#norgeant

Lando Norris (F1) 1d ago

Hey m8, this is out of the blue but i still owe you a drink from last year. hmu 

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Logan feels… Stiff. Taxidermied, maybe, sitting on the foot of his bed and rubbing his eyes like it'll wipe away the grief that has gathered along his lash line.

He doesn't know why he's here, or why he accepted the invite at all. He supposes Formula 1 realized that having an all American star is good for marketing, or something.

Logan should have said no.

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Lando Norris (F1) 1d ago

I flew in a bit early, so we have a few days if you need time to think about it

Lando Norris (F1) 1d ago

I get it if you want to stay away from the track. I’ll find somewhere away from there if you'd prefer it

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The feeling of being in a hotel again is strange. Logan is still travelling a decent amount, but he's been booking Airbnbs and crashing with friends on those occasions. Hotels always leave him feeling… Itchy.

He realizes he should probably text Oscar, tell him that he'll be mingling around in the paddock, that maybe they could find time to hang out, play padel, or whatever Oscar is into nowadays, now that he's more of a stranger than anything.

Logan kind of feels like a stranger to himself, too.

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Logan Sargeant 6h ago

Shouldn't you be asking Magnussen instead?

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Scanning his pass and walking through the gates is all too easy, all too familiar, guided by an aspect of his muscle memory he wishes he didn't have.

It hasn't even been that long since his last race; eight months, thirty-six weeks, two hundred and fifty something days– Logan stopped counting around the one hundred and ninety mark– so he has no idea why it feels like everything should be covered in a hazy black fog.

It's not, though. Everything is startlingly vivid.

From the paddock and the placements of the hospitalities, the only thing that really feels different are the clothes he's wearing, and the positions of the teams in the pitlane.

Hell, even the way the cameras acknowledge him is the same; like he's an accessory, a handbag to be featured on the newest installment of Kym’s ‘handbags of the paddock', snuck in alongside a race car shaped bag and whatever animal clutch Lily is carrying around this week.

The way he ignores the shutters of their cameras is all the same, too.

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Lando Norris (F1) 1h ago

Naw m8, he's way too old. Plus he's in like, France or whatever right now

Lando Norris (F1) 1h ago

Also you get home race benefits. Just think about it, yeah?

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Muscle memory leads Logan directly to the Williams hospitality.

He feels like a fucking idiot, stopping so suddenly and turning on his heel, taking avoiding action even though it is pitifully obvious where he was going originally.

RB gave him a pass for the weekend. Haas, too, but that invite is only for the race day itself, so Logan shakes himself and starts heading towards the RB hospitality.

Thankfully, it's just across the way from Williams, so maybe his blunder is a little less obvious. He's sure the photographers appreciated the shot, though.

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Lando Norris (F1) 30min ago

I found a few places that look pretty good tell me what you think

Lando Norris (F1) 30min ago

Your a local so you'll probably have opnions

Lando Norris (F1) 30min ago

[Link]

Lando Norris (F1) 29min ago

[Link]

Lando Norris (F1) 29min ago

[Link]

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Everybody in RB is overwhelmingly kind, welcoming Logan into the garage like he's an actual person, an actual racer, and not a faceless Barbie doll with the words ‘discontinued model’ sharpied across his body.

The mechanics talk to him about the car and the incoming upgrades, and they talk in a way that is obviously intelligent, not dumbed down or babied for the sake of making sure that Logan understands.

And talking to Liam is nice. They hadn't gotten the opportunity to race against each other again last season, a disappointment that Liam actually took the time to verbalize at the time, sending Logan a text just following the news, right after Zandvoort.

Isack is lovely too, pulling Logan into a hug like they're lifelong friends. For the first time all week, the dread in Logan's gut finally fades a little.

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Logan Sargeant 12s ago

[Link]

Logan Sargeant 12s ago

It's not somewhere you suggested, but I've been to this place before and it's pretty good. I'm free any time tomorrow after 3pm

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Logan exits the RB garage with enough courage to pop his head into Williams, peeking around, tentatively looking for someone specific.

All he finds are a few engineers– his engineers– and then Carlos standing off to the side, headset atop his head as he gestures towards a few monitors.

Logan is, unfortunately, not subtle enough to sneak in and out unnoticed, because a few of the guys spot him and call him over, toothy grins on their faces as they clasp hands with Logan, pulling him around and patting him on the back hard enough to make him wince.

Despite the bile rising in his esophagus, it's nice to feel so welcomed, to be reminded that there were at least some people rooting for him before it all went to shit.

Carlos comes up to him not too long after, headset now around his neck. They exchange pleasantries, somewhat pinched conversation about the team and how it's going. Logan swallows down the urge to ask about Alex.

Before he leaves, he wishes Carlos luck. It tastes metallic on his tongue.

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Lando Norris (F1) 2s ago

Huh. I saw this place but i didn't think it was your style

Lando Norris (F1) 2s ago

Cool

Lando Norris (F1) 1s ago

I can get there at like 5

Seen

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Logan has already finished his food by the time Lando gets there.

He seems a little flustered, like he wasn't expecting to be eating at a burger joint, let alone a burger joint with private tables. Hell, even Logan always found it a little absurd, but you won't catch him complaining about a little extra anonymity.

