#bc he would get along well w charles

[killa-trav]

ferrari boys on pole; baku edition ☝️

[itsprashimusic]

Monaco and Monza

Summary - Charles, his favourite person (and their puppy) before, during and after the most important race wins of his life.

Pairings - Charles Leclerc x fem!Reader

Warnings - no use of y/n, google translate French and Italian, r can make decent conversation in French and Italian, possible inaccurate timelines, it is hinted that R is not from France or Monaco, honorable louis tomlinson appearance bc I am a former louie girlie, R has blue light glasses, cuss words. Happy reading🩵

W/C - 3.9k

A/N - i write all my female Rs with a desi in mind. Written in 2nd pov. I wrote R with a mindset and likes similar to mine, you are free to skip this fic if you don't like it.

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Before Monaco

An hour had passed on the three hour flight from Imola to Nice. Charles was asleep and Leo was curled up in your lap. Sitting in an oversized top and sweatpants, you were quite comfortable while doing some work. You work for a company that allows you to work remotely, which is a huge blessing considering your longtime boyfriend travels the world every other week.

The tiny pup yawned big as he woke up from his nap. You scratched him under the chin. Leo moved around in your lap, found another comfortable spot and went right back to sleep just as Charles also moved to find another comfortable position to nap in. You smiled to yourself and continued working.

Soon the plane landed in a private airport in the French city of Nice. Your bags were handled by the hired help, and Charles insisted on carrying your laptop bag for you. This left you walking along his side with Leo in your arms, still sound asleep. The boat ride to Monaco didn't take long and the drive to your shared apartment went by in a blur.

It felt nice being home during race week. You left Leo in his bed and joined Charles in the living room. Coming up from behind you hugged him while softly asking, "Qu'est-ce que tu penses?" (what is on your mind?). Even after all these years you still cringed at your accent.

"The race" he replied.

You sighed as you remembered the dnfs, mechanical failures and team errors that Charles had to endure. Year after year, the pain just kept getting worse as you watched from the grandstands and eventually the garage.

"You should focus on the positives. The team has been performing well and this season has been different than the last 3, there is hope." you weren't sure if what you said was the right thing. You kissed him on the cheek and moved around the couch to come and sit next to him.

"It is not easy when every other time I have had hope, it has been ripped away and torn into tiny pieces," Charles said while looking defeated. You felt sad seeing him like this. You just held your arms out and let him fall into your embrace. With the couch being big enough for two people to sleep on it, soon you and Charles fell asleep, still in the hug.

During Monaco

Photographers snapped photos of you and Rebecca, Leo's leash entwined with your hand. The two of you were spotted outside the Ferrari hospitality an hour before qualifying. Charles was busy with his engineer and strategist and asked you to give him some alone time. So, you thought a small walk around the paddock with your puppy and good friend would be beneficial.

Eventually the crowd of fans surrounding you and Rebecca who wanted to see Leo was getting quite large, so you politely said goodbye to the fans, picked up the pup and made your way back to the Ferrari motorhome. You got a text from your boyfriend.

Can you come to my drivers room?

You entered the room and put Leo down, allowing him to calm down and drink some water from his very own water bottle and attached bowl. "Darling, do you need something?" you asked Charles as he looked tense.

You moved closer to him. Charles caught you by surprise when he pulled you even closer and hugged you extremely tight. "Je ne me sens pas bien," (i don't feel good) he whispered. "C'est bon. Tout ira bien. It's ok, you'll be ok." you quietly kept repeating to him until Leo began demanding attention with his big brown eyes and soft whines.

Charles wiped the few tears that escaped and picked him up with a new smile adorning his face. For a moment, it was just the three of you, your perfect little family. There was a knock at the door, followed by a Ferrari team member informing Charles that he was required in 5 minutes. Charles placed a wet kiss on your forehead.

"Thank you for supporting me the way you do. I love you so much, mon cœur," (my heart) he said, his lips still on your forehead. The pair walked out of the room and split ways. You had the hired help watch Leo for the duration of qualifying in a private room.

You sat with Charles' family just as the Sky Sports camera panned on you. You smiled when you saw yourself on the monitor and gave a small wave while sitting next to Charlotte.

Even though you knew that Charles would easily clear Q1, you could not help the anxiety that made its way throughout your body. He crossed the line and made it to Q2. With the next session, your anxiety worsened. But within 15 minutes your nerves eased.

Q3. This was it. As the minutes slowly turned from 12 to 2, you were feeling sick. Charles' sleek Ferrari flew over the finish line and your hands flew to your mouth. Pole Position. At his home race. At your home race. The cameras focused on you to get your and his family's reaction.

At parc ferme, Charles ran over to his team who hyped him up even more. He signed the wheel and posed for the photos, the smile never leaving his face. Even after finishing up his media duties and making his way back to his family and you in the motorhome, his smile remained ever present. You swore he never hugged you tighter than that.

Race day. The day that actually mattered.

You entered the paddock a few steps behind Charles, Leo once again in your hold. You didn't get a lot of time with Charles, considering he was the man of the hour after securing pole. The two of you shared a moment together before he had to head out for the national anthem.

"Comment te sens-tu, chérie?" (how are you feeling, darling?) you asked him while he changed into his race suit. He looked up and the look on his face gave you your answer. You smiled and he continued wearing his suit. There were butterflies in his stomach. That meant he felt nervous, hopeful, anxious and confident all at once.

Charles was out on the track, and you once again joined his family in the motorhome. At that point though, it would be more appropriate to call them your family. You and Charles have been together for a long time. The pair of you had seen each other at their lowest and highest. When Charles lost his father and when for nearly a year you could not get a job. When news of Anthoine's death reached Charles, he was on holiday with you and your family in another country. Your family gave him the comfort he needed. When you got news that your parents contracted covid, there was nothing you could do sitting in your apartment in Monaco. Pascale was like a second mother to you.

The race began. You found a place to sit and watch the race. Charles was in the lead. A huge crash. A totaled redbull and a red flag. You felt the butterflies creeping up from your stomach to your throat. The race resumed and continued. Piastri was close to Charles, but not enough to threaten his position. It felt like time slowed down during the final lap. You had an earbud plugged in one ear and could hear Crofty's iconic last lap commentary.

The number 16 Ferrari flew past the checkered flag and fireworks flew out from the sides of the track. Charles' family members were already hugging each other and some of the team members who were there. But you didn't move. Tears were flowing down your face and a smile was etched on your face. The first person you moved to hug was Charlotte, the older woman was like an elder sister to you.

The camera's stream kept cutting from Charles out on the track to you and his family in the motorhome. Everyone quickly left the garage and made their way to parc ferme. You saw Charles pull up and stop in front of the 1st place stand. You watched from the back as he ran to his team, Arthur and Lorenzo pushed their way to the front. After getting weighed, the team moved to allow you to come to the front where Charles walked towards you.

Normally, you and Charles would keep the pda on the lesser side when cameras were around, but not this time. The forever smiling face, messy-haired and slightly teary-eyed boyfriend of yours pulled you directly into a powerful kiss. His left arm was around your back while his right hand was half on your face and half on your neck. You could hear and feel all the cameras going off around you.

Charles broke the kiss but kept your foreheads connected. You held both of his hands. "Tu l'as fait," (you did it) you repeated in all the languages you knew while nodding your head. You could see the tears welling up in his eyes again. He quickly blinked them away, "L'ho fatto," (i did it) he said in Italian quickly kissed you once again before hugging you.

You stood below the podium and watched as he received the trophy he had been waiting his entire life for. You were still crying. The tears would not stop, and they only got worse when Charles made eye contact with you after he was presented with the medal. He mouthed the words I love you. So much. Thank you. You could only hold your hand to your heart in response.

After Monaco

Even after a full day, you could still smell the fragrance of champagne wafting off of Charles.

You and Charles had celebrated his win on Sunday night in a club. He was practically glued to your side the entire night. No matter who he was talking to, either he did it while having an arm around you or holding your hand. By the end of the night, you were left with a very clingy and very drunk boyfriend. With Joris's help, you got Charles into the car. He drove the both of you home.

Back at the apartment, Charles seemed to have sobered up a bit after you made him eat some food.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" Charles was lying down on the bed and was lovingly staring at you.

"All the time," you answered while changing for the night.

You finished changing and joined Charles in bed. Leo who was previously perched near Charles' feet climbed onto you and snuggled up on your chest.

Charles got your attention by saying your name, "I want you to understand what I mean when I say this. I love you. I appreciate you so much, even I cannot comprehend it. You have supported me throughout my years in Formula 1 and Formula 2. You have stood by me all these years, even when you had to sacrifice your job and sleep schedule for me. Je veux que vous compreniez la profondeur de ce que je dis." (i want you to understand the depth of what i am saying).

His eyes kept moving around but eventually rested on your face. He looked into your eyes when he finally spat out what he truly wanted to say.

"Mon cœur, mon âme, ma vie, je veux passer le reste de ma vie avec toi. Veux-tu m'épouser?" (My heart, my soul, my life, i want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?)

I took you a second to process what Charles said. You looked down and saw him holding a simple gold band with three small diamonds set in it. His free arm was laid across your stomach under Leo, who woke up when he sensed his mom feeling strong emotions.

Tears filled your eyes, your heart began beating faster and you were sweating a bit. Leo moved to the bed and was now licking the tears that fell from your eyes. You felt like you couldn't speak, but you very much knew what your answer was.

Before Monza

The summer break was perfect. You used your paid leave and were fully able to enjoy your time with the entire family. The photos of Leo that Charles posted to his instagram were adored by the fans. Your insta account remained private, but you still posted the dog nonetheless.

Neither of you announced the engagement just yet, wanting to keep it to yourselves for a while. Fans got curious when they saw a new ring around that special finger after Charles' win in Monaco, but since it was quite simple and small, they thought nothing much of it. You were known for wearing many different rings on the same finger, so people thought it was just another ring you fancied.

Unfortunately, after your long break, you were required to come back to the office for a few days for important meetings with the higher-ups of your company. That meant you missed the race in Zandvoort and Charles podium. But you made it up to him by joining him in Monza, his adopted home race.

Walking in the streets of Monza with a loved Ferrari driver was always quite the experience. Leo loved the attention from all the fans, he was a born extrovert. You and Charles had lunch at one of your favourite restaurants. The both of you sat in a relatively private section of the restaurant.

"I missed you at Zandvoort," Charles said before eating a morsel of his favourite pasta. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I tried to leave as early as I could, but by the time the meeting finished it made no sense to come," you said wishing you could have been there for him. Ever since Monaco, the team had been struggling. It brought back painful flashbacks of 2022 and 2023.

Things were not the best between you and Charles during the week you were out for work. The timings never seemed to match, when he had the energy to talk you were too burnt out, and doing all of this while also planning a wedding was not easy. It put a small strain on your relationship which seemed like it was reaching its breaking point during this weekend.

