Mari

CHARACTERS👥

Eddie Munson

SOMEONE LIKE YOU: After his death, Y/N receives a bunch of cassette tapes, letters and objects that Eddie left for her, lovingly stored in a little box filled with love.

NOW WITHOUT YOU: Y/n and Eddie fight side by side to fulfill a plan that could save Hawkins, but it may cost them the love of a lifetime.

AMIDST THE STORM: Y/n goes into labor in the middle of a storm. Unable to get home or to the hospital, the group helps baby Munson come into the world.

LOVE HURTS: When Y/n sneaks into Hawkins with the group's help to visit her boyfriend's grave.

IT WAS A PLAN: Trapped for hours in the Upside Down, Eddie and Y/n begin to talk about the future as if it were guaranteed, even without knowing if they will get out alive. Nancy, her sister, overhears everything and begins to change her mind about Eddie and no longer doubts their relationship.

DAD'S LIFE: Years after the traumas of Hawkins, Y/n and Eddie learned to live away from the noise and fear of the Upside Down and began to hear sounds of giggles and babbling around the house, which was like a permanent bandage.

MOM'S MEMORIES: After the fire in which Eddie lost the last things that were mementos of his mother, Y/n appears in the trailer with a package of gifts for him.

NOTHING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: Y/n and Eddie just want to watch a movie in her room, but Steve keeps making excuses to come in every five minutes. The two try to remain patient.

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART: Y/n, who now lives in Lenora, feels that time is running out and becomes increasingly distressed, fearing she won't experience everything she dreamed of with Eddie. One night, while he's visiting her, Y/n tells him everything she feels, and then the unexpected happens.

NIGHTMARES OF THE PAST: Eddie is having nightmares again about the events in Hawkins, but there are only two things that make him forget all the wounds of the past: his wife and that little pink room.

BONDS AND TRAUMAS: Holly starts seeking out Eddie whenever she's scared, using the excuse of playing with dolls. He becomes "the uncle who scares away monsters," and this breaks Eddie down inside in a good way, because no one besides Y/n has ever trusted him like that.

YOU CAN'T DO THAT: Eddie realizes that Y/n is suppressing her own dreams to fit into Hawkins' life, and tries to bring her back to what she truly loves.

SOUNDS LIKE A MEMORY: A night of laughter, music, banter, flirting, and guffaws from Y/n, Eddie, and the band at The Hideout on a Tuesday.

A SUMMER DREAM: Eddie is gone, but the memories and plans haunt Y/n every night in nightmares. Well, they're such sweet and not at all scary dreams, which is a thousand times worse.

LONELY DAY: Before facing Vecna, the group is preparing in that large grassy field while preparing some weapons, unlike Eddie and Y/n, who are experiencing a moment from their own little world.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME: Y/n Byers receives Vecna's curse in 1986, but after 18 months she wakes up from her coma and then realizes she has an irreversible consequence.

A NAME FOR THE BABY: They can't choose a name for the baby. Every suggestion seems to have some reason for not being used, But then it's Grandma Joyce who encourages the name.

Steve Harrington

SIX NUGGET: Steve can finally take that trip with the love of his life and their six long-awaited children.

NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN: Trapped in Vecna's mind, Y/n struggles to return to life. However, the scenario changes when an army of demodogs appears at the hospital, the radio playing her favorite song malfunctions and Steve has her in his arms while fleeing from the monsters.

I ALMOST LOST YOU: When Steve falls from the tower and is saved by Jonathan. But nothing can get Y/n out of her head for the next few days, which causes her to distance herself from her boyfriend.

FIRST LOVE: One of the kids on the baseball team tells Steve that he/she has a crush on someone and doesn't know what to do. Steve asks Y/n for help that night, feeling a bit lost and laughing at himself. They end up gently recounting how they fell in love.

Edmund Pevensie

WE HAVE TO CHANGE BAKERS: In which Y/n prepares a picnic for her boyfriend and bakes a cake. But let's just say she's not good in the kitchen.

YOU CALLED ME LOVE: Where Y/n calls him by that nickname.

LIKE YOU'VE DONE BEFORE: In which Edmund becomes jealous of the friendship that Y/n has with Caspian and ends up saying nasty things. Which results in a much bigger problem.

WILL YOU MARRY ME?? AGAIN...: Even after spending years dating and getting married in Narnia in the golden age, Edmund makes an important request to Y/n, However, now here in your world.

WE WERE THREE: When the Pevensie brothers and Y/n return to the teacher's house, Ed and Y/n despair when they see that they left someone behind.

WE WERE THREE²: Y/n and the Pevensies return to Narnia, still missing their son, but something they find ends up bringing comfort to their lives. At least a little.

BACK TO ME: Y/n was in the prophecy too. She ruled Narnia together with the Pevensies, but Peter made her marry the prince of another country due to agreements. But what happens when she is in love with Edmund and he is in love with her?

Prince Caspian

I WILL STAY WITH YOU: To which Y/n decides to stay in Narnia the second time and ends up meeting up with her brothers in the Dawn Treader. (Pevensie!Reader).

I WILL STAIN WITH YOU²: The Pilgrim's adventure ends, and everyone has to say goodbye to Ed and Lucy, as they have to return to their real world. But what about Y/n's heart, knowing that he will never see his brothers again?? (Pevensie!Reader)

Jake Peralta

IT'S NOT OK, BUT I'M HERE: Where y/n gets sick at work, and leaves the entire squad worried about the information she says before fainting.

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART: In which Jake and y/n make a bet on who can arrest the most criminals and S/n has to fulfill the agreement at the end of the shift.

GREAT FRIEND OF YOURS: Jake and y/n have been friends for as long as they can remember, but as the years go by their feelings begin to turn romantic.

I THOUGHT IT WAS YOU: In which, y/n goes on a mission alone, things go wrong and Jake thinks his "best friend" has been murdered.

LITTLE GENIUS: That night is Jake's day to take care of his daughter at home, the night goes well with cabanas, a parade and sweets before dinner, but before going to sleep, little Peralta asks a question that leaves her father no reaction.

SHE WILL COME BACK: In which Y/n is expelled from the police and goes on an undercover mission in the mafia. However, Jake will have to live six months in doubt, after declaring his love for his best friend and receiving no response.

SHE WILL COME BACK ²: Six months passed, Y/n gathered the information needed to arrest the biggest mafia family and return to the squad. Of course, having to settle things with Jake first.

ACTS OF GIFTS: They have always been those couples who give gifts for nothing, but it is always good to remind the other person how much you love them. That is, apart from gifts.

Sirius Black

THE GENERAL: In which Sirius arrives at the Potter's house injured after the fight with his mother and Y/n wants to take revenge. But can his girlfriend really beat Walburga? (Potter! Reader)

THE GENERAL²: Where Y/n wants revenge for Sirius, but can she really beat Walburga?! (Potter! Reader)

COME FIND YOUR HALF SOON: Y/n and Sirius had broken up. The boy with dark hair was going through difficult days with his family and this was the only way to protect his girlfriend. However, on a rainy holiday day In the summer he appears at the girl's cousin's house, just on the day she was there. What happens when his ex sees him all bruised and burned?

I CAME TO APOLOGIZE: Y/n and Sirius have been having an affair since Hogwarts, but this shouldn't continue anymore, as he is married.

I CAME TO APOLOGIZE²: After years without him and all the problems, someone knocks on Y/n's door, making her surprised. And after a lot of talking, she needs to introduce someone to him.

OUT OF EVERYTHING: Y/n has a busy week due to her work as head girl and her boyfriend gives her a little surprise to make her relax.

MEMORIES MAKE ME CRY: When Y/n's father gives her a box from her childhood, memories come rushing over her feelings.

YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT: Lily and James get married. And in the middle of their waltz, Y/n has a great choreography idea for when she gets married. And of course Sirius wouldn't fail to make a wish later.

IT'S YOUR WOMAN: When Y/n gets a trail bike from her father and her boyfriend had no idea she rode it. (Potter!Reader)

77' PARTY: To which, Sirius and Y/n's personalities are the same and they love going out in matching couples' outfits.

SUNFLOWERS TO MY LOVE: Where Sirius spends the Christmas holiday at the Potter's house and brings a little gift to his girlfriend. (Potter!fem! Reader)

GERONIMO'S CADILLAC: By day, they're just members of the marauders and great old friends, but by night, she's the woman of his dreams.

I WANT ONE: Y/n and Sirius spend time playing with Harry, making them want a baby too.

The morning at the Piastri residence began noisy and hectic, with Oscar trying to manage a strategy that was clearly falling apart.

The night before, Oscar's office looked like a war room. He had printed spreadsheets, organized three separate backpacks with labels, and created laminated checklists to ensure that nothing, absolutely nothing, was left behind.

On paper, the plan was foolproof; in practice, the three children were variables that Oscar's math hadn't accounted for.

The car's trunk was a highly complex puzzle. It was crammed to the brim with chairs, coolers, and umbrellas.

Oscar was standing right behind, holding the list and alternating his gaze between the paper and the pile of objects, as if he expected the trunk to magically expand to accommodate what was still missing.

Miles was the first to appear beside him, with the energy of someone who had been ready for hours.

"Dad, can I bring my bicycle? I can ride along the shore while you guys stay on the boat."

"Yes... yes, it's possible—" Oscar replied automatically, still checking the list. "Towels... sunscreen... water..." Two seconds later, the sentence finally seemed to make sense in his head. "-WAIT, no, it's not possible." He corrected himself, laughing slightly and running a hand through his hair. "Unless we tie her to the ceiling and turn this place into an impossible mission."

Miles let out a disappointed "ahh," but quickly left to return it to its place, already thinking about something else. Theo appeared soon after, moving awkwardly.

He wore inflatable buoys that prevented his arms from touching his torso, and to complete the look, a giant donut-shaped buoy filled with sprinkles was firmly fitted to his head, framing his face with an inflatable circle.

"Dad, can I take both?"

"Yes, you can take it-"

Oscar responded again automatically, already checking something off the list. But then he stopped, looked at Theo, and smiled.

"Okay, calm down!" Oscar laughed to himself. "You only have two arms, buddy. We're not going to open a beach float shop."

Theo thought for a second, grabbed the donut, and ran off to return the others as if he had made the most important decision of the day.

And then came Lia.

Small, determined, and carrying the family's Golden Retriever, which was almost as big as her. The dog had its paws up, with an expression of pure happiness, while Lia dragged it in a bear hug, wobbling under the weight.

"Dad, can we take him?"

"Yes, you can..." Oscar replied in the same automatic tone, already starting to fold a towel that didn't need folding.

Lia smiled broadly and walked confidently to the car. It was only when he heard the faint sound of paws and felt a movement that Oscar finally turned his head.

He saw Lia, with all her four-year-old strength, trying to lift the dog onto the bumper.

"Whoa, whoa—no, no, no!" Oscar reacted immediately, going over to her with a laugh escaping even before the words. "Hey, little one... the outing is to the beach, not an adventure with the dog. He'd surf better than us, but I think it's better if he takes the day off today."

Lia made a quick pout, looking at the dog as if she were apologizing for him not being able to go.

"But he likes to go for walks..."

"I know, my dear!" Oscar replied, softening his tone. "We'll arrange something with him later, okay?"

