the voice of none other than max verstappen startled you out of your self conscious thoughts. you quickly put on a smile, trying to look friendly and cause a good impression on your first day in.  "yeah, i'm supposed to be assisting monica, but she's sick today, so i'm covering her up".

"oh, that's nice. well, i hope everything goes well for you! we're not that bad" max joked at the end of the interview, when the camera was already turned off. you were most nervous about interviewing the dutch man, given his 'bad man' reputation, but seeing this side of him, crackling a joke or two, left you feeling more relaxed now after the exchange. "i leave you in good hands" he said, signaling to the man that used to be his teammate a few years earlier. it wasn't unusual to hear first his laugh, and then see him around. that's the daniel ricciardo everyone in the paddock knew, and the one that everyone loved. always joking, always smiling, and always so beautifully him. 

"i'm sorry, can we start over? you're quite distracting".

"oh, sorry?" you said, frowning. his eyes widened, realization dawning on his face as he understood why you reacted the way you did. stumbling on his words out of pure nervousness, daniel rambled. "n-no, i didn't mean that in a bad way, you're just so pretty?". ending the sentence with a questioning tone didn't exactly bring you any certainty, and that's what reflected on your reply, "thanks?".

max, who was on the booth at your side, saw how the whole interaction had played out and joined in, palming daniel's shoulder while laughing. "already embarrassing yourself, ricciardo? that's a new record for you". the australian answered through gritted teeth. "shut up, max".

it would've been funny if you saw the interaction from the outside, but since you were at the center of it all, the awkwardness just spreaded through your body. max, not sensing your discomfort. he wasn’t doing it on purpose, it's just that the thrill of getting under daniel’s skin proved to be rather blinding to max. so, he continued making fun of the mclaren driver. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile that bright".

"you're on sight, verstappen. you just wait".

-

following your failed attempt at ending the day without any inconvenience after your encounter with daniel, the rest of the interviews you conducted seemed to have gone right. your biggest fear was asking an unfortunate question, or receive a short answer at something you asked, but it turned out to be fine: all were very understanding of your situation, and did everything they could to make the first-day-nerves go away. so now, with the friday coming to an end, thus ending your work-day, you were making your way out of the paddock to finally go back to the place you were staying at. at least, until you heard someone calling for you.

"hey, y/n, right?"

funnily enough, the man that was almost-shouting your name down the whole paddock was the one you tried to avoid all day since your inconvenient encounter. you replied, nonchalantly, "that's me, i guess. hope i'm not too distracting now, daniel". you didn't mean to give him the cold shoulder, but none could fault you for doing so, even if he explained right away, it still left you doubting every little thing you said all day. daniel, once again, tried to explain himself. "you weren't being distracting earlier either. i just, i don’t know, got really nervous suddendly? i'm sorry, wasn't my intention to ruin your first day here. you must think i'm an asshole" he said, touching the back of his neck in a clear sign of nervousness. which, again, wasn’t your intention to begin with, so your tried reassuring him. "no no, i don't think that, don't worry, daniel" thinking that you were desperately wanting to end the conversation, daniel gave you back a tight lipped smile and turned around, prepared to walk back to mclaren's hospitality. 

"so do i make you nervous, ricciardo?" you said, which prompted the tall man in front of you to turn around, now, with a face-splitting smile, completely changing the sheepishly expression that tinted his face before. "i guess you do, yeah".

reciprocating his smile as best as you could, you quipped "well, we already have something in common". when he deemed it safe to get a bit closer to your frame, without overstepping, you continued, now with a lower tone of voice to avoid prying ears. “are you staying at the hotel near here?" daniel nodded, with his head tilted to the side, not quite understanding yet where you were going with that question. "great!” you exclaimed, maybe in an over enthusiastic tone. “another coincidence. do you think we can, i don't know, coincide in the lobby at eight for a drink?".

you didn’t know where this rush of confidence was coming from, but maybe, you were taking a page of a book that daniel knew well: the flirty-funny demeanor that he maintained all these years on the paddock, and that seemed to have gone missing at the mere sight of you earlier today. "yeah, i guess we can. we can say it’s another coincidence, and blame it on fate".

one cold morning, while you two were sitting on a bench together, watching the other kids run around during recess, you noticed that your blue-eyed friend was quieter than normal, like he was thinking about something. "what is it, mick?" you asked, gently nudging his side to get his attention. "just thinking about things" he replied, straight to the point. he normally wasn't too talkative, but you two used to exchange a few words during the break, even if you were the one talking and he just answering to you. you decided that if he wanted to tell you, he would eventually, so you dropped it.

"ever thought of getting married to someone?" he said, seemingly out of nowhere, when the bell indicating that the recess was over ringed. you shrugged, never really giving the topic much thought, even though you were currently immersed in reading books that were all about love and happy endings. you never considered that's how life could go for you too. you asked mick, a bit confused this time "who would I get married to?". his cheeks went red in an instant after hearing your question, and his blue, beautiful eyes were fixated on the floor while you two walked back to the classroom, side by side, only connected by the shy touch of small hands brushing against eachother. "i don't know, maybe a friend?".

II

at sixteen, it seemed to you that everyone had already met the love of their life. at first, you didn't mind it, but when the girls you hanged on with at school started to forget about you, too wrapped up in their teenage flings, you were done with it. poor mick, always the listener, found himself the receiver of every complain you could have about boys and your failed love life. every boy you seemed to like always ended up being an asshole, and the blonde boy warned you everytime, but you wouldn't listen.