During Monza

You spent the rest of the week working. In between the free practice sessions, you were spotted with a pair of blue-light glasses on and bent over your laptop and a notebook. Leo was either sleeping in his carrier by your feet or was with Arthur or Lorenzo.

You barely saw Charles the entire weekend. He was either busy with his engineer and strategist or was filming content. It only made the strain in your relationship even worse and left Rebecca having to hear your side of it for most of the weekend considering both the boys were quite busy.

It was only before qualifying that you managed to get a moment with Charles at all.

"Charles, I know this is an important race for you, but we need to talk," you sternly said leaving no room for arguments. Charles was about to protest but you simply pulled him by the arm to his drivers room.

"Pourquoi tu ne me parles pas?" (why are you not talking to me?) you folded your arms while facing him. "You have been avoiding me ever since Thursday!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were too tired and 'fagged out' to want to talk," he replied sarcastically and with air quotes. "Je ne comprends pas pourquoi tu dois te comporter comme ça!" (I don't get why you have to behave like that!) Charles started walking around angrily and went off rattling away in French at such a fast pace you could not understand what he was saying.

"Just stop!" you yelled. "Just tell me why you are angry at me," you said, softer this time, almost in defeat.

"I don't like it when you are so busy with your work that you do not have time for us," Charles whispered after a long pause.

"And how do you think I feel when you are so busy with your work? I am required to go to the office at least every six months. You travel around the world every other week. You have less free time than I do, but have you heard me complain? So, instead of getting angry that I had to leave for one week to discuss plans for the company's future with the CEO, you should be happy that it was only one week out of the 52 in a year."

By the time you finished speaking, Charles had his hands over his face and was standing quite far from you. He whispered something inaudibly. With a confused look on your face, you moved closer to your fiancé. Upon feeling your body heat in the cold room, he removed his hands from his face and repeated his words.

I'm sorry.

The both of you wrapped yourselves in an embrace and for 5 minutes were only apologising and promising to do better in the future. You left the room after giving him a kiss. You headed down to the garage wanting to watch quali with Arthur who was watching Leo while you worked.

The timer began the countdown into Q1. Normally you would've been feeling quite nervous, but you were distracted by the charming british singer sitting next to you. Being a young girl during the height of One Direction was something else entirely. Your childhood dreams of meeting your favourite singer from the famous boyband had now come true.

Soon it was time for Q3 and you got a photo with Louis who by the time Q3 began, just like the rest of the world, fell in love with Leo and his photos. Charles put in great laps, but ended up only p4 alongside Russel.

Charles finished with his media duties and met up with you inside the motorhome. You were on a work call when he walked into the room. Leo was in the corner of the room scarfing down his food as if he hadn't eaten in years, his ears flopping all over the place.

You cut the call frustrated, removing your glasses from your face and placing them on your head. "Est-ce que tu vas bien?" (are you good?) he asked while holding you from the side and kissing your temple. You nodded and just packed up your things while Charles gathered his things as well.

The grandstands were filled with a sea of red and occasional yellow. Your outfit consisted of only red, yellow and black. Charles had left for the paddock earlier, so you made plans to have breakfast with Rebecca and leave for the paddock together.

You walked around before the race with Leo on the leash in front of you, Rebecca by your side. "So, how is wedding planning going?" she asked, her beautiful scottish accent making you smile. "We are still looking at venues. All we know is that it's going to be sometime in August of next year."

The drivers would soon be called for the national anthem. So, you went back to the Ferrari garage looking for your soon-to-be husband. You found him sitting next to Arthur, water bottle in hand. Leo instantly ran towards him and began climbing up his dad.

"Just do your best. Give it your all. Je t'aime tellement." (i love you so much) you sent Charles off with a hug. Leo was fast asleep in his carrier, so you joined Arthur down in the garage. You put on the large red headphones and waved at the camera when you saw yourself on the broadcast.

Halfway through the race, it hit you that Charles could possibly win. It was a stretch considering he was attempting a one-stopper. But as lap after lap went by the possibility of that dream coming true seemed more and more likely. His tires were probably gonna look like chewed-up bubblegum by the end of the race, but if he managed them just right...

He did it. He fucking did it. The roar of the Tifosi was stronger than ever. Unlike his last win, this time you were not seated. You were jumping up and down, cheering as loud as you could, matching the energy of the Ferrari team members around you. Some of them hugged you.

While Charles was finishing his cool-down lap, the mechanics and other team members rushed out to greet Charles in parc ferme. You stayed close to Arthur, knowing that you could possibly get pushed in the wrong direction. With a hand around your back, he guided you to the front where you could see the beautiful red car pull up.

Charles came running toward the team, moving quickly to try and hug everyone possible. As he moved from Arthur to hug you, from the corner of your eyes you could see more cameras making their way towards you. FLASH! And that was how one of the iconic photos of Monza 2024 was born. Charles' arms wrapped around you and he had his visor up, his eyes filled with so much emotion. You were smiling widely in the photo and had your hands on either side of his helmet. But the part that made the photo iconic was that your left hand was facing the camera, and in that, you had tucked away all of your fingers except the one with your engagement ring.

Winning the Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver is always special, so you watched the podium celebration from inside the motorhome, wanting him to enjoy the moment with the team and the Tifosi to the fullest.

After Monza

For the next two days, the streets of Monza were filled with Ferrari flags being either hung from somewhere or people waving them around. It seemed like every other Italian was asking for an autograph from Charles or a photo with him. But it wasn't just Charles and Ferrari who were the talk of town. So were you.

That photo of you and Charles just after the race had gone viral. At first, people were freaking out, wondering if the two of you were really engaged or if it was a joke. Only when Charles reposted the photo to his story did fans really start freaking out.

Congratulations were pouring out of everyone's mouth who had seen the photo or heard of the news. You didn't mean for the news to overshadow Charles' incredible win on 38-lap old tires. But it didn't. As a matter of fact, the win and engagement news gelled well together, neither taking away from the other.

The night before the team would be heading to Maranello you and Charles laid in the hotel bed, Leo fast asleep on his own bed. "I'm sorry for not asking if you'd be fine with me announcing our engagement," you said in a soft voice while drawing shapes on his torso. Charles, who had you wrapped around his side, kissed your forehead and said, "Je suis content que tu l'aies fait," (I am glad you did it).

The next morning Charles posted a photo of a formal dinner the two of you had with not just his but also your family where the engagement was announced. Of course, Leo was in the center of the photo.

A/n - honestly idk what i even wrote. i am tired af and just needed to get this out of my system. Hope you enjoyed reading🩵

[agendabymooner]

the paddock’s resident it girl ! toto w. x ofc (hearth sister!ofc)

summary: everyone’s obsessed with the cool girl of the formula one community, and it’s safe to say that her husband’s team is obsessed with her too. OR tilly wolff, the ceo of hearth automotive groups (owner of almost all of mercedes’ rival teams), returns to the paddock months after the last appearance of the wolff family in baku.

content warning: social media au, ofc in love with toto (frfr), established relationship and family, mentions of alex turner x ofc and arctic monkeys (song lyric reference), brief use of explicit language, jokes about age (beekeeping)

note: yes, it is a whole universe. and will I make a timeline/guide/navigation that will help people understand this universe better? yes. enjoy xx

masterlist

tagged mercedesamgf1

liked by lewishamilton, maxverstappen1, charles_leclerc

mercedesamgf1 it’s ok, we forgave you when you brought adelmo along :)

user1 BEE. KEEPING. AGE. 🐝

user2 if i was his wife, i’d be taking photos of him too 😭

user3 this is the closest thing that tilly and toto have to an alone time and you know what i’ll take it

georgerussell63 this really shows favouritism, tils. liked by tillywolff

tillywolff yes well this is the only chance i have to play favourites inside the paddock

charles_leclerc i agree with the beekeeping age comments 🙈

user4 LMAO CHARLES

user5 toto just took away your brownie points, congrats. now figure out how to get his blessings.

user6 what’re the chances of him getting out of the next wolff dinner party alive?

maxverstappen1 user6 pretty slim.

user6 maxverstappen1 stop making me feel delulu as is 😭 this parasocial relationship shit isn’t for me

lewishamilton you should have asked me to watch the kids instead of ogling over my boss 😉 liked by tillywolff

tillywolff and you should just keep your mouth shut 🤐

user7 i would ogle over your boss too so don’t pick on her like that 🤓

tagged tillywolff, hearthautomotivegroups

liked by mickschumacher, steviemarlz, lewishamilton

lewishamilton that’s my best friend!! liked by mercedesamgf1

mercedesamgf1 INDEED LEWIS!!!

user1 “our favourite ceo of hearth automotive groups” like it isn’t just tilly who controls the company 😭

user2 toto needs his own instagram account if he wants to continue to shitpost about our resident it girl like this

user3 whoever posted this is getting a bonus, i can feel it

user4 she’s such a milfffff ughhh

user5 right?? like you’re telling ME? that she just gave birth six months ago?

user6 my favourite part of the weekend is when tilly would show up to the paddock, dressed to the nines with her kids in tow and having to bark at the paparazzi about hounding her cubs 🫶

user7 she’s so mother and i love it

redbullracing that looks like our boss 🤨

scuderiaferrari that looks like ours too 😶

mclarenf1 no because that looks like our boss too 🫣

mercedesamgf1 no, not really. she’s our boss’ wife :)

user8 mercedes answering our wishes by posting photos of OUR WIFE? scuderiaferrari do you do requests too bc i wanna talk about your strategies…

user9 pfT HAHAHAHAHA THATS VILE

[bad268]

Could u write a princess of Monaco and Arthur lecrelc , I see this being written so much for Charles and none for Arthur

thank you :)

Queen of Monaco (Arthur Leclerc X Reader)

Fandom: RPF/Formula 2/3

Requested: Clearly (haha we have the same mind bc I was already drafting this before you requested it)

Warnings: death of parents and brother (mentioned), google translate, the Monaco curse is affecting Arthur now and that's a warning itself bro. I am in denial about the race results today, so I made this to make me happy.

Pronouns: She/Her

W.C. 4108

Summary: The beginning of the relationship between Arthur Leclerc and the Queen of Monaco.

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(@/Arthur's insta from January 29, 2023)

It was a normal day in Monaco. It was not a race week, and there were no pressing matters to attend. I had just returned to Monaco last week after attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, but I just received my Bachelor's degree and wanted to return home before starting my Master's. I decided to take my first semester online, so I could go home and spend time with my family.

When I got back, my parents urgently began to train me for the throne even though I was not next in line. Despite having an older brother who was scheduled to become the King of Monaco after my parents, he had to serve in the military before he could move forward. They wanted to have me prepare in the event that something happened to him in battle. 

