If this is love, I know it's true
I won't forget you
It's for you, Forrest
It's for you, Forrest

forrest gump • frank ocean

PLUNGE
Vol 2.5 Amour

August 10th, 2024

"Oh my fucking... God."

Kyle's words barely register in Sylas' buzzing mind. A low hum fills his ears, building, building, building.

Cao laughs lightly from beside him, almost disbelieving, but entirely positive from what Sylas can hear. He pats Sylas on the shoulder and the Brit turns to find him smiling wide. Sylas must look stupidly out of it, because Cao pats him again, slightly harder.

He finally tunes in, and realizes the hum in his ears was the crowd realizing in the same slow time what's happened.

Sylas looks at Cao for a few moments longer, then smiles, matching the Chinese diver's. Cao pulls him into a tight hug, both filled with the utmost respect for each other.

"Congrats, Bailey," The older diver chuckles in his ear.

An 88.5, that was Cao Yuan's final dive. Sylas has beaten him to the gold medal by literally a fraction of a point.

Sylas Bailey's won gold, in his first ever Olympics. He's beaten the unbeatable Chinese, dived nearly perfectly, and won gold.

Such is the tale of redemption.

The crowd cheers louder than they have at any other moment of the event, and possibly louder than they have ever. Cao releases Sylas after a long moment of both congratulating each other, heading off to find Tamai. Sylas can feel the tears in his eyes as Jane embraces him again and all three of his driver friends turn it in to a group hug, screaming in Sylas' ears.

"Oh, Christ, I can't fucking believe you, mate," Cassiel laughs from beside him once they all pull away. Nathan is grinning beyond belief, holding onto Sylas' arms and shaking him periodically as the Brit gazes up at the leaderboard, still trying to process it.

1 - BAILEY Sylas: 548

2 - CAO Yuan: 547.5

3 - TAMAI Rikuto: 507.65

Sylas can swear he can physically feel the glow radiating from him as he stands atop the podium, British anthem playing over the speakers, smile hurting but unshakable. God, is this how Oscar feels? Perhaps a bit worse, politics and team orders and all, but this is unbeatable.

Sylas is quite grateful Jane convinced him to get LASIK while he was recovering. He can actually see Oscar to his right, in the front row of the grandstands, smiling proudly. In fact, he can see the whole group, drivers chatting with smiles, Judi and Nicole holding each other, crying. Hattie and Lando, bickering, still, because of course they are (albeit with laughs). Nic and Noah are singing the English anthem at the top of their lungs, that terrible, terrible song. Sylas can't find it in him to do anything but laugh to himself, singing along under his breath as the Union Jack get raised above him alongside the Japanese and Chinese flags.

The medal sits heavy on his chest, along with the small added weight of Oscar's gifted necklace, which he pulls out from under his shirt as they head towards the media, pressing a hand to where the amethyst rests on his heart.

They take pictures upon pictures, Tamai chatting in his ear the whole time, the young man a bundle of nerves and joy. Sylas indulges him, seeing as Cao is almost always silent, and they finally get called for interviews one by one, Tamai, then Cao, then Sylas.

He is directed to his spot as the lens in front of him reflects his own smile back. The interviewer, a tall woman with short brown hair and a French accent, welcomes him warmly.

"Mr. Bailey, our gold medalist, congratulations," She smiles as Cao hands him the mic.

"Thank you."

"So, talk me through this whole experience, being here at your first Olympics, maybe a bit later then what you originally thought?"

"Oh, yeah, well, yes, a bit delayed, but I am honestly so beyond grateful. I couldn't ask for anything more. Everyone's been so, so wonderful to me. The other divers are all so gracious, and, and, you know, it's everything I've ever dreamed of. Honestly. I may have taken a bit of an, uh, unusual path here, but it's just- ah, I can't put it into words. Amazing."

"Unusual path is one way to say it!" The interviewer laughs. "Can you tell me what it was like, your dreams disappearing before your eyes, recovering, getting back here?"

"Uhm, yeah, it was- woo, a long journey, for sure. I really wasn't sure I was going to make it here at all, it truly was, as you said, my dreams disappearing. It took a lot of strength, and whole lot of support, which I'm beyond lucky to have, but we made it."

"That last dive, which was beautiful, can I just say, talk me through that."

Sylas pauses for a moment, mulling over how to word his response. "In all honesty, I kind of just let everything go. I knew I couldn't let anything get to me, or think about anything else, so I just breathed deep, accepted that no matter what, making it this far, earning a medal for my country, was something to be proud of. More than that. The happiest moment of my life. I love that dive, always have. Felt natural."