"i'm so sick of this, why is it so complicated? i won't ever marry, end of story. i'ill end up alone forever" you had concluded, after being too disappointed due to yearly school ball that was ocurring tonight but you refused to go, given that you didn't have anyone to ask you to go. "I wouldn't mind being married to you" mick, almost too soft for you to pick up, had said. you smirked and jokingly replied, always diminishing his efforts, telling yourself he didn't really meant it, but that he said it anyways to make you feel better. "obviously, I'm a catch."

he grunted, mad that you weren't taking his sayings as truthful. "i'm serious, y/n" he told you again, now looking into your eyes. "so am i, mick".

III

you never quite like big parties. and you never would have agreed to go to the one you were invited to now, if it was up to you. but mick, sweet boy mick, couldn't say no when corinna invited you to celebrate new years with them after some months without really staying in touch with your best friend. you thought that it was for the best: having recently discovered about your feelings towards the german boy, and being sure that it wasn't mutual, you decided that staying away would help the feelings disappear. but apparently, whatever "absence makes the heart grow fonder" shit they said was true, or so you learned to agree on, since you couldn't remember a day where you didn't want to talk to him and go back to the way things where before

"it's the sixth one you try on, y/n. everything looks great on you anyways" the boy said, seated on the sofa that the store provided for those who weren't trying on clothes. even if you didn't detect any frustrations in his voice, she apologized for how long the seemingly easy task was taking her. "that isn't true, mick. i'm sorry for being annoying, should have brought gina with me."you quipped. mick frowned as he heard you favouring his sister over him, and quickly replied "hey, no, you're not annoying. i didn't mean for it to sound like that." you smiled at his fast reaction, careful to not get into your bad side knowing how quick you could get mad. still, you were in a playful mode, and continued with the banter, even if there was a bit of truth in your statement. "i don't know how you put up with me, honestly." you sincerely hugged him, absorbing his heat and perfume.

"maybe it is because I've been hopelessly in love with you since we were kids."

you broke the hug when you heard what he said, trying to hide the goosebumps that appears in your skin, and the effect his grazing breath had on you. almost as if it was second nature to you, you put on the joking mask, again, afraid to let him see the hopeful look in your eyes that, maybe, just maybe, he felt the same for you. "ha! that was a good one, schumacher. almost had me going with that serious expression." you signaled to his face, jaw locked and confused eyes. "forgot i can read you like a book."

IV

after getting tired of seeing how every partner you had never lived up to what you deserved, your best friend -until then- had decided that he had to step up. that's how you two had end up together, just as your two families always talked about. at first, you were quite afraid that, after all these years as friends, becoming something more would damage the relationship you already had, but gladly it surprised you for the better: mick and you worked well together, easily passing from friends to partners. after finishing school you started to work in a garden center, and now aged twenty and with some help from your family, you were thinking about opening your own shop. the only thing stopping you was the fact that you still couldn't figure how you would name it.

"why not using your last name?" the blonde boy suggested, while walking through the rows of plants that almost engulfed him. you huffed, already considering that idea due to it being a family business, but not quite liking how it sounded. "not everybody has a cool last name like you, schumacher" you joked, and the blonde boy smiled at you, slowly making his way towards you to hug you from behind. "you could have it too if you wanted" he advised, whispering in your ear. it sent chills down your spine. "y/n schumacher, sounds cool, doesn't it?" mick said, with a confident smile painted in his lips. your cheeks reddened at the idea of sharing his last name. it wasn't the first time you two had talked about marriage, and even when you agreed it was still too soon, just thinking about sharing his last name left you feeling warm inside. so, you did what you always do best: deflect with humor. "can you just ask me to marry you like a normal person?".

V

it was another rainy day at home, and due to the boredness creeping in your bones since you had woken up far too early and couldn't go back to sleep, you had resolved to spend your time scrolling on tiktok. at least until it was an acceptable time to start making breakfast, or until mick woke up. whatever happens first, you thought. but after a few minutes laying still, only paying attention to the media displaying in your phone, you ran across a crafting video of some sort, that taught how to do paper rings. being the absolute biggest fan of taylor swift on planet earth, you couldn't contain the excitement of trying it out, so you slowly left your boyfriend's arms to go look for the required things.

"why did you woke up so early?" the croaky voice of your boyfriend due to the sleepiness still towering over him startled you, not expecting him to wake up so soon after your departure. "i'm sorry, love." you replied, pouting, and standing up from the table to hug him, hiding in his chest. "did i woke you up?"

his full, pink lips warmed your heart when you heard what he said. "no, i just missed you", followed by an eye rub to dissipate the sleep that remained. you grabbed his hand, and rushed him to join you at the counter where you were working at. "i just came across a video and wanted to try it out. look, i made you a paper ring" you said, grinning like a child who just got gifted what she asked for christmas. mick reciprocated your energy, seating beside you while asking "can you teach me how to do one?".

after teaching him how to fold the paper correctly and endure multiple paper cuts, you left him alone to continue the task while you went to make tea since the weather outside continued to be awful and grey. too focused on the task at hand, you didn't hear when mick stood up and got on one knee, until he reached for you waist, saying "liebling, can you turn around please?".

