#the whole way he shows how marc works on ‘it’s not who you are. it’s what you do.’

[midgardian-witch]

Pretty Boy

Steven got all dolled up to show how good he is for you. Inspired by this post.

tags: established relationship | dry humping | coming in pants/underwear | lingerie | finger sucking | nipple play | light Dom/sub | sub!Steven | Dom!Reader | genderneutral reader

ships: Steven Grant/Reader (and some Marc Spector/Reader on the side)

word count: 2k words

AN: Thank you to @winniethewife for being my beta reader for this. But most importantly: Happy Birthday to @femmeanonymelives who encouraged me to finally finish this fic 💙

AO3

"I haven't even touched you and you're already so worked up, baby," you coo as you watch your boyfriend hump the pillow between his legs. Steven answers you with a soft whimper, cheeks flushed and eyes already glassy as his hips begin to stutter at your words. 

You can't suppress the delighted chuckle that bubbles up in your throat. Steven is a sight to behold. Your darling boy had picked out a set of breath-taking lingerie to surprise you with. And surprise you he did. The gorgeous satin barely covers his straining erection and peaked nipples, his panties already damp and darkened by the inhuman amount of precum leaking from his cock. The stockings held up by a garter belt were a lovely addition to the set. Steven looks truly divine and you can't wait to absolutely ruin him and his underwear. 

You sit on the other side of the room, patiently watching Steven rut against the pillow haphazardly squished between his legs. He's barely holding himself upright, his fingers digging into the sheets, his pecs pushed out to show off the cute bra he put on just for you. 

It occurs to you how ironic it is, the sweet and usually so soft spoken Steven putting on a show for you and even dressing up like the cute little slut he really is. It takes all your willpower not to reach out to him, to push the sweat-soaked hair out of his face and caress his heated skin. 

Steven's soft panting and hiccups are music to your ears. You watch him swallow hard so as to not drool all over himself and his new lingerie. 

"Am I-...Am I doing good?" 

You're pulled out of your reverie by Steven's hesitant question. He still hasn't stopped grinding against the pillow, looking at you like a lost puppy. The way his whole body quivers in anticipation makes you smile. 

"You're doing so good, baby" You coo, your eyes raking over him like a prized possession. "You can go a little faster for me, can't you?" Your voice is saccharine, a demand disguised as a question. Eager to please, Steven nods frantically. "Yes! Yes I can go faster," he responds before quickening his pace. You watch him hump the off-white pillow more forcefully, his needy cock peeking out from the pretty panties, the piece of clothing no longer able to keep his length contained. A slow but steady stream of precum leaks from the tip, smearing messily onto the pillow cover. 

Seeing Steven so desperate arouses you faster than you had expected. Gently, as not to distract him, you shift where you sit and spread your legs just enough for your hand to slip between your thighs. Shamelessly you tease yourself, touching your most sensitive parts to the sight before you. 

Lost in pleasure it takes Steven a moment to notice you touching yourself. With a high-pitched whine his hips stutter. As he leans forward, squinting his eyes, to get a better look, he almost loses his balance in the process, too eager to get even just a glimpse of your arousal. 

"Did I tell you to stop, baby?" 

His eyes go wide, like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "N-No. I'm sorry. I just-" 

"I didn't ask for an explanation. Just keep going and look pretty for me," you sigh with your hand still pleasuring yourself. His eyes are fully focused on the way your fingers move. The slick sound of your own touch makes his mouth water. 

"Please, please can I-..." 

“Use your words, baby. What do you want?”

“Please, can I taste you?”

You hum thoughtfully, your hand still busy between your legs as you mull over his plea. You’ve trained Steven well, taught him all the ways he can make you see stars with his lips and tongue alone. You know it would feel amazing to have his face buried between your thighs, having him drink from you like a fountain. But you don’t want this to be over that quickly. You want to see Steven squirm, to hear him beg until his voice is hoarse, edge him until he’d come with just your breath caressing the head of his cock. You shake your head and Steven’s shoulders slump in response. 

His hips jerk and Steven whines, precum leaking steadily from his pretty cock. You should have put up a camera so you could rewatch this again and again. You're sure Steven would let you. Maybe another time. 

“So pretty for me, baby. Doing so good,” you croon, your praise going right to his head and making him feel dizzy. His rhythm falters, his hips moving back and forth erratically. His legs tremble underneath his own weight, even his toned muscles fighting to stay in this position for a long time. 

Shaky moans and soft grunts fill the air as you watch beads of sweat slowly rolling down from his temple down to his neck and getting caught in the thin fabric of his bra. As you watch the spot darken with the moisture your gaze trails down to his hard nipples tenting the bra. You have the sudden urge to touch, to walk over and run your fingers over the sensitive peaks, to lean over and grasp them between your teeth. The urge is so strong you have to bite your lower lip in a desperate attempt to calm yourself. But it’s no use.

You’re up from your seat and over at the bed before you are even conscious of your own actions. Steven looks up at you with glassy eyes, mouth hanging open, gasping softly, waiting for what you will be doing next but still grinding his twitching cock against the almost ruined pillow. He looks so pretty it hurts - your pretty boyfriend all dressed up and aching for you. You reach out towards him and gently grab his chin, your thumb softly pressing on his lower lip. 

“My gorgeous little pet,” you whisper as you lean down to look deep into his eyes, “You’re perfect, you know that? Simply perfect for me.” Steven opens his mouth further in response, his tongue peeking out sheepishly. With a smile you slide your thumb into his eager mouth and watch his eyes slip shut in bliss as he sucks on it. 

“My pretty boy, do you want me to touch you?”

He whimpers around your digit, nodding his head quickly. Your grin widens as he caresses your thumb with his tongue.

“Tell me where, pretty boy.”

Steven opens his eyes slowly to gaze up at you. He looks conflicted - stuck between wanting to keep sucking on your finger and telling you where else he wants your hands. But you're merciful. So he doesn't have to suffer by having to make a decision himself, you gently slip your thumb from between his lips, wiping it clean on his cheek after. 

As soon as his mouth is empty he starts pleading with you. “Please touch me! I don't care where just– please I need your hands on me,” he begs, his voice raspy and hoarse. You click your tongue at him in mock disapproval, “You don't care where, hm?” Teasingly you caress his cheek with just the tips of your fingers, trailing down his neck and shoulders. He keens, his hips jerking against the pillow, the wet stain on his pretty panties growing bigger and darker. “Is this enough, baby? Since you don't care where I touch you?” He shakes his head violently, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. 

“Then use your words, love. Where do you want my hands?” Your fingers linger over his collarbone. “Here? Or do you want me to go lower?” Not waiting for an answer your fingers follow an invisible path downward, skimming the edges of his bra. “Want me to play with your pretty tits, darling?” Words failing him, Steven whines and nods eagerly, pushing his chest out, eager for your touch. Carefully you pull down his bra, just enough to expose his hard nipples, the straps hanging uselessly off of his shoulders. 

You reach forward and gently squeeze his pecs before drawing slow circles around his nipples with your thumbs. He’s so responsive, his hips twitching forward, fucking into the pillow, with every little touch. You pinch, squeeze and flick his nipples with just enough pressure to ride that sweet line between pleasure and pain. His nipples are flushed, the rush of blood making them stand out even more against his tan skin. You could do this for ages, just playing with those sensitive peaks while Steven writhes and moans beneath your touch.

“Please- oh stars- I’m so close,” Steven sobs, “I can’t- I can’t stop.”

You wanted to draw this out even longer, edging yourself and him until neither of you can take it anymore. But you know by the sound of his voice, the way his body trembles and by the quite impressive amount of pre-cum ruining the pillow he is grinding against that Steven has reached his limit.

“It’s alright, baby. You’ve been so good for me. Such a pretty boy,” you tell him sweetly, “You can come. Come for me, Steven.”

He breathes out a short thank you and fucks into the pillow with abandon for a few more seconds until he comes with a drawn out moan. His aching cock twitches violently, ropes of cum painting himself and the pillow, finally ruining the cover completely. You watch him come undone, his head thrown back as he pants for air. It takes a few moments for him to come down from his high. You lean forward to kiss his neck, whispering words of praise into his skin. 

His breathing slows and he leans his head against yours. “That was amazing,” he sighs, his smile audible. You agree with a soft laugh. Your gaze trails from him to the mirror next to the bed. There you see the full aftermath of your playtime. The sight takes your breath away: your boyfriend flushed and slick with sweat wearing a now ruined pair of lingerie, his cock still poking out from his panties. “Look at you, baby,” you gasp in awe. Steven's brow furrows and he follows your gaze to the mirror. His eyes widen as he sees what you had been admiring the whole time. Heat rises in his cheeks, reality hitting Steven now that excitement and arousal are no longer clouding his thoughts. “Oh dear, that's– wow I don't–,” he stammers, suddenly embarrassed, “I mean, I should probably take this off before-” 

You watch his eyes go unfocused in the mirror. The languid lines of his back grow taunt and you can feel the energy shift in the room. He looks down at himself, torn and cum-stained lingerie barely covering his intimate parts. 

“What the- Steven! What are we wearing?!” he hisses under his breath. 

You snort, surprised yet amused by the sudden switch. He flinches and turns to you like he only just noticed you next to him. Your eyes roam over his body, watching him hungrily. Marc swallows hard. “As I was about to tell Steven: You look good. Very good.”

His cock twitches, already eager to grow hard again. You should probably thank Khonshu later for their inhuman refractory period. 

You reach out and grab his chin, tilting his head to the side so he can look into your eyes. “Marc,” his name drips from your lips like honey, ”Don't be embarrassed.” He swallows hard, nervous energy mixing with the stirrings of renewed arousal. You pull his face closer towards you and catch his lips in a short but sensual kiss.

As you part again you whisper to him, “Let me show you how much I enjoy seeing you in this,” and push him down onto the bed, straddling his thighs. Marc looks up at you with the same needy look Steven had given you before and simply nods, words failing him. 

“Very good. Just lay here and look pretty.”

[xmalereader]

Moonknight x Shifter! Male Reader

☆— MASTERLIST — ☆

Requested: can i request a fic that's more of a headcannons post than a fic? i really love the way you write the moon knight boys and was wondering how'd they react to a protective shifter!reader who's usually quite calm and reserved(maybe a wolf just for the irony of wolves being sorta synonymous with the moon)? maybe in a world where shifters are starting to be accepted but some people are still jerks. kind of a "three times reader protected the boys and the time they returned the favor" sorta thing. if all three is too much though i totally understand, im okay with just one, your pick. whatever your schedule allows for ❤️ sorry if this is hard to understand it's a fever at 4am kinda night but i couldn't pass up the chance to make a request lul love your writing! hope you're doing well! i wish you good writing thoughts and dexterous typing times 🫡

CONTENT/WARNINGS: Fluff, slight angst, request, Steven is a sweetheart and Jake is scary while Marc is trying, short, headcannons, reader is a shifter, werewolves, society differences.

WC: 1.5k

TAGS: @luci-the-brat-boy

NOTES: I apologize for the long wait on making this request I’ve been busy on my end but I’ve finally got the time to get these completed! Thank you for enjoying my moonknight shots, writing these characters can be a bit tricky since they all have different personalities but I was able to make it work! I did make a few changes so hopefully it’s still good!

Shifters were still new to society and not many have grown used to them due to the fear of getting hurt one day if they were to shift in front of them and perhaps hurt them or kill them. Each shifter was different and due to their existence, laws were established in order to keep a balance between shifters and none shifters, but the laws didn’t really stop the hate that some people carried for them.

Steven Grant:

Steven didn’t think he’d end up dating a shifter, let alone one who shifts into a wolf the size of a car. He was shy at first since he was new to the whole shifting when it came towards his partner.

After a few dates Y/n grew comfortable in showing Steven his new form, taking things slow with the man since he was always so nervous around him until months of dating he’s grown used to him. Steven had also told Y/n about his DID and about Marc and Jake, giving him very little information about them expecting his partner to pry for more information only to reassure him that he doesn’t have to force himself.

After their confession they continued on with their dating life like normal. Until Y/n started to notice the way that Steven is treated at the museum, each time he paid him a visit he noticed how rude his manager was being to him, making him growl in anger by how to orders Steven around and makes him do the extra work while she sits back and does nothing.

Y/n knew how much Steven loved his job, but there were times that he couldn’t help but interfere with the situation.

It didn’t take long for him to track down Steven's mangers and corner them in an empty hallway, whispering them threats on treating their employees with respect and to not treat them as slaves, frightening the poor women.

“Treat them like slaves again and I’ll hunt you down on the next full moon.”

Lets just say that Steven stopped receiving bad treatment after that which only left him a bit confused and oblivious to the matter.

Y/n was always protective of Steven due to his innocence and oblivious state at times. Every time someone looked at him wrong or stopped his ancient Egypt mid rant he’d slowly turn to the person to give them the stink eyes as if saying, “how dare you stop him from talking about what he loves?!”

He had scary dog privileges…literally.

The first time that Steven actually lost it was when one of their neighbors caught Y/n coming back home from a full moon with Steven next to him. His wolf form looking a little smaller as he padded next to him quietly and tried to regain his thoughts after last nights events only for their snotty neighbor to step out into the hall and scold Steven for keeping a “mutt” around.

Y/n was close to turning around and snapping his jaws at the neighbor in order to scare them only for Steven to step in between them while glaring at the man angrily. Steven was already tired from chasing after his partner through the streets and making sure he wasn’t causing any trouble all night and his neighbors comment was his last straw.

The shifter had never seen Steven so upset, using every cuss word he knows to call the neighbor out, pointing a finger at him and jabbing them in the chest. It caught both shifter and neighbor by surprise until Steven finally cooled down and opens their door to allow them inside.

Once inside Steven slams the door behind him and leans his back against it with his face buried in his hands. Y/n had approached Steven slowly, still a small wolf and whining softly to get the man’s attention only for Steven to drop his hands and look at his partner in horror.

“Did I just do that? Oh god I’m gonna have a heart attack.”

Steven had never blown up like that before that even he was surprised by his outburst that night.

Marc Spector:

Marc wanted to scold Leon for picking a shifter as a boyfriend. Marc didn’t hate shifters he just didn’t know much about them to actually trust them yet, so when he finds out that Steven got himself a shifter of a boyfriend he couldn’t help but be a bit cautious around him.

Y/n didn’t spend much time around Marc since the man refused to be around him when it was his turn to take over the body. The shifter wanted to ignore him and let him do as he wanted, only to end up following Marc secretly whenever he went out.

The two didn’t get along quiet yet, but Y/n is still overprotective of the two of them. Yes, they share the same body but he can’t help but feel like he needs to be there to protect them both.

Only Marc doesn’t need protection he knows how to take care of himself and stick up for others, so the first few times he caught Marc being defensive or fighting back he couldn’t help but find the man quiet attractive.

Marc was perhaps the one who could actually make him blush whenever they spent time together back in Steven’s flat. Even when Marc returned back home stressed and upset, Y/n already knew how to help the man distress by shifting into his wolf form and lying on his back across Marc’s lap and letting the man scratch his belly or bury his face into his warm fur while groaning in frustration as if someone would do to a pillow. Y/n enjoyed cuddling with Marc during his full moons when he’s stuck in his wolf form for long hours of the night.

Y/n was in the cities office when he was first called out for being a shifter while renewing his passport due to Marc wanting to take them on a trip. A few strangers were waiting around for their turn and due to Y/n being a shifter he was first priority since he went through a longer process in getting a renewal which pissed off a lot of people.

Only for Marc to shout at them to shut up and reminding them the laws between humans and shifters and how not everything is fair between them, giving them a deadly glare that made them back off.

Y/n can’t help but crack a small smile when hearing Marc’s words as he focused on his passport renewal.

Jake Lockely:

It was harder for Y/n to get along with Jake since he acted like the silent but deadly brother between the three. He found Jake intimidating that he was perhaps the first person to actually make him tuck his tail between his legs.

Jake didn’t need protection and Y/n knew that since he’s seen the man beat another human to near death until he stopped him from going to far. Y/n didn’t know about Jake until one night when he noticed a change of smell in Steven and Marc’s scent, realizing that they weren’t the only ones.

Jake was suppose to be a secret, hiding in the shadows as he watched over Marc and Steven. Only the cab driver didn’t really need to protect them since they had a shifter by their side, but that didn’t mean Jake couldn’t keep an eye on him too.

Their first night together was awkward for them since Jake rarely spoke and Y/n was too afraid to ask him questions without getting the man angry. It didn’t take long for Jake to notice this that he finally decides to speak up, asking questions that’ll get him closer to the shifter.

They only spent time together during late nights when Steven and Marc are sleeping and Jake is able to take full control. Giving Y/n a chance to join him on his nightly trips and sitting next to him on the passenger seat while talking.

It didn’t take long for Jake to warm up to the shifter, not realizing that Jake had added him to his list of people to protect. Even though Y/n can shift into a large wolf, big enough to kill anyone on sight, Jake still decided to take the roll of taking care of the shifter too.

Y/n first witnessed Jake defending him when he was helping a man into the cab from a club, drunk off his ass while the shifter gets him inside the back seat. What he didn’t realize was the group of men lurking around the club, clearly drunk as they whistled at him, trying to get his attention which he ignored.

That was until one of them had the balls to slap his ass filling him with shock and ready to strike the man down, but when turning around Jake was already doing that for him.

Jake was filled with rage as he slams his fist into the man’s face over and over again. The others tried to pry Jake off, but he was faster than them, kicking their asses and forcing them on their knees and apologizing to the shifter.

Y/n could only stare at Jake with wide eyes as the men whimpered out their apologizes to him.

[eclairfromleclerc]

Hello people! It’s been a while since my last chapter but the writer’s block was humongous and I kept pushing myself to write the next chapter. It is another long one, almost 25K words. Please excuse me for my long ass absence and stay with me for the rest of the story! I hope you’ll enjoy the newest part and I can’t wait to see your opinion and comments on it. Take care. Until the next one <3 xx

All’s Fair

(Toto Wolff x Reader!Horner) Chapter 9

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8

Monaco has the best sunny days in the whole world. You’ve loved going out under the Mediterranean sun every time your family visited Monaco when you were young. Now laying on the couch that you’ve spent almost all of your summers on, you see the light entering the apartment. Music plays in the background as your friend Sara is making coffee in the kitchen and you are laying in her living room as you’ve always done. 

After the victory celebrations on Sunday you left the track and flew straight back to Nice. Your childhood friend Sara picked you up and you’ve been staying in her family’s house in Monaco for the past 2 days. Those days passed by with your usual activities. Having coffee in the casino square, going out clubbing, cooking, gossiping and in general doing girly things. As soon as you arrived in Monaco you visited the apartment that Sara proposed and booked it right away as you had already asked for your belongings to be moved to Monte Carlo. The only thing left for you to do is to move all of those things to the apartment. The thing about being in Monaco is that now you are able to show the world where you are. During the past weekend there was just speculation about where you actually were. You had managed to place yourself in Monaco with some instagram posts but no one knew (well except for Toto and Lewis) that you still were in Jeddah.

“Sweetheart coffee is ready.” Sara yells from the kitchen 

“Bitch I don’t drink coffee” you answer “You haven’t seen me in a month and you already forgot?” 

“Shut up, I made you your Earl Grey just how you like to drink it” she says and you’ve already made your way to the kitchen 

“Thank you idiot” you tell her

“You’re welcome, your majesty,” she says, mocking you for your tea preferences. You sit down opposite to her and start drinking your tea. “So” she interrupts the silence “Do you remember Marc?” she asks 

“Marc who?” you ask

“Marc Taylor.”

“S, are you serious? Are you asking me if I remember the guy I had a crush on for ages?” you ask her

“Well you’ve met a lot of people since you started working in F1 and I genuinely thought you forgot him” she says “Anyways, he saw the story I reposted from yesterday night  at Jimmy’z and replied to it. He asked me if we wanted to join him today.” 

“Join him where?” you ask intrigued

“He will be having a brunch party at his yacht.” she says trying to hype it up 

“Ugh, I’m not sure I want to see so many people.” you say 

“Come on Horner, it’s going to be so great. We haven’t had a brunch party at a yacht in ages, the last time we did was when you graduated.” she pauses “Plus he told me not to hype it up, the only people there will be his friend group.” 

“Marc’s friend group is 15 people. I am only willing to see 5.” 

“Why are you acting like a 65 year old with depression, come onnn.”

“Because my job drains me to the point that I just want to stay at home with a cup of tea and read a good book. I am with people every day and during the weekend I am chased by cameras and fans.” you tell her as she looks at you mockingly “I know, I know. I chose this life and to be frank I love the whole fame,chase and clout that comes with it. But during my non-race weekends, I need to have a detox.”

“You had your whole week off, enough paddock detox, enough people detox. What were you doing in Jeddah? Meditating, visiting the four seasons’ spa, drinking coffee, eating expensive meals. That’s enough, now we get to party.” 

Little does she know that you weren’t actually meditating, not visiting spas, not even staying at a four seasons’ but at a Ritz. You take a look at your best friend as she puts on her puppy eyes. 

“Pretty please.” she says and she crosses her hands as if she’s begging “Do it for me Horner, it’s going to be fun. It’s part of your new life after all. People here in Monaco have brunch yacht parties really often, so you better get your ass ready. We are going.” she says.

You shrug in response, but actually get up from the chair and go to the guest room where all of your belongings currently are. You open your suitcase and take out the sundress you wore the day you and Toto went for coffee together and match it with a pair of Hermes sandals. The weather is now sunny in Monaco and you actually love how it is a great mix of sun, breeze and heat. You put on some makeup and style your hair as loosely as you can, you’re going to be in the sea after all. Later both you and Sara leave the house and go to the location that Marc dropped a pin on. You can hear people talking from the other side of the yacht, the one that faces the Mediterranean. You quickly jump on the platform on the back of the yacht and walk up to the place where everyone’s sitting. 

“Hello everyone.” you say and you see Marc standing up approaching you. Sara is just behind and she waves everyone but doesn’t get any closer to you. Marc comes to your side and hugs you. 

“Miss Horner.” he says in awe “It’s been a long long time hasn’t it?” he asks 

“It has. Thank you for the invitation.” you say “We brought a little something.” you say and you hand him the bottle of Dom that you’ve been holding. 

“It’s really no big deal, I wanted to see you and Sara so I just texted. Thanks for the Champagne.” 

By the time both of you stop interacting, Sara is already sitting on the table and speaking to everyone. You take a seat, far from her in the only two empty chairs and Marc emerges shortly after to take the seat next to you. Without asking he starts filling your plate. 

“You should definitely try the Croque Madame, it’s a miracle.” he says and you smile at him 

“I will, thanks.” you reply as you register his existence next to you. He’s the most charming guy you’ve met, well less than Toto but to be frank, you can see why you were heads over heels with him. At that moment you decide to snap a photo and text Toto.

You 

[Photo]

Much earned gift for my last week’s performance

Wolff

You better recharge, I want you on your A level in Baku. 

[Photo] 

The weather here is freaking awful, I miss Monaco. 

You 

Wait, you actually know how to send pictures? Monaco is amazing today. You should have been here.

Wolff

Replying: Remember who gives you access to the paddock. 

If I were there you wouldn’t be in that yacht right now.

You 

Toto behave, you’re at work. 

Wolff

I’m at a business meeting and I hate those so why not distract myself with some other thought. 

You 

Because I’m so hot you’re going to embarrass yourself. Gotta go now, I've got a whole yacht waiting for me

Wolff

I don't blame them. Have fun, just not too much ;)

You laugh at Toto’s texts as Marc watches you at the same time 

"Are you bored of us" he asks

"No, I just have to text someone" you reply 

"Red Bull keeps getting you busy I see?" he asks 

"Actually, I am not in Red Bull for the time being, I am just enjoying myself  and I am actually moving here next week" 

"Great decision to be honest. Monaco could use a distraction." He says 

"So I've been told" you tell him

"By whom?" he asks and you realize you cannot possibly talk about Toto with him 

"Just a good friend" you laugh 

“ah one of those best friends, I get it" he says and you nod not showing any emotion at all over what it meant

“Are you enjoying yourself in F1?” he asks trying to start conversation with you

“I am. It is a space I’ve grown up in and I already knew everyone as well as everyone knew me. There’s nothing different as to what I’ve lived up to now except for the fact that I have a little bit more screen time than I used to have 5 years ago.” 

“Well 5 years ago I used to see you almost every week and now I have to watch F1 to see you.” he says

“You watch F1 now?” 

“I always watched F1.” he says 

“I’m pretty sure you’ve only watched the Monaco Grand Prix.” 

“Until this year.” he replies “Plus I have a really good reason.” 

“What’s the reason? Max’s racecraft?” 

“Nah, you are” he says and you freeze temporarily

“I’m flattered.” 

“I meant it as a compliment so you should be.” he tells you and he looks at you with a flirty look and you turn to look at Sara who is already too invested in her conversation with Marc’s friend, Tristan. 

The rest of the brunch party goes on in a pretty similar way. Marc keeps flirting with you and Sara is way too busy to come to your rescue. At some point the yacht leaves Monaco and sails in the Mediterranean for two or three hours while all of you party on the deck. Now the sun is setting down the horizon and you return back to the harbor of Monaco and the party has already winded down so you find yourself sitting on a chair sipping your last glass of champagne. Sara is nowhere to be seen, probably too busy making out with Tristan on the inside of Marc’s yacht since they’ve been missing for the last 45 minutes or so. The chair opposite to you is empty but not for long. As soon as Marc spots you he leaves his friends and comes to your company. 

