#will update with our dream's socials when they get it to us

[residenthesitant]

photos from our mini dsmp photoshoot at connecticon! im so happy w how these came out :D

@spr0utsies as revivebur, casual_goatberry on insta as ghostboo, and me as red banquet eret! i’m so happy with how the dress came out, it’s easily my favorite and the most complicated cosplay i’ve ever made - i’ll post closeups and more details of both it and royal retribution later.

@theeretblr

#dsmp cosplay #dsmp #eret #eret cosplay #dream cosplay #ranboo cosplay #dream smp #dream smp cosplay #connecticon #connecticon 2022 #ctcon #ctcon 2022 #cosplay #eret fanart #red banquet dsmp #red banquet #will update with our dream's socials when they get it to us #button duo #wilbur soot #ranboo

[luvhughes43]

sweetener | jack hughes

au masterlist⭐️ (apart of the journalist! au)

the previous part is linked here !

word count: 5.8k

⋆ ★

Three hurried knocks sound out from my front door and I rush out into the entry way as if whoever is behind that door will dissipate at a moment's notice. Of course I know that wouldn't happen, because Jack Hughes is standing on the other side of my door and all week he’s been updating me on his schedule and when he’d be able to meet our daughter. 

He’s been saying that a lot, our daughter. Which, he’s right. Leighton is our daughter but the word our feels so completely foreign to me that my mind reels and my heart races every time I hear him say it. Which is another thing, because Jack is a serial texter and yet, every night this past week without fail he’s called me to talk. He’s completely committed to being a father, and now that the paternity test came back telling us what we already know, Jack is coming to meet Leighton. Our daughter. 

Jack knocks again, and I quickly comb through my hair with my fingers before slowly opening the door. 

“Hey,” Jack waves awkwardly, unsure of what to do when you’re about to meet your secret baby for the first time. We both shuffle around my entryway awkwardly, before I gesture for Jack to sit on my couch. 

“Do you want water or anything to drink?” I ask lamely, twisting a lone baby blanket that was sprawled across the back of the couch in my hands. Jack shakes his head and then rubs his sweaty palms on his jeans. 

What were you supposed to say to someone who was meeting their baby for the first time? Somebody that you had so much history with? Somebody who, despite everything that happened, still has a prominent place in your heart? You wouldn’t know. 

Jack opens his mouth, before quickly shutting it again. 

“I’ll go get Leighton,” I nod dumbly, as if that wasn’t the whole reason that we were both here. I’m not normally this awkward around Jack but… under the circumstances any sort of social queues I know have gone right out of the window. I don't let Jack reply before I shuffle out of the room. 

Leighton is dressed in a pink one piece onesie which was a gift from Jack’s mother, Ellen. Who for the last week has been texting me and sending things over to the apartment. 

As soon as Jack hears my footsteps, he's rushing to his feet and facing us. “Oh wow…” he murmurs as soon as he lays eyes on our daughter. “This is so much better than the pictures and videos…” he trails off again, referring to the numerous videos I've sent him of our daughter this past week. 

“Do you want to hold her?” I ask, to which Jack immediately nods. I gesture for him to sit back down on the couch and he happily obliges. 

“She’s gorgeous,” Jack awes as I shift Leighton to rest into his arms. I’m not surprised that I don’t have to tell Jack how to hold a baby properly, he’s always been so well versed with children. Even when we were dating babies and kids just seemed to gravitate towards him, making it easy for him to handle kids.

Tears rush to Jack’s waterline as he holds his daughter for the first time. He doesn’t bother to wipe them away as they freely run down his cheeks. “I have a baby,” he whispers, gaze soft as he stares at our little girl. “Hi Leighton,” he says again, voice slightly louder as he tries to get the young girl's attention. She smiles up at him gummily, before reaching a chubby hand out and latching onto one of her dad’s fingers. 

I silently pull my phone out of my pocket and capture the sweet moment between the two. I had imagined this moment for months, but no dream would ever compare to what was sitting before me. Jack softly cooing at our daughter, completely in awe of her would be something that I would never forget. 

⋆ ★

When Jack looks back on the past year, he can’t help but wince. If he was more mature maybe he wouldn’t have let you walk away so easily - maybe he would have seen through Vivienne's deceptions and would have realized that he wasn’t truly happy with her. After meeting his daughter and getting to spend time with you in person today he made a promise to himself that he would do better for himself and for his family. 

His family. Whom he had just fully met a few hours ago and yet his happiness still hadn’t slowed or ebbed away yet. It was all so incredibly surreal.

“Like I'm telling you, that was the most.. Like the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Jack spoke hurriedly on the phone to his older brother Quinn. “I have a daughter, and she’s real, and I held her today,”

“That’s really great,” 

“She grabbed a hold of my finger! She has a really good grip, probably going to be better than all of us at hockey,” Quinn only laughed in response. 

“When can I meet her?” he asked. 

“I don’t know, I'll have to talk to y/n about everything. We’re taking it slow right now you know? Just trying to get me comfortable with the baby and all that,” Jack answers, excitement still laced in his voice. “Mom sent Leighton some things though which… Leighton… What a pretty name? Like I have a daughter”

“I’m really happy everything's starting to work out for you,” Quinn responded. After all the dramatics of the past few weeks, the future was finally starting to brighten.

“Thank you,” Jack replied honestly, mind still reeling from the day's events. “I have a family.” 

⋆ ★

ynuser

liked by jackhughes, claudia, and others

ynuser my whole world🤍

jackhughes added to their story !

⋆ ★

“Are you okay? Why are you smiling so hard?” my best friend said to me as I finished doing my makeup. 

“What? I’m fine!”

“No seriously, what’s going on?” Claudia continues, easily seeing past my poorly constructed lies. 

“Jack’s coming over to see Leighton tonight,” I can’t help the smile on my face as it grows. Jack’s coming over. How long have I waited to say that? Now that this whole mess is behind us, we’ve really started to carve out a routine for ourselves. Jack would make the trip to NYC as much as he could within his schedule, and he’d come over and spend time with Leighton and I. Everything is finally starting to fall into place, and so sue me for getting a little excited that he had the whole evening free to spend time with Leighton and I. 

Claudia rolled her eyes, “You’re moving fast,”

At her words, my forehead scrunches. I don’t like the way she said it, moving fast, it sounds like she disapproves of Jack and I starting to co-parent.

“Well, we already have a kid together so I think it’s a little too late for ‘moving fast’” I remark, busying myself in my makeup bag so she doesn’t see the clear displeasure coating my features. 

Claudia studies me for a minute and I wish she wouldn't. I understand that Jack’s and I’s situation is completely out of the ordinary and that we were childish and immature before. But honestly, how else are we supposed to go about this situation if not barrel straight ahead? We waited for him to meet Leighton until the paternity was settled, we created a clear schedule for his visits and we’ve spent hours discussing how we would go about co-parenting. 

“Nothing I guess,” she shrugs simply. I reach for my powdered blush and messily reapply.

It’s tense for the next five minutes it takes for me to finish my makeup.

 “Well, how “fast” should we be going? Because, I know I'm trying the best that I can here. We have a history, and we have a baby, so i’m sorry if you think things seem to be going “too fast” for you,” 

“You're right, I'm sorry” Claudia immediately apologizes, probably not realizing how her words had offended me earlier.

Ever since Jack started making a reappearance in my life Claudia’s had an attitude about it… always wanting to sprinkle little comments here and there. I get that she’s overprotective, but she takes it too far with Jack. It wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t here for my pregnancy and the first few months of Leighton’s life. 

“I’m sorry,” I sigh. “Things have been… nice recently and I just need this to work out.” 

Claudia nods in understanding, and it makes me want to take my apology back.

When Jack comes over two hours later, any sense of annoyance or stress I was feeling immediately dissipates. We do our usual, watch over Leighton and play with her. She’s only a few months old and so there’s not much that she can do yet besides smile and play peek-a-boo, which I'm learning Jack excels at. 

“And… peek-a-boo!” the hockey player enthuses for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening to an excited baby. Leighton face scrunches up as she lets out another round of loud laughs, which immediately causes Jack and I to giggle.

“We have the cutest kid!”

“We really do,” Jack replies, eyes trained on our daughter who's smiling up at him. I leave the two to play as I make my way into my kitchen. It’s already getting quite late and since Jack’s keeping Leighton entertained… I might as well make dinner before he has to leave and I have to watch over her again. She always gets fussy closer to her bedtime, making it essentially impossible to cook dinner before she’s asleep. 

I pull out all of my necessary ingredients before pausing. “Jack?”

“What?” he calls out. 

“Are you staying for dinner? I’m making pasta” I respond, walking back into the living room so we don't have to yell. 

“Ohh can I? I’ve missed your cooking so much,” 

He missed my cooking… it was such a simple task and yet my heart melted… There was so much we seemed to be missing of each other these days.

Dinner coincidentally ends up being ready just as soon as Jack finishes putting Leighton to bed.

“It’s crazy to think that we’re parents,” Jack voices his thoughts aloud in between bites of his dinner. “Like, really. Were mother and father… like that's insane,”

“Are you having doubts?” I joke, knowing that he’s fully committed to being a father. His amazon cart alone proves that with all the toys and outfits he has ordered for our daughter. 

“No never! Are you kidding me? Being with you two… it feels right,” 

I giggle and end up having to cover my mouth with my hands. 

“What?”  

“I’m sorry that was just really cute,” I explain myself, lowering my hands so that Jack could see my wide smile which he immediately reciprocates with his usual gorgeous smile. 

Jack leans his head on the palm of his hand, and things finally feel like they used to. If I wanted to I could reach my hand out and hold his, but just knowing that he was here was enough. For so many months I wished that what I was seeing now would become true and now everything had finally turned out. 

“I’m really happy y/n”

“I’m really happy too,” my face tingles, but unlike my smile I make no move to cover the redness that was no doubt coating my cheeks. 

⋆ ★

Now that I am back from maternity leave, it seems like my boss is trying to punish me. I’m constantly getting all of the shitty news stories, and I've been getting less opportunities to get out on the field. Therefore, I've been stuck in the office all day writing fluff pieces about influencers and brands that “you need in your life!”. 

So, when I got the call that there was an important story that I could work on but it would mean I had to come into the office on my day off… well… I was going into the office. 

Now usually I had somebody to watch Leighton on the days that I work, but there was just no way that I would be able to find somebody to watch her on such a short notice. So, I did the only thing that I could think of and asked Jack if he was willing to watch Leighton by himself… for the first time. 

The day started out simply enough. Jack had come over to y/n's apartment early with breakfast and some coffee for the both of them. He listened dutifully to y/n explaining Leightons morning routine, and he prepared the baby a fresh bottle with no stress. Even after y/n had left for work, Jack had been running the place smoothly and without any hiccups. Which is why around mid-afternoon when Leighton refused her bottle that Jack had panicked.

“Okay, please just eat. I know you're hungry,” he cooed to the small girl who was cradled tightly against his chest. She squirmed, tears running down her face at a rapid speed. 

He had rocked Leighton, burped her, walked around the apartment with her bundled in his arms all in hopes of her quieting down. When nothing worked he had checked her diaper, changed it although it was clean, and warmed up her bottle again in case that may have been the issue. She continued on wailing.

“Please Leighton, eat for daddy please. Settle down, it's okay!” He tried his hardest but nothing was working. He debated on calling his parents but ultimately thought it was pathetic that he didn’t know how to take care of his own child. He had missed out on so many months with his girl, what if he fucked today up and was never allowed to take care of her again? Jack started to spiral. 

Another painstakingly long hour went by, and Jack felt as if he had truly lost his mind. Nothing was helping Leighton settle down, and now Jack was so far behind y/ns schedule that he was feeling beyond hopeless. 

“Just- okay just eat!” Jack tried again, but every time Leighton got close to the bottle she would shift her head away and cry. “I don't know how to help you!” he rocked his daughter in his arms. “Please, help me help you,” 

It was to no surprise that Leighton kept crying. So Jack did the only thing that he could think of doing next, he walked swiftly to Leightons crib and left her there. Once she was confined in her crib, he simply walked out of her room and back into the living room where he fished his headphones out of his bag. 

Jack's shoulders sagged in relief when the first few chords of some country song played. 

I’m not a good dad

I don’t know what to do

How am I supposed to be a father?

After two more songs played in their entirety, Jack called his mom. 

“Are you okay…?” I ask as soon as I catch sight of Jack whose shoulders were sagging. 

“Listen, everyone has already asked me that tonight so I don't need to hear it again. you don’t need to lecture me”

“Excuse me? I don’t even know what’s wrong?” “It was my first time watching my daughter, and I fucked up, I know”

“Jack… I'm not mad at you?” 

“Right, whatever” he says, gathering all his belongings that were scattered throughout my apartment and stuffing them in his bag. 

I stare at him in confusion, “Can we talk about this?”

Jack continues stuffing shit in his bag, and I walk towards him and place a firm hand on his shoulder. He shrugs it off, twisting towards me. “I don't want to talk about it,” 

I scoff, patience truly wiening thin. “Well, I’m Leighton’s mother and I would like to talk about what happened”

“I can’t do this with you tonight” Jack sighs, running a hand through his messy hair. 

“Do what? Communicate?”

“Look, i’ve had a rough week at work and i’ve been a shit dad tonight so I really don’t need to hear you bitch at me right now”

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Don’t talk to me like that.” 

“Like what!” Jack says defensively. 

“Saying I'm going to bitch at you! I want us to talk through things. You getting upset over a few minor mistakes isn’t going to get us anywhere. Leighton is fine, you’re fine, so tell me what’s really going on so that we can get past this”

Jack scoffs, “there's nothing going on”

“Well, you’re being all rude and defensive so there must be something” I snark, truly fed up with Jack’s behaviour. I understand that today was a lot for him, and maybe it wasn’t the best idea for him to watch Leighton for a full day when he’s only used to a few hours but he can at least try and speak nicely to me. 

“You know what? I don’t need this right now” Jack says, breaking his stance and making quick steps towards the door. 

I’m hot on his heels and he yanks the door open. “Jack?”

He slams the door, and i’m left reeling with whatever the fuck just happened. 

⋆ ★

3 weeks later...

DEUXMOI

liked by vivienne, and others

deuxmoi Jack Hughes seems to be a topic of demand recently…. But don’t worry! Viviennes new podcast episode will cover everything you need to know and more! Stay tuned

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user19 vivienne sending her own “tip” into deuxmoi just so she can get views on her new podcast episode… deuxmoi hits a new low every day

user20 this is actually so embarrassing omg

user21 nhl players on deuxmoi is my worst nightmare tbh

user22 theyve been on here for awhile lol its nothing new

user23 ohhhh i’ll be tuned in!

user23 he definitely cheated on her omgggg😭😭

⋆ ★

Pretty Girls Podcast EP 22: Mr. NHL Man

[audio] timestamp: 24:33 - 1:13:03

Co-host: Okay maybe we should address the elephant in the room!

Vivienne: The elephant in the room? I’m crying… [laughs], but yes everybody is here to know about my ex-boyfriend situation so let's just get into it

Co-host: Right so… 

Vivienne: Okay so Jack Hughes!

[both laugh]

Co-host: Oh we're just coming right out and saying it!

Vivienne: I mean everybody knows

Co-host: Right, so let's get into it. What's the story? Because you’ve only told me parts of the story but I don't-

Vivienne: I haven't really gone into detail with anybody yet so this is like, an exclusive

Vivienne: But anyway… as we all know… Jack and I were seeing each other for a while and we were pretty official by the time I did the podcast with Alix Earle. So there was this whole bit of Alix calling her boyfriend “mr. nfl man” and so I teased Jack by calling him Mr. NHL man.

Co-host: Right as one does! And I just want to add, Vivienne and Jack were - you guys were kind of serious at this point. Like your relationship wasn’t just a fling like there’s a reason you're talking about it on the pod. 

Vivienne: Yeah we were fully dating by that point. Like he was staying over at my apartment and things like that. 

Co-host: How did you guys get together? You should tell the whole story, like I'm already sensing the hate comments you’ll get if you don’t tell this right.

Vivienne: Okay. So, I met Jack through a mutual friend of ours and that's how we started talking. We went on a few dates to bars and things, and we really got along well, or at least I thought we did. 

Co-host: Were there any warning signs?

Vivienne: Honestly… 

Vivienne: Things were really good between us and we had a “normal” relationship for the first few months. Like we got together around the beginning of the hockey season, and we broke up like, right before he went on personal leave if you guys keep up with the NHL side of things.

Vivienne: But basically we were doing completely fine and it wasn’t until people started catching on that Jack and I were dating that things became rocky. 

Co-host: I've also seen a lot of things about an ex that he had? Like I'm just going to come out and say it, did he cheat on you?

Vivienne: Honestly, till this day I don't really know. 

Co-host: What? What do you mean?

Vivienne: He didn't tell me why we broke up. Like, I'm being so serious. One day he came over to my apartment and just broke up with me and then unfollowed me on everything. 

Co-host: Oh my god??

Vivienne: Honestly, I think it's because of his ex. Like, the amount of times I caught him searching through his photo albums of her is insane.

Co-host: What an asshole oh my god?? Do you know if they got back together or if they were talking while you two were still together?

Vivienne: No they weren’t talking

Co-host: How do you know?

Vivienne: I uh… 

Co-host: Did you go through his texts or something?

Vivienne: Well… [short pause].. No I didn’t- well- I know he wasn’t

Co-host: Okay…

Vivienne: But it was clear there was something going on there [weak laugh]

Co-host: Damn…

Vivienne: But anyway, he broke up with me unexpectedly and I just don't know why

Co-host: To be honest it sounds like he cheated on you and just didn't want to own up to it.

Vivienne: Yeah… I mean possibly. The ex thing was..

Co-host: He was just using you as a distraction and that really sucks for you.

Vivienne: It's just an awful situation. Like it was clear that he was still hung up on his ex and now I look like an idiot in front of everyone for making our relationship public.

Co-host: I don't think you look like an idiot. You thought the relationship was going to work out and now people are flooding your comment section begging to know what happened. Plus, it's Jack's fault anyway. Like he's no stranger to cheating allegations so what are you supposed to do?

Vivienne: Yeah… my dms are full of his fans basically blaming me for the breakup when they don't even know what happened. 

Vivienne: So, I just want it to be clear that I did nothing. Like I didn't want us to break up. 

Co-host: Even though you knew about the ex?

Vivienne: Yeah… I just felt so… like our relationship was really good I think I would have put up with anything. But now that it’s over i'm stuck looking back and… well it’s clear he maybe wasn’t always faithful or he had commitments with his ex. 

Co-host: Gosh…

Vivienne: But that's honestly it. After this episode is over I'm not talking about this. It's honestly really hurtful…

[end of snippet]

⋆ ★

“y/n i’m so sorry,” Jack's words are fast as he paces the floor of my entryway. He had a game in a few hours which he would no doubt be late for, seeing as he’s all the way in New York City instead of Newark.

