You knew it! My new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 will be yours on June 5th. I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a 5 year old kid watching the first Toy Story movie. I fell instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?
You can pre-order now exclusively on my site and catch Toy Story 5 in theaters June 19th ☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️
*I loved writing this. That's all. Full a/n at bottom.*
There’s been an excitement fluttering around the house, a level of happiness that you haven’t seen or felt since your birthday a few months ago, probably. There’s some surprise that the boys have all been talking about, but all three refuse to share anything with you. It is driving you absolutely insane.
Matt walks in and smiles once he sees you’re up. "Oh, good, you’re up. Get dressed, I want to show you something," he says, barely able to hide his grin. You get ready and follow him quietly to his car, confused but excited. He hasn’t said a word, but it clicks—this is the surprise. You get dressed fast and go to his car.
The drive is quick, he pulls into the parking lot of a bookstore, and your heart jumps. You look at him, but he doesn’t meet your eyes. He just shrugs and gets out. Once you walk inside, he puts his hand on your lower back and gently guides you to where he wants you. That’s when everything comes into focus—a worker setting up a stack of books, and on top is a small display of Matt, with the words, “What Happened Yesterday by Matthew Sturniolo.”
You freeze in place. "Matt… Am I really seeing this?"
He nods, cheeks burning as he bites back a proud smile.“Go on, look. But don’t grab one—yours is at home. It’s special.”
You step forward, your whole body shaking with all of the feelings. He really did this, and you had no idea. Suddenly, all the emotions flow out. "Shut the fu— Matt?! Is this a book?!”
Matt smiles, and his face goes red. "Yeah. You’re going to be the first person to read it, well, besides my brothers and me. Should we get home so you can see your copy?”
You snap a quick picture of the stand, grab his hand, and practically drag him to the car. He laughs the whole way. The drive home is quiet; you’re shaking with excitement, barely able to form words. Matt occasionally just looks at you and smiles.
Once parked in the driveway, you bolt from the car. Matt is right behind you as you burst through the door. On the couch, you spot it: your copy.
“That’s yours. It’s special, you’ll see why in a second.” He whispers, coming to stand behind you.
You take in his words, turning the book over and over in your hands. You’re gentle, as if holding a sacred heirloom. The book smells heavenly, and you smile. This is huge—and you’re the first one to hold a physical copy. You knew he was working on his project, but you never had an idea what it was. Now you realize it was so much more than something silly. Matt wants you to experience this page by page, moment by moment, feelings fresh and new with each chapter.
Suddenly, you giggle and look at him. You give him a quick kiss. You both sit on the couch, and you snuggle with him so your back is against his chest, tucking your feet under you and looking up at him. His arms come around your sides and hold you gently. "I can’t believe this is happening," you whisper. "My boyfriend really wrote a book. Wow."
Matt laughs nervously, squeezing your side softly. "It’s my first book, let’s not judge it too hard, ok? I put a lot into this."
"Matthew Bernard," you scold softly, looking at him. "It’s going to be absolutely perfect, and I’ll be obsessed, I just know it."
He ducks his head, giving you quick kisses to your temple. You smile. “Thank you, I hope you really do love it, [Y/N].”
You smile as your finger finds the edge of the cover, and you open it. It’s as if all the air leaves you, because there, on the inside of the cover, is a note… from Matt. In black ink, with his messy handwriting that you always tease him about, is a message.
“To my home,
Thank you for never giving up on me when things get hard, for being my guiding light in this part of my life, and for always loving me regardless of what is happening around us. This book isn’t about us, but I always had you in mind because you always told me to chase my dreams and make something I’m proud of. I love you more than any amount of words can ever say, and thank you for just being you. I hope you enjoy this.
Love you forever,
Matt.”
You sit there, not moving. You read the words about ten times over, tears falling gently down your face, and your heart so full. "Did you really give me my own dedication in my book?" you whisper.
Matt nods, wiping away the tears carefully as he looks at you. "You always thought it was cute when authors did that, so I wanted to give you something that was yours."
You bite your lip, trying to stop the tears. You quickly turn around and kiss him.
He sighs into the kiss. When he pulls away, he wipes more tears away and whispers, “At this rate, you will never get to read it. No more crying baby, unless it’s from the book. Got it?”
You giggle and nod, settling back against him. You smile one more time at the dedication, then flip to the first page. Matt wraps his arms around your waist again, his chin resting softly on top of your head so he can watch all of your reactions.