I had never really been in the public eye due to my brother being the next in line. He was always the one attending meetings, trainings, and keeping up appearances. I was free to do as I pleased for the most part, but in 2015, they sent me to a training school in London. It taught the basics of monarchy and the foundations of how to run a country. It was the same one my brother attended. Even in my spare time, I found my passion in mechanical engineering and aerodynamics. It took some persuasion, but my parents allowed me to attend MIT after my graduation because they were so sure that I would not be needed. My brother is in the final stages of the training. All he needed to do was finish the last few months of military training, and then he would be crowned. 

Upon my return, I learned that my mother was ill, so they wanted to get my brother crowned quickly. However, they practically had to start from square one since I was provided very minimal training in London. My father was furious, not at me, but at the situation they had been placed in. They told me the best thing I could do while they prepare the training is to memorize Monaco as it had been nearly seven years since I had been here. 

I was walking down the pier, looking at all of the little shops that lined the pavement and the boats at the dock. There was a small ice cream shop, a couple of clothing stores, a few restaurants, and a salon. I realized that I had not had my hair professionally done since before college, so I thought it would be a good idea to treat myself.

“Bonjour, comment puis-je vou aider? (Hello, how can I help you?)” A lady greeted me as I stepped through the door. It was a small shop, no one else was in there, but it was cute and welcoming other than the fact that I could not remember French for the life of me.

“I’m sorry, my French is no good,” I replied sheepishly, fully prepared to leave, but the woman stopped me.

“Oh, not a problem, dear. My name is Pascale, what can I help you with?” She smiled, kindly, leading me over to one of the chairs. 

“Well, I haven’t gotten my hair done in almost four years, so I think it’s time to freshen up,” I explained. 

“Oh perfect, I can most certainly help with that,” She laughed, placing an apron around my shoulders. “Are you thinking about dye, highlights, trim, cutting…” She started listing more but I couldn't follow along with all of the terminology. 

“Uh, probably just a trim,” I chuckled, “my parents would kill me if I showed up with short, dyed hair.”

“Not a problem at all,” she grinned and began cutting the ends, little by little, as we made small conversations. “What do you do for work?”

“I actually don’t have a job at the moment,” technically, “but I just came back from the United States. I was at MIT for the last four years, getting my bachelors in mechanical engineering and aerodynamics, and before that, I attended boarding school in London.”

“That’s interesting,” she hummed, “Sounds like you like Formula 1?”

“Not so much the races. I just like the cars,” I laughed in response. “I like learning what could make the cars better, faster, stronger, and safer, but the actual races aren't something for me. I watched one too many accidents end badly, so I can never find enjoyment in it anymore. The last race I went to was in Japan, and I lost my best friend.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about that, dear. If you ever need to talk, I’m here,” Pascale consoled. I looked at her confused through the mirror. She just set the scissors down just as her phone got a notification. She pulled out her phone and opened the notification. It was a text message with a picture. “That is my son, Charles, and his best friend, Pierre. They’re in Formula 1. They went out karting today, and he just sent me this.”

“Oh, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly! I know them,” I recognized immediately. “That’s your son?”

“Yeah, he’s always had this passion for driving, so I’m proud to see him living his dreams,” She smiled, putting her phone back, and resumed cutting my hair.

“Well, I’m proud of him too, and I don’t even know him.” I laughed. 

“Maybe, if you’d ever change your mind, you could join us for a race,” Pascale offered. “Only if you’re up for it.”

“I’ll have to see, but probably not,” I declined nervously. 

“It’s not a problem, dear,” She said, patting my shoulders. “But you are all done. How do you like it?”

My hair was shorter by a couple of inches, but it felt so much lighter and healthier than it did earlier today. “I love it so much, Pascale! Thank you so much! How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing, just promise you’ll think about joining us? It would do you some good to get to know more people, and you could even check out the cars before the race! If you’re not comfortable staying for the race, you can always leave. Just promise you’ll think about it before immediately rejecting it?” She pleaded.

“Fine, I’ll think about it,” I laughed, “but only because you were so persuasive!”

–

The next time I was out in the streets was nearly a week later. My time was being packed with different trainings and attending private events, but nothing public yet so as to not stir up controversy. I decided to go to a local bakery and get some tea and some food. The food in the castle just did not compare to my favorite bakery. Not by a long shot. 

When I walked in, there were not a lot of people in there. It was a small shop with only two tables and a counter. There was the person behind the counter, Ella, and three people at the tables. One sat by himself and the other two occupied the second table. I approached Ella and ordered a tea and sandwich. She said she would bring it right over once it was finished, and I approached the man sitting by himself.

“Bonjour,” I greeted, my French was slowly coming back to me but not enough to carry a full conversation. The man looked up from his phone at me. He had blue eyes and shady blonde hair. He had airpods in and took one out as I approached the table. “My name is Y/n. Would it be alright if I sit with you? The other table is filled.”

 “Of course,” He responded immediately, moving the bag that was hanging on the other chair to the floor. “I’m Arthur.”

“Nice to meet you, Arthur. Thank you for letting me sit with you,” I laughed, taking the seat that he pulled out for me. “I really appreciate that.”

“It’s my pleasure,” He chuckled along, “It was just empty anyway.”

~

That was the start of an inseparable bond. It was strange having someone so close again because even though I had some friends in school, they were never as close as Arthur was. For the first couple of months, any time that was not filled with training was spent with each other. Whether it be chilling in his apartment, driving around Monaco, boat rides, and random trips around France and Italy, we were content with doing random acts of entertainment. It didn’t take long before he asked me to be his girlfriend.

One thing we knew would be difficult is the time commitments. With his recent change from Formula 3 to Formula 2 and more royal training for me, we knew it was going to be more time-consuming. That didn’t stop us, however. Tuesdays were the most random day of the week, but neither of us had any responsibilities.

One day in particular, the day before he was set to go to Australia, we were at his apartment, and I was helping him pack since he *conveniently* forgot. We had gone to get smoothies and acai bowls earlier that morning before heading to his apartment. Then, after we ate, we put on some music as background noise while we packed and conversed back and forth.

“Would you ever come to a race with me?” He asked as he pulled a couple of shirts out of his closet. “I know you didn’t have a good experience at the last one, but would you be willing to give it another time?”

“I don’t know, A. I get anxiety just knowing you’re racing,” I explained. Moving to fold the shirts he’s pulling out. 

“That sound like an improvement!” He laughed, jumping over and wrapping his arms around my shoulders as I put the folded clothes in the suitcase. “When we first started talking, you said no immediately. Now, you’re saying you don’t know.”

“What can I say?” I leaned back into his embrace, “You are pretty persuasive.”

“What are the chances of you coming to the Monaco Grand Prix with me?”

“The odds are in your favor since I don’t go anywhere,” I laughed in response. He turned me around in his arms. He was pouting and had his head tilted slightly. “No, don’t do the puppy face. You know I can’t say no to that face.”

“Please?”

With a heavy sigh and a joking eye roll, I caved. I was about to vocalize my decision, but my phone started ringing. This time, my sigh was out of annoyance after seeing it was from Mila, my personal guard and trainer.  “I need to answer that, but yes, I promise to go to the Monaco Grand Prix with you.”

“Of course,” He exclaimed, kissing me all over my face. “I will take care of everything. You go take the call, and I’ll finish packing in here.”

With a small smile, I walked out of his bedroom to the living room and stepped out onto the balcony before answering the phone. “Hi, Mila. What did I forget?”

“Nothing, but are you near the palace?” She responded. Just the tone of her voice made me nervous.

“Not really, I’m about 20 minutes away. Do I need to head back?” 

“Yes, let me know when you get here.” And with that, she hung up. I walked back in to see Arthur with his suitcase fully packed by the door.

“I need to head home,” I started. “Something’s not right.”

“That’s fine,” He reassured, pulling me into a hug. “I’ll need to head out for my flight soon anyway, so I’ll walk you to your car.” 

During the drive back, my mind wandered. Was there a meeting I missed? I couldn’t remember having anything scheduled on a Tuesday. Most meetings were on Mondays or Wednesdays and policy training sessions were Thursdays and Fridays. Maybe there was a last-minute meeting.

Pulling through the gates, I texted Mila once I parked in our car park, and a few guards were waiting for me. “Hi, what did I miss?”

“Y/n, we need to talk,”  one of the guards, Chris, said, and right then, I knew things were worse than I thought. We walked through the corridors to reach one of the meeting rooms, but the only person in there was Mila. The guards immediately turned around and left the room.

“Mila-”

“Have a seat,” She cut me off, gesturing to the seat next to her. I took it hesitantly as I looked at her skeptically. “So, I’m not going to beat around the bush with this. As you know, your mother, the queen, was sick.”

“I assume she died then? That’s what this was for?” I cut her short. However, there was something on her face that said she wasn’t finished. “Okay, I’ll let you continue.”

She shook her head dismissively, “No, it’s fine, but you’re right. She passed away early this morning.”

“So my brother will be crowned when he comes back?”

“That’s the next news,” Mila paused. I encouraged her to just rip the bandaid off because I was getting impatient. “Your father went to the base to get your brother, but there was an explosion. There was a gas leak, and somehow the building they were in exploded. We’re still waiting on the details.”

“Wait, so my entire family…” I trailed off, but she knew where I was going. She just nodded solemnly as she pulled me into her side. “So that means…”

“It means you are to be the queen.”

~

Third POV

Ever since the Melbourne Grand Prix, Arthur has been talking about how his girlfriend was going to join him on the paddock for the Monaco Grand Prix. To say that his friends and brothers teased him would be putting it lightly. Any chance they could, they asked questions about this “girlfriend” of his that they had never heard of, and Arthur was willing to spill all of the details. On the Thursday before the Monaco Grand Prix when he was driving to the track with Charles, he accidentally let it slip that he actually had not heard from her recently. He asked Charles to check his phone to see if she had texted him recently.

“Wait, you haven't heard from her in over a month and you’re not at all worried?” Charles asked, very concerned for someone he’s never met.

“No, we’ve definitely texted recently,” Arthur responded in disbelief. When they pulled up to a red light, Charles showed him that the last message from her was April 1. “No, we’ve definitely talked.”

“Here, pull over. We’ll switch, so you can call her, and I’ll drive us the rest of the way to the track,” Charles said, already getting out of the car as soon as they were on the shoulder. He immediately dialed her number, and after a few rings, it went to voicemail. He thought about leaving her a voice message, but she was already calling him back before he could start.

“Hey, traffic is hideous, but I’m almost there,” She started her explanation. She was sitting in the backseat with a couple of guards, and Mila as her driver took them to the track. “Are you already there?”

“No, we’re not there yet,” he laughed. “Charles and I are still stuck in traffic, but we noticed that I hadn’t messaged you since the Australian Grand Prix. Thought I would call to see if you were still coming.” Charles was half listening to the conversation, but he was smiling to himself, hearing how lovestruck his younger brother sounded.

“Oh, definitely,” She chuckled. Mila nudged the girl with a knowing grin. “I’ve just been insanely busy recently, but I promised. On the bright side, I finished my training!”