“What are you doing here? You have a game?” I wonder aloud, Leighton softly cooing from her spot on my chest. 

Jack pauses at the sound of his daughter and his eyes visibly soften. “I’m really sorry,”

“I wasn’t mad at you,”

“I’m just afraid to mess things up again,”

“Jack…”

“And I'm sorry for snapping at you. It wasn’t your fault that I got upset,” 

I walk towards Jack and place a comforting hand on his arm, mindful of our daughter that was strapped to my front.

“I should have stayed,” he says into my hair, his arm coming around to hold onto me. 

I turn my body to hold him properly, and Leighton babbles away as she’s wedged between her parents. “You were overwhelmed. You're not used to watching her all the time and that’s okay,”

“I should be okay watching her while you’re at work I just-”

“You have to be kind to yourself,” I start, slowly pulling yourself away from Jack to lead the two of us into the living room. “It took me a long time to learn Leightons needs and how to read her. With more time you’ll learn and become more comfortable,”

Jack nods reluctantly, ultimately realizing that what I was saying was the truth. We sit in silence for a while, both wanting nothing more than to move on from this situation. 

“Come to my game tonight?” Jack breaks the silence. “You and Leighton? Please?” 

“You want us to come… tonight?” I question. Was this a good idea? 

Jack nods and takes Leighton out of my hands. “I think she should come to her first game,” 

“Okay….” I’m slow to agree. When Jack and I were dating, I barely went to his games. He never really invited me, and I had always felt weird about asking. With our relationship so private, we usually just appreciated each other’s careers from afar. 

Jack looks away from our daughter and back up at me, “I've talked to management about our… situation and they’re okay with you sitting in the box with Nico since he’s out” Jack explains. “It’ll be completely safe, and if you're worried about the drive to the stadium I’ve got my car and I can drive you” 

“What about afterwards?” 

“I can drive you back here after the game or you can stay at my place… I've… i've bought a bassinet for Leighton and some things if you guys want to stay the night,” 

“Okay,” I agree easily now. “Let me pack some of our stuff and we’ll stay with you tonight,”Jack looks beyond relieved at my words.

njdevils

Liked by jackhughes, _quinnhughes, trevorzegras, and others

njdevils Jack is back and meeting some fans 🔥

tagged: jackhughes

view all comments

jackhughes ❤️

_quinnhughes Love to see it

user24 jack and quinns comments… okay….

user25 jack is such a girl dad ugh! so cute!

user26 jack would be such a good dad im crying

user27 hold on is that his ex gf?? she looks like the same girl from the fan pics

user28 omfg wait???

⋆ ★

nhl.drama

liked by hughesl0ver43, and 351 others

nhl.drama jack hughes ex gf, vivienne aiden, reveals in her podcast that jack seemingly broke up with her for no reason. she also claims that he would constantly look at pictures of his ex gf while they were together, and he may have possibly cheated. what are your thoughts?💭

-

#jackhughes #nhl #vivienneaiden #confession #nhldrama

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user29 this is honestly just ridiculous like she clearly made this all up

user30 ? what how do u know

user29 she kept rambling on, couldn't confirm if Jack cheated or not, and just started bringing up his ex gf? And also, if she really didn’t know why he broke up with her/would still go back to him.. why would she make a whole podcast about it? it fr doesn't make sense

user31 They said Jack has a history of cheating? How would they even know that i’m so confused

user32 viv was his ex lmao im sure somebody warned her about him.

user33 i think it’s so weird that some of u guys are sticking up for jack… like vivienne sounded so sad / upset during the podcast… like he obviously did something wrong regardless of if shes telling the truth or not.

user34 she did not sound upset at all… she was legit laughing throughout the whole podcast and she could not make up her mind on which “story” she was gonna tell. she clearly lied and i hope jack sues her ass🤷‍♀️

user35 the timeline of this whole thing is so interesting tbh. like what ex are they talking about? also, i wish viv confirmed why jack took a personal leave lol. she left out all the interesting bits

user36 “ex gf” …. do yall think it was the girl from last year ? istg they refollowed each other after vivienne and jack broke up

user37 this whole drama is so lame IMO. just another girl looking for her 5 seconds of fame… nobody should care if jack cheated or not because his job is to play HOCKEY. honestly who gaf about his personal life

user38 his personal life is bleeding into his game lol. 

user39 LEAVE HIM ALONE MY GOD!!!!! U KNOW NOTHING. 

⋆ ★

Vivienne's podcast episode about her breakup with Jack had gone viral overnight. Everybody online was speculating about their relationship, as well as trying to prove each side right. Some of Jack's fans were trying hard to prove that Vivienne was lying and well, gossipers around the world were sticking up for Vivienne and trying to confirm that Jack is a serial cheater. 

Thankfully for Vivienne, she just had to sit back and enjoy the show. She knew that there was absolutely no way that Jack would come out and deny the cheating rumours, plus she knew y/n was private on everything and wouldn't come forward either. The drama would run its course for a few days until something better came along, and then Vivienne would be completely off the hook for everything. 

Alix E: just watched the pod! i hope you’re doing well❤️

Tana M: HE CHEATED ON YOU?? that's actually crazy. youre so fucking pretty. ugh, men are awful. If you ever wanna come on the cancelled podcast you're always welcome!

Alex C: Men are the worsttttt. Youre absolutely winning life though so make him regret it!💋

Everything seemed to be falling right into the palm of Viviennes hands. While Jack finding out about the whole y/n thing was a colossal nightmare, the support from her peers almost made up for it. She now had deals lining up the block, and she knew her career would only sky rocket from here on out. 

While being with Jack had pulled in massive numbers, the breakup was just insane for her social blade. She had gained soo many more followers across all platforms after posting Jack on her story, plus naming him in her podcast was just… it was honestly too good. A pr dream… It was going to be Viviennes year. 

⋆ ★

As soon as the small family made it back to Jack’s apartment after the game, they were all exhausted. Leighton had fallen asleep well into the second period, and had surprisingly stayed asleep despite how loud the arena was.

Jack quietly guided his girls into his bedroom. He set Leighton in her bassinet, and then helped me organize some of the things I brought over.  

“I haven’t been here in so long,” I mumbled as I pulled my toiletries out of her bag. 

“Well you're always welcome,” Jack whispered back as he silently watched me fumble around in the darkness.

“Shit, I forgot pyjama pants and all I have are jeans…” 

Jack immediately stands from his position in bed, mindful of the fact that Leighton is peacefully sleeping in the recently purchased bassinet. “You can have a pair of my sweats if you want?” he whispers as he walks over to his dresser and pulls out options. 

“It’s okay,”

“I’m not letting you sleep in jeans that's foul,” Jack says quietly as he gives me a pair of his sweats.

“Thank you,” my face heats up. If I wasn’t thinking about our history before, now I am. Everything was becoming a little too much… if I closed her eyes I could still picture the way things used to be. How we’d stay in his apartment and well… yeah.

Jack turned away just then, settling himself in his bed so that I could finish getting ready. He hadn’t thought too far ahead in their sleeping arrangements, and just as he started to worry that y/n might’ve found her way to the couch he felt a dip in his mattress. 

“Do you mind if…?”

“No I uh- No I don’t” Jack stuttered, completely caught off guard by their newfound closeness. 

“Thanks for tonight,” I whispered, snuggling into all of Jack’s blankets and excess pillows, all of which were bought when we were still together. 

“No worries,”

“I mean it though. Thanks for talking to me in person earlier and for driving us to the game” I continued sleepily. “And for letting us stay here tonight,” 

“Of course. Anything for my girls,” 

When there was no answer, Jack looked over to y/n's side of the bed only to find that she was already fast asleep. He checked the bassinet afterwards to find his daughter sleeping peacefully as well. Jack sighed in contentment before drifting off to sleep himself. 

My girls,

My girls, 

My girls..

Life was sweet.

next part

-

-

-

#journalist au! #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes fic #jack hughes imagine #jack hughes blurb #nhl imagine #nhl fanfiction #nhl blurb #nhl fic #quinn hughes x reader #quinn hughes fic

[boiohboii]

Ocean eyes couple

Charles Leclerc x Cillian Murphy's daughter! reader

Charles is known to have a specific type, but when rumors come out of him dating an Irish girl the fans are intrigued and ready to fight for their driver... but is their love for him enough to face the girl's father? No.

or

In which Charles' new girlfriend, YN Murphy, is the only WAG spared of any online issues due to her father's infamous stare

N.B: face claim is Billie Eilish.... this purely started from the fact that all my face claims so far are korean (I am too deep in, their dramas are so good, I can't get out) which I wanted to change / mix up (I already have 3 social media fic drafts, a Toto Wolff fic, a Carlos Sainz fic and a Max Verstappen fic with Korean faceclaims) and then I saw the tweet? Of Billie and Cillian looking alike, so I thought, why not.

Liked by carlossainz55, cillianmurphyupdates, Arthur_leclerc and 1,637,935 others

Charles_leclerc: I know you aren't much of a public person, you don't even have an account on here, but I have never been happier. Our time together has been nothing less of a dream and I want to dream with you forever, so stay by my side cause I am not willing to let you go.

~comments on this post have been disabled~

liked by cillianmurphyupdates, Charles_leclerc, ynmurphywifey and 471,385 others

F1WAGs&faves-updates: YN Murphy seen today outside of the Ferrari paddock.

username: not Charles lurking in the likes

username: we can see you man, you ain't slick

username: her smile is so pretty 😍

Charles_leclerc: I agree, her smile is the best sight ever

username: she's so gorgeous! And she looked so happy today

username: I WAS THERE AND SHE THANKED US FOR SUPPORTING CHARLES EVEN AFTER ALL THE LET DOWNS BY FERARRI

username: please 🥲 this is so real of her

username: she just like us fr 😫

username: Charles is so damn lucky to have her

username: he better sleep with both eyes open, I am coming for my wife

username: she is such a sweetheart irl

Charles_leclerc: I know right! she is so precious and lovely

username: someone get Charles off this comment section, it's embarrassing

username: no no, let him, it's laughable

username: charles is here to simp for his girl

username: man is down so bad

username: charles reading the comments under a post about his girlfriend from a wag update page and replying to 2 fans' comments is such simp behaviour

username: I gotta say, I respect the hustle

username: no, y'all don't understand, I met YN today and she now owns my heart

username: she was so nice and kind, she offered us some of her snacks while chatting with us about how shitty Ferarri's strategies are

username: she is the real dawg here

username: YN Murphy badmouthing Ferarri with Charles Leclerc's fans is such a wild sentence that can only be sponsored by 2023

username: whenever she'd speak of Charles she'd have stars in her eyes and her entire face would turn red

username: your honor, they are in love

username: Charles is simping for YN on insta while she simps for him irl

#f1 x reader #f1 imagine #charles leclerc #f1 instagram au #f1 smau #f1 social media au #charles leclerc social media au #charles leclerc x y/n #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc instagram au #f1 fic #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc x girlfriend reader

[coochiequeens]

An update to an older story that’s goods news!

When Jenny Nguyen signed the lease to create her dream bar, she wasn’t sure it would stay open for more than a few months.

But earlier this month, 43-year-old Nguyen’s first-of-its-kind establishment in Portland, Oregon, celebrated its one-year anniversary. Aptly named The Sports Bra, it’s a sports bar where only women athletes appear on the TVs.

Business has been good, despite the niche business model and record inflation sending food and beverage prices soaring. The Sports Bra brought in $944,000 in revenue in the eight months it was open in 2022, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

It was profitable in that first year of business, Nguyen adds.

“It turns out, it’s pretty universal — that feeling of being a women’s sports fan and going into a public place, like a sports bar, and having a difficult time finding a place to show a [women’s] game, especially when there are other men’s sports playing,” Nguyen says.

Initially, she wasn’t sure the idea would work at all. The vast majority of money and attention historically goes to men’s sports only — a big reason why The Sports Bra was reportedly the country’s first bar to only play women’s sports on TV.

It’s also not the kind of thing Nguyen would ordinarily do: She describes herself as “very cautious, risk averse.” But her obsession with women’s sports and frustration with its lack of representation on television screens drove her to empty her life savings — about $27,000 — and give it a try.

“Me, personally, I thought the idea was brilliant and that [it was] what the world needs,” Nguyen says. “But I had no idea that the world would want it. I just wanted to give it a shot.”

How The Sports Bra went from running joke to reality

Nguyen is a lifelong basketball fan who played the sport at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, before tearing her ACL. She’s also a longtime restaurant worker who spent three years as Reed College’s executive chef.

In 2018, Nguyen and a group of friends wanted to watch the NCAA women’s basketball championship game. They went to a mostly empty sports bar and still had to plead with a bartender to switch one of the smallest TVs — which played without sound — from a men’s sport to the women’s championship game, she recalls.

Together, they jumped up and down celebrating “one of the best games I’ve ever seen,” Nguyen says, as a buzzer-beating three-point shot sealed the championship title for Notre Dame. Afterward, she was struck by the normalcy of her situation.

″[We’d] gotten so used to watching a game like that in the way that we did,” she says, adding that they’d only find better viewing conditions “if we had our own place.”

Days later, she channeled her disappointment into a hypothetical: What would she name her bar? “The very first thing that came into my mind was The Sports Bra,” Nguyen says. “And once I thought it, I couldn’t un-think it, you know? It was catchy. I thought it was hilarious.”

For years, she joked about it. Then, the fallout from social justice movements like #MeToo and the country’s racial reckoning after George Floyd’s murder left her wanting to make a meaningful impact on the world and her community.

Nguyen, who came out as a lesbian at age 17, says she doesn’t always feel welcome at most traditional sports bars. The Sports Bra could help her, and anyone else who’d rarely felt accepted in other sports establishments, feel like she belonged.

“I thought about, if we can even get one kid in here and have them feel like they belong in sports, it’d be worth it,” she says.

Helping other women’s sports bars get started

At first, Nguyen had her savings, and $40,000 in loans cobbled together from friends and family. That would keep The Sports Bra afloat for three months, based on her cost estimates for labor, inventory and other overhead.

In February 2022, she launched a Kickstarter to raise $48,000 — enough money for an extra six-month financial cushion, to build up the sort of regular clientele any bar or restaurant needs to survive long-term.

To Nguyen’s surprise, the campaign raised more than $105,000 in just 30 days, thanks to a viral article in online food publication Eater. “At that moment, when I was looking at that Kickstarter graph, I thought to myself, ‘This might work,’” she says.

But the money, which came from around the country and world, was no guarantee of success. Actual people in Portland still needed to frequent the bar.

Today, there’s often a line out the door. Women’s basketball icons like Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi showed up, for an event sponsored by Buick, earlier this month. Ginny Gilder, co-owner of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, has even waited in line to watch her team play on The Sports Bra’s TVs, Nguyen says.

That’s a far cry from the Kickstarter days, which Nguyen says only happened after she was denied business loans by multiple banks and small business associations. The denials commonly cited the high risk of a unique concept run by a first-time entrepreneur during a pandemic, she adds.

Even the bar’s core concept is a struggle: It’s hard to find enough women’s sporting events to fill up the televisions. Only about 5% of all TV sports coverage focuses on female athletes, according to a 2021 University of Southern California study.

Nguyen says she’s taken to reaching out directly to sports networks and streaming services, some of which have hooked her up with access to more women’s sports content. She also spends an inordinate amount of time “scouring” TV listings, a process she likens to “taking a machete and chopping through a jungle.”

But she’s no longer alone. Another bar specializing in women’s sports has opened in nearby Seattle, and Nguyen says she’s in touch with a handful of other prospective entrepreneurs asking her for advice on opening similar visions in other cities.

“I would love to have as many people experience the feeling people experience when they walk through these doors,” she says. “It feels very selfish to keep it to this one building that holds 40 people at a time.”

#USA #oregon #Portland #jenny nguyen #The Sports Bra #A sports bar for women and women’s sports #She was originally denied business loans

[starshapedb0x]

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌 ✧˚ · .

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: You’re studying to be an engineer and cars have always been your passion, making it big on social media with your achievements.. and catching the eye of a certain Monegasque.

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: None really! Just a cute social media au. The reader gets hate from a lot of fans, that’s worth mentioning.

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Charles Leclerc x engineerstudent!reader

𝐀/𝐍: I’m so sorry I took a big break hehe! I went on vacation and couldn’t update or even upload this! Hope you enjoy it xo 💋

yourusername

liked by charlesleclerc and 108 others.

yourusername someone should’ve told me.

view all 45 comments

yourbsf good luck girl

yourusername pls get me starbies

username I need ur notes.

yourusername I’ll help u study come in

username HELLO? WHY DID CHARLES LECLERC LIKE THIS POST?

username girl I wouldn’t worry, she is a car focused engineer soo it’s normal he’s into this stuff

charles_leclerc

liked by scuderiaferrari and 1 711 796 others.

charles_leclerc homerace 🔜

view all 7 356 comments.

yourusername can’t wait!!

liked by charlesleclerc

username AND HE LIKES HER COMMENTS

username she was invited to the next gp, and it is his homerace, stop stirring the pot bae 💀

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc and 3 472 others.

yourusername working on a new carr

view all 1 005 comments.

charles_leclerc never wished I was a car so bad

liked by yourusername

username WHAT

username HELLO?!

username shes so cool guys

username best engineer out there

charles_leclerc

liked by yourusername and 8 965 247 others.

charles_leclerc Not our best race, but the best company.

view all 10 983 comments.

yourusername you did great out there.

charles_leclerc ❤️

username there’s no way

username theyre so cute

username they’re not even a thing

username they totally are!!! She’s fixing those engines while he hands her the silly little tools.

yourusername

liked by scuderiaferrari and 6 550 021 others

yourusername thank you, Ferrari for the opportunity to watch your engineers while working. It’s insane how much I’ve learned and how much these people work themselves all day, yet are terribly underrated when it comes to the press and media.

username u dropped this babe 👑

username more of Y/N in the races pls!!!!! She explains everything so well, her blog is 😻😻

charles_leclerc hope you return

carlossainz55 great having you there this weekend, y/n

maxverstappen1 perhaps next time to the bull garage..

yourusername Although I am a red girl… your cars are too good I need to learn please 🙏

yourusername

liked by redbullracing and 7 274 827 others.

yourusername They did have me there guys.. but Max threatened he’d stop talking to me if I revealed their car’s secrets.

maxverstappen1 Never said that ! (Keep those complicated engineering sketches to yourself.)

username girl is a homie hopper…

charles_leclerc chérie.. your color is totally red.

username WHATTT

username no way y’all

charles_leclerc, yourusername

liked by scuderiaferrari and 7 958 133

charles_leclerc My pr manager said it was okay now, so to my favorite future engineer who works herself off everyday.

username called it u little bitches

username now we know how she got those paddock passes.. social climbing ig.

maxverstappen1 she will be blue. 💙

charles_leclerc 😂

username lol this girl isn’t studying to be an engineer she’s taking advantage of the dude

username ugh and I thought I’d found someone genuinely trying to help us stem girls.

username bet she’s gonna stop working on everything now that she’s got him.

f1goss1p

liked by 193 283

f1goss1p new wag alert! Y/N and Charles Leclerc have come out with their relationship.. but his fans don’t seem to be taking well. As for me, I say grow up. She’s a talented engineer, a straight A student and a hardworking person.. stop hating on someone because they’ve achieved your dream, work for it yourself. Stop making this beautiful girl cry.

view all 2948 comments

username ok gossip account ate

username the haters real quiet now

Should I make a part 2 guys 🤭🤭

(Also part two to This summer coming soon 🔜)

#f1 fanfic #f1 one shot #f1 x you #formula 1 x reader #charles leclerc #charles lechair #social media #social media au #fanfic #visuals #engineering #student #reader insert #x reader #charles leclerc x female reader #female reader

[whyanne4]

Daylight

Part: 4/?