“Did you enjoy the party?” he asks

“It’s been a while since I partied like this but I loved it. Now relaxing with a glass of champagne is the must thing to do.” 

“There’s plenty of space inside if you want to lay down for a while.” he tells you

“I think the space might be occupied by our friends and as close as I am with Sara today isn’t the day that I want to listen to her having sex with your best friend.” you laugh

“The yacht has 6 cabins. I very much doubt all 6 of them are taken.”

“6 cabins huh? The Taylors really have given it some thought before spending money on this yacht.”

“Yeah, my mom insisted. But hey, that’s why we’re working our asses off every day. To spend on things like this.” 

“So you are working?” you ask him

“Yeah, I’ve taken over some of my dad’s companies and I’ve been living between Monaco and Switzerland for a while.” 

“And how is it?” 

“You know how it is. We’ve learnt to live in this world. I love the job but really that’s all I focus on. Thank god all these fuckers are around and remind me that I need to have a work life balance.”

“Oh my god. Marc Taylor is a workaholic?” you say surprised “You need people to remind you to live for a while instead of working?” 

“My mom is so afraid that I won’t even have a wife that she’s trying to get me to meet eligible bachelorettes.”

“Lisa is actually doing this?” you ask shocked

“Lisa has been asking me to ask you on a date for months” he tells you and you laugh hysterically.

“Well tell Lisa that I am twice the workaholic that you are. I am not working and living, I am living my life at work. I am constantly working.”

“How does it feel?”

“It does get a little lonely at times. But as you’ve said I’ve learnt to live like this ever since I was a baby. Sometimes I just wish I had someone to support me.” you tell him and what he does next surprises you. 

He leans closer and puts a hand on your cheek and kisses you. You don’t react. Partly because you were caught completely off guard and partly because your 19 year old self would die for this kiss but the only thing in your head that played over and over again is “You can’t do this to Toto” .  He pulls away from the kiss and you smile but he’s looking for something more and you know it. 

“Marc,  look I am so flattered that you actually like me. My 19 year old self would be dead right now. But as much as I used to like you then, I cannot do it now.”

“You’re not into it huh?” he asks partly heartbroken partly surprised

“It’s not that. It’s that there’s someone else in my life right now and the things with me and him aren’t that simple so I wouldn’t want to further complicate it.”

“I understand.” he says “Although Lisa would be thrilled to have you as her daughter in law, I have to destroy her dreams.” he laughs

“I am so sad. Tell her I love her regardless and if I end up alone you’ll be the first one I will flirt with.” 

“Bold way to tell me I am the second option.” 

“Oh god no that’s not how I meant it. It’s just that you never know how life will play out. We might end up married managing the Taylor Group and Red Bull Racing, but we might just end up as two workaholic friends who push each other out of their working space.”

“That’s true.” he says 

For the next 10 minutes you discuss and when the yacht finally arrives at the harbor you leave the yacht before thanking everyone. You and Sara walk back home and she keeps talking about her and Tristan during the whole way to her house. You keep quiet about the whole thing with Marc and let her vent about what happened for the rest of the day. Late at night just when you’re ready to go to sleep, her in her bed and you on an inflatable mattress Sara is still talking about Tristan. 

“He actually texted me like 5 minutes ago, I can’t believe it.” she says “We are plann-” 

“Marc kissed me.” you say interrupting her mid sentence

“WHAT?” she screams and jumps on her bed

“Yeah, you were too busy screwing Tristan on those cabins but when we arrived at the harbor, he sat down next to me and kissed me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” she asks completely shocked

“Because you were venting about Tristan and I knew you would react this way.” you answer

“Well why aren’t you reacting in this way? You’ve had a crush on him since forever.”  she asks

“Had. Past tense.” 

“Well, do you have someone better than Marc to hook up with? His father is a freaking billionaire and he’s about to inherit all this. He’s handsome and kind and he’s everything you’ve ever dreamed of.” 

“Yeah, now he’s not the one I am dreaming of. Plus, believe it or not, it’s not always about the money.”

“Are you out of your mind? Who is possibly a better option than Marc for you right now? Well, to be frank Charles Leclerc is. You’re not sleeping with Charles Leclerc are you?” she asks and you laugh 

“If you actually knew who the guy who is the better option you’d definitely think I’m out of my mind. And no, I am not sleeping with Charles Leclerc, sadly.” you tell her

“If you don’t spill, I will kick you out.” 

“I most definitely cannot tell you.” 

“Come on, we’ve known each other since we were in the womb, your family is my family, what tells you that I could possibly say anything to anyone?” 

“Okay, I will tell you, just because you actually are my best friend. But don’t you dare say anything to anyone or I will be destroyed. Oh, tell me your wildest prediction.”

“Just so that I have a clear target group, he is from F1 right?” she asks and you nod “Omg, is it Max? Because if it is Max it will be the most iconic friends to lovers boo-” she starts ranting and you interrupt to shock her once again

“It’s Toto Wolff” 

“WHO?” she looks at you like you are a lunatic. 

“It’s freaking Toto Wolff, Team Principal of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1” you tell her and she looks absolutely shocked

“You are definitely out of your freaking mind. Since when are you into older guys and how the hell did that happen?”

“I always thought he was attractive but was blindsided by Christian’s hate for him. But long story short, I got drunk once and we hooked up and it’s only been going downhill from there. I’ll have to explain it to you when I get to my new apartment.”

“I am absolutely shocked.” she says “Is he at least treating you right?” she asks

“We are just hanging out but he’s been decent I’d say.” 

“Now that I am thinking about it,  he kind of is the better option.” she says and she visibly loses herself in thought 

“Just so you know, the only people who know about all this are you and Lewis.” 

“I have a common secret with Lewis Hamilton?” she asks, showing her clear preference for him. 

Your answer is to just laugh and then say goodnight to her. 

The next day you are being woken up by the light entering the room from the window that you forgot to close. It’s the day that you will finally move to your new apartment in Monaco. You grab your phone first thing and you see millions of notifications, more than usual. Your first thought? Something bad happened. And indeed something had happened, not exactly bad, but the headlines from the news, tweets and tags are somewhere in between the tone of

“Red Bull Racing’s newest management addition shows her love with a billionaire’s son in Monaco.”

The first article wrote: Miss Horner and Mr. Marc Taylor were spotted getting cozy at the latter’s yacht party in Monaco harbor yesterday. The pair shared a kiss and they seemed to exchange some fond words. We are excited about this new romance blooming in the streets and seas of Monaco. Are we going to see the Taylor Group entering F1 alongside Miss Horner’s Red Bull Racing? It’s only a matter of time to see.  

“Shit, shit, shit” you keep saying and Sara who has only woken up looks at you like you’re crazy

“What?” she asks

“It’s all over the freaking internet.” 

“You and Wolff?” she asks nervously

“No, god, it’s me and Marc” 

“Wait, how did that happen?”

“Someone must have snapped a picture of us while we were kissing when the yacht was in the harbor. God this is a disaster.” 

“Why is it a disaster?” she asks. Well sometimes you really doubt about her having a brain

“If Toto sees this he’s going to be feral.” you say “Oh god, I should text him right now to let him know that the whole thing is a lie.”  You open the iMessage app

Wolff 

[Photo] 

Flying to Nice from the UK, I’ll be in Monaco for the rest of the week. 

You check the time that this was sent. Yesterday afternoon. You were probably at the party then and you accidentally deleted the notification so you didn’t see the message afterwards but now you decide to reply. 

You

I hope that you have arrived in Monaco safely. I am sure I will see you somewhere here before we get the chance to meet all alone. Sorry I didn’t reply earlier but I must have accidentally deleted the notification while I was at that yacht party yesterday. Speaking of which, I need to talk to you about the whole thing going around on the internet. 

You see that your messages are being instantly read but you get no reply. 

“The moving truck will be arriving at the apartment in 20 minutes, we must get going. Come on, get ready.” Sara says

“S, Toto is leaving me on read, do you think he’s mad at me?”

“No, he’s probably too busy in those company meetings back at Brackley.” she tries to reassure you 

“Toto flew to Monaco yesterday afternoon, he’s not at Brackley.” you tell her

“Well, he’s still working from Monaco so he might reply to  you later. Girl, we really don’t have time for this. It’s moving dayyy.” she says trying to hype you up. “Up, up, up” she says trying to grab you “The moving guys will be at the apartment and you will be lying here all day? Let’s get ready to move in. You’ll worry about Wolff later. And at the end you told me that you’re just hanging out, it's not anything serious so you’re free to do whatever you want. And if he’s sure that you want him he won’t even believe those things.” 

You stand up before replying and put on a pair of sweats and a Red Bull t-shirt to be comfortable while moving in. “I know that we’re just hanging out at the moment. It’s just that the things are confusing as it is now, I don’t want Marc Taylor confusing them more than that.” 

“He won’t. But you’ll have to worry about it from your new bedroom so, shoes on, grab your bag and let’s go to the apartment. 

You do as she says and 20 minutes later you are outside your newest home getting the keys from the owner while the guys are removing boxes and furniture from the truck. 

“Well, you are here.” Sara says. “I have to confess it looks really pretty and modern.”

“Sara, it’s just the outside of the building.” 

“But still it’s pretty. The actual apartment is prettier though” she says and she instructs all of the boxes with your belongings and furniture to be moved to the 6th floor. For the first time in your life you will be living at the top of a building. You and Sara take the elevator to the apartment. You unlock the door while the guys are waiting for you and you enter using your right foot first.

 “It’s for good luck.” you say to Sara and she smiles doing the same 

For the next 5 hours you and Sara assemble your furniture and unpack the boxes with all of your stuff. You show her your ideas on how to put everything into place as you’ve imagined it and as you’ve seen it on your pinterest moodboards. At some point both of you try to settle the bed in your master bedroom. A new queen sized bed that you bought after seeing how big the room is. The one side of the loft is covered in full length glass windows that have a great view to the mediterranean with a huge balcony just in front of them that you will probably enjoy your morning tea in, during the non race weeks. The light enters every room, giving them a great coziness and openness. While you two are trying to move the bed just in the right place you remember that now you happen to have neighbors. 

“Shit S, are we making too much noise?” you ask

“Well, if you know another way that we can move this monster bed and not make a sound, let me know.”

“What if the neighbors are annoyed?”

“They can fuck themselves, it’s not even quiet hours yet.” she says and you help her do the job.

After the bed gets in the right place you lay there for a second

“Horner, come on, what are you doing?” 

“I am too overwhelmed by this, we’ve been working for 5 hours nonstop and this thing isn’t anywhere close to a living apartment.” you tell her

“Oh and wait till I leave you to go to the gym.” she says

“Come on Sara, you are working out here can’t you just skip the gym today and help me a little with those boxes?” 

“I’ve been doing it for the past 5 hours if that says something to you. I will be leaving in half an hour though. And don’t worry. You can take it one step at a time and after some time you will manage to unpack your whole stuff.” she says smiling

“I hate you.” you tell her and you go back to work. 

You set your new office in the living room,  just in front of the large window so that you get enough light and inspiration from the views outside. You also set the couch and the coffee table in front, as well as your new TV. Half an hour later Sara leaves indeed for the gym, leaving you all alone for the first time in your newest apartment. That’s when it hits you and you grab your phone. The messages you sent to Toto, still unanswered and it’s been a long time since he’s read them. You decide to give him a call. You press his phone number and wait for him to pick up. You hear one, then two, then three rings and then it goes straight to voicemail. You hear his voice that you haven’t heard since Sunday. The phone rang but it went to voicemail which means that he’s declining your call. You try once again, the same thing. You get it, he’s probably angry with the whole thing but if he doesn’t want to talk to you nor do you. Instead of overthinking it you throw yourself back at moving. You blast some Taylor Swift on the speakers that you connected first thing as you entered the loft, and drop a huge box of books in front of you which you put on the built-in shelves in the living room. You use your ladder to fill the upper shelves that you cannot reach by yourself. You keep dancing, moving things, chairs, couches and tables. At some point you hear the door knocking. You turn the music off and run to the door. 

“Who is it?” you ask and you hear a voice from the outside of the door

“I live downstairs and I wanted to let you know that it’s quiet time now, you are annoying us with all that music and moving things.” the voice says. You feel very embarrassed about what you did and the last thing you want is to piss your neighbor off so you decide to open the door and apologize. But when you do you freeze. 

“Toto?” you say and he looks at you, his eyes wide as if he just saw something unbelievable 

“What are you doing here ?” he asks

“This is my new apartment in Monaco, I was just moving in.”

“You’re joking.” he says

“Do you actually live downstairs?” you ask thrilled

“I do yeah, I live on the fifth floor loft.” he says 

“How was England?” you ask and he looks at you. 

“Fine.” he replies, obviously bothered.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you, I texted you this morning but you didn’t reply.” you say “I also tried calling but it went to voicemail.”

“Talk to me about what?” he asks acting like he doesn’t know

“About Marc Taylor. Toto, I know you’ve seen it, it’s all over the internet.” 

“I mean what would you possibly have to say about Marc Taylor? It’s a shared secret that you’ve been wanting him since high school, everyone in Monaco knows it. You must be over the moon though. Handsome, rich, young and charming. Everything you’re looking for.” 

“You have to believe me Toto.” 

“Believe you about what? You clearly wanted the guy since forever so why not give in?”

“You fucking know that the whole thing is fake.”

“There are pictures,” he says, keeping calm. 

“You know how it fucking is Toto, those reporters only take whatever they think will make people engage more with their stories. They only caught the kiss but after that I told him that there is someone else in my life.”

“I wouldn’t know. I am not the one going around boat parties in Monaco and kissing strangers.”

“Just admit you are jealous.” you say

“Now you know what? I find it really pretentious that you get to be angry with the whole Cynthia thing and I am suddenly overreacting to seeing you kiss other guys.”

“It is not the same.” 

“No, it is exactly the same and your position is way worse than mine because me and Cynthia haven’t seen each other since this thing started.” he says

“Well, it’s not like this “thing” is something exclusive so I can see and kiss whomever I want.” you say 

Toto turns and looks at you and this is the first time you see a kind of hurt in his eyes

“Do you ever shut up Horner?” he asks

“I’ve told you before, only if I am made.” you say and look at him 

Hearing these words probably makes a bell in Toto’s head ring because the next thing he does is to grab you by both hands and pin you against the wall like he did the first time he kissed you. He looks down at you as you look up at him and he leans in to kiss you but you push him just a little and grab his hand. You put it against your neck and once he gets the memo he applies a little pressure that makes you go crazy. He kisses you slowly and you kiss him back in enjoyment. A few seconds later he grabs you and runs into the hallway searching for your bedroom. Once he finds the bedroom with the queen size bed he rushes and pushes you to the bed. You lie on your back looking at him. The power that this man holds, you think. You slowly begin to undress him, freeing him of his gray sweatpants and leaving him only with his boxers on seeing him growing hard as he looks at you. 

“Is the bed new?” he asks and you nod

“What a way to use it for the first time huh?” you say and he laughs 

“Let me tell you something Horner, I don’t want you anywhere near me with a red bull shirt ever again” he says and he strips you off of the red bull shirt “It’s the biggest turn off.” 

“I can see it” you tease him. At first he seems pissed off but then he takes your sweats off and then he does the same with his T-Shirt. 

“Enough talking” he says and he leans in for a kiss which you deepen immediately. He leans in on you and you push him towards you from his neck as he stabilizes himself by putting one of his knees between your thighs. You feel the intrusive thought in your brain and you grind yourself on his knee

“Much needy I see ?" he asks and you do nothing but look at him 

“Can’t resist mister Wolff” you say 

“As you should miss Horner.” he replies and his hand moves to your chest while he starts kissing you on your neck. You feel him leaving hot trails of kisses on you as his hand cups your breast. Well he certainly has a way of doing things. His kisses leave you wanting more, needing more so to make yourself feel good you move your hips against him once again and you can feel him laugh against your skin as he moves his hand against your panties 

“So wet already” he whispers to your ear sending shivers down your spine “Does he also do that to you?” he asks clearly, talking about Marc. You shake your head as the words were kind of hard to come off your mouth 

“Use your words baby” he says 

“No, he does not” you say while your breathing is getting heavier

“Is he better?” he asks and you shake your head once again. 

“Toto please, I need you.” you say and he obeys to your plea.

He removes his briefs and pushes your panties to the side as he enters inside you. It feels good. Better than it had in Jeddah. You gasp at the move and you dig your nails on his back as he kisses you. He suddenly grabs your hands and removes them from his back while thrusting in and out in a slow but great way. 

“No touching today.” he says and holds your hands over your head with his strong grip. He keeps moving as you let small moans escape and you feel like you’re in another word. You want to touch him as well and right the time that he loosens his grip on you you try to move your hands but his grip gets stronger and smashes your hands back to the place they first were. You complain for a while but he makes you feel so good that this is the last thing you care about. 

“You’re so good love. Always feeling so good.” the pauses between his words are getting bigger, showing that he’s feeling as good as he does. “Good god.” he says once again and you laugh at him. He keeps going strong though, changing the tempo of his thrusts, hitting and touching all the correct places. You feel getting closer and closer to your climax but instead of laying calm you start leaving kisses on his chest. 

“You make me feel so good.” you say “Fuck Toto, you’re so good. God no you’re perfect.” 

“Are you close?” he asks 

“Yeah” you say and you gasp “You?”

“Very” he says in between his grunts. Some minutes later you come first and he follows you shortly after while repeating your name.

Right after that both of you lay naked on your new bed. Toto is caressing your hair as you are laying on his chest listening to his heartbeat. He breaks the silence first 

“Are we good?” he asks

“I am good” you reply

“I am talking about our fight.” he says

“Oh I thought that it was established when you were repeating my name while having sex with me.” 

 “You’re right.” he says and stares outside the window while the sun is setting. Both of you sit in silence for a minute or two until you break it

“He’s not better.” you say 

“Huh?” 

“Marc Taylor. He’s not better than you. It was nothing but a kiss, Toto.” you tell him “And yes, he might be a European billionaire’s son and he might as well be hot and charming but you are also all those things, which surprise, happen to be everything I seem to look for in a man. But I need you to know Toto, in my eyes you are more charming and hotter than him. I would give Marc Taylor up for you but I wouldn’t give up you for Marc Taylor.” you tell him and you look up at him while he’s staring at you, clearly paying attention to what you were telling him. 

“Thank you.” he says 

You keep laying there and by the time the sun sets you are already asleep. You wake up an hour later and you see Toto is also taking a nap. You nudge him and he wakes up. 

“What is it ?” he says being somewhere between asleep and awake

“Nothing, we just fell asleep here.” you say

“You’ve got a nice bed. Good choice.” he says

“I know but I have to get up to finish the rest of the apartment.”

“No one is helping you?” he asks

“Sara was here until she abandoned me to go to her gym session. Now I have to do this all by myself.” 

“You know you don’t have to do all of it today right? You are going to be exhausted. Plus I can also help you with unpacking.” 

“No, you probably have work to do. I’ll do them by myself and tomorrow Sara will be here to help me” 

“Who is Sara?”

“My best friend. She’s the one that found this apartment for me” you tell him

“So she’s the one that I have to thank?” he asks and you nod while laughing. 

“You will meet her as soon as I get back to Red Bull.” 

“Which is going to be when?” he asks

“I know you want to get rid of me but I don’t have any information yet. Beth usually sends me my schedule the week before each grand prix and judging by the fact that she didn’t send it until now, I think this won’t be the weekend you are looking forward to.” 

“Maybe you should start packing your things for Baku.” he says

“I don’t have anything to do there.”

“Come on, I told people Mindy Rosevelt will hang with us for a while longer.” 

“Second race at Mercedes?” you ask excitedly

“The Ritz in Baku has already been informed that we would like an extra suite.” 

“Toto, a suite? Again?” 

“You always need a suite, love.” 

“Do you have plans for Baku?” you ask

“How about we go to the paddock together, you sleep in my suite and you help us during the race?”

“So you only want me to be there to tell you about Red Bull’s strategies so you can win?” you say playing offended

“I only want you to be there because you make it easier for me to focus when you are next to me rather than in the garage next to ours. And because I want you in general.” he says

“That’s a good excuse.” you tell him 

“After all, even if it was only for the strategy part, you should remember that all’s fair in war.” 

“And love.” you say 

“That also” he replies 

“When are we leaving?” 

“Wednesday night, with my jet from Nice airport.” 

“Good.” you say

“Put some clothes on, we are going to unpack the rest of the boxes.” he says 

“Yes sir.” you say

“Sir huh? Remind me of that the next time I am laying in bed with you” he tells you and you laugh as you stand up to put some clothes on.  For the rest of the evening you and Toto unpack the boxes that you and Sara left. Both of you laugh as he makes fun of your music taste. He even dared to make fun of  Taylor Swift, which you did not take lightly but still forgave him when he danced with you in the living room of your new apartment and when you both watched the harbor from the balcony. It is almost midnight when he decides he has to go. 

“Why do you have to go now?” you ask

“The apartment is almost ready, Sara can help you set up the last box and I have to work tomorrow, unlike you.” 

“You are literally working from home and your home is downstairs, why can’t you stay for the night and leave tomorrow night?” you complain

“Because this is your apartment, your space. You have to spend the night alone to get used to the feeling.”

“I’ve lived alone before, I know how it is.”

“Yes but now it’s different, you'll see.”

“Can’t it be different with you here?” 

“It can, but I am positive you will be better off alone for this night.” he says “We won’t be lost after all, I will be downstairs, you can call me any time.” 

“Okay” you tell him “Can I kiss you goodnight?” you ask

“What happened to you? You are too expressive!” he says

“I know, you are not used to it.” 

“No, I am used to you being expressive, just not very emotional.” 

“Changed state of mind” you say 

“I like it.” he says “And to answer your question” he leans in and kisses you deeply “I was going to do it anyways.” 

You smile at the gesture “Goodnight Toto.” you say 

“Goodnight love.” he replies and he leaves. 

You close the door and walk straight to bed where you immediately fall asleep. 

The next day you text Sara and she drops by for a morning coffee in your new balcony. As soon as she enters the loft she looks around. 

“Wow Horner, did you get any sleep?” she asks

“I actually did.” 

“How did you unpack all of those boxes by yourself?” 

“I didn’t do it by myself” you tell her 

“Omg, who did you invite?” 

“No one, a neighbor helped me.” 

“Oh, you’ve already met your neighbors? That’s crazy. Are any of them hot?”

“Yeah I met one of them because he wanted to complain about the noise. And yeah, he was hot. In fact for me he is one of the hottest.” 

“What happened to Miss Toto Wolff is the hottest man on earth? Did she disappear?” 

“No she didn’t, because actually Toto Wolff IS the freaking neighbor.” 

“What the hell?” she asks “Girl I need coffee and Monte Carlo air STAT.”

You make her coffee and your tea and go to the balcony where you sit on a big white table. 

“Turns out Wolff is my freaking neighbor. He’s living downstairs and he heard the noise during quiet hours so he decided to give me a notice.” 

“But when he saw you he forgot what he noticed” she says

“No actually he did make the notice and then we pretty much fought for Marc, ended up having sex, had a nap and then unpacked all of my boxes. We danced together in the living room and then he left because he had to work today.” 

“You used the bed for the first time to have make up sex with Wolff?” she asks

“I pretty much did yeah” you tell her

“You are crazier than I thought you were.” she says 

“I am crazier than I thought I were” you say 

You tell her everything that happened yesterday night as both of you drink your beverages watching the view from your balcony. Later on Sara helps you unpack the last box and your apartment is finally set.  The next few days you pass your time by hanging out with Sara and your other best friends who happen to be in Monaco. Toto drops by some days and you two hang out for some hours until one day you finally ask him for a Mercedes project to work on so you can spend your time by being more productive. Days pass and it’s finally Wednesday morning when you are actually packing your clothes for Baku. You take mostly summer clothes even though you won’t be able to wear any of the to the paddock. You also take your extra Mercedes shirts and pants as well as Toto’s Mercedes shirt. You make sure everything is there. After that you call Sara to drop by so that you can say goodbye to her and spend the rest of the day alone at the apartment until Toto knocks the door to let you know that your driver has arrived and is ready to take you to Nice to finally fly to Baku.  A car ride and a flight later you and Toto land in Azerbaijan. Both of you wait in the jet until the car is ready to take you from the plane to the hotel. At that time the cockpit door opens and you take a look inside. The pilot who goes out of the cockpit is not Mike. You raise your eyebrow at this and you look at the door more intensely for Toto to notice.

“What are you looking at?” he asks looking up from his phone

“Our pilot.” you say 

“What about him, are you not satisfied?” he asks

“No, I am. But the question is, where is Mike?”

“He’s on leave, why?” 

“Just wondering”

“Why would you care about him?”

“Because I like him” 

“Noted” he says and turns back to his phone without speaking

“Are you jealous Wolff?” you ask

“No” 

“Are you sure?”

“End of discussion” he says and you laugh

“Okay sir.” you tell him 

After that the crew opens the door and you get off the plane. You already made sure that you have your mask on you so people won’t recognize you. Back to the same old ways. You take a ride to the hotel and you walk straight to your suite in which some other Mercedes employee checked you in before you arrived. Toto goes back to his own suite even though he asked you to hang out with him instead. You settle down in your suite and check Toto's schedule for the weekend

13:30-14:00: Press conference

14:10-14:50: F1 Team Principal Meeting

14:50-16:00: Coffee Break

16:00-17:00: Team Meeting

18:00-20:00: Business meeting

20:30: Dinner  

You open your phone and text Toto

You

I’ve been taking a look at your schedule, is everything to your agreement?