“No way, I’m so proud of you, ma chéri!” Arthur cheered. Charles was a little confused as he pulled into the track, but let it go, knowing Arthur would explain it later. “Does that mean there will be a ceremony or something?”

“You could call it a ceremony, yes,” She giggled. She noticed that they were only a few blocks away from the car park of the track, so she turned her phone away toward her shoulder as she directed a question to Mila, “Could I jump out and meet up with Arthur before the race? I promise I’ll be careful, and I’ll be in the box before it starts.” Mila turned to discuss it with one of the guards who was entirely against it. “Please, I won’t leave Arthur’s side, and you know he’s trustworthy.”

“I won’t let her out of my sight, Mila!” Arthur’s voice could be heard through the phone despite it not being on speaker. She gestured to the phone at her shoulder as Mila tried to reason with the guard.

“I’ll go with you,” Mila said as she started collecting their passes and jumping out of the car that was stopped in the traffic going into the parking lot. Y/n immediately climbed out of the back, pulling her phone back up to her ear.

“Alright, Arthur, where do you want us to meet you?”

~~

First POV

“You seem to have gotten shorter since Melbourne,” I laughed as I ran into Arthur’s arms from where he was waiting at the Dams garage. 

“You’re wearing heels,” he pointed out after we pulled away. “What are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?”

“You say that like you don’t like me in heels,” I teased back.

“Ok, lovebirds,” Mila pulled our attention away from each other, “I am going to head up to our seats. Don’t tell anyone I left.”

“Your secret’s safe with me. Thank you, Mila,” I responded as she started walking away.

“You have seats?” Arthur asked.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to rely on you for the passes for Mila, so she bought us hospitality seats,” I explain. It wasn’t the whole truth, but I could not just tell him that in the open. “Is it possible to talk somewhere away from the cameras?”

“You’re not breaking up with me, right?” He immediately jumped to conclusions.

“No, no, no, no,” I quickly shut down. “Je t’aime trop pour partir, mon amour. I just want to tell you something. (I love you too much to leave, my love)”

“Je t’aime, ma belle, (I love you, my beauty)” He whispered, pulling me in for a light kiss before leading me back towards the driver’s room he shares with Ayumu. “Make yourself comfortable.”

I took a seat on one of the beanbags as Arthur sat right next to me. I took a deep breath before deciding the best way to tell him was just to say it fast. “Arthur, I need to tell you about my family.”

“Are you trying to have me meet your family already? You could meet my brothers and maman today if you want,” He rambled.

“I can meet them, but you won’t be able to meet my family. That day you left for Australia was the day I found out they passed away.” I paused looking at his reactions. He looked sorrowful as he grasped my hands and ran his thumbs across the backs of my hands. “Maman had an illness, and papa went to get my brother from the base.”

“Your brother’s in the military?” He asked.

“Was,” I answered. He looked even more confused at that before I continued. “He was serving in the military as his last stage of training. Kind of like my trainings, he had to serve in the military.”

“What kind of training did you need to do? Was this part of your degree or something?”

“No, that’s the big secret I haven’t been able to tell you,” I whispered, putting my head down as I felt guilty for not explaining this sooner.

“Anything you have to say, I will accept you either way,” He reassured me as he pulled me into his chest and kissed my head. “I understand that you have your reasons for hiding some things, so whatever this is, it is not going to stop me from loving you.”

“What if it is complex with more spotlight than you already have?” I asked, throwing my head to rest on his shoulder and looking into his blue eyes. “What if it’s a big change?”

“When we go public, it will be a big change, but I’m willing to do anything for you, ma princesse.”

“Reine, (Queen)” I whispered.

“Quoi? (What)” He responded just as fast.

“What if I told you my parents were the king and queen of Monaco? And my older brother was the prince of Monaco? And now that they’re gone, I will be the queen of Monaco? What would you do?” 

He went silent for a few seconds before whispering, “Are you serious?” My silence was enough of an answer for him to jump up, pulling me with him as he starts laughing and spinning us in circles. He set me down after a couple of spins before holding me at arm's length,  “I would completely understand. I mean you probably didn’t plan on taking the throne because of your brother, and you’d just come back from studying. I only tell people who need to know, and when we met, I wasn’t someone who needed to know. We haven't talked since you found out, so I could never be upset with something like that.”

“But now, if we tell people, you will be heavily scrutinized as people will see you as a potential king,” I signed, happy to know he isn’t upset with me, but still wanting him to see all sides before completely agreeing to move forward. “You’d have more on your list.”

“The only question I would have is if it would interfere with racing,” He turned serious.

“I would never let them keep you from your passions,” I laughed. “They have to respect it by order of the queen.”

“Well, then I would see no issues against continuing to be by your side, ma reine,” he chuckled with a mocking bow.

“Merci mon beau prince, (Thank you my handsome prince)” I mocked back, “now by order of the queen, go win this race.”

~~

“And Arthur Leclerc passes Fredrik Vesti in the final turn of the race,” Crofty shouted over the radio during the final lap of the race. I was up in the hospitality seats with Mila and the guards but headed down to the pitlane a couple of laps before since I was going to be presenting the trophies. I was standing at the pit wall with Charles, Lorenzo, and Pascale, who I met (again) just before the race. “The Monaco Curse is broken for Arthur Leclerc as he wins his first Monaco Grand Prix!”

 I left the pit wall to meet everyone at the podium and stopped to meet up with Mila on my way over. She and the guards escorted me through the crowds. “I’ll tell you now, one of you will need to tell Arthur not to out our relationship when I give him his trophy.”

At the podium, I stood behind the steps as Alice announces the winners. “In third place, we have Théo Pourchaire! In second place, we have Frederik Vesti! And in first place, breaking the Monaco Curse, the home favorite, Arthur Leclerc! Presenting the trophies today is the future Queen of Monaco, Y/n.”

“I’m proud of you,” I said to Arthur as I handed him the trophy.

“Merci, now if only Charles could win,” He joked, taking the trophy and posing with it.

“I’ll tell him you’re talking crap about him,” I teased back, moving away to grab the next trophy for Dams. I handed them all out and expressed my congratulations to the other two drivers before posing for the picture and immediately ducking back as I knew Arthur would try to spray me. I walked down the stairs to meet up with Charles before he heads back to Ferrari for his own race. “Arthur’s talking shit about you. You better win.”

“I’m starting sixth, so we have hope,” Charles responded as he rolled his eyes.

“Just don’t box for hards at the last lap again and you’ll be fine,” I laughed as if it were really that simple. 

“Maybe I broke the curse for both of us or maybe I just had some good luck today,” Arthur said, coming up behind us and throwing his arm around my shoulders.

“Oh yeah, what good luck did you have?” Charles teased, punching Arthur into me.

