He grabs your thigh moving his hand to your ass while you wrap your leg on his waist allowing him to get closer to you. Your head touches the wall as he leans down and presses kisses to your neck and behind your ear leaving a wet trace and giving you goosebumps. His touch and kisses are soft, desperate and a bit sloppy as a remainder of the alcohol you consumed earlier but he makes you feel like no one ever has. He reaches your collarbone and he leaves a kiss there sucking and biting the area, a soft moan leaving your mouth. Surely this is going to become a hickey that you’ll have to cover up for tomorrow’s meeting but it’s the last thing that concerns you. Toto grabs you like it’s the easiest thing for him and leads you to the bed. You reach for Toto’s shirt, untagging it from his pants and opening the buttons one by one exposing his bare chest and you take a second to catch your breath. He reaches to the back of the dress trying to find the zipper and he realizes it’s on the side of the dress instead.

“You should have asked Tommy where the zipper was” you say slightly out of breath 

Toto gives you a devilish grin “I could have easily ripped it off of you” he replies

You pull him into another kiss as he removes your dress, dropping it on the side of the bed leaving you exposed with your matching underwear set. You hear him cuss under his breath and you try to undo his belt to remove his pants. Once you are both in your underwear Toto looms over you as you lay breathless on the huge bed, his hardness visible in his boxers. He pecks your lips and looks at you in the eye

“Are you okay with this?” he asks and for a while you stop to think. You can imagine the way your face changes because at the same time you look at Toto and you see him frowning at you while breathing. You don’t want to ruin this in any circumstance but you think about it and you reposition yourself on the bed, now sitting instead of laying, still on your underwear.

“No” you tell him softly and he sits down on the bed.

“Did I do something?” he asks looking concerned

“Look, we kissed twice and on both times either one of us was drunk. Now we are both drunk and we are making out but we don’t have the guts to do it while we are sober. I am not having sex with you while we are both drunk, and that’s not because I don’t want to because trust me I really fucking do Toto but we’re not having drunk sex. Not when you haven’t even kissed me while sober.”

“Well I guess you are not wrong”

“And you were supposed to be more mature on such issues” you joke

“I am not in the position to be more mature right now and I am not to blame here” he says looking at you cheekily

“Indeed.” you smile “Can we just sleep instead and wake up and fly to Bahrain tomorrow?” 

“Of course” he says as he stretches to reach one of the two pillows that are on the bed. “You can get the bed” 

“We nearly had sex Toto, I think we can share a bed.” you tell him as you look at him 

“Are you sure?” he asks

“Yes, I will be able to contain myself when I wake up and I am sober, it won’t be the shock you think it will be”

“Okay then.” he says and he lays on the left side as you lay on the right. “Goodnight Horner.” he says

“Goodnight Wolff, thank you for today.” you turn your back at him and the tiredness of the race day takes over as you drift off to sleep 

You hear the faint noise of your alarm going off in the morning and you open your eyes to see your room flooded by sunlight. You think to yourself that it can’t be too early to have so much light and you shift in the sheets while looking on your left. You see Toto and your brain registers what happened yesterday night. You climb off the bed and reach for your bag to turn your alarm off. As you do so you hear Toto moving and you feel a pair of eyes looking at your back. 

“Good Morning” he says, voice raspy from his sleep. 

“Good Morning Mr. Wolff” you say phone in your hands, turning the alarm off. You look at the time. Noon. 

The next thing that pops up is your calendar notification

12:00pm Dinner @CUT by Wolfgang Puck w/ Bahraini Investors 

“Fuck” you say as you realize what is happening. You look around the room panicked trying to find your bag with your clothes and shoes. You need to get out of here as soon as possible

“What is it?” Toto asks

“I am supposed to meet with some Bahraini Investors for lunch at noon” you tell him completely out of your mind “Christian is going to fucking kill me Toto.” 

He jumps off the bed in a rush trying to find his own clothes so that you can leave as fast as you possibly can. “What time is it?” he asks

“Noon.”

“Calm down, UAE is not in the same time zone as Bahrain. You still have an hour.” 

“Toto, the ride to the airport from here is 30 minutes, the flight is another 1 hour and 10 minutes and the ride from the airport to four seasons is another 15 minutes. I am going to be 2 hours late. I am fucking done. Christian is going to kill me.” 

