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Chapter Text

It is Sunday, the day of the Monaco Grand Prix. Oscar will be starting second on the grid today and he’s feeling good! He got out of bed early, went on a short run, then quickly showered.
He now enters the paddock as one of the first racers.

The Australian is walking at a brisk pace, enjoying the sunny Monégasque weather, spacing out slightly. Oscar’s focus comes back full blast when he hears soft, but quick footsteps and then feels two tiny arms wrap around his leg.

“Mister!” Oscar looks down and sees a little toddler look up to him with big shiny eyes. “Mister, I lost mommy”.

The McLaren driver tries to shake his surprise. He crouches down to be more at eye level with the boy. “Where did you see her last?” he asks. The kid just shrugs. He looks close to tears.

“Hey, it’s alright mate. We will look for her together.” He holds out his hand, and the toddler immediately grabs onto it.

Oscar looks at the kid a bit more. He looks quite young but seems to be able to talk fine. He has short brown hair, which looks brushed but not specifically styled. He is wearing tiny overalls, which Oscar finds quite cute, a green long-sleeved t-shirt and a Lightning McQueen backpack.

The racer softly squeezes the child’s hand. “My name is Oscar, what is your name?” The boy looks up at him and quietly says: “Luka”. Oscar nods and kindly smiles.

“Do you know which direction you came from?” He points to both ways to make it clearer. Luka looks around and then points in the direction of the paddock entrance. “Alright, let’s walk that way then.”

Oscar walks slowly, still holding onto the kid’s hand. He is starting to find the whole situation a bit weird. It’s Sunday, race day. It does not make sense for a kid to be there on race day. Access is strictly limited to the teams, sponsors, media, and employees of F1 and the FIA.

Maybe a guided tour. But Guided Paddock Access tours don’t start this early in the day. So, Luka can’t be a fan’s kid. At the same time, employees are not allowed to take their kids with them, same for those with the media.

Reaching the entrance, Oscar realizes that Luka can theoretically only be a driver’s kid, but that does not make sense at all. After his rookie year he knows all the drivers and their families. He has seen all their children before and he is 100% sure that Luka looks like none of them.

He catches the attention of the security guys chilling at the entrance. The guards nod at him in recognition. “Hey, have you seen a woman walk in with a child today? I’ve found this kid,” he points at Luka, “he lost his mom. Do you guys have any ideas?”. The guards look at each other with surprised faces. “No, sorry, mister Piastri. It’s quite early as well. It does not really make sense for a mother and a child to be here,” the guard with the beard says. “That’s what I was thinking. But then how did the kid get here?” Oscar replies.

Both men shake their head. “Not a clue, my friend, we have been here all morning.” The McLaren driver frowns and looks down at Luka, who is looking up at him expectantly. Oscar sighs. “Sorry mate, I guess we will have to keep searching. Want to go with me to McLaren?” Luka gives a little nod.

Oscar thanks the security guys and turns around.

Halfway to the McLaren complex, Luka tugs at his arm. “Osca, ‘m tired…” The driver looks towards him and sees him do grabby hands. Oscar suddenly has a flashback to when his sisters were still young and tiny. Little grabby hands mean ‘uppies’. “Alright, alright. I will carry you the rest of the way.” He tries not to roll his eyes fondly.

He carefully scoops up the kid. Luka instantly snuggles into him and wraps his arms around his neck. Oscar keeps walking and tries not to think too much about how people look at him carrying a child. He curtly greets some of the people that walk past him.

“Do you see your mom yet?” Oscar asks Luka. Luka looks around and then shakes his head. “Do you remember what she was wearing? Maybe the color of her shirt?”

It takes a bit for Luka to reply. “Pink.” “She was wearing a pink shirt?” A tiny nod. “Okay, alright mate. Let’s look for anything pink then”. The driver scans everyone walking around. The only team on the grid with a little pink in their livery and clothing is Alpine this year. And it’s only a little…

No pink shirts anywhere. The kid is awfully quiet, and Oscar does not like it. He decides it’s time to distract Luka, and himself. “How old are you, Luka?” “Tree!” Oscar gets three small fingers shoved in his face. “Three years old, woah!” He keeps going. “And what is your favorite color?”

“Red.” Of course it’s red. Oscar should have seen that one coming with the Cars backpack. After some more questions, Oscar now knows that Luka’s favorite animal is a tiger, and he likes to eat pancakes.

Oscar is happy he got the child to relax a bit. To be fair, ‘relaxed’ sounds like too big of a word right now. But Luka is finally talking somewhat. When they reach the first cars in the paddock, Luka starts asking questions.

Is that a race car? Does it go fast? Faster than Lightning McQueen?

The last one Oscar leaves up for debate, not wanting to ruin the kid’s daydream with facts about how Formula 1 cars are definitely faster than NASCAR cars, because those cars are heavier and the downforce of a Formula-

While mentally stomping down the race nerd inside him he reaches the McLaren paddock.
The moment he walks in the group of engineers already in the garage react to Luka in two different ways. Half of them lose the ability to talk completely, and the other half start asking questions all at the same time.

“Wow! Wow! Calm down,” Oscar says as he feels the kid bury his face into the crook of the driver’s neck out of fear. “I’ve found him walking around the paddock. I’m trying to find his mom.”

A collective sigh of relief. “Oscar, for a moment I thought we were meeting a secret love child of yours,” one of the engineers says. “God no,” the racer replies with a deadpan face.

