Hello hello! Welcome to the official epilogue of Just A Game, the final piece of material of this story y'all will receive in ever (?). It's just a tiny look into their lives in the future. It's short and cute, I hope. There's really no fluff, rather some cuteness between Austin and his daughter, since you seemed to love her. She deserved another appearance.
I should mention that your reviews for last chapter almost brought me to tears. Honestly, after posting the first chapter, I had the idea I was only writing this story for myself. Nothing wrong with that, but after getting used to a lovely audience of devoted fans, it was something else. So, hearing that some of you have been enjoying this story to great lengths and even calling it one of your favourites, that really warmed my heart. Once more, thank you for reading, following, favouriting and reviewing. You make me happy by doing at least one of those.
I know this story won't reach the milestone of a hundred reviews anymore, but that's okay. Just a single review that's as elaborate as yours is worth a thousand one worded ones.
It has been three years since Ally convinced the judge that Amy deserved full custody over Ariella, two years since Austin formally asked Ally to be his girlfriend, and one year since Ariella reached the age that gave her the right to choose who she wanted to live with. Needless to say, a lot has changed over the years.
Ariella had grown into a smart girl, choosing to live with Austin primarily, but visit her mother on the weekends once in a while. They had managed to make up for lost time by spending every minute they were free together, doing things he had missed out on at first, like going to amusements park and fares. But also attending important milestones in Ariella's life, like when she received the Rainbow Distance Award for completing all the stages of swimming. She had been the youngest, by far. It wasn't a surprise that she loved to swim, she was Austin's daughter, after all.
The moment Ally and Ariella met, they had become best friends instantly. Austin didn't know if Ally had taught her how to defend herself verbally or if Ally's personality simply ignited what was already there, but he didn't mind. Whenever a small argument arose, Ariella averted a crisis by defending one of them with a vocabulary and arguing skills far beyond any other eight-year old's reach. It was quite adorable.
With Ally, too, things had been amazing. She had almost permanently moved in with him in a newly bought loft in New York, leaving her suddenly rather small looking apartment abandoned. She would make sure to not plan any cases with clients whenever he had to go abroad for a big championship, so she could join him on the trip and cheer him on. And, of course, whenever she had a big trial, he would be there in the courtroom for mental support.
They were two independent human beings with separate lives that intertwined whenever they allowed them to. 'Dating' and 'practically cohabited' was as serious as they got. Until tonight, however.
It was their anniversary and to say Austin had made an effort for dinner was an understatement. He loved to cook and he was great at it, a trait Ally had appreciated highly once she had discovered it. The beef and tomato puree were boiling in red wine, the vegetables were cooking nicely in the sauce as well, and a delicious smell was filling the loft rapidly. Everything was under control. Austin is just tasting one of the mushrooms when his phone rings.
"Hey, babe! Where are you?" Austin asks, listening to the sounds of New York at night through the phone. Ally had agreed to meet him after work to celebrate their special day.
"I'm getting a taxi now." Her usually chirpy voice sounds rather drained. She pulls the door of the cab closed before giving the driver Austin's address. "I'll be there in 15 if the traffic allows me to."
"Great! So, what do you want to do for dinner?" He snickers softly, walking towards the already perfectly set table in the living room. "We can hit town, see if that sushi place has a table."
"Honestly, Austin, it's been a long day. I think I'd rather stay home tonight, maybe order some takeout," she admits before sighing guiltily. "I'm sorry, I know how you wanted to celebrate our anniversary in town."
"It's alright, Alls. We can go out another time." Faking his slight disappointment, he hides that this had been his plan all along. "I might be able to cook something nice myself, actually," he adds, covering the microphone slightly to shut out the kitchen timer alarm. While jamming the phone between his ear and shoulder, he takes the baguettes out of the oven.
"Thanks, babe, I'll see you in a bit," Ally replies clueless. "Love you."
"Love you, too." After ending the call, Ariella appears in the doorway, wearing her favourite dress. A green one, which makes her look exactly like her favourite Disney princess.
