#might actually write a shippier version of this where i don't try and weasle out of actually writing lando and lewis lmfao

[soineffablygay]

(F1 RPF race roll for P19 and P2 in China -> Lewis Hamilton & Lando Norris; in reference to the china cooldown room incident; crossposted on ao3)

Cooldown

The worst thing is, Lewis knows exactly what Nico would say to Lando after his "Throwing the cap"-cooldown-room scene. He'd stare at him with his piercing eyes and give a matter-of-fact "That's not very nice" like he's chastising a child for not saying "Thank You".

But Lewis is not Nico and he was never curt like that, was never outright demanding kindness for himself like that. And besides that, he isn't actually offended by what Lando and Oscar had said, not like Nico would be. He still can't help that little voice inside his head that immediately goes to tell him that Lando and Oscar are nothing like him and Nico and that they know fuck all about what it was like. And that Lando has no right to joke about it.

So when Lewis is standing next to Lando as they're waiting to be allowed to get into their cars parked next to each other in the front row in Japan, he feels a little unnerved, but it's not like he's gonna say anything.

Lando being Lando, though, of course couldn't just let it be. "Sorry if you've seen the cooldown room thing from China, mate. I know it's a sensitive topic," is what he says and he says it in a way that let's Lewis know that he's not actually apologising but instead trying to rile him up minutes before the start of the race.

Of course, Lewis has been around the block a few times, a few times more than Lando, so he's not gonna take whatever Lando is throwing him here. "Sure, mate," he says and looks straight ahead, clasps his hands.

Lewis can see Lando smile innocently out of the corner of his eyes. "Yeah, I mean, we're just always saying we don't wanna end up like Brocedes, you know."

Later, Lewis will be a bit annoyed at how easy it ended up being for Lando to get him there, but this was enough already to make him snap.

He turns around to look at Lando for the first time. "Mate, you could never be like us. You can't even begin to understand how much history and, by the way, talent, you're missing for that. You're just two inexperienced guys stuck together in a winning car for PR purposes," Lewis spits out. "Come next year you won't even have the problem of fighting for 1-2.

Lando simply hums like he's considering it and then smirks at him. "Yeah, maybe. Or maybe I'm just that much better at getting fucked by my team mate and still being genuinely happy for him when he outperforms me. Because we genuinely like each other." There's a beat where Lando assesses Lewis again, then he adds, "You should try that some time."

Lewis is genuinely too stunned to speak, and his heart is pounding and he's still trying to really understand what Lando had just said to him, when the stewards finally give the OK to get in the cars.

Lando starts to walk off, but can't stop himself from turning around again. He shoots Lewis a "Good luck, mate" with a wink and a winning smile.

Oh, Good luck indeed.

(When Oscar overtakes Lewis from P3 in turn 1 and Lewis watches the two McLarens drive off, he thinks, stupidly, that maybe he should call Nico.)