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Reader

Category: Social Media au

Summary: Follow the love story of a global pop icon and a monegasque F1 driver

Face claim: Taylor Swift (Singing) + others

Tag-list: @mindflay3r @karmabyfernando

Masterlist

2019

It's no secret that the former power-couple's relationship ended with bad blood as cheating allegations regarding Neymar leaked in January of 2018. The pair announced their split on social media two weeks later. However, it seems as if the Brazilian is not ready to give up on his ex yet. He has posted multiple instagram posts using lyrics from her recent album Lover which the singer wrote about current boyfriend, F1 driver Charles Leclerc. We have yet to get a statement about this from Leclerc or L/N.

A post uploaded by Neymar last Thursday captioned: "I'll save all my dirtiest jokes for you, meu amor😘"

When asked about these posts the PSG star responded

"I will always love her and she is an amazing woman. I've made mistakes in the past but I will do everything in my power to right my wrongs"

The world is understandably shocked by this statement seeing how the pop-star is in a one year long relationship with Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc and even wrote an entire album stating her love for him. The couple is one of the most popular celebrity couples today and the fans love their romantic interactions on social media and in the F1 paddock.

What do you think? Is this Neymar simply being jealous of the love Leclerc is getting both from Y/N and the fans or is he serious? Follow E!News for more updates.

charles_leclerc

liked by yourusername, gigihadid and 2 304 583 others

charles_leclerc: She's mine. You may have had her once. But I got her all the time.

view comments:

leleleclerc: Show him Charles!!!

pieregasly: My man🐶

liked by charles_leclerc

- pierragazzolina: Pierre??!!

- titiwolff: what is with that emoji??😭

janelle_leclerzz: okay I get it Neymar. If I fumbled the bag that hard I would regret it too

y/nhouse: damn, Charles is really out here living my dream life😫

slaybastianvettel: the second pic🥵

arthur_leclerc: good work brother👍

liked by charles_leclerc

yourusername: always yours❤️

liked by charles_leclerc

yourusername

liked by: badgalriri, bellahadid and 8 493 392 others

yourusername: Baby, I just wanna be yours I wanna be yours, I wanna be yours

view comments:

elitey/n: damn our girl really said Neymar who?

girlieprix: Charles and y/n are really squashing any speculations as they should!😤

y/ngirle4life: IS THAT AN ENGAGEMENT RING IN THE LAST PIC???

- safetycar92: OMG IT'S HUGE!!!

- juniorlecclerc: In her material girl era💅

- y/nfanzzaccount: It's on her right hand guys. Chill down

charles_leclerc: You're so beautiful mon amour😍

liked by yourusername

- l/ny/nleclerc: and I can't even get a response back from my guy🥹

yourusername:

liked by charles_leclerc, harrystyles and 13 348 549 others

yourusername: All Too Well 10 minute version out July 1.

view comments:

formula_y/n: She really said: Let me just remind all of you what this man has done.💅

holly_leclerccc: she's an icon she's a legend and she is the moment!

eras_y/n: watch your back Neymar, watch your back😈

y/nwhereareyou: 10 MINUTES????

charles_leclerc: you❤️

liked by yourusername

pierregasly: you're working overtime huh??

- yourusername: always am😇

trulyleclerc: Y/N said: When they go low, I go LOWER

#charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc social media au #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc smau #charles leclerc x y/n #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc x female reader #f1 #f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #formula 1 #formula one #formula 1 social media au #f1 social media au #f1 fic #f1 imagine

[from-the-clouds]

texas sun - joel miller x f!reader - vol. iii

series masterlist | series playlist | writing masterlist | previous chapter | gif credit

chapter summary: Somehow, you realize you've accidentally ended up spending almost every weekend for the last month and a half with either one, or all of the Millers. pairing: pre-outbreak!joel miller x f!reader words: 8.7k chapter warnings: some angst, alcohol consumption, marijuana use, suggestive thoughts (but no smut), referenced parental neglect, implied age gap. reader has daddy issues (shocker!) & a fear of intimacy. a/n: this chapter is so disgustingly sweet it might give you a cavity. truly. but its also a little self-indulgent because joel is in my dream blunt rotation :/ please be patient with updates because i have a career/social life/apartment, and am a perfectionist! i promise i will always (try) to make the wait worth your while. Also, here's a link to the song Joel plays on guitar, since it's not on Spotify so I couldn't add it to the playlist.

-April 19, 2003- 

“Well, that was awkward.”

Obviously, Joel thinks to himself as Sarah turns to watch the retreating form of her teacher, while Joel stares straight ahead at the crowd in front of him. At first, he had thought she was just being polite. It was the right thing to do, to say hello to a parent and a student if you see them outside of class. But…they were seeing each other at a bar. And she’d asked him to dance. 

We just got here, maybe later? Joel can’t even remember what he had said, something along those lines. It wasn’t a flat-out refusal, but he had been acutely aware of Sarah’s eyes boring into the back of his head from where she sat beside him, and he sort of blacked out, couldn’t recall what had caused her to get the hint, to walk away. 

Joel grunts an affirmation to Sarah, and drums his fingers against the tabletop. There’s a dance floor full of people in front of him, all under various levels of intoxication, all of them dancing. 

“Do you believe me now?” Sarah asks. 

“I never said I didn’t believe you.”

How he had allowed Tommy and Sarah to talk him into coming here tonight, he’s not sure. Probably, it had something to do with how much he loved them both. How he would, ultimately, do whatever they asked if he knew it’d make that happy. But still, honky-tonking is the last thing he wants to be doing at the end of a long week. 

There was pretty much only one decent bar in town, so he wasn’t exactly shocked he had run into someone he knew. Everyone came here – to dance, to drink, to eat, or to drown their sorrows. To see their friends, or even to find someone to take home for the night. And over the years, as a frequent customer, Joel had used this place to do all those things.

Tonight was special though, a little more family friendly. It was swing night. It happened once a month, and Joel had always made a point to take Sarah a couple times a year. When he was young, his mother had taught him and Tommy to dance, and he felt it was only appropriate to pass the skill along, even if it was almost obsolete. He hoped Sarah would be able to do the same someday, if she ever had children of her own. 

“Will you dance with me, at least?” Sarah asks.

“Of course I will,” Joel answers.. “But let’s wait for Tommy, he’s ordering our drinks.”

“You mean your drinks.”

“No, you got a Shirley Temple.”

Sarah narrows her eyes. It’s the same expression that Joel has only seen her use recently, and he actually prefers it less to the eye roll. This time, he’s glad it hasn’t come with a question from her, because when it does, it’s always a little more frightening. “Come on, you know that’s not the same.”

Before Joel can respond, he’s cut off by Tommy’s voice. 

“Look who I found.”

This is what he and Sarah have been waiting on, and Joel turns to sees Tommy with all three of their drinks in hand. Over his shoulder, there’s a woman who looks vaguely familiar, wearing daisy dukes and a plaid shirt. After a second, he realizes it’s you.

Most of the time when Joel sees you – from across the street, of course – you’re in a power suit, a pencil skirt. Sometimes, it’s more casual – athletic clothes. There was also that black silk robe he can’t seem to shake from his memory. But this is so…different. It’s clear you’re trying to blend in with the crowd, but you don’t. Not because you’re not pulling it off – you definitely are, effortlessly – he’s just pretty sure if he walks into any room you’re in, his eyes will always be drawn in your direction. 

Joel doesn’t see, but rather feels – Sarah recognize that you’re in front of her, because when she does, she’s tapping him on the arm before he can utter a greeting. “Dad, can I get out and say hi?”

He’s standing to let her out just as you step closer to the table, and you come chest to chest. “Hey,” he says. 

“Hi, Joel,” you say, a soft smile on your face. Your eyes remain locked on his just a moment too long, before Sarah is wrapping you up in a hug, and you’re focused on her when she draws back. “How are you?” you ask. 

Joel doesn’t hear Sarah’s response, because his brother is pressing a drink into his hand - a Jack and Coke, same as what you and Tommy are drinking. 

“Sit down, please!” Tommy encourages.

“Are you sure?” you ask. “This looks like a family thing, I don’t want to-” 

“Please!” Sarah exclaims. 

“What she said,” Tommy seconds Sarah’s sentiments.

For a second, you seem to contemplate the offer, and then you accept the invitation, sliding into the booth across from where Sarah has settled back next to her father. Joel makes eye contact with his brother, sitting next to you. Tommy’s eyebrows are raised suggestively, and there’s a playful smirk on his face when he tilts his head in your direction. Joel gives him nothing, already irritated by his brother’s goading. 

“Is that a Shirley Temple?” you point to Sarah’s drink. When she nods, you continue. “I haven’t had one of those in forever,” you say. 

“Want a sip?”

“Sure,” Sarah slides the glass across to you, and you sip from the straw, pondering. “I should’ve gotten one of those instead. They were my favorite growing up.” 

“Can I have a sip of yours?”

“No,” you and Joel say at the same time. 

“You’re not gonna like it,” he adds.

“You always say that, but how can you know?”

Joel sighs. “Okay, fine. Try mine.”

Sarah seems pleased to get what she wants. When the bitterness of the whiskey registers, the triumphant expression leaves her face completely. 

“Told you,” he says. Sarah grimaces, accepting defeat, and returns to her beverage. 

Tommy leans forward, urging Joel to start making conversation as if this is a date and it’s his responsibility. But before he can think of anything, Sarah pipes up. 

“Guess what?” she asks you.

“What?”

“My teacher’s here.”

“Yeah?” you ask. Joel takes a long pull off his drink, hoping it’ll loosen him up a little. 

“Yeah, she tried to hit on my dad.”

Joel feels the cocktail of whiskey and soda get caught in his throat.

“Oh….” you sound intrigued, and you lean forward. He wonders if this is the dynamic between you and Sarah when he’s not around. Like you’re two friends, engaging in some harmless gossip. “Really?” Your gaze flickers between him and Sarah. 

Sarah bobs her head once. “She has a thing for him. I can tell.”

“What makes you think that?” his brother joins in, moving closer to Sarah, crowding you between himself and the wall and putting his elbows on the table. Joel feels a flash of envy when you shift your attention towards Tommy.

“She just asked him to dance.” Sarah looks over her shoulder, nods her head towards the woman in the corner of the bar who’s probably already focused on his table anyways. Joel already knows what you’re seeing. Miss Davis is pretty, bubbly, outgoing. Probably about your age, if he had to guess, though it’s hard to say how old you are. He imagines he has ten years on you, give or take a few. And for all intents and purposes, Sarah’s teacher is the type of woman he should be interested in. 

“She’s pretty,” you say it like you’re appeasing Sarah, but you’re looking directly at Joel. He’s not sure why you kind of frighten him a little. You’re sweet, he knows, even if you’ve tried to tell him otherwise. But there’s something else there, enigmatic and alluring, that continues to draw him in. 

Tommy chimes in. “So are you gonna dance with her, Joel?”

“Uncle Tommy,” Sarah says dramatically. Her face drops for a second, though, her shoulders slumping as she angles herself towards him, lowers her voice. “I mean, if you want to, that’s fine, I guess. But I….I don’t know.”

Joel is taken aback by how long this conversation has gone on with absolutely no input from himself. Not to mention how honest Sarah is being. She doesn’t usually have much to say about his choice in women – he can usually just tell what she thinks. For her to express something so directly makes him realize how serious she is. But at the moment, he can’t find words to assure her everything will be fine. 

It must be his lack of response that causes you to lean across the table and speak to Sarah. “You know, that’s valid,” there’s a tenderness to your tone. It dawns on him that you’re trying to comfort her. “It is kind of a conflict of interest.”

“Right?” Sarah perks up, just slightly, you’ve given her some support. “It’s one of those things you said you had going on at work the other day an….an ethical…” 

“An ethical dilemma?” you finish her thought.

“Ethical dilemma! That’s it.” Sarah turns back towards Joel. “I think it's an ethical dilemma.” 

For just a split second, he wonders why he’s been letting his already-precocious child hang out regularly with a lawyer. He’s accidentally creating a monster. But thankfully, Joel is finally able to find his voice. “There is no ethical dilemma, because I wouldn’t ever consider it.”

That seems to placate Sarah, and hopefully everyone will decide to drop it. Joel catches your eyes, and there’s something akin to wistfulness there, chin propped on your hand, before you blink once and focus back on Tommy, who's asking you a question. “So, are you here alone?”

“Is it that obvious?” 

“Not at all,” Tommy smirks, not dropping his eye contact with you. “...It’s just surprising, is all.”

Joel stiffens.

“Oh, well…” you smile a little. “I’m just trying to get to know the town a little better. Trying to engage in the community, I guess. But…I’m not sure if I am doing that great of a job fitting in.”

“You are,” Joel interjects, and maybe it’s a little forward, but he’d rather say it before Tommy does. “That’s a nice flannel.”

“Thanks,” You look down at your oversized plaid shirt – the sleeves rolled up to the elbows – that hangs open over a tight white tank top. Joel can see a sliver of the black lace bra you’re wearing that pokes out above the low neckline. He wonders what it might feel like to press his face there, to feel your fingers carding through his hair, but does not allow himself to entertain the idea for very long. Not the time. “I actually had to go and buy it because I didn’t own any plaid. And by the looks of it,” You gesture towards the dance floor. “I need to invest in some cowboy boots, too.”

“One thing at a time, right?” he asks, and you agree.

“So what are you all doing here? Family outing?”

“We actually had to drag this one kicking and screaming out the door,” Tommy points to Joel. 

“You did not,” Joel defends himself.

‘We kinda did,” Sarah says. “Do you know how to dance?”

You shake your head no, look at the people twirling and dipping and dancing in pairs. “Not like that.”

“It’s really easy! I can teach you. My dad taught me.”

“Cute.” Joel looks towards Sarah, and catches you staring instead. Your eyes flit back immediately to his daughters. “But I’m not sure I’ll be any good.”

“You’ll be fine,” Sarah says like it’s already settled. Joel knows he’s spoiled her, that she ultimately gets what she wants. He worries sometimes that others won’t find her quite as endearing. 

“Sarah,” he warns. “You’re making it sound like she doesn’t have a choice.”

You hide a smile behind the rim of your glass. “It’s okay. You can teach me. Might as well learn, if I’m trying to fit in.”

Sarah seems satisfied.

“Joel tells me you grew up in New York City.” Tommy says it, and Joel notices you raise your eyebrows at the implication. He’s talked to Tommy about you. And now you know. He’s pissed at himself for doing it, but at the time he’d been drunk, a little more chatty and vulnerable than usual, and had mentioned you more than once. Too much to be a coincidence. The issue was, Joel had never expected you would talk to Tommy again. If he’d known you would, he wouldn’t have said anything. He doesn’t want to imagine the damage he had done when it was just the two of you, alone at the bar. But even now, he’s completely at his brother’s mercy. 

“Yep,” you nod. 

“You don’t have much of an accent,” Tommy remarks. 

“Not everyone has them.” 

“That’s fair.”

“I did, uh, go to a boarding school in a different state, though, so I wasn’t around it too much.” 

“Boarding school?” Sarah turns to Joel.

“Basically you live at school,” you answer her question. ”Kind of like college, but earlier. I started going when I was nine.”

Sarah frowns. “Wouldn’t you miss your family?” 

“Yes, and I did.”

“So why would you go?”

“Well…” you trail off, shift your weight. “It wasn’t up to me. My dad worked a lot, so it made sense.”

“What’d he do for a living?” Asks Tommy. 

“He’s a criminal defense attorney....owns his own firm and it does pretty well, so…” you shrug. “He was very busy.”

“And that’s why you’re a lawyer? To work for your dad?”

“At one point, that was the plan, yes."

“What happened?”

The question appears to make you uncomfortable, you cross your legs and glance down at the table. “Uhm….pass.” Joel sees your face go blank for a split second before you look up with an easy smile. It’s like the desolate look you’d been wearing was never there, and you point to your drink. “I’ll need a few more of these if you want that story.”

“Might as well order another round,” Tommy flags down a waitress.

You have one more drink, but you don’t really touch it as the four of you continue to talk. Joel has two more, and Tommy has three, because he’s Tommy, and also not driving. Both you and Joel also have to vehemently refuse his request to do a round of tequila shots. 

After a while, Sarah gets bored, then insists on teaching you to dance. You agree, but seem awfully reluctant. Joel wants to pull you aside and let you know that you don’t have to entertain everything Sarah offers, but once you’ve stood up, and he watches her arm link through yours as you both walk to the dance floor, he can’t bring himself to intervene. 

He’s never seen Sarah be so taken with someone before, and he’s filled with a vague sense of regret. He always thought that she was content with just him and Tommy. Maybe she has always needed more. It’s partially his responsibility, Joel thinks –  what could he have done to stop her mother from leaving? Even if he could’ve stopped it, they would’ve been a miserable couple…which might have been more damaging to Sarah than her mother not being around at all.

Once you’re long gone, Joel can sense what Tommy is thinking before he even opens his mouth. 

“Shut it,” Joel says before he can even hear his brother's ribbing. 

“I wasn’t even gonna say anything about that!” Tommy raises his hands, but Joel knows he’s lying.

“We should go over there,” Joel says. He trusts you, but in a bar full of drunk people isn’t interested in being far away from Sarah for too long. Both he and Tommy abandon their booth to mosey their way towards the dance floor. 

Sarah has taken you into a back corner, far away from the band playing, where the crowd has thinned a little. There’s room for him and Tommy to lean up against the wall and watch you both. 

Both your hands are clasped with Sarah’s, and she’s teaching you the counts, the steps, while you study the way that your feet move.

Joel has a feeling that if it weren’t for his daughter, you wouldn’t have hung out with his family for so long. It’s just like the hike, and as usual, he feels more like a third wheel than anything else. You’re right that you do look a little out of place here. Maybe you don’t belong,  but he likes it. You’re wearing a pair of beat up hi-tops, which are a sharp contrast to Sarah’s baby blue cowboy boots that are covered in rhinestone butterflies. He’d gotten them for her for Christmas that past year, and she only wore them during special occasions like this.