"Is she almost here, daddy?" She whispers like she is afraid Ally would be able to hear here somehow.
"Yes, pumpkin, just a few minutes," Austin tells her, taking her to the dining table before letting her climb on his lap. Ariella blinks a few times as she studies his face.
"You look nervous," she observes.
Austin smiles at her, twirling one of her curls around his finger. "I am."
The girl cocks her head in confusion. "Why?" She asks like it's the most obvious question in the world. "She loves you, doesn't she?" Austin nods happily in which she shrugs. "And you love her. I don't see how it could go wrong."
Hugging her closely, he presses a kiss on her hair while snickering softly. "That's quite the waterproof theory you got there." Ariella sits still, playing with the hem of her dress contently as Austin looks at her in deep thought. "Hey, pumpkin," he speaks after some time, making her big green eyes point in his direction. "Things will change after tonight. Do you know what me marrying Ally means?"
"It means you kiss a lot," she says innocently after thinking for a few seconds, making Austin giggle.
"That's one thing." He turns serious. "But it also means you will be seeing Ally a lot more from now on."
Ariella nods, seeming to be in deep thought about that scenario as Austin awaits her response nervously. "I like seeing Ally." She eventually shrugs.
"I'm glad you do, pumpkin." He releases a relieved breath, tapping her nose playfully.
"Does this mean I should start calling Ally 'mommy'?" Ariella speaks all of a sudden in which Austin's eyes widen in surprise.
"You don't have to, sweetheart," he assures her. "But you can, if you want to. I'm sure she would like that."
"She kind of is my mommy," the redhead thinks out loud before looking at her dad for confirmation. "Right?
"Yes, of course." Smiling proudly in return, he pulls her even closer. "If you want her to be."
"Can I see the ring one more time?" The girl moves onto a new subject in a way only an eight-year-old can, making Austin laugh softly before revealing the black, velvet box for the umpteenth time. The shiny diamond make Ariella's eyes sparkle as she observes the tiny object once more. "Pretty," she beams.
Taking the ring out of the box, he holds his daughter's hand and slips it around her thumb, as that is the only finger that the ring remotely fits around. "It looks good on you."
"Can I have one, too?" Her begging eyes look at him.
"Of course!" He promises. "We'll get you one that matches your dress."
Ariella is about to answer when her sharp ears pick up the sound of an arriving elevator.
"Daddy, I think I can hear her!" She whispers excitedly and Austin's heart skips a beat.
"Let's go to the kitchen," he whispers hurriedly, taking Ariella's hand. Crouching down in front of her after taking a quick look at the food, he gives her a knowing look. "You remember what we planned, right?"
Ariella nods proudly. "I stay in the kitchen until she notices the third plate. That's my cue to come out. Then, while telling me how pretty I look, you kneel down and do the 'ring thing'."
"That's it." As he presses a kiss on her forehead, the front door opens and the recognisable sound of Ally's high heeled boots stomping on the doormat to get rid of the snow plastered to the sole echoes through the loft.
"Austin, it's me!" She lets him know as if it wasn't obvious before, and Austin's breath speeds up. Ariella touches his hand shortly to calm him down. "Are you in the kitchen?"
"Yeah, dinner's almost ready." He keeps his answer short to limit the chance of her catching the trembling in his voice. Ally throws her coat and scarf over the back of the couch, as she always does.
"Wow, it smells amazing," she sighs, fixing her hair in the mirror next to the bookcase, supposedly. "What are you making?"
"N-nothing special, really." Unable to prevent the short stutter, he curses himself and prays she didn't pick up on it. She didn't, he presumes, as she giggles carelessly.
"I've seen your 'nothing special'. That's like Michelin star quality!" Her pacing comes to a stop suddenly and Austin thanks god she didn't decide to enter the kitchen and ruin the plan she didn't even know existed before it could properly start. "Damn, the dinner table looks great, you really went all out. Oh, champagne!"