 Wolff

Yes, all is checked and approved 

You

Good to know. By what I'm seeing, it’s going to be a full day. I mean press, team meetings and business meetings

Wolff

Oh is it actually on my schedule?

You

The business meeting? Yeah it’s tabbed in from 18:00 to 20:00. Should I remove it, is it wrong?

Wolff

No, let them believe that I’m busy during that time.I have already planned something. It’s not a business meeting, it is supposed to be a meeting for us two but I told Brad that I will be busy so I guess he thought it was business related

You 

Oh, so I am busy  from 18:00 to 20:00 too? What are we going to do ?

Wolff

 I would let you be curious but we are supposed to go to a boat trip in the Caspian. I’ve chartered a boat for a couple of hours and then we will be having dinner too, so please do not wear high heels.

You 

Oh I love boat trips so no high heels 

It’s not like I could put heels on though, I will be dressed in the Merc gear all day long

Wolff

Well pack another outfit but still no high heels

You 

Okay then.  I guess I’ll see you later?

Wolff

Tomorrow

You switch your phone off and fall asleep for a few hours. It’s already early in the morning since you left Nice at night and the flight lasted a long time but thank god you didn’t have to be at the paddock until noon. You wake up at 11 and order some breakfast. You get ready and phone Toto to let him know you are ready. 10 minutes later you are on your way there in his black AMG SUV and you see the fans taking photos of the car. Well it’s Toto they’re taking pictures of since they have no idea about who you actually are. You get out of the car and go to Merc’s hospitality. You wave Toto goodbye and you go to your office while he’s off to his. Later on you hear a knock at your door. 

“Who is this?” you ask

“Mindy, it’s Lewis.” you hear a voice 

You stand up and put your mask on before opening the door. Better safe than sorry. When you open the door you see that it’s indeed Lewis so you welcome him in. You take off your mask and sit on the little couch

“How is it going?” he asks

“Everything’s good, thank you. How are you?” 

“Good. You know how it is. Just running around, trying to keep up with everything.”

“Lewis Hamilton trying to keep up? I am pretty sure everyone is trying to keep up with you, not you with them.”

“Well yeah, when it comes to F1 it’s pretty much how you say it is. But in real life I have so many things to keep up with.” 

“I bet you do. Like I am pretty sure you are flying to New York as soon as the race ends.”

“I am. Met Gala.” he says and you laugh

“So you won’t be here for post race celebrations if you win. I guess I should hand the win to George this time, or maybe let Red Bull win.” 

“Don’t you dare” 

“I won’t Lew, you know you’re my fav. But if you want to secure the win, I need to get in the Met next year.” “Deal.” he says

“Oh god Lewis, I was only joking.” 

“I know, but I am pretty sure that I can land you an invitation.”

“We’ll see until next year.” you tell him “Is Roscoes coming to the gala?” 

“No, I am actually sending him back to Monaco for the week and then he’ll be with me in Miami.”

“Where is he going to stay in Monaco?” 

“At the pet hotel.”

“Why don’t you leave him with me ?” 

“In Monaco?” he asks

“I live there now” 

“You do? I can leave him with you, of course.”

“If you don’t fully trust me I can ask Toto for his help. We live in the same building.” “I have so many questions about this but I have to go. It’s gym time.” he says

“We can figure out the logistics about Roscoe later. Have a good session Lewis.”  you tell him before he leaves the office 

For the next hour or so you hang out in your office all alone and when it is time you leave the hospitality center to accompany him to the press conference. Just when you are outside the press conference center you see Christian and by his side a really familiar face that you cannot remember. You take another look at her while Toto stops dead in his tracks. 

“What?” you ask him and he looks confused. You take a look for a third time. You see a familiar girl dressed in Red Bull gear talking to Christian. It’s then when it clicks. The girl is Cynthia. Cynthia Jones dressed in Red Bull speaking to Christian. What the heck is this about? You can feel the anger rising to your chest

“Breathe” you hear him say

“That’s too far” you tell him 

“It’s crazy.” he says “Go talk to her, find out what this is all about.” 

“I will" you say

“Just be careful not to reveal too many things" 

“Of course" 

Toto glances at his watch. 12:55 

“I should get going, press is starting in 5" 

“Okay, I'll see you later" you tell him and he nods “Do you wanna meet here?"

“I’ll be straight off to the TP meeting. I will see you during the coffee break, okay?”

“Okay” 

“Try to find out what Cynthia is doing here.” he says 

“I will” you tell him and you smile

“And if you are too angry about what you find out, I have some files you can take a look at while you’re waiting.”

“Okay” you say and you leave him. You spot Cynthia hanging out outside the press center and you decide to approach her

“Hello.” you tell her

“Hi” she replies and smiles “Oh, you’re Mindy right? The girl who gave us the Mercedes tour in Jeddah?” 

“Yup, that’s me.” maybe not “What are you doing here?” you ask her

“I landed a job in Red Bull Racing. Isn’t it crazy?” she says 

“Oh definitely. You went from visiting the paddock to actually working here, congrats!” you try to play excited when you are actually fuming

“It was meant to be. I landed the job when I was visiting the paddock in Jeddah.”

“How come?” 

“Christian Horner met us at the paddock club and he asked what we were doing. Once I told him about my studies in management he asked to see me in person and then he proposed this job.”

“What’s your position?” 

“For what I’ve understood, I am currently sort of  replacing Christian’s daughter while I am also acting like his PA.”

“Oh so management?” 

“It’s still too early for that title and I definitely don’t have that much freedom as an executive does. I am thinking it more like an internship in management while also being a personal assistant to Christian.” 

“Oh Christian” you say and you roll your eyes 

“He’s not as bad as everyone thinks he is.” she says “He might actually be better than Toto” 

“Yeah, nah” you tell her “Toto is actually definitely more human-ish than Christian.” 

“And how would you know? Have you ever worked with Christian?” she asks jokingly. If only she knew

“No but judging from the paddock rumors he seems to be a tough one to handle.”

“Absolutely not. He is really kind and funny. Really chill type. He made me call him by his name since day 1. It’s really like we’re friends.”

“That’s really good for you.” you say

“What about Toto?” she asks. As if she would let it go 

“Mr. Wolff is really nice.” 

“You’re not calling him Toto?”

“No, he prefers to keep things professional. He’s more into being formal and things.”

“Must be boring” she says

“It’s pretty good for now and I’m always guessing, familiarity might be a little too much at some point.” 

“Christian has been saying this about his daughter.”

“He has?” you ask slightly nervously

“Yeah, he said that working with family might be a little too overwhelming at some point.”

“Well he’s kinda right. Did he say why she left?”

“From what I’ve taken they decided that she should take a break and she’s currently hanging out in Monaco in her new apartment. He’s thinking of taking her back by the Monaco Grand Prix but he’s not sure yet.” she tells you 

“Oh, well. Whatever suits them best.” 

“Yeah, we are not the ones to judge.” 

“Definitely not.” 

“It was really fun talking to you again Mindy. We should hang out sometime.” 

“Yeah definitely.”  It’s not like you slept with the man I am sleeping with. you think 

You wave at her and leave the press center to wait until Toto finishes his morning tasks. You open the F1TV stream and watch his interview. When Will starts asking a question to Franz Tost you decide to text Toto about your findings. 

You

Turns out Cynthia Jones is staying in my life for good cause apparently Christian hired her in my position during the Saudi GP. And I wasn’t even out of the team for a week 

You see him holding his phone and taking a glance at it while Franz is speaking. He rolls his eyes and puts the phone back in his pocket. You stay once again in your office, going through Toto’s schedule for the weekend and looking at your socials. Some time later your phone rings 

Wolff

She’s going to make our lives hard but it's very typical of Christian to hire someone from the first day that you left 

You

She even proposed that we should hang out

Wolff

If only she knew 

You 

That’s what I said

Wolff

She was waiting outside the press center for Christian and now they’re both in front of me walking to the TP meeting. She’s talking and Christian is laughing like he’s having the time of his life

You 

I figured she’s that type of assistant cause according to her she and Christian are practically besties now. It’s going to be a good one when I get back to rb

Wolff

Remind me to mount a secret mic and camera on you when that happens cause I want to see the Horner-Jones fight. 

You

I bet you she’s going to regret the day she agreed to that position

Wolff

Whoa, too aggressive. How about checking some data before the coffee break cause rumor has it that you love reading data and commenting on them 

You 

Anything to get her off my mind and anything for you Mr. Wolff

Wolff

I’m flattered. There’s a file in your email waiting for your comments and questions. Bet Bono is going to be thrilled. I am off to the meeting, see you soon.

After Toto’s messages you check your email to take a look at the file he sent you. It’s full of data and details about this year’s rocketship. It is then when it hits you. The data are from the simulator and the track they’ve been using is Barcelona. In Red Bull you always used to run simulations in Barcelona so you have the exact same data from your ex team. You open them and start comparing them and finding where Mercedes lacks compared to Red Bull. You also open Adrian’s and GP’s essays on car performances and start noting any questions or things you’ve noticed. You really hope Toto will actually use them in his meeting with Bono and James. However, you keep all of the comparisons to yourself. You are not sure Toto is in favor of cheating so you will probably announce it to him later during the coffee break. You make a new file and email it to his account.  Later on you hear a knock on your door. 

“It’s Toto” you can hear him say and you unlock the door for him to enter. 

“Hey.” you say

“Hi, how are you feeling?” he asks

“I am good. I read all the data and I relaxed so much.” 

“Well, I, on the other hand, almost had a fight with Christian.” 

“Why?” you ask

“Because he was being a douchebag.” 

“Nah, he was just being Christian” you tell him and he laughs

“Was the data any good?” 

“Yeah, I also emailed you my questions and stuff.” 

“Oh, I will be forwarding them to James and Bono.” 

“Speaking of the data, I saw they were sim data from Barcelona.” 

“We use Barcelona almost every time for our simulations.” 

“Well, it turns out, Red Bull does too.” you tell him and he looks at you, suggests to keep talking “I have the comparisons fully made here. There’s also an excel file with all the lacks and the sections Red Bull might present an advantage.” 

“This is interesting.”

“I know Toto. But the thing is, I didn’t email those to you because I didn’t know if you wanted to have access to all that information.” 

“I totally get it.”

“You should understand that this is confidential, but if you decide you want it, it will be in your inbox right away.” 

“This file can affect the whole development path for us.” he says

“I know, that’s why I kept it.” 

“You should keep it for yourself.”

“I swear I won’t give this to Red Bull.”

“I trust that you won’t” he says

“I will always have it at hand if you want to use it though. Anything for Mr. Wolff” you say and both of you laugh

“Thank you.” he says “Do you want some coffee and a snack? It’s coffee break after all.” 

“No, thank you. You can leave this tiny office and enjoy your coffee in your office. I feel bad for keeping you here.” 

“I am only hanging out here because I want to.” he says “But I’ll leave you alone. We’ll have enough time tonight.” 

“Of course.” you smile at him

“Meet you after the team meeting ?”

“I will be waiting.” 

Once Toto leaves for his coffee break and the team meeting later you decide to go out and see the track. There are some bikes available at the hospitality center so you grab one and ride at the track of Baku. You see other people doing the same thing, some of the drivers are also doing their track walks. At some point you spot Max. It’s been a while since you talked considering the fact that you didn’t even see him in Jeddah but you kept texting during that time. When you spot him it is in your impulse that you almost yell at him to go and talk to him. When you remember that you are actually supposed to be an unbothered Mercedes employee you change your mind, and as you are caught up in your thoughts you almost lose your balance. Thankfully you save it before you find yourself in the ground or the barriers and you keep your direction and finish your lap. 6 km later you are back in your office, thankfully not sweaty since you took your time to circle the track, and you also have a cup of tea and a chocolate bun as a snack. You take a bite as you see today’s headlines from the Media day and you also take a look at some market news. After a while Toto texts again

Wolff

Just finished asking all of your questions to the mechanics and they were impressed to say the least because they managed to assess some really important things for the race

You 

Next time I should be present in those meetings

Wolff 

I will personally make sure of it. We will be done in 25, I’ll pick you up. Don’t be late

Those 25 minutes pass by quite fast and you don't realize until Toto is knocking at your door. Thankfully you packed your stuff earlier so Toto cannot complain about you being late. 

“I am impressed.” 

“I didn’t actually understand how fast the time passed. Thank god I had my things packed.”

“That’s why I texted you earlier.” he says

“Yeah but you cannot complain now.” you reply

“No, the truth is I cannot.”

“Are we going straight to the boat?” you ask

“Yes, that’s why I told you to pack another outfit. Tell me you didn’t forget”

“I did not” 

“Good. Now get your stuff, we are leaving.” After that both of you leave the track and go to the boat Toto has chartered for a couple of hours. He helps you hop on the boat and he does the same

“Are you going to drive this?” you ask

“Are you scared?” 

“It depends on whether you are driving this thing or not”

“I am driving” 

“Are you allowed to do this?” 

“You are shitting yourself” he laughs

“Yeah because if we drown, imagine the headlines people will write.”

“We’ll be the next Rose and Jack.” he says

“Yeah, almost.”

“Just so you know, I am fully capable of navigating the boat.” 

“For real?”

“I have a sailing license.”

“Is there anything you can’t do ?” 

“Think straight when you’re with me.”

“Very funny.”

“It’s true.” he says and you take a look around and see people walking up and down the harbor  “What about finally leaving? We’re going to miss the sunset if we take any longer.”

“Let’s go” he sails and he undocks the boat. 

The two of you sail in the Caspian leaving the Baku port behind you. Toto is making sure that everything he does is safe, occasionally checking on the radar to see whether there are other boats in close proximity. You sit by his side and snap a couple of pictures of  him while he’s driving the boat. He looks absolutely stunning. It’s already late afternoon, 19:00-ish and the sky is starting to get sweeter, indicative of the sunset later on. When you are finally out of the waters in a space that is far enough from the shore but close enough so you can distinguish the structures of the city, Toto drops the anchor and stops the boat there. “That’s quite a nice view.” you say 

“I figured you would like it” he says and comes to your side 

“You can actually see the whole city from here.”

“I figured that since we are not able to see the city together on foot, maybe this is the second best option.”

“It is. Although I would have loved a nice walk and a tour of the old city.”

“I would have loved that too.” he says as you keep looking at the city behind you and puts his hand on your lower back. 

“This right here, is the Maiden Tower," Toto points at a tower and your gaze follows his finger

“Legend has it that a young princess jumped from the top and ended her life because her father wouldn’t accept the man she loved."

“Hope I won’t end up this way.”

“God, I hope not.” he laughs and you shift your gaze to the two largest towers in the scenery

“The flame towers.” 

“I know them Toto, I’ve been coming to Baku for a while.” 

“Let me give you a tour, Horner. Don’t be shit.” he says and you smile

“Go on then.”

“The flame towers were finished in 2012. The building is a little less than 200 meters and it has a double purpose. In the first tower there are a lot of offices and apartments and in the second tower there’s a hotel.”

“What are they supposed to mean?” 

“They are meant to symbolize the eternal spirit of Azerbaijan and the country's enduring strength and resilience. Plus the whole flame design idea came from an Ancient Azerbaijani tradition of fire worshiping.”

“I love them, they look so pretty.” 

“And right beside there’s the crystal hall.”

“Never heard of it” you say 

“Eurovision was hosted there in 2012.” 

“Wait, how do you know, are you a fan ?” you ask him 

“No, I hate Eurovision.” 

“What?!” you say surprised. “You’re European, you cannot hate eurovision.” 

“I can, and I do.” 

“But why?” 

“Because it’s kitsch”

“It’s not kitsch, it’s camp, everyone loves camp.”

“It’s kitsch and I hate it, move on.” he says

“I cannot wait for the day that I will make you watch it.”

“I’d rather Christian find out about us.” 

“That’s a bold one” you tell him

“Last but not least, the fortress.” he says ignoring you and points to it

“I’ve seen the fortress, I took a ride at the track today.” 

“How did you like it?” 

“It’s so pretty, but it’s prettier from the sea. And much more interesting when you talk to me about it.”

“Hm” he says and he puts an arm around you 

“How did you learn all those things?” you ask

“I read a lot, even if I don’t have time to see the sights, I like to read about them, get to know the story of the city that I am in.” 

“That’s fair. I was wondering because I’ve been here like five times and I’ve never gotten past the name of each sight here.” 

“That’s good because you can for once, not talk and let me show you around.”

“You’re the best tour guide I’ve ever had.” you smile at him and you leave a kiss on his cheek. 

During the next hour you stay on the boat in the Caspian and see the sun set on the horizon. You take a look at the flame towers which reflect the orange and pink lights of the sunset. You snap some pictures of the scenery as well as Toto who is sitting carelessly in the boat with his white linen shirt and his sunglasses on. He also snaps some pictures of you from both yours and his phone and you also take some selfies. You immediately set the best picture of him as his contact picture and once you are done with the whole photo thing you get back to where Toto is currently sitting and relax with him for a little while longer. You two soak in the views without talking much. As it starts to get darker Toto drives the boat back to the harbor where you dock and leave to get to the hotel. Both you and Toto enter the elevator to get to your suites

“You’re coming over for dinner right?” he asks

“Well, I was thinking of getting some sleep for tomorrow.” 

“Come on, I’ve already asked roomservice to have our table set.”

“Now I can’t say no.” you tell him and smile at him. When the elevator gets to your floor you walk out and follow him to the door of his suite. You enter first and he follows and the smell of food hits your senses.

“It smells fantastic.” you say

“It’s traditional Azerbaijani cuisine.”

“I love it. We should have tried the Saudi Arabian foods as well.”

“Well, nothing can go wrong with Italian.” he says

“Then why didn’t we order Italian” you tease him

“Because I wanted to immerse myself in the Azerbaijani culture today.”

“Is it a part of the guided tour?” 

“Well, couldn’t it be?” he says “Since I’ve already given you a sight tour, I am ready to give you a culinary tour as well” he tells you as he pulls the chair off the table so that you can take your seat

“Thank you.” you tell him and you sit down as he walks back to his side of the table and sits down

“This is called Dolma.” he says as he leaves one of them on your plate “It is grape leaves with a filling of minced lamb with rice and some herbs.” 

“Interesting” you say as you take a look at the plates on the table “Oh god, is this kebab?”

“You know kebab?” he asks

“Literally everyone knows what kebab is Toto, it’s not a secret. It’s actually one of my favorite street foods.” 

“It is really good.” he tells you as he grabs a bite of it “You should also try out the pilaf” 

You take a look at it “What is this?” 

“It’s something like a risotto I guess” 

“I thought you knew the exact recipe of every single plate” you tease him

“Apparently I don’t, I just took a look at the menu and chose what I thought was best.” 

“Everything looks delicious though.” you tell him

“Wait until Miami. We’re going to eat some great burgers there.” 

“Speaking of which, I am not sure that I will be in Miami”

“Why ?” 

“Because it was cringe enough last year, I won’t submit myself  to that whole cringe fest again.” 

“You will be coming.” 

“Says who?” 

“Me” he replies and you sit there taking another bite of your amazing food, slightly annoyed . When he realizes that what he said made you angry he talks again. “Look, it is really important that you should be there. It is supposed to be your home race, we’ve told everyone that you are American, if you are only staying for a few more races it will be weird if you are not present for the only time you will get to go to a race in your country with the team.”

“No one will remember Toto.”

“People will remember. We have a list of each race in which we note whose home race it is. And by what I’ve seen you are already on the list.” 

“I didn’t write my name anywhere.” 

“I am pretty sure Bradley did. He probably remembers that you are American and just added you in.”

“And what about the home race list?” 

“We are kind of celebrating it by giving them less time to work during the weekend, or allowing them to bring their families in.”

“That’s so sweet though.” you say 

“I mean, people are important to us, they are not just workers, they are our companions.”

“I hate this team” you say and you see Toto lifting one eyebrow at you “I mean, I hate how much I already love it. How am I supposed to go back to Red Bull?”

“You can just stay in Mercedes.” 

“And say what to Christian?” 

“Tell him that his team is shit, his management is also shit and that you cannot grow in that shitty environment.”  

“He’ll find out that you told me to say that and then you will find yourself on the cover of Corriere dello Sport.” 

“Won’t be the first time.” he laughs “ Jokes aside, would you ever consider leaving Red Bull?” 

“Now I certainly do. I mean, I hadn’t seen anything aside from how Red Bull worked as a team and the race weekend at Saudi was eye opening.”

“Is that a yes?”

“I am already considering it, yes.”

“Will be nice to have you here one day, without hiding I mean.”

“I wasn’t talking about Mercedes. I am considering an offer at Ferrari.” you tell him jokingly and he almost chokes at his wine

“Where?” 

“Ferrari. It’s a really great team with a great legacy.”

“Ask them for a paddock pass for tomorrow then.” he says and you burst out laughing

“I am only joking.” you tell him “I would consider it if I had an offer from another team though.”

“We will always have a position available for you if you ever decide to leave that shithole.”  

“I’ll tell you when this happens.”

“There’s a when, not an if, that’s good.” 

“I know what’s best for me and I am slowly convincing myself it’s not Red Bull”

“Good.” he says and you two keep eating until you hear someone knocking on his door .

“I’ll be right back” Toto tells you and answers the door. You can hear him talking with someone, his voice is quite familiar. 

“Shov?What are you doing here?” 

“Do you have some time to see tomorrow’s practice program?” you can hear him say

“Um, I am actually a little busy.” 

“It will only take a second, you should only check and approve it.” 

“I fully trust you Andrew, I approve of it.”

“Good.” he says and he almost leaves “Are you having dinner with someone?”

“Yes, with Lewis, we are discussing contract extensions.” 

“Has he been here a long time?”

“An hour or so.” Toto tells him

“That’s funny, because 20 minutes earlier I was at the gym with Lewis.”

“Um…” 

“It’s okay Wolff, I hope you are having a good time with whomever you are hanging out with right now” he says and laughs “Hello unknown person who is having dinner with Toto.”  You hold your laugh until Toto says goodnight to him and he leaves the room. When you see Toto entering the room with his ‘I fucked up’ face, you burst out laughing and he joins you seconds later. “I hope he was not angry” you tell him 

“No he wasn’t angry, I am pretty sure he was thrilled about the whole thing. He’s been trying to get me someone to hang out with for ages.” 

“You are good mates huh?”

“He’s one of my closest friends, yes.” 

“And he still asks for your approval for the program he wants the team to follow tomorrow?” 

“Yeah, I’ve told him millions of times that it’s not necessary but he insists.”

“That’s so sweet of him.”

“I am only taking a look at it before approving it, it’s not like I pay that much attention, I fully trust him.” he tells you and you keep eating

“When are we leaving for Miami?” you ask

“We? I thought you weren’t coming.”

“I am, I also have to bring Roscoe with me, I promised Lewis that I will take care of him from Sunday till we get to Miami so that he doesn’t have to while he’s in New York for the Met.” 

“You promised Lewis that you will carry Roscoe all the way from Monaco to Miami?”

“That we will carry him, yes.” 

“How did I get involved in this? I don’t remember having any conversation about a dog.”

“I told him that I would take care of him and then I promised that you will help me since you’re now my neighbor. I figured you would know him a little better than I do. I mean Lewis brings him to the paddock almost every week.”

“And have you ever seen me with a dog in the paddock?” he asks

“No, but I thought you had a good relationship with him.”

“Me and Roscoe’s relationship is nonexistent, Horner.”

“Oh god, tell me you are afraid of Roscoes” you make fun of him

“I am thinking of leaving Nice on Thursday morning.” he says

“You are changing the subject.” 

“I am not, you asked me when I plan on leaving for Miami and I answered.” 

“Thursday huh? What about Media day?” 

“I’ll have Shov or either one of the two James to do it and we will be present for the Free practice.”

“Cool.” you tell him 

For the rest of the night you hang out together until you decide to leave.

“Will we be going to the paddock together?” 

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.”

“What’s the schedule for tomorrow? Hold up, let me check.” you tell him and grab your phone out of your pocket to take a look. “Oh you have a business meeting after FP1 which is supposed to last almost until the start of FP2. James is set to do the press.”

“I don’t remember having any business meetings. Who is it with?” 

You take a look at your phone reading the name which catches you completely off guard. You blink twice and take another look at it, still the same name. “Who planned this?” you ask

“I don’t know, I don’t remember planning anything for Saturday. Maybe Bradley did.” 

“This cannot be real.”

“It better not be Cynthia again.” 

“Who cares about her right now?” 

“Will you tell me who I am meeting tomorrow for whatever reason or am I going to this meeting unprepared?”

“The guy you hated last week, Marc Taylor?”

“Seriously?”  

“I am dead serious Toto, his name is here.” you tell him and show him the name on the schedule. “You are supposed to discuss sponsorship. Apparently the Taylor Group is interested in investing in F1” 

“This is going to be a hell of a meeting.” 

“This is going to be a disaster.” 

“Funny that both of the people from our past keep appearing in our ways.” 

“It’s not funny, it’s shit. Toto, promise me you will handle it gracefully.”

“Dear, I have nothing to be afraid of. You’ve proven to me who you’re always thinking of. It’s pure business. If he wants to invest and it favors the team then we shall cooperate.”  

You take a deep breath “That’s too much information and it’s already getting late. I am guessing I should get going.” 

“Won’t you stay for the night?”

“Nah, it’s quite early in the race weekend and I want you to focus tomorrow. Both for the testing sessions and the Marc thing.” 

“Okay, see you tomorrow?” 

“I am actually thinking that maybe I should skip FP1 since Marc will be around, I don’t want him finding out who I am.”

“Smart idea.”

