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jessicaloons · 5 days

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Chapter 41:

I like shiny things, but I’d marry with Paper Rings…

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TW: spicy, adult content, 18+

Info: to fit my story line I swapped Austin with Mexico, the triple header will then be Mexico, Austin, Brazil

I stirred in the bed, the sunbeams sneaking through a gap between the curtains woke me up and I yawned.

"What time is it?" Charles whispered next to me and I turned a little, checking the time on my phone.

"Too early to be awake…" I mumbled, turning back, snuggling into him.

"Yeah? Then let’s sleep for a little longer." he kissed my forehead as I laid my head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

"Sounds like a plan." I whispered, closing my eyes.

"Why is your heart racing like that?" Charles asked after a while and I opened my eyes "Are you okay?" he turned his head, looking at me.

"I think so…"

"You think so?"

"It’s nothing, let’s just sleep…" I closed my eyes again, but he put two fingers under my chin, tilting my head up.

"What’s wrong?" he asked gently and I sighed.

"Last year here in Mexico…" I said quietly.

"That’s on your mind?"

"A little? I mean when we did the track walk and we walked past the spot where it happened… I don’t know, it’s just felt weird and I thought back to when I was in the garage and- and I thought you were dead…" my voice broke and Charles pulled me closer into him.

"But I was okay. I am okay. It’s just a bad memory, nothing else! Don’t think about it anymore, it’s not good for you, especially not when you have to focus on the race ahead!" he kissed the crown of my head and I slowly nodded.

"Can you just promise me that you take care out there today?" I whispered after a while and heard him sigh a little.

"I can promise you that I will try. You know that’s all I can do…"

"I know. But please try to."

"I promise that I will."

Unfortunately keeping his promise was harder than it sounded like, when I watched the RedBull and Ferrari sandwich in front of me, sending Checo off track and Charles losing the lead to Max. I took a deep breath and focused on my own race which I ended in the same position as I started in.

"That’s P4. Good job." Pete radioed and I sighed a little.

"Yeah, it was the best I could do I guess. Good job on the team’s side, our pit stops are getting better with every race!"

"Team effort."

Austin next started out strong. A good quali and sprint race were making me feel optimistic for Sunday, the race didn’t bring the same result tho, with a P7 but it was the best we could do. I finished my interviews when I saw Charles looking frustrated, shaking his head.

"What’s going on?" I asked and he sighed.

"The FIA checked the planks on some of the cars… Lewis and mine apparently didn’t comply the technical regulations, so there’s a hearing."

"Are they for real? That was probably because we had two races at one weekend! Of course there’s some high wear on the skin pads! This track is fucking bumpy and with the stupid sprint race there’s not enough time to check it properly?" I said loudly and some people looked.

"Lizzie…" Julie warned and I sighed.

"Let’s go…" I grabbed his hand and lead him away, back to his hospitality "I would wait with you, but I’m not allowed in there…"

"Let’s go to Audi, I don’t want to wait alone…" Charles shrugged and I nodded.

"Okay." we walked back and waited, but I had a bad feeling and when Mia said that the final decision was made, I already knew by the look on her face what it meant.

"I was disqualified, right?" Charles voice was trembling.

"Yeah… you and Lewis…"

"Lewis as well? That means…"

"Carlos will move up into P3…" Mia said and Charles laughed.

"Of course… but hey, Lizzie, congrats to your P5 now." he patted my arm.

"Charles…" I began but he got up.

"No, it’s fine. It’s like this. Whatever. We can’t change it now anyways. I go to my race debrief, what’s there to debrief anyways but yeah… you go to yours. I see you later." he kissed me briefly and walked off.

"Can you please make sure that he’s okay?" I asked Mia and she nodded.

"Of course…" she walked off and Julie sighed.

"What a day…"

"What a day indeed."

"I don’t know if that’s a good idea…" Charles mumbled and I rolled my eyes a little.

"Oh come on! After that race? You deserve a little fun!" I said.

"Yeah but… I have to make some points in Brazil! I can’t mess this up!" he sighed.

"You won’t mess it up! It’s all going to be fine! We’ll be in Brazil right in time for the media day. It will be fun, you’ll see!" I smiled and after a while he sighed.

"Danny Ric and his ideas."

"It will be fun. Come on now, costumes!" I smiled excitedly but I didn’t like the look on his face "Why are you looking at me like that?" he just chuckled and I punched his arm "I swear, if you picked a slutty nurse or house maid costume… I’ll cut off your ba…" I began but got interrupted by his hysterical laugh.

"Oh cara mia, although I would love to see you as a slutty nurse or house maid, I wouldn’t want 500 other people to see that, too, there are parts of your body only I get to see… no, I picked something better!" he said and his little possessiveness made me blush.

"Alright. Then I’d say let’s exchange the costumes and get going?" I said, trying to contain my grin.

"Oh, what have you done?" Charles asked, voice laced with a tint of worry.

"You’ll see…" I chuckled and grabbed the garment bag "I’ll go to the bedroom."

As I zipped the bag open I sighed and took the costume out, now I preferred a slutty nurse or house maid costume. I googled for make-up and hair ideas when I heard steps coming my way and the door flying open.

"Absolutely not! No! I’m not wearing that!" Charles cursed and I looked him up, from head to toe.

"Holy shit, you look hot… umm… I’m… umm…" I was at a loss for words, he looked amazing. Hot. Sexy. Dangerous. Wearing all black.

"I’m not wearing a Mercedes race suit as a costume! Ferrari will kill me!" he groaned.

"Then I’m not wearing this…" I said and pointed at the costume on the bed.

"Fine. If I lose my job, it’s your fault!" he sighed and I chuckled.

"Oh come on, if anything it will only make them draft your new contract faster!" I said, still ogling him up and down. My insides began to stir and I was feeling hot, flushed "Go now, please. I have to get ready." my voice was raspy.

"Maybe I should talk to the design team and ask for an all black suit next season?" Charles chuckled and I shook my head.

"Go. Now. Thank you." I pushed him through the door and sighed "Slutty cheerleader here I go…"

Charles POV:

I watched how Lizzie danced with Kika, having fun, laughed.

"It’s been a while since I saw her this carefree?" Pierre nodded towards our girls and I smiled.

"Yeah… this whole thing with Diaz, then with Sainz, Singapore and the m…" I stopped abruptly and Pierre cocked an eyebrow.

"What happened in Singapore?"

"I mean, she could’ve won that race, silence the media who were slandering her again and again…" I lied and he nodded.

"Yeah, that’s true, it was a shame, honestly."

"It was. But look at her, she’s happy. That’s what’s most important."

The two girls pulled us on the dance floor and Lizzie threw her arms around my neck.

"Are you having fun, Charlie?" she asked swaying and I smiled.

"A whole lot… my beautiful cheerleader is here dancing with me after all." I replied and kissed her.

"Mhh me too. It was a good idea that we came here… alright your costume…" she mumbled against my lips and I tilted my head a little.

"What’s with my costume?"

"I don’t like how all the girls are staring at you because you look so devilishly handsome in this black race suit." she pouted and I had to laugh "That’s not funny!"

"Cara mia, you chose the costume!" I said matter of factly.

"I know… but still…" she groaned a little and I pulled her closer, kissing the corner of her mouth, down her jaw, feeling her squirming in my hold.

"Don’t worry, pretty girl. They might see me in the suit… but you’re the only girl seeing me out of it…" I whispered in her ear and I felt her shuddering.

"Let’s get a taxi…" she rasped out and I grinned at her like a devil "Now."

She clung to me, her arms around my neck, hands carding through my hair, leaving hot open mouthed kisses along the column of my neck, my jaw, my throat. My hands gripping her waist, pulling her close into me, fiddling with the fabric of her skirt, hiking it up her thighs. As soon as the elevator door opened I pushed her out, walking us fast toward our door, prying my hands from her waist, lifting my head up to see the security panel of the door. Lizzie looked up at the loss of my arms around her and the sudden movement of my head.

"Pretty girl, I have to open the door… stop pouting…" I groaned as she began suckling at the sensitive skin just below my ear.

"Hurry up…" she whined, pulling my head down, clashing her hot, wet lips onto mine, making me taste the sweetness of the cocktails she drank earlier. The door opened with a simmer and I tapped her thighs, making her jump a little, wrapping her legs around my waist on instinct. I walked inside, kicking the door shut with my foot. Holding her up at her thighs, massaging them, distracted by her kisses and licks around my neck I stumbled into the bedroom, where I dropped her on the bed. She tilted her head up, eying me from head to toe, hungry look in her eyes.

"You look so devilishly hot in that suit… mhhh why don’t you screw Ferrari and go for Lewis seat instead?" she said breathless and I slapped her thigh "Was that supposed to be a punishment? Try again…"

I chuckled and leaned down, holding myself steady above her, ghosting my lips over hers before I kissed the corner of her mouth, then kissed a line to her ear, breathing out, hot and heavy against it, making her moan a little.

"I think you would much rather enjoy a reward…" I whispered, gently biting down at her earlobe.

"How do I earn it?" she whispered back, her voice trembling with anticipation.

"I’m a Mercedes driver… I want to be cheered on by my personal cheerleader…" I grinned at her and she put one hand in my neck, pulling my head close.

"I can do that…" she breathed against my lips and nibbled at my lower lip before she pushed me off of her and got up, she then turned around and I sat up. She unclipped the Pom Pom’s from her waist and began to do a cheer routine.

"I love seeing you wearing my logo… it’s like I marked you… for everyone to see…" I muttered and she smiled seductively "But right now I wouldn’t mind seeing you out of it…" Lizzie understood the hint immediately. Throwing the Pom Pom’s my way. Sliding her hands up and down her sites, before she hooked her thumbs under the hem of the top, pulling it slowly over her head, revealing a dark red lace bra, making me choke up. I loved seeing her in red. And she knew it. She gently cupped her breasts before turning around, bending down, shaking her behind a little to reveal the sight of the matching slip underneath her short skirt. I felt how the suit got tight around my crotch, too tight, and threw my head back, closing my eyes. My breathing hitched when soft fabric hit my face and I opened my eyes, looking down at Lizzie’s bra in my lap. The second I looked up I lost all restraint and jumped up. Backing her up against the wall, making her whimper as the rough fabric of my race suit dragged along her bare skin, when I pressed my knee between her thighs, pushing up her skirt. I kissed her, rough and deep, almost frantic as the sweetness of her lips and tongue engulfed my senses. Sensations of heat, lust and love rushing through my body. I felt my growing bulge against her thigh, making her moan and me taking a deep breath. Lizzie’s hands began to fiddle with the zipper of the suit and she whined desperately as it wouldn’t budge.

"Don’t be so impatient, pretty girl!" I grinned and helped her, pulling the zipper down, letting her strip me off of it, the suit pooling around my waist, before pulling my shirt over my head. She pressed her firm breasts into my chest and I could feel her pebbled nipples against my skin as we moaned in unison. I pushed her skirt further up her thighs, exposing the dark red, lazy slip, cupping her heat with my hand, rubbing once. She bit her lips, suppressing a moan and I felt her knees buckling so I grabbed her thighs, hiking them around my waist, pushing her further into the wall. She let out a surprised huff and locked her eyes with mine, before she captured my lips in a searing kiss, it was sloppy, messy but above all desperate. It was suffocating and hot in the best way possible, but my growing bulge pressed against her hot core made me pull away, trying to catch my breath. Lizzie made a little sound of protest, before gripping my neck again, trying to pull my lips back to hers.

"Charles…" she whined and I pushed us off the wall, carrying her to our bed, falling back down on it, Lizzie above me. She blinked and sat up, straddling my hips, and I felt my heart palpitating, lungs clenching, as I saw her naked frame, looking like a true goddess. I put my hands on her waist, rubbing circles on it and with one swift move I turned us over, hovering now over her. Her hands shot up, tangling in my hair and pulling me closer. I only gave her a soft kiss on her lips before I started my way down, kissing her throat, collarbone, leaving tiny marks. My hands pushing her skirt down her legs as I kissed down the valley between her breasts, locking eyes with her, hungry and full of lust. I kissed my way further down, nibbled at her stomach making her clench it in the process. As I arrived at her core I kissed it above the fabric, making Lizzie bucking her hips, I gently laid one hand on her stomach and pushed her back into the mattress, waiting a moment for her to calm down, then I hooked my thumbs under the band of her slip and pulled it down with one smooth move, throwing it together with her skirt behind my back. A soft thud telling me both clothings landed on the floor.

"Ready for your reward?" I whispered and looked up at Lizzie, who nodded slightly, and I grinned, devouring her. Caressing her soft skin, making her moan, gripping my hair, pulling me closer to where she needed me the most.

"Don’t stop…" she whimpered as I stole the air from her very lungs, making her puff out a long breath "Close… so close…" she mumbled underneath her breath. After a short while, she arched her back, grinding her core into my face, whining and moaning in ecstasy, as she reached her climax. I let go of her, looking up at her gorgeous face, eyes closed, blissful smile on her lips, chest heaving with every breath she took, beads of sweat glistening all over her beautiful body. Her hands let go of my hair, searching around until they found mine, still holding her waist down. She intertwined our fingers, gently pulling me up and I obeyed, leaning down over her face, looking at the pretty girl underneath me, my pretty girl. She slowly opened her eyes, still out of breath.

"Hi…" she whispered, all of a sudden shy again, cheeks slightly blushing, as she looked at my face, bottom half glistening with her essence and she closed her eyes again, groaning quietly.

"Hi pretty girl…" I answered, gently nudging her nose with mine. She bit her lip and looked up at me with hooded eyes, then she leaned up, pressing her lips on mine, tasting herself on them. I had to grin into the kiss and she slowly pulled back, licking her lips. She pulled our intertwined hands to her lips, kissing my knuckles gently. Smiling her most gorgeous smile, falling back even more into her shy demeanour, she still wore at times. As I adjusted my position above her, my straining crotch, still covered in the race suit, brushed against her heat, and her breathing hitched. She looked down and gulped audibly.

