#threads || jj hayes & asha dean

[jj-hayes]

STATUS: Closed. (@ashaisabelle)

LOCATION: Coral Cove Beach, Music Festival, Day Three.

As the crowd dispersed following the last set of the evening, JJ finds himself heading to the bonfire on Coral Cove Beach. Though it was well into the early hours of the day at this point, his head is still buzzing with adrenaline, and he has had too much fun hanging out with all of his friends that weekend to let it all come to an end just yet. Perhaps a little unwinding was what he needed to replenish some of his energy, and return to the last day of the festival. But for now, he grins at all of the familiar faces he finds once he reaches the bonfire, and plops down on a folding chair on the sand. "Asha? Is that you?" His brows furrow upon seeing the younger woman sat next to him. "Are you doing alright?"

[jj-hayes]

JJ raises his eyebrow ever so slightly upon hearing Asha's words, a rather amused expression finding its place upon his features as he leans in. "Asha, why are you being so philosophical with me right now? I thought we were talking about Instagram?" He teases, another soft chuckle bubbling out of his lips before he shakes his head. "Ah, so I guess the use of Photoshop is much more prevalent among us than I thought. I'm afraid I don't have the technical skill to understand it. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of things involving technology that I still don't understand. CJ gives me a lot of shit for it, even to this day."

Needless to say, JJ is slightly surprised by Asha's question. He would not have expected her to be so interested in getting to know his experience with parenthood, but that does not keep him from giving her an answer. "Being a parent is... I mean, it can be a lot sometimes. It can be challenging, exhausting. Sometimes you feel like you have no idea what you're doing. In my case, it all happened so fast, and I didn't know what I was getting into. In the beginning, it was hard. Mia was in, and out of surgeries... and I practically lived at the hospital for weeks just to keep an eye on her. The adoption wasn't even finalized back then, but that didn't stop me. I knew I was her dad the moment I met her. But then the adoption was finalized, and Mia came home with me. The first few months were hard. It was quite an adjustment. She was still recovering from her surgeries, and she did not have a normal sleep schedule. I thought I knew what it meant to not get enough sleep being a full-time surgeon, but being a parent... nothing prepares you for that. But it's... a learning process. You figure it out, take it one day at a time. At least, that's how I do it. Eight months later, and I like to think that I have the hang of it. My little girl's hitting all of her developmental milestones, and she's thriving. I think that's all I can ask for as a parent." He admits, a genuine smile finding its place upon his lips as he turns his gaze to meet Asha's. "What makes you ask me all of a sudden about what it's like being a parent? You're not thinking about it, are you?"

Glancing over at him, Asha shot him a look with a soft smile attached. "I mean... I'm a firm believer in there's a little truth to every lie and there's a little lie in every truth." Looking back at the festival still jumping off behind them in the distance, Asha said, "photoshop is a magical thing" as she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

Leaning in, she held her hands out to the fire with a hum of appreciation. As he laughs she looked over towards him again and she hears him but something else rattles in her mind. "What's it like?" She bits her lip. "Being a parent, what's it like?"

[jj-hayes]

"All of them?" JJ remarks, the smile that finds its place upon his lips a rather cheeky one. "Not that I actually believe everything that I see on Instagram, but not even the posts about one of my pals attending the music festival? If I'm not to believe what you post on Instagram, then what is it that I'm supposed to believe?" At this point, he's just pulling her leg. But he knows her well enough to know that she must be tired from this weekend's events, just as he is. When his friend hands him another ice cold water bottle, JJ twists it open before taking a generous sip of it.

He sets his water bottle aside as he gazes into the fire for a moment, Asha's words pulling him out of his thoughts, and causing him to let out a rather hearty laugh. "It's alright, kid. You're alright." He waves her off just as he shakes his head. "Mia's doing alright. She's all healed up from her surgery now, and she's at that stage where she's discovering a lot of new things by touching, and feeling, so that's been interesting. She also started crawling a few weeks ago, and she's... quite fast." He admits, another laugh escaping his lips. "You'll be happy to know that she keeps me on my toes, terrorizes me."

"Don't believe the things you see on instagram," Asha told him with a sigh. "It could all be a lie," she rubbed her hands down her face and then leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands as she looked over at JJ. Taking the bottle, she didn't hesitate to crack it open. She gulped the liquid down as quickly as she could manage. The cool liquid rushed through her and she let out a small belch as she finished it off. That was exactly what she needed. "Excuse me," she said softly, finally acknowledging the burp.

