#I just know people would respond to this like ‘Charles would already do that’. no he wouldn’t bffr

[6ebe]

F1 / kpop job swap where they make f1 drivers meow on camera and do aegyo on livestream

[ccsainzleclerc5516]

His Lucky Charm

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x reader

Warnings: smut, cheating

After a whole day of running errands around town, you finally had an evening to yourself. You've decided that this will be a relaxing Friday night where you'll do nothing but take a bath, wash your hair and read a book in bed to recharge your batteries.

You even told your boyfriend Miles that you needed an evening to yourself and that you would make it up to him tomorrow for skipping dinner tonight.

After a long and relaxing much-needed bath, you put on your short pajama set and started combing your wet hair. Your attention was distracted by your phone vibrating on the washing machine. You took a look at the screen only to see Charles' messages popping up.

Are you home?

I need to see you

You didn't even get to answer the message when you heard a knock on your door. You paused for a moment before heading for the door. As you walked, you looked at the time at your phone, which was already showing 11 p.m. and you knew that you definitely weren't expecting anyone else, well, except Charles apparently.

You looked through the peephole and there he was looking straight at you as if he knew you were looking.

"Charles?" You said opening the door. He was standing there with his elbows resting on the door frame and leaning inward. "What are you doing here?"

You couldn't help but get worried about him. You texted him right after the Silverstone fiasco, but he never responded. You knew he was going through it so you decided to give him some time planning to check on him when he was ready to talk about it. But he got ahead of you and came to you instead.

Charles and you have been best friends for a long time now. Best friends who were always there for each other, who always ran to each other when things got tough and, well, best friends who had sex now and then.

There was always something more than just friendship between you. Immense sexual attraction and tension that you happily enjoyed from time to time. Even when you were in a relationship with other people, it was normal and natural for you two to hook up on a weekend off. Even though it was wrong, you didn't even count it as "cheating" because it was the two of you.

But since you found a new boyfriend, Miles, things have changed a bit between the two of you. Since you've been with Miles, not once has Charles ended up in your bed. He noticed that you stopped giving him attention that he was used to so he started behaving differently towards you. He didn't like that he couldn't have you like before. He also didn't like the fact that you stopped coming to the races to support him. And what he hated most of all was that you really seemed to like that Miles guy.

"I needed to see you. Can I come in?" He pleaded with his green eyes piercing right into your soul.

"You know, you should announce yourself before you come, especially at such a late hour. Miles could've been here." You said stepping aside for him to come in.

"I texted you, didn't I?"

"Umm, yeah 30 seconds before you knocked at my door?" You rolled your eyes following him into the living room. He said nothing but threw himself onto your couch and sighed. He didn't even need to say anything to let you know he wasn't feeling himself and you felt bad for him so you asked "Do you want to talk about it? I texted you right after the race, but you never responded. I figured you needed some time for yourself."

"There's not much to talk about. Every fucking weekend for me is the weekend to forget, I'm getting sick and tired of it." He said running his fingers through his hair.

"I know the last few races weren't the result you were hoping for, but that doesn't make you a bad driver. Don't be too hard on yourself, please" You tried to comfort him placing your hand over his knee and squeezing it.

You hated to see him like this and you worried for him knowing that he had a tendency to blame himself for everything that went wrong. Every time when he’s had a bad race you were the one he came to and you managed to calm him down. But since you've been with Miles, Charles has had a lot more bad weekends, and this is the first time he's come to you for comfort.

"No, it's been too many races now. There is always something else at stake, there is a new problem every time, I don't know..I just..I can't-" His voice cracked and you didn't hesitate for a second to sit next to him and pull him into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Charles" You rubbed his back as he kept his face buried into the crook of your neck tightening his grip around you.

"I'm so tired, y/n" He whispered letting out a deep breath.

"I know you are, but you need to keep pushing forwards. There's just simply no other choice. Giving up is not an option." You put your hand over his cheek to make him look at you. "You get up every day and try again. All the effort and pain will pay off one day, I promise. You know you're one of the best at what you do. The best for me if that means anything to you." You gently caressed his cheek with your thumb and he smiled at your last sentence taking your hand in his and bringing it over to his mouth to kiss it.

"You know what I noticed?"

"What?"

"The last time I won a race, you were there. Ever since you stopped coming my performance has dropped" He said now putting his hand on your cheek and slowly pulling your face closer to his. "Makes me think you were my lucky charm" Your heart trembled as he closed the space between your lips pressing them together.

Even though you kissed back and as much as you were glad to hear him say that, you broke the kiss pulling back and slightly pushing him away from you. "Charles..we can't..I can't"

"Y/n, please..." He took your hand pulling you back to him again. "I need you to fix me"

You got nervous because you knew where this was going so you got up and headed towards the kitchen which was connected to the living room.

You felt like you had to run because you knew Charles was your weakness which you could easily give in to, and you didn't want to do to Miles what you did to other guys with Charles. Miles was good to you and genuinely cared about you and for the first time in your life you felt guilty.

But there was no point in you running away from him because seconds later Charles was behind you with his hands on your waist pressing his chest against your back.

"I miss you, chérie" He said quietly leaning down and pressing a kiss to your bare shoulder. "I need you to make everything better again" He continued moving your still wet hair to the side so he can have access to your neck. Once his lips found your neck, you threw your head back against his chest.

"Charles, we can't do this anymore.." You struggled to resist.

"Why not? It's not like we haven't done it before."

"I-it's different this time. I-I really like him." You almost felt guilty saying it in front of him, but that did nothing to stop him.

"C'mon, it's us. I need you so bad, y/n. Nobody does it like we do." He said nibbling the skin on your neck while his hands slowly slid under your t-shirt. You moaned as he grabbed your breasts running his fingertips over your nipples and grinded his already hard crotch against your ass.

You surprised yourself once again by seeing how easily he could have you whenever he wanted. You weren't proud of that, especially not now when you thought you didn't want the same thing he did. But that's just what you thought at least.

So when he whispered into your ear “C’mon, baby, make me cum” you were quick to turn around and vigorously pull his head down to kiss him.

"And what are you going to do for me, Charles? Hm?" Your fingers worked fast unbottoning his pants, pulling them down and letting them fall to the ground.

"Gonna make you cum so hard you're gonna forget all about that Miles guy."

Niether of you needed any kind on warming up. You were always so ready for each other. Your slit was dripping by his words only and his tip teasing your entrance was already covered in precum.

He pushed himself inside you with ease both of you letting out deep groans in desperation to feel more. As soon as he slid in and felt your warm walls hug him his pace quickened breathlessly thrusting into you.

Your knuckles on one of your hands turned white from how tightly you held onto the edge of the kitchen counter while your other arm was wrapped around Charles’ neck.

His eyes rolled at the sight of his cock disappearing into your pussy that was now making loud wet noises that always drove Charles crazy. He kissed you passionately bringing his hand from your hip to your cheek then down to your neck firmly gripping it making your throw your head back.

“Fuck, Charles” You panted.

“Like that, baby? Does it feel good?” He asked tightening his grip around your neck.

“Yeah, fuck, just like that.” You gasped struggling to breath now.

“I bet he can’t fuck you like this, hm?” Miles was anything but on your mind right now, but all Charles wanted to hear was that no one could make you feel the way he could. “Do you let him cum inside you?”

“Charles..”

“Answer me.” He was kind of scared to find out because he didn’t want anyone to have that privilege but him. It was his way of claiming you as his.

“No, ah-“ You cried out tightening around his cock making him curse under his breath.

“You gonna cum?” He asked looking down at you and connecting your lips after you nodded yes. “Me too, baby. Fuck, I’m gonna fill you up so good, fuuck”

A couple of more thrusts and your orgasms washed over both of you leaving you panting and moaning into each others mouth. His knees buckled and his head fell against your shoulder burying his neck into your neck as he filled you up to the brim.

When your breathing calmed down, Charles took your face between his hands and began to kiss you unusually tenderly. Once he regained strength in his legs he pulled his cock out of you hissing at the sight of his cum dripping out of you. He pulled you to him and wrapped your legs around his waist lifting you up from the counter and leading you to your room.

He gently put you down on the bed hovering over you and continuing with the tender small kisses all over your body. That was unusual for him because normally after you'd fucked he'd kiss you once or twice and you'd both fall asleep right away and in the morning you'd pretend like nothing happened the night before.

“Charles, what are you doing?” You asked quietly.

“What do you mean?” He asked laying next to you and pulling you against his body so he was facing your back as his arms hugged you tightly.

“We usually don’t do this..” You pointed out.

“Do you not like it?” He asked insecurity clear in his voice.

“No, I mean, I do like it, but it’s just not something that we do you know..”

He sighed gathering the courage to tell you what he was about to and what has been bothering him for quite some time now. “I’ve made so many mistakes in my life can’t even count them.” He paused. “One of them is not making you mine a long time ago and letting other guys have you.”

You didn't expect this confession from him and to be honest, you didn't even know how to respond to what he just told you. Some kind of inexplicable feeling appeared in your stomach that you have never felt before so you turned around to face him looking straight into his eyes with parted lips.

“Everything’s easier with you by my side” He said quietly and you were still speechless. It's not like you never thought about Charles, about you, in that kind of way, it’s just that you never wanted to initiate first and you never thought he saw as anything other than his best friend who he fucks here and there. “I hope I didn't realize that too late”

“Charles, I don’t know what to say.. I’m honestly too scared to try anything with you.”

“Do you not trust me?” He asked a little hurt by the choice of your words.

“I don’t trust us, Charles. We secretly hurt other people by doing this and I just don’t want us to hurt each other the same way. And most of all I don't want to lose you. You mean too much to me”

Even through the half-dark room, you could see that his eyes became glossy as he bit the inside of his cheek, holding back.

“When it comes to us, there would be no other people on the side, y/n. I swear, I’d never hurt you like that.” He took the palm of your hand and brought it up to his lips leaving a soft kiss over it. “Give us a chance, baby, please” He half whispered sounding almost desperate.

You kissed him calming his inner turmoil for a second. “Why does this feel so frightening? I don’t even know how to start this?” You said pulling back.

“Let’s start by not seeing other people anymore, yeah?” He said tucking the hair behind your ear as he raised himself on his elbows to be above you.

“Yeah, okay” You whispered.

“And let me start by making love to you, the way you deserve it.” He said between kisses. “To show you how much I love you, how much I always have.”

[only-1-a]

Imagining this within the first week of Charles and Edwin knowing each other. Charles has helped Edwin catch up on a BIT of what’s happened in the last 70 years, but Edwin can tell that Charles’ knowledge and strengths are not in history (finding out there was an even worse world war right after The Great War was certainly horrific though). So Edwin decides his best bet is to look in the public archives. Charles is sitting in the room with him absolutely bored out of his skull when he comments “Wow, you weren’t joking about not being great at people, were you?”

To which Edwin’s patience runs out, and he snidely responds, “Evidently not. If my researching the events of the last seventy years is so off-putting to you, then you can leave.”

Edwin was expecting some kind of token protest, but instead Charles just hops up, and says, “Cheers mate. See you.” Then LEAVES. Just like that. Edwin would like to be offended, but he supposes he did tell Charles to go. He just thought there would have been more to it than that? It almost feels…anticlimactic. At least he and Charles barely knew each other. Better to cut their losses now than get attached. Even as he thinks it he can’t help but feel maybe he was already growing attached.

So he spends the whole day digging through the archive and he learns so much about the past half century. It’s amazing and daunting just how much as changed. No wonder Charles hadn’t been able to go over even a fraction of it. It’s like the world is a completely different place.

He’s engrossed in his research when a head pops in through the door, and violently startles him with a cheerful, “Hey mate!” Edwin doesn’t have a heartbeat, but if he did it would be running a mile a minute from that fright. Charles is just grinning as he walks through the door. “I have to say, that’s my favourite part of being dead so far. I can just walk through walls.” Charles continues to chat happily, completely oblivious to Edwin’s shock.

Eventually Edwin gains enough of his senses back to interrupt Charles and say, “You came back.”

Charles just cocks his head, but he’s still smiling. “Yeah bruv. You’ve been here ALL DAY. The sun’s started going down. I know we don’t need to eat or sleep, but I figure you should take a break. Plus all the people playing football at the park left, so I got bored.”

Edwin doesn’t quite know what to say to that. He’s still working on the fact Charles came back. Charles hadn’t planned on leaving in any permanent way. He just went to do his own thing while Edwin did his. Yet instead of anything intelligent coming out of his mouth, he says “Football?”

“Oh c’mon! I know you had football even a thousand years ago. Yeah, I went to play with some other guys at the park across the street.”

Edwin snorts at that, and isn’t that a strange and wonderful feeling, laughing after all this time. He doesn’t even know if he did it often before he went to Hell, but here Charles has been making him laugh on and off for the week they’ve known each other. “Yes, we had football. You’ll have to explain how you managed to play a team sport without being seen by either team. You are right though. If it’s getting dark out, they’ll be turning the lights out in here soon. We might as well leave for the day.”

“Cheers. Mostly it involved messing with the ball so it went the wrong way when they kicked it. Oh! I kicked one over a fence. Do you think we can go grab it? How about your day? Learn anything exciting?”

Edwin leads them out, and now in a much better mood he shares something he thinks Charles will enjoy. “As a matter of fact, there was quite a lot about how music evolved, and styles from the Americas really took off since the 20s.”

[vroomvroomcircuit]

Sometimes you need to be loud before it can be quiet

Summary: Everyone has their breaking point, even prefectly fine media trained drivers. Especially when people start asking dumb, sexist questions.

Pairing: driver!reader x f1!grid, but mostly Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, Lando and Charles have a bit of a guest appearing

Wordcount: 1.2k (she is a shy shorty, please be nice to her)

🏎Masterlist🏎 _________________________

“My next question is for (Y/N): What do you want to be perceived as?”

Everyone in the post race press conference halts in their movements. (Y/N) blinks once, twice before she clears her throat and gets closer to her microphone. “I’m sorry, can you please elaborate on that? I fear my English is failing me to comprehend what you just said.”

The reporter is not hesitating, jumping into his explanation right away, as if he had chosen the words he wanted to say beforehand. “Well, you participate in a male dominated sport, being currently the only female on the grid line up. You are never seen in typically female clothing. You even wore a suit to the last FIA gala. We have yet to see you in makeup outside of festivities. That’s why I am asking what you want to be perceived as. A man? A woman? Or something in-between?”

Silence has never been so loud. Nobody really knows how to respond to such an audacity.

(Y/N) pulls her microphone another bit closer before murmuring into it: “I rather be not perceived at all. Thank you for the question, I wanted to clear that bit up for quite some time now.”

Her answer brought a booming laughter out of the one and only Daniel Ricciardo, effectively breaking that spell of awkwardness that has been cast over the room by Mr Audacity. Everyone relaxes and joins in the laughter.

As the media representative is about to call onto the next journalist, Max asks a question. “Can we all answer this? Because I want to make it clear, I identify as a problem and want to be perceived as that.”

“Yeah”, Daniel interjects,”of course you do. I want to be perceived as a menace to human kind, please. What about you, Lando?”

“Number 1 Fish Hater, certified and trademarked already,” he answers with a cheeky smile.

Charles breathes “I’m a hot mess” into his microphone before the media representative is able to call onto the next person.

The following race weekend the drivers stand in the media pits with their PR managers, hopping from interviewer to interviewer like at a speed dating event.

“-overall I would say we have a good pace. I’m confident in the team to help us through this race in spite of the unpredictable weather conditions this weekend.” (Y/N)’s answers the usual questions that are thrown at her after sessions.

The journalist smiles at her. “I am sure of that. Now, onto my last question: Last week you have been asked what you want to be perceived as and you never really answered that. Why is that?”

(Y/N) throws a not amused look towards the woman. “I didn’t feel like it. I didn’t want to answer a question that is just a poorly disguised attack towards my femininity. I can like fast cars and dress however I want without having to answer something like that. I’m secure enough in my own gender identity as a woman to be able to express myself in all the ways I want without having my actions impede on my identity or expression of my gender. I will put on a dress when I feel like it, I will get the brushes out for a glam makeup when it is convenient for me and I don’t have to do ‘typically female’ things just to please the public opinion.

Instead of going around and judging, just work on why you have this urge to comment on my expression of gender in the first place, because your insecurities surrounding my gender don’t look cute on you.”

After that (Y/N) is practically dragged away from the media pit by her PR manager, who probably already has a headache thinking about the mess that will follow on social media and certain online magazines.

But the few drivers who stood around them, having media duties to follow themselves, just stared impressed and with deep respect after the young woman. She usually is softer spoken and obviously went through bootcamp media training. This was the first time they witnessed speaking her true mind in an interview.

Back in her driver's room, where she gets ready for the debrief, (Y/N) realizes the kind of mistake she just made.

Her little outburst will definitely get more of a reaction than it would if a Max Verstappen would have said something along these lines.

Before her inner eye she sees the headlines. Something about women being too emotional for motorsports. Her being too young, too hot headed, too much of everything and somehow not enough of everything.

The team will replace her, the negative PR not leaving them any other choice. The pressure on them is too much, they already took a big chance on her by giving the driver a seat in Formula 1 in the first place.

With the news of her sudden contract ending, at least one news outlet will write “The little experiment failed”, paving an even more difficult path for other women trying to prove themselves in motorsports.

And all that just because she wasn’t able to let this stupid question roll right off her back.

A sudden knock on her door breaks (Y/N) free from her downward spiral of thoughts. Max enters the room with Daniel on his tail. “This was amazing. How you told this interviewer off on life camera? And her face? After you went out, we just had to clap. It was so cool. You were so right, too. I’m so proud you finally spoke your mind. The audacity of these people.”

It seems like Max doesn’t need to breathe, judging from his rant.

Daniel has a much softer approach. He puts a hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him. “I hope you know that you had to say that back there. Even if you are ‘only’ a rookie this season, the questions you got the last couple of weeks were anything but ok or nice. Sometimes you need to be loud before it can be quiet.”

(Y/N) shoots him a thankful smile, squeezing the hand on her shoulder with her own. “You are right. It was just a bit overwhelming at first. But I can see the appeal now. I think I have to take a few classes with Max, because the concept of saying what you think got a new fan and that’s me. It’s the best thing I have done in the context of handling media duties.”

“No, you won’t do that”, (Y/N)’s PR manager stands in the doorway, probably to fetch her for the debrief. “In this case it was a good thing to do. Important, too, of course. The fans are eating this up on social media. They already made edits with the clips. But I don’t get paid what Max’ or Lando’s managers get, so you will return to your media trained good girl roots.” With that (Y/N) gets pulled out of the room by her. Max throws her a subtle nod, to which she smiles.

Sometimes you need to be more than the good girl, especially if it’s for your own sake. Who knows, maybe this is the beginning of the story of another media-nightmare-driver.

[pinkestofpanthers]

you snooped through my wallet? | scott summers

pairing: scott summers x fem!reader warning(s): i would say this is pretty angsty? scott being a little avoidant, logan is kinda mean in this one? lots of fluff and comfort though! i should also mention reader is not a mutant! i could not think of any special powers i wanted to include.

if someone were to ask you, you would tell them you knew everything about the students scott taught at xavier's school for gifted youngsters. he even told you about his coworkers and their beautiful abilities. you always listened to his stories with an open mind and a smile on your face. you swore you fell in love a little more each time he spoke so passionately about what he does.

now, if someone were to ask one of scott's students or coworkers what they knew about you, they'd either stare blankly or laugh in their face. you see, scott didn't think of you as a secret, if there was anything scott was more passionate about than his job, it was you.

so why did it seem like he was hesitant to tell everyone about your relationship?

it made no sense to you. when scott first asked you to be his girlfriend, you raced back to your apartment and immediately called your mom. your gloating got to a point where you had your own coworkers asking where they could "find one like him". perhaps you boasted about your lovely boyfriend a bit too much, because now you were starting to feel like a major issue was rising in the relationship.

that was until late one night when you heard a soft knock on your door. you shuffled out of bed, grabbing a kitchen knife on your way, just in case there was a polite masked murderer on the other side of the door. checking through the peephole, you're instantly met with red lenses. letting out a sigh of relief, you undo the deadbolt and open the door wide enough to let scott in. you see his eyebrows quirk up as he spots the weapon in your hand,

"you can never be too careful, summers," you respond, leading him into your living room and turning on your lamp.

"who would gently knock on your door at this hour?" he asked, sitting down on your loveseat sofa.

"my other boyfriend," you quipped, shooting him a teasing glare. "water?"

"i'm okay for now. you seriously aren't gonna ask why i'm here?" he watches you as you move. right now, he wished you'd just stay in one place. your pacing and opening cabinets and fridges was making him more nervous than he already was.

"well, i didn't get a 'you up' text, so i'm going to assume this isn't a late night booty-call," you spoke and took a seat right next to him.

"i'm afraid not, either way if that was the case i wouldn't have given you the chance to get that glass of water," he joked and you only scoffed, taking a sip from said cup in your hand.

"how cute, scotty," you playfully rolled your eyes. "what's up? everything okay? i do appreciate any chance i get to see my beautiful boyfriend, but not when we have plans to see each other in...five hours," you finished and could see the man before you tense up a bit.

"do you think that i could do more for you?" he blurted out, fidgeting with his hands. you were a bit puzzled, you had never seen scott so nervous. and this was someone who was normally so confident that he didn't even need to ask you what you wanted to do, he had reservations and plans made.

"baby, relax a little bit," you started, setting your water down on your coffee table. "where is this coming from? what you mean 'more'? you do more than enough already."

"like, bring you around to the mansion. have you meet my students, meet charles of all people. do you think i'm ashamed of you?" he continued to ramble and you had to stop him.