"Take it off…" she said in a hushed tone, her fiery gaze burning a hole in my middle, before she put her hands on my hips, pushing the suit down herself. I helped her, sliding it off, letting it fall onto the floor. Her eyes found mine and she cupped my cheek with her hand, gently caressing it "I love you…" she purred softly and I laid a feathery kiss on her lips, getting more heated with every moment that passed and in that I could feel her soft core beneath my skin. She grabbed my hips, pulling me flush against her, an impatient whine on her lips as she greedily captured my bottom lip between her teeth. I felt my heart racing, my body buzzing all over with anticipation and locked eyes with her, gently freeing my lips from hers. Littering her face and jaw with tiny kisses, as I sucked on her collarbone she arched her back into me and with one last look in her eyes I let my arousal take over, making her moan loudly as our body’s melted into one.

"I love you too…" I muttered out, moaning as her heat clenched around me.

"We could’ve chartered a whole plane for all of us…" Pierre chuckled as I watched almost half the grid settling into their seats, occupying the entire first class.

"True that!" Daniel laughed, plopping down in his seat.

"Just so you guys know I want silence the next 10 hours. Utter and complete silence." Lando groaned and put a sleeping mask and his headphones on.

"And it’s all too much for little Lando Norris." Daniel imitated Crofty and we all laughed.

"I said silence." Lando murred and I cuddled back into my seat.

"Comfy?" Charles asked after a while and I shook my head, taking his hand and cuddling it to my chest.

"Better." I closed my eyes and heard him chuckle.

"Silly girl. Sleep now, we have a hectic day ahead of us." he said, kissing the crown of my head.

"Hectic weekend. And did you see the weather forecast? Damn…" I whispered.

"Yeah I saw it…" Charles said and I felt him tensing up a little.

"Hey, it will be alright, don’t worry, we’ll have a good weekend, you’ll see." I kissed the back of his hand and he smiled a little.

"I hope you’re right." he said and I sat up.

"Forget about Austin. It’s in the past. You’ll do amazing! So come on. Have a little nap with me." I smiled and Charles sighed. I could literally see the wheels turning in his head with how hard he was thinking about the weekend ahead.

"It’s just… I need to proof that I’m better. John Elkann will be in Brazil… he wasn’t supposed to be there, he planned to come to Vegas. But now he’s already in Brazil? What if it is to tell me that they’re not happy with my performance? That they won’t extend my contract?" he whispered and I sat up.

"Stop it now, okay! Why would they do that? They’re not stupid! Austin wasn’t your fault! Stop this nonsense now! He’s coming to Brazil because he wants to, there’s no reason behind it. Period." I looked at him determined and after a while he smiled a little.

Maybe you’re right." he leaned back, taking my hand in his again "What would I do without you?"

"I answered that question before, so you know the answer." I leaned into him, my head on his shoulder.

"I might sink and drown and die."

"Exactly."

"Was that Fred that I saw earlier?" I asked Charles when we walked to the car, late at Saturday night.

"Yeah… he’s here…" he opened my door and I looked at him "He said he wanted to talk to me after the weekend…"

"About what?" I waited for him to get in the car as well.

"He didn’t say about what. Just that we need to talk." Charles looked worried. I saw how he clenched his jaw, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tight, his knuckles turned white.

"It’s going to be okay, you’ll see." I pried his hands away from the steering wheel and made him look at me "Fred loves you. Whatever is going to happen, it’s okay!"

"I hope so." he mumbled and started the car.

We drove in silence but I felt Charles’ anxiety radiating off of him, the tension in his shoulders visible. And although I tried my best to soothe his worries, to calm him down, he was as nervous as ever when he got into the car on Sunday. I watched horrified how he flew off in the formation lap and my stomach was in tight knots the whole race. As soon as I was out of the car, I was looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found.

"You text me as soon as you see him, okay?" I said to Andrea and he nodded, walking back into the Ferrari garage.

"Lizzie, we really have to go now… come on." Julie urged and I followed her to the media pen, where I gave my interviews in the fastest way possible and Julie chuckled when I looked at her after the hopefully last one "Okay, okay, we’re done! You can go and look now for Charles!"

"Thank you!" I almost sprinted away, looking for Joris and Andrea.

"He’s here." the latter said when I stopped in front of the Ferrari hospitality.

"Is he okay? He didn’t answer my texts…" I was slightly out of breath from running.

"He’s umm-… he’s in a meeting with Fred… and I think I saw John Elkann with them as well…" Andrea said slowly and my heart began to race.

"Okay- I mean… I guess I wait then?"

"That’s all we can do now." Andrea smiled at me when I saw Silvia coming our way.

"But you know what? I can wait at Audi as well…" I walked off before the evil witch of the easy reached us, making my way to wait for Charles.

The debrief felt like a whole eternity and when I finally left I saw a text from Charles, saying that I should wait at the car for him. I had a bad feeling and said good night to everyone, walking to the parking lot. My heart was hammering in my chest when two arms engulfed me from behind, but just a second later I relaxed, feeling it was Charles.

"Hey cara mia." he kissed the side of my head, spinning me around.

"You’re smiling?" I asked cautiously and he nodded.

"I’m smiling." he smiled, kissing me.

"What does that mean? Is everything okay?" I asked and he pushed me against the car, kissing me again "Charles!"

"More than okay. Brilliant actually… but I can’t tell you for now. It has to be secret until it’s officially announced…" he smiled brightly, opening the door for me, pushing me inside.

"And what? You think I will spill the beans?" I pouted, right when he closed the door and walked around the car to get in "Am I not trustworthy en-…" he silenced me with another kiss.

"Fred will become team principal next season. My new contract is already drafted…" he began and I squealed.

"Mattia is gone?" I asked and Charles nodded.

"Mattia is gone… well next season…" he said and I did a little happy dance.

"Does that mean that Sainz will be gone as well?" I asked big Charles shook his head.

"They didn’t mention him. And I honestly don’t care. Since Fred joined it was planned for him to take over. That’s why he was so highly involved in the making of next seasons car. It’s his car. And he said it’s the car to win the championship with… or at least he hopes so." his most beautiful, dimple showing smile was back.

"Charles Leclerc, world champion 2024. I called it first." I said happily and he shrugged his shoulders.

"We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves now, cara mia." he chuckled, starting the engine.

"Maybe you don’t… but I will! Mark my words, world champion of 2024, Charles Leclerc, my gorgeous boyfriend." I smiled "Now I’m even more happy for our trip to LA."

"Yeah, me too, it will be great."

Charles POV:

"What are you doing?" I plopped down next to Lizzie on the sun island and she showed me her iPad.

"These are the three options for the kitchen… I love them all, but the third one is my favourite. I always wanted to have an all white kitchen with black hardware but the kitchen island in all black? Waterfall edges of this beautiful white granite with black veins? The same we use for the countertops? Damn Carla really had an amazing idea here."

"That was Carla’s idea?" I asked and she nodded "I have to so, they all look stunning, but yeah, the black island really stands out? What tiles? The other options had tiles."

"I was honestly thinking to use the same granite as backsplash? Like a big fat slab of stone… here…" she tapped on the display and the model changed.

"Yes. 100 % yes. It looks amazing! Wow. Send it to Léon That’s our kitchen." I saw how happy and giddy she was about this decision and kissed her cheek "What else? Tell me you have more!"

"So, we already decided for the guest bathrooms and both powder rooms… but do you want to see my vision for our bathroom?" she asked and I nodded "Okay, here. I saw this bathtub and fell in love. Look at the size of it! Here’s the layout." she showed me the bathroom, the shower, big enough for a handful of people, the two vanities, a dressing table in between and the huge bathtub. It looked perfect.

"Perfect… like honestly! Lizzie you outdone yourself." I pulled her into me, smiling at her blushed cheeks "I can’t wait to move into our home together. It’s going to be so perfect. You are so perfect."

"Oh stop. I had a lot of help from Carla and our mum’s…" she almost whispered and I tilted her head up.

"Yeah but it’s your vision they help you with. You make this place our home." I kissed her, feeling her melting under my touch.

"Oh for fucks sake! Take a room! Ugggghhhh… I’m leaving!" Andrea groaned and I laughed.

"Wait for me, I’m not staying behind with these two lovebirds! Let’s go to Six Flags alone!" Joris said, following Andrea.

"Noooo! Wait for me!" Lizzie scrambled off of me and I huffed.

"Excuse me?" I looked at her.

"Wait for us?" she said meekly and grinned.

"Exactly. Wait for us!" we got up and followed the guys outside.

"I heard you’re excited for all the roller coasters." Lizzie teased Andrea and he laughed nervously "It’s okay. I’ll hold your hand when it get’s scary."

"I can also just wait for you guys…" he began but Lizzie shook her head.

"Nope. You’re coming with us on the rides! It will be fun! Believe me!"

It was fun. For Lizzie. For me. Not for Andre. Also not for Joris. Lizzie made her puppy eyes and made us ride everything there was and the colour from Andrea and Joris’ faces drained with every new ride more and more.

"Cara mia, I think you’ve exhausted them…" I whispered when we drove back to our Airbnb in the evening, the two guys half asleep in the backseat of the car. Lizzie turned and looked at them, one paler than the other.

"I’m sorry boys…" she chuckled, smiling apologetic.

"No you’re not!" Joris groaned.

"I can’t wait for when it’s time to go racing again!" Andrea sighed, leaning his head back "Thank god we’re leaving in two days, before you kill us."

"I’m definitely not getting paid enough for being tortured like that by your girlfriend…" Joris murmured and I had to laugh.

"Oh come on! It wasn’t that bad!" I said and they both looked at me pointedly.

"Your girl is a crazy spitfire and you know it!" Andrea said and I turned to Lizzie, grabbing her hand.

"That she is." I kissed the back of her hand and watched her blush "My girl."

"Coming to you Lizzie, what do you think of the race weekend here in Las Vegas?" Tom Clarkson asked and I looked over at Max, who looked just as disinterested as I felt.

"Honestly? Max said everything there is to say, I don’t have much to add. It’s all a big show for nothing. It’s turning into a circus, gets bigger and bigger when we all come here for one reason only: we want to race. We don’t need all of this stuff around. Events left and right. The sport itself is interesting enough. We don’t need all this bullshit around we get to see here." I said and Max nodded laughing.

"Alright, thank you, Lizzie. We open the floor now for some questions."

I didn’t listen to most of the questions and the ones for me were basically all the same, how I liked it here, what I expected from the race. When I walked out with Max and Charles, Max and I couldn’t even stop shit talking the whole event, leading to Charles rolling his eyes, saying that we were too dramatic.

"No Charlie boy, we’re not dramatic. We want to race. And not get paraded around like a freaking attraction…" I sighed.

"Listen to your girlfriend mate!" Max chuckled as our ways parted and he walked towards the RedBull hospitality.

"You should stop being so negative! Maybe the weekend will be great! I know, the opening ceremony was maybe a little bit too much, I agree but overall? The atmosphere is amazing, don’t you think?" Charles nudged my shoulder.

"Yeah maybe… let’s see how the racing is, you know? Racing? The reason why we’re here?" I looked at him and he pinched my side.

"You’re so funny… not… you’ll see! The racing will be great! How often do we get an entire new track just like that?"

"Umm- just last year in Miami?"

"Oh for fucks sake, Lizzie! Come on! It will be fun! You’ll see!" Charles rolled his eyes.

But what I saw was a messed up Friday on a track that had to be checked entirely for its drain covers and made us wait for for what felt like a whole eternity to come back for free practice 2.

At least the Saturday started better and when Charles made it on pole, a big smile on his face, I decided to swallow down my grudge against the track, because it looked like he was really enjoying racing here in Vegas.

"So? What do you say? Will you be the first winner of the Las Vegas GP?" I asked Charles when we were walking back from the national anthem and he laughed.

"I sure hope so, but you never know, Max is right behind me, then you, Checo… it won’t be easy!"

"And don’t forget Danny Ric! He made it just in time to be ready to race here in Vegas! And he’s starting on P6!" I said right as said driver pushed his way through us.

"Watch it lovebirds…" he chuckled and I slapped his arm.

"Oh you better stop, I saw you yapping all over my sister just an hour ago…" I said and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Yeah yeah, whatever!" Charles laughed and kissed my cheek "Good luck, cara mia, Daniel. Let’s have some fun out there."

Fun? No. Crazy? Yes. The start already saw 4 cars retiring with Checo, Lewis, Norris and Sainz all out of the race. The red flag was waved and George, Oscar and Alonso all had to get some new front wings and tyres. As the race re-started it took only three more laps for the next yellow flag and safety car, Alonso being the fifth car to retire.

"It’s crazy! How many cars are out already? 5?" I radioed.

"Yes 5. Don’t make it 6, focus on your race, please." Pete replied and I chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah…"

I continued, watching Charles and Max battle hard for the race lead.

"Lizzie, red flag, Magnussen out. Careful, there’s a lot of debris." Pete radioed right as I drove over said debris.

"Fuck, I think I’ve damaged my floor. Is Kevin okay?"

"He’s okay. Return to the pits, we need to check your car."

As soon as I was back in the pits and saw Matt’s face when he got up from the floor I knew it was over. I had to retire.

"I’m sorry, Lizzie. It happened so fast, I couldn’t warn you any earlier." Pete apologised as soon as I was out of the car, taking my helmet off.

"It’s alright, it’s not your fault. It sucks but it’s like this." I patted his back.

"Oh wow, Charles 2.0…" he chuckled and I laughed, right when Liam appeared out of nowhere.

"I’m sorry Lizzie." he hugged my waist and I ruffled his hair a little.

"It’s okay, now let’s watch Charlie and Daniel, shall we?" I picked him up and he nodded.

"You have to go the interviews first…" Julie reminded me and I sighed.

"Alright, I’ll be back soon Liam." I kissed his cheek before I put him down on the stool in front of dad, while mum hugged me.

"I’m sorry…" she whispered.

"No, I’m sorry! The first race in a while that you attend and I bottle it."

"You didn’t bottle it. You were unfortunate!" Dad side hugged me and I sighed.

"Yeah, maybe… now let’s hope that Charles wins it and Danny keeps his podium." I shrugged and followed Julie to the media pen.

The interviews were quickly done and on my way back I watched Shima and Joris all cozy in the almost empty Ferrari hospitality. When they saw me they pulled away from each other and I had to laugh. It seemed like she wasn’t here just to see me after all. I walked back into our garage, just in time to see the final lap, Max winning the race, followed by Charles and Daniel.

"He almost won." Liam sighed and I nodded.