As you're reading, Matt fingers are never still—he’s twirling a strand of your hair, then tucking it behind your ear, then tracing lazy patterns on your cheek. You sigh, melting into the gentle touch. It’s so, so him. You reach up, batting his hand away, but he just grins and starts again. A small giggle leaves your lips.
Matt quietly reads behind you, both of you enjoying the book together silently. Every once in a while, you let out a soft laugh at something funny only he could write about. Sometimes, though, you let out a soft gasp or choked sound at something vulnerable or sad, he wrote. When you do that, he gives you a gentle squeeze to reassure you that he is truly okay.
Somehow it went from silent reading to you two popcorn reading out loud—specifically about his family, the loss he went through, and how it changed him.
Your voice is like a whisper as you read, something this heartfelt isn’t supposed to be loud, you think. Matt listens, his throat closing up as tears fill his eyes, but don’t spill over. Amazed at how you can bring his personal story to life like you did, just by reading his words.
When you finish that page, you pause for a second and look at him. You both have tears falling, you reach up and wipe his away as he does the same for you. A moment of simple intimacy. But it doesn’t last long before you sniffle and laugh. Soon, Matt joins, and it goes from crying to laughter.
You fall into each other, laughing softly and holding onto one another. Matt gently strokes your cheek, smiling softly before whispering, "I don’t know how I got so lucky with you."
“I could say the same to you, Mr. Sturniolo.” You rub your nose against his, lovingly.
You return to your original position and continue reading silently. The afternoon sun is slowly setting, you’re getting close to the end of the book, and you panic, you don't want it to be over yet. So you start to read slowly, really taking in every word. As you reach the last page, you trace the ending with your finger and smile.
You turn in his arms, you stare for a second, taking in all of his features that you love. "You wrote something that matters, Matt. You wrote something that’s going to change people."
He shakes his head, but you shush him with a finger to his lips. "You are going to change so many people with this. Don’t you dare think you won’t."
He grins, pulling you impossibly closer. Affection that words can’t say.
You wiggle out of the hug and fumble for your phone, nearly dropping it on the floor. "Okay, time for me to be a total cliché. We need a selfie, obviously—I have to be the first one with my new favorite author," you say, laughing as you scoot closer to Matt.
“We take pictures all the time, what are you talking about [Y/N]?” But even as he laughs, he leans in softly and presses his cheek against yours, smiling. His grin is the biggest you have ever seen since knowing him.
You take a few: one with big smiles, one making weird faces at each other, and one where you are holding his book up and you two are kissing behind it. You both scroll through them and smile. “That’s my favorite, I want to print it out and frame it,” Matt says softly, pointing to the last one.
“I think I can make that happen for you, writer boy.” You say, smiling at him.
For a moment, everything else is forgotten as you stare at each other. Matt suddenly kisses you, slow, grateful, loving. It’s not rushed, hungry, or intense. Just peaceful, which is your favorite type of kiss from him. It means he’s feeling everything at once.
You pull away, cupping his jaw, searching his eyes for a second. Your voice shakes, but you don’t care. “You make me so proud. Every day. But today especially. You’re going to make so many people feel seen and heard. You’re going to be their safe place, Matt.”
He closes his eyes in satisfaction, letting the words flow through him. "I really hope so. That’s all I ever wanted. Was for people to not feel alone," he whispers.
You rub his cheek gently. “They won’t. They have you and the beautiful words you just wrote.”
He laughs, tears forming in his eyes once again, "Jesus, when did you become such a fucking sap?”
"I think I learned it from my boyfriend, even if he likes to say he isn’t one.” You tease.
Later that night, as you two lie on the couch together, Matt nudges you softly. "So like," he says, his voice teasing, "you might need to keep an eye out for the next book, heard it might include something about a pretty girl in it. Or ya know, whatever, you don’t have to.”
“Oh? Already planning a second book? Not even going to see if this one will be big? Ambitious dreams, Matt.” You grin, heart fluttering at the thought.
“Well, I mean, if I did make a second one, would you be okay being mentioned in it?” He asks quietly.
You don’t have a chance to respond, the front door swings open, Nick and Chris step into the room, big smiles fill their faces.
"She read it right? God, please tell me she read it?” Nick asks as he plops down on the couch by your feet.
Chris sits on the chair across from the couch. “I want to know if she read the dedication you wrote her. [Y/N], Matt read it to us like ten times to make sure it sounded perfect.”
You look at Matt, then at his brothers. "It was better than I ever expected, honestly," you say. Suddenly, Nick and Chris attack you and Matt. Loud cheers fill the room. They are finally able to celebrate the big surprise.