"okay, i seriously need you to take a deep breath, hon. what's going on? what's got you so in your head?" your eyes scanning over him for some type of clue.

he let you know about the past few hours spent at the mansion.

an issue that plagued xavier's school for gifted youngsters was the topic of dinner. you would think they'd have bigger things to worry about than what they were going to be eating for the night, but you would sadly be mistaken.

"i don't know scott, i'm not really feeling pizza tonight," ororo spoke, flipping through the pages of whatever book she picked up recently.

"okay, what about from that indian place we all like? you were talking about their samosas the other day!" he replied. takeout was pretty rare at the mansion, everyone having their own regimen and meal preps for each day. today was not one of those days, considering that the team had dealt with a difficult mission earlier. so of course, not a lot of thought was put into dinner.

"if there is nothing else you can think of, then i guess so. you paying?" she looked to him, setting her book down for a brief moment.

"if it will make you agree, then i don't mind. let the others know, need to order before it's too late," he said while grabbing a menu.

with the amount of food ordered, no one was expecting a speedy delivery. that's why everyone hurried off and found something to busy themselves with while waiting. including scott, who went up to his room to make sure he'd call you for the night. he told you about the class he taught earlier that day, the mission he had been on a few hours ago, and how he was planning on ending his night. he even promised you that he would see you tomorrow, suggesting the two of you head to the county fair that was being held outside of town. though he wished he could have stayed on the phone with you forever, he ended the call and hurried downstairs. the rustling of paper bags and chatter filled his ears. the food was definitely here.

"hey, everyone. sorry i wasn't downstairs when they got here, i would have paid. that was all sorted out though, right?" he asked after apologizing, feeling a bit bad that he couldn't answer the door himself.

"don't worry, bub," logan spoke, "you didn't need to hurry up and end your phone call with princess charming."

"excuse me?" scott asked, looking at the man like his mutant powers made him grow three additional heads.

"leave the delivery guy's tip out the next time you rush off to take a phone call is all i'm gonna say," the man replied.

"you snooped through my wallet, logan? seriously?" with this, the rest of the kitchen got quiet, everyone's attention turning to the two men.

"i didn't! word travels pretty fast here," was all logan mumbled out, and turned to face jean.

"jean? you went through my wallet?" scott turned to his former girlfriend, who looked almost speechless.

"okay, i did! but i wasn't 'snooping'. like logan said, you didn't leave the delivery guy's tip. so i thought if i just went in and got an extra five it would be fine. was a bit shocked when i saw the girl, though," she explained.

"well, we can't all be hung up on the past," scott bit back, and this made jean sigh and logan scoff.

"for your information, my girlfriend and i are just fine," logan retorted and stepped in front of scott, blocking jean from his sight.

"what's that supposed to mean?" scott raises his voice just a bit, not wanting to scare anyone away.

"it means that you have a picture of a girl we can only assume is your girlfriend in your wallet and for some reason, tonight was the first time any of us even knew of her existence. everything okay at lover's lane, bub?" logan questioned, looking at scott defiantly.

"don't talk about her!" scott warned him, trying to push past the man.

"you're right, you're right. you shouldn't speak on people you don't know, scotty," logan teased and it only made scott cringe.

after a long pause hung in the air, everyone went back to situating themselves for dinner. if anything, they'd be nosy about scott's new girlfriend and his little argument with logan after their stomachs were full.

scott didn't even want to eat. he felt his appetite ruin as logan spoke about you. it didn't help that logan spoke so highly of his ex-girlfriend, but for him to not even know you and think he can make assumptions about you and him was enough to put scott off for the rest of the night.

he excused himself after finishing what he could from his meal. making his way back up to his room, he spotted ororo about to walk into the library.

"you okay?" she asked, just wanting to check in on him.

"besides feeling like the shittiest boyfriend alive? i think i'm doing okay," he tried to laugh it off, but the joke fell flat.

"listen," ororo started, "i don't think you're a terrible boyfriend. i think that the line of work you put yourself in is not one that you planned on exposing your girlfriend to, at least not now. she's not a mutant, right?"

scott nodded and ororo continued,

"bringing her around here would be lovely, and i of all people would love to meet her. i need to pick her brain and see how she deals with you," she laughed and successfully got a chuckle out of scott. "but this is why we set boundaries, and have little relationship milestones. don't let anyone make you feel awful because you're doing the right thing and going slow with her, okay?" ororo asked, hand landing on scott's shoulder to offer him some type of comfort.

"thanks, ororo. a part of me just doesn't want her to feel like she needs to worry about me being here. i still work and live with my ex-girlfriend, and for her to be reminded of that every time she comes here isn't something i want her to overthink about. i don't want it to hurt us," scott ranted, finally revealing all his fears and the main reason why he didn't want to introduce you so soon.

"don't you think it might hurt you both more if you don't introduce her and keep hiding her from this place?" it was almost as if all the lights went off in scott's head, and he finally understood he shouldn't continue hiding one part of his life that he cherished from the other.

ending the conversation off, he thanked ororo for her advice and promised her that she'd get to meet you sooner than she expected.

"i'll hold you to it," the woman smiled back as she disappeared into the dimly lit library.

after hearing him recount the entire night to you, you took a deep breath and found the hand of his that was closest to you, taking it in your grasp. you brought it up to your face and kissed it over and over. you hoped it would calm him down, but scott would tell you that your lack of a spoken response worried him a little bit.

"i think," you finally spoke, "that for a while, i was sort of offended that i was this hidden part of you. i felt like every time i would mention a friend of yours, or ask how a certain student was doing, you'd close yourself off. i mean, i'm no mutant but i felt like it was something you were uncomfortable with me mentioning? so i backed off," you explained.

"it also didn't help when you'd mention that there was an upcoming gala you had to go to, or that the mansion was hosting some kind of small party, and i'd sit and wonder if i was ever going to get an invite," you finished, letting go of everything that was weighing you down for the past month.

scott looked defeated, and you could tell he was feeling bad. though you wanted to tell him that he there was no need to continue beating himself up about it, you wanted to give him time to speak for himself.

"i just...what i do is really special to me. and you're incredibly special to me. i have this weird feeling that if i introduce you to everyone, things might fall apart," he let out, and you looked at him sympathetically.

"you'll never know if you don't try, honey," you whispered to him as you kissed his cheek.

it was decided then. scott knew he wanted to introduce you sometime soon, but didn't know how soon. he asked you if you would be comfortable meeting everyone after the little trip you two were taking tomorrow. you could only smile and tell him it was perfectly fine with you.

as scott watched you interact with those living in the house, he doesn't understand why he never wanted these two important parts of his life to interact with each other. it was endearing, truly. watching you laugh with rogue, go back and forth with logan, and even answer all of ororo's questions. while conversing with jean, his eyes met yours from across the room and you could only grin back at him. he doesn't know what he was ever scared of. though his nerves died down a little bit, there was still one person that scott was a bit anxious for you to interact with.

"excuse me," you two heard as you made your way back into scott's arms. turning around, you felt scott's grip on your waist tighten, and your eyes met with the man who was before you.

"hello! you must be-" you excitedly chirped before he politely interrupted,

"professor charles xavier. it is so wonderful to finally meet you," the older man answered with a warm smile.

a/n: hello everyone! i hope that you enjoyed what you've read! i've been searching for scott fics all over and have found almost nothing so i decided to just write one on my own. i haven't written a full fic in so long so please be kind. thank you so so much!!! <3

[vivwritesfics]

poly fic idea with lando and max

max and reader have been dating for ages when lando joined f1 he befriended both of them. over time their friendship has many signs of a relationship. lando slowly starts falling for them but hides it cause he thinks he would destroy their relationship and that it isnt normal to be in love with two people. meanwhile max and reader have talked a lot about lando joining their relationship and actually planned a date to ask lando out

Y/N laid on the beach towel beside her boyfriend, the likes of Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo with them.

Max was sat up while Y/N laid back with her sunglasses covering her shut eyes. He stared out at the ocean while Lando and Daniel chased each other through the water.

"How's it going?" Asked Charles as he came to sit beside them, his pose match Max's.

To most this would have been a normal greeting, but Max knew better. "So far, so meh," Max answered, digging his toes into the sand. "I don't think he really notices we're flirting with him."

Charles let out a scoff. "Sure he doesn't," he responded. "You two do realise he acts like he's dating the both of you?"

"Piss off, Charles," Y/N mumbled as she rolled over onto her back. But she didn't mean it, it was just a touchy subject.

Charles did piss off. With a laugh, he stood and ran into the water, splashing both Danny and Lando.

Lando left them to it. He walked over and sat in the sand beside Y/N. "Have you got suncream on your back?" He asked, already grabbing it from Y/Ns bag.

She let out a satisfied groan as Lando began rubbing the suncream into the skin of her back. "Can't have your burning," he said, his tongue between his teeth.

Y/N looked over at her boyfriend. Maybe Charles was right. Maybe he did act like their boyfriend.

Goddamn they needed to ask him out.

Their entire holiday was spent with the three of them acting like a couple. Lando didn't notice. It was completely unintential, but he just felt so comfortable around them. He couldn't help it! The others noticed, though. They noticed big time.

"Seriously, I don't know for how much longer I can hold out," Max said as Y/N scrolled through her social media.

She let out a sigh as she locked her phone. "I know, Maxie," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Maybe we should ask him to dinner or something."

That was exactly what they did. Y/N and Max invited Lando out to dinner. And the clueless brit assumed it was nothing. Just a dinner with his friends.

He didn't think anything of it. Not when Max let him try some of his drink. Not when Y/N let him try a bit of pasta from her fork.

It took the couple until the end of the date to realise that Lando didn't realise it was a date. So, as they walked out of the restaurant, Y/N let out a sigh and pressed a kiss to Lando's cheek. "You didn't realise we were taking you on a date, did you?"

Lando's eyes went wide. "Date?" He squeaked. "This was a date?"

"Yes, Lan, this was a date," said Max as he placed his hand on Y/N's shoulder.

"Oh, I wish I had known that."

Lando really wished he had known that. If he knew this was a date he would have dressed a little nicer and would have tried to pay for their food.

"Let's try this again," he said, surprising the couple. "A proper date. We'll book out a restaurant or something, please!"

It was a good thing he was cute.

[sebscore]

TWITCH WAR

pairing: lando norris x driver!reader (brief cameos of charles and russell george)

warnings: swearing. rumplestiltskin. mention of george being a war criminal. wetting pants.

author’s note: not my best work, but this has been sitting in my drafts for too long. anyway, enjoy 💖

• • • • • • •

''Do I play with Y/N?'' Lando read the question out loud, seeing it in his comment section. ''Well, she always told me she was very good at like any kind of game and that she would kick my ass, but then I played with her and… let's say she's definitely not as good as me.'' The Brit bragged about his own skills, a smirk forming on his face.

He glanced at the incoming replies from the fans, enjoying their reactions. ''She asked to play together a few weeks ago and we did, but ever since then I haven't dared to play with her again,'' he grinned, ''whenever she asks me now, I just go offline.''

''Oh, she's gonna kill me when she sees this.'' He giggled like a schoolgirl.

She did in fact kill him when the clip of him talking shit was sent to her by fans and even other drivers. Not literally, that wouldn't be a good career move, but she took to Twitter to indirectly respond to Lando's ''claims''.

YourUsername: people, don't take the words of twinks seriously 😫

Y/N's clapbacks didn't stop there as she went live on Instagram not too long after Lando's Twitch stream. Fans obviously couldn't help but ask about the British driver.

''Do I still want to play with Lando? Nooo~ I don't want to stream with him anymore, I really don't.'' The grin on her face was a dead giveaway she was only teasing him. ''He's super bad, that Rumplestiltskin.''

''She called me Rumplestiltskin?'' Lando read the comment out loud, his eyebrows furrowed. ''What does that even mean?'' He couldn't really remember where the name came from, so he decided to look it up and was met with the character from Shrek.

He gave the camera an unimpressed look before moving on. ''You guys want to know a fun story about Y/N from our karting days?'' A smirk already appeared on his face.

''She was pushed off track by someone and she pissed her pants because of it.''

''It was water! I didn't wet my pants, oh my god!'' The driver exclaimed on stream, not believing that Lando actually told that story. ''We were like 9 years-old.''

''You know, Y/N, I think I also remember that.'' George chimed in, he had been amused by their little Twitch war ever since they started it.

She rolled her eyes upon George's words. ''Hey! It was probably you who pushed me off the track in the first place, you war criminal!'' Y/N clapped back at him.

''Anyway, Lando shouldn't be speaking at all when he still looks and talks like a 9 year-old.''

''Lando, should we invite Y/N to play with us?'' Charles asked the McLaren driver after seeing countless comments in his chat asking about the female driver.

The Brit loudly sighed, causing the Monégasque to burst out laughing. ''What's wrong, Lando?''

''Because of her, people keep asking me if I've hit puberty yet.'' He said, frustration audible in his voice, much to the entertainment of Charles and everyone else watching him.

Their ''beef'' came to an end when the media had started to pick up on their back-and-forths and tried to make it seem like the two close friends hated each other and that they would become a danger to each other on track.

''Are you worried that the words you and Y/N have exchanged over social media will have an effect on how the two of you perform on track?'' One reporter asked Lando in a press conference.

He shook his head. ''We're just joking around, honestly. We've been friends for a long time and we've always joked around with each other like this, so, no, it won't have an effect on track.'' He politely answered, slightly ticked off by the seriousness of it all.

Y/N had been placed into a different group for the press conference, where she was asked about their ''war''. ''There have been some harsh word exchanges between yourself and Lando Norris, are you two on good terms or is there some sort of bad blood?''

''Yeah, we hate each other,'' her sarcastic tone sticking out, ''that's why we voluntarily spent all that time together when we're not racing.'' Her answer gathered laughs from her fellow drivers and even some reporters.

''Also, when we're on the topic,'' she stated, ''just because Lando hasn't hit puberty, doesn't mean that I haven't.''

[misty--nights]

So I'm watching the show yet again (usually I struggle watching shows, I don't know how I've managed to watch it twice already and still want to watch it a third time), and here are some things that I've noticed in episode 1, after the read more because it got longer than expected.

Charles calls himself the brawn and the protector of the two, but it's Edwin who goes all serious and says "I would not let that happen" when Charles asks what they'd do if Death came for them. I'm sure/concerned that he'd try to fight her if she ever came to take them...

Edwin knits!! When they are wearing their disgusses to get the demon out of Crystal he knitts while Charles reads the newspaper. Granted, you can only see him doing for a short moment, so I don't know if he's doing it properly, but I like to think he is. I have many thoughts about this, but it would take over the whole post. I'm still willing to make a whole post for it if anyone is interested but yeah. Bottom line is, Edwin can knitt!

The tone of voice that Crystal uses when she first wakes up in the Agency and in her walk with Charles is really different to the tone she uses the rest of the season. In hindsight, it's pretty obvious that is her mean girl tone, but still, I just think it's a nice detail.

Edwin takes Crystal's coffee cup when she takes the mail? We've just stablished he's not going to drink it, so is he just being petty? Is he going to throw it away or hide it just to be a nuisance? Is he investigating what she got? This boy, I swear...

I know people have pointed out all the Clue boards in the closet, but there's also a ouija board there? Hilarious. Maybe some ghosts prefer communicating with that instead of speaking? Or Charles got it because he thought it was funny and then never got rid of it?

I like that the thing that convinces Edwin to take the Becky Aspen case is Charles asking if he's going to let a little girl die. But more importantly, the title card right after that says "three flights". I've had this question for a bit, but what do they do during those flights? Do the boys spend those just standing in the hallway next to Crystal's seat? Do they sit in the cockpit? Do they hide in the bathroom until someone comes to use it? Do they hope for empty seats they can use? I don't know, every possible version of their trip is so funny to me. I know ghosts don't get tired like alive people, but the idea of them just standing awkwardly off to the side for more than 10 hours is hilarious.

No big detail here, I just love Crystal's purple coat thing she wears in this episode. Never really noticed that it has like flowers embroidered at the bottom, and the color of the whole thing is so nice.

"Maybe he's our fucking demon now." Crystal I love you, that is one of the funniest lines in the episode. I also really like that she gets to be angry and scared. Even if later Jenny talks her down from the worst it, it's not her anger that she points out, it's the fact that people are just like that and how the boys act is nothing personal. Her anger is not directly attacked (except by Edwin, but that's just him being petty), because she gets to be angry about all that's happening to her.

The flashback to Edwin's life at St. Hilarion's changes the video aspect (is that the proper term for that? It makes the screen square like in older films is what I mean.) Also he card for that flasback specifies "Edwardian England" even while having the date at the bottom. I don't know, it made me chuckle that they felt the need to clarify the era even while having the date there. They don't put "modern day England" for Crystal's flashback.

With the way the cat reacted to the sardine, I'm willing to bet he would have told Edwin everything without the binding spell if Edwin had a few more fish for him.

When they're talking behind the shop and Crystal says she gets angry, Charles looks down and takes a bit to respond. I think this is the first time he relates to her. The first time he can call that pull twards her something more than mere attraction. He has this very vulnerable look when she says it and then immediately shows her his parents and tells her something he's never told anyone before? This boy saw his anger in someone else and thought maybe it's fine for him to be angry too.

Is it a trick of the light in the scene where she meets Niko, or does Crystal have a septum piercing?

"If you're sticking around, you gotta let us in." Charles, I love you, but you are the last person who should be saying this. Specially after that sad look he gets when Crystal says it must be hard not being able to talk or hug his parents. You just agreed to what she said, as if that were the truth of why you check on them, what do you mean "you gotta let us in"? (I do get that they haven't known each other for long so he's not going to open up about all his trauma, but precisely because of that, it's wild for him to expect her to do it.)

I never noticed Charles quickly returning the mirror to normal when Edwin comes. I'd noticed the audio cue for the mirror changing back, but I never noticed Charles moving to do it and he looks so panicked about it.

Considering how Edwin is about touch, the fact that he lets Crystal take his hand when she tells the that the case matters is huge.

Why are they planning down at the shop when they have Crystal's room all to themselves? Besides the ambiance, of course. I think Jenny's reaction is completely justified.

Esther leaves her turntable on when she goes to the post office. Is it for Monty? The atmosphere? Did she just forget?

Not a new discovery, just a reminder of something I really like. There's this very specific editing thing (like the quick cuts between the instruments and then the opened lock, I don't know what to call it) that they do pretty much every time Charles picks a lock / opens a door, and it makes me very happy each time. The sound they use for it is perfection.

Edwin's attention to detail is insane. The fact that he can recall one cupboard is further forward than it was in the plans is really impressive.

Charles sounds so done when he throws the magic backpack. "Put her in the bag-of-tricks backpack." Man, I can hear the eye roll in that sentence. Good to know Edwin isn't the only bitchy one in this relationship.

And that's it for episode 1. I think I might do this for the others as well as I watch them. It was really fun to do, and it forces me to pay attention to the details, so I think it's worthwhile.

[crueisummer]

𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 | 𝓒𝓛16

pairing: charles leclerc x reader

chapter summary: You surprise Charles at a race, and he wins and asks you to be his girlfriend.

playlist: ♫ gorgeous ♪ delicate ♬ i think he knows ♡ you are in love

author's note: Part 3!! I had a lot of ideas coming in with this one that's why it took so long xD Hope you guys like it! In my imagination, Max DNF and Charles won in Austria LOOOOOL jk. Anyway, thank you so much for all the support &lt;;3

word count: 3.1k

disclaimer: All characters and events in this story, even those based on real people, are entirely fictional.

            𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬

01:35 ━━━━●───── 02:53 ⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ↻ ılıılıılıılıılıılı ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮

While sitting on the couch in your living room, engrossed in writing a song with a guitar on your lap and a notebook in front of you, your concentration was interrupted by the FaceTime ringtone. Glancing at your MacBook on the coffee table, you saw Charles' name and immediately answered the call, greeted by his gorgeous face.

"Hello, cheri," Charles greeted you as you set aside your guitar. He settled onto the bed, his head bouncing with a smile, and you couldn't help but laugh. Observing his wet hair and the towel around his neck, you deduced that he had just finished showering after receiving your text about being available for a FaceTime call.

"Aww, is my baby tired?" You teasingly remarked, knowing he preferred terms of endearment over his name.

"Very," he replied with closed eyes, his smile still present.

"I watched the qualifying today, and you did amazingly! P2!" You exclaimed with enthusiasm, as if you were the first one telling him his position, even though he was well aware.

"Merci, bébé. I was thinking of you while racing," he winked at you.

"No, you weren't," you playfully rolled your eyes, aware of his flirtatious nature, yet blushing at his words. Adding, "What time is it there?"

"It's about 9:30 pm here."

"3:30 here."

"Were you writing?" He inquired, noticing the guitar beside you.

"Yeah, just a bit. I've only figured out the guitar part for now," you shrugged.

"Can I hear it?"

"Sure." You reached for the guitar and played the chords for him.

"That sounds amazing. I'm sure you'll come up with the lyrics soon. You're like a genius," he complimented.

"Charles, please. You're going to inflate my ego," you jokingly responded, strumming the guitar. Suddenly, memories of the night you and Charles first met flooded your mind, and the lyrics began to form. Setting the guitar down on the couch, you quickly grabbed your notebook and pen, eager to jot down the lyrics.

"See? You're already writing it down," he smirked at you, shaking his head, secretly thinking, You are so talented.

As you caught up with each other, you suggested that Charles turn off the lights in his room, leaving only the lamp on, and make himself comfortable. About thirty minutes later, he was starting to doze off. Whispering a soft "good night" to him, he responded with a gentle smile and mumbled it back. You watched him sleep, waiting for him to enter a deep slumber before ending the call, recalling how last time you had accidentally woken him up by ending the call too soon.