"He did. But he had an amazing weekend, just like Danny, we can be proud of them!" I said and he nodded, playing with something in his pocket.

"Can we go to the fence? I want to congratulate them!" Liam said and I smiled.

"Of course, Bubba, let’s go."

I sat Liam on the fence and we looked up at the podium, where Max, Charles and Daniel were spraying the champagne and having a party of their own.

"It’s been a while since I saw him that happy!" Sissy said and I looked at her.

"Oh come on! That’s just a teeny tiny bit more than when he’s with you and Liam!" I said and bumped her shoulder.

"Believe me, that was a mask for a long time… losing his seat was the worst thing that could’ve happen…" she almost whispered it as she looked up again, tears in her eyes. As if Daniel felt that she was looking he turned around, forming a little heart with his fingers and sending it to my sister "Look at this dork!"

I smiled as I saw how my sister blushed. The truth was I’ve never seen her more happy than with Daniel. And with Liam loving him wholeheartedly as well, I knew that she finally found the one. The one that was now approaching us, with the biggest grin on his face, scooping up Liam and whispering something into his ear, the little lad nodding excitedly and handing him something. Daniel handed him over to Charles, who made big eyes as Liam whispered something into his ear. I watched how Daniel swooped up Sissy, twirling her around, saying something to her.

"WHAT?!" she exclaimed loudly and Daniel only nodded and kissed her, then sat her down looking in her eyes "You‘re kidding, right?"

"Hell no! Let’s do it tonight!" he said and took her hand and I almost choked as I saw him slipping a ring onto her finger "Everyone is here! I don’t want to wait a single day! What are you saying?"

"I-I umm…" she looked frantically around, Charles sat Liam down on the ground and he ran up to her.

"Say yes Mummy! YES!" he was overly excited and Charles hugged me from behind, watching what was happening.

"Yes. YES!" Sissy said and Daniel kissed her, before he scooped up Liam and hugged them both.

"What did just happen?" I whispered and Charles kissed my temple.

"Danny Ric just happened." he chuckled and I smiled.

"I don’t even have a dress? This is crazy! Why are we doing this? I mean… come on! We could wait! How are we supposed to plan a wedding in what? 12 hours? It’s the middle of the night? What are we doing?" Sissy was pacing back and forth while Mum, Shima and I just sat there, listening to her rambling.

"It’s Vegas! I think finding a dress won’t be too difficult? Shima’s here, she can fix anything you find into something great! Maybe not your dream wedding dress, but a beautiful one nonetheless? And again, it’s Vegas! This city never sleeps! Planning a wedding shouldn’t be too hard? I mean we are in one of the fanciest hotels already? Let me check if they have a nice location where we can celebrate? Finding a chapel won't be too hard either…" I chuckled and Mum nodded.

"Yeah and it’s not like we’re a whole lot of people? It's doable, maybe it's not the wedding of your dreams… bute he’s the man of your dreams, or not?” she looked at Sissy who smiled.

"You're right! Let’s plan!" she said and sat down.

“Alright, first things first. Guests, I need to know how many people we are to find a location… you and Danny and Liam, his family, that’s 5, us, that’s another 5. Wait I text him if he wants to invite any of the other drivers… alright, let’s talk dresses, Shima that’s your part…" I made a note on my phone, then looked up, Sissy and Mum looking at me with big eyes "What?"

"Nothing… you’re doing great, can I go to bed and you do the rest?"Sissy chuckled and I laughed.

"Nope. You figure out what colours you want, what flowers and stuff like that, while I… oh Danny texted… okay, small wedding, only Max, Christian, his wife and Pierre with Kika… that makes… 18?” I checked my phone and wrote down the names.

"Joris?" Mum said and we all grinned at Shima. "Yes!" Sissy looked at me and I wrote them down.

"I don’t know why you’re looking at me like that…" Shima mumbled and I laughed.

"Oh shut it… you think you’re subtle, but let me tell you, you’re not… whatever is going on with you and him… we know… so 19."

"Whatever… dresses… I know some designers from here, I text them, let’s see what we can organise? I mean, it’s 2am they won’t answer until the morning, but yeah…" Shima began typing away on her phone.

"Alright, I need a time, when do we start?"

I looked at Sissy and Mum.

"Umm-… maybe 6pm? So everyone can have a little sleep, maybe? I mean, it won’t be a big and long ceremony? It’s Vegas, after all it’s going to be fast and funny?" Sissy said and I nodded.

"Okay… so we are… 19 people? Yeah? That’s doable I guess. I go downstairs to check the front desk… ask them if they have like a little ball room? I don’t know? Something fitting for a wedding? You think about dresses and I don’t know, colours? Food? The other stuff…" I got up.

"What other stuff?" Mum asked and I shrugged.

"I don’t know, you’re married, you planned your wedding, so you know what to do…" I left the room, right when Charles called.

"Hows the wedding planning going?" he asked and I laughed.

"I’m on my way to the front desk, asking for a room and someone who can marry them…"

"Elvis might be a good option." Charles laughed.

"Very original- ha ha… no seriously. Maybe they offer like an all inclusive last minute deal? I don’t know… we’re roughly 20 people, it should be organisable, no?" I sighed a little, leaning against the elevator wall "When are you coming back?"

"Soon, we’re just trying on some suits, Danny found a tailor that’s still open, Vegas, I swear… is the dress shopping also this easy?"

"Shima knows some designers from here, she contacted them, but yeah, probably the real process starts in the morning, but it’s fine, we get there." I yawned a little, entering the lobby "Text me when you’re in your way back, I’m at the front desk now."

"Alright, cara mia, see you later!" he hung up and I walked up to the front desk.

"Good morning, Miss Doetterer, how can I help you?" the lady said and smiled at me.

"Umm- this might sound crazy… but I need a room, location, whatever to held a wedding. Ceremony, reception, party all in one place would be amazing. For around 20 people, today at 6pm?" I said cautiously, expecting the blondes smile to drop.

"Oh believe me, this isn’t even close to the craziest things I’ve been asked for in the past… this is Las Vegas after all, planning a wedding in less than… 15 hours? We can do that." she said, her smile got even brighter "Is it for you and Mr. Leclerc then?"

"What? Oh no- no! It’s for my sister and Danny Ric… umm Daniel Ricciardo." I said hastily and she nodded.

"Very well, let’s plan your sister’s one of a kind Las Vegas wedding then."

"Man, I love Vegas. Let’s plan!"

As I watched my sister and Daniel share their first dance as husband and wife I had to smile. We did it. We planned an amazing wedding. The room looked elegant and classy. The cake looked delicious. The flowers were beautiful. But above all Sissy looked stunning. The dress Shima organised and altered here and there was simple, classy and timeless. Liam in his mini suit running around, looking adorable as ever was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Did I mention before how beautiful you look? That dress is just… wow… what a nice little black dress." Charles whispered in my ear, spinning me around, standing behind me.

"You look not to bad yourself, handsome." I chuckled and he hugged me from behind.

"I’m proud of you. You did all that in less than what? 12 hours?" Charles said, putting his chin on my shoulder, swaying us a little.

"The hotel did most of the job, I told them what we wanted, Sissy said the colours and flowers, Shima took care of the dress and Mum took care of the menu. Given all the input to the hotel, they did the biggest chunk of work." I shook my head a little.

"But you were managing it. And you did amazing. It’s a beautiful wedding. Makes me wonder-…" he stopped abruptly and I turned my head a little.

"Makes you wonder what?" I looked at him.

"Makes me wonder how our wedding will be one day… when you have time to plan it for weeks… considering what you did in a couple of hours."

"To find that out, you need to ask me to marry you first." I chuckled.

"Oh, don’t worry cara mia… I’m planning to." he kissed my cheek and then winked at me, before he left, picking Liam up who tried to have a go at the cake "Little munchkin, you have to wait!"

"But I want now some cake! It looks so fluffy and yummy!" Liam pouted.

"You’ll get your slice, don’t worry! You just have to wait a little!" Charles laughed and Liam sighed.

"Okay… but cakes are the best thing at parties, we should eat them first." he grumbled and walked off, climbing in dad’s lap, probably lamenting his suffering.

Liam was right, the cake was just what he said. Fluffy and yummy. After his second slice and some more dancing mum and dad, bid their farwell, taking Liam with them, right when some waiters brought in a couple of new bottles of champagne.

Daniel grabbed a bottle and began shaking it, before he banged it on the table

"I’d say, let’s party!" Danny popped the bottle and the night began with champagne showers.

Pain. A mind-numbing, throbbing pain. Like someone was scratching at my eyeballs from the insides, a jackhammer doing its worst inside my brain. My stomach began to churn and I groaned, trying to untangle my legs from the sheets and Charles legs, his arms holding me tight around the waist.

"Charles… let go of me…" I whispered, a loud snore my answer "Charles I’m serious… I have to…"

"What is it?" he groaned.

"Have to… throw up…" was the only thing I could manage to breathe out when he let go of me immediately and I stumbled out of bed, tripping over something on the floor "Fuck." I crawled to the bathroom, making it just in time to empty my stomach into the toilet.

"Lizzie? Are you okay?" Charles hoarse voice wafting through the fog in my brain.

"Peachy. Just peachy." I mumbled, slowly getting up from the floor rinsing my mouth "I need…"

"What do you need?"

"I don’t know…" I splashed cold water in my face, feeling some short lived relief from the drumming inside my head "I need pain killers…" I grabbed two hand towels and soaked them in cold water, wrung them out and stumbled back to bed, tripping again over something on the floor.

"What the fuck…" I groaned.

"What the fuck…" the something hissed.

"Pierre?" I sat up, blinking

"Yeah?" he mumbled and Charles switched on the night stand lamp.

"What the fuck are you doing on the floor? In our room?" Charles asked, his voice groggy.

"Don’t know. Don’t care. Switch the light off." he turned away, pulling his blanket over his head.

"There’s a couch. Sleep there!" I whispered but saw how he shook his head.

"Floor is cold. Good for my head." he mumbled and I sighed.

"Alright…" I slowly scrambled back to the bed and climbed in, letting the cold towel

flop on Charles face, he flinched but chuckled a little.

"Thanks, cara mia." he moved over and kissed my cheek.

Half sitting, half laying I rummaged through my bag on the nightstand, looking for some painkillers and popped out a pill as soon as I found them, swallowing it down with some water.

"What happened last night?" I whined, lying back, covering my forehead with the cold towel.

"Your sister and Danny Ric got married." Charles yawned.

"Fuck yes they did!" Pierre laughed on the floor.

"And why are we half dead?" I asked.

"Because none of us knows their limit apparently…" Charles groaned.

"Nope." Pierre half laughed half snored "Can we now maybe be quiet for a bit? My head hurts…"

"Here…" I grabbed the painkillers, popped another pill out and threw the blister then at him, followed by a bottle of water rolled over the floor.

"Ouch!" Pierre whined, when the bottle was stopped by his head "Thank you…"

"Here, for you…" I handed Charles a pill.

"You’re an angel." he kissed my cheek and turned around, grabbing his water.

"What are you even doing in our room, Pierre?" I asked, watching him all sprawled out on the floor, cheeks smushed into the cold marble floor.

"I don’t know… we were at the wedding. We were gambling… we were drinking… we were at a club… we were drinking… we were gambling… I remember In’and’Out Burger and then this cute little white house where we took some pictures. And I swear Elvis was there as well…"

"I wouldn’t say no to a burger…" I whispered and Charles chuckled.

"You get one as soon as we get up…" he kissed my shoulder "Which will be soon… our flight is in a couple of hours."

"How much time do we have left?" I yawned.

"Wait… our flight is at 4… and now it’s… it’s almost 12!" Charles sat up and I flinched "Fuck… sorry, cara mia. But we have to pack, get ready and…"

"For fucks sake! We have time! Shut up now…" Pierre groaned.

"Not agreeing how he said it, but agreeing with what he said…" I shrugged, pulling the blanket over my head "30 minutes… come on…"

"30 minutes! Not one minute longer!"

I sighed contently and closed my eyes. Feeling the throbbing in my head subsiding slowly as the cold towel did its job. The loud snores from Pierre were the only disturbance and as I turned to grab one of the pillows beside the bed to throw at him, I touched my phone the screen illuminating half the room and my look fell on the time.

"FUCK! FUCK!" I shouted, Charles and Pierre both flinching and sitting up "We overslept! It’s almost 2!"

"FUCK!" both boys exclaimed.

Pierre scrambled up, trying to stand looking around like a lost puppy.

"Where is my keycard? Why am I even here." he groaned, searching through his pockets "Fuck."

"Call Kika!" I suggested and Pierre took out his phone, calling his girlfriend.

"Okay, let’s pack…" Charles mumbled, opening up our suitcases, throwing in everything he could find "Here…" he threw one of his hoodies at me, while I grabbed some fresh clothes "Get ready in the bathroom, I handle this mess…"

"Hey! I’m no mess!" Pierre looked at him and I chuckled, disappearing into the bathroom.

My vision was still blurry and I sat down on the bathtub edge, brushing my teeth. I stripped off my clothes, put on some socks and leggings before I washed my face. As soon as the second wave of cold water hit my face and I wiped my eyes I looked in the mirror, my eyes immediately falling on the ring on my left ring finger.

"What the fuck…" I gulped, starring at the silver ring.

"Yeah… what the fuck…" Charles walked slowly inside, holding up his left hand, the same ring adorning his finger.

"What the fuck happened last night…"

Chapter 41 - I hope you guys are feeling as hot after reading, as me when I was writing it 🤭 the infamous Las Vegas race giving us really everything there was to get, including one (two?!) wedding(s) … 👀

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stateofcharles · 2 years

Text

baby just say yes - PG10

pairing: Pierre Gasly x female!reader

word count: ~ 4,1k

warnings: fluff, light angst, insecurity, French GP 2022

summary: 4 times Pierre jokes about marrying you + 1 time he’s serious about it

a/n: heavily inspired by Pierre’s late wedding fever, i couldn’t just sit and stare i mean- you know pierre if you wanna get married i happily volunteer. title of course from ‘love story’ by the queen taylor

2006, age 10

You and Pierre were at your house, sat on your bed, spending your time between watching old races on old CDs and eating the cookies your mum had made that morning. You didn’t love F1 as much as your best friend did but you knew that watching that made him happy, so you were willing to sacrifice your freetime if that meant seeing Pierre’s joyful face.