“Get dressed as fast as you can and I’ll figure something out” 

“I am trying Toto, I really am” 

You see him searching on his phone “Mike, we need to leave from Abu Dhabi in 15 and I need the flight to be as fast as you possibly can, is this possible?” you hear him say “It’s already ready? Good. What’s the fastest we can get to Bahrain?” and after some seconds of silence he speaks again “55 minutes works just fine, thank you” 

“How do you plan to get from here to the airport in 15 minutes from now?” you ask

“Like this.” he replies as he has the phone on his ear “Hello, from room 344, is there maybe a helicopter available to Abu Dhabi International Airport?” after a while he says “We’ll be on the pad in 5 minutes. Charge it on the name Wolff. Made a reservation in Hakkasan yesterday, they should be able to give you my information about billing.” 

You look at him impressed 

“Are you done? The helicopter is waiting for us” he says and you look around to make sure that you took everything with you. 

“Yes let’s go” you say and you start walking fast in the corridors of the hotel, five minutes later you arrive at the helicopter pad and you get in and 10 minutes later you are already at the airport and heading to Toto’s jet. You get in and take a seat as Mike comes outside from the cockpit

“Everything alright? Did you enjoy yourselves?” he asks

“Yes ,but Mike it is imperative that we have left in the next 4 minutes” Toto tells him

“Of course sir.” he gets back to the cockpit, locks the door and the air hostess closes the cabin door. Soon after that you take off from Abu Dhabi, your stomach still tied from anxiety. Your leg bouncing as you look outside the window. 

“Stop bouncing the leg, you still have half an hour left.”

“We just took off, we need at least 45 minutes to be in Bahrain plus 15 minutes to go to the hotel and another good 5 minutes to look decent for this meeting. Which makes me 35 minutes late. At a business meeting. A business meeting Toto.”

“I am well aware.” he says “Let me tell you that and then I’ll have to make some arrangements. You look beautiful, the dress is amazing as much as I regret not ripping it off of you yesterday night, go to the toilet and get ready, stop panicking.” he says and you leave your seat with your bag on hand as you follow his advice. You try to get yourself as decent looking as possible and five minutes after you come back. 

“Another helicopter will take you from the airport to the Four Seasons Hotel, the ride will be like 5 minutes max. You’ll get there as soon as humanly possible.” 

“Thank you Toto, you are truly saving me right now, I will need a lot to pay you back.”

“No worries.” 

For the rest of the flight you close your eyes checking your phone occasionally until you feel the jet descending. You check the time. 12:16 already. 16 minutes late. You still feel your stomach tied and also the headache building from all the yelling that Christian will do to you. When the plane lands it’s 12:22. Once the door opens you unfasten your seatbelt and stand up.

“The helicopter is waiting next to the jet.” Toto tells you 

“Are you coming?” you ask him.

“I am not the one in a rush, I’ll drive to the Ritz. You go ahead, I hope you’ll get the sponsorship.” he replies

“Thank you Toto, I am sorry that we didn’t get to enjoy the Emirates Palace more.”

“We have plenty of time.” he says and you wave at him.

You get off the plane and on the helicopter and you fly to your hotel where your father and the investors are waiting for you. Once you arrive there you meet Beth at the lobby, hand her your bag and run to the restaurant. You check the time 12:36. You knew you would be late but now the only thing you can do is just play along and act as if you are not 36 whole minutes late to an important meeting.  You go in and spot the full table. 

“Hello” you say and everyone stands up to greet you. You take the empty seat next to your father ignoring your subconscious that was screaming at you not to because the first thing he does is turn to you 

“This won’t go unpunished. I am pretty sure you will regret whatever you were doing that made you late.”

“What do I have to do ?” you ask

“You won’t have to do anything, you’ll see at the next race weekend.” he smiles. But you know this smile doesn't mean anything good. 

“The gentlemen here were kind enough to wait for you before ordering. Shall we order now?” Christian asks and you nod. 

You take your phone and open it under the table, not wanting to be noticed

You 

Arrived at the dinner a good 36 minutes late, Christian is pissed, the Bahraini guys not so much. 

He even told me the punishment will make me regret whatever I did that made me late

Wolff

Typical Christian, Glad the investors weren’t mad

As a wise man named Daniel Ricciardo said 

No regrets, only memories

On a serious note, I really hope you won’t regret it

You

Danny Ric, being the philosopher we all need

I don’t intend to

Anyways I’ll have to see what the Saudi GP will bring

Wolff

When are you going to Jeddah?