“I am going to drive myself to the track and meet you for FP2” 

“Brunch at the track?” he asks

“Oh definitely.” you tell him and you kiss him goodbye as you go back to your suite. You don’t have anything to do so you decide to check your emails before going to sleep. You see a new message popping up the list From: Netflix, DTS

Miss Horner, we would like to schedule our next shooting with you for the newest season. Please let us know if and when you are available to be present at the track where the interviews take place.Kind Regards, The DTS Producers

You shrug and decide to answer From: Ms. Horner 

Hello and thank you for contacting me, I am currently taking some time off the team and I am not aware of which race weekend I will be back in the paddock. I  will however be happy to inform you as soon as I find out about my whereabouts within Red Bull. Regards, Miss Horner

You set your alarm at the same time Toto’s and Marc’s meeting is supposed to take place and then switch off your mobile and fall asleep. The next morning you wake up just in time to actually take a shower and get ready to go back to the track. You arrive there just in time for FP2. Everyone’s already in the garage so you decide to go there directly. As always, you see Toto sitting at the top of the fantasy island watching over the two garages. “Hello Mr. Wolff.”

“Oh, you’re here!” he says

“How did your meeting with Marco Barco go ?” you say and as soon as the words get out of your mouth you see Marc Taylor himself walking next to Toto with his headset on “How did you just call me?” he asks and you freeze, mainly because no one calls him like this except from you, the Horner you, not the Mindy Rosevelt you. “How did I call you?” 

“Did you call me Marco Barco?” he says and Toto looks at the both of you slightly confused

“I called you Marc. Just Marc.” you tell him

“Alright.” “Mindy, this is Marc Taylor, he’s the owner of our newest sponsor. We closed the deal earlier during our meeting.” 

“Mr. Taylor, I am so glad that we will have you around more from now on.”

“So am I, I am glad that I actually decided to go for my instinct and invest something in F1.”

“Absolutely.” 

A short minute after he asks

“Why are you still wearing a mask? Isn’t it bothering you?” 

“Oh no no, it does not. I am actually wearing it because I don’t want to catch any colds and lose my internship days.”

“I see. And where are you from? Mindy right?” By the questions he asks you are already sure that he is suspecting something

“Yes, I am from Boston, US and I ended up here as an intern from Daimler US.” you say and he answers “That’s really cool.” For the rest of the time you don’t interact, Toto isn’t involving in any of your talks and you know it’s because he fears that he’ll fuck this up more if he does. However, he still speaks to you and Marc separately and when he’s talking to Marc he shows off a little more confidence and certainty. It’s like he knows that he’s better than him, which he actually is and you’ve made it clear both that night in Monaco and yesterday after your dinner. The session finishes with the two red bulls on top, followed by the two Mercedes. “P3 and 4 isn’t bad but it’s not P1 and P2 either. I know we’re running similar engine mappings and we still need to be on top.” Toto says in his message to the mechanics.“I am sure we will be there by tomorrow.” you tell him “I should go grab some food because I haven’t eaten yet. I am sure I will see you around Mr. Taylor.” 

“I believe so.” 

“Marc and I are going to talk a little more and he’ll be off in a while. Talk to you later?” Toto says and winks on you while Marc is on his phone “Of course Mr Wolff. See you later.” you tell him and get back at the hospitality center where you get some food which you take to Toto’s office. You unlock the door with the set of keys he has given you and you set your tray at the table beside his office. You lock the door as you stay inside in order to surprise him. After some time you can hear footsteps approaching and the door handle moves but the door doesn’t open“Oh it is locked.” you can hear Toto say and the next thing you can hear is his keys on the lock. He opens the door and just as he enters the office you speak “I thought we should have brunch together.” The man who enters the room stops dead in his tracks. Of fucking course it’s Marc, followed by Toto who is gesturing something to someone in the hallway. Toto stops and looks at you. Marc speaks first “Horner, what are you doing there?” he asks “Shush Taylor, they’re going to hear you.”  

“Why are you sitting in Toto’s office dressed in Merc gear?” 

“Ummm” you say and you pause to think “F1 made us have team principal meetings like this in order to boost our relationship” you tell him, not a good excuse. In fact it’s a terrible excuse. “What kind of bullshit do you think you’re selling to me?” Marc asks. Toto is just behind him shaking his head “There’s no point in trying to lie to him.” 

“Isn’t there?” you ask and at the same time Marc is taking a look at you. “You’re Mindy? I figured something was wrong here.” 

“Look, I need you to shut your mouth about this. No one can know.” 

“Why are you here in the first place?” he asks “Christian shut her out of the team for an unknown period of time and she wanted to have access to the paddock without paying herself.” Toto says. “Why didn’t you ask Franz to take you in his team for a while?”

“Because I didn’t want Christian involved in anything.”

“So you two guys had a fight? And what about Mercedes Toto, how is the team going to be safe with all of this.” 

Toto tries to explain the situation to Marc “She has already signed NDAs about the team, and I wouldn’t even take her in if i didn’t trust her.” You take a deep breath and Toto understands the position you are in so he decides to leave you and Marc alone for a second “Should I go fetch us something to drink?” 

“Yes please.” you tell him

“Why did you end up out of the team in the first place?” 

“I was late to a business meeting. You know how Christian is with them.” 

“And he threw you out. How long has this been going on ?” 

“Not long ago, the GP in Jeddah was my first one with Merc.” you say. Marc stays quiet for a while and his eyes spark with realization a minute or two later. “Oh god, it’s him, isn’t he?” 

“What?” you ask him. “The guy you’re heads over heels with? The situationship man! That’s why he’s the one you turned to for the paddock access and that’s why he gave it to you. You two are dating right?”

“Well yeah, it is him but I told you before, no one can know okay?” 

“Of course. How long have you been together?” 

“We are not together yet, we are just spending time.”

“Yeah right and he took you in his team because he’s just spending time with you.” he tells you and you laugh “I might not know him for a long time but I can tell who I am making deals with. He’s a very direct guy.” 

“I know he is.” 

“If it’s not me, he’s the next best option.” 

“That’s what I’ve been saying since this has been happening.” 

“I am happy for you, really.” 

“Thank you Marc.” you tell him.  Later on Toto comes back with your drinks and the three of you discuss for sometime. Later on and only after you’ve completed your duties for the day you wave Toto and Marc goodbye and go back to your hotel. You sit in your room, have an extra long video call with Sara in which you tell her everything about today and all the days you’ve been missing from Monaco and she texts you a photo from her balcony in Monaco which you post in your official instagram story in order to make everyone believe that you are actually there and not in Azerbaijan. You watch a bunch of drive to survive episodes to prepare for your upcoming interviews and then take a long relaxing shower. Before you even realize it is time for dinner and just as you were thinking of it you get a text 

Wolff

Are you coming over for dinner?

You 

Nah, I am actually thinking that maybe I should get some rest before tomorrow. I will be ordering something here instead

Wolff

Okay. I hope you are alright 

You 

Yes, all good but I would like to be excluded from tomorrow’s practice session. Only if I am not needed that is

Wolff

You are always needed but you are always working hard and think you deserve to have the session off

You

Thank you Toto, I won’t forget that ;)

Wolff 

I hope you won’t 

After your chat with Toto you decide to order some dinner in your room and after that you spend some time on your socials before going to bed. The next day you wake up early as you hear someone knocking at your door. Well, it’s not just someone, in fact, it is Lewis who is at your door and right by his side is his best friend, Roscoe. You were expecting them since Lewis told you he would bring Roscoe over to your suite before hitting the track for FP3 and now you are supposed to take care of him and bring him back to the paddock just before qualifying, when Angela will take over from you. “Good Morning. Were you sleeping?”

“I was yeah but I was planning to wake up either way.”

“This is my good boy Roscoe” he says and he kneels and pats his back “Good boy” he says. “He is adorable.” you tell him and you also kneel to pet him. “He might be a little shy at first, he just wants a lot of cuddling and playing. I am sure he will love you though.” 

“I hope he will, we will have to spend some time together before Miami.” 

“Toto mentioned that you didn’t want to come, did  you decide otherwise?” 

“I did yeah, we are planning to come on Friday so Roscoe will be there by then. When are you flying from New York?” 

“Thursday morning, I have media duties, I am not like you.” he laughs

“Well, I am not going to the Met either so I guess we are even.”

“Yeah right. Am I going to see you at qualifying?” 

“Of course, I plan on coming, I will bring Roscoe to you later.” 

“Good, see you then I guess.” 

“Bye Lewis.” you say as you wave him goodbye.  Roscoe and you enter your suite and you can see him running in his tiny feet trying to take in the space around him. You decide to take a shower but you leave the door open and as soon as you come out of the tub you find Roscoe sitting there waiting for you. For the rest of the time you play with his favorite toy that Lewis left you and he lies on your side as you take a look at the morning news. When the time comes, you get ready and hit the track once again but this time with Roscoe Hamilton on your side. You can see photographers taking pictures of you but you remain completely calm as your face mask and your hair hide your real identity and enter the Mercedes hospitality. You drop Roscoe off to Lewis’ suite where Angela takes over, and text Toto who you can clearly see from the garage that you’re currently sitting in. Toto is just outside making statements to broadcasting channels and companies ahead of qualifying and you are sitting there on the right side of his chair waiting for him to come back as soon as the broadcast of qualifying begins. The session is pretty good for the team, meaning Mercedes and the drivers manage to get P2 and P3. Max is sitting in P1 for tomorrow’s start, a brilliant lap from him you think. “2nd and 3rd are pretty good positions.” Toto says. “The only thing that scares me is Max in P1.” 

“We’ve got him, the setup for the race will be even better, Mick has been running the data from the analysis the engineers made based on your comments on the simulator and we’ve seen impressive lap times. We’ll get this for sure.”

“I never doubted their skills, I am sure they can even make the Williams work.” 

“They are not doing miracles, they are just engineers.” Toto says and you laugh “They had some good guidance, we wouldn’t have found the exact setup if it wasn’t for you.” 

“It’s just Saturday though. We will see tomorrow.” 

“You’re right.” he tells you “About tonight, you don’t have any plans right?” 

“Except for laying in bed as soon as I get back and ordering dinner I don’t plan on doing anything else.” 

“Dinner and movie then?” he asks and you nod  “Hitting the track together ?” you ask and he blinks a couple of times. “How come?” 

“Well, won’t I be sleeping in your suite tonight?” 

“I am surprised that you’re even proposing that.” 

“Well if you don’t want to, I have plenty of space in my suite, I will be sleeping all alone again.” 

“Okay, dinner and sleepover in my suite for tonight.”

“Will you be doing press?” you ask.“Only for an hour or so, after that I need you with me in the post qualifying meeting with the mechanics.” he tells you. “Where?” you ask surprised. “I need someone to write some notes down for me during that meeting so I figured you would want to join.”

“But-” you hesitate and he interrupts you before you can finish up your sentence “I don’t have any issue with you, I fully trust you.”

“I know, you’ve been quite vocal about it.” 

“Well, best believe it. Also, you won’t be there just for note taking, you can partake to the whole meeting with your points or ideas” 

“You cannot be serious.” you tell him. “I am as serious as it gets Horner. Wait for me outside your office in an hour.” Toto says as he waves at you and disappears from your sight. After an hour you find him outside your office. Both of you attend the post-quali meeting where you participate with a lot of questions about the performance of the car. At some point you also hear praise from Bono about the setup that you proposed. Well, he didn’t exactly give credit to you, since for him it’s nowhere near your job to give mechanical input about a car set up but he did say that whoever came up with the insights on the setup was a great help. The car was flying compared to the free practice yesterday. It turns out that you actually helped them and you now, more than ever, feel a part of a team that embraces you even if it isn’t directly said to your face. As soon as the meeting is done you and Toto go back to the hotel, wasting no time in the paddock. You get directly back to Toto’s suite where food is already served. The both of you eat and then you relax for a while on the couch

“I am so exhausted from today.” you tell him 

“Do you want to sleep?” he asks

“How about we watch a movie?” 

“You are going to sleep in the first 5 minutes” 

“I promise you I won’t” you tell him “Not if the movie is good anyways” 

“How about La La Land?” he asks and you look at him and burst into laughter. “You want to watch La La Land? Are you serious?” 

“I just happen to know that you love it.”

“Yeah but do you actually like it?” you ask. Toto clears his voice“Um, I haven’t watched it.” and you answer surprised “You cannot be serious.”

“I am. Whether you believe it or not, I don't watch such movies. Or any movies at all.”

“You are traveling 300 days out of 365 and you don’t watch movies? What do you do on the plane?”

“Read the news, sleep. It’s not that I don’t watch movies, it’s just that it is not on a regular basis.”

“I will make you a cinema fan, I swear. La La Land was game changing for me. That’s what we are going to watch. I don’t care if you don’t like musicals.” you say and you navigate in the TV menu to find the movie stream “Oh and by the way, if you haven’t watched Mamma Mia yet, I will get my ass off this suite and not talk to you until you watch it.”

“I have watched it and I can say that I actually liked it.”

“Aren’t you ashamed to say it Mr. Perfect Image?” you ask him. “Not to you. You clearly watch that kitsch fest that is Eurovision and love musicals so I am not the one to be ashamed here.” he says. “Hey!” you yell at him.“Just press play Horner.” he says and you follow his instructions. During the whole movie you can see he watches with pure interest, even during the songs which he doesn’t know he seems like he’s having fun. You are doing your part to keep him entertained, singing all the songs since this is probably your 50th rewatch. You make all the fun and smart remarks that you’ve seen on socials from other fans of the movie to keep him engaged. When the movie ends, during the epilogue scene and towards the end you can see him tensing, kind of trying to cover his emotions up. As the credits roll you turn to him.  “So? What do we think about one of the most amazing musicals made to this day?” 

“The ending” he says and pauses. “The ending what?” you ask him. “The ending was weird. Like it really made you believe that this could work but it actually was the ‘What could have been’ moment. It was kind of brutal.”

“Well, that was the intention. To show that two people had to let go of each other to achieve their dreams. It’s because they loved each other that they decided to do this. Now that I am thinking of it, it kind of is brutal, but it’s realistic. Life is brutal sometimes.”

“Do you analyze every movie that you see like this?” 

“Well, yeah? That’s the point of watching a movie, it’s not looking at beautiful pictures for three hours straight and then going to sleep.” 

“So you’re really passionate about it then.” 

“I am yeah.”

“It’s kind of nice that you find things that you really like and are so passionate about them” 

“You can also do it, you know. Being that one guy who’s obsessed with managing a team, finance and racing isn’t all you can ever be. You can have hobbies and other interests. I just think you are scared to break that flawless facade, which is funny because I genuinely believe that you are a man that is full of passion and you want to show it to people. You are afraid that if anyone outside of your safety bubble finds that you are human and not a well programmed robot that performs at its peak day in day out, your life will end. I know you try to be open about things that concern you and people around you, like how you’ve been speaking out about your mental health, but showing your real self can be hard for you but you should really try.” you tell him and he sits there just listening “How about we make this a thing? Movie night, once a week. Or more if you have more recommendations.”

“Am I about to turn you into a cinema noob?”

“Shut up.” he says and checks his watch that is resting on the arm of the couch you are currently sitting on. “How about going to sleep? We have to be at the paddock tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah sure.” you say and both of you walk off to the bedroom where you sleep until Toto’s alarm goes off. “Good Morning.” he says, his voice deeper than usual, with that sleep raspiness standing out “Hello.” you tell him and you can feel him shifting next to you“It’s race day” 

“I am aware. I have a really good feeling about today.”

“Hm” he says “Do you sense a win?” he asks and he plants a kiss on your cheek. You could get used to it. “I actually do. I feel like we are going to do well.” and you can almost hear him laughing “Who’s we?” he asks you. “Mercedes?” you tell him and he laughs, content that you actually consider his team yours by now.You lay still on the bed for a few more minutes, sitting in complete silence but you can feel the two of you debating whether or not you should get off the bed. You and Toto are too lazy to do anything but like always he’s the one who takes the initiative and moves. “Come on, get yourself ready. We have to be down at the paddock in 45 minutes.”

“I don’t need 45 minutes.”

“Oh you’re sure about that?” he asks. “Positive. You can time me if you want.” you reply.“Yes?” he asks. “Yea. But I am not going to race myself to get ready without breakfast first.” 

“I thought you were smart enough to figure out that we are always having breakfast at the track.” You don’t reply, you just sit and stare outside the window while Toto is using his phone. With his serious voice he says “Hey Siri, call Jasmine.” and then his phone starts dialing. It’s not after a minute that a female voice answers the phone. “Hello Jasmine, this is Toto, can I have my full breakfast order done and served in 45 minutes in my office?” he asks and waits for a few seconds. “I also want two servings of the same order, that in my office too, same time.” he says and you smile at the chat he’s having with his employee. “Also, it is really important that you find Mr Lord and let him know that I will not be available for the next 2 hours and I don’t want any distraction while I am in my office. Yes. Yes. Thank you Jasmine.” he says and he ends the call. “Now that you know breakfast is waiting, go get ready. Now.” 

“Is this an order?” 

“I am already counting.” he says and you run to get ready.You start running around his suite grabbing all of the things you need for race day as Toto sits on the couch scrolling on his phone while he gives you some glances. 15 minutes later you are ready to go, bag on your shoulder, shoes on. “I’m ready” you say standing and looking at him. “You are quick.” he says, still scrolling. “I am. We could go now, although you are not ready.” 

“It won't take more than 5 minutes.” 

“Really?” you ask “Yes. I just put my clothes on, get my iPad and my computer in my bag and I’m ready to go.”

“Oh I thought you needed time to get your face ready for cameras.”

“Nope, I’m all natural, the one who needs to get her face ready is you.”

“I didn’t do anything on my face except from washing it and applying some sunscreen. I am 100% natural today.”

“I see. Although you cannot convince me that when you were at Red Bull you took less than 35 minutes to get ready.”

“Well yeah I needed like half an hour to get my hair and make up done. I have to get camera ready every day. I was always late and Christian yelled at me so many times. Now no one sees me so it really doesn’t matter if I look like shit.”

“You don’t look like shit, you are great.” he tells you “Aw thanks.” you say and you drop your bag on the floor and sit next to Toto on the couch and give him a peck on his cheek. He turns and looks at you and kisses you right on the lips, instantly deepening the kiss laying you on the couch. You smile in that kiss and keep going, tangling your fingers on his hair, pulling him closer. He puts his hand under your waist and pulls you closer and you can already feel a burning desire. “How about we get back to bed?” he asks. “We have to go Toto” you manage to say between kisses.“I don’t want to leave.” he says. “We can miss the race to be honest.” you tell him. “Yes we can.” he tells you “But we won’t. Plus you’ve already ordered us your breakfast”

“You’re better.” he says and you scoff when you hear his words. “Oh god, behave Wolff” you tell him and you push him away teasingly. You walk away from him and he sits there, resting his head on the back of the couch trying to calm himself. “You got to get ready now” 

“Okay.” he says unwillingly and stands up and starts getting ready. Half an hour later you take the walk from the hotel to the paddock which has already begun getting flooded with people. Both you and Toto take your breakfast at his office and then you follow him around in his pre race routine, from fan zones to debriefs, to interviews and finally to the grid. You spot Christian and Max many times during your time there but Toto doesn’t say anything more than a Hello to both of them. You watch Max get ready to hop in the car in front of both Lewis and George and can’t help but feel a bit of anger that he is sitting on pole. You know Mercedes’ car is fast, it’s more deserving to be in P1 than Max. You know you have to work hard to bring them in P1 and P2, because the Red Bull is not slow either, you know the car from inside out, and you know it’s capable of winning. It’s only a race’s time. When it is time you manage to greet Lewis in a flurry of cameras, fans and engineers at the grid and head back to the Mercedes garage. As you head towards the entrance of the garage you hear your (fake) name being called and you turn to see Cynthia outside the Red Bull garage as she shouts good luck to you and you yell back at her, wishing her good luck. You take your place at the fantasy island and watch the race start. Max launches off perfectly, at the right time and Lewis and George get a little left behind. As the race goes on, Max is still in front of the two Mercedes drivers, who are actually closely following him. You keep watching fully focused on the telemetry screens in front of you, and listening to the talks between team members about pace and strategy. Not long after the race start, you see both cars overtaking the Red Bull and launching off into the distance. The cars are quite quick but Max keeps following them, in DRS range. The rest of the field stays back as the two black and the one blue car fight to get the first place. As soon as it is time for strategy calls you can hear the team agreeing on a double stack for the pit stops, and so it happens, but as it is normal, double stacks can’t always be flawless. George’s stop is perfectly timed and great in duration so that the undercut will be strong enough but on the other hand, Lewis who has been really unlucky with some shitty stops has it again. The front right tire doesn’t come off as quick and the stop lasts a whooping 5.6 seconds, which makes Lewis lose a track position to Max and a whole 2 seconds to him as well. Toto gets so frustrated with the stop that he smashes the desk like he always does and the race continues. Toto is all the time on the radio with the strategists and the mechanics and as a result he has no time to talk to you. Lewis is chasing Max but failing. Max is much quicker than he is and when he does reach him he is not able to make a move on him. The race finishes with George in 1st place, Max in 2nd and Lewis in 3rd.  As always Toto reaches and presses the button to congratulate George and you can see the message being broadcasted on TV. George happily replies and celebrates, thanking Toto and the team. And then Toto moves on to congratulate Lewis. Lewis is much less excited than George was. He just thanks Toto and the team and switches his radio off. You realize from the first minute of the broadcast that Lewis is kinda pissed off and disappointed.

“We won” Toto turns and tells you with a smile on his face.  “Lewis is disappointed I’m sure. But yeah at least George won.” you tell him. “I know Lewis will be disappointed. We let him down today, he’s not going to be glad. He did everything he could but still the car just couldn’t work to get past Max.”. “I am really hoping he will be alright.” 

“It’s Lewis, he’s always bigger than this. A title got stolen from him and he kept on going. I am sure he’s going to come out of this car, go to press and celebrate with us even though he might feel bitter about the third position.”

“Yeah, you probably know him better than I do.” you say and then Toto leaves you in the garage while he’s walking around the paddock talking to journalists, Sky Sports, F1 TV. Later on there’s indeed a celebration with the team for George’s win and Lewis’ podium and everyone gathers there. There’s the usual team picture and then the champagne celebrations which everyone tries to avoid but gets caught up to. After the whole thing winds down you find Lewis sitting outside the garage and you sit with him “Congrats for today!” you tell him trying to cheer him up “Uhh, I don’t know man, this isn’t my best result, but thanks either way.”

“Come on Lewis, you know you did the best you could, and it’s okay, I was in the garage next to Toto and right after that mistake he kept on trying and asking on how you could get past Max and even George but I guess the stars didn’t align for you today but for George.”

“I guess you’re right. I feel like I am overreacting but you know I have to keep my head up, nothing comes out of complaining.” Lewis says. “You just somehow became your own therapist and you overcame the whole thing in like 5 minutes. I hate you.” you tell him laughing. “I’ll teach you how to do it, it seems like you will need it when you leave us.” he says reminding you of your situation in Red Bull. “Definitely” you tell him and you sit there in silence for a while until Toto comes by you. “We’ve got to get going, we only got one and a half  hour before the jet leaves”.

“You’re leaving now?” Lewis asks and Toto nods but some mechanic comes to talk to him 

“Will Roscoe be joining us?” you ask. “About that, I will be flying with Valtteri and will drop him to Nice before flying to NYC. I was thinking about spending a little more time with Roscoe before dropping him off to you. Is it okay if Valtteri drops him by your place later on?” 

“Oh no problem, give him my number so that he can text me once you are in Nice.” 

“Great!”

“Lewis I really gotta get going, I have to pack my things back at the hotel before leaving.”

“Of course. I’ll see you in Miami. Take good care of Roscoe.”

“I will” you tell him and you wave him goodbye. After that you leave the track alone since Toto is still busy at the track. You go back to your suite and pack your things and with 45 minutes still left you take your phone and ring Toto. “Are you in your room?” you ask. “No, still at the track.” he says and you reply slightly surprised “Wait, what are you still doing on track?”

“I am having a discussion with Stefano about technical directives and he can’t stop talking.”

“Are you sure you’re going to make it? Are your stuff packed?” 

“No they are not, I thought I would have enough time to do it now but he thinks we are having a meeting.”

“Why don’t you tell him that you have to catch your flight?”

“Because he will propose that we fly together” he answers “I keep checking my watch but he doesn’t get the message”

“Oh then try to get out of this discussion asap.” 

“Will do. See you in a while” he says and he hangs up. You check your bag and you find Toto’s suite card so you decide to go to his suite and pack his suitcase. You take everything off the closet and start folding them and placing them in his carry on, take his shoes as well as his stuff from the bathroom and place them in the suitcase. Lastly you take all of the chargers and laptops and stuff them into his bag. You take a seat on his couch now both of your suitcases fully packed and ready to go but he’s nowhere to be found. 20 minutes before the time that you have to be in the airport your phone rings and his name pops up on the screen. You accept the call. “Hey” you say. You “We are not going to make it on time. I only just got to the hotel.” he says and you hear footsteps outside his door. “And? We still have 20 minutes.” 

“Everything is unpacked. We are going to be late.”  he replies and the door opens. He sees you sitting on the couch and ends the call. He walks in the hallway with a confused expression“What are you doing here?” he says and you point at the suitcase and bag left in the middle of the living room area. “I packed.” you tell him and you smile. At this very moment you see a very anxious but happy Toto walking towards you and placing a kiss on your head. “Thank you” he says. “I had time to kill, a spare key card and I figured you might be late so I thought why not. I hope that I packed them in the right way. Oh and make sure that I got everything.”