“Are you coming to my race next sunday?” he asked shyly suddenly while you were watching Michael Schumacher clenching his first WDC. You looked at him dismayed and his face darkened when he realised what it meant.

“Pierre-” you tried to ponder your words because you didn’t want him to feel bad, “I’d like to but my parents want me to eat with them for their wedding anniversary,” you pouted, “but I swear I don’t want to go with them.”

“Then why do you go?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Because it’s like- a special one? I don’t know why. I know it’s 25 years and it is something silver and then they want a big celebration.” you replied.

“Silver?” his face was even more confused than before.

“Yeah, and it’s a big one. There’ll be many people from my family there, even that grumpy, old aunt Albertine,” you snorted, “the one who wants me to become a ballerina.”

Pierre’s eyes widened, “The one whose shoes we filled with your dad’s shaving cream at your mum’s party?”

You started laughing so loud that you had to cover your mouth to muffle the sound, “Yeah! That one! I really can’t stand her!”

Pierre hummed as he tapped his knee with his finger, he was clearly thinking. “Do you think you’ll get married one day?” You stared at him wild-eyed and he blushed, the question was clearly something big. The boy just hoped his crush for you hadn’t filtered through his words and face.

“I don’t know,” you answered sheepishly, “I want to wear the white dress one day like my mom’s, but I don’t know if I will meet a boy that I like so much. Maybe I will be alone forever like my aunt Albertine.” You shrugged; in the end you were a kid and maybe that question was too huge for a 10-year-old

“Oh god, don’t say that cœur! You’re much better than your aunt! And if you won’t find anyone then I’ll marry you.” he stated and his face was painted with self-confidence.

You laughed at his sentence and the boy looked at you half-offended. “Are you laughing at me?” he said in disbelief.

You put your hand in front of your mouth, “Non Pierre, but- we’re best friends! It’s weird! You shouldn’t marry your best friend!”

He crossed his arms at his chest, “Ok then, Charles is my new best friend if you think this about me.” He was holding a grudge, but you could see that he was actually holding his laugh.

“We’ll talk about this when you’ll be back to me asking again to be my best friend after Charles will annoy you with all his talking.” you answered back sticking out your tongue. Pierre started laughing and you threw yourself at his chest to hug him.

2012, age 16

“My sister is getting married.” You snorted as you entered Pierre’s bedroom, sitting not-so-graciously on his rolling chair; it started spinning as soon as you did that, and your snorts only grew louder.

“Well hello to you too cœur, it’s nice to see you so happy.” Pierre was holding his laugh at seeing you so upset.

“I’m not in the mood today Pear, drop it.” you muttered rubbing your hands against your face. You couldn’t believe it was really happening. You believed your sister, out of all the people out there, would be the last one to decide to spend her life with just one person.

“It’s so frustrating, like- Eloise will be divorced in six months at most, it’s crystal clear she doesn’t love Bernard, even maman says that! Almost no one likes him in our family.” You crossed your arms angrily, the lump in your throat was growing bigger and bigger.

“But why does everyone hate him so much? He seems like a nice guy after all and-” he couldn’t even finish his sentence before you interrupted him.

“NICE? PIERRE HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!” you shouted, “Like- have you seen him? Have you ever been with him for a couple of hours? He’s so full of himself, he always talks about that stupid job he does, his studies and other bullshit he does. And he is extremely sexist. Did you know he said that once my sister marries him she’ll be like his personal maid, because she’s younger than him and her degree is inferior?” As you were talking, Pierre’s eyes grew wider and wider.

“Well maybe you’re right.” he scratched the back of his head, “He’s kind of a dickhead” he paused for a while, “but then why’s your sister marrying him?” he questioned.

“Who knows what’s going on inside her head” you grumbled.

“Well,” he cleared his throat, “you’ll have to go to this wedding anyway, she’s your sister and you can’t miss it.”

“Ok mister, then tell me what should I do because Eloise even asked me to be one of her bridesmaids! And I have to bring someone with me as well! Could it be any worse?” You grunted, that was really a shitty situation.

“Well, bring me then.” He said nonchalantly, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

“You? Why should I choose you?” You asked mockingly, he had that usual grin printed on his face, a blend of cockiness and joke.

“Alright then, first I am incredibly charming - don’t interrupt me Y/N, it’s true -, second your mum loves me as a son and last but not least I am your best friend, so you won’t get annoyed listening to that dickhead’s rambling.” As he finished his speech he looked quite proud of himself, like he had just found the solution to all the problems in the world.

“Maybe I could consider it,” you hummed, “but if you’re so charming as you say you’ll be stealing all the attention of the guests, won’t you?” you teased him.

“I won’t be the only one, that’s for sure cœur.” He smiled warmly at you, “you’ll be there with me and we will be stealing all attention. We’ll be envied even by the newlyweds, we’ll be the star of the event.”

You noticeably blushed at his words, this kind of attention was weird for you to receive even after all those years of being friends with Pierre, who was a natural casanova.

“Then ok I guess,” you spoke sheepishly, “we’ll go together but one condition first: you’ll be obliged to get me out of the embarrassing conversation with my relatives, because I don’t want to put up with another interrogation from uncle Patrick and his wife.”

Pierre replied in the same ‘I-don’t-accept-a-no’ tone, “Deal, but you’ll have to go in the girls crowd when your sister will throw the bouquet.” The devilish grin on his face didn’t bode well, at all.

“Why? I mean- it’s senseless.” You hid your face in your hands, that was becoming awkward.

“I don’t know, it’s funny and you’ll be blushing the whole time.” God he was such a brat sometimes.

“I wonder why I’m still friends with you,” you murmured, “And then who will I marry if I catch it?” You teased him.

“Me, what a question cœur, I’m the perfect man, everyone would want me.” He said defiantly while he smiled.

When you started laughing he couldn’t help but do the same. Even if he was a little dumb sometimes he was still your best friend, the person you trusted the most in the whole world, and you knew he would never let you down.

2015, age 19

It was another night you spent at Pierre’s place, a normal night just hanging out with your best friend. You had just finished watching Beauty and the Beast, your favourite film, and Pierre was teasing you, as usual.

“I just can’t understand why, cœur. I mean- you’re 19! You’re almost an adult and a cartoon is your favourite film? That’s weird as hell.” He complained.

“Ok Pierre, now listen to me: it’s not a normal cartoon, it’s the cartoon. And besides there’s no way you can dislike it, it’s pure perfection. And I’m not a kid,” you sticked your tongue out, “I can be a grown-up and still like cartoons, there’s no rule that prohibits it.” You crossed your arms with a pout on your face.

“Ok cœur, but don’t be offended!” He laughed, that brat! He loved mocking you.

“Sometimes I wonder why you’re my best friend” you muttered, but he had heard you and a smirk appeared on his mouth. He looked straight into your eyes before answering.

“Do I really have to answer? Ok then, I’m beautiful, talented, funny, unique, charming, should I keep going on?” He smiled amused.

“God, you’re such a kid sometimes Pierre.” You shook your head, he was a gone case.

“Yeah, but you love me anyway and I’m your bestest of friends.” He got closer to hug you and you hid your head in the crook of his neck.

Suddenly you heard the timer ringing, “Muffins are ready Pear!” you untangled from his arms to go to the oven. You wore the kitchen gloves before opening it, then you pulled off the moulds with your creations.

“Tadaa!” You placed it on the kitchen table and slowly started positioning the pastries on the dish you had left on it. Your idea was to form a flower with the muffins, but before you could finish Pierre quickly stole one and took a bite of it. He sat on a chair and started unwrapping the muffin from his case.

“Pierre!” you shouted, “I haven't finished yet! C’mon, you always have to ruin it!” you whined, but he was half-moaning while chewing the pastry.

“Jeez Y/N, these are for real the best muffins you have ever baked!” He patted his tummy, “You truly are a woman to marry!” He leant back, relaxing on the backrest with his hands intertwined behind his head.

“Seriously Pierre? Again?” You put your hands on your waist, leaning in to be closer to him. “I thought you had learnt the lesson”

“Oh Y/N stop, it’s not time for your feminist sermon, I know that: women don’t necessarily have to get married, they can be single and happy and they don’t have to stay in the kitchen because they can do much more, I know it.” He looked at you, falsely-annoyed, but deep down he was glady you were as you were, so strong in your beliefs and not afraid of saying things out loud.

He leant towards you to place a kiss on your cheek, before coming back to sit on the chair, “Anyway I’m not joking Y/N, whoever is going to marry you is going to be very lucky, you aren’t just a fantastic chef, but you truly are a beautiful person both inside and outside as well.” He smiled sheepishly.

I wish I was that person, so much he thought, I want to be that lucky to wait for you at the end of the aisle, to see you in a white dress and to make you the love of my life.

But those thoughts were secrets, something the boy kept in the deepest corner of his heart, something he wasn’t ready to say out loud, yet. Deep inside he hoped the day would come sometime, the flame in his soul was still burning, for you and you only ever since the first day the two of you met.

2018, age 22

Half-asleep, you whined when you felt your boyfriend shifting from under you. You tried to stop him but you were still too numb to put enough strength.

“Pear” you whimpered, “come back here” you stretched out your arm to call him.

“Sorry cœur, someone’s at the door” from his voice you could sense he was still sleepy. You then heard him thank the delivery guy before shutting the door loudly.

“Mhh Pierre no, silence” you threw over your head one of the cushions but he was quick to take it off.

“Non cœur, now you have to see this” he grabbed your arm to lift you up until you were then sitting straight. You rubbed your eyes to focus on your boyfriend, who was now very awake, smiley and holding in his arms a big, large bouquet of red roses. You widened your pupils, now completely, shockingly conscious.

“What’s that Pear?” You asked, tears building up, and then realisation hit you. “OH NO I- I’m sorry P, I forgot it was today and I didn't buy you anything but I was so busy with university and then my sister-” you were rambling and Pierre suddenly started laughing. A pout showed on your face, “PIERRE DON’T LAUGH” you half-shouted.

“It’s fine cœur, no worries, and also-” a devilish grin adorned his lips, “I think what we did before was quite a gift” he pointed at his bare chest and at you only wearing panties and his oversized hoodie.You blushed, but he kept going on, “But anyway, happy second anniversary baby. 24 roses for 24 months together.” He leant in to place a kiss on your lips.

A couple of tears escaped your control and before you knew you were openly crying, whilst Pierre still had that smug smile on his face. He placed the bouquet on the table before cuddling against you, leaving a trail of kisses on your cheeks and then moving onto your neck. “Happy anniversary Pear, I am so lucky to have you with me” you murmured to him, squeezing him closer to you and hiding your head in the crook of his neck.

“Cœur really don’t worry about your present, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re still here with me” he stated, looking straight into your eyes.

You cracked a smile and you took his hands in yours, “Were you afraid I would escape?” you cupped his face, “You know that - even if I wanted - I wouldn’t be able to leave you?”

“Well you don’t know that,” he lowered his head, “what if one day you get tired of me?” You couldn’t believe what he was saying, was he really so filled with doubts? What had you done to cause him such worries?

“Pear, have I done something wrong by accident? Is there something you’re hiding from me?” You were craving for an answer but at the same time you were afraid of it. You didn’t want your anniversary day to be also your break-up day, moreover with the love of your life, the boy you had had a crush on ever since childhood - as much as you were trying to deny it at that time.

“It’s nothing cœur, but-” he mused, “sometimes I see other drivers break up with their girlfriends because they’re away for so long and something inevitably happens and-” he paused to swallow the lump in his throat, “I wouldn’t blame you if you couldn’t bear my routine anymore.” He lowered his head, as if he felt guilty.

“No baby, nonono, don’t ever think this again please,” you lifted his head delicately, “I would never do it Pierre, I swear, I- it was me who chose to be by your side, I knew what I was putting myself into two years ago,” some tears spilled from his eyes whilst you were trying your best to hold yours back, “I love you so much Pear, I couldn’t imagine my life without you.”

You lifted yourself a bit and placed a long kiss on his forehead, “This whole distance thing is part of the package, I bought the whole ‘Pierre package’ two years ago and I don’t actually mean to bring it back.” You chuckled lightly, trying to raise the mood of the moment; that really wasn’t how you wanted to spend your anniversary, seeing Pierre that upset and demoralised.

“You’re not calling customer support then?” A little smile, good, his humour was slowly coming back.

“Nope,” you lingered on the P, “and I’m not escaping now, I’m staying here with you.” You kissed him deeply, wanting to convey to him all the affection you felt for him.

“You will escape one day though,” he stated again; you were ready to answer but he was quicker, “The day I’ll propose you’ll run for the hills.” he said like it was nothing. God, the way that boy always talked about marriage without any problem, he was going to be the death of you.

“Pear!” you flushed, hiding your face in your hands, “stop it, stop, it’s not the day.” You stuttered and he was just laughing at your face.

“Not the day? Cœur, it’s inevitable that one day it’ll happen, we’re meant to be.” The more he spoke the more embarrassed you were, trying to escape his arms that, in the meantime, were hugging you super tightly.

An idea popped out in your head; mischievously, you bit his nose and he immediately brought his hands to protect his face from you. “Y/N! What are you doing?” He shouted. You giggled and started running towards the bedroom.

“Catch me if you can, Pear!” you squealed, acting like a baby but, deep down, it was another attempt to cheer him up. Apparently it was working, because he shook his head before talking back, “Oh cœur, you don’t know what I’ll do to you when I’ll catch you.” He smiled devilishly before starting to chase you, a little smirk plastered on his lips. It was going to be an eventful afternoon.

2022, age 26

The French GP hadn’t exactly gone as planned and Pierre was quite frustrated about it. During the race you were staying with his parents in the AlphaTauri garage and you were fervently hoping for him to get at least some points in his home GP, though you knew the car wasn’t performing that well.

This was why you were slightly worried about his state of mind when you came back to the hotel later that night. To leave him some space to take it out, you had stayed a little bit with his parents before they left for their hotel. You had a chat with his mom while his dad was on the phone with him and you could say they were having an important, almost heated discussion.

It was then time to head back to your hotel, where you knew Pierre was waiting for you. Once in the room you heard the shower water was running, Pierre must have been having one. The room was a mess so you decided to clean up a little bit.