The interviewer smiles at him, understanding painting her features. "And how are you going to celebrate tonight, going out?"

"Yeah, well, probably. My family is here, my mum and Osc and them. He's brought along a whole bunch of people, so yeah, going out seems likely. I'm a bit knackered, though, so maybe a get a nap in before then," Sylas replies with a small chuckle.

"Of course, takes a lot out of you to be a champion. Oscar is, as you said, here to support you. What does that mean to you, having your family and friends here?"

Sylas' hand comes up instinctively, rolling the pendant between his pointer finger and thumb. "The world. It means everything. I am so, so, so beyond grateful, I can't say it enough, truly. Osc's been there every step of the way- well, maybe not every step but that's on me. No, really, though, I think he was sort of the missing piece for me to feel fully back in my stride. Seeing him here, supporting me, is- beyond words, really. And the rest of them, of course. Shout out to Nicole and my own mum. And all the drivers, that was a nice surprise."

"Well, congratulations again, Sylas. A truly incredible performance from you today."

"Merci. Merci à tous ceux qui sont venus aujourd'hui. Merci à Paris!"

✥

"I didn't know you could speak French."

Sylas giggles into Oscar's chest, lifting his head to peek at the Aussie's phone screen. They're watching the replay of the end of the event, including the podium, the interview, and the many, many shots of Oscar from the not-so-cheeky cameramen.

Apparently, they had played a sort of mini-doc of Sylas' journey to the Olympics, similar to that of Simone Byles', before the event began. It recounted Sylas' life and the diver couldn't help but notice just how much Oscar was in in, from the "found" (Judi provided) footage of the two in sixth form together to the shots of the driver's horrified face that fateful day in 2020.

Also apparently, the commentator of the Olympic finals was something of a sensation (the Crofty of diving, Oscar has deemed him), and had managed to fit in this entire narrative of Sylas' life into the few seconds it took for Sylas' win to sink in.

"We will know in just a few moments time. And after all he's been through, wouldn't it be amazing... and, oh! He's done it! He flew too close to the sun four years ago, but he's regrown his wings beautifully, this is Icarus' redemption! Sylas Bell Bailey is an Olympic champion!"

"I bet he rehearsed that," Sylas frowns as Oscar replays the moment once again. "And, yeah, I learned French as a kid. My dad's side."

Oscar hums, fingers drawing circles on Sylas' scalp. He finally puts down his phone a few moments later, the quiet hum of Paris' nightlife settling over the otherwise silent hotel room. They're stuck in each other's warmth, their own little world at the center of the bustling French city.

They did, in fact, go out earlier that night, though not without a power nap on Sylas' part. He had received more flowers and hugs than he could count, and has not checked his phone since he silenced the incessant buzzing a half hour after the finals had ended.

And, yeah, Formula One drivers sure knew how to party. Led by Lando, the group of drivers dragged Oscar, Sylas, and two of Oscar's sister to a high end club and went absolutely insane in celebration (of Sylas' medals or of finally being on summer break, Sylas couldn't tell you). The only person not participating in the festivities was Charles, who was stuck in a corner with some guy who later introduced himself, albeit with hickeys littering his neck and a bright blush, as one of Sylas' favorite actors. Which was. He'll have to ask Oscar about that.

Sylas sighs into Oscar's neck, pulling closer as the early morning hours creep in. Though the setting is perfect for the two to be pulled into sleep together, Sylas finds that sleep evades him entirely, the nap earlier doing wonders for his otherwise exhausted body.

He shifts again, hooking a leg over Oscar's lap.

"Sylas."

"I'm not very tired, you know, weirdly enough," Sylas mumbles, kissing his was across Oscar's throat and dutifully ignoring the warning from the other man.

"Is that right?" Sylas pulls up to see Oscar gazing at him teasingly, hands coming to rest on the diver's hips. "I'm pretty beat, though, Sy. I could fall asleep right now."

"Hm," Sylas hums, cocking his head with a little grin, refusing to break eye contact. "Guess I'll have to find a way to keep you up, then."

"You have the closing ceremony later, might wanna get some sleep."

"Oscar," Sylas whines, hands coming to rest on the driver's shoulders. "It's at like, nine, you muppet."

Oscar just laughs under his breath, leaning up to pull Sylas into a passionate kiss, suddenly much more awake.