Now, gazing at his peaceful expression, you wished he could always be like this. He had confided in you about the pressure he was currently facing—falling behind in points compared to last year, ranking 6th in the driver standings, and the heightened attention on him as they returned to Austria, where he had won the previous year—all while aiming to secure a podium win that would mark Ferrari's 800th. Last week, he finished P4 and was disappointed not to make it to the podium, and all you could do was offer comfort over the phone since you were in New York.

It had been two months since you and Charles had met, and you both agreed to take things slow. As part of that decision, you chose not to accompany him to the races. However, when he finished P4 last week, you couldn't help but wish you could be there to hug and support him.

"Please be here," Charles whispered, surprising you. He seemed to be sleeping already. Is he sleep-talking?

You responded softly, "Hmm, Charles? What did you say?"

"Here," He whispered again, and that single word was all it took for you to grab your phone and message your manager that you were heading to Austria. Once you were certain Charles had fallen into a deep sleep, you ended the FaceTime call and made the necessary arrangements. You packed your suitcase, booked a private jet and pilot, secured accommodation and transportation in Austria, all timed to coincide with Charles' arrival at the paddock.

Upon your arrival, Kika and Pierre joined you, handing over the VIP pass. The media immediately began taking photos, unsure of your identity but capturing the moment just in case you were someone significant. Your attire—a black tank top and skirt, a red Ferrari leather jacket, red Jordans, black sunglasses and Charles' Ferrari cap—made it evident that you were there to support a certain Ferrari driver.

"Charles says he's in the motorhome. He's asking why I'm asking where he is," Pierre said, looking up at the two of you, waiting for your response.

"Hmm, if you tell him you have a surprise, he might suspect something, and we don't want that," Kika contemplated aloud.

"Um, just tell him you need him to sign something," you suggested, pointing to the cap you were wearing.

"Wait, are you two official?" Pierre asked you.

“No, not yet.” You smiled sheepishly at them as they expressed their surprise.

“Wow. I bet he’ll ask you to be his girlfriend before the day ends,” Kika said confidently. “I would bet all my money on it.”

“I know he's been planning it for a while, but the surprise might be the cherry on top,” Pierre added, while Kika linked her arm with his and rested her head on his shoulder.

You laughed at their reaction as Pierre led the way to the Ferrari motorhome. You pondered silently, realizing that it didn't really matter whether you were officially a couple or not yet. Charles had been patient, waiting for you to feel comfortable with him, and you both agreed to take things slow. But lately, you couldn't help but feel that both of you were ready for a committed relationship. So, why continue waiting?

A few employees were present, but there were no fans or media in sight. Kika took out her phone to record the moment, and Pierre called Charles, instructing him to come outside. With Pierre on your left and Kika on your right, you stood nervously in the middle, removing your sunglasses and cap to make it easier for Charles to recognize you. You waited for about a minute until three figures wearing red emerged from the building. Charles was the first one out, scanning the surroundings, and when his eyes met yours, his face lit up.

"Y/N?"

"Surprise!"

Grinning, you rushed toward him, and he reciprocated by opening his arms, embracing you tightly. Laughter filled the air as Charles stood there, slightly confused but delighted, while you savored his scent and held onto him. In your imagination, you had envisioned this surprise and his reaction countless times, but nothing compared to the reality of hugging him.

The three people around you laughed and gushed at the sight, and eventually, you pulled away slightly, keeping your arm loosely wrapped around his as you smiled and greeted him with a simple "Hi."

"What? How? When I fell asleep last night, you were still in New York!" He exclaimed, his eyes widening with astonishment. His confusion was undeniably adorable.

"Yeah, but you were sleep-talking, practically begging me to come here!" You replied, creating some distance between you and Charles, placing your hand on your hip. He didn't appreciate the space and closed the gap, wrapping his arm around your shoulder, kissing the side of your head, as you faced your three friends, who were playfully teasing Charles.

"He begged you to come here!?" Carlos shouted in amusement.

"Just say you're happy she's here!" Pierre exclaimed.

“Wait, you guys are in a call while sleeping?” Arthur teased.

"For crying out loud, just kiss her already so I can turn this off!" Everyone turned their attention to Kika, who was still recording the entire interaction. Except for Charles, who gently placed his hand on your chin, guiding your face to look at him. As you turned to meet his gaze, his lips were already in close proximity to yours. He closed the gap between you and gave you a brief but tender kiss before pulling away.

Shortly after, Kika and Pierre bid their farewells, and you hugged and thanked them. Charles then introduced you to Carlos and Arthur.

"Ahh, so this is the famous 'Y/N' that Charles has been talking so much about!" Carlos remarked, smiling as you both stepped back.

You giggled and playfully asked, "Oh really? What has he been saying about me?"

"He's always bringing you up in conversations! Saying things like 'Did you know Y/N is like this...'" Arthur began, imitating Charles as the four of you shared a lighthearted moment.

"Shut up, mate! Go! Don’t you two have to be somewhere?" Charles exclaimed, playfully shooing Carlos and Arthur away. They pretended to be offended but waved goodbye as they left. Charles then took your hand, interlocking his fingers with yours, and led you into the motorhome.

Curiosity filled Charles' expression as he guided you through the motorhome. "Seriously, how did you get here? Wha-?" he began to ask, but you interrupted with laughter, explaining most of it.

As he showed you the different rooms, you waved and greeted the staff. The motorhome had offices where people were working, tables and chairs in the middle, and stairs at the back. Charles led you up the stairs, pointing out the kitchen, and at the top of the stairs was the second floor, where his driver's room was located.

His room was small, with a closet on the left, a small desk beside it, and his bed on the right. You sat on his bed while he closed the door behind you. Commenting on the size, you remarked, "Well, this is bigger than what you described."

"Still, I don't like hanging around here," he chuckled, joining you on the bed. You looked at him, and he couldn't help but smile. "I still can't believe you're here. Did I actually sleep talk last night?"

“Yes! You whispered, ‘be here’ twice and I don’t know, it felt right for me to get here as soon as I can,” you explained and shrugged at the end. Charles' smile didn't fade.

"Can I kiss you now?" he asked softly, and you nodded in response. His lips were warm and soft as they met yours. They parted slightly, allowing your tongues to intertwine. The gentle tickle of his breath beneath your nose, his fingers gently combing through your hair—every sensation was heightened as you breathed each other in.

Charles firmly grasped your hips, urging you to settle onto his lap as he shifted back on the bed. Your bodies pressed against each other with passion, breathing heavily as your lips locked together. The taste of your shared breath lingered, accompanied by the feel of your combined heartbeats. With a slight fumble, he managed to remove your jacket, and his lips trailed a series of small kisses along your neck, leaving a trail of pleasure in their wake.

"Charles, you're going to leave a mark," you whispered breathlessly, reveling in the intense sensations evoked by his kisses.

"That's exactly what I want, my love," he replied in a rough, raspy voice. You entangled your hands in his hair and tugged gently, prompting him to withdraw and admire his handiwork. He looked at you, breathless, your lips reddened and swollen, your hair tousled, and a vivid red mark adorning the left side of your neck—a visible symbol of his possession.

Charles was about to speak when his phone suddenly began vibrating in his pocket. He reached for it and leaned against the headboard of the bed. Finally feeling your fatigue from the long flight, you put your head on Charles' chest and wrapped an arm around his stomach, closing your eyes and finding comfort in the rise and fall of his chest against you. You were almost asleep when you heard Charles bidding the caller goodbye.

"Babe, I have to go to the parade now. Do you want to stay here and take a nap?" Charles asked, running his fingers through your hair as you nodded.

"Okay, I'll be back in 30 minutes tops," Charles says, making a move to leave. At first, you resist, but knowing he'll get in trouble if he's late, you let him go. He kisses you on the forehead goodbye, and you're already fast asleep before he's out of the room.

"Y/N, amour. Wake up," Charles says, planting kisses on your face and arm to gently wake you up. You stir and open your eyes, and he smiles at you. "Sorry to wake you up, but you're going to watch me win now."

You laugh at his cockiness and ask him if you have time to freshen up. He nods, and you stand in front of him, finishing up your lip gloss. He tries to lean in for a kiss, but you stop him, reminding him of your lip gloss. He groans and kisses your forehead instead. Holding your hand, he leads you outside the motorhome.

"I'm going to be busy now. Will you be fine with Arthur?" he asks, taking a sip of water while his hand remains intertwined with yours. You nod, assuring him you'll be okay.

"Are you sure? You can ask Kika to sit here with you, though," he suggests, concerned about your comfort.

"Charles, don't worry. I'm a grown woman. I think I can handle spending time with new people," you laugh, teasing him. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Kika would want to stay and support Pierre."

Once everything is settled, the two of you enter the garage. Charles greets everyone while holding your hand, and you wave at them. He shows you to your seat next to Arthur. Charles introduces you to Joris and Andrea, who are sitting beside Arthur, and then he leaves for a brief team meeting.

As you observe the garage, Joris asks if this is your first F1 race.

“First race and first-time surprising Charles.” You smile at him, and he tells you he’s going to show you something. He tilts his camera to you, and you see a photo of Charles at his apartment, smiling while looking at his phone.

“He was texting you, by the way.” He says and you blush, asking him to send you a copy of the picture. He nods and adds, “You know, I’ve never seen him smile like that.”

“Bullshit. You probably say that to all the girls he brings here.” You joke and chuckle at him.

He raises his arms and says, “Hey, I don’t have any reason to say that to you in the first place. So, trust me when I say that he’s never looked at a girl like that, ever.”

Arthur then chimes in, saying he's never seen Charles talk about someone so much, especially to his mother.

Your eyes widen. He told his mother about me? You try not to show any emotion as you ask Arthur, “What has he said about me?”

“I’m pretty sure all good things. I know she doesn’t like to judge before meeting someone, so she’s been asking Charles to invite you for dinner, but he said the two of you are taking things slow, and I think she really liked that.” Arthur smiles at you.

“Charles hasn’t had a good track record when it comes to dating, and Maman tries not to interfere; but you know.” Arthur adds and nods his head, and you did too. Charles previously told you about his two previous relationships and how fucked up everything started and ended.

You're interrupted when Charles approaches your group. He takes you to the side for a moment of privacy. He informs you that he has to go to the grid and asks if you're sure you'll be fine.

“Charles, I’m fine, okay? Now, good luck out there.” You smile at him and pat his chest.

“That’s it?” He says frowning. He turns to his side and taps his cheek. You laugh at him and gently held his jaw, tilting his face to kiss him gently on the lips.

When you pulled away, you whisper to his ear, trying to copy his accent, “Good luck, amour.”

He grins like a kid and replies, “I have my good luck charm right here.”

During the race, you wear a headset to listen to the communication between Charles and his engineer. Arthur explains the race terminology to you, and you enjoy watching the pit stops. When Charles briefly takes the lead and Carlos follows in second place, everyone in the garage celebrates, and you join in. Not realizing the film crew on the garage and zooming in on you celebrating until you saw in one of the screens. You stopped jumping and blushed, realizing there were cameras here and that you’ve been made by the media.

As Charles crosses the finish line first, Arthur and the others grab you and run from the garage to the barricades. Charles parks his car, stands on it, and raises his fists in triumph. The lot of you cheer for your driver. He removes his helmet and balaclava and was just about to hug you when you grab his cheek and kiss him passionately on the lips. You felt him get taken aback but he kisses back instantly. The crowd around you cheers, and Charles pulls away and smiles at you. He goes on to shake hands with Arthur and others before preparing for his interview.

After a few minutes, they step up on the podium, and you watch as Charles gets handed the trophy and he raises it. He looks around and locks eyes with you. He winks, and you make a heart gesture with your hands. He laughs and shakes his head.

You're glad you came to surprise him, knowing in your heart that you're ready for the next step in your relationship. While you had agreed to take things slow, you knew he had been patiently waiting for a sign that you were ready to start a new relationship.

As night fell and you found yourselves on the balcony of your hotel room, gazing at the starry sky, a feeling of familiarity washed over you. Charles lovingly wrapped his arm around your waist, resting his head on your shoulder as you look back at the day and think that your spontaneous decision to support him at the race was a clear indication of your feelings, and he knows it.  

Finally, Charles finally asked the question he had been longing to ask all day, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

A smile adorned your face as you turned to face him, his arms still embracing you. Without hesitation, you kissed him and replied, "Yes."

taglist: @notleclerc @elegantnighttragedy @buendiabebeta @i-have-no-idea-of-who-i-am @fangirlika @akahalloween31

[unformula1]

everything's falling apart (CL16 x reader)

everything’s falling apart (CL16 x reader)

part 2 (everything fell apart) | part 3 (everything's gone) series masterlist- everything (you're losing me)

synopsis: you can't find a pulse, your heart won’t start anymore. you and Charles’ relationship go downhill!

“I don’t understand!” Charles waves his hands in the air, infuriated.

“I know you don’t.” You say, holding back the tears threatening to spill out all at once.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

pairing: charles leclerc x reader

word count: 1135

a/n: i sure do love some angst. was meant to be a ‘you’re losing me’ based fic but gave up on that lol!

masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I love you.” Charles says.

“I love you too.” You reply, with a wide smile on your face.

Who knew how quickly that would fade, like a lost moment in time, gone with the wind. Within weeks of your newly found love (or so you thought), reality came crashing down, swinging at you in full force.

Love wasn’t easy.

It never was.

--------------------------------------------------

“You really cannot be expecting me to do all this.” Charles says, leaning on the couch.

“All I’m asking is you try to be nicer when talking to me.” You rephrase your thoughts for the millionth time.

“Why?”

“Because some of the things you say hurt like hell.”

“I thought you were a phoenix rising from the ashes.” He quotes you, almost mockingly.

“Well, I try.”

“Try harder.” He deadpans.

“What?”

“I try hard too. I try hard to get where I want in life. You’re expecting it to be served on a silver platter.” Charles says nonchalantly.

“I try really hard too.”

“To do what?”

“Get a career? Be the perfect love?”

“It isn’t working then.”

“What?”

“You’re jobless and a hopeless romantic.”

You hesitate responding, nothing comes out. You try saying something else, but it doesn’t want to be said. The cat’s got your tongue. 

“I’m right, aren’t I?” He scorns.

No. The words refuse to come out. A wave of sadness washes over you and you feel extremely horrible, your throat is getting clogged.

You would give everything for Charles.

-------------------------------------------------

“Are you ready?” Charles says coldly, adjusting the tie in the mirror.

“Yea.” You reply, putting on your rings and adjusting everything.

He turns to look at your outfit, giving it a really cold glare.

“What? Is it not nice?” You worriedly ask.

“Change.” He doesn’t answer your question.

“What? But I like this-”

“Change… now.” He says, pointing to the closet.

“Why?”

You didn’t know why Charles was being so rude about it; it wasn’t like him, but he’s changed, so what even is ‘him’ anymore? 

You and Charles stare into each other's eyes, his eyes cold and unreadable, as if he never wanted to be here. You look at him, not breaking any eye contact whatsoever.

“You have to change.” He says, sounding a bit more agitated this time.

“Why?” You repeat, increasing in frustration as well.

“Just please, go-” He says, looking away, his fingers rubbing his forehead.

“I won’t. I like this.” You stand your ground unlike most other times. You’re done with this. You’re not going to be pushed around.

“It’s… because… this outfit has too much… skin showing.” He says unconvincingly, “People will do weird things.”

Bullshit.

You look at the time, you two are already on track to being late to the most important event of both of your lives. After a long pause, a sigh, you change out and quickly put on another outfit. 

You hate this. You were supposed to stand your ground, but here you were, giving in again.

You would give everything for Charles.

But would he give you everything?

-------------------------------------------------

“I don’t understand!” Charles waves his hands in the air, infuriated.

“I know you don’t.” You say, holding back the tears threatening to spill out all at once.

Both of you stand in the living room with a fair distance in between you two, it’s ironic, how much you loved this room. The warm orange-yellow light latched onto the wall was turned on behind him and it made him glow as if he was in the evening sun . You used to love it, seeing him smile while the light made him glow. He was perfect. Everything was perfect.

Now, there’s nothing perfect or beautiful about this. The light made him flash an angry glow, painfully dark red. His eyes glowed in fury, the lights made it ever so obvious. 

“Mon Dieu!” He says, throwing himself onto the couch, “I think you’re being dramatic.”

You might’ve bothered listening to what he had to say, if he didn’t proceed with a loud, disgruntled sigh and burying his face in his hands, letting out more grunts.

You’re done with this.

You turn around and storm into your room. It’s dark. You don’t bother turning the lights on and just sit on the edge of your bed. The tears start streaming down. 

It’s dark. It’s cold.

His hands wrap around your body, filling it with warmth. The tears don’t slow down, still streaming. He hugs you tightly, holding you in.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers into your ear, wiping the tears from your cheeks.

“I’m really sorry.” He says again, much softer this time. You feel his warm breath on your skin.

He continues hugging you tightly, keeping you within his embrace as you sob quietly.

“I didn’t mean it.” He says again for the 100th time.

Does he mean it?

You don’t know and it’s eating at you. He says this all the time after every single one of his outbursts. The pain doesn’t go away, it never does. He could hug you and shower you with gifts but the ‘you’re useless’ and ‘you’re being dramatic’ never leaves you. 

He’s sorry.

But is he?

-------------------------------------------------

“Again?” You ask, trying to give off a little bit of disappointment.

“Yes. Again.” Charles says, adjusting his suit.

“You’re going out again? For the fifth time this week?” You ask, attempting to bring across a point.

“Your point?” He shoots it down almost instantly.

“Stay at home? Maybe spend time with me?” 

“I see you all the time. I see these people too little, I’m seeing them more.” Charles says.

“Yea but-”

“It’s a special time for me.”

“I know… it’s just I was hoping we could spend some time together.”

“Next time.”

“But-”

“I promise.”

“Fine…” You reluctantly say.

“Call me if you need.” 

He says and gives you a quick smile before kissing you on the cheek.

You love Charles. You really do, but lately it’s disappearing. It’s fading. 

You can’t lie to yourself anymore, this definitely isn’t going to work out and there’s only a matter of time before your relationship implodes, but you love him so much, you can’t let him go… not yet.

You love Charles.

You’re on borrowed time.

He doesn’t love you back.

It hurts. Your heart and mind conflict, you would never think in a million years you’d have to be thinking about this. Charles was supposed to be your prince charming, your Mr Perfect, your everything but here you were, on the brink of tears because of him.

------------------------------------------------

You needed someone right now, maybe to come over and hang out with you. Someone to share your sorrows with or someone to cry on; seeing as Charles had no intent of giving you the necessary attention, you turned to your next best source.

“Hi.” He finally picked up.

“Hi Arthur.”

[vax-merstappen]

undefeated pt. 1 (mv1)

more victories than defeats

summary: it’s the hungarian grand prix and max has won every race this season. when you get pole, can you finally defeat the undefeated?

series masterlist

You walk through the paddock, cameras flashing, people shouting your name. You pull your red cap lower over your eyes, trying to get through the crowd and into the safety of the Ferrari hospitality.

As Ferrari’s clear number one driver, it was no surprise that people wanted to get your picture or signature. Even just a quick sound bite would get a reporter views. And normally you’d try to stop for as many of your fans as possible, knowing that taking a few seconds out of your day would mean the world to them. But today was different. Today you were on a mission.

The Hungarian Grand Prix normally wasn’t a huge highlight on the calendar for you or the team, but today it felt different. With the new upgrades on the car and a stellar qualifying that got you onto pole position, you had a chance.

That chance was to beat Max Verstappen, the current reigning world champion. Last season he had dominated, winning all but three races, his teammate Checo Pérez taking the ones he failed to win. And this season, he had claimed all of the victories of the first twelve races. He was on track to win every race this season, setting a Formula 1 record and doing something nobody else had ever been able to do.

But not if you had any say in the situation. As his main rival on track you would do anything to stop his reign. The bad blood between you and Max ran deep, having started racing in Formula 1 the same year as him. With both of you going into your 10th season in the sport, it was clear to most people that he was the better driver and you hated that.

Maybe today would be different.

You walked into the Ferrari garage, quickly making your way over to your race engineer, Renée, and pulled her aside.

“So what’s the game plan for today? Besides keeping Max behind me and defending like crazy.”

She smiled at you. “We’re running a one stop strategy. You’re going to have to push like crazy at the start and try to get a lead. You know how aggressive he is…”

I scoff. “Aggressive is an understatement. He’s a damn maniac.”

Renée chuckled. “Yeah. Well you’ve got pole so you’ll have a slight advantage over him in second. And you’ve got your teammate Charles behind you in third, so you should have the support there. He’s been made aware that his job is to keep the rest of the grid off of you and Max. Even our odds against him.”

You nod. “Glad to know. We’ve got to win this one today. He can’t win them all.”

“He won’t. We’ve got pole, a good strategy, car upgrades, and your determination to win this one. Today will be our day.”

“Let’s hope it is,” you say, giving one last acknowledgment to Renée before walking to your driver’s room to start your pre-race ritual.

You put on your headphones and started playing your favorite hype song, practicing a few stretches that you always did before a race. As you continued to follow your routine, slowly all the noise faded away and you were left with one feeling. Determination that Max would not win.

---

As you walked out to stand for the Hungarian national anthem, you found yourself lined up directly next to the world champion himself. The tension nearly crackled in the air between you as you made eye contact with Max, his gaze more like a glare. You didn’t dare speak to him as the performer was singing and the grid kids stood before you, but you could already tell he was focused. Though he seemed nonchalant, you knew it secretly bothered him that you were on pole.

As soon as the performance ended and the drivers began to disperse, you whispered under your breath as you walked by him. “Enjoy watching my rear wing.”

You walked away before you could see if he responded.