You 

I plan on staying here till Wednesday

Hopefully I’ll have to sign some deals tomorrow 

If today goes well

Wolff 

I am sure you will

So you are not going back to England or Monaco ?

You 

No, I will be flying from Bahrain to Jeddah

Could have done a road trip to Jeddah if you stayed here

I don’t think you would be able to stand me for 14 hours though

Wolff

Flying is more comfortable 

And I am sure I would stand you 14 hours

I know how to handle you ;)

You 

When are you getting to Jeddah?

Wolff

I am thinking Thursday morning or Wednesday night

You 

I guess I’ll see you there

Gotta go the investors are waiting

Thank you for everything :)

Wolff

Always a pleasure

You leave your phone and turn back to the conversation in front of you to try and get the sponsorship. As much as your brain wants to focus on the discussions at hand you keep thinking about everything that’s happening. It is Monday already and it’s a new race week, and when the last one treated you as good as it did, you wonder what this race week has planned for you. 

[princessproductivity]

7 ways to organize your life...

Find a job that allows you to work the same days every week. I work a set schedule with my clients on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and my entrepreneurial ventures allow me to work flexibly around those days so I can arrange my home schedule to my liking 4 days a week.

Create a schedule for the main cleaning, yard care, and bill related tasks. For instance, I wash our bedsheets every Monday, and my husband tackles our yard care needs every other Saturday. Many of these tasks are reoccurring, and knowing when you will do them allows you to make time for smaller tasks that require no schedule.

Set yourself up for success the night before. Prep your coffee maker, set out your clothes, tidy up the house, and clean your kitchen so that breakfast doesn't have to wait on the dishes in the sink! A streamlined, stress-free morning is the start of a stress-free, productive day. Give yourself more time than you think you'll need so you don't need to rush, and have adequate time to prepare for the day ahead.

Stop "living in the now" and start planning ahead. Oftentimes a lack of organization stems from a general lack of preparation. Have a list of goals for your day, week, month, and year. When you feel the urge to scroll mindlessly on TikTok for the next few hours, ask yourself what you can do to accomplish the things on your list instead. In ten years, you won't regret not spending more time on TikTok, you'll regret not spending more time improving your life circumstances.

Control your screen time and dedicate that time to your goals. This will vary from person to person, but you may need to spend more time working out, studying for that next big exam, visiting with your loved ones, working on your business venture, connecting with your faith, etc. These days so many people are addicted to their screens, and it can be a huge hindrance to and distraction from our true ambitions in life. To learn more about how to reduce your screen time, check out my post where I share a few methods that helped me limit my own.

Refuse to see yourself as incompetent. Instead of telling yourself "I'm not the type of person who can start a business," ask yourself, "How can I become the type of person who can start a business?" It is easy to become dismissive of our own abilities over time, and by constantly telling yourself you are incapable you allow yourself to become truly incapable.

Allow yourself to relax. I've fallen into the trap many times, where I feel like I am wasting time if I'm not actively doing something productive every second of every day. While we shouldn't spend all of our time idle, it is fine to sleep in on occasion or take time to unwind and do something just for fun at the end of the day. Not every waking moment needs to be set in stone, and the best way to stay organized in the long term is to allow yourself some grace when you need a break.

A bit about @princessproductivity! What is the 12 week year? 7 ways to reduce your screen time...

[purrincess-chat]

Fashion Faux Paw CH5

Only one chapter left! Tensions are rising in this chapter. Thanks as always to my beta @avrilmaria for putting up with me. The last chapter will be posted on Monday with my second artist’s work, so please be ready to show her some love! I hope you all enjoy~

Read on AO3

Chapter 5

“Girl, wake up!”

Marinette rolled over with a groan, blinking up at Alya kneeling next to her on the bed. Her best friend’s shoulders heaved with each pant, sweat glistening on her forehead.

“What’s going on?” Marinette checked her phone for akuma alerts, but other than a slew of missed calls and texts from Alya, her phone was quiet. “It’s 7 AM on a Saturday. Why are you here?”

“Your blog is on TV!”

Marinette pulled her blanket back over her head, the siren call of sleep weighing her eyelids after a long night of sewing.

“Can we talk about it later?” She yawned.