“Maybe just the future queen of Monaco.”

~~~~~

© BAD268 2023. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[clearnachopirate]

because its now something of a tradition for me to post smth abt DBD on my lunch break, I DO have something new to say (that isnt me losing my mind over edwin bc he was MADE to be analyzed.)

MONTY!!

More specifically. Monty and Charles.

No, not their absolutely hysterical and downright criminal interactions in the show, the friendship that i deeply and truly believe would have driven Edwin up the wall.

Monty (in my heart) is a Cancer. Charles (in my heart, and in Jayden's heart) is a Taurus. Both are compatible with Capricorn (Edwin) BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, Taurus and Cancer are supposed to get along.

Charles Has-Listened-To-Edwin-Yap-For-Thirty Five-Years Rowland and Monty Let-Me-Tell-You-About-Astrology-I-Will-Die-If-I-Don't-Tell-You-About-It-Right-Now Finch should, objectively, get along super well, and I firmly believe that if we had a season two (or more, preferably) and Monty ever became human again (he would, he's a fan favorite) than the two would eventually get along.

First it's obviously starting by the knowledge that Charles couldn't helped defeat Edith w/o Monty's help and Monty's knowledge that Edwin would still be being tortured if it weren't for Charles.

That is a kind of trust that even when you don't like each other, changes how you view them.

a bit further on we could get fun dynamics of:

Monty: And they used to believe that this house would tell you about the person's mother, since it's about nurturing-

Charles: But that's rubbish, a man can be nurturing!

Monty, nodding: That's what I've been saying! Edith was so old fashioned and she always said-

Charles: Yeah well we know she wasn't nurturing so she can fuck right off with that

Monty, vindicated: Exactly! Anyways- *info dump abt astrology while Charles nods, listening intently*

-and-

Edwin: *about to do something unnecessarily mean bc he's a bitch but they both love him*

Charles: *Stage whispering to Monty* Monty are you certain Mercury isn't in retrograde right now? Because my mate here is really giving himself the opportunity to test his luck with this and I'm afraid it's gonna blow up in his face... again.

Monty, thoughtfully: *Stage whispering back as Edwin glares at them* No, but it is in transit, and he's clearly having trouble with-

Charles: Communication, right? That's what Mercury rules, right?

Edwin: *Straightens bow tie angrily* Are you both quite done?

Charles: *Still stage whispering* I mean, I love him, but his Capricorn always makes him shut down when I talk to him about this kinda stuff.

Monty, nodding seriously: I mean, not every earth sign can be as in tune with their emotions as you, Charles.

Edwin: *Wondering when the hell those two started getting along*

[inchidentally]

Um, these 60 seconds of recent content between Lando and Oscar made me realize one thing, are these two really only knowing each other for a year or their whole lives?

the audience does not know !!!

like there's a very specific 'united front' thing I can see in a lot of partnerships and it's founded on different things but ultimately manifests in a feeling of cohesion between the drivers. (and I am so sorry bc I saw in passing someone else made a similar post to this but I cannot remember who so lmk bc I don't want to be ripping off their idea !! I have my own separate feelings about it so it's not a copy but still I wish I could have kept that on my dash long enough to rb)

like most teammates fall in the neutral category of professional politeness and friendliness but also the need to push for their own advantage wherever possible. totally fine and normal. also allows for a few fireworks occasionally which is just as good for fan engagement - sometimes more - than if the drivers were always cool w each other.

aberrations like Senna and Prost, brocedes, and sebmark are not to be included - way too unique. could even throw Esteban and Pierre in there.

you've got consummate professionals Lewis and George who are both careful about cultivating their own separate images and who hold a baseline of genuine respect for each other - but part of that respect being that they both know they'll look out for themselves first. so they're very much similar and equals even in operating very independently. ultimately they want the mess to get cleaned up and to shake hands and do business as usual. I could see them genuinely having to hash out something truly ugly and shake hands and move onto their own lives no problem. which like, they clearly have lol.

then there's a situation like Alex and Logan where the dynamic is so incredibly imbalanced BUT you have someone as humanly decent and warm as Alex (even if he maybe wishes he were less so for competitive reasons) and Logan has already become very skilled at dealing with being an outsider/almost unwanted :( and it's clear that they both see how hard-working they both are and what a massive thankless task they have in trying to just achieve points - undetermined if they're mostly friendly out of trauma bonding or will remain friends after being separated but there's absolute friendliness and respect.

then there's The Charisma Guys of Daniel and Carlos and now Lando (who mooched a lot of his F1 charisma off of Carlos and then Daniel). Daniel and Carlos replicate an almost identical dynamic with all of their teammates and it's predicated on what most drivers are already well versed in, which is: playing gay for fangirls, bromance hugging/camaraderie/ribbing for sports media and fans, and taking care of their own brand and career separately from their teammate. it's a powerful tool to have especially for leveraging the popularity of whatever bromance they're in towards their own image without having to lose power over their own image. individual sponsorships being a driver's second goal after winning races and WDCs also makes this an exceptionally good skill to have. it only starts to break down when the personal fortunes of one of the drivers start to hit hard times (current example being obvious).

the Carlos and Charles dynamic absolutely pulls a lot from the charisma/bromance stuff but the huge difference is that Ferrari would - like any F1 team - not give a shit if they didn't get along and just hitched on a bland smile for the cameras. Ferrari aren't remotely behind C2 being what it is, that's all Charles and Carlos. don't get me wrong Ferrari social media teams are MORE than happy to jump on! and sure, the challenges and content are a fun bonus thing to sponsors but three things here: one is that Ferrari IS the brand and they're a top 3 team like they're not grasping for sponsors asflgaslf. two is that as many partnerships have shown, you really don't need to do that much to satisfy the brief. and third, sponsors are like 99.999999% interested in the team's standings and the drivers' individual popularity with partnership popularity coming dead bottom - the bromances are only worth it if they're engagement darlings like carlando. and charlos doesn't do anywhere near those numbers or that widespread corporate social media appeal. you gotta do major impact with crazed fans for it to at all influence a brand's decision where to put their money. so all of the pop off the screen fun and genuine enjoyment we see Carlos and Charles have is fully legit. when they're being tongue-in-cheek levels of cutesy they literally say so. 2025 onward will see how much of a friendship there actually is, but as far as them being very happy with the partnership and collaborating exceptionally well within it, they're far more rock solid and natural at it than most. and the fact that they're if anything even tighter when there's zero incentive for it ?? and when their families and fanbases and their team principal and garages are constantly feuding ?? like it says everything about how much they respect each other and actually feel affection for each other to remain such a united front and so happy and affectionate. nobody else benefited from Carlos asking his team to tell Charles' team to come celebrate his win with him. nobody else in Ferrari or on the grid made bank off of about Charles rushing to congratulate Carlos while he was still in the car. (especially not when carlando did a quick hug and it got brands and official accounts posting tiktok ship edits to the predictable delight of thousands of fangirls. and for them all to cough cough conveniently ignore the embrace with his gf to push the image further.) there is no PR benefit behind C2 that would justify them hitching on such a dramatic facade - and if anything the people around them would prefer they kept separate so that they could celebrate one without the other. whatever their relationship is after this there will always be that massive respect IN SPITE of what the world around them wants.

but Lando and Oscar are such a major aberration not just in them both being so incredibly young and arriving into F1 so hot and already being so close in ability, but their specific 'history' and personalities. they were already such an easy fit together that it surpassed the professional need for a bromance buffer - and at the same time their bond being partly on how naturally private and shy they are made them poorly suited for a PR machine.

Oscar had already said - and a lot of fans already knew - that there were several friends in common and that the shifts in careers and being separated professionally by more years than their ages is the only thing that meant they'd never crossed paths before privately. as K said back when Oscar originally opened that TikTok acc it was so long ago that he followed Max F but that Lando didn't even have an one yet.

but also as many people close to Lando have said (good example that was posted recently) and that we can often still see in streamer Lando - Lando is very much like Oscar as a person at his core. pretty much all of the 'famous person' stuff we saw him become happened after 2019 and directly because of latching onto the social lives of guys like Carlos, Daniel and Martin. he's always referred to as extremely shy and he's said before he likes for others to lead. but his comfort place is still either hanging out in private with close friends only or to get on stream and laugh with his friends. Lando himself said that he considers Oscar to be very similar to him as a person outside of F1 and for all that in some ways that seems surprising, when you look at who Lando is when he's not in Professional Mode or Party Friends Mode he genuinely really fits in with someone quiet like Oscar who loves spending hours gaming w his friends and not being in public. I don't know enough about Martin Garrix as a person but I rly honestly see that with him as well. yes there's the Party Friend aspect but for them to travel solo for two entire winter breaks in a row ?? clearly Martin is a peaceful, quiet guy on Lando's level <3

and ofc I go onnnnn and fucking on about how while we all hate it bc it means we don't get as much content, the fact is that Lando and Oscar are the type of friendship/partnership where it's quiet and private and not something that translates to a bromance on camera. it's never going to be strategic.

so the fact that they have this "twinning" thing isn't that they are identical or that they even look all that similar, it's down to actually slotting in really well with each other as people! as always who knows how deep these friendships actually go but the whole mind-reading and synchronization and total lack of drama between them as drivers comes from genuinely being similar people and liking each other - that's what we're all picking up on when we watch them together.

the fact that they honestly find it awkward as hell when the media try to get them to "package" their friendship in bromancey soundbites or when they look at the camera a bit like an intruder that's making them dance their friendship around for media, like. that's so incredibly relatable for how any of us would feel with one of our actual friends having to do all that. having a camera aimed at us and some stranger being like "so you two get on really well huh?" and practically leaning in for an expected answer ???? it would be so stupid and weird and the whole way Lando and Oscar work together in unison to dispel how weird that is is so natural !!

idk it's like there's different things to take from different partnerships and literally all of us are suckers for a fun bromance and great professional chemistry. but I think this whole universal 'twins' thing that everyone sees in Lando and Oscar is genuinely two guys who are similar in all the fundamental ways and who actually slot together in ways where they naturally just agree on everything and therefore can predict a lot of what the other person is thinking if that makes sense ??? like yes Lando has Single Guy Party Times and professional motivations where Oscar does not but for a friendship and partnership to work, those are the two least relevant things to need to be similar about y'know ??

[cz19y]

😦

EXTRA COACH!MALE!READER X PXG WHAT ABT THATT

LIKE;; Reader's also a soccer player(the good ones yk — pro lvl) and works as an extra coach for any of the teams like an extra help, etc etc.

AND Reader's young, like around Loki's age(17),, and since they're the same age , they're friends(even before Neo Egoist) ehshsh.

So bc of that, Reader chooses to assist Loki ofc bros a single mom w/ +3 kids. Reader was supposed to be a helper but in the end, turned out to be more of a babysitter Charles but he's actually good at it.

Reader is a good player but his dream is not as high — tho, he still wants to stick around Loki and stuff. He's good at convincing ppl(Reader).

Loki can manage his team well- so he's now there more of a decoration and to fill out space — Loki still doesn't mind(ooc but idc). Reader keeps watch and keeps some things in order; update some news and manage some status.

Also keeps company babysits to the team since they're all pretty young still. Loki n' R! Get well together, even tho R! cannot fulfill Charles role(being the best passer for Loki) Loki still keeps him around for the sake of his sanity sometimes. Ofc, he cares abt him.

Ima do a HC that Charles only likes to obey R! just to annoy Loki off. W/ that, both start slowly building somewhat of a bond through all the time they've met each other. Charles & R! have more of a sibling dynamic.

Idk, feel like Rin and R! would kinda get along. Tho ofc Rin thinks that's R! is a waste of talent for being that good but not having a high enough dream. "Mediocre" is his nickname for R!.

Zanzetsu asks R! questions all the time. Tries to show off, fails, but at least he learned something/the correct way.