Joel is doing the best he can not to think about the way your legs look in those fucking daisy dukes. All on display, and he wonders what it might feel like to drag his tongue up the soft skin of your inner thigh, feel you quiver and whimper as he works his mouth closer to– Enough. He’s disgusted with himself for thinking about you like that right now. 

“Dad, look!” Sarah says, and it seems you’re catching on all right, but none of it looks graceful. Sarah’s trying to lead – which she has never done – so she falters often, and also can’t quite reach all the way above your head when she tries to spin you around. “Oh no, look at his face!” Sarah points. You turn his direction, and Joel realizes he has to neutralize the grimace that has crept onto his visage. “We definitely aren’t doing good.”

“I’ll get the hang of it,” you turn back to Sarah, assure her. “You’re a good teacher.” You’re being nice. Too nice, humoring her and laughing it off, even if she’s making a fool of you both. But you don’t seem to mind, because it’s making her happy. 

All of the sudden, the toe of Sarah’s boot catches on the scuffed wood floor and she lurches forward. Joel immediately pushes himself off the wall as though he could close the space and catch her before she faceplants, but he can’t, and he can already see a vision of himself sitting in the emergency room at 2 a.m waiting, while Sarah holds an ice pack on her nose. But you reach out before the image is fully realized, arms wrapping around her shoulders. “Careful!” You warn. And even though you shuffle forward with the weight of her, you keep her from falling. Once she realizes she’s safe, Sarah giggles and throws her head back, her eyes catching your own. 

He’s not sure what makes him do it. It could be the liquor, the way you look, the unspoken pressure from Tommy. Or maybe he’s just been wanting an excuse to be closer to you. Most importantly, at this rate, he feels like Sarah is going to hurt herself and also you in the process. Regardless of what the reason is, Joel decides to step in. He walks onto the dance floor.

“Alright,” Joel says once he’s gotten closer, looking at Sarah. “I can’t watch this anymore.”

“What?”

He halts in front of his daughter, jerks his hand. “Move. I’m takin’ over.”

Sarah rolls her eyes, but smiles a little, and drops her hands from your shoulders. Joel offers you his hand. “You mind?” 

You look between Joel and Sarah, and she gives you an encouraging nod. “He taught me, he does know what he’s doing.”

“Well okay,” you take Joel’s hand. “You better not embarrass me,” and then you actually fucking wink at him. Already overwhelmed by the delicate weight of your hand in his palm, it almost sends him over the edge. He’s lucky he’s in public, with his family, because he doesn’t think he’d behave himself otherwise.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Joel answers. “Besides, I don’t think anything could be worse than what I was just watching.”

You giggle, and step forward when he tugs you just closer to dance, taking you fully in his arms. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Sarah dragging Tommy onto the dance floor. Everyone is taken care of.

You’re smart. And because of it, you’re a fast learner. Even people who can’t really dance can usually figure this out, himself included. But in Joel’s opinion, it’s always been less about getting the steps right, and more about who’s keeping him company. 

And you’re great company. 

Eager, willing, gentle…soft. He’s embarrassed at how long it’s been since he’s been this close to an adult woman, and normally he might be a little nervous, but instead, he just feels…comfortable. 

But Joel is a selfish man. He always wants more. Wants the band to play a slower song, so then he’d have an excuse to pull you closer. Wind an arm around your waist, whisper things in your ear that no one else could hear, and feel your breath hitch when they register. But this isn’t really the dance for that, and the rest of his family is just steps away. He’ll have to compromise – which he doesn’t like. 

“I’m going to dip you,” Joel says, matter-of-factly.

“No you’re not.”

“I am,” he insists. “It’s essential.”

“I seriously doubt that.” 

“Look,” he tilts his head to Tommy and Sarah, and the latter is laughing as she pitches all her weight backwards into his arms. He nearly drops to one knee to catch her, she’s still so petit, but their form is actually pretty good. And they aren’t the only people in the room doing it. 

“Okay,” you say, and give him a warm smile for a split second before becoming stone-faced. “But if you drop me-”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Joel drawls.

He puts his arms around your waist, one of them catching the middle of your back, the other on a patch of exposed skin on your hip – your tank top has ridden up slightly with all the movement. You dig your fingers into his biceps, cling to him like he had hoped you would.

And even when he draws you back up, eyes locked with your own, your grip remains the same. You stay close. 

“My turn,” Tommy interjects, and Joel can’t help the dirty look he gives him over your shoulder. He’s playing the annoying little brother, doing everything he can to piss him off. His brother wants to see Joel break, but he’s not going to give him the satisfaction.

Plus, Joel is happy to dance with Sarah, which is the whole reason they came here in the first place. She’s so excited to be there, and he wonders if there will ever be a time when she’s too grown up for things like this. He hopes not. 

He ignores the sound of Tommy’s laugh mingled with your own. You were not laughing that much with him, and that causes a pang of jealousy. Joel doesn’t like acknowledging it, but he’s always resented Tommy for his ability to be the charismatic one, the charming one, the happy-go-lucky one. Even when they were kids. That’s what it’s like to be the oldest sibling. Never as fun, always more practical, more serious, the voice of reason. Always in service to their siblings, all in the name of love. 

Eventually, you and Sarah are back dancing together, and since you’ve had some practice separately, it’s not as sloppy as before. It allows Joel and Tommy to return to their post against the wall, just out of earshot.

Joel feels his brother’s eyes on him as he watches you and Sarah. “Dude,” he finally gives in, looks over at Tommy. “Just ask her out already.”

Joel rolls his eyes. “Tommy-”

“You’re into her.” 

“Maybe,” Joel says, because he knows it’s pointless to lie. “But she’s got a boyfriend.”

Tommy elbows him. “So what?”

“I know you’re alright bein’ a homewrecker but I-”

“It makes sense Joel. She’s fuckin’ smart, and funny, and pretty. And Sarah fucking loves her-”

In any other situation, he would’ve acted weeks ago. But he’s starting to understand why he’s dragging his feet. Tommy’s right. Sarah adores you. Joel will fuck something up, it’s inevitable. And when you decide you never want to speak to him again, Sarah will lose you too. He’s already let her down enough. 

“I should’ve never fuckin’ told you–”

“Take her to drinks, to the movies, dinner, show up at her house with a bottle of wine, hell, something. If you don’t ask her out already, then I will.”

Joel punches his brother on the shoulder. It’s not enough to incite an actual fight, but it’s definitely not playful. “Ow!” Tommy grips at his arm. “What?” When Joel doesn’t answer right away, he rolls his eyes. 

“Speaking from experience, I’m surprised you haven’t already,” he raises an eyebrow.

“Once, Joel. That was one time. Will I never hear the end of it?”

“No,” Joel says. “And I see what you were doing tonight, too. Don’t think you’re slick.” he hopes to change the subject, and it seems to be working. 

Tommy sets them back on track. “Well, I was just trying to get you to wake the fuck up and see what’s in front of you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What happens when Sarah grows up? Goes to school, leaves the house? Then, what are you gonna do? You’re just gonna be alone?”

“You are treadin’ on some mighty thin ice, Tommy,'' Joel hisses. ““You barely know this woman-”

“I’d like a family, too, Joel. When that happens I won’t be able to keep you company anymore. You might want someone else. And maybe it’s not her, fine. But there should be someone.”

For as much as he hates to admit it, Joel knows Tommy is right. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

-April 25, 2003- 

It’s six at night. and you’re already in your pajamas. 

A couple years ago, you would’ve thought that was pretty sad. These days, it’s only a little sad. You prefer things this way. That’s the perk of being an adult living alone. If you want to put on pajamas before the sun sets on a Friday night, you can. If you want to get stoned on the back porch of the house you bought yourself, you can. If you want all those things to happen while you watch the sunset and listen to yacht rock, you can. And you’re going to. 

You’re toying with the new digital camera your brother bought for you. Vincent likes to argue with you, but he always feels guilty after a conversation gone wrong. Rather than use his words, however, he just buys you gifts. You had apologized over the phone a few days ago…this was his way of doing the same. The shutter clicks as you snap a photo of your backyard, and you look at it in the viewfinder before discarding the camera on your coffee table.

Martini is on the porch with you, doing that thing where he stands just out of reach but chirps at you until you pet him. When you reach out, he moves away. He’s not great at accepting what he wants. Maybe it’s why he’s sort of the perfect cat for you – you’re the same. 

You light your bowl, and you’re mid-inhale when you hear someone call your name. 

“Hey!” 

At this point, you’d recognize Joel Miller’s voice anywhere. You don’t want to admit it’s because you’ve tried to commit it to memory, daydreamed about how it might sound for his smooth lilt to read you a book until you fall asleep, or listen to him take a phone call in the other room. 

Realizing it’s him, you inhale sharply, forgetting what you’re in the middle of and taking a much bigger hit than you had intended. You begin choking violently on the smoke while simultaneously scrambling to hide your piece and the related paraphernalia sitting out, and manage to do so just in time for him to round the corner. 

You scramble to hide your bowl under the pillow of the outdoor couch you sit on, just in time for Joel to appear at the screen door. 

“Hey,” you say, covering your mouth. Your throat burns, and you cough again. Stay cool, stay calm. Everything is good. “What are you doing here?”

“Sorry, I tried your front door and you weren’t answering, so I thought I’d see if you were back here.” It’s hard to see him from here, through the door, and he’s backlit by the sun that’s shimmering behind his dark hair, catching it in a golden halo. 

You rise to open the door, and when you do, he continues. “I’m here to pick up Sarah’s soccer jersey.”

Right. Of course he was. She had left it a few days before, and you had assumed she’d come get it before her game on Saturday but it didn’t dawn on you until now that she ever had. 

“I would’ve sent her, but she’s at a sleepover tonight.”

“Oh yeah,” you nod, standing in place. You’re trying so desperately to act normal, words evade you.

Joel squints at you, a slight smirk on his face. “I didn’t catch you off guard or anything, did I?’

“No, no, not at all,” you lie. “Come on in.”

Joel steps over the tiny dish of cat food you’ve left on your back step for the stray you feed, and into the screened-in porch. Now that he’s under the dim light, you get a better look at him. A loose-fitting flannel hangs open over a worn green t-shirt that barely meets the top of his jeans. His hair is damp, like he’s just showered, and he smells clean. In any other situation, you’d want to climb him like a tree, and he’s not even trying. But right now, you’re just doing your best impression of a sober human that is definitely not doing anything illegal. The truth is, you should’ve made him wait outside.

“This is nice,” Joel says, looking around. And you really wish he wasn’t because you notice that you left the clear plastic baggie containing your weed out on the couch. It sort of blends in with the green floral pattern, so you hope for the best, because there’s no way for you to sneakily grab it without drawing his attention. “I didn't know this was back here.”

“The last owners added it on,” you say, because that was the type of thing the realtor had said to you about the features of this house. And you supposed a carpenter or contractor would probably be interested in it. It was a good distraction.

“I can tell. Looks new,” he looks up towards the wooden beams that span the ceiling. The top of the porch is still covered, so during the few times it’s rained, you always sit outside to listen.

“I’ve got her jersey in the kitchen,” you tell him. “Wait here.”

It doesn’t take long for you to pick out the bright blue athletic gear from your pile of dry cleaning. It stands out against all your neutral-colored pantsuits. Joel has his back to you when you return, one of his hands clenched into a fist. 

“Here,” you say, and he turns. 

“You had it dry cleaned? You didn’t have to do that.”

“I kind of wasn’t sure if it was safe to run through the machine,” you explain. “But now that I’m thinking about it….it wouldn’t make sense to give a bunch of 11-year-olds dry clean only jerseys.”

“It wouldn’t. But it’s probably more convenient than scrubbing the grass stains out yourself.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Unfortunately. But again…thank you.”

“Of course.”

This is where Joel should leave, walk across the street, and go home. And he does, well, at least, he starts to. He steps away, reaches for the handle to your back door, and then pauses. “You know,” he says, glancing over his shoulder. “The Watsons were tellin’ me the other day you’ve been complaining about a family of skunks living under your house?”

You freeze, recalling the lie you’d come up with on a whim when your sixty-year-old neighbors had started asking too many questions. 

“Well, it does smell a little over here.”

“Uh-huh,” you give him nothing.

“Something like that….you should really call animal control. Get rid of the problem,” Joel’s facing you now, eyebrow raised. 

“If I call animal control…they’ll just kill them,” you answer. “And I don’t want that. So…I think I’ll just have to live with it.” 

“That’s fair,” Joel says. “But you know, Sarah’s over here all the time, and I’ve never heard her mention it.”

At this point you know he’s just fucking with you. But years of remaining stone-faced through business negotiations and family dinners has prepared you for this, so even if you’re a little stoned, you’re not going to let him win. 

“Yeah, it sounds like a coincidence. But they’re never around when she’s here,” you say, in your own defense. “Ever,” you add for emphasis. 

“I guess that’s good.”

You both stare at each other for a second, and your blood buzzes slightly because even though this is just a playful standoff, you’ve never made such intense eye contact with him. It feels electric. After what feels like an eternity, Joel lifts his hand from his hip, and you see what he’d been holding in his fist, now pinched between his thumb and forefinger. He raises an eyebrow.

When you see the plastic baggie dangling in front of your face, you purse your lips. “Alright, you got me,” you lift up your hands, but snatch the bag from him. 

“And here I thought you were such a good girl.”

You don’t even want to acknowledge the full body chill that runs down your spine at the sound of those two words, coming from him. Snatching the bag back from him, he gives you a cheeky smile. “If you give me a hit, I won’t tell anyone.”

Your jaw drops, and you look up at him. “Oh, you’re trouble.”

“I’m not the one lyin’ to my neighbors.”

“And I’m not the one snooping through my neighbors' things.”

“It was right out in the open.”

Joel doesn’t seem bothered at all. But it’s Texas, so you can never be sure. “Okay, fine,” you say. “If you want….I could roll us a joint. Unless you have other plans.”

“The alternative is a house to myself for the evening and some chores, so…yeah. Whatever you’d like.”

“Great.”

Joel follows you to sit on the couch. As you settle on opposite ends, he speaks up. “So you think you could explain to me why my daughter keeps tellin’ me she wants to be a lawyer?”

You snicker. “Believe me, Joel. I’ve tried to talk her out of it already.”

He chuckles. “It’s okay. Probably a more lucrative career than what I’m doing. She’s really taken a liking to you, you know that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her warm up to anyone so quick.”

“Well, I’m the first adult she knows that’s not an authority figure.”

“I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”

“I remember being that age,” you look down at your work. “It’s nice to have someone older to relate to, who you can talk to without being afraid of getting a lecture.”

“She probably needs it,” Joel says. “She told me you talk about girl stuff. I’m not so great at that.”

“I don’t know,” Your tongue darts out to wet the edge of the paper and finish rolling the joint. You put it between your lips, and rummage through the drawer of the coffee table to find your lighter, gesture between the both of you. “This is about ninety percent of how I spent my time with my friends at her age…and so far you’re doing alright.”

“Now you’ve got me worried about what’s going on at that sleepover.”

“Okay, well, I was maybe a little older. And with her? You’ve got nothing to worry about,” you shake your head. 

He rubs the back of his neck, and his eyes glow with the reflection of your lighter as it’s flicked on. “I don’t know.”

“She’s fine, Joel,” you say, bringing the lighter closer and shielding the flame from the calm breeze of the evening. “She’s great. Really.”

“She is,” he agrees. You inhale, let the smoke settle in your lungs for a moment, before exhaling. You take your time, feeling warm from the weed and the feeling of Joel’s eyes on you, and he accepts the joint when you pass it over.

“I really didn’t really expect this from you,” he exhales, studying your handiwork before taking another puff. “You’re pretty buttoned up.”

“This is hardly rebellious.” Instinctually, you like the idea that he thinks you’re buttoned up. Deep down, however, you don’t actually want him to.

He looks so dreamy, the smoke curling though his eyelashes, tracing along his defined jaw, and then up, up, where it settles and shifts under the porch light, before disappearing completely.

Martini, who has been in hiding, hops up on the couch, and Joel reaches out, your cat nuzzling its face into his palm. “Didn’t know you had a cat,” he mumbles. And then, like some sort of magic, the cat plops down on Joel’s lap. 

“I do…but…” you say out loud, then trail off because you’re in such shock. You glance up at Joel, who looks confused. “I’m sorry, I’ve just never seen him do this.”

He passes the joint back to you. “Do what?”

You take a final puff, and then put it out in an ashtray. It’s only about half smoked, but you can get into it later if either of you wants to. Plus, you’re more interested in what’s unfolding in front of you. “I kinda want a picture of this.”

“What?”

“I’ve had him for five years and he’s never sat on my lap like that,” you say, and you can’t keep the resentment from dripping into your tone. “What makes you so special? I’m a little jealous.”

“Of me? Or the cat?”

Something honey-thick drips down your spine at his words. You can’t conjure a witty response, opting instead for: “Shut up.”

You snap a couple photos while Joel’s still laughing, one hand on his chest, the other on Martini’s back, and then put the camera down, and lean against the back of the couch, curling your feet underneath you. 

“You’ve got a nice view of the sunset,” Joel says softly.

There’s a distant fear you might never get to see him like this again, and you want to take him in fully before you drag your eyes to see what he’s looking at. Your backyard slopes down into a small patch of woods, the sky opening even wider to let in the aureate light. 

“I know,” you agree. “It’s why I spend so much time back here.” The high continues to settle over you, strokes your shoulders, tugs at the corners of your lips.

“Surprised you like things that are so peaceful…being from the city and all…”

“The city is peaceful,” you say, thinking of the leaves swirling from the trees in the fall, and the snowflakes falling onto your family's porch in the winter, melting on the tip of your nose as you lean over the balcony to see the glittering lights below, car horns and engines and sirens piercing the darkness, white noise. “In its own way.”

“You miss it?”

“Everyday,” you say. 

“What do you miss the most?”  

“Uhm…probably the bagels,” you lie. Well it’s true. But it’s not what you miss the most. You think of your brother, flopping onto your bed on a Saturday night – a rare weekend when you visit home – and you’re trying to read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn for school but he’s begging to take you around the corner to get a milkshake. It’s the image of him you’ve so desperately tried to cling to and the recollections you share with him have only gotten more and more unpleasant as time goes on. “The bagels here suck.”

“Really?” Joel seems amused by that. 

“And uh…I don’t know. It’s part of me. I have a lot of friends there, a lot of good memories,” you smile to yourself, lean forward towards him. “I had this apartment before I graduated, right? It had the best view of this little Italian restaurant, and I’d sit and watch people through the windows, eating and talking. I was supposed to be studying, but…it was great. I loved it.”

“What’re you doing here, then?” Joel asks, and you look back at the sunset. Here you are, waxing poetic and you’re sure he can hear it in your voice. “You runnin’ from something?” You look over to find he’s staring at you. Like he knows you aren’t being honest, and he’s asking you to stop lying.