your breath got stuck instantly when you turned to face him, as the tears came crashing down your face. being together since you had turned twenty, now aged twenty-two, and having known him your whole life, it clicked instantly that this was how it was meant to be: you two, together, at home, without shiny things but filled with endless amount of love from both sides. "will you marry me?" he finally said, with tears brimming from his clear blue eyes.

after so many years working together, you already knew all his cues, just as he knew yours. the friendship you two had developed during the race weekends had transferred into your personal lives outside of the track too, and he was one of your closest friends. that's why it was so weird to you to have learned about his departure from the team through social media, and that he hadn't made an effort to tell you privately before. you weren't necessarily mad at him, just disappointed that he hadn't trusted you enough.

you weren't avoiding him and the inevitable goodbye that would come, whether you like it or not, soon enough, but you had changed your work station for the day: instead of working from his drivers room, the one he had kindly offered you to work on, claiming that he never used it and you needed the quiet space more, you were doing a bit of light work in a little office yuki's assistant gave you. even though you weren't actually acomplishing any of the task due to your racing thoughts, the knocks you heard on the door startled you more.

"didn't see you at all today, chérie. were you hiding from me?" pierre said in a jokingly tone, while handing you a coffee. it was his way of waving a white flag, to offer peace. a way of saying he wasn't here to fight. when you ignored him and didn't take the cup from his hand, he deposited it near your computer, on the desk you had all your stuff dispersed in, and sat across from you. you said, sounding more annoyed that you initially pretended to. "if i wanted to hide, you wouldn't have found me so easily, gasly".

"woah there, using my surname, are you angry at me?"

you turned down the screen of your computer to assure him you were listening, and rubbed your hands on your face in a sign of fustration, mostly towards you, due to the attitude you were giving him even though he didn't deserve it. "i'm sorry, okay? it took me by surprise. you didn't tell me anything" you murmured, a bit disappointed that he hadn't trusted you enough to tell you the news beforehand. he leaned in onto the desk, and took your hands between his. "i was dying to tell you, chérie, i swear. but they told me no one could know. not even charles knew".

sighing, you assured him, slowly circling the back of his hand with your thumb "no, i get it". he stayed quiet, knowing that you had more to say, and after a few seconds, you continued talking. "it's just that it will be so different without you here". pierre smiled, taking one of his hands towards your cheek to caress it slowly, and you leaned into his touch. "i'm sure you'll get on with nyck just fine, he's a great kid". you laughed a bit, knowing that the dutch was a year older than him, and he still called him 'kid'. after a bit, the joke subsided and you went right back into your gloomy mood, not being able to look into his crystal clear eyes. "but it won't be the same, pierre, you're my best friend" you whined, and he laughed a bit at your dramatization. "promise we'll stay close, even if don't work here anymore".

pierre kicked lightly your feet under the table to get your attention again. he earned a glare in return, but he was satisfied to have your y/e/c eyes looking into his again. to look at him. "how could i forget you, ma cherie?" he furrowed his brows, tilting his head. "we are neighbours still, you remember, right?" he stood up, walking towards you and situating himself behind your chair, massaging your shoulders softly. "we'll always have pizza tuesday to catch up, no?" he mentioned, trying to make you remember all the little things that, even if he was going to work with another team, would remain still for the two of you. "unless you're already tired of me". you jokingly elbowed him, a bit angry that he had assumed such thing, while saying "don't be silly, pierre". due to your eyes facing the other way, you didn't see exactly where the hit had landed, but when he crouched by your side you thought you had punched him way too hard. what you didn't know was that he was faking it, and in the second where you let your defense down, he was already tickling you. once he saw how red you were, he was satisfied, and stopped the attack on your ribs. you hit him again. "that was rude, p.". he laughed with his full chest now, and made you stand up to get ready to leave the little office. "come, they're waiting for us to take the final photo" he encouraged. you pouted when you heard him say 'final', knowing that next year he would be taking this exact same photo dressed with another teamwear, and with a different team surrounding him.

there was a big crowd around the aston martin's garage, and you quickly figured out it was thanks to seb. being the last grand prix of the season, the fourth time world champion's career was coming to an end, so everyone wanted to have a final look at the german. you could never have enough seb's pictures, so you tried to make your way into the multitude, until you bumped into someone's back. the man, you realized, was wearing an aston martin's shirt, so you figured he was a part of the team, even though you hadn't seen him before -you thought you would remember meeting someone this handsome before-. he politely smiled at you, like you two were the closest friends, and gave away his space so you could get alongside sebastian and snap a few pictures. he remained behind you, close but not enough to be invasive, protecting you from the occasional shoves the people around you propined to try and get closer to the driver. once you were done, you grinned back at him and started to make your way out of there, feeling a bit trapped after being so close to so many people.

"i'm sorry, i think we haven't met before".

when you turned to look at whoever had made that comment, directed towards you -at least, that's was what you could guess-, you were pleasantly surprised to find the handsome stranger who had played as your security guard a few moments ago.