“It’s perfect, thanks.” he says and he takes a look around the suite, looking for things he might have forgotten. Five minutes later you are ready to go, you leave the hotel, you drive to the airport and get there 10 minutes late but still the jet is ready to go. You board, take the seat opposite to Toto and get as comfortable as you can, he takes a book out of his bag and places it on the table in front of you. You take off from Baku and you start feeling slightly worn out. “Sleepy?” he asks. “Is that so obvious?”

“Yes.” 

“It’s just that races wear me out so much. In Red Bull it was easier but now I literally spent twice as much energy because of the whole hiding thing.”

“I get what you mean, I can’t get through it without a cup or two of coffee” 

“It is funny because the race is during the afternoon but it still drains me” 

“You should sleep.” he tells you. “I won’t.” you tell him and he hums “So, tell me about the technical directives you were discussing with Stefano.” Toto starts explaining what he and Domenicalli were discussing along with some other team principals and you try really hard to follow what he was telling you. You were asking him questions but you felt your eyes burning “I will just close my eyes because they hurt but I will keep listening.” you tell him. “Sure” he says and he laughs. “Hey, I won’t sleep.” and he teases you “I bet you won’t.”. You close your eyes and you follow Toto’s voice, keep asking him questions and discussing until you are less and less conscious and fall completely asleep. Almost 4 hours after, you wake up, feeling the plane descending into lower altitudes. You feel surprisingly warm and open your eyes only to see Toto’s jacket all over you. You slept through the whole flight. You move slightly and Toto, who is sitting just opposite to you reading his book lifts his eyes from the book to you.“Glad to see you didn’t sleep.” he tells you  “Hey, don’t make fun of me!” 

“I love it when you know you are not right and still try to convince others that you are.” You roll your eyes at his comment and take a look outside the window. “Where are we?” 

“Almost in Nice, we will be landing in 20” 

“Cool. I can’t wait to sleep in my bed.” 

“You’re not coming over?” 

“No, I’ve had enough of you during the past days.”

“Right.” 

“How’s your book?” you ask. “It is good.” Toto says 

“I’ll read it after you.”

“I’ll be happy to lend it to you.” 

“Oh and if I like it I will need access to that Wolff Reading List.” 

“I don’t have a reading list.”

“Oh god what?”

“It is not a competition Horner, I read for my pleasure.” 

“So do I but I have a reading list. I read reviews and I sometimes write them anonymously.”  

“Well, I don’t give a shit about reviews, I read the synopsis and if I find it interesting I read it. I am sure some of my favorite books have the shittiest reviews but I don’t care.” he says. “Wow, you are stronger than I am. If a review isn’t good I won’t even start the book.”

“That’s some of the shit people of your generation do”

“Oh yes I keep forgetting that you are a boomer.” you joke “We are not going to discuss this again.” he says in a strict tone “Okay sir.” you mock him. “Fuck off, go back to sleep.” he says and he turns back to his book. “Thanks for the blanket by the way.” you say but he gives you no answer and you laugh. “Are you going to drive me back to Monaco?” you ask. “No you should call Marc” he says. “I hate you Wolff.” you tell him. “I hate you too.” he laughs. A short time after you land in Nice and contrary to what he said earlier, Toto orders for all of your baggage to be loaded to his car. You take the drive back to Monaco while discussing  paddock gossip which Toto repeats isn’t a thing he does but he happily participates in the whole discourse. Half an hour later you arrive at home, Toto parks the car in the garage and you get your bags out of the car and take the lift to your apartment. You hug him goodbye and go to your apartment where you instantly unpack and get comfortable and sit in your bedroom where you binge watch gossip girl until it is late enough and Valtteri is calling you to drop Roscoe off. You text him your details and 5 minutes later he’s knocking your door.  “Hi Valtteri.” you greet him. “Hi” he says shyly, holding Roscoe’s leash on his one hand and a bag with Roscoe’s food and toys

“Lewis told me to drop those off. Including Roscoe.” 

“I will be taking care of him while Lewis is in New York For the Met Gala.”

“Oh yeah, I would take care of him but Tif and I have to go to a bike competition in France”

“Don’t worry, I will take care of him instead. Good to see you, did you have a nice flight?”

“Yes, it was pretty decent, you know how it is when traveling in private.”

“Yeah definitely.” you tell him. “We missed you in F1, when are you coming back?” he says and for a moment you freeze before you register that you supposingly weren’t in Baku this weekend. “I missed you guys too. I don’t know when I am coming back yet, I am still adapting to my new life here in Monaco.”

“You are right, we will be happy to see you back.” 

“Thank you for dropping Roscoe off for me”

“You’re welcome.” 

“Good luck for your competition.”

“Thanks, goodnight!” Valtteri says and leaves you with Roscoe.

Roscoe gets in and moves around the apartment trying to get used to it. You play a bit with him but at some point you are too tired and get to bed where Roscoe joins you and curls next to your feet and falls asleep. You do the same for the night. The next day you wake up in your new home, register the fact that now you have to take care of Roscoe. You take him out for his morning walk and you go back home where you decide to text Sara once again. 

You

I am back in Monaco. Are you up for some coffee?

Sara

Oh welcome back! Of course I am up for coffee. Your place or mine?

You 

Cafe de Paris in an hour?

Sara

Omg sounds perfect. Gotta go get ready.

You 

I will be bringing Roscoe over too

Sara

God I love this dog. Of course bring him over, the dog is a socialite

You shut your phone and start getting ready, dressing up appropriately for the Cafe de Paris. You feed Roscoe and get him ready and after an hour you are sitting in Cafe de Paris with Sara. You both enjoy your drinks while the bulldog is sitting by your side and you keep gossiping about people you know. Sara spills her work gossip and you keep discussing different bullshit. Time goes by and both of you get hungry so you propose cooking dinner at your place. You and Sara get back home and you start cooking a risotto while she drinks wine and you tell her all the paddock gossip. “So turns out Christian hired that bitch who was hooking up with Toto.”

“He did what?” 

“Yeah, he hired her during my first week off the team.”

“Oh my gosh. I might sound a bit harsh but don’t you think that your dad is a bit problematic?” Sara asks “I’ve been thinking that since I officially joined the team, S. I just don’t understand his logic” you say and you hear your phone ringing. When you check you see Christian’s face popping up.“Speak of the devil”.

“Hey dad” you say 

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m good you?”

“No, I mean, what are you doing outside with Hamilton’s dog?”

“Oh Roscoe? Lewis is flying to the Met Gala and he wants someone to take care of his dog.”

“And you suddenly became best friends with Hamilton that he trusts you with his dog? You have the audacity to walk him in Monaco’s most crowded places? There are pictures all over the internet.”

“I think you are overreacting.” you tell him 

“How did the dog end up in your hands? Were you in Baku yesterday?” 

“What the fuck dad? I was in Monaco, I had Valtteri drop him off.”

“Are you teaming up with them? Do you think it’s going to make me change my mind and take you back?” 

“Look, I have a risotto cooking up on my stove and I do not plan on burning this place down, so let me get it straight for you. I am just taking care of a dog that for some reason triggers you in a way that nothing ever has. I am doing a favor to a friend. Nothing to piss you off. I don’t know why you think everyone is constantly plotting against you but the reality is that we are not. Take a chill pill and get used to seeing pictures of me with Roscoe until Lewis takes him back. And for fuck’s shake, let me live my life.” you say and you turn off the call. “What was that about?” Sara asks. “There are pictures of us and Roscoe from today and Christian was pissed because of a freaking dog.” 

“Oh then you were right to speak to him like that” 

“Thanks” you say. As soon as the food is ready you and Sara enjoy your lunch at your balcony with a sea view and after a couple of hours she leaves you alone. You clean up the kitchen, do the dishes and get changed to a tracksuit and a pair of sneakers for Roscoe’s night walk. You enjoy a walk along the coast of Monte Carlo and later on you come back to your building. To your surprise you see Toto just outside, dressed in a suit while waiting for his car. “Hi” you tell him. “Hello. Out for a walk I see?” he asks. “Yes, Roscoe needed his night walk.” you say as Roscoe approaches him. Toto instantly takes two steps backwards looking at the bulldog “Where are you off to?” you ask. “I’m going to a business meeting.” you are interested about his day “With a sponsor ?” and he replies giving you all the information you ask for “No, it’s for one of my finance jobs.” 

“I see.” you say and you spot someone with a phone pointing to you two “We are being videotaped”

“It’s been a while since we’ve last seen you in the paddock miss Horner” he says “Oh yeah, I’ve been having some time off that’s why.”

“I’ve heard the rumors, met your substitute as well. When do you think you’re coming back ?” 

“I haven’t decided yet, I am still recharging to be honest.” 

“Good thing to do. Take your time” 

“Thank you Mr. Wolff, take care.” you tell him and leave him to go back to your apartment. You take Roscoe off his leash and he slowly walks to his bed where he falls asleep. You lay on your couch and check your socials. It’s the first Monday of May and your timelines have already been flooded with Met Gala content, from the setting of the red carpet to some of the celebrities and acquaintances getting ready for the event. You promised Lewis that you will stay awake to see him on the red carpet and for this reason you decide to take a nap. It’s not that late but since you have to wait for Lewis until later that night you chose to kill some time this way so you drift off to a sweet nap. In the middle of your sleep you hear the doorbell ringing and you walk half asleep to the door where you check through the peephole to see who it is and you see the one tall austrian outside your door dressed with the same clothes as earlier. You open the door and you let him in.“What are you doing here?” you tell him, voice sounding a bit hoarse so Toto gets the hint. “Have you been sleeping? Did I wake you up?” he asks a little worried, “Ummm, you kinda did” you tell him, “Oh sorry, I should go then, let you rest.” 

“I was going to wake up anyway.  I promised Lewis I will watch him on the red carpet today.” you tell him and he asks “What is it today?”. You laugh with his ignorance “Oh god we are never going to get an invite if you keep asking those questions.”

“Why do we need an invitation for this?”

“It’s one of the most exciting nights of the year Toto, the Met Gala, every relatable celebrity dresses up in custom designer pieces that match to a theme and they have a dinner or something.” 

“Prom for rich people?” 

“Kinda. I am surprised you aren’t aware of it, since Lewis has been going during the past 3-4 years if I’m not mistaken.”

“Pop culture isn’t my thing.” he says while he takes off his jacket and hangs it on a chair nearby. “I can see it” you reply. Toto joins you on the couch, he sits on the side, takes off his shoes and unbuttons the top button of his shirt. You grab your computer and sit close to him. You open the TV and you play the Vogue Livestream of the event while Toto sits bored next to you switching his gaze from the television to the ceiling, to your laptop, to you and then back to the television. As you are watching the event, Toto stands up and takes a look at your bookshelf and he picks a book which he starts reading while you are too busy waiting for Lewis. Toto speed reads the book as you text Lewis asking him to let you know when he will be joining the red carpet. At some point you distinctively hear Roscoe’s paws on the floor as he runs to the living room. He sits just below your feet which you have laid on the coffee table while Toto is laying on the long side of the couch. Roscoe takes a look at you and then at Toto, both of you too far absorbed to be paying attention to him and for this reason the poor dog decides to make you pay attention to him.  Roscoe starts barking and in a fraction of a second, Toto slams his book close and starts backing up and climbing on the back of the couch. When you notice him you burst out laughing. You should have been aware that Toto is afraid of Roscoe, that’s why he was skeptical about having the dog in the same place as him during a transatlantic flight. It seems so hilarious to you that a grown ass man such as Toto is afraid of an old bulldog, mainly because Toto is who he is. The intimidating boss, the scary rival. You immediately grab your phone and start recording. “Lewis, I know you’re in line for the red carpet and you probably won’t see this until tomorrow but you have to see this.” you say as you record yourself and then turn the rear camera on. “I don’t know if you are aware of it but it seems like Mr. Wolff here is afraid of your dog.” you say as you see Toto on the back of the couch and Roscoe staring at him. “Hey! It’s not funny, please get him to leave!” he says and just as he completes his sentence Roscoe continues barking at him, Toto’s expression is essentially pure panic at this point but you continue laughing. You know Roscoe just wants to play with him but he is not very much aware of it. “Please just stop recording and get him out of here” he says again, you are still recording. “He’s not going to hurt you” you tell him, “You don’t know it” Toto replies. “Okay Lew, I have to take care of this, we are still waiting for you here” you say and you show the Vogue Livestream on your TV “Have fun!”  you say and you stop recording, sending the video to Lewis. After that you leave your phone down, you grab Roscoe and bring him by your side, far from Toto, who seems like he lost 5 years of his life. The dog lays on the couch as you rub his belly and he seems happy. “See, that’s what he wanted. Just a bit of attention and love.” you tell him “Well, if he wanted that he shouldn't have barked at me. I was scared to death” 

“Toto Wolff is afraid of dogs.” you say “I am. You cannot imagine how many times I’ve managed to avoid any interaction with this dog during the past 8 years.”

“I was just wondering how Lewis didn’t have any idea of this.”

“Oh, did you send the video? Did I make a fool of myself on Lewis as well?”

“No, that’s not making a fool of yourself, that’s adorable” 

“Until Lewis posts it on his socials” 

“He won’t” you say 

“You don’t know Lewis, he loves making fun of me every chance he gets”

“I mean sometimes you’re hilarious so he’s right, you shouldn’t be angry.” you tell him 

“Most of the time I’m not actually angry, I am just acting like I am to make him feel bad” 

“You are crazy” you tell him and you turn to catch a glimpse of the screen when you see Lewis coming up the red carpet. “Oh there he goes!” you say and Toto turns his attention to the screen and so does Roscoe once he realizes that his dad is on the tv. “That’s a daring outfit.” Toto comments as he watches Lewis posing on the red carpet. “Oh you suddenly have an opinion on fashion?” 

“Why shouldn’t I? You think you’re the only one with a fashion sense?”

“Darling, at least I have more than 3 outfits in my wardrobe” you tell him and he rolls his eyes. He knows you’re right but he still focuses on the television. You see Roscoe staring at the screen and you snap a photo which you post on your instagram stories right after lewis leaves the red carpet. “Did we just sit here to watch Lewis pose on the red carpet for 3 minutes?” 

“No, I am hoping he will be back for an interview shortly after.” you say and he nods, going back to the last page of the book he was reading and 5 minutes later Lewis comes on the screen again and both of you watch the interview ss

“You’re an expert on this aren’t you?” he asks “I have been watching for the past 10 years, Toto. Plus, they do love Lewis a lot, it was almost certain that they would give him the interview.”

“They do seem to have a preference for Lewis though.” he says 

“The truth is, as much as Max is supposedly my friend, he’s not that relevant out of our little world.” 

“How can you do that?” 

“Do what?” 

“Hang out with him”

“Look, he isn’t as much of a dick as he seems, he’s actually a pretty decent company and he’s a kind soul but only if you are close to him and that’s why he comes off as an asshole to everyone else.” you say and you yawn. “Sleepy?” he asks

“Yeah, I am starting to get tired. Are you going to stay?” 

“I would but Roscoe will be here.”

“He can sleep in the guest room, please stay?”

“I will, although I have a meeting tomorrow morning. I’ll just wake up early.”

“Okay” you tell him and you stand up taking Roscoe in your arms “Wanna pet him?” you ask. “Only because you’re holding him” he says as he pets Roscoe who’s now sleepy. You leave your living room and head towards the guest room where you leave the dog, closing the door behind you. By the time you are out the door you see that the living room is already empty and you head to your room where Toto is already laying in your bed. You change into your pajamas and climb in your bed where you fall asleep. The next day you wake up and as Toto said, he has already left for his meeting. You check your phone and you see several texts, the first one from Toto reads a simple Text me when you wake up. The second one is from Marc, saying Parties ahead of the Cannes film festival are just starting, thought it would be nice for us to be seen together, to silence people about our whereabouts. Only as friends though. Accommodation in my yacht. Tristan will be here, bring Sara as well. RSVP. You give it a thought, thinking about how Christian made a scene about Roscoe, and how he asked you where you were. You text Toto first, to make sure it won’t be a problem. 

Woke up just fine although i would have liked you to be here and not in that stupid meeting of yours. Also, Marc just sent me an invitation about a party tomorrow and I think maybe I should go, do some pr job, give people something to talk about

Toto 

You should go just don’t get too wild

You 

I won’t,besides Sara will be probably coming as well.But the thing is it will be in Cannes, but I’ll make sure to be back to Nice on time for the flight

Toto 

No problem

You leave your phone on dnd and continue your tasks for the day, doing some light cleaning on your apartment when the doorbell rings. You open the door and you find a donut and a cup left on your doormat, the cup has a note on "Sorry for not being here for breakfast, consider this as my not so homemade breakfast." You smile and shut the door, immediately texting Sara, inviting her over for coffee and gossip. Once she comes over you share the news on the party for which she agrees immediately and she proposes a shopping spree for the party. You agree with her and shortly after you are off to the shops where you try on different outfits, occasionally texting Toto for his opinion on some of the outfits. At the end of the day, Sara ends up with 4 or 5 bags from the shops and you buy one simple black  dress  from Sandro to wear for the event. You grab a drink at the Blue Gin and you head back home where you pack your bags both for the party at Cannes and for the trip to Miami. Before you get back to bed you receive a text from Marc.

Marc Taylor

I will be waiting for you tomorrow morning for our trip to Cannes

You 

Where will we find you?

Marc Taylor

At the marina, we will be using my yacht obviously

You 

We will be there @ 10:30. Should we bring coffee?

Marc Taylor

We have a barista on board. Just get your bags. 

The next day you wake up, dressing up with a maxi sundress suitable for the yacht trip. You later meet Sara and her driver drops you off at the Monaco marina, right outside Marc’s yacht. You get on board as members of Marc’s staff get your bags on the yacht and into your rooms. You follow Marc straight ahead and join him and Tristan on the deck. You can see people with cameras taking pictures of you from the marina and you play along. You do want paparazzi to see where you are and who you are with, you are confident that they will be running the story before the party today. You greet Tristan and walk the deck, taking the sun in and gazing into the mediterranean. Sara snaps some pictures of you and then the yacht leaves Monaco and sails to Cannes.  “What time does the party start?” you ask,"At 8 I believe.” Tristan replies, “We have to start getting ready as soon as we arrive there” Sara tells you 

“We will arrive in Cannes in an hour, you will be needing 6 hours to get ready?” 

“Haven’t you met Horner? She takes at least two hours to get ready for a day at the paddock, you think she will be getting ready in sooner than 5 hours for a party in Cannes?” Sara answers and you laugh. As you sail to Cannes, the four of you sit on the deck sipping champagne and gossiping about old acquaintances of yours until one hour later you arrive and you dock at the marina. Tristan and Marc go out for a walk and you and Sara stay on board to relax and get settled to your rooms. You leave Sara in her cabin and you relax outside on the deck. You snap a photo and post it on your stories and then start reading your book until you start getting ready, while listening to music. Tristan and Marc come an hour later and Tristan waves at you. You take your headphones off. “There’s someone that has a package for you outside”

“What package?”

“It’s an order from a fashion brand I think. They said you made the order from Monaco and sent it here”

“Oh yeah that” you say “Marc can you please get this for me?”

“Of course” Marc replies and leaves you behind with Tristan. “What are you reading?” he asks, “The Goldfinch” you tell him.

“Oh I heard it’s nice.” 

“It is really good, I’ll give it to you when I finish it”

“Great! Um, by the way, have you seen Sara?” 

“She’s in her cabin, probably planning today’s look. She doesn’t wake up looking as good as you see her.”

“Bet she looks even better when she wakes up” Tristan says and you burst out laughing.“You really like her don’t you?” you ask 

“I do. Not as much as Marc likes you though.” 

“Tristan, Marc and I have already discussed this.”

“You know he’s still trying though” he tells you but he stops talking as he sees Marc coming up to the yacht. “This is your package Miss.” says Marc and kneels in front of you showing you the box.“Thank you mr. Taylor” you tell him “I gotta go try it on and plan my look for today, see ya later losers.”. You walk away from Marc and Tristan and into your cabin where you untie the black bow on top of the box and open it to reveal a green silk dress and in the box, a black handwritten card, a handwriting you recognize."Yesterday night I was watching Succession, saw this dress on Shiv and thought it would look nice on you. Bis Bald.". You smile in disbelief and try the dress on and you manage to fish out your emerald Manolo shoes which perfectly fit the color of the dress. You decide to wear this to the party instead of your new bought Sandro dress and you undress since lunch is about to be served. After your meal you return to your room, and start getting ready. You take a shower, use a face mask and then fix your hair in a low bun chignon. You apply some light makeup and some jewelry for the party. When you get out of your cabin you see Marc and Tristan in their party suits. “Wow Horner” says Tristan but Marc just sits there staring at you. “We should try to snap some pictures until Sara is ready” he says again and pushes both you and Marc at the front of the yacht where he takes pictures of you both with your phone and your polaroid camera but his phone rings so Marc becomes your photographer for the moment. “You look stunning, the color is amazing.”

“Thanks” you say and you keep posing. 

When the whole photoshoot is done you check your pictures and decide to post one of them on your story but first you want to check that everything is okay from Toto’s side 

You 

[Sent 2 photos]

Your wish is my command. The dress is perfect. Tristan and Marc were stunned

Wolff

I knew as soon as I saw it that it would be a perfect fit. Glad they liked it. Hope Marc keeps his hands to himself though

You 

He will! About that, is it okay if I post the picture of me and him ? 

Wolff

Everyone is going to talk about you two being a couple so why not feed the story to them? It’s okay by me after all ,at the end of the day only I know that you will be sleeping in my bed for the weekend 

20 minutes later Tristan is already yelling at Sara to hurry up and when she does show up at the deck she sees you and stares at you. “Horner!????? What are you wearing?” she asks “You look stunning but bestie this wasn’t the plan was it?” You approach her and you whisper to her ear “It was a surprise gift I couldn’t say no to”. She scoffs. “And he won’t even bring me flowers” she says as she points at Tristan. A couple of photos later the four of you are off to the party. At the party there are a lot more photos, dancing, drinking, mingling and socializing. Everyone is enjoying the wonderful night including Sara, Marc and Tristan. You get lost in a discussion with some movie producer who happens to be at the party and at some point you see Marc approaching you along with a blonde woman, which you happen to know. “Horner!” Marc says as you greet the producer “Marc, I lost you an hour ago, where were you?” 

“With this badass. I am not sure you’ve two met but, this is Francesca Scorcese” 

“Taylor, I’ve met Horner before. You always forget nepo babies always know each other” 

“Absolutely” you say “What have you been up to since I last saw you?” you ask. The three of you start discussing and later on partying. Late at night the party starts drifting off and your quartet returns happily to the yacht. You gather all the pictures from today, making sure there’s enough you and Marc on them so that people will start believing that you are in a relationship. You post them on your instagram captioning them as “What were your favorite nepo babies up to ?”  and you shut your phone before falling asleep. The next morning you wake up and make sure everything is packed. Sara’s sister who happens to have a job in Nice and was taking care of Roscoe in the meantime comes and picks you up from Cannes and drives you to the airport where you finally meet Toto. “Morning!” you tell him and give him a little hug. You are already in incognito mode so you’re making sure no one is watching you. “Hello. How was your party night?” 

“We had a lot of fun actually. You know how our events are? Not even close to that”

“At least on those events we get to be at the same place.” 

“But as long as I can remember the only thing we’ve managed to do was fight” you tell him “Thanks for the dress again. Everyone was impressed” 

“That is for you telling me that I don’t have any fashion sense.” he teases you “Mr Wolff, it is time to board.” the lady at the gate says. You take your stuff, carrying Roscoe in his cage as well and you board the jet. You get comfortable and get Roscoe out of his cage but you hold him on your lap, making sure that he won’t get close to Toto. The plane takes off and you drift off to sleep as the lack of sleep from your party night becomes apparent. After 3 hours you open your eyes and look out the window as you are flying mid Atlantic. It takes a minute before you realize that Roscoe isn’t on your lap anymore and you take a glance around you and you see the bulldog sleeping on Toto’s lap. You laugh at the sight, thinking how some days before Toto was afraid to death and how now he peacefully sleeps with him. You snap two or three photos and send one of them to Lewis. 

You 

[Photo]

Character growth! We are on our way to Miami. See you there 

Lewis Hamilton 

That is insane. Ah man, can’t wait to tease Toto for all of this. Thanks for the content, Horner. See you at the track!

Shortly after you drift back to sleep and you only wake up when you feel the ground below you shaking. You open your eyes and look out of the window again to see the airport of Miami. You don’t register that you have finally arrived until you hear “Miss Horner, Mister Wolff, Welcome to Miami”. Toto looks around and tells you “Let’s see what this race week brings us” and you nod, mentally preparing yourself for another week at the F1 circus. 

[absolutebl]

Hi!

So apparently GMMTV will be announcing their 2024 line up in October!

Which actors do you think will be paired together this time? I feel like Mix and Pond have hinted they will be studying more so maybe not their pairings…. GeminiFourth said they will have a series so definitely them…

I would love to see ThorFluke plus Pawin with anyone and Drake with anyone!

What are your predictions?

Ooooo, GMMTV 2024 Pure Speculation

(remember if it's not data driven I'm historically pretty bad at this, but sure, let's shoot the shizz)

Most Likely

EarthMix - they're reading v burned out (in addition to Mix + school) but they are currently GMMTV's cash cow so I can't imagine GMMTV won't try to put them in something, no matter what Mix said... but it's possible they'll be let rest for most of 2024.

First & Khao - naturally, if GMMTV can find a script the boys like, these two are likely their the biggest pair earners (if EarthMix really are out).