Lia thought for a second and then nodded. She turned and walked back inside with the dog, whispering in the animal's ear that he needed to "stand guard" to protect the toys.

It was at that moment that Y/n arrived, arms crossed, observing the scene with a restrained smile, clearly holding back laughter at her husband's logistical failure. Oscar let out a long sigh beside her, running a hand over his face, resigned to the chaos.

"More time with them, remember?" Y/n closed the trunk for him with a snap, and Oscar let out a low chuckle.

"I remember! And honestly... I wouldn't trade it for anything." Oscar stepped forward, snapping his hands once before clapping enthusiastically, raising his voice. "Last call to catch the Piastri train to the beach, everyone!"

For a second, there was absolute silence. And then, the sound of running footsteps echoed, quick and uncoordinated. Oscar and Y/n exchanged a knowing look and let out a little laugh at the same time.

"WE'RE COMING, DAD!" Lia's voice came loudly, even before she appeared.

She burst through the door like a hurricane, rushing past Y/n who was already wearing a swimming cap and diving goggles that were crooked, covering half of her nose.

Y/n laughed loudly.

"Lia, daughter? Are you going to cross the ocean?"

Miles and Theo ran past as well, laughing at their sister as they dodged her.

"She's going to dive in before we get there!" Theo said, laughing and tripping over his own feet.

Without much further delay, everyone found their place in the car. The journey continued at a more relaxed pace; the sound of the children chatting in the back seat mingled with the radio. The road opened up ahead, giving way to the gleam of the coastline that emerged as a promise of fun.

Upon arriving at the shore, the scene was vibrant. The salty smell of the sea filled the air as people strolled by with ice cream and bicycles passed by.

And amidst the luxury of the coast came Oscar: the very definition of an overburdened father.

He had two thermal bags slung over one shoulder, a cross-body bag on his chest, and another bag slipping down his arm. To top it off, he carried an extra bag full of sand buckets and a tiny, bright pink, glittery children's backpack that contrasted bizarrely with his athletic posture.

"Okay, I think I went a little overboard with this list..." Oscar commented, adjusting the straps.

Y/n arched an eyebrow slightly. "Oh, honey, there's a kitchen spoon sticking out of your backpack."

He paused for a second, turned his head slowly, and there it was: the tip of a rice serving spoon, gleaming in the sun.

"...okay, I don't know how to explain that."

Further ahead, the children were already in the boat. Miles stepped in confidently, greeting the gentleman who was there. Theo came right behind, still clinging to his donut-shaped float, which banged against the sides of the boat's entrance, forcing him to enter sideways. Lia paused solemnly before getting in, observing the movement of the water before jumping in naturally.

"If anyone asks about this!" Oscar lifted the pink, glittery backpack from his shoulders. "I do this for the love of my little girl!"

Y/n let out a low laugh. "I'll make sure to tell everyone in the paddock!"

Oscar smiled and, even though heavily laden, extended his free hand to help Y/n board the boat, greeting the captain with a nod. As she settled into the upholstery, one of the bags slipped and hit the boat floor.

Theo's eyes widened. "Dad! You almost dropped the snacks!"

"I know!" Oscar replied, catching his breath. "They're under high protection here!"

Lia crossed her arms. "I trusted you with this mission."

Oscar let out a short laugh, dropping the bags with a care he had long since abandoned. "Mission accepted, Captain Lia!"

"If we need to survive here for three days, Dad came prepared!" Y/n began organizing the space.

Oscar pointed to one of the bags. "I brought five kinds of cookies. This is a survival strategy."

"That's an exaggeration!" she corrected, laughing.

"It's moving..." Lia was already on the edge, looking at the water's transparency.

"It's the sea, Lia." Theo appeared beside her.

"I know! But it looks like he's breathing."

"It's because of the waves. Like... continuous movement." Miles stepped closer, assuming the role of older brother.

Oscar looked at the three of them with pride in his eyes. "I have three scientists here!"

"And a super dad who brought a kitchen spoon to the beach!" Y/n added.

He turned his face to his wife, feigning heroic indignation.

"You never know when you'll need a spoon, darling. What if we find a buried treasure that can only be unearthed with stainless steel cutlery?"

The boat began to move away, its engine humming softly as the pier receded into the distance. The wind picked up, cooling the hot sun and ruffling everyone's hair.

"If I jump now, will I get there faster?" Theo asked, his eyes fixed on the foam of the water.

"You're not going to jump!" Oscar replied immediately, jumping off the bench to get closer to the three of them.

"But what if it's an emergency?"

"It is not."

"But what if-"

"No, it's not!" Oscar repeated, with a tone of comical despair that made Y/n laugh as she joined the group at the stern of the boat.

The short trip to the private beach was an adventure.

One of the bath towels twice attempted to take to the skies, only to be rescued by Oscar mid-air with reflections reminiscent of his best days on the racetrack.

Beside him, Theo's situation was comical: his buoy, propelled by a stronger gust, spun around on his arm, leaving him momentarily immobilized and confused. Miles, oblivious to the chaos, pointed to distant points on the horizon with the authority of a veteran captain. Meanwhile, Lia was torn between absolute enchantment with the waves and the instinct for survival, clinging tightly to the side of the boat whenever a more abrupt jolt reminded her that the sea was, in a tender way, very vast.

When the engine finally slowed down and the hull gently cut through the sand of that secluded beach, Oscar was the first to jump into the shallow water, immediately turning to reach out to his children.

"Guys, be careful going down, okay? Don't go jumping around like rockets." He warned, steadying Miles' body as the boy jumped onto the sand.

Y/n came right behind, moving cautiously and extending her hand to the youngest. "Slowly, my love... hold on here."

Oscar jumped in last and began scanning for the ideal spot to set up base, but he soon noticed a void in the family's movements. An awkward silence settled in. He and Y/n exchanged a quick glance and, as if in sync, turned towards the boat.

There was Theo.

He looked like a Christmas tree laden with bags of different sizes hanging from his body, with the donut-shaped float now half-deflated and slumped around his neck like an exotic necklace.

His expression was one of pure determination as the boat's captain visibly struggled not to laugh, trying to help him avoid falling backward. Y/n couldn't hold back; a loud laugh escaped him, and he had to lean on his knees to catch his breath. Oscar put his hands on his hips and turned his face away, biting his lower lip to stifle his own laughter.

"What exactly are you doing with all those bags, Theo?" Oscar asked.

Theo adjusted one of the straps on his shoulder with dignity, as if he were carrying vital supplies for an Arctic expedition. "We might need these things, and sometimes there isn't time to get back to the boat."

Miles immediately chuckled beside his mother, crossing his arms. "Like... needing that spoon Dad brought?"

Y/n looked up immediately, her eyes sparkling with amusement, and held out her hand to Miles. They exchanged a perfect high five, still laughing at the inside joke.

Oscar looked at the two of them with a feigned seriousness and smiled sarcastically at them, which only fueled Y/n and Miles' laughter.

"Okay, General... let's do this! We'll leave at least half of it on the boat, agreed?"

Theo frowned, thoughtfully. "What if we need to?"

"We won't need all of that at the same time."

"But what if you need different things at different times?" Theo countered, with such serious logic that it left Oscar momentarily speechless.

He opened and closed his mouth, processing his argumentative defeat. Theo had truly inherited his stubbornness and penchant for over-planning. Y/n, still smiling, approached and with a gentle gesture, removed one of the heavier bags from Theo's shoulder.

"Like father, like son!" she commented, passing Oscar with a playful glint in her eye. "No judgment!" Y/n gave her husband a light pat on the shoulder as she went.

"I created this!" He murmured to himself, wavering between pride and resignation.

Theo smiled victoriously and Oscar sighed, taking the other bag from his son's hands.

"Okay, let's take it. But if we don't use half of it, you'll have to carry it back."

"Deal, Dad!" Theo nodded promptly, while Miles laughed in the background and Y/n was already walking away towards the more open part of the sand.

Camp Piastri took shape in just a few minutes, although Oscar's definition of organization was quite different from reality. He even tried to line up the backpacks by size and purpose, but gave up the moment he realized the children were already in the process of "redesigning" the environment.

Miles took charge of the civil engineering, choosing the perfect location for a monumental sandcastle. He talked to himself, gesturing towards the imaginary towers and confiscating one of Oscar's lunch containers to use as a mold, completely ignoring his father's silent protests.

Theo started as an assistant, but soon became lost in his own mission: to dig the deepest hole in the history of that beach. The deflated buoy, still around his neck, now looked like an explorer's amulet.

Lia was the artistic soul of the group; she went around collecting shells and pebbles, decorating her siblings' works with a very particular aesthetic sense and no concern for the stability of the sand walls.

Oscar was spinning around, trying to attend to everyone and finishing no task. Y/n, sitting calmly on her sarong, watched her husband "at work" with a look of pure adoration and amusement, only getting up for minor adjustments or to celebrate the small and big discoveries of her children.

Suddenly, Lia's attention was caught by something leaning against Y/n's wall: the boys' surfboards. With a burst of energy, the girl ran and tried to lift one of them.

"Let's go surfing! Let's go surfing!" she shouted, her voice overflowing with enthusiasm.

"You don't know how to surf!" Theo retorted, stopping digging and putting his hands on his hips.

"Miles told me he was going to teach me!" Lia replied, trying to balance the surfboard, which was vastly larger than her.

"But first you need to know how to balance the board," Miles commented quietly, without taking his eyes off his sand tower.

"I'm great! I can do it!" Lia insisted stubbornly, staggering backward under the weight of the equipment.

Oscar jumped up and walked quickly over to her. "Hey, hey... hold on there, little one. This surfboard is almost ten times your whole size."

"I can do it!" Lia reaffirmed, her chin held high. "I am great!"

"Being big doesn't change gravity," Oscar retorted with a sweet smile, but keeping his hands ready to intervene. "And gravity isn't on our side right now."

Theo crossed his arms, observing the scene. "She can't even hold on properly."

"Yes I can!"

Miles chuckled, finally looking at his sister. "You're walking backward, Lia. Surfing is usually done forward."

"I'm training!" she retorted, desperately trying to adjust her center of gravity, which only made her sway even more.

Y/n stood up, wiping the sand from her hands. "Honey, how about we start with something smaller?"

"But I want to surf!"

"And you will, darling. But it doesn't have to be with a board that looks like a front door, does it?" Oscar kept his tone soft, crouching down slightly to be at her height.

Theo laughed loudly. "She's going to fly away with that thing!"

"If she leaves, at least we'll find out if she can fly too," Miles added, with a wry smile.

Theo laughed, looking at his older brother, and they high-fived.

"Okay, commentary team, let's leave the criticism for later." Oscar winked at the boys, though his eyes betrayed that he also found the scene hilarious. "Come here, let Daddy hold—"

Lia tried to take another small step to stabilize the load, but the center of gravity didn't forgive her.

It all happened in a fraction of a second: Lia lost her balance and fell sitting on the sand with a thud, her little hands immediately going to her head in sheer shock from the impact. Oscar, acting on a purely instinctive reflex as a father and athlete, moved forward in that same millisecond, projecting his body forward and grabbing the surfboard before it fell on his daughter, stopping the object just centimeters from where Lia was lying.

Lia blinked a few times, her eyes wide and moist, processing the shock before even feeling any pain. A low whimper escaped her lips as she stared at the giant plank.