Clothes and shoes, mostly Pierre’s, were scattered everywhere, the bags were opened and the vanity case was abandoned on the bed. It was clear that when he had come back he was upset, probably angry and he had just quickly grabbed the stuff he needed for his shower before heading to the bathroom.

Who knew how long he had been in there! The thought of him in those conditions haunted you and didn't want to leave him alone, but on the other hand you knew from experience that he didn’t want to be disturbed; then you kept tidying up, hoping that he would finish soon.

You picked up a pair of clean boxers that were lying on the desk and when you placed them in his suitcase your hand came into contact with something small and hard. You frowned before sticking your hand inside to reach for the mysterious object. Your jaw dropped when you realised it was a little box from Tiffany’s.

Your heart started pounding and a million thoughts were running in your head. The rational part of your brain was struggling to accept the reality of facts, that Pierre was going to propose to you, you were the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. On the other hand the most dreamy and emotional part of you was already planning everything. You could already picture him waiting for you at the end of the aisle, your white dress, the reception in a beautiful garden…

Your train of fantasies was stopped by Pierre walking out the bathroom, wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top. When he saw you holding the tiny box his facial expression changed. He rubbed one hand over his face and a disconsolate sigh left his mouth.

“Y/N I can explain,” murmured Pierre but you interrupted him.

“I think it’s quite clear Pear” you lowered your head fidgeting with the tiny object in your hands.

“But I do want to explain cœur, I think you deserve it” he said, his tone convinced and determined. He reached out for you and you gave him your hand, which you accepted and he guided you towards the bed. You sat one next to another and he slowly began to speak.

“I wanted to do it.” he started, turning around to face you; his eyes were shining, but you couldn’t say whether it was sadness or something else. “I had planned everything with my dad’s help. After the race we would go to have dinner at the seaside and then I wanted to propose on the beach. But I was so sad after the race; I really hoped to score a point at least because Yuki had made it into Q3 in quali and the car seemed less shitty than usual. At the end I was so angry and I didn’t want to ruin the moment with my bad mood, so I didn’t do it.”

He sounded broken, probably both from the GP result and the fact he hadn’t dropped the question. He went on, whilst you were hanging on every word he was saying. “I even argued with my dad, because he thought that I had to do it anyway, I just had to put aside my irritation and ask you because this is more important than a race and-”

“Then ask me.” You interrupted him and his eyes widened.

“What?” He startled, and you realised you had actually said that out loud. Oh shit.

“No Pear, I mean- If you don’t want-” You rambled incoherently.

“You want me to ask you, cœur?” He asked with both surprise and hope in his voice.

Unable to trust your shaky voice, you nodded. His face lightened up and his smile grew bigger and bigger. He took the little box, which had stayed all the time in your hand, and he opened it while kneeling in front of you.

He looked up at you and you saw a single tear escaping his eyes. He breathed deeply before saying the infamous words, “Y/N, mon cœur, will you marry me?”.

The words were your breaking point: you started crying and hid your face in your hands. Your first thought was that Pierre could misunderstand your tears but that fear disappeared when you saw the soft smile on his face. He took one of your hands in his and gently started rubbing little circles on the back of it. He knew the crying wasn’t because of the question, but because of all the stress you had accumulated throughout the day.

After a couple of minutes you composed yourself and you came back staring Pierre in his eyes. Shortly after he removed the ring from the box and he got it closer to your hand.

“Just say yes cœur” he smiled shyly and you finally took courage to answer.

“Yes Pear, forever yes.” You said and let out a watery chuckle. His smile widened again, so much you thought he could burst from happiness. He lifted your hand to slip the ring on your finger, that was when you took some seconds to look at it: it was a thin silver band, with a small, delicate diamond on the top of it. Perfect in its simplicity.

Pierre lifted up bringing you with him and - once you were both standing - he hugged you tightly, rubbing gentle circles on your back. “Thank you cœur, I love you forever and always.” he whispered in your ear.

You slightly untangled you from his tight grip to look at him, you placed a soft kiss on his lips and nuzzled your noses together. “I love you too Pear, forever and always.”

#beh writes #pierre gasly #pierre gasly imagine #pierre gasly one shot #pierre gasly fanfic #pierre gasly x reader #pierre gasly x you #f1 #f1 imagine #f1 one shot #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 fandom #formula 1 #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 one shot #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 fandom

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sillyissiecativities · 9 days

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#he’s literally a silly goose #you guys just DONT get him the way I do #hes so babygirl #formula 1 #i love him #silly little guy #max verstappen #TU TU TU TU MAX VERSTAPPEN #I’m gonna steal him and put him In my pocket.#f1 racing #formula 1 fandom

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starlightiing · 4 days

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Idk what cardiophilia is really like...fully i guess? i get it's an interest in hearts and all but i haven't done any research on it. but you seem to like it a lot! so if you feel up to it, maybe just a little paragraph or two of landoscar that has that cardiophilia stuff in it? curious minds and all. no worries if you don't feel like it.

Hello anon! <3 Cardiophilia means different things to different people, but in it's most basic form, it is indeed a very fond interest in hearts. In some, it is sexual, in some it is not. I tend to lean towards calling it an obsession, because it is a kink and it is all-encompassing. It gets to a point where it's one of the only things you can think about and your brain brings it out in any scenario. You see cute sweaty blorbo after a jog? Brain goes: "oooh wonder how fast their heart is/what it sounds like right now" unhelpfully. Stuff like that. Anyway, you literally did not ask for me to explain, you asked for content, and I shall always provide cardiophilia content when asked.

There is a beauty in the way Oscar's heart beats. The fair few times Lando has had any access to Oscar's heart has only left a trail of mesmerizing wonder in its wake. And it isn't as if Oscar's heart beats any differently from all the rest of theirs - no, on the contrary, it is quite mundane in it's process.

It is the simple fact, no more and no less, that it is Oscar's and Oscar's alone.

He can feel it now, as Oscar lays half-asleep in bed next to him. Lando is laying tucked into Oscar's side with his hand on the center of Oscar's chest, fingers sprawled out to cover the space. Beneath his palm is the feather-soft thud of Oscar's heartbeat; healthy, steady, slow, and hypnotizing. He would count the beats as they fall comfortably against his hand, nestled into his palm with the utmost delicacy where Lando intends to keep them safe and secure, but he thinks he might be kept awake all night if he tries. Instead, he closes his eyes and he breathes, and he's ever grateful to the universe for allowing Oscar's heart to keep beating for him day in and day out, tirelessly, even through all of the strain and stress Oscar puts on it during training and even more so during races. How resilient it will always be, performing at its peak to keep Oscar alive and safe and warm beneath Lando's protective touch.

There's a beauty in the way Oscar's heart beats. The way it runs just a split second faster when he inhales, and slows back down when he exhales. The way it speeds up just slightly when he notices Lando is curled so close beside him, and the way it softens between them when they're alone and pressed together like this after a tiring day.

There's a beauty in the way Oscar's heart beats, that has scant to do with the heart itself and is intrinsically tied to the person for whom it performs. Lando thinks that perhaps he will never not be held in a chokehold by the profuse knowledge that Oscar is simply alive.

And oh, it is so beautiful.

#landoscar #lando norris #oscar piastri #f1 fanfic #f1 rpf #formula 1 rpf #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 rpf fanfic #formula 1 fandom #f1blr #f1 rpf fanfic #cardiophilia #cardiophile #heartbeat kink

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wombatchase · 4 months

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I have a confession: I joined F1 real late into the season so can y'all put me in context of the beef with x and y?? Like why Carlos and Pierre beef? Why Carlos and Oscar beef?? WHY IS EVERYONE BEEFING WITH CARLOS OR WHY IS CARLOS BEEFING WITH EVERYONE??

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2-fast-2-curious · 2 years

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Daniel audio request? Daddy Dom?

Daniel...it's been too long

[Scrip Fill] [M4F] Your BF Discovers Your Dirty Secret... and Becomes Your New Daddy

[bfe] [mdom] [dlg] [fsub] [collar] [spanking] [choking] [commands] [kissing] [teasing] [fingering] [dirty talk] [Aussie] [ownership] [masturbation] [pussy slaps]

#daniel ricciardo #christine recommends audios #formula 1 x reader #smut #anonymous #formula 1 smut #formula 1 x you #f1 smut #f1 imagines #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo smut #formula 1 fic #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 fandom #formula 1 drivers #f1blr #f1 fandom #f1 imagine

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sebmg4 · 10 months

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guys, i can't watch the race, i'm at karaoke, 1% on my phone and twitter is broken again. please tell me if carlos or charles on the podium..... please.........

#f1 #f1 fandom #formula 1 #formula 1 fandom #daniel ricciardo #austrian gp 2023 #GUYS PLEASE....#i also want my 2022 golden trio back in the podium #alva talks ~ ₊ ⊹

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apollosdaydreams · 3 months

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Cringe

Lando Norris x Reader

Warnings: Suggestive language

Both you and Lando were sitting in a comfortable silence in the living room, both of you just scrolling on social media, just enjoying the quiet around you. With lando being gone almost every week and you being busy with work you've haven't gotten the time so just sit with each other, so this was something that the both of you were enjoying. You were slowly being pulled into a peaceful sleep with Lando's chest vibrating while he started to talk.

“That's so cringe.” He said while making a disgusted face.

We were still half asleep, your mouth moved before you could think through what you were saying. “You think that's cringe? Moms around the world wait nine months just to name their kid Lando Norris.” you looked up at him and gave him a cheeky smile.

His jaw dropped, so far that it could have probably hit the floor. He jokingly pushed you off of him. “Hey fuck you.” He couldn't help himself from smiling at you.

You grinned at him again. “You already do that.”

Again his jaw was on the floor, he couldn't believe what you were saying. “Ok, I think it's your bedtime.” He said jokingly while pulling you back to lay on top of him.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could like, comment and reblog!!

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themissingmango · 2 months

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#my art #lando norris #formula 1 fandom #f1 #formula 1 #f1 fanart #2024 season #helmet #little lando norris #mclaren #papaya #f1 2024 #I love his helmet design for the upcoming season 😍#ln4 #wanted to draw him so smol #🤏🏻

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jessicaloons · 1 month

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Chapter 36:

I can do it with a broken heart…

Masterlist - Previous - Next

I groaned when my alarm went off and searched for my phone on the nightstand blindly.

"Come on. Where are you?" I hissed when Charles nightstand lamp lit up.

"Better?" he whispered and I looked to the side, grabbing my phone.

"Thanks." I mumbled, turning the alarm off. I turned on my site, facing Charles who stared at the ceiling "How do you feel?"

"Okay…" he answered and I scooted closer.

"Charles…" I cupped his cheek, turning his head. Last night still visible on his gorgeous face "How do you feel?"

"Embarrassed? Weak? Like an idiot?" he whispered, closing his eyes.

"Stop saying that!" I scolded him but he shook his head.

"I’m sorry you had to witness that… one bad article about me and I have a panic attack? Pathetic…"

"Hey! Stop that! You watched me breaking down before, and not once did you think I was pathetic, did you?" I looked at him and he shook his head.

"That was different! People treated you unfair because you’re a girl, saying all sorts of things about you for months and months, insulted you… that’s not okay! I underperformed, I brought this over myself…" he began and I sat up abruptly.

"Stop. Just stop. I know you love to blame yourself for every little thing your team screws up but not this time, you hear me? It wasn’t just one article and that’s it! It was more! It was weeks of little hits here and there and a team that didn’t do anything about it! A team that never had your back in the last weeks! A team principal who didn’t even acknowledged your win properly? We had a good weekend with Carlos on the podium on Saturday and Charles on Sunday? The fuck? Carlos wasn’t even on a real podium! It was the freaking sprint race! A P3! You on the other hand won the real race! I don’t know what’s going on with Ferrari at the moment, but the way they treat you? Mattia especially? It’s unacceptable! So stop this bullshit that this whole situation was brought onto you by yourself." I said and he sat up slowly.

"It’s just… I don’t know… I didn’t want to be this weak… not when you need me to be strong for you… I’m just so sick of it all…" he sighed.

"I think it’s time that I’m being strong for you for once… okay?"

"Hmm… okay." he mumbled, kissed my cheek and got up.

"Charles?" he turned around and looked at me "It’s okay to be not okay. It’s okay to be vulnerable. It doesn’t make you weak. It makes you human."

The moment we touched ground in Hungary I already felt the sweat forming on my forehead.

"Damn it’s hot." I let out and Daniel chuckled.

"That’s just me…" he laughed and Sissy slapped his arm playfully "Hey! You can’t hit me! I’m an athlete! I need my arms!"

"You’ll survive, I’m sure." she chuckled and I got out of my seat.

"So, ready for your first ever official outing as a couple?" I asked them and Sissy blushed "Ready to be a WAG?"

"Urgh… I hate that word." she mumbled and got up as well "It will be fine. It’s not the first time I’m in the paddock."

"Yeah but it’s the first time you’re in it wearing the wrong merch, watching the race from the wrong garage." I said and she chuckled a little.

"You mean the right merch and the right garage." Daniel wiggled his eyebrows and I laughed.

"As long as you believe in your words…" I turned to look at Charles, still cuddled up in his seat, Liam sprawled across him, both sleeping. I leaned down a little and gently stroked Liam’s back "Hey Bubba. Get up. We’re here."

Liam lifted his head up from Charles shoulder and blinked the sleep away from his eyes, he carefully climbed off of him and then stumbled across the aisle. Before he could trip and fell Daniel caught him and picked him up.

"Come here sleepy mate." he chuckled and walked towards the door, Sissy following him.

I turned back to Charles who started squirming, missing the warmth of Liams body on him. He slowly opened up his eyes and looked around, looking adorably confused. When he spotted me he sat up slowly, wiping his eyes.

"Where’s Liam?" he whispered.

"Already outside with Daniel and Sissy."

"It got pretty hot in here, no?" he pulled his sticky shirt away from his chest and I nodded.

"A little, but I think that you’re sweaty comes from the little human heating laying on you for the whole flight." I chuckled a little and walked outside, followed by a yawning Charles.

"Probably…" he mumbled and as soon as we stepped outside into the blinding sunlight we both put on our sunglasses and got into the van waiting for us.

Charles was quiet. Since this morning he didn’t say more than a handful of sentences. Only when Liam asked him something or talked to him he replied. Otherwise he just kept staring outside. Silent. Lost in his thoughts. I could still see the tension in his shoulders.