So you do the only thing you can think of, which is to ask him a question in response. “What makes you think I am?”

Joel considers this for a moment. “I don’t know. I grew up in Austin. All my friends are here, my family. If I ever moved someplace else….it’d have to be for a good reason. And even if I did, I’d be lonely.”

You stare down at the floor. “Maybe I am.” Lonely? Or running from something? The answer is both, you know, but you’re not going to clarify. “My family. Things are pretty fucked. I thought distance would help, and it does, a little. But….that shit still follows you anyways. They’re always with you, no matter what.”

Joel nods. 

“But… I have a life here. When I lived downtown, I definitely did. I don’t mind the quiet, and….I have friends.”

Joel looks at you. “You got a boyfriend, don’t you?”

Why would he think that-oh. You had tried to forget it, the morning he’d caught you still wrapped up in your robe – not the fluffy fleece one you liked the most, but the one you specifically only wore when you had guys over, cause they loved that shit.

“Oh, right,” you say. “Bradley. Yeah, uh. He’s…he’s….not my boyfriend. But…” you shake your head. “It’s a little complicated.”

“I’m sure it ain’t that hard to explain.”

“I mean…” you avoid his eyes. “He’s kind of an asshole, but we’re not really commited to each other in a meaningful way. Plus, he’s not around that much which is kind of perfect…for me.”

“Really?”

“Less to worry about,” you answer, purse your lips. “But…I don’t know. I sorta wish he got my heart rate up a little more.”

“He’s not your type?”

“I don’t really have a type,” you shake your head. “I like what I like.”

Joel rasps. “I feel the same,” and he’s made sure your eyes are on him when he says it.

You swallow, nod, smooth your hair back. “Anyways. Why’re you asking me all this?”

Joel doesn’t seem to find an answer right away. You narrow your eyes at him, studying his face, looking for something that will give him away. It’s a trick you’ve learned…silence…a bit of skepticism. It makes people uncomfortable. And Joel shifts his weight, squirming beneath your gaze. Until something in his face shifts, and he smiles….just a little. 

“So that’s where Sarah learned that.”

“Learned what?”

“That look you’re giving me.”

“What look?” 

“Like you can see right through me.”

“Can I?” You narrow your eyes further.

“You’re tryin’ to.” 

He’d done a good enough job of avoiding your question, and you’re not gonna ask him again, and instead opt for a different one. “So what about you, then?” you poke his knee with your foot.

“Oh, I’m not answerin’’ that.”

“What? I just told you, that’s not fair.”

Joel runs a hand along his jaw, ponders. “Most women don’t want to be with a man who already has a kid so…things on that front are not always easy.” 

“I have a hard time believing that. I mean, don’t you have an upcoming date with Sarah’s teacher or something?” you tease.

“That’s not happening,” he assures you. “But….I work so much these days I don’t have the capacity for much. So I get what you mean, sometimes it’s easy to not get emotionally involved but…I’ve never really been great at that.”

“You’re a relationship guy?”

“I mean, Tommy has been pestering me about this lately. Says at this rate, once Sarah’s grown, I’ll end up old and alone. Annoys me to hell, but he’s right. I wouldn’t mind…some kind of companionship. Someone to tell you you’ve done alright at the end of the day.” 

“You sound awfully romantic,” you at him blink slowly.

“I can be, when I want to.” Joel rolls his eyes. “But right now…I think I’m just stoned.” 

That makes you giggle. So he’s just being honest. “I didn’t really see much great come from settling down when I grew up, so I’ve always been a bit of a pessimist when it comes to love. What you’re saying….it’s a nicer way to think of things.”

You rarely connected with the men you dated. You chose to date douchebags, to date cheaters. It was better that way, to know up front what you were getting yourself into. The best ones didn’t ask for much, just the odd fuck here and there for a couple months, and you’d step away when things were no longer fun, if they evewere to begin with. 

Actually getting married, settling down, didn’t feel like a real possibility for you. So you’d never allowed yourself to indulge in what seemed like a fantasy. Some women aren’t meant to be a part of a family. Your father had told you once – during one of few times he’d attempted to comfort you after your mother didn’t call on your birthday – as if it excused his own neglect. 

“Yeah, and it hasn’t all been bad. I mean, I’ve had a couple good girlfriends over the years. They were sweet, fun. I enjoyed the time I spent with them, they just…never made it through the real litmus test.”

“Sarah?”

He nods. 

“It would be hard, I imagine. For her. Accepting someone new into her life.”

“Yeah.”

“You really care about her,” you say. “About how she feels. It’s nice.”

“I’m doin’ my best.”

The way he talks about Sarah makes you nauseated. It’s something pure, and you can’t help but feel bitterly nostalgic. 

“I wish my dad would have been like you.”

It slips out, and you immediately regret it. It’s been too long since you’ve gotten stoned with someone else, and you’ve forgotten your filter. And even though you’ve already divulged more to him about you than you normally would, this feels like too much all of the sudden. 

This isn’t something you can backpedal, and before you know it, Joel is leaning towards you. There’s concern written in his features, he wants to comfort, and you thank God for what happens next, or it all would’ve been too much.

His shift in weight causes Martini to jump off his lap and sprint to the door of the porch. He stares at you and then meows. 

Even though Joel isn’t touching you, you have to tear yourself away from the hold he’s got you in. ““I gotta let him in, or he’ll get annoyed.”

You move to open the door, and the cat slips inside.

“Is that a guitar in there?” Joel asks, catching a sliver of the gleaming body in the dim light.

“Yeah.” 

“You play?”  He questions, and you come to sit back on the couch. 

“Not anymore. It’s more of a decoration. How about you?” 

“A little.”

“A little?”

“A lot.” Joel smiles, looks at the ground like not sure why he’s telling you this. “I actually uh, used to want to be a singer.”

“What?” you ask. “You’re kidding.”

“No,” Joel shakes his head. 

“Joel, what?” you put a hand on his arm and lean forward, then look at the guitar.

“Why not?”

“I was…young when I had Sarah. And I had to do something that could actually help us get by.”

“Okay well, you have to play me something, then,” you rise to step inside and retrieve it off the wall. 

“No, no-”

“Come on, please?” you ask. “Don’t be a tease.”

Joel just stares as you bring the guitar out to him. 

“Although this might be out of tune…” you strum once, and wince at the tinny sound it makes. “Definitely it is.”

“Here,” Joel takes it from you. “I can do it.”

It takes him a moment, but he’s plucking the strings in a way that feels so instinctual, purposeful, you can already tell he knows what he’s doing. Once he’s finished, he strums a few chords, and everything is magically in tune. 

“Alright,” you prompt, when he hesitates. “What are you gonna play me?”

“You know any Neil Young?”

“Of course,” you answer. 

Joel nods once, looks down at the guitar, and starts playing. You’d recognize the opening chords to anywhere, but he somehow makes them sound even moodier, and bittersweet. 

Come a little bit closer, hear what I have to say…

He can sing. You’re taken aback. You’re not sure what you expected, but it’s definitely better than that. Deeper, raspier, and now you have new information about him that’s going to bounce around your brain when you’re bored during meetings at work, while you’re lying in bed at night, trying to sleep. 

Because I’m still in love with you, I want to see you dance again…

You shift your weight, sling your arm over the back of the couch, and rest your chin on your hand. Suddenly, you’re feeling a little tired. He’s all-but putting you to sleep and, somehow, that feels like the highest compliment you can give. It could be because you’re stoned, but you feel warm all over. You close your eyes, just listen, until he’s finished.

Even after he’s finished, you keep your eyes closed, settling. Until you feel something graze against the back of your hand. Joel’s. He’s matching your own pose, facing you, but reaching out…

“That was nice,” you say, earnestly. You’re good.”

Joel smiles bashfully, tugs your hand from beneath your chin and pinches your index finger between two of his own. Your nails are painted a glittery purple, and Joel studies them. Sarah had painted them earlier this week when she’d hung out after school, and had picked out the color. 

“So are you,” he shifts closer. 

He’s not quite close enough to kiss you himself. But it’s enough…he’s just giving you the chance to lean in, to close the gap. The proximity makes you dizzy, and you’re a little overwhelmed. It’s too much. It’d be too much. You can’t. You’re afraid of what he might do to you.

“We should be good, then,” Gazing at him from under your lashes, you pull back just enough. It’s not a rejection, and you can tell he doesn’t see it that way either. There’s a mutual understanding, you’re on the same page, but you aren’t quite sure what it is. The warmth of Joel’s hand leaves yours, and a part of you is filled with regret.

And then, like it never happened, the two of you spend another hour talking. He’s engaged, intuitive, thoughtful, funny. By the time he excuses himself, long after the sun has fully dipped below the horizon, you feel like he’s an old friend. An old friend you want…badly, but, you know him on a level you hadn’t before.

“Gotta be up tomorrow for a soccer game, otherwise I’d stick around,” Joel says as you’re guiding him to the front door.

“It’s alright,” you say. “You’re welcome to do this anytime.”

“You sure?” he tilts his head, leaning against the doorframe on his way out. “You might regret offerin’ that….”

“I won’t.”

--

part iv

taglist: @yaskna@venomous-ko@lomljigg@yeehawbitchs@ay0nha @eldahae @lol-im-done@melancholicmelanin@reggies-floatie @omniscientqueer@superflymaterial@mikkorantanev@zbeez-outlet @nadja-antipaxos @strawberri-blonde @jabbajambler @ponyboys-sunsets @kyuupidwrites @r4efromvenus @loveatfirstsight-atlastsight @korianderbandit @nicoleoeoeoe @hotgirlsshareaccounts @madisonred88 @crustyrustydusty @sflame15-blog @issybee0611 @darkemeralddiamond @grandmana @totallynotastanacc @ay0nha

#are you feeling the slow burn yet? #also #i fully think i am not just writing for hbo joel but also game joel #ive had a lot of thoughts about game joel lately #and i really need people to understand i try to represent both in the story #so imagine who you want ;) #Joel Miller x reader #Joel Miller #Joel Miller x f!reader #joel Miller imagine #Joel Miller series #joel miller the last of us #the last of us #the last of us fanfiction #Pedro pascal #troy baker #TLOU HBO #TLOU fanfic #pre-outbreak! joel miller #texas sun

[why4anne]

Daylight

Part: 4/?

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Reader

Category: Social Media au

Summary: Follow the love story of a global pop icon and a monegasque F1 driver

Face claim: Taylor Swift (Singing) + others

Masterlist

2019

It's no secret that the former power-couple's relationship ended with bad blood as cheating allegations regarding Neymar leaked in January of 2018. The pair announced their split on social media two weeks later. However, it seems as if the Brazilian is not ready to give up on his ex yet. He has posted multiple instagram posts using lyrics from her recent album Lover which the singer wrote about current boyfriend, F1 driver Charles Leclerc. We have yet to get a statement about this from Leclerc or L/N.

A post uploaded by Neymar last Thursday captioned: "I'll save all my dirtiest jokes for you, meu amor😘"

When asked about these posts the PSG star responded

"I will always love her and she is an amazing woman. I've made mistakes in the past but I will do everything in my power to right my wrongs"

The world is understandably shocked by this statement seeing how the pop-star is in a one year long relationship with Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc and even wrote an entire album stating her love for him. The couple is one of the most popular celebrity couples today and the fans love their romantic interactions on social media and in the F1 paddock.

What do you think? Is this Neymar simply being jealous of the love Leclerc is getting both from Y/N and the fans or is he serious? Follow E!News for more updates.

charles_leclerc

liked by yourusername, gigihadid and 2 304 583 others

charles_leclerc: She's mine. You may have had her once. But I got her all the time.

view comments:

leleleclerc: Show him Charles!!!

pieregasly: My man🐶

liked by charles_leclerc

- pierragazzolina: Pierre??!!

- titiwolff: what is with that emoji??😭

janelle_leclerzz: okay I get it Neymar. If I fumbled the bag that hard I would regret it too

y/nhouse: damn, Charles is really out here living my dream life😫

slaybastianvettel: the second pic🥵

arthur_leclerc: good work brother👍

liked by charles_leclerc

yourusername: always yours❤️

liked by charles_leclerc

yourusername

liked by: badgalriri, bellahadid and 8 493 392 others

yourusername: Baby, I just wanna be yours I wanna be yours, I wanna be yours

view comments:

elitey/n: damn our girl really said Neymar who?

girlieprix: Charles and y/n are really squashing any speculations as they should!😤

y/ngirle4life: IS THAT AN ENGAGEMENT RING IN THE LAST PIC???

- safetycar92: OMG IT'S HUGE!!!

- juniorlecclerc: In her material girl era💅

- y/nfanzzaccount: It's on her right hand guys. Chill down

charles_leclerc: You're so beautiful mon amour😍

liked by yourusername

- l/ny/nleclerc: and I can't even get a response back from my guy🥹

yourusername:

liked by charles_leclerc, harrystyles and 13 348 549 others

yourusername: All Too Well 10 minute version out July 1.

view comments:

formula_y/n: She really said: Let me just remind all of you what this man has done.💅

holly_leclerccc: she's an icon she's a legend and she is the moment!

eras_y/n: watch your back Neymar, watch your back��

y/nwhereareyou: 10 MINUTES????

charles_leclerc: you❤️

liked by yourusername

pierregasly: you're working overtime huh??

- yourusername: always am😇

trulyleclerc: Y/N said: When they go low, I go LOWER

#charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc social media au #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc smau #charles leclerc x y/n #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc x female reader #f1 #f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #formula 1 #formula one #formula 1 social media au #f1 social media au #f1 fic #f1 imagine

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

01/25/2024 OFMD Recap

TLDR; Cast & Crew Sightings; Queerties; How to Help; New Renewal Effort Resources; stats; gifs; petition status; morale boost ; self care pitstop; love notes; Rhys

== Cast & Crew Sightings ==

While not related to OFMD-- Leslie Jones has been nominated for Outstanding Performance Award from @naacp for "After the Cut" on The Daily Show! Just something to celebrate for our crew!

Nathan Foad, Samba Schutte, and Con O'Neill are obviously excited about OFMD coming to the UK! All seen on their instagram stories.

Next, Kristian Nairn answered some fans on the #WeeJohnDays Coming back. You can add to the thread here if you'd like.

== Queerties ==

If you're down, please vote for the Queerties each day! If you want to just vote for OFMD categories, feel free to visit: TV Comedy Best TV Performance

== How To Help ==

How To Help Save OFMD Task List - US How to Help Save OFMD Task List - Outside US

= New Renewal Campaign Resources =

Found some cool resources today if you're out campaigning on any of the platforms, feel free to use these, they're all tagged with sources. (These have been added to the Daily Recap Task Lists)

== Stats ==

Srcs (in order of appearance LTR): @lucyrosebutler , @bonnypitty @meowzawowza_ on Twitter

== Gif Resources ==

Our lovely @kiwistede made some gorgeous gifs that you can use on social media when you're @ing the networks.

==UK News==

@lamentus1 Gave us a brief update on the happenings in the UK:

Not much to report today, I’ve just been focused on promoting the show off the back of the UK talent, hoping to enlist new fans now that we have a date for season 2 on the BBC. The Guardian article was great, despite ending on a somewhat pessimistic note. It links to the petition though, which is amazing! The Guardian Article

==Articles==

We made it into the guardian! Holy Crap!

‘Unhinged – in a good way’: Our Flag Means Death was cancelled. Its fans are fighting back"

As @lamentus1 mentioned, yes, the last quote in it is very pessimistic, however I don't think that's the part we should focus on, instead we should focus on the fact the campaign got big enough to warrant getting picked up by The Guardian AND our petition was linked in it. Think of how many new folks will be clicking in?

The 20 best feel-good TV shows

Our Flag Means Death Season 2 Finally Confirms UK Release Date

‘Our Flag Means Death’ Season 2: Fans Petition To Save Beloved HBO Show (this last one has a weird date at the end, which @OFMDBingo42 on Twitter speculates coincides with the end of the Social Media Strike for Palestine, just fyi it was confusing many of us).

==Petition Status ==

Almost at 81K!

== Morale Boosts ==

Feeling low cause things have slowed down? A lot of crew have brought up some excellent points across the platforms as to why things aren't as down as they feel right now. Please check out: @PehmoKoira's Take on Tumblr

== Self Care Pitstop! ==

If you are feeling overwhelmed-- stop by @flowelineblog's post! It's quick, and efficient :)

== Love Notes ==

So while looking for cast and crew sightings I found this lovely message on @VicoOrtiz's IG Story, so I'm going to share it instead tonight by @thebehappyproject.

==========================================

Our Rhys picture tonight is courtesy of @rhysdarbinizedarby via a post about "The Jaquie Brown Diaries": Night on the Brown (2009)"

I couldn't get over the look, so now you have to see it. It's literally haunting my dreams and I haven't even fallen asleep yet.

Anyway, night lovelies, hope you all have a great day/night <3 Stay safe, hydrated, and keep being the ever wonderful yous <3

#ofmd daily recap #ofmd daily recaps #ofmd #our flag means death #renew as a crew #save ofmd #save our flag means death #hoist the ads #adopt our crew #rhys darby

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #10 | 04.01.24

And just like that, March is over! We are heading into a very busy April, but as nervous as we are about it, we are also pretty excited. This month has been full of newly accomplished goals, new challenges, and wonderful milestones! Let's jump into it, shall we?

<<There’s not much information about the figure that greets you in a mysterious occult shop. The only known thing is that they were the beginning of everything…and also the ending.>>

This month we finished the rework and the sprite of the first character you'll meet in the demo! They're as mysterious as they're charming, which makes them specially dangerous...

Also, we finished March with a boom! We opened a casting call to add some voiced lines and soundbites to the demo. We have received a lot of wonderful auditions, more than we expected! It has been overwhelming (in a good way) and so exciting to finally get to this stage of the demo's production! ; v ; Also, as always, Raquel has outdone herself with the artwork—just look at these two! 💜

Another background finished by our wonderful Airyn! 💜 This is one of my favorite ones (I'm afraid I'll say this about every background Airyn works on, but oh well), so now the only step left is to animate it! There's three backgrounds left (all of them in progress), so we hope this month we can make good progress on them!

Coding-wise, the script is almost fully coded. Almost. Ten pages left. Then, I'll start polishing everything—transitions, animations, sprites, some finishing touches on some screens...But honestly, seeing everything finally come together is quite moving. Being super positive, we'll start looking for beta testers at the end of the month for windows and mac. Sadly, I'm not sure if we'll be able to test mobile at the same time, but we'll see! I'm going to work so hard to achieve it!

We are soon starting the legal process to make Ravenstar Games official. We have been looking for information and professional advice these past months to make sure we do the whole process right, as it's a huge (and scary) leap for all of us. As you may or not remember, we started this as a passion project to be able to work the job of our dreams. Everything we have is either made by ourselves or paid with our personal savings, as only one of us has a steady job. It's terrifying to think we are going to do this, to invest what little we have in something we are passionate about but that could sadly not bear any fruit. Of course, we are staying positive and will work as hard as we have been working to make it happen, but doubts and fears arise every now and then! 💜

Also, our masterpost has been updated! Now it matches our itch.io page. There's more info I'd like to tweak here and there, but the important stuff (the premise, duh) has successfully been updated!