As JJ drones on, defending himself over his work and his daughter, Asha nodded along slightly, sitting back slowly and stretching her short body out. "Okay, okay," she threw her hands up and pretended to wave the white flag. "My bad, shit," she laughed softly. "How is Mia, by the way?" she asked as she picked up a loc and began twirling it around her finger.

[jj-hayes]

Surprisingly, JJ is not feeling so tired despite spending the entire day at the music festival. Hence, he's at the bonfire rather than back in the comfort of his home. While he did start his day with a massive hangover, he has managed to recover from it; thanks to all of the greasy foods that were served at the music festival, and the unlimited supply of water bottles that were passed around to all concert-goers so that they won't get dehydrated. With the constant walking around, and dancing, he feels like he has just come out of an extra-long workout session at the gym rather than a music festival. He feels great.

But he can't say that about everyone else at the festival though, including Asha. "You've got a point there." He remarks with a soft chuckle, reaching over to accept a bottle of water that one of his friends hands to him. "Well, you do look exhausted. I take it you had a good time then?" He asks, curiously. JJ always knew Asha to be someone who loves to have fun, so it's not all that surprising to him that she's here as it is to her that he's also here. "Shocked? Why?" He raises his eyebrow as a rather amused expression finds its place upon his features. "It's my one weekend off, and my parents agreed to take my daughter for the weekend. So, I decided to come out here, and have a little fun."

Asha was so tired. Her feet were killing her. Her back and shoulders were overworked and she had a raging headache - likely from dehydration - however, the show must go on. She found herself a cozy little spot next the the fire almost as soon as it was lit and rested. It felt like it was the first time she'd sat down since the festival began. The bash was always so much fun but God if it wasn't the most draining thing she'd ever experienced. Sure, she didn't have to attend every single day but she did anyway. It was just apart of the Fairford experience. Plus, you obviously didn't want to miss a day and then miss something but that the entire town could be talking about. That was the worst. So instead, she sucked it up, put on a smile and had fun. No matter how tired she was.

Clicking around on her phone, she looked over slowly when she heard his voice. "You know any one else that looks like me around here? Who else would it be?" She placed her phone down in her lap and sighed. "I'm alright. Fucking exhausted but alright." She stared at him for a moment before she laughed, "I'm actually a little shocked to see you here."

[jj-hayes]

JJ could see the exhaustion of the weekend in Asha's eyes, but he isn't feeling the need to comment on it. It's always a lot of fun to attend the summer bash, but it also left some feeling absolutely drained at the end of it. That's why he's always reminding all of his loved ones to eat, sleep, and hydrate as much as they can in-between their partying endeavours. It seems like a much better option than being a full-on party pooper. And that's not a reputation that JJ would ever want for himself, as responsible as he always is.

Her laugh causes his smile to grow wider, and he raises his eyebrow in a rather teasing manner as he leans back in his chair. "That's not what I saw on your Instagram account. You seemed to be having quite a lot of fun." He points out, a casual shrug of his shoulders as he hands her the water bottle in his hand. He returns his gaze towards his friend, and gestures for another one.

It's safe to assume that her question catches him off guard, but he lets out a soft laugh before shaking his head. "Hey, who said anything about me not spending any quality with my daughter? I work sixty-hour weeks at the hospital, Asha, and I'm only on call every other weekend. I'm home with her every night, and during the weekends that I'm not on call. When I'm not at the hospital, I'm usually running behind her. I spend so much time with her, but even single dads like me need a little break every now, and then... to put my feet up, and have some fun, even if it's just for one weekend. When I say I have the weekend off, I don't just mean from work... it's my weekend off from being a dad too. Besides, there's nothing wrong with me letting Mia spend some quality time with her grandparents for a weekend, is there?"

Resting back in the chair and laid her head back in the gap that was dipped in and let out a far too loud sigh as she stared up at the sky, filling with smoke form the burning fire. The last few days had taken more out of her than she was actually willing to admit aloud. Between the festival, dancing at the club, turning in assignments just minutes before the deadline, and trying to keep her fans flushed with updated pictures on her OnlyFans she was ready to come out the oven. She couldn't place when life got to full but she was trying for dear life to stay on top of it all.

His voice causes her to lift her head and she lets out a tired laugh. "I had a time," she said plainly not really sure what adjective she'd use as a descriptor for the last few days. Spotting the water in his hands, Asha pointed to it asking, "you got another one of those?" Her eyebrows rise at his words and she shook her head. "Because this is your first weekend off in forever and you chose to spend it here versus getting some quality time with your daughter." She wasn't sure if her words would be welcomed or taken the wrong way but she as too tired to really care.