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hairyjocktf · 15 days

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Greek Vacation

It was finally June, and Alex could barely sleep. He’d worked his ass off the last year in college to avoid having to take summer classes, which meant he could join the rest of his family on their trip to Greece. His mom had apparently won tickets or miles or something through her job, he couldn’t remember. All that mattered was he was going to Greece! It was finally time to relax and unwind from the insanely stressful last few months. He’d gone over his packing list six, seven times now; he was absolutely sure he was ready. His family was meeting him at the airport, so he was just pacing now, waiting on that text to start moving. The phone on the countertop buzzed and he lunged for it. It was time.

Alex grabbed his oversized suitcase and lugged it down the stairs of his apartment building out to the street. He hopped on the bus and found a seat. He was giddy, this trip was his dream trip as a kid, and now he was finally getting to go. He’d helped plan out their whole itinerary, from the Acropolis to the ruins at Delphi and so so many more. Before he knew it, they were dropping him at the airport. Inside the chaotic lobby he managed to spot his parents, his dad was already wearing a massive sun hat which helped. The next hour was a blur getting their bags checked, through security, and corralling everyone to the gate. Then began the longest part of the trip: the flight. Alex had brought noise canceling headphones and an extra strong dose of melatonin that he prayed would do the job. And miraculously, it did. Nearly ten hours later he woke up to the sounds of the plane landing, and next thing he knew they were in a cab headed into Athens.

The cab pulled up to their hotel, depositing them and their bags at the foot of a beautiful white building with a grand entrance. This part was his mother’s domain. She ushered everyone inside and got them to their room in no time. Alex was unpacking and setting his stuff out when he realized he couldn’t find his phone charger. He tore everything out of his suitcase and backpack, trying desperately to find it. Nothing. He must’ve left it in his haste getting out the door, after all his phone was plugged in while he was waiting.

Shit, he thought, before solemnly announcing the news to his family.

“We’ll stop by a store or something and get you a new one, it's fine,” his mother said, buried in her own suitcase. What a start to the trip. Alex sat on the side of his bed looking out the window at the building next door, kicking his legs waiting for them to get going. Finally, after another 30 minutes, they were getting back out the door.

Alex and his family started wandering through the massive metropolis of Athens, surrounded by white buildings and the intense noise of a city. Only a few blocks away they came upon a massive street market, with locals selling everything imaginable. Fruits, street food, bags, shirts, phones, you name it. Surely, Alex thought, they would sell a phone charger here. He squeezed up and down through tight corridors of shops, flooded with people. He was deep into the market when his path was blocked with a crowd. He turned around, only to find the way he came in also packed tight with tourists. He was stuck. As panic started to set in, Alex heard a deep, husky voice from the stall behind him.

“You there, tourist boy,” the voice said, and Alex whipped around to see a large man with dark olive skin, and the hairiest body he’d ever seen. It was on his fingers, hands, forearms, and crawled out of his open shirt solidly up to the thick bushy beard on his face that nearly hid all his features. Alex was frozen, taking in the sight of this man. He was snapped out of his daze by the man speaking again.

“You look tired, boy. Did you just arrive?” he looked Alex in the eyes.

Alex was jumbling his words, “Uh, yes, yea I did. But I slept! I shouldn’t be tired.. I don’t think…”

The man grabbed his hand and pulled it towards him. “Here boy, this will help you,” he said in his thick accent. He took out a small beaded bracelet and slipped it onto Alex’s wrist, tying it tight.

“Uhh, thanks?” Alex remarked, a little confused about the whole situation. The moment was interrupted by his mother’s voice piercing through the crowd.

“Alex!! Alex!! Are you over here?” Alex jerked his head towards the voice, starting to back away from the man.

“Enjoy your trip, boy,” the man said, releasing his arm and giving a slight wave. Alex turned away and pushed through the throng of people in his way, eventually reaching his mother.

“Alex! Thank god you’re okay, we lost you immediately. Here, we found someone selling chargers,” she handed him a cord, not even noticing the bracelet on his wrist. “Alright, let’s get back on track today, shall we?” she put some pep in her voice. As the family squeezed through the crowded Athenian streets, Alex failed to notice a slight itch where the bracelet clung to his wrist.

The summer sun beat down on them as they slowly made their way up the hills of Athens. Alex was sweating buckets, the back of his shirt absolutely drenched. He looked over in envy at his dad’s sun hat that he had mocked earlier. After what felt like an eternity, they made it to the base of the acropolis. Alex’s dad groaned at the sight of not only immense crowds, but another massive rock they had to climb. Alex was undeterred however, his eyes lit up with the sight of the ruins atop the hill. This was what he’d been waiting for, and he let nothing get in his way as he dragged his family into the crowd to get closer. The slight itch under the bracelet continued, unbeknownst to Alex. His skin under it was darkening to an olive shade, slowly creeping up his arm and down towards his hand. Where the darker tone had spread, hairs began popping up, thick black hairs in contrast to his light brown wispy hairs. They continued to sprout, growing in between the last, creating a dense, curly coat. The back of his hand was next, the same black hairs wriggling out. Soon enough, his forearm stuck out like a sore thumb next to the rest of his pale body, yet no one seemed to notice.

The next couple hours were heaven for Alex. He explored the acropolis with his family, pointing out everything he’d researched and explaining even more. Between the numerous ruins and museums, the rest of the day was jam packed with artifacts. Alex even found himself remembering facts about spots he didn’t remember researching. The other constant of the day was the sun. It beat down on them from above with the full force of a Mediterranean summer, sweat constantly dripping from his forehead. It seemed like significantly more than usual for Alex, but he chalked it up to the different climate, and how much they’d been walking. Under his soaked shirt, however, his body was adapting. The deep olive color had spread all the way up his arm, with the forest of hair following, coating his upper arm. The hairs crawled over his inflating shoulder, sprinkling it with black wisps. His bicep has also grown substantially, almost like he was a regular gym-goer, matching his now beefier hand and forearm.

The sun-kissed shade continued to spread, imposing itself over his chest. Not long after, his chest began growing. It pushed out two meaty pecs, skin stretching to accommodate the immense muscles growing in slowly. His chest was sore as years of workouts applied themselves at once. The crisp definition melted somewhat as his form softened, fat layering itself onto his chest and further down as a thick muscle gut grew in. His stomach pressed tight against his shirt, stretching it to its limit. As the muscle pushed out of his frame, so did the hairs. Small black hairs began rearing their heads around his growing nipples, pushing out like thick shoots of grass. The hairs radiated away from his nipples, surging across the open fields of his pectorals, burying them in a black, curly forest. They grew longer and thicker, matting together into a rug across his chest that scratched against his shirt. The fur coat grew denser in the center of his pecs and right below, making them look like real pillow cushions. His gut tingled as the hairs began erupting, swirling together and giving his belly a thick black coat to match. By the time Alex and his family were headed to dinner it looked like he’d eaten plenty, putting on dozens of pounds.

They sat down at a street-side restaurant that Alex had recommended, exhausted after a very active first day. While they browsed the menu, Alex scratched loosely at an itch above the neckline of his shirt. The wave of darker skin tone had slowly been inching up his neck, leading a wave of black hairs. His chest fur had overtaken his collarbone and continued to spread. His neck remained bare until, suddenly, a single dark hair sprouted above his shirt. It was black, thick, and curly. Seconds later, a second hair joined it, shooting out from his shirt collar. More and more began sprouting, giving Alex a thick dark tuft of hair curling over his shirt. This was just the beginning, though. The dark hairs climbed up his neck, following the wave of olive complexion. Alex’s lean face cracked as it widened, jaw growing thick and square. His brow jutted out and his nose grew more prominent as his face took on the darker tone. His wavy brown hair pulled back some, turning black and more curly. The itching grew as a shadow developed across his jaw, darkening as thick stubble emerged from the bare skin. The scruff seemed to age Alex up a good few years, he seemed like a real adult with the stubble, hairy forearms, and chest hair pushing out of his shirt.

As they ate, Alex briefed his parents on their plan for the next day, starting with an early bus out to Delphi. He already knew the exact times, costs, and routes to take for the perfect day. His parents were impressed at how well researched he was, not noticing the dark scruff covering their son’s face. They finished up dinner and caught a cab home, knowing they had to be up at the crack of dawn the next day.

The next morning came quickly, and with some disgruntled grumbling from his parents, they were off on their bus to Delphi. It was a three hour trip, so they settled into their seats and his parents tried to get a little more rest. Alex stared eagerly out the window, watching the mountains rush past with the sea behind. As the ride went on, he found himself shifting uncomfortably in his seat, like his body was agitated and he couldn’t figure out why. He tried to focus on the beautiful scenery and the maps of their destination instead. In reality, beneath his clothes, the slow moving wave of Mediterranean skin had crossed his muscle gut and reached his groin. It swept through his crotch, seeding the growth of new hair. His existent bush was sparse, and was quickly engulfed by the torrent of dark curly hairs that erupted from the base of his cock, spreading outward. Black hairs wormed out of his skin like weeds coating the entire area, pushing up towards his navel in a triangle pattern, and out onto his thighs.

Alex tried to subtly scratch at the area as the itching grew intense, using his map to hide his meaty hands groping the area. His flaccid cock absorbed the same olive color, and a thick foreskin stretched itself back over the head. It didn’t stay soft for long, engorging and pushing six, seven, eight inches in his pants. Alex shifted again to try and keep comfortable in his seat, but the growing rod was not helping him, leaving a massive imprint on his shorts. His bush continued to thicken, hairs sprouting between others, curling together into an impenetrable forest. The hairs even started climbing the base of his cock, popping out a ways up. There was a thud on the seat when Alex’s balls suddenly inflated to the size of baseballs, his sack growing furry as the same curly black hairs engulfed them. Alex had spread his legs as much as he could, he was practically on top of the guy in the seat next to him, and he was still feeling squeezed. He was about to reach his limit when the bus came to a stop. They had made it.

Like it was instinct, Alex gathered his parents and started their exploration of the site. He took them to the Temple of Apollo, the museum, and the spring. It was another relentlessly hot day, and within minutes he had started sweating buckets. He ignored it to continue guiding his parents around, but it began to take a toll. Underneath his arms, his paltry smattering of hair was starting to soak up some color, growing thicker and darker. The more sweat dripped from his pits the more hair began to shoot out of them, catching the drops and adding to the stench that began to waft from him. Throughout the morning, more and more hairs poked out from under his arms. His beefy arms weren’t able to hide the enormous tufts of hair that were pushing out of his pits, kept nice and damp from the heat.

They stopped briefly for lunch at a spot Alex knew and recommended, taking a break from the heat before they continued walking through the town. Alex scratched at his face, his fingers pulling through a little more hair than they had the night before. The meal was a nice reprieve, showcasing some delicious local cuisine to his parents. He took the chance to explain their next destinations, and before long they were back walking up the hills. Alex was glad he’d worn shorts today, it was brutal even for June. His exposed legs had begun taking on the same tone as the rest of him, no longer standing out as pale twigs. Curly hairs brushed against his shorts as they grew en masse, traveling from his pubes downward. The hairs pushed out of his growing thighs, a burgeoning field of dark curls spreading across them. His calves experienced the same, putting on size before getting engulfed with black hair.

They’d made it to the stadium and viewpoint at the top. Alex left the couple to take in the vista and address his current problem; his shoes were way too tight. Luckily, it seemed he’d worn sandals for the day. He bent over to loosen the straps, giving some breathing room to his now size 15 feet, not noticing the coarse hairs popping out across the tops of them. Even his toes were hairy now. He stood back up and looked out over the valley, scratching his ass that had been a little itchy. The same thick curly hairs had started bursting out of his crack, creating a furry mass between his cheeks. The hairs spread out, growing like weeds over the expanse of his ass. The sweat dripping down his widening back helped the hairs take root, and they shot upward sprouting from the small of his back. His lats grew darker as black fur erupted before climbing up to his neck and blending with the thick coating on his shoulders. The coarse curly hairs grew dense and long enough to push his damp shirt nearly an inch away from his body all around. Curly black hairs poked out of the back of his shirt collar too, mirroring the front side.

The sun had begun to hang lower in the sky, signaling it time to head back to the bus station. Alex’s legs had bulked up enough to handle the constant walking up and down, as he should be used to it by now. He guided the couple back down to the town and they got on their way back to Athens, another multi-hour journey. He felt his seat was even smaller this time, his body having swelled with muscle and mass throughout the day. As the bus bumped along the mountain roads, Alex stared at his reflection in the window. His short beard was pushing out. Hairs grew longer, curling together. More hairs sprouted to fill the gaps, climbing higher on his cheeks. The beard grew incredibly dense, adding another couple years to his face. He finally gave in and scooted over, taking up both seats. The bulky man then closed his eyes for an hour until the familiar noise of Athens began leaking through the windows.

They stopped at the station, and he grabbed the couple’s bags from the rack. WIth that motion, his short sleeve shirt that had been taught against his massive chest all day gave out, bursting open. His thick chest and belly and the incredible rug that covered them were exposed, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for him, especially in the summer. He lugged the bags to the curb and handed them over. The woman was exhausted looking, but still had a beaming smile.

“Oh, thank you so much Alexios! You’ve been amazing these last two days.” He swallowed, a large adam’s apple bulging out of his throat, “You’re very welcome. Enjoy the rest of your visit to Greece,” he said with a baritone voice and accent.

The man handed him a large stack of bills as a thank you, and the two headed off towards their hotel. Alexios sighed, it had been an exhausting day. And after all that, he needed to prepare for the new tourists he was to guide the next day.

Hey y'all, I was going to start on the poll story but it's been so close I couldn't predict it! So enjoy this race change tf in the mean time. Speaking of which, if you havent yet, go vote in the poll for the next story! There's still 2 days left.

#male tf #hairy tf #bear tf #race change #greek tf #hairy #hair growth #hairy chest #hairy pits #hairy back #beard #my writing

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channieandhisgoonsquad · 5 months

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With Felix 🥺

YES MA'AM! 🫡

Je t’aime.

Word Count: 1.2K

Warnings: Nope, it's FLUFF

Comments: I'm always down to write something about Lixie! He is Han's twin, after all. He is just so fucking pretty and like that one guy on youtube said "Sorry to all women, but you will never be prettier than Felix."

As soon as you got off the plane in the Paris airport, you were immediately overwhelmed. You had never ridden a plane by yourself, let alone going to a different country by yourself.

The truth is, you're not really alone. The manager that had been charged with traveling with Felix was meeting up with you while Felix was doing some shoots with their photographer. He told the young Aussie that he had to go meet up with someone to discuss the tour he was taking tomorrow.

When you passed security, you made your way to the exit, hoping to find the manager in the chaos. To your surprise, he was already in the building looking for you. You waved at him, but the man had already seen you coming.

"Hello, miss y/n. Glad to see another familiar face in this bustling city!"

You shook his hand nervously and giggled at the formal greeting. "Hi! I should say the same thing. I was just going outside to look for you."

He smiled, "No way! You are precious cargo and needed to be found as soon as you arrived!" He ushered you in the direction of the car parking ramp he had left the car in.

The city was magnificent! It was the first time you had been to France, and you were snapping as many pics as you could with your phone. You drove through a large roundabout that was surrounding the Arc de Triomphe and you couldn't stop trying to look through the manager's window to get a better look. "Do you think we can come back here?"

He looked out his window with you for a moment, "I will try to make it happen if time allows it."

When you pulled into another much smaller parking ramp, you got excited. The giddy bubbly sensation of surprising your lover was growing within you at the realization that it was so close. You only had a purse and a carry-on due to the shorter-than-you'd-like trip, but Felix's manager grabbed the bag from the trunk and demanded he hold onto it.

He looks down at his phone, tracking the location of Felix and their photographer. They were a block away wandering the local markets. "This is perfect! You can surprise him while shopping, miss."

You smiled anxiously, seemingly feeling like he was more excited about this than you. Your hands were already playing with the hems of your sleeves in anticipation of his reaction. The man had already sent you a couple of idyllic photos of the city and you couldn't believe you would be here with him.

The streets were bustling with all sorts of people on this warm, but windy, Wednesday afternoon. You had decided to dress to impress, wanting to feel like you belonged in this very luxurious space.

As you rounded the corner, you were overwhelmed by the lack of personal space created by the crowds. Thank god you had put your purse under your jacket, hearing of all of the pick pocketers that were in touristy locations such as Paris. That was a fear you had in this chaos.

Amidst such craziness, you saw your boyfriend, the man you hoped to marry someday. Of course, he stuck out like a sore thumb to you, but it couldn't be helped that he may stand out in general.

His style was not matching the others around him, and his blonde hair looked fluorescent in the midday sun. You could watch him all day; just bask in his ethereal appearance and attitude. He was so humble despite looking like a literal walking anime character. You continued observing him from ten feet away now, just watching him being so sweet to the lady running the stand he was at.

She seemed to be selling sweets of all kinds, and the man always wants a little bit of everything when he's travelling. She seems excited to tell him about everything, despite the slight language barrier. You're sure he had tried speaking some of his limited French, and that must've wooed her over.

You couldn't blame her! He is the essence of grace.

After watching creepily, you decided to just walk up to him while he chose his sweets. "Bonjour!" You yelled over the crowd to the woman behind the booth and she smiled sweetly back.

Felix was surprised at the sudden person so close to him and looked up questioningly. He gasped loudly and threw his arms completely around you! "Y/n? Wait… What the hell! How? When? What?!"

He couldn't decide what he wanted to say, so you just pulled him into a sweet kiss on his flustered face. He returned your kiss with numerous pecks on your whole face while you giggled at his happiness.

Lix grabbed both sides of your face with his hands on your cheeks, trying to make sure you were real. "Sweetie! I can't believe you're here! I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack you scared me so bad!" He let out a long breath through his mouth while he wrapped one arm around your waist and turned back to the woman, "Claudette, this is y/n. She's my lovely, wonderful, gorgeous, and insane girlfriend!"

"Hello again." You smiled at the lady that just shook her head at you two.

"T'amante. Ahhh young love." she sighed as she put together all of Felix's goods. He gave her his card and she finished the transaction with him. He gave her a ten-euro bill to add on for how kind she had been to them. When she saw it, she handed him two lollipops back.

He smiled, "Au Revoir!" and she blew a loving kiss back at him. He turned back to your face, “I suppose I should remind you, je t’aime, y/n.”

You fanned yourself dramatically, “God, I don’t think you understand how hot that sounds with your voice. Be careful around your Stays.” He made a disapproving noise, blushed profusely, and nudged your shoulders together because of your teasing.

Felix found a cafe with four available seats and went to the counter to order the drinks. On his return, everyone began talking about the schedule and Felix showed you more pictures of the things he's seen.

You also were treated to the news that you could go on the tour with them. Louis Vutton rented an entire double leveled bus for the interview they were planning to do with Felix, and you were welcome to sit behind the camera and take in the site. You were so excited to be here.

Felix couldn't let go of your hand the entire time, rubbing the back of your palm absent mindedly while confirming timings and locations with the two JYP staff.

Once finished, everyone continued roaming the streets together, taking in the sights and sounds of the ancient city. Felix pulled out the two suckers and you unwrapped them both since Felix was taking photos of everything still.

He took a photo of both of your heart-shaped lollipops. They were adorable and tasted like strawberry. The city of love, with your love, and these heart shaped lollipops was everything you needed at that moment.

You remembered what Claudette had said to you two, and searched it up on google, "Lixie, she said 't'amante' and that means your lover."

"Well, that's what you are. My light and my love."

My Spooky Pookies: @2chopsticks2eyes @moonlightndaydreams @mae-is-cute980 @noellllslut @caitlyn98s @chansmanda @chaotic-world-of-the-j @lyramundana @linlinaert @diorrxluvskz @sweetracha @stolasisyourparent @antoniorhinothethird @queen-in-the-shadows @queenmea604 @thightswideforhanin @yourarmsmyhome @its-hannjisung @idkluvutellme @pearbunny

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simpforboys · 2 years

Text

airport

vinnie hacker x f!reader

summary: basically reader and vinnie in the airport with everyone idk

warnings: fluff, swearing, mentions of sex, clingy and grumpy vinnie

vinnie absolutely hated getting up early. especially when he couldn’t sleep that night, resulting in a grumpy morning.

by the time vinnie finally rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, y/n was finishing getting dressed. “are you up yet, sleepy head?”

vinnie let out a grunt, fighting the urge to roll over and try to sleep. but he knew better, and as much as he hated waking up, he was beyond excited for their trip to europe.

“baby, come on you have twenty minutes until we need to be downstairs with everyone.” y/n rubbed vinnie’s bare shoulder as he rolled up.

he grabbed her waist and pulled her into him. “vin.”

“i’m going i’m going,” he sighed. vinnie nuzzled his head into her stomach before finally letting go and getting up.

vinnie carried his and y/n’s luggage down the stairs as she took the carry on bags. “morning, love birds.” jack teased.

“wait, i have a surprise for you.” y/n mumbled, walking over to the kitchen. she pulled out a drink carrier filled with starbucks coffees and pastries.

“you’re the best, y/n!” max said happily as the boys came to collect their stuff.

vinnie pressed a kiss to y/n’s temple in appreciation and took a couple sips of his iced coffee.

“okay, the van is here.”

vinnie laid his head on his girlfriend’s shoulder as he drifted off in the van. the airport was about a forty-five minute drive from the hype house.

y/n tried to sleep on him, but failed. luckily, the other boys had fallen asleep and she didn’t need to worry about them.

once at the airport, vinnie again took both their luggage. y/n had insisted she could carry her’s, but vinnie just shrugged her off.

the group checked in, dropped off their bags, and headed to the short security line.

“okay, time for snacks. this plane ride is going to be long as hell.” eamon grinned as the boys ran over to the market.

the boys loaded up on energy drinks and snacks before paying. y/n grabbed a bag of pretzels, a powerade, and a few more snacks.

the group walked over to the gate as vinnie pulled y/n down into his lap, closing his eyes as he put his head on her shoulder once again.

“i’m just gonna say this before we leave- no fucking if we’re in the room.” max said sternly.

“max!” y/n rolled her eyes as she felt vinnie chuckle underneath her.

“no, y/n. i’m serious. as much as i love you i will not have ya’ll fucking in our hotel room.”

“so we just gotta make sure you don’t hear us.” vinnie smirked, finally seeming to wake up.

“i will beat both of your asses.” jack rolled his eyes, pretending to gag.

“ew, stop.” y/n laughed.

“i’m so happy we get to sit in first class.” eamon shrugged, changing the subject.

everyone nodded in agreement before the announcement came on saying that air france is now starting the boarding.

jack and eamon were sitting in row one, max in row two, with y/n and vinnie in row three. “holy shit.”

y/n placed her stuff in her pod that was directly next to vinnie’s.

once they all got settled, vinnie reached over the pod and grabbed y/n’s hand and rubbed circles on the back. she grabbed her phone and took a selfie of them.

“i love you,” he mumbled.

“i love you.”

the whole plane ride vinnie slept except for the last six hours. he peeped over his pod to see y/n finally sleeping, her hoodie on as she was rolled towards vinnie.

he smiled to himself as he began watching a movie, inspecting everything in his pod.

what the hell… vinnie thought to himself as he saw a giant storage space and finally noticed his amenity bag.

he was fumbling around with the items in the bag when a shorter flight attendant approached him. pulling out his airpod, he heard the woman ask, “sorry to bother you, but is she your girlfriend by any chance?”

vinnie furrowed his brows as he looked at y/n sleeping peacefully. “yeah, she is.”

the flight attendant frowned slightly. “can i get you something to eat or drink?” she changed the subject.

when off the plane, vinnie grabbed y/n’s hand as they all went to the baggage claim.

once the bags came spilling out, jack, eamon, and max all got their bags when y/n and vinnie noticed their’s were missing.

“you’ve gotta be kidding me.” vinnie groaned, walking over to guest regulations.

unfortunately, their luggage got lost but should be able to recover it within a few days.

“well, this is a crazy start to the trip.”

#vinnie hacker #vinnie hacker x reader #vinnie hacker fluff #vinnie hacker oneshot #vinnie x reader #vinnie #vinnie hacker x y/n #vinnie hacker x you

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3terna15unshin3 · 7 months

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Blurb request. Can be matty and este, doesnt have to be. How about they go on holiday, somewhere they won't get recognised. Get to walk through markets and just be a normal couple. Watch the sunset from a beach together. Romantic sort of stuff?

Quiet

Matty and Este go on holiday

2664 words

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A/N: thank u for the request this was such a cute idea!!! i hope this is what u were hoping for :))) 💖

Read the full fic of Matty and Este here !!!!

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Matty had already posed for a few photos with fans at the airport after going through security. It was normal, especially at one as huge as Heathrow, but a part of Este was secretly hoping that this time it would magically be different. They’d never been on holiday together before, just the two of them, so it felt a bit odd not being surrounded by security or travelling as a big group.

But it may have been that fact that made her so wary of being seen.

She never minded when people stopped to have a chat and picture with Matty—they were always so lovely and sometimes even wanted Este to pose with them. And she’d had her fair share of being out and about without having much privacy. They were just so excited to get away for once, this trip being their first chance to do so, and she wanted it to go perfectly.

To both of their surprise, it pretty much did.

It was an almost eleven hour long flight to the Maldives. They arrived in the sweat-inducing warm air, and the hotel Matty had booked was quick to settle into. So, Este dragged him out to the beach almost immediately. She broke open her suitcase to grab the first bikini she could find, and helped him sort through his mess of a packing job to find his swim shorts.