“M.” Alya yanked the blanket down again and quirked a brow at her.

The gears in Marinette’s brain turned slowly, each word grinding until they broke through the fog. Her blog was on TV? Her blog was on TV?! She shot up, following Alya down the stairs to the living room where she turned on the morning news.

“Almost as viral as a superhero herself, this young collége student’s fashion blog is feline the love. This isn’t the first time Marinette Dupain-Cheng has made headlines, having designed the cover of rockstar Jagged Stone’s most recent album as well as a derby hat featured in world-renowned fashion designer Gabriel Agreste’s fashion show earlier this year. It seems the young stylist is packing yet another celebrity endorsement under her belt, this time in the form of one of Paris’s own superheroes,” the news anchor said. “Dupain-Cheng began uploading photos of Chat Noir to her fashion blog last week, garnering thousands of likes and comments overnight, but the real catalyst driving her success are the recent outfits and accessories inspired by the cat king himself. Fans of the hero are going rabid asking where they can purchase the merch in question. Marinette Dupain-Cheng might only be fourteen, but she’s stitching her name at the top of everyone’s watch list. What else does this trail-blazing teen have in the works? We’ll just have to wait and see what she does next.”

“Girl!” Alya yanked Marinette’s arm with a squeal. “I knew this Chat Noir merch would be big for you!”

Marinette’s phone rang in her hands, a number she didn’t recognize flashing on the screen. Tilting her head to the side, she answered it apprehensively.

“Hello?”

“Is this Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” A woman asked.

“Uh, yeah? Who is this?” Marinette shrugged when Alya quirked a brow.

“My name is Alize Lemieux, the event coordinator for tomorrow’s fashion expo, and we would love for you to display your designs. It would be a great opportunity for you to network with real people in the business,” the woman said.

“For… For real?” Marinette blinked.

“Of course. We have a lot of promising upcoming designers featuring their work, and everyone is talking about you,” Mme. Lemieux said.

Marinette glanced at Alya who took the phone and said, “We’ll be there.”

“Excellent! I look forward to seeing your designs in person, Marinette.” She hung up, leaving Marinette standing stunned in the middle of her living room.

“Girl, this is huge! Real live people in the industry have their eye on you. This is your chance to show them what you’re made of!” Alya shook her shoulders.

Marinette’s lips curled into a smile, an elated squeal bubbling up from her chest. “Will you help me with my display?” She took Alya’s hands.

“Duh, I’m part of your team,” Alya said. “I’ve got your back. Let’s go see what you have.”

The moment she’d been dreaming of since getting her first sewing machine as a child was finally happening! People were taking her seriously as a designer, and she was going to show her work to real industry professionals. Soon she’d be flying all over the world opening boutiques for her brand. She’d fly back to Paris in her private jet, and Adrien would see how amazing and successful she was. He’d be so impressed that she’d finally get the opportunity to ask him to the movies! She owed Chat Noir a thousand croissants for his help.

“-is she okay?”

“I think her head’s stuck in the clouds. She’s been like this for hours.”

Marinette blinked out of her daydream to see Alya and Chat Noir giving her curious looks.

“Chat Noir, when did you get here?” She tilted her head to the side.

“Like five minutes ago, girl.” Alya shook her head, zipping a pink dress into a garment bag. “You’ve been zoned out since you got that phone call earlier. You even almost packed your lunch into a box for the display.”

Marinette gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of her neck. “Sorry. It’s still sinking in.”

“Alya told me you’re going to show off your work at the fashion expo tomorrow. That’s incredible news, Marinette,” Chat Noir said.

“I couldn’t have done it without you. Really, thank you.” She stretched up to hug his neck.

“Tell you what, why don’t I come down tomorrow and model a few things for you live? It’s sure to impress some people, and as the official superhero spokesperson for your brand, I feel obligated to promote you as much as I can,” he said.

“That would be amazing! I’ll pack the mask and ears.”

“Great, then I’ll see you two tomorrow.” Chat Noir gave a two finger salute and took his leave through her skylight.

Marinette patted her cheeks and took a deep breath. Alya was right, she needed to get her head out of the clouds and focus on impressing everyone tomorrow.

“Should we pack any of your Chat Noir stuff?” Alya asked.

Marinette pursed her lips, examining the pile of cat sweaters and skirts, and shook her head. “Nah, I want to show off my regular stuff. The Chat Noir designs are more of a side project, and I want them to take me seriously.”