Standing by your car, you prepared yourself to race. You needed to start strong and capitalize on your pole position. You risked a glance back at the Red Bull behind you, watching Max put on his helmet and ready himself to get in the car. You could have sworn he was looking back at you, almost as a predator looks at prey.

You climb into your car, pulling your own helmet over your head, readying for the formation lap. You give a thumbs up to the crew, watching them step away from the car and take the covers off the tires.

As you pull away from the start line, you move side to side across the track, trying to warm your tires to get better grip for the start. You knew Max would be on you instantly, trying to pass you as you went into the first corner. You went through the corners of the track on the formation lap, readying yourself for the race.

As you pulled into pole position, you watched the red lights begin to light up

1

2

3

4

5

Lights out and away we go.

You sped up as fast down the main straight, trying to get your car first on the inside line. You could see Max beside you, trying desperately for the same thing. As you went wheel to wheel, you nudged your car ahead of his, managing to secure the racing line for the time being.

But in your mirrors was Max Verstappen in a Red Bull, arguably one of the scariest sights in Formula 1. And as you made your way around the first few laps, you just couldn't find a way to shake him. He kept behind you, only just outside of getting DRS to pass you.

You kept speeding through the corners of the Hungaroring, sensing it was only a matter of time before he passed you. The pressure was on, the Red Bull and Ferrari rivalry at its greatest.

One pit stop each and a safety car later, you found yourself driving slowly behind the car. And in your mirrors, you could now clearly see the man himself, right on your rear wing. Any lead you had built was gone, taken away with the safety car. The lion was in striking distance and you knew it.

As the safety car moved to resume the race, you pressed the pedal full on, needing to shake the dutchman behind you. With only 10 laps left of 70, you needed to hold on.

But as good of a driver you were, Max was better. The best driver on the grid, undefeated in the first 12 races of the season. And he wouldn't let a Ferrari beat him.

You entered the main straight and you knew Max was close enough for DRS. You watched he caught up to you, going wheel to wheel as you sped through the track.

It would have been easier to accept if there'd been a fight, some sort of defense available, a challenging overtake for Max.

But he just breezed past you, as if you weren't even there. Not a threat. Not a problem. Not anything he'd ever worried about.

Even after a strenuous and hard fought race to gain a lead, Max Verstappen once again would win. His thirteenth consecutive race. Another damn record.

You finished the last nine laps of the race, still pushing but not nearly as hard. You felt defeated. Nothing you or the car was capable of would be enough. Not against him, a living legend of a driver.

As you crossed the finish line in second, you congratulated the team on their efforts on the radio, but your heart wasn't in it. Most drivers would be happy with a podium, if not elated. But not you. Not when you would be forced to spray him oncemore with champagne. Not when he would take home another trophy, which would just be another hunk of metal to him.

You climbed out of the car besides him, noticing Oscar Piastri pulling into the 3rd place spot. You could at least be a little happy for the Australian, having earned another podium in just his second season. You walked up to Oscar and congratulated him, making a point to do so before turning to Max.

"Congrats on the win," you said, your voice monotone.

"Thanks," Max replied simply. "You had a good drive there at the start."

"Not good enough," you retorted, trying and failing to hide your disdain at both him and your own failure.

"Still a podium though," Max shrugged.

"You know damn well you'd be pissed in P2."

Max looked you in the eye. "I think you should be grateful I let you lead the race for so long. My car is clearly faster than yours."

You rolled your eyes. "I don't want to do this here. Not with all the cameras."

Max had the audacity to smirk. "Suit yourself. But I did earn the win, don't deny me that."

You hated it when he was right.

You stalked away from Max on track and headed over to your team, clapping a few of the engineers and team members on the back for their performance. Sure, you were mad. But they still got you a podium position. And you wanted to delay the cooldown room as long as you could.

But you couldn't delay it that long, and god did some water sound refreshing. So you went into that room, looking at Max seated in the center chair, Oscar on his right in the 3rd place chair. You grabbed a water bottle and slumped down in the remaining seat next to Max, not saying a word.

"Could have taken that corner better," Max said, commenting on a clip of your car briefly sliding out of track limits. "Maybe that's why you lost some time to me right before the safety car."

"Thanks for the observation," you said sarcastically.

The tension in the room was palpable. You almost felt bad for Oscar Piastri, having to deal with the two of you.

"If there hadn't been that safety car, I would have had a tougher race. But I still think I could have caught you... your tires seemed to be degrading faster than mine. At least that's what the team said. Also with a few of those small mistakes like going wide on the turns..."

He kept going on, in his typical way, what the internet had dubbed Maxplaining. They were right. It was like he didn't understand that you knew your mistakes and how he had driven faster.

But anyways, you were spared as the three of you were called for the podium. Oscar went out first, followed by you.

You heard the cheers of your team and fans and you tried your hardest to be happy and excited about your podium. But when the cheers for you were eclipsed by those for Max, you couldn't pretend anymore.

You stood only begrudgingly beside him on the podium as the Dutch national anthem played for the 13th time in a row. And when he popped the champagne, even he didn't seem excited, like winning had become habitual for him and that this was an obligation, not a reward.

This was a man with more victories than defeats in the past few seasons.

A man who's wins were routine.

A man you loathed with your whole being.

You chose to spray your champagne over your own head rather than his. An act of protest and anger.

And when you left the podium, you left with stronger feelings. The taste for victory lingered on your tongue. And the desire for revenge burned stronger in your heart.

Part 2 coming!

taglist: @jehun

[emotionally-damaged-carrot]

Charles leclerc x male reader

Reader has a habit if catching the eyes of guys in the paddock (his co workers specifically) and he has a tendency to get jealous and a little insecure but reader only wants him

Only you, mi amour

I don't really get the request but, I hope I made good? Sorry for the wait and sorry if it's a bit too short, just been very very very busy lately. Hope you lot understand, I will stsrt working on the other requests when I can, couldn't proof read sry. Enjoy✌️

Warning: once in a blue moon, I do fluff. :3

Hopefully anon wants fluff and not smut? I can also do smut, I think I do pretty good smuts :3

Walking around the paddock, I can't help but always feel eyes on me, and everytime I look at where the eyes are from I see almost every guy and some girls in the paddock staring at me. But they would look away trying to not make it obvious, hoping I wouldn't notice. I did notice, and not only me, also Charles, and he is not happy about it. He tends to be a little possessive which I don't mind, kinda spices the romance, specifically the bedroom.

Having said that, I heard a loud voice behind me in the ferrari garage.

"No no no, he's not single." I heard Charles basically shout at a poor engineer.

"How would you know?" The engineer shouted back.

"I already asked him." Charles responded, I made my way towards them, curious about all the shouting since people are starting to get invested as well.

"Heeeey, what's with the shouting?" I asked as I got close enough.

"Are you single?" The engineer with a slightly annoyed look.

"I already told you, he's not single." Charles said looking annoyed as well but with a hint of something else, jealousy.

"Hmm, n-no, I'm taken." I said with a nervous chuckle as I see Charles' distress.

"See, I told you." Charles said with a grumble.

"He's mine." He said under his breath but still audible to the engineer.

"Hm?" The engineer hummed questioningly as he full on looked at Charles.

"D-did you just say... he's yours, as in, y/n?" The engineer continued to ask now curious and excited.

"Ow, it's already lunch, y/n let's go get some food" Charles said as he made his way towards me and grabbing my wrist and walking away in a hurry.

"What started it?" I asked with a smile.

"He likes you." He said as the hand on my wrist in the on my waist.

"You were always easily jealous." I said with a chuckle as I ruffled his hair.

"You know, I hate it when people touch my hair." He said with a smile as he looked at me.

"I know, that's why I do it." I said leaned on his side.

"We're here." He said as he opened the door to his motor home.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked confused.

"That was just an excuse." He said pecking me on the lips.

"Cheeky." I said as I him in for a longer kiss, passionately and a bit rough, biting his lip as he moved me backwards towards his bed and getting on top of me.

"Je t'aime." He whispered close to my lips as he pulled back, breathing heavily.

"Je t'aime aussi." I said as I looked at his green eyes, getting lost in them.

"Je t'aime, Je t'aime, Je t'aime." He kept whispering as his mouth moved to my neck, leaving kisses and a few love bites.

"I love you too, Charles." I said lowly while letting out low breathy moans, my legs wrapped around his waist, his hands wrapped around my middle my hands playing with his hair.

"You need to control your jealousy, Charlie." I said as I gently run my hands through his hair and gently pulling his hair from time to time.

"I can't, I'm afraid that you'll find someone better." He said sadly as his chin rested on my chest as he looked up at me with sad eyes.

"Ow, chéri, how can I find someone better than perfect?" I asked with a gentle smile and looking him directly in his eyes and admiring his beauty, I leaned down and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Only you, mi amour."

[raapija]

Need to know how you think Lance would respond to being mistaken for one of Fernando’s many kids-like would he be embarrassed or pissed-would Lando be like oh that’s my other dad 💀-I feel like they’d all love using it to mess with people 😭

Okay, this is hilarious, so I'll give you some fun scenarios of this happening...

Three short stories under the cut ! 💚

In 2018, Oscar was 17 and looking for his first own apartment in London. He had made plans to go view one flat and needed an adult to accompany him, so Lance agreed to go with him.

"Hello! I'm William, I'll be showing you the apartment." a chipper estate agent greeted them at a downstairs door to a small apartment building. They all shook hands and then made their way inside and up the stairs.

"This is a really nice flat. Everything is recently renovated and they also put in new kitchen equipment." the estate agent fumbled with a big bundle of keys as they stopped at one of the apartment doors. "Just a short walk to the nearest shops, the bus leaves right from the street down there and it's a really quiet building all in all."

The estate agent finally found the right key and opened the door for Lance and Oscar to step in. It was pretty; all new surfaces and a sparkling new oven and dishwasher. And no weird smells, it was all fresh.

"Looks good, right?" Lance asked after a little tour around the flat. They were all standing in a small living area attached to the kitchen. "Small, but not too small."

"Perfect for a young lad like you!" the estate agent pointed out and Oscar nodded along.

"It okay." Oscar said. "I think I'll need to ask dad or pops to come see it, too, though."

"Oh, you boys have two dads?" the estate agent chirped in. He looked at Lance and Oscar and then the two of them looked at each other.

"Uh, we're not brothers." Lance said and the man got a bit flustered.

"No?"

"He has two dads. I'm dating one of them." Lance explained. The estate agent blushed.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" he hurried to apologize. Oscar had to turn away to hold in a laugh and Lance rubbed his eyebrow to do the same.

"No, it's okay. We get that a lot." Lance said to make the man feel less bad. "Anyway, we think we'll be in touch with you. Right, Osc?"

"Right." Oscar replied and the real estate agent handed them his card.

"Of course! I'd be happy to show this to you and your father again, if you'd like. Both of them! Or... You? Or... I'm sorry." he dug himself into a hole with that one.

"Yeah, thanks." Lance chuckled.

One night, Lance and Lando were at a gay bar in Montréal. Lando liked going to gay bars, because he didn't have to pay for any of his drinks the whole night. Everyone thought he was just adorable... And Lance was big enough that he could fight back any potential creeps.

They were sat at a booth, when a man approached them and sat down on the opposite side of their table.

"Hi, sweeties." the stranger said and Lance and Lando giggled.

"Hi." Lando said back and batted his eyes. Free drinks incoming.

"You two are really cute together." the man said and the pair erupted into laughter. The guy was a little taken aback. "What? You're not together?"

"No," Lance said between laughing. "I'm his step-dad."

The man leaned back, visibly confused. It didn't take him long to smirk again. "Oh? Kinky. I like it."

Lance and Lando glanced at each other, holding back another big rumble of laughter.

"Uh, no, we really are father and son." Lance continued. "I'm married to his dad."

"So, no fun for us tonight?" the man sounded glum.

"No, I'm afraid. And he's straight. Wait, are you straight?" Lance turned back to Lando, who was already giggling.

"I dunno." the younger man shrugged his shoulders. Lance laughed again, and the man was even more confused.

"You two are insane." he groaned and stood up. Lance and Lando waved him goodbye and kept on laughing, leaning into each other and probably looking absolutely unhinged with the state of blissful drunkenness they were in.

When Carlos and Charles were having their baby, Fernando and Lance rushed to the hospital and then to the receptionist to find out where they were. The woman working there looked at them a bit amused, because Fernando was fully freaking out and out of breath while Lance was calmly standing by his side.

"Sainz! And, uh, Leclerc! Un bebé! Uhm...I'm grand-dad!" Fernando blurted out, his English more broken than usual.

"Uh-huh... and him?" the receptionist pointed at Lance with a raised eyebrow.

"He's grand-dad. Also."

"Hi." Lance smiled and gave her a small wave. The receptionist looked back and forth between them, cogs turning in her head as she assessed the situation.

"Right..." she said and then turned to her computer to find where Carlos and Charles were. "Did you say Sainz?"

"Sí, uh... Yes. Carlos Sainz."

"And your name?"

"Fernando Alonso. Díaz! Alonso Díaz."

"And you?"

"Lance Stroll Díaz. S-T-R-O-L-L." Lance spelled out for her.

"Huh, you all have different last names?" she looked at Fernando a little confused.

"Yes." Fernando answered and she turned back to her computer, blowing out a breath of air as she typed all their names into the system. Fernando was struggling to stay in place, and Lance put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Okay..." the receptionist handed them a piece of paper. "I'll just need your signature here. They're in waiting room 21, just follow the yellow line on the floor and you'll find there."

"Gracias." Fernando said and hastily scribbled his name on the paper and then charged off. Lance chuckled after him and shook his head. He then carefully wrote his own name down, handing the paper back to the woman.

"Sorry. He's a bit extreme."

"Grandparents often are. Congratulations, by the way."

"Thank you."

[uniquexusposts]

Her || Charles

Main characters: Charles Leclerc x OC Genre: fanfiction, fluff  Story type: novel  Part: 20/? Word count: 2858 Co writer: @mistrose23

Story summary: Matilde Jørgensen, the new Scuderia Ferrari team principal, faced the nerve-wracking challenge of reviving the team's fortunes and aiming for a championship. Leading a historic team as a 'newbie' and separating her work and personal opinions posed a significant challenge. The big question: is she capable to do so?

Previous chapter

Chapter 18. Statement

"Buongiorno," Charles greeted his colleagues when he entered the engineer's truck. His eyes scanned the people who had already sat on their spots. He missed one person, but she must be getting some tea or coffee.

His colleagues greeted him back. Charles sat down in his designated spot next to Matilde, who usually would sit at the head of the long table. It would give her an overview of the team. Charles noticed how her seat was untouched, her notebook and laptop weren't there, just like the tangerine she always ate every morning. It had only happened once that she was late and that was on her first day. It became normal to arrive and see Matilde already sitting there. She was the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Carlos entered the room. "Sorry for being late. There are so many fans out there," he apologised. He sat down across from Charles. He looked at Matilde's spot. "Where's Matilde?" He was surprised.

"Late," an engineer replied.

"Oh. Weird."

Even though the meeting had to begin when Carlos entered the room, people were still busy with preparations. Some didn't mind having a few extra minutes, but it was unusual.

Ten minutes had passed the designated starting time and Matilde was still nowhere to be seen. Members started to exchange puzzled glances. Even if Matildle was a minute late, she would tell someone about it. Her being ten minutes late already, was not right.

"Did someone try to call Matilde yet?" one of the engineers finally suggested.

"I already tried. No answer," someone else answered.

"And Galileo? Did someone try to contact him?"

"Shouldn't we just begin? We need to get this done before we run out of time."

"No, let's just wait for a bit longer. She must be on her way," another voice chimed in, hope lingering in the words.

"I texted Galileo," someone else mentioned.

Just seconds after that, Galileo and Silvia entered the room. Their presence alone was enough to signal that something was amiss. The usual smiles were absent, replaced by expressions of concern. They were never at a briefing like this.

"Can I get everyone's attention, please," Galileo's voice cut through the room, making sure everyone stopped with whatever they were doing. He took a moment to survey the room. "As you have noticed, we are missing the team principal today. Matilde will not be present today, tomorrow, and Sunday," he announced, causing eyebrows to raise in collective surprise. She had never missed one day of work.

A murmur of questions and confusion rippled through the room. Carlos, unable to contain his worry, spoke up first. "What? Why? What happened?"

"We are only allowed to share with the team that Matilde is hospitalised for a personal reason," Galileo responded somberly.

More questions were being asked about the situation.

"Her family has kindly requested that we not contact Matilde until she reaches out to us herself. We will not have a replacement for this weekend, so we must do it together."

Silvia nodded in agreement, her usual vibrant energy subdued. "We will publish a statement in a moment, written by Matilde's family. Charles and Carlos, when talking to the media or someone else who asks about it, you will say she will not be here at the track until further explanation. There will probably get some fuzz around it, let them be, but don't say anything about the hospital. Galileo and I are informed about the situation, but the media doesn't have to know it yet. They asked not to share it because they are still waiting on some results and do not want to share it yet. But do know that she is fine and not in a life-threatening situation. It is a private matter and for you, a team matter. For your further information, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff were there when it happened, but they have also been requested not to share anything with anyone. For now, that is all we know and all we can share. When we get an update, you will be the first to know about it. For questions about it, you know where to find me."

A sense of collective shock settled over the room, the usual camaraderie replaced by an atmosphere of uncertainty. The team members were left with more questions than answers, their concern for Matilde was palpable.

"May I ask why Matilde's family is in control of all the communications? Just curious to know..." one team member ventured, voicing the questions that echoed in the minds of many.

Silvia exchanged a glance with Galileo before responding. "Matilde's family is handling the situation because they value their privacy, and we respect that. Matilde's brother is a press officer and will be dealing with this for now. Let's focus on the tasks at hand and wish Matilde a swift recovery. Updates will follow when we have them."

"We do have a card, so if you would like to write something down, please, do it," Galileo mentioned and gave a massive 'Get Well Soon' card to Charles.

"Can it be stress?" Charles worriedly asked. He knew he had created a lot of fuzz and stress last week. He was worried this could be his fault.

"That's something we cannot share, Charles," Silvia weakly smiled.

He silently gasped for air; he had caused this. Fear flickered in his eyes. "Okay," Charles mumbled and opened the card. As he grabbed a pen, his mind became blank. He stared at the empty card, processing the situation.

The room fell into a contemplative silence, the weight of the unknown casting a shadow over what should have been a routine morning briefing. The Silverstone weekend had begun under a cloud of uncertainty, and the Scuderia Ferrari team found themselves navigating uncharted territory without their leader.

- press statement -

Official Statement from the Family of Matilde Jørgensen and Scuderia Ferrari

Dear Scuderia Ferrari and Formula 1 Fans,

We want to inform you that Matilde has been admitted to the hospital for a medical concern that requires some attention. We want to assure everyone that she is currently stable and receiving the necessary medical care. We understand the desire for more details, but we kindly request your understanding and respect for our family's privacy during this sensitive time.

At this time, Matilde needs some space for rest and recovery. Consequently, she will not be present for the upcoming weekend, and we appreciate your understanding regarding her absence. The medical team is taking good care of her, and we are hopeful for a swift and smooth recovery.

As always, we are grateful for Matilde's support and love from the Ferrari family, the Formula 1 community, and fans worldwide. We kindly request respect for our privacy during this period and will keep you updated as necessary.

Thank you for your understanding and warm wishes.

Sincerely,

The Jørgensen Family and Scuderia Ferrari

* * *

It didn't stay unnoticed that there was one team principal missing during the Friday at Silverstone. The news travelled fast through the paddock and beyond. As the morning unfolded, whispers of concern reverberated through the media centre, press rooms and social media platforms. The press release from the family and team confirmed some of the rumours, and photos and videos that were taken last evening - a few fans spotted the rushing ambulance leaving the paddock in the evening, causing so many rumours - but it was Matilde who was taken to the hospital.

Reports were exchanging speculative theories about Matilde's sudden absence. Twitter and other social media channels became flooded with questions and speculation because the statement provided minimal details. It confirmed her hospitalisation, but left the reason shrouded in mystery. Fans and media were craving information about the young team principal. The lack of information became a breeding ground for rumours and speculation.

The week began with all its focus on the huge sporting event in the weekend, but it quickly shifted to the missing and hospitalised team principal.

The whispers and speculations reached a crescendo when fans began piecing together the timeline of events. Fans witnessed the fallout back in Spielberg last weekend, could that be a reason for the absence? The realisation that Matilde was taken from the track to the hospital stirred a wave of anxiety among the Ferrari faithful. Concerned messages flooded the team's social media accounts, asking for updates and offering words of support.

The team was just as affected as the fans were. The first free practice was full of mistakes, especially by Charles. He was distracted and that was noticeable; messy mistakes in the corners, delayed reactions and the times were off. He blamed himself for Matilde's absence and it weighed heavily on his shoulders. He had been a pain in the arse to her, he gave her a hard time. What if he went too far?

Throughout the entire day, he kept reading the speculations on social media. He didn't know what kind of impact it had on the fans, but it was probably caused by the not-saying-much press release.

Tweets:

"MATILDE IS HOSPITALISED??? WHAT HAPPENED TO HER???"

"Just heard a theory about Matilde's absence at Silverstone - some say it might be stress-related burnout. Hoping for her speedy recovery!!!"

"Heard some dark whispers about Matilde leaving due to internal team clashes. It might be the reason why Matilde collapsed during the team principal's meeting. Hope it's just wild speculation!"

"Ferrari is no good to their team principles. Maybe Matilde collapsed due to all the fights within the team. Everyone does what they want to do in the team. What is going on?!"

Nobody in the team was aware of a sudden departure, but to Charles, it kinda wouldn't be a surprise after the way everyone treated her, including him. Gossip travelled fast through the paddock and over the internet, just like wild theories.