Oscar carefully dropped the equipment on the sand beside her and immediately knelt in front of her.

"Hey, hey... calm down, daughter." The tone was now completely soft and protective. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"

Lia sniffled, but shook her head slowly. "I'm fine, Daddy..."

Oscar nodded, gently running his hand through her hair to check for any hidden injuries.

"It was just a scare," he said, feeling his own heart slow down. "Come here, darling."

Lia leaned towards him without hesitation, being pulled onto her father's lap. Oscar held her firmly, one hand flat on her back and the other supporting the nape of her neck.

"This board is too big for you to hold by yourself, Lia," he explained calmly. "It's not that you can't... it's just not the right time yet."

She sniffled again and buried her face in his shoulder, accepting the comfort. Oscar placed a tender kiss on the top of his daughter's head.

"But we'll learn together when you're a little older, okay? Safely."

Lia nodded more calmly. Oscar stepped back slightly to look her in the eyes, displaying an encouraging smile.

"Do you want to go back to the castle with the boys?"

Lia shook her head. Her little eyes searched the sand until they found Y/n's figure. "I want to walk on the beach and collect shells with Mommy..."

Y/n, who was already just a few steps away observing everything, smiled.

"Of course you want to, my darling!" She bent down to pick it up. "We're going for a really nice little walk, just the two of us."

Oscar carefully handed her to his wife. As soon as she felt her mother's embrace, Lia received a loud kiss on the cheek.

She stepped down from her mother's lap shortly after, holding tightly to her mother's hand. With a careful gesture, Y/n adjusted a hat on her daughter's head to protect her from the sun and helped her put on her small slippers before intertwining their fingers.

The two began walking along the water's edge, slowly moving away from each other. Lia pointed out small treasures in the sand, stopping at each step, while Y/n followed her daughter's patient pace.

Further back, Miles and Theo watched the scene in silence for a moment. When they realized that their mother and sister were already a safe distance away, they exchanged a knowing look, full of hidden meanings.

They looked at their father with wide, suspicious smiles. Oscar, noticing the change in energy, frowned and crossed his arms.

"What do these smiles mean?"

"It means we want to learn to surf!" Theo blurted out without any hesitation.

Miles agreed immediately, standing up and quickly brushing the sand off his shorts.

"Like, right now, Dad!"

Oscar let out a loud laugh, pointing to the surfboards. "But no flying off like your sister almost did, okay?"

"And I'm not going to fall!" Theo replied.

Miles laughed at his brother's optimism. "You'll fall first!"

"I am not going!"

Away from that male war zone, Y/n and Lia walked along the water's edge at a contemplative pace. Lia took short steps, occasionally crouching down to retrieve shimmering shells. Y/n knelt beside her, admiring each find, helping to brush off excess sand, and smiling at the pure enthusiasm of her little girl.

Meanwhile, in the background, chaos reigned.

Oscar was already in the water with his sons, trying to manage three surfboards at the same time. Theo entered the waves with blind confidence, ignoring his complete lack of technique, while Miles tried to analyze the timing of the waves with a seriousness that didn't prevent him from being knocked down by the first whitewater that came along.

Oscar tried to demonstrate some "pro" technique, attempting to appear as if he had total control of the situation.

But the reality was different.

With each attempt to stand up, the board would slip or their bodies would lean too far to the wrong side. The result was always an awkward, cinematic fall into the shallow water. The boys would burst into laughter, and even when they managed to stay on their knees for two seconds, they would soon fall too, creating an almost synchronized sequence of tumbles that left everyone laughing.

Lia stopped in the middle of the path, cupping her hands, observing the scene of her father and brothers with an expression of profound confusion. She tilted her head to the side, lost in thought.

"Why is Daddy trying to teach the boys to surf if he doesn't know how himself?" she asked, with the biting honesty that only a four-year-old possesses.

Y/n followed her daughter's gaze, and at that exact moment, a slightly larger wave hit Oscar. He attempted a heroic maneuver to regain his balance, but fell off the board with his arms outstretched, disappearing into the water for a second before emerging with his hair in his face, surrounded by his children who were almost breathless with laughter.

Y/n let out a genuine laugh.

"Because Dad is too confident, Lia!" Y/n replied, amused. "And sometimes that's stronger than his surfing skills."

Lia looked at her mother, smiling. "It's funny when he falls."

"I think so too," Y/n admitted in a conspiratorial, secretive tone.

Lia returned her focus to what she was doing, picking up a pearly seashell and handing it to her mother with all the care in the world.

The rest of the afternoon continued at that pace: chaotic, wet, and perfect.

Oscar continued insisting on his "surfing lessons," alternating between brief moments of glory on the board and falls that would make for great family videos. The boys turned it all into a competition to see who could fall the funniest.

Time passed without anyone noticing the clock. The sun began to set, painting the sky orange and pink, and fatigue finally began to take its toll. Before they knew it, everyone was back on the boat, ready to return to the pier.

Lia was fast asleep in Oscar's lap, clutching a seashell tightly in her small, closed hand. Miles had also fallen asleep, his head resting in Y/n's lap. The only one still awake was Theo, the eternal energy booster of the Piastri family, who was up front, engaged in a technical conversation with the boat's captain about how the engines worked and whether they were similar to Formula 1 cars.

"He made friends in... how long? Five minutes?"

"I think he's already planning to work here tomorrow," Y/n replied quietly.

"I have no doubt about it." Oscar chuckled softly.

A comfortable silence settled in, broken only by the murmur of the engine. Y/n looked at her children and then at her husband.

"See? It always works when we sit down, talk, and decide together?" Y/n smiled, remembering their last discussion about raising the children.

Oscar met her gaze tenderly. "It works... And I'm sorry about that day."

Y/n closed her eyes for a second, accepting the request with a sweet smile. "They love being with you. Even when they're nearly drowning trying to surf or getting hit on the head with surfboards."

"Details!" Oscar laughed loudly, careful not to wake Lia.

"Very striking details."

Their gaze lingered on each other, in a silent understanding that needed no words. Oscar put his free arm around Y/n, pulling her close. She settled against his shoulder, feeling the warmth of their united family.

They stood there, watching Theo gesture excitedly to the captain while they petted the two sleeping children in their laps.

"He's not going to stop talking anytime soon," Oscar murmured, laughing.

"Not at all!" Y/n agreed, laughing at her middle child.

Sitting on the sofa with a mug of tea, they swore they wouldn't be those "softie" parents who turned every little change into a cinematic drama.

But all that nonchalant pretense crumbled the second Lola and Liam arrived in the world, turning them into the biggest crybabies McLaren headquarters had ever seen.

Naturally, they cried when the twins were born. They cried when they saw their first gummy smiles and almost flooded the house when they heard their first "mommy" and "daddy."

However, nothing they had felt in those first few times compared to the bittersweet weight of the moment.

Last week, going to the furniture store seemed like a fun mission. They walked down the aisles laughing at how fast Lola and Liam were growing; they looked like "weeds," gaining inches with each night's sleep.

But now, the house was plunged into an unusual silence.

Grandma Cisca took the little ones for a walk in the park, and the entrance hall was cluttered with cardboard boxes that had just been delivered.

Reality hit with the force of a high-speed impact.

There was a small, light wood table with two little chairs, intended for the twins' meals and arts and crafts, marking the end of the era of high chairs. In the hallway, two enormous boxes held identical beds that would replace the cribs in the room, eliminating the last vestiges of the nursery. A box of new, more dynamic and educational toys suggested that school was just around the corner.

Upstairs, a lonely box awaited to be filled with the clothes that no longer fit—a box they had both been ignoring for days, because admitting that those clothes no longer fit the babies was accepting that time was running faster than any F1 car Lando had ever driven.

Y/n stood motionless in the kitchen, standing before the newly assembled wooden table.

In the corner, the two high chairs were folded, clearly set aside for donation.

Lando entered the kitchen, tossing a screwdriver into the toolbox. He had a smile on his face, like someone who had successfully completed a manual task, seemingly oblivious to his wife's inner turmoil, although his own heart was racing with the magnitude of those changes.

"You have to see the playroom. It looks like a whole new house," Lando said, leaning against the counter beside her. "I set up that little table we bought and put the puzzles on it. There's a fifty-piece one, can you believe it? FIFTY. I was looking at it and thinking, 'At what point in their lives did they get smart enough for this?'" He chuckled briefly, shaking his head in disbelief. "I separated the toys by type, put the more 'babyish' ones in a box, the teething rings, those stacking toys, and even that rattle Liam wouldn't let go of for anything." Lando paused briefly, swallowing hard without realizing his tone was subtly changing. "They don't even touch those things anymore."

Lando crossed his arms, trying to maintain a relaxed posture that his red eyes completely belied. He was processing the fact that the days of carrying babies in his arms were being replaced by days of assembling complex puzzles.

Y/n turned to him and an automatic smile spread across her face. She quickly ran a hand across her face, trying to wipe away the tears before he saw them.

"I..." Her voice came out low and choked, faltering mid-sentence. "I finished here too." Y/n pointed to the surroundings. "I tidied up their dining table. I put everything in its place, the little plates, the little cups... it looks nice."

For a brief second, she tried to maintain her composure, but her gaze inevitably drifted to the corner of the kitchen. There were the high chairs, lined up for donation, like sentinels of a phase that had just passed.

"I also... set aside the chairs for donation..."

The silence that followed was thick. Lando slowly uncrossed his arms and walked over to her, seeing the same sweet and painful despair reflected on his wife's face.

"Hey, love..." Lando reached out to soothe her face, but Y/n collapsed before he could even touch her.

Tears flowed freely, and he pulled her into a tight, protective embrace. Lando held her as if he could stop time and keep the world exactly as it was.

"Hey, hey... calm down..."

Y/n clutched the fabric of Lando's t-shirt, burying her face in his chest as sobs escaped.

"They're growing up, Lan." Her voice came out muffled. "I know they always have been, but... now it's... happening too fast."

Y/n tried to gasp for air, struggling to compose herself. Lando squeezed her tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head, feeling the tightness in his own throat intensify.

"I know..." he whispered, his voice faltering for a moment. "But look on the bright side, I bet they'll still bite those puzzle pieces when they get there!"

Lando gave her a light nudge in the ribs, a classic attempt to break the tension. Y/n let out a laugh through her tears and pulled away slightly from the hug.

"Absolutely!" She laughed, trying to steady her breathing.

Lando kept his hands firmly on her waist, as if he needed to make sure they were both still there, present. Y/n sniffed and took his hand, guiding it gently.

"Come on... take a good look at this."

The two stood beside the small table, contemplating the wooden piece of furniture. The colorful plates were perfectly aligned, the cups with lids, and the children's cutlery arranged with a precision bordering on ritualistic.

"I spent about ten minutes trying to decide where to put everything," Y/n confessed, crossing her arms. "Because... I don't know, it seems important now."

Lando let out a heavy sigh, a half-smile appearing along with a suppressed sob.

"Of course it's important. Lola will judge you if her glass isn't in the exact same place every day."

"She judges." Y/n agreed.

Lando picked up a tiny piece of cutlery, twirling it between his fingers. "It's strange, because it feels like only yesterday I was cleaning baby food off the floor, and today we're here looking at these small, colorful utensils."