GeminiFourth - of course, the new princes

ForceBook - honestly they are steady, reliable workhorses who visually suit many BL scripts, they seem easy to work with, fun, and game. Not the most charismatic pair and I'm shaky on their range and versatility, but GMMTV clearly doesn't feel that way. I think it's pretty likely they will get something... I just hope it is something interesting. Are they bankable enough for a historical? That's the real question.

Not Sure

JoongDunk - I really don't know, I think they are slightly more likely than not but they keep getting lackluster scripts. GMMTV is more likely to blame the pair than the show. And it is possible they are just a lackluster pair... too.

JimmySea - what happen to (or will happen with) Last Twilight?

I'd like to see Jimmy paired with someone else. He's too charismatic for Sea. To really break us they should pair him with Gun and just burn down the world. GMMTV would never do this, tho.

Least Likely

It's unlikely PondPhuwin will lead out a show. Pond def said something about going back to school. (Which is code for a long break, if nothing else). They're good but less $ than EarthMix so I think GMMTV will back off from them.

OffGun - I'm not saying it won't happen anymore, but...

TayNew - see above

Bright with... anyone but Win.

A queer can dream, tho.

Some noodling

I do think First & Khao were successful enough, and Only Friends will be enough of a sensation, for GMMTV to consider more First Khao style stuff. AKA instead of just dropping a whole pair, GMMTV will try rearranging pairs. Especially for couples that had previously been mostly just sides.

So we can expect Neo, Mark, Marc, Puwin, Aou, possibly even the twins or the Flukes show up paired "experimentally" with different other actors. Some that may genuinely surprise us.

That said, I'd like some more role swapping too.

For example, with Pond away, and him getting older and being SO established in the genre, I would love to see Phuwin play a seme roll. Not sure he has the personality for it in terms of how he's bonded with some of the newer GMMTV talent since I don't watch any of the variety/BTS anymore, but he has the screen presence.

Remember originally Neo & Phuwin had a pairing... I wonder if that would ever happen again.

I would love love LOVE to see Tay paired with someone else. I thought he was a revelation in 3 Will Be Free showing range I'd no idea he had and he's such a big puppy and friendly with everyone. I bet he could get many partners to trust and relax.

Similarly New needs to play a seme. I think he once said he'd rather not do BL with anyone but Tay, but I still think he'd be fun to see.

So New is less likely, but I think we can safely assume Tay would be game. With TayNew it's whether their shipper/stalker fans would "allow" this.

What GMMTV Wants/Needs

I said in the past they needed to onboard new talent and they went for free agents (Joong, Perth). I thought they'd go for whole pairs, and I still think they'd be wise to consider this.

Given they're likely shifting focus on expansion into darker, higher heat, and more gritty arenas (which I think they need to do given the paucity of scripts within their preferred BL style, the tenor of the market, and the aging of their existing stable) what they want is Zee++. Now they can't wrestle him/his pair free of Dormundi, so...

For solos they are looking for:

actors who have lost their pair, have range into dark territory, will do high heat, and can play harsher seme roles (tall a bonus.)

If they're smart they make a play for Bible, but I wouldn't rule out Lee Long Shi. Both actors have a style that fills a niche in the GMMTV stable and are pro enough to work well in a new pair that GMMTV sets for them.

You KNOW they want Bible. How could they not? Can you imagine?

If they go after a pair?

If they're smart as I think they are? They want NetJames. And they might be able to get them, depending on contracts. NetJames has been awful quiet recently, they either are actually finally filming Love Upon a Time or that's fallen through and they're in contract negotiations. YinWar and JaFirst are also tempting prospects, I would imagine. Especially Ja.

It's this "new pair to GMMTV" announcement I'm most interested in, come October.

I think I'm leaving a key high heat pair on the table, but GMMTV also has a specific appearance and acting style they tend to cast for, and not all of the current indy heat pairs have that. Plus their are high value pairs that clearly do not want to sign with or work with GMMTV (OhmFluke for example) so that's a factor.

Finally, you KNOW they want to recreate the magic of GeminiFourth with young talent so I would bet they are actively recruiting high school grade pink milk via auditions, so we can expect one set of totally fresh faces.

Also tumblr ate half this post so I might have missed a few pairs worth discussing, because I had them but it deleted them. Don't blame me, blame tumblr, and leave a comment.

FYI my predictions for 2023 were as follows:

10 GMMTV THAI BL 2023 Predictions (and how I did)

(these are the ones I made last year before their announcements)

EarthMix (yes, 2x)

something with Joong but not paired with Dunk (nope, they tried the same thing again)

dito Jimmy (not sure what's going on there)

what the hell: Lee does a BL (still no, last man standing)

probably a new attempt at ForceBook (yep)

2 set in high school and fewer set in uni (yep/nope)

at least 1 set in an office of some kind and at least 2 set in the countryside (yep/sorta but mostly nope)

one experimental paranormal/alt reality/time slip (yep)

something Friend Zone messy featuring several LBGTQ+ characters and couples and higher heat (yep)

an attempt to resurrect big guns like TayNew (yep - if cherry magic happens) or even BrightWin (nope, they went for OffGun instead, who I had thought were out)

So here's my...

10 GMMTV THAI BL 2024 Predictions

First & Khao lead out something non-school and complex (GMMTV BL grows up)

ForceBook & GeminiFourth get new shows

Phuwin paired with someone else

GMMTV starts experimenting more with busting up and rearranging pairs

What the hell, Tay does a BL with not New.

We see Joong and Perth star in something GMMTV but not BL

GMMTV pulls in at least one established outside talent who plays harsh seme roles and has a more aggressive tone

GMMTV recruits/onboards an established pair who can and is willing to do higher heat

They option something v complex: crime thriller, mystery, suspense, historical even, I wonder if they might be interested in adapting say... Trapped.

JoJo gets to helm another "off brand" show

What I want them to do?

Finally admit that they can take an established script and "make it gay" and just LEAN in. Descendants of the Sun, but gay. Business Proposal, but gay. Home Town Cha Cha Cha... but gay. Thailand has the latent pool and the screen time but they don't have the scripts/stories.

Time to look to Korea and just fill in the gap that Korea is already leaving on the table (by only doing short form BLs).

Korea has the romances. Hundreds of them. MANY of which are not gender dependent.

Can you fucking imagine if Boss & Babe had been that exact cast but GMMTV doing a gay Dali and the Cocky Prince instead? It would have been amazing.

(source)

[oddballwriter]

Moon Boys as Subject Teachers

Warnings: None that I know of 

Author’s Snip: This was inspired by @ominoose's post for Oscar Issac characters as school subjects teachers so shoutout to them for the inspo.

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

Steven Grant - History & English/Literature

A bit of an obvious choice but there's a reason

Steven 100% is a favorite amongst the students

He actually makes learning history and reading fun for them because he talks so enthusiastically about everything in each unit and finds ways to let the kids engage in what's happening

He tries his best to personalize the lessons with either making a worksheet for it to help the kids take in the knowledge or make a slide show for demonstration and visualizing what's being said

His slideshows are actually very iconic because he makes sure they look nice so that the kids will pay attention to them. He has an occasional outdated meme but you know what he's trying and the kids know that

Steven's classroom is also very decorated with both posters that he bought or ones made by students (matter of fact poster making is an extra credit thing if you need it)

He's very attentive to his students and believes that it's crucial for teaching. If a student is struggling then he gladly helps them and works on finding a way to help them learn the lessons in their own way, and if they need to spend some time after school then he'd be happy to stay and see what they need

Steven hates having to be strict and disciplinary but if he needs to then he will.

If a kid misses an assignment's deadline it's okay as long as they give him a heads-up and they turn it in before a unit is done or something. But if someone is actively not doing their homework or assigned work then he will have a talk with them and give them detention if need be and make them do that work

As for troublemakers who disrupt the class he does the whole politely telling them to quiet down or stop, to telling them more sternly, to standing outside till he tells them to come back in, and then the final strike is sending them to the office

On a lighter note, Steven is definitely the kind of teacher to let students eat in his classroom during lunch as long as they don't make a mess and clean after themselves and actually uses that to get to know the kids outside of the lessons

I firmly believe that Steven has talked to the school about creating a book club of some kind so that kids can be in an environment that treats reading as an activity you can do rather than something you NEED to do and sort of does the same with his literature and english students

For example, my senior year English teacher had us do fifteen minute reading time at the beginning of class each day with a book we checked out at the library. I feel like he'd do something like that

But anyway, yeah, he's definitely petitioned to have a book club or some other club similar to that

Marc Spector - Math

I actually see him being more of a student counselor but I just get this weird sense that if I had to pick a subject that he would teach then I'd say math like algebra, calculus, and geometry, for some reason

I don't know he just seems like he's good at math and would be fine with teaching it

His class, despite being a math class, isn't so bad.

Marc's one of those chill teachers who teaches what he needs to and lets the students do their own thing so long as it's not causing any trouble

The first half of class is him teaching the students a new formula, how to do it, how it applies to the world and stuff and then he writes some equations on the board for the students to solve on their own on a piece of paper that they give to him at the end of class just to confirm that they were listening

He's not an easy A exactly. He is when you actually try and listen though

Marc hardly has rules to be honest, they're basic as hell. His class rules are just "Pay attention, do your classwork and homework, yes you are allowed to use a calculator if you need/want to, yes they are allowed on tests, show your work on the sheet or a piece of paper as long as you write your name on it and staple it to the worksheet, don't cheat on your tests, and don't disrupt the class"

He's also very lenient on things. You can listen to music while you work so long as he isn't actively teaching. You can chew gum so long as you aren't chewing or blowing it loudly and sticking it on the desks. You can freely talk to your friends and classmates as long as you aren't bugging them, being loud, or doing it while he is teaching.

Due to the free talking he knows all the gossip around school simply because the kids will be talking about it while they work

He says he doesn't care/isn't into gossip but he secretly moves the kids who gossip toward his desk so that he can hear it while he works at his desk when he changes up the seating chart every once in a while

On top of that he gets to know his students because he will walk around the classroom to stretch his legs and will start small talk with the kids that sometimes leads to full conversations

Marc is very no-nonsense or slacking off though. If a kid is not doing their work then he tells them to start doing it or else they'll need to do it at home along with their homework if they don't get it done at the end of class. As for troublemakers, he just sends them out or to the office since he's learned that more want the attention

Jake Lockley - PE

I know a lot of people say that Jake would be a Spanish/foreign language teacher, and I can see that, but to me, this man gives off PE teacher energy (in a good way)

Jake is sort of the tough love kind of PE teacher that still makes the kids do the activities but he's not cruel

He also doesn't just stand there. If he can he will do the exercises with the kids so that they don't try and be a smart ass with him. He will run the mile with the kids but stays behind so that no one can walk it while he's not looking. It also helps boost the confidence of the kids who don't run as fast and fall behind by being there and praising them for keeping it going

"You're going great. It's about being active not pushing yourself."

If a student feels sick or is on their period and having cramps he'll ask how bad it is and depending on how severe it is he'll let them sit out on that day if it's bad or walk a few laps around the track if they can. "Just as long as you're doing something, okay?"

He's not an idiot though. If they use the sick or period card too many times and it doesn't add up then he calls them out and tells them to do the activity

"Matter of fact, do double because you think I'm stupid."

Jake also isn't oblivious to the fact that he's "the hot teacher" that the female teachers and students blush and giggle at. Of course, he doesn't do anything about either because it's unprofessional and one is a literal crime

But he's not dumb. He knows that some teachers check him out while he's running and exercising with the kids outside

Jake is a part of after-school/extracurricular programs too.

He's definitely a coach for one of the school's sports teams, he finds it to be a great way to give kids something to do after school instead of running around and possibly causing trouble. Jake also likes seeing the kids who've got something going for them and encourages them to do something with it

He also loves seeing all the other clubs and extracurriculars too and is so supportive.

Cheer and dance team going to a competition? Knock 'em dead!

Theatre doing a production? He's buying a ticket and encourages his students and players to go if they can.

Speech and Debate off to a tournament? The other schools have no idea what's coming.

He's sending his love to all of them

Taglist: @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction (I forgot to add this, also my applications are open just ask lol)

[jakecockley]

- your smile, you're everything -

✧ pairing: jake lockley x f!reader (main) , marc spector x reader , steven grant x reader

✧ summary: you're in the kitchen cooking something up for your boyfriend, jake. when you turn to look at him and he looks back at you, your heart swells. jake feels the exact same way, maybe even more.

✧ genre: fluff/soft comfort

✧ warnings: none at all, this is pure adorbs ! ♥︎ 

✧ word count: 374

✧ author's note: i'm still not over moon knight and i never will be, ok. this show is everything to me and frankly, i'm still fascinated with it. i absolutely love the moonboys and i might post drabbles of them in the future depending on how this one goes. (tagging @marc-spectorr n @slenderclaw because i love them and they share their love of oscar isaac and mk with me-) this one's short !

do i have a favorite? noooo, ofc not- (jake mi amorcito 🫠🖤)

"You smile a lot more since we've met." You told your lover, brushing the soft, ebony curls away from the frame of his face.

Jake didn't answer you right away. As corny as it sounded to him, he was losing himself in your eyes. God, he was starting to become like Steven, when he'd stare at you like some lovesick teenager, but Jake didn't care.

He could care less at this point, especially when you looked at him the way you did, as if he was the prettiest damn thing on Earth.

"I think my magic is working," you grinned, "you have a really pretty smile, you know. Really makes my day to see you like this, baby."

Ooh, no, no, after that, he knew he didn't deserve you. If he told you that, you'd spend hours giving him a whole lecture on why you disagree with him.

His smile grew a bit more at the thought.

When you cradled his face in your hands and softly rubbed your thumbs across his cheeks, he felt weak in the knees. It was a loving and kind gesture that Jake absolutely fell for.

"Really, huh?" He chuckled.

And it was funny to him, how he came to love your touches, cuddles, and everything in between. To think how before he hated physical touch, wasn't used to it at all but, to his surprise, you were patient enough with him, and as time passed, he became addicted to the feeling of your hands on him.

He fell in love with you each passing day, like a love-drunk fool. Marc would make fun of him for it, Steven too, even while they acted the exact same way when they were around you.

They all loved you.

"Yes, really really." You leaned forward to kiss his nose, then his lips.

"Now come on, food's about to get cold," you told him before pulling away to walk to the table, which had Jake almost let out a whine.

"One more kiss, amor?"

He heard your laughter in the dining room, the sound of it making him feel all bubbly inside.

"Why don't you sit down and I'll think about it, Lockley, hm?"

He smiled.

Who was he to refuse you?

liked this fic ? check out my current and future ones on my moon knight masterlist !!

[madwomansapologist]

How Marvel characters would celebrate Festa Junina with their s/o

Masterlist | Rules | Taglist | Library | More Marvel | AO3

synopsis: How would the Marvel characters react to a traditional brazilian winter solstice festival.

Festa Junina is a brazilian winter solstice festivals. It's a celebration of São João's birth, but it's way more than just a religious thing. You can be atheist, you can be jew: YOU WILL CELEBRATE SÃO JOÃO. These festivities are marked by hot food, such as hominy and corn, bonfires, dances, tournaments, declarations of love and a deeply passion for our diverse culture. It's a date (and yes, the whole month is filled with festivities, depending on the state in can go on for all winter) that brings families together, people of all ages.

warnings: brazilian!reader. pure fluff.

glossary: menino bonzinho = good boy (imagine someone squeezing a little child's cheeks, that's it. it's not flirty or anything, it's purely babyfication).

Steven Grant

• It probably was Steven idea. Of course you wanted to celebrate, but you thought Steven would be overwhelmed by... well, everything. So many people, voices, songs, colors, fires. And you'd know him: Steven would eat raw pork miling instead of telling you that you might have made a mistake.

• But when he insisted, you showed him how brazilians celebrate winter. Steven read a lot about it, curious to understand more about your country history and be able to understand something so substantial to you as a part of a different living culture, so he knew what to expect. But he still got surprised.

• Steven just couldn't understand the amount of prepare that was necessary to make a festival like that. Everyone wearing tradicional clothes, dots painted on their faces, knowing all the choreos for a lot of genres of music. Steven couldn't understand the lyrics, but he did felt them. You told him everyone knows them because every school make their own festival, which made his jaw drop.

• Steven didn't stop questioning about how it all originated. You told him everything you knew, since the history of cangaceiros until how some of it's songs were created, and it still wasn't enough for him. Maybe Steven Grant found another history obsession. Maybe.

Natasha Romanoff

• That woman would totally, a thousand percent sure, dressed up. Striped dresses, flower crowns, low-heeled dancing shoes. Let's be honest: she's probably already been to Brasil. Given the serum and who Natasha used to work for, perhaps she bears some responsibility for starting the military coup. So, yes, Natasha know whats happening.

• She'll join in the square dance, and she'll make sure you go dressed as a bride. It doesn't matter if they've already decided who the bride and groom will be, you're going to be the bride. Partly because Natasha wants you to have fun, but that's more about her competitiveness than anything else.

• Speaking of competitiveness, Nat would definitely spend a considerable amount of money on tokens for the water pistol stalls. Be prepared to carry a few teddy bears around for the rest of the night, Nat will be sure to get the biggest ones. Everything for you!

Marc Spector

• He definitely won't like the noise. Everything is in excess. But when you guide Marc to the fire, with roasted corn and the whisper of embers, he will enjoy the night much more. And Marc will have a lot of fun. He isn't used to public bonfires with snacks other than marshmallows. Marc ate about fifteen different types of corn before fearing passing out from eating so much.

• He thought it would be weird because it's a catholic festival. You explained to him that no one actually cared about it: it was about culture, not a religion. It was a festival that your country gave another meanings. So, yes, the name is from a catholic saint, but it's way more than just that. When he was there and understood it barely had any religion references, he got way more comfortable.

• Marc will be a flirty mess. It's a romantic setting. The cold forces people to stay together, dances are made for couples, even competitions ask for counterparts. He don't get a word from what those musics are about, but the still slow dance by the campfire.

• If Marc was alone, he would want to come home as soon as he couldn't eat any more. But he wasn't. Watching you smile, spending money on stalls whose games you couldn't win, was why he stayed there. It was nice to see you like that. Marc could live forever in that moment.

Wanda Maximoff

• On the previous night, Wanda will watch every movie that is somehow correlated to the festival. Turma da Mônica's specials, Lisbela e o Prisioneiro, Gonzaga: De Pai Para Filho. Get ready for a long movie marathon.

• She's ready to understand the vibe. Pinterest boards, playlists, make-up tutorials: Wanda won't be on a festa junina, she will drown herself on that holiday. It's somehow what you do on Thanksgiving Day. Watch a lot of movies and try to recreat the feeling you'd imagine everyone is feeling.

• Because of the movies, she got that it wasn't enterely a religion thing like she had imagined. So she felt more comfortable to interact with things.

• Wanda will participate in the raffles, get happy to win a set of tupperware, and will join the old people playing bingo. She will win, but it won't be a fair game.

• She'll try to share a candy apple, but when the caramel starts sticking to Wanda's hair... not for her. She needs to have her hands clean. More for you.

Thor

• That man is a golden retrivier. The kind of person to won a participation prize and shout "Yes! That's right, I'm here!". Different than the others on that list, Thor wouldn't try to blend in. Asgardian god, wearing armor and holding mjolnir, casually walking on a neighborhood party.

• He would compete in the apple tanks and pool drop. At first no one would want to compete with him, but as soon as a kid started playing with him everyone realized that Thor was just a nice guy. "Menino bonzinho", you heard some old lady calling him. "Menino bonzinho."

• Another one who would win every plush possible for you. The difference is that he wouldn't focus on the best ones: he would play until he got them all. What you're going to do the most that night is go to the car to store the new batch in the trunk.

• Honestly, he'll look more happy to be there than you. Once the night was over, Thor would hold you close and promise to take you to the Asgard holidays. They will be way different, but with almost the same amount of food and way more alcohol.

Jake Lockley

• You thought Steven wouldn't like, Marc got overwhelmed, so when it was time to take Jake to a party you were absolute sure he would hate. Less because of the amount of information, but more because of how many people would be there.

• London is... cold. Obviously it's cold, but it's distant. People don't seem to want to interact with others. To see others as humans. And Brasil is about social interactions. Is about extended families, where even if half of the relatives hate each other no one fails to show up for Sunday dinner. It's about making friends with bus conductors. About seeing something weird on the street and sharing a look with those walking next to you. You will never see each other again nor have exchanged words before, but when the path separates you will say goodbye.

• Living in Brazil is all about caring for others, and you don't think that Jake would enjoy living in such an environment. Jake is the protector, the shield of the system, the one that will act when the others don't have courage to do so. So, yeah, you bet he wouldn't feel comfortable on a place that includes so much mundane interaction.

• Wrong! At first he seemed a little uncomfortable, but when you asked him to dance... Jake is a good dancer. Another surprise. Jake knows Spanish, which means he could more or less understand what was being said around him. You thought he would be worrying about everything, but Jake seem comfortable there.

• It was fun to be there with him. Maybe because he's latino (which still confuses me how the system is american, british an latino at the same time... I just pretend to understand), you felt like you were sharing something deeper with him. It just hits different.

GENERAL TAGLIST: @suakemi @notanalienindisguiseblink

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[moonshynecybin]

sorry that strategy question is sooo funny to me how much you wanna bet vale's speaking to his base like "yes marquez has the best strategy of course. which you all know. from that time in sepang wink wink nudge nudge. nailed it" vale u r so transparent love u king

video playlist here be warned they are largely boring. funny to see these absolute egomaniacs attempt to muster meager compliments 4 their competitors though. like max biaggi gets asked who the best rider is in close fights is and does not answer valentino. which is funny. then WHO buddy. then who. likethey are all. sucking on lemons wracking their brains chewing their cheeks the whole time it kind of rules.

but ummmm the way. for the question about who has the best starts. everyone else (including marc) is answering like the people's princess dani pedrosa or dovi or some other person from their specific ass era of the sport and literallyyyyy ONLY vale is like. MARQUEZ ! which is. thats so. what im saying is. hm. hmmmmm. could be nothing whatever who cares i DONT ! and then he does it again for the best strategist question. which is. alright. sure. slightless less cwazy because most other people are answering marc or vale himself but. my dude you CAN answer yourself. many other people are!! alex rins' ass is !! maybe you are right zoe, and he is like. well being a snake has clearly worked out for him :) but they dont show us vale's OTHER answers to the other questions on these vids so maybe his ass ALSO had to keep saying marc for best braking or best in battles or whatever and he got annoyed lmao. both ENTIRELY possible 2 me. and thennnnnn you get the everybody just love one another question ("most gentlemanly rider") and rosquez are both like i would sell every single one of my coworkers to satan for one goddamn cornchip and if they tell you they wouldnt do the same they are LYING (hand in. beautiful unloveable hand.) and you hard cut to jorge lorenzo. who answers. my beautiful wife dani pedrosa.

[astrobiscuits]

hi I often see people say that Venus in Taurus would like someone homely, who cooks well and all that, but these are not the things that you can show at the first meeting. So What would attract Venus in Taurus at first glance/at first meeting? (especially if we are talking about a men)

Hii, i must admit that i love your question! It's very original, you must be a creative✨♡♡♡

I'm going to assume that you'll talk to him atleast/go on a date

Ways to attract a Venus in Taurus man

Smell: Venus in Taurus men tend to have hypersomia (sensitivity to smells), so wearing perfume is a must if you want to attract the attention of this man. Your best options would be: classic, timeless perfumes like L'Air du Temps by Nina Ricci, Miss Dior by Dior and Chanel N°5 by Chanel; floral perfumes (but not those exotic floral ones) like J'adore Parfum d'Eau by Dior or fruity fragrances like Daisy Love Eau So Sweet by Marc Jacobs, Light Blue Eau Intense by Dolce & Gabbana and Aqua Allegoria Rosa Rossa Eau de Toilette by Guerlain

Body care and fashion: The earthy, Venusian men are attracted to a woman who indulges in self-care to make herself feel like a queen. These men are visual creatures, so they'll definitely notice if you prioritise your looks. Don't forget to exfoliate your whole body, shave everywhere and choose to wear something that will attract his attention, like a red dress. You can also choose to wear red lipstick (both lighter and darker shades of red work!)

Voice and neck: Taurus rules the vocal cords, but also the neck. Choose to highlight your beautiful neck by wearing a necklace you love. If you tend to speak at a faster rate, slow down around Taurus Venus men. They're sensual creatures and your voice can become one tool to spice up his mood. I'd say Taurus Venus men are attracted to both higher-pitched voices and lower-pitched voice, but you need to know when to use it, rather than how to use it. Sometimes, all these men need is silence, not words.

Hobbies: Since Venus feels at home in Taurus, pleasure is something to be pursued often by Venus in Taurus men. Their hobbies and interests matter to him a great deal, so make sure to show him attention when he speaks about his hobbies. It would be the best if you two share common hobbies or interests - he's not the type to try out new stuff, so you have to be okay with going hiking with him every weekend or playing the piano together.

(This is for when you get to know him better, but i still thought it would be a good idea to include it) Long-term goals: After he gets to know you better, a Taurus Venus man is likely to ask you: "Where do you see yourself in 5/10 years?". You need to have an answer to that question. He doesn't need to know how you will get there - he just wants to see if you know what you want out of life. Show him confidently that you do and speak passionately about whatever you want to achieve. He will find you incredibly attractive - Venus in Taurus men love true, silent confidence on a woman.