"Do you have any sponsor events the next days?" I asked him and he shook his head "Do you want to come with me? Julie asked me if I want to visit a children’s hospital. Spend a little time with some of the kids. We could take Liam with us?"

"When is it?" he looked at me.

"Tomorrow. There are 2 boys and a girl, they had their birthdays in the last week and they are big Formula 1 fans. The hospital is financed by one of our sponsors so they asked if maybe one of the drivers could come and visit the kids, have a little birthday party with them…"

"Yeah… sounds nice." he smiled a little and I leaned into him, kissing his cheek.

"Great. I’ll text Julie." I took out my phone "Maybe you could ask Mia if you have some kids merch you can bring?"

"Would that be okay for Audi? I mean… it’s an Audi event?" he asked and I shook my head.

"It’s about the kids, not the sponsor or team. And I bet my ass that they would love some Ferrari merch as well!"

"I’ll text Mia then."

When we walked inside the children’s ward, packed with bags full of merch, not just from Audi and Ferrari, also Mercedes, RedBull and AlphaTauri, we could see that they had decorated the whole ward with racing decor. Checkered flag garlands, race car poster, balloons and confetti everywhere. We dropped our bags in the little playroom that was set up with little tables, all decorated with even more racing themed stuff, and started to take out the things we brought along. Team shirts, caps, flags, lanyards, bracelets even some funny looking sunglasses. The same one sitting on Liam’s nose, as he was wearing it because it was from AlphaTauri, paired with his Ferrari shirt and an Audi cap.

The door opened and two nurses walked in, smiling at us.

"Hello, it’s so nice to meet you guys, I’m Mira." the blonde woman shook our hands first.

"Hi I’m Lizzie." I introduced myself.

"I’m Charles, and this little man here is Liam." Charles smiled at them and Liam looked a little shy.

"Hi. I’m Janka. The kids will be so happy to see you. Hanna is a big fan of yours Lizzie and Janos is a big fan of you, Charles." the red haired woman said and I smiled at her.

"They basically infected the whole ward with their enthusiasm for Formula 1, so now they all can’t stop talking about it!" Mira said and I smiled "Some parents are here as well, just so you know."

"Is there cake?" Liam asked and Charles chuckled, ruffling his hair "It’s a birthday party after all, so there must be cake!"

"You’re right Liam, there is some cake!" Janka laughed and Liam smiled "Are you ready to meet the kids?"

"Absolutely!" I said and the two nurses nodded and walked outside, opening the French doors fully up.

I watched Charles closely. He was trying his best to look happy and content, but I saw right through his facade. I saw how his eyes were void of their natural spark. How his smile was forced. But when I tried to talk to him last night he brushed it off. Like always. He turned his head slightly and looked at me, raising his eyebrow.

"What?" he asked quietly and I quickly shook my head.

"Nothing." I smiled and before he could reply Mira and Janka walked back in with a small group of kids. Some in wheel chairs, other on crutches, others holding onto their parents hands.

Mira introduced us to the kids and I kneeled down in front of a blonde girl in a wheelchair.

"Lizzie, this is Hanna." Janka said and I smiled at the girl.

"Hi Hanna, nice to meet you." I said in the worst Hungarian possible and Hanna laughed.

"Your Hungarian sounds bad!" she replied in English and I laughed.

"I know! Sorry! I just learned some phrases on the way here! I’m glad your English is good!"

"We learn it in school." she said proudly and I nodded "You are even more pretty in real than on the tv."

"Oh thank you!" I blushed a little "But you are one to talk! Look at what a gorgeous girl you are!" now she blushed as well.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Hanna asked and looked at Charles with big eyes who sat on a tiny chair, talking to three boys and their parents.

"Yeah, that’s Charles." I nodded.

"I know who he is. He’s cute. You’re cute together."

"Yeah, he really is cute. You wanna meet him?" I looked at her and she nodded.

I got up and rolled her wheelchair to the little group and Charles looked up.

"Charles, meet this pretty young lady. That’s Hanna. It was her birthday last week."

"Hi Hanna, nice to meet you." Charles smiled "I heard Lizzie is your favourite driver?"

"Yes she is." the little girl nodded.

"I’ll tell you a secret…" Charles leaned in a little "She’s also my favourite driver." he whispered and Hanna giggled.

For the next hour we chatted with the young patients, painted some pictures together, gave everyone some merch for their desired team and talked to the parents, who where more than grateful that we took some time out of our days to spent with their kids.

"Hanna is here every other month since she’s two. That’s when they found out that she’s sick…" Hanna’s mother said as she watched how her little girl played a board game with Liam, Charles and another kid "Her dad always was a huge Formula 1 fan and they watch the races together."

"When I was younger I started watching with my dad as well. It almost became a ritual for us." I smiled at her.

"How are you this good? That’s crazy!" I heard Charles say and looked at them, Hanna cheering again.

Soon after it was time for the birthday cakes for the three kids and we all sat together and sang for them. After trying some of the cake and more chats Mira nodded at Janka and they began to slowly prepare the kids to return to their rooms. Charles and I said goodbye to every single kid and took some last selfies.

"It was so cool that you were here! Thank you!" Hanna smiled and I hugged her "Good luck on Sunday!"

"I will try my best for you!" I said and waved her off.

"Thank you so much for coming! The kids really had a blast!" Janka said when she guided us to the elevator "These kids, they don’t have it easy, but you gave them a couple of hours of feeling like normal kids, without some serious and bad conditions. Thank you so much!"

"No, thank you for having us. You’re doing an amazing job!" I said and she smiled.

We said our goodbyes and walked to our car. After a couple of minutes of silence, Charles put his hand on my thigh and squeezed it.

"Thank you…" he whispered and I looked at him questioningly "For asking me to come with you…"

I took his hand in mine, interlacing our fingers and kissed the back of it.

"Seeing these kids… with real problems and how they keep going? I need to be more like them…" he said and I was about to reply when Lian was quicker.

"Mummy said there will be kids doing some interviews this weekend? From Sky?" he asked and I turned a little.

"Yeah. Pretty cool, no?" I replied and he nodded.

"Maybe when I’m not good enough in driving I can be a reporter?"

"You’re amazing in driving! You won all your races this year already!" I said and he shook his head.

"Not all. In Kärnten I was only third…"

"Because you were a little bit too aggressive in the end…"

"Marco was in my way! He was annoying me!" Liam defended himself and I chuckled.

"Yeah sure… and where did it get you?"

"Whatever…" he just sighed and I saw him roll his eyes.

"You need to be calmer in these situations, Liam. Next time you might get disqualified!"

"You and Charlie were also disqualified from races and still are in F1 now, driving with the best!"

"I was never disqualified! Charlie on the other hand…" I answered and could see a faint smirk on Charles lips.

"Lizzie is right, Bubba. You need to be more calm and less aggressive…"‘he said.

"Okay okay…" Liam gave in and I rolled my eyes.

One word from Charles and of course Liam agreed. Like always.

Charles POV:

I woke up pretty early, turning around, facing Lizzie. A ray of sunshine lit up her gorgeous face and made her glow. As if she would feel me looking at her she scooted in closer, tangling her legs with mine. Her hand searched for mine and I happily held it out for her to take and watched her cuddle up on my arm, a content smile on her lips. For moments like this I was more than grateful. Quiet mornings. No stress. No hectic. No camera pointed at my face. No microphone shoved under my nose. Just a quiet morning. A tiny snore from Lizzie made me chuckle. Almost quiet.

"What’s going on in there…" Lizzie whispered, her free hand gently stroking along my forehead and I closed my eyes.

"I just thought about how much I love you."

"Wrong answer…"

"Wrong answer?" I opened one eye, looking at her. Her big blueish grey ones looking up at me.

"What you said yesterday? About those kids having real problems? Don’t play down what’s going on inside of you, Charles…"

"What’s going on is that I need to get a thicker skin…"

"Bullshit! This has nothing to do with you being sensitive or not strong enough! You’re too hard on yourself, as always, but this time it’s nothing you can change. Nothing that just goes away when you ignore it long enough! You always want me to talk with Dr. Lindner… I think- I think it’s time that you also start talking to someone. I can only do-…"

"I’m not crazy! I don’t need to see a therapist." I groaned, turning on my back, hands over my face.

"But I am?" the hurt in Lizzie‘s voice made me flinch.

"No! God dammit! Of course you’re not crazy! It’s just… it’s different!"

"How?" she sat up and I turned my head, looking at her "How is it different?"

"Look what you’ve been through! You’re accident! The assaults by Diaz. The media going after you…" I began but Lizzie just scoffed.

"You lost your godfather, your role model. You want since then nothing more than to continue his legacy. Lost your dad at a very important phase of your life. Constant negativity around you. Especially after last season. People are dragging you down whenever they can. Your team doesn’t really support you. You had to witness your girlfriend almost being choked to death…"

"Stop. Don’t… don’t bring Jules and Papa into this…" I sat up, voice slightly shaking.

"Why not? You never talked to anyone afterwards. You just continued. Marched on. And everything that happened since, you just locked away somewhere in your brain. Not talking about it, nothing…"

"That’s not true! I talked to someone!"

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"You, for gods sake! I talked to you! I don’t need a therapist! I have you! I talk to you!" I was getting frustrated.

"But I can’t help you! Not with everything!"

"I don’t need more! What I have, what we have, I know that I can talk to you when I need to. That is enough for me. Don’t worry about me! I’m fine." I got up, grabbing my clothes from the chair.

"You’re not…" I heard Lizzie whisper, but I locked the bathroom door behind me and went straight under the shower.

The hot water cascading down on me. This wasn’t how I wanted our morning to start. But I also didn’t want to talk about a therapist. I didn’t need one. I was fine. Every driver out there hit a rough patch once. It would get over. With a little time and one or two good races I would be just fine. I could do it, even if it hurt, even if it broke my heart. I could keep going. I had to.

"Sophie Acaster, Telegraph. Question for Charles. We’ve all seen the last race, Silverstone, your crash with Lizzie. Up to that point the car looked good? Are you on the way to turn this season around?" a red haired woman in the first row asked.

"We’re certainly on our way to have better results than at the beginning of the season, that’s for sure. We will see how the car will work around here. I like the Hungaroing and I think we’ll have a good weekend." I answered.

"Jacob Beek. De Telegraaf. Charles, we’ve seen you and Lizzie collide on track and afterwards it looked like you weren’t talking. Is this causing trouble in your relationship?"

"Of course I wasn’t happy when Lizzie crashed into me, like I wouldn’t be if it was anyone else. But something like that won’t cause trouble or anything. I mean yeah, we talked about it, I told her that the gap she was going for wasn’t really there, we where also at the complete wrong part of the track for an overtake like this. But that was it. We’re racing drivers, I know why she tried it. She knows she made a mistake. That’s it." another question about the crash.

"Alright, we’ve got time for one last question." Tom Clarkson said nodding to a journalist.

"Oscar Fernandez, Marca. Question for Charles. The last weeks there was a lot of negativity around your person. Lot of noise off track. Your performance, your results and the fact that Carlos is almost equal in points, despite you having won a race. How do you handle the pressure and does it affect your driving?"

"I honestly don’t listen to the media. I ignore it most of the time." I kept it short, but saw that the journalist wasn’t satisfied with my answer but the press conference ended and I got up, leaving immediately.

"Good answer Charles, don’t let them provoke you." Sylvia smiled and I just nodded, sliding my RayBan on, following her back to the Ferrari hospitality "There will be a boy coming from SkyKids. Just show him your driver room, answer his questions and done."

"I can’t wait." I mumbled, watching Lizzie talk to a young girl, probably also one of the SkyKids, when she saw me she stopped abruptly and waved at me, the girl following her look "Give me a minute."

"Charles, we don’t have time…" Sylvia began but I already walked towards Lizzie.

"Ruby, this is Charles, he drives for Ferrari." Lizzie said in German when I was close enough and the girl smiled brightly at me.

"I know who he is! You two are cute together!" she answered and I smiled a little.

"Hi Ruby, how’s your day so far?" I asked her and she shrugged her shoulders a little.

"Pretty cool. I saw some cool stuff, now Lizzie is showing me around and then… I don’t even know what I’m doing next."

"Sounds like a fun day!" I said to her and then turned to Lizzie "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure. I’ll be right back…" she looked at Ruby and then followed me "What’s up?"

"I wanted to apologise, for this morning. We said we need to communicate more and I just left…" I said quietly.

"Okay." was all Lizzie said and I looked at her.

"Cara mia, please… I’m sorry, okay?"

"Yeah, I believe you… but what do you want me to say? I meant what I said… but you don’t want to hear it…" she began and I rolled my eyes.

"Lizzie I told you, talking to you is enough for me, I don’t need a therapist or something." I groaned but Lizzie scoffed.

"You know, I wouldn’t say anything, if you really would talk to me… but you just change the topic or play it down whenever I want to talk about what’s going on… so yeah…" she walked off and left me standing there, groaning.

I watched him. The whole day. His fake smile. As soon as the camera flicked away from him, or whoever he was talking to left, the fake smile was gone. Replaced by a scowl. His eyes hidden most of the day behind his RayBans. His laugh not genuine. Fake. All just faked. I watched another clip from the press conference when I heard JK sigh.

"Liz? Did you listen?" he looked at me and I shook my head apologetic "I said you’ve got some tenseness in your lower back. It’s stiff. I’ll have to work out the knots…"

"Uhhh- yeah. Yeah. I felt it before." I answered and he pushed into a pressure point, making me hiss in pain.

"And you didn’t think about telling me?"

"It was kinda gone after a while before it returned couple of days ago. I’m telling you now…"

"Liz. That’s not the same! We have to be careful with your back and you know it!" he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah… but it’s fine…" I replied.

"We will focus on your lower back the next sessions. Strengthen it." JK noted and I nodded.

"Sounds good." I said halfheartedly.

"What’s going on? You’re lost in your head the whole day?"

"Charles…"

"Charles? Some context please?"

"He says he’s fine. But he’s not. But he doesn’t want to talk about it. Not with me. Not with a therapist." I sat up and JK handed me something to drink.