"y/n, photographer for f1's socials. you? i feel like i haven't seen you before".

he smiled due to your implicit confession: he was important enough to be remembered by you. "felipe. half time photographer" the boy said, showing you the camera that was attached to his neck. he was about to say something else to you, when lance grabbed him by his shoulders and yanked him, startling the poor man. "you're needed at the garage, drugo, the car's waiting for you" the canadian said, without noticing that his friend was in the middle of something. when he lifted his eyes and saw you, it was like you could see how an idea came to mind. "y/n! so great to see you here. would you take a picture here with my friend? i need to post something congratulating the new f2 world champion!".

he was rushed by lance, so you couldn't talk to him and ask why hadn't he told you who he really was. and even though you didn't run into him for the remainder of the weekend, felipe still found his way to make you smile when he followed you on instagram on monday morning, after the season had ended and you were already at the plane to come back home. the three months that separated one season from the other were spent getting to know eachother, first through texts and then via facetime: you two hit it off instantly, keeping always in touch. because of this, you quickly noticed how much you missed him when he was too busy working with aston martin, or how often he checked his phone to see if he had gotten any messages from you when it was morning on your timezone.

when you came back to the paddock once the 2023 season had begun, you quickly made your way to the aston martin garage, where you knew felipe was at. since signing his contract to be a reserve driver, you assumed that the brazilian would be there. you realized your suppositions where correct when you heard his voice, this time, in real life, and not through some device. "are you looking for someone?" he jokingly said. you turned around and gave him a big hug, answering to his ask. "some handsome part-time photographer, do you happen to know who he is?" you hadn't meant to be so forward, and even though you two flirted as a joke on a daily basis, it was different when you were actually face to face. thankfully, he just laughed and hugged you even tighter.

"i think i know where he is. should we go look for him, amor?".

after months talking, you always come back to talk about photography: after all, it was what had brought you together. so now that you had reunited, it was only right that the first thing you did together was walk through the paddock and take as many pictures as you could. sometimes, you would sneakily take a picture of him, that would be kept hidden in a folder where nobody could see. it wasn't that you were ashamed of the newfound love you had for the driver, but rather than you didn't want to ruin a perfectly good friendship for some weird feelings that you weren't sure were even real. maybe you only liked him because you had a few things in common that you could talk about for hours. you were sure that you weren't actually in love with him. maybe, you were trying to convince yourself that you weren't.

after a few hours roaming the area, you decided it would be best for you and your poor, tired, feet, to go back to the aston martin garage to rest for a bit. when you were about to reach your destination, you noticed that felipe had stopped walking beside you, and when you turned, he was a couple of meters behind, still. "what happened, feli?" you called him by the nickname that you gave him back when you first started talking. "can i take a picture of you?" he shyly said. felipe knew that you preferred to remain behind the lense at all cost, noticing this for the first time when he checked your instagram page and there wasn't a picture where your face showed entirely: you were always hidding, either behind the lense on a mirror pic, or somehow covering your face with your hands.

felipe didn't understand why you did it. he thought you were the most beautiful person in the world, ever since seeing you and your worried face for the first time, back in november when you were trying to make your way through the crowd. at the time, he hadn't realized just important you would become to him. and now, after all these months knowing about his feelings for you, he still wasn't sure how would he manage to ask you out without die trying. so the only way he found was through the camera, and with lance's help. you groaned at his persistence in taking a picture of you, but knowing that you had taken plenty of him throughout the day, you felt kinda obliged to let him have at least one.

you turned to look at him, and he groaned, still with his eyes closed. touching his forehead, you realized he was burning, so you got up to try and find some meds to give him. charles whined when he felt you slipping away. "where are you going?" he spoke, and his voice sounded rough, like he hadn't drunk enough water lately. when you got into bed again, you had some pills in one hand and a glass of water on the other. charles straightened himself a little, leaning his bare back into the headboard. "you have to stay away, chérie, i'll get you sick".

"you won't, cha. and if you do, i don't care. it'll be good to take some days off work" you joked, and he laughed a little, until it turned into a cough. you urged him to take the pills faster, and he obliged, downing the entire glass of water afterwards. he closed his eyes, still resting on the bedframe, while you tried to cover him more with the sheets, saying "you need to cover yourself a little, baby. put on a hoodie and lie down a bit". you took of the hoodie you were wearing, that was his, and he sighed, but did as you told him. when he "you sound like my mom" charles said in a joking tone. seated on the bed, while watching him, you snickered back at him. "i'll call her to ask how does she gets you to listen when you're sick".

"hey, don't be mean, i'm doing what you said, see?" he made a gesture, signaling that his body was entirely covered and he had put on some clothes to avoid feeling cold. "because i threatened to talk to your mom!" you laughed, and he smiled a bit, reaching for your hand. when he finally grabbed it, he promised. "i'll be good from now on, yeah? can you hold me now, please?". he looked like a little kid, and it made your heart swell. you smiled at him, even though he had his eyes closed and couldn't see your reaction. opening up the covers, he made space for you in his arms, and you gladly took it. "of course cha, come here".

you had already texted andrea, telling him that your boyfriend was feeling down today, but you were taking extra good care of him to, hopefully, get him back on his feet and training for the next race after making sure that he was healthy again and ready to go. after a few minutes without charles saying anything, and due to his even breathing pattern, you thought he had finally fallen back asleep, needing the extra sleep to help his body fight out the cold. you noticed he was still awake, though half asleep, when he pulled you closer and asked you "is this a good enough excuse for you to make me cupcakes?"

"just the old q&a. i ask you a question, you answer, and so it goes" he started to explain, while he squatted down to sit beside you. "if you don't want to answer, you'll have to drink a whole can of beer" mick joked, and you playfully rolled your eyes, which caused him to grin. "so?" he asked again, when you didn't answer him.