Good luck attracting him, girl💕

[winniethewife]

What I did to you (Moon knight system x reader)

Past the blood and bruise (Marc x reader) Happiness

Jake Steven

Words: 741

It had only been a month. Everyone said that she would learn to live without them, but she was just surviving. Inhale and exhale. One foot in front of the other. Go to work, go home. Day in, day out. The days blur into nothing, the music stopped. She could hardly figure out what she was doing anymore. She would wonder if they had figured out how to live without her. She wondered if Layla had gotten Jake to come out, Was he taking her on late night drives, going much too fast down dark streets. Does she make sure that Steven’s library books get turned in on time? Does she let him lay on her on the couch while they read and listen to music? But when she thinks of Marc it all goes fuzzy, he was married this whole time. The whole time they had been together. She can’t help but think of the nights they found the weirdest B-rated movies and laughed the whole night, making up jokes no one else would understand. And the day she taught him to make French press coffee after he wanted to know how her coffee is better than when he makes it. Does he still want it that way? Did he get a French press, and is he making her coffee the way she used to for him? She shakes her head she can’t think about it right now.

“I can't make it go away by making you a villain.” She mumbles a she starts walking down the street.

It’s a Saturday afternoon and she was tired, she had been running errands all day and she hadn’t been getting the best sleep as of late. She was looking down as she walked by and she didn’t realize until she ran head first into some one.

“Oh, gods so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” She looks up and her blood runs cold. Beautiful brown eyes, long dark curls, olive skin, She recognized Layla from the photo that Jake had showed her.

“Its fine, I’ve been there” Layla laughed, oblivious to who she was.

“Layla, Babe, I couldn’t find the uh….” Marc approaches the two of them and she could see the color drain from his face as he sees her.

“Hope you both have a nice day, good weather for it.” She says politely and she walks around them trying to get away. She should have known better because she only made it a block before Marc was pulling her around the corner into an alleyway.

“What was that? We’ve known each other how long and now I get fake niceties?” He asks with a snarl

“I’m sorry what was I supposed to do? Introduce myself? ‘Hi Layla lovely to meet you I’m your husbands former mistress. Sorry about all that.’ You think that would go over well?” She asked sternly

“No, I-” He has a pained expression on his face as he looks at her. He clenches his fists. “I’m sorry, I just knew if I didn’t try talking to you… Steven and Jake, they aren’t doing great. Hell I’m not doing great, but I made a choice and I have to at least try.”

“No one teaches you what to do in this kind of a situation.” She said softly. She wants to hug him, hold him close. But that wasn’t really an option.

“Have…are you seeing anyone new?” He asks tentatively

“No, I went on a couple dates a while back but…After giving you the best I had…I don’t know what to give anymore. I don’t know how to love other people.” As she said it she knew her words hurt him, the way he looked at her, he wanted to say something he can’t.

“I…I just wanted to say. The worst thing that I ever did was what I did to you. You don’t have to forgive me, I know you’re having a hard enough time forgiving the other two and they deserve your forgiveness, more than I ever will.” He looks like he’s about to break down in tears. She grabs his hand and pulls him into an embrace, her own tears coming to her eyes. For a moment they just hold each other, just like they used to, hands held tight, pressed against their chests, her other arm around his shoulder, his around her waist, foreheads pressed together.

“You know I miss you”

~

Series Masterlist

Tag: @femmeanonymelives

[lunathebee]

THE MOON BOYS WITH A ADHD S/O

A/n: I have no words to justify myself; I did not avoid this request, nor did I disrespect the anon who requested it. This is just the war between me and my really bad memory problem (and stacks of endless work). Thank god, my brain just randomly decided to remember this.

Warning: Like the title said, not everyone can relate to this HC, and if so, please don't throw hate or say "Steven would never do that" or "I think Marc hates it," etc. Please, my masterlist has plenty of HC for everyone; leave this one for the people who really need it, aye?

🍓 Steven Grant 🍓

There wouldn't be much of a problem, I think.

If you told him you have ADHD, Steven would be a bit surprised—not because you had it, but because it is something new to him.

Man spent hours reading books and conducting research to learn more about you.

And I swear at some point, he would find himself mumbling symptoms with wide eyes.

"...zoned out or some would talk really fast—wait, I do that."

I don't know why, but I always feel connected to Steven in a different way, like the way he acts isn't just for quirky scenes or to make the audience laugh.

I truly (with my whole heart and deepest respect) believe Steven is somewhere on the same side as you (not ADHD, but the chance of him having another condition that affects him is high).

So yeah, I think you guys would share some similar moments together.

Steven would help you with many things and is always so kind and nice.

He takes a special interest in your fidget toys, so he hopes you don't mind that.

🍓 Marc Spector 🍓

"What is that?"

You have to explain it to him.

"Oh...Oh...Okay...Um Uh huh"

So serious and focused, Marc loves you, so if there is something about you that he doesn't know yet, he will try his best to understand.

I don't think he would be bothered by it that much.

Always keep an eye out just in case you guys are in public and someone looks at you "weird."

He's one of those grandparents who says, "You used to LOVE this thing because you told me that when you were 5, so I bought you 2000 stuff of it even though you're now an adult."

Marc might be a bit confused, but he's got the spirit!

Your shirt doesn't feel "right?" Maybe a jacket would be better?

You're feeling overwhelmed by your homework?That's okay, let's take a break.

Overall, I would say Marc really tries his best to make everything around you guys more comfortable for you.

Marc = best lover <3

🍓 Jake Lockley 🍓

I won't lie to you; this is just my brutally honest opinion on Jake.

At first, he would get bothered by it and might even be annoyed on some days.

Jake doesn't understand why and how on earth you can't make a decision on picking anything, or how you always say you're going to do this thing and then completely forget about it 15 minutes later.

But he has more important things to deal with, so he doesn't show that he's bothered by them.

"Bae! Why don't you throw the empty toothpaste away?" Jake asked one night

"I'm so sorry, I keep forgetting about that. Sorry, babe, I'm sorry."

Jake decided to let it go; it was just toothpaste, right? What is the big deal?

And then later on, he noticed you lingering in the bathroom a bit longer, how you always touch the toothpaste to make sure it's not empty, and how you also DOUBLE check that.

Everything turns into a big mess when Jake sees you having a breakdown from your trip to the supermarket.

When you tell him you went there to buy toothpaste but forgot, and when you DID remember, you can't remember if the tube is empty or full despite checking almost every day, his heart breaks.

Jake would hold you and comfort you, feeling guilty that he was the one causing you so much distress.

After that, he will have a totally different view of you and your chronic condition.

Jake will just silently do his job if he ever sees you forgetting something or leaving something randomly on the kitchen table.

He listens to you talk about 50 hobbies and plenty more.

Jake learns how to adapt just fine; your condition doesn't define you; you're his lover, not a burden.

[kingofthering]

Omfg that fake dating rosquez drabble, GOD YES, I am over here, dying. If you ever find time and motivation to write more of that, PLEASE do so, I would love to hear more coming from that place of your mind!!!! How does Marc react? What do they do? Do they kiss? Practice it? (No pressure obvs <3, do what you feel okay with)

Okay so, I warn you, this is going to be extra tropey and cutesy (angst, see you another day). A look into pictures I have for this universe :

context : Marc is very much aware of his crush on Valentino, previously with no intention to do anything about it but now that Valentino has put them in this position, Marc will take advantage of it and Valentino won't know what's coming for him

after Valentino's mom leave, Valentino goes to Marc to apologize and he's like "we'll just pretend for a couple of months, it's not like she'll be there often so you won't even have to do anything, I'll tell her we didn't work out because it's too complicated with racing each other but we stayed friends, things will be just like before and she'll still like you but will just believe that you like men" [this is where Marc comes out to Valentino]

mandatory scene where they're invited to dinner with other members of Valentino's family and friends of the family, PDA in the form of Valentino having his hand at the small of Marc's back when he gives him a tour of the living room and Valentino's arm resting above Marc's shoulders on the couch when they're having drinks pre-dinner

their first "kiss" happens that night, the two of them doing something super mundane (maybe helping to bring desert to the table or Valentino handing Marc his phone or something? I don't know, details) and Marc just leans forward to press his lips to Valentino and he's already gone before Valentino has the time to react

for their first "real" kiss (that lasts more than a quick second), we can have it the next day, Marc going "I caught you by surprise yesterday, when I kissed you" and Valentino being all "absolutely not" (when will that man ever admit to losing/not being on top of something) and one thing leading to another [this would need more words but this is already being too long as it is], they end up kissing passionately™️, Marc's back pressed into the kitchen island and Valentino's hands starting to push under his shirt until they get interrupted by someone walking into the kitchen

[there is a version of this universe where their competitive side kicks in and they both try to one up each other in a game of who can make the other uncomfortable first] [some twisted version of gay chicken, I suppose]

obviously Marc wasn't supposed to stay at the ranch for that long but it just makes sense for him to still be there and for the two of them to spend more time together [this is either summer or winter 2014, again, details]

another scene where they have to spend time with Valentino's family [let's say at a baby shower of one of Valentino's cousins, to not say a wedding] [fake dating at a wedding is an elite trope, just having fun with some alternatives as well] and they're far from Tavullia so it makes sense for them to stay for the night and they have to share a bed [might as well mix all my basic fave tropes together]

two things that happen that night/the next morning in an order I haven't decided on yet : they have sex + they have this very sweet moment where they're facing each other and touching in some way (and Valentino fixes a curl on Marc's forehead at some point) [I don't care that Marc's hair wasn't showing his curls in 2014, we're altering reality in all the ways we want] and Marc's like "your mom wasn't surprised when you told her you had a boyfriend" and "people are genuinely happy for us" and "I didn't really think that was an option" [and Valentino's heart is feeling soooo guilty at that, oh boy] [not in a "Marc's family is homophobic" way but the whole "being a gay rider" thing, you know]

one thing I realize is the fact that they probably should have to sleep in the same bed at the ranch to keep appearances but it's not practical for my whole narrative so I'm still debating that, we can work around it [as always : details]

[jake-g-lockley]

Hello! Could you write prompt 23 with marc, please?

I love how you percieve marc

Command (Marc Spector x royal avatar!reader)

Masterlist | Spotify Playlist | Want to be Tagged?

Prompt: you are without a doubt, the most annoying person i’ve ever crossed paths with, and don’t even get me started on the sound of your voice

A/N: Thanks for the ask, lovely (and the sweet comment :”))!! This idea also has been on the back of my mind since I began writing fics, but I only suddenly had the idea of using it when I saw this prompt. 

Warnings: MDNI, smut, switch!Marc, switch!reader, female masturbation, exhibition (if you squint), bondage, oral (f receiving), hair pulling, unprotected (p in v), creampie, alcohol consumption, choking, powers that are associated with manipulation, one of Marc’s alters are lurking heh. 

Word Count: 2.6 k 

Being royalty in your country was absolutely useless. Sure you had a throne and a whole castle to yourself, but no subjects to reign over and no diplomatic ties to fight over. You were bored, so bored and angry at the fact that you had so much yet so little. You craved the thrill, tired of being queen in the modern world. You wanted to live the way your ancestors did, powerful, smart and you wanted to write your own story, something that no one else could experience. 

You searched far and wide and surprisingly, in your search, you ended up along the river Nile staring up at a beautiful goddess, who gave you all the power you wanted, so that you could do her bidding the way pharaohs before you did. Being the avatar of Hathor meant that you could manipulate people to do your bidding. You finally felt the thrill, the power that you were so hungry for. 

☾ .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Now, you stood in your throne room, staring at the giant portal that appeared before you, a sign that the Ennead was converging at the Great Pyramid of Giza. You smiled and walked through it, not exactly expecting what you would see once you were inside. It was empty, beautiful sculptures that were there before were ruined, everything turned into dust and rubble. You set your hand onto the broken bust of your goddess, a feeling of anger surging through you like no other. 

“Would you be even more mad if I mentioned that I was partially involved in this destruction?” a voice you’d never thought you’d hear again rang out from behind a statue.

You whirled around, squinting in the darkness at the direction of the voice. Memories of that voice came flooding back to you and you couldn’t help but smirk at the way it sounded a little too cocky and confident. 

“Mostly my god and his destructive abilities but, oh well.” the voice came again and you could make out a silhouette leaning against a bust that was topped with a crescent moon. 

“You better show yourself, or-”

“You’ll command me to? That’s not going to work on me, sweetheart, I’ve gotten myself an amulet.” you could literally hear the sly twist in the person’s voice as he twisted something shiny and sharp in his hand. 

“Scared, Moon-boy?” you teased, slightly surprised that he knew about protective amulets.

The figure stepped out of the shadow and into the glow of the lamps around you, his olive skin and brown eyes as radiant as the last time you saw him, his crescent weapon clutched in his right hand. 

“Not at all, Your Highness.” 

Marc Spector was wearing a little too much confidence on him and you were itching to knock it down a few bars as he smirked at you, eyeing you with the same hunger you did a few months ago. 

—

“On your knees, and eyes on me.” 

He gritted his teeth and kneeled, his eyes trained on yours as you leaned back on your chair, toying with the sash of your robe. 

“Good boy,” you purred. “Show me your hands.”

He already had his wrists locked together as he presented them to you and you pulled the sash right off your robe, tying it around his wrists and to your chair as the robe pooled off your body and onto the seat, leaving you bare. Once he was secure into place, you smiled at him sweetly again before spreading your legs.

You placed your fingers at his lips and he opened his mouth obediently, sucking your fingers softly as he kept his big brown eyes on your gaze. You suddenly pulled them out, a trail of spit connecting from your fingers to his lip. You slowly begin to rub at your clit with your spit-soaked fingers as his gaze dropped to your cunt. 

“Let's see how many times I can cum in front of you before I have you begging for me.” your fingers push past your entrance and you tip your head back with a groan.

—

“Why are we here, Spector?” you rolled your eyes, searching the room for any sign of the other avatars.

“No idea, I only walked in like five minutes ago, you’re the one who's late.” he shrugged, examining his blade. 

Suddenly, he straightened up and his face was set to a grimace as he turned to his left. You felt something too, turning towards the powerful energy that was approaching the two of you. You smiled when your eyes met with big empty sockets of a bird’s skull. 

“Not weird at all, you know, the fact that your favourite avatar isn’t your own.” Marc said deadpan, gazing up at the ancient god.

You stuck your tongue out at Marc as Khonshu placed a wrapped hand on your head, smoothing your hair affectionately. Marc watched as your eyes turned gold, before turning to where Hathor was standing, rolling his eyes and shaking his head again. 

“You know, if you weren’t an Avatar, you would have been reduced to ashes by now.” Hathor’s voice coiled up Marc’s spine but he held his ground, glaring at you will malintent. 

“Just get to the point.”  he muttered and you almost felt bad for him but was again impressed by the way he didn’t just melt at Hathor’s words.

“We’ll need the both of you to…”

☾ .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Steal Hathor’s relic for her! What am I? Just a slave that Khonshu gets to toss around? Nope, you know what, don’t answer that.” Marc repeated for the fiftieth time as he paced around the lavish hotel room as you boredly looked on. 

“You never quit complaining, do you?” You said, gazing at him through the mirror as you tried on a pair of diamond earrings that were gifted to you. 

“You are not one to talk! You are a queen and a pampered one no less! Why does Khonshu care for you so much anyway?” Marc stopped and glared at your reflection. 

You opened your mouth but for the first time in a long time, you hesitated. You narrowed your eyes instead, giving you time to choose your words correctly. 

“I’ll tell you, only if you tell me how you can resist Hathor’s strongest charms, even without that amulet around your neck. 

Marc’s eyes flashed white and you swore you saw another person peak through but you shook the feeling away.

“I have  extra…attachments in my brain, helps me…manage a little differently.” He shrugs, tapping his forehead. “It's complicated.”

—-

“Never tasted a queen before.” his darkened voice came from between your thighs.

His nose nudged beckoningly at your clit as your fingers tug harder at his raven hair as he softly kissed your slit, trying to make you beg for what you needed. 

You slowly realised that he was pushing through the spell you put on him, wanting to have control of your pleasure and suddenly you were filled with so much need that the words flew out of your mouth before you could stop yourself.

“Marc, please, I need this.” you whispered, carding your hands through his curls. 

“Mmm, that's all you had to say, mi reina.” he murmured into your cunt, before licking a wide strip that had you keening for more. 

—-

“Hmm. Okay. I helped Khonshu out of a sticky situation once. It was…complicated.” imagery of you throwing down Khonshu’s figurine and freeing him during Ammit’s reign flooded your memory once more as you fought a smile. 

You had ultimately saved Marc’s life in the process of freeing, bringing him back from the dead. You didn’t want him to feel like he was in debt with you, though. It’s why you asked Khonshu to keep his beak shut about this. It was Marc’s turn to squint at you now, as if he knew you were hiding something from him. He didn’t press on, choosing to turn around and glare at the pyramids that overlooked your room. 

You caught a glimpse of his handsome face from where he stood, stubbornness radiating out of him like it were second skin. Truthfully, you heard about the infamous Moon Knight before you saved him from the clutches of the Duat, his legendary crescent blade cutting through the throats of those who harmed the innocent. You liked him, his courage and constant need to do things for good making you feel something you’ve never let yourself feel before. 

“You need to loosen up, Marc.” you smiled to yourself, pouring him a glass of your special liquor. 

Marc turned abruptly at your use of his first name, looking at you suspiciously. 

“Come here and take a sip of this, trust me, you’ll love it.” you said, nodding towards the glass on the table as you poured yourself some. 

He walked to your vanity table and picked up the glass, examining it before taking a sip. You smile as his eyes widen slightly and he takes another, more confident sip. 

“Shit, this is heavenly.” Marc breathed, eyeing his glass again.

You took a sip of your own, the honeyed liquor slipping around your tongue, coating it with a slight fruitiness that singed your tastebuds slightly. 

“What the hell is this?” Marc asked, an amused look gracing his face. 

“Oh, just a 4000 year old liquor.” you bit your lip and watched Marc’s expression change. 

“You’re fucking with me right?” he spluttered slightly, his eyebrows creasing together. 

“No, I’m not, if you weren’t an avatar, you’d be dead on my floor right now.” You frowned, tipping the rest of the liquor into your mouth.

“You’re nuts.” Marc chuckled, sipping the rest of his liquor. 

☾ .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Oh, sweetheart, there you are.” Marc’s voice perked your ears up as you turned, casually accepting a quick kiss from him as his arm curled around you and his hand rested softly at your hip. 

The man that was speaking to you slowly backed away as Marc’s heavy gaze settled upon him, a fake smile blazing upon his pretty lips that morphed into another one of his famous grimaces once the man was out of sight and amongst the other bidders for the night. 

“Did ya’ really have to?” you hissed slightly, turning to adjust his lapel, before kissing his cheek, just in case any onlookers were paying the both of you a string of attention.

“Yep, we have to stay focused.” he said, smiling down at you, nudging your hip slightly with his. 

—

One of your legs were hiked over his, your eyelids fluttering slightly as he kept firm eye contact with you while pushing his fingers in and out of you, the same way you did before when you were teasing him.

You let a small gasp leave your lips and Marc’s eyes glimmered, knowing that you’ve let slip that he was doing everything right. You involuntarily tensed up as he continued assaulting the soft spongy spot inside of you.

“Let go, don’t be stubborn. Come on, keep your focus on me.” Marc’s voice temptingly pulled you to the ledge along with his fingers, before dropping you down a forty foot cliff.

You cum hard, panting into his mouth as his nose softly brushed against yours. 

—

You stand a little taller, letting your nose brush against his as his fingers tightened their grip on your hip. You let your nose drag along the length of his cheekbone before settling your lips against the shell of his ear. 

“You, Marc Spector, are without a doubt, the most annoying person I’ve ever crossed paths with, and don’t even get me started on the sound of your voice.” you huskily drawled into his ear, making him smile.

“My voice? You could practically command people to do as you please.” he softly reminds you, kneading at your hip slightly. 

“Where do we need to go now?” you ask, playing along and placing your hand gently on his, tracing his long fingers.

He casually flipped his hand and grabbed yours along, pushing the rest of your fingers into a fist as your index finger sticks out, raising it slightly towards a door to your left.

“There.”

☾ .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Shhh it should be here somewhere,” you whispered, rummaging through items as Marc nuzzled into your neck, breathing in your expensive perfume. 

Marc clearly wasn’t used to 4000 year old alcohol despite having super metabolism. His eyes were lidded and he was hanging onto you like a lost koala. 

“You smell delicious.” he whispered and you felt arousal pool at your lower abdomen at the way his voice seemed to kill all your working brain cells. 

Your hands grabbed something that shot a course of power through your veins and it almost made you shout out loud. 

“Found her!” You turned to look at Marc before catching a glimpse of yourself in a mirror.

Your eyes were glowing gold again and Marc slumped against you, groaning loudly as his hard on pushed against you. You cursed your gift for the second time in your life, pulling Marc’s amulet off his neck and wrapping it around the goddess’ relic. 

—

He was lodged deep inside you, but he wasn’t moving, just softly mouthing at the soft skin of your neck and mumbling something incoherently. You kissed the top of his head and used his shoulder as an anchor, grinding softly against him, never feeling so full in your life. 

Once you felt yourself adjust properly, you started to slowly move up and down. Some coherent curses mangled with Marc’s broken moans, and it pushed you to fuck him faster, now slamming yourself against him with loud slaps. You curse too as Marc’s fingers dug painfully at your hips, drawing blood with nails. 

You clench hard around him and your hand finds his throat, pushing him against the wall as you fucked him with more determination. He chokes, trying to tell you that his release was near, but you knew, from the way he twitched inside of you.

“Fill me up, Marc, fuck-” you stutter as your own orgasm washed over you making you slump against him.

He couldn’t be bothered to thrust up into you, letting the strong clench of your cunt milk him as he released inside of you, breath mingling with yours as he gasped for air. 

—

“The fuck happened?” Marc mumbled, standing up to his original height, pressing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. 

“Nothing, let's just get out of here, now.” you whispered, tucking the relic into your purse and pulling Marc along with you. 

The both of you didn’t stop until you were back in your fancy hotel room, where the gods awaited. Marc handed the relic to Hathor and she smiled at him, patting his cheek. You glared at Khonshu and raised an eyebrow and he reluctantly slapped Marc’s back causing the poor guy to jolt forward, making you giggle slightly. 

“Fuck, thats enough of that for a while.” Marc said, rubbing the spot where Khonshu slapped him.

He sighed and slumped on the couch, holding his arm out for you. You smiled down at him and took his hand, letting him pull you between his outstretched thighs. You sat down on one of his thighs, leaning in as he kissed the hand he was holding, keeping his eyes on you. 

“Wanna pick up where we left off, my queen?” he whispered as your lips inched closer to his. 

“Yes, my knight.” you whisper back, closing the gap and smiling into the kiss. 

Reblogs are appreciated~~~

Tagging: @fandxmslxt69 @randomnessfangirl @in-between-the-cafes @bodhisattva11 @marc-spectors-wife @nyotamalfoy @steven-grants-world @whatsliferightnow @minigirl87 @wonderfulboiledcoldpotato @alexxavicry @autismsupermusicalassassin @flordelalunas @marygraceee @lia275 @euphoricosmo @sky-robin @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @sugarpunch-princess @violet-19999 @celiaswife @swiggy-needs-mental-help @ghostheartbeat @kierramofficial @ryebreadsworld @your-voice-is-mellifluous @lil-stark @absolutelybloodyhopeless

[littlespacereader]

Hiii friend!!! I'm back again!!! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)!!!

So I started college the other day and so far pretty much every break between classes I have found myself regressing a little (despite trying not to). I was wondering if you'd be okay with writing a fic with any Moonknight character/s and maybe them messaging or phoning reader during class breaks and basically just making sure the reader is okay whilst without them and keeping them entertained.

Obviously completely fine if not!!!

Hope you're having an amazing day/evening/night!!! <333

As someone who is struggling themselves at college I can totally relate and sympathize with you! College sometimes stresses me out to the point of regression or I have so much fun I don’t realize I’m regressing. It’s a tricky situation! So reading this request made me feel a bit better knowing I wasn’t the only one struggling. I love the idea of Steven/Marc and even Jake all checking in on their little one. As per usual I gave a bit extra content to the story but I know you’ll enjoy it! This one talks about the first day at college (which is always super scary!!) and how the three comfort and help their little one.

After writing this I got the idea for another fic, maybe a part 2 to this, where the reader has a bad day at college and Marc, Steven and Jake all make the reader feel better after a rough day at college. What do you think? Let me know if you want me to write that one next😁 Anyway! I hope you enjoy this fic! 💞💞

The Little Moon Goes To School🌙

Caregiver!Marc Spector, Caregiver!Steven Grant, Caregiver!Jake Lockley & GN Little!Reader

Tags - anxiety, first day of school,

Nicknames- little moon, little one, sweetheart, love, Papa(for Jake), kiddo

Steven was a nervous wreck tonight. Tomorrow was his little one’s first day at school…well…first day back to college. He was so excited for them! Don’t get him wrong! But with the new change brought a new sense of anxiety to Steven, Marc and even Jake.

The summer had been spent with his little one close to his side. They went plenty of times to the museum together, plenty of times to the park. But as the summer came to a close both Steven and his little one started to become anxious with the new change of things.

But let’s start with the positives first! That’s how Steven likes to think!

The two of them had fun going to the shop and getting new school supplies. I mean who doesn’t love new school supplies?! Y/N picked out a cute star and moon themed backpack with a matching lunch box, a new water bottle, some notebooks and pencils and finally a rain jacket for the stormy weather London was known for having.