Y/n nodded slowly. "They'll sit here alone... without a high chair, without support... just them and their twin chatter."

Lando tilted his head, picturing the scene. "Do you realize that means they now have free access to the food? Like... nobody's going to stop Liam from turning lunch into a scientific experiment anymore."

"He used to do that in the high chair," Y/n recalled, chuckling softly.

"Now he'll have mobility!" Lando finished with a comical seriousness that lasted only a second before his smile returned.

They remained there for a long time, holding the small utensils as if they were treasures. Y/n began to cry softly again, and Lando blinked frantically, fighting the moisture in his own eyes, losing the battle miserably to the thrill of watching time pass.

"Did you... did you tidy the room?" Y/n asked, her voice trembling, dreading the shock of seeing the cribs disassembled.

Lando looked at her and shook his head, carefully returning the fork to the table. "No... I was waiting for us to go together."

"Okay..." Y/n nodded, handing back what she had in her hands and taking a deep breath. "Did you tidy up anything besides the playroom?"

"Those cupboards and the toys outside." Lando pointed to the areas of the house that had already been transformed, and Y/n smiled, grateful to have someone to share not only the chores, but every small, painful tear of that rapid growth.

Y/n took a few slow steps toward the next counter, and each inch traveled seemed to carry the weight of an era drawing to a close.

Her eyes fell on the baby bottles, the ones she used to prepare with such care in the early hours of the morning; now, they had been replaced by modern water bottles with click-on lids, worthy of children who already knew what they wanted.

Upon opening the drawer where burp cloths and silicone bibs once reigned supreme, she encountered a vibrant arrangement of open sippy cups, shallow plates, and cutlery that no longer resembled miniature toys.

The bottle sterilizer, which for so long had been the noisy heart of the kitchen, lay switched off and cold in a corner, its place of honor given way to a water filter strategically placed at a low height, within easy reach of small hands.

They were subtle changes in the decor, but giant steps in the Norris's trajectory.

Y/n sniffled again, tears blurring her vision as she tried, unsuccessfully, to keep them under control.

"I... I left the water filter within their reach, so they could come and get water themselves now." Lando pointed to the new device, his voice choked with emotion and his face completely flooded with tears he was no longer trying to hide.

Y/n turned to him, a slight smile appearing through her tears. She glanced at the filter quietly, imagining the scene, and let out a broken laugh.

"Our kitchen is going to turn into an ocean."

Lando smiled, wiping his face with the back of his hands. "But it's okay, our babies are becoming independent..."

As he guided Y/n toward the stairs to face the final challenge upstairs, they crossed the living room. Lando stopped suddenly, extending his arm and pointing to the sofa with a knowing glint in his eye.

"Oh yeah, I put a little stool there so they can climb onto the sofa by themselves."

Y/n turned to look and couldn't contain her laughter. Meow, the family cat, was already sitting on the stool, enjoying the newfound ease with a superior expression.

"I mean, you left it there to help Meow climb up!"

"Yeah! I think about my three children!" Lando shrugged, feigning seriousness that didn't last two seconds.

Y/n laughed loudly, squeezing his hand tightly as they climbed the steps right behind her.

As soon as they reached the upstairs hallway, the visual impact was immediate. Two large boxes with the word "Donation" written in large letters were positioned near the stairs. They were overflowing with rattles, rubber teethers, baby piano mats, and plush toys for newborns.

Y/n smiled, a sad warmth creeping into her chest as she watched the toys that were once Lola and Liam's absolute favorites being replaced by more complex things.

"Come take a look at their playroom before we tidy up their bedroom!" Lando said, gently pulling her by the hand and opening the door to the room.

Where soft carpets in primary colors once reigned, there was now an almost mathematical organization.

The simple geometric puzzle boxes gave way to structured and logical games. The squeezable objects had disappeared, replaced by challenging puzzles, smaller building blocks, and a row of children's books lined up on a low shelf, perfectly within reach of curious little hands.

The new little table dominated the center of the room, surrounded by chairs proportional to the size of children who already knew how to sit properly and explore the world independently.

There were still traces of distant childhood—a stuffed animal here, a doll there—but the atmosphere screamed that babies were a thing of the past.

Y/n stood in the doorway for a long time, her eyes reverently scanning every detail.

"Lan... You... you took the activity mat away from them."

Lando let out a soft sigh, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets to stop them from trembling.

"I took it off..." He replied, his gaze fixed on the now-exposed floor. "It was too small for them... and the twins didn't even lie there anymore."

Y/n nodded, feeling her chin tremble again.

"I remember Lola getting annoyed because Liam would invade her space there." She let out a broken giggle, a pang of nostalgia. "She'd nudge him with her little foot..."

"And he would come back," Lando finished, a lopsided smile lighting up his wet face. "He always came back."

They stood silent for a moment, absorbing the new energy of the room. Y/n entered and picked up one of the puzzles on the table.

"Fifty pieces..." Y/n murmured. "We could barely get them to hold a spoon and now this..."

Lando gave a half-smile, his eyes shining brightly. "I spent a good few minutes staring at the box before opening it. Wondering if we weren't skipping a step."

Y/n exhaled through her nose, shaking her head.

"It's not that we're jumping... it's that they don't wait." She laughed, her voice again choked with emotion. "They just... go on their own." Y/n returned the toy to the table as if it were a fragile relic. "Did you really separate everything?"

Lando nodded slowly. "The teething rings, the stacking toys, those little cloth books... Even that musical toy we used to put them to sleep."

Silence returned, heavy and full of memories. Y/n took a deep breath, trying to hold back tears, but failed miserably, joined by Lando in a silent lament.

"It's so fast!" Y/n whispered. "Oh my God... it's so fast."

"And we have two," he murmured, with a humorless laugh. "It feels like time doubles in speed."

"Everything happens at once." Y/n agreed, her voice tearful. "You barely process one phase and another one is already arriving."

Every detail there served as a constant reminder that the old routine was now just a memory.

Even though Y/n knew that this growth was a sign of healthy and happy children, saying goodbye to "yesterday" still hurt. Lando felt the same, observing everything with a watchful eye, trying to memorize each new configuration of the house, as if he could create a pause in time.

They left the playroom and walked to the bedroom. When Lando opened the door, the impact was like a collision. Where there had once been bars and mobiles, now there was an immense emptiness.

The boxes for the new beds were leaning against the wall, waiting to be opened, and next to them an empty box awaited the baby clothes that were no longer being used.

Y/n stopped at the threshold, losing her breath for a second. "You... already fell apart."

"I... couldn't wait," Lando admitted, looking down at his feet. "I thought it would be easier to do it alone."

Y/n entered the room, tears streaming freely. "They slept here last night... Last night, Lan..."

"I know. And it hurts," Lando replied, almost in a whisper.

The silence that followed was filled only by the sound of their breathing and the weight of the love they felt.

Y/n started by taking the small clothes out of the wardrobe, pausing to admire two specific pieces.

"It went by so fast. Sometimes I miss the crying in the middle of the night and walking around the house trying to get them to sleep."

Lando approached and hugged her from behind, burying his face in her neck.

"It was tiring, but we knew it would pass and leave us with fond memories." He placed a tender kiss on her shoulder.

Y/n smiled and, with a decisive gesture, let the pieces fall into the donation box.

"Okay! I have to stop crying, otherwise they'll come back from their outing with Grandma and this will still be a mess!" She laughed, lifting the box.

Lando began opening the boxes containing the beds, arranging the pieces on the floor. He separated screws and fittings following the manual with exaggerated concentration, but his eyes always wandered to the empty space where the cribs used to be. Each turn of the screwdriver was an affirmation that life was moving forward.

On the other side, Y/n knelt before the wardrobe, handling the clothes with an almost sacred delicacy. Some pieces were folded quickly, others were held for a few extra seconds.

Every now and then, their eyes would meet: Lando would see Y/n holding a tiny sock; Y/n would see Lando staring blankly at the bed frame. There were subtle touches, a hand on the arm, a quick kiss on the top of the head.

Reminders that they were a team.

"Okay, this is dangerous!" Lando exclaimed, hands on his hips as he assessed the final work.

Y/n let out a weak laugh. "Dangerous?"

"Yes!" He pointed to the low beds. "Because now there are no more barriers. There's no fence. There's absolutely nothing stopping two chaotic little creatures from getting up in the middle of the night and invading our room."

"You talk like this is news. Lola has been out of her crib since she was one year old." Y/n laughed and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, but now she'll be able to do it more easily!" Lando retorted. "We basically gave them official freedom."

"Congratulations to us." Y/n sighed, amused.

"Congratulations to us!" Lando repeated, giving a dramatic bow. Y/n threw a tiny sock at him, which he caught in mid-air, and he approached his wife. "How's it going, love?"

"I'm finished now! It wasn't much to remove, just the extremely small parts!" She pointed to the box. "The next babies who use this will be so cute!"

"I still think we should keep at least... half of it," Lando commented, looking at the box. "Like, half sentimental. Half rational."

Y/n raised an eyebrow. "Half sentimental? Lando, you came back from the playroom crying because you went to get a teething ring to keep as a souvenir!"

"He was an important biter." He defended himself with conviction. "Historic. Remarkable. He played an active role in both of their teeth."

She let out a loud laugh. "Oh, sure. Let's frame it then. 'First item destroyed by Liam and Lola Norris.'"

"I would support it!" Lando replied immediately. "This is family property."

Y/n shook her head, laughing. "You're impossible."

"And you love it!" Lando joked, giving her a light hip bump with his.

Y/n rested her head on his shoulder, and seconds later, a car horn blared downstairs. The sentimental mood evaporated in an instant. Lando leaped toward the door as if he'd been activated by a remote control.

"LANDO, slow down! Our babies aren't going to run away from us!" Y/n shouted, running down the stairs after him, laughing at her husband's haste.

"Yes, they will!" Lando shouted back. "They told me they want to live with Grandma Cisca and take care of Aunt Flo's horses!"

Y/n laughed loudly. "Lando! They're three years old!"

"I know! Very clever!" He turned around, walking backward for a second with a huge smile before reaching the door.

Before they even opened the doors, the shadows on the other side already hinted at the party. Two small silhouettes were jumping frantically.

"DADA! MOMMY! WE'RE HOME!" The high-pitched little voices pierced the wood, making Lando dramatically clutch his chest.

Y/n laughed, nudging him. "Calm down! They were only gone for three hours."

"I can't!" Lando exclaimed.

Y/n opened the door and Lola threw herself into her arms.

"We went for a walk with Grandma!" Liam announced, bumping into Lando with all his energy.

"Hey, hey! Calm down, champ!" Lando laughed, squeezing his son. "Three hours away and you come back with all this energy?"

"Yes!" Liam shouted.

Cisca appeared right behind, laden with bags. "I swear I tried to tire them out. But I think it only made things worse."

"Hi, Cisca! Thank you for taking them." Y/n said, standing up.

"Thank you! It was fun."

Lando noticed what Liam was carrying and narrowed his eyes, suppressing a laugh. "Hey, buddy... what's that?"

Liam flashed a proud smile.

"Salad! Grandma took us to the store!" He approached Lola.

"And you chose salad?" Lando asked, incredulous.

"Try!"

"Me too!" Lola held out a small bag. "It has little tomatoes, little carrots, tiny apples, and little oranges! Do you want a little bit?" She uses diminutives for everything.