“Don’t you dare,” Este warned after feeling Matty tugging on the strings of her swimsuit bottoms.

He was in the middle of spreading sunscreen over her skin and threw his head back laughing at the fact that she caught him. They had been sitting out for a few hours and it was time to reapply.

“You’ve just tied them so loosely that I wanted to make sure they’re really secure,” Matty made up.

“Shut up.” She giggled. He continued his sunscreen reapplication.

“I feel like I shouldn’t even bother with this. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of the action of doing it,” clarified Matty, while she rolled her eyes at his suggestive comment, “But you don’t even burn. There’s no need for all this sunscreen.”

Este dog-eared the corner of the page she was reading, to keep her place before closing it. She set it down and looked over her shoulder to Matty.

His bottom squeezed onto the edge of her lounging chair, next to her thighs, while she laid on her stomach. The cream on her back was surely rubbed in by now; Este could tell he was touching all the same places over and over, but she adored the way his rough and strong hands somehow graced her with such a gentle touch. So, she didn’t stop him.

“You know the sun does more damage to your skin than just sunburns, right?” She pointed out, “Plus, I’m sure neither of us want me to shrivel up in wrinkles like a raisin in like five years. The sun’ll do that to me. I need all the protection I can get,”

Matty chuckled. “Couldn’t care less about you wrinkling, darling,” he said, running his fingers over the curve of her back one last time before finally twisting the lotion’s cap shut. “I think I’m just in love with how tan you get in the summer. ‘M just selfish.”

“I still get a tan even if I put on sunscreen, love.” Este reassured him. An amused smile sat on her face.

He started tracing his fingertips between her shoulder blades, tickling at the back of her neck. Matty wanted to study everything he saw, like the small moles littered over her skin, and the places it dimpled.

“I just do really love it, your skin,” he blabbered on, vocalising his obsessions, “I love the way it looks when you wear light green. In late August it sort of reminds me of the colour of a Biscoff biscuit—which are the best. And I like the way that when you lay in our white sheets, your skin and how warm it is makes me feel like our bed will never be cold or lonely. It’s just such a pillar in how beautiful you are,”

Este used her hands to push herself off of her stomach, climbing onto her knees and then standing up. She grabbed Matty’s face, who had to tilt his head up to look back at her, since he was still sitting. Her thumbs rubbed back and forth against his stubble. She thought it was prickly in the best way, even though she regularly nagged him to stay clean-shaven. It was a secret adoration.

“What’re you sucking up to me for?” She asked playfully, leaning down to softly kiss him, silently letting him know how special his words were. Matty always worshipped her—and it made Este feel extra fuzzy when it was for the things she was once insecure about, like the rich melanin of her skin, and how she grew up without many similarly coloured people to look up to. Now it was one of her favourite things about herself; and clearly Matty’s as well.

He rested his hands on her hips, trailing them backwards until they met one another behind her arse. “An answer that comes to mind is the fact that I’m so in love with you I don’t know how else to act,” Matty responded, placing a gentle peck right next to her belly button. She smelled like sand and mint.

Este’s face flushed with pink as she ran her fingers through his hair. His scalp felt hot and sticky with sweat from the sun, so she dragged Matty up onto his feet and started walking towards the shore. It was about time they cooled off in the water.

“I can’t believe you’re real sometimes,” She whispered into his shoulder, snaking her arm around his waist as they stepped in sync across the sand.

He laughed and then winced at the jarring temperature of the ocean against his feet. They kept going until they were almost waist deep, since it warmed up rather quickly.

“How do you know I am real?” Matty joked, raising an eyebrow.

“Wait,” said Este suddenly, stopping in her tracks and making him do the same, “I have an even more important question,”

He stayed silent and let her go on.

“Would you still love me if I was a raisin?”

Este doubled over in giggles at her play on the ‘Would you still love me if I was a worm?’ joke. Matty watched in amusement as she stumbled back and forth, going weak with laughter. The pure delight on her face and the way she always insisted on cracking up at her own lines made him smile, but he still rolled his eyes at her attempt at getting a laugh out of him. He took his hand and splashed water up into her face as an answer.

“I actually once had quite the reputation for liking raisins. So yeah, I probably would.”

As much as it was tempting to spend their whole day going back and forth between laying on the sun loungers and cooling off in the bright blue Indian ocean, Este desperately wanted to mooch through town and observe its local life. So, they threw t-shirts over their swimming costumes, slipped sandals on, and wandered around the many street markets in Malé.

They weaved in and out of the tables full of fresh seafood resting on ice, giving names to the ones they thought looked silly or cute and making small talk with the very friendly vendors. Matty wasn’t sure why he was surprised to see so many people selling fish, since they were literally on an island, but he was.

As they walked, their pinkies were hooked onto one another’s, since the humidity in the air made Este’s palms extra clammy, and Matty complained that they made a weird and squishy sound against his dry one. When she suggested that he just let go of her hand instead, Matty pouted and looped his smallest finger with hers.

“There,” he said in satisfaction, “That’s better. I still want to hold you somehow,”

She smiled at his sweetness and swung their interlocked digits back and forth dramatically. “I’m not going anywhere, Matty,” reassured Este.

“I know.” He responded shortly, with a grin.

They continued on, buying a few small souvenirs from the vendors that caught their eye. One in particular, stacked with eclectic jewellery—the type Este loved—held their attention for a while. The pieces laid out on display were charming and unique and she surely couldn’t leave without picking something out. Matty watched her slide different rings on and off of her fingers, extending her arm to take a good look at them, eventually choosing her favourite.

And after paying, Este jokingly slipped it onto her left ring finger, shoving her hand into her boyfriend’s face to tease him. She switched it over to her right hand once they’d both laughed about it.

Their stomachs rumbled as they made their way back to the room. Este thought about looking for a restaurant to grab dinner at, but Matty insisted on having a night in, since it was only the first day of their holiday. She wasn’t fussy, so she agreed.

But, to her surprise, there was a full meal set out for them both, on the small wooden table in the corner when they walked in. The classic room service style metal domes covered all of the plates that surrounded a bouquet of flowers stood in the centre. Her mouth remained agape for a few seconds, admiring the scene.

“Have the hotel done this?!” Este guessed, turning to Matty and then stepping towards the table to investigate further.

He chuckled and nodded. “Well yeah, I guess. ‘Cause I asked them to.” Stepping behind her, Matty snaked his arms around her waist and set his chin in the crook of her neck. He placed a gentle kiss behind her ear. "Just thought we could have a nice dinner here. Spend the night in those fancy dressing gowns. And, I don't know, maybe have a bubble bath or something cheesy like that," explained Matty.

"That sounds perfect. Thank you."

They followed through with his idea and wrapped each other in the spa-like and bright white hotel robes before tucking into dinner. Matty went a bit overboard with the entrées, so instead of having one each, they just picked at them all together, every plate passed back and forth between them as they indulged.

An array of desserts was displayed on a platter, where after she decided she was too full to keep eating, Este spotted some chocolate covered strawberries. “I’d love a chocolate strawberry, if you could pass me one,” she asked.

He said nothing, grabbing a strawberry and holding it in front of her mouth instead. Este’s eyes flickered between the piece of fruit and his purposeful gaze. She watched his eyebrows gently lift, as if to say, ‘go on.’

Este held their eye contact as she leaned forward and took a bite. When her lips wrapped around it, their edges lightly grazed the tips of Matty’s fingers that grasped the berry. The feeling made him shiver.

Once she’d chewed and swallowed, Matty tossed what was left of the dessert into his mouth with a wink. Then, he used his thumb to wipe a rogue sliver of chocolate that had now melted in the corner where her top lip met the bottom one. He sucked it into his mouth to clean it up, as Este subconsciously crossed one leg over the other, clenching her thighs briefly.

She shook her head, laughing to herself at how easily Matty had that effect on her.

“Only you could make the act of eating a strawberry so sexy,” she laughed.

A smug smile was pinned on his face, knowing he’d achieved his goal of making her squirm. “I mean I’ll take the credit, but aren’t chocolate covered strawberries like an inherently romantic food?”

“I guess. You could have probably used a smelly tuna sandwich and still make me like this, to be fair.” She pointed out with a giggle. “Can you guess what film you’ve just reminded me of? By feeding me a strawberry?”

Matty squinted to wrack his brain for an answer. Silence fell over them as he struggled to come with anything specific. “I’ve got no clue.”

“Just guess something,” Este insisted.

“Eternal Sunshine?”

“Nope.”

“La La Land?”

“No.”

“Before Sunrise?”

She shook her head.

“500 Days of Summer?”

“You’re just listing all of my favourite films,” she argued.

“What else am I supposed to guess?!” He retaliated, giving up and waiting for her to reveal what was on her mind.

Este attempted to keep a straight face while admitting that the films she was thinking of was, in fact, High School Musical 3: Senior Year. But, she failed miserably, and couldn’t help but burst into laughter at how unserious her whole thought process had been.

“Are you fucking kidding me? High School Musical?”

“Troy feeds Gabriella a strawberry when they talk about what they’re doing for university and it’s very romantic and naive and pure, okay?!” She said through giggles. “You can’t hate on the High School Musical franchise and date me at the same time. Not happening,”

She came around to his side of the table to sit on Matty’s lap. Her legs sat perpendicularly to his and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Out of instinct, Matty locked her in place with his hands on her hips.

“You do know that I’ve never seen them, right?” He admitted. Este’s jaw dropped.

“Now I know what that T.V’s here for!”

That night—before the moon threatened to come out and after their jetlagged bodies took a bath and quick naps in the thankfully air conditioned hotel room—Matty and Este found themselves drawn back to the beach and the way the orangey pink sunset glimmered against the water’s surface. It was much cooler out, so Este didn’t have to hear him complain about the heat as much as earlier.

They sat with their bottoms right on top of the sand, close enough to the shore that the water nudged the tips of their toes, watching the sun disappear beneath the horizon, and felt a unanimous peace wash over themselves. It was the first time in a while that Este could remember having so much uninterrupted time together. Not a single thing concerned them, besides one another.

“I just realised that you haven’t gotten recognised even once since we’ve landed here,”

Matty thought about it, and she was right. “Hm. Yeah, I haven’t.” He agreed.

“The Maldives couldn’t give less of a shite about you!” joked Este, feeling Matty’s shoulder’s bounce with light laughter against her cheek that leaned on him.

“They really couldn’t,” Matty said, fiddling with her fingers that once were interlocked with his.

She hummed at the sensation. “It’s nice.”

“Do you wish it was like this all the time? More normal?” He asked quietly and with a timidness to his voice.

Este lifted her tired brain to look at him in the eye. She could sense the guilt Matty always carried and how it came forward when they spoke about how unusual her life can be, because of him. Searching for hope in the brown of his irises, she shook her head no.

“Maybe it would be easier that way. But your connection with the fans and this lifestyle you’ve maintained is such a big part of you, Matty. And I’m in love with all of you. Even the parts that aren’t as easy,”

The ends of his mouth tugged upwards, and then they pressed against hers with urgency. They shared quick ‘I love you’s’ before their eyes were glued back onto the sky. The sun had now lowered all the way and left behind the pink and purple coloured clouds. Matty thought about how beautifully it lit up Este’s face.

And to the sound of the slow tide coming in and out, the two of them pondered how lucky they were to not want to change a single thing about what they had together.

#tbsg #blurb #meste blurb #matty healy #the 1975 #matty healy fanfiction #the 1975 fanfiction #matty healy x oc #matty healy fic #ask #fluff

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laurenairay · 1 year

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we’re lost and found - A. Beauvillier

Summary: “It’s always going to be you, Bells.”

One visit to Vancouver changes everything for the friendship of Anthony Beauvillier and Isabella Thornton.

A/N: This is my entry for @wyattjohnston‘s birthday bingo!! I really hope you enjoy this Demi – I cycled through various combinations and players before I was happy with the following for Beau: trade angst, friends to lovers, playlists as a love language, “it’s always going to be you”, the morning after the night before. I haven’t written a full fic for Beau before so this was a fun challenge! And yes, I fudged the last game in the Canucks schedule for creative licensing. Happy birthday my dear 💛

Title from Wings, by Birdy. Here is the final playlist mentioned in the story.

Words: 14k

Warnings: angst, miscommunication, sappy sweetness, idiots in love.

Thank you @cellythefloshie for being the most amazing beta and cheerleader while I was writing this!

“Cabin crew, prepare for landing. Ladies and gentlemen, we will shortly be arriving in Vancouver. Please ensure all hand luggage is stowed, tray tables are folded away, and your seatbelts are fastened.”

Even as her stomach swooped with the slow descent of the airplane, Isabella couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. She’d been up since the crack of dawn. Her first flight from JFK airport leaving at 7am, and with the layover stop in Seattle lasting one and a half hours, she was more than ready to be done with travelling for the day. It wasn’t that Isabella disliked flying though – she just wanted to be on solid ground. This trip was to be a mixture of business and pleasure; her work wanted her to go to an industry conference to support a couple of the Sales guys giving speeches, her marketing role allowing her that first-hand experience; the conference was scheduled from Tuesday 11th April to Thursday 13th April, but she had decided to fly in on the Saturday before, also taking a vacation day either side of the conference, to extend her time in Vancouver.

Why? Because one of her closest friends had moved from New York to Vancouver only a couple of months ago, and she missed him more than words could describe. It seemed like he felt the same way, because the moment Isabella had mentioned the conference and that she was able to take a couple of vacation days around it, he’d immediately offered for her to stay at his apartment, giving them the time to catch-up, to spend the time together like they hadn’t been able to in so long.

There was no universe in which she would ever say no to Anthony Beauvillier.

So here she was, Saturday 8th April, ready to spend some time with one of the most important people in her life. Soon enough the plane landed and made its way to the gate, allowing everyone to exit. Thankfully Isabella’s suitcase arrived quickly and her journey through security was smooth, so in no time at all she was walking out into the arrivals hall, eyes scanning the crowd of people.

And then she spotted him.

The moment Anthony noticed her too, smile spreading wide across his face, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Finally. Isabella wasted no time in rushing over to him, dropping her suitcase to throw her arms over his shoulders, Anthony hugging her just as tightly too. It was all she could do to bury her face in his neck, breathing in that familiar cologne as well as the scent that was just Anthony himself while he buried his face in her long dark hair.

She’d missed him. She’d missed him so much. Talking to him over the phone just wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t even close to replacing what it felt like to see and hold him in person. After what felt like eternity and yet somehow not long enough, she let him go, dropping her arms from around his neck, taking a single step backwards to look him up and down.

“Damn, you look good Beau! West-Coast Canadian air clearly does wonders for you,” she grinned, hamming up the compliments to make him squirm just as she liked.

A familiar light flush dusted his cheeks as he shook his head fondly. “Says the New York fashionista gracing us with her presence.”

Her tanned cheeks flushed too at his compliment, but she just laughed and batted at his chest before picking up her suitcase from where it had fallen on the floor. Flattery would always work with her and he knew it.

“I missed you,” Anthony said suddenly, smiling softly as he took the suitcase without saying a word.

Such a sweetheart.

“I missed you too. 10 weeks without you and my life is poorer for it,” Isabella said with a dramatic sigh.

Anthony blushed heavily this time, ducking his gaze, making her smile as she laughed. So cute.

“I know I’m mainly here for work, really, but I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my time with you,” she said, threading her arm through his.

“Me too. You’re going to have a great time, I promise.”

She knew she would, even just by being in his company, but she didn’t need to say that out loud.

With her arm still linked with his, Anthony guided her back to where he’d parked his car, lifting her suitcase into the trunk like the gentleman he was.

“Thank you for the new playlist for my flight, by the way,” Isabella said, wiggling her phone to show what she meant as she got into the front passenger seat.

“No problem, Bells, you know that. It’s our thing, right? It’s not like I could let you travel out here for the first time without a new list to listen to,” Anthony shrugged, starting the engine.

From the small smile on his lips, she knew he was far from nonchalant. He was right too – making playlists for each other really was their thing. When she’d started hanging out with him and Mat and some of the other Isles boys, Isabella and Anthony had bonded over their shared love of music, sharing recommendations on Spotify almost immediately. Making playlists started with creating background music for parties held at their various apartments, but, for whatever reason, over time it grew into the two of them making playlists just for each other. She’d lost count of the number of playlists she’d made him for his long travels on the road, and the amount of study playlists he’d made for her were in the dozes over all her college years. Then there were birthdays, holidays, vacations abroad as a group, and just general ‘you seem down, let me cheer you up’ playlists.

Making playlists for each other was something that Isabella and Anthony had made into something that was just theirs, and she treasured it.

“I loved the Twenty One Pilots songs you chose,” she said, smiling.

“Catchy, right?” Anthony mused, “I wasn’t sure about those Bastille songs though.”

The vibes of these playlists of important, they both knew that. But like always, he’d nailed it.

“They were perfect. The whole list was great, I promise,” Isabella insisted.

This time, his pleased smile shone through. She loved that he loved putting together all these songs just for her – the same way that she loved doing it for him. Was it wrong to cherish something with him that was hers and hers alone?

The drive to Anthony’s apartment felt like it flew by as they continued to talk about the music they’d both been listening to lately, and soon enough she was walking through the front door of his apartment.

“We’ve got a couple of hours before I need to leave for the arena and then you’ll still have a few hours before you should leave to head down too, so plenty of time for you to settle into the guest room and unpack your stuff. I’ve got a fabric steamer if you need them for your conference clothes?” Anthony explained, locking the front door behind them.

The thought he put into everything was astounding.

“I probably will need to steam out some creases at some point,” she mused, thinking of the three blazers she’d packed, “But that can wait until Monday night. How about you give me a tour?”

There was no way she wanted to think about anything to do with work until she absolutely had to. The next couple of days were all about relaxing. Sure, Anthony would be flying out for two games in California tomorrow, but that just meant she wanted to make the most of the time she had with him.

As he showed her around the two-bed apartment, Isabella could admit that it was pretty sparse. At least compared to the apartment he had in New York – but he’d only been here just over two months, so she knew she couldn’t expect him to have fully settled in yet. She could only hope that he was going to give himself the chance to settle in properly, especially since the Canucks season was technically over.

Sure, they still had four games left to play, including tonight’s, but mathematically they were already out of the playoffs. Isabella could only imagine how that felt for him. It was something that they hadn’t really discussed, if she was being honest. The trade was a sensitive subject in their friendship group, and she hadn’t known how to ask how Anthony felt about it when the trade had first been announced. But she worried about him, being out here all by himself. How could she not?

At least there were elements of his personality in the apartment, a framed poster here, photos of his family there, silly polaroids of their friendship group in New York on the fridge with magnets. It was enough to settle the worst of her concerns, and by the time she’d dumped her bags in the spare bedroom he’d declared was hers for the week, she noticed that the edge of tension had melted away from him too.

“I know it’s not much yet but…”

“But nothing, Beau,” Isabella interrupted, smiling as she leant against the doorframe, “You’ve only been here a short while – you’ll make this a home in no time.”

“You think?” he asked, his hesitance obvious.

Well that wouldn’t do.

“I know. Now come on, feed me before you need to leave for the game,” she said firmly.

“That’s the Bells I know,” he snickered.

Isabella just laughed at the accuracy – he really did know her - before sticking out her tongue at him and making him laugh. There was the smile she loved.

Isabella took a quick shower while Anthony cooked them lunch, an easy healthy chicken stir fry, and all too soon it was time for him to leave her alone. While she felt a tiny sense of trepidation about being in a new city all by herself, she knew that she only had a little time to kill before she was going to see him again anyway, so she pushed it down as much as she could.

“You’ve got the phone numbers of people at the arena to call if there’s an emergency, right?” Anthony asked, pulling on his suit jacket.

“I can 99% guarantee you that there will be no emergencies in the two hours before I leave here too. But yes I have them – so go, Beau!” Isabella giggled.

He held up his hands in surrender but smiled down at her anyway, kissing her on the cheek before he walked out the door. Isabella sighed softly, fingers rising to brush over the same skin his lips had brushed, smiling fondly. That was a particular tradition she’d missed as well, the casual affection he’d always shown her. She didn’t know if it was a Québécois thing, or just an Anthony thing, but she’d missed it all the same. It was sweet, just like everything he did.

As she settled in on the sofa, she sent out a few text messages to let various people know she’d arrived safely; some of her friends at work, Mat, her mom. She’d fully intended on ignoring the replies, knowing nothing urgent would be coming through, but when she saw 5 notifications from Mat, she opened up their text thread out of curiosity.

From: Mat Bells! You made it! Beau has been buzzing all morning. Give him a kiss from me. After he’s kicked some Flames ass obvi.

This guy. Isabella rolled her eyes fondly, smiling at the energy she could read even in his words, before biting her bottom lip. Anthony had been buzzing? He hadn’t seemed that way to her – sure, he was happy to see her, all smiles and long hugs, but buzzing? Hm.

From: Isabella I’ll pass along your kiss, weirdo. He seemed pretty chill to me?

From: Mat That’s because he got all of his crazy energy out by texting me. You know he wants your trip to be amazing. You are going to his game tonight, right?

From: Isabella If you say so Barzy. I wouldn’t miss his game for the world.

Mat didn’t text back again, so Isabella just chalked down the strange exchange to him missing his friend too. Still…no. Barzy was being Barzy, and that’s all there was to it. The two hours after Anthony left flew by, Isabella just getting herself lost in a good book, and it wasn’t long before she was walking towards her seat in the arena. Along with leaving a new Canucks jersey (with his name on the back, of course) for her in the hall closet, Anthony had left her ticket at will call, which she picked up easily after the uber she took dropped her right out front. Just as she’d requested when he had asked, she was in the bottom tier but at the back – she didn’t want anything ostentatious – and with an overpriced beer in hand, she took her seat.

Right from the start, the game was a nail biter. She cheered at the top of her lungs as Pettersson and McWard scored for the Canucks with all the supporters around her. Only for her to be left wincing when Lindholm and Kadri scored for the Flames in the third period, on the edge of her seat as the game finished out at 2-2. She could see the frustration in the team’s faces, let alone in their body language, and the moment that the shootout started her heart was pounding in her chest.

As soon as Kuzmenko scored the winning goal, Isabella leapt to her feet yelling in celebration with the crowd around her, the biggest smile on her face as the team celebrated on the ice. What a way to end of the game.

There was no rush she’d ever felt like watching a hockey game live in person - and now she was lucky enough to go congratulate her friend face to face rather than over text. Arriving early ahead of her conference really had been such a good idea. Anthony had texted her the instructions for how to get down to the tunnel to wait for him, so she followed those after the stands had emptied out a bit, not wanting to fight through the crowd. At the very least it meant she didn’t have to wait as long in the tunnel by herself, and soon enough Anthony was walking out to meet her, shy smile on his face.

Shy? No, that wouldn’t do.

“Beau! Congratulations!” she said cheerfully, loudly enough to draw a bit of attention to them and to get that familiar blush she loved to see rising on his cheeks.

“You enjoyed it then?” he mused.

There was enough hesitance in his voice to let her know he needed her reassurance, and she wasted no time in hugging him tightly, smiling as he immediately hugged her back.

“I had the best time. Talk about a nail biter!” she laughed, pulling back just far enough to look up at his face, “You know I love watching you play.”

The rosiness of his cheeks let her know that her honesty had been the right thing to say.

“I’m just glad you’re here,” Anthony murmured, squeezing her slightly before letting his arms drop.

“Ooh, wait, there’s something I need to give you,” she said quickly, clutching at his hands.

Anthony froze slightly, but made the most interesting gasping noise as she leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a big wet smacking kiss on his cheek.

“W-What?”

Isabella just grinned, letting go of him. “That is from Barzy.”

Anthony’s smile seemed to falter slightly before he huffed out a laugh. “Of course. That sounds like him. I’ll have to text him to say thanks.”

Isabella snickered. At least their mutual friend couldn’t say she didn’t pass along his message. That’s what friends were for!

“What’s the plan now then?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

“It’s up to you, really. A few of the guys are going out for drinks if you wanted to go too? It’s not going to be a crazy one because we are flying out to LA tomorrow, but it might be fun for you to meet some of the team? But if you’re tired from travelling then we can absolutely just head back to my place,” he explained.

The hopeful look in his eyes made her smile. He really wanted her to meet his new team, didn’t he? He wanted her to like them – it was important to him, she could tell. So there was only one answer she could give.

“Let’s go out for a couple of drinks then! Maybe if jetlag finally hits we could leave early?” she suggested.

She had been awake since 3.30am after all, having left for the airport at 4am. Relaxing for a couple of hours ahead of the adrenaline of the game had helped keep her going, but she knew it would hit her at some point. But meeting his new team was important to Anthony, so she wanted to do what she could, even if it wasn’t her at 100%.

“Perfect. You just let me know whenever and we can head out,” he said firmly.

Such a sweetheart.

In the end, she lasted around two hours before she felt her social battery dipping into dangerously low levels, starting to space out of conversation even though she’d only had two vodka sodas, and in no time at all Anthony was guiding her through the front door of his apartment all over again. His teammates had been so sweet – at least the ones that she’d met tonight – and seeing the smile that all their interactions put on Anthony’s face filled her heart. Even after 10 weeks, it was clear that he’d found a good space for himself here, just as he deserved to and just as she’d hoped. Brock, Petey, Quinn, Thatcher, Travis and Ethan, along with their partners (those that had them) were all so friendly and welcoming, and she’d enjoyed telling stories about her time in New York with Anthony, as well as hearing how well he was settling into the team in Vancouver.

It had been everything she’d wanted for the first day of her visit – what more could she have asked for?