"i like it. who will go first?".

"your idea, you go first, schumacher". the german boy laughed at how easy his last name rolled off your tongue. you two started to call eachother by their last names only joking when you were kids, but it had stuck. the thing mick loved the most about your friendship was how many inside jokes you two had, how easy it was when everything surrounding both of you seemed to be so complicated.

"why do you need to get away?"

you knew that he hadn't took well the news about your departure. even tough he was most of the year away due to his job, coming back home and knowing that you would be close to him, like the old times, helped him through the season; you were his string back home, pulling him in when he felt too lost. now, he didn't know how could he still call this place home if you weren't in it.

you huffed, a bit annoyed at the reocurring topic. "mickie, we talked about this. i'm not going away. i'll come back often. you know i can't stay away from home for too long" you joked, reminiscing of when you had travelled to him to join him at a triple header. it meant that you were away from home for almost a whole month, and the distance had definitely impacted you negatively. mick nodded, still a bit unsure, but not wanting to push the subject any further.

"what do you find the most difficult about what you do?". he didn't want his answer to sound so sharp, but it left his mouth without giving it a second thought.

"staying away from you"

it was just mere seconds before he went, like a firefighter, to extinguish any kind of suspicion his statement could have lightened. "staying away from angie, my family, home. when i'm on the track i don't really think about anything. but the nights are hard sometimes". you hummed, like you understood what he was talking about.

as the night went on, the cans of beer getting emptied and your tongues speaking almost without inhibitions, you asked the blue eyed boy something that you couldn't even muster up the courage to think when you're sober.

"did you ever think about us... like, together?".

he smiled and nodded, while finishing his third beer of the night. when you realized he had no intentions on expanding his answer, you continued asking. "why didn't you say something then?".

he laughed at your impatience. "one question at a time, schatzi".

after thinking about it a bit, a few seconds later he took his turn. "you truly didn't realize that i was in love with you?". the newfound information startled you so much that it seemed like the alcohol had evaporated from your body. even if you didn't want to acknowledge it, you had been in love with the boy in front of you since you meet him, back when your family moved to switzerland when you were just a kid. still, you never had a clue of his feelings towards you.

"you were?". he smiled, finding your clueless reaction cute. he always thought that you knew about his infatuation towards you but decided to not say anything to avoid any awkwardness between you two.

"floor 5, right?" he said, pressing the number on the little pad that indicated the floors. you nodded, still without looking at him too much. he was truly handsome, and his presence in such a tiny place made you nervous. the seconds separating you from your destination seemed to last longer than they should, like you were trapped there.

until a loud sound and the uncharacteristic pause in movement made you realize you were, in fact, trapped there. the elevator had suddenly stopped.

"oh no, not again" the man beside you huffed, and took his phone out of his pocket to seemingly send a text. still, the sentence that had gotten out of his mouth, like he was alone and nobody was there to hear it, made you confused. "again?".

he turned to look at you, like for a moment, through his annoyance, he had forgotten he wasn't actually alone in the small metallic space. "yeah, it happened to a friend a couple of months ago when he was visiting. though they had fixed it by now" at that last bit, he furrowed his brows, irritated after facing the same problem he thought was solved before.

even if it was a stupid question to ask, given that he didn't know any better than you, the nerves got the best of your logical thinking brain so you asked "do you know how long this is gonna get?".

he looked at you and saw the obvious distress in your face "could be a couple of minutes or hours" he spoke softly, trying to ease the news a bit. and he was right, cause at that, you started to get even more nervous. it wasn't like you had diagnosed claustrophobia, but you knew that the feeling of being trapped made your palms sweat and your breath to quicken. charles must have noticed, since he started to look at you, frozen, not sure of what was happening to you.

he must have heard your ragged breathing or saw how you were picking your nails, cause the man suddenly asked you. "hey, you're okay?". you didn't know why you told him the truth, but you did. "yeah, I just d-don't like elevators that much. and also, closed spaces"

"oh." the man looked concerned, standing now just a bit closer to you, but not too much as to invade your space. "is there anything I can do for you?". you refused, instead resolving to sit down a bit, to try to keep calm. "I just need to sit down for a bit".

when a few minutes passed and your breathing didn't quite get back to normal, you saw that it wasn't going to work out. at the moment, you were hyper aware of the way that the metal was cold against your body, immobile and ungentle against your skin. it didn't help that you didn't have anything else to re-focus your mind to. the idea that came to mind sounded absurd, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. "can you hold my hand? it'll keep me gro-".

he quickly answered, not letting you time to finish the sentence. "yeah yeah, you don't need to explain to me. please, just try to breathe, yeah?".

finally, when the elevator started working again, it was like you could finally breathe again, line you had been drowning in water all these minutes. you didn't actually know how long it had been since the stupid metallic box got stuck, but you were glad that, even if you didn't actually know the guy beside you, he was of great help to keep you alive and breathing during whatever long it had lasted.

"if you need a hand some other time, I'm just a knock away" he said, while signaling to his door that was just across from yours. but before he got in, you realized that you didn't know his name. you just knew him as the man next door. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I didn't quite catch your name. I'm y/n, by the way" you said, smiling. he returned the grin, but for a different reason. the fact that you didn't know his name meant that you didn't know who he was, or what he did for a living. it was refreshing to find someone that didn't had expectations attached to his name.

