#lance stroll reader insert

[honeybadgercomeback]

Spotter

Summary: An overheard phone call leads to an invitation to spend the holidays with your gym buddy and usual spotter, Lance. But when he tells you just who he is and what his life is like, you decide that spending Hanukkah with people who like each other is so much better than anything else with your family.

Words: 4.5k

Warnings: Mentions of a semi toxic family situation, mentions of past relationships ending, mentions of cheating.

AN: Just as a warning, I’m not Jewish. I’ve done a lot of research to write this accurately, and if I made any mistakes please do let me know so I can fix it! For those who celebrate, Chag Sameach!

—

“Yeah, Mom, I get it. I understand what you’re saying. Exactly, I wouldn’t want to look sad in the back of the photos. Just let me know when they’re sending RSVPs out. I’ll talk to you soon.” You stabbed at the red end call button, throwing your head back against the wall of the gym. This was great. Just great. Because three weeks before the holidays was exactly when you wanted to be uninvited from your family Christmas.

“You ok?” You turned to see Lance, the guy who shared your gym and spotted for you when you were doing weights standing down the hallway. The Canadian had become a friend since you’d started paying too much money for the gym in Monaco because your trainer worked out of there now.

“I’ll be fine. Just holiday planning.”

“I don’t know what Christmas is like, but from the movies and what friends have said it sounds stressful.” You raised an eyebrow and he elaborated. “I’m Jewish. I get the minor holiday that people compare to Christmas because of the time of year when the only real similarities are giving presents and eating chocolate.” You laughed and he smiled at your reaction.

“That sounds about right. I was on the phone to my mom, she politely advised that I skip Christmas at home this year. My sister’s bringing her fiance home for engagement photos. Apparently I’d be a ‘distraction’ because he was my college boyfriend.” You mimicked your mother’s accent, making Lance smile this time.

“So what’s your plan? Staying here for it?”

“At home in Nice, yeah. I’m going to get some wine, some cheese, and stay at home watching crappy movies. Are you doing anything nice? Heading home yourself?”

“Yeah, I’m going to Montreal. I’ll spend Hanukkah and New Years with my dad and sister. It’ll be fun, I think Chloe’s bringing her fiance who thankfully I have never dated because that would be awkward.”

“Want to get back to work?” He grinned and followed you to the free weights as you used your frustration to hit a personal best. 

Three days later you were getting off the elliptical as a hand touched your shoulder. It made you jump as you turned to yell but Lance stood there in surprise, hands up apologetically.

“I called you, I’m sorry! I thought you’d heard me.” You pulled out your earbuds and he cringed at his mistake.

“It’s fine, it’s only you. What’s going on?”

“Come home with me for the holidays.”

You stared at him in shock, watching his expression closely. It felt like a joke.

“Doesn’t Hanukkah start in like a week? Plus flights to Canada? I can’t…” You trailed off and swallowed deeply as surprise and embarrassment took over your expression. “I really appreciate it, but I don’t think I can do it.”

“Look. When we finish working out can we get a coffee and talk? Please?”

Usually you’d say no, but you’d gotten to know and trust Lance over the past year. You couldn’t help but agree with him.

Once you’d changed and tied up your hair the two of you sat in a cafe people watching. The Christmas lights glowed on the dark night and it was beautiful to see the buildings lit in white. The two of you had ordered but Lance got his credit card to the cashier before you could, insisting he’d invited you out so he was paying.

“Offering means a lot but I’ll be fine, really. I know exactly what I’m going to do for the time I’m off.” You said after taking a sip. Lance shook his head and you realised it’d be a harder battle than you expected.

“I didn’t say anything because I figured you knew. It’s rare for me to be able to go anywhere, especially here, and people not know who I am. But you don’t. Remember how I told you I drive for a living?”

“Of course I do. What, do you drive horses or something instead of a car?”

“Try Formula One cars. Lance Stroll, driver for Aston Martin Formula One team at your table.” He held out his hand for a handshake as you looked at him.

“Seriously?”

“Completely.”

You listened as he explained what he did for a job, about who his family were and how it worked. You didn’t know a huge amount about that world and listened to everything.

“So you want me to come to Montreal with you for the holidays? Seriously? I…why?” You couldn’t understand why he wanted to spend time with you.

“You don’t treat me like other people do. You treat me like a person. I figure we’re friends, and I don’t want my friend to be home alone. It’s not fair on you to spend it by yourself.”

“Are you really sure?” He took your hand and squeezed once.

“I’m positive. I already told my dad I was inviting a friend to come with me. Chloe’ll be there with her fiance. It’ll be really nice to have someone there whose life doesn’t revolve around sports you need to wear protective equipment for. Scotty’s a snowboarder.” He quickly added the last sentence when you raised your eyebrow.

“I guess I’m going with you.”

You organised to work from home for the week before Christmas so you could go, and the morning of your flight you were packed and ready to go. Lance arrived at your apartment building in an SUV with a grin, taking your suitcase to put in the car before you could do it yourself. Instead of the usual terminal you flew out of he pulled up to a smaller building. The two of you went through quickly and got your passports checked before being directed to a tiny plane. It took a few moments for everything to hit you that you weren’t getting a flight to Paris and a connection.

“Lance. Seriously?” He smiled at your exasperated tone and pulled you to the quickly opening door.

“It was easier than trying to organise connections that worked. C’mon.” 

You settled into the plush leather seat with a bottle of water in front of you as the pilot left the cockpit to fill you in on the flight plan and times. There’d be a stop off in Gander to clear passport control, but otherwise it was an easy flight. You let the news wash over you as you pulled out your work laptop to check the models you were working on.

“What’re you doing?” Lance asked once the plane was airborne, pulling out his own tablet to work.

“Carbon fibre designs. I work on aviation design and fuel burn, we’re looking at how it degrades over time and how long it can go without extra maintenance.”

“Want to see it snap at ridiculous speeds?” You smiled and he turned the tablet to show you a video of two cars colliding. One went up on its rear wheels and landed hard on the ground before continuing, but the other spun multiple times as the wheel rolled away. It was badly damaged and you stared at the debris on the roadway.

“That’s normal for Formula One?” You asked but Lance shook his head.

“It was my fault, I shouldn’t have over out the way I did. I was in the green car.”

It hit you what he did for a living and you shook your head, staring at the way so many cars had weaved around him to avoid hitting him.

“You’re crazy. Actually crazy.” He laughed and the two of you split an overly large sandwich, settling into doing your own work while you flew.

Landing in Gander was freezing. You were in a thick coat as the two of you ran off the plane through the snow flurries into the customs building. Your details were checked and everything was confirmed before they stamped your passport to let you through. While you were waiting to get back to the plane Lance’s name was called, two people running up to join you.

“We got a flight up here, figured we could hitch a ride the rest of the way? Scotty just finished his competition so we’re only getting in now.” The woman spoke, holding her hand out to you. “I’m Chloe, Lance’s sister. This is my fiance, Scotty. I heard the two of you are gym buddies? Please tell me you have gossip on Lance.”

The rest of the flight was fun, the four of you laughing and joking as Scotty showed you and Lance videos from his snowboarding contest. He was clearly talented and you both clapped at the podium video. But once you landed in Montreal your nerves started to get the best of you while you all made your way to a car. Lance again insisted on putting your case in and you sat on the back seat with Scotty as the heater ran for you.

Lance and Chloe had the front seats and you spent the drive looking out the window at the snowy vista surrounding you. Scotty squeezed your arm and you turned to him.

“It’ll be fine. Lawrence is really nice, I was terrified my first time here,” he murmured so the siblings couldn’t hear. You squeezed his arm in thanks without saying anything.

The house you arrived to was large, and Lance took your case in one of his hands as you all made it up the shovelled out drive. A tall man appeared as you made it inside, wrapping Lance and Chloe in a hug. He shook Scotty’s hand before holding it out for you to take.

“I’m Lawrence, Lance’s dad. It’s nice to meet you.” You shook it firmly while introducing yourself to him and getting a smile.

“Lance mentioned that you were coming with him, nobody should be alone at this time of year. We’re glad you could be here.”

It didn’t take long for you to be shown to a guest room and you put your bag away. Once you came downstairs it was almost dark, everyone gathered in the kitchen. You watched as the menorah in the middle of the table was lit and three prayers were said, nodding along the same way Scotty did. It was sweet to see and you felt included in it despite not understanding the words.

Once it was lit the five of you stayed in the kitchen, watching Chloe and Lawrence fry latkes and everyone shared stories about the year that had been. Lance taught you how to play dreidel with his arm around your shoulder as you spun the wooden toy. When it landed on gimel the table pushed the pile of chocolate over to you, making you laugh. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d had so much fun at any kind of family event, or even if it had happened before. The days had work in the mornings before you and Lance exercised in the gym and in the evenings the menorah was lit and the five of you spent the evening together. You had been worried that it would be fussy and you’d be unwelcome, but instead it was calm and relaxing.

The morning of day four you were curled up in the living room with your laptop on your thighs as Lawrence came in.

“Busy day?” He asked and you smiled with a shrug.

“Just trying to work some aerodynamics out. We’re looking at making small changes to winglets for fifty to seventy seater planes to increase fuel efficiency and decrease emissions. But the financial gains are so minimal compared to the installation cost that a lot of companies aren’t interested.

“What exactly is it that you do?”

You went through the work you did on moulding carbon fibre for small passenger planes to improve how they flew and reduce emissions. Your job was to make sure that whatever you did was aerodynamically sound, and the most recent prototype you’d worked on had just been approved by the FAA and EASA for use in two of your biggest markets.

“You presented it to the regulators?” Lawrence fixed you with his gaze, interested in everything you were saying.

“I didn’t really have a choice, someone had to present and I know it best. But I enjoy the work and explaining it to people. There’s a lot that we can do to make little changes to improve the world.”