Lando crouched down again, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you, my love... but I'll leave it for later, okay?"

Cisca laughs.

"I told them to choose anything... I thought it would be sweet. They ran straight to the produce section!"

Lando puffed out his chest. "Children of athlete. Impeccable nutrition."

"Ah, sure. Because you're an example." Y/n nudged him. "That Kinder drawer doesn't fool anyone!"

"But I eat salad!"

"When someone puts it on your plate," Cisca scoffed, closing the door.

The twins started running towards the room.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Y/n called.

"Let's go find Meow to give him a carrot!" Liam announced.

"I don't think Meow likes carrots." Lando smiles.

"He does like it!" Lola stated confidently.

Lando shrugged. "Good luck getting a cat to eat vegetables, then."

While the little ones explored the room, Cisca showed them the purchases she had made for the twins, and the parents commented on the changes in the house. Suddenly, giggles and excited squeals came from the kitchen.

Lola and Liam were sitting at the new little table. Their legs were dangling, and they seemed perfectly nestled there, as if the piece of furniture had always been there.

"Look!" Lola smiled. "A table for twins!"

"We'll sit alone now!" Liam showed his teeth.

Lando and Y/n watched the scene in silence. Their chests tightened, but this time it was a tightness of fullness. Liam noticed his father's expression and got down from his chair, walking over to him and pulling off his sweatshirt.

"Dada... are you crying?"

Lola came right behind them, worried. Lando and Y/n crouched down in front of them.

"It's nothing bad." Lando smiled softly. "It's just because... we love you guys very much. And sometimes that makes us cry a little."

Lola smiled and used her small hand to wipe Lando's face.

"Don't cry, Dada." She turned to Y/n and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "Neither should you, Mommy."

"We're okay, love. It's just... too much happiness." Y/n sobbed, smiling.

Liam hugged Lando's neck and Lola hugged Y/n's. The parents looked at each other over their little heads, sharing that moment of pure love. Cisca, in the background, smiled with tears in her eyes too.

Lando took a deep breath and stood up.

"How about we show you and Grandma all the new things?"

"YES!" The twins shouted in unison, pulling Cisca by the hands. "Come on, Grandma! Run!"

"Grandma can't run, my darlings!" Cisca laughed.

The house was once again filled with the wonderful chaos of childhood. Quick footsteps, drawers being opened, new beds being tested with jumps and laughter.

Time continued its frantic race, but Lando and Y/n, observing each discovery of their "big twins," finally understood that although time was passing quickly, they weren't missing anything.

They were, at last, living everything they had always dreamed of.

The balcony was enveloped in a profound silence, that welcoming kind that usually only exists after a long day spent with family.

In the distance, the soft sound of muffled laughter mingled with the gentle breeze, which whistled past while swaying the trees in the garden.

Lando was comfortably seated on the sofa, one arm resting carelessly on the backrest, his gaze lost on the horizon ahead. Y/n lay beside him, her legs stretched out, occupying all the available space in his lap. An open book rested in her hands, her eyes scanning the pages, oblivious to the rest of the world.

It was a simple weekend at the Norris residence, lived in the way any other ordinary family would, and perhaps it was precisely this simplicity and lack of spotlight that made everything so genuinely special.

Further into the vast garden, Cisca walked slowly across the grass beside Y/n's mother. The two chatted with admirable ease, chuckling softly at some shared comment.

A little further away, Adam and Flo accompanied Y/n's father through the wooden enclosures. Flo gestured animatedly as she explained something, and Adam complemented her speech with a calm smile. Y/n's father, for his part, seemed to be in his element, completely engrossed.

Lando let out a low laugh, an almost involuntary sound, while his gaze remained fixed on the landscape. Without taking his eyes off the garden, his fingers moved automatically, beginning to gently nudge Y/n's foot.

"If you're trying to distract me, know that it won't work." She didn't look up from the pages of the book.

Her voice came out calm, tinged with an almost lazy tone of someone who is totally relaxed.

Lando smirked.

"I'm not trying to distract you," he replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the activity outside. "I'm trying to share an important moment."

Y/n turned a page of the book with a calm and precise movement.

"If it's about you finally admitting that I was right in last week's argument... go ahead!"

He let out a puff of laughter through his nose, shaking his head negatively.

"First: I will never admit that. Second: you are missing a historic scene."

Y/n raised her eyes slightly over the edge of the book, showing curiosity, but without bothering to change her comfortable position on the sofa.

"What's wrong, darling?"

Lando tilted his head discreetly toward the farthest point in the garden. "Your father just made friends with a sheep."

She blinked a few times, processing the information with an amused expression.

"This isn't a historical scene. This is completely predictable coming from my father." Y/n chuckled softly, refocusing her eyes on the letters in the book.

"No, no!" Lando insisted, fighting back a laugh that threatened to intensify. "You don't understand. He's TALKING to her!"

Y/n finally lowered the book a little, resting it on her stomach, and turned her face in the direction he indicated with his chin.

"Knowing what my father is like, he's already given her a new name!" Y/n laughed openly, looking at Lando and taking the opportunity to nudge him back with her foot.

Lando chuckled. "Predictable, right?"

Y/n smiled sweetly, resuming her reading. "He does that with any animal. Once he named a pigeon."

"What was the name?"

"Robert."

Lando turned to her immediately, displaying an expression of pure disbelief. "A pigeon named Robert?"

"He said he looked like Robert."

Lando laughed even louder and his hand affectionately squeezed her ankle.

"I like your father."

"He likes you too." She smiled, using her foot again to poke Lando's stomach under his shirt.

"But...he likes the sheep more at the moment."

"Well... probably yes at this point!" Y/n chuckled softly, and the two ended up looking at each other in silence for a few seconds.

Lando held her gaze with a gentle smile and began to gently stroke her ankle in a circular motion.

Silence returned for a few moments, but now it was accompanied by lingering smiles on both their lips.

Y/n returned her attention to the book, but the page remained the same for a long time. Lando began to observe her attentively now; he noticed the way a rebellious strand of hair fell across her face and the calm, rhythmic way she breathed, showing that she was completely at ease.

Feeling at home.

Observing Y/n in that way had long been an intrinsic part of Lando's routine, but there were specific moments when that act took on a different weight. It was as if Lando wasn't just looking at his girlfriend, but rather storing every detail of that memory in a safe place, so that it could never be forgotten.

It wasn't just about his relaxed demeanor; it was the feeling of belonging. It was as if that physical space, that house where he grew up, and that life he led also rightfully belonged to her.

Almost four years together.

The number came to him effortlessly.

He remembered their first conversations, still fraught with caution and a certain apprehension about crossing boundaries. He remembered the easy laughter that followed and the days when the routine seemed too fast-paced, contrasting with those rare moments when time seemed to simply stand still when they were alone.

Primarily, he reflected on how, little by little, Y/n had gone from being just someone he was getting to know to becoming an essential part of absolutely everything he was.

Y/n let out a sudden laugh, which forced him to keep looking at her and smile completely involuntarily.

"You're looking!" She sang playfully, finally turning another page of her book.

"I know!" Lando admitted, squeezing her ankle a little more firmly, which made Y/n giggle.

Lando looked ahead again, observing everything that was happening in the garden and at the same time not seeing anything in particular, because his mind was, as always, entirely focused on her.

"Have you ever thought about... staying like this forever?" Lando blurted out suddenly.

Y/n shrugged, still processing the words and not really understanding where the conversation was going.

"Lying on the couch reading a book while the love of my life massages my feet?" Y/n lowered the book, letting it rest on her chest, and looked directly at him with a wide smile. "Not bad! I'd definitely stay!"

Swimming low river.

"Yeah... it wouldn't be so bad!" He still kept his gaze fixed on the landscape ahead when he spoke again. "It's not even exactly about that... being here, like this." Lando began slowly, feeling the texture of her skin under his thumb, which continued to trace slow, rhythmic movements on her ankle. "It's more... about how everything feels right when it's like this. Simple. Effortless."

Y/n turned her face slightly more towards him, keeping the book resting on her lap, but now completely surrendered, paying attention to every inflection of his voice.

"Like today. Our families together, with no one trying to impress anyone, without that chaos of rushing around, traveling, scheduling... just... happening. And you're here in the middle of it, as if you've always been a part of it."

Y/n didn't say anything immediately. She just stood there, watching his profile against the orange light of the late afternoon, feeling the corner of her lips curl into an involuntary smile.

"I think about it sometimes... about how things fell into place. You with my family, me with yours, and it wasn't forced. It just... happened."

"Destiny!" Y/n smiled, stretching briefly to poke the tip of his nose with her finger.

Lando let out a light sigh of laughter through his nose.

"And then I start thinking. Like, a few years from now. If we'll be somewhere similar, maybe another house, maybe the same one... you'll probably have another book, because you never finish just one—"

"I'm breaking up with Y/N!" Y/n exclaimed with feigned indignation that made Lando laugh genuinely.

"-and I'm probably annoying you in the same way."

"Absolutely!" She rolled her eyes dramatically, but the amused smile didn't leave her face for a second.

"I think about it. To continue at this pace. With you. With everything getting bigger, but without losing these kinds of moments."

Lando finally looked away from the garden and fixed his gaze on her. His voice sounded soft, low, filled with a sincerity that filled the space between them. Y/n didn't quite realize when the world around her had fallen completely silent.

Then, almost in the same calm tone as someone commenting on the sunset, as if he weren't about to change the course of their lives, he continued.

"Will you marry me?"

Lando turned completely around, his heart racing so fast he could feel the pulse in his fingertips.

Y/n blinked one, two, three times in a row.

The book she was holding slipped from her hands, falling half-open onto her lap, completely ignored. Her eyes widened slowly as her brain desperately tried to grasp the meaning of those words that had just been spoken.

"I-"

But no words managed to cross his lips. Not a single one.

In a matter of moments, Lando began to see the scene through her eyes. He noticed the lack of planning, the absence of a ring, the setting too mundane for a question of that magnitude. His body stiffened, and what had been a moment of peace transformed into an impending disaster in his imagination.

"Will you marry me...?" Y/n spoke back, finally managing to regain her voice, which came out a little louder than usual.

"I WANT—don't you?" Lando replied almost instantly, his eyes wide with shock.

"I mean, I WANT TO!" She blurted out the words, adjusting herself hurriedly on the sofa, feeling completely lost in the whirlwind of emotions. "I just... it was all so sudden!"

"Yes, sorry!" Lando replied, nervously running his free hand through his hair, while the other still gripped her ankle with a newfound firmness, as if that physical contact were the only anchor of reality she had left. "LIKE—I WANT TO! But not like this, not now!"

Y/n's eyes widened even more, her hands gesturing in the air. "Are you proposing to me now?"

Lando turned his body completely towards her, in a state of comical alarm.

"No—I mean—yes! No!" He stammered, his breath becoming short and rapid. "Not now! I'm just asking if you want to get married! Like... in general! At some point! Not like—right now, this very second! But if you want to now, we can too!"

The silence that followed this flurry of words lasted less than five seconds. Y/n started laughing.

It wasn't a mocking laugh at the question, but rather an uncontrollable laugh at his despair. The contrast between the confident and calm man from minutes ago and the completely lost and awkward man in front of her was too much for her to bear.