Lando tosses his keys into the booth seat before climbing in. “This place does reservations?” He leans in close to say it, like it's some kind of secret.

Logan huffs. “Yeah, it's Miami, everywhere does reservations,” 

“And you paid for that?” 

“Yeah?” Logan says a bit obviously, not really understanding what Lando means by that. Like he said, the privacy is nice.

Lando doesn't seem to know what he meant either. That, or he's feeling weirdly shy right now, because he just shrugs before picking up the menu.

A few solemn seconds tick by, and the entire time it is abundantly clear that Lando is definitely not reading the menu.

He tosses it back on the table with a clatter.

“You realize I can't eat, like, any of this right?” Lando quips, a humorous sort of annoyance to his voice.

Logan shrugs. “You should try being retired,” he says, flashing a grin in his direction before stuffing another fry into his mouth.

Thankfully, it has the intended effect; Lando laughs. Genuine and shining, not one of those pr trained things that are painful and obviously just to appease the cameras. Logan is glad he hasn't lost the ability to tell the difference, even all these years later.

“How's that going, by the way? Your… Retirement, or whatever,” Lando asks, finger picking idly at the corner of the laminated menu, and his eyes search Logan's frame for a while, like he's trying to find the answer before Logan says it.

He's always been like that, quick and snappy, always craving to be one step ahead of people, guessing what they're going to say, even if they're a complete stranger– Logan supposes he isn't far from one, by now.

He shrugs, narrowly avoiding making a face down at his basket of fries. “It's fine,” it's all he says, and he feels sick at the pride that bubbles in his chest at the way Lando fidgets, obviously uncomfortable by the blunt reply.

“What did you mean ‘this place isn't my style'?” Logan asks out of the blue. It's mostly just to fill the silence, but also he did think it was a strange thing to say considering he's American and that's like, one of the only things Europeans know about Americans– they like burgers. That and guns, and freedom. But mostly burgers.

Weirdly enough, Lando seems to flush a bit at the sudden questioning.

“Uh, ‘s just that you always seemed, like… Refined, growing up. Like, more sophisticated than other Americans,” 

Logan quirks his brow. “And you based that on, what, the two other Americans you knew at the time?” He jabs playfully, a laugh tickling the edge of his words.

Lando sputters a bit. “I dunno! It was just- a vibe, okay,” he says, slowly gaining confidence (and volume) to his voice as he speaks.

They chuckle to themselves a bit longer before lapsing into silence again. This time, it's considerably more charged than before, tension obvious in the air as they both gear up to say something.

Lando starts speaking first, but Logan doesn't hear him over the sound of his own voice, and so they get stuck like that, looking at each other over the table and waiting for the other to speak first.

After a while of staring, Lando scoffs.

“You go first,” 

Logan huffs a laugh through his nose. “I was just wondering if this was you and Max trying to get me to do something,” 

Lando's brows draw together, lip quirking in a way that makes Logan want to flick him in the mouth.

“Fewtrell,” Logan specifies sharply. “Trying to get me to do something for Quadrant,” he reiterates.

“Oh,” Lando drawls out, face lighting up with understanding, before suddenly twisting into something indignant.

“No, what? Max didn't put me on this,” he continues, tone suddenly hazardous, like he's offended that Logan thought Max might be involved in this at all, even though it really isn't a far reach in the slightest. “Did you think this was just an, I dunno, negotiation thing?” He asks next, tone spitting acid.

Logan simply shakes his head, raising his eyebrows in a way that he hopes conveys innocence, honesty.

Lando relaxes a little, at that. “Okay, good. I just… I don't want you to think I just want like, content out of you, or something,” he pauses for a short second, obviously considering something.

“I mean, it would be good for Quadrant– people love you, mate, but that's not… I just want to be friends, have some drinks, not… talk business,” he accentuates the last part with a jeering sort of tone.

Logan tries not to let the shock he's feeling show on his face. For the longest time, ‘Lando Norris' and ‘friend’ never exactly fit in the same category, and it really never seemed like they would.

But, here they are, sitting in an isolated corner of some greasy burger joint just down the shore, talking to each other and bantering. When he puts it like that, it sure sounds like something that friends would do.

Logan doesn't even get to respond before Lando is talking again.

“Whatever, it doesn't matter,” his tone has taken a sudden toxic shift, like he's annoyed he had to make the specification at all. “I still owe you that drink, and you're done eating, so c'mon,” 

Logan watches Lando stand up and wipe his lap off even though he didn't eat a crumb of anything.

Lando stares at him for a while.

“I have to pay,” Logan says dumbly, pointing down to his empty plate and just waiting for the reaction.

Lando’s face flips through a million different emotions as he stands there, grimacing down at Logan, who is sat in a grungy booth seat and looking right back up at him.

Eventually, they both break, and Lando’s face finally settles on a constipated sort of glee, like he forgot that Logan was capable of having humor, that Logan could drag that kind of response out of him.

And it feels nice, giggling together like kids again.

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i will be tagging.. @pinacolada-posts @23fallencomets and @thepoetsarentjust to post anything from their WIPs :) xoxo