Matt’s face goes completely red. You’ve never seen him blush this hard before. He laughs as he lets his brothers hug you two. Totally enjoying celebrating with the people who love him most.
This is what happiness looks like.
M yaps: I kicked like a school girl, I screamed like a school girl, I giggled like a school girl, and I may have cried? But OH MY GOD this was my favorite thing to write. So proud of Matt, WTFFFF
thank you to @courta13 and @privatelyowned-t for helping me with the pictures and dividers. Mwah!
Gosh gosh im lazy to post😭😭 and I haven't found right pictures for certains fics so... okay how about this. I pinky promise to spam post... Friday. Im going to be Hella busy tmr so then sorry sorry if I got your hopes up. I just need yo find my energy to posts again
Dammit... somehow I have this boy hooked onto me and im being the most dull avoidant person I can be... I gotta step up and go back to my old ways cause I dont want this man. GET HIM AWAY OMFGGGGG
Before, the thing about her, the thing Matt had always noticed even before he ever worked up the nerve to say anything, was that she never stopped moving.
Not in an anxious way, but in a lively way. She'd talk with her whole body, hands flying, laughing before the punchline would even land, pulling people into conversations like she'd known them for years when she'd only known them for ten minutes. She was the kind of person who made a room louder just by walking into it.
Chris had called her the girl version of himself once, and she'd taken it as the highest compliment. Matt had thought, quietly, that wasn't quite right. She was warmer than Chris. Less performative, more genuine.
He'd fallen for her a little bit right then, actually, which made everything after harder to watch.
After, it started small. That was the thing about grief, it didn't show itself. It renovated quietly, rearranging furniture in the dark until one day you walked into a room you thought you knew and couldn't find anything.
Her mom had passed eight months ago, so suddenly. It didn't make sense, no matter how many times you turned it over. She'd cried, then she'd gotten up, then she'd started dating Matt, and somewhere in the middle of all of that, she'd convinced herself she was fine.
"Hey." Matt appeared in the doorway of his bedroom, where she'd been sitting cross-legged on his bed for the past hour, scrolling through her phone without really seeing anything. "You wanna watch something?"
"Sure," she said, not looking up.
He stood there for a second. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good." She finally glanced up, giving him a small smile. "Put something on, I don't care what."
He watched her for a moment longer than necessary, then turned to find the remote.
She didn't notice the way his jaw worked. She didn't notice a lot of things lately.
It happened in increments. Dinners where she was physically present and mind somewhere else entirely, fork moving on autopilot while her eyes stayed distant.
Conversations where he'd say something and she'd laugh half a beat too late, like she'd been listening from another room. Nights where he'd reach for her in the dark and she'd be there, warm, breathing, technically close, but somehow still feel miles away.
Matt was patient. He was, by nature, the kind of person who waited and watched, who thought before he spoke. But patience had been thinning out, and he was getting close to it.
The night it cracked was a Tuesday, which felt wrong. Big things should happen on dramatic days. Tuesdays were supposed to be unremarkable.
They'd been sitting on the couch, some show playing neither of them were really watching, when he'd reached over and taken her hand. She'd let him. But her fingers stayed loose in his, absent, and when he'd squeezed she hadn't squeezed back.
He turned to look at her. She was staring at the screen.
"Where are you right now?" he asked.
She blinked. "What?"
"You." He kept his voice even. "Where are you? Because you're not here."
She frowned, a small defensive furrow between her brows. "I'm right here, Matt."
"You're not." He sat up slightly, turning toward her. "You haven't been. Not for a while."
She pulled her hand back slowly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yeah," he said, and something in his voice had an edge to it now, not cruel, just frayed. "That's kind of the problem."
"I'm sitting right next to you—"
"That's not what I mean and you know it."
She stood up, which she hadn't planned to do, her body moving before her brain caught up. "I don't know what you want from me. I'm here. I show up. I don't know what else—"
"I want you to actually be here." He stood too, and he wasn't raising his voice, but the frustration was evident, quiet and worn, like something that had been building for a long time.
"I want you to look at me when I talk to you. I want you to squeeze my hand back. I want—" He stopped. Exhaled. "I miss you... and you're right in front of me."
She felt something tighten in her chest, not exactly guilt or anger, something tangled and uncomfortable between the two.
"I'm not doing anything," she said, and even as she said it something small and honest in the back of her mind whispered are you sure? "You're making it sound like I'm—"
"I'm not making anything sound like anything. I'm telling you what I see."
"Then maybe what you see is wrong."
The words landed harder than she meant them to. She watched his face do something complicated, hurt flickering through before he got control of it again.
"Okay," he said quietly.