However, the day continued and Charles still had to see the media after the free practices.

"Charles, tough day out there on the track. Can you walk us through your day and the challenges you faced?" F1TV asked.

"Yeah, it was a bit of a tricky one today. We struggled a bit with the balance of the car during the first practice. We were trying some new setups, and it didn't go as smoothly as we hoped." Charles honestly replied and looked around while talking, he never looked the interviewer in the eyes during the interview. "The car felt a bit unpredictable, especially through the high-speed corners. But we have collected enough data, so we will work on it."

The interviewer nodded. "We saw during the second practice that you improved some runs. It seemed like you had it under control."

"Yes, we made some adjustments and it did feel better, but we're still not where we want to be," Charles replied. He was glad the man was only asking about the practices. It felt like he finally could answer properly and think about something else. "We are working hard to analyse the data and find some solutions for tomorrow, for qualifying, and of course, for Sunday." He showed a brief, but promising smile.

"The world is all thinking of Matilde's absence, did it have any impact on the team's performances today?"

Cheered too soon. "Well, it's certainly a bit different not having Matilde around. We all miss her, and I think it's been a bit of a challenge for everyone."

"Fans are speculating about Matilde's situation. Some say it's a reaction to your clash last week in Spielberg, that it caused her to be overstressed and perhaps even burnout. We've seen quite some moments that didn't go smoothly between her and the team. Do you have anything to say to that?"

Charles took a deep breath, recollecting his thoughts. "Uh... I wish I could provide more information, but honestly, I don't have my details. Matilde's family and the team have asked for privacy, and we respect that. All I can say is that we're sending our best wishes her way, and we hope to have her back with us soon," he replied. It was a scripted response, he had to learn that from Silvia and so far, it worked well. "But," he said before the reporter would ask his next question. Charles wanted to share that they made it up. He didn't have the chance to say it to anyone. "About the situation in Spielberg, we talked about it, and we're fine. I also spoke to Carlos and Max, we're all fine now. It was an unfortunate moment, and I'm not proud of it, but we have to look ahead of us, not behind us."

"Thank you for sharing this, Charles. We wish Matilde the best, and we hope to see her soon again."

"Thank you," Charles nodded and returned to the Ferrari hospitality.

"You didn't have to say the last part," the press officer mentioned.

"I wanted to."

The entire team made themselves ready for the debrief again. The engineers were already sharing some points with each other, others were enjoying an espresso, and some people were scrolling through special media.

"Guys," one of the engineers said. "There's a tweet going around that Matilde collapsed due to an addiction issue."

Silence fell in the room, and looks were shared. It was like someone pressed the pause button, no one was moving or saying anything.

"I heard a reporter say that the hospitalisation is linked to high blood pressure due to an unconfirmed pregnancy," someone else added.

Charles sat down on his chair, he was lost in the sea of rumours, the uncertainty gnawing at him.

One of the engineers noticed the unease in the room and took charge. "Alright, people, let's focus. For whatever reason Matilde is hospitalised, it still doesn't change the fact that we will support her. Whatever is circulating out there, is just speculation. We will hear from her once she is ready. But we have a job to do, and that's what we'll do now."

Everyone shifted their attention back to the technical details, the debriefing starting, but Charles remained distracted. The rumours circulating about Matilde's conduction were like a storm in his mind, each one more unsettling than the last. As the debrief continued, Charles had ups and downs regarding his concentration. When he needed to be focused, he was focused, but when it wasn't about him, his mind drifted away.

Luckily for Charles, the debrief came to an end quickly. He had to find Max, perhaps he knew something more about Matilde. He walked to the Red Bull's hospitality like he had one goal and one goal only.

"What are you doing here?" Max confusedly asked, he was walking around with his dinner, trying to find a spot to eat.

"Matilde... Do you know if she's okay?"

Max glanced around, making sure no one was in earshot. He signed to Charles that he could enter the cafeteria. They sat down in the corner of the area, where they had some privacy. "I don't have all the details, mate. But from what I've heard, it's serious enough that they're keeping it all under wraps. Toto and Christian were there when it happened, but even they are tight-lipped."

"But you are close to her..."

"I tried to call her, but her brother picked up the phone, not giving much information."

Charles felt a lump in his throat. "What do you think happened?"

"No idea. But you know Matilde, she's tough. She'll pull through."

Charles nodded, trying to hide the worry etched on his face. "But all those rumours," he breathed. "Stress, burnout, depression, clashes in the team. Maybe I'm the cause, maybe I pushed her to the limit and now she collapsed because I am a dickhead. And the rumours about an addiction, or unconfirmed pregnancy. I even heard that she had a miscarriage because of the stress I give her." He looked and sounded hopeless, a side Max hadn't seen of him yet.

"Don't blame yourself for things you don't know," Max replied.

"I just can't shake off this feeling that I could've done something differently."

"We all have those moments. But right now, she needs our support. If there's anything you can do, it's to stay focused on the race, keep the team together, and give her the strength she needs when she comes back."

Charles looked at Max, making eye contact, his eyes reflecting a mix of gratitude and distress. "I hope she comes back."

"She will." Max observed Charles' body language. Charles had a hard time hiding his emotions, and the situation was taking a personal toll on him. Max could see that Charles genuinely cared about Matilde, and the worry for her well-being weighed heavily on his shoulders. It was a stupid thought, but perhaps that was the reason why Charles couldn't get along with Matilde.

"You care about her, don't you?" Max asked, his tone gentle.

Charles sighed, not attempting to mask his emotions. "Yeah, I do," he whispered, running his hand through his hair. "More than I probably should, given our position. She's my team principal. The entire team is, was, shocked, but they can handle it. I...I just can't stop thinking about the things I've done to her."

"She'll be fine. And none of this is your fault."

Next chapter

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @crashingwavesofeuphoria@maryvibess @chocolatefartstrawberry @snzleclerc

[f1goat]

into it x lando norris + part one

In which you really, really dislike your brothers new found best friend - Lando Norris - but you keep finding your way back to him

masterlist - playlist

You don’t know if you have ever met anyone who’s more annoying then Lando Norris. To be honest, you’re pretty sure that you didn’t. You can safely say that you have never met a more annoying person then him. There’s no one else that can frustrate you this much by being in the same room as you. He’s the most frustrating, childish and annoying person that you have ever met. Nobody will ever beat him probably. 

It’s always about him. Whenever he walks into a room, he needs all the attention. He always talks about the girls that he fucked in the weekend or on the week days. Everyone needs to hear all about his fuck boy stories. He expects every girl to fall for him. Whenever he walks into a room, you can already see him searching for a potential fuck. It’s the absolute worst. He’s the absolute worst. 

Even now. Your brother just won the first race of the formula one season. If it’s up to you, your brother is the man of the evening. He should have the chance to tell everyone about his race. He deserves the attention. Apparently Lando thinks different about that. Since the boy walked in to the room, he keeps on talking about his own race and about the girl he met after it. Did he even congratulate your brother? 

You really don’t understand why your brother is friends with him. You find yourself wishing very often that they weren’t friends. If that wish only came true. 

“Hey babygirl.”

Another reason that you dislike - or actually hate, him. You don’t even need to look up to see who’s talking to you. Something that’s quite hard in a room with this much people. Only he calls you babygirl. If you will ever get a boyfriend he can never nickname you babygirl. It’s ruined. Another thing ruined by Lando. 

You do look up to him after a bit of waiting. What does he want this time? He knows that you don’t like him, it’s hard to miss. Before you can ask him what he wants or tell him he needs to get lost, your brother jumps in the starting conversation. 

“I hate that nickname you got for her,” Charles tells Lando. 

“Me too,” you add. 

“Don’t lie babygirl,” Lando teases you further. 

You know he’s teasing you to get a reaction. He always does. And stupidly, you bite all the time. Something about him triggers everything in you. You let out a big sigh. 

This was suppose to be a fun night out. Celebrating your brothers win with a nice club night. Of course you knew beforehand that Lando was also coming, but you hoped that you could ignore him. Something that failed once again. 

You don’t respond to Lando, but you do send a gaze of annoyance towards Charles. You have asked him multiple times why he’s friends with Lando, but you still don’t understand his reasons. According to Charles, Lando is a nice friend. One of his best friends even. You don’t get that. How can anyone like him be a good friend? 

Charles told you once that Lando behaves a bit different when you’re around. You told Charles that he’s probably more annoying when you are around. 

“Can I get you a drink?” Lando asks you. 

“I can get myself a drink,” you tell Lando annoyed. As if you would let him get a drink for you. 

“Ah, bring me a Sprite then as well,” Lando responds with a teasing smile.

“No drinking?” Charles asks Lando. You almost forgot that your brother was also standing with you and Lando. 

“No, I’m driving tonight,” Lando explains, “If you want I can bring you and Y/N back to the hotel later.”

“That’s great!” Charles exclaims enthusiastic. 

“No it’s not, he will probably find a girl to spend the night with and ditch us,” you remark annoyed.

“Jealous?” Lando quickly asks you. 

“In your dreams,” you bite back. 

“In your dreams we’re probably fucking,” Lando is quick to reply to you. 

Before you can respond Charles gives Lando a playful smack at the back of his head. “A bit too far mate,” Charles tells Lando. You sent a thankful smile to your brother. Lando keeps quiet. You decide to walk away from the two boys to get yourself a drink. 

After getting your drink, you decide to go over somewhere else in the club. You aren’t in the mood for another encounter with Lando. He has annoyed you more then enough for tonight. You spend the rest of your night talking and dancing with Pierre Gasly.

Pierre has always been a friend of Charles. You haven’t seen him for awhile now, but you know the contact between him and your brother is low at the moment. Maybe Pierre also doesn’t like his new friendship with Lando? Pierre spins you around while dancing with you. While spinning around in the club you notice a pair of eyes on you. It’s probably a coincidence, it can’t be that Lando his angry gaze is meant for you or for Pierre. 

You ignore Lando for the rest of the evening. He is probably annoyed that he isn’t annoying you right now. Since that seems the thing he lives for lately. 

The night is going by quickly, you are having fun with Pierre. When Lando taps you onto your shoulder, you barely notice it at first. He yells your name into your ear to get your attention. Surprised you look at him, where did he come from? You notice that Charles is standing next to him. It’s hard to miss the drunk state of your brother. 

“Come on, we’re leaving,” Lando tells you. He looks annoyed at you. You’re surprised that he’s actually bringing you back to the hotel. It’s probably not because of Charles, your brother is probably even drunk enough to forget his own name right now. Maybe Lando is annoyed because he made the promise to bring Charles and you home? Maybe he wanted to stay longer. Well, he’s not the only one who wanted that. You nod towards Lando, “Give me a minute.”

“I’m going back to the hotel Pierre, see you soon?” You say your goodbye to Pierre. 

Pierre says goodbye to you as well. He presses a small kiss against your cheek. Is that Lando scoffing on the background? You turn around to look at him, but he ignores you. It seems like he is busy sending annoyed looks at Pierre. 

You softly tap Lando at his arm. His annoyed gaze is broken when he looks over at you. He notices that you’re ready to go. Without saying anything towards Pierre, he takes your hand and walks in the direction of the exit. You try to let him drop your hand, but Lando doesn’t budge. 

At one point Lando turns around a bit annoyed. You’re still trying to get your hand free again. Lando stops walking, you almost walk into him. Why is he stopping? Charles is still walking in front of you two, he hasn’t noticed that you and Lando stopped walking behind him. He’s probably in his own drunken world right now.

“Stop being so annoying,” Lando tells you. 

“You’re being annoying,” you exclaim frustrated, “just drop my hand.”

“So that I can lose you behind me and go back searching for you? I’m not in the mood to wait for you again because some bloke is trying to talk to you,” Lando scoffs annoyed. 

You let out an annoyed sigh, but you don’t talk back to Lando. He has a point. With Lando holding your hand, you can pass everyone quickly. Everyone moves aside for the formula one driver, you can just follow him. When you would walk for yourself without him pulling you with him, it will probably take you a lot longer to reach the club exit. 

A few minutes later you are sitting in the backseat of Lando his rented car. You’re kinda surprised that there isn’t another girl joining you on the backseat. Isn’t Lando bringing a girl back to the hotel? 

You don’t engage in the conversation between your brother and Lando. Charles is drunk, he keeps repeating the same things to Lando. He keeps on talking about this being his season, but it will also be the season of Lando his first win. 

You’ve noticed it before. Lando is very keen on winning soon. Of course, every formula one drivers wants to win every race. But lately Lando has been obsessed with it. He still has a year or two more with McLaren, but after around five seasons he still hasn’t gotten his first win. You know that he is doubting about his future. This will be the season that he needs to make a choice about his future. He told Charles many times. You were just unlucky enough to be around at the time of all those conversations. 

“You will win this season Lando, I feel it!” Your brother exclaims loudly. 

“I don’t know Charles,” Lando tells your brother, “I don’t want to get my hopes up high.”

You keep quiet, this is not a conversation for you to engage in. Instead of listening to Lando and Charles, you focus on the music that is playing in the car. You can say a lot of Lando, all bad things, but you can’t deny that the boy has a good music taste. Softly you tap along with the music. 

Charles fells quiet after a bit. There’s an uncomfortable silence hanging in the car. It’s pretty awkward. You don’t feel like talking to Lando or you drunk brother, but the silence is also pretty unbearable. 

“So, you and Pierre, huh?”

Apparently you and Lando are talking now. Great. Great subject too. 

“Just friends,” you tell Lando. 

“Ah, I didn’t knew friends touched each other like that,” Lando is quick to respond to you. 

“What are you saying?” You ask annoyed. 

“That you and Pierre were all over each other,” Lando replies, his tone is even more annoyed then yours. 

You are getting worked up now. What’s up with Lando? Why does he even care about you and Pierre. 

“Maybe if you focus more on racing instead of me and Pierre, so you can actually get that first win that you’re so desperate for,” you tell Lando angrily. 

When the words leave your mouth, you already know that you have taken it too far. Even your drunk brother is looking weirdly at you. Your remark was rude. It was low. Fuck. Lando deserved something back after talking you like that, but not something as mean as you just said. You made things way too personal. Fuck. 

Lando keeps silent. You are doubting about your next move. Should you say that you went too far and apologize? Or should you just keep quiet as well. You don’t know. Maybe if you don’t say anything, he will notice that you’re serious about him being annoying. Maybe he will even stop bothering you as much as he does. But still, you went too far with that remark. You should apologize for saying something that mean. 

Before you can make your decision, you’re already back at the hotel. Lando is helping Charles out of the car, while you stand still to wait for them. The three of you walk inside to hotel, quickly going to the elevator. 

When Charles and you are standing in the elevator, Lando keeps standing in front of it. 

“I’m taking the stairs,” he announces.

“All ten of them?” You ask surprised. 

Lando just nods. He doesn’t say anything else. You tell him a thank you for bringing you and Charles back to the hotel, but he doesn’t respond to that as well. You let out a sigh. You should apologize, right? 

+++

That night you can’t sleep. You’re lost in your thoughts about Lando his behavior. You have already decided that you need to apologize, but you don’t know when. Tomorrow Charles will probably be around all the time, you don’t want him to intervene. But when can you apologize? You think about sending Lando a text, but that seems a stupid idea. If you were so brave to say those words to his face, you should also apologize face to face. 

You: Are you still up?

The text you just send is making you anxious. Lando is quick to reply. 

Lando: Yes

You step out of your bed. Quickly you put on your leggings and a basic sweater. Without giving it another thought, you walk over to Lando his hotel room. You’re glad it’s on the same floor. Softly you knock on Lando his hotel door, “It’s me,” you say while doing so. 

Lando is quick to open the door for you. He takes a step outside, closing the door a bit when he does so. 

“What’s up?” Lando asks you. 

“I wanted to apologize,” you tell him honestly, “I didn’t mean to hurt you with my words earlier. It was rude and way too harsh.”

Lando doesn’t know what to say. 

“So I hope you accept my apology, I’ll let you get back to sleep now,” you say a bit awkward. 

“Not sleeping much tonight,” Lando tells you. 

You look at the almost closed hotel door behind him. It doesn’t take you long to make the connection. There’s probably a girl inside. He really is the worst. 

“I don’t want to hear about whatever girl is inside your hotel room,” you quickly say, you hear the upcoming annoyed tone in your voice. 

Lando swings the door back open. You don’t want to see her, but you also are way too curious to look away. You have never saw which kind of girls Lando took home with him. You always wondered what type it would be. Probably girls who just wanted a bit of his fame. Who else would have one night stands with him? When you look inside the hotel room, you notice that it’s empty. There’s no other girl. 

“Oh sorry,” you say a bit ashamed.

“I get it,” Lando sighs, “Goodnight Y/N.”

You tell him goodnight and turn around to walk back to your hotel room. It’s only when you’re standing in front of the closed door, you realize that you didn’t take your room key with you. Fuck. 

next part

[jessicaloons]

Chapter 50:

All along there was some Invisible String tying you to me

Masterlist - Previous - Next

Charles POV:

I listened to Lizzie talking about her latest meeting with Susie, how they defined her role in the F1 Academy, what her tasks were from now on and I couldn't be more proud of her. She was passionate, dedicated, willing to put her heart and soul into the Academy.

"… for now Susie thinks what the girls need is some kind of mentor, someone who has been in their shoes and she said that I would be the perfect person for that. I would check in on the girls, make sure they're in the right head space, offer advice. But Susie thinks on race weekends we should establish kind of a workshop day? Debrief the latest race, show some deficits, maybe figure out ways too improve certain aspects!" her voice was filled with positivity and optimism, her eyes shining like never before.

"That sounds amazing cara mia. I think the girls are really lucky to have a mentor like you by their side." I replied and she nodded, a big smile adorning her beautiful face.

"How's it going in Maranello? How's Lewis settling in?" she asked, disappearing out of the picture for a moment.

"It's going great, I think our car development made a big step forwards compared to last season… and with Lewis' input? God he's so experienced! He knows things about the car, even some of the junior engineers didn't know! I honestly think with Lewis we can not just win the driver's championship, but also the constructors this season!"

"I'm so happy for you, Charles. I always said, getting rid of Seb back in 2021 was the biggest mistake Ferrari made. He could've helped develop the car, help you to get a new understanding and knowledge of it. Mattia really messed up a lot of things for you..." she mumbled, still out of frame.

"What are you doing?" I asked and her head plopped up from above.

"Wedding stuff..." she wiggled her eyebrows and I smiled.

"Are you... are you wearing your dress? Wait? You've picked out a dress already? How? When?" I rambled and she laughed. but then returned to her seat, still wearing my sweater and held up our invitations "Cara mia... I thought we already sent those out weeks ago?" I pointed to the invitations in her hands.

"That were the save the date cards." Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"What the hell are save the date cards?"

"When you don't have all the details planned out like location and time frame, but want people to save the date... that way you're not under pressure with these important details but know that all the people you want to attend already sa-..."

" ...saved the date, got it. And now we have all the details?"

"I though so? You liked the venue? Or not? Charles it's perfect, but if you don't like it, then I'll call Celiné..." she began but I shook my head.

"Relax, cara mia! I love the venue! It really is perfect, and I can't wait to get married there! Sorry!" I said, smiling at her sheepishly "Did you go over the guest list?"

"Yup... it's a lot of people..." she sighed, and I leaned back.

"It's our families and friends, also the most important people from our teams, some of the drivers, the ones we're close with... so... yeah. How many guest as of now?"

"107... or wait... 110..." she wrote something down and I cocked an eyebrow "I want to invite Susie as well! She was really helpful over the past years and now that I work with her? And when I invite her, we have to invite Toto and Jack as well... I hope that's okay?"

"Of course! Its already more guest from me... so please, go ahead and make it equal.." I chuckled but she shook her head.

"No... that's already way more guests then intended..." her eyes glimmering mischievous.

"You hope that a lot of people will politely respond with a I'm sorry, we can't make it..." I smirked and she nodded slightly.

"Am I a bad person? It's just... god, that's so many people!" she said sheepishly and I laughed.

"It's okay, really... I know it's a lot of people, but it will be fine, okay?"

"Okay..." she huffed out, her phone being smacked down

"Arlo! Stop! I know you heard his voice but stop..." Lizzie propped up the phone again and Arlo was mostly covering her up "He wanted to say hi..."

"Hey baby boy... I miss you so much!" I cooed and he tilted his head, barking quietly "I'll be back on Friday, I promise!" he whined a little, licked the phone and then strut off, Lizzie only shaking her head.

"You'll be back by Friday?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Yep. Tomorrow's the car launch, on Wednesday we have a virtual fan meet and greet and on Thursday I'll be in the simulator the whole day... I wouldn't miss Valentine's Day!"

"What?" her eyes got wide, and she swallowed hard.

"Valentines Day cara mia... Friday..." I tilted my head a little and she smiled nervously "Did you forget?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Because if so, that would be fine, you're planning our wedding, work with Susie, take care of Arlo... it's a lot!"

"Hmm... okay..." she whispered, looking to the left.

"Lizzie? It's no big deal, okay? Really!" I tried to reassure her, and she nodded slowly.

"Okay... you have to go now, Charlie. You said you only have a couple of minutes... we're almost talking for an hour now..

"I can't help it, time flies when I talk with the love of my life..." I chuckled and Lizzie blushed a little "I'll call you tonight, pretty girl, I love you."

"I love you more..." she replied and hung up.

I sent her a quick text, stating that I, in fact, loved her more when Lewis walked in.

"Look at you, smiling from ear to ear... tell Lizzie I say hi..." he said and sat down on the other side of the table.

"Will do... but she won't reply, so she'll say hi back later." I pocketed my phone and he looked up from his.

"Trouble in paradise?" he asked and I laughed.

"No, the opposite actually... we have a little dispute about something, to be continued.