"what are you talking about?" you said, with your brows furrowed. "the race ended a few hours ago. we're still in mexico". the monegasque rolled his eyes, annoyed that you weren't in the same wavelength as him. "did you realize that the same people we would go out with in monte carlo are literally right here?".

well, he certainly had a point.

"ok ok, you're right. but I've got no costume, cha, so I have to decline your invitation" in reality, you could probably put something together with the clothes you travelled with, no need to go all-out like you normally would, but you were already about to fall asleep, so it didn't really seem worth it to put on the effort. "it's not a costume party, silly, you didn't even let me explain! it's a masquerade ball!". you were about to say that you didn't have a mask, that would be absolutely insane, who travels across the globe with something like that ready on their luggage? but he stopped you right on your tracks, depositing a black mask in your hand without waiting for your response. "we leave in 30 minutes. if you're not already on the lobby, I'm coming to get you, and I won't be as nice. okay, ma mie? (my dear)".

and again, he left you with the words at the tip of your tongue. you huffed, and started to get ready for whatever he was so excited about, but with the worst mood ever. putting on a simple black dress, some heels and a bit of makeup, you applied the finishing touches before actually putting on the mask. giving you one small look on the mirror and satisfied with the result, you almost promised yourself that this won't be long, you'll go just to please your brother and then, before he even noticed, you would be back in your bed.

"he's late again, isn't he?" you asked pierre when you got out of the elevator, and arrived at the entrance hall of the hotel, where your brother had told you to meet him. he recognised your voice instantly and lifted his gaze from the telephone, nodding. he was almost grinning too, seeing how mad you were with charles, since he had rushed you and then was the one making you all late.

it seemed to be a theme between you three when charles came down wearing an all-black outfit, you thought, but there wasn't any more time to reflect on anything since he zoomed out of the hotel and got you all in the car that was already waiting outside. "what's with that face, y/n?" pierre said jokingly while adjusting his seatbelt. you rolled your eyes at charles' response to his best friend "she didn't want to come".

"didn't want to be left alone like last time, remember?" the last time you three had gone out to get a few drinks, pierre and charles had left with their respective partners and left you there, alone, so you had to ask lando to help you get back to the hotel. "maybe you'll find someone this time, no?" the frenchman at your side nudged you a bit, at which you glared at him. "the only person I'll find will be you two, absolutely passed out on the vip section of the club, as always. shut up or i'll walk back to the hotel".

—

when you all arrived, almost everyone was already inside, all wearing the same kind of mask that your brother had given you a bit earlier. they went directly towards the booth where all the other drivers were already. you, I instead, went directly to the bar to find something to drink.

"i'll have what she has" said a soft voice behind you, one that you didn't quite recognise. when the person got beside you, you realized that, in fact, you didn't recognize him. even with the mask on, you could appreciate his prince-like features, something different from anyone you had seen before. but his eyes especially caught your attention: blue as the ocean, and as calm as the sky after a particular strong storm.

you hadn't expected to find someone quite as interesting as him. usually, at these kind of parties charles always dragged you to, it was all jokes and alcohol, never deep conversation like the topics you discussed with the beautiful stranger.

you didn't quite know how much time had passed, long forgotten the idea that you should return back to the booth charles and pierre were in.

"I've been looking for you!" pierre almost screamed, shaking your arm and startling you out of the conversation with the blonde guy. "charles is almost black-out drunk. we need to get him home." you huffed, not wanting to end the conversation you had with the stranger, but at the same time needing to check if your brother was alright.

"i'll find you" you promised the blue eyed guy, while holding pierre's hand that was guiding you to where the monegasque was. he simply gifted you the most captivating smile you had ever seen.

"please do".

—

when you woke up the next morning, you weren't sure if you had ever felt as hungry as you were in that moment. almost sprinting down to the cafeteria, you arrived just in time to order your coffee before the staff stopped serving breakfast due to it being almost midday. with how hurried you were, you hadn't seen that there was a blonde boy seated on the table that was close to the window, where you had breakfast every morning since you arrived in mexico.

"hey, I'm sorry, is this taken?" you shyly said. you figured that you could sit with him, since he was alone, and all the other tables were filled with staff members from different teams, who all seemed to be having important conversations.

"no no, please, sit. I was about to leave anyways" he kindly smiled, and you swore that you had seen that grin before. "I'm sorry, do I know you? you seem familiar".

"depends on how drunk you were last night".

suddenly, it was like the starts aligned and the points connected. how could you forget those beautiful ocean blue eyes? you had honestly given up hope, cause how could you find someone only based on the color of his eyes? in a way, you thought you were starting to lose your mind because you couldn't stop thinking about him since you had woken up, even though the events of last night were a bit blurred due to the high amount of alcohol you consumed. still, the color of his eyes remained intact, almost like you had taken a photograph of them, having them instantly memorized, engraved forever in your memories.

you gave him a knowing smile, and asked the question, even if your heart already knew the answer. "it's you, isn't it?"

"come on, y/n, you know you always get flustered when I get too close to you. do you think I don't notice?" he said, while cornering you into entering his driver's room. you rolled your eyes, walking backwards into the small space. suddenly, you stumbled upon his desk and were left there, stranded between the table and his body.

it was inevitable for you to get nervous, being so close to him. even if you truly didn't feel anything for him, being this near to pierre's body made you tense. "god, you're so annoying. shut up."