Austin's smile widens as she's silently appreciating the effort he made to get her favourite brand. From what he's hearing, she hadn't paid attention to the number of plates just yet, so the plan was still in full motion. Looking down, he sees Ariella glowing with excitement. "Ready?" She nods with the biggest grin, making Austin wonder who was looking forward to this more. Sliding the velvet box in the pocket of his dress pants, he takes a few deep breaths while fixing the collar of his shirt.
"Game on."
See what I did with the 'game' thing? Game on, Just A Game. Huh, huh? I'm hilarious.
I'll see you guys later when I've built up enough courage to create another big project. Have a nice day, everyone. (I've had a pretty rough day, failing my first university exam and all, so I decided to answer more reviews than usual. Yay :))
Also, there's a kind of competition for best novel written by students and I think I might participate with one of my fanfics. It needs to be over 50,000 words, so my options are limited, but College Works Out might work. I think it's annual, so I hope to have completed either my cruise thriller or the third part of the Work Things Out series. I'm planning on working on them for a long time to make them perfect and more mature, so look forward to that!
10 points for guessing that Disney princess
jcarter692 chapter 11
Thank you, that means alot! :)
Yes, I loved these last two chapters! So happy Auslly got back together! My fav part was his daughter running up to them! I was happy that Ally will get to meet her & see Austin interact with her in person. Their all so adorable!
I really loved Austin's memorable moments flashback & his speech. Both nearly brought me to tears, your writing is so amazing! I love that you don't base your story quality or length on the number of reviews. It makes the story so much better when you're happy with what you're writing. And its incredible that you take time to do research, I could totally see you being a professional author. Thanks for such an awesome story, can't wait for the epilogue! :) - Yay, glad you got that :) Aw, thanks! I found it fun to write those, it was like I was looking back at the moments I wrote the past chapters. Ah, it's only fair that I don't care so much about reviews. I once followed a story that the author decided to discontinue after not receiving enough reviews for her preference. Apparently, she thought the number of reviews was too low in comparison to the number of readers. I remember how disgusted I was. Ever since, a part of me feels repulsed whenever writers talk about reviews like they are a necessity instead of amazing people who take the time to voice their opinion after taking times out of their lives to read something you wrote.
Anyway, thank you so much for you continuously caring reviews, they really do inspire me to push my limits and become a better write to provide better stories and continue to entertain you in ways that not only amaze readers but also myself. Becoming a young adult novel writer has always been one of my dreams and every time I produce a story I find successful; I find myself becoming more confident in perhaps pursuing that dream. I hope to see you again soon!
Guest 02 chapter 11
You are an amazing writer! Awesome fanfic! Can not wait till the next update! Hope you have a wonderful week! :) – Thank you, sweet guest! Same to you!
ViaNearth11 chapter 11
I again LOVED IT! And I was the one who suggested the name Ariella! Remember me? And is there gonna be an epilogue, cause I would love one! – THANKS! Oh, god, I'm so sorry! I've never been good with names… That suggestion inspired me a lot and improved this story, so thanks again :)
HOAlove4Ever chapter 11
Loved. Every. Second. Of. This. Story.
You're an amazing writer, one of the best stories i've ever read! – Aaaaah, thank you! If you liked this one, you might want to give my other stories a shot. I reckon you'll dig them!
Guest chapter 11
ALWAYS MAKES ME SO HAPPY WHEN I SEE ITS BREN UPDATED – YOU'RE A DOLL!
EverAfterForLife chapter 11
I AM SOOOO HAPPY WITH HOW YOU WROTE THIS CHAPTER!
Omg, Ally and Rachel are good and thats so amazing and Ausally is still Ali and everything is okay!
I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE EPILOGUE!
I really hope Austin gets his daughter back!
OMG, THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN THIS STORY IS SO AMAZING!
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HOW YOU WROTE THIS ENTIRE STORY AND I LOVE THIS TWISTS AND TURNS!
Thanks so much for this chapter and for your commitment to this story!
I can't wait to read what you write next! – Yess, I'm glad I got to end this story with all characters being on good terms. Wow, character development? That's something only novel writers can portray, but I'm really working on learning how to create that as well. Thank you for your commitment to continuing to read. See you in the future.