“That makes sense. Have you always worked on planes?”

“I used to work on trains too. My bachelors is in applied physics, and my masters is in aerodynamic engineering. I like working out how to make things work more efficiently and use less energy. Hence this, it’s the final slide I have to check for the year.”

“Then I should let you get back to it. I was going to order some pizzas for dinner tonight, does that work for you?” He smiled as he stood up and you smiled back in acceptance, your attention returning to if the mock up could be sent to the 3D printer so you could have a design prototype ready when you were back in January.

Things between you and Lance were shifting. It was strange, but it was good. At least you thought so. When the four of you sat and watched a movie he sat beside you on one couch as Chloe and Scotty sat on the other curled up together. The two of you moved closer to each other as the days went by until his arm started going around you to pull you to him. The first night it happened he held you tight as Die Hard played. You and Scotty had the argument about if it was a Christmas film while the Stroll siblings looked on and laughed at your antics. It was fun and there was near constant flirtation and you were terrified that if anything happened you’d have to leave early. But things were good and you wanted them to stay that way.

Which meant you should have known that everything would come careening down around you.

It was the morning of day six of Hanukkah and you stood outside with a coffee firmly clasped in your hands. The other three were having a snowball fight as you laughed but once Chloe threw one at you staying away was a lost cause as you jumped in. The four of you ran and laughed like kids until the loud tone of your cell ringing interrupted the shouts. You pulled it out and frowned, trudging back to the porch to answer it.

“Hey Mom.”

“Honey, when is your flight getting in? We’re at the airport and the one you’re usually on came and went but you didn’t arrive. Did you need to change to a later one?”

You checked your watch and shook your head, taking a sip of now cold coffee before you spoke.

“I’m not coming home. It’s like you asked, you didn’t want me interrupting the engagement photos and making a scene because my sister is marrying my ex boyfriend.”

“You should have known that wasn’t what we meant for you to do! It was that you should leave early instead of waiting until January. That was all.”

Your anger was rising and you just wanted to hang up, but you didn’t want to disturb everyone else. You didn’t realise that Lance had been listening in, and as soon as you said “mom” he was on his way over to you.

“Well you didn’t make that clear. I’m spending the holidays with friends and I’m happy. Your presents are in the mail, I paid extra so they should arrive on time. I’ll fly home in January to see people then.”

“What will people say? You need to be here or someone will make a comment about you not being here for family. You can’t—“

“Can’t what? Can’t tell my mother that I’m doing what she said I should do? Can’t come home for Christmas because you’re afraid I’m going to make a scene? Have to be invited to spend time with people so they don’t think I’m totally alone? Can’t see my childhood friends because I’m going to hear the “oh you poor thing” crap again and again? I’m doing what I need to do for myself. It’s not fair to act like I’m the one at fault here when I’m the one who brought someone home for Christmas one year and found him in bed with my sister! So if I can’t be there because you don’t want the stories or discussion then let me be where I can at least pretend I’m happy with people who like me for me.”

“Baby, are you coming back?” Lance called loudly from beside you which made you turn and look. Chloe and Scotty were just beside him and it was clear that they’d heard your mini rant. Lance winked and you decided to play along.

“Yeah, just let me finish this call!”

“Who’s there? Who are you with?” It was clear the unfamiliar accent had confused her.

“I’m with people I care about and who care about me. That’s what matters. I’ll call you Christmas Day.” You hung up the phone and leaned back before Lance put his arm around you and pulled you in for a hug.

“Everything ok?” He asked and you took a deep breath before shaking your head.

“She thought I was coming home after the last time we spoke. Because definitely, of course I’m coming home to see them. Of course.”

His arms tightened around you to hold you close as you leaned against him for a few moments. You felt his hand move your hair so he could whisper into your ear.

“I let them know the basics of what happened. I didn’t want to say everything, that’s your business, but they were worried.”

“Thank you.” You smiled up at him, his brown eyes sparkling and comforting. When the two of you separated Chloe and Scotty insisted on a hug before shepherding you inside out of the cold. Chloe began melting chocolate to make luscious hot chocolates for you all, laughing as Scotty and Lance both started worrying about what it would do to their meal plans. Everyone made you smile and you told stupid jokes as Lance showed some of what he called his stupidest race moments on YouTube to make you laugh.

That night the five of you were back in the kitchen to light another candle. Lance was the one who took control of lighting it and saying the prayer, the words washing over you again. Instead of just the menorah there was more prayers for the Sabbath and another candle lit. Lance murmured that they were mostly doing it because of Hanukkah but you just smiled and leaned in. There was more fun and laughter, playing games as everyone sat and enjoyed. Lance was glued to your side for the entire evening, his arm on your waist pulling you close. The dark blue sweater he wore was soft against you as you stayed glued to him, his hand on your hip as you said goodnight. The two of you ambled up to the bedrooms, Lance still holding onto you.

“This has been a lot of fun. Thanks for inviting me, Stroll.” You smiled up and watched the crinkles around his eyes deepen as he grinned back at you.

“Thanks for agreeing to come. You deserve some fun holidays, not just sitting around alone in your apartment.” The words were said so earnestly and the couple of glasses of wine you drank over the evening had lowered your inhibitions. After a few seconds of looking at him you reached up and pressed a kiss against his smile. But Lance didn’t respond so you stepped back, terrified you’d misread the signs.

You hadn’t and he pulled your body against his as he moved to kiss you properly. One of his hands cupped your cheek, holding you still as the two of you separated.”

“That isn’t why I asked you here at all, but I’m really glad we did that.”

You spent the night together, curled up in Lance’s bed as he explained each of the trophies that lined his childhood bedroom from his early years of carting. He explained what each one was from, giggling at the way you congratulated him for long ago victories. The night passed while you were talking and joking in a blanket cocoon you created together.

The final two days of Hanukkah were spent with the friends you’d made. Chloe taught you how to ski, giving you a spare pair of ski boots and helping you strap into the cross country torture devices. You took selfies and she took a video to send to Lance of you making your way across the frozen land. You looked utterly ridiculous but had a lot of fun. The biggest benefit was Lance massaging your sore calves that evening on the couch as Chloe stuck her feet in Scotty’s face encouraging him to do the same. Neither of you could stop giggling.

The last day was also Christmas Day, but you didn’t really care. Christmas had only ever been a seeing family holiday for you rather than a religious event, and you were more than happy to get to spend time with people who actually wanted to spend time with you. Now that the first kiss barrier had been broken Lance kept pulling you in for hugs and pushing kisses to the top of your head that you returned to his cheek. It was clear you were more than friends and Lawrence gave an approving nod.

That morning you were the first one up, calling your family for a thirty second call before making breakfast. Lawrence was the first one down as you pulled a waffle off the maker, surprising you when you turned around to see him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you, thank you for cooking. You didn’t need to.”

“It’s one of the traditions I always do at this time of year, a big breakfast for everyone. I hope you don’t mind.” You felt self conscious about it, it was his kitchen after all. Lance had told you it would be fine but you still weren’t sure.

“How can I mind coming down to food here for us? I heard movement as I was leaving my bedroom so everyone else will down soon. Thank you for this.”

“You’re welcome.”

It was quiet for a few minutes as you whisked eggs in a pan until Lawrence spoke again.

“You’ve worked on planes and trains, how do you feel about working with automobiles?” Your forehead crinkled as you turned to look at him while still stirring the scrambled eggs.”

“I like things that go really fast. Working on a car seems like it’d be boring after working on planes.”

“What about a Formula One car?” You could have heard a pin drop before he continued. “We need a new head of aerodynamics for the team, I’ve been interviewing candidates trying to find someone. Our previous head went to a different team. Ever since you explained what you do I’ve done some research and I think you’d be the perfect fit. It’s not an easy job, there’s a lot of travel and you’ll be working with some hardheaded engineers and regulations that have millimetre wide restrictions. But if you’re interested I can have a full job offer later today.”

You’d stopped stirring at this point, barely having the presence of mind to pull the pan away from the hot burner. You hadn’t been looking for a new job, especially not in Formula One or in an industry where you’d never worked before. It didnt feel real.

“Is this because of Lance and I?” You hated asking the question but you had to. To his credit Lawrence shook his head immediately.

“Never. As soon as you told me that you deal with strict regulations regularly I wanted you for this. I do understand if you need to think about it.”

“Will you send me the offer? I’m not saying I’ll take the job, but I need to see all of the details. An email’s the best way to do it.” You recited your email and he took it down quickly to send you the information. Once he had everyone else started coming downstairs so you served up the cinnamon rolls and everything else you’d made.

That afternoon you were curled up on the couch with Lance, watching the snowstorm blowing outside. Your phone buzzed with an email from Lawrence containing your offer. While scanning the details your eyes widened.

It was more than you’d expected. Financially it was a big jump from what you were being paid and the benefits were fantastic. Working from the UK and travelling to every race, paid work travel, lots of paid days off, health insurance and more. You stiffened while reading it which made Lance run his hand down your arm.

“Everything ok? Was it your mom?” His voice was roughened with sleep and you smiled softly, leaning over to kiss him.

“It’s good. I have a question for you though. How would you feel about seeing me at least twenty four weekends next year?” You could see the moment that the significance of your question hit him.

“Seriously? How?”

You explained the offer, how his dad had walked in while you were working and you were seriously considering it. You wanted to say yes, but a budding relationship and so much travelling felt worrying.

“If you want to take this, do it. I’ll support you no matter what.” He took a breath before continuing. “But I need to tell you that once people find out we’re dating they’ll say you got this job because of nepotism. Which we both know isn’t true, that you deserve this, but its what they say about my seat. I don’t want you to have to deal with any of the crap.”