"Matt—"
"I'm not fighting with you." He sat back down, rubbing a hand over his face. "I just needed you to know."
She stood there, caught between wanting to apologize and not knowing what for, which was somehow the worst feeling. She didn't want to be distant, or even tried to be distant. She was fine. She'd been fine for months. She'd gotten up every day and shown up and kept going, and she was fine.
Wasn't she?
She sat back down, the space between them feeling suddenly enormous.
The TV kept playing, but neither of them watched it. He didn't bring it up again. That was almost worse.
Matt being patient, really, quietly, determinedly patient, was harder to argue with than anger. He couldn't throw it back at her. She couldn't call it unfair.
He just kept showing up, kept reaching for her hand, asking where she wanted to eat, and remembering the answer for next time, kept being so steadily, infuriatingly there that she couldn't hide behind you're imagining it anymore.
It was a Thursday, two weeks later, when it finally cracked. Again.
She'd been going through her phone and found an old video from almost two years ago, her mom laughing at something off camera, her hand waving like she always did when something was really funny. Forty-seven seconds. She'd watched it four times before she even realized she was crying.
Matt found her like that. He didn't say anything at first, just sat down beside her, close this time, and waited.
"I keep thinking I'm fine," she said eventually, voice unsteady. "Like I genuinely think I'm fine and then something like—" She gestured at her phone uselessly. "And I don't know. I don't know where I go. I don't mean to."
"I know," he said.
"I wasn't trying to shut you out."
"I know that too."
She looked at him. He looked back, steady and unhurried, no trace of I told you so, no frustration left on his face. Only Matt.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"You don't have to—"
"I want to." She swallowed. "You were right. I wasn't here. I didn't even notice, which is somehow worse."
He reached over and took her hand. She squeezed back this time, fingers wrapping around his properly, and felt something loosen in her chest that had been pulled tight for a long time.
"You don't have to be fine," he said. "Not with me."
She didn't say anything. She leaned into him instead, head finding his shoulder, and he shifted to make room without being asked, arm coming around her like it belonged there.
Outside, it was getting dark. The video was still open on her phone, paused on her mom's face mid-laugh, hand raised.
She didn't close it. Instead, she let herself look at it for a while. And for the first time in eight months, being somewhere felt like enough.
You love him. You just needed a little space to find your way back.
immaqulate's notes ✎ᝰ.ᐟ.. hi hi!! I hope you enjoyed this! lmfao it's so angst and I love how I write the end :) If you want any more angst or any other tropes, please feel free to leave a request! I am slowly going through them! Also, thank you all for the birthday wishes! I love you all so so much!!
Nick... who tried to hide and force his feelings for Ace down. He thinks he's chooses the better option. Not wanting his heart to get broken or lose Ace. It's not the better option and he sooner learns this when he's drunk and can't stand seeing Ace with someone else.
Ace... who also chooses to repress his emotions. Every friends to lovers story needs to trust the process. Even if the outcome may not be what you wanted, at least you wouldn't spend the rest of your life guessing. It all will pay off in the end. Ace takes the risk, but he's not taking it alone. He has Nick.
✎ T speaking : okay these were fun... should we keep doing them?
╰┈➤ join my taglist for more. go here to find my masterlist.
Matt... who's at first so lost and confused in what to do and how to help Poppy get out of the terrible state and cycle she's in. He knows it was so hard losing someone so close to her like that. And he knows she blamed herself for it entirely, but it didn't mean he planned to sit back and watch her destroy herself like this.
Poppy... who believed she's completely at fault for the loss of a loved one. Well, given her situation you may see why but it's utterly heartbreaking and unfair to herself. She thinks it's the only way to cope because she forces herself to not accept help from anyone else. Her first appearance in my stories was melancholy but we learn in the end she finds the motivation to try remove the sadness.
✎ T speaking : oh Poppy.... I owe you so much fluff.
╰┈➤ join my taglist for more. go here to find my masterlist
Chris... who's genuinely just a sweetheart here. He's gentle and patient with Daisy. He understands how hard it is for her to put herself back out there and try again... of course, he's becomes a little more assertive when Daisy takes too long but it's not like she regrets it.
Daisy... who knows she's been holding out on Chris for more than she should. She has a right to given her history, but when Chris sends that message that definitely changes a lot—she says yes and goes out with him. Of course, she has an amazing time and she's happy she allowed herself to let Chris in more.
✎ T speaking : This was a little fun. I hope you enjoyed this little detail. I cannot wait to do more, hopefully they're better in the future!
╰┈➤ join my taglist for more. go here to find my masterlist.