“Okay I’ve got cold bottles of water in the fridge or I picked up that brand of peppermint tea that you like,” Anthony said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Peppermint tea?

“You don’t drink peppermint tea, Beau,” she frowned, “you bought it especially for me?”

“Well, yeah, Bells. Of course I did,” he shrugged, although a light blush hit his cheeks.

This guy.

“Peppermint tea would be great,” she said softly, still a little stunned that he went through the trouble for her.

What a perfect way to wind down. The two of them sat on the sofa while she drank her tea and he drank a bottle of water, talking about all the things Anthony wanted to buy for the apartment when he came back next season (a couple of throw rugs, art for the hallway walls, a new smoothie maker, and so on). It felt like they were back in New York, like no time had passed and nothing had changed, which only made her heart pang a little more when it was eventually time to go to bed. She was flagging, hard, and he had an early start tomorrow, as much as she didn’t want this little bubble to end.

“Good night, Bells,” Anthony murmured, leaning against the doorway to the spare bedroom.

“Good night, Beau,” she murmured back, not wanting to break the moment as those blue eyes caught with her own dark brown ones.

He smiled softly, leaning forward to press a kiss to the top of her head before he walked down the hallway to his own room, leaving her feeling like she was floating on air.

What a first day indeed.

“Wakey wakey eggs and bakey!”

Isabella groaned at the loud sound of her best friend’s voice, eyes blearily looking over to where he was standing in the open doorway.

“What?” she groaned, “What are you doing?”

“First of all, I tried knocking, like, three separate times. Second, I made eggs and bacon and toast, duh. Breakfast, remember? Before I fly out with the team?” he teased.

Oh fuck, yeah of course. How could she forget? Anthony took one look at the expression on her face and burst out laughing.

“There’s also coffee. Clearly you need some,” he snickered.

Rude. Accurate, but rude. Isabella flipped him the bird, making him laugh harder, but at least he left her alone to deal with her bedhead. Her natural curls were a pain in the mornings, especially without taking a shower to deal with them properly, so she just threw them up on top of her head into a loose bun while she headed to the bathroom. She’d already decided she would be straightening her hair for her conference, for ease through those long days, but for now this would have to do. It wasn’t like Anthony hadn’t seen her looking worse.

After quickly washing and dressing into leggings and an oversized sweater, Isabella headed out into the kitchen, wordlessly accepting the coffee mug that Anthony pressed into her hands with a smile. Mmm perfect.

“Thanks for this, Beau. You’re amazing,” she murmured happily.

Interestingly, the back of Anthony’s neck flushed red, his back turned to her as he plated up their food.

“It’s just coffee, Bells,” he said, shrugging.

No it wasn’t and he knew that.

“Okay, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and wholemeal toast, bon appétit.”

“Merci beaucoup.”

Anthony grinned at her attempt at French, Isabella just grinning back.

“So what are you going to do today and tomorrow? Your conference doesn’t start until Tuesday, right?” he asked, scooping up some eggs with his toast.

“I’m not going to do much, I won’t lie,” she mused, earning a grin, “I might take a walk around your neighbourhood today, maybe find a coffee shop or something? And then just a chilled night in, probably with take-out. Tomorrow though…hm, I probably need to do my nails before the conference so I’ll either pop out to buy some nail polish or I’ll book an appointment in a salon? If the weather is nice I might get lunch out, have a walk in downtown, see the sights? And I do want to get a bit of preparation work done before everything starts on Tuesday, ahead of watching your game against the Kings.”

She’d had enough time on her flights to plan at least a few things at least anyway. What? Isabella liked to be prepared.

“You don’t have to watch my game if you’re busy with work,” Anthony frowned.

What?

“Beau, in what world would I not watch one of your games?” she asked, confused.

“I just…I mean, I…”

He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, only confusing her further.

“It’s hard enough that I don’t get to see you anymore. Watching your games is the closest thing I have,” she said, frowning.

The look that passed across his face could only be described as devastation. “Fuck, Bells, you can’t just say things like that,” he said softly.

“Why not? I mean it, Beau. You’re one of my best friends. I love watching you play, you know that,” she said simply.

Anthony smiled slightly at her, but it looked strained. “I know you are. And I appreciate that more than you know.”

“But?” she prompted.

He hesitated for a moment, before letting out a shaky laugh and shaking his head. “But it’s too early and neither of us have had enough caffeine,” he deflected.

Isabella narrowed her eyes but took a big gulp of her coffee in response, making him laugh and roll his eyes fondly.

“Never change Isabella Thornton,” he mused.

“Oh ouch, full name. Definitely too early for that,” she said, grimacing dramatically.

Anthony just laughed louder.

In the end, the rest of her Sunday was spent exactly as she described to him. After he left, giving her a long lingering hug in the hallway after leaving her a spare key, she did in fact wander around his neighbourhood, taking in the cutesy local park and little shops, spending a couple of hours in a coffee shop with the book she’d started reading the previous afternoon. It was a good way to spend a time, nice and chilled exactly how she liked her downtime.

Before he’d left too, Anthony had given her the rundown of his favourite local restaurants, including an amazing Thai place that she knew she had to try – so that night, before taking a shower to sort out her wayward hair, she placed a takeaway order. Isabella hadn’t been able to decide between the panang beef curry with jasmine rice and the tofu pad see ew, so in the end she’d ordered both. Whatever she didn’t eat, she would eat tomorrow after her first day at the conference finished, ahead of watching Anthony play against the Kings. It was just logical, right?

By the time she had her curls plopped up in an old t-shirt, ahead of straightening them when they were fully dry in the morning, the food had arrived. The smell of both dishes was heavenly – she’d have to thank Anthony for his recommendation for sure.

Her phone buzzed twice. Beau 💛. Speak of the devil.

From: Anthony Heading out to team dinner soon. Hope you didn’t get lost wandering around today?

Isabella barked out a laugh at the very idea of her just wandering around lost and not telling him, but found herself smiling anyway. He was concerned about her – so sweet, as always.

From: Isabella No I didn’t get lost. Thanks for checking though. Just ordered myself some take-out actually!

She included a selfie of her holding up one of the take-out boxes, pulling a ridiculous duck face pout to hopefully make him laugh. It was far from the first time the two of them had exchanged silly photos, and she doubted it would be the last. While she waited for a response, she forked some noodles into her mouth, clicking on the TV to find some entertainment for the rest of her evening.

Three buzzes.

From: Anthony The Thai place! Great choice! Kinda wish I was eating that with you rather than the steakhouse we’re heading too lol. You look very cute and comfy.

She found her cheeks heating up with a light blush at his last words, quickly shaking her head to rid herself of any ridiculous thought. He didn’t mean it like that. He just didn’t.

From: Isabella Thank you for recommending the place, it’s SO good. Nah you enjoy the steakhouse Beau!

She didn’t expect to hear back from him, not with the game starting so soon, but the simple ‘xxx’ he sent her made her whole body warm. This guy, seriously.

Isabella knew how lucky she was to have a friend like him in her life. Unapologetically kind and sweet, always had her back, never failed to make sure that she was happy. Anthony was one of a kind, a true gentleman, and the fact that their chance friendship had turned into such an important part of her life was something she cherished.

She’d still been in college when they’d met, a mutual friend dragging her along to a party, and ever since that first night they’d just clicked. It didn’t make sense, not really, their worlds having very little crossover. But Isabella knew back then that all of that didn’t matter, proven by the fact that they stayed closed when she graduated college, stopping going to 99% of the parties, and Anthony stayed up in the show, proving himself night after night.

And now she was here – in his home in Vancouver while he was away, curled up on his sofa with his blanket draped around her. If anyone had told her five years ago that this is where she would be, she probably would’ve laughed – in what dreams was she going to build such a strong friendship with a handsome young NHL player? But this was her reality, it did happen, and there was no way she was letting him drift away, especially now that he’d moved so far away.

Isabella sent Anthony a text before she turned herself in for an early night, knowing she’d need to be up early to give herself the time to straighten her hair properly in the morning. It took less than 30 seconds to get a response back from him, making her laugh softly at his eagerness as she slipped into the guest bed.

From: Anthony Sweet dreams! 💛

She tried not to think too hard about how the little heart gave her butterflies.

Monday passed quicker than Isabella thought it would. Just as she’d told him – just as she’d planned – she treated herself to a manicure in a salon downtown as well as treated herself to a lunch out near the Quayside Marina, going for a walk along the waterfront before she did some prep work for her conference. It was only last minute checks of the presentations she would be part of, but she knew it would allow her to sleep easier without the what-if anxiety playing on her mind.

Along with eating the remaining Thai take-out and taking the time to straighten her thick curls ahead of the conference the next day, Isabella also watched Anthony play against the Kings on his stupidly big TV. The 3-0 loss made her ache inside, especially with how dejected the team looked even through the screen, and the moment that he texted her to ask if he could call, she didn’t hesitate to call him first.

His patented Sad Beau face made her ache even more, and it was all she could do to try to comfort him. She hated when he looked as sad as he did after this loss, the wear and tear of the season bearing down on him, but she wasn’t going to miss the chance to at least attempt to make him feel better. If she could help just a little bit, ease that sadness, then she would – seeing him look all soft with his fluffy hair and glasses in his hotel room was motivation enough.

The sweet smile she managed to drag out of him by the time they said goodnight was everything she could’ve hoped for.

All too soon, Tuesday 11th rolled around, and Isabella walked into the hotel the conference was being held in with her work laptop and an air of confidence she only partially-felt. Usually she had no problem talking to people – give her a bar or a party or a restaurant or even a casual barbecue and she could chat away for hours. But when it mattered? When the opinions of the people she talked to about their impression of her would be a deciding factor in whether her company would get their business in the coming year? It was terrifying.

But she was dressed the part, wearing her grey bodycon dress and black blazer like armour, her hair pin straight and her make-up perfect, and that gave her the boost to be able to fake her she was feeling.

At least her two Sales colleagues couldn’t tell how nervous she was when the three of them set up the company booth. By the time they were finished setting up, people were still walking in, so Isabella volunteered to grab them all a coffee. She hadn’t had time for her usual caffeine intake before she’d left for the conference – something she was definitely going to make sure she did ahead of Day Two – so this was more of an excuse to be able to wake herself up properly, to make sure she stayed at her best on this opening day.

Just as she returned to the booth and passed out the requested coffee, her phone buzzed. Beau 💛

From: Anthony Good luck today! Kick some ass!

Oh how sweet. Even though he undoubtedly had a late night after playing the Kings yesterday and travelled to Anaheim today at some point too, he was thinking about her?

From: Isabella I will do my best to kick ass, metaphorically. Good luck to you too! And kick some actual ass yourself! I’ll be watching the game tonight at yours again.

From: Anthony 💛 💛 💛

Again, his response came through incredibly quickly, making her think he was just waiting for her to text him. Why would he do that? Surely he had better things to do than wait around for her to text him?

And why did he only text three hearts?

Isabella found herself completely lost in thoughts, overthinking everything he could mean and everything he likely didn’t mean, and everything in between. It wasn’t like her to overanalyse every interaction with Anthony, but maybe it was the Vancouver air, or the fact that they’d been separated for the longest time in years. She honestly didn’t know where it was coming from, and she hated how uncertain it all made her feel. What was he playing at? Why was he acting like this, now? Was she just reading too much into it?

“Uh, Isabella?”

A deep voice to her left broke her out of her spiral, and she jumped slightly at the hand awkwardly waving in front of her face.

“Sorry Jerry, the caffeine hasn’t kicked in yet,” she said, forcing a laugh, “What’s up?”

He just laughed, taking her lie without question. “We need to go set up for the presentation. We’re up first today, remember?”

“Of course, let me grab my laptop,” she nodded.

It was simple enough to set-up and get the presentation going, if she was being honest, just clicking through the presentation slides while he was talking on stage (and their other colleague was manning the booth), and it allowed her to drift along on auto-pilot, only needing to focus on his talk and the screen in front of her. Thankfully she only needed to give input on one question he was asked in the Q&A portion, and she found herself smiling as everything finished to a hearty applause, accepting Jerry’s subtle high-five with a laugh.

The rest of the conference went smoothly, Isabella mainly able to listen to the other speeches given and take notes to feed back to the executive board while her Sales colleagues focused on schmoozing other attendees. It was one of the perks of being a marketing team member at a conference – outside of the presentations, the pressure really was off her. And at least her two colleagues this time were decent guys, rather than some of the assholes she’d been paired with before, so she didn’t hesitate to accept joining them at the after-drinks. With the conference finishing at 3pm, she allowed herself a few hours to relax and drink a couple of cocktails, but as soon as it hit 6pm she was in an uber on the way back to Anthony’s apartment. There was no way she was going to miss his game, not even if she’d had one of the best cranberry martinis she’d ever drank.

By the time the game started at 7pm, Isabella was dressed in her pyjamas was a bowl of pasta in her lap, willing the team to have a better result than the night before. For Anthony’s sake, if nothing else. And what a game it was. The moment that the buzzer sounded, ending the game with a 3-2 win over the Ducks, Isabella’s face hurt from smiling, and she wasted no time in reaching for her phone and thumbing open her message thread with Anthony.

From: Isabella YESSSSSS! Go Canucks! I’m so proud of you Beau. What a great game. 3-2 baby! I know you’re probably going out for drinks or dinner or whatever with the team. But call me when you get back to your hotel?

Isabella lost track of time while she waited for him to respond, distracting herself with washing up all the things she’d used to make dinner as well as doing her night-time facecream routine, so by the time her phone buzzed with a video call request, she was sitting on her bed up against the pillows. The moment that his smiling face appeared on her screen, something settled in her chest that she didn’t realise she was holding onto. He already looked so much happier than when they spoke the night before, and she found herself sinking against the headboard with a smile of her own.

“Hello Beau,” Isabella said fondly, “That’s the smile I like to see.”

“Hey Bells. You like my smile?”

She blushed at his teasing words, but powered through. “You know I do. Happy Beau is much better than Sad Beau.”

“I wasn’t Sad Beau.”

“You were sad enough,” she mused.

He just huffed out a laugh, shaking his head.

“No-one else calls me out like you do.”

Her breath hitched in his throat at his words, making her hesitate slightly before answering. “Is that a good thing?”

“It’s a very good thing. You help remind me to keep the bad balanced with good, that there’s still positive things in my life even when everything feels like shit. I appreciate that more than you know.”

She resolutely ignored the butterflies flaring in her stomach, the smile spreading across her face again conveying more than enough.

“Well that’s what friends do, right?”

“Yeah. Friends. Exactly.”

The way his smile flickered at that must’ve been a technical glitch in the call, surely.

They continued to talk for nearly another hour, losing themselves in easy conversation as they always did, until Isabella noticed Anthony started yawning, even as subtle as he was attempting to be in hiding it behind his hand.

“Hey, Beau, I’ll let you get some sleep yeah?” she murmured.

“What? No, I’m fine, really.”

Isabella laughed softly, shaking her head with a fond smile. “You played an intense game today and you have an early flight tomorrow. Get your beauty rest.”

He smiled through the screen, eyes half-lidded with tiredness.

“Okay, if you insist. I’ll see you after your conference finishes, yeah?”

“Absolutely. I can’t wait,” she grinned.

“Me too. Goodnight, Bells.”

“Goodnight Beau.”

When the call ended, Isabella took a moment to indulge in the sweetness of his smile before shaking herself out of her silly thoughts. Was it so wrong to enjoy the way he looked at her sometimes? Surely not. Besides, he wouldn’t smile at her if he didn’t mean it – he’d said as such, how much he appreciated her. She could always work with that. With a b out of inspiration, Isabella grabbed her personal laptop and opened up spotify, ready to make Anthony a playlist for his flight home in the morning. He deserved to have his good mood continue, to arrive back with nothing but positivity in his veins. This was something she’d done dozens of times before, and it didn’t take her long to put together a list of songs nearly two hours long that would hopefully put a smile on his face. She put a few final touches to the playlist with Shake it off by Taylor Swift, Shut Up and Dance by WALK THE MOON, and Come on Eileen by Dexy’s Midnight Runners, finding herself smiling at the good mood she had curated. Done. Perfect.

From: Isabella Sleep well Beau. Looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow! I made you a playlist for the flight – positive vibes only.

From: Anthony You’re the best. See you tomorrow. 💛

Day Two of the conference – Wednesday 12th – found her dressed in a pretty lilac shift dress with a grey blazer of the top, another immaculate set of armour allowing her to get stuck into the networking that was happening in between all of the speeches and presentations. Isabella mostly let the Sales guys do their thing, but she was able to contribute a bit more with people who approached their company booth, supporting the discussions by using examples of the campaigns she’d personally ran. At least, she felt confident enough with the approving nods and the handshakes exchanged with potential clients. Anthony’s flight had landed mid-morning, right on schedule, and he'd very sweetly messaged her the moment he arrived home. So instead of attending drinks again when the conference finished, she headed straight back to Anthony’s apartment. She didn’t feel bad skipping out of the social time, mainly because it mattered more for the Sales guys to be there, but also because she desperately wanted to spend her limited time with Anthony while she still could.

“Bells!”

Anthony’s happy shout combined with the way he rushed over to her and lifted her up in his arms, spinning her around seconds after she shut the front door behind her let her know she’d made the right decision.

“Anyone would think you were happy to see me, Beau,” she giggled, clutching at him tightly.

Anthony just grinned, shrugging apologetically as he lowered her back down to the floor, although his cheeks had a light flush to them.

“Of course I’m happy to see you. It felt weird knowing you were finally in Vancouver but I wasn’t actually there myself,” he said simply.

Yeah she could understand that.

“I missed you too,” she murmured, shrugging off her blazer and hanging it up on the coatrack.

Isabella raised an eyebrow as Anthony’s ran over her formal lilac dress, taking her in like he’d never seen her before.

“I suppose it’s not the clothes you’re used to, hm?” she mused.

Strangely, her words made him jump slightly, as if she broke him out of his thoughts.

“What?”

“The dress?” she teased, “I know I don’t usually wear them this formal, but come on it’s not that bad.”

“No, uh, not bad at all. Definitely not used to you wearing them,” he said quickly, nodding as he blushed a little heavier, “You look great though.”

“Thanks Beau,” she grinned.

What a sweetheart. Even if he was still blushing.

“Thanks for the playlist by the way. It really helped me get through the flight this morning,” Anthony said, heading towards the kitchen.

Isabella followed him with a smile, that smile widening as he wordlessly handed her a cold bottle of water from the fridge, nudging him with her shoulder in thanks.

“It was the least I could do. Besides, the good vibes in the songs gave me good vibes too,” she shrugged.

“Great vibes – especially that last song,” he grinned.

“Come on Eileen is a classic for a reason,” she said seriously, making him laugh just like she knew it would.

They talked about day two of her conference as they chose what take-out to order for dinner – they settled on Vietnamese, including summer rolls, beef brisket phở, and tiger prawn curry noodles, settling on the sofa while they waited for it to arrive. It was only then that the conversation took a heavier turn, as Anthony suddenly looked exhausted down to his bones, and not just physically.

“What’s going through your head? What’s wrong?” Isabella asked softly, resting her hand on his forearm briefly to capture his attention.

“I feel like I failed this year,” Anthony said quietly.

What?

“I’m sorry, what?” Isabella asked, confused.

“The team didn’t make the playoffs. The season is over and I just…I failed, right? The Canucks haven’t made the playoffs for the 8th year in a row and the Islanders did make it, so clearly they were right to trade me, and I just…I don’t know what to do.”

His rant flew from his mouth faster than she had ever heard him speak before, and the sadness entrenching every word made her heart ache in the worst way. He really felt like this? Like he was a failure? How long had he been hiding his self-deprecating emotions like this?

“You did not fail. You are not a failure. You’re just one guy, Beau,” she said firmly. “You didn’t ask for this trade, not in the slightest, and you’ve made a good solid start for yourself here. The Canucks needed you and you gave them a boost of course, but it is so not on you. Do you think Petey and Brock and Quinn and literally everyone else feel like you let them down?”

“No,” he admitted softly.

“Then don’t let yourself feel like that. Yeah, it sucks. Not making the playoffs is everything you didn’t want to happen. But you guys are way too talented for it not to build up for next season. You are far too talented, Anthony Beauvillier, and it will work out,” she finished.

“Ouch, full name,” he said with a weak smile.

She just batted his shoulder lightly with a hand, pursing her lips. “I mean it, okay? You worked hard and this year it just didn’t work out. I have full faith that things will click for you next year.”

Anthony hesitated for a second, before letting out a shaky sigh.

“I might just have to let your faith be the only faith for a little while,” he said softly.

Her frown softened to a gentle smile, and she squeezed the shoulder that she batted only moments before.

“If that’s what you need, then that’s fine. My faith in you isn’t going anywhere. You have one final game to play, right? So you go out there and you show them what you’ve got. Show yourself. I’ll be watching with imaginary pompoms,” she mused.

“Can I get you real pompoms? Maybe a cheerleader skirt too?” he grinned.

That was the Anthony she knew.

“You are pushing your luck. Keep that in your dreams,” she snickered.

Interestingly, he blushed furiously at her words, making her laugh. What a reaction.

It didn’t take much longer for their Vietnamese take-out to arrive and they settled as easily as ever next to each other on the sofa, sharing all the dishes in a way that felt so effortless, a reminder of the life they led back in New York. Anthony switched on an old favourite action movie while they were eating, just something to play in the background while they ate and talked and enjoyed each other’s company, and Isabella didn’t hesitate to seamlessly transition that into cuddling on the sofa when the take-out boxes were empty.

She did ignore the butterflies in her stomach flaring up as his thumb brushed her bare shoulder though. No, tonight was about Anthony, giving him comfort, not about her ridiculous notions.

The last day of her conference, Day Three – Thursday 13th – started with Anthony joining her for coffee and breakfast. She knew he had no real reason to get up early with her, but she appreciated the sweet gesture nonetheless. As she caught an uber over to the hotel conference hall, her mind was reeling from the sleepy smiles he sent her way, even more so with the soft parting kiss he pressed to her cheek as she said goodbye to him.

Why now? Why were all the feelings she’d fought so hard to bury surfacing out now?

But Isabella didn’t have time to get lost in her thoughts. She wouldn’t let herself – couldn’t let herself. No, all she allowed herself to do was to brush her shaky hands down her navy blue sheath dress and matching navy blazer as she walked into the hotel before she threw up her confident walls, greeting her colleagues with a practiced smile.

She already knew that the last day of the conference would be mostly final presentations and speeches, so she let them consume her, taking notes as diligently as she was able to be able to report back to her bosses. It was a blessing in disguise really, letting her work monopolise her mind, and she found herself swept up in the last rounds of networking with a genuine smile on her face. In all honesty, the conference had been a success – her Sales colleagues had garnered all of the business and attention they were meant to, and her contributions had been smooth and fruitful. That didn’t mean she stayed around for the final night of drinks though.

No, when the conference talks finished at 3pm, she caught an uber straight back to Anthony’s apartment, ready to go to the final Canucks game tonight. The game started at 7pm so she had more than enough time to shower, eat a little something while she dried her natural curls, and change into comfy jeans and Anthony’s jersey. He was already at the arena by the time she’d arrived back at his after packing up the company stand, so she caught an uber down to the game again.

Same as last time, he had left her a ticket at will call. She had asked for a ticket in the stands rather than in the box. It was just the atmosphere she wanted to surrounded by, the sight of him upclose being a welcome bonus. By the time she was heading down to her seat with an overpriced beer in her hand, it was time for warmups, and as she watched the Canucks skate out to excited cheers, she found her seat right by the glass.

Of course, of course he got her glass-side seats. Isabella rolled her eyes softly but found herself smiling anyway. Anthony always was so thoughtful, and this evening was no different. She caught his eyes as he skated past her and she waved enthusiastically at him, ignoring the looks from people around her as he happily waved back. Let them be jealous. They didn’t share the friendship the two of them had so she didn’t care what people thought of the interaction. She did snicker quietly as she noticed the obvious teasing his teammates gave him when he skated back over to them though. Bless his heart and his rosy cheeks too.

The game was a nail biter, even more so than the other three games she’d watched this week had been. For each Canucks goal she jumped up out of her seat cheering, high fiving everyone around her. For every Coyotes goal, she winced and listened to the boos around her. By the time the third period ended 4-4 ahead of going into OT, she felt like she was in an emotional wringer. This was the last Canucks game of the season; she knew how much it meant to Anthony let alone the rest of the team, so when the buzzer sounded it was all she could do to keep breathing, hoping for a miracle.

And praise Garland for his game winning goal only 1.19 into the OT, hats flying onto the ice to mark his hattrick as the arena erupted in cheers and shouts for the 5-4 win. Isabella’s hands were stinging from clapping by the time the stands started to empty, her cheeks aching from smiling, but she didn’t hesitate to go down to the tunnel like she had that first night, waiting for Anthony to be finished.

As soon as he walked out to meet her, she squealed, making him laugh as he swooped her up in a hug.

“Ahhh Beau! I’m so happy for you! Such an amazing assist!” she said, when he’d put her back down.

Anthony’s assist on Garland’s power play goal was the Canucks second goal of the game, the first of Garland’s three, and she was so proud of him for ending his season so well.

“Felt good to contribute in our last game, I will admit,” Anthony said a little sheepishly.

“See, I told you! Positive thinking!” Isabella grinned.

He just laughed, making her smile soften. He really was so cute, especially when his happiness was shining through like this.

“Most of the team are heading out for drinks again tonight, especially with the win in this last game of the season. Do you want to go?” Anthony asked her, smiling softly.

Like she’d want to be anywhere else.