✥

Instagram | @sylasbailey ✓

August 10th, 2024

sylasbailey: 🇬🇧🥇!!!!! We did it :')

Thank you, Jane. Thank you, Mum. Thank you, Dad, for watching over me. Thank you Nic & Noah. Thank you thank you thank you Osc. Thank you, Paris. See you in 28, LA. xx

tagged: teamgb, olympics

liked by lewishamilton, simonebyles, and 1.02M others

view comments

oscarpiastri: The most deserving. 💙 Very super proud

^liked by creator

↳ sylasbailey: 🫶🫶

hunttlh44: do they even try to hide it at this point?

b3arman5girl: i've never even watched diving but i did watch this because of oscar and oh my god idek how to explain it but the way he moves while diving is like an art its so beautiful

↳ oscarpiastri: Isn't it

↳ b3arman5girl: damn i was gonna freak out about you replying but honestly girl stand up ive never seen someone simp so hard

^liked by creator

↳ sylasbailey: God I love your fans Osc

↳ oscarpiastri: 😒😒

kellysteiner89: Genuinely so impressive after an injury like his. Form was gorgeous as always!

lalanoopsey: right so ignoring the gay guy in the comments... congrats!!!! super super cool to see you come back

↳ hunttlh44: IGNORING THE GAY GUY IS INSANNNNE WORK WHAT

simonebiles: S.Bs for da win!!!

^liked by creator

↳ sylasbailey: DTKWU? 🐐

↳ simonebiles: TBKWU!!!! 🐐🏆

nicpark: LFGGGGGGGGGGGGG SYYYYYYY!

^liked by creator

↳ noah_w9: lmao what i won a medal too this isnt that cray

↳ nicpark: Ur not funny if thats what u think. Im literally otw

↳ noah_w9: and i'm so glad for it 🥰

↳ sylasbailey: Get out of my comments 🤢

judi_bailey68: My Bella. Proud always, beyond words. 💓💓

^liked by creator

↳ sylasbailey: Thank you Mummy love you so much

lewishamilton: Get in there! Congrats man 🇬🇧💪

^liked by creator

mclaren: A win for the country, a win for the honorary McLaren team member! 😉🥇

^liked by creator

baileyssbae: im proud trust i really am but ur burner account is now followed by charles' burner account and has a new post AND I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT SECRETS YOU'RE SPILLING

  ↳ baivee81: ugh to be a follower of bellaily 😞

↳hullogeorgei: WAIT ALSO THAT ACCOUNT THAT EVERYONE THINKS IS QUINT AUGUSTIN'S PRIV IS FOLLOWING BELLAILEY NOW TOO

↳ baivee81: WHAT HELLO CROSSOVER OF THE CENTURY

↳tsunodastars: quint augustin is dating charles is he not??

↳b3arman5girl: something like that lol

@bellailey 🔒

August 11th, 2024

bellailey: lolll! Ah, young Sy you'd be proud...

tagged: @noahwiiu, @jackeighteeone, @bridgetkaypriv

liked by jackeighteeone, bawsixteen, and 87 others

view comments

nackpark22: Ew Sy is your whole priv feed about to be pics of Osc

↳ bellailey: Check how many pics you have of Noah on your priv then get back to me xx

↳nackpark22: OH FUCK YOU DON'T EVEN START ON UR BS

↳bellailey: @noahwiiu get ur dog please its barking

bridgetkaypriv: EW STOP MATE I LOOK SO MUCH YOUNGER THAN YOU

↳ bellailey: 😭 Not my fault you're literally shorter than your younger brother

↳bridgetkaypriv: ntm toff

jackeighteeone: Very handsome guy in that third slide

↳ bawsixteen: 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

↳ bellailey: 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

bawsixteen: Congratulationsss 🥇

↳ bellailey: Thanku Charlie I enjoyed babysitting you when you were drunk last night! :)

↳ bawsixteen: Right yes ;'(

theothefifth: very fun party and very cool medal

↳ bellailey: I'll come to the Oscars in exchange!

↳jackeighteeone: haha Oscars

↳theothefifth: you are quite self obsessed did you know this?

↳jackeighteeone: @bawsixteen Get your dog please it's barking

↳bawsixteen: @theothefifth ...Quint.

↳nackpark22: LMAOOOOOO

kotkylie: Bruhhhhhhh m8 told you @zombienatalie

↳zombienatalie: awwww

↳roostercassie: arent they just the cutest 🥹

↳bellailey: Oh yeah with your matching fucking usernames talkin about awwww

↳kotkylie: LMAOOO SOMEONES MADDD

jackeighteeone: We are cute though, aren't we?

↳bellailey: yeah yeah love you

🏊‍♂️

thats it :)

jk look out for epilogue ❤️
feliz año nuevo 🎆