“I’d deal with it anyway. Any partner of someone well known gets it. But this way we can at least work together and see each other. I don’t mind the worry and the randomness talking crap. We know the truth.” You pulled his face to yours to kiss him, Lance pulling you onto him and holding you close.

“This is more than just for right now, isn’t it?” He asked, his voice barely audible against your ear.

“It is for me.” You linked your hands together, feeling him squeeze it tightly before wrapping his arms securely around you.

That evening he posted a rare photo on his Instagram story, the five of you with a fully lit menorah in the foreground. There were matching grins and arms around shoulders, two couples clearly defined. You knew comments were made online, and even more when your appointment as Head of Aerodynamic Engineering was announced and you did an interview with the social media team, but you ignored every one of them while your research spoke for itself. And the morning when you arrived to the track for preseason testing in Bahrain holding Lance’s hand made the shouts louder than ever, but watching your work begin to pay off meant it was all entirely worth it.

[youkissedareaderinthedark]

Nothing is Easy

Synopsis: Y/n gets into a crash in Mexico, and it keeps her from finishing the 2023 season. It’s a long road of recovery, but it pays off in the end

female driver reader x F1 2023 grid

(reader is 24 in this one, and she drives for aston martin)

“And here she is now! Y/n L/n, we were just talking about you, how are you feeling about Mexico?” Martin Brundle approaches you while you’re walking through the paddock.

“Oh, hi Martin!” You greet the commentator with a smile.

“I’m feeling good, it’s nice out, there’s a lot of fans here, and the team is looking good today” You shrug.

“So, we can expect big things from Aston Martin?”

“Yeah, me and Lance and the team are all confident in the car and we’re hoping for a good finish in the points” You speak for your teammate, Lance Stroll, and the rest of the Aston Martin garage.

“Alright Y/n, thank you for talking with me and good luck on the race” He nods and places a hand on your shoulder before walking off to his next interview-ee.

All of what you said was true; you were just coming off a P6 finish at the Austin Grand Prix, it was a calm, sunny day in Mexico City, the stands were packed with eager fans, and everyone in Aston Martin had confidence in their driver lineup.

You and Lance first became teammates in 2021 when Racing Point became Aston Martin and as a part of their rebranding, they named you, the 2020 F2 World Champion, as a part of their 2021 Driver Lineup.

It took a bit for you to get used to the car, frequenting P10 and P9, but was fairly successful in 2022, getting used to taking P7 and P6. You and Lance worked together quite well, being the same age and having the same goals in Formula 1.

You felt less nerves and more anticipation as you completed your usual race day routine. It was the 20th/23rd race of the year and you’ve completed the same routine for three years, so your body is on auto pilot all morning.

A tap on your shoulder from your race engineer, Ben Michael, brings you out of your daze. “30-minute warning, Y/n. We have the get the cars out and onto the grid” The older man says to you.

You nod and pull off your headphones before replacing them with your helmet and balaclava. When you turn, you’re surprised to see your teammate mirroring you. “Good luck, we’re going to do great, yeah?” Lance sticks out his hand in a fist bump and you raise your arm to meet it.

“Yeah, of course. Good luck” You both move to get into your respective cars and wait for the signal to exit the garage.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, we’re about thirty seconds away from light’s out now. All twenty cars are out and completing the formation lap, here’s what our top 10 of the starting grid looks like;

“Lance Stroll, P10. Y/n L/n, P9. Oscar Piastri, P8. Lando Norris, P7. George Russell, P6. Sergio Perez, P5. Lewis Hamilton, P4. Charles Leclerc, P3. Carlos Sainz, P2, and starting at pole position is Max Verstappen” David Croft commentates for the viewers.

“71 Laps ahead of us, let’s see what unfolds, it’s light’s out and away we go! Verstappen and the Ferrari’s get away with no problems. Hamilton is off, trying to get away from Perez behind him”

“Russell is scrambling away in attempt to bring a gap between him and the two McLarens. Both Aston Martin’s start flawlessly, DRS isn’t available until Sector 2, but it looks like L/n is already trying to get a bit closer to Piastri in front of her”

“Okay Y/n, once DRS is available, push to catch up to Piastri and try to overtake him. We’re looking to advance early so Lance can get some overtakes done as well” Ben becomes audible through your radio.

“Understood” You reply before refocusing on the orange car in front of you.

“Lap 4, no changes in the lineup so far, but I wouldn’t speak too soon. Y/n L/n is gaining on Oscar Pisatri in front of her. Just leaving Turn 7, she’s going down the inside, wheel to wheel as they go into Turn 8, leaving Turn 9 does she have a lead?

Yes, she does! Y/n L/n has a McLaren beat, and I don’t think she’s going to hesitate in moving onto Lando Norris”

“Lap 12, now. Verstappen is, predictably, still leading, both Ferrari’s persistent behind him. Lewis Hamilton in P4 with his teammate behind him, trying to get away from the Aston Martin’s of L/n and Stroll, both just overtook the two McLarens of Norris and Piastri”

“Lap 20 and tension is starting to rise here. Most of the race today has been between Y/n L/n and whoever is in front of her. Right now, George Russell has his foot against the gas, taking every opportunity to try to extend the gap between him and the Aston Martin”

You’re trailing Russell as you approach Turn 2. Turn 3 is the last corner before the long straight and if you want to get up into P5, you have to catch up with him before the next bend.

“Y/n, you have more pace. You are faster than Russell, push and you’ll beat him” Ben speaks. “Understood, I’m trying” You reply shortly.

“Here we go, DRS is enabled. She’s gaining on him, trying to at least go wheel-to-wheel before the long straight. L/n’s moving aside from behind Russell and going around the outside”

The front of your car is aligned with the middle of his and you move to the right to avoid contact.

“They’re almost wheel-to-wheel! L/n’s front left tire is right behind Russell’s front right tire, George is not backing away from this”

You try to move closer to finish the move and before you can shift to the right again, your front left makes contact with George’s front right tire.

“There’s some contact in the tires and Y/n is spinning! She makes contact with George Russell and spins across the track!”

You see a blur of dark green and a mess of orange pass you, probably cars swerving around your collision.

“George Russell continues fine, moving ahead. Martin, I don’t even think he’s realized what happened” Croft speaks to the man next to him while staring at the track in front of him with worry.

You’ve managed to stop your car, but you’re in the middle of the track, so just as you’re about to turn your head around to look for the perfect opportunity to set yourself right, you feel a world of pain on the left side of you.

“Esteban Ocon did not see Y/n L/n’s car in front of him! He’s hit into the side of her Aston Martin! I think he tried to swerve to avoid her, but he was going too fast!” Crofty shouts.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Esteban Ocon’s Alpine has T-boned Y/n L/n’s Aston Martin and it’s a red flag”

Your eyes are closed both in fear and pain, causing you to miss all the other cars weave around the collision in the middle of the straight. The other 18 cars were guided into the pits by the safety car, so when Esteban climbs out of his car and runs towards yours, he doesn’t have to worry about other cars on track.

Your five senses are scrambled. All you feel is the pain in your hip, the only scent you smell is fuel, and while usually the scent will remind you of your karting days, it now just clouds your brain’s attempts to figure out what the hell happened.

A metallic taste fills your mouth, and you assume you’ve bit your lip so hard in pain, it started bleeding. Your eyes are closed and all you can hear is the combination of a voice in your ears, someone shouting near you, and the buzz of the crowd around you.

You force your eyes to meet the harsh Mexican sun and the distressed frame of Esteban Ocon hovering above you. You realize the voice in your ear is Ben through your radio, and it takes you a worrying amount of time to refocus your attention on the steering wheel your hands still clutch and answer the question your race engineer has been asking non-stop.

“Yeah, I’m okay. For the most part. I think” You radio back to the Aston Martin garage. You realize that that buzzing in your ear is only half because of the crowd, and it takes a moment for the humming to calm down so that the Alpine driver is audible.

“Y/n! Can you hear me? Are you okay?” He shouts and you quickly lift your hand to meet his resting on the side of your car in hopes he will stop yelling. “I’m okay, Esteban” You shift uncomfortably.

“Actually, I think I hurt my hip. I can’t move my left leg at all”

The Frenchman looks slightly relieved. “Do you need help getting out? I can-” You interrupt quickly.

“No! Please don’t do anything, I’ll just wait for the marshals” You weren’t very good friends with Esteban, but you appreciated his care for a fellow driver.

The marshals you spoke of arrived a few minutes later in another safety car and an ambulance. You told Ben that you couldn’t move, and the medics arrived prepared to lift you out of your crash car and onto a gurney. Once the marshals assured Esteban you would be okay, he was escorted into the safety car and back into the paddock.

The radio messages in team garages were confidential, so viewers and drivers only knew your status because of David Croft’s commentary.

“After a few minutes of uncertainty, it’s clear that Y/n L/n is okay and out of her car. According to the Aston Martin race engineer, Ben Micheal, she is off to the medical center and in good hands” Crofty says with clear traces of relief in his voice.

You ride in the elevator clutching tightly onto your race suit. Now that the shock of the crash is gone, the only thing you can feel is pain in the left side of your hip. It’s a searing pain that has spread across your body, but it burns the most above your thigh.

The medics inside the ambulance do the work of pulling your race suit down your body to make your hip visible and you try your best not to wince every time a hand touches the left side of your body, but you do it so much it becomes subconscious.

You get wheeled through the medical center and into a room where two doctors immediately start working around you. You hear one talking about x-rays and having a proper ambulance being called to take you to the closest hospital once they examined your hip.

Your eyes are shut in pain, but you look up when you hear the voice of your PR officer and best friend in the paddock, Addison, asking the doctors for an update on you. “We can’t be 100% sure but from the looks of it, it might be a fractured hip” The female doctor says. Addison sighs and frows before going to your side to replace your clinched race suit with her hand.