“Absolutely,” she nodded, “I even brought a leather jacket with me to wear over this tank top instead of the jersey.”

“Oh perfect, I’ll put your jersey in my car before we catch ubers to the bar then, so you don’t have to carry it around,” he said, smiling.

So thoughtful.

The booths reserved in the bar were full of players, various family members, wives and girlfriends, so Isabella didn’t feel like the odd one out for the celebration of the end of their season. That didn’t mean she moved far away from Anthony though. All night they were side-by-side, and Anthony seemed oblivious to the looks he was getting from his teammates where he had his arm round her waist, where he was murmuring in her ear. With the way the drinks were flowing, Isabella didn’t care enough to say anything, to correct their assumptions, letting herself slip to a level that she usually wouldn’t with alcohol. She wasn’t drunkdrunkdrunk, not by any means, but she was far merrier than she usually allowed herself to get, clinging to Anthony in a way that she always had refused herself.

The music blared, shots were pounded back, laughter filled their group, and all throughout Anthony held her tight, his hands possessive in a way they had never been before. He held her closer than he ever had as they swayed on the dancefloor, bodies pressed close, the energy between them crackling. She let herself pretend that it was the heat of the bar not his intense eyes that had her flushed and giddy. The vodka mixers allowed her to pretend anyway, and by the time that Anthony mentioned making a move back home, much later than she thought they would, her mind was a happy haze of BeauBeauBeau. Nothing else mattered, not the knowing winks or the giggles, not the way her feet were aching, not the way she leant heavily on him as they made their way out of the bar to the waiting uber.

They were still leaning against each other as they stumbled out of the taxi at his apartment building, Isabella giggling as she waved goodbye to their driver. Anthony helped hold her up in the elevator, using the wall to prop himself up, Isabella just snuggling into his broad chest with a happy drunken sigh. This was perfect. Did he always smell this good? Was he always this warm?

They slowly made their way to his front door, Anthony holding her close in a way that wasn’t helping them walk in a straight line. Isabella just stayed clutching at him, letting him guide her, humming quietly to herself as she smiled up at him, especially as he smiled widely down at her, cheeks flushed and eyes glazed. He struggled to open the front door, making her giggle like she had done getting out of the taxi, and he pressed his finger to her lips in an exaggerated shush, only making her laugh harder. This was bliss, this was heated happiness, this was…her stumbling into the doorframe and falling forward. She slammed into his chest, Anthony somehow holding her upright as he closed the door behind her, his body swaying as he tried to hold them both up.

Isabella clutched as his arms – so strong, so firm – looking up at him with wide eyes, only then noticing how close they were standing. How close he was holding her. Had they ever been this close before? Had his eyes always been that blue?

She jerked out of her thoughts as he pressed his lips to hers.

Isabella moaned softly before she could stop herself, Anthony quickly pulling away, lips red. Wow. Wow. So that was what it was like to kiss him? As she looked back up into his beautiful eyes, some of the fog in her head cleared, only to be replaced by how good that felt. She had to do it again. She had to know what it felt like to kiss him again.

It seemed like Anthony felt the same way, because one of his hands flew up to cup her head as he pushed her back against the door, a loud gasp tearing from her throat just before he took her lips in a kiss once more. There it was. This, right here. She melted into his embrace, clutching as his shirt with her hands as she hungrily kissed him back, Anthony moaning into her mouth before he slid his tongue past her lips. Her head spun as she lost herself in his kisses, her body lighting up with an electricity she hadn’t felt in a long time as their bodies surged together, moaning again as his free hand slid over her ass and squeezed. Never had she felt like this with a first kiss. Never had she wanted this much.

Then Anthony broke the kiss, barely pulling away, just enough so she could blearily see that he was panting as hard as she was.

“Do you want to…?”

“Yes.”

It was her pounding headache that woke her up, paired with the start of rolling nausea. All Isabella could do for longer than she could tell was breathe in and out slowly, measured breaths careful enough to not set off a run to the bathroom that she didn’t really want to do. She knew she drank more than she usually would last night; not enough to be obliterated, no, but these were the consequences that always reminded her why she had her alcohol limits. Her head feeling like it was going to crack in two, her stomach clenching over and over, her bare body clammy and chilled in the early morning air.

Wait, what?

Bare body. She was naked? What?

The moment that her mind processed the new information, the end of the evening caught up with her, reminding her exactly what had happened. Clutching hands, clashing lips, heated breath, stinging bites, pleasure like she’d never felt before. Anthony filling her, surrounding her, moaning out her name as she cried out his. Fuck.

Oh fuck what had she done? Tears stung at her eyes, clouding her gaze as she slowly glanced over her shoulder, carefully so as not to make her nausea worse…and there he was, just as naked as she was. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She clasped a hand over her mouth to muffle any sounds that might escape her, glad she’d done so as the arm she hadn’t noticed draped over her waist tightened slightly with her minor movement.

She’d ruined everything. Everything. How could she have been so stupid to give in to her desires for him? How could anything ever be the same again between them?

Tears finally trickled down her cheeks as Anthony huffed a breath that ruffled her curls, his legs shifting enough to slot one of them between hers. As she cried, biting her bottom lip to muffle her quiet sobs, her headache came back with full force, throbbing like nothing she’d ever felt before. It was all Isabella could do to close her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep, hoping that when she woke up again that all of this would disappear. A stupid aimless hope, she knew that, but it was all she could cling to.

She drifted in and out of sleep as the hours went on, head pounding and swimming enough that she couldn’t wake herself up fully let alone move, but by the time that the midday sun filtered through the curtains she knew she couldn’t avoid getting out of bed anymore.

Just as she was gathering the courage to remove his arm from her waist, that arm tightened again, pulling her roughly back against his bare body, making her gasp loud enough for Anthony to flinch -and quickly shoot back across the bed as he woke up in alarm.

“Shit. Shit, Bells…”

Isabella let out a shaky breath before sitting upright, clutching the bedsheets to her chest in a poor attempt at modesty.

“Hi Beau,” she said with a watery smile.

She knew her smile looked as fake as it felt by the way that Anthony’s face fell. He ran a hand through his hair, looking at a loss for words, so she stayed silent too. There was nothing she could say to make this situation better, she knew that. And it wasn’t like she even knew what to say either. Everything she had worked so hard to prevent, the loss of their friendship being the main part, was for nothing. This was the beginning of the end – and by the way he wouldn’t look at her, she felt it in her bones as a certainty.

“I…”

She cut herself off, swallowing heavily to stop the lump rising in her throat as Anthony closed his eyes briefly. Fuck. Fuck.

“I’m going to shower. And pack all my stuff,” she eventually managed to say.

That, at least, made Anthony finally look over at her.

“What?”

She cleared her throat, willing herself not to cry at the intensity in his beautiful blue eyes.

“I fly home tomorrow, and I haven’t packed yet. There’s only this afternoon left to do it, and seeing as I have to be at the airport by 6.30am, I really don’t want to be packing last minute tomorrow morning,” she said as calmly as she could.

“Bells, wait, please,” he murmured.

She forced a polite smile on her face, hating that he winced when he saw it, hating that it was necessary to make her feel even a little bit of normality.

“And I think I’ll book a taxi to take me to the airport too, as it’s early,” she finished.

Rather than Anthony taking her, as they’d agreed previously. Before this clusterfuck ending of their friendship.

“No,” he said sharply.

“What?” she said, bland masking failing a little.

“I’ll still drive you to the airport,” he said.

Why? Why would he want to do that?

“You don’t have to,” she said, voice cracking.

“I want to,” Anthony said, shaking his head, “Please, Bells.”

The desperation in his voice made her heart ache as much as it confused her. Why was he so insistent? Why did he want to do this?

“Sure.”

The relief in Anthony’s eyes only confused her more.

Friday was possibly the most awkward day she’d ever spent in Anthony’s company. Isabella had managed to make it through her shower with shaky legs, eventually sliding down the wall to huddle on the shower floor, the sound of the shower muffling her crying enough for Anthony to leave her in peace as he caught an uber back to the arena to collect his car. Even when he arrived back, he still left her alone to pack all her things scattered around the guest room, which she somehow managed to stretch out into taking two hours. The rest of the day had been spent avoiding him as much as possible, sitting at opposite ends of the sofa while they ate pizza that night, neither one of them wanting to cook for obvious reasons, and she had claimed an early night for her early start the next day.

But it had taken so long for her to fall asleep, her mind not shutting off, overthinking every little interaction the two of them had that day, so by the time her alarm went off at 5am she was even more exhausted than the day before. Still, she knew she couldn’t delay the inevitable, and got up to leave Anthony for what she feared would be the last time.

Because that was where this was heading, wasn’t it? Everything between them – their friendship, their closeness, all that they shared – had been ruined the moment she stepped into his bedroom in an alcohol-fuelled lust haze. Neither of them had made the step forward yesterday to do anything about their dwindling friendship, and now…now it was too late.

Her flight from Vancouver was due to leave at 8.35am, with her due to land in LaGuardia at 8pm, having one stop for connecting flight in Denver for 1.45hrs. Her company had booked flights for the cheapest options available; the timings and airports weren’t her choice at all, but in this moment, the early flight was some kind of blessing.

Unsurprisingly, their drive to airport was quiet. Isabella didn’t even have a coffee mug to distract herself with, not wanting the caffeine in this jittery body before she ate something a little later, so the time in the car with him felt like it dragged. That aching feeling only dragged out when Anthony paid $5.00 for the parkade and walked her to the main departures doors.

“So I guess this is goodbye,” Anthony murmured, handing her the suitcase he wheeled over from the car for her.

Why did that hurt so much more than she thought it would?

“I guess so,” she said softly, clutching at her handbag like it was a lifeline.

Without warning, Anthony stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Isabella couldn’t stop the whimper that escaped her throat, and she found herself hugging him back just as tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck, trying not to tremble at the close contact. She could feel his face pressing into her curls, his breathing shaky like he was trying not to cry, and she desperately willed herself not to cry either when tears stung her eyes. This wasn’t fair. How had everything boiled down to this, after all their years of friendship? How was everything over?

She couldn’t do this anymore. She couldn’t cling onto him when she knew that any moment she would have to let him go for real. So, Isabella found the strength to unclench her hands from his shirt, taking the step backwards that she didn’t want to take. Hundreds of words flew around her head, everything she wanted to say to him that she didn’t know how to voice. And it looked like he wanted to say something too, lips parting and hand raising towards her…until his hand dropped back to his side and he took a proper step backwards, clearing his throat.

A little bit of her died inside at the misery in his eyes.

Was this really goodbye forever?

“Have a safe flight. Let me know when you land?” Anthony said softly.

“It won’t be for nearly 9 hours,” she said, hesitating.

“I don’t care,” he said immediately, “Please?”

She just sighed, nodding. “Yeah, of course Beau.”

He smiled in response, but it just looked sad to her. As sad as the emptiness in his eyes. But before she could say anything to change his expression even the slightest bit, a big shuttle bus pulled up and a group of loud people stepped out, ruining the last chance. Their last chance?

It was all Isabella could to do smile sadly at him as she walked into the airport.

Her flight was restless – she was too awake to sleep but too caught up in her thoughts to read a book or watch a movie. If she was being honest with herself, she couldn’t even remember what she ate. If she ate. All she was able to do, as if punishing herself further, was to put her headphones over her ears to drown the world out and listen to the playlist he had made her for her original flight out, silently crying the whole time.

Her seatmate hadn’t noticed the way she was falling apart next to her.

Eventually she had to face reality as her plane landed in LaGuardia. It would do no good for her heart if she didn’t text Anthony as he’d asked her to, so she pulled out her phone as she waited for the plane to start disembarking.

From: Isabella Hey, just landed.

It was short and to the point, but it was all she could manage while she felt like a dried-out husk. Somehow, tears stung at her eyes when he immediately messaged back, like he was waiting for her in a way that made no sense.

From: Anthony Thank you for letting me know. I hope your flight was okay.

Was that concern? Was that politeness? She couldn’t figure it out in her exhausted state so she just exited out of their conversation and put her phone away. That was a problem for another day. All she could manage right now was standing up out of her seat and shuffling off the plane. Everything else could wait for tomorrow. It would have to.

Seven days. Seven days passed without a word from Anthony. This was the longest they’d ever gone without speaking, the time stretching out like an impossible chasm. She knew she could’ve responded to his message after her flight, but she hadn’t known what to say, and a couple of days later it felt too late to respond to that particular thread of conversation. But Anthony hadn’t contacted her again either. Maybe it really had been politeness, his comment on her journey, but if it wasn’t then she didn’t really know what to think.

All she knew was that the longer she didn’t text him and the longer that he didn’t text her, she felt like her fragile heart was crumbling, and she didn’t know how to salvage any of it – if anything could be salvaged at all.

Her body ached, the loss of contact with him feeling like a missing limb. She hadn’t felt heartbreak like this before, not with any ex-boyfriends, and this time it was all her fault anyway. Maybe she deserved to feel this empty, this aching. It was all she could do to trudge forward on auto-pilot, trying to get back into her routine as a desperate attempt to cling onto some form of normality. By the time Saturday 22nd rolled around though, she was done. Without work to distract her like it had all week, Isabella knew she needed to get out of her apartment or she would go insane from her overbearing thoughts. So she decided to treat herself to lunch out at a secluded café she hadn’t been to in a while, allowing the walk to clear her foggy thoughts, and by the time her sandwich was in front of her she felt a little more human.

“Bells?”

Isabella looked up sharply, breath hitching at the man standing in front of her.

Mat.

She hadn’t forgotten that this was the café that she, Anthony, and Mat used to all go to together. That did make sense why she hadn’t been there since he left New York though.

“Hey, Barzy, fancy bumping into you here,” she said warmly.

Mat just smiled as she stood up from her seat, wasting no time in giving her a big hug, making her laugh as she hugged him back. Clearly he had the same thoughts as her, getting out for a little while, especially considering he’d just had a run of playoff games against Carolina on Monday 17th, Wednesday 19th, and Friday 21st.

“I know we’ve texted back and forth a lot but I can’t believe I haven’t seen you since Beau got traded,” she said, smiling softly as he sat down opposite her.

But the moment that his smile turned sympathetic, she knew.

“He told you?” she murmured, smile falling.

He bit his bottom lip, hesitating, but that only made her feel worse.

“Barzy please, did he tell you what happened in Vancouver?” she whispered harshly.

Mat huffed out a sign before nodding “He did.”

She immediately felt sick, physically and mentally, her whole body seizing - but Mat quickly shook his head at whatever her face was doing.

“Bells, no, only because he’s freaking out that he’s ruined everything,” Mat insisted.

“Ruined everything?” she asked quietly, her voice catching in her throat as she tried to breathe.

“Look, I don’t know the details. And I sure as hell don’t really want to know them, that’s between you two,” Mat said firmly.

She couldn’t help but laugh softly at the dramatic grimace on his face, and Mat’s expression softened.

“He’s in a real mess, Bells. I’ve never seen him like this before,” Mat said, smiling sadly, “Did he ruin everything?”

He was in a mess? Just as much as she was?

“No, no he hasn’t,” she said with a sad smile, “I thought I did.”

“Man, you two are as bad as each other. I thought your trip to Vancouver would’ve sorted that out finally,” Mat sighed.

What? Sorted what out?

“What?” she managed to choke out.

Mat just shook his head fondly. “Everyone saw the way you two look at each other. We all thought you’d get together, although I’m pretty sure some of the rookies thought you were already dating.”

Well that was something she thought she’d never hear. What the hell?

“I just…he’s one of my best friends, you know? You’re my friend too - and you’re good for him. I want things to be back to normal between you two,” Mat said, smiling sadly.

If that didn’t break her heart even further, she didn’t know what would.

“I don’t know if they can ever go back to normal,” she admitted, hating the words as honest as they were, eyes stinging slightly, “But I don’t want to lose him. I just don’t know what to do.”

He pursed his lips, nodding as he fell silent for a moment. It was all she could do to sip at her coffee, especially as it looked like her friend was thinking hard.

“Do you like him?” Mat asked suddenly.

“W-What?”

“Do you like him? As more than a friend?”

She choked out a laugh, glancing up at the ceiling, trying to fight the tears that sprang to her eyes again. What kind of question was that? Of course she did. She’d never denied it, not that anyone had ever asked her. Anthony was her person, one of the only people in her life that she truly trusted. Of course she liked him. Hell, she was already falling in love with him at this point, she could admit that much to herself. And if Mat’s words held any truth…maybe he was falling for her too?

“Yeah. Yeah, I do like him. More than I probably should for someone who’s never heard from his lips how he feels about me,” she eventually admitted.

Mat’s face split into a smile. “Leave this with me.”

What?

“Barzy…” she warned.

“No, I’m serious, leave it with me. Do you trust me?” Mat said firmly.

“Yeah, you know I do,” Isabella said without hesitation.

Because she did. There wasn’t a malicious bone in Mat Barzal’s body, especially when it came to his friends, and Isabella was fortunate to count herself as one of them. But what did he mean?

“Then let me talk to him, okay? This will all work out, Bells,” Mat said seriously, “You’ll see.”

Hope was dangerous for her fragile heart. But here Mat was, dangling it down on a silver string.

“I really hope you’re right, Barzy,” she sighed.

He just grinned. A thousand girls would kill to have that beaming smile sent their way, but all she could think about was his blue-eyed friend on the other side of Canada.

“I’d better go – got the 4th game in our playoffs series tomorrow. But don’t be a stranger,” Mat said, standing up from his eat.

“I won’t. I’m rooting for you guys against the Canes,” she said, smiling despite the whirling of her emotions.

“Damn right you are,” he grinned.

There was the Mat she knew.

A few days more days passed without a word from Mat, or from…anyone else. She knew that Mat was busy, obviously having watched his 4th playoff game on Sunday. She’d even texted him after his 5-2 loss against the Canes, getting nothing but a crying face back which was more than she could’ve hoped for from him in this intense time. But nothing else, and she tried not to let that hope flicker away. She wouldn’t let herself get invested, not until she knew anything for sure. She couldn’t, otherwise she didn’t know if she would survive.

It took until Tuesday 25th for Isabella to wake up with a text from Anthony.

Her hands shook as she flicked open their neglected message thread, eyes stinging as she scanned his words.

From: Anthony I’m sorry that I haven’t texted you. I’m guessing you haven’t texted me either for the same reasons. I hate that everything’s gotten so awkward and distant between us but talking with Barzy yesterday gave me hope. Will you please listen to this playlist? we’re lost and found.

Isabella had already planned on working from home today but this would’ve pushed her to anyway. He’d actually messaged her. There was still hope? Anthony hadn’t given up on them after all. He’d made her a new playlist? And from the sounds of it, if he’d talked to Barzy like Barzy said he would, this was going to be something that was either going to break her heart for good or give her more hope than she knew what to do with.

Rather than opening the link on her phone, she opened up her personal laptop, clicking on the playlist we’re lost and found when Spotify was open, and quickly clicked play.

“Sunlight comes creepin' in, Illuminates our skin, We watched the day go by, Stories of all we did, It made me think of you, It made me think of you.”

As the lyrics to Birdy’s Wings filled the room, Isabella could do nothing to stop the tears from springing to her eyes. This song was one of her current favourites, he knew this. And if he’d remembered that…what else had he included in the playlist? She quickly scrolled through the rest of the list, eyes scanning every song, every choice he made, aching pangs starting in her chest at his selections.

Wings – Birdy Never Let Me Go – Florence + The Machine Hold You – Nina Nesbitt, Kodaline Wherever You Will Go – Charlene Soraia Teach Me How to Be Loved – Rebecca Ferguson Set Me on Fire – Bella Ferraro Kiss Me – Jason Walker Yours – Ella Henderson Still into You – Paramore Adore You – Harry Styles Tongue Tied – Take Me To Your Best Friends House Slow Hands – Niall Horan I Choose You – Sara Bareilles Lover – Taylor Swift Lover Of Mine – 5 Seconds of Summer this is how you fall in love – Jason Zucker, Chelsea Cutler Falling Like The Stars – James Arthur A Thousand Years – Christina Perri Take Me To Church – Hozier Next To Me – Emeli Sandé I Won’t Give Up – Jason Mraz When You Love Someone – James TW

She felt like she wasn’t breathing, couldn’t breathe, the long curated-collection sending her thoughts scrambling. Did he really feel…? Was he really saying…? Why was he only saying this now, when everything had become so fraught between them?

“If I could, then I would, I’d go wherever you will go.”

The Charlene Soraia cover, another favourite. Fuck, he really had put so much effort into this, hadn’t he? The thoughts, the emotions, everything that he was feeling he had put into this playlist. Playlists were their thing, and the fact that he’d made something like this for her, to show her how he felt…it was everything. She let the music wash over her, tears pouring down her cheeks as she let her heart truly feel what it wanted to feel for the first time, soaking in all of the emotion that he’d poured into this playlist. This was him, and this was her, and it was them. What more could she say?

“But with you I’ve learned how to let it out, Now my heart is ready to burst, Cause I feel like I’m ready for love, And I want to be your everything and more.”

Ella Henderson’s voice continued to spill out from her laptop speakers, but Isabella couldn’t take anymore. She had to speak to him. She had to know…she had to…fuck, she needed to hear his voice. And it only took three rings for him to answer.

“Hey, Bells.”

She sniffled as a couple of tears trickled down her cheeks, closing her eyes at the sound of his voice. “Hey, Beau.”

They fell silent for a moment, just listening to each other breathe, before Anthony eventually cleared his throat.

“You’re listening to the playlist then? I can hear Ella singing in the background.”

He knew it that well, that he could recognise a faint song? How many times had he listened to these songs before he sent them over?

“Yeah. Yeah I am. I have to know…Beau, why did you create this? Why these songs?” she murmured, eyes finally opening, staring at the list in front of her.

He huffed out a laugh, sighing softly.

“It’s always going to be you, Bells. There’s no-one else for me.”

The sound that tore out of her throat barely felt human, and her free hand quickly flew up to cover her mouth, a distraught sound coming through the phone as Anthony heard her.

“Hey, talk to me, please?”

She took a shaky breath, willing herself to stay calm, to keep herself together, and she nodded to herself, steeling her nerves.

“There’s no-one else for you?” she murmured.

“There hasn’t been for a long time.”

The smile that tugged at her lips felt traitorous somehow, her mind not believing his words. He’s liked her for a long time? How was this real? As if he could sense her warring thoughts, Anthony sighed.

“I don’t know what to say to make you believe me. Please, just listen to the songs. They show everything that I can’t over the phone. Music has always spoken for us before, right? So I’m trying to let it speak for me now.”

He was right. Music had always been the thing that connected them, that said everything they didn’t need to say. Except this time, she needed him to say something – and here he was, translating himself in a way that spoke to them both.

“You really feel this way about me?” she said softly, her voice filled with wonder.

“I really do. And I’m hoping, from everything Barzy said and the fact that you haven’t hung up on my yet, that you feel this way for me too?”

Right, because she hadn’t actually said anything that was on her mind. It was all him. Just like always.

“Yeah, Beau, I do. I like you so much,” she said, choking out a laugh, “I just…didn’t think you would ever feel the same for me. The last week has been torture.”

“I’m so sorry. I am so unbelievably sorry for ever making you feel like you aren’t the most important person in my life.”

She choked out a sob this time, her body thrumming, her heart aching, Anthony just making soft reassuring noises through the speaker until she was able to compose herself once more.

“I’ve got locker clear out tomorrow, and then…then I’m thinking about coming to New York for a few weeks. I think we should talk, really talk, face to face. We both deserve that much.”

“Yeah, you’re right. And I’d like that,” she said, a little shyly.

With further tentative plans for Isabella to join him in Quebec after he spent some time with her in New York, she ended the call, her heart full and her cheeks aching with smiling, tacky with happy tears.

Maybe she didn’t know what tomorrow would hold. Or next month. Or even when Anthony was back in Vancouver all over again. But she knew that what she felt for him was worth trying for. And wasn’t that all that mattered anyway? Anthony Beauvillier was falling in love with her just like she was falling in love with him, and she couldn’t wait to see where this journey would take her, especially with him by her side.

#my writing #anthony beauvillier fic #demi's birthday bingo #anthony beauvillier imagine #anthony beauvillier fanfic #anthony beauvillier x oc #hockey fic #hockey fanfic #hockey imagine #nhl fic #nhl fanfic #nhl imagine

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markettrend24 · 2 years

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chickensarentcheap · 2 months

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Lost and Found- Chapter 29

Fandom: Extraction

Pairing: Tyler Rake and Esme Drummond (OFC. You do not have to read the original series to understand this fic)

Warnings: slight profanity

Tagging: @tragiclyhip @munstysmind @themaradwrites @thebejeweledwatercat @youflickedtooharddamnit @asirensrage @residentdormouse @secretaryunpaid @alisbackalleybbq @kmc1989 @karimac @ninjasawakenedmystar @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @occommunity @theesirenteller @fanficanatic-tw

Link to Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43179357/chapters/138016519

My tag list is OPEN. Just let me know if you'd lke to be added :D

****

It’s exactly how she remembers it. A quaint, three-bedroom home perfect for a young, growing family; antique blue board and batten with a vibrant, mustard yellow front door and a deep, wide porch that wraps around one side of the structure and connects with the deck in back. A fenced-in rear yard ideal for pets and children; enough open land for gardens and play structures and even a pool. Mere blocks from the small downtown core and open-air market; located close to schools and parks and only a ten-minute drive to the beach. The latter had been the ultimate selling point; as close to the ocean as they could get within their price range. Things had been different then; both financially struggling after never receiving full payment from Mahajan, but still having to worry about a stack of hospital bills and various debts.