We have also started to think about the Kickstarter, as we are getting very very close to the demo release and we want to take as much advantage as possible of the momentum the release may give us. I don't dare to give a date yet, but we are very, very close ; v ;!!!

What a wonderful month! I'll never get tired of saying that. Everything is going great for us and the success of the casting call has given us the little confidence boost we were lacking. Well, at least when it comes to me—blame it on the OCD! As the director and the one who manages all social medias, I'm always worried of my performance, but the team has been there for me whenever I have doubted my abilities. I can only hope April proves to be as fantastic as March has!

Thank you as always for reading, for supporting us, for being there. It means the world to us. Take care, stay hydrated and healthy, and let's see each other next month! 💜

#visual novel #lost in limbo #otome #indiedev #devlog #otome game

[betterthanburrow]

Miss CEO - Instagram AU

(Bengals Quarterback! Joe Burrow x Beauty Influencer OC)

liked by yourinstagram, and 270,155 more users

MISHTIMAKEUP: introducing “Mishti Makeup” a new make-up brand created by @.yourinstagram.

after many years of hard work through cosmetology school, collaborating with other make-up brands, and building up the social media platforms, the day that our Chief Executive Officer has dreaming about since she was a little girl is finally here 🤎✨

it’s important to click the website in our bio to subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on our upcoming make-up collection launches and sales!

view all 95,420 comments

yourinstagram: i’m very excited for this new journey!

↳ MISHTIMAKEUP: we love you! - social media intern.

nikkietutorials: i can’t wait to try out all of the new make-up products!

mamaburrow: i’m so excited to support you!

varijstylez: this was one of the hardest secrets that i have had to keep in my life… i’m so happy that the news of your company is finally out in the world!

joeyb_9: i’m so proud of you princess 💗

↳ yourinstagram: thank you 😽 i’m proud of me too!

liked by joeyb_9, and 300,851 more users

yourinstagram: Miss CEO Of Mishti Makeup.

view all 119,663 comments

yourlittlesister: so… since the CEO of Mishti Makeup is a my big sister, does this mean i get free products?!

↳ yourinstagram: hmm… i don’t know if you deserve those privileges 🤔

↳ yourlittlesister: i’m your little sister that was your makeup model for many years… that means i have automatically earned those privileges of free products.

joeyb_9: it’s more like… Miss CEO Of My Heart.

↳ yourinstagram: stop flirting with me on instagram…

like by 66,925 more users

DailyJLBurrow: Instagram Stories from (12/5/22)

view all 9,616 comments

username1: Joe posting about his girlfriend and Spongebob Squarepants on his IG stories… now all he needs to do is post something related to football and then Joe would’ve posted his holy trinity in one day!

username2: the Bengals beat the Kanas Chiefs yesterday but Joe is making it a priority to post about his girlfriend’s business over the football game win.

↳ username3: Chiefs fans really wanted to get a reaction out of Joe but it’s clear that he’s so unbothered even with the game win!

liked by joeyb_9, and 333,799 more users

yourinstagram: just the two of us @.joeyb_9 🤎

view all 150,001 comments

mamaburrow: the two of you are so cute!

joeyb_9: roses are red, violets are blue… you’ll be the 6 and i’ll be the 9.

↳ yourinstagram: JOSEPH LEE BURROW… THIS IS A PUBLIC COMMENT SECTION!

liked by 99,725 users

BeautyGuru_Updates: Y/N’s instagram story of her and NFL Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow.

view all 15,019 comments

username1: we really are getting spoiled with Y/N and Joe content today… this is a rare occasion!

↳ username2: and when we do get spoiled of content, it’s just their shadows or blurry photos… it’s never clear pictures, we get spoiled while living off crumbs.

username3: i still can’t believe my favorite beauty guru and my dad’s favorite NFL Quarterback are DATING?!

liked by yourinstagram and 509,917 more users

joeyb_9: Unbothered.

view all 4,183 comments

Bengals: 🔥🔥🔥

yourlittlesister: i have the coolest future brother in law!

yourinstagram: are you a parking ticket… because you’ve got ‘fine’ written all over you 😽

↳ joeyb_9: so you don’t like when i flirt with you in your instagram comments… but here you are, flirting with me in my instagram comments?!

Author’s Note:

if you have a request for an IG AU, please send the Instagram AU request in my inbox and i’ll try to get the IG AU requested published as soon as possible.

thank you all for the love and support! 🤍

#Joe Burrow #NFL #LSU Tigers #Cincinnati Bengals #CFB #Joe Burrow Fanfiction #Joe Burrow Fanfic #Joe Burrow Fic #Joe Burrow x Reader #Joe Burrow x OC #Joe Burrow Instagram #Joe Burrow Instagram AU #Instagram AU #NFL Fanfiction

[bingbongsupremacy]

The Letter Pt. 3

Pairing: Ellie Williams x fem! reader

Warnings: She/Her pronouns used

Summary: Ellie and Y/N are in two very different social groups at school. One day when Y/N's crush is cruelly exposed in front of the whole school, Y/N is brutally shot down. Finally, five years later the two run into each other again.

High School AU

Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Pt. 3

*Not Proof Read*

A/N: Day one is bad. I didn't know what to do for the first day. I just wanted it to look awkward af bc it's supposed to be super awkward and tense between Ellie and reader. Guys idk how good this is. I feel like I had an idea but idk if I executed it very well. I kinda just ran out ideas for this story. Lmk what you think. Also sorry for not updating yesterday. I just started a new job and shit's wack. I feel like whenever I go to work my body insecurities get worse, ya know? Idk why. Maybe it's the uniform or whatever but I just feel shitty whenever I show up. Anyways, ya'll aren't here for my life story so here's what you came for.

Also I changed it to only three days bc I couldn't think of enough things for them to do.

*****

Day One

Trixie's. Must be a new business.

I don't remember it being here before.

A cool breeze brushes past me as soon as I walk in. The first thing I notice is the large bar in the back of the room. What I'd give for a fucking beer right now...

We sit towards the back of the building. A waitress is quick to bring us some bright red menu's. " I'll be right with you two in a moment. " She smiles before rushing off.

Ellie and I are silent as we scan over the menu's. I don't think either of us knows exactly what to say. I mean, what the hell are you supposed to someone who caused you so much pain?

Just one hour.

Ellie sets down her menu. " Hey so, there's a fair coming through town this week. Do you maybe want to go on Thursday? " She asks cautiously.

I glance up at her. Bad mistake.

Fuck she's hot.

" Um, " Fuck I don't know. Do I want to go? Fuck. " Sure. " I shrug, setting aside my menu. " I mean we've got to do something Thursday anyways, why not? "

The rest of the evening seems to drag on. Small talk is quickly overcome with awkward silence.

How the fuck am I going to do this for 6 more days?

_____

Day 2

Here we go again.

I pull into the movie theater parking lot. People flow in and out of the building, smiles adorning their faces.

I spot Ellie waiting by the entrance, cigarette in hand. " Hey. " I greet with a tight smile.

" Oh hi! " Ellie smiles, snuffing out the bud. " Ya ready? " She asks.

" Yup. " I mumble. In an ideal world both of us will end up disagreeing on a movie to watch and end up splitting up to watch our own show. I doubt it'll happen, but a girl can dream.

" What should we watch? " Ellie asks while looking through the movies. " Oh shit, the Savage Starlight movie came out. " She mutters, her eyes lighting up slightly.

" Wait really? " I glance over her shoulder to look. " I thought it was coming out next month. "

Ellie nods. " Me too. Should we watch it? "

" Sure. "

At least something good will come out of this.

" That fucking sucked. " Ellie blurts as we walk out of the building. " Whoever made that needs to fucking read the comics. "

" Oh my god, I thought I was the only one. " I sigh. " They completely ruined the plot. "

Ellie nods in agreement. " And Daniela Star...fuck what the hell did they do to her costume? "

I chuckle. " They sexified it. Like bro, just let a girl live without having to show her tits. " I roll my eyes.

" Yeah. "

There's a moment of comfortable silence. No tension. No anger. Just two people bonding over a comic series. For a moment I almost things feel okay.

" I don't know about you, but I'm fucking hungry. Do you wanna grab something to eat? " Ellie asks.

" You read my mind. " I nod, pushing myself off of the wall. " Where are we going? "

Ellie and I walk down the street to a small pizza joint.

" I'll have the cheese pizza, please. " I say after examining the menu.

" Alright, your total is $4.50. "

" I got it. " Ellie pulls out her wallet before I can speak. She hands over a five dollar bill. " Keep the change. "

" Ellie. " I shake my head. " You've paid for everything so far. I can't let you do this. " I try to hand her another five.

Ellie backs up shaking her head. " No. I told you I was gonna make what I did up to you. This is the least I can do. "

We quickly grab our food and head outside.

" This shit is the best. " Ellie mutters between bites. " I don't know why I haven't been here in so long. I used to love this place as a kid. "

" Marco slips something in his dough, I swear. " I agree. " I haven't found another place with pizza this good. "

The sound of crickets fills the air. A small click captures my attention.

" That shit's gonna kill you. "

Ellie shrugs, lighting up the end of her cigarette. " At least I'll die happy. "

I roll my eyes. " You'll die hacking up blood. "

Ellie's nose crinkles slightly. " Thanks for the visualization, dad. " She mocks slightly. " I only smoke when I'm nervous or stressed. "

I purse my lips. " Ellie Williams, are you nervous right now? "

Ellie doesn't respond. Instead she takes a deep breath.

" What happened to you, Ellie. " I ask genuinely curious. " You used to be... "

" Perfect? "

" I was gonna say an asshole. "

Ellie chuckles. " I grew a fucking spine. I ended up cutting majority of my friends off and dropping out of college. Now I sell weed and work at a supermarket. " She says nonchalantly.

" Definitely a big character change. "

Ellie grins. " Speaking of weed. " She pulls out a blunt. " You ever try one? "

" Of course. "

Maybe tonight won't be so bad.

-----

Day 3 (Thursday)

" I will win that stupid bear if it's the last thing I do. " Ellie huffs in frustration. Her face hardens in concentration as she tosses another dart at the dart board.

" You really don't need to, Ellie. " I grin at her 20th attempt.

Ellie doesn't respond. A small alarm goes off as Ellie finally makes the final dart into the center of the board. " Fuck yeah, baby! " She cheers. " Told you I'd do it, Y/N. "

I roll my eyes. " Yeah yeah. "

Ellie accepts the large stuffed bear from a game operator who's obviously very annoyed with us. Yeah, we've been here a bit.

" Here, this is yours. " Ellie hands me the large brown bear.

" Are you sure? You spent like 40 bucks trying to win this thing. "

Ellie takes a sip of her beer. " It was worth the smile on your face. Keep it. "

The past couple of days have been...unexpected. I came into this fully expecting to hate Ellie when I leave.

Now I'm not so sure.

We make our way to our last ride of the night; The Ferris Wheel.

" God, Jackson looks beautiful up here. " I sigh while peering down at the bright lights.

Ellie hums in agreement. " It's a nice breather from the world. I feel like I can just...be. "

" It definitely is. " I glance over at Ellie.

She looks back at me. Her smile slightly falters. " I guess this is it. "

It's the third day.

Have I forgiven her? I'm not sure. On one hand, I don't feel like she's the same person. On the other hand, how can I be sure. I mean, I haven't been here in five years. She could be lying for all I know.

" I'm not sure about you, Ellie. I don't think three days is enough time to fix what happened. "

Ellie nods, gaze dropping to her lap.

" But I'd like to get to know you. "

She head snaps up. Confusion flashes across her expressions. She obviously wasn't expecting me to want to talk to her after this.

" Maybe I can...stay a little longer. "

A grin spreads across Ellie's features. " I'd like that. "

" Well then. To new beginnings. "

" To new beginnings. "

I don't really like this last chap. I might remake it if I can come up with some ideas for it. Hopefully some of you guys still enjoyed it.

Tag list (Sorry if I missed you): @octavias-next-meat-bite @ximtiredx @gold-dustwomxn @3lliesrifle @mokeysthings @mqddieas @elliesinterlude @ashlqyy @villainousbear

#fanfic #fanfiction #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x you #ellie the last of us #ellie x you #ellie williams #ellie tlou #ellie williams x female reader #ellie williams fanfic #ellie williams fanfiction #ellie williams drabble #ellie williams x y/n #ellie x reader #ellie x y/n #ellie williams tlou

[morningsofgold]

blue light dreams Velvette-centric with background staticmoth Rating: M Wordcount: 4,524 READ ON A03

Weekly status meetings between the Vees were volatile by nature. Sometimes they were mind-numbingly boring, with Vox going off on a tirade about his newest reality torture show or whatever the hell the radio demon had been up to, or with Valentino singing his own praises and showing off clips from the editing bay of his new favorite star debasing themselves for the sake of money and views.

Sometimes, meetings were considerably more entertaining, like when they brought in underperformers to beg for their lives while the Vees downed drinks from Vox’s private stash of booze. But most often, the trio bickered like children and argued over the budget and took potshots at each other, until they inevitably zoned out and started gossiping about the other overlords or scrolling on their phones.

But this week, Velvette was determined to keep the boys on track. This week, she knew what she wanted, and she intended to get it.

She arrived to the boardroom right on time, and found Vox leaning over a seated Valentino with his hand curled around Valentino’s shoulder. The two men were snickering around something between themselves, red smoke pluming in a heart from Valentino’s ever-lit cigarette. So they were “on” again this week. Fine by her; sometimes it was actually easier when Vox and Val could entertain themselves with each other instead of constantly going for each other’s throats. It usually meant that if she could convince one of them to do something, the other would follow.

“Velvette,” Vox said in that brassy, used-car salesman voice. “You’ve got hellfire in your eyes. Spend your morning dismembering interns or something?”

Velvette spread her hands on the gleaming wooden conference room table, pushing up on her tiptoes as though a few extra inches of height would convey her seriousness.

“Can we cut the chit-chat this time?” She asked, using her most professional voice. She would switch to shouting if she needed to, but it was better to go in with the velvet glove before breaking out the iron first. “I”m on a tight schedule and I’ve got a favor to ask you, Vox.”

“What else is new?” Valentino muttered with a smirk. Oh, he was in fine form today. Sometimes Valentino was tolerable, occasionally even fun to be around, but he was also spectacular at getting under Velvette’s skin when he felt like being a little shit. Which was often. “Little Miss Independent needs help cleaning up her own mess.”

Velvette tipped her chin up and spoke clearly, ignoring the anger bubbling under her skin.

“I need to run updates on Voxtek’s social media algorithm. It’s out of date, and it’s killing our engagement.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the algorithm,” Vox said, steepling his fingers as he sank down in his seat at the head of the table. An LED grin sparked to life on his face, and it could have fooled someone stupider, but Velvette knew when she was being bullshitted, and she knew when Vox was trying to placate her. “Everyone in Pentagram City is plugged into your platform, sweetheart.”

Velvette slammed her phone down onto the table, hard enough to make Valentino roll his eyes but not hard enough to crack the screen. Velvette, who often fell asleep with her phone in her hand and knew from experience exactly how much pressure it took to fracture one of Vox’s shoddily manufactured screens, tried to reign in her temper where her phone was concerned. The interns she reduced to tears were replaceable and so were the runway fashions she occasionally shredded if they fell below her expectations, but her phone was special. Not only did it host all her private dossiers on the other otherlords and plenty of photographic blackmail, it also held all her saved memes and most glamorous selfies.

“Don’t try to sweet-talk me. Do you know what the bounce rate and time-on-site metrics are looking like for the news outlets you own?” Velvette demanded, scrunching up her nose in disgust. “We’re not even close to meeting our KPIs! We’re blowing budget on Val’s porn studio but it’s sure as shit not reflected in ROI. I lost almost 2,000 followers from my personal account last month.”

Val was too busy fiddling with the olive in his martini to look up at Velvette, but not too busy to get in a jibe.

“The only word in that rant I understood was “followers”. It sounds like you’re pissed people are getting tired of looking at your face.” He idly flicked one of the bells hanging from the Fizzaroli bot loitering at this side. “Not our problem.”

Velvette wanted to tear her hair out, but she had just slicked it back into a perfect high pony, and he wasn’t about to sacrifice perfection for the sake of Valentino of all people. She had known him a long time, and if she had any family, he would probably be the closest thing to it, but sometimes he was so stupid.

“How have you gotten this far without even knowing what ROI means?” She demanded.

“I’m an artist,” Val shot back, pressing long fingers over his heart in faux-offense. He had always been a bad actor, even back when he was turning amateur tricks on camcorder for pocket money. “Not a marketer. That’s your job, Vel, and if it’s all getting to be too much for your delicate constitution, why don’t you just lay down and die and spare us the bitching?”

“An artist?” Velvette barked out a laugh, leaning towards Val across the table. She lowered her voice to its most cutting pitch. “You’re just a tacky pimp with a bloated ego, you ignorant, washed-up–”

“Say washed-up again,” Valentino said, eyes narrowing in ruby shards. He drew himself up to his full height and blew his noxious smoke into Velvette’s face. It smelled like strawberry lipgloss and cheap, sweaty latex and desperation. “Go ahead. Say it.”

“I think everyone’s getting a little heated,” Vox said, taking a long gulp from his ever-full coffee mug. “Let’s just sit down and talk this through.”

“If you would just let me patch the algorithm we wouldn’t have to fight about inane shit,” Velvette said, strapping her arms across her chest. She usually got her way by bulldozing everyone who tried to stop her, bloodshed and verbal evisceration included, but sometimes, pouting was more effective. Vox, as much as he liked to pretend that he indulged her antics only as a means to his own ends, was fond of her in his own strange way. He could sometimes be manipulated under the right conditions. Valentino could too, but he was currently staring daggers at her with smoke curling out of his nostrils, so she tried her hand with Vox instead. “Come on. I’ll be in and out in two shakes of an imp’s tail.”

“I somehow doubt that,” Vox said. “Last time I let you root around in the code the whole city went dark for four hours.”

“But that was an accident,” Velvette said, deepening her pout. “It won’t happen again! Just think of the kind of fuck-off money you could make if the alogo worked better! Voxtek ads and product placements at the top of everyone’s feeds, from here to Cannibal Town. You’d double your profit!”

“I’ll admit I don’t hate the sound of that,” Vox said, narrowing his eyes. “You promise you won’t get carried away if I give you access to the mainframe?”

“I promise,” Velvette said, batting her eyelashes for good measure.

Valentino scoffed from across the table, but Velvette ignored him. This was her area of expertise, and the best thing Valentino could do in this situation was shut up. Not that shutting up was one of his areas of expertise.

Vox held up two fingers, and a white-hot spark jumped from one to the other.

