even lando encouraged you to accept.

"think about your future, do you want to be world champion?" he'd asked.

"of course, but-"

"look at how many world championships they've got! plus, you'll be with max, he can help you with the car and all the different settings... love, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said. you looked down at your joined hands.

"i don't want things to change between us," you said, your thumb rubbing back and forth of the back of his hand.

"they won't. i'll still support you in every way i can, we'll see each other just as much, and i'll wave to you when i pass you on the track," he shrugged his shoulders as he kissed your cheek and you snorted.

"yeah, right. more like i'll wave when i'm lapping you," you couldn't help but joke as well.

"we'll be alright, i promise" he said. you let your mind wander, thinking about all the possibilities the future held for you.

"okay, i'll sign,"

the first couple months after switching the papaya orange for the navy blue went by easily, as you'd thought, you couldn't see lando as often, but every free moment you got was spent with him, preparing yourselves for when the season started.

"hey, love, are you on your way home?" you heard lando through your phone's speaker.

"baby, i'm so sorry, i have to stay a few more hours to film a new ad for some sponsors. but don't wait up for me, please. i don't know what time we'll be done," you said, it was already two hours after you said you'd be home on this particular february night.

"oh, okay. it's alright, i'll see you when you get here. i was thinking about doing a live stream anyway,"

"that sounds great, lan. i have to go now, i'll see you later. bye!" you rushed your goodbyes as someone kept calling your name.

"bye, lo-" he started, but you'd already hung up.

lando sighed, looking at his lock screen, a picture of you on your first win, one of the many podiums you'd shared. you were standing with the brightest smile on your face as both lando and your now teammate, max verstappen, sprayed champagne all over your racing suit.

about thirty minutes later, he was sitting in his streaming room, the comments on the chat flying by as more and more people commented the same thing.

'lando have you seen red bull's story?'

'red bull ig story!'

'max and (y/n) omg... new ship unlocked.'

that last one caught his attention.

"alright, i'll check that story you're all talking about," he said as he pulled out his phone and opened instagram. after quickly typing the username he tapped the icon and a few videos popped up.

the first one seemed to be a behind the scenes from the ad you were shooting, you and max laughing, your head thrown back as you smiled. the next was a video, white lights flashing as you two moved, standing with your shoulders touching and arms crossed over your chest.

the last video was the one most people were referring to. you were on max's back, your arms around his neck as he held the back of your thighs, spinning you around.

lando had never been more grateful about leaving something in the oven, as the smoke detector started beeping furiously, giving him a perfect opportunity to leave the stream in a hurry and not comment about the pictures.

he wasn't jealous. no. he had complete trust in you. and max. perhaps he was just upset it wasn't him making you laugh.

-

meals with family don't occur as usual as they should. you and lando are always busy, away discovering a new country, and when you're home you're way too tired to even think about going out.

as you sit with your head on lando's shoulder, hugging his left arm as his hand strokes your knee, he takes a moment to really take in everything going on around him. you're at his parents' home, all his siblings are there as well. he remembers the way you simply grabbed the vegetables and a knife and began chopping them without being asked to, and how you refused to sit around doing nothing when you could help. he thinks about the bottle of wine you bought for his dad, the one it took you two hours to find because it had to be the one lando's dad talked about the last time you visited.

he glances down at his watch, noting the way you snuggle deeper into his arm. he moves his head, placing a kiss on your forehead before resting his cheek against your head. since you and lando helped cook, it was now everyone else's turn to help clean up, giving you a few minutes of privacy as you sit on the porch swing in the backyard, the sunset a glowing mix of red and orange and yellow.

"it's almost six," lando said.

"i know. i don't wanna go," you sigh, lifting your head from his shoulder, an adorable pout on your lips.

"let's just stay a few minutes like this, love." he whispered, placing a small kiss on your cheek.

"i missed this, spending time with your family, disconnecting from everything else, even just for a little while," you said after a few moments of silence.

"me too. i've missed having you all to myself," he pulled you closer to his side, and you changed your position, now sitting on his lap. one of his arms around your waist, his warm hand on your thigh as you played with the small curls on the back of his neck, occasionally scratching his scalp.

the sound of a vibration interrupted your blissful state, and you reluctantly leaned forward to grab your phone, turning off the alarm that meant it was time for you to go.