“Are you okay?” The British woman asks. “No” You grimace “Am I going to the hospital?”

“Yeah, the ambulance is on its way, should be here in a few minutes”

You’ve never been in an ambulance before, and the underwhelming expirience does nothing to cheer you up. You enter the hospital through the ER entryway, but it doesn’t stop everyone in the waiting room from staring at a woman they find familiar.

You get x-rays done first and then a different doctor comes into your room to update you on the results about an hour later. Apparently, you have a femoral neck fracture in the left side of your hip, meaning you broke the top of your femur bone.

In order to prevent further injuries, you needed surgery as soon as possible. You’re 24, so you’re beyond eligible to deal with your own medical incidents, but that didn’t mean it was easy. Addison helped you figure it all out and within three hours, you were being wheeled into the operating room.

You were put to sleep while surgeons placed three steel screws through the top of your femur and into your pelvis. It took three hours, but it was successful; you were still in a daze once they took you for another round of x-rays.

It freaked you out a bit, seeing and knowing steel was screwed into your body but your hip didn’t hurt nearly as bad as it did before, so you count it as a plus.

While you’re sitting in your hospital bed after your surgery, your doctor and surgeon knock on your door. “Hey Y/n, how’re you feeling?” The surgeon says.

“Eh, I’m okay. The anesthesia has mostly worn off but I’m still kinda tired. My hip doesn’t hurt as bad, though”

“That’s good. So, we’ve printed out all the necessary information for taking care of your fracture in here” The surgeon holds up a packet of papers. “But I’ll give you the gist of it now” He continues.

“You’ll have to stay in the hospital until Tuesday night and because you still need to get home, but because you can’t travel normally with your fracture, you’ll need to leave in a scheduled airliner. That means that you’ll fly on a stretcher installed in the plane with a medical flight attendant looking after you”

“When you get home, you’ll have to book a follow-up appointment to follow bone healing. All the wound care and pain medication information are in here” He pauses to hold up the packet as the man next to him continues

“You’ll be able to walk and sit and lay down just fine, you’re just going to experience some pain when you do. Physical therapy is recommended, and it will take about 3 months of training to regain total range of motion and strength”

“Now, I know you are a Formula 1 driver, but for the sake of your hip, I instruct you don’t drive for six weeks at least”

In all the information he gave you, that was the one sentence that stuck out to you. Six weeks means you won’t be able to race for the rest of the season.

Shit

Addison squeezed your hand and sent you a sympathetic look. You think the two doctors said a few more things but the only thing you noticed was when they left. “I-I can’t drive?” You said in disbelief.

“Y/n, there’s only three races left, you won’t be missing much-” Your PR officer said but you interrupted.

“It’s still three races! I was doing great; I was scoring points for us and now I’m just out?”

“Y/n, maybe this is a good thing” She shrugged and picked up the packet on your night stand.

“It says that after these types of car crashes, your reaction time will be slow, and we don’t want you out there when you’re not ready”

You were about to continue your argument, but instead you just sighed and threw your head back into the pillow, grumbling, “Fine”

Your two days in the hospital were filled with answering messages and daily checkups. A lot of people had contacted you with worry, and you had a few discussions with the engineers at Aston Martin.

Expectedly, they were as frustrated as you once they heard of your condition and set up a time with your PR team to announce it. You talked to your family and friends first, ensuring you were okay and would be heading home soon.

Most drivers on the grid heard that you were going into surgery and texted to make sure you were alright, and once you replied to them, you went on social media to see what everyone was saying.

On Tuesday night, you packed up all your things and changed into the clothes Addison brought you in preparation to leave for the airport. All the excitement from the Grand Prix was gone from Mexico City, so you had no trouble navigating through the airport.

The flight was a bit strange; having to lay down the entire time and have an attendant checking up on you every hour, but you managed.

It was relieving to finally get home after an exhausting week away, and you realized you should get used to being at home. Like the doctor advised, you made a follow up appointment and scheduled physical therapy appointments to fill two months.

The doctors you met at the follow up appointment removed the staples used to close up your wound and a few days later, you were going to your first therapy appointment.

The worst part about being bed ridden was the fact you could not watch the races in person. Along with not driving, you weren’t supposed to travel for 6 weeks.

From your couch you watched Felipe Drugovich race your car in Brazil, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi. You watched Max win the 2023 Championship and Lance finish 9th in the driver’s standings.

As soon as you could, you were on a flight to the Aston Martin Headquarters in Silverstone and included in many meetings regarding your injury and how to advance. You spend a few days in England on the simulator and being analyzed by race engineers.

You do the same once you arrive home, and your off-season schedule becomes fairly structured. You wake up, do the most amount physical training you can with your fitness trainer, go to physical therapy, race on your simulator, and go to sleep to do it all again tomorrow.

You travel to the Aston Martin headquarters a few more times but you don’t see anybody outside of your team until the pre-season testing session in February. You’re walking, without any pain, to the Aston Martin garage with Addison by your side when you feel two hands on your shoulder.

“Y/n!” A French voice exclaims. “Hey Esteban!” You turn to find the Alpine driver grinning. Since your crash, Esteban has checked in regularly asking about health updates and it became the beginning of a friendship between you two.

“It is so nice to see you in the paddock again. You are feeling better, yes?” He brings you into a hug as you walk together.

“Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better. I finished physical therapy last month and I was cleared to drive a few weeks ago”

“That’s great, I’m so happy you’re okay. I will see you later, Y/n” Your friend bids you goodbye and turns to walk to his own garage.

“You say hello to Esteban and not me?”

A voice comes from behind you, and you wheel around to see your teammate. “Hi Lance” You bring your teammate into a hug with a smile.

You’ve seen Lance a few times at Aston Martin HQ and it’s common for you two to train on your simulators at home together.

“How’s your hip, metal man?” He teases as you laugh. “It’s steel, actually, and it’s okay. Doesn’t really hurt anymore” You nod.

“Good. Be careful today, I want my actual teammate with me this year” Felipe adjusted well to your car and sudden promotion, but your contract was solid, and the Brazilian remains as your reserve driver.

“Don’t worry, I will be. See you later, Lance” You waved as he said goodbye and you both entered your garage then to your drivers' rooms.

The testing session proved to be successful, as both Aston Martin’s traded taking fastest laps. Both of the new cars had several upgrades done on them over the winter break and you’re glad to see they’ve paid off.

Pre-season testing is fairly low-key, so after finishing your run, there was no media for you to complete and you were free to go back to your hotel to prepare for tomorrow.

Both green cars performed strongly on Friday and Saturday, and you left Sakhir Track confident.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the first race of 2024. After a few months of winter break and three days of pre-season testing, we have all twenty drivers in their new cars, 30 seconds away from lights out.”

“And, for the first time since Mexico 2023, Y/n L/n rejoins the grid after a hip fracture. She’s healed splendidly after her surgery in the beginning of November and with the Aston Martin’s looking fast, she’s expected to do well here in Bahrain” Martin Brundle introduces today’s race.

“Here’s our top 10 on the grid today; Max Verstappen, P1. Charles Leclerc, P2. Sergio Perez, P3. Y/n L/n, P4. Carlos Sainz, P5, Lewis Hamilton, P6. Lance Stroll, P7. George Russel, P8. Lando Norris, P9. Pierre Gasly, P10. It’s going to be an interesting race, the light’s come on, and its light’s out and away we go!”

You’ve waited five months to get back in your car and you’re not about to waste the opportunity. Instead, you win.

“1st race of the year, her first race in five months, her first race win, Y/n L/n goes P1! She went through a Ferrari and two Red Bull’s, and now she goes through the checkered flag first!”

And you win again.

“For the second time, Y/n L/n wins the Grand Prix! She started P5 and worked her way up to P1! What a battle between her and Verstappen! Ladies and gentlemen, we’re only in Saudi Arabia, but it’s safe to safe I would follow those two cars wherever Formula 1 takes them if we get more races like that!”

And again.

“She does it in Miami! As her fourth race win, Y/n L/n beats Max Verstappen to the checkered flag with her teammate behind her in P3!”

And again.

“Martin, I can’t believe it. Y/n L/n wins her fifth Grand Prix in Monaco! It’s only the 8th race of 2024 but we are looking into a very exciting racing season ahead of us”

“So, Y/n” A reporter asks you during a press conference in June. “Max has won six races” She gestures to the Red Bull driver next to you. “And you’ve won five, looking to make it six this weekend in Austria. Is it safe to say that it’s going to be between you two for the 2024 Driver’s Championship?”

“Well, I mean it’s never good to speak too early, but we’ve both been looking promising this year and according to our stats, that’s where we’re headed”

“It’s Max Verstappen’s home race here in the Netherlands, but it’s not going to be easy to win. Y/n L/n has been right on his tail all race, her teammate Lance Stroll behind her in his own fight with the other Red Bull. My, if you asked me if this year’s rivalry would be between Aston Martin and Red Bull, I would not have believed you”

“And it’s the first 1-2 for Aston Martin! Lance Stroll goes P1 with his teammate right behind him! Great day in Singapore for the Canadian, outstanding day for everyone wearing green!”

“We are back in Mexico today, the very race she crashed at last year, but if she’s nervous she doesn’t show it. It’s Y/n L/n for her 9th win in Formula 1 and in the 2023 season! Verstappen in P2, Stroll takes P3, Perez, P4, and Sainz, P5”

“In the November air, Daniel Ricciardo goes P1 in Las Vegas after Max Verstappen and Y/n L/n collided and retired! An amazing day for the Australian, a frustrating one for the Red Bull and Aston Martin drivers”

“After Verstappen took his ninth win in Quatar, he and L/n are now tied with wins and very close in points for the Driver’s Championship. Max starts P1 today in Abu Dhabi, and if Y/n can get in front of him, Formula 1 will have its first female World Champion”

You’ve come way too far to lose like this. It’s been probably the most stressful season you’ve driven in ever, there’s no way you’re going to lose after it all.

