Eternal Sunshine

We Can't Be Friends

Golden sunshine flows into the bedroom like a cascading waterfall. Bathing everything in warm, ethereal light. As Elon opens his eyes, his breath catches in his throat, flooded with feelings of happiness and relief. Ariana is lying beside him, her tiny hand gripping his arm as she sleeps. The sun shining on her blonde hair makes it glow like a halo.

She's a vision. A beautiful daydream, but so wonderfully real. Tears well in his eyes making the image of Ariana waver like a dream. He blinks them away. She's here, she's actually here. Not a dream or fantasy or wishful thinking, she's right here. Images of last night float through his mind. A kaleidoscope of beautiful memories. And the hope of a future together.

Elon remembers her words. We could be good together. He wonders what she meant by that. Are they an official couple? Or is it still yet to be decided? By nature, he is not a patient man. He will work harder than anyone to meet his goals. But that doesn't work with relationships. It has to be mutual. And he can be too much. Too intense and too demanding. So many ruined relationships in his past.

He is afraid of pushing too hard, but even more afraid of not making his feelings clear. He can't bite his tongue. He'd rather die than be silenced. If he doesn't tell her how deeply he feels, if he sits in complete silence, then he can never be free. He would be trapped like when he was a quiet, lonely child. No, he won't go back to that. He'll have to find the balance.

As softly as he can, Elon gets out of bed and heads to the restroom, grabbing his phone on the way. With the door closed behind him, he faces the barrage of notifications. He opens up X and scrolls through his feed. The sheer volume is staggering. He sees their first kiss from nearly every angle. The response is overwhelmingly negative. Where he saw their differences as complementary opposites, yin and yang, everyone else saw oil and water.

There were the typical speculations. That he was paying her and she was putting on a front to get her Tesla stocks or cash or whatever. There were people guessing that they were both trying to make their exes jealous or going out as a pure publicity stunt. Memes on how rad that new roadster must be to be willing to go that far with Muskrat. Classic. Jokes about checking off 2024 insanity bingo. And oh so much more.

Elon was ready to pop off on some of the more colorful insinuations, but he really has to pee. His internet sparring would have to wait. The momentary break from social media helps clear his head. Maybe best not to write anything without talking to Ariana first. Not that he was used to checking in with anyone before his posts, far from it. Countless board members practically begged him to curb his social media usage, and all to no avail. Fuck those guys. But this is different. This isn't just about him. It's about Ariana too. And the fragile bond between them.

Like so many things in his life, it is a delicate balance that could fall apart at any time. And so Elon did for her what he would not do for all the S.E.C. or board members in the world. He would wait, and make sure she approved of what he would write. Hopefully her thinking of him being hot when he's mad would also apply here. A man can only hope.

Sleeping naked definitely has its perks he thinks as he hops into the shower. Although he hates to wash off her scent, he definitely doesn't need to go to work today smelling like sex. Once finished and dressed in clean clothes, he steps back into the bedroom. Ariana is sitting up in bed, the sheets pooling around her tiny waist. Her brow is creased as she scrolls through her phone. Elon feels a pang of guilt and sadness. He cannot protect her from the internet's harsh words and criticism. Even as those thoughts threaten to bring him down, she looks up and smiles at him. Just like that his heart soars.

"Good morning, beautiful," he murmurs. Coming over to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey there, big boy." She responds, setting her phone back on the bedside table.