"Toto told me that Susie is really excited having Lizzie work with her." he said and I had to smile.

"You should've heard Lizzie. She's going to pour her heart and soul into the F1 Academy."

"The girls really are lucky, they will learn so much from Lizzie..."

"They will.." I replied right when Silvia walked in with the rest of the media and PR team.

"Gentlemen, ready?" she clapped once and sat down "Let's go over the schedules for the next two days..." I couldn't wait to go back home.

I unlocked the door quietly, closing it carefully and slipped off my shoes. The penthouse was quiet, no sound, nothing. I showered quickly in one of the guest bedroom’s ensuites, slipped on some clean sweat pants and a shirt before I quietly opened up our bedroom door. Arlo lifted his head immediately, wagging his tail when he saw me, jumping off of the bed’s end.

"Hey big boy." I kneeled down, engulfing him in a hug, stroking his sides "Shhh… we don’t want to wake up Lizzie, no?" I whispered and got up, slipping into the bed behind Lizzie, Arlo looking at me "Get in… we definitely have to talk about how you always sleep in my bed when I’m gone. That’s my bed." I chuckled and he made himself comfortable at the foot of the bed.

Lizzie began to stir, turning around, facing me.

"Charles?" she whispered, eyes still closed "What time is it?"

"Way too early to be awake…" I yawned and she scooted over closer, snuggling into my chest.

"I missed you…"

"I missed you too, but at least you had someone sharing the bed with you… I was alone…"

"You want to share the bed with someone else?" she pouted and I had to chuckle, pecking her lips.

"Only with the most beautiful girl in the world… and our fur baby… who has a super comfy bed and still sleeps in ours…"

"Just when you’re gone… I don’t like… sleeping alone…" her voice sleepy.

"I’m here now, cara mia, let’ sleep for a little or not so little while…" I kissed her forehead and she already fell asleep "I love you more."

I closed my eyes and pulled Lizzie closer, feeling her hot breath against my neck.

"No. I love you more." she mumbled against my chest and I chuckled to myself.

Even asleep she was the most stubborn girl ever. Arlo cuddled up against our feet and I fell asleep almost immediately.

I watched Lizzie dance around the kitchen, a soft smile on her lips, headphones on, singing along to Taylor Swift as usual. Her voice as beautiful as ever. After a couple of minutes Arlo trotted into the kitchen, brushing her legs and made her flinch.

"Fucking hell, you scared me…" she put her hand on her chest, turning around "How long have you been back?"

"10 minutes maybe?" I walked in, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in "I enjoyed the show."

"What show? Me ruining Taylor’s songs?" Lizzie chuckled, looking away but I gently grabbed her chin, looking at her.

"How often do I have to tell you that you have a beautiful voice?"

"Until it’s the truth?"

"I would never lie to you, cara mia." I said pointedly and she rolled her eyes "Hey!"

"Okay, okay…" she pecked my lips and then pulled away, bending down booping Arlos nose "Are you hungry my big boy?"

"Yeah, I could eat…" I replied, knowing full well that she didn’t talk to me "I get his food."

"Alright. I’ll finish the cake. Shima is coming tomorrow so I thought I’ll make a cake."

"So Shima gets a cake? And what do I get?" I pouted a little.

"Umm-… I thought we could order from Antonio’s? I called if they have a table for us but they’re fully booked! I’m sorry… I- I did forget that today’s Valentine’s Day and so I didn’t make any reservations and when you reminded me it was already too late…" Lizzie rambled and I sat down Arlo’s bowl and then cupped her cheeks.

"It’s okay! I told you already that it’s fine! You have so much going on right now! And hey, I don’t mind staying in tonight. Ordering food. Watching a movie. Just you and me."

"And Arlo." she whispered and I laughed.

"And Arlo." I kissed her forehead and hugged her "I’d say I take a shower, you order something and then we’ll have a quiet Valentine’s Day."

"Okay…"

I pulled away and left to take sad shower, putting on some sweatpants and a t-shirt, walking back into the now empty kitchen.

"Cara mia?" I called after her but got no answer "Lizzie are you upstairs?" I walked up the stairs and stopped abruptly when I stepped into the living room.

Hundreds of candles were lit up, the sofas pushed together. The created space littered with plush pillows and cozy blankets. The table on the side full of my favourite food, pasta, pizza, Calabrese salad, Lizzie’s red velvet cupcakes. Bowls of chips, crackers and popcorn. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone ready to be watched on the big screen.

"Wha-…"

"Happy Valentine’s Day." Lizzie stepped around the corner, wearing a gorgeous black nightgown, hugging her curves perfectly.

"Cara mia…" I whispered and pulled her into me "Wow… this… you… wow…"

"You like it?" she smiled shyly and I kissed her, pulling her even closer "I guess that’s a yes then?"

"I love it. I love you. This is-… it’s perfect, Lizzie. Just like you." I kissed her again and when I pulled away her cheeks were red.

"Come on, before the food gets cold…" she said and nodded towards the food.

"Did you plan this all along?"

"Honestly? No. I did forget that today was Valentine’s Day… but then I had a couple of days to think about something… and that’s what I came up with." she loaded our plates with the food.

"You’re amazing. This makes my gift look like nothing…" I sighed a little but she just laughed and climbed onto the sofa, getting comfortable.

"Oh this is just the beginning." she wiggled her eyebrows and I looked at her.

"Oh?"

"Mhh…" she moved a little closer, kissing my cheek "I wear something red underneath…"

"Yeah?" I swallowed hard and looked at her, her mischievous smile more than enticing.

"Ferrari red…"

"No alcohol? Like nothing? Not even a glass of champagne?" Shima looked at me and I shook my head "It's your birthday!"

"It's not good for the skin! I've read so many articles about how it helps to smoothen out the skin and make it look fresher."

"Your skin is as smooth as a baby's butt!" she rolled her eyes but then snapped her head around looking at me with wide eyes "Are you pregnant?"

"What? No! Shima, you gave me a ton of bridal magazines to read and in every second one is an article about brides that didn't drink alcohol for a year before their big day! I’m marrying in 3 months!" I said and she held up her hands.

"Okay! Sorry... jeez.." he rolled her eyes "How are your mum and Pascale holding up? Not being involved in the planning?"

"Honestly? They're totally okay with it... at first, they were a little... sad? But they're okay with it now. And Celiné is doing an amazing job. You should see the locations she had for us! The one we chose! Amazing, seriously." I beamed.

"Yeah, she did an amazing job with the designer of your dress as well. Monique Lhuillier was the perfect choice for you, and I think when the dress is ready with all the details it will look stunning. I mean just the blank canvas looked amazing on you! Your mum, Pascale, Sissy, they all cried..."

"You did too!" I pushed her a little and she laughed.

"No, that was my allergies..."

"Sure, if you say so..." I chuckled when Daniel sat down next to us.

"Ladies..." he winked at us and held up his glass "Cheers to our birthday girl, soon to be Mrs Leclerc..." he wiggled his eyebrows, and I shook my head, laughing.

"Mrs. Doetterer-Leclerc please.." I said and grabbed my glass, holding it up as well.

"Is that water? We can't toast with water? Why are you drinking water? It's your birthday!" he made big eyes "Oh my god, you're pregnant!"

"She's not, she just wants her skin to be fresh and smooth for the wedding..." Shima explained, rolling her eyes.

"And not drinking alcohol helps with that?" Daniel looked at me confused.

"Yeah, alcohol is not really the best for your skin, I mean it's not really the best for your whole body.." I sighed and he nodded.

"Well okay then... how's the wedding planning going? Charles said you’re doing an amazing job with Celeste?"

"Celiné. And yeah, she makes it so much easier for me… you know with the F1 Academy and all, it’s a little hectic but she’s really amazing at what she’s doing." I took a sip of my water, looking around the room.

"The F1 Academy will race in Australia as well?" Daniel asked and I nodded.

"Yup. Susie did an amazing job with this year’s schedule! 10 races! That’s 3 more than last season!" I replied excitedly.

"So you’ll be at all the weekends with F1 Academy races and then some more?"

"I don’t know yet. Of course there will be more to do than just attend the race weekends! I just need to talk to Susie what she expects from me and what else I can do besides the tasks we already discussed…"

"You’ll figure it out, I have no doubts!" Charles said, sitting down next to me.

"How are you doing? Starting your first season as a Formula 1 world champion?" Daniel looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders a little.

"It feels like it’s less pressure than before on the one hand, because now I already won a championship, it’s out of the way finally. But on the other hand? It’s more pressure because everyone expects me to win again straight away because well now I’m a world champion… does that make sense?" he looked at me and I nodded.

"Of course it makes sense!" I reassure him and he smiled "But don’t worry, you’ll be just great."

"Yeah I guess we’ll see…"

"How is it working with Lewis?"

"He’s incredible. He reminds me a lot of Seb, the way he approaches things, how he asks questions, wants to now every single detail…" Charles smiled.

"You think you can win the constructors as well this year?" Daniel asked and Charles shrugged his shoulders.

"Let’s see first how Australia turns out…"

"Didn’t I say, don’t worry? I saw the tests, I know you’ll do just great, so please believe me!"

"Okay, okay. It’ll be a good weekend for us."

"Lizzie? Hey, how was it?" Susie walked in, smiling at me.

"It was amazing. The girls are just great, and so eager to learn! I think I’ve never had to answer this many questions!" I closed my notebook.

"Yeah, it’s not every day they can learn from a Formula 1 Grand Prix winner, you know?"

"We should change that. We should get the teams more involved. Maybe some Q&A’s with some of the drivers…" I suggested, checking the time.

"Sounds like a good idea, we should definitely think about it, but for now, go." she chuckled and I looked at her "You checked your watch at least 5 times in the last 2 minutes… the race is about to start… go…"

"Thanks Susie!" I got up, packing my bag and sprinting towards the Ferrari garage.

"There you are! I thought you wouldn’t come!" Andrea said and I tried to catch my breath "He’s a little nervous, you know…"

"Why?" I looked around, searching for Charles.

"He said after Friday wasn’t the best and he only got P2… you know him…"

"Yeah…" I sighed, spotting Charles in the corner, reading in his notebook, as if he could feel my eyes on him he looked up, an anxious smile on his lips.

"Hey you…" he whispered as soon as I was close enough for him to pull me into a hug.

"Hey yourself… what’s going on. Why so anxious?" I rubbed his back, feeling his muscles relax under my touch.

"I don’t know. Friday didn’t start out the way we wanted to, yesterday wasn’t much better, I only had one good lap… Max is in front and the RedBull is a rocket ship again…"

"Yeah and the Ferrari isn’t too bad either… come on! You can do this!" I kissed his cheek "And if you win, there’s a special prize waiting for you in the hotel…"

"Oh yeah? But what if I don’t win?" he looked at me and I winked.

"Then there’s a consolation prize waiting for you…"

"Damn, so either way I’m a winner at the end of the night?" he chuckled "Thanks… for cheering me up."

"That’s my job as WAG, no? Although… what am I now? I’m not yet a wife, but also no girlfriend anymore? They need to change the abbreviation! It’s WAFAG from now on… justice for all the fiancées out there!"

He pulled me in, pressing his lips onto mine and I melted into him.

"Just another reason why I love you so much…" Charles whispered against my lips and I looked at him confused "You always know how to cheer me up…"

"I’ve learned from the best." I replied, ruffling his hair a little "And now go. You have a race to win."

"I’ll try my best." one last kiss and he was gone, off to win the race in the last corner, overtaking Max in a breathtaking move.

I cheered for him from underneath the podium, Andrea next to me.

"Whatever you said to him, it worked, maybe you’re his lucky charm this season? You should stay close…" he laughed and I smiled.

"Maybe I should… or at least try to…"

"Charlie!" Liam jumped up from the sofa, Arlo on his heels, both running towards him. His face lit up immediately and I paused the movie, watching how he engulfed first Liam and then Arlo in a big hug.

"Are you watching Ice Age with us?" Liam asked and Charles smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Let me take a quick shower and then I'll join, okay?"

"Okay." Liam trotted back to the sofa, Arlo following him, and both made themselves comfortable.

"I'll make some fresh popcorn, okay?" I got up and walked downstairs "I don't get a hug?" I hugged Charles from behind, as he stood at the kitchen island, drinking a glass of water.

"I'm sorry, cara mia..." he sighed and turned around pulling me close "Hi, pretty girl." he kissed the side of my head and I melted into his touch.

"How are you?" I played with his hair at the nape of his neck, and felt him tense up a little.

"I threw away such a good weekend." he mumbled, his warm breath tickling my shoulder "I wanted to extend the lead to Max...

"You weren't the only one with track limits, come on! Almost everyone got them... even Max."

"Yeah, but I screwed up in the last lap! I would've won if I just took that last corner dif-... no, you know what? It's like that. I can't change it now..." Charles pulled away and cupped my cheeks "I'm home now, and I want to enjoy my time here..."

"Are you sure? You know you can vent if you need to?" I looked at him and he nodded.

"I'm sure. It was my own fault, I'll have to do better in Miami.

For now, I can't change it. But I have one week now to enjoy with you, our family and also see what you've planned already..." he kissed my forehead and I smiled at him.

"Alright, I'm making popcorn, you'll take a shower and later on we're having pizza, how does that sound?"

"Like music to my ears..." he chuckled, but then pulled me back by my wrist "Wait... are you okay? You said you didn't feel that good for a couple of days?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. It was just a little cold with a stomach bug. Nothing too bad. Also nothing a good soup and some hot tea didn't cure..." I replied and he nodded.

"Hmm... I'm sorry that I wasn't here..."

"Okay, stop now. You have a job and I can take care of myself." I looked at him pointedly.

"You're good now?" he asked and I smiled, nodding.

"Just a tiny bit tired and exhausted, nothing bad at all..." I reassured him "Now go take that shower, I make some snacks."

I prepared the popcorn, cut some fruits and vegetables and walked back upstairs where Charles already sat on the sofa, Liam and Arlo next to him. All 3 watching the screen with big eyes.

"Hey! Did you continue without me?" I pouted and Liam giggled.

"It was Charlie... he saw the dinosaur and wanted to watch!" he said, and Charles looked at him.

"Did you just rat me out?" he began tickling him, Arlo jumping happily between them "No! Help me Arlo! Not him!" I laughed and put down the trey with our snacks, sitting down next to Charles.

"Sorry, cara mia... but dinosaurs!" he said, and I kissed his cheek.

"It's okay, I didn't expect anything else from my 3 little boys."

"Hey!" Charles and Liam said and looked at me.

"Who are you calling little?"

"Who are you calling a boy?"

I chuckled and leaned back, snuggling into Charles continuing to watch the movie. When the credits rolled, he looked at me, an adorably confused look on his face.

"What?" I asked and he scratched his chin, looking at me.

"What was the whole peaches thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"When the girl mammoth was having the baby, or rather felt like she's going to have the baby, she said peaches. And then Manny knew that she was having the baby? Like... how? Is that a code for having a baby?" he tilted his head, and I threw my head back laughing "Stop laughing at me!" he pinched my side and I had to wipe away some tears.

"You think peaches is a code for when women are pregnant?"

"I don't know? Could be?"

"No, Charles, they talked about a codeword for Ellie, the girl mammoth, that when she feels that the baby is coming, she just would have to say peaches and then Manny would know in an instant what's happening." I explained.

"Ahhh yeah, okay, makes sense." Charles laughed "But it would be kinda cute, you know?... when someone is pregnant, and they would just say peaches, and everyone would know in an instant what's going on."

"That would be cute indeed." I agreed "Now I really want to have some peaches..." I laughed, grabbing some slices from the plate " ... all that talking about peaches!"

"All the peaches in the world for my pretty girl." Charles kissed me and Arlo jumped at him, pushing him away from me "Hey! Not this again, that's my fiancée! I was here first."

"Doesn't look like he cares about that." I shrugged my shoulders and Liam laughed.

"Go Arlo!" he cheered and helped him, tickling Charles.

"I surrender! You won!" he pressed out, breathing ragged and after another 30 seconds of torture Arlo and Liam stopped, letting him breathe.

"You deserve some treats, come on!" Liam got up and Arlo followed him downstairs, leaving a heavy breathing Charles and me behind.

"That was harder than the race..." he heaved, and I laughed "I swear!"

"Okay, big boy, if you say so..." I rolled my eyes and he laughed, before he pulled me into his lap "What are you doing?"

"As long as I have you all to myself..." he whispered, sealing our lips shut.

"Charles... they could come back any moment..." I breathed out, when his hand slipped under my shirt, goosebumps erupting all over my skin.

"I know..." he said, and I groaned.

"Then stop it!"

"You really want me too?"

But before I could reply we heard Liam and Arlo coming back up the stairs and Charles pushed me off of him, sighing.

"When are we having pizza?" Liam asked, oblivious to what he almost walked into.

"Yeah, cara mia, when are we having pizza?" Charles wiggled his eyebrows.

"I'm good with my peaches." I quipped and they both started to protest "Just kidding... come on boys, let’s make some pizza."

I packed my bag, watching Charles happily talking away with some of the girls, sharing his own experiences of the upcoming track.

"I spun out twice in 2023, and last year... well, lets say, I saw a lot of the 'you can't park there mate' memes with my car in the middle of the track." he chuckled, but I saw a muscle tick on his jaw, knowing that last years free practice was still a litle sore spot.

"But you still managed a podium." Maya Weug, one of the girls from the FDA, said and he nodded.

"Yeah, but it was a tough race, the track didn't really suit our car last season." he replied.

"And this year? Do you think it's better?" Bianca Bustamante from the McLaren drivers academy asked.

"I'd say we'll see tomorrow." Charles smiled at me when I looked up "Ready?"

"Yup. See you tomorrow girls." I waved at the group of drivers who stayed behind and they smiled, waving back.

"Bye Lizzie."

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Charles took my hand in his, pulling me to his side.

"You’re amazing." he said and I turned my head a little.

"What do you mean?"

"The way the girls look up to you? How you encourage them? Give them advices? You’re doing an amazing job…"

I smiled, hiding my face in his shoulder and he chuckled.

"You were also great… they girls really enjoyed talking to you, I mean obviously. A Formula 1 world champion giving them some advice? Telling them about his insecurities about the upcoming track? They loved you." I said and he opened the car door for me "Thanks for coming today, really. It meant a lot for me… but also the girls."

"You know I would do everything for you!" he smiled and pecked my lips before I got inside.

"Yeah? Well… can we stop at a Chipotle’s then?" I put on my sweetest smile and he laughed.

"Chipotle’s? Really?"

"Yeah I want a burrito and a quesadilla… oh and some taco’s! Chips and dips! Gosh I’m starving? I could eat their whole menu to be honest…" I said when my stomach began to grumble a little.

"A burrito, a quesadilla some tacos and chips and dips? Someone’s hungry…" he searched for the nearest Chipotle’s and I blushed a little.

"I don’t know… in the last weeks my stomach was going crazy. I was hungry at times and could eat so much the one minute just to feel almost nauseous the next, probably because I ate too much before but yeah… maybe all of that is too much…"

"Let’s order it all and we’ll share it?" Charles suggested and I nodded, looking outside "Hey? Lizzie? What’s going on?" he squeezed my thigh and I sighed.

"It’s ridiculous, really." I mumbled but he grabbed my hand gently, pulling me a little closer.

"I’m sure it’s not… just tell me, please…" he said quietly, his thumb tracing soft circles on the back of my hand.

"The last weeks... I didn't really take care of what I ate. Like I just ate whatever I wanted to eat, or sometimes just snacked away... and- I gained some weight, and my mind was like it doesn't matter, I don't have to fit into a car anymore, I can eat what I want... but I always felt so bad because I'm kinda used to follow a strict diet? And it's somehow still ingrained in my head... I even cried because I felt like I gained too much weight?" I rambled and Charles sighed, parking the car at the side of the road, turning to look at me, cupping my cheeks.

"I want you to listen to me, okay? You eat what you want to eat. End of the story. I know you, you don't eat unhealthy stuff all the time, I mean, I've seen you eat and honestly, wouldn't you have said something, I wouldn't even notice that you're eating more? And Whatever weight you've gained? It's not visible in the slightest. You're still as beautiful and sexy and hot and stunning and gorgeous and amazing as ever. Just that there is a new glimmer in your eyes, but that's making you even more beautiful. So, you and I, we're going now to Chipotle's. We'll get you a burrito, a quesadilla, some tacos and chips and dips. And if that means that you gain a little something? So be it. Who gives a shit, because certainly I don't. I'd rather see you eat and be happy then... we know what an unhealthy relationship you once had with your body and food... so no, we don't go back there." he was so sincere that I felt myself tear up, looking down.

"And now I'm crying because of food! Again! God these last few weeks were really taken their toll on me. Between planning our wedding, the F1 Academy, trying to support you, helping Sissy getting their new appartement ready before the baby comes... my head's a mess..." I hickuped and Charles kissed the tip of my nose.

"I'm sorry for not helping you enough with the wedding... I promise after this weekend, as soon as we're at home I'm all yours. Let's make all the final decisions we've been postponing for weeks now. Let's finalise it all. I'll get the boys together and we're going to the tailor, so suits, done. I'll help Daniel assemble all the stuff for the little one, done. It'll be fine, okay?" he whispered, and his smile made warmth spread through my body, leaving a tingly feeling in its wake.

"Can't it be June already?" | sighed and he chuckled.

"I feel you... god I can't wait to see you walk down the aisle... I just know that you’ll be the most beautiful bride ever…"

"You’ll love the dress… Monique is a genius." I leaned back in the seat and Charles checked the mirror, steering the car back on the road."

"You could wear a paper bag and would look gorgeous." he chuckled and I rolled my eyes "But I know that whatever you’ve chosen, it’ll be perfect."