“Y/n, relax” Your teammate places his hands on your shoulders.

“You’re going to do great. You’re going P1, trust me. You don’t need it but good luck, we’re all rooting for you” Lance sends you a smile and you’re struck with gratitude for your teammate.

“Thanks Lance, you’re going to do great too”You hug your friend before pulling your balaclava and helmet on.

“It’s an anxious day in Abu Dhabi, this race could go either way, it’s lights out and away we go!”

You remember Daniel comparing the 2021 Abu Dhabi race to a flip of a coin, and you think history has repeated itself. All 58 laps, you and Max take turns overtaking each other.

This time, it’s not just Sergio playing a team’s game; Lance helps in whatever way he can, whether it’s taking your spot when you’re in the pitlane or defending against Max so you can pass him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, after the most exciting season yet, Y/n L/n overtakes Max Verstappen and becomes the world champion! It took a long road of recovery, but the reward is sweet! L/n takes the checkered flag first and the arena is booming with noise! The coin has landed on her side today, and she accepts it happily”

The Aston Martin Garage is just as happy as you are, bringing you into hugs and jumping up and down, grins never leaving their faces. Lance joins you on the podium in P3 and you two soak each other in champagne. You shake Max’s hand politely but continue to beam as you wrap your home country’s flag around your shoulders and wave at the crowd.

With steel screwed into your hip, you stand on the podium with your trophy held above your head, looking down at everyone who has waited for this moment as long as you have.

[reqxxyt]

oblivious

pairings: lance s. x f!reader

warnings: crash (minor)

masterlist requests are open!

[unedited] w.c: 1.5k

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

It was getting annoying, how every driver on the grid noticed your shared feelings for Lance with his mutual feelings being just as telling, and yet not either of you noticed, being too much of a coward to ever tell the other. It started with one driver noticing, Charles, seeing how much you would giggle and blush at the near mention of your teammate, then he spread the word trying to see if there were any chance of Lance liking you back. 

It didn’t take long to notice, seeing the way Lance would always laugh extra hard at your nonsensical jokes and lean into your presence. So, it was meant to be easy enough to convince one to share their feelings that were so obviously mutual. He quickly gathered it wouldn’t be so easy. 

“I’m not ruining my friendship with her just because you have this silly theory of her liking me back” Lance rolled his eyes, gathering his things to depart having just finished practice for the race on Sunday. Charles groaned for the 100th time this month of trying to convince him to just tell the girl. 

But he couldn’t possibly understand how scared Lance truly was, you two met once you signed for Aston Martin. He was excited to have a new teammate, a chance to make a new friend but the second he saw you with a bright smile, he fell. He couldn’t stop stumbling over his words as he tried to make conversation and you only giggled at his attempt. You two got close over time and while many thought you two were already in a relationship, with flushed cheeks you would deny all the rumours. 

“It’s not silly, it's quite irritating how you don’t notice her smile whenever you are around” Charles attempted to explain but he just received a shaken head as Lance walked out, leaving Charles to come up with a plan his own to get him to finally tell you. 

Originally, he tried telling you Lance held mutual feelings but you immediately denied those thoughts, seeing no point in it as it would just gather too much media trying your best not to get your hopes up about some silly teenage crush. He saw your point in it so now he wanted Lance to do something about it. 

The next morning was qualifying, you said your good mornings to the team of engineers, making sure you smiled confidently. You finally arrived at your garage, having your race suit already placed on, just needing to zip it up before you heard the voice behind you that send your heart on a marathon spree. 

“Good morning” he simply said with his welcoming smile, you could feel your insides get giddy somehow getting a wave of nerves as you just whispered a simple greeting back with a small smile, already hating the way your cheeks were starting to burn and your confidence that was there long before seemed to vanish. “Good luck out there” he patted your side, a friendly gesture that made you tense at the contact but Lance didn’t notice, you only nodded saying the same before zipping up your suit and getting ready for qualifying. 

You ended up at p5, not bad, seeing Lance be right behind you. You congratulated the other drivers, getting to Charles and giving him a quick hug like the rest but noticeably, it seemed more like an embrace. From afar, Lance noticed as well practically feeling his heart pound against his chest as he observed the extended conversation between you and Charles. Normally, seeing your happy state would send his heart on overdrive making his own mind dizzy but knowing who it was directed to made his own smile drop at the sight. 

“You okay?” one of his engineers took him out of his daze, taking a final glance at Charles who had his hand on your shoulder with increasing intimate eye contact before finally being able to take his eyes off you. The engineer took note of this, as well knowing of the mutual feelings, telling him “You should just tell her before it's too late”

“I think it already is too late” he simply shrugged with a small frown ignoring the way he could feel his own heart tear. His engineer held sympathy for the driver, patting him on the back before he could get his smile back on his features for interviews. 

On the day of the race, Lance couldn’t help but look for you, asking around until he finally received information that you were in the Ferrari garage catching up with Charles. He stopped looking for you after that, just getting to his own garage and trying to ignore the lingering thoughts he held of you in order to not get too distracted on the race. 

“Heard you were looking for me?” your voice made his heart spike up, he turned to you seeing your soft smile with your helmet in hand. He tried to think of an excuse quickly enough but was unable to as he just brushed it off saying with little care in his tone

“It’s nothing, I’ll tell you after the race” You just nodded, stepping back kind of disappointed by the cut-short conversation. 

The only reason for you being at the Ferrari garage was because Charles kept trying to tell you about his plan and how he was able to spot the jealousy in Lance's eyes. You just told him it was impossible, you didn’t even see Lance after you bid your farewell to Charles after qualifying trying to look for your teammate but not seeing him anywhere. 

Starting the formation lap you disallowed any thoughts of Lance to enter your brain not needing to be distracted after having such a close shot of going into the podium last race. Lance attempted to do the same, he had always done it before, but seeing you with Charles was something he couldn’t process out. 

Lights out. The race started with a great reaction time from you, immediately going forward. You passed George who stood at 4th, gaining a position. You meant to congratulate yourself for that fast process in the future, the first half lacked any interest as you tried to gain another position, trying to get in front of Checo. 

But a red flag caught your eye. Being worried, you connected yourself with the engineer attempting to ask if anyone was hurt. 

“Just a crash, please stay focused” is a bit strange. They always told you who was involved, unless. No. 

“Who was it?” you tried to keep calm, trying your best to focus on the race already spotting George not long behind me. Receiving no answer, you grew irritated throwing a threat to them “Tell me who it was or I will eliminate myself” 

“It was Stroll, he is fine” they finally told you, your heart ached wanting to see if he was alright but you knew that wasn’t possible. 

The race finished and you came out in P3 after having a last-minute overtaking Checo. You couldn’t care less about the celebration, counting down the seconds before you could check on Lance. 

Right after the celebration, you pushed your way through the crowd and interviews wanting to talk to you about your first podium, refusing to acknowledge your engineers telling you to go back there. 

“I need to check on Lance” you kept repeating to yourself, trying to search every room until you finally saw him laying rather comfortably on the couch. You barged in and he immediately sat up but calmed down at your presence before giving you a confused look,

“What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to have interviews?” he asked and you immediately sat down next to him, analyzing every little detail to ensure he was really alright. Your quiet state worried him but then he remembered the news “Heard you got P3, congrats”

“I don’t care about that right now” you dismissed it, leaning your hand to touch his face. “Are you alright?’ 

“I’m fine” he bluntly stated now remembering who you were with not too long ago. “Shouldn’t you be with Charles?

“Why would I be with Charles?” you asked, confused by what he was stating. He couldn’t have possibly thought you held any romantic interest in the Ferrari driver, did he?

“Aren’t you two together?” now he was the confused one. This only made you laugh, now being able to see a little part of him get jealous you said, 

“No, you fool. I like you” you finally confessed making his own lips curve up into a small smile before enlarging seeing that you were being quite serious about the entire thing. 

“Really?” he just needed a confirmation and you nodded with a shy smile. He grabbed the two sides of your face and pushed himself to meet with your paired lips catching you surprised before melting into his embrace. 

[miercoooles]

Old WIP reveal

because I miss writing :3 || based on this song "Plastic Love"

Dating wasn’t for you, you had that figured out years ago. But you were foolish enough to try it once more as you reached your twenty-seventh birthday. 

Almost eight months ago before your birthday, you stumbled upon a driver when you were invited by Red Bull Racing as a special guest due to the nature of your occupation (a famous model). As you two chatted and interacted throughout the whole weekend, you found yourself enamoured that you carelessly handed your personal phone number to him.  

As months passed by, you two got closer and eventually connected into a much more intimate relationship until one day he asked if he could court you, you obviously said yes. And so it began, the days and months have turned into courtship and secret dates away from the paparazzi. 

The day of your birthday came around and you answered him, he happily smiled and asked permission to kiss your lips to which you agreed. You thought that it finally broke the curse of your restlessness once you are tied down, you were proven wrong almost immediately.

Note: you can choose any driver you want ^^

Note 2: should I continue this?

[verstappensrealwife]

╰┈➤ ❝ Lance Stroll Masterlist ❞

I write for any driver on the grid ( incl. retired drivers ) ╰─▸ With retired drivers, please specify whether the fic will be set before or after their retirement ♡ Feel free to send in a request - They can be anonymous! ♡

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

★ Indicates smut ღ indicates fluff ☂ indicates angst

Beyond Friendships Boundaries ★

click here to read ★

Race to Remember ★ღ

click here to read ★ღ

⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙

[charlesf1leclerc]

Hey everyone, 2 assesments down 2 to go tomorrow and then I’m done so I will be sitting down tomorrow night and clearing out my entire inbox as a way to congratulate myself I get your requests in before I close them later so I can clear out my inbox tomorrow. As well as my inbox I have a heap of other fics I want to write for KUWTL and not for that series so you will most likely get more then 5 fics tomorrow yay.