"It wasn’t easy for him the last weeks…"

"The last weeks were horrible for Charles. The car is fucked, which leads him to pushing too much, which leads him into make mistakes. His team makes mistakes. They also don’t really support him anymore, or that’s how he feels at least. Then the whole media, mostly of course Spanish media, the whole drama with me? It’s all too damn much but he downplays it! And then he…." I began but stopped, then started to play with the bottle cap and JK pulled a chair close and sat down.

"And then what?"

"Where should I start?" I huffed and then told JK about Charles panic attack

"Oh wow…" JK said quietly and I nodded "Okay… first of all. You took good care of him! You did good! And then… Charles is in so many ways like you, Liz. You’re both incredibly stubborn. Remember how much conviction it took me to get you to open up? Talk?"

I thought back to our time in the cabin in the mountains and then sighed.

"Okay… yeah. But how do I get him to open up? Talk? A little faster preferably?" I said and JK chuckled a little.

"Oh come on Liz. Charles would do everything for you. You just have to ask for it. I know you did… but maybe you have to tell him how much it hurts you, seeing him hurt like that? And then he’ll open up?"

"It’s worth a shot…" I sighed after a while and JK stood up.

"Alright. Now back down, please, I still have to work out some knots and tension…"

"Can’t wait…"

I fell asleep before Charles came back and before the Friday sessions I didn’t want to mention anything. So I smiled. A fake smile and Charles knew it. The whole way into the paddock. When we sat down together for lunch. When we were being interviewed between the sessions and he stood next to me. I saw his look. And a part of me liked giving him something from his own medicine. Even though Charles looked like he was bursting out any minute to ask me what was wrong.

"The sessions looked good so far?" he asked instead and I nodded.

"Yeah the car was good. We’ll see I guess." I replied as he waited for me.

"See you tomorrow, Lizzie. Charles." Pete said as we walked off and Charles waved at him.

"Lizzie? Just a moment?" Julie stopped us and she smiled at Charles "I don’t know if Elijah contacted you… but they want to start filming again…"

"He didn’t call me but I was expecting it… he said he wanted to give me some time after the whole Diaz thing… but yeah, they wanted to release the season this autumn…" I sighed and she nodded.

"They will postpone the release, but they really want to film more of your private life… but I told him he has to discuss that with you… after the summer break. So prepare for Netflix to be in Neuburg when you’ll come back…"

"Thanks Julie! Really!" I smiled at her and she waved us off.

"I kinda forgot about Netflix, to be honest…" Charles admitted.

"Yeah… me too." I sighed, trying not to think about Netflix invading my life again.

"Anyways… are you hungry?" he asked me when we got in the car and I nodded.

"Very."

"Do you want to pick up some Buddha Bowls? Or something else?"

"No, Buddha bowls sound great. I’ll pre-order. You want your usual?" I asked, grabbing my phone and looking for a take out place.

"Yeah. Like always. Do you have an address?"

I typed it into the navigation system and pre ordered our food.

"Ready for pick-up in 30 minutes. Arrival in 25. Perfect timing." I smiled and looked outside.

"And when we’re back at the hotel we should talk…" Charles said and I turned to him "More communication." he shrugged his shoulders and I nodded.

"More communication." I agreed and for the rest of the ride we were silent.

Charles POV:

I took a quick shower after Lizzie and when I walked out the bathroom she already set up our foods and drinks by the tv, patting the space next to her. We ate in silent for a while, watching a documentary about a beautiful island somewhere in the Pacific. After another silent minute I cleared my throat and looked at Lizzie.

"So. Umm- yeah…" I began and she looked at me expectantly.

"So?" she asked.

"Umm… I know that you want me to talk with you about all of what’s going on in my head…" I took a deep breath.

"I just want you to open up."

"I just feel like… maybe it’s not fair from me to unload all of this onto you and hope that it’s all good then…"

"What? No! If you think that talking with me is enough, then talk with me! But actually talk! It’s just… it seems like you don’t want to talk with me? Or maybe you can’t? So that’s why I thought that maybe a therapist… I just feel like I can’t help you? I try to, but it’s not enough I think? I want to be there for you, just like you’re there for me. But you don’t talk with me! And when you talk it’s more like you’re trying to downplay it all…" she said and I shook my head.

"No! You do help me! Really! I know that I can count on you! I know that you will do everything to cheer me up, help me! That’s all I need! Really!" I cupped her cheeks and she nodded slightly "It hurts… so damn much. It’s not just one article here or a bad comment there… it‘s all of it combined… then not feeling the support of my own team! The team I love so much. The team I would give everything for… I’m sick of it all sometimes… it’s just… sometimes I feel like I can do my best and it’s still not enough? Like I can be the fastest, but there is still a lot of negativity? I just don’t know what to do… my contract with Ferrari runs out after next season… what if they lost their faith in me? Nicolas said that Ferrari would usually approach him at the beginning of the season to talk about when the contract negotiations would start… but so far, nothing happened… What if they won’t renew my contract?" I closed my eyes and let it all out. The fear and worries that I carried with me the past weeks and months.

"That’s what’s worrying you? The fear that they won’t renew your contract?" Lizzie whispered and I nodded "Can you look at me, please?" she tilted my head upwards and smiled at me "If they let you go, they are even more stupid than I thought, okay? Besides, that’s such a long time till then, Charles? Don’t burden yourself with this now! I know it’s scary, to not know what will happen. But one thing is for sure, if Ferrari is that stupid, know that there are enough teams who would take you in a heartbeat… and know for sure that I would give up my seat, so that you could have it…"

"No. Stop saying that. I wouldn’t take it. Are you crazy?" I stammered but Lizzie shook her head.

"It won’t happen! Because I know for a fact that Toto and Christian would fight over you like crazy…" she gently stroked my cheeks and I had to smile "And let‘s be honest? You in a dark suit? Mhhh I would definitely love to see that…"

"Oh stop." I chuckled a little.

"You are one of the best drivers on the grid… the best over one fast lap… with the right car and right team you are the only one who can beat Max… you’ve proven it last year… and I know how much the things said and written by the media hurt… but you have to ignore it. They have an agenda against you I will never understand, but it’s fact that you will be a world champion one day. I know it. I believe in it. You just have to believe in it yourself…" she smiled at me and for a moment I felt invincible. I hugged her, pulled her close and held her tight.

"Thank you… for always believing in me…" I whispered.

"It’s time you start to believe in yourself again!" she replied and I nodded.

Maybe she was right.

I finished the interviews and waited for Lizzie, smiling at her when she was done as well, walking up to me.

"I guess it will be late, don’t wait for me." I pulled her into my side, kissing her temple.

"Long meeting?" she asked and I nodded.

"P6 and P11? They will want to find a way for us both to finish in the points…"

"The way I know Ferrari they want you to hold up the pack behind, slow them down so Carlos can overtake as many cars as possible so you guys finish as high as possible…" she said and I sighed.

Sounded like a strategy straight out of our department.

"Ruining my tyres in the process and then not even be prioritised at the pit stop." I chuckled and she slapped my arm a little.

"Don’t let them do that! You’re in P6! The podium is in your reach! But not if they ruin your race to get him into a higher position!" she looked at me pointedly and I shrugged.

"I mean, I will try my best to have a word in it. But yeah… we’ll see."

At the Audi hospitality I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tight.

"Maybe I’ll see you later." she whispered and I nodded, kissing her gently.

"I’ll send you a text when I know when we’ll be done!" I smiled at her and walked back to my team.

"Debrief starts in 5 minutes." Xavi said when he saw me and I nodded.

"I just go and grab my notebook." I said and walked upstairs, opening the door "Pops? What are you doing here? I’m actually on my way to a meeting? Did something happen?" I was confused when I saw Juergen sitting in my drivers room.

"No, I was just waiting for you, so we can go together." he said and stood up.

"Go together where?" I was dumbfounded.

"The meeting?" he answered as if it was the most obvious thing.

"What?" I didn’t understand.

"You and I. Meeting with the team?" he smirked.

"But why? I mean why are you…" I didn’t even know what to ask.

"Because it’s time that someone stands up for you. That someone has your back. It’s time to show the Spaniards that they might bring some big sponsors, but you’re still Il predestinato. You’re not fighting alone anymore, Carlos has his dad and cousin, you have me. Besides it seems like your team needs a little reminder, too, who you are!" I didn’t know what to say, I just looked at him and took a sharp breath, blinking away the tears. He looked at me before he pulled me into a tight hug "It’s ok. We all got your back! You’re not alone. You never were."

"Thank you, Pops, really… but I don’t even know if you can attend? I mean…" I began but he chuckled.

"Fred officially approved of it. I’m your new co-manager and advisor. Fancy title, no?"

"You spoke with Fred?" I was surprised.

"I spoke with Nicolas and he spoke with Fred. Long story short, they can’t say anything. Because if they want me removed. The other Carloses have to go as well. Now come on. I don’t like being late." he clapped my shoulder and walked outside "Hurry up, kiddo."

When we walked inside, I saw Mattia looking at us, his eyes widening.

"Charles! You can’t bring him in here!" he said as he stepped in front of us.

"As Charles Co-Manager and advisor I have every right to be here." Juergen said and sat down.

"Co-manager and advisor? You’re the father of a rival driver?" Mattia said and Juergen nodded.

"Correct. I’m Lizzie’s father. And I support her of course. But I don’t work for her, I’m not her manager and also not her advisor." Juergen smiled, putting his glasses on and then looked at me.

I sat down next to him, opening my notebook and putting my headphones on. Ready for what was to come. Mattia still stood there in disbelief but then he seemed to gather himself and the meeting began.

"You’re crazy!" I chuckled in disbelief when we drove back to the hotel "Did you see their faces?"

It was a long time ago, since I felt this good after a strategy meeting. Juergen defended me wherever he could. Had good arguments why Ferrari shouldn’t ask of me to sacrifice my race just to help Carlos. Whenever Sainz senior or Carlos‘ cousin brought something up he was quick to deliver arguments against it.

"I did…" he laughed and Andrea clapped his back.

"I wish I could’ve taken a picture of Sainz senior when you said that if Carlos wants the better strategy he has to be the better driver…" Andrea laughed.

"I said that I meant that he should’ve qualified ahead then!" Juergen shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah yeah if you say so." Andrea chuckled "Whatever you meant. His face was priceless."

"I can’t thank you enough." I looked at Juergen and he just waved it off.

"I told you. Your team needs a reminder… and I’ll do it as long as you need me to. I have no problem to be by your side every weekend…"

"Lizzie will kill me, taking up all of your time!" I chuckled and he turned a little.

"Whose idea do you think it was, coming here and go with you into the meeting?" he asked and I looked at him.

"Lizzie?" I replied slowly and he nodded.

"She called me… Monday night…"

"She did?" my voice barely a whisper.

"It was hard to understand her at first…" he said quietly and I took a deep breath "No matter what’s going to happen… know that I will be by your side when you need me."

"Thank you, Pops. Really."

When we arrived at the hotel and said our good nights I unlocked the door and closed it quietly. Lizzie was already sleeping and I got ready for bed, then snuggled into the sheets behind her.

"What time is it?" she whispered and turned around, cuddling up into my side.

"Late. Go back to sleep."

"Okay…"

"Thank you." I whispered after a while, when I felt her melting into me "For everything, cara mia."

"What do you mean?" she yawned a little and I kissed her cheek.

"Your encouraging words throughout the week, how you’re always there for me. That you made Pops being with me today… thank you."

"I told you, you don’t have to be alone…"

"I know… I love you."

"I love you too, Charlie bear." she whispered sleepily and I pulled her even closer into me.

"Good night cara mia."

P7. One spot lost. 9.5 seconds long pit stop. 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. No water. I was more than happy to leave Hungary behind and fully focus on Spa. If only the journalists would think so too.

"How confident are you after last weekend?" Rachel Brookes asked.

"Last weekend wasn’t a good one for us, again unfortunately. This season is a little tougher than last season, because we just make to many mistakes. But I’m fully focused to end the first half of the season on a high and I think we’ll come back stronger after the summer break." I replied.

"What do you think is possible for you here this weekend?"

"Spa is one of my favourite tracks and I have a lot of good memories on this track…"

"We have a sprint race this weekend as well!"

"Yeah we have, so two races to get some points." I chuckled a little.

"Final question, will we see you on the podium this weekend?"

"I hope so. I’ll give my best." one last smile and I walked away, waiting for Lizzie to finish her interviews.

"I’m tired." she pouted and I pulled her into my side.

"Poor girl." I kissed her temple and saw Pierre waving at us from a lounge area, right before I saw Daniel.

"Pieeeeeeerreeeee Gaaaaaaslyyyyyy!" he shouted and I had to laugh.

"Daniel RICCIARDOOO!" Pierre replied and Lizzie chuckled plopping down on one of the sofas.

"Why are you grinning like that?" I asked him when I sat down next to Lizzie and she leaned on me, making herself comfortable.

"Because he saw me!" Daniel said sitting down opposite from us.

"Nope… I just heard something…" his grin got even bigger.

"And that is what?" I looked at him.

"Oh you won’t believe it…"

"Oh come on Gossip Girl! Spill the beans!" Lizzie groaned and I had to chuckle a little while she kept playing with my bracelet. Daniel sat up and looked at Pierre with big eyes, ready for some hot gossip.

"Okay… sooo I’ve heard from someone that Carlos and his girlfriend broke up…" Pierre said and I rolled my eyes..

"That’s not a secret! We’re in the middle of the season and she wasn’t at one race! Also, didn’t he say it in an interview? Damn I thought you had some good tea!" Lizzie grumbled but Pierre boxed her shoulder.

"I wasn’t done!" he said annoyed and she looked apologetic "That rumour? That he cheated? More than true… it looks like there will be another Sainz jr by the end of summer…"

Lizzie’s head snapped up that fast I was afraid she got whiplash.

"WHAT?" she exclaimed and Pierre leaned back, folding his hands behind his head, a satisfied smile on his lips.

"Damn." Daniel let out a breath.

"You’re kidding, right?!" I asked but he shook his head "Who told you that?"

"One of Kika’s model friends knows the girl, even tried to warn her that he’s in a relationship and that it wouldn’t end nicely for her… but she didn’t listen…" Pierre answered nonchalantly.

"Fuck me!" Lizzie whispered and I pulled her closer.

"Later…" I whispered with a grin and she blushed, then looked at Pierre "And how did Isa find out?"