There’d been no reason to live above their means; content with something small that they could personalize and make all of their own. Add onto if a bigger family was in the cards; firmly settling on having at least one baby, but not fully sold on anything more than that. Being a father again scared him; the guilt and the regret surrounding the death of his son and the decision he’d made in the final weeks still weighed heavily on his mind and soul. And she’d known not to push the subject no matter how much she desired something more; needing to give him the space to not only wrestle with and defeat his demons but build up his confidence when it came to raising another child.

Wick had picked them up at the airport. Twelve days following their desperate escape from New York, and ten since he’d flown to Broome to keep his eyes open and an ear to the ground. After assisting Alcott in identifying -and quickly eliminating- any possible threat, he’s confident that things are secure and no dangers lie in wait; free to return to the States and his commitment to helping Nik destroy any remaining threat on the front line. He looks healthier and more well-rested than Esme can previously remember; casually dressed in a pair of olive green cargo shorts and a simple white t-shirt. His eyes are more vibrant, the bridge of his nose and his cheeks sunkissed. And it's a welcome departure from the usual; the sullenness replaced by a genuine smile and unmistakable glow.

She glances at Millie; fastened in her car seat in the back of the SUV, safe and secure between her mom and dad. Father and daughter both asleep and in the same positions; heads tilted back and to the right, their arms folded across their chests, mouths slightly open as they quietly snore. Their cheeks flushed; sweat glistening at their temples and napes of their necks, wayward strands stuck to their brows. The last two weeks finally catching up to them; the hours spent travelling, the stress, fear, and worry that had weighed heavily upon them, the shared shock and surprise of finding out about one another’s identities and roles in the other’s life. And the dangerous and unpredictable flight from New York City and the two weeks spent at Nik’s while longing for home.

As Wick kills the engine, she tends to Millie, gently cradling her face in her palms and peppering her brow and cheeks with feathery kisses. Repeatedly brushing the tip of her nose against Millie’s until the four-year-old gives a sleepy giggle and a breathy, ‘Momma’; eyes flickering open as she plants a noisy kiss on Esme’s lips.

“Time to get up, little bug. We’re finally here.”

“Home?”

Esme nods.

“Our forever home?”

“Our forever home. Well, unless we one day need a bigger one. Come on…” Unbuckling the car seat’s harness, she lifts Millie onto her lap. “You’re getting big, lovey. Soon I won’t be able to pick you up at all.”

“I’m big like daddy!”

“You definitely are. I always knew you would be; even when you were in my belly and I used to get sneak peeks of you at the doctor. You were long and lanky even then. Now…” She clears sweaty hair away from Millie’s cheeks and out of her eyes.. “...wake daddy up. Tell him we’re here.”

She scrambles off her mother’s lap and onto Tyler’s; her stomach pressed against his chest, a knee beside either hip. And taking his face in both hands, gently shakes his head from side to side. “Daddy! It’s time to get up! We’re here now! No more sleep!” Upon receiving no response, she aggressively taps her palms against his cheeks, then scowls at her mother. “I think he’s dead.”

“He’s not dead. You can see that he’s breathing. Sometimes, he’s a really heavy sleeper. Or maybe he’s ignoring you.”

“You might ignore you, but not me. Never me.”

“Excuse you?”

“Daddy!” Millie bellows into his ear, then tugs at his beard, followed by his ears. “You have to get up! No more sleep! It’s time to wake up and…” She shrieks when his fingers lightly dig into her sides and he begins gently tickling her, dissolving into giggles when he tips her sideways across his lap and repeatedly brushes his beard against her cheeks. And she’s breathless and hiccuping when he once more settles her upright on his thighs, her tiny hands cradling his cheeks in their palms. “It’s time to get up!”

“Says who?”

“Me! And momma!”

You guys aren’t the boss of me.”

“Yeah, right!”

“Why do I need to get up? Can’t a guy get his beauty sleep?””

“You can go back to sleep later! We’re finally here, daddy! We’re home! It’s time to wakey-wakey, shakey-shakey!”

“What if I don’t want to wakey-wakey, shaky-shakey?”

“Too bad! When momma says it’s time to get up, it’s time to get up! Remember, she’s the boss, applesauce!”

“Sure she is.” Placing a kiss on Millie’s temple, he settles her sideways on his lap; palm smoothing over her messy hair as she presses her face against the window and studies her surroundings. “What do you think of it so far?”

“I love it! I love the colour! Especially the front door! I LOVE yellow. It’s a great use of colour, dad. You know what they say? That EVERY house deserves a pop of colour.”

Tyler arches a quizzical brow at Esme. “Whose they?”

She gives a sheepish grin. “People on television. We watch a lot of Home and Garden Network.”

“Especially in the winter,” Millie adds. “When it’s too cold to go outside. Or there’s a snowstorm and we’re stuck in the house.”

“So you think it’s an alright place? That you’ll be happy here?”

“Of course, I’m going to be happy! It’s home. It’s where mommy and daddy are. It can’t get any better than that. But…”

“Uh oh…”

“You know what it needs? More colour. It needs flowers. To up the curb appeal.”

“Are you going to be a real estate agent when you grow up?”

“Nope.”

“Interior decorator?”

“Hell no! I’m going to be the person who builds the house. With my own hands!”

“That’s my girl.”

Esme winces in discomfort as she reaches across her body to unbuckle her seat belt. “Funny thing is, that’s what your daddy does. That’s one of his REAL jobs. He even owns his own business. He might not build houses from the ground up, but he helps make people's places bigger and better.”

“But I thought your job was kicking ass.”

“It is. Just not all the time. Only when Auntie Nik really needs my help.”

“So you have two lives. Two ‘yous’.”

“Yeah. I guess you could put it that way. The ‘me’ that was in New York City? Taking care of business? That’s the me that I don’t have to be very often anymore. The ‘all the time’ me? I help people in a different way. I make their houses bigger and nicer, I put up fences and decks, I build garages and sheds and even furniture sometimes.”

“Can you build a treehouse? I always wanted a treehouse.”

“Millie, I can build you whatever you want. Or at least I can try.”

“You know what his other job is? He’s a fireman.”

Her eyes widen. “Shut the front door!”

“It is. That’s the job I do the most. I won’t be going back for a while though; I’ve got a lot of time off to spend with you and your mom. That’s all that’s important right now. That you guys are safe and taken care of. And that the three of us get to be together. Get used to being a family.”

“Being a firefighter is crazy dangerous! And scary!”

“It can be.”

“Momma’s right! You ARE super brave!”

“I like to think I am. Sometimes, anyways.”

“She told me you’re the bravest person she’s ever known. And the strongest.”

Reaching behind Millie, he gently and lovingly tugs on Esme’s hair. “Yeah, well your mum is biassed.”

“Her mum tells the truth.”

“You’re our hero, Daddy. You’re brave and you’re strong and you keep us safe from the bad guys. We don’t have to worry about them when you’re around. ‘Cause you’ll do anything to stop them from even coming near us, never mind hurting us.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you or your mumma. You’re my girls. All that matters to me is the two of you.”

“And Lucy.”

“DEFINITELY Lucy. She’s one of my girls, too. Actually, she’s the ORIGINAL girl; I had her before I even met your mumma.”

“Mumma says she’s a really good doggo. A super smart one. I can’t wait to meet her. I hope she’ll like the toys and treats I picked out for her. And I hope she LOVES me.”

“I know she will. And she’s going like having a little sister; someone to play with and chase around and sneak her food under the table. She’ll be like a puppy again, just you watch.”

“I just hope she loves me. ‘Cause I already know I love her. So if she doesn’t feel the same about me, I’m going to be crazy sad. I’m going to…”

Her voice trails off as begins bouncing up and down on his lap; banging her palm against the window when Alcott steps out onto the front porch; flashing that dazzling and waving enthusiastically at her. And she squeals “Uncle Duey!” before Tyler pops open the door; not waiting for it to fully open before she’s slipping out of the vehicle and scurrying up the front walk.

Alcott is on the middle step when she launches herself towards him; his deep, rich chuckle and her piercing, musical giggle floating on the air as he effortlessly catches her and tosses her above his head. Once, twice. Before tucking her into his chest and showering her temples, forehead and cheek with kisses.

Esme pauses with her hand on the door handle. “I know it’s hard for you; seeing how close she is to everyone. The fact they got to be part of her life long before you did. And I’m sorry that it hurts you so much. I’m sorry for so MANY things.”

“I don’t need you to be sorry. We’ve moved past that. I don’t need constant apologies.”

“But…”

“I don’t need them,” he forcibly repeats, then lays a hand on the back of her head and pulls her into him; lips meeting her brow. “And it’s not as bad now. It doesn’t hurt as much. I’m starting to look at it differently. How I’m actually very lucky. You and Millie had these people around; watching out for you, loving on you and keeping you safe. Until I finally got the chance to do it.”

“I just wish I’d given you that chance sooner. I’m sorry I…”

“No more of that word, okay? There’s no need for it.” He’s mindful of the still tender line of stitches embedded in her scalp as he pushes his finger through her hair; hand cupping the back of her head when he kisses her. pushes his fingers through her hair, mindful of the still tender line of stitches embedded in her scalp. “Not anymore.”

“Why are you like this?”

“Like what?”

“So good to me? After everything I’ve done. After hurting you like I did…”

“I love you.” The answer is short and sweet. Honest. “I always have. I always will.”

Her lower lip and chin tremble as she struggles to hold back her emotions.

“None of that, okay? No crying. There’s no reason to cry. There’s been enough of that. And I don’t want this; you holding onto all of this…stuff. I forgive you. Now it’s time for you to forgive yourself. Or at least work on it.”

“How the tables have turned, huh? I remember saying almost those same words to you. About Austin. About how he forgave you. For what you did. And that it was your turn. To forgive yourself.”

“And I got there. Eventually. You will too. You’re not alone in this. You’ve got me. Millie. We’ll help you through it. Now…” Turning and reaching for the door handle, he’s stopped when she snags him by the back of his t-shirt and pulls him towards her. A hand on his cheek as she kisses him; long and soft and slow. A grin tugging at the corners of his mouth when he pulls away. “What was that for?”

“I need a reason to kiss you?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Have you ever considered that I enjoy kissing you?”

“Have you ever considered you have crappy taste in men?”

“My taste in men is impeccable, thank you very much. Or at least it became impeccable when I met you.”

Smirking, he presses a kiss on her brow. “Sweet talker. Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“Yeah, you’re always up for a good, old-fashioned, ego-stroking.”

“And a good stroking of something else,” he teases, giving her a playful wink and then opening the car door and stepping out. Offering Alcott a nod in greeting before heading to the opposite side of the vehicle and assisting Esme; a protective hand on the small of her back as he leads her up the front walk. “You gonna be alright the rest of the way? While I give Wick a hand with all the stuff?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assures him, standing on her tips with a hand upon his chest as he leans down to kiss her.

“I worry.”

“I know you do. And in a strange little way, it makes you a million times sexier. Which is hard to grasp considering you’re already the sexiest man alive.”

“You and your shit taste in guys.”

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, my taste has become impeccable.” Smoothing her palms down the front of his t-shirt, her hand settling on his hips; eyes closing as she rests her forehead upon his chest. “I love you, you know.”

Smiling, he cups the back of her head in his palm and leans down to kiss her temple. “I know.”

****

Alcott greets her with a smile as he holds a squealing and giggling Millie upside down by her ankles. “Well there’s a sight for sore eyes.”

“Emphasis on the word ‘sore’.”

“You’re going to be feeling it for a while. To be honest, I’m surprised you’re doing as well as you are. That you’re even up and at ‘em.”

“It was now or never, I guess. Nik was getting tired of me; I was only a couple of days away from being evicted.”

“Look at mommy’s toe nails!” Millie calls out, as her fingertips swipe at her mother’s feet. “I did those! Watermelon pink! Mine match!”

“You’re going to make her throw up,” Esme warns. “Or pee her pants. She had a huge drink in the car before falling asleep.”

“I might do both!” The four-year-old announces. “I had a cherry and vanilla Coke slurpee! Daddy and I shared it, but I drank the most! Now I got the burps!”

“Guess your mum will be cleaning a hell of a mess off the steps, won’t she.”

“More like her father would have to clean it up. So let’s spare him the horror, okay? Blood and guts he can handle. THAT? He’ll likely toss his cookies too.”

(Millie hiccups as Alcott returns her to an upright position and settles her on his hip. “Daddy doesn’t like barf. I almost hurled on the plane and he nearly had a panic attack.”

Standing on her tiptoes, Esme straightens and tightens her daughter’s pigtails. “We don’t need to give away all of his secrets. Why don’t you run over and help daddy and Uncle John with some stuff? Grab your backpack and Lucy’s toys and treats. I’ll take you to meet her in a few minutes.”

“You just want to talk to Uncle Duey in private. I know your tricks, mom.”

“Well, there’s some things we need to discuss that little ears don’t need to hear.”

“What kind of things?”

“Adult things. That you…young miss…don’t need to be part of.”

“Are you going to hang out for a bit, Uncle Duey? Are you going to stay for supper? We haven’t eaten yet and I’m getting really hungry and I really want you to stay. Will you?”

“If your mum and dad don’t mind having an extra mouth to feed.”

“Are you going to sleep over? Visit for a bit? ‘Cause that would be really cool! Maybe we could even make a tent in my new room!”

“Tell you what, I’ll stay for a few days. So we can hang out. BUT, I’m going to stay at a hotel; so you and your folks can have privacy. You’re a family now; you need to concentrate on THAT.”

“I finally have a daddy. And not just ANY daddy, but my REAL daddy! The daddy that helped make me. Who put me in mom’s tum! How cool is that?! That I’d get my actual daddy in the end?!

Alcott presses a noisy kiss on Millie’s cheek before setting her on the ground, a hand resting on the top of her head. “You know, I think you’re a very lucky little girl. That you have the dad AND mum that you do. Because no one…in this world…could love you more than they do. You’re going to have a long and happy life, my little Amelia. With BOTH of them.”

“Daddy said that when something is meant to be, it always finds a way. He said that’s why mummy needed his help; because they were meant to be together. Do you think that’s true?”

“I think when two people love each other…REALLY love each other…they’ll find their way back to one another. Doesn’t matter how long it takes or how many obstacles are in the way, if they’re meant to be together, they will be. That’s what happened with your mum and dad. Although I do question her standards and her taste in men. Because if you ask me…”

“You know, you can be super duper cute, Uncle Duey. And really romantic.”

“You know, I have my moments. But let’s keep that between us. Our little secret. I have a reputation to keep.”

“Of being a big-time ass kicker!”

“Exactly.” Offering a closed fist, Millie bumps it with her own. “Now, you go.” Laying a hand on the top of her head, he gently steers her towards the stairs. “Listen to your mumma. Go and grab your things. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“What kind of surprise?”

“A very nice one.”

“What is it?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. And you can’t have it until you do what you're told; go and lend a hand and grab your stuff. Then you can meet Lucy and…”

“And then I get my surprise!”

“Exactly!”

“This is the best day ever!” Giving his leg a tight squeeze, she hurries for the stairs and then jumps from the landing; landing effortlessly on her feet and rushing off towards the car. Calling out for her dad and her uncle John; giggling when she’s teased and Wick playfully pulls on one of her pigtails; her high-pitched, exuberant voice floating on the breeze as she busies herself with helping pull bags from the trunk.

Grinning, Alcott shakes his head. “She’s…”

“A handful? Believe me, I know.”

“She seems to be adjusting alright. To this new life of hers. Seems excited to be here, that’s for sure.”

“The last forty-eight hours, she’s done nothing but go on and on about Australia. About how she can’t wait to live here. About taking beach trips and going fishing; learning how to ride a bike, going to school and making friends. It’s ALL she’s talked about.”

“She’s been through a lot. It hasn’t been the easiest of three weeks, that’s for sure. Bad enough on all of us, never mind a wee one. How have things been? Since she found out? About her dad?”

“Everything’s been great. Better than I thought it would be; I thought it would take her a lot longer to adjust to the whole thing and to forgive me for keeping him a secret. But it’s like he’s been part of her life forever. Like she’s never known anything different. She adores him. Wants to be around him constantly.”

“The best part of that is that she loved him before she even knew that he WAS her dad. How’s he been? With her?”

“Amazing. He really had to step it up after New York City; I sort of just threw him to the wolves. But he did it; despite all the pain he was in and constantly worrying about me and trying to take care of me. He just did what he had to do. Spent nearly every waking moment with her.”

“As much as what happened sucks for you, it was probably what was best for them. It gave them that time; to be completely alone and invested with one another. Gave them a chance to learn about one another. Without anyone else interfering.”

“As much as my body wishes it could get on board with that, it’s just not having it. How have things been here?”

“Quiet. For the most part.”

“For the most part, huh? I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

“Just a couple of people snooping. Coming around where they had no reason to be. Wick and I took care of them.”

“Took care of them as in…”

“As in they won’t bother you…or anyone else…ever again.”

Sighing heavily, Esme crosses her arms over her chest, hands rubbing at her biceps.

“Hey…” Hooking a finger under her chin, Alcott tilts her face up towards him. “...everything is fine. You’re safe here. Wick and I took care of things on our end, now all Nik has to do is handle things on hers. It’ll be over soon. For good.”

“God, I hope so.”

She glances over her shoulder as Millie and Tyler make their way towards the house. The latter gently suggesting that their offspring make multiple trips to and from the car, while Millie insists -despite the knapsack on her shoulders, gift bag over her wrist, and the top of a pile of small boxes cradled in her arms reaching her eyebrows- that she’s stronger than she looks and can see ‘just fine’.

“You know….” Esme turns back to Alcott, body leaning into his when he drapes an arm across her shoulders. “...I’ve waited five years for this. To be with him again. I have missed him; every second of every day. I spent four wondering what it would be like; to have him in her life and see them together and hear her call him ‘daddy’. Now it’s happening; it’s all RIGHT HERE. And I am so overwhelmed. With everything I’m feeling.”

“In a good way, I hope.”

“In a very good way. This is all I ever wanted. HE’S all I ever wanted. Everything we talked about…everything we planned together…it’s all finally happening. In this place. That we bought together. And that I never spent a single night inside. It’s a lot, you know? To unpack. And I’m so scared that something…someone…is going to take this all away from me.”

“That’s why you…BOTH OF YOU…need to get out of this life. And stay out of it. Once this is all over, you need to walk away for good. Or something bad WILL happen.”

“I’m ready for that. More than ready. I finally have everything I want. WHO I want. I want to be a wife and a mother. I want to share my bed with the same man every night for the rest of my life. Kiss the same man good morning EVERY morning. I want to make cookies for school bake sales and cheer Millie on while she plays soccer and watch her learn to surf. I want to have another baby. Or two. Or three. I am so ready. For ALL of that.”

“But?”

“I’m worried that he won’t be able to walk away. Or stay away. Not for good. I’m worried he’s always going to be tied to that life somehow. That it will somehow find a way back into our lives. Take him away from us.”

“Have you mentioned all this? Talked to him about it?”

“I haven’t exactly had the chance. I spent a week in and out of consciousness, and another five days trying to build up enough strength just to do shit like feed myself and get myself to the bathroom. There was never a good time to bring up something like THAT.”

“You need to. Just get it all out in the open. Let him know what you’re worried about, what you’re afraid of, all of that. Because it won’t do any good keeping that in. You need to say it. And he needs to hear it.”

“You know what my fear is? My worst nightmare? That he’ll take a job and go somewhere thousands of miles away and something horrible will happen to him. That I’ll lose him. Permanently. And he’ll be stuck there; I won’t have any way of getting him out there and bringing him home.”

“Esme…”

“I couldn’t deal with that. I just couldn’t. I’d never survive it.”

*****

Esme slowly approaches the couch; a sprawled-out Lucy regarding her with wide eyes and her head tilted to the side. While Millie trails a few steps behind, she crouches down in front of the sofa and offers a soft, calm smile.

“Hey girl…hey Lucy…” She holds out the back of her hand to sniff, the dog’s nose wet against her skin. And as recollection of a long lost and missed scent begins to creep in, Lucy’s tail begins to thumb energetically against the cushions. “...do you remember me? It’s been a long time, huh? I missed you. So much.”

The thumping of the tail continues, now accompanied by a butt wiggle and a soft yet happy whimper as Lucy wriggles closer. “Yeah…you remember. We were besties. We did so much together. I’m so sorry…” Ruffling the fur at the nape of Lucy’s neck, Esme then strokes the dog’s ears and scratches under her chin “...that I just up and left like that. I never meant to abandon you.” She leans in to press a kiss to Lucy’s nose. “Thank you, sweet girl. For keeping him company. And keeping an eye on him. Until I could get back to doing it.”

Swiping at loose tears with the back of her hand, she reaches for Millie.“I have someone I want you to meet. Someone I love very much. I had a baby while I was gone. And this is her…” Drawing her daughter to her side, she lays a hand on the top of the little one’s head and presses a kiss to her temple. “...isn’t she beautiful?”

“Hi Lucy…” Millie offers her hand for a sniff. “...I’m Millie. Well, my name is really Amelia, but I like Millie better. Everyone calls me that. I’m going to live here now; with you and my momma and my daddy. That makes us sisters. ‘Cause we have the same mom and dad. Just they adopted you and I was in momma’s tummy.” She giggles when Lucy licks her hand, then slides forward and swipes at her chin with her tongue. “I think she likes me!”

“Why don’t you show her what you got for her? I’m sure she’d love to see.”

“I got you some goodies.” Millie holds aloft a neon pink gift bag, filled with white tissue paper. “Some toys and some treaties. See…” Dumping the contents out onto the couch, she arranges them neatly in their respective groups; food in one pile, play objects in the other). “...I got you all different kinds of stuff. Squeaky balls, rope toys, ones you can chew on, a cool tug of war one that we can play with together! I’ll let you pick which one you want to play with first.”

“I think she’s more interested in learning about you right now.”

“Can I give her some treats? Do you think that’s okay? That daddy won’t mind?”

“He won’t mind at all, believe me. Here…” Selecting one of the bag of treats -duck flavoured- she tears it open; dumping a handful of the small ‘cookies’ into Millie’s palm. “...these are her favourites. Hold your hand out and let her take a sniff. She’ll decide if she wants them or not.”

“She won’t eat my hand, will she?”

“Lucy’s the last dog on earth that would do something like that. She might kiss you to death or you might pass out from her stinky doggy breath, but she’s a lover, not a fighter. The goodest good girl. Aren’t you, Luce?” She smoothes a hand over each of Lucy’s ears and the scruff of her neck, kneading lightly at the fur as Millie offers the treats in her palm. The dog briefly sniffing before hurriedly -and exuberantly- gobbling them up. Causing the four-year-old to dissolve into giggles when the nibbling at her palm turns into enthusiastic lapping at her chin and cheeks. “I knew she’d like you. What’s not to like?”

“We’re going to be besties!” Millie declares, and tosses both arms around Lucy’s wriggling body. “Aren’t we Lucy?!

Tyler’s hand falls on Esme’s shoulder as he joins them. “How’s things down here?”

“Good,” she smiles up at him. “Very good. I think it’s safe to say that Lucy and Millie like each other.”

“We don’t just like each other!” Millie declares, as she lies on her back on the couch; Lucy between her splayed legs, the dog’s stomach pressed against hers. Lucy panting and her tongue lolling out of her mouth as her new friend enthusiastically scratches at the ‘sweet spots’ behind her ears. “We LOVE each other!”

“That’s ‘cause Lucy has great taste. Don’tcha girl.” Tyler reaches down to knead the back of the dog’s neck. “Now I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re going to have to share me now. We’ve got extra people in the house. Extra b…”

Esme scowls up at him.

“Ladies. I was going to say LADIES.”

“The hell you were.”

“You know I’m just joking. Trying to get a rise out of ya. Although after the past ten days, I wouldn’t mind if YOU were trying to get a rise out of ME.”

She gives a derisive snort and a roll of the eyes. “You are too much.”

His fingers curl around her bicep when she starts to stand; helping her to her feet before his palm moving to the small of her back as she leans into him. Her body leaning into his as his lips meet the top of her head.

“You guys finished? Get everything inside?”

“Just put everything upstairs for now. We can tackle it later. Or tomorrow. Or whenever. There’s no rush.”

“So…” Alcott takes the stairs two at a time. Enthusiastically clapping and rubbing his hands together as he addresses Millie from the bottom landing. “...who’s ready for their surprise!”

“I am! I’ve been ready since you told me! But…” She nuzzles the top of Lucy’s head with her nose. “...can Lucy come and see it too?”

“The more the merrier. This is definitely a family thing.”

Sliding out from under the dog’s body, Millie jumps to her feet; patting the side of her leg and calling for the dog to follow as Alcott leads the way out of the living room and down the hall. Pausing at the door that belongs to the small three-piece bath just off the kitchen.

“Right in here,” he says, and nods towards the door. “It’s waiting for ya.”

“In here?”

“In there. Go on.”

She reaches for the handle, then pauses. “What is it? What’s in there?”

“It’s a bathroom.”

“But what’s IN the bathroom?”

“Your surprise.”

“But what IS my surprise?”

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it? Go on. Go see what’s in there.”

Esme’s brows arch quizzically as she glances between Tyler and Alcott. “What are you two up?”

The latter grins. “Just a little something. That we thought would cheer her up, especially after the last couple of weeks she’s had. And we thought it’d help make this new life of hers even better.”

“And just what would make it better? What…?”