R!'s main role is to separate Rins' and Shidou's fights when it happens.. Loki's grateful.

Shidou likes how R! gets all "freaky" (he means agitated) when having to stop him from going wild. Likes R!'s 'explosion' on the field when he actually played for once(even if it is for demonstration). Annoys R! for his number.

Treats wounds ofc(Rin).

Tokimitsu would be soooo shy and kind to R!. I just know. He finds it cool that a pro lvl player is not scary and selfish abt soccer for once.

AGHH NANASE <33 Tries to help out on R!'s work. The only time he can relax is around Nanase or Loki. Nanase safe spot fr.

Karasu would be chill. Would make both s' life easier and not make R!'s work harder. Also tries to break the fights. Karasu and R! would have chill convos and soft teasing.

AGHHH THEY HAVE SUCH A CUTE SIBLING DYNAMIC 😭😭 Charles ma new bby <3

[disneyprincemuke]

ok i know the vr trio practiced padel on the chance they would be invited by the rest of the paddock right!

idk why but i get the sense that rocky was invited to max’s game of padel bc he heard she was super competitive and wanted her on his team bc they both wanna win really bad

and logan and oscar are like damn we really are that bad at padel huh 😔

and then they make that padel match w alex to be like we werent bothered (but they were but not in a deep way just in a mildly butthurt way)

i imagine logan and oscar doesn’t even bother asking her to join them to play padel anymore because she always takes it SO seriously (think monica geller playing tennis with chandler’s boss and wife that one time)

so when max invited her to play with lando and fernando, she was kinda hesitant at first until he mentioned charles MIGHT be coming along (iykyk) and logan, oscar and alex TRIED inviting her with them as well but she reveals that she’s already got plans to play padel with max and logan and oscar REEEFUSE to live it down

it’s always “wow, she finished p6 in the driver’s championship now she’s too good for us” and “she’s replaced us, oscar…” and it just keeps going every time the conversation strays to friendship and playing padel

[honeyandthunderstorms]

tagged by: @beensinning <33

Who is your favourite driver?

I’m a lecofsi first and foremost. I love Charles w my whole heart. I believe he has so much potential and I am happy to be along for the ride

Do you have other favourite drivers?

my second driver is Max now, but it was Lando before. I am still a Lando supporter though and I do root for him (I just root for Charles and Max more). Oscar is def becoming a fav as well. also, can I count Logan still? as an American, I’m a fan by default 🤭

Who is your least favourite driver?

checo

Do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well?

mainly drivers, but I’d say both

If you like teams what teams do you pull for?

Ferrari 100%. though I can do without their fuckass strategies and the way they talk about their drivers instead of admitting that they are the problem

How long have you been into F1?

just got into it in December so this is my first season watching it :))

What got you into F1?

my best online friend has been talking to me about F1 since we met over a year ago and I was just listening to his interests as the supportive friend I am, but I was notttt into driving at all (hell, I don’t even drive myself 😅). the more he talked about it though, my interest grew and then I started getting f1 edits on my fyp on tiktok and I was like “okay this is pretty cool and they aren't bad to look at so why not”. so I watched DTS, then I watched team videos from previous years to get a feel of the drivers’ personality. when I first watched a race, I was mesmerized and now I watch every quali and race (free practices when I can) 😄

Do you enjoy fic/rpf?

hehe I do and I also write it

How do you view new fans?

I am a new fan myself obviously, but I think it’s really important to not gatekeep and welcome in anyone who is interested :) the more fans, the better.

If you could take over as team principal for any team, who would it be and why?

WILLIAMS BC I HATE JAMES VOWLES! however, I get stressed very easily and could not take the pressure of being team principal 😅

Are your friends and family into F1?

no 🥲 my sister lets me ramble about it and will watch it with me, but she is not interested & forgets everyone's names. my dad literally just fights w me bc “NASCAR IS BETTER RAH 🦅🦅🦅🇺🇸” yet he hasn't watched nascar since forever ago???

Are you open to talking to other fans/making friends?

yes!!!! I'm literally welcoming anyone to come and yap w me but I'm so shy sometimes that I have to work up the courage to respond lol �� but I get so excited when I get messages bc I love making friends <33

no-pressure tags: @starrwrrld @imlittlebitdie @itshoneywhatever or anyone else who wants to do it :))

[mclwcc]

unpopular opinion but i think carlos would hate lando by now if he had stayed at mclaren. lando was basically matching him that second year and u could see from their quali records that lando had more raw pace. and he's only continued to improve in consistency, race pace, tyre management, etc. since then. like i think the whole "carlando" dynamic would have ended horribly (but funnily for me) if he hadn't left.

hm. im actually not sure abt that

i saw this opinion on my dash literally like an hour ago and like i respect it as a hypothetical, but i just think carlos is the type to swallow his frustrations and play nice for the team as long as the team is being nice to him. (and i do think mclaren wouldve continued to be nice to him) (i have my own biases idk as me abt team orders and u'll get another essay)

so far, mclaren have not been in a position to b fighting for championships, so realistically even if carlos stayed the dynamic wouldnt have climbed that extra step of competitiveness. what would have changed would b - as u rightly pointed out - their teammate delta. they deffo would b way closer (and lando would maybe edge him out) but i dont think it would b the dominance landos had over his other teammates in 2021-2023. carlos has been landos strongest teammate in f1 so far (obvs this is mostly bc oscar is a rookie), and he has a very fun-to-watch talent thats clearly manifested itself since he moved to ferrari: not necessarily to drive the fastest or best, but to get the most points. man's probably one of the smartest drivers out there on track currently (barring his repeated divebombs into car 81 oops) and it rly shows. what lando would have on him in terms of consistency and raw pace carlos makes up for in scrappiness and adaptability.

so thats what the situation would look like in my head - close in the wdc rankings but w different strengths, likely often going for diff strategies and setups. lando 'i have a reputation for getting along with my teammates' norris (actual quote) and carlos, who clearly maintains a soft spot for lando & has had to adapt to a bunch of diff team dynamics with general success, would have to probably actively work at their relationship to keep it amicable, but i think theyd probably manage to do it. if anything they'd get closer than they are currently, which is not that close (mostly bc lando can't golf as much as he used to, they live in diff countries now, and lando struggles to juggle more than like 2.5 friends at a time)

so like yeah. if even charles (who destroyed the competitive psyche of a 4 time world champion with his dimples, tragic backstory, and a well placed monza win) cant make carlos break out of his friendliness (friendly, not friends - yes ive seen the pierre quote going around, yes im also aware he was mostly saying those things as a spiderman-printed band-aid over his intrateam dynamic's massive fuck-off gaping wound) then i dont see how lando could. i think a lot of the way lando deals w the social / human side of f1 is thru what he learned from carlos anyways, so they have quite compatible ways of working thru things. tldr i dont think lando would need to have sympathy for carlos anyways but if he did way that thing to a journo carlos would laughs in spanish and hit him in the balls or smth

[quidfree]

Hi :), I know you published Sober II like, one year ago, but I've to let you know that it's been keeping me from studying for my exam. I love you for that, it's absolutely beautiful. But I have to know more about Alexander. I've got some Princess Caroline's vibes from him, like, sure, let's help my ex's strange "friend" publish his book, no personal feelings involved. Where did he pop out from? Does he has hobbies? Do he and Richard just talk shit about Francis sometimes? And, most importantly, why does Francis have a strange coral of exes very capable in their fields?

hi hahaha what an ask, can’t believe alex is getting some limelight. im sure the audience has been begging for more information about him.

honestly the answer to several of your questions is that francis runs in wealthy circles and those people are all unbelievably connected in ways the rest of us can’t comprehend.

i think alex is probably pretty good at his job but he’s definitely a nepo baby who got into the publishing game young and has the luxury of doing all his friends solids when they decide they’re poets while broke writers everywhere fight for scraps. francis is not the first to call in a favour.

he and francis most likely met in their early to mid twenties when francis was in new york and after some rich people flirting hooked up semi-regularly without ever being an item bc francis wasn’t interested (never even occurred to him, he’s not a big commitment guy and alex is too nouveau riche for him). alex is way more into francis than the reverse but he also resents this bc francis is annoying. they don’t talk often after that but they occasionally run into each other at cultural events and they’ll chat bc they have similar sarcastic dispositions in some regards.

when francis hits alex up re richard he takes the call bc 1) theyre not on bad terms 2) he thinks francis has decent artistic taste and 3) everyone who knows francis in boston thought he had drowned himself in the charles river, and having this prime gossip / being the first to know is satisfying enough to make him indulge francis’ request. plus he did feel sort of bad about his dying and is wondering if francis reaching out is opening the door to rekindling something. and then he reads the manuscript (journal) and thinks “huh, definitely publishable” so he runs with it. he’s profit-driven but he’s also got an ego-driven urge to have artistic freedom that manifests in taking on the odd rogue project.

i think he and richard get along ok- they’re not like, friend friends, just professional friends, but their temperaments gel well together somehow. they don’t really irritate each other like francis does, but they’re also less interested in each other. i actually think the matter of francis is less of a bonding point and more of a rare friction point for them. alex is sort of jealous / wilfully unimpressed by richard bc why would francis be into this random californian nobody moreso than him, so he plays up the condescension a little sometimes. richard isn’t jealous but he doesn’t like it at all when alex makes any reference to his past w francis. beyond that they do have sort of a casual pen-pal situation going on even outside of work.

what he does outside of work… idk i think he’s quite a workaholic actually. sort of yuppy-culture adjacent (by way of pre-existing wealth, but recent, like second gen). he likes being in a hectic office throwing papers around and complaining about no one doing shit except for him. but he does like a bit of high culture and is also a heavy heavy sports guy. his dating life is a mess. he’s not out to his family but they’re all semi-estranged anyways and he only really speaks to his brother (who is an investment banker).

i do think francis has a lot of exes. not from like serious relationships but he definitely gets around & also probably has quite a few semi-established ‘seeing someone’ situations at various points. i feel like theyre pretty varied except in a socioeconomic sense. definitely some dubious set-ups when he was in his late teens. several ‘straight’ guys. a couple he’s actually friendly with. the clandestine boston rich homosexual dating scene is probably fairly incestuous. kim was probably one of his longest relationships but i think in typical francis style it was a bit up and down / let’s not talk about it (<- various underlying issues) even before the deus ex grandfather.

and sorry about your exam. but thanks for the diligent readership.

[twobluejeans]

I just read the fourth part... This bitch cheated on her I JUST KNOW... Also yes while the main guilty was charles that doesn't make her victim or innocent too because my sister in christ why are you getting together with a man who's in a relationship with another woman??? It's not like you don't know it either because they're both famous.... Also she's obsessed with her 😐 idk if it's a move from her for trying to look more like her and like yk stealing her face, looks, her man what's next trying to steal her friends and have a similar careers too? She's SUS I don't like her... Also our war criminal dad nando would crash his ass into to wall in f1 I THINK. Ariana's message 🥹 she's right and I think their relationship wasn't so good in the last months considering he was probably cheating on her... I need her to move on with someone better and see charles suffering with his actions along with his obsessed fangirl gf. I don't know why but I'm so invested in this story 😭😭

LAMOAENJSKAJD WELL THANKS FOR READING! i appreciate it sm but no yeah i agree w everything. Reader is a better person than me bc i would be PETTY. i still have so much parts to go so who knows, maybe y/n will get her revenge villain arc

[theringers]

often - charles leclerc

summary: you’re unbelievably desperate for your boyfriend all night.

request: Hope u dont mind me requesting #79 and #82 w charles or lando😃 have a good day!!

prompt: 79) "Look at you, grinding against everything, you're really desperate for it. Aren't you?" 82) "Yeah, that's it, baby, just like that."

a/n: this is short & unedited so i apologize for the lack of “story” but this just came to my brain and i needed to write it down so enjoy also sorry if the gif is malfunctioning i’m ready to throw my phone at the window so just ignore lol

warnings: nsfw, dirty talk, 18+, teasing, obvi i had to include some public stuff bc it’s my brand

The live music was loud and blaring through your ears. You had requested a few songs and enjoyed drinks while you waited for the band to get to your request.

Charles stood up from the table to head towards the crowded bar. “Need anything, mon amour?” He looked at you.