"The girl told her, showered her with proof… it wasn’t just a one time thing apparently…" Pierre said and scratched his chin "What goes around, comes around I guess…"

"Karma…" Lizzie mumbled still hiding her red cheeks in my chest.

Charles waited for me and I grabbed my bottle, walking towards him.

"You’re starting from the pitlane?" he asked and I sighed.

"Yeah. After a new basically everything they decided last night that when I already had to start from P17 for the other penalties, they could switch the rest of whatever as well. So yeah, pit lane start it is… not all of us can start from pole." I pinched his side and he chuckled a little.

"I’m sorry." he put his arm around my waist and pulled me into him "But I’m sure you’ll do great! Even without starting from pole…"

"Would I make it into the points, that would be amazing! But yeah, we’ll see…" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Have a little faith!" he whispered into my ear, kissing my temple.

"Yeah, we’ll see. At least I got five points yesterday."

"See! One point more than I!" Charles cheers me up and I nodded.

"It’s fine. Let’s just get today over with and then we finally have some quiet weeks for ourselves!" I smiled as we stood next to each other for the national anthem.

"I really can’t wait… it’s been a long first half of the season…" he mumbled and I nodded.

"What are you whispering?" Pierre nudged my shoulder a little.

"I just said to Charles that I’m glad that I don’t have to see your face for quite a bit." I laughed and he grasped his heart dramatically.

"You’re breaking my heart!" he whined and I rolled my eyes playfully.

"You’ll survive…"

"Kids! Stop fighting!" Charles chuckled right as the anthem began and we had to suppress our laughter even more.

"What was that?" I whispered as soon as it was over and we returned to our garages.

"I have no idea but damn why did the camera guy focus for that long on my face!" Charles sighed and I chuckled.

"Someone had to fight a freaking lot to contain his laughter…" I wiggled my eyebrows and Charles laughed.

"Alright. I have to go now. I see you after the race?" he pulled me into him and kissed me.

"I’ll cheer you on on the podium!" I smiled at him and he smiled.

"And I’ll cheer you on for your points!" Charles said and walked slowly away.

"We’ll see…" I mumbled and walked up to JK who already waited for me.

"Ready?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yup… let’s make it into the points…"

"P7 Lizzie! What a race! You were amazing!" Pete radioed and I was more than happy.

"Wooohooo! Amazing job guys!" I replied.

"Brilliant performance Lizzie!" Felix said and I couldn’t stop smiling "Pit lane to P7! Amazing!"

I parked my car and jumped out, looking for Charles who already waited for me, after celebrating with his team.

"What did I say? What did I say! Amazing! You are amazing! Brilliant race, cara mia!" he picked me up and twirled me around. Then he sat me down and I pulled off my helmet and balaclava "You deserved that driver of the day!"

"You did amazing too! Another podium!" I kissed him when someone fake gagged behind us.

"Okay lovebirds, go find somewhere else to be all lovey dovey!" Daniel laughed, shoving us a little.

"Why don’t you go and find my sister, be all lovey dovey with her and leave us alone…" I teased him and he rolled his eyes, walking away still laughing. I turned to Charles again "Let’s go up there and get your trophy! I’ll be cheering for you from down here!" I kissed his cheek and pushed him towards the post race interviews.

As I watched him a couple minutes later stepping onto the podium, lifting his trophy I smiled contently. The season started the worst way possible, but the first half ended on a high and now I couldn’t wait for the summer break.

Charles POV:

"When we’ll leave on Thursday, we have 10 days with our family and friends and then we still have 5 days for ourselves before we need to go back to our teams…" I said when I started to fold my shirts "It was a good idea to do the washing last night when we came back… saved us some time."

"Yeah…" Lizzie smiled at me when her phone rang and she walked out of the room to take the call.

I kept on folding my clothes, choosing what to pack and what not, when Lizzie walked back into the living room, sitting down on the sofa, looking out of the window.

"Cara mia?" I looked at her, but she didn’t react, still staring outside "Lizzie!" I snapped my finger in front of her face and she flinched, looking at me.

"What?" she asked.

"What’s going on? Who called?" I smiled at her but she got up.

"I- umm I… that was… " she began and I tilted my head slightly.

"Full sentences, cara mia."

She began pacing back and forth, throwing her head back, groaning. Then she turned away.

"I got another phone call… from Madrid…" she said and her shoulders tensed.

"Diaz’ Doctor?" I asked and she nodded slightly.

Lizzie didn’t look at me, but by the way how she stood at the window, as far away as possible from me, I already knew what she was about to say. I heard her taking a deep breath before she turned around and looked at me, her mouth opening, no sound coming out. Then she closed it again and turned away. Taking a moment and then turning back around. She was fighting with herself and I knew why. I took her by the hands, leading her to the sofa, sitting down with her. We sat in silence while Lizzie was playing with my bracelet absently.

"Say it…" I said after a while and she looked up at me, biting her bottom lip.

"I thought about it… for a really long time…" she began and then stopped abruptly, getting up again. Pacing back and forth.

"Lizzie…" I said gently, grabbing her hand and pulling her down next to me again.

"I think- I know that’s… you know? I really think that…" her voice shaky, before she stopped again.

I could feel her anxiety and nervousness radiating from her. Saw her eyes frantically flitting around just to not look at me. Watched her fiddling with her cuticles.

"You want to go and talk to him…" I said and Lizzie tensed up, turning a little.

She looked at me for a moment, then looked down and took a deep breath.

"I need to know why… why he did all of that…" her voice barely above a whisper.

I gently cupped her cheeks, making her look at me, wiping away the single stray tear that had escaped.

"Then we’ll go. Together."

Chapter 36 - I’M BACK!!! FINALLY!!! And here is our next chapter… this one is again a little shorter and is more a filler chapter (I was so excited about the next chapter that I forgot that there are still some races in between 😅) NEXT CHAPTER IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITES!

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stateofcharles · 2 years

Text

too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet - DR3

pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x female!reader

word count: ~ 1,8k

warnings: fluff and only fluff (call your dentist)

summary: It’s your third anniversary with Daniel but you’re feeling unwell so - instead of going out to celebrate - he decides to have a date at your place. Your living room soon turns into a ballroom.

a/n: title from “New Romantics” by the one and only queen Taylor Swift

“No babe please I’m not feeling well, I think I caught a stomach bug” you moaned on the phone to your boyfriend Daniel, while you rubbed your belly trying to seek some comfort from the ache that had been devastating you in the previous two days. He was in Woking, busy at the MTC, and you should have been there with him, but a severe stomachache had kept you in London, your hometown.

“But Y/N” you could almost hear him pouting through the phone, “It’s our third anniversary today! We should go out and celebrate in that Italian restaurant that you love. Are you really sure you can’t come here?”

“Dan” You pronounced his name sadly, “I know that, you can’t imagine how I’d like to eat their lasagna right now, but I’m quite sure it wouldn’t benefit my stomach. I’m really sorry babe.”

“No love, you’ve nothing to apologise for, it’s not your fault.” He sighed, desolation in his tone.

“What about another day? Maybe we can have a late celebration” you suggested, wanting so badly to spend a little time with your boyfriend.

“You know I’d do it, but I’m leaving for a triple header in a couple of days.” Sadness was obvious, and your heart clenched at the thought.

You both stayed silent for some minutes, until you heard a gasp on the other end of the line.

“I HAVE AN IDEA!” Daniel shouted just after.

“Ok Dan but please, I’d like to be able to hear for another twenty years at least.” You giggle as soon as you hear your boyfriend huffing.

“Yeah ok, whatever. Listen now. What about a night at your place? Easy and relaxing, we put on some random movie, we have whatever you want to eat, we cuddle and kiss and all that sweet stuff that you like.” He sounded excited, but the only thing you could do was laugh.

“‘The sweet stuff that I like’? Really Daniel?” Your boyfriend could be such a kid sometimes.

“Cmon Y/N, have you really picked up those words only?” Even if you loved teasing him, you returned serious for a minute.

“Fine, fine, I’m serious. Do you really want that? It’ll be quite boring, basically I’ll be stuck on the couch all the time.” The idea would have been perfect, if only you hadn’t had that bug.

“Don’t worry Y/N, I know it’ll be perfect anyway. All that matters is you and me, together.” Daniel answers softly, his smile is perceptible in his voice.

“Will you be here in time?” You ask nervously.

“Sure, it takes a little time from Woking and while I’m along the way I’ll stop to buy something to eat.”

“Ok Dan, see you later” you blew a kiss.

“Bye babe, see ya” and he hung up.

_____________________

It was around 7pm when your bell rang. You opened the door and you found your boyfriend, handsome in his jeans and one of the hoodies from his collection; he had a plastic bag in his hand, his backpack on his shoulders and his distinctive, beautiful smile on his face. You, on the contrary, were dressed in an old oversized hoodie and a pair of sweatpants; to complete the framework, you had your panda socks and a big hearted blanket tied around your waist, an attempt to keep your stomach warm.

“Oh babe… I’m so sorry” Daniel closed the door behind him, his expression got immediately sad at the sight of you and your tired face.

“What do you mean? Have you-” Realisation hit you, “Daniel, it’s not your fault, it must have been something I caught at work, don’t worry I’m fine.” You reassured him.

“Yeah but seeing you like this makes me unhappy.” He pouted.

“Hey Dan, stop now. It’s nothing extreme, now let’s celebrate our anniversary.” You wrapped your arms around his neck, waiting for him to kiss you.

“Fine babe, Happy 3 years, I love you.” He leaned in until your lips met each other. Still in front of the door you started making out like two teenagers, your tongues dancing with each other.

Suddenly, he broke the kiss. You looked at him while he showed you what was inside the plastic bag: he had stepped by a Thai takeaway restaurant and he had brought you your favourite dish, together with a bottle of orange juice. You stared at him, pure love in your eyes.

“You know you’re my favourite person in the world, right?”

He laughed, “Just because I brought you food?”

You pouted, “Yes Ricciardo, I am quite vulnerable at the moment, so shut up and let me adore you.”

He laughed again, and you couldn’t help but do the same, he was contagious. Then he picked you up, carrying you towards the couch and throwing you on it.

“DANIEL” you squealed, but he had a satisfied grin on his face.

“Now,” he started speaking as if he were proclaiming some sort of royal speech, “you stay here, warm under your blanket, while i set up the coffee table with our dinner.” He picked up the remote control from next to the TV and threw it at you, “In the meantime you choose a movie or anything you wanna watch.”

You looked at him in awe, “I love you” you whispered, tears in your eyes, “I’m sorry if I’m so emotional but-”

He interrupted you, leaving a kiss on your cheek. “It’s ok babe, now relax. I love you too.”

You opened Netflix and started scrolling through the movies, but nothing really appealed to you. An idea popped up in your mind.

“Dan,” you called him while he was picking the glasses in the kitchen, “can I put the ‘Grease’ DVD?”

He came back to the living room, staring at you, “Really Y/N? Grease?” he was clearly holding his laugh back.

You pouted, “Yes Daniel, Grease.”

He sighed, “Fine, but only if you don’t start playing the lines over the actors’ voices.”

You puffed, “Ok, but I swear I can’t control it, it’s my favourite musical and I can’t help it. And you know that.”

You stood up and reached your bookshelf, picking the DVD and immediately putting it on the TV.

When the film begins, the table is completely set up. You slowly started eating the food Daniel had bought, carefully choosing the dishes which would have worsened the least your stomach situation.

When the first song started playing, you couldn’t help but sing it, completely in your world. Daniel was watching you: despite the bug, you were beautiful, completely caught up in the movie’s atmosphere and your face was shining. It was incredible how just a simple musical could light you up so much.

Daniel woke up from his trance state when he saw you standing up from the couch and untying the blanket from your waist. You leaned him a hand, a clear invite to stand up as well. He looked at you confusedly, and you rolled your eyes.

“Dan cmon!”, you encouraged him, “we have to dance to this song. It’s ‘Beauty School Dropout’!”

“Wanna practise for our wedding?” He joked, you flushed.

“Maybe” you whispered, but he had heard it, and he stared at you, surprise on his face.

“Anyway, stand up boy and let’s dance!” And really, Daniel didn’t want to dance, he had never liked it, but he couldn’t say no to you. So he gave up and he accepted your invite.

You tied your arms around his neck, while his immediately went around your waist. You both started twirling around the room, while you hummed the song’s lyrics. Your face was hidden in his neck, you were enjoying that moment and in your mind you could picture that same scene but in a wedding hall, or maybe on a beach. Marrying Daniel was a thought you had never considered seriously: your best friend had joked about it many times, ever since the day she had met your boyfriend, when she had whispered in your ear “Y/N this man is perfect, marry him or I’ll do it.”

But in that moment those words and thoughts were having a completely different meaning. Reflecting on it, you wanted it. You were sure, he was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, the one you wanted to be the father of your children. However, you decided not to bring up the topic with him, you didn’t know how Daniel could react to it and you didn’t want the night to assume a negative fold.

If only you had known that the boy was thinking about the very same thing…

Anyway, the song soon ended: Dan made you twirl and then hugged you, while still swinging slightly. Time seemed to have stopped and you weren’t even paying attention anymore to the musical.

You were awakened by the start of the next song, definitely more cheerful and lively than the previous one.

You gasped, recognising it, “DAN! Can we dance this one as well? Please please please!!” You put up your best puppy eyes, and the boy could only nod - don’t blame him, he’s a normal guy who cannot resist the love of his life.

The night suddenly transformed into a ball, your living room the perfect ballroom. Neither you nor Daniel seemed to be able to stop moving, your stomach ache almost forgotten for how good you were feeling. It was definitely one of the best times of your life, despite being a normal night at your place, not even dressed up or having eaten any kind of fancy food. But that’s what you loved about him.

The pattern repeated for each of the following songs, neither of you seemed to be able to stop despite some pain that came back after a while. You didn’t care, you were happy in the arms of the man you loved more than anyone in the world. When even the last song finished, you collapsed on the couch, Daniel falling right next to you. You were both laughing, pure happiness flowing from your face.

Daniel turned to you hugging you and he started kissing you. “Happy anniversary Y/N, I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” he whispered.

You answered in the same tone, “Happy 3 years Daniel, I love you with my whole heart.”

You left one last long kiss on his lips, before you both fell asleep still hugged one to the other. This was definitely how you wanted to spend the rest of your life.

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