"make me" he whispered, his breath sending shivers through your spine. he smiled triumphantly, seeing the reaction he had on your body. "i told you so. we're 1-0, little one."

II.

since then, it had started something like a competition between you two. he would make every flirty comment he could and you had to endure it, try to not show that it was working to prove him wrong.

"if I can get into q3, will you go out with me?"

the frenchman had been asking you for a date outside of work for way too long. you obviously refused every time, not wanting to step over the line, but today you were feeling a little bit playful. you knew that this year, the car had been difficult for both pierre and yuki, so even if everything was done perfectly, reaching q3 alone was a huge accomplishment.

"only q3? I think you would need a p6 minimum for me to even think about it, gasly" you joked. being a man who loved challenges, he went into the track disposed to reach his goal: and he exceeded it, as he always did, getting that tractor miraculously into p5.

somehow, the odds were at his favor today, and while the whole garage cheered due to both cars getting into the final part of qualifying, you laughed knowing how stubborn pierre was and how hard he had to push to end as high as he did in the starting lineup. when he had finished shaking hands with the whole team who had nothing but praise towards him, he made his way over you, ruffling his wet hair in the process and with a huge grin on his face.

"ugh, wipe that smug look off your face. I said I'd think about it, not that I would do it, pierre".

“so you'll be thinking about me, uh?" he stood in front of you, and you could see the spark on his eyes thanks to being this close to him. "god. you're insufferable".

2-0.

III.

pierre had been really into fashion lately. so here he was, at the studio, modelling some sweaters that were part of his new line, 'the pierre gasly knit capsule', which was supposed to come out when the weather started to get chilly. you were joining him, like you always were, but standing on a corner, not wanting to disrupt the vibe or bring attention towards your presence. still, you saw that he looked indecisive, switching back and forth between two different colours: blue and green.

"baby, come over here-" he called while looking at you through the mirror. you opened your eyes, wide, and started to stride towards him quickly, wanting to shut him up as quickly as you could. "stop calling me baby! you'll make everyone think that we're together" you smacked his arm, trying at the same time to hide your face, which had turned red due to the embarrassment that pierre always seemed to pull you through, with your hair.

"maybe I want them to, ever thought about that?" he said, while taking the hair out of your face, tucking the strands behind your ear. "don't hide your face, you're cute when you blush".

3-0.

IV.

charles and pierre always used to joke about your height. being the giants they were, any average person looked small next to them. however, their height came in handy when you needed to reach something that was just too high for you. being in pierre's house, everything was placed way out of your reach, so you had to ask for his help.

"pierre!" you called. he was laying in his bed, but came almost running when he heard you, afraid that something had happened to you. "what happened, chéri?".

"can you get me the coffee, pretty please?"

he furrowed his eyebrows, but still complied with your request, giving you the small jar that was on the top shelf, at the perfect height for pierre. "thought that something serious had happened".

"me being short as hell is something serious that happened, pierre" you laughed. you never really care about your height, but you took great offence when the guys teased you about it. "actually, I think you're the perfect height" he said, engulfing you in his arms and placing his head on top of yours, without having to shrink himself too much. "you can hear how my heart beats when I hug you. and also, you would have to get on your tippy toes to kiss me" pierre said jokingly, to which you rolled your eyes, even though he couldn't really see you doing it. "you forget I'm also at the perfect height to elbow you directly in the gut, gasly. don't tempt me."

4-0?

V.

thanks to abu dhabi being the last race of the season and you joining them during the weekend, it was practically impossible for you to avoid going to the after party the whole grid was invited to. obviously, you'd be with friends, but it didn't make you feel better knowing that dressing up for fancy events wasn't your favourite plan, and certainly being in the spotlight was something you had avoided all these years. going with charles and pierre to the party meant that you had to dress nice, and also, would be photographed next to the two f1 drivers.

since he saw you in the lobby of the hotel all of you were staying at, he couldn't keep his eyes out of you, being almost glued to your side. that's how you two ended drinking an dancing together, maybe way too close for two people who claimed to be just friends.

eventually, and thanks to the alcohol clouding your logical mind, you said to puerre. "so are we just going to keep grinding in the middle of the club or do you actually want to go somewhere?".

the liquid courage cursing through your blood made you seem it was okay to flirt like this with pierre. sober you would never, afraid that you could fly too close to the sun and the fun would be over. you didn't actually have intentions to take him back to your place, thinking that he wouldn't fall for it and refuse your proposal. that's why it was funny when, even though the fluorescent light at the club didn't let you see clearly, you noticed how his eyes widened and his grab of your waist tightened.

"are you playing with me?"

the music was way too deafening, so even if you wanted to answer him from a decent distance, you couldn't. using the hand that was circling his neck while dancing, you dragged him a bit down, so you could whisper something into his ear. "am i, gasly?"

he went pale and started stuttering, taken off guard with your sudden boldness. "c-can I get back to you on that in a minute? i-i need something stronger".

you laughed at his agitated reaction, given it was weird to see pierre gasly this thunderstruck about something. normally, it would be you on the other end of a flirty comment, ending on you being the one stuttering and wanting to get away as quickly as possible. being now the one that caused all on this on the frenchman made you feel powerful, and you understood why he kept doing it to you. "did I make you nervous, pierre?".

he could instantly hear in your voice the jokingly tone, which made him aware that he had, in fact, lost in your silly little competition. "you're playing with fire" he pressed himself a little more into you, which allowed you to feel him almost completely, everywhere. "i'm not afraid to burn a little. we're just keeping score, pierre" you answered, even though your sober brain would probably call your bullshit straight away. now, with a few drinks into your system and the electrifying environment around you, it didn't matter.