You lifted your cup and smiled. “Another?” He nodded at you and walked towards the corner of the room. He knew you had a tolerance like no other and could outdrink him on any occasion. It was just humorous to him at this point.

“Are you excited for your trip?” Your friend asked from across the table.

“Oh, so excited. Charles and I haven’t been able to get away for a long time. It’s much needed.” You sat in your bar stool day dreaming about the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea and how you were about to spend weeks out there on the relaxing water.

Your friend took another sip of her drink. “I’m insanely jealous. Too bad Pierre and I can’t tag along.” She frowned.

“Next time, I promise. We’ll plan a trip just the four of us.” You both started laughing. “Or better yet, just the two of us. Girls trip.”

After a few more laughs, Charles walked up to your table with a drink in each hand. Pierre followed with the same. “Thank you,” you smiled at your boyfriend as he handed you another. You couldn’t remember how many this had been but you were feeling good and really enjoying yourself.

You sat all the way back in your barstool, but kept your drink at the table. This was the best possible solution to avoid drinking too quickly. Every time you needed a sip, you had to scoot yourself closer to the table, take a sip, and sit back. It was working pretty well.

Charles leaned over and spoke in your ear over the sound of the loud music. “I’m going to need you to stop doing that.”

You looked at him, confused. “What am I doing?”

He waved his hand around. “This.” He leaned in closer again. “You keep rocking your hips back and forth and it’s driving me crazy.”

You sat up and moved yourself closer to the table, rocking your hips at a painfully slow, yet discreet, pace. Your eyes found his and his focus was solely on you, sipping the remains of your drink.

“Anyone want another drink?” You asked the table as you hopped out of your seat.

“I’m good, I think I’m ready to head home soon actually. Pretty long day,” Charles said.

Your friend scoffed. “Nonsense, it’s only 11 o’clock.”

Charles looked at her with his head hung, then back at you. “Fine. One more drink.” He looked at Pierre. “See, this is what we have to deal with.”

You waited in the line for drinks and returned to your table. As soon as you scooted back in your barstool, Charles leaned over. “This is our last round of drinks. I’m going to need to take you home after this one.” You didn’t look over at him. You just kept your eyes straight ahead and smiled.

After more casual conversation with Pierre and his girlfriend, Charles called the car home. He took your hand and lead you out of the bar after leaving a hefty tip for the bartender.

Sliding into the back seat of the car, he acknowledged the driver and then went silent. You followed in after him, sliding across the seats. Your short sundress rode up creating friction between your clit and the car seats. You let out a soft moan, but ignored it, hoping no one else heard you. That was not the case.

The car started to move and Charles leaned over to you. He rested his hand on your thigh and whispered in your ear. “I heard that.” It sent chills up your spine.

The rest of the ride was silent, trying to focus on getting home without jumping each other’s bones in the backseat of the car. As soon as you arrived home, you both drunkenly stumbled in the door.

You shouted at Alexa to play some of your favorite music. Often by The Weeknd came out of your speakers.

Charles sat down on the couch with his hands on his knees. A deep breath escaped his lips as he took in the dark apartment around him.

“What’s up?” You asked, walking over to him.

“Long day,” he said. You nodded in response.

Leaning down towards him, you spread your legs to straddle him on the couch. You sat back with your weight on his knees, looking at him. “I love you,” you said to him.

“I love you too, mon amour,” he said. You felt his hands grip your waist. You began to slowly shift your hips around - starting with back and forth, and a little bit of side to side.

“I had a really fun time tonight,” you said.

“Me too, I’m glad we decided to go out.”

“It’s always a good time with them.” You were lucky enough to play matchmaker for Pierre, setting him up with your best friend. It was a win-win. He got a beautiful girlfriend and in return, you got to have your best friend accompany you on vacations, to races, PR events, galas, the whole nine. It was a smart move on your part.

You looked down at Charles, focusing on his messy hair. He was always such a perfectionist about how he appeared, but that all went down the drain when he drank alcohol. You kind of loved it, seeing him let loose a bit and not care so much. You ran your fingers through his messy locks and smiled.

“That dress looks so sexy on you,” he said. His eyes absorbed your body all over and his hands began to move up and down your sides.

“I knew you would like it.” You started to move your hips with more intensity.

“You want to tell me about what happened in the car?” He asked.

“I think you know what happened in the car.”

He had a smug look on his face. “I don’t, actually. Enlighten me.”

“Well, since you want to play dumb,” you grabbed one of his hands off of your side and guided it under your dress. “I’m not wearing any underwear. And I forgot I wasn’t until I slid in the car.” His fingers massaged the skin of your inner thigh.

“That’s hot.” He dipped a finger between your folds and felt the wetness pooling. He swirled his finger around a few times before sliding it inside of you. You moved your hips slowly, meeting his finger. “Look at you, grinding against everything. You’re so desperate for me, huh?” He smirked. You rolled your eyes at him but continued to move your hips. “You couldn’t even help yourself at the bar tonight. Or in the car.”

“I just couldn’t stop thinking about fucking you,” you said. You leaned down to unbutton his pants, grinding your body against his thigh in the process. You let out a moan and he just watched you in awe.

You pulled his pants down, his hard cock springing free. You got back on top of him and hiked your dress up above your hips. You positioned yourself on top of his cock and started to slide back and forth, creating euphoric friction for both of you. Your folds were wet and warm, making him grunt. “Shit, baby,” he said. His head fell back against the couch as he guided your hips. “I need to be inside of you, now.”

You pulled away and quickly sat down on his cock. He kept his hands positioned on your hips as you ground them onto him. You wrapped your arms around his neck and let your head fall onto his shoulder.

You put the weight on your knees and began to bounce up and down on him. He placed his hands on your ass for support. “Oh yeah, that’s it baby,” he said. “Just like that.” A throaty moan escaped your lips right into his ear.

“You feel so good,” you said. The rhythm continued and he spread your cheeks. He was itching to pound into you but he loved the way you looked bouncing on his cock.

He reached for the strap of your dress, pulling it down to expose your breasts. He took one in his hand and massaged it roughly. “Shit, babe. Look at you riding my cock like such a good girl.” He wasn’t one to talk dirty too much, but with alcohol involved he was an open book.

“I’m all yours, baby,” you said, leaning back. You ran your hands through your hair while riding him and made eye contact with him - driving him crazy.

You could feel him start to thrust up into you, an indication that he was getting close. You leaned back down to his ear. “Cum for me, baby,” you said.

He finished with a grunt and a tight grip on your hips. You rolled off of him and laid your head down on a pillow. After all that alcohol, the couch was seeming like a perfect place to crash.

Charles returned with a towel and a glass of water for you. “You did so well, baby. That was hot.” He said, smiling at you and handing you the glass of water.

You giggled and stuck your tongue out. “You’re welcome.”

[killa-trav]

do you think mick will ever find his way to ferrari?

i know (or at least i pretend) that mick will come back to f1 but do you think there’s a way for him to join ferrari down the line? or will he go the merc or audi route?

part of me is very much mick going to ferrari will happen, it’s his birth right he quite literally bleeds ferrari it would be very full circle shit and basically the plot of the lion king and schuclerc as teammates is something we should have

but then part of me is like well look at who ferrari have had since michael left the team and how many championships they’ve won and even if mick were to join ferrari i don’t see them making the correct decisions to get them back on top anytime soon. like charles should’ve been fighting for the championship for much longer and in a closer battle not it essentially be over before the summer break. n before anyone says oh it’s charles’ fault, imola n france were his only fuck ups (even france is questionable bc broken throttle) so argue w the wall

so i selfishly don’t want mick to go to a team where it isn’t that much better than what he had at haas and unless ferrari genuinely fire binotto along w some others and make proper changes then yeh i want mick to go to ferrari

back to ur question, i think now mick isn’t with haas and the fda n is potentially going to be the merc reserve it’s going to be harder. bc before when he was at haas and w fda n ferrari reserve u could say yeh it might happen but now it looks hard n there are few things that might stop him.

first of all him not having a seat for next year affects his chances of going to ferrari especially if he gets the merc role bc then he will be a merc driver n i doubt merc will want mick to go one of their rivals.

second of all, ollie bearman is very quickly climbing through the ranks and he’s still a member of the fda n i would not be surprised if he is in f1 sooner than we might think bc he’s extremely talented

thirdly like u said w audi, they want a german driver n now seb has retired and hulkenflop has gone to haas, i really think that will go to mick but how much influence ferrari will have over the second seat like that have in the past probs won’t be there so who knows if mick will go to ferrari

tl;dr- i want mick to go to ferrari if they are competent and it’s slightly harder for him to do so because of drivers like bearman and the fact that mick is no longer part of the fda so really has zero ties to ferrari will make it harder

[perfectpaperbluebirds]

Eyes on You

Answering the plea from @groundcontrol21 and @silklined for historical sickfic. I wrote this in about two hours of pent-up inspiration. Only proofed once, so forgive any egregious grammatical or syntax errors. Inspo from this ask, also from groundcontrol: “what if Mr. Darcy’s sour mood upon first meeting Elizabeth at the party was bc, you guessed it, he had a cold? If not that, really anything Darcy. I am so weak for your Darcy” 

I owe you big time my friend for helping me get out of my writing slump! Hope you enjoy this little 2k word drabble, with the context and dialogue shamelessly stolen from the 2005 movie with a hearty dash of sickness added in.

Fitzwilliam Darcy held himself stiffly as the party approached the doors to the ballroom. Caroline primped and straightened her gown once more, while Charles smoothed his jacket and dusted his breeches. Darcy did none of this, but concerned himself with arranging his expression into anything other than a frown. He hated assemblies on the best of days, and today was not the best of days. Not only was he a stranger in this tiny village, with the only familiar faces being those of his small party which ensured he was to be stared at and accosted all evening by the townsfolk, but he had also been plagued all week by a miserable cold in his nose, which this morning had fanned up into a beastly cough and fever as well. 

Had Charles known his friend was poorly, he certainly would have called off the outing, but Darcy had made sure to keep his illness to himself, for this event was important to the younger man, as it was his first public outing since taking up residence in the area. Charles was his closest friend, so of course Darcy was going with him to support him, but at that moment the prospect of spending the evening in a sweltering, raucous ballroom full of strangers sounded like a torture chosen especially for Pemberley’s master. 

Yet inevitably the doors swung open, and they were ushered into the crowded room. The music stopped, the crowd quieted, and every eye in the room turned to look at them. Darcy felt faint, though whether it was from the fever or the anxiety, he couldn’t say. They were announced, and began to make their way down the aisle that had formed for them through the throng. A wave of bows and curtsies followed them the whole way, and Darcy kept his eyes dead ahead, or tried to. Suddenly there was a flash of movement just ahead of him, then a stifled giggle, so charming he couldn’t help but seek its source. A fine young woman caught his eye. Her face was serene as she curtsied to them, but her eyes were flashing with merriment, and he knew it was she he had heard. Her eyes entranced him. Though their color was dark, they were yet so full of spirit and warmth and intelligence. He could have looked into them for ages. He forced himself to look away quickly instead, but he knew she had seen, and he felt himself redden, cursing his foolishness. 

They at last took their place at the head of the room. In a moment the music recommenced, and he allowed himself a deep breath, though it was hardly satisfying due to the humidity of the space, and the ache in his chest from the congestion. The flood of introductions began immediately, and he forced himself to maintain his composure, hardly looking at the people who were paraded before him. Meanwhile Charles played his part excellently, being as charming as one could wish. Inevitably the young woman with the entrancing eyes was at one point introduced along with the rest of her family. He kept his eyes straight ahead and refused to look at her again, though he noted her name carefully–Elizabeth Bennet. Bingley too appeared to be interested in this Bennet family. He warmed up even further as he spoke the necessary pleasantries after they were introduced. Darcy wondered which of the daughters his friend favored. The answer was made clear when some time later, after the introductions had at last ceased, the first dance Bingley took was with the eldest Bennet sister Jane. They made a fine pair, beaming at one another through the entire set. 

