Once she was in his arms, he pulled closer as his posture shrunk slightly to get onto her level as he laughed and tried to turn his head away to hide his giddiness a little. “We can be dessert,” he suggested with a wink as he backed away and loosened his arms around her body, turning to grab the back of the nearest chair so he could pull it out for her, motioning for her to sit. “This is all for you. Aint no one else showing up tonight. We’ve got this place and this food to ourselves,” he tried to explain as he sat at the chair beside hers, moving it closer to her so it’d be much easier to lean over to kiss her whenever he wanted, like right now as he reached up to her chin to pull her gently closer to his lips. 

Justin had to check in with Riri once he go the news of new accusations against her ex. He thought maybe she’d be surrounded by friends to keep her mind busy, but when she stopped replying after telling him not to come over, he had a gut feeling that he needed to just check on her in person. He knew she would do the same for him if the situation were ever reversed. As soon as he opened the door to her place, he knew he was right, the silence in the large house was deafening. “Be pissed at me if you want, but as your friend I needed to make sure you were getting through,” he tried to defend a little as his eyes slowly scanned the destruction she’d left scattered around the bathroom. 

there was no doubt about justin's good intentions. rihanna knew that he was the kind of person who would put his schedule aside for friends, she had seen him do that many times and for that very reason, she was protective of him. often taking the playful big sister, the stern mom or the cool aunt role whenever around him, she wanted him to do better, to get better and she knew he would only do it with propper support. and that’s what she tried to be for him. “oh i’m super getting through”, there was enough whitty in her to comeback at him, raising a hand do wip her most recent tears. “watch out as you walk, you gonna get hurt”, she warned, trying to look after for him even like this.

The dinner was already finished cooking when Rihanna texted that she was 10 minutes out. Suddenly a wave a nerves washed over Michael as he rushed to plate the food and put the final touches on the backyard table setting. Her voice sparked a grin as he turned to greet her. Licking his lips instinctually, letting his mind wander with her coat open long enough for him to take a mental picture. “Nah, you get your sexy ass over here and show me how ready you are first,” he smirked while raising a finger up in a curl to guide her in closer, slipping his hands beneath the coat and around her waist once she was close enough. “you hungry? I made us some dinner.” He said in a calming tone, realizing she was probably late and not explaining for a reason. 

*2 hours later*

the best met gala bathroom selfie. when the person presenting the award announced the category, hailey’s eyes shot up. she knew she was nominated for it and while she really liked the one from 2017, the blonde didn’t think that she would win it. over the years there had been much more legendary bathroom selfies from other people. taking a sip from her drink, even though she was already heavily intoxicated, she leaned back in her chair, waiting for the person to announce the winner. “and the winner is…. hailey baldwin.” immediately reflexively raising up when she heard her name being announced, her heart started to pound. even though her mind was all over the place, her eyes started to roam around the crowded room. spotting the person she was looking for, the blonde walked over to her, the irritated eyes from the presenter for not straight up walking on stage following her. hailey grabbed rihanna’s hand, not caring if she was in the middle of a conversation or whatever else, and pulled her with her to the stage. walking up, she accepted the award with a grateful smile, letting go of the black woman’s hand for just a second to walk up to the microphone. “thank you,” she held it up, “i didn’t expect to win, so i’ve got no speech prepared. but since this is an award for something that happened on met gala grounds, i just wanna say that this woman here,” her finger pointed to rihanna, “is an inspiration to me on met gala days, and also every other day of the year as well,” a small chuckle escaped her lips. practically pushing the trophy back into the presenter’s arms, the blonde walked up to the business woman, both hands carressing her cheeks to pull her in for a kiss, letting her lips move against hers slowly.

rihanna wasn’t paying attention. her anticipation of the award was not high, but she looked favorably on it. it meant that they had made it, with the sum of weird categories, the zero press presence inside, and the fact that all her friends were there and could call it work, it had all turned into a perfect night of pure fun. she was drinking and joking at the her table when hailey came by and took her hand. shit that meant she did it. hailey had won her cathegory and now they were about to hit the stage for a thank you speech. whenever riri realised what that meant for her, she just followed hailey with a happy smile. standin right there next to her she even blushed as the model said all those kind words. and then the sweet moment came. she kissed hailey back for a second, but decided to put some flare at it. holding her back she sweep one of her feet off the ground, bending her in a truly tango kiss, giving the audience a show. once they were both stable on heir feet, she took the mic. “this woman right here is the best. you cherish that met selfie, no one gonna ever top it!”, with a smile she gave hailey another peck, before offering her hand for them both to leave stage. 

Michael smirked at Rihanna’s comment, keeping the smirk on his lips as she reached up to kiss him right there on the dance floor. Somehow, even though they were surrounded by a crowded room of strangers and a few friends, with her lips on his, it was like in that moment they were the only two that existed in the universe. Pulling back just enough to open his eyes and look into hers, he smiled before challenging further, “Don’t worry. I’m worth the wait,” he winked playfully before chuckling nuzzling into her neck as he held her close with his hands at her waist. “And I already know you are well worth everything,” he spoke gently near her ear. 

rihanna wouldn’t lie, she was expecting some thank yous after this very public kiss. she was who she was and being like this meant put her career in line too, so she was a bit taken back that michael didn't recognize the important step they had just taken. still, kissing him was still the best no matter what. “you little fucker”, she protested, showing that she was slightly annoyed, but that he caressing her like that made her forget everything. they spent the next hour like that, talking gibberish, laughing, kissing whenever they wanted and slow dacing, no matter how fast the music went. “yeaaaaah right michael”, she replied his last attempt to convince her that he would give her a romantic dinner. taking her eyes of him for a second she saw selena walking around with a asian man, tall and strong. taking a breath, she knew that meant a mission. “i need to go and check on JB”, she announced, going for one last peck. “see you in the after party at mines?”, riri asked, waiting for another kiss to go find her friend.

“Aww,“ Justin let out audibly as he giggled into the hug, suddenly forgetting his worries and feeling the ease and comfort of his friend’s embrace. She knew just what he was needing without him even having to ask, him just nodding along gently as she spoke into his ear, not wanting to pull away from her anytime soon though he knew he had too. “Thanks Ri. You are just what i needed right now,“ he squeezed her hand back with affirmation and a gently shake before turning to walk out of the backstage dressing room. 

“i got you jay”, she kissed loudly his cheek as a mother would, for protection and then waved her way out of there. instead of leaving the backstage to get herself a place in the audience or even behind the curtains on the stage, she proceeded to the next dressing room, separated by request. soon it became it’s own party, several friends and musicians drinking and chattering, but riri was tuned on what was comming from the stage. walking towards it as soon as yummi started, she waited for justin to get near the chorus to dance herself next to him. licking her fingers by the time he could see her next to him, she winked at the man but didn’t said anything. at first she was just doing whatever she remembered from tiktok but when the chorus peaked, riri got close to him and, using the man as a wall, performed the famous yummi challenge, rolling her ass into his body. she hang out to the end of the song, doing that one or two times more. by the end of the song, she laughed loudly, hugged him and then, using his mic, she looked the audience. “you better slide in my dms tonight, underground awards”, and then winked, kissing justin on the cheek before leaving.