“Bea!” Millie’s scream is ear-piercing; bouncing off the ceiling and walls and echoing through the lower level of the house. “Oh…my Bea!” She drops onto her butt in the middle of the floor and scoops the cat into her arms, cuddling her tight to her chest as she sobs into the glistening black fur. A concerned Lucy hurriedly padding into the room; settling herself in a sobbing Millie’s lap as she licks at the tears that stream down the little one’s face. “...I missed you!”

“How?” Esme struggles to hold back her own tears. “How did you…?”

“I had someone bring her to me. Someone I could trust. To get her safely. And here she is. I couldn’t keep a little girl and her best friend apart, could I? It’d already been long enough.”

“This was all you wasn’t it?” Esme glances up at Tyler. “You made this happen.”

“It was my idea. But I had help. Getting it done.”

“I thought you weren’t a cat guy.”

“I’m not.” Smiling, he wraps around her and gatherers into his side. Leaning down to press his lips against her temple. “But I have a feeling this one will grow on me.”

****

It’s before eleven when Esme steps out onto the front porch with Wick, the wood smooth and cool under her bare feet; the light in the front room and a small battery-powered lantern on a small nearby table providing the only illumination. Alcott departed an hour before; needing to get back to his hotel to handle some ‘important business’ before retiring for the night, but not before promising Millie he’d be back to see her in the latter part of the morning. With exhaustion and calm quickly settling in, Tyler tends to tucking Millie into -at her insistence- the confines of her brand new, four-poster bed. A simple piece of furniture that signifies the start of the second bedroom’s transformation; pink and grey camo bedding, the rest of the space a blank canvas for her -with some guidance and help- to turn into her own little sanctuary.

As Wick lingers on the bottom landing, Esme remains at the top of the steps; gathering the sides of the oversized hoodie she sports and wrapping them around her petite frame. “You gonna stick around for a bit? Couple of days at least? Millie would love to spend some time with you. Now that we’re away from all that craziness. And who knows when she’ll see you again.”

“I already said my goodbyes. Or should I say my ‘see you laters’. She knows it won’t be long. Until we see each other.”

“Still, a couple of days would have been nice. Just to sit back and relax. Chat.”

“As much as I wish I could just take it easy, I really need to get back. To New York City. I told Nik I’d help tie up all the loose ends. And I need to meet Charon. We have some…business…to tend to.”

“Business as in Winston.”

He smiles coyly. “The less you know, the better.”

“Do you think the High Table will do anything? That they’ll handle him anyway? For what he did to Tyler? To Millie?”

“They’d be hypocrites if they didn’t.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“He broke their most important rule. The biggest one. They’ll forgive some things. Some missteps. But THAT?”

“He deserves to pay for what he did. He could have killed both of them. Taken everything away from me. Everything I had just gotten back. That I spent five years missing and longing for. Winston tried to take that from me. HIM from me. And for what? Some weird, sick ass obsession?”

“He had it in his mind that you were his to have. And to lose. Winston isn’t used to losing.”

“I was never his. I was never going to be. And I certainly never let him think it was a possibility.”

“I think he felt as if he could guilt into it. Being with him. Hold everything he’s done for you over your head. Manipulate you. Until you not only gave in, but gave him what he wanted. EVERYTHING he wanted.”

“Never would have happened. I’d already lived through one asshole gaslighting me for years. I wasn’t falling for it again. And if he had managed to take Tyler and Millie from me, I would have killed myself before it happened. Before EVER being with him.”

“How about we concentrate on the fact he DIDN’T manage to do it. That Millie and Tyler are safe.”

“I think about it every day, believe me. But I also think about how he can’t get away with this. As if it isn’t bad enough that he was so ready, willing, and able to kill Tyler, he was more than okay with taking Millie out in the process. A little girl girl. MY little girl. My baby. And I’m sorry, but he can’t get away with it. He just can’t.”

“And he won’t. I promise you. Winston will be taken care of. You don’t need to know how or at whose hand, but he will be. You just need to trust me.”

“I do. I DO trust you. You know I do. I trust you with my life. With Millie’s life.”

“Your part in all of this is over now. This life? The job? It’s time, Esme. For you to let it go. To just walk away. Not many people in this world get that chance. So you need to take it when you can. Because if you keep even on toe in this pound, you are going to get sucked back in. And this life will swallow you whole. You know it will.”

“It’s hard to walk away when there’s still unfinished business. When it’s so personal.”

“That business will be taken care of. You need to let other people handle it now. What you need to do is go inside and start over again. Start a new life. The one you always wanted. You’ve been given a second chance with Tyler. To be with him. Have a life with him. Make a family together. Do you know how many people wish they could get that? Who's lost someone and will never get them back? Who would love to be in your shoes right now?”

“I know it’s hard for you. To see it. Everything just playing out right in front of you. You can’t get Helen back. And believe me, if there was a way I could change that, I would.”

“I know you would. But you can’t. You can’t do that for me. But what you CAN do? You can make a life for yourself. A REAL life. You can make that man your husband and you can make more babies together and your little girl can have both her mother AND her father. You never wanted all of this. To be in this world. You were never planning on sticking with it for the long haul. Dying some god awful, bloody death like the rest of us.”

“You’re right,” she admits, leaning against the bannister with her arms crossed over her chest. “I didn’t want that. I didn’t plan on doing this forever. And I tried to get out. I DID get out. And then that adjudicator showed up and turned my entire world upside down. Ruined EVERYTHING. I didn’t want to get sucked back in. I was done. I had met someone. I was going to get married. I bought a house. We were planning on always and forever. But it didn’t work out that way, did it.”

“No. It didn’t. You had to wait longer for it. But at least it’s happening. At least you’re getting it.”

Sighing, she reaches up to tuck wayward strands of hair behind her ears.

Climbing the stairs, Wick takes her by the shoulders and turns her towards him. “You can’t bring Helen back. I wish you could. But you know what you can do? For me? You can get the fuck out of this life. And STAY out of it.”

“I’m trying. But knowing that Winston is still out there after what he did…”

“Winston will be handled. Whether it’s by me or Nik or someone else. It’s not your fight anymore. It’s time to let someone else do the heavy carrying. You’ve done enough.”

“It’s my family. That he tried to hurt. It’s my little girl and the love of my life and…”

“And both of them need you. Not the you that’s connected to the job. The you that’s connected to them. You have to let that Esme go. It’s time. You need to be the Esme that they want you to be. That they NEED you to be. They don’t need ‘job Esme’. They need wife Esme. Mom Esme. And you can’t tell me you don’t need that, too.”

“Of course I need it. I WANT it. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“It’s done. Your old life. Whatever battles are left, it’s up to other people to finish. And it’s up to you to trust them to do it.”

“That’s a little easier said than done.”

“You’ve trusted me before. Many times. Trust me now.”

“I’ll try. And me saying that is no slight on you. It’s just that this is close to home. So personal. To just hand it over, you know?”

“I know it is. But you have to do it. If not for yourself, for Tyler and Millie.” (lightly squeezes her shoulders and pulls her closer to him, lips meeting and lingering on her brow) “You’re going to be alright, kiddo. You’re safe. And we’re all going to keep it that way.”

“You’ll let me know how things go? In New York?”

“Once things are taken care of, I’ll call you. Like I said, the less you know, the better.”

“And call me when you get there? So I know you arrived safe and sound?”

Wick grins “Yes, mom.”

“Well, I AM a mom. Which technically makes me your ‘mom friend’, so…”

“Speaking of being a mom, you should go and do just that. Tuck your little one in. Give her a hug and a kiss. And a squeeze. From me.”

Smiling, she reaches up to sweep long strands of hair off his forehead and away from his eyes.

“Take care of each other. LOVE each other. And be happy. If anyone deserves that, it’s you.”

Swallowing around a lump of emotion, she stands on her tiptoes and wraps her arms around his neck) “Thank you. For everything. Millie’s alive because of you. If you hadn’t helped that night…”

“I owed you one. Had you not helped me, this whole mess never would have happened. Starting with that adjudicator.”

“One had nothing to do with the other. The adjudicator, Alessio and his family. It’s not connected.”

“One led to the other. Had you not helped me that night…gone against the High Table…the adjudicator would have never had a reason to track you down.”

“How about we just call it even? Because I can tell this isn’t an argument I’m going to get the high ground on.”

“You can’t win them all, kiddo. But you’ve won plenty, that’s for sure.”

“You will be back, right? Some day?”

“Some day.”

“Because you know you’re welcome here. That our door is always open. So don’t be a stranger, alright?”

“Alright.” He gives her a final squeeze, then a kiss on the cheek. “You be good, Esme Drummond.”

“I will,” she promises, and then pulls away, using her fingertips to clear away the tears that manage to escape. Once more leaning against the bannister with her arms crossed over her chest, she watches him descend the steps and limp down the walk, heading for his car.“Hey!” She calls to him after he opens the door, causing him to pause before sliding behind the wheel. “I’ll see you soon, John Wick!”

He grins over the roof of the car. “Not unless I see you first.”

*****

She finds him in the master bedroom, standing at the side of the bed in nothing more than a pair of sweats that sit low on his hips. A duffle bag, one of Esme’s suitcases, and Millie’s wheeled Transformer case open in front of him; rummaging through them and throwing any dirty laundry into a pile near the closet. Clean clothing stacked on the bedside chair)

“Millie asleep?”

“Out like a light. Both Bea and Lucy are in there with her. All three are snoring.”

Sidling up beside him, she reaches into Millie’s suitcase. Closely inspecting a t-shirt to determine if it's clean or dirty. “She gets it from you, you know.”

“Her amazing good looks?”

“Her snoring.”

“So you’re saying she’s ugly? Which she also gets from me?”

“You damn well know that isn’t what I’m saying. She gets both her amazing good looks and her snoring from you. There. Are you happy?”

“I don’t snore.”

“Like hell you don’t.”

“I’m not taking criticism from someone who talks in their sleep. Who I can have full conversations with.”

“I haven’t done that in a long time.”

“You just did it last night.”

“What was I talking about?”

“I don’t know some guy. Tall, handsome, built like a brick house, had a huge dick. Apparently gave you the best orgasms you’ve ever had in your entire life.”

“Mmm.” She throws a sweater of Millie’s onto the dirty pile. “Must have been some random hook up in college.”

Tyler scowls.

“Baby, IF I was saying all that, it was obviously you I was talking about. Haven’t we had this conversation before? While I’ve been awake? About how you’re the first guy to achieve the previously impossible? It’s nice not having to rely on myself to get to the finish line.”

“You have dated some real losers, you know that?”

“Not that the list is lengthy by any stretch of the imagination, but yes, yes I have. And I married the biggest one of them all.”

“Maybe your second husband will be a step up.”

“I have a feeling he will be,” she chides and playfully smacks him in the stomach with a dirty sweater. “With some room left over for a little improvement.”

“A little? That’s an understatement.”

“I don’t know. I think he’s pretty perfect already. As is.”

Smiling, he leans down to drop a gentle kiss on the top of their head. “And you have the nerve to call me biassed.”

They work quietly and companionably side by side, and when Millie’s suitcase is finally empty, she moves it from the bed and sets it on the floor. Then takes a seat on the edge of the mattress; watching Tyler, as he continues to work.

“Wick get away alright?”

Esme nods. “Do you think he’s going to be okay? When he gets back to New York?”

“I don’t know. He’s gonna have a lot of big guns after him. Bigger and heavier than the ones that are going to be after me, that’s for sure. But, he’s been in that world a long time. Gone up against a lot of horrible people. And he’s still around to tell about it.”

“I’m worried. About him and Charon. When it comes to the whole dealing with Winston thing.”

“One thing they have on their side is that the High Table is after his ass, too. He broke their number one golden rule, yeah? Drew blood on Continental grounds. If they came after you for a lot less, I like to think they’d fuck him right up.”

“But he sits on the High Table. How willing are they going to be to punish one of their own?”

“You know more about them than I do. I was never caught up on that side of things. Not that I didn’t have a chance to be. It was offered to me. Working under them. More than once.”

“Not many people say ‘no’ to the High Table and get away with it. You’re one of the lucky ones.”

“Didn’t really save me, though. did it? They still found a way to ruin my fucking life.”

“Why didn’t you want to work under them? You could have taken jobs anywhere in the world. You didn’t have to focus on North America. You didn’t even need to step foot inside it at all. Why…?”

“Wasn’t my thing. All the rules, the politics, the bullshit. Less drama working for Nik. Only have one person telling me what to do and when to do it. Not a whole shit load.”

“You are kind of a lone wolf. You do prefer working alone.”

“I don’t know…” He over her, palms flat against the mattress for balance. “... I seem to remember a time I didn’t mind sharing the workload with a hot little brunette.”

“Just the one, huh? No others?”

“Just the one.” His lips briefly brush against hers. “The rest were blondes and redheads..”

Scowling, she places her hands on his chest and attempts to push him away.. “Oh fuck you, Tyler!”

Chuckling, he presses a kiss to her cheek and the side of her neck before returning to the task in front of him. She watches his hands as he works; strong enough to break bones and take a life, but capable of breathtaking tenderness. Long fingers and misshapen knuckles; various scars and imperfections that mar his skin. And his forearms; one of the features she’d immediately noticed when they first met. And she’s about to offer a cheeky comment when she notices the expression on his face; the darkened eyes and the furrowed brow.

“Part of you wishes you were there, doesn’t it.”

“Where?”

“New York City. Taking care of Winston yourself. Or at least helping.”

“I won’t lie, revenge is at the top of my list of wants.”

“Mine too. He can’t get away with it; trying to kill you, putting Millie in danger. It doesn’t seem fair that he could just walk away from it at all.”

“He won’t. There’s enough people out there making sure that won’t happen.”

“You’re not going to be one of them, are you? I’m not going to wake up in the morning and find out you took off in the middle of the night? Went back to the states to handle things yourself?”

“You’re not honestly asking me that are you? You can’t be serious.”

“I know how powerful revenge can be. And I know the lines that Winston crossed. Putting Millie in danger, the things he said about me in that basement, the…”

“I’m exactly where I need to be. Where I WANT to be. All that matters to me is keeping you and Millie safe. And if someone DOES decide to try something stupid and I’m not here…”

“You don’t think that’ll happen, do you? That Alessio will send someone? Or that Winston will track us down? You don’t…”

“I think you’re safe with me. You BOTH are.”

“I don’t doubt that. I know what you’re capable of. And I know you’d stop at nothing to protect us. But…”

“You and Millie are safe here. And I’m going to keep it that way. Do I know for sure they’ll send people? No. Would I put it past them? Also no. But I’m not worried. They can send all the people they want. They can send a goddamn army. I will destroy each and every one of them.”

She blinks at the brutal honesty and the anger in his voice; watching as he gathers up the empty suitcases and stashes them in the far corner of the room. Once more joining her, he drops heavily onto his back in the middle of the bed; a forearm over his eyes, his free hand reaching out to slip under both the hoodie and the tank she wears underneath. Calloused fingertips repeatedly skimming across the small of her back, travelling slowly from hip to hip.

Esme stretches out alongside him. On her side with a leg draped over one of his; her mouth placing a series of kisses along the line of his jaw and at the corner of his mouth before resting her head on his chest. Her eyes closed as her fingertips trace the various scars and tattoos that inhabit the right side of his torso. Unsure of how much time passes as they lay there; breathing in each other’s familiar scents, enjoying the warmth that radiates from one another’s bodies, relaxed by the sounds of their soft, rhythmic breathing.

He stirs against her; removing the forearm over his eyes and his palm moving to cup the back of her head. Thumb and fingers pushing through her hair to gently knead her skin, his lips meeting her brow.

“I thought we could just stay in the guest room. For now anyway.”

Esme frowns. “What’s wrong with in here?.”

“Delaney was in here. Right before I left for New York City.”

Reaching up, her hand briefly rests on the top of his head before her fingers push through the longer strands of hair.. “For what it’s worth, it doesn’t bother me.”

“Yeah, well it bothers me.”

Opening her eyes, she raises her head and places her chin on his chest, smiling up at him.

“In a couple of days we can head into town. Buy new stuff. Just start right from scratch. Make the room ours. No one else. Just you and me.”

“You know, oddly enough, I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Come on, give me some credit. I’ve had better moments than THAT.”

“I know it doesn’t seem like much to you, but for THAT to bother you? To not want to share what goes on in here with someone else? Just keep it between us? That’s pretty intense, babe. No one would expect that from a guy like you.”

“A guy like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know, the strong, silent type that’s capable of killing a man a thousand ways with his bare hands.”

“For your information, my hands can do a lot more than that.”

“Oh believe me…” She nuzzles the long-healed bullet wound on his neck with her nose, then runs the tip of her tongue along the lines of his tattoo. “...I know what those hands are capable of.”

“Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Maybe. Is it working?”

“You should know by now that you don’t have to put that much effort into it. If any.”

She giggles against his cheek, her hands shoving their way into his hair when he kisses her; the long, languid, and delicious movements of closed mouth upon closed mouth. A rough, calloused palm begins a slow exploration of her clothed body; travelling over dips and curves, lightly squeezing, softly cupping. And he both hears and feels her sigh into his mouth when he intensifies the moment; pulling away briefly to glide the tip of his tongue over her top lip before aggressively pushing its way way inside of her mouth. Eyes closing and a shiver passing through her when his mouth abandons hers in favour of finding her neck; gently suckling and nibbling at the skin as his free hand pulls open her hoodie and exposes his collarbone.

Her entire body arches off the bed when teeth, lips, and tongue slowly make their way from one shoulder to the other; violently shuddering when the scruff of his beard brushes against the skin just above the neckline of her tank top. Keeping one hand buried in his hair, the other explores the bulging and rippling muscles in his neck and shoulders; tracing scars and tattoos by memories until he moves further down the bed and she loses all contact. Body tension in anticipation when a lone finger slides up the hem of her shirt; the calloused tip gliding across her stomach and drawing a perfect circle around her navel. Toes curling and goosebumps invading her flesh when he aggressively pushes the fabric of her shirt up to the hollow of her throat; his mouth placing a trail of warm, moist kisses from the top of her belly button to the valley between her breasts. And he groans in annoyance and disappointment when she suddenly yanks at his hair, forcing him to look up at her.

“I need to tell you something.”

“Right now? Can’t it wait? I’m kinda in the middle of something here.”

“Right now,” she confirms, and he gives a sigh and rolls onto his side, hand pulling down her tank top, then settling on her stomach.

“We gotta do this fully clothed. Or I won’t hear a damn word you’re saying.”

“You’re half naked,” she points out. “How’s that fair?”

“I’m not as distracting as you are.” Pressing a chaste kiss to her lips, he uses a fingertip to clear strands of hair away from the sides of her face. “You okay? Is this something I need to worry about?”

“No. I mean, yes. I mean…” She chews on her bottom lip. “No. You don’t need to worry. And yes, I’m alright.”

“What do you want to tell me?”

Rolling onto her stomach, Esme places her chin on his chest. “You have to promise you won’t laugh at me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because it’s kind of weird. Silly. Well, at least to me, it is.”

“I would never laugh at you. Or make fun of you. Unless it was about your height.”

Giving a small chuckle, she uses the pad of her thumb to trace the scars on his left shoulder. One a military injury he’d suffered years before he’d met her, the other left from the surgery he’d endured after the nightmare in Dhaka. “It IS kind of embarrassing.”

“How short you are?”

“No.” She playfully tugs at the hair on the underside of his chin. “What I’m going to tell you.”

“I thought we got over that a long time ago; being worried about telling each other things. I’m the last person you should feel embarrassed around. I mean, you’ve seen me with a tube up my dick so I could take a piss. You used to help me to the bathroom when I was in the hospital. It doesn’t get much more embarrassing than that.”

“You might change your mind after you hear this.”

“It can’t be that bad.” Combing his fingers through her hair, his hand briefly settles on the nape of her neck, gently squeezing before sliding under the hem of her shirt and resting in the space between her shoulders. Fingertips tracing slow, repetitive circles over bare, smooth skin. Just tell me.”

Sighing, she scrapes a nail along his beard. “I’m nervous.”

“About what?”

“That’s just it. I don’t know. And it makes no sense. I have no reason to be. But I feel shy and awkward; like we’re some couple just fresh into a relationship. We spent a year together. We shared a life. A bed. We were planning to get married. We wanted to have babies. We bought a house.”

“Five years was a long time. To spend apart.”

“But it came so easily to us. When we were back together. We still had that vibe, you know? We still fit together. Like we were never even apart. At least that’s how it felt to me. There was no hesitation. Not anxiety. We just went back to the way we were. Or close to it, anyway. That’s how it was for me. It wasn’t for you?”

“It was. Which is kind of scary in its own way. It should have been awkward. Considering how things ended.”

“But it wasn’t. And DID things end? For either of us? I may have walked away and a lot of time may have passed, but was it ever REALLY over?”

“No,” he admits. “It wasn’t.”

“Look how easy it came back to us. In New York City. Yeah, there was a lot of hurt and anger and I dropped a whole load of shit into your lap, but..”

“There was nothing shit about it. You showing back, finding out about Millie…”

“...things were still there. Between us. We still loved each other. And it was like we went back to how we were. We were always comfortable with each other; we always talked about anything and everything and nothing ever felt complicated or strange. Not even those first days in Dhaka. Am I making any sense at all?”

Tyler nods.

“So why am I nervous now? Why do I feel like this awkward little schoolgirl who’s getting ready for her first hook-up? It’s silly, right? For me to feel this way?”

“I don’t know. I feel a little nervous, too.”

“Really?”

“It was different in New York City. A lot was going on; between us and with the job and Winston and his bullshit. We didn’t really have time to sit down and think about things. We barely had time to catch our breath, some days.”

“I don’t want you to think it’s a bad thing. How I’m feeling. Because it’s not. There could never be anything bad with us. It’s just overwhelming. Being here…in this place…with you.”

“Do you want to maybe get something else?” Looping hair behind her ears, he skims his knuckles over her cheek. The cuts and bruises nearly fully healed. “Put this place up for sale and…?”

“No. That’s the last thing I want. It’s not about you or this place. Not in a negative way, anyway. It’s just so surreal. That we’re actually here. I spent five years wanting this; missing you and wishing things could be different. And now they are. Somehow we found our way back here. To each other.”

“You’re not the only one that spent five years wanting that.”

“You feel it too, don’t you? How overwhelming it is? In this chaotic, beautiful way? I KNOW you feel it. Because I KNOW you. I know your heart, Tyler. I know how deeply you feel things. How POWERFULLY you feel them. So I know I’m not alone in this.”

“It is a little…” He chooses his words wisely. “...scary.”

“I don’t want to screw this up. I did that once. I don’t want it to happen again.”

“It won’t.” Fingertips glide up her back and over the nape of her neck, hand cupping the back of her head and pulling her towards him; lips meeting hers in a long, soft kiss. His eyes riveted on hers as he brushes the knuckles off his free hand over the swell of her cheek; following the line of her jaw before cupping her chin in his palm, his thumb grazing over her lips.

“I can’t lose you. Not when I just got you back. I can’t lose THIS. We’re finally getting what we wanted. What we planned. We get to raise Millie together. Make an amazing life. Have more babies. Grow old and gray together. And if something takes you out of the equation…”

“I’m not going anywhere. Nothing’s going to happen to me. This is it. Once the mess in New York has been cleaned up and things are finished for good, we don’t have to worry about that life ever again.”

“Promise? Promise me you won’t go back to that.”

“I won’t go back,” he vows and pulls her into another kiss. Longer and deeper, tinged with urgency and desperation. Hunger.

Instead of pursuing it, he wraps her in his arms and rolls onto his back. Lips meeting her forehead before she tucks her face into that safe, warm place between his neck and shoulder.

“You’re home now, Esme.” His hand once more slips up the back of her sweater and tank top, fingertips ghosting along the length of her spine. “Where you belong. Where you’ve ALWAYS belonged.”

#Tyler and Esme series #Tyler Rake #Tyler Rake fanfic #Tyler Rake fan fiction #Extraction #Extraction 2 #Extraction fanfic #Extraction fan fiction #Chris Hemsworth #Tyler Rake x OFC #Esme Drummond #Esme Rake

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kickthecan-revolution · 5 months

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I picked my sister up from the airport as I was processing the reality that I’ll now need to work through my vacation. Am I bummed? A little bit but I’ve hardly been working since Peach has been here and it’s an incredibly cool once in a lifetime project, so it’s fine. it will be good.

We ordered salads for dinner - she immediately went to meet Peach in his room, and he was so scared and shy. That broke my heart a little but she quickly recalibrated her expectations, and within a couple of hours he was still hiding, but accepting pets. She and I have such similar energy and voice, even Minnie (pictured w my sister) was wanting some pets which never happens. It was so good to have my sister here, validating the drama that is Minnie. She could not stop laughing.

We went to Stevie Nicks and was great though I did realize that I’m a Fleetwood Mac fan first, Stevie second. She told a lot of stories, and referred to herself in the third person to which I’m always like, OK, simmer down, rockstar.

I slept with my big boy last night, and woke up to nibbles on my arm. The sister and I took a long walk to the market and then sat in the sun and talked. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the airport, so I went to his room and said my goodbyes to Peach, thanking him for this experience. I cried and she just hugged me. I love that they’re still going to call him Peach.

