it was just supposed to be a story.

a quick boomerang of his breakfast, the sun hitting just right through the monaco windows, captioned “finally home.”

but what lando didn’t notice—what his fans picked up on immediately—was the reflection in the mirror behind the plate.

a girl.

not clearly. just enough.

tucked into his bed, the blanket pulled up to her bare shoulder. brown hair sprawled across the pillow. a hand peeking out—red nails, delicate silver bracelets glinting in the light.

and it wasn’t magui.

within minutes, the screenshot was everywhere.

“who is that girl in lando’s bed?!” “red nails. brown hair. silver jewelry. soft launch queen.” “i knew he wasn’t with magui anymore. that pr stuff was so fake.” “this is not magui’s vibe at all. and i love it.” “she looks so cozy i’m unwell.” “it’s the silver bracelet for me. she’s effortlessly his type.” “i’ve waited two years for this. he finally soft-launched someone else.” “magui pr era over.” “her hand alone has more chemistry with him than magui ever did.”

the internet lost it. fan edits. zoom-ins. threads dissecting your nail shape. speculation that rivaled tabloid level sleuthing.

lando hadn’t meant to post it. you were still sleeping when he did. he didn’t even realize until his phone started buzzing nonstop.

he opened twitter. froze.

“shit.”

you stirred behind him in bed, eyes half-lidded, voice sleepy. “what happened?”

he turned, face already flushed. “i might’ve… accidentally posted a picture. of you. well—your hair. and your nails. and your… bracelets. kind of all of you, but not you you.”

you blinked. “what?”

he handed you his phone. you stared at the trending hashtag: #landosoftlaunch

he winced. “they don’t know it’s you, but… they know.”

you couldn’t help it—you laughed. sleepy and stunned. “guess the world knows now.”

he looked at you for a second, then said softly, “i don’t care. let them know. i’m not hiding you anymore.”

you raised a brow. “so we’re just soft launched now?”

he leaned down, pressed a kiss to your shoulder, and murmured, “only if you’re ready for the hard one.”