Lando watched that reaction for a second, feeling the panic subside as he realized it wasn't denial, but rather shared amusement. He lowered his head, laughing at himself and running a hand across his forehead, feeling the warmth of shame mixed with relief.

"That question came out strange! Let me explain better..." Lando said, laughing, his voice still hesitant.

Y/n shook her head, still trying to control her breathing, and settled back on the upholstery, pulling her legs close to her body and finally closing the book to put it aside once and for all.

"I know how it looked, but that's not what I meant to do." Lando gave a small, sincere, and slightly calmer smile. "I just... thought out loud. The wrong way. But the question itself is real. Because when I think about the future, I think about you. Not in a generic way. Not like 'oh, let's see what happens'... I think about details. About small things. About routine." His gaze softened instantly, losing all trace of panic. "I think about coming home and you being there. Or me being with you, no matter where. I think about our families still blended like this... maybe with more members." He let out a nervous laugh, and Y/n felt her heart melt at that vulnerability. "I think about continuing to have these simple moments that seem to have no importance at all... but that, for me, are everything." His hand moved from her ankle to Y/n's face, and his thumb moved again, now caressing her cheek with infinite tenderness. "And then, when I think about all of this, it makes sense to think about marriage. Not as an event. Not as a specific moment. But as a continuation of all of this."

For a few long, intense seconds, Y/n couldn't articulate any response. Her chest rose and fell slowly, matching the intensity of what she felt. The smile that appeared on her face was inevitable; slow, growing, and completely surrendered to his words.

It was a beautiful scene, because of the meaning of each implicit promise.

Lando smiled back and used his thumb to wipe away a lone tear that escaped from the corner of her eye.

"I hate that you made it look so nice," Y/n murmured, alternating between laughter and emotion. "I'm here crying over a foot massage and a suspicious speech."

Lando chuckled softly, tilting his head to the side. "Suspicious?"

"Completely suspicious!" She confirmed, pointing at him with an amused look, despite her moist eyes. "That was very well thought out for someone who said they only thought it aloud."

"I am a man of many layers!" He replied, straightening his shoulders and feigning a seriousness that didn't last two seconds.

Y/n laughed, but her gaze quickly turned deeply sweet.

"Seriously, I think about that too. Not in that automatic way everyone talks when they've been dating for a while." Y/n took a deep breath, letting her smile settle into a peaceful expression. "It's more... specific. Like coming home and having to hear the same story more than three times because you're so excited!"

"Hey—" Lando smiled slightly, accepting the provocation.

"Whether you're deliberately annoying me, or we're traveling, or we're simply doing nothing... or having days like today. I see you in all of that. Not because it seems like the right path to follow, but because it's you. My Lando!"

The silence that followed was as light as a feather. Lando smiled slowly, bringing both hands to cup her face with extreme care, as if she were the most precious treasure in the world and he wanted to immortalize that exact second.

"So..." Lando began, tilting his head slightly and letting a smile play at the corner of his lips. "Sometime in the very near future... would you like to marry me?"

Y/n giggled softly, feeling his nose gently nudge hers before returning the gesture affectionately.

"Giving you a sneak peek at my future answer to that request..." She whispered, drawing her faces closer until their foreheads touched. "Yes, I will marry you in the very near future."

Lando's smile instantly widened, lighting up his entire face. Without any rush, he pulled her closer, sealing the moment with a kiss that flowed completely naturally.

Their lips met with the familiarity of years, but with an intensity that seemed to carry the weight of the decision they had just made. His hands slid gently; one remained on her face, while the other sought support at her waist. Y/n leaned forward, eliminating any remaining space between their bodies. It was a kiss that needed no proof or justification; it was simply the silent confirmation of a promise.

When they finally parted, their foreheads pressed together, sharing the same air for a time that defied the need to breathe.

"LAN! Y/N!" Cisca's voice echoed from the garden. "Are you two lovebirds coming here or are you going to stay hidden there forever? There's a beautiful flower blooming that you need to see!"

They looked at each other and burst out laughing simultaneously.

"Lovebirds?" Y/n repeated, amused by the choice of word as she began to stand up.

"I like it! Romantic, you know?" Lando replied, shrugging with a mischievous smile and then standing up.

They automatically intertwined hands and began walking towards the lawn. It was midway through the walk that Y/n, with her heart overflowing and a mischievous glint in her eye, decided to drop the bomb, perhaps just to watch the chaos unfold for a moment.

"Lando wants to marry me!" she announced loudly, holding up their clasped hands like a trophy, which made Lando burst into surprised laughter.

The effect was instantaneous and theatrical.

Her father, examining something near the fence, simply dropped what he was holding. Adam grinned from ear to ear and gave Y/n's father a vigorous pat on the shoulder, as if he were already ready to open a bottle of champagne. Flo began jumping for joy, clapping her hands in a frenetic and lively rhythm. Cisca and Y/n's mother simultaneously placed their hands on their chests, their eyes shining with genuine happiness.

Lando and Y/n looked at each other amidst that explosion of familiar reactions and laughed together. He put his arm around her, pulling her into a tight side hug as they finished crossing the garden under everyone's watchful eyes.

"The order was just now? How did I not see it?" Cisca asked, with a radiant smile that covered her entire face.

They knew they would have to spend the next few minutes explaining every detail of that conversation so that the family wouldn't start setting up the altar right there on the grass.

They would need to make it clear that there wouldn't be a wedding in the next hour, that there hadn't been a formal proposal with knees on the ground, and that, for now, the ring was still invisible. But it would be an explanation filled with laughter, because Lando already had some very concrete ideas in his mind about how to transform that porch conversation into something official and eternal very soon.

Veeeryyy soon.

Long before the weight of an official commitment or the glare of the Formula 1 spotlight shone on the couple, Oscar Piastri was already submerged in a silent enchantment with Y/n.

Getting to know Y/n was like reading a book whose pages became more beautiful each day.

Oscar admired the way she genuinely gave of herself; she was the kind of person who, even on her most chaotic and lost days, would reach out to guide someone else. There was a practical gentleness in her gestures, an altruism that didn't seek camera flashes or paddock recognition, but simply sprang from her very essence.

To the world, they might have been mere favors; to Oscar, they were extraordinary acts of rare humanity.

Although the father's surname and British heritage were present, it was the mother's Brazilian DNA that pulsed most strongly in Y/n.

Oscar saw Brazil in her through signs that needed no translation: in her attentive listening, in the light and welcoming touch on her arm, and in that smile that began in her eyes, illuminating her face long before it reached her lips.

Inside the technological and sometimes cold headquarters of McLaren, Y/n was the splash of color for the Australian. For Oscar, being there brought a curious feeling of "home," a concept he was still defining, but which certainly bore her mark.

He didn't love a stereotype, but rather the intense and welcoming woman who taught him, every day, the beauty of experiencing the world in a Brazilian way.

1- Brazilian food

At least once a week, the apartment was filled with aromas that transported Oscar to the other side of the ocean. That night, he was finishing setting the table, casting curious glances into the kitchen, trying to guess what the culinary surprise of the week would be.

Y/n was focused by the stove, the ingredients scattered across the counter as she mixed something with absolute dedication.

Oscar approached silently and peered over her shoulder. He noticed her eyebrows slightly furrowed in concentration and the adorable detail of one foot resting on the calf of the other leg as she stirred the pot.

He let out a low laugh and went back to the counter.

"Can I know now what my Brazilian girlfriend is cooking?"

Y/n chuckled, without taking her eyes off the rice she was stirring carefully to prevent it from sticking.

"Arroz carreteiro." She replied matter-of-factly.

Oscar wrinkled his nose, his brain processing the unfamiliar phonemes. "Arroz... what?"

She laughed, finally looking at him for a second. "Car-re-tei-ro."

"Arroooz..." Oscar repeated the first part, but froze on the second, trying to mentally organize the words in the Portuguese language.

Her laughter echoed through the room.

"Okay, you got half the word right," she said, smiling tenderly as she watched him persist in pronouncing it.

Y/n repeated the name slowly, separating each syllable as if giving a valuable lesson. Oscar followed suit, as if memorizing important telemetry.

"It's a very traditional recipe from southern Brazil," she explained, turning her attention back to the fire. "It was made by the carreteiros, people who traveled long distances carrying goods in carts pulled by oxen. They used what they had: dried meat, rice, simple seasonings... It fed everyone around the table."

Oscar remained silent, but not out of lack of interest. At that moment, he thought about how incredibly lucky he was to be the recipient of so much love translated into food.

When Y/n turned off the stove, she tilted her head in a silent invitation. Oscar approached and put his arm around her waist, leaning in to see the result. Hot steam rose, carrying an intense aroma of spices and meat that made him inhale deeply and excessively.

Y/n turned her face to him, laughing sweetly at his reaction. "Do you think this is good?"

"The smell tells me so." Oscar replied with a knowing smile, winking at her.

She shook her head, amused, as Oscar carried the heavy pot to the table. Y/n served the dishes and Oscar opened the wine he had chosen especially for the occasion, sealing their weekly ritual.

As soon as they sat down, Oscar took his first bite. Y/n watched him over her wine glass. The effect was immediate: the pilot's shoulders relaxed instantly, his eyes closed in pure pleasure, and he chewed slowly, letting the flavors reveal themselves.

It was his classic reaction of surrendering to her cooking.

"So? How's it going?"

Oscar opened his eyes, covering his mouth with his hand for a moment before looking at Y/n.

"Are you kidding? It's wonderful!" His eyes sparkled. "I know I always say this, but arroz carreteiro is definitely my favorite Brazilian dish!"

His effort to speak slowly made Y/n laugh, but a warm feeling spread through her chest when she saw how much he valued her culture.

"My mother would love to hear you say that. To say that finally someone understood her food... even without ever having eaten it."

"So, does that mean I'm officially approved by my Brazilian mother?"

"Yes! And with respect." She replied promptly. "But only because you make an effort to pronounce the recipe's name."

"That takes courage." Oscar joked.

Her laughter filled the comfortable silence that followed. Oscar savored each bite as if he wanted that moment to last forever.

"When I was little..." Y/n continued after a while, her voice soft. "My mother never let Brazil get too far away. Even living here in England, she would make these dishes on random days to ease her homesickness. My father always had that same satisfied look on his face that you just had."

"So this is a standard reaction?"

"Perhaps for those who truly like it." Y/n smiled. "The silence, the closed eyes... it was exactly like that."

"I'm honored to be a part of this legacy." Oscar dramatically placed his hand on his chest, making her laugh again.

"She used to say that culture isn't just where you come from. It's what you insist on carrying within yourself."

Oscar nodded, his gaze deep. "Now it makes sense that you're like this."

"Like what, love?"

"Hot. Present. Intense." He replied with a simplicity that disarmed her. "Even far from Brazil, you never let him leave you."

Y/n felt her eyes welling up slightly with happiness. "Maybe that's why I make a point of taking you there whenever we can."

"And I would do it all again. Including learning how to pronounce the name of that recipe in front of your mother without sounding like I'm begging for help."

Y/n took a sip of wine, looking at him with all the love she felt. "One day you'll get there."

After dinner, there was also a Brazilian dessert, a typical sweet that made Oscar exclaim in surprise and delight, eliciting more laughter from Y/n.