For his part though, Darcy had no intention of dancing except perhaps one obligatory round with Caroline, and instead made himself scarce as soon as Bingley was out of the way, keeping to the back corners of the room where he could use his handkerchief in peace as he tried to calm his dripping, irritated nose. Yet the crowd milled around him, continuously pushing him further and further up, despite his best efforts to prevent this. He avoided the hopeful eyes of all the young ladies sitting down without a partner, making himself as small as possible, coughing every now and then into his handkerchief or dabbing his damp brow, desiring nothing more than to be alone in his bedchamber with a cloth over his eyes and a compress on his chest. 

To his surprise, he found himself at one point standing beside Miss Elizabeth, having been too wrapped up in his misery to realize she was nearby. He would have backed away again immediately, but didn’t want to be overtly rude. He held his breath, praying she would not notice his presence, but luck was not with him. In a moment she turned with a cheery smile as she watched the vigorous dance set before them.

“Do you dance, Mr. Darcy?” she asked. 

“Not if I can help it,” he spat, speaking the first true words that came to mind. 

She kept her expression pleasant, but didn’t reply, turning away again. After a moment she turned and slipped away into the crowd. Darcy released the breath he did not realize he had been holding, which became a chesty cough. He didn’t know whether to be more relieved or ashamed from what had transpired. 

The minutes slid by like molasses, each one more agonizing than the last for the sick man. He began to fluctuate between cold chills and hot sweats, the cough was relentless, and his sinuses began to tingle with unreleased sneezes for the first time all day. Yet all of this he kept to himself, for Caroline was the last person he desired to tell, and Bingley was having a marvelous time, so it seemed. He danced with the eldest Miss Bennet as often as was polite, and charmed half a dozen other young women besides. It would be rude to leave before the assembly had concluded, and Darcy would not be the cause of this faux paus on behalf of his friend. At one point Charles pulled him aside, and Darcy was sure he had been found out. However, Charles merely wanted to effuse about the lovely evening he was having, and the lovely people he was meeting. Darcy knew his friend only desired that he too share in the merriment, but this was simply not possible, though he could never say as much. Therefore he found himself being much more curt than he would have normally. 

“I’ve never seen so many pretty girls in my life!” Bingley gushed, beaming. 

“You were dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” Darcy grunted, trying not to cough as they walked. 

“She is the most beautiful creature I have ever beheld!” 

Darcy, more than accustomed to Charles’ exaggerations, merely gave him a pointed look. 

“But her sister Elizabeth is very agreeable….” Bingley said, equally pointedly. Darcy refused to meet his eye, cursing his friend’s powers of observation.

“Perfectly tolerable, I daresay. But not handsome enough to tempt me,” Darcy said dismissively. “You better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles rather than wasting your time with me.” Without waiting for Bingley to reply, Darcy strode away in the opposite direction, hurrying to the side where he whipped out his handkerchief just in time to catch a pair of wet sneezes. He hated being so rude to his friend, but he certainly couldn’t be sneezing on him either. He would make amends later, though the untruth of what he’d said about Elizabeth Bennet needled him, and he wished he could revoke his words. 

An hour or two later, when the assembly was at last drawing to a close, Darcy found himself alone to the side of the room, waiting for Charles and Caroline to decide it was time to leave. He was standing in approximately the same spot he had been when he spoke so badly of Miss Bennet, though he was in no state to realize this, for he was well and truly sick now. Every muscle and bone ached, and his head ached worst of all. He was completely stopped up with congestion, his throat was raw from coughs and stifled coughs, and he was sure his fever was raging. He was as good as dead on his feet, and he knew he would be laid up in bed for the rest of the week. Not only that, but his pride was still stinging from the embarrassment he had suffered at the hands of Miss Elizabeth, well-deserved as it had been. He felt as if she had slapped him when she threw his own words back at him, though she hadn’t raised a finger. He hoped he never had to speak to her again and relive the experience. However, the evening had gone well for Charles, and that was the most important thing. That was the reason he had come, and his task was now accomplished. He could afford to rest quietly at Netherfield for a few days now–if only they would ever leave this dratted assembly. 

The infuriating tickle was once again buzzing in his sinuses. No one was nearby, so he wearily pulled out his handkerchief and pressed it to his abused nose to catch yet another pair of sick sneezes, each bout of sneezing more wet and wearying than the last. With a small groan he drove the heel of his hand into his forehead, trying to assuage his throbbing head for even a moment. 

“Bless you, sir,” spoke a pleasant voice. 

He whirled around to find Elizabeth Bennet approaching him. 

“Thank you,” he rasped, unsure what else to say, with the handkerchief once again pressed to his face to hide the mess. The quick turn had made him horribly dizzy, and he hoped his legs weren’t trembling. 

The young woman’s face was furrowed in concern. “You are shaking, sir. Pray tell, are you ill?”

“I–” he tried to take a small step, and instead staggered and almost fell. He would have, if not for a pair of small, strong arms supporting him suddenly. Elizabeth guided him to the nearby bench. He could see she was speaking, but could not hear anything except a ringing in his ears as she pressed him back to lie down. His vision was also graying at the edges, but he clung to consciousness. Soon Bingley’s face was hovering above him as other hands pressed water to his lips, loosened his cravat, and placed a cold cloth on his brow. Many agonizing moments later, the ringing quieted and the grayness faded, and he found himself lying awkwardly on a hard bench with a crowd of people gathered around him, in varied states of distress, including Mrs. Bennet, who was making a scene on the bench besides him, with much fluttering of hands and many exclamations about her nerves. 

Charles and Elizabeth were closest to him, and Charles leant him a steady arm as he slowly sat up, pressing a hand to his still-throbbing head.

“I’m alright, I’m alright,” Darcy coughed, making eye contact with no one. 

“You’re burning up, Darcy. Why didn’t you say you were ill? We could have gone home hours ago!” Bingley cried. 

“It came on suddenly,” Darcy lied. “I was fine only moments ago.”

He sensed rather than saw Elizabeth’s skeptical look, and he hoped his already-flushed face wasn’t reddening further. 

“Let’s get you out of here, good man. You ought to be in bed,” said Bingley firmly.

Darcy stood in response, and the crowd shifted closer in anticipation of him falling again, but thankfully he was steady. Still, Charles placed a firm hand on his back and steered him out the door without another look behind them. For his part, Darcy gave one last backward glance and caught Elizabeth’s eye, shooting her a look of gratitude. He was just able to catch her expression before the door shut behind them–a small smile of understanding, and a hand half-raised in farewell. Her features were permanently fixed in his memory from then on. As he convalesced in bed the following week, she was in the forefront of his thoughts and never far from mind. 

[underatedwords]

i hope you don;t mind me putting shipping aside & dumping this in your inbox! one thought i've been having & it's probably unpopular but here goes:

i don't think that carlos is the biggest fan of ferrari's bromance/shipping thing they have going on with their drivers. mclaren did it occasionally for a laugh at the end of the two years but it was so so tongue in cheek & almost taking the piss out of the two of them, like the carlando muppets film & putting their pic on lando's cake. mclaren loved them & thought it was hilarious to poke affectionate fun at how close they were. ferrari on the other hand are constantly pushing the bromance/"more than a friendship" narrative to try & seem more fun (they were one of the driest teams in terms of their social media image prior to this year) & to try and attract younger fans and it's working to some extent. but much as carlos clearly enjoys charles's company and he participates in the ferrari stuff bc it's his job & the games & tiktoks are probably fun, he's also been quick to shut the shipping side of it down when the media start on it - last season saying in gq "i wouldn't call it a bromance", this season saying he & charles get along well but there is still the teammate wariness there. (charles has also been quick to shut it down as well actually). they're good friends/workmates & have a huge amount of respect for each other but they rarely if ever hang out outside ferrari or ferrari-adjacent stuff, even on race weekends. they're the typical close-buddy that you make at work if you're fortunate, which is cool.

will they stay friends when they're no longer teammates? yes quite possibly. his friendship with charles reminds me a lot of his one with hulk & they're still mates. but what he has with lando is different, by his own admission. it is & was special & he was never shy of saying so even when they were teammates & there was still the teammate competition there. he doesn't care that people ship them (neither of them do actually but lando couldn't care less about that stuff in general, he thinks the dando shipping is hilarious fun too, him pretending to go in for the kiss when fans were shouting it at them in mexico was comedy). despite how careful both carlos & lando are with their words these days when talking to the media about their friendship, carlos has still talked about the instant connection they had, about how he never expected to find a friendship like this in f1, and he says openly they're closer than ever now that they're on different teams. they hang out whenever possible and make time for each other in their downtime, even flying to some races early to hang out with each other for a couple of days (eg canada, silverstone, brazil etc) before team duties kick in. they went on double dates. he has a picture of them on his nightstand. they have become friends with each other's non-f1 friends (it's not just on carlos's side as people think, the guys they stay with in brazil are friends of lando's since his karting days & max fewtrell has said on streams he joins them for golf sometimes when he's at a race). lando's family are intensely private on the whole (his brother aside) and rarely even show themselves when they're at the track, so we don't know how they interact with carlos, though we know they took him out to dinner with them at least once when he was at mclaren. but it's been clear for a long while, and especially since we saw those pics of lando & charlotte with the sainzes after abu dhabi last year, that lando is close with carlos's family. it's a rare gift in life to find such an instant close connection like that, especially in the world they revolve in. there's been a huge amount of social media crap aimed at them both individually this year but also a lot, especially on ferrari social media comments where carlos very much would see it, trying to put down & discredit their friendship. and to me this feels like a case of them going scr*w all of you who try & claim we're not close or it's all just for pr clout & we don't care about one another, we're family whether you like it or not.

(for the sake of balance charles has this kind of special friendship with pierre as well, though the origins are obviously different, & there have been similar comments trying to put down their friendship this year & i've noticed both have also made a point of posting stuff in recent months that shows they're as close as ever & choose each other's company in downtime especially at race weekends).

sorry to dump this in your inbox but i've been wanting to say this for a while. obviously feel free to ignore if you'd rather not post but thanks for listening haha.

nonny tysm for this!! pls dont apologise, im very happy for you to fill my inbox w asks like this :)

ok so, i think the mcl teasing came from a place of sincere and genuine affection for them as individuals and their relationship and awareness that they're actual friends away from the race track and quite clearly enjoy doing media things together. also feel like mcl are of what's too much and don't try to force anything (cf the lack of similar content for lando & danny) so it doesn't make their relationship solely abt benefitting the team y'know

i dont think ferrari are necessarily trying to encourage people to "ship" them but it def feels like they want their drivers to be recognised as the most charismatic and "marketable" duo on the grid when they clearly aren't and it ends up adding a stilted feeling to their content. (how this natural fun is more popular than content like this) their pairing has to be successful bc there is so much pressure on ferrari to be successful (feels worth mentioning the is the first time since 2007 that they haven't had a former or reigning world champion as part of their line up). ferrari has such a specific image to uphold that it makes it hard for C² to relax when they're doing media, whereas when C&L were at mcl they were starting fresh and building an image together.

i agree w what you said abt ferrari,, they're def trying to capitalise on the whole C² thing and it seems like they reuse a lot of the same clips w/e they post abt ch*rlos. and I think this difference in genuine chemistry is recognised, this vid w just a snippet of lando has more views than most of the content on their page (indicating the pull C+L still have after 2yrs)

but yes, i agree that charles and carlos do have a genuine respect and friendship, but it just is different from what carlos has w lando, there's no way around it.

i personally haven't seen anything negative abt C&L's relationship from fans (thank god) but I'm not surprised. i think ultimately it just comes down to there being a notable difference between C² and C&L which certain people have seen as a slight against Charles?

finally,, as much as they don't have anything left to prove (given their behaviour this entire yr) i imagine that its nice to be more open abt their affection for one another.