We gave him a bit of gabapentin and I just dropped them off at the airport. She was really nervous about security so we got there a little early and thankfully we did because there was a pretty big line. Mostly she was just concerned about him not being stressed. A family who travels with two cats were right in front of her and the mom said, oh my gosh I definitely have experienced this. Please go in front of us and I’ll tell you exactly what to do. Security made her take Peach outside of the carrier and he was such a good boy. He just sat there quietly in her arms

When I first gave Peach to the foster couple, I was mainly relieved but I did have a note of concern in my heart. Now, he’s going to a place where everyone is so excited for him to get there and my sister is already completely in love with him. He’ll get to cuddle my niece all day long, it feels like he’s going home.

And now I want to take a big giant nap, eat some Mitchell’s ice cream, and then figure out what I talk about and think about now. Lol.

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munsonlovers · 2 years

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it's not your fault - joseph quinn

being with a celebrity is a hard decision but it was the right one when you met joseph. you weren't as big on screen as joseph was because of his role in stranger things.

you worked with big time actors like josephine langford on after and alisha boe on 13 reasons why but you never really had a big family thing with them like joe does. his cast is an amazing group of people so when his character eddie was a big hit, his fame went sky high. his other movies and tv shows were popular because he was in them and everyone wanted to see his other characters.

when joe invited you to a party with the gang, you were very hesitant at first because you didn't want to feel like you were interrupting anything but joe being the sweetheart he is, he convinced you to go by saying "sweetheart, they are going to love you i promise." he kept that promise because 2 years later you were very close with sadie, millie, natalia and maya. they were your best friends. when you all got together, you'd go for coffee dates with them or you'd go to big events with them.

when joseph told you he was going to london's comic con, you immediately told the girls and they were proud of him and were glad he was getting the attention that he deserved after his performance in season 4.

the opportunity was a big one for joe and you were so supportive of him. you went with him to the airport, you were upset he was leaving but you were happy you were able to see him become happy with his job.

"i'll be back in a few days my love, i'll see you very soon! don't think i won't call you every second i get." he said placing his forehead against yours.

"i'll see you soon baby, i love you! be safe please!" you said giving him one final kiss before he headed towards security.

he waved at you and smiled. he blew you kisses while he walked away. he nearly fell because he wasn't paying attention which made you both laugh at his silliness.

the days he was gone went by slow. you missed him so much so when you went on instagram, you saw this video of him from comic con and he looked upset. you watched it and heard everything the girl said and you got upset. joe was treated horribly and that girl definitely made his day, you could see all the love and appreciation he had in his face.

you couldn't believe he was treated so horribly. you wanted to text him but you knew he'd want to talk about it when he got home. when he did get home, he looked upset and angry at the same time. you hadn't noticed the door open, you were too busy cleaning up the loft.

you turned around when you heard him putting his stuff down, you knew he was still thinking about what happened.

"sweetheart, come here." you said with open arms.

he accepted it right away. he held you so tight. he started to get upset and all you did was give him a kiss on the forehead and rubbed his back.

"my sweet boy, you shouldn't have been treated like that at all. i'm so sorry. it's not your fault that you were treated like that. i'm glad your fans had your back against the staff." you said hugging him tighter.

he hugged you and picked you up. he swung you in the air and let you down with his forehead pressed against yours.

"i felt so loved by my supporters/fans like they were my family. i never thought my character would be so loved and i realized that no matter what they will always have my back." he said smiling.

"they will always have your back my love, you are such a sweet and genuine actor. i've seen so many posts about you these past few days. they absolutely loved meeting you! you made their day by just saying hi or smiling at them." you said smiling at him and wiping away his tears.

he loved you so much and everyone knew it. he showed you all the time. even if it was just a simple gesture like a kiss on the forehead or even just one rose he found at the market, he thought it was the most perfect rose for his perfect girl.

"i love you so much darling, you are too perfect." he said kissing you.

you kissed him back and showed him how perfect he is. he appreciated you so much for having his back and he knew he could get through any little bump in his life when you were near.

his phone started blowing up with all the love and appreciation the fans were sending him on instagram and he saw the video of him tearing up on stage. he was so grateful for everyone of his fans and supporters. he looked at you with his beautiful brown eyes and hugged you so tight.

"it's not my fault, it's never my fault. they love me regardless." he whispered.

"that's right baby, you're so right!" you whispered back to him.

he was so thankful for you. you showed him how he was supposed to be treated and even if things went wrong, he knew you'd be there to defend his honor and you'd be next to the people who love him for him and not because he's famous.

his fans were his everything and so were you...

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #stranger things cast #stranger things netflix #stranger things #st4 #st4 eddie #joseph quinn x reader #joseph quinn

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123pixieaod · 8 months

Note

girl!daniel question! Even if she throws everything out does she maybe keep the earrings max complimented? Maybe wears them when her and max go out on a date or something??

Girl Daniel is always happy to answers questions😎🫡

So Daniel 10000% keeps the earrings because when she was doing her big Clean Out they were still scattered in her handbag from when she ripped them off and shoved them in while in tears, and when she finally finds them she's more calm and just places them carefully on her bedside table trying not to think about everything they make her feel.

After her and Max get together, she goes back to wearing them, but teases Max about them and calls them her "definitely not pretty earrings" and each time he huffs and his cheeks darken and he tries to explain that what he meant -

And Daniel will just shake her head and remind him that he very clearly called them pretty but then later took it back and expressively told her that he did not mean it and and and -

And every time she wears them, she gently ribs him about them with a teasing smile until Max begins to call them her Definitely Not Pretty Earrings too.

Being with Max is freeing because he genuinely doesn't really care about how dressed up/baggy her clothes or appearances are, and so in this safety of security Daniel begins to experiment with her feminimity and gender expression, and as long as she stays happy then Max is happy and as long as Max is happy she is happy, but no matter how many crystal bracelets or overlapping necklaces or hippie dresses she invests in, the silver, dangling Definitely Not Pretty earrings remain a staple.

Fast forward. Daniel's having visa issues and airport security is always a pain and hassle and Max is just like 🤷let's just get married🤷 and Daniel is like🤷‍♀️okay why not🤷‍♀️ (while ofc both internally are freaking out because they get to marry each one!!!)

Both agree to do it in secret because neither are really ready to be Married™️ (not Daniel with her complex issues with traditional gender roles and the fact she promised she'd never get married and become "just" a housewife (((✨️the internalised misogyny is back!✨️))) and not Max with his unresolved childhood trauma with marriage and family). So they do it just because it's Rational and Makes Sense, and so Daniel is just beyond surprised when Max presents her with ring. And she is embarrassed because she didn't even think of getting him a ring or anything, but he shrugs and says it does not matter to him.

And the ring is silver and sort of... weird. Like it looks like silver strands of scales woven together, and some parts are thin and some are thick, and Daniel just adores it because it's weird and unusual, and Max chose it for her. She figures he just bought it at some flee market and likes imaging all the lives it lived before reaching hers. And she wears it on her ring finger but on her right hand after they technically get married secretly.

Nothing else changes, but her mother bluntly tells her that her new ring is ugly and her sister says it's looks unfinished or something, and Daniel just laughs, uncaring and happy. And finally, it's her dad, a few years later when she's spending a few weeks at home in Australia. Her dad gives her a look and asks if the ring came with her earrings, and it's only then, finally, that she realises that, of course. They're matching. They're the same. And Max must've had the ring designed specially to match her Definitely Not Pretty earrings.

When she finally gets back to Monaco, she blurts out the question if he did, and he laughs and gives her a funny look and says had she really not noticed, it's been years. That ofc the ring matches her earrings, he had it made specially for her.

Daniel just goes quiet and then tells Max she didn't know, and he laughs and asks what difference does it make? And Daniel kisses him, and then the next time she is at a race, the ring is still on her ring finger, but this time in her left hand, and Max has a matching one too :)))

#a thousand thanks to Isabel for the ask!#when i tell you this au lives in my mind #subtly hinting at a hippie girl Daniel in the works #and Max keeps finding crystals on the wimdowsill and dried flowers over doorways and sometimes will think about how kelly would never #be seen with any of this in the prestine perfect apartment they used to share #and how different his life is now #on that note i welcome any and all asks on this au!#it literally is living rent free in my mind lol #my fic #girl daniel

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formulauno98 · 2 years

Text

Once Upon a Time in Miami | Chapter One

You're the new Director of Communications at Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team and it's your first weekend on the job, in Miami.

Word Count: 9.7k

Warnings: None

Author’s Notes: Sorry it's long but I hope you like it! Disclaimer, purely fiction, no-one is married in this alt-universe.

Thursday PM

“C’mon Y/N, you can do this…” you repeat to yourself, taking a deep breath and mentally preparing yourself as you take a step off of the plane.

The warm, cloying air hit you immediately, Miami was exactly as hot as you had remembered, even at 7 o’clock in the evening. When you’d been offered the role of Director of Communications of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 team you had expected to travel but spending your first day on the job in Miami had come somewhat as a surprise. HR had given you the choice, fly out to Miami a few days before the inaugural Miami Grand Prix or hold off and start on the following Monday. You always liked a challenge so thought that the former route would be a good baptism by fire. They had promptly sent you a work laptop and phone so you had been able to get up to speed with every project that was currently underway.

You moved through the airport quickly, arriving at baggage claim in record time. You couldn’t help but smile at the huge Formula 1 billboards scattered around the airport. You were joining one hell of a money-making operation and a large part of your new role would be securing the funds to keep the team at the leading edge. Brokering deals between sponsors and the team was a key part of the business and it would be your job to ensure everyone was happy.

Exiting baggage claim you spotted a smartly dressed man holding a board up with “Y/N” written across it.

“Hi, I’m Y/N,” you say as you approach him.

“Good evening ma'am, nice to meet you. My name is Carlos and I will be your driver throughout your stay here in Miami. Please allow me to take those.” He gestures towards your two rather large Rimowa suitcases.

“Lovely to meet you, Carlos. That’s so kind of you, thank you very much.” you blush as it does seem like a lot of luggage for a four-day trip. HR had warned you of the possibility that you may need to travel straight to Barcelona after Miami and to pack enough to last a few weeks so you’d taken your trusty suitcases and packed them to the brim.

You followed Carlos as he cut through the throng of people, leading you to the parking garage to a rather glossy Mercedes S-Class. He opened the door for you and made quick work of putting the suitcases in the trunk as you ducked into the back seat.

“I know this shouldn’t come as a surprise but what an incredible car!” you exclaim, sinking back into the luxurious cream leather seats.

“Only the best for the best team.” Carlos winked as he backed out of the parking space.

You chatted away to Carlos as he sped along the twisting overpasses that exited the airport. He was a Miami native and full of travel tips and places to visit during your short stay. As you gazed out the window you took it all in. Miami was a strange place, a clash of cultures with glossy high-rise condos on one side and down-to-earth bodegas set behind. You’d visited a few times before and knew which side you preferred. You hoped to be able to escape the built-up areas for a little post-race fun.

As you pulled up to your hotel it sunk in. You had one night to compose yourself and then would meet the team tomorrow morning, ahead of qualifying. Having worked for Porsche for quite some years, working your way up from a Marketing Assistant to Comms Director you were more than familiar with motorsport but Formula 1 was a different kettle of fish. Fortunately, you had a fair amount of knowledge to draw upon as your father was an avid follower of the sport and you’d grown up watching stars such as Alonso and Raikonnen battle it out on track. It was surreal to think that Alonso was still racing to this day.

Check-in was breezy and you found your room easily with the help of a very friendly bellhop. Your hotel room was simple but luxurious with a large cloud-like bed, marble tub, and floor-to-ceiling windows with a breathtaking view out across the harbour. There was no point in unpacking your suitcases but you took out a few of the outfits you had planned for the next few days.

In a bid to beat jet lag you decided to make it an early night, running yourself a bubble bath and cosying up in bed in a fluffy white towelling robe.

Friday AM

You woke up bright and early at 5:00 having slipped off to sleep quickly and forgetting to close the curtains. It was still semi-dark outside but car headlights were flashing from the boulevard below. You didn’t need to be at the track until 9:00 for a welcome breakfast so had plenty of time to get ready.

You were never the kind of person to feel nervous about getting dressed for work but today felt different. All team members were expected to wear a branded uniform on track and you were no exception, however, you were yet to receive it so would have to improvise for today. Luckily you’d brought options and tried on three different looks before settling on a simple pair of navy trousers and a navy shirt. Accessorising with a tan leather belt and sling-backs, you felt confidently chic, if a little old before your time. You’d blow-dried your hair and done full glam, hoping to make a good first impression.

You grabbed your handbag and made one final fit check in the mirror before making your way down to the hotel lobby.

As promised, Carlos was waiting outside to take you to the track. It was an easy fifteen-minute drive from here and you got there in no time at all. You’d seen hundreds of GPs in your time, however, you weren’t quite prepared for the hustle and bustle that met you at the paddock entrance. Everywhere you looked things were being wheeled in, from tyres to huge crates, journalists waiting lined up with cameras, snapping away to capture a glimpse into paddock life.

You made your way to the security gates as you needed to have your photo taken for your pass.

“So you’re joining Mercedes huh?” said the security guard, his tone seeming unimpressed as he snapped your photo.

“Yes, I’m super excited to be joining at such an interesting time.” You said tactfully.

The man laughed, “You could put it that way, those guys haven’t won all season.”

“Well I’m sure things will turn around in no time, I’ve heard they have some star engineers back in the factory. We’ll figure it out.” You winked.

He shrugged, not convinced by your optimism “Let’s see. Here’s your shiny new pass ma'am. Director of Communications, fancy.”

As he handed you the glossy purple pass you inspected your photo.

“That’s actually not so bad, I’ll have to come back to you when I need to renew my passport,” you laughed, putting the pass around your neck.

“Well, it’s not hard to take a great picture of someone so beautiful. Good luck on your first day.” he chuckled as you made your way through the gates.

“I try my best” you blushed, silly as it felt, your confidence was buoyed by the compliment.

Walking through the entrance you started scouring the horizon for the Mercedes logo. HR had asked to meet you in the hospitality building for a welcome coffee. Finally, you spotted it, right at the far end.

As you made your way through the paddock you recognised a few familiar faces, the drivers surrounded by a sea of cameras and eager fans angling for a selfie. It was only 8:45 but music was already pumping, Bad Bunny making sure you remembered where you were in the world.

You finally reached the hospitality area, a glossy room that you couldn’t believe was temporary. Although you were early, you spotted a small delegation at one of the tables with stacks of paperwork. Hedging your bets that this was HR, you approached them. “Hi, I’m Y/N, the new Director of Communications. I'm supposed to meet with HR at 9:00 and wondered if you might be them.”

An older blonde woman stood up to greet you, “Oh great, lovely to meet you Y/N, you are absolutely talking to the right people. I’m Pamela, I believe you spoke to my colleague Holly on the phone?” she gestured at a younger blonde woman sitting at the table.

“Oh yes, lovely to meet you both.” you shook their hands.

“Please take a seat and let’s get everything we need signed right away. I already have your contract but I’ll need you to sign this NDA and waiver.”

“Sure, thank you for organising everything,” you sat down and began to read through the paperwork in front of you. It was all pretty standard for this industry, the NDA (non-disclosure agreement) forbade you from sharing company information and the waiver asked that you agree to work hours outside of your contracted forty.

“If anything is unclear, please let us know.” Pamela said.

“Thank you, it should be all straightforward.” you continued reading.

Satisfied with the paperwork, you grabbed the pen and signed on the dotted line.

“Perfect, thank you Y/N. Welcome to the team,” said Pamela, filing the contracts away in a glossy branded folder. « Now the only thing left is to get you your team uniform. Holly will be able to help you with this if you follow her. »

Holly stood up, “Would you like to grab a coffee or a drink before we go? Once we go upstairs it might get rather full-on.”

“Sure, that sounds good.” You stood up and followed Holly to a rather snazzy barista setup.

“Hi, what can I get you?” the girl at the counter asked.

“Just an espresso for me please” You always liked your coffee strong, it was the only thing that bolstered your spirits on long working days.

“No problem, one coming up.” The girl turned to the machine and started busily making your drink.

You made the classic first-day small talk with Holly, discussing if she’d ever been to Miami before (she hadn’t) and how hot it was (extremely).

The barista handed you a small cup with your espresso. You smiled as you noticed that even this was branded. This industry never missed a trick with branding opportunities.

“Great, so if you’ll please follow me Y/N, let’s get you your uniform.” Holly gestured towards a staircase you hadn’t noticed on your way in.

Leading you up some rather neat wooden steps, you follow Holly through another communal meeting room to an office. Inside, there was a white table with clothes and shoe boxes laid out.

“Right, so our uniform consists of a white shirt, black trousers, trainers and a black parka.” Holly gestured at the table, “We received your sizes and have brought those, along with one size smaller and one size larger to ensure a perfect fit. I will leave you for a moment to try them in privacy and if you need a mirror there’s one on the back of this door.” She gestured towards a door on the adjoining wall. “When you’re done, please come and grab me from next door.”

As Holly left the room, closing the door you came through behind her, you looked through the clothes laid out. You figured it would be most sensible to start with the sizes you requested, feeling a bit awkward as you undressed in the middle of the office. As you slipped on the black pants, you were pleasantly surprised to find they were a perfect fit, hugging your butt in all the right places. The shirt was a little tight so you reached for the larger size.

Just as you turned around to face the mirror and button your shirt, the door burst open, revealing a very surprised, tall brunette man. You immediately recognised him as Toto Wolff, the Team Principal, aka your new boss.

“I’m so sorry, I was looking for my assistant.” he stammered, blatantly taking an eyeful of your rather see-through lace balconette bra, as you hurriedly pulled your shirt together, then awkwardly looking away towards the window behind you.

“No worries, you’d see more on the beach,” internally you were mortified but outwardly tried to downplay it. “Holly from HR said I could try these in here, I hope that’s okay? I’m new, it's my first day today.” You tried to salvage the awkward situation having successfully covered your almost naked breasts.

“I suppose that’s true, but you don’t often go to the beach with your colleagues in our line of work.” He laughed, breaking the tension and stepping into the room.

“Does that mean we’re not hitting South Beach at our team briefing later?” you smiled, a glint in your eye.

“If only.” His embarrassed expression dissipated into a warm smile, his eyes crinkling “It’s absolutely fine to be in here though, I’m so sorry again. So if today is your first day, you must be Y/N?”

Surprised he knew about new starters, you replied “Yes, I’m the new Director of Communications.”

“Lovely to meet you Y/N, we’re looking forward to having you join us. I’m Toto by the way, the Team Principal and CEO. I’m sure we will be working very closely together.” he reached out a hand to shake yours, again rather awkwardly, “ I think my assistant has put some time in for us later today before the team briefing, maybe we can do a real introduction then?”

Shaking his hand, you laughed “Nice to meet you too Mr Wolff, that sounds good to me.”

“Please, call me Toto and I’m sorry again for walking in,” he apologised again, a blush creeping across his face.

“Honestly, don’t worry Toto, these things happen and you weren’t to know I was in here.” you reassured him.

“Well, I will leave you to try on your uniform. See you later Y/N,” he said, ducking awkwardly back out of the door.

Smiling, you bid him farewell, “Nice to meet you and see you later!”

“Likewise, welcome to Mercedes Y/N.” he grinned, closing the door behind him.

You continued to try the rest of your uniform until settling on the perfect fit, thankfully this time uninterrupted. Of all people, you couldn’t believe it had been the team principal to walk in on you half-naked, the man you had been most nervous to meet. Although you were beyond mortified and regretting your choice of transparent underwear, it had at the least broken your nerves. Nothing could now be worse or more embarrassing and he had been very apologetic.

Ten minutes later you emerged from the room with your chosen pieces in your arms, making your way to the room next door where Holly was waiting. “Hi Holly, I’ve tried everything on and settled on these,” you said, gesturing at the clothes in your arms.

“Great, can I just grab those and note the sizes so that I can get five sets ordered?” She extended her hand towards you, taking the clothes and shoes and noting the sizes down.

“Five? Wow, that’s a lot more than I was expecting!” your eyebrows raised.

“Trust me, in places like Miami and Singapore you’ll thank me.” Holly laughed and handed you back the pieces you had chosen.

“That’s true I suppose, should I put these on for now?” you asked, trying your best to fold the shirt whilst holding onto the trousers and trainers.

“It’s totally up to you, however, you feel comfortable. You can leave your clothes in the office where you changed if you’d like. We don’t have any other new starters today so no one will go in there. Once you’re done, perhaps could you please make your way back downstairs?”

“Except for Toto.” you thought to yourself. Choosing to stay quiet on that particular encounter you replied “Great, thank you, I’ll just go and change and then meet you back downstairs.”

You made your way back to the room to change, this time choosing to face away from the doors just in case. Folding your carefully chosen first-day outfit you regretted the amount of time you had spent this morning choosing an outfit no one had seen. Stepping back and inspecting your new uniform in the mirror you were pleased, it was a good fit. Fitted without being too tight but fitted enough to showcase your gym-honed body, all in all, a good uniform that you wouldn’t hate wearing every day.

Satisfied with your new look, you made your way back downstairs to the hospitality area where Pamela and Holly were both waiting for you with a now full table.

“Doesn’t she look great!” Exclaimed Pamela.

“I know!” Said Holly, their colleagues nodding in agreement. “Welcome to the team!”

“Thank you, very excited to be here.” You blushed, not used to the compliments.

You spent the next hour in hospitality meeting an endless stream of new faces, trying to mentally keep track of everyone’s names and positions within the company. It seemed as if everyone and their mother was coming in for a cup of coffee to start the day. Engineers, mechanics, logistics, they were all there. Finally, it was time to meet your direct team, the Communications department, a group of eighteen people who you would be overseeing. You were met with a sea of friendly and enthusiastic faces, as well as some surprise at how young you were to be stepping into such a prestigious role. When you had been offered the role, you were aware that your predecessor was retiring and knew that the team wanted someone younger with a fresher perspective.

Introductions were short and sweet as Holly was adamant she needed to whisk you away for your meeting with Toto Wolff. Of course, she was not aware that you had already met him earlier this morning and you hoped that it wouldn’t be too awkward.

She led you back upstairs, into the room where you had gotten changed, knocking on one of the doors Toto had burst through earlier, “Toto, I have someone for you.”

“Yes, come in” called out a voice from inside the room.

“Hi Toto, this is Y/N, our new Director of Communications. Y/N, this is Toto, our Team Principal, and CEO. I will leave you two to get acquainted.”

“Hi Toto, nice to see you again.” You said with a smile, causing Holly’s eyebrows to raise in surprise as she exited.

“Hello Y/N, likewise. I still must apologise for this morning, I am very sorry if I caused you any distress. It’s not the way I normally like to meet my new members of staff. Please have a seat.” He gestured towards the seat facing him.

“Honestly, no worries at all. We’re all grown-ups and you didn't know that I was in there.” You sat down across from him, “I must admit I was a little nervous for my first day but it has definitely broken that. I’ve spent the morning meeting the team and they’ve all been lovely so far.”

“I’m glad to hear it, I pride myself on the fact that our team is one of the friendliest in the paddock. We work hard but ultimately we like to feel like one big family.” He smiled. “So, tell me about yourself Y/N? I know that you have come to us from Audi, so not so different. And before we get into it, can I offer you a drink?”

“Water would be great please,” you continued to tell him about your previous role as he poured you a large glass of iced water from a branded carafe. As you spoke you couldn’t help but be a little unnerved by him. He was an extremely tall, imposing man, even sat down behind a desk and you could sense that he was someone you would not want to get on the wrong side of.

“So what made you want to join our team?” He leant forward, not breaking eye contact and giving you the impression he was trying to psycho-analyse you.

“Well, I fancied a change of pace and I’ve always enjoyed the travel aspect of my career and this opened up that opportunity. My father was an avid Formula One fan and I have followed the sport since I was a child so it felt right.”

He leant back, folding his arms, still gazing into your eyes. “Interesting. Well, we certainly travel around a lot Y/N. You’ll have to bring your father to one of the races once you are settled in.”

You laughed “That was the first thing he asked when I landed this role, when can I come?”

Toto smiled, you couldn’t help noticing that he really was rather handsome. His white Mercedes shirt was cut to perfection to showcase his muscular arms and broad chest. “Everybody’s family says that, including my own. You would think they would be fed up with it by now but no.”

“I suppose it’s the nature of the job.” You smiled, echoing his body language and leaning back into your chair, “So Holly mentioned that we have a team briefing this afternoon. Obviously I do not have anything to add at this stage but I would like to introduce myself, would that be the appropriate time?”

“100%. I will introduce you and then we can take it from there. I am aware that you have, how do you say? Jumped out of the frying pan into the fire? It’s not an easy way to start but I hope you will start to get the measure of how we work and the expectations from our sponsors.”

“Great, that sounds good.” you replied, satisfied that at least there was some kind of plan. You continued discussing the ins and outs of your role for the next twenty minutes, Toto assuring you that although this weekend was going to be a sharp learning curve, he understood that you were new to the company so was willing to give you a grace period.

As you wrapped up you started to make a move from your chair, “ Thank you so much for your time Toto, I really appreciate the warm welcome. I will leave you alone now as I know you must be a very busy man.”

“Not at all, it’s been my pleasure. We will be working very closely together and I hope that you know my door is always open at any time.” He got up to show you out, his imposing stature even more evident.

“Thank you, Toto, I’m looking forward to it.” You made your way out, pleased that your meeting had not been too awkward following the morning’s encounter.

As you exited his office, Toto called out to you, “The uniform looks great by the way!”

And there it was, the awkwardness was back. You turned around, trying to hide your blush “You would say that, we’re twinning!” You inwardly cringed at your response but it seemed to win over Toto who was laughing as he closed his office door. Hot-footing it back downstairs you weren’t sure what to make of your new boss. He had an air of authority but equally seemed receptive to having a laugh. He was also incredibly handsome, more handsome than someone in motorsport had business being.