"It is, you’ll see…" I looked out the window, spotting our destination, a happy smile on my lips.

"And now let’s get some Chipotle for my pretty and hungry girl…"

I watched Abby lifting her trophy into the sky, clapping for her when Susie joined me.

"She's amazing. Last season she already was one of the best, but this season? She improves from race to race..." I said, turning a little, to see Abby taking a winner selfie with the little crowd behind her.

"That's because of you... you help these girls a lot and that so many people are here right now, celebrating them? That's also because of you. You're doing an amazing job, Lizzie, you can be proud of yourself... I am. Really. As someone who watched your career from the early days in karting... and before you say now something... save it." she chuckled.

"I didn't even want to say something!" I held up my hands.

"Yeah, yeah, sure..."

"Susie, Lizzie!" we turned around, and the Sky UK crew waved at us "Can we have a few minutes?" Natalie Pinkham smiled.

"Sure!" Susie looked at me and I nodded.

"Fantastic. F1 Academy, round 3 of 10. With Charles visiting the girls on Thursday we have the current world champion showing his support, the crowds that are cheering for the girls are getting bigger and bigger, what do you think is making the F1 Academy so appealing at the moment?" Natalie asked.

"Not what, but who. Since Lizzie joined us actively the interest in the F1 Academy grew immensely, everyone wants to know what a young, brilliant and talented driver, who was forced to retire unfortunately way too early, is up to. She generated a whole new following for the Academy, she's always there for the girls, they can ask her anything they want, they benefit so much from Lizzie's experience... and she brings the big names to the girls." Susie's excitement was contagious.

"I think we can all agree that we were really saddened by your unfortunate retirement. But as it seems, you've found just the right spot where you fit right in?"

"Retiring wasn't easy, and I was scared what I would do without racing, but working alongside Susie, being up close to her, see her work her magic, make the F1 Academy such a successful racing series, giving these girls an opportunity, one shey all deserve... i makes it easier to be at the track.."

"What's to come for the F1 Academy? What do you two power ladies have planned?"

"A lot... a whole lot." Susie winked and I laughed.

"There's so much more to come." I added.

"Well, we all can't wait for it. One last thing, Lizzie, how's the wedding planning going? We heard from Charles that you're the mastermind behind it?" Natalie smiled and I chuckled.

"Me? No, Celiné, our wedding planner, she's the real mastermind. I'm just trying to help her... she's doing an amazing job and the planning is going on very well. Some final details and it's done, and honestly? You have no idea how happy I am about it. A lot going on at the moment..."

"We hope for some pictures of the big day. Thanks Lizzie, Susie."

"What a day." I chuckled and we walked back towards the hospitalities, when a door to our left opened and a tangy smell filled my nostrils. I stopped dead in my tracks, supressing a gag "Oh god what are they cooking in there...

"What do you mean? Smells not too bad?" Susie laughed and I shook my head, making her stop "Are you okay?" she looked at me worriedly "You're really pale... you didn't look too peachy the whole weekend, to be honest..."

"Nice way to say that I look bad.." I chuckled but stopped immediately, feeling the bile rise in my throat.

"I'm serious. I thought it's maybe the jetlag, you told me you didn't sleep too well since we're here..." she looked around and then walked away for a moment, returning with a bottle of water "Here, drink a little..."

"Thanks." I mustered a smile and took a few sips.

"Let's get you back to Charles, in the hospitality it's cool and you can rest a little." she led me towards the Ferrari hospitality, where Charles sat outside with Lewis and Silvia, a camera team filming them.

"Must be weird seeing him in red?" I nodded towards Susie, and she smiled, a little sadness in her eyes.

"After everything Lewis has done for Mercedes, I think it was only fair for him to let him go, so that his one last big dream can come true, drive for Ferrari." she replied.

"That's true."

"But yeah, it is a little weird seeing him in red."

"I bet." I chuckled and walked up the two stairs "Thanks for dropping me off."

"You're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a little... I don't know, my stomach is a little in shambles since I had that dodgy looking egg roll from that one food truck. Since then, I felt a little nauseous..." I said, hoping Susie would believe me.

"Okay... well, you have now a couple of weeks' time to rest a little, take care of your wedding, sleep..." she smiled and hugged me "And stay away from dodgy looking egg rolls!"

"Dodgy looking egg rolls?" Charles hugged me from behind when Susie walked off, saying hi to Lewis "When did you have a dodgy looking egg roll?"

"Yesterday, I was hungry and had the last egg rolls from the food truck in the paddock…" I lied and Charles raised his eyebrow.

"And you feel unwell since then?"

"No, my stomach is a little in shambles. That's it. I'm fine. I just need to drink some water, rest a little and all is good..." I reassured him and he studied my face "Really. Don't worry, okay? You should prepare, you have a race to win!"

"Hmm we'll see about that..." he mumbled, still looking sceptical at me.

"Stop looking at me like that. I'm fine!" I kissed his cheek and walked inside and after a moment he followed me "So, how confident are you in winning today?"

"We have good chances. It's all down to a good start." he sat down next to me, and I nodded.

"I'm sure you manage to stay ahead." I stroked his arm, trying my best to look calm, while my mind was occupied with piercing together the puzzle pieces.

The nauseousness every now and then, insomnia, being overly emotional, the weight gain, cravings for food like I never had before, feeling tired and exhausted, my brain that just won't work properly anymore.

"Lizzie?" Charles gently squeezed my thigh and I looked at him "Are you sure you're okay? You zoned out a little..."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. I was just- I was just thinking about something for the wedding..." I lied and he smiled.

"Okay, I have to go now, see you later." he got up and kissed me, then walked outside to get ready for the race and I leaned back in my seat, taking a deep breath.

With shaky hands I took out my phone, opening the app that would be the answer. 3 missed cycles. I scrambled up, grabbing my bag and left the hospitality. I needed a test. And I needed one now. Two Uber rides and a from paranoia plagued trip to a pharmacy later, I sat on the closed lid of the toilet watching the last second of the timer ticking away, 3 tests on the sink. 3... 2... 1... one last deep breath and I got up, looking at the tests.

"Oh my god."

He won. Imola. Home race of Ferrari. The race he wanted to win so badly after Monaco and Monza. He did it. I was so proud, absently stroking my stomach. The moment we came back to Monaco I made an appointment at my doctor’s office, who just confirmed what I already knew since Miami. I was pregnant. And according to the doctor already in the 17th week. 4 months of carrying a little bean with me without knowing it. The baby was healthy, although I was concerned by the lack of a baby bump. I thought for days about how I wanted to tell Charles, but I didn’t came up with a good idea. Not until I saw the kid of one of Charles’ mechanics in the back of the garage with a Sid from Ice Age plushie. It was cheesy. And for a moment I thought about how it might take away from his moment. But then I remembered how much he wanted this, how excited he got whenever we talked about it and knew it was the right moment. I walked over to the engineered and tapped on Bryan’s shoulder.

"Bryan?" I said quietly and he turned around, smiling "Can you say something to Charles for me?"

"Umm- okay?" he looked at me a little confused and I chuckled.

"Just say peaches. That’s enough." I said and he nodded, even more confused.

"Charles? I have a message from Lizzie." he said and I put back on my headphones, walking over to the nearest screen.

"Okay?" Charles radioed back and I was excited for his reaction.

"Peaches." Bryan said and was met with silence. The only sound to be heard was the crowd, chanting at Charles going a little too wide.

"Peaches." his voice was thick with emotions and a lot of heads were turning my way.

I laughed, took the headphones off and walked outside, waiting at the side of the fence. Charles parked his car and climbed out, taking his helmet and balaclava off, throwing it at Andrea who barely caught it. He searched the crowd for me and the moment his eyes landed on me he ran, picked me up and spun us around.

"Peaches?" he asked and I nodded.

"Peaches!" I repeated and I saw the tears in his eyes, the happiness. His gorgeous dimples showing.

But the next second his eyes widened and he sat me down, cupping my cheeks, searching my face for any discomfort.

"Fuck! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have done that!" he whispered kissing my forehead and I laughed "Are you okay?"

"Of course I am! I’m pregnant, not sick! Well not right now at least!" I chuckled and he looked at me for one moment before he kissed me, the crowd erupting around us pulled us back into reality, reminded us that we weren’t alone.

"You made me the happiest man alive, cara mia." he whispered against my lips and I smiled.

"And you made it so much harder for me to fit into my wedding dress in a month." I sighed a little and he laughed.

"I told you already, you could wear a paper bag and you would still look gorgeous. You’ll be the most beautiful girl. Just like always." he kissed my cheek as I blushed "My pretty girl. And my pretty baby." he carefully stroked the side of my almost invisible bump "Are we keeping it to ourselves? Or do you want to tell the world? Or just our family and friends?"

"If they didn’t get it after today? Let’s see how long we can keep it our cute little secret?" I said quietly and he nodded, kissing me again.

"Whatever you say… sweet mama." he winked at me and I laughed.

"Oh god no!" I pushed him away and he laughed "Go now! Celebrate with your team! I’m waiting right here for you!"

He walked towards his team but stopped abruptly and turned around, walking back and kissing me.

"Forgot something… I love you." he smiled and squeezed my waist, before he stormed over to his team, celebrating his win.

I stood at the door, looking down at the aisle that I would walk down in less than 24 hours. Although the lawn was mostly empty for now, thanks to Celiné I had a vision of how it would look on Saturday and I felt the tears gather in my eyes.

"I hate these stupid hormones." I whispered and Charles chuckled, walking up the 3 steps.

"I know…" he grabbed me by the waist, gently squeezing my sides pulling me in "But it’s also kinda cute… and the way you’re pouting is even more cute…" he kissed said pout and I had to smile.

"Lizzie?" Celiné cleared her throat and I pulled away "Umm there’s a little problem we need to deal with…"

"How bad is it?" I asked and she bit her lower lip "That bad? Okay…"

"Do you need me as well?" Charles looked at her and she shook her head "Well, I guess I leave you to it then." he kissed my cheek and walked inside.

"Okay." I followed Celiné inside to the bridal suite and she nodded to the chair "Oh it’s that bad? I need to sit down? Okay…"

"Well… it’s… umm- okay I just say it, they delivered the wrong bridesmaid dress-…"

"What? WHAT?" I got up and she held up her hands "They delivered the wrong dresses? How’s that even possible?"

"Dress. Singular. Only one dress is the wrong size. It’s the same model, but the wrong size…" Celiné said and I sat back down.

"Whose dress?"

"Mine." Sissy said, waddling inside "And- please don’t hate me, I’m not even mad about it? I don’t think that I could stand that long, this boy is on his way out and I swear it feels like he’s gonna plop out any moment." she sat down, gently stroking over her very prominent baby bump "I’m so sorry, I should’ve said something earlier, but I thought I could make it, I wanted to but this kid is part Aussie and I can feel it."

"It’s okay, really. I mean, I understand…" better than she knew "So… any ideas what to do now? Charles has 3 groomsman, I had 3 bridesmaids… now I have two and a teeny tiny dress…"

"I was thinking about Andrea and Julia, but the dress is too small, I already checked in with them."

I only listened halfheartedly to Celiné, looking outside the window where Carla got out of a car, looking around.

"I’ll be right back." I got up and walked outside, Celiné and Sissy looking confused.

Carla walked towards the guest house, where our guests would stay over the weekend and I sped up a little.

"Carla!" I called after her and she turned around, a big smile spread across her face.

"Lizzie, hi!" she hugged me and I smiled "I’m so excited to be here! Thanks again for inviting me!"

"Of course! I told you, you’re still a part of the family!" I said and she nodded slightly.

"I guess I see you then tonight? Are you really sure it’s alright for me to come? It’s only your mum’s and siblings and best friends and-…"

"And you’re like my little sister, so yes, it’s more than okay! Actually… I need you to do me a favour…"

"Sure! Anything! What’s wrong?" she said and I grabbed her hand.

"You need to come with me for a moment."

"Okay, sure, but my bags…" she began and I waved one of the staff members over.

"Hi, could you please be so kind and bring Miss Brocker’s baggage to her room? I need her." I smiled at him and he nodded.

"Of course Miss Doetterer." he took the suitcase and dress bag from Carla and left.

"Alright." I pulled her with me, inside the main house, to the bride suite where Sissy and Celiné looked at me.

"Hi Sissy." Carla smiled and leaned down, hugging her "How are you? The baby?"

"Well… it’s okay… he’s a little wilder than Liam was, but soon it’s over."

"He’s probably really excited to be a big brother soon?"

"Oh yeah, he can’t stop talking about it. Don’t worry, he'll tell you all about it himself."

"I can’t wait." Carla smiled and I opened up the dress bag.

"That’s going to fit." I said and all 3 looked at me "Yeah. Problem solved. Carla, you’re going to be the third and missing bridesmaid, it’s even out then again."

"What?" all 3 said at the same time and Carla stepped towards me.

"You can’t be serious? You- me? But… Shima with Joris, Charlotte with Lorenzo, Sissy with Arthur…" she said and I nodded "That’s not a good idea. Lizzie, just think about it?"

"Okay listen, you would’ve been a bridesmaid if this tool of a boy didn’t pull that shit! And I need a third bridesmaid. And-… Carla please save my wedding. Charles would be heartbroken if Arthur wouldn’t stand with him at the altar… and it would look so unaesthetic with only two bridesmaids and three groomsman." I pleaded, tears stinging my eyes.

"I-I don’t know… we don’t even know if the dress fits? And I don’t know if my shoes match!" Carla replied and I sighed.

"Please try it on, if it fits and it’s just some small changes that Shima could do tonight, would you do it? Please? If you really don’t want to because-… no, you’re right." I shook my head "It wasn’t fair to ask that of you. I’m sorry." I sat down, leaning back in the armchair "Maybe the photographer could use some different ankles to make it work?"

Carla looked at the dress and then at me.

"If it fits or the changes are minimal, I’ll do it. But only if it’s really okay with you. And I- Arthur’s new girlfriend is here… he should be asked as well if he’s okay." she said and so jumped up, hugging her.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" I kissed her cheek and she chuckled "I go to Charles and explain the situation to him, then he can talk to Arthur. Shima will be here any minute and-…"

"And what am I doing?" she sad walking inside and we quickly explained to her what happened "Okay, put the dress on and we’ll see."

"You think you can do it? Get it ready in time?" Celiné asked and she laughed.

"Carla has the perfect body, don’t worry, that will be easy."

"See? No problem. 3 bridesmaids. 3 groomsmen. Or rather, 2 bridesmaids, 2 groomsmen, one maid of honour and one best man." I smiled.

"Looks like the problem is solved then?"

"Problem is solved. Wedding saved." I texted Charles and smiled to myself.

It would be fine. All would be fine.

Charles POV:

Lizzie paced nervously back and forth, the stress and exhaustion of the last weeks clearly visible in her face.

"Cara mia? Hey! It’s going to be okay, alright?" I tried to calm her down but she shook her head.

"Are you sure?" she stopped, looking at me "I’m serious? Do you really think it will be okay?" she sounded desperate "One bridesmaid down and the substitute is your brothers ex… I love Carla, I really do, and inviting her was the right thing to do and I wanted her to attend, but what was I thinking? Asking her to fill in for Sissy? And she said herself she wasn’t so sure it was a good idea and my stupid brain was persistent and said no, please, it’s fine?" her breathing became ragged.

"Cara mia, look at me. Calm down, okay? It all going to be okay, but you need to calm down… deep breath in… and out… in… and out… keep breathing… sit down, I’ll get you some water." I gently pushed her down on the bench "Deep breath in… and out… in and out… you’re doing amazing… I’ll be right back…" I walked inside, grabbed a bottle of water, one of the snack packs Celiné prepared, and walked outside, finding an empty bench "Cara mia?" I walked around the corner, Lizzie standing at the banister, looking over the lake. I put down the water and snack pack and stepped behind her, hugging her from behind.

"Can you believe it? Tomorrow at this time… I’ll have your name…" Lizzie whispered, resting her head against my shoulder.

"Lizzie Doetterer-Leclerc, my wife…" I kissed the side of her head "…mother of our gorgeous little one…" I gently cradled her tiny baby bump, well concealed by her clothes over the past weeks "I’m so excited for tomorrow… the day I’ve been waiting for for my entire life…"

"Husband and wife…" Lizzie tilted her head up, looking at me.

"Wife and husband." I leaned down, sealing our lips shut with a kiss, when the loud banging at the door made us flinch.

"I guess that’s your entourage… ready to whisk you away… or rather steal you away…" she whispered against my lips.

"Stupid traditions…" I sighed, ignoring the commotion in front of our suite "You sure you’ll be fine tonight? I can stay? We don’t have to do this…"

"I’ll survive. And I won’t be alone. The girls are coming over as you know, our mums…" she chuckled and I kissed her cheek, before kneeling down in front of her.

"Just a few more weeks and everyone will know about you, little one." I pushed Lizzie’s shirt up and kissed her belly "I can’t wait for everyone to find out about you, peaches."

"Peaches…" Lizzie whispered, gently carding through my hair when the banging on the door got louder again "As much as I want you to stay, pretty boy, go. Please. Before they knock down the door…"

"Yeah…" I got up and pulled her into me, stealing one last kiss "Good night, soon to be wife…"

"Good night, soon to be husband." she breathed out against my lips and with one last little peck I pulled away, leaving the suite, stepping right into the bunch of my groomsmen, all waiting eagerly for me.

"Ready?" Enzo asked and I took a deep breath, nodding.

"Go get him boys!" someone shouted and the world turned dark "Let the night begin…"

I stood in front of the mirror. Looking at myself. The dress, the hair, the make-up. It was all perfect. One look up and down and I turned around, looking at Sophie, the hair and make-up artist.

"Ready for the veil?" she smiled and I nodded "Alright…" she carefully put my veil on and I watched her in the mirror "You will think I say that to all my brides, but Lizzie, you are really one of the most beautiful brides I ever worked with…"

"Oh stop, you say that to all your brides…" I laughed and she gently squeezed my arm.

"Very funny. I’m serious. You have this natural glow radiating from you… truly stunning."

"Thank you, really…"

"You wanna step out and show your bridesmaids and the mums?"

"Give me a second…" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

My heart was racing. I was a little afraid of this moment. What if they didn’t like the dress, all the changes we had done to conceal my tiny baby bump. I loved the new design, that it was more flowy, more comfortable. What if they liked the original design, the one before I found out I was pregnant. I gave Sophie the thumbs up and she opened the door, stepping out in front of me.

"Ladies, here’s your bride…" she said and I stepped outside.

Silence. Big eyes. Confused faces. But it was Mum who stepped up to me, tears in her eyes, a big smile on her lips.

"Oh Lizzie, my beautiful girl. Look at you…" she said, taking my hands in hers "You look… I don’t have words…"

"Magnifique! Beautiful! Stunning!" Pascale said, standing next to Mum "Charles is the luckiest man who ever lived!"

"You are beautiful." Sissy smiled, looking at me from her seat.

The compliments wouldn’t stop and I smiled, holding up my hands.

"Okay guys you have to stop or I’m crying. And I don’t want to cry. So please enough for now!" I sniffled a little and Carla handed me a tissue box.

"But-… can I ask what happened to the original design?" Pascale asked and the rest nodded.

"I loved it. I really did. But I thought it was a little too… too tight? Around my stomach and waist area? You know I thought about what amazing food we’ll have? And this one is more flowy, I talked with Monique and told her that I want the dress to have a little more room for food, to be a little more comfortable. And that’s what she came up with… now I can actually enjoy the food at my own wedding, not feeling bloated because I ate too much!" I lied and I saw the way Mum and Pascale looked at each other.

"Okay, makes sense. I mean, it’s still the same dress no? Just a little more… flowy…" Mum said after a moment and I nodded.

"Ready for your big day?" Charlotte asked and I shook my head.

"I’m nervous and scared and gosh I hope I don’t forget my vows or trip and fall on my way down the aisle!" I rambled and Mum gently cupped my cheek.

"Hey! It’s going to be just fine. It’s Charles who is waiting for you. If you forget your vow just look at him and tell him how much and why you love him, that’s fine. And if you trip, do you really think your dad would let you fall? It’s all going to be just fine, okay?" she reassured me and I took a deep breath.

"Okay. I’m fine. I’m ready. Let’s go. Let’s get married. Let Dad get me down the aisle…" I smiled right as a knock on the door made us all look up.

"That was my sign to come in, right?" Das walked inside but stopped dead in his tracks, looking me up and down, while Mum, Pascale, Sissy, Shima, Charlotte and Carla left. "My little owl… you are… you are gorgeous." his voice wavered a little and he closed the distance between us "Look at you… you are so beautiful."

"Oh Dad stop." I said, fighting the tears "Stop making me cry."

"I’m sorry, but look at you!" he replied and I smiled a little "You look so beautiful…"

I took a deep breath and tried my best to not cry but couldn’t stop one tear from escaping.

"Don’t worry, we’ll make a little touch up as soon as we’re downstairs and before the doors are opening." Sophie said, and followed the mums and bridesmaids.

"May I?" Dad offered me his arm and we walked down "The last steps with my little girl… "

"Oh come on, dad!"

"It’s true. You’ve grown into an amazing young woman. Achieved so much already. I’m proud of you. You and Charles. I always knew, as long as it’s Charles I’m handing you off too, I’m fine with it." he chuckled a little.

"Yeah. It was always him right?" I whispered and he nodded.

"Always, little one. And now…" he stopped and Sophie did a last touch-up of my hair and make-up, nodding to Shima, who waited at the side with the other bridesmaids.

"Alright, where are the groomsmen?" she looked to the side where Lorenzo, Arthur and Joris walked out.

"We’re here." Enzo smiled and then stopped, looking at me "Lizzie, you look beautiful."