"you're mean".

"and you love me for it".

4-1.

then started the coffees during the debriefs. it wasn't usual that the whole team was called for a meeting, but in the rare occurrences that it happened, he used to save you a seat next to his, with a little hot drink waiting for you to take your place at his side.

the first time you noticed it, you didn't know it was arthur's doing: you two almost didn't talk outside of the little jokes you threw around, so when you tasted the coffee and recognised instantly that it was your usual order, you assumed it had been your friend's doing. "thanks for the coffee today, really needed it" you said to her, while going back to your office after the meeting had ended. she looked confused at you, like she didn't knew what you were talking about. "the coffee you got for me? the one at my seat?".

"oh, that was arthur" sofia said smiling, while watching the boy you just were talking about come your way. she nodded at him and he did the same to her, while she continued walking past him, leaving you alone in the middle of the corridor with the monegasque.

"figured you would need some energy, you left way too late yesterday".

—

the relationship had evolved naturally, starting as mere colleagues, to friends, to what you were now: almost something.

it was still fairly new, so you hadn't meet his family just yet. obviously, you knew his brothers as they were frequently at the garage, but didn't actually go past the small-talk stage.

"hey, y/n right?".

a voice that seemed familiar, and still, strange, took you back to reality. when you looked at the person that had called for you, you smiled at your boyfriend's brother. "charles, hi. are you looking for arthur?". the only topic of conversation was, obviously, the person you had in common, even if he didn't actually know that you were something more than his brother's colleague.

"yeah, wanted to yell at him for leaving my car without gas" he was clearly joking, so you laughed cause you knew exactly what he was talking about. arthur and you had gone out to eat, and when he left you at your place, realized he probably should fill the tank, but you figured he had forgotten about it by the time he came back to his place.

"well, I have to go, will you tell him for me?" he said quickly, turning his head to the man that was calling him from outside the garage. "yeah, sure, i'll tell him to go look for you once he's out".

"thanks, y/n, you're great".

just as you were saying goodbye to charles, your boyfriend got out of the meetings room, and saw the end of the interaction. when you turned, you saw him and waved, like you always did when you saw eachother. it was normal for you two to interact like this in the paddock, not too friendly or close to avoid any kind of speculation. he smiled at you, but it clearly didn't reach his eyes. you found it was weird, but figured that he could be worried about something that was talked during the reunion. still, what was spoken about in the private room was already forgotten, instead focusing on the interaction that he had seen. arthur found it weird, since he thought you didn't know eachother. why were you two so friendly then?

-

"hey, you okay? you look off today" you told him after entering his driver's room just after him, closing the door quickly behind you.

"no no, just a bit tired, nothing else" he told you softly, while laying on the small sofa there was. he had a towel on his face, so you couldn't actually see his face. "you sure? since you saw charles leaving you've been weird".

"so it's charles now?".

you found his answer weird, but his serious tone even more. "yeah... that is literally his name?" you were left confused at his strange reaction. maybe he didn't want you to meet his family yet? maybe it was too soon?

"did you get mad cause I talked to your brother?"

"you didn't just talk, y/n."

"mh, i was there. we quite literally only talked. about you" furrowing your brows, you came close, taking the little piece of cloth out of his face, and trying to understand the look on his face. arthur was zoned out, looking at the ceiling, not even glancing at you, even though you were on his line of sight.

"and were you two laughing about me as well?" you figured he was truly mad at something, since in the few months you two had known eachother, he never spoke to you in this tone, even if he was angry at something. you didn't want to believe he was actually jealous of his brother, since you never gave him a reason to be. hell, you thought today was the first time that you crossed more than a few words. "of course not, dummy. listen, it wasn't that important, we weren't doing anything wrong".

"oh come on, you and i both knew what he was doing." the sound of his empty laugh sent chills down your spine. he was now looking straight into your eyes, brows furrowed and lips sealed together. you found it exasperating that he wasn't actually telling you what was wrong, instead resolving to ask questions that you were supposed to understand or answer. "i don't know him that well to know what he was doing, arthur!"

arthur was now seated, with his arms flying towards the sky. "he was clearly trying to bring you to his side!". his reply left you even more confused. "what sides are you talking about? since when do we have sides?".

"since everything or everyone I've ever wanted always prefers him over me."

he had his palms rubbing his face, in a clear sign of frustration. you took the chance to seat at his side, putting your left hand over his back, gently caressing it. "and why do you think that's my case? I've barely spoken to him before today."

he whispered, and his voice cracked, like he was close to tears. "its what always happens, y/n. it won't be any different this time". you softly took his hands out of his face, revealing his closed eyes. still, some tears were quietly escaping his eyes, while his lips quivered.

"but I've chosen you, arthur. to work with and to live with. unless you don't want me anymore. haven't we talked about this already?" you said reassuringly. his blue eyes were glassy while looking straight at yours, and he leaned into your touch when you reached your hand towards his cheek.

"I know, baby. i think the fear just got the best of me. I'm sorry".