As you made your way down the stairs, you were met with a small camera crew. Not sure whether you should be in the shot, you tried to skirt around the edges when you were suddenly whisked to the side by a harassed-looking Pamela.

“Y/N, I am so sorry but I realised we forgot to ask you to sign one more document, the waiver for you to feature in the Netflix documentary, Drive to Survive. It is unlikely they will want to heavily feature you but it is standard practice for all of our employees as they can then have free reign to film all areas and not worry about having to avoid certain faces.”

“Sure,” you had forgotten about Drive to Survive, one aspect you were less keen on. You had no ambition to be in the public eye and the documentary had transformed certain team members into TV stars. Even Toto had not been so much of a household name prior to the show. Hoping to give a good impression, you signed without protest, praying that you would not be featured. You knew that as Director of Communications you would undoubtedly be involved as it was a huge part of the team image, but hopefully you could keep behind the scenes and manage things from afar.

You spent the rest of the morning being briefed by various teams on how they worked with the Communications team. Time flew by and it was lunchtime before you knew it. You had a lowkey lunch in the hospitality area with a few members of the Communications department who would be working under you. They were noticeably nervous about eating lunch with their new boss so you tried to put them at ease by asking them about Miami. It emerged that everybody was excited and hoping to get to the beach on Sunday evening if the race went well for the team. You crossed your fingers that Sunday was going to be a success.

Friday PM

As the afternoon rolled on, the team got into practice and everyone was very much focused on the task at hand. You shadowed your team, learning where you would be needed on qualifying and race day. It was almost an overwhelming amount of information to process but once you got used to the structure of the team, it felt familiar.

The atmosphere in the post-practice team briefing was lively and boisterous after Lewis and George had performed above expectations with everyone excitedly chatting about the positive results. You heard a door open and a hushed tone took over the room. You turned your head and saw exactly why. Toto has entered. You could see from the way the noise dampened as he entered that the team had a huge amount of respect for Toto.

He made his way to the front of the room and clapped his hands together, “Well, firstly I would like to say thank you and well done to everybody. These results are the best we have had all season and I know how much hard work, blood, sweat and tears have been put into making the car more drivable.” A small burst of applause broke out and he paused, “But I think we should all be aware that we should not be complacent, good performance in practice is one thing but qualifying and the race are different beasts. We need to continue to push tomorrow and on Sunday and get back on top, where we belong.” Approving nods went around the room as he continued to assess the day's performance, highlighting the good as well as areas of improvement.

The discussion continued for quite some time, with active participation from the team. You were impressed with how collaborative the team felt, Toto was right, it was like a big family. As he wrapped the practice analysis, he looked over towards you and gestured for you to come and join him. Gingerly making your way to the front of the room you turned to face the team.

“Last but not least, it is my pleasure to introduce you all to Y/N, our new Director of Communications,” he paused for another round of applause and murmurs of welcome, “She is joining us from Audi’s racing team and we are very much looking forward to welcoming her to the family. I am sure many of you may have already met today but I would like you all to make her feel welcome and introduce yourselves if you haven’t already. She will be key in preserving our brand image and communicating our values to the wider world, including sponsors.”

“Thank you Toto, I am thrilled to be joining the team and I look forward to tomorrow and Sunday.” You kept it short, unsure what else to add but Toto beamed away and seemed happy.

“So, that brings today to a close, I look forward to seeing you all bright and early tomorrow. I have a good feeling and I think we will soon get back on top.” Toto once again clapped his hands together, signalling the end of the briefing. The team immediately began to file out so you followed suit.

“Y/N,” called a voice from behind. You turned around to face none other than Lewis Hamilton.

“Oh hello, you must be Lewis?” You said politely, well aware of who he was.

“Yes, nice to meet you. I think we’ll be spending a lot of time together moving forward and I just wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to the team before the crazy of the weekend.” He held out his tattooed hand to shake yours.

“Lovely to meet you, I appreciate that. I expect I’ll be bugging you to film social media content, wear watches and drink Monster all the time from now on.”

He smiled, “It’s never a bother, I know how tricky it must be to manage those relationships. It’s good to have someone with a new outlook. Toto mentioned that you would be a little younger than Sarah, your predecessor, and I think it’s a good thing. She was amazing but times have to change.”

“That’s interesting to hear, I’ve heard a lot about Sarah. Feels like big shoes to fill.”

“Indeed,” Toto suddenly loomed out of nowhere, “She was an incredible team leader and I know that the team will miss her a lot. But as Lewis said, it is exciting to get a fresh perspective.”

“Well, I will use this weekend to gauge where we are at and let’s see.” You replied.

“I can’t wait. Lovely to meet you Y/N,” Lewis made a move towards the door, “I had better head off for some shut-eye.”

“Nice to meet you too Lewis, sweet dreams,” you turned to Toto, “Thank you for the glowing introduction, it was a little daunting getting up there in front of so many new people.”

“I know, I hope I didn’t put you on the spot there, as you may have guessed, they are very excited to have you on board.” He smiled down at you, “I suppose I should also get going, we always try to have an early night before qualifying.”

“That’s good to know, I am feeling a little jet lagged so will also make an early night of it.” You started walking towards the door, thinking that Toto would be staying behind but instead he followed you, asking, “Are you getting a car back to the hotel?”

You turned back towards him, “Yes, I think my driver, Carlos, should be waiting for me, I dropped him a message as we were wrapping the briefing.”

“Efficient, I like it. Well, I need to go and take care of a few things before I head off. Are you okay to walk back to the parking lot alone, or would you like me to walk with you? It’s getting dark outside,” His eyes showing genuine concern.

“That’s really kind but I should be fine, I did the same route in the morning so hopefully I can figure it out,” you made your way out, not sure what to make of his offer. As a new member of staff, you didn’t want to show any weakness but equally didn’t want to come off as rude so you added, “Thank you so much for offering though,”

“If you’re sure, get back safe okay?” He paused at the bottom of the stairs that would take him back to his office, “And thank you for not saying anything about this morning to Holly or Pamela, HR would not be kind about it.”

You laughed, “Don’t worry Toto, it was as awkward for me as it was for you and I figured it’s better off being our little secret. Let’s agree to never speak of it again.”

“Well, I appreciate that, it’s a deal.” he winked at you, “Goodnight Y/N.”

“Goodnight Toto.”You made your way back to the paddock, which was somewhat emptier than earlier but still bustling with people. Glad that you hadn’t taken up Toto on his offer, you made your way quickly back to the parking lot.

You set your sights on the familiar silver Mercedes saloon where Carlos was patiently waiting “Hi Carlos, thank you so much for waiting for me.”

Opening the door for you, Carlos replied “Good evening ma’am, my pleasure. How was your first day?”

You chatted away to Carlos as he drove you back to the hotel. It hit you as you entered the lobby just how tired you were and you decided to forgo dinner in place of an early night. Making your way back up to your room you reflected on how your first day had gone, aside from the flashing the boss, it had been smooth sailing and you couldn’t wait for Saturday when you could really get stuck into the role.

Saturday AM

Jet lag was definitely going to be an issue, you woke up at three o’clock, four o’clock and five o’clock before realising that there was no way you were dropping back to sleep so you made the executive decision to head down to the hotel gym. Slipping on your favourite workout fit, pink shorts and a matching sports bra, you made your way down the elevator and through the heavy glass doors. Unsurprisingly the place was empty so you made the most of it, running for half an hour and then moving onto the free weights.

Pumping your music through your headphones you hadn’t noticed that you were no longer alone in the gym and got quite the shock when you turned around to see Toto making his way towards the weights bench. He made eye contact so you slipped your headphones off.

“Good morning Y/N, I didn’t expect to see anyone down here. No one ever comes this early so I always make the most of it.” He said, clearly looking at your skimpy pink outfit up and down.

Glancing back at him, clocking his tight black tee and grey workout shorts, you responded, “Morning Toto, I’m sorry, I can leave if you prefer to work out alone. I just couldn’t sleep, still a little jetlagged.”

“No not at all, please don’t go on account of me, there is enough space for us to work out together and I could do with a spotter.” He said, gesturing towards the weights bench.

You smiled politely “Well if you’re sure. I’m not sure if I am the best spotter if you lift as much as I’m thinking you do but I'm happy to help.”

“How much do you think I lift?” He smirked, “For all you know I might be bench pressing ten kilos.”

“Something tells me that’s not true.” You laughed, “Let me know when you’d like me to help, I have two more sets to do and then I can be all yours.”

“Perfect, and if you ever need a spotter, I am here too.” He smiled, getting onto the treadmill to warm up.

You felt a little awkward continuing your squat set but it would have been weirder to stop and start another exercise so you made a start.

“You have great form, you know.” You turned around to see Toto running on the treadmill, watching you intently.

“I try my best,” you replied, still unsure of what to make of this man. Was he just being friendly or was there a spark? Surely it would be extremely unprofessional for him to flirt with his new colleague, especially one who reported directly to him.

“I can see that.” He smirked yet again, “Sorry I will leave you alone to finish your sets.”

You powered through your sets, hyper-aware of the fact that you were now being watched, praying that your shorts weren’t too see-through every time you bent down. Eventually, you finished and glanced over to Toto who was sitting on a weights bench wrapping his hands.

“I’m done so all yours,” you wandered over to him.

“Great, thank you Y/N. Could you please stand behind my head?” He got onto the weights bench, lying back with his head at one end and feet firmly on the floor.

“Sure, I’ll be here if you need me.” You made your way over and got into position, standing directly over his head as he reached his arms out to the barbell. “How many reps?”

Toto glanced up at you, “Twelve, think you’re up to it?”

“Sure, let’s go.” You got into position, hands hovering ready, clocking the double plates on the barbell. This guy was strong. “Shall I count you down?”

“That would be very helpful.” Toto wrapped his hands around the barbell.

“3, 2, 1, Go.” Toto proceeded to lift the weight, his face strained in concentration. As he reached his twelve reps he began to slow, having reached his limit.

“Eleven, Twelve.” He counted his last two lifts and placed the barbell back on the rack, satisfied with his set, “I now rest for two minutes.” He stayed flat on his back, out of breath, looking up at you, making you suddenly aware of the fact that he was getting an eyeful of your underboob from this particular angle. Tactfully taking a step back, you glanced down at him.

“That was impressive Toto, but maybe next time you can try and bench more than ten kilos?” you grinned, hoping he would take the ribbing the right way.

“Very funny.” he cracked a smile, “Maybe you can try and squat five?”

“Touché” you replied, enjoying this light banter. “So how many sets do you do?”

“Just three, I don’t do too much but I try to do enough to stay in shape in my old age.” he said effusively.

SIlently thinking to yourself that he was doing more than enough, you smiled, “Three is plenty and you’re not old!”

“How old do you think I am Y/N?” he said, a cheeky glimmer in his eye.

Catching onto his playful banter, you replied “That’s a trick question. If I have to answer, you do too.”

“Okay, but you go first.” he smiled, clearly enjoying messing with you.

“I don’t know, forty five?” you shrugged your shoulders.

“Close, but not quite. One more guess.” he teased.

“Okay, forty seven?” you guessed again.

He smiled, “Closer, I’m fifty. So definitely old.”

“Wow, okay, well then I hope you’re flattered that I shaved five years off of that. The only reason I didn’t say younger is that I know you’ve been with the team for quite some years and unless you were a baby Team Principal I took a punt” you glanced down at him, hoping you’d said the right thing.

Still smiling, he looked as if he was sussing you out, “Very logical. I’ll take that, five years is okay.”

“So how old do you think I am?” you gazed down at him.

He deadpanned “Not a day under seventy three.”

“Oh my gosh, how did you know?” you laughed, feigning surprise.

“I’m the Team Principal, it’s my job to know everything.” he winked at you, “I’m kidding Y/N, I saw your CV, I know exactly your age.”

Surprised he had even seen your CV, you smiled at him, “With brilliance like that, I can see why you’re the boss.”

“Maybe I can teach you a few things.” his gaze hardened, “Two minutes is up, time for the next set.”

You repeated the process twice through, until he could lift no more, sweat pouring off him.

“Thank you very much Y/N. It was good to be able to do my full workout without my trainer. Perhaps I will see you more in the gym?” he eased himself up, mopping his brow with his t-shirt, flashing you a glance of some surprisingly solid abs.

Snatching your eyes away you replied hastily “Yes, perhaps. Let’s see how the jetlag situation goes.”

“You’ll get used to it, don’t worry Y/N. It takes some time but we all do.” his brown eyes filled with concern.

“I hope so, thank you Toto. That certainly woke me up. Now I had better go and get ready for the day.” You turned around, making your way towards the double doors to exit.

“Me too, I’ll see you at the track.” he waved goodbye.

Saturday PM

Having taken your time to get ready that morning and catch up on the deluge of emails that had already come your way, you made your way to the track for what would be your first quali. As Miami was a new track you were to pay particular attention to the worldwide press and corporate sponsors’ race day experiences, with some of your team assigned to the Yacht Club and Beach Club areas to keep an eye on.

Now feeling like a seasoned professional, you scanned your pass at the gates and made your way to the Mercedes Hospitality Area, where you were greeted by Holly.

“Good afternoon Y/N. How was your evening? Did you manage to get out and about?” she bounced up to you, clearly not as jet-lagged as you were.

“Hi Holly, it was nice thanks, I actually went straight to bed. How about you?” you replied.

“Ah, jet lag? You get used to it, I promise.” she said, “Can I get you a coffee or anything?”

“Yes, I hope so! That’s fine, thanks, I try not to after lunchtime.” you knew caffeine was a slippery slope and you hoped to get through the day without it.

“If you’re sure, perhaps then I can show you up to your office?” Holly gestured back towards the spiral staircase.

“My office?” your eyes widened, “I didn’t think I had one, I thought this was it.”

“Oh no, you have an office in a prime spot.” she laughed. “Come with me, I’ll show you the way.”

“Great, very handy!.” you followed her up the stairs where you had gone yesterday and made your way through the room where you had changed and towards Toto’s office. She stopped short of his door and turned to a door just to the left, entering into a compact but sleek workspace.

“Wow, this is neat,” you exclaimed, looking around. It still blew your mind that this entire building was essentially a glorified trailer. You had a glossy white desk, black leather chair and acrylic laptop stand. Opposite was a black leather sofa and a small drinks fridge, stocked full of iced water and soft drinks. You immediately felt right at home, confident you would be able to work easily from here.

“I hope you like it, apologies I didn’t bring you here yesterday, I didn’t want to overwhelm you. It’s up to you where you work but when things get going it’s useful to have a space to escape to and crack on.”

“It’s perfect, thank you, Holly. Perhaps I might stay up here for the next hour or so until I’m needed in the garage?”

“That’s no problem, please make yourself at home.” Holly left, closing the door behind her, “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later,” you called out, not sure if she heard you.

Just as you had gotten settled in and put your head down to work your phone buzzed with a text.

Hi Y/N. I’m sorry to bother you but there is a situation down at the Marina and I’m not sure how best to deal with it.

It was Tom, the Partnership Manager, who worked on your team. A little unnerved by the vague insinuation of a situation, you replied.

Okay, I’m on my way. Give me ten minutes and I’ll be there.

You gathered your laptop, a notebook and phone and rushed out of the door, smack bang into a very tall and solid man’s chest. Throwing your hands up in your face instinctively, he grabbed your arm mid-air stopping you from falling backwards from the force of the thud.

“Y/N. We have to stop bumping into each other like this.” you looked up to see Toto looking down, his large hand still wrapped around your wrist.

“I’m so sorry Toto, I’ll check both ways next time I open that door.” you stammered, freeing your wrist, a little unnerved being so close in his proximity.

“No worries, I’m a big boy, I can take it.” his eyes widened realising how his words sounded, “Sorry that was crass, you know what I mean. It didn’t hurt, don’t worry about it.”

You blushed at his comments, not sure what to say. “I know what you meant. Well, I had better get going, my team needs me down at the marina.”

“Okay Y/N, I’ll see you back in the garage then.” he now looked bemused.

“Sure, see you soon Toto.” you half ran away, fifty percent from embarrassment, fifty percent because you were late, hoping that the tall Austrian was not watching you.

Having successfully located your Partnerships Manager, Tom, it became apparent that the situation in question was none other than the famous fake marina. You’d seen it everywhere on social media but were surprised to see that it was somehow worse in real life. The vinyl water was pixelated and looked ridiculous alongside the fake boats. Tanned men in polo shirts and women in skimpy bikinis paraded around on the glossy decks, clearly making the most of their five-figure tickets as you sought to rectify the situation.

One of the key team sponsors was not happy with the bottle service on their yacht and was threatening to pull their involvement if it was not improved for race day. Fortunately, you were able to successfully smooth things over with the promise of two paddock passes and made it clear to the waitstaff that they needed to prioritise your guests. Tom was clearly grateful for your help and support and looked considerably calmer as you diffused the situation.

“Thank you Y/N, I was in above my head on that one,” he walked alongside you, back to your office, “Nothing I said appeased them”

“Ah, that’s where our paddock passes come in handy Tom,” you smiled, “They’re like gold dust round these parts.”

“Well that’s good to know for the future, hopefully, they will sort the marina next season!” he grimaced, “I can’t believe how expensive those tickets are.”

“It’s Miami, they were always going to be,” you paused and turned around, “Although even I must admit it’s bizarre to have fake water in a city full of waterways.”

“That’s what I said to everyone!” he exclaimed. “Well thank you again, I am going to head over to the Beach Club next and check in on what’s going on there.”

“Great, thank you, Tom, if you need me for anything I am going to be in with Marketing for the next hour.” you smiled at him.

“Thank you Y/N, hopefully not. I’ll see you soon,” he called out as he walked off into the throng of people making their way to the further corners of the track.

Thankfully the afternoon passed with no further drama and quali went just as well as the team had dared to hope, with Lewis scoring P2 and George P3. The team briefing that followed was equally as positive as the evening before and you were impressed with how everyone in the team discussed their highs and lows. Hanging around afterwards, you met several more new faces, including George Russell, the team’s other star driver, who seemed equally as friendly as his counterpart.

Eventually, the team started to dissipate and sensing it was time to go you started to make a move towards the door before a deep voice called out to you. “Y/N, did the guys invite you to our dinner?” It was Toto.

You turned back to face him, surprised to see he had changed out of his Mercedes uniform and into a pair of beige chinos and a light blue linen shirt. He looked rather dashing and a touch less intimidating. “Oh no, no one mentioned it to me, is it happening now?”

Toto caught up with you, “We’re heading out now, it’s a little tradition that we try to go for one team dinner with everybody per calendar month. Somewhere lowkey and casual where everyone can let loose and bond as a team.”

“That sounds lovely,” you paused, feeling foolish about what you were going to say next, “The only problem is I only have this.” you gestured down at your uniform. “Won’t it look a little conspicuous when you’ve all changed?”

Toto smiled kindly, “Yes, of course, well if you go now you can stop off via the hotel to change?”

“Great, I’ll ask one of my team to text me the details,” you said, returning his grin, “Thank you, Toto, it’s very kind.”

“Perfect, see you there.” Toto turned to another member of staff and you could hear him asking the same. It was nice that he took so much time to talk to his employees and foster the team spirit. You were starting to gauge the way this team was run and you could already tell it was much less toxic than the one you had left behind.

Sunday AM

You woke up late the next morning feeling warm and fuzzy. As the race was not until eight-thirty that evening you’d enjoyed a lie-in. Last night you’d all gone to a down-to-earth steakhouse, a little out of town. It had been a good opportunity to get to know everyone a little better and you were surprised to see that even Lewis and George were there, chatting away to anybody who would listen.

As you had gone back to your hotel to change, you'd arrived a little later than everyone else and they had no qualms about all squashing up to make space for you, taking your place with the rest of the Senior Management. You’d enjoyed a pleasant chat over dinner with the Strategy Director and Chief Engineer with Toto interjecting every so often. You admired the way that after plates had been cleared he worked the room, making sure to mingle amongst even the junior staff. You tried to follow suit and did some of your own networking, checking in on your team especially. All-in-all a good experience and one that you looked forward to again.

Mindful of the fact that you needed to bring your a-game today you made sure to keep the drinks minimal and switched to soda and lime pretty early on in the night. A few of your colleagues were edging towards tipsy but you were glad to see that people seemed to be sensible.

Getting ready for the day, you took a little extra time doing your hair and make-up as last night Toto had warned you that Netflix would be filming some scenes in the garage. It seemed silly but you wanted to look as good as possible if you were in shot. Satisfied with your appearance you made your way down to the lobby and into the garage where Carlos was waiting. Having your own driver was a perk you had not expected and one which you’d quickly grown accustomed to. Greeting Carlos and ducking into the backseat, you could not quite believe your luck.

Sunday PM

Carlos kindly dropped you right at the paddock gates meaning you were able to go straight in. Having eaten brunch in your room you decided to go directly to your office and catch up on your work, grabbing an espresso on the way. As you made your way there you noticed a certain buzz in the building that had definitely not been there on Friday or Saturday. It was certainly race day.

Comfortable in your new chair and now stuck into work, you were thankful that there were no more hiccups this afternoon and your main priority was ensuring some content Lewis had filmed with Tom Brady went out in good time with the correct information. Satisfied with your team’s efforts you closed the lid to your laptop and leaned back, staring into space, pensieve.

A knock on the door snapped you out of it and you looked up to see a red-headed woman peeking around the door. “Hello Y/N, we haven’t met yet but I’m Toto’s EA, Lara. He would like to see you before the race, are you free now?”

“Nice to meet you, Lara, sure I can do now.” you stood up, gathering your things, “Is he next door?”

A voice called out “Yes I am.”

“You can hear me?” you asked incredulously.

“Crystal clear.” you could hear a deep, throaty chuckle, “The walls are thin and you are extremely loud.”

You made your way around to Toto’s office, Lara disappearing back into the main communal area.

“So no private phone calls?” you asked, taking a seat opposite him.

“There are no secrets in this team,” he said, looking smug.

“Noted. What’s on the agenda this afternoon?” you asked, trying to stay professional.

“I’d like to get your take on Netflix. As it stands they have asked if I am available to spend a full day with them in a few weeks.” he paused, looking unsure of himself, “They want to film another gym scene as they say the last one was very popular on social media. What do you think? I think it’s a bit weird, no? I would rather concentrate on the racing.”

“Hm, on one hand, those scenes make you more of a character, more personable but on the other, we only have limited screen time as a team. Would you not rather use the day to focus on Lewis or George?” you said tactfully.

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking, why would anyone want to see me when they can learn more about our stars? His brow furrowed, “I know that some of the other team principals relish it but it’s not my thing.”

“I have heard on the grapevine that you have quite the legion of fans though? It could make sense, especially if they are spending the same amount of time with the other Team Principals. We don’t want you to look starchy in comparison. We have to play the game a little.” You weighed it up, “I think let’s pencil it in for now. I will try to find out if they are doing the same with the other teams.”

“Okay, I had better get practising then, I have to keep up appearances.” he said, “Maybe you can be my spotter again?”

“Absolutely not.” you flatly refused, “I’ll be there behind the crew, making sure they don’t catch you only lifting ten kilos.”

“Let’s see,” he said, in a tone that implied you were not wiggling your way out of this one.

“Is there anything else you would like to discuss while I’m here?” you asked.

“No I think that is all, Lara will put it in the diary.” he folded his long fingers together under his chin, “I’ll let you know if there is anything else.”

“Thanks, Toto,” you bid him goodbye and made your way out.

“See you later,” he called out.

Now at T-1 Hour, you made your way back to the group hospitality area where you had set up some of your team for the race. The social team would be down in the garage gathering content, the sponsorship team down in the Yacht Club, and the press team with the drivers doing the media circuit, leaving you with the marketing and merch team. The race would be shown on a big screen within this space, giving you the bizarre experience of watching the race on TV despite being trackside.

Keeping an eye on the press and social media feeds you were satisfied with the way content had been delivered so far this weekend. Ironically the top performing post across all platforms was one of Toto sipping a cocktail by a pool. You made sure to note this down to bring up in your next meeting.

Soon enough it was lights out and away we go, the race a tense and noisy affair. Thirty-two laps in, Lewis managed to take the lead, leading the rapturous applause around the room, however, one unlucky safety car later and he dropped back to second. As the chequered flag was waved, Lewis took a respectable P2 and George a P4, having been just pipped to the post of a podium finish by Carlos Sainz. They were arguably the best results of the season and you hoped this was the turning point for the team.

You quickly made your way down to the garage to cast your eyes on the post-race interviews. Sky Sports had already grabbed Toto who was looking thrilled with the results. Wrapping his interview up, he came over to you.

“So your first race day, what did you think?” he asked, looking at you expectantly.

“It was great, there was a real buzz in the air. I’m so glad we’re back on top, where we belong.” you gestured at the TV repeating the footage of the podium, Lewis spraying a huge bottle of champagne everywhere.

“I hope so.” he smiled warmly. “Let’s see what next week brings.”

You couldn’t help but agree with him on that one, it seemed a little pre-emptive to dare to dream for a win. “Indeed.” Smiling back at Toto you realised that you were running late for Lewis’ photocall, “I have to dash but let’s catch up properly on Monday.”

“Sounds good, I hope you get out to see some of Miami tonight.” he replied, “It’s a fun city.”

“Let’s see.” you laughed, wanting nothing more than to crawl into your bed.

“Another early night?” he winked at you.

“Maybe,” you said shyly, knowing full well that is exactly what you were going to do, any minute now.

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