“Two hours, Velvette. That’s all I’m giving you. I’ll take socials down for two hours, and if you cant make the updates in that time, it's your head on the platter, got it? I can’t afford to lose any more revenue.”

“Thank you, thank you!” Velvette exclaimed, leaning in to press a black lipsticked kiss to Vox’s screen. He grimaced and wiped the smudge off with a nearby napkin, but he didn’t push Velvette away. Even though her affection swung as wildly as her mood and was usually just there to grease the wheels in getting her what she wanted, Velvette knew that Vox privately appreciated being appreciated. He also no doubt appreciated Valentino’s more…enthusiastic overtures of affection, but Vox and Velvette had never had that sort of relationship. Then again, they didn’t need to be fucking to understand each other perfectly, or to begrudgingly enjoy each other’s company.

“And I’m coming with you,” Vox said.

“I don’t need a chaperone, old man,” Velvette replied, bristling.

“First of all I’m not that old, and secondly, you absolutely do. What if you crash a site or send out some faulty broadcast that requires mass hypnosis to mop up? I’m not leaving you unsupervised.”

“Can I come too?” Valentino asked, blinking those big moth eyes in a way that roughly approximated innocence. “I want to watch Velvette flush her career down the toilet.”

“You can come if you reign in the attitude,” Vox said. “I don’t want any fighting in my control room.”

“Ugh,” Velvette said, scowling. “If you’re going to insist–”

“I am!” Vox sing-songed.

“Then fine. But I don’t want you two breathing down my neck and throwing off my rhythm either. Social media manipulation is a complicated process.”

“Of course, chiquita,” Valentino said in his stickiest sweet voice. “We would never meddle.” HIs smile sharpened, all teeth and malice. “Just don’t choke.”

Velvette wasted no time in goading Vox into making good on his promise, although he insisted she only make updates in the wee hours in the morning when most of the denizens of hell would be either asleep or so plastered and coked out at one of Pentagram City’s many bars that they probably wouldn’t notice a system outage.

So, that night at 3am, Velvette found herself waiting at the control room door for Vox to unlock it and let her in. He was late, as usual, probably caught up in putting out some fire, but Valentino arrived surprisingly on time. There was a sleepy squint behind his huge heart-shaped glasses. Despite being a night creature by nature and by trade, Valentino needed his beauty sleep, and he didn’t get out of bed for anything he didn’t think was going to either entertain him or make him money.

“Come to rain on my parade, pissant?” Velvette said, not bothering to look up from the editorial lingerie shoot she was color-correcting on her phone. Call her a micromanager, but there were some things she didn’t trust her employees to do right.

“I’m too tired to fight,” Valentino said with a yawn, bending from his considerable height so he could rest his chin on Velvette’s shoulder and spy on what she was doing. “Hey, is this that collaboration you did with that succubus influencer who hosts the pop-up orgies? Not bad, not bad…You don’t see many racks like that anymore. She interested in doing a little freelance camming on the side?”

“Not on your life,” Velvette muttered. She wanted to be meaner to him, but she was feeling the late hour as well, and she was more focused on the task at hand than verbally sparring with Valentino. “At least not until her modeling contract is up with me.”

“Suit yourself,” Valentino said, winding a claw through one of Velvette’s curls. “But there’s no harm in slipping her my number, right?”

“Okay you two,” Vox said, appearing around the corner. He looked slightly disheveled from the day, and was wearing his shirt sleeves bunched up around his elbows. Velvette doubted he had been to bed at all that night. “Let’s get this over with. Do you two remember the rules?”

“Yes, Vox,” Valentino and Velvette sighed in longsuffering unison.

“What are the rules?” Vox said, politely but with a menacing flash in his eyes.

“Don’t touch any screens,” Valentino said.

“And don’t push any buttons without your permission,” Velvette put in.

“And don’t broadcast your secret stash of Alastor footage to the whole city,” Valentino sniggered.

“Very funny,” Vox said flatly, his mouth glitching into a perturbed line. “Watch that mouth, Valentino.”

“But you usually love what I do with my mouth,” Valentino said with a wide grin.

“You two are disgusting,” Velvette said. “Just open the door, Vox.”

Vox produced a glowing access card from his breast pocket and slid it into the port on the door. A moment later, the light above their heads flashed green and the heavy metal door slid open with a pneumatic hiss. Inside the control room, wall to wall screens filled the cramped space with an eerie blue glow. The control room hadn’t been designed with multiple people in mind, and there was only one chair in front of the custom display. This was where Vox sat when he spied on the citizens of Pentagram City, or when he overrode the many channels he controlled for an emergency broadcast. It was also where Velvette, with Vox’s express permission, patched up Voxtek’s bloated social media platform when it inevitably crashed, or made her algorithmic updates. Velvette would rather spend her time setting trends and controlling narratives, but sometimes, getting her hands dirty in the digital realm was necessary.

“Tell me again why you’re so obsessed with this?” Vox asked sidelong to Velvette, ushering her into the room. Valentino followed, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the low doorway.

“You just focus on working your magic and I’ll work mine,” Velvette said. She was smiling at him to put him at ease, but privately, the nerves were starting to set in. Calibrating the algorithm wasn’t easy on a good day, when she had unlimited time and wasn’t dealing with an audience, but she wasn’t about to let Vox and Val see her sweat. She was the social media overlord, after all. She hadn’t gotten this far by cracking under pressure.

“Say no more,” Vox said, and snapped his fingers. The largest screen in the room flashed from a screensaver to a secure login page, and Velvette tapped in her password with her manicured nails. Then she took a seat, breathed in deep through her nose, and pulled up the backend of the social media site where she spent most of her work (and leisure) hours.

“Hey,” Valentino said, lighting a new cigarette and squinting at the screen. Even with his glasses on, Velvette doubted he could make out the tiny script. “Think you can bump up the trailer for my newest fetish flick in the algo when you have a second? It keeps getting buried in chatter about the last extermination, and I spent way too much money on all that custom leather gear to have it flop.”

“While you’re at it, Velvette,” Vox put in, “Could you suppress all keywords related to that stupid hotel? I’m tired of hearing about it.”

“No free favors,” Velvette said, tapping away at the keys. She tried to block Val and Vox out, focusing instead on manipulating the complex series of digital commandments that made up the algorithm. She had constructed it herself, with input from the other Vees of course, and it had been designed to speak only in her language.

The algorithm was a complex beast, but it served Velvette’s ultimate end of making sure Voxtek media and products were always trending, that the gossip magazines were always buzzing about Valentino’s favorite show ponies, and, most importantly, that the messaging Velvette devised was absolutely inescapable.

There was no such thing as gospel truth in Hell, but if there was, it might have been written in Velvette’s tidy cursive. From breaking scandals to PR relationships and coverage of tragedies in the other rings, Velvette controlled it all.

Velvette grew increasingly irritated as the new commands she wrote for the website failed to graft onto the existing algorithm. It was part computer program, part living thing, and sometimes, it fought back. The large screen flickered dangerously as she tried to force the commands though, but Velvette kept pushing. She wouldn’t be bested. Not this time.

“Take a breath, pumpkin,” Vox said in a voice he no doubt thought was soothing. “You’ve still got an hour and a half. No need to rush.”

“Could you get off my dick, please?” Velvette responded.

“Whoa!” Valentino said. “No need to get testy. All that frowning is going to give you wrinkles.”

“It’s not listening to me,” Velvette said through grit teeth. “I don’t understand. It should listen to me.”

Vox and Val exchanged a look over Velvette’s shoulder, one they probably hoped she wouldn’t catch. It was a look of genuine concern.

“What’s eating you, Velvette?” Valentino asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, pulling up yet another window. It promptly crashed. Velvette groaned and smacked the display.

“Easy on the merchandise,” Vox said in warning, but then his voice softened slightly. “Seriously, what’s up with you?”

Velvette said nothing, just tried to force another command through again. And again. And again. Each time, she was met with an error message. When she tried and failed a fourth time, the tears started to sting at her eyes. She pushed away from the sea of screens in Vox’s swivel chair and smacked the escape key, shutting down the whole process and rerouting herself back to the password screen.

“No one is listening to me anymore,” she said, trying to keep the grief and fury out of her voice. She hated crying in front of anyone, especially Vox and Valentino, but they were perhaps the only two people in hell who could witness such a thing and live to tell the tale. Her fingers turned to claws at her side. “No matter what I do. My influence is slipping.”

“Babydoll!” Valentino exclaimed, and the worst part was, he sounded truly appalled to see her so upset. His hands came to rest on her shoulders, rubbing soothing circles into her clavicles. “That’s not true. Everybody loves you. Even better, everybody fears you. You’re the head bitch in charge!”

“My engagement is in the gutter,” she sniffed. “Nobody wants to look at me anymore. They’re bored of me, and they’d rather waste their clicks on whatever new shiny piece of ass is out there strutting around, calling themselves a crime boss and livestreaming their kills. Street criminals, Val; I’m losing to street criminals!”

“Velvette,” Vox said, drawing out her name in that syrupy way that had no doubt convinced hundreds of small-time entertainers to sell their souls away for a shot at a primetime TV slot. “It kills me to see you so down on yourself. So you’ve lost a couple thousand followers, so what? I say fuck em.”

“I’m…” Velvette’s lip wobbled dangerously, and she was sure that the waterworks would unleash with whatever she said next. “I’m going out of fashion.”

Valentino and Vox tutted while she furiously wiped tears off her face, and Vox produced a baby blue handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it into her hands. The Vees might have hated each other some days, and the peace between them might be tenuous at best, worn away by infighting and power-grabs, but underneath it all, they looked out for each other. This was not the first time the boys had talked Velvette down from a complete spiral, which usually happened whenever the internet turned on her. Velvette might be tough as nails, and she knew how to hold her own in a fight, but when it came to the quivering adoration of the masses, she was an addict in need of her fix.

“What if I’m getting too old?” She moaned. “I’m still the youngest overlord, but I’m not as young as I used to be. Maybe I should cut my hair, or get a hellhound as a statement pet.”

“Why don’t you show some tits and ass?” Valentino said brightly, doing his best to be helpful. “Even just a bit of sideboob. I can set up a whole boudoir shoot for you; we’ll keep it classy.”

“No, that’s a last-ditch effort spotlight grab,” Velvette said. “If I bust that out, what have I got left? What’s the point of me if I can’t hold people’s attention? I might as well just retire to fucking Tahiti.”

“Nobody’s going to Tahiti,” Vox said. “We’d be bored out of our minds without you.”

“Yeah?” Velvette asked, daubing her eyes.

“Yeah,” Valentino responded, still rubbing that pressure point on her clavicle. It was surprisingly steadying, and Velvette found herself grateful for the touch. “And you know why? Because you’re goddamn good at your job. You earned your spot. You’re really gonna let some two-bit drug dealers with shaky phone footage take the crown from you?”

“No,” Velvette said, still feeling rotten on the inside.

“I think we’ve all had a long day,” Vox said, stepping into the role of defacto leader, which they all rotated through as necessary. “How about we sleep on this and try again tomorrow?”

“I can’t,” Velvette said, suddenly feeling exhausted to the bone. “I need to check up on the new content mill and make sure they’re still pumping out those phony articles, and then I should probably run through my to-do list for tomorrow because Satan knows my airhead PA can’t be trusted, and then–”

“Velvette,” Val said, as gentle as she had ever heard him. “Wanna sleep in the nest with me and Vox tonight?”

“Bold of you to assume I’m going to end up in your room tonight,” Vox muttered.

“Bold of you to think anyone believes you when you play hard to get,” Val responded breezily, then turned back to Velvette. “Does that sound nice?”

Velvette finished drying her tears, and looked over her shoulder to the looming computer. She probably had about an hour left on the clock per her arrangement with Vox, and maybe, if she tried harder, she could do something with that time. Or maybe, she would just fail again. Either option sounded exhausting.

“Yes,” She admitted. “That sounds nice.”

Valentino’s quarters took up considerable real estate in the Vee complex, with a large sunken living room for entertaining (read: sex parties) a big kitchen for cooking gourmet (read: mixing drinks and reheating delivery) and a massive master bedroom outfitted with dim rosy lighting and a stunning view of the city outside. Valentino’s bed, which Velvette had – at first disparagingly and then with affection – started referring to as his “nest” was a futon the size of a California King swathed in sheets and throw pillows, with a gauzy web strung above and around it. The resulting effect was cocoon-like, and the gauze curtains provided a sense of seclusion from the outside world.

Velvette hauled her pink pinstriped silk pajamas, her matching silk hair wrap, and her toothbrush down from her room, then primped for bed in Valentino’s bathroom while Vox and Val talked in low, unhurried tones outside.

She could pretend all she wanted to be disgusted by her concern for her, but deep down she was grateful that someone cared, and she did feel a little bit lighter after crying out her frustrations. At the end of the day, there was no one nastier and more self-serving than Vox and Valentino than Velvette herself, and there was a strange sense of camaraderie born from that. Sure, they stabbed each other in the back from time to time and they fought often, but who else could possibly understand Velvette’s black heart better than the two demons she had chosen to throw her lot in with?

Velvette emerged from the bathroom to find Vox and Val already in the bed, thankfully keeping the PDA to a minimum. Valentino gave her one of her showman’s grins and held an arm out to her, and moments later, she was nestled between them, her cheek pillowed on Valentino’s chest, one of Vox’s arms draped lightly over her waist.

Neither of them had ever made a pass at her, mostly because they were too busy breaking up and getting back together every ten seconds, and because they knew that Velvette would bite their fingers off if they ever tried. They were two of the most brutal overlords in hell, but sometimes, though she would never admit it, they were the only people Velvette felt safe with.

“Tomorrow,” Velvette said, her words muffled by Valentino’s chest. “Tomorrow I’ll try again. I’ll come up with something spectacular and awful. A gorgeous train wreck nobody can look away from.”

“And I’m sure you’ll be right back on top,” Vox said with a yawn. His display was already dimming.

Velvette mindlessly unlocked her phone and clicked on the search alert she had set up for her name, scowling at the results.

“No doomscrolling before bed,” Vox said, and tapped her screen with a glowing fingertip. The cellular display winked out.

“Hey!” Velvette snapped.

Valentino just pulled her in closer, burrowing down in the expensive sheets.

“If you’re going to sleep over, I don’t want you keeping me awake with all that blue light. And don’t kick me out of my own bed again.”

“No promises,” Velvette said, giving in to drowsiness despite her best efforts. She often ended up tangled in the blankets like a beached starfish, pushing Vox and Valentino to the edge of the bed, but they always forgave her.

“Do you really think people are still scared of me?” Velvette muttered. It was a thought she was almost afraid to voice aloud.

“So scared of you,” Valentino said, turning the lights down even lower. “And I’m sure whatever that twisted little mind comes up with next will be enough to scare the piss out of anyone stupid enough to think they stand a chance against you.”

“Thanks, Val,” Velvette said, so quiet she wasn’t sure he heard her. She didn’t like thanking people, as a general rule.

“Get some sleep, babydoll,” Valentino said. Velvette was aware his ability to soothe her after a spiral was the result of a long career of lying to and manipulating the people who answered to him, but sometimes, Velvette caught a flash of genuineness underneath the facade. And Vox, for all his bluster and bravado, had been known to shut down entire productions when she reached the end of her rope to make sure Velvette got what she needed. Velvette wasn’t grateful for either of them. The only person she was grateful to on any given day was herself. But she had to admit, in times like these, she didn’t hate having them around.

“Goodnight boys,” she said, letting her eyes slide shut. Vox sidled up beside her and switched on his hypnotic screensaver, the one that always knocked her out faster than two benzos and a glass of white wine.

Moments later, Velvette was asleep.

#what if the worst people you ever met were secretly soft for each other I ask #vox and val are the only ones allowed to see Velvette cry #even social media overlords get burned out sometimes #hazbin hotel #staticmoth #velvette #the vees #hazbin hotel fic #spilled ink

[autisticgirliesbracket]

What makes Peridot from Steven Universe the autistic girlie ever of all time? Here's what the people have to say:

Peridot-related asks/reblogs: x This post will be updated after each round!

Image ID in alt text and under the readmore.

[Image ID. White slide with a screenshot of Peridot in the bottom right corner, she is smiling and wearing her red bowtie. She is surrounded by text boxes which read,

"She doesn't get social cues. Like, at all. She takes things too literally and she's very blunt herself. When she tries to joke, she can come off as rude or insulting, cause again, doesn't get social cues. She's a little nerd who loves disassembling and making stuff. Also she's my blorbo and I have autism so therefore so does she, hope this helps <3"

"literally everything abt her. she stims she has sensory overloads she has a special interest in tech she doesn’t understand social cues"

"I'm going to start this off by saying that the creator of the show pretty much confirmed all of the gems are neurodivergent, since they're aliens and don't think and act like humans. Peridot is who I'm nominating since I believe she's one of the most relatable gems to a lot of autistic people (including myself) Okay, so she's pretty bad with communicating with others, especially early on in the series. When trying to apologize to Amethyst, she records herself with her voice recorder (which is also shown to be a big comfort to her) and plays that recording for Amethyst instead of speaking directly to her She is extremely literal, not understanding human phrases and jokes (ex: Steven: Oh peridot, you're killing me! Peridot: I am not! That would violate our truce agreement!) She says things and doesn't understand why those things were upsetting for other characters, such as when she was pointing out how Amethyst is smaller than she's supposed to be. She found this funny and thought Amethyst would too, but Amethyst was upset since she's insecure about being "wrong", and Peridot didn't realize what she said was upsetting to Amethyst She makes up words and phrases for things so they make sense to her (ex: calling fingers "touch-stumps") She repeats the word "clod" a lot, possibly as a stim She gets a tablet later on in the series and is very excited since it reminds her of her old tech. She attaches it to her arm with a velcro strap, and spends a lot of the episode on the tablet. I believe technology is one of her special interests, and the tablet is a comfort item. In that episode Amethyst takes the tablet and tries to throw it in the ocean, causing Peridot to get very upset, yell "It's all that I am!", and activate her new metal powers (she's able to levitate metal, allowing her to save her tablet) She may also have a special interest in a show called "Camp Pining Hearts", as she's shown spending a large amount of time watching it by herself and with Lapis Lazuli. In Steven Universe Future, there's a remake of the show and she is very excited to watch it with Steven, but she doesn't like it. They spend the episode trying to change it to be better with Steven's dream powers, until Peridot realizes it's stressing out Steven and making him afraid of her leaving if he can't make it right I'm positive I'm missing things, but I think this is long enough already lol"

"Trouble socializing, doesn't understand why jokes are funny outside literal terms, stims vocally and physically, gets really obsessed with Camp Pining Hearts. Has trouble understanding emotions. Relied on accommodations to function and has comfort objects like tablets and an alien plushy."