"i'll drive you," lando said, placing a small kiss on your neck, right on your pulse point.

"oh no, don't worry. max said he'd pick me up so we could arrive together," you said. that night you had a fancy team dinner with everyone at red bull racing.

"max?" he asked, furrowing his brows as you typed a message to the dutch.

"yeah, he just moved a few minutes away from here and he offered. and i didn't want you to do the trip twice," you explained, kissing his lips quickly before standing up. "i should go change," you said as you walked back inside. you'd brought a nice light blue dress to change, and makeup to fix whatever had gotten messed up during the day.

you were almost finished getting ready in lando's old bedroom when you heard a knock on the door, lando peeked his head in.

"hey, i was going to call you, can you help me zip up?" you asked, moving your hair out of the way. he pulled up the zipper and let his fingers rest on your shoulders.

"i could've given you a ride, i don't mind. it's our tradition," he said. he'd been thinking about a reason why you hadn't asked him. you always drove together when the other had an event, to help calm the nerves and hype the other up for the upcoming, boring event.

"oh. it's okay, i just thought maybe you wanted to spend some more time with your family, since were going away for the triple header in a few days." you shrugged your shoulder. "but i'm sorry i didn't tell you sooner, i didn't think about that," you said as you saw the frown in his face.

"no, it's fine, you're right. don't worry about me." he shook his head, giving you a tight-lipped smile. "you have fun tonight, can i come and pick you up?" he asked, and something inside you told you he needed a positive response.

"of course. midnight?" you said, kissing his lips.

"perfect,"

a shiny silver car parked in front of the norris home, your dutch teammate stepped out of the driver's side just as you opened the door after saying your goodbyes to everyone. you walked holding lando's hand.

"your carriage is waiting, cinderella," max teased, and you looked down to the color of your dress, chuckling. "hey, mate. how's it going?" he bumped fists with lando.

"all good. take care of her, please." he said as he opened your door.

"i will, mate. i promise to get her back in one piece," max nodded.

"lando's picking me up!" you said excitedly.

"ah, so you're switching the carriage for an ugly pumpkin, got it." max said as he got in and turned on the car.

"have fun," lando said, pulling you to him and kissing your cheek. you had applied your lipstick right before you stepped out and he didn't want to ruin it. but you circled his chin between your thumb and forefinger and brought his lips to yours.

"i'll see you at midnight," you whispered on his lips.

"midnight." lando nodded. you both flinched when max honked the car.

you hurried one last hug with lando before slipping in the passenger seat. as the car sped up away from his parents' home, lando stood on the middle of the road with his hands in his pockets, watching you leave with someone else.

-

november came by in the blink of an eye, suddenly you found yourself planning a surprise for lando's birthday. you'd confided in the people in mclaren about your plan. you knew lando didn't really like being in public, so you decided to set up something back at your hotel after you were done with your responsibilities for the day.

you'd planned on flying lando's family to brazil so they could be with him on his special day, as well as a dinner with all his friends from mclaren and other teams.

you trusted max with making sure his present was ready. since you knew how much lando admired valentio rossi growing up, and that same weekend was the italian's last race at motogp, so you'd contacted rossi's team and asked for a replica of the helmet he'd be wearing that weekend. and they'd promised to send it signed, with a special message.

you felt giddy all weekend, and lando knew something was up, but you just brushed it off at being excited for his birthday.

on friday night, as lando was getting ready for bed, there was a knock on your door. lando went to see who it was, seeing your teammate standing on the other side.

"max?" lando said, catching your attention.

"hey, mate. is (y/n) here?" max asked, you noticed his tone was serious, and you immediately worried something was wrong.

"hey, what's going on?" you said, standing next to lando, who looked back and forth between you two.

"i uh- i need your help with something! can you come with me?" max said.

"is everything okay?" lando asked.

"yes, but i need (y/n) for something. i'll get her back in a bit!" he grabbed your hand and rushed out of the room with you behind him. you turned your head, to see lando frowning as he leaned against the frame.

when you returned to the room, the lights were off, no sound coming from the tv. you cursed silently as the door screeched.

"love?" you heard lando's groggy voice.

"hi, baby. i'm sorry to wake you," you whisper, removing your clothes and changing into pjs.

"it's okay. is everything okay with max?" he asked.

"yeah, he just needed some advice on how to approach the stewards tomorrow,"

"oh. okay," he said as you slipped under the covers. his arm finding its familiar spot around your waist.