I Will open my inbox back up after I write all the fics currently in my inbox so get them in before the heading for my inbox says closed

[internetgremlin-writes]

ANNOUNCEMENT IN T MINUS 5 MINUTES

OKAY EVERYONE IT'S HAPPENING, GET ONLINE AND GET EXCITED!

[coco-loco-nut]

Book Club - Part 6

pairing: Lance Stroll x Reader, Grid x Reader

summary: you and lance have a talent for traumating the grid *insert emotional damage meme here*

requests open masterlist

———————————

It was safe to say that that you and Lance were still very much in your honeymoon phase when you got to testing. Both of you very tan from your weeks spent on the beach.

“Y/n! You surprised the world when you announced your marriage and name change, Anything you want to say about it?” One of your favorite interviewers asks you as you walk hand in hand to the paddock with Lance.

“Sure, yeah. Lance and I have been together for a long time, so getting married was just the natural next step. It was a small wedding with close friends and family. Regarding my new name, alittle over a year ago, Kimi offered to mentor me and we forged a very close bond. He is basically my father and his kids are my siblings, so with the blessing of the family I wanted to honor the relationship the best way I knew how. Racing under the Räikkönen name is such a huge honor and I can’t thank my dad and family enough for the honor,” you beam, more than happy to talk about your family.

“How did Kimi react when you told him you were taking his name both legally and when racing,” she asks, your joy infectious.

“He was so happy, I told him at the wedding, yeah. We are such a tight family, I can’t thank them enough for bringing me into their family and allowing me to take their last name. And Lance has been wonderful about it, he actually suggested hyphenating the names,” you tell her. Usually you are pretty tight lipped, but you with happily talk with her.

“Alright, onto what actually matters. How are you feeling going into testing with Red Bull?” she asks and you take a step back into your normal interview style.

“Good. I certainly miss Checo here, but the car feels good. We will see how testing goes and work from there,” Lance gives you a look that says you will be late and the journalist notices.

“Thanks for chatting, and congratulations,” she says and you nod in thanks before walking away.

“You look very hot today, Mrs Räikkönen-Stroll,” Lance says kissing the side of your head.

“Maybe so, but nothing compares to you post race,” your cheeks flame a little. Lance pulls you into a small alley between motorhomes. You are pressed against the wall as Lance kisses you, hands tangled in each other’s hair.

“OH MY GOD!” you hear Daniel shriek.

“MY EYES!” Valtteri screams. Lance quickly pulls away from you as the four of you look at each like deer in the headlights. Daniel and Valtteri quickly walk away, leaving you and Lance giggling like school kids.

The club atmosphere was off when you walked in, taking a seat beside Logan. Valtteri can’t look you in the eyes while Daniel isn’t sure whether his is proud or scarred for life.

“Fernando, I was not aware of your taste in books,” Nico says, a little flushed thinking about what they had to read.

“Yeah, a smut book? We do have innocent eyes here,” Kevin looks at you and Logan.

“Innocent?” Logan asks, a breathy laugh behind it.

“The beach scene?” Lewis suggests you all start on.

“The writing was phenomenal, the author really captured the emotions and sensations. It read so raw, so lifelike. It was one of the few times that art imitated life. She captured every intimate thought and feeling that a woman gets when she is having sex. I remember during the honeymoon when Lance and I did something similar on the private beach and wow, the author really nailed it,” you say, not quite realizing what you had just revealed to the group.

“Damn, Y/n, I didn’t realize you and Lance were freaks like that. Respect,” Daniel says, never being one to shy away from sex. Your face twists in mortification at what you unintentionally revealed. The guys look at eachother mortified as well.

You were an adult, they knew that, but in their subconscious mind you haven’t done anything more than kiss a boy. That’s how you end up following them as they storm across the paddock.

“Logan! Help me stop them,” you look at him with panic in your eyes as the group nears the Aston Martin garage.

“Hell no, this is so funny,” he says and you huff. You see the guys cornering Lance.

“YOU RUINED OUR DAUGHTER?!” Fernando yells at his teammate. You just want to sink into a corner and die, similar to how Lance appears.

“Our precious, innocent, child. What’s next? Logan has slept with a girl?” Valtteri says.

“HEY!” Logan yells in offense. The guys’ faces drain of more color.

“You too? This isn’t ok,” Kevin says and you spot Max and Lando trying not to laugh, the two of them having seen the commotion and wanted to check it out.

“I think you guys are forgetting that the three of us are consenting adults, we aren’t kids anymore,” you say softly, Logan and Lance standing by you, the latter still scared.

“Tell that to Kimi,” Nico chuckles and you groan at the mention of your dad.

“Alright, stop harassing my teammate, we have meetings,” Max breaks everyone up, leading you away.

“Thanks, Maxie,” you let out a breath of relief.

“Do I want to know?” he laughs.

“No, I don’t think so,” you return his laugh. You just hope that your book club meeting will be smoother tomorrow morning.

The next morning, you walk into the room happy and perky as usual.

“You okay, Fernando?” Logan asks when he notices Fernando on his third cup of coffee and the tiredness in his eyes.

“The hotel has thin walls. My hotel room shares a wall with Lance’s,” Fernando says, giving you a look that makes you blush in embarrassment, wishing the earth would open up and eat you whole.

“It is natural. They are young and in love, maybe we will have a baby Stroll soon,” Lewis says and your eyes light up.

“We will!” you say, quickly pulling out your phone. The older drivers hearts sink, all slightly panicking. “Oh my god, I’m not pregnant guys, we are just getting a puppy,” you laugh at their faces.

“I would like to make a motion to kick Y/n out of the book club due to the amount of emotional distress she has given the members this weekend,” Valtteri says, and your jaw drop.

“Alright alright, but you don’t understand the almost of trauma I went through having rooms that neighbored all of you during my first year here,” you point your finger at all of them.

“Motion denied,” Daniel sighs, knowing he was probably one of the main culprits.

“So, this dog?” Nico says, changing the subject.

instagram

y/username EVERYONE MEET MY BABY!

since I’m too young to have a baby (according to the club) here is my baby holding our baby, Milo Stroll ❤️🐾🐶

logansargeant look at how big his paws are! he’s gonna be a big boy 😍

y/username his favorite uncle 🥰

danielricciardo @y/username I take offense to that

user1 y/n really had me in the first half

nicohulkenberg she had us too the first time she brought up Milo in conversation

lancestroll what a hot mama 😮‍💨

y/username nothing compared to the absolute DILF holding my sweet puppy in the picture

georgerussel MY EYES! MY INNOCENT EYES

[lovelytsunoda]

welcome to wherever you are (the lore behind the verse)

'sup guys, here is the long awaited post about the very real lore behind the welcome to wherever you are series! i am a big fan of music from the eighties, specifically rock and new wave. i was really inspired to write this series shortly after learning about the life and times of inxs, a band i have loved since i was a kid listening to 'the stairs' for the first time. this is a very niche special interest area, and i feel like sharing the lore would really add to the series. so, without further ado, the real life history behind one of my favorite reader inserts. the lore is under the cut :)

y/n elodia heaven hutchence, was two years old when her father, australian rock god, michael hutchence took his own life in a sydney hotel room. while his death occurred in 1997, and lance stroll was born in 1998, i have adjusted (and been purposely vague) about his time of death to make the ages for the story line up. she was raised by her single mother, and eventual stepfather paul, with the help of her father's ex-bandmates, kirk, gary, tim, andrew and jon. of the four, she's closest to kirk for reasons she can't explain.

given her father's popularity in australia, comparisons were not easy to escape. she leads a very private life, away from the prying eyes of the gossip magazines. every few years, she carefully composes a statement that she releases to the press, giving minor, inconsequential life updates.

now, it is important to note that while the basis of this au is based in real life, almost all of it is fiction. the true story of michael hutchence and the people he left behind, including daughter tiger lily, is sad.

here is a link to an article by the new zealand herald that talks about his downward spiral, brought on by a massive brain injury he suffered in the early nineties. as a result of this injury, he was left unable to smell or taste. he also lost his ability to regulate his emotions, and was prone to angry outbursts, a sharp change from a man who friends had said was calm, lively and full of spirit.

helpful links about the life and legacy of michael hutchence: inxs wikipedia page, michael's wikipedia page, podcast episode on michaels death, inxs' first interview since the death of micheal hutchence

to this day, saxophonist and guitarist kirk pengilly maintains that micheal spoke to him in a dream just days after his death, with the singer saying ‘I’m alright now, you don’t need to worry about me any more’

it's stated that micheal had a fear of not being loved, and a confirmed fear of growing old. i'd like to think that these are traits baby hutchence shared with her father until she met lance.

despite being australian by birth, micheal was buried in los angeles, where his mother lived. he is buried in the same cemetery as matthew perry. baby hutchence has never visited his grave.

lance and y/n would have met through a friend. and by friend, of course I mean kirk. kirk and his wife would have gone to a grand prix, and when kirk first laid eyes on lance, he had a gut feeling that he was a good fit for yn.

their first date would have been low key, on the beach at sunset. a picnic followed by a trip out on tim’s boat (before tim lost his fingers in a fishing accident).

they were married two years later. andrew thought they were rushing into it too fast. gary and kirk thought that when you know, you know (they also have four divorces between the two of them, so what do they know?)

all y/n and lance knew was that they were truly and madly in love, and that’s exactly where our au starts.

for those who want the full inxs story, please consider watching ‘never tear us apart’.