Alya shrugged and hung another garment bag on the rack. They finished packing everything for the display, and Alya called her sister to bring over clothes for a sleepover. The following morning, with the help of Marinette’s parents, they brought all of the items for her display down to the venue to set up.

Nervous butterflies fluttered in Marinette’s stomach, but she swallowed them down as they arranged her display. She could totally do this. Everyone was going to love her work, and pretty soon she and Adrien would be flying off into the sunset in her private jet and-

“What’s all this?” A tall woman in a fitted green blazer examined a pink dress on a mannequin with a peculiar look.

Marinette recognized her voice from the day before.

“You must be Mme. Lemieux. I’m Marinette, you invited me yesterday on the phone.” She offered a hand for her to shake, but Mme. Lemieux’s eyes were fixed on the items in Marinette’s display.

“It seems there was a bit of a miscommunication,” she said. “When I invited you to present your work, I just assumed you’d bring your Chat Noir pieces to display.”

“Oh…” Marinette deflated. “Well, the cat stuff isn’t what I primarily design. I do a variety of things as you can see, I’ve got-”

“Yes, yes, but no one wants to see variety. We want to see what you’re known for,” Mme. Lemieux said.

“What I’m known for?” Marinette recoiled.

Mme. Lemieux gestured to her display with a dismissive wave of her hand. “The event starts in a little over an hour. Can you swap all of these bland designs out for the Chat Noir line?”

Bland?! Marinette’s jaw clenched, the hammering of her heart burning her chest. As much as she wanted to scream and defend her work, Marinette didn’t want to ruin her chances, so she swallowed her pride.

“Sure,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Excellent. I look forward to seeing your true work.” Mme. Lemieux offered her a smile and disappeared up the aisle.

“Ugh!” Marinette growled when she was out of earshot. “Seriously? They invited me here to show off my stupid cat merch?”

“What’s the big deal, girl? You wanted to show off your work, and you did design all of the Chat Noir stuff.” Alya shrugged.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be known as Chat Noir’s personal stylist! This was supposed to be my moment.” Marinette crossed her arms over her chest.

“And it still will be.” Alya paced over to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s just run home and grab your Chat Noir stuff and get it set up before the event starts, okay? There will be plenty of time in the future to show everyone your other stuff, but right now you’re riding the Chat Noir express.”

“I don’t suppose there’s any chance for me to hop off at the next station?” When Alya gave her a look, she let out a huff. “Fine. We’ll go get the Chat Noir stuff.”

They managed to make the swap in time, but as people flocked to her display, Marinette felt no sense of pride as she fielded questions about what Chat Noir was like (annoying) or what his favorite color was (who cares?). No one was even looking at her designs, and to add insult to injury, her live model was running late. When he finally dropped in from the ceiling, everyone abandoned her to gawk over him.

“Chat Noir!”

“Is Ladybug with you?”

“Are you single?

“Will you sign my face?”

“Whoa!” Chat Noir held up cautioning hands. “One at a time, girls. This cat needs to talk to his purrsonal stylist.”

Marinette crossed her arms over her chest, grinding her teeth together. “How nice of you to finally join us.”

“Sorry, I got a little caught up, but my incredible physique is all yours for the rest of the afternoon.” He flexed a bicep, sending his fangirls into a tizzy of excited shrieks and squeals.

“Great.” Marinette grabbed the nearest articles of clothing from the rack — a green cat jacket and a black kitten skirt — and thrust them at him. “Go put these on.”

“Uhh…” His mask furrowed.

Alya stepped in and linked her arm through his. “I’ve got you. Chat Noir will be back shortly, ladies.”

“Yay.” Marinette rolled her eyes.

She retreated back to her display while Chat Noir’s fans crowded around to await his return. When he reemerged in a green and black biker jacket, pawprint shirt, and dark jeans, his fans went wild.

“Whoa, whoa, back up! One at a time.” Alya forced herself between Chat Noir and dozens of grabby hands. “Single-file, everyone will get a turn to take pictures with Chat Noir.”

Marinette watched them all bounce up to him twirling their hair and batting their eyelashes, asking him what his favorite TV show was or if he and Ladybug were together. They commented on how cute he looked, giggling in delight when he’d flip his hair or strike a pose. Not a single one of them complimented her craftsmanship or even cared about the tiny cat-shaped buttons she’d molded by hand. No one cared about her designs, not even on her blog — they only cared about him. And Marinette had enough.