"hey, it's past midnight. happy birthday, champ," you pressed your lips against his, hearing him humming in delight as he stroke your back.

"thank you, love. let's sleep now, we've to be up early,"

the next day you watched from your garage as the mclaren team were pulling out a table and a cake for lando, and you saw charlotte waving her arms at you, telling you to come over. as the rest of the team made their way out, you saw lando smiling at the cake, standing between andreas and daniel. you crossed your arms over your chest, singing along with everyone else, bumping fists with your former coworkers, who were pushing you towards lando.

his smile widened as he spotted you, opening his arms and you rushed to him, wrapping your arms around his waist as his slipped around your shoulders, pulling you close.

you kissed his cheek once you finished singing, and laughed with everyone as he grabbed a cooling fan to blow the candles off.

as people began returning to their usual activities, you stayed behind a few minutes, catching up with daniel, feeling lando's arm tighten around you.

"the birthday boy!" you heard from behind you, and you all turned to see max approaching you. "happy birthday, mate,"

"thanks," lando smiled, clapping max's hand and giving him a 'bro hug'

"i'll leave you boys now, see you on the track!" you said as you pressed your lips against lando's cheek one more time.

the boys chatted for a few minutes, catching up.

"sorry about kidnapping (y/n) last night, i just needed her help with something,"

"it's fine. how did everything go?"

"perfect, she uh- gave me some tips about kelly's dad,"

"her dad?" lando furrowed his eyebrows.

"yeah, i don't think he liked me that much," max shrugged his shoulders. "i should go now, good luck, mate. and happy birthday,"

kelly's dad... the stewards... what was the truth?

his mind replayed that thought over and over again. he couldn't enjoy the rest of his day, his smile wasn't as wide as you hoped for when he saw his parents and sisters.

as you were driving away from the track, you slipped your fingers between his, he kept one hand on the steering wheel as he turned to you for one second.

"you okay?" you asked, and he gave you a tight-lipped smile.

the same happened when you arrived at the hotel and he saw his surprise party. you kissed his cheek as he thanked you, and you left him with everyone else, to call max and check on the helmet.

lando turned his head, looking for you. and found you on the entrance to the hotel, talking with max. you both had huge grins on your faces, and you jumped up and wrapped your arms around max's shoulders.

"what's going on?" you heard behind you. you stumbled backwards, looking at lando. "i asked you a question,"

"lando..." you started, furrowing your eyebrows. "is something wrong? why are you mad?"

"well i don't know how you want me to act, all year you've been pushing me away, choosing him over me. and not even on my birthday can you make time for me?" he was raising his voice.

"mate, it's not-" max started

"you shut up! what were you doing last night? because you both said different things... are you cheating on me? did you really think i'd be dumb enough to not notice?"

"no! no, i don't-" you said, feeling a heaviness on your chest as you heard the anger in his voice.

"it's not that at all, last night we were just-"

"i don't wanna hear it." he said, looking at you with cold eyes, his jaw tensed.

"please, listen, it's really not what you thi-"

"cut the shit, you're just saying that because i'm not as stupid as you think i am. well your little game ends now. hope you had fun making me look like an idiot."

he stormed out of the lobby, you ran after him to the parking lot, fighting back the tears in your eyes.

"lando! please, wait!" you yelled as he climbed in his car.

he found an empty park. the moonlight and the late-night crickets his only company besides his thoughts. he sat on a bench, leaning his against the back, his head hanging low. he thought back to the hotel, the little scene he caused, the broken look in your eyes. the pain behind your voice.

why was he feeling guilty? all signs pointed to the unthinkable. he didn't know what he did to deserve it, he didn't even want to think about it.

this wasn't how the night was supposed to go. you stared dumbfounded at the car, letting the tears fall freely on your face. you swallow down a sob that is threatening to slip from your throat, feeling an arm on your shoulders, walking you back to the hotel. you turn, hiding your face in max's chest as you ride the elevator together. you asked to be left alone, and he reluctantly leaves the room.

your tears never faltered as you fell down on the bed, grabbing lando's pillow and breathing in his scent. you sat there, crying your heart out, thinking about how everything turned from bliss to heartbreak in a few minutes.

lando wiped a stray tear away from his face, feeling his phone buzzing incessantly. he has several missed calls from his parents and sisters, some from charlotte.

none from you, he thinks bitterly.

he turned the screen off just as he received a new message. it's from max.

he wants to break the phone into a million pieces.

against his better judgement, he opens the message. it's a picture of a helmet, he recognizes it as the one his idol posted earlier that week. he receives another picture, and he can see that the helmet is signed for him, and there is a note next to it.

a new text.