[lickmeleclerc]

Darlinlando ➸ Lickmeleclerc

                    ☼ url change ! ☼

i still write & reblog about all things f1 with bits of tom holland & draco malfoy thrown in for flavor ! please feel free to come talk to me about any of these subjects !

she / her , they / them , he / him , etc. reader insert requests available & encouraged !

♪ ғᴏʀᴍᴜʟᴀ ᴏɴᴇ ᴍᴇɴ ɪ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ғᴏʀ ﹕ charles leclerc , pierre gasly , lando norris , mick schumacher , carlos sainz , george russell, lance stroll, esteban ocon, max verstappen & daniel ricciardo

♪ ᴄᴇʟᴇʙʀɪᴛɪᴇs ɪ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ғᴏʀ ﹕ tom holland , harry holland , sam holland , & harrison osterfield

♪ ʜᴀʀʀʏ ᴘᴏᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs ɪ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ғᴏʀ ﹕ draco malfoy

requests : open | prompts : accepting | askbox : open | messaging : open

masterlist 001 | masterlist 002 ( under construction ) | my prompt list | askbox | faq | the tea 🫖 | my quiz

[form-voltron-imagines]

Head canon of how the paladins would deal with a s/o who is crying really hard cuz something very bad happened. Their s/o is normally not one to cry easily?

~Awww poor s/o. I won’t say how their s/o starts crying, so readers can just insert what reason they see fit as to why s/o starts crying so here we go!~

Hunk

• Hunk would be going on with his day as usual, trying out different techniques and such while baking. 🍳

• Once he’s done, he decides to head to his s/o’s room to see what they’re up to.

• Although he stops completely in front of his s/o’s room when he hears sounds akin to someone crying 💧

• He is both extremely worried and confused, since he’s never seen or heard his s/o cry before.

    • “(y/n)?? You okay in there??”

    • “No…”

• Once he enters his s/o’s room he is heartbroken.

• Again, he’s never seen his s/o so upset and sad before. 💦

• He doesn’t know what to do at first because, he never thought he would see his s/o like this.

• Panics a bit at first, stuttering and tumbling over his own words, trying to say something to soothe his partner.

• Though when he sees his s/o cry harder because of this, his first instinct is to go to them and hug them.

    • “H-hey…. Please stop crying.” 💧💧

• He’s never really encountered someone cry before, so he is entirely new to all this comforting stuff.

• But he tries his best to soothe his s/o.

• Lots of back rubs while he tries to find comforting words to his s/o.

• Is entirely willing to listen to his s/o if they ever want to talk about what was causing them to be in such distress.

• But he’s very understanding if his s/o doesn’t wish to talk about it.

• He just tries so hard to comfort his s/o, he ends up making up weird mumbo jumbo, because of all the stuttering.

• S/o ends up giggling because of Hunk’s clumsiness.

• Lots of pats ✋

• He’ll offer to cook anything for his s/o,

• You want ravioli? French toast? Sushi? Or even chips, he’ll make sure to get it for you no matter what. Even if he has to go back inside the very depths of the belly of the weblum creatures he’ll do it. 🍲

• Lots of snacks headed your way

• Eating is the best way to feel happy about yourself, Hunk says.

• He does his best to comfort his s/o through food, and who doesn’t like food? He may not be the best, but he doesn’t want to his s/o so upset.

Keith

• Keith hardly understands the concept of a cheer, so he may have trouble dealing with his s/o, who he’s never seen break down or cry at all.

• It would be after Keith finishes up his training, and after a shower, heads towards his s/o’s room since he started noticing their sudden lack of presence for the past few days. ⼔

• Once he starts hearing muffled sobs and sniffles from the other side of his s/o’s door, he freezes up completely.

• Worry and panic completely engulfs him. 😨

• He has no idea what to do, or how to comfort someone, so he just goes with his instinct instead, like what he does most of the time.

• He just busts into his s/o’s room SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME–

• Scares the shit out of his s/o, but he doesn’t note that at first.

    • “(Y/N) AREYOUOKAYWHATHAPPENED?!”

 • Offers to murder anyone who caused his s/o such distress, even if the person was his teammate like Shiro or Lance. jk

    • “Why are you crying? Who did this?” 😤

• S/o has to stop him from actually murdering the said person who caused his s/o in distress, if this was the case.

• But if the reason why his s/o is in such distress because of something that he cannot physically touch like depression, he is at loss because he has no idea what to do.

• Since he’s never seen his s/o so upset before, he is just at loss at words because to his knowledge, they’re practically unbreakable so he’s shocked to see them this way.

• He just opts to hug his s/o from behind, and lets them cry as much as they want, because that was something he thought would soothe his s/o.

• Doesn’t really know what to say except, “Is there anyone I need to kill,” so he just stays silent while his s/o cries. 😢

• Despite his silence, he is actually a very good listener and will listen to whatever his s/o wants to say, whether its about a person or their depression.

• Though he won’t force his s/o to tell either if they don’t wish to talk about it, he’s been there.

• Will offer or think up of a solution to help his s/o if they have any problem.

• Other than that, he’ll stay beside his s/o at all times, will not leave them unless its absolutely necessary.

• He doesn’t know what to say, so expect lots of cuddles and hugs instead.

• Will also offer his s/o to train with him, so that they could have an outlet for all that pent up stress. 👏

• It honestly pains to see his s/o in such distress, so he does everything he can to make them feel better.

Lance

• Lance would be just strolling around the castle, whistling and just enjoying his free time.

• Since its his free time, he decides to spend it with his s/o so he heads toward their room.

• The mood completely changes when he hears sobs from behind the door.

• Immediately worried. 😰

• Will knock softly first, and let his s/o he’s outside their room before entering.

    • “What happened (y/n)? What’s wrong,”

• Genuinely worried about them.

• Unlike Keith or Hunk, he actually knows what to do in this situation.

• But that doesn’t mean he isn’t surprised to see his s/o cry, he actually is, so he tries his best to comfort them.

• Swiftly wraps his arms around them, and presses his head against theres and assures them that he is there for them.

• Lots of comforting words. 🎀

• Will sometimes speak to his s/o in Spanish softly. 

• After that he’ll ask what was the problem and what caused them to be so sad.

• He’ll listen to everything his s/o wants to say.

• Lots of kisses and cheek rubs. 💋✋

• He knows how to cheer up his s/o, so he slips in some jokes here and there to lighten the mood.

• He’ll also be serious if he has to be.

• He’ll let his s/o either snuggle up to him, or punch him.

• He’ll go to Hunk and request whatever food his s/o was craving for. 🍔🍕🍴

• Will assure you that everything is alright, and that his s/o can cry on his shoulder to their heart’s content.

• Also, will treat his s/o to a spa day as well, make them feel good about themselves. 💅🏼

• Lots of exchange between clothes.

• He’s not new to the concept of comforting someone when they’re sad, since most of his childhood he was surrounded by family members and relatives who are all very supportive and caring for each other.

• Compliments and of course, some of his infamous pick up lines. 😂

    • “Even when you cry you’re still gorgeous…”

    • “Shut up Lance…” 

    • “Anything for you my princess/prince.” 💑👨‍❤️‍👨

Pidge

• Its late at night, and Pidge is in her room, typing away on one of her computer as always. 💻

• Her throat starts feeling dry, so she heads to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. 🔵

• Though, on her way back to her room, she stops when she’s right outside of her s/o’s room, hearing muffled whimpers and sobs from the other side. 

• Quickly knocks on her s/o’s door, and lets them know she’s outside.

• Once she’s let in their room, she’s completely at loss at words and slightly panics to see her s/o crying while hugging their legs.

• She doesn’t exactly know what to do, but just lets instinct take over.

• Immediately approaches them, and hugs them.

• Since she’s never seen them so broken before, she’s beyond surprised yet saddened to see them in this state.

• Though, she doesn’t say much like Keith, and just settles with soothing rubs, kisses and hugs instead.

• She makes sure to let her s/o know that she is right there for them, like Lance.

• She does know a little bit on how to comfort someone, since there are times where she gets stressed as well and her brother was there to comfort her.

    • “Want to go get some snacks?” 🍟

• She may be small, but she’s the best thing to cuddle out of all the paladins because of her small stature and that it is quite easy to wrap your arms around the short paladin.

• Will also willingly listen to her s/o’s problems, and maybe even have some remarks here and there.

• Will completely recreate her s/o’s room into a relaxing space with some decorations that she got from Lance, and with a help from one of her machines.🌸

• She’ll also come up with solutions to help deal with whatever problem her s/o was having at the moment.

• She may get a little protective as well.

• Will sneakily grab some snacks from Hunk’s stash (somehow)

• She knows how to make an environment where her s/o feels safe and comfortable. 🌼

Shiro

• He would be in the castle’s headquarters as usual, patrolling and observing the known universe. (space dad just rest will ya’) 

• Begins to notice how his s/o doesn’t show up around the headquarters like they normally do, so he opts to head towards their room to check up on them.

• As he heads towards their room, he starts hearing muffled sobs becoming more audible, this alone worries him so he starts walking faster.💦

• When he’s in front of his s/o’s room, he gently knocks.

    • “(y/n)? Its me, Shiro.”

• When he is allowed inside his s/o’s room, he gets extremely saddened and heartbroken seeing his s/o’s state, crying and in complete distress.

• Approaches his s/o and wraps his arms around them, and tucks their head underneath his chin while they start to cry into his chest.

• Space dad is Space sad

• He starts to gently talk to his s/o and reassure them with comforting words.

• Lots of forehead kisses and pecks.👄

    • “Shhh... I’m right here,”

• He’s never seen his s/o so distressed and sad. This thought alone made his heart throb in pain, he just hates to see them this way.

• He might even cry, but he does his best not to cry because dammit his s/o is the one in distress not him. 😰

• Lots of back rubs, he’ll also lightly pet his s/o’s head whilst they cry,

• After all the tears, he asks what caused them to cry.