And while he praised the dessert with youthful enthusiasm, Oscar realized that his journey wasn't just about falling in love with a new culture or exotic flavors. It was about falling in love, repeatedly and ever more deeply, with the woman who made his world so much more colorful and full of life.

2- Teaching how to dance forró

The late afternoon sun tinged Oscar's apartment with shades of amber and peach.

Y/n was comfortably sprawled on the sofa, her feet resting on Oscar's lap. He, in turn, kept one hand on her ankles, gently stroking them slowly and rhythmically, while the other held a management book that Mark had recommended to him.

Oscar had a slightly distressed expression; the book was terribly boring, but he felt a professional obligation to finish it.

Y/n was distractedly browsing TikTok when a video caught her attention: an older couple dancing forró, gliding across the floor with enviable ease. She smiled, her eyes sparkling with a sudden idea.

Looking up, she saw Oscar massaging his temple, clearly exhausted from the technical reading. She stifled a giggle and stood up abruptly, causing him to look at her over his glasses, confused but immediately intrigued by her movement.

"Come here, you need to rest a little." Y/n stopped in front of him, stretching out her arms in an invitation.

"I'm resting." Oscar pointed to the book, but the grimace he made next betrayed him.

"No, I know this book is boring!" Y/n exclaimed. Oscar laughed, closing the book with a snap of relief. "Come here!"

Oscar stood up and paused before her, his hands finding their natural way to Y/n's waist.

"What are you doing, darling?" he asked, watching her pick up her phone and quickly open YouTube.

"Let's dance!" Y/n flashed a radiant smile.

Oscar nearly choked, letting out an incredulous laugh. "What?"

"I'm going to teach you how to dance forró."

"I'm the worst guy you could ask that of. I'm not a proper dancer." He laughed, but didn't back away; on the contrary, he moved closer, driven by curiosity and the sparkle in her eyes.

"I'm not a professional either, I'm just going to teach you what I learned on TikTok two minutes ago." Y/n pressed play on the music and pressed her body against his.

"Okay, I trust you, Brazilian girl! But... if I step on your foot, do you promise not to break up with me?" Oscar asked, feeling her hands patiently adjusting his.

"I promise, love." Y/n replied, suppressing a laugh. "But only if you listen to me."

"I always listen to you." he stated promptly.

Y/n rolled her eyes in amusement, but moved even closer. She guided one of his hands to the center of her back, while the other remained intertwined with hers, palm to palm.

Oscar's body, accustomed to the tension of the cockpits, relaxed instantly. That chest-to-chest fit felt more natural than he could ever have anticipated.

"Take it slow, okay? Forró isn't about rushing. It's about feeling." Y/n began to guide the first steps, a gentle side sway.

Oscar took a deep breath, concentrating. "Okay... I know how to feel."

She let out a loud laugh, throwing her head back, but didn't stop moving, maintaining the rhythmic pace of her feet.

At first, the movements were timid and somewhat mechanical. A short step to the left, another to the right. Oscar looked at his feet for a second, trying to decipher the logic, but soon gave up on the technique. As soon as he fixed his gaze on Y/n's face, the connection flowed.

The dance started to go well, and her very Brazilian smile made Oscar's heart skip a beat.

"You're doing great!" Y/n praised sincerely. Oscar raised his hand and twirled it, a little awkwardly.

"Is that you being politely Brazilian or just British?" he teased.

"Gently Brazilian." Y/n replied without hesitation, taking advantage of the moment he pulled her back to steal a quick kiss.

Excited by the success of the spin, Oscar attempted a bolder step. His foot slipped and ended up hitting Y/n's toe. She let out a little laugh, more from surprise than from the impact, and quickly adjusted her posture.

A few seconds later, clunk...another light stomp.

Y/n laughed again, a sweet sound without any trace of judgment, while Oscar grimaced with pure guilt.

"Okay, statistically, this has become a problem. I can't take a step without stepping on you," Oscar commented, laughing and looking at the floor as if apologizing to her feet. "I swear I'm not trying to sabotage the dance."

Y/n squeezed his hand affectionately. "It's okay, love, it's always like this at the beginning."

"You say that very calmly to someone who just had their foot crushed twice."

"It's because you're learning." she said sweetly. "Now, pay attention to me..."

Y/n paused for a moment, rearranging their positions. The music was ending, but she didn't even bother to restart it now; the silence only made the moment more focused.

"Follow my body, not my feet." she explained, starting the movement again. "One... two... sway. Now switch."

Oscar followed along, chuckling softly each time he nearly lost his balance, but quickly correcting himself. "So it's less about thinking... and more about feeling?"

"Exactly, love!"

Y/n guided the step and at the right moment, commanded: "Now turn!"

Oscar executed the movement and pulled her back firmly, bringing her very close. Y/n laughed happily, and Oscar felt he could stay there forever.

Gradually, Oscar's mental counting faded. The rhythm ceased to be a rule and became something lived. He no longer stepped on it; their bodies began to understand the tempo of the music, the natural sway. Oscar spun it again, this time with impressive fluidity, following the Y/n axis as if he were a veteran of the dance floor.

Upon bringing her back, he intuitively took the wheel.

Oscar moved his body in sync with hers, adjusting the pressure of the embrace when he felt her breath against his neck. Y/n smiled, a calm and proud smile.

The music stopped. Oscar, in a playful impulse, spun Y/n toward the sofa so she could reach her phone. She let out a loud laugh, surprised by the maneuver, and looked at him before choosing the next track.

"Do you want to continue?"

"Obviously!" Oscar smiled, pushing his glasses onto the top of his head, completely forgetting that he could simply take them off.

Y/n pressed play on another song, and this time, Oscar didn't wait. He immediately started leading her around the room.

"I like this..." He murmured close to her ear. "It doesn't feel like dancing. It feels... like home."

Y/n raised her eyebrows, amused. "See? Dancing can be deceiving."

"Everything that comes from Brazil is deceiving," Oscar replied, smiling slightly. "It seems simple, but it completely captivates you."

"Oh, really?" Y/n chuckled softly, tilting her head and letting herself be carried away. "Careful, soon you'll want to learn how to dance at a June Festival."

"I don't know what that is, but I think we should put it on the team's next dinner menu!"

Y/n laughed, throwing her head back.

They spun around in an improvised way, and when Oscar exaggerated his step and almost tripped, the laughter was mutual. The fear of making a mistake had been replaced by the joy of being together.

Y/n hummed a line of the song in Portuguese. Oscar spun her around again, and when they were facing each other again, she touched his cheek affectionately.

"Thank you for trusting me."

"I would trust you with my eyes closed," Oscar replied sincerely. "Even if I danced something I learned five minutes ago."

"You're doing great, really. Next time we go to Brazil, you can dance with my grandma!"

"Sure, thanks! I'll practice my stomps until then." He winked, making her smile.

Without saying anything more, Oscar rested his forehead against hers. Y/n closed her eyes, a smile still playing on her lips, and adjusted her rhythm to something almost imperceptible. Her feet barely left the ground now; it was just a sweet sway, an endless back and forth, as if the rest of the world didn't exist outside that embrace.

3- Brazilian stereotypes

The sun in Woking seemed to have taken the day off, hidden behind a thick layer of grey clouds that made the afternoon typically languid.

During a strategic break between technical meetings, Oscar, Lando, Y/n, and some other interns sought refuge on one of the spacious sofas on the upper floor of McLaren. The atmosphere was one of total relaxation; bodies sprawled out casually while the conversation drifted to the cultural peculiarities of the countries they visited throughout the Formula 1 season.

"I really miss the simple things." Lando commented, sinking further into the armchair. "Like a decent cup of tea. No matter where I am, I always end up making it the way my mother used to."

One of Y/n's fellow interns chuckled. "That's very British coming from you."

"I grew up like this." Lando shrugged, unfazed by the teasing. "Even traveling the world, some things just stay with you."

"I understand perfectly..." Y/n smiled, joining the conversation. "I also really like Italian culture, for example. The way everything revolves around family, food, vineyards... People are extremely kind. It seems like nobody is afraid to live life intensely."

"You always notice these things, don't you?" Lando observed, genuinely interested in her perception.

"Because that's what culture is. Specifically, it's how people connect," Y/n explained. Beside her, Oscar simply nodded in silence.

He was in a state of near lethargy. Leaning back on the sofa, his heavy eyes fighting sleep, he let himself be carried away by the touch of Y/n's fingers. She was slowly and absentmindedly caressing the back of his neck, in such an automatic way that he barely noticed she was doing it.

The conversation continued smoothly until two of the interns exchanged a knowing glance and chuckled, making a comment that suddenly weighed on the air in the room.

"Ah, Brazil is basically all about beaches, carnival, and chaos, right?" one of them said.

"Yeah, that's true!" The other agreed, laughing lightly. "Everything's delayed, hot, and full of noisy people."

The atmosphere changed instantly. Lando, who had been almost lying down, leaned forward, his relaxed expression replaced by visible discomfort. Oscar opened his eyes at the same time, his body losing its limpness and becoming alert. Y/n raised her eyebrows, the caress of Oscar's hair stopping abruptly as she processed the level of rudeness she had just heard.

The two boys noticed the sudden, icy silence. "What? Did we say something wrong?"

"Yes..." Y/n replied, taking a deep breath to maintain her composure and elegance. "And you all know I'm Brazilian, right?"

They both froze, their faces losing color. "Oh, that's right."

"Sorry, we didn't mean to be rude -"

"But they were!" Y/n interrupted. Her voice wasn't loud or aggressive, but it possessed an unwavering firmness. "And Brazil isn't just what you described. Excuse the lecture, but perhaps you only know the most superficial and stereotypical version of it..."

With a pedagogical patience, Y/n began to describe her country, not as a tourist destination, but as one describes her own soul.

She spoke of the North, of the grandeur of the rivers that are veritable highways, and of the strength of the indigenous cultures that preserve the forest. She described the Northeast as a cradle of musicality and resilience, rich in history and unique cuisine. She passed through the Midwest, speaking of the connection with the land and the immensity of the horizons. She explained the accelerated diversity and vibrant contrasts of the Southeast, and concluded with the South, detailing its own traditions, the cold climate, and the European influences that shaped the region.

She presented a pluralistic Brazil, a continent disguised as a country that could never fit into a box of "mess and noise".

The two boys, now visibly embarrassed and remorseful, remained silent, absorbing the cultural lesson they had just received.

Oscar, however, was on another plane. He watched Y/n with a discreet smile and an uncontrollable glint of pride in his eyes.

He admired her demeanor, the way Y/n didn't need to shout to be heard, only to be herself: confident, intelligent, and passionate about her roots.

For him, seeing Y/n defend her identity with such class was one of the most romantic things he had ever witnessed.

Later, after work, the couple walked towards the parking lot. Oscar carried Y/n's bag, while she stared at the ground, her shoulders slightly slumped from the exhaustion of an intense day under the demanding supervision of her own father in engineering.

Once they were settled in and the engine was started, the comfortable silence was filled by his soft voice.

"You were amazing today."

Y/n turned her face away, surprised by his tone of voice, which mixed seriousness and tenderness.

"Amazing?"

"Yes! And I was very proud of you too."

"Why, love?"

"From the way you spoke," Oscar replied calmly, looking her in the eyes. "You didn't raise your voice. You didn't attack anyone. You just... explained with love."