'happy birthday, idiot. (y/n) spent the entire week making sure this got here on time and she asked me to set it up in your room.'

shit.

he opened the door quietly. there was a headache forming in the back of his head. the room was silent. he saw the helmet, feeling his heart drop to his stomach as he grabbed the note.

'happy birthday, lando! hope you have an amazing day with everyone you love. (y/n) told me about the surprise she planned for you. what an amazing girl, you deserve someone like her. keep up the good work, your time is coming.'

he finished reading and cursed himself. he had no idea how he was going to fix this. he walked to the bed, finding it empty. there was a sliver of light coming from the bathroom. he strained his ears, and he could just faintly make out your ragged, fast breaths. he turned the knob slowly, his heart breaking at the sight in front of him.

you were sitting in the bathtub, still fully clothed but without your shoes. your knees were pulled up to your chest, you felt tingles and chills running down your back, your arms, the back of your head, as tears fell down your face.

you let out a broken sob, bringing lando out of his initial shock. he kneels beside you, his hand shaking as he touched your shoulder. you flinched under his touch, choking on air as you turn to him.

"l-lan," you stuttered. he shook his head, and a sudden wave of panic rushes through you.

"it's okay. breathe with me." he said, grabbing your hands in his. you squeeze them tightly and he does the same, anchoring you to this moment, to you and him. "in," he said and breathed deeply. "can you hold it?" he asked as you breathed in as well, but you shook your head. "that's okay, we'll go slowly. out," he instructed and you obeyed.

he helped you calm your breathing, subsequently calming your racing heart as well. he praised you when you managed to hold in your breath for a few seconds. the tears were still falling, though you paid them no mind and focused solely on the boy in front of you. he let go of one of your hands to wipe away a few tears, you lean into his touch, closing your eyes.

"lan," you whispered, opening your bloodshot eyes.

"i'm here. i'm so sorry." he said.

"i never- i swear i didn't-" you shook your head, leaning back.

"shh, i know. i know. i'm sorry," he climbed in next to you, you moved out of muscle memory, sitting on his lap. "i'm so sorry. i didn't mean any of that. i just-"

"you were right. i have pushed you aside, and i know if it were me i would be upset as well. i'm sorry i never noticed before," the last tears made their way down.

"you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. this is on me, i let my thoughts get the best of me and see things that weren't there. i'm sorry about how i acted, it wasn't the time or place. especially not after everything you've done for me today." his eyes traveled down to your hands, he grabbed them in his, playing with your fingers.

"i'm sorry i made you cry," he said. you shook your head.

"let's not dwell on the past. let's promise each other more communication. everything that goes through that mind of yours, i want to know. it's okay to have insecurities, but i don't want to go through this again, knowing we can avoid it if we're honest about how we're feeling." you said and lando nodded, his hand on your hip.

"i promise. i don't deserve you... not after tonight i-"

"we both messed up. let's work on our future and let the past slip away."

he nodded. you both remained quiet for a few seconds, thinking about the whirlwind of emotions that had been that saturday.

"thank you for everything you did for me. and i'm sorry i let my thoughts get the best of me tonight. i promise i'll make it up to you."

"you already did. you came back." you said, running your fingers through his hair.

the adventures of freckle boy and sunscreen girl (charles leclerc x reader) charles turns into a shrimp. (or, in which he hates sunscreen and has to pay for it.)

princess peach (dad!daniel ricciardo x reader) quiet days in the texas farm.

the nights (lando norris x reader) she's hesitant to ask her celebrity crush for a picture, and the plan her friends come up changes her life forever.

you are in love (max verstappen x singer!actress!reader) and you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars, and why i've spent my whole life trying to put it into words.

untouchable (mick schumacher x reader) untouchable, burning brighter than the sun, and when you're close i feel like coming undone.

a man after midnight (pierre gasly x reader) there's nothing more predictable than playing abba songs in greece. (or, in which you learn more french than greek during your summer vacation.)