• He’ll listen to them wholeheartedly if they are willing to tell him, but he also understands if they don’t want to address the matter. He’ll find out either way...

• Then gently ushers them to lie down with him on the bed.〇

• He’ll play with his s/o’s hair (if its long) while they rest on his chest.

• Like Keith, he won’t leave his s/o’s side, though only leaving if its absolutely necessary or that they want or crave something.

• Speaking of which, if his s/o was craving something, he won’t hesitate to get it for them if it means to make them feel better.

• Like Keith and Pidge, will also come up with solutions to help with his s/o’s problem or more likely to eliminate the problem.

• Other than that, pillow talk 🍬

• He may be big, but its incredibly comfy to snuggle up to him.

• Lots of hugging and reassuring remarks.

• He’ll also wipe away the tears from his s/o’s cheeks. 

• Then kiss the stains on their cheeks.

• He just wants his s/o to know that he would be there for them if they ever need to express their feelings. ❤️

[agentmarymargaretskitz]

Thunderstorms, Coffee, and Candles

@a-girl-named-whiskey was my CCMBV! I’m posting this a little early since Monday and Tuesday are not great days for fic posting (thanks real life!), but I hope that you enjoy this Valentine! I know you like a good AU, so that’s what this is...although it could also totally be Earth-3.

AO3

               Of all the places to be on Valentine’s Day, the last place Leonard Snart had expected to end up was a diner next to a rest stop. He never would have ended up there if his car hadn’t broken down, or if his phone hadn’t died on him when he tried to call his sister. That had been what made him decide to hike to the nearest place of civilization, which couldn’t have been far since there was a sign for an exit in the distance. He hadn’t counted on the light rain to quickly develop into a downpour. By the time he reached the diner and hurried inside, he was soaked to the bone.

“Not exactly the day for a stroll, huh?” someone remarked.

               Leonard turned toward the source of the voice to see a woman turned around in her seat at the counter. She was smirking a little, her blonde braid hanging over her shoulder. The man who was behind the counter grinned briefly at that.

“It wasn’t really planned,” Leonard grumbled, shedding the coat that had given him some protection when the downpour had started while making his way to the counter. “There a phone here?”

The man behind the counter (Nate, according to his nametag) pointed over to the wall, where the phone was. Leonard gave him a short nod and crossed over to it. Inserting a few coins, he dialed Lisa’s number, waiting for her to pick up.

After a few rings, she picked up. “Hello?”

“Lisa, it’s me.”

There was some muttering in the background, followed by Lisa shushing someone. Her boyfriend was probably over at her place. “Lenny? Where are you?”

Leonard glanced at a menu. “Waverider Diner. My car broke down and my phone died, so I had to hike to go find one.”

“I told you something was going to happen to your car. Cisco’s never wrong.”

“I don’t care how many times he’s right,” Leonard groaned. “Lisa, he’s not psychic.”

“Tell that to all the things he’s predicted correctly. It’s not luck, Lenny.”

He sighed. “Lisa, do you think you can come pick me up?”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” his sister replied. “I’ll look up where this diner is, and I’ll be on my way.”

“Thanks, sis,” he said before hanging up.

               Sara watched as the man who had entered the diner hung up the phone and made his way over the counter where she was. He left a seat in between them as he sat down. She had been surprised when he first came into the diner, given that Nate had told her things had been slow due to the storm that had been going on for most of the day. Had she not been old friends with Nate, she probably would have kept on driving home to Central City too. But every time she passed by the Waverider Diner, she always made a visit to him.

“How’s the coffee here?” the man asked, the question directed to both Nate and herself.

“Pretty good actually,” Sara told him, drawing his attention towards her. “At least, I like it. Whatever the case, it’s better than what my roommate once made.”

The man smirked a little and ordered a cup of coffee from Nate. Her friend went over to the coffeemaker as the man turned back to Sara.

“How bad was the coffee your roommate made?” he asked.

“Thick as mud and didn’t taste much better,” Sara shuddered at the memory. “I don’t know how she did it. After trying it, I couldn’t touch a cup for a few years. When Nate gave me a cup of his, I started drinking it again.”

He laughed a little as Nate set the cup in front of him before paying for it. “Good or not, I’ll take anything warm after being in that rain.”

“Your car broke down, right?” Sara asked, getting a slight frown out of the man. “I heard you on the phone.”

“It did,” the man sighed. “I’ve been having trouble with it lately, and I was hoping to make it back to Central. Instead, it decides to give out on me, and then my phone decided to follow that pattern.”

“Ouch,” Sara grimaced. “Well, at least it didn’t break down earlier. You would have had a longer walk.”

“That’s a very good point, Ms…”

“Lance,” Sara supplied. “Sara Lance.”

He nodded. “Leonard Snart.”

“Nice to meet you, Leonard,” she smiled. “So, where were you going before your car quit?”

“Central City,” Leonard told her. “I was on my way home from a research trip in Starling. How about you?”

“Also heading back to Central from Starling, except I was visiting my sister,” she explained. “She and her husband just had a baby, and I decided to use some vacation days to see them. Every time I go between Central and Starling, I always stop here. Nate’s an old friend of mine, and the stuff here’s pretty good.”

“Good to know the next time I head to Starling,” Leonard murmured thoughtfully. “Which could happen again soon depending on how my research holds up.”

“What were you researching up there anyways?” Sara asked.

“Some of the records of the city,” he told her. “I’ve been working on a book.”

“Are you writing about the Undertaking?” she inquired. The earthquake that had quite literally rocked Starling City had only happened a few years back. It would make sense if people were starting to write books about it instead of opinion pieces in newspapers.

However, Leonard shook his head. “It’s more obscure than that. If you didn’t know, then I wouldn’t blame you. I didn’t even know about it until last year when someone I met shared their story about it with me.”

“I spent my childhood in Starling City,” Sara smirked. “Try me?”

He smirked and took a sip of his coffee. “Ever heard of the legend of the Hawks?”

Sara raised her eyebrows. “The bird people that apparently live in the Glades?”

“There’ve been a lot of thoughts on them, if they even exist or not. I’ve been looking up every theory I can about them and the evidence that has been provided to support it. Let the reader decide what they really are.”

“And what do you think they are?” Sara asked, tilting her head at him. “You might be the one collecting all of this research, but there has to be some kind of explanation you lean towards most.”

There was a long pause before he finally shook his head and sighed. “I think they exist. After all, there are metahumans in Central City, although there have been sightings of them before the disaster at STAR Labs even happened. Gun to my head, I’d say that they’re the result of some sort of mutation. Although one theory that I highly doubt is plausible is the reincarnation one.”

“Well, I always thought they were an urban legend of the Glades,” Sara shrugged. “Although some people have come to the paper claiming they have a story about them stopping crime in Central City.

“You work for the newspaper?” Leonard raised his eyebrows.

“I do,” she nodded. “Not a headliner. Maybe one day though I might make the front page. But I’m not stealing your Hawk story. Not unless they are seen in public and I get assigned to that story.”

               Lightning flashed outside of the diner. A crash of thunder followed almost instantly, making the walls of the Waverider Diner shake. A moment later, the lights blinked out. Still, Sara could see Leonard in front of her with the minimal light that made it through the windows.

“Dammit.”

Both Sara and Leonard turned towards Nate. Sara had forgotten that he had still been there. The man dropped below the counter, muttering something about how he was sure he had put a flashlight down here once. When he popped back up, he wasn’t holding a flashlight, but a few candles.

“Forgot these were down here,” he admitted. “These will have to do for now.”

He lit a candle to place in between them and started working on the others. As he moved away from them, Sara turned back to Leonard, noticing that he was smirking.

“What?” she frowned as he started to chuckle.

“Not the way I expected February 14 to be going,” Leonard replied. “But I don’t mind the way that it’s going now.”

“Well, you’re not the only one,” Sara agreed, letting herself smile as lightning briefly illuminated the diner again before sending them back into candlelight.

               Time went by quickly for them. Sara and Leonard talked some more before retreating to a booth by one of the windows to play cards with the slightly damp deck that Leonard had with him. Nate joined in with them for one round, but lost quickly and told them he was going to retreat to check and see if there was something he could do about finding more candles. He didn’t come back though, leaving Sara and Leonard to continue their discussions and games.

               After about three hours, the rain had only let up slightly and the lights were still out. A pair of headlights shined into the diner, making Sara and Leonard look up. Leonard could see that it was Lisa’s vehicle and set down his cards. A losing hand of cards, the queen of hearts responsible. Sara set hers down, and he could see that she had been close to beating him again.

“Guess I’m off,” he sighed, collecting the cards and standing up.

Sara scooted out of the booth herself and stretched. “I should get going too.”

Leonard looked over at her. “You never had to stay.”

“I wanted to,” she replied.

               Before he could say anything else, she grabbed a napkin from the dispenser and a pen from her purse. He watched as she scrawled down a series of numbers before passing the napkin to him.

“Look me up when you get back to Central City,” she told him.

“Only if you do the same,” Leonard said as he grabbed another napkin and put his own phone number down.

She took the napkin from him. “It’s a deal. See you around, Leonard.”

“Goodbye, Sara,” he nodded as he tucked the napkin in his pocket to prevent it from getting wet.

Leonard grabbed his coat and left the diner, the rain pelting his face immediately. It was cold and harsh after spending three hours drying off. He hurried over to Lisa’s car and got inside before he could get soaked again. As Lisa drove away from the Waverider, Leonard looked back to see Sara leaving the diner for her own car.

A few days later, Sara met Leonard for lunch in Central City.

Within a few months, they moved into an apartment together.

Two years later, they were back at the Waverider Diner when Leonard proposed to Sara.

At their wedding, Nate was the one who shared the story of how Leonard and Sara met, and how he’d known immediately that two strangers would become something more.