Y/n sighed, resting her head on the seat. "I only told the truth."

"You defended your culture without turning it into a fight. You made them really think about what they said."

"But sometimes it gets tiring having to keep repeating the obvious to these people," she confessed quietly.

"I know!" Oscar said, lowering his voice even further, making the atmosphere more intimate. "If more people had the patience and firmness you had today, the world would be a very different place. And I would have a lot less work in the paddock."

Y/n laughed and looked at him, her eyes shining with the warmth of his words. "Do you really think so?"

"I'm sure of it! You talk about Brazil and it makes me want to be there."

She smiled sweetly and extended her hand to him. "Thank you for standing by my side."

"I always stay!" Oscar smiled, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips for a long kiss. "But today... I fell a little more in love, if that's even possible."

Y/n chuckled softly, shaking her head. "More in love? You're exaggerating, Oscar Piastri."

"I'm not! It's just that you always find a way to remind me exactly why I chose you."

Y/n squeezed his fingers, feeling her chest warm, as the car drove along the roads of Woking, transforming the grayness of the day into something much more vibrant and welcoming.

4) Homesickness

Inside the apartment, the only source of light was the soft glow of the TV, which was playing some random movie that neither of them was paying attention to.

Oscar and Y/n were intertwined on the sofa; she nestled between his legs, her head resting on his chest. Oscar's hand moved with hypnotic slowness, his fingers caressing strands of her hair, losing themselves in the locks in a gesture of pure comfort and presence.

Y/n remained silent for several minutes. Moments before, she had shown him a photo sent in the group chat: her maternal family gathered in Brazil, a lavish table, broad smiles, and arms linked at a birthday party that Y/n had been unable to attend due to the demands of the season at McLaren.

After putting her phone away, the sparkle in her eyes seemed to dim slightly, replaced by a gentle melancholy.

Oscar tilted his head, trying to catch her eye in the dim light. When Y/n finally looked up, their gazes met, bringing an instant, mutual smile to their faces.

"Hi!" Y/n whispered.

"Hi!" Oscar replied, nudging the tip of her nose as she turned to face him better. "You've been quiet... want to tell me what's going on in that little head of yours?"

"I just miss..."

"What, my dear?" Oscar asked, brushing a strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes.

"From my mother, from my grandmother... from everyone in Brazil." Y/n explained with a weak smile.

Oscar didn't rush the moment. He maintained the rhythmic caress, his fingers tracing invisible paths in her scalp, offering her a safe haven.

"I like it here." Y/n continued, her voice honest and low. "I always have. But since my parents divorced... it feels like my house has been split in two. And now neither is whole without the other." Oscar lowered his hand to her back, applying firm, comforting pressure to her sweatshirt. "Not because they fight or make me choose. They get along really well, they've never made me choose sides. But I... feel like there are two places where my heart wants to be at the same time. And no matter where I am, there's always someone missing."

Oscar tilted his face until their foreheads met. His nose brushed against hers in an intimate and tender caress.

"Do you know what I see when you talk about that?" Oscar asked in a whisper. "I see someone who loves deeply. And loving deeply sometimes hurts. It's not confusion, Y/n. It's depth." He smiled slightly.

Y/n let out a soft laugh, her eyes glistening with tears she wouldn't let fall. "You always manage to turn my emotional messes into something beautiful."

"Because they are beautiful in their own way," he replied without hesitation. "You are whole precisely because you feel this way. You're not half here and half there. You're everything, in two different places."

Y/n looked at him, absorbing those words as if they were a balm. "Even though I miss my 'almost home'... I feel safe here. In your arms."

Oscar felt a sweet tightness in his chest and held her tighter, as if he could protect her from any emptiness.

"Then stay..." He whispered against her hair. "Stay as long as you need. I can't physically take you to all the places you love right now... but I can be a place too."

Y/n closed her eyes, inhaling his scent. "You are one of the places where I rest."

Oscar kissed the top of her head for a long time.

"When homesickness gets too much, we'll find a way. We'll call, travel when we can, create new memories to add to the old ones. Your story doesn't need to fit into just one address."

She lifted her face, her expression lighter. "Look at you, talking as if you'd planned everything."

He chuckled softly. "I just... like the idea of ​​being in the important chapters. Even the difficult ones."

"Thank you for not trying to fix it," Y/n said, stroking his arm. "Just for staying."

"I don't want to fix you. I want to accompany you."

Y/n approached, sealing the conversation with a kiss. It was a kiss that started slowly, full of gratitude, but soon became intense and deep.

Y/n's hands moved up to the nape of his neck, her fingers getting lost in Oscar's short hair, while his hands moved firmly down to her waist, pulling her closer, eliminating any remaining space between them.

When the lack of air finally separated them, Oscar smiled, his eyes shining, brushing the hair away from her face with his thumb. Y/n rested back on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, while Oscar resumed stroking her back.

"My mom just texted the family group chat," Y/n commented, her voice regaining its playful tone. "She asked about you."

Oscar raised an eyebrow. "He just asked?"

She laughed.

"She said she misses you at parties too. That the house is quieter without you." Y/n paused dramatically. "And my grandma sent an audio message saying you need to come back to Brazil soon because she says you still haven't finished eating everything she knows how to cook."

Oscar let out a loud laugh that vibrated against Y/n's back. "I was always the favorite."

"Oh, sure!" She rolled her eyes. "My aunt even added that you're too polite to be real and that I need to be careful not to let you get away."

"Wow, now I'm intimidated," Oscar joked, pulling her closer.

"They like you. Sometimes I think they like you more than they like me."

"Impossible!" he retorted promptly, his chin resting on the top of her head. "There's no way anyone could like me more when you're around. You're the center of everything there. I just... came along later."

Y/n smiled, that smile of complete peace. "Even so, they ask about you as if you were already part of the family."

"Maybe I already am..." He said, in a tone that hovered between jest and pure truth. "If they officially accept me, I promise to show up at all the lunches, birthdays, and noisy Sundays."

"I would love to!" Y/n adjusted herself, sighing with satisfaction.

He loved how Y/n carried entire worlds within her: the colors of Brazil, the precision of England, the passion of engineering, and yet, she chose to share the present moment with him.

5) How do I say it in Portuguese?

Oscar had planned every detail with a precision that surpassed any racing strategy.

His apartment had been transformed into a private sanctuary: the lighting was low and warm, and in the background, a playlist he had curated himself filled the space with Brazilian rhythms.

In the center of the room, the coffee table served as a support for dinner from their favorite restaurant and for the board of a word-forming game.

The rule of the game was clear: only words in Portuguese were valid.

Oscar, however, never missed a chance to test Y/n's patience and laughter, trying to piece together absurd sequences of letters and assuring her they were Australian-Brazilian slang terms he had just discovered.

"What? That word doesn't exist!" Y/n exclaimed, almost choking on her sip of wine when she saw the nonsensical combination Oscar had put together on the board.

"Yes, it exists, I just invented it here." He retorted with the utmost seriousness, stretching his leg under the table to provocatively touch her foot.

"That definitely doesn't exist!" Y/n insisted, laughing as she pushed his little pieces aside. "You can't just make up words in Portuguese. I'm the official inspector of that!"

Oscar shrugged, relaxed, with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"But it's such a beautiful language. I thought it deserved new words." He tilted his head, flirting openly.

Y/n felt her face heat up, an effect of the wine and especially his charm.

"That's not how it works. You need to learn the ones that already exist first." Y/n said, trying to regain authority.

"Then teach me." Oscar asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table, closing the distance between them. "Loose words. The ones you like."

Y/n thought for a second, her eyes shining. "Okay... it starts easy. Co-ra-ção."

"Co...ra...ção" Oscar repeated slowly, savoring the vibration of the '-tion' as if it were something precious. "I already know this one."

"Of course you know! You're always calling me that!" Y/n teased, laughing.

"It's a beautiful word... Next."

"Saudade!" Y/n said, taking a sip of wine. "That word only exists in Portuguese. There's no exact translation. It's like... missing someone, but with a lot of love and a little bit of pain mixed in."

Oscar frowned, concentrating on the pronunciation and meaning. "Saudade... I feel that quite a lot when you spend a whole day in meetings and I don't see you."

"Funny!"

"Another one. One that you use a lot." He asked, smiling.

Y/n snapped her fingers. "There's one I say a lot at work: bagunça!"

"Ba... gun... ça." He messed up the first time, but Y/n patiently corrected him until he got the 'ç' sound right.

"That's it! You learned it." Y/n clapped lightly.

"I'm a great student!" Oscar said confidently. "I think we should switch to sentences. I learn quickly when the subject matter is important."

Y/n raised an eyebrow, amused. "Okay, impatient one. An easy sentence: Gosto de você."

Oscar repeated it without difficulty, his voice lowering slightly, his eyes fixed on hers with an intensity that made the air in the room seem thicker.

The atmosphere changed. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was heavy with a feeling she could feel throbbing in her own chest.

Y/n chuckled softly, glancing away to organize the game pieces, trying to calm her racing heart.

"That was easy! How about a harder one then?" she asked, trying to regain her lighthearted tone.

"Maybe..." Oscar replied, helping to organize the pieces, but without taking his eyes off her. "I like listening to you talk. And I like it even more when I can understand what you're feeling."

Y/n bit her lip, touched by his dedication. "Okay... so you can choose the phrase this time and I'll tell you how to say it in Portuguese."

Oscar's smile widened, he took a long sip of wine to gather the courage he needed. He took a deep breath, mentally rehearsing the phrase he had been secretly practicing for weeks.

While Y/n was still fiddling with the board, distracted, he blurted out with near-perfect pronunciation.

"Você quer vir morar comigo?

Y/n lifted her head so quickly she almost felt her neck crack. Her eyes widened, the pieces of wood falling from her hands.

"O QUE?"

Oscar smiled, the nervousness now showing in his sweet gaze.

"Living with me. Me, you, just one apartment." He repeated in English, moving closer. "I know it sounds like it came out of nowhere, but I've been thinking about it for months."

Y/n stared at him, motionless, as tears began to blur her vision.

"We've already built so much together, Y/n. Routine, partnership, laughter, tough days in the paddock... You're already a part of my life in a way that doesn't fit in weekend suitcases anymore." Oscar chuckled softly, taking her hand. "I love how you feel everything so completely. How you carry two countries in your heart and make any place feel like home. I don't want you to stop being who you are... I just want to wake up with you more often than say goodbye... I want to share life, not just fit you into it."

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly.

"So... I'll ask again. With less rehearsal and more honesty: do you want to come live with me?"

The world around Y/n simply stopped. Tears streamed down her face, but the smile that blossomed on her face was the most beautiful Oscar had ever seen.

She didn't need time to think. In one swift movement, Y/n threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around Oscar's neck and burying her face in his shirt, letting out a sob of pure happiness.

"EU QUERO!" Her voice came out muffled. "Of course I want to live with you!"

Oscar pulled her close, burying his face in her neck, inhaling the scent of home that Y/n exuded, while one of his hands wandered through her hair in a protective gesture.

He stepped back just enough to look at her face, gently stroking her wet cheeks with his thumbs. There was immense pride in his smile.

"Eu te amo, garota brasileira!" Oscar said, his thick accent making the declaration even more special.

Y/n laughed through her tears, touching his face tenderly. "I love you, Australian."