Squeezing through the throng of teen girls, Marinette tapped his shoulder. “Chat Noir, I need to talk to you.”

“Sorry, but you’ll have to wait your turn like everyone else,” he said, smiling for another picture.

“I don’t think I will.” Marinette yanked his collar to face her.

“Oh, sorry, Marinette. I didn’t realize it was you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Your display is really popular right now, and I’m kind of busy, can we talk later?”

Marinette bit a sharp retort on her tongue, opting instead to say, “No. We’re gonna talk right now.” She took his wrist and dragged him away from the crowd.

“Hey? Where are you taking him? It was almost my turn!” One girl whined.

“Chat Noir is going to model another outfit for you, he needs to change. It’ll just take a minute,” Marinette called, shoving him behind the curtain of her booth.

He looked her up and down apprehensively when she pulled the curtain shut and cocked a hip.

“Uh, are you gonna stand back here while I change or-”

“You’re not changing, dummy!” Marinette snapped, rolling her eyes.

Chat Noir shrank, lips puckering into the perfect pout that she wanted to slap off his face.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

Marinette took a deep breath, forcing her shoulders to relax. “No, I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s just… Today isn’t really going how I thought it would. I was hoping to show off my original designs, but then the event coordinator told me no one wanted to see my real designs. This is all just a lot, and it’s really frustrating.”

“Marinette, you’re worrying about nothing. You made this outfit with your own two hands. It is your original work, and everyone is looking at it!” Chat Noir said.

“No, everyone is looking at you.” Marinette jabbed his chest with her finger.

“I mean, can you blame them? I am incredibly handsome.” He flashed her a smug grin, but she wasn’t in the mood.

“Kittycat? What’s taking so long? I was hoping to get a picture with you.” One of his fangirls poked her head behind the curtain as if to prove Marinette’s point.

“I’ll be out in just a sec!” he called. “I gotta go, but don’t worry. I have this in the bag for you.”

“Oh, do you? How generous,” Marinette said, not bothering to mask the bite in her voice.

“Whoa, hey, I’m just trying to help you out.” He held up defensive hands.

“Help me out or boost your own ego?”

“Here, kitty-kitty!” His fans called.

“Me-ouch! You’ve got a temper to match Ladybug’s. It’s not my fault I’m so popular!” Chat Noir huffed. He pulled back the curtain and waved to his adoring fans.  

Marinette’s nails dug into her palms, cheeks burning hot. Her annoyance bubbled into her throat, poisoning her tongue with red-hot rage.

“You are the most selfish, self-absorbed, egotistical boy I’ve ever met!” she shouted. “You were supposed to be doing me a favor, but all you’ve done is inflate your own big head! I’m tired of making designs with your stupid face on them!”

Chat Noir’s eyes widened, the shock of her words sending a hush over the room, but just as quickly as the words left her lips, Chat Noir’s fangirls turned on her.

“Ugh, she’s just jealous.”

“Yeah, no one would ever look at her ugly designs without you, kitty.”

“She should be thanking you!”

One girl pushed over a mannequin in protest, another ripped a page of unused designs from Marinette’s sketchbook off the wall and crumpled it up. Two girls flipped the table of shirts for sale while another set ripped a sweater in half.

“Whoa, whoa, girls!” Chat Noir attempted to catch another mannequin as it fell. “Marinette worked really hard on all of these, so please just-”

“No, go ahead!” Marinette urged. “Make sure you rip every last stitch!”

“Marinette!” Chat spun on her, eyebrows knitting together.

She pursed her lips when his eyes watered and shook her head. “Just transform and go home. I’m done.”

She turned and stalked off, leaving his rabid fangirls to do their worst. Kicking open the door to the women’s restroom, she locked herself in the nearest stall and rubbed her temples. She should have listened to Alya from the beginning and been more patient. Then her blog wouldn’t be filled with Chat Noir’s stupid fangirls. At least when it was just her friends, the comments came from people who actually cared about her work. Getting attention quickly came with more drawbacks than she anticipated. Why did she ever agree to let Chat Noir model for her? She should have known she’d get buried under his fame.

“M?” Alya knocked on the stall door.