The next positive thing was they could take the bus together every morning. So it was almost like Steven was dropping them off at school each day on his way to work. Plus they wouldn’t be riding by themselves.

Next they could text each other throughout the day. Incase Y/N started to feel little or something was wrong, Steven was simply a text away. Despite Donna’s no phone policy, he managed to make an exception to her tough rule.

Lastly they would see each other at the end of the day, share a bus ride back to their apartment and have the rest of the evening together.

Maybe this wasn’t going to be so terrible after all?

Steven kept on a strong face, making sure not to show his little one he was just as anxious about the change as they were. I mean they were inseparable the whole summer, and now they were off to college during the day and he was off to work.

Marc was also just as worried and concerned as Steven, though he was better at hiding it. He took a tour of the school with Y/N, asked a ton of questions about campus safety, and scoped the area out. The school seemed safe enough, but nothing was too safe for his little one expect for when he was by their side. He was also interest in making sure this school was able to meet all his little ones academic needs.

Jake only popped in to explain to Y/N what they should do incase of an attack, which is the last thing Steven wanted Y/N to have to worry about. Jake provided some pepper spray and a very large knife for Y/N to carry with them to school. The knife or more like machete was soon confiscated by Marc when Y/N was asleep. The pepper spray was good enough.

Then, before any of the three personalites knew it, it was the morning of the dreaded day. The alarm clock broke the silence of the peaceful morning.

Both Steven and Y/N groaned awake, wishing for another hour of sleep. But soon the two were out of bed and rushing around the small apartment.

Steven breakfast while Y/N checked their backpack to make sure everything was still packed and ready to go. Then it was off to getting changed. Steven wore his usual, button down shirt and his grey jacket. But Y/N went through one outfit then another than another, each of which Steven thought looked amazing.

But he could see it wasn’t about the outfit their chose, it was mostly their anxiety making them second guess themselves. After the 4th outfit choice Steven stopped them.

He turned them the mirror and smiled, “You look absolutely amazing darling.”

He turned them back around and looked into their eyes with a proud looks on his face, “I can’t tell you how proud I am of you taking such a big step like going to college. You are so incredibly brave. I couldn’t be more proud of you than I already am.”

With tears in both of their eyes, they hugged. Just the two of them, Caregiver and Little, hugging in their small yet cozy apartment.

After a moment or two they broke apart, wiping the tears from their eyes. “Here,” Steven grabbed their hair brush. “Let me do your hair before we leave.”

Steven, Marc and Jake all had their favorite things to do when it came to their little one. Steven was the snuggle bug of the three. He loved to hold or be close to his little one all the time. The three also realized that Steven is the best when it came to doing their little one’s hair since he’s the most gentle.

So it because a routine of Y/N and Steven that he would do their hair in the morning for them. A cute way to start the day! With Y/N all nice and done, the two started to walk towards the front door of their flat.

“Wait!” Steven called from behind them. “We’re forgetting something I just know it.”

Y/N looked at Steven confused, “I don’t think we are…I checked my backpack before getting changed.”

But Steven shook his head, “No I think we’re forgetting something I just can’t…OH!”

Steven ran over to the fridge and took out Y/N’s lunchbox and water bottle. “There we are. Can’t forget your lunch.” He went behind Y/N, putting their lunch box and water bottle securely inside.

“Now are we ready for school?” Steven asked only to get a sad smile from Y/N and a nod of their head.

~~~

I walked out of the flat with Steven and down the hall to the elevator, the entire time holding onto his hand tightly. Reality was kicking in, I would have to leave him soon.

Now I know what you’re thinking “Wow this is very dramatic for just being gone the whole day. It isn’t like you won’t be seeing him at the end of the day.” And you’re right, while it is nice that I’ll be seeing him at the end of the day, it didn’t help my anxiety that I would be away from him the entirety of the day.

We spent the summer together, me right at his side. So to have the majority of my day without him scared me. What if something happened? What if I started to feel Little again? There were too many possibilities.

Faster than I would’ve liked, we made it to the lobby of our apartment building. As always the guy who sells brooms was right outside.

“He’s here this early in the morning? Who wants a broom at this time?” I asked Steven.

He chuckled, “I can’t say I wake up and go: you know what I need right now? A broom.” The two of us laughed.

As we walked down the street we saw our bus arrive. The two of us looked at each other and started to run.

“Wait!” Steven waved with one hand to get the bus driver’s attention. I held onto his other hand tightly as we ran to the runway bus.

Thankfully the driver saw us in time. As the doors opened Steven and I caught our breaths before hoping onto the bus.

“If we made the bus without running to it, I’d have to check if it was a dream or not.” I joked.

“We do not have a good record with the bus schedule.”

“I think they do it on purpose to us.” I added.

We both too a seat towards the back of the bus. And as the bus pulled away and started down the road, the reality of leaving Steven started to hit me some more. I scooted closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder. Steven immediately took note of this and wrapped and arm around my shoulders.

“I know today is going to be tough. But just know I’ll be here if you need anything. You can always text me or call me and I’ll answer right away. Even if it’s not an emergency and you just need someone to talk to I’m just a text away.” Steven tried to reassure.

That definitely made me feel better. I nodded my head and remind resting against Steven.

“I’m going to miss you so much today. I’ll miss my little museum helper.” Steven kissed the top of my head.

“I’m going to miss you too. The summer was too short.”

Steven signed, “Yeah it was too short. But we did have a lot of fun, yeah? And now that the summer is over we have the fall to look forward too. You’re gonna love London in the fall Y/N.”

“Next stop University Parkway.” The bus announced.

Immediately without realizing I grabbed Steven’s hand and held it tightly in mine. My heart picked up speed. I wanted to go to college sure, but I didn’t want to go without Steven. Infact I didn’t want to be without him.

Steven held me closer, his arm still wrapped comfortably around my shoulder and his other hand rubbing small circled on mine.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright. The first day is always super scary. But you’ll be okay. I’m sure you’re going to have lots of fun and make tons of friends. I can’t wait to hear about it all tonight.”

I looked up at him and nodded, tears threatening to spilling. “I don’t want to leave you.”

Steven had to fight it in himself not to cry as well, “I don’t want you too either, but I know you’re going to do amazing today. I’m so very proud of you.”

With that he pulled Y/N into a hug, wrapping one arm around their back and the other holding their head.

The moment was interrupted by the bus coming to a stop. The two broke apart and walked to the doors of the bus.

“Make sure you text me when you get to your class alright?” He reminded me.

“I will.” I ran over and gave him one last hug of the morning. “I love you.”

“I love you to my little moon.” He broke apart from our hug and kissed my forehead. “Later gators.” He smiled.

With one last smile I exited the bus and took in the university. I turned back around and waved to Steven as the bus took off. Then it was just me, by myself, to take on the university.

All it took was that first step. So with one deep breath I took my first step and started walking to the main building to go to class.

~~~

Steven smiled and waved Y/N off as the bus pulled away. Once he was out of sight, he moved to sit back in his seat and finally let go. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to pull himself together. But at the moment he couldn’t.

It broke his heart to see Y/N so anxious and afraid. He wished he could take it all away, all the worry, all the sadness, all the anxiety. He wished he could spend every second with his little one.

But as soon as he knew it the bus came to a halt at his stop, the museum. He got off and clipped his name tag on as he made his way to the entrance.

“Hello Stephan! Where’s your little one today?” The security guard asked.

“It’s still Steven,” he made a point of correcting. “And Y/N won’t be working with me for a little bit, she’s at college.”

“Aw! What a shame! I miss that little bugger running around.”

“Yeah me too.” Steven sighed.

Like clockwork, Steven’s phone pinged. He lifted it up to see Y/N’s text message:

Just got through all the new student orientation and info and I finally made it to my class. Marc was right it was on the left side of the building.😂 But I found it and I’m about to start class. Text you after! 💞💞

Steven smiled at his phone. A wave of relief filled him. They made it to their class alright! He sent them a text back:

So happy to hear you made it there safely! Have a fun class sweetheart! Love you lots!💘

“Stevie!” Donna voice rang out.

“Donna, how are you?” Steven tried to ease in.

“You’re 4 minutes late. And no phones at work.”

“I understand I’m late today. But we already talked about the phone rule. I have to check it incase Y/N needs anything or anything is wrong.” Steven wasn’t someone who had too big of a voice, that was usually Marc or Jake. But when it came to Y/N, he was as loud as me needed to be.

“Right, right, it’s kind of odd seeing you without Y/N here. I almost miss them.” Donna said before she walked away.

Steven smirked to himself, he would definitely have to tell Y/N that later.

~~~

Another text pings Steven’s phone while he’s behind the counter of the gift shop.

Just got out of class. Super nice Professor and the subject is really interesting! I met this girl who sat next to me. She’s super nice. I think I made a friend! :)

That’s wonderful sweetheart! I can’t wait to hear about this new friend and the class!😄 I gotta funny story for you, but it’s going to come as a bit of a shock.

Lay it on me! I’m dying to know!

Donna said she actually misses you.

WHAT?! 😱

I’m dead serious. I almost had a heart attack myself!

Well I had a heart attack and I’m dead now😂💀 Is she feeling okay?

I think she better see a doctor honestly. She’s being almost too nice to me today.😬

Maybe it’s an imposter Donna?👀

You could be right Y/N! I gotta keep a close eye on her.👀

I just found my next class! I’ll text you after that one. Have fun at the gift shop! Talk to you soon!💞

Later gators🐊💘

In a while crocodile🐊💞

~~~

After my second class it was off to lunch. The school had food for sale at the food court but Marc insisted it was all terrible junk food. So he packed me a lunch instead.

I sat down at a lone table and pulled out my lunch box. Right upon opening it was three notes on top, one from Marc, Steven and even Jake.

Hope you have a wonderful day at school. If anyone gives you a weird look or says anything to you, let me know. I promise I won’t kill them. Love you el amado

- Jake :)

Have an amazing day at school. I hope you have a lot of fun and make plenty of friend. I also hope you enjoy the lunch. It’s all your favorites with a cookie at the bottom. (Don’t tell Steven;) ) Love you kiddo!

- Marc

Have a great first day of college Y/N! I love you so much my little moon! I just know you’re going to have so much fun and I can’t wait to hear about it! Love you from the bottom of my heart!

- Steven ❤️ xoxox

Tears started to sting my eyes. Despite my caregiver only being one person, I felt the love of three Caregivers. I couldn’t believe they all took the time to write me a cute little note in my lunch box! I grabbed my phone and started to text Steven:

Thank you for the notes in my lunch box! It was really sweet of you guys! 💞

It was Marc’s idea. He wanted you to have a little piece of each of us on your first day.

What does ‘amado’ mean?

Jake says it means beloved.

That’s sweet of him! Tell him I said thank you. And Marc too!🥰🥰 Can I call you? Are you on lunch too?

Yeah! Just give me a second to clear it with Donna and I’ll take my lunch break. That way we can have lunch together. 😁💘

True to his word, after a couple of minutes my phone began to rang. I picked it up and answered it.

“Steven!!”

“Y/N!! How are you doing? How’s school been so far?”

“It’s been fun! I met another friend in my last class. His name is David. And he offered to show me around the campus one day. He seemed pretty nice.”

There was a bit of silence on the phone for a second. Before I realized it someone spoke again.

“Who is this…David.” Jake’s voice came through the phone.

I sighed and rolled my eyes playfully, “Jake it’s nothing to worry about. He seems fine. I promise! Plus I’m wayyy to busy for any tour today.“

“Alright fine. But if this David starts to act a bit odd you just let me know cariño.” (dear)

“I will Padre.” The nickname slipped out before I realized it. I wasn’t regressing…was I? No, no I was just saying that to Jake as a sign of endearment…yeah…totally…

I quickly changed the subject before he could comment on it, “Steven! Can you ask him to make his special mac and cheese tonight?”

“What’s wrong with my Mac and cheese?” Steven asked.

“There’s nothing wrong! I like yours too…but Marc’s is the best. Sorry!”

It was the honest truth. Marc was more of a chef than the other two personalities. There was a bit of silence until…

“I’d be happy to make it for you tonight. It’s the perfect night for it too, a bit chilly. That way the mac and cheese will warm you right up.” Marc said.

I giggled and kicked my feet under the table. I love Marc’s mac and cheese so much!

“Thank you!! And please tell Steven not to be be down. He always make the best desserts!” I explained, hoping not to hurt Steven’s feelings.

Marc spoke up again changing the subject, “Y/N, are you starting to regress a little bit?” He asked in his normal stern tone. Steven was the pushover, but Marc and Jake were…stern to say the least.

Now was my turn for silence on the other end of the phone. After a moment I answered, “Yeah. I just…I miss you guys.” I looked up in the hopes of not crying.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s alright! You’re okay! You’ve only got one more class after this and then you’ll hop on the bus and see us again! Look how far you’ve made it on your own today! You should be so proud of yourself.”

“Thank you,” I said wiping my eyes. “Just one more class.”

“Exactly, just one more class and then when you walk onto the bus we’ll be waiting there with open arms for you sweetie. You got that?” Marc asked.

“Yeah.” I smiled at the thought.

“Alright then, I’ll give it back to Steven.”

Now that was funny, as if to give him the phone and not the body, which is what he really meant.

“Hi darling! Still doing alright?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see you later!”

“Oh I can’t wait to see you my little moon! I can’t wait hug you and hold you all night.”

Despite Steven best efforts he was making feel more and more little by the second.

“Steven…what should I do if I’m feeling small at school?”

“Hmmm,” Steven hummed in concentration. “That’s a good question darling. Well, first you’re making the right choice letting me know. That way, incase of an emergency, I know what headspace you’re in.”

“Secondly,” Steven continued, “I would put your headphones on. Whether you listen to music or not it will block out the outside noises and make it a little less overwhelming for you.”

“Finally, if you feel too little and want to hold your stuffie you have two options. You could outright hold your stuffie or you could stick their arm out of your backpack. That way if you want to feel their presence, all you have to do is reach back and hold their hand.” Steven explained.

I nodded and took a deep breath. I could do this, just one more class and then I could regress the night away. Steven was right and his idea were just what I needed. “Thank you, I needed that.”

“Of course darling. I’m always happy to help. Listen, I’ll let you go because your lunch is probably ending soon but I’ll see you tonight. If you need me feel free to call or text. Alright love? I love you my little moon.”

I held the phone a little tighter in my hands. Oh how I wish I could just jump through the phone and be with him right now. But I will be strong, just one more class.

“I love you too. Later gators.” My voice broke a bit on the end of that sentence. With that we hung up.

I took another deep breath and tried to level myself. I grabbed my headphones and put the over my ears. Without music playing I kept them on and tried to stop myself from crying. I’ve had a great day! I don’t understand why I’m so upset suddenly.

But then it hit me, the fight against my regression was weighting heavy on me. My body and mind were frustrated with the resistance of not to regressing immediately. But the headphones started to help tremendously.

I grabbed Steven, Marc and Jake’s notes and put them in my pocket for some reassurance. I put my lunchbox away and back into my backpack. There inside I met eyes with my stuffie of Taweret. She stared back at me with her sweet hippo smile. My heart tugged at me to pull her out and hug her. But instead I took Steven’s advice and stuck her hand out so I could hold it every I felt I needed to.

With that I swung my bag onto to my back and went off to my next class.

~~~

Steven anxiously waited on the bus. His shift was over and how he was on his way back home. But first was picking his little one up from their stop. He was lucky enough to get a seat this time, the bus being crowded with the rush hour crowds.

He couldn’t wait to see Y/N. He was nervous the whole rest of the evening with Y/N explaining how they were starting to feel little as the day went on. He hoped he gave them good advice, he hoped they were alright.

Just as he boarded the bus they texted and said they were out of class and heading to the bus stop. So hopefully that meant that by now they were waiting at the bus stop.

But what if something went wrong? Or what if they weren’t there? Steven shook his head and listened to both Marc and Jake yell at him internally. No, Y/N was alright, and they would be right there waiting for him.

Sadly it didn’t makes his nerves feel any less at ease than they didn’t before. The only thing that would make them better is seeing Y/N. Luckily for him he was only one stop away.

His foot bounced anxiously as the bus rounded the corner to the college. Steven stood up and held the handrail as the bus came to a stop right in front of the university. And there Y/N stood.

Y/N smiled through the window at Steven. They ran into the bus and right into Steven’s arms.

“Steven!!!” They hugged Steven so right he could barely breathe.

“Y/N!!” Steven said, hugging back just as tight. “It’s so good to see you! I miss you so much my little moon.”

The two broke apart when the bus started again and they both almost fell over. Steven ushered them to sit while he held the rail next to their spot.

“How was your day darling?” He asked.

“It was amazing!! College is awesome! I met so many nice people and my classes seem like a lot of fun! I met this one girl and she has a pet frog! Could you imagine having a pet frog?!”

Steven laughed. “No I definitely cannot see myself having a pet frog. I’m so happy you had such a great day!” He ruffed their hair a bit.

“I’m happy I did too. I missed you! A lot! But I did have a good day. But now my day is the best!” Y/N said kicking their feet under their chair on the bus.

Steven smiled at his little one, who at the moment was regressing after a long hard day. But they deserved the little comfort. And boy was he planning on spoiling them when he got home.

[yourftmfriend]

How would the moon boys react to having a bf who loves wrapping his arms around their waist, giving them lots of kisses and just a least some form of physical contact with them

Ahhh I love this ideaaa

Steven

He’d be so surprised at first tbh

He was just doing his casual things when you hugged him from the back out of a sudden

“Y/N? What are you doing????”

“I’m hugging you”

“Why???”

But when he gets used to this he loves it

He loves your hugs and kisses

Especially the kisses

Especially the neck kisses

Sexually or not he loves it

It’s just so relaxing for him

-

Marc

Nothings gonna change my mind

He’s a “tsundere”

Bro doesn’t show “weakness”

But when you hug him

He just melts in your touch

The first time you hugged him was when he was mad at you

He was giving you the silent treatement after you started bringing your new friend from work home a bit too much

“How could he spend more time with him instead of me!”

“Look at them laughing! What’s so funny!?”

When you two got to bed that night he didn’t answer any of your questions

“Marc, baby where were you all day? I couldn’t see you anywhere”

He just ignores you and continues preparing for sleep

“Darling?”

…

“Why are you ignoring me now???”

He gets in the bed and closes the lamp on his side of the bed

You change and lay on the bed too, closing the other lamp

You just lay on your back for a few seconds thinking how to make him not ignore you

You roll over and place your arms around him, chin on his shoulder

“What’s wrong Darling? Why are you ignoring me?”

He tries to stay silent

“Marc??”

“Your friend..”

“Hm??”

“Why is he around so much?..”

Oh

OH

He was jealous

“Oh baby… I’m so sorry..”

He was trying so hard not to bury his head in your chest

Your hug was so.. soft and caring

He felt like he was going to melt in your arms

You turned him over and hugged him tighter

“I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you darling… I promise I’ll try to be with you more.. I’m so so so sorry..”

All of the other thoughts went away as he buried his head in your chest

“Just.. Don’t do it again..”

-

Jake

He LOVES them

Fucking loves your kisses and hugs on any time of the day

Just hug him and kiss his neck out of nowhere

He loves it

Cuddle him while watching something

He loves it

Cuddle him while doing nothing

He loves it

He loves everything you give him

Especially in bed

When your kisses become sloppy and hugs become a way of feeling his body

——————————————————————

Well

Fuck

I love these men

I’d love to kiss them and hug them all the day

Especially Marc

I wrote a whole ass fanfic for him

But admit it he’s too beautiful to be a background character

[poelya]

okay, tumblr did the annoying thing and recommended me a post bitching about moon knight (such is the way of the tumblr's recommendation system), but it specifically highlighted the recently released deleted scene ("don't go there"), so I wanna talk about that a little bit.

I've seen a lot of hand-wringing about the deleted scene, a lot of "that's really insensitive"s, and a lot of "I'm glad that they deleted it" sentiments. I've even seen people go as far to say it's "out of character" of Layla (my, people love using that excuse a lot when characters act fully dimensional and make mistakes), so I wanna put my few cents in.

I think what people are misunderstanding is that it's purposely insensitive - and that narratively, the scene does not condone anything that Layla says about the system.

Moon Knight as a show is a lot of things, but one of the most primary things it is about, is systematic ableism. The System faces ableism in practically every aspect of their lives: Steven is put down repeatedly at work for being a blatantly unmasked autistic man, he loses his job because of his disability (been there myself). People are afraid of him (the lady in the lift) because he acts a bit 'weird', people think he's a silly drunk, Harrow as a villain very deliberately weaponizes disability - do you think it's a coincidence that his method of appearing benign and harmless is by pretending to be physically disabled, when he then turns around and utilizes the Lunar System's disability to discredit them during the trial?

All of these things, in my opinion, results in the climax that we get in Asylum. There's been plenty of metas for why the scales balanced once Steven had been frozen, and handwringing, when it seems fairly obvious to me that the scales balanced because Marc and Steven aren't meant to exist in the system placed by the gods, who have repeatedly been shown to be ableist (yes, even Tawaret, adhd icon that she might be). They cannot exist in an ableist system (herksnorts), so they reject it and choose each other. That's the story they're telling.

So what does this mean for the deleted scene?

Well, when you look at the show as a whole and how it repeatedly states that ableism is wrong, then I think it makes it very clear that what Layla is saying in this scene is also wrong and incorrect. The fact that it makes people uncomfortable, especially singlets it seems, is quite deliberate and intentional - because in many ways, I think Layla serves as a touchstone for the portion of the audience that are neurotypical/allistic/singlets (although Layla isn't necessarily neurotypical considering her obvious trauma re: her father's death, and I like the idea that she and the system are aut4aut, but for the sake of this meta we're going to view her through the lens of an allistic/singlet), and I think what is getting to a lot of people is the implication that they could be so heartless and cruel to someone they care about and love, if they're different from them and experience life differently.

Because, speaking as someone who is autistic and is a system, and whose coping mechanisms or lackthereof have resulted in my partners going on at least more than one occasion, "your spector is showing", it is very amusing to see how many people think that they would be so good and understanding with the system, when often they can't afford that same courtesy to the ones in their actual lives. So when their touchstone -- the one that seems to grasp things very easily within the actual framework of the show and largely handles the situation delicately and gets a 2-in-1 husbands deal (not counting Jake for the moment since we don't know his feelings for Layla yet) -- is shown to be getting it wrong, saying these outright ableist and frankly cruel things that deeply hurt Marc as a result -- it shatters the illusion that they're not complicit in an ableist society, and the violence that the Lunar System consistently faces, that they don't have preconceived notions about what plurality is like, what it means, or that they need to challenge those beliefs and their understanding of what it's like to exist as a neurodivergent person in an ableist, sanist society.

This scene doesn't hold its punches, just like the rest of the series doesn't. It shows another, incredibly accurate moment of the ableism that systems deal with every day of their lives - and I think even if you're not plural, then the scene can still ring true for you if you're neurodivergent, having to sit and listen to even some of the people closest to you, spout deeply harmful rhetoric that they don't even know they should be challenging. And it's no coincidence that it takes place immediately after the trial, or that it deliberately has Layla using the same out of date terminology that Harrows uses to discredit them -- the point IS that it's insensitive, the point is that Harrow CAN successfully turn people against the system, because these ableist notions are SO deeply engrained into society, that even Layla, our other protagonist and hero and Marc's wife, can share those same beliefs at the start of the series.

Moon Knight is a story about systematic ableism. It's about how ableism gets weaponized against disabled people, and specifically systems, all the time. It features the accurate day to day ableism that we face, and it makes sure to include that even the most well-intentioned people, can still be complicit in it and need to challenge those beliefs (and if you think that Tawaret and Layla are the only ones, the show also gets into internalized ableism - look no further than Steven's reaction to finding out about Marc, or Marc's intial reaction to being in the Duat, or the way that Harrow SUCCESSFULLY utilizes the harmful stereotype of an "evil alter" to drive a wedge between Steven and Marc until the Duat, which the show very meticulously deconstructs across the first season (which is why I am not particularly concerned about Jake tbh, they've done it before and if they keep the same crew as the first season, I feel like they'll do it again).)

But ultimately, I think it was wise for them to delete it, because I think this kind of discourse is exactly why they chose to. Although narratively it is framed as wrong and it shows that Marc is deeply hurt by the invasive and insensitive questions Layla hurls his way, there is always going to be the majority of people who think the story is trying to condone that behavior when it's not.

Because of that, I do believe it was the responsible decision to remove the scene, but personally I'm choosing to keep it as part of my personal canon. Why? Because it flows well with the rest of the series, better bridges the gap between Layla's confusion in episode 2 to how she handles the plurality in the latter half of episode 3/4, and...honestly I love what it does for Layla? Because the contrast of her in this scene versus her interactions with Steven, especially about them being a system, in the very next episode is staggering, and I love the tremendous amount of growth that it shows her go on - which not many people are willing to undergo. It, frankly, makes me love Layla more.

Now, I know that not everyone's gonna agree with me and my analysis of the show or this scene as a whole, and I'm not trying to change everyone's minds, I just want to throw another perspective into the ring - I'm sure even other systems will disagree with me! That's how experiences work, Moon Knight works for me as it exists, but it probably doesn't for everyone else (it probably helps that it works for me so well because it's the thing that introduced me to the conecept of being plural, even if it isn't - sort of - what made me realize I am). And I'm not even saying I didn't flinch hard at Layla's questions - I did.

But that's the point.

It's like Marc said, "this is my reality", and this is the reality that plurals face every day, it's the reality that any disabled person faces. And I find a lot of comfort in that it pulls no punches.

Because it's my reality, too.