"*tells joke* *person doesn’t laugh* “that was the incorrect response” "

"She's very literal, all the time, even for a gem (and not all gems are literal anyways). Uses her pre recorded voice as a way to get her more complicated thoughts out, so it's like an ACD. She mimics behaviours. She has echolalia with one word especially. Very strange humour. She's upset by other gems' unpredictability, and doesn't understand hoe what she says can hurt the other crystal gems. She has meltdowns that others call temper tantrums. She makes up a word system that makes sense to her, in order to help with her communication issues."

"Vocal stimming, talks very literally, can’t tell when others are upset, people pleaser, emotional regulation problems"

"She just is" End ID.]

#autistic girlies bracket #autistic girlie masterpost #peridot #steven universe

[jeffblimchat]

A post for all new and longtime Jeff Blim livestream viewers and chatters. Welcome! (updated on March 8 2024)

*This tumblr has a discord server btw, https://disboard.org/server/1178351989009170573

*check https://starkid.fandom.com/wiki/Jeff_Blim to compare facts here. For now, the wikia is more updated than this since everyone knows where it is. But this post has further information than the one in wikia.

Sometimes we read the same questions over and over on his stream and he has answered all of them in the past. Or accidentally ignores/did not read the old, repeated question, so he can't answer because he's busy doing stuff on the stream. And sometimes, instead of giving the answer to our fellow fans, we just give joke answers instead because we are that silly. I'm trying hard to remember fun facts/stuff he shared on his livestreams and will update if I can. Please help with mistakes on recollection to avoid fake facts. Thank you...

I. The Content in his livestreaming. Well, most days we listen to demos, Jeff live composing his music/songs and some of them are spoiler-less clues to up-and-coming StarKid shows, showcase his difficult and complex relationship with Logic and Stream labs (gee, that sounds familiar. There is screaming/shouting and desk hitting, followed by amazing wit to calm his nerves) listen to him improv and say funny things sometimes based on what Chat is typing about. And have that clout chaser and clout black hole named Jon Matteson as his guest in his streams, most of the time via phone call. If Jon ever gets on his stream, good luck trying to get attention from Jeff on the chat lol. The bromance is strong in this one (although I have gotten Jeff's attention once while Jon was on stream but it was about Jon haha).

Sometimes Jeff just wants to hang out and talk anything, jam with his piano, answer personality quizzes that we give him, give out audition advices (Uncle Jeff's audition hotline. make sure to identify when he's being sincere and when's he's joking/being sarcastic), talk about his hobbies, do spreadsheet baseball... On his hot takes, they are plainly hot takes and you don't have to agree with whatever he says. His hot takes are, half of the time, for entertainment purposes only. Send acting audition help inquiries to [email protected] to make your dream work. More cheaper charges than the one in Broadway Plus. You can also DM Uncle Jeff on his active social media accounts (Twitch, IG) No silly messages pls. Just acting audition help business ONLY. His rates are 75 dollars per hour, 50 for half. To those who can afford, he has a patreon page if you want downloadable copies to the songs he composes on his streams. The link is in his Twitch and YT pages.

II. Music 1. He started learning the piano as a young boy. His teacher was a Russian woman (I can't remember her name). Then he switched to the trumpet and told his father he didn't want to play the piano anymore. 2. He was never a member of a drum corps but went to a camp for it by the The Cavaliers. 3. He only joined Amazin Blue, an a cappella group in UMich, because he wanted to be in a band. He ended up becoming their music director because he wanted every member to have a song where they provided the main vocals, which is something that he butted heads with previous music directors in the past. He won an award for a cappella arrangement for his work with Amazin Blue. Their two albums (Shades of Blue and Self-Titled) can be found in Bandcamp One of his former fellow members in AB is also famous now. The half of the team behind Dear Evan Hansen, Justin Paul.

5. He was a trumpet player at the church where he grew up. (one of his first jobs). 6. According to him, he used to listen to awful Christian rock while growing up. 7. His dad is a retired band director. 8. Likes The 1975 9. He mentioned in Feb 23, 2024 on his stream that he does not want to sing Get In My Mouth live again because he does not want to relive the memory of playing a giant spider. He still thinks it's a great song.

III. Jobs First: Taking out the trash for a neighbor. Second: Trumpet player at the church where he grew up. Third: High school - Trumpet player and played as an "executioner" at a Medieval Times Dinner Theater (??? I'm not well-versed about this as I don't live in the US). After college, while looking for acting jobs and writing TTO. New York City Fourth: Carrying signs for Disney at Times Square. Fifth: Theater Usher (his favorite job). Los Angeles Sixth: working for THAT infamous Los Angeles escape room that he got from Nick Lang. Seventh: Full-time streamer, actor, singer, composer, dancer, acting coach, Internet Uncle to 20+ nephews and nieces 😆 around the world. A. One of his fave TV jobs is his appearance on HBO's Veep because he loves the show. B. On the 911 episode where his chef character accidentally hurts himself, he said he didn't particularly enjoyed his time shooting that ep because he was strapped with a heavy object on his chest during the bloody scene. C. Shooting 24/7: Lego Maniac was fun Eighth: He said a few times he's not auditioning anymore and will only take roles offered to him. Whether it's a joke or not, let's just take that as fact for now lol. There was a phase in his life that he got tired of auditioning (NYC, while writing TTO).

IV. StarKid Stuff

(while answering a personality quiz and as of late 2023 or early 2024) Fave Hatchetfield musical: Black Friday. (while answering a personality quiz as of late 2023 or early 2024) Fave LiB: Nibbly. For the longest time, he considers "Lost Without You" as his/one of his favorite songs that he wrote because it's his first ballad. Generally, if you ask him what's his fave StarKid song or what's his favorite play/musical he was a part, he can't/won't choose because he considers all of them his favorite. 2. I've read this many times, Max Jagerman was never written for Jeff. He may replicate the energy but he is too old to play a high schooler. Can you imagine him doing the shirtless scene during Dirty Girl? His body is no longer like when he did Aladdin in Twisted. He is no longer in his 20s. 3. He said he had the most fun composing for Black Friday.

V. StarKid Tangent Stuff 1. As of Feb 2024, Jeff announced that Rim Tim Timmy is dead. RIP Rim Tim Timmy. :,-( Meanwhile, his sister (chat head canon and Jeff laughed at the name) Rim (Ram) Tam Tammy is alive and well, thank yewww.... VI. Movies 1. For list of movies he loves, check out Rim Tim Timmy's Movies Movies Movies. Yes, you don't know half/most of the movies he likes cause he's old and you're a Gen Z-er. Get a grip. 2. His first and only appearance so far in a full length film is in his brother's indie movie Mondo Hollywoodland. As of now, the movie is available to watch for free in some streaming sites. VII. Likes 1. Coffee once a day, most of the time spending 10 dollars a cup from a shop. He has thankfully quit on nitro. He describes it like a drug addiction he needs to curb. He wants the baristas who are serving him to have that indifferent vibe.

2. Spreadsheet baseball. He plays with classic/ old school famous baseball players. He used to just play on an excel spreadsheet that he made himself until a fan who showed up on one of the TGWDLM showings and told him that he can compete with other people online.

3. Is a fan of the up and coming sport of arm wrestling. He only watches people arm wrestle, not engage in one.

#jeff blim #starkid #jeff blim fun facts from his livestreams #jeff blim fun facts #Bandcamp #jeff blim livestream #Uncle Jeff #Uncle Jeff's Audition Hotline #Blimswork #StarKid fun facts #StarKid #patreon artist #freelance artist #support artists #patreon #Acting Auditions #acting #audition #movies #films #cinema #theater #theatre #plays #musical #musical theatre #theater kid #npmd

[vividwritinglove]

next door XIV - a Pierre Gasly series

————————————————————————

pairing: Pierre Gasly x fem!reader

warnings: none

word count: 2.3K

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Pierre's cell phone is about to explode. While you're eating dinner, his cell phone lights up continuously and you also receive some dms and comments under your recent post. Since you've made your account and posts only accessible to friends and acquaintances, you're surprisingly relaxed. Your follower requests increase, but you continue to ignore them.

He also seems to be the calm himself. He is more than familiar with the media hype and after all, it is not the first time for him to make a relationship public. He's happy that you seem to be more open about social media and even post a picture of him, although he can’t be recognized.

Your girlfriends bombard you with messages. You hadn't told them you were going away for New Years, much less on a romantic get-away with your hot neighbor who's been your official boyfriend for a few days now.

"Looks like someone needs clarification," Pierre says quietly, nodding to your smartphone.

"They're so damn nosy!" you groan, annoyed.

"Can’t blame them..." he grins and twitches his eyebrow.

"You jerk!" you laugh and throw a pillow in his face, "Don't flatter yourself!".

Pierre joins in your laughter and skillfully fends off the pillow, "I would never!".

"You should text them back. Otherwise they'll never give you a break!" advises Pierre as more and more messages pop up on your lock screen. You sigh again and snuggle up to him. You have nothing to hide from Pierre.

👯‍♀️ Hometown Glory 👯‍♀️

Today

H. L. 💜

>> Oh my god! @y/n 🥹 your insta post!!! <<

M. C. 🧡

>> Why don't you tell us you'll be gone for New Year's? And then in Tulum! I'm so jealous!!! <<

A. M. 💖

>> I'm more interested in who she’s with.. <<

M. C. 🧡

>> @A. M. 💖 With Pierre of course! 🙄 <<

H. L. 💜

>> I still can't believe our y/nick/n is dating a celebrity 😍 and he is such a hottie too!!!! ❤️🔥 <<

A. M. 💖

>> @y/n you need to invite us soon, so we can meet him! <<

M. C. 🧡

>> She better introduce us to his racing colleagues.... 😏 <<

H. L. 💜

>> @M. C. 🧡 as always completely underfucked... <<

A. M. 💖

>> @M. C. 🧡 🙈🙈🙈<<

M. C. 🧡

>> oh come on! Like you guys aren't thinking the same thing.... <<

H. L. 💜

>> Earth to @y/n!!! We’re asking for a statement!!! <<

M. C. 🧡

>> She's probably having the most mind-blowing sex of her life right now - under the Mexican sun - with a freaking hot Formula 1 driver.... God, did I already mentioned that I'm so jealous 🥲 <<

A. M. 💖

>> @M. C. 🧡 you are unbelievable! <<

M. C. 🧡

>> Excuse me for sharing my dreams with you. <<

H. L. 💜

>> @M. C. 🧡 wasn't it your dream last week to fuck the bartender from the P1? 🤔 <<

M. C. 🧡

>> One is allowed to have new dreams... <<

>> Ladies, relax and take a deep breath! <<

H. L. 💜

>> Omg, @y/n you live! Tell us everything! <<

>> The enemy is reading along... <<

You briefly hold up your phone and take a selfie of yourself lying in Pierre's arms. You stick your tongue out a little and he grins slightly mischievously, but then turns his attention directly back to his own phone. You quickly send the photo to the group chat.

A. M. 💖

>> You are such a cute couple! <<

M. C. 🧡

>> Stop it! I'm about to cry!!! <<

H. L. 💜

>> Come on! If anyone deserves it, it's our @y/n ♥️ <<

M. C. 🧡

>> @H. L. 💜 Since when have you forgotten to read my texts with irony?! Of course I am happy for her!!! What kind of friend would I be otherwise! <<

>> You, guys. I can't even keep up! 😅 <<

H. L. 💜

>> Give us some updates - we really need to tear every answer out of you 🤓 <<

>> I know you guys are desperate for stories, but I will tell them when we talk on the phone. Once I'm back in Milan, we can talk about everything. I would like to continue spending the most wonderful vacation of my life with the absolute most amazing man on this earth - not to mention having the most phenomenal sex ever 😉 I ask for your understanding! 😘 <<

M. C. 🧡

>> @y/n 🥵🥵🥵 you go girl 🔥 <<

A. M. 💖

>> @y/n Of course love 🥰 have a great time and greetings to Pierre! <<

H. L. 💜

>> @y/n 😤 at least send me a postcard.... <<

Grinning, you lock your phone, rest it on your stomach and close your eyes in relaxation. As you do, you snuggle up even closer to Pierre.

"Everything solved?" asks Pierre, putting his phone aside as well.

You nod, "Details will follow in a phone call as soon as we get back home."

"I hope you will only say good things about me..." Pierre grins and strokes his hand through your open hair. He leans down a little and kisses your forehead.

"I have only good things to tell about you!" you smile, still with closed eyes and enjoy his caresses and tenderness.

New Years Eve

Pierre wants to take you out to a real fancy dinner for the last night of the year. The resort organizes several events to bid a proper farewell to the old year and a festive welcome to the new one. You felt like dancing today. You hope Pierre is in the same mood.

You two have really dressed up for today, Pierre even wears a suit, because the dress code of the event he chose is Black Tie and you are looking forward to enter the new year in style. Before you left the bungalow, you snapped another picture of the 2 of you and posted it in your Instagram story. Each day you felt more comfortable with posting pictures of you and Pierre online, although he wasn’t clearly recognizable in your pictures.

The restaurant is spherically decorated and all the guests are elegantly dressed. It feels like a gala, only without all the media hustle. Your table is located at the window front, from here you have a wonderful view of the sea and the starry sky. It really couldn't have been more romantic. A 7-course menu awaits you, accompanied by the most expensive wines and champagnes you can have imagined.

Pierre and you have nice and more serious conversations, this time they are very future-oriented. Mostly work related, your plans for your work future and his goals in F1 and what comes after racing. Also, you learn that he would like to start a family of his own at some point. With that many nieces and nephews, it was clear from the start that he would like to be a father one day.

"Preferably three."

You almost choke on your glass of wine, "Three kids?!".

"Why not? 2 boys and 1 girl. So they can take care of their little sister..."

"You do realize that doesn't work that way, right?"

"Yes, of course, I just like the idea."

"What if there are going to be 3 girls? Or the last time twins, then there are 4..."

"Woah!" He soothes you, "That was just something I imagined. How many do you want?".

You put your wine glass to your lips, "None..." you mumble into it and take a sip.

Pierre looks at you with a questioning look, did he just hear you right? None?

"Maybe one..." you add.

"Maybe?" he asks a little shocked, he knows you're not really a family woman, but your answer worries him a bit.

"Pierre, I don't have the best relationship with my parents. For several reasons. I don't think I'm capable of raising even one little person."

"Of course you don't know that yet, because you've never experienced it. You grow with your responsibilities."

You swallow hard and avoid his gaze. You are visibly uncomfortable with this topic. Nervously, you stroke your thigh with the flat of your hand.

"Besides, you do this together..."

"At best." you mutter, lowering your gaze.

Pierre notices how unwell you are with the subject an regrets asking you these kind of questions, "We've digressed a bit too far. I don't want to fill this beautiful evening with topics that bother you..."

"It's all right, Pierre! Don't worry about it." you encourage him, as he makes a very depressed impression. Your hand slides across the table and rests on his encouragingly. Pierre smiles at your gesture and intertwines your fingers with his.

He tries to get the subject out of his mind, but his curiosity is just too big. He's dying to know why you don't envision a family of your own. What happened with your parents that makes you so afraid of becoming a mother? Sooner or later you'll have to talk about it, but Pierre also realizes that your relationship is still much too young for such topics.

You know that at some point the question of having a child will come up. However, you never expected it to come up so early and, above all, so randomly. You can see Pierre's worries, even if he tries to cover them up. Fortunately, at this moment the waiter brings you the last course, the dessert, and you finally find a new topic of conversation.

After dinner, the dance floor is opened. Immediately you ask Pierre to dance. He doesn't dance badly, he has potential. You give him a little crash course in basic steps of popular partner dances.

"How do you know all this?"

"I did ballet and jazz dance as a little girl. Then partner dancing as a teen.

"Wow!" smiles Pierre enthusiastically as you move around the dance floor, tightly embraced among the other party guests, "Like real tournaments?"

"If it had been up to my mother, yes, but I didn't feel like it. Competition took the joy out of it for me. I just loved it as a hobby."

Pierre nods in understanding and his hand moves from the small of your back to your butt. Immediately you correct his hand position and admonish him, "The hands have their fixed place, Mr. Gasly."

Somewhat disappointed, Pierre grumbles to himself, but then grins at you.

"And my eyes are up here!" you now grin as well.

"I just can't help it, that dress looks so damn good on you."

Despite the small low at dinner, you spend a nice last evening together in the old year, mostly on the dance floor. Shortly before midnight, you stand on the terrace with the other guests, with a glass of champagne in your hands. From here you have a good view of the fireworks that were set up on the beach for the turn of the year.

"Oh, I have an idea!" you say excited and Pierre looks at you expectantly, "Okay, before the new year starts, I want to know from you what was the best and the worst that you experienced this year."

Pierre leans thoughtfully against the stone railing and looks up at the sky pondering.

"The worst was definitely the F1 season. I don't ever want to experience anything like that again!" he then answers quickly after all and grins at you mischievously afterwards, "The best was definitely the new neighbor moving in."

You laugh and bite your lower lip. Pierre pulls you close. His hands wrap around your waist.

"You should meet her sometime, a stunning woman. Very sexy..." he breathes against your lips and with a kiss you close the last small gap.

"I think I've had the pleasure with her before..." you giggle.

"I even several times."

You kiss again. Your arms wrap around his neck, pulling him even closer to you.

"What was the best and the worst for you?" he murmurs into the next kiss.

"Hmmh..." you think out loud and press another kiss to Pierre, "Clearly the miserable hook ups."

"They're thankfully a thing of the past." agrees Pierre, smiling triumphantly at you, "And the best?".

He continues to grin very confidently.

"Without a doubt, my new job!"

Pierre's facial expression completely slips and he gives you an incredulous look.

"Oh, and the new apartment. That was really a stroke of luck!"

Pierre's hands dropped from your waist and, playfully offended, he moved away from you. You hold him back by his suit jacket and pull him back close to you. Appeasing, you press a kiss on his pouty lips.

"Hey, you know I'm just joking around." you explain, fiddling with the buttons on his tuxedo, "If I haven’t moved to Milan, I would have never met you."

"I know!" he smiles again and in the background the guests are start into count down from 10.

"cinq... quatre.. trois... deux..." Pierre counts on his own, looking at you intently. Even though it was only seconds, this moment lasted an eternity for you. Ideally, it should never pass. You lose yourself in his beautiful blue eyes.

"Un. Bonne nouvelle année, mon cœur!" Pierre smiles into a passionate kiss that you are only too happy to return. In the background you can hear the loud bang of the fireworks. You detach yourselves from each other and Pierre's face is illuminated in the various colors of the exploding fireworks. With your hand you brush his cheek, "Happy New Year, my love!"

The new year could be your best one yet and you can't even imagine what it has in store for you.

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taglist: @hungryhungarian @scotlynaurora @justthatgirlxox @hannahholland1811 @dr3lover @pleasantducktimetravel @iamasimpingh0e @thatonesexycancerian @ophcelia @hello-sunshine-x @savannah-elliott

#pierre gasly #pg10 #pierre gasly x reader #pierre gasly fanfic #pierre gasly imagine