“I’m not coming out.”

“Okay, then let me in,” Alya said.

Marinette pursed her lips and unlocked the door, letting Alya slip into the stall with her before locking it again. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.

Alya looked her up and down, shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry, girl. You tried to tell me earlier that the Chat Noir stuff bothered you, but I didn’t listen. I guess I just didn’t want you to miss an opportunity to get your name out there, but I never considered that this wasn’t the attention you wanted.”

“It’s just so annoying! This was supposed to be my chance to shine, but as far as they all care, he could be modeling a potato sack. No one’s even looking at my designs, and truthfully, I don’t want to look at them anymore either! I never wanted to be Chat Noir’s official brand ambassador.” Hot tears stung her eyes, spilling down her cheeks in streaks.

“Then we’ll start over and put out something you’re proud of next time, okay?” Alya placed her hands on Marinette’s shoulders. “You don’t have to work with him anymore, but I think you owe Chat Noir an apology. When I took him to change into the first outfit, he said he was really happy for you. I know he can be kind of full of himself, but he just wanted to help. I don’t think he ever wanted to upset you.”

Marinette swallowed the lump in her throat and shifted her weight. Alya was right. Chat Noir was a lot of things, but the last thing he’d ever want to do is hurt someone. Even if his theatrics got on her nerves at times, he was a good friend. A good friend that just wanted to help…

“Ugh!” Marinette buried her face in her hands. “I shouldn’t have yelled at him. He probably hates me.”

“He was pretty hurt, but… I think he realized how out of hand things had gotten. We both ran off to look for you. You should go try to find him. I’ll go do damage control at your display,” Alya said.

Marinette wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled. “Thanks, Alya.”

“What are best friends for?” She winked, pulling Marinette in for a tight hug. “Go make things right. I’ve got your back.”

Marinette unlocked the stall and retreated from the bathroom. Alya split off toward the showroom, while Marinette started up the hall. When she rounded the corner, she collided with a soft shirt, stumbling back. Gentle hands caught her as she scrambled to find her footing, and Marinette found herself looking up into woeful green eyes bordered by a black mask.

“Hey!” She blinked.

“Hey…” He steadied her, then let his hands fall back to his sides.

She bit her lip. He shifted his weight, and silence stretched between them as neither one knew quite what to say.

“I’m sorry!” They finally blurted at the same time.

Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have blown you off when you told me you were upset. I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Marinette said. “You were trying to help, and I lost my cool. I guess I was just jealous that everyone cared about you more than me.”

“You had every right to be mad. Today was supposed to be a big opportunity for you, and I let all the attention go to my head. I didn’t mean to steal your thunder. Will you forgive me?” He hung his head like a scolded kitten.

“Only if you forgive me. I shouldn’t have yelled at you and said such hurtful things,” she said. “Are we cool?”

He nodded, a smile breaking over his lips. He pulled her in for a tight hug, but just as her shoulders relaxed, Chat Noir flipped her to the ground, narrowly dodging a cat-shaped throwing star.

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

Sunday Mornings

Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing:  Remus Lupin x Reader, Remus Lupin x You

Characters: Remus Lupin, You

Word Count: 1133 // Rating: Mature

Summary: How Reader & Remus spend their Sundays

Tags/ Warnings: My writing, Remus Lupin, You, Reader, Remus Lupin x Reader, Remus Lupin Fic, Harry Potter Fic, Cuddling, Cuddling In bed, Angst, Fluff, Canon Character Death, Character Death, Post Battle of Hogwarts, Grief

Notes: I'm editing all my old worlds to avoid my problems

Sundays were by far your favourite day of the week. No responsibilities, no rushing, just relaxing. Your job at the bookshop in Diagon Alley kept you busy 6 days of the week and left virtually no time for a life. But Sundays, Sundays were your days. Last week, for instance, you awoke as you usually did to sunlight streaming through the window. The curtains had made a feeble attempt to block the harsh light from waking you. You had raised your head bleary-eyed and looked at the clock. 7:34 AM. Far too early to get up yet, in your opinion, and so you turned your body to face the other way. As you did this your face had rolled into the crook of an arm and your head came to rest below a lightly stubbled chin. An arm had snaked its way down your back and a hand had come to rest on your hip.