"Wow…" Arthur whispered, wiping his face instantly.

"Charles is the luckiest guy on this planet!" Joris said, a big smile on his face.

"We need to get going. I can’t cry before I even made it down the aisle, okay?" I laughed "Did you manage to sneak in my surprise for Charles?" I then whispered to Joris and he nodded "Did he see it already?"

"No, not yet…" he smiled and then followed Arthur and Lorenzo, standing next to their designated bridesmaids.

Joris whispered something into Shima’s ear, making her blush. Lorenzo kissed Charlotte, telling her how beautiful she looked. I watched Arthur, taking a deep breath and holding out his arm for Carla, she smiled nervously, but when Arthur smiled as well, it seemed like both would be fine and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in.

"Everyone ready?" Celiné opened the door, looking inside and Shima nodded "Our bride is ready too?"

"Yeah…" my voice thin and I cleared my throat "I’m ready. Let’s get married."

Charles POV:

The door opened and I watched Joris and Shima, Lorenzo and Charlotte and lastly Arthur and Carla walk down the aisle. All with the biggest smile on their faces. I was nervous, but the good kind of nervous. Excited. I couldn’t wait for Lizzie walking down the aisle. Joris, Lorenzo and Arthur stood next to, smiling and I watched how the girls took in their positions.

"Did you see her?" I whispered to Joris and he nodded.

"You hit the jackpot…" he replied and I smiled.

The music began to play and I closed my eyes, taking one last deep breath, as all the guests arose for the arrival of the bride. My bride. My Lizzie. When I opened my eyes I teared up immediately, watching Lizzie next to Juergen. She was the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. She looked ethereal. Like a goddess. Her dress and veil shining bright in the warm light of the sun. But nothing could compare to the smile on her face. She was glowing. Her eyes shining. But even now I could sense her nervousness and I had to smile. Father and daughter stopped in front of me and Juergen, turned a little kissing Lizzie’s cheek, whispering something, before he turned to me, pulling me into a bear hug.

"I know there’s no better man out there for my little girl. I know you will take good care of her." he whispered and I nodded.

"I’ll protect her with my life."

"I know you will. I love you, son."

I took a deep breath, feeling even more tears gathering in my eyes when I pulled away, smiling at him.

"Love you too, Pops."

He winked at me and then gently took Lizzie’s hand, placing it in mine, then making his way to our mothers, sitting in between them.

"Hi…" Lizzie whispered and I felt the nervousness radiating off of her.

"You are so beautiful…" I kissed the back of her hand and she blushed "My beautiful goddess."

"You look gorgeous…" she smiled and I chuckled.

We both turned towards the wedding officiant who smiled at us, then opened up his book and began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, with fond hearts and joyous spirits, let us join together to commemorate the remarkable union of Lizzie and Charles as they begin this incredible journey of matrimony today here before us… Marriage is a sacred bond of deep commitment and faith. It can be an amazing journey shared between two individuals devoted to each other, loving and supporting one another through the highs and lows that come with life's adventures. With patience and trust in your partner, marriage will provide strong foundations for all those special moments ahead."

My face almost began to hurt from smiling, and by the look on Lizzie’s face she felt the same.

"Our bride and groom have now prepared their own vows that they would like to share now with us… Lizzie."

She smiled nervously, turned towards me and I took her other hand into mine, squeezing them gently.

"Okay… I can do this…" she whispered to herself and I smiled. She took one last deep breath and closed her eyes and when she opened them again they were so full of love, if almost made my heart burst "Charles, our story began on a karting track 19 years ago and since then there was not a single day where I haven't thought of you at least once. We've been through good times, bad times, even the worst of times, but with you by my side, even the worst of times were bearable. Today I stand before you, ready to start the biggest adventure of our lives. I know it will be hard sometimes, some days will take a lot of work. But I also know that there will be days filled with love, laughter, and pure bliss. I can't imagine sharing this adventure with anyone else but you. You're my best friend, the love of my life, and my soulmate. Today I promise to stand by your side and to love you always. And when one day death do us part, | promise you, l'll find you in every other lifetime. I once called you a magnetic force and today, I take you, this magnetic force of a man, to be my husband."

I had to fight the tears, and Lizzie gently wiped away the one that had escaped, smiling at me.

"Charles…" the officiant said and I nodded.

"Lizzie, from the moment I met you, I knew you belong with me and that the girl in my story, was and will always be you. You’re my past, my present and my future. You make saying goodbye the worst, but saying hello the best. Saying I love you forevermore will never be long enough. You turn every place you’re at into my favourite place to be. You are the light in my darkest nights, that always guides me home to my safe haven, you. You have the purest and kindest soul, the biggest heart and the sharpest mind. You’re also the most beautiful, breathtaking, stunning girl I’ve ever seen, that’s a big bonus too." everyone laughed a little, and Lizzie shook her head, an amused smile on her lips "You’re always by my side, through all my struggles and endeavours, my highest highs, my lowest lows. In every situation, you always bring me comfort, bring me peace. Waking up next to you is my biggest inspiration and motivation to be the best version of me, but I know that even on the days where I won’t succeed, you will love me no matter what. They say the secret to a perfect life together is to find someone to grow old with, but I think the secret is to find someone to stay young with and in you, I found that someone, Lizzie, because all’s well that ends well to end up with you."

Lizzie looked at me, tears streaming down her face, and I cupped her cheeks, wiping her tears away just the way she did with mine.

"Who has the rings?" the officiant asked and Joris and Shima stepped forwards, handing him the rings. He smiled at Lizzie, handing her my ring.

"Lizzie, do you take Charles to be your husband, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him and to cherish him. Through sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." her hands shaky as she slipped the ring on my finger.

"Charles…" the officiant handed Lizzie‘s ring over and I smiled at her "…do you take Lizzie to be your wife, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her and to cherish her. Through sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." my hand was never this steady when I slipper her ring onto her finger, where her engagement ring was glistening in the sun.

"It is my great honour and privilege to pronounce you husband and wife. Charles, you may kiss the bri-…"

I didn’t let him finish, pulling Lizzie close and sealing our lips shut with an all consuming kiss. Our guests all began to cheer and clap, but I only had eyes for Lizzie, the glimmer in her eyes, the soft tinge of pink adorning her cheeks, the smile on her lips when I pulled away gently.

"I love you…" we both said in unison and I pecked her lips again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, for the first time ever, Mr and Mrs. Leclerc."

"Doetterer-Leclerc…" I whispered and she giggled slightly.

"I love the sound of that…"

"Me too, my beautiful wife, me too…"

The day was perfect. I had no other words for it. Lizzie and Celiné did an incredible job and I watched how all the most important people in our life celebrated us. Our love. When it was time for the food I had to chuckle, watching Lizzie practically beaming at the pasta and pizza bar, smiling from ear to ear when she saw how the guests loved the food, all indulging in the delicious treats.

"Happy?" I whispered, when she closed her eyes, enjoying some cheesy pasta.

"Oh yeah. Choosing a pasta and pizza buffet was the best idea! And our little one approves." she giggled, gently stroking her perfectly hissed bump.

"You want something more? Pizza? Salad? Pasta?"

"Yes. Yes and yes." she munched on her last piece of pizza and I laughed, kissing her cheek.

"I’ll be right back." I walked to the buffet, when Seb patted my arm and I smiled at him.

"Charles. Hey." he hugged me "Congrats, kiddo. What a wonderful day, thanks for having us."

"Thanks for coming! Really. It means a lot to us."

"How’s the bride?" he asked filing a plate with pizza slices.

"Hungry. Happy. On cloud nine?" I laughed, filling Lizzie’s plate with everything she wanted.

"That’s good to hear, now go, feed your wife. It’s going to be a long day!" he chuckled and I nodded.

"I see you later…" I waved him off, returning to our table where Lizzie smiled at me and made grabby hands for her plate "Here you go, my beautiful wife."

"Thank you very much, my dashing husband." she chuckled and I laughed. I looked around, everyone was happy, talking away, laughing. It was indeed the perfect day and I leaned back enjoying every moment to the fullest, when it was time for some speeches. I made it through them without shedding a single tear, fighting for my life, but when Juergen stepped up to the mic, I took a deep breath, squeezing Lizzie’s hand, who lost the the battle with the tears 3 speeches ago.

"You okay?" I whispered and she nodded, sniffling.

"Yeah. You? You need a tissue?"

"I’m fine. Thanks." I said, preparing for the worst.

"Lizzie, Charles. I’ll keep this short, we already heard enough speeches and I know these young folks want to dance and party… Lizzie, to me, you’ll always be my little girl, my little owl, no matter how old you are. And I always knew the day you would marry wouldn’t be easy for me… or at least I thought so for the first 8 years of your life. But the moment Charles walked into our life’s, I knew it wouldn’t be too hard. I knew that with Charles by your side, nothing will happen to you. You’ll be safe. Protected. Happy. I knew that Charles would do everything to make you the happiest girl on this planet, that he would fight for your dreams, make sure that you achieve everything you ever wanted. I knew that the day Charles would replace me wouldn’t be a sad day for me, because I’ve never seen someone loving another person as much as Charles loves you. Charles, I know you now for 19 years and I love you like my own and god how I wished your old man could be here with us tonight. Seeing the man you’ve become. He would be so proud of you, because I sure know that I am. But not just him. Also Jules. Know that these two, although not here with us tonight, are somewhere together, celebrating the love and bond you two share. So, ladies and gentlemen, let’s raise our glasses for our bride and groom. To Lizzie and Charles!" Juergen raised his glass and I took a deep breath, feeling tears streaming down my face.

"You need a tissue?" Lizzie repeated but I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded, taking the tissue she handed me with a shaky hand "Wait…" she smiled, gently wiping away my tears.

I mustered a smile and kissed her cheek, before I got up, taking another deep breath, looking for Juergen. When I spotted him he smiled at me and in an instant I pulled him into a tight embrace, trying to put into words what I felt, but I failed.

"It’s okay. I got you." he whispered and I just nodded, pulling him closer "They are always with you, remember that."

"Thank you…" my voice hoarse and shaky "For everything…"

"Go now, there’s a little surprise waiting for you…" he gently pulled away and I nodded, wiping my eyes.

I walked over to Lizzie, our mothers, hugging her.

"Hi pretty girl." I whispered, hugging her from behind, smiling at our mothers, not patting my arm, walking away "Sorry for storming away…"

"Are you okay?" she turned her head a little, looking at me, her eyes glassy.

"Yeah… he just… everything he said… it was-…" I rambled and she turned around.

"Pops was right, you know? They are always with you… even today…"

"I know, it’s just… I would’ve loved to have them here you know? Like really… I know it’s not possible… but yeah…" I sighed and she smiled.

"They are here, in a different way, but they are here…" she opened the buttons of my jacket, pulling the left side away from my body, looking at the lining on the inside and I followed her look, tearing up immediately. Carefully embroidered into the fabric were papa and Jules, smiling at me.

"How-… when-…" I was at a loss of words, blinking the tears away "Lizzie…"

"The tailor made two jackets, Joris swapped them out right before you put it on…" she whispered "I knew you wanted to have them with you… so-…"

I pressed my lips onto hers, pulling her close.

"You-… I love you, cara mia… so much… thank you. For this- today… our little one… thank you…" I kissed her again, when the lights got dark around us, the only light now coming from the string lights over the dance floor.

"Lizzie, Charles. It’s time for your first dance as husband and wife…" Joris said and I carefully wiped the tears from

Lizzie’s face, for what felt like the hundredth time today, right as she was doing the same on my face.

I took her hand in mine and led her to the dance floor, everyone smiling and cheering for us. Lizzie looked nervous, and I felt the same, but I also knew that with her by my side, it would be just fine. We stopped in the middle of the dance floor and I smiled at her, cupping her cheek and pulling her close, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Ready?" I whispered and she nodded.

"Yeah…"

She placed her hand on my shoulder, while I placed mine on her back, pulling her even closer, holding her other hand. We looked at each other, when on the right side a white piano appeared out of the dark, Arthur sitting on the bench, smiling at us. Then he started to play Lover and Lizzie’s eyes widened as we did the first steps.

"That’s…"

"Our song… I asked Arthur to learn it…"

"Charles… that’s-… thank you." she smiled and I kissed her cheek.

"I had to plan at least one thing alone for tonight, after you made this day as special as it is…"

She hid her face in the crook of my neck and I leaned my cheek against her head.

"I love you, my husband…" she whispered after a while and I smiled, kissing the side of her head.

"I love you too, my beautiful wife…"

The next weeks went by in a blur and it felt like I was floating on cloud 9. Montreal, Spielberg and Spa were wins number 5, 6 and 7. Lizzie was the happiest with how the F1 Academy was gaining more and more the interest of the media, more drivers joining her for workshops and our little one finally deciding to show up, making her huff in annoyance whenever she put something on, that did nothing to conceal her now growing belly.

"I think it’s time that we tell our family and friends the good news… I can’t hide it for much longer, it’s summer, I can’t run around wearing your hoodies all the time, we were lucky that it was cold and rainy the last weeks wherever we were racing!"

"Alright, then let’s tell everyone?" I said and she nodded "I mean, now that little Noah is born, we definitely can tell our family and friends?"

"Okay, let’s do this." she grabbed her phone and handed it to me, peeling my hoodie off of her belly "Take a picture and let’s send it to everyone."

"What? You’re joking, right?" I looked at her and she titled her head a little.

"Why?" she scrunched her nose.

"Lizzie! We’re not just sending a picture of your belly and that’s it!"

"Why not?"

"You’re really serious?"

"I mean, I wouldn’t just send a picture of my belly and that’s it. I would write a little something, but honestly? I don’t want to make a party or whatever. I’m just so happy that the wedding is over, I don’t need another party that I have to organise…" she leaned back and I thought about it for a second.

"Okay, we’re taking a selfie… with your belly…" I said and she smiled, I held the phone in one hand, pointing at Lizzie’s belly with the other, making a funny face taking some pictures before we looked at them.

Lizzie smiled at me on every picture, and when we picked our favourite one she thought for a moment, before she typed away, showing me the text and I laughed.

"We’re going to need a bigger car, bye bye two-seater."

I woke up from a faint rummaging somewhere in the penthouse, immediately feeling for Lizzie next to me, just to find her bed empty and cold. I was awake in an instant and sat up, switching the nightstand lamp on. 2:34am. One look to the foot of the bed and I knew that Lizzie was okay, Arlo was with her. I stretched and got up, following the rustling sound, hearing Lizzie mumbling in the soon to be nursery.

"I thought that I ordered it? Maybe they didn’t deliver it? Do we even need one? Of course we need one… silly me." she huffed and Arlo tilted his head when he saw me walking in, barking quietly "Shhh! Arlo! Don’t wake up Charlie!"

"Too late." I whispered and Lizzie flinched, turning around, her cheeks red, swollen belly on full display between us "What are you doing?" I asked, gently caressing our little one, feeling a kick immediately.

"She’s keeping me awake! She’s just like her dad!" Lizzie mumbled and I looked at her face, the glow of her skin, shiny eyes, soft hair.

"She?" I cocked an eyebrow and she nodded "Cara mia, we said we don’t want to know the gender for now… did you cheat?"

"No! But I just… I have this feeling, you know? I can’t explain…" she whispered and glanced down at her growing bump "She’s in there…"

"How do you know?"

"I just told you! I have a feeling!" she hit my shoulder and in the next moment she kissed my cheek "I’m sorry! I don’t know why I did that… I’m just… it’s- just…"

"Hormones? They make you emotional? Little cra-… irrational?" I said gently, wiping a tear from cheek.

"I’m carrying a baby inside of me! I think I have the right to be a little bit irrational!" another wave of her cute wrath.

"I’m sorry, pretty girl… you are right!" I smiled, cradling Lizzie’s bump gently with one hand, her cheek with the other "But can my two favourite people in the world come back to bed now? I miss you…"

"Yeah… I was just looking for this baby monitor thing? I thought I ordered it? But maybe I didn’t? It’s not here… but I was so sure? God my brain is mush… I- I don’t even know what day today is." she mumbled, a fresh wave of tears gathering in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey, cara mia. It’s okay! You hear me? We figure it out in the morning. But for now, let’s go back to bed." I gently guided her to our bedroom and helped her get comfortable.

"I hate being like this…" Lizzie whispered and I looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I’m so emotional all the damn time! One moment I’m complete mush and want to cry, the next I want to kill someone! And my brain is not braining anymore… and I don’t even want to start with how I look!"

"You look beautiful, what are you even talking about?" I cupped her cheek but she huffed.

"How is it possible that in the span of 8 weeks my belly tripled in size! I’m huge! 8 weeks ago I was wearing my wedding dress… and now?" she pouted "Not even your biggest clothes will fit me in no time anymore…"

"First of all, you haven’t tripled in size. Don’t be ridiculous! Second of all, you’re now in the sixth month. It’s normal that your belly grows now a little more each day! The doctor already said that it might happen from one week to another that our little one decides to show up fully! And there it is…"

"But- but I… I don’t even know what I wanted to say…" she sighed and I chuckled.

"What about we’re going to bed now? Tomorrow we’re leaving for our family vacation, just some quiet days with our family. Doing nothing but relaxing. Leave the room the way it is, and as soon as we’re back from our vacation, I’ll make sure to check that we have everything for our little one. And I make sure that the nursery is ready as well… how does that sound?"

"Okay…" she puffed out, walking towards the door "But I’m hungry…"

"What do you want, pretty girl?" I asked and she thought for a moment, although I knew already what she wanted "Grapes, berries, some cheese and crackers?"

"Ouhhh yes! That sounds good…" she smiled and I kissed her cheek.

"You go and het comfy in the bed and I’ll bring you your midnight snack."

"Thank you." she whispered, smiling adorably.

"Everything for my beautiful wife and our little one…"

"Where’s Lizzie?" I asked our mothers, when I got out of the pool, looking for her.

"She went inside, she said it’s a little too hot and she’s also hungry… but not hungry hungry, more in the mood for a snack hungry…" Marina said and I chuckled.

"Okay…" I grabbed a towel, drying myself up, walking inside the house, where Lizzie was sitting on the sofa, eating ice cream, the bowl propped up on her belly. I took my phone out and captured the moment when she scrunched her nose, huffing.

"What is it, pretty girl?" I asked and stopped in front of her "What do my two favourite girls in the world need?"

"Oh? So now it’s a girl?" she tilted her head adorably "When I said she’s a girl, that I can feel it, you called me crazy…"

"I did not call you crazy!" I held my hands up and she sighed, rolling her eyes, before she scooted to the edge of the sofa, pushing herself up "Hey, what do you need? I can get it for you…"

"I can walk into the kitchen by myself, thank you…" she mumbled and waddled away, it was truly endearing.

"I know that you can, but I could also just do it for you…" I followed her as she rummaged through the cupboards "What do you need?"

"This ice cream sucks…" she groaned, voice muffled as she looked into another cupboard.

"Ouch-… okay…"

"No! Not sucks like it doesn’t taste good! More like… I want the saltiness from the caramel one, but still the peanut ice cream and no caramel? Maybe a little chocolate? I don’t know…" she mumbled, letting an errant of different snacks and toppings falling down on the kitchen island.

"And what are you doing now?" I watched her scoop up some ice cream, sprinkling it with chocolate chips and some sea salt flakes.

"Now I’m mixing my own ice cream…" she shoved the spoonful in her mouth, giving it a go "No. That’s not it…"

"So this is your newest craving then? Ice cream with weird toppings?" I asked carefully, hoping secretly that the nights full of fruit platters and cheese boards in our bed might come to an end.

"For now…" she mumbled, trying her next creation "Ewww no. Bad idea. Bad, bad, bad idea. Whoever said pickles go along with everything… no. Just no."

I stayed quiet and watched Lizzie trying all different variations of toppings out, right when I thought she wouldn’t find the perfect combination today, a moan emanated from her throat and she closed her eyes.

"I guess whatever that combination was, it’s the winner?" I chuckled as she let out another moan "Okay stop… our parents are somewhere out there…"

"Charles, I’m pregnant, I think they know that we have sex…" she rolled her eyes and I shook my head, hugging her from behind.

"But that’s the thing, cara mia…" I whispered in her ear, watching goosebumps spread over her body, her breathing hitched "We’re not having sex… you’re just eating ice cream, sounding like that? I feel like I have to outperform myself tonight to make you sound like that…" she began to tremble and I cradled her swollen belly.

"Charles…" she breathed out.

"Yeah?" I kissed her cheek.

"I think I just invented a new flavour for Lec…" she replied and I dropped my head on her shoulder, laughing "You should give it a try, it’s delicious."

"Sure… why not…" I chuckled, opening my mouth for the spoon Lizzie fed me. And to my surprise she was right "What’s that?"

"It’s your peanut ice cream, with crushed salt pretzels and a little bit of crumbled brownies. Salty, sweet, nutty. It has it all." she ate another spoon full "Mhhh so good." she moaned again and I shook my head.

"Now you’re just doing it to tease me…"

"Maybe… maybe not…"

I stroked her belly, leaning down and kissing the side of it.

"Your mama is mean to me… I can’t wait for you to come out and help me against her!" I whispered and Lizzie laughed.

"You think, after I carried her for 9 months, she’ll pick your side?"

"Of course. I talked to her about it. Every night when I was with you, I talked to her, had my own personal little chat time with our beautiful little one… I’m confident she’ll protect her dad from her vicious mama…"

"Vicious?" she shrieked and I laughed, cupping her cheeks.

"Vicious, beautiful, perfect baby mama…" I kissed her and I felt the smile on her lips "My gorgeous wife…"

Chapter 50 - Ladies and Gentlemen, you are cordially invited to celebrate the marriage of Lizzie and Charles ♥️👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️ 2 more chapters to go…

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