'Morning,' Remus had mumbled quietly, not really waking, whilst adjusting himself to the new position. You had smiled and closed your eyes, drifting back off to sleep. When you awoke again it was late morning. You found that you hadn’t moved, though this time Remus had wrapped both his arms around you. You looked up into his face to find him looking down at you. The sunlight wasn’t as harsh as before but it gently cascaded across his face highlighting the lines and scars that aged him greatly. He had smiled and said, 'Morning.' 'Morning,' you smiled back. Yawning you asked, 'Were you watching me sleep again?' 'No' Remus said sincerely, though a smile had tugged at his lips. 'You know it’s weird, right?' 'I disagree…. it’s peaceful. Soothing.' 'Weird. Creepy,' you argued back playfully, swatting his chest. Remus sighed and rolled his eyes.

You’d had this argument a million times before. Every Sunday you’d wake to find him watching you sleep. You’d tell him it was creepy, that normal people didn’t just watch people sleep and he’d argue right back. Rolling his eyes and he pretended that you had changed his mind even though you knew you hadn’t. Honestly, you didn’t even mind it that much it had just become routine by now. You knew it reassured him, he’d lost everyone in his life so just having you close, and watching you sleep made him feel better. He knew you were safe and it comforted him.

Sometime later you had both agreed that you couldn’t stay in bed any longer and had gotten out of bed. You pottered into the bathroom to shower whilst Remus went downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast. He was sweet like that, and also you were a terrible cook. Ten minutes later you descended the stairs and entered the kitchen to find scrambled eggs on toast and a cup of tea waiting for you. Remus had sat at the table occasionally nibbling at a piece of toast whilst buried behind Saturday’s copy of the Daily Prophet. After breakfast, both of you started to tidy up the house. Washing up and laundry was usually top of the list, as you had little time to do it after work and Remus was constantly busy with the order. It didn’t take long and it made you laugh to hear Remus singing to the radio. You had watched him from the doorway as he folded sheets and clothes gently swaying his hips and singing softly. Like most times he’d caught you and forced you to join in.

Lunch was missed due to getting up late and the two of you had headed out for the day. The order was quiet on Sundays usually but on occasion, a meeting would take up most of your day. On that day you’d decided to head into town to shop, but sometimes you would travel up to a wizarding town like Hogsmeade and spend the day around the shops or in the pub. Sundays near the full moon were mostly spent in bed. Usually, food was ordered in and eaten in bed whilst watching TV.

At dusk, you had decided to head for home. Remus had cooked whilst you flicked through the channels trying to find something to watch before deciding to put on a film instead. Before you two settled down on the couch Remus nipped to the corner shop and replenished his chocolate stash so you could stuff yourselves whilst watching TV. Near the end of the film, you’d felt Remus’ breathing slow and had gently got raised yourself off him and got up. You’d moved the chocolate wrappers and glasses from the coffee table and headed to the kitchen. Throwing the wrappers away, and rinsing the glasses you’d padded back to the living room to switch off the TV. Once you came back in Remus stirred. He stretched and rubbed his eyes. You offered your hand to help him and once upright he pulled you into a hug. Resting your forehead on his you closed your eyes. His lips brushed yours and you sighed. Opening your eyes you led him upstairs where both of you changed for bed. Climbing under the covers your bodies found each other. His arms came around you, his lips pressing a kiss on the top of your head.

'I love you Y/N,' he’d murmured.

'Love you too,' you’d replied before going to sleep.

Sundays were your days. But now it was different. Today would be different.

Yes, you would wake to the harsh sunlight streaming through the curtains but when you rolled over there would be nothing but cold sheets. You wouldn’t lounge around in bed, but instead, you would get up quickly and head to the shower. On autopilot would wash and dress before heading downstairs to make breakfast that would be composed of soggy toast and a cup of tea.

After this, you would start the chores with laundry and washing still the top priority. Except now they would be done in silence, and when you’d put clothes into the wardrobe you’d linger for a minute or two, allowing his scent to wash over and tears to silently run down your face. After composing yourself you would head out. You found that the longer you were in the house you sadder you became so you would head to a friend's house or the burrow to surround yourself with people. You liked this, it helped you to space out, forcing you not to think of him. It also helped you to be with people who understood

Eventually, very late in the evening, you would inevitably head home. Tired you climbed into bed, longing for sleep, but you knew you would find yourself staring at the ceiling, allowing the sadness to wash over and the tears to flow freely.