“Does anyone recognize him?” A lot of headshakes and some no’s. Oscar tried not to sigh in disappointment. “Hm, okay. Let’s go upstairs, Luka, I think it’s time for a break.” He squeezes his arms tighter around the poor child. His little face is still hidden away, but he feels a tiny nod against his collarbone.

He walks up the stairs with the kid in his arms, which is a bit harder than Oscar expected. In the common room it is way less busy. Oscar still looks for a quiet spot. When they pass through the kitchen, he decides he wants a cup of coffee.

He hoists Luka to the side a bit to hold him with one arm and grabs a coffee mug from one of the top cupboards. Mug underneath the coffee machine he asks Luka if he wants something to drink too.

Another nod. While the coffee runs, Oscar opens the door of the fridge to find something for Luka. A whole stack of Monster Energy cans greets him, but after some digging, he finds some Capri-Suns in the back.

With a Capri-Sun and coffee in one hand and a child in the other he walks further towards the end of the common room. It has ceiling-high windows that overlook the pitlane and Oscar hopes it distracts Luka a bit.

It does, because the kid finally releases the stranglehold around Oscar’s neck. The driver sets the coffee and the juice package on a close by table.

“Is it okay if I set you down, Luka? My arms are getting tired.”
“Okay.”

With both feet on the floor again, Luka apparently feels safe enough to walk around a bit and goes to stand in front of the window. When Oscar sees that the toddler is fine, he turns to the drinks.

While fighting with the paper straw from the Capri-Sun his PR manager Charlotte greets him. “Good morning, Oscar. I don’t know it was ‘bring-your-child-to-work’-day today?”

Oscar sighs and finally jams the shitty straw into the package. “Not you too… I’ve found him walking around the paddock. No parent in sight. His name is Luka, he is three years old. Nobody we’ve met on the way here seems to know him…”

“Oh, that’s weird. Why is he even here? Fans aren’t allowed in the paddock this early in the morning.” Before replying, Oscar walks towards the kid with the drink package. “Here Luka, I got you something to drink. Hold it on the flaps up top, like so.” The kid mumbles a thank you and grabs the package as told.

Oscar retrieves his coffee from the table. “I know. There’s something very strange about this. The security guards have not seen him come in as well. I’m starting to think he spawned here or something.”

Charlotte snorts at his desperate joke. “I will ask around for you. He must have come from somewhere.” Oscar thanks her and tells her about the pink shirt the mom should be wearing according to Luka.

While talking to Charlotte, his teammate Lando Norris abruptly walks in. “Oscar! They just announced there is going to be an extra driver briefing-”

Luka spooks and immediately hides behind the younger driver. Lando stops in his tracks.
“Oscar, what is that?” he says while pointing towards the other driver.

Oscar, being absolutely done with everyone’s dramatic bullshit, goes: “a cup of coffee…”

Lando squeezes his eyes shut in annoyance. “Osc. Please. Explain.” Oscar rolls his eyes. After a year of being teammates he should be used to Oscar’s deadpan replies by now.

The Australian puts his hand on top of Luka’s head in the hope to calm him down. “I’ve found him- no, he found me in the paddock. He was all alone, Lando. Can’t find his mom. I decided to help him look, but no success yet.”

Oscar crouches down next to the kid. “Luka, that is Lando, my teammate. He races cars just like me.”

The kid shyly looks up to the older driver. Lando, stunned out of his confusion and annoyance gives a little wave. “Hi Luka, nice to meet you”. He unexpectedly gets a shy wave back.

“You were saying something about a driver meeting?” Oscar reminds the older driver.

“Oh, yeah. They are expecting us in fifteen minutes.”

“What, why? We’ve had a driver briefing yesterday.”

“I don’t know, bro. It’s the FIA. Expect the unexpected.”

This time Oscar does allow himself to sigh. “Alright, I guess we will have to cut our break short then.” He looks at Luka who is still drinking his Capri-Sun.

“If you want, I can look after the kid,” Charlotte says. Oscar kind of forgot she was still in the room. Luka looks up at him with big puppy dog eyes.

The idea of leaving the toddler does not sit well with the younger driver. The kid has basically imprinted on him like a little duckling. Leaving Luka to Charlotte, who is a stranger, might make him feel abandoned again. The kid is nervous enough already.

“No thank you, it’s okay. Maybe one of the other drivers recognizes him. I will take him with me.”

Charlotte just smiles and nods. Lando is staring at him with interest.

Luka finishes the drink and holds the empty package out to Oscar, who stands up and throws it away in a close by trashcan. “Alright, ready to go, Luka?”

After he gets a nod, he scoops up the boy and walks towards Lando. “Lead the way, mate.” The older driver softly smiles and starts walking.

Once outside, the two drivers walk side by side in silence for a while. Oscar still gets some looks because of the kid. Luka looks around silently from the vantage point in Oscar’s arms. The younger driver looks towards Lando who seems deep in though. Great, two quiet companions. God, he needs a distraction.

He gets one, because Charles Leclerc joins them. “So, now I am granddad as well?” the Monégasque jokes. Oscar’s mind goes blank for a second. With the Luka situation taking up all his attention he had forgotten about the adoption joke. The joke that has gotten completely out of hand this week.

He hears Lando wheeze next to him. “The Leclerc family is expanding at a rapid rate, innit,” the British driver says with a grin.

Oscar shakes his head and explains the situation to the Ferrari driver. Charles introduces himself to Luka but does not get much of a reply. “Sorry Oscar, I haven’t seen him before. I will keep an eye out for a lady in pink for you. But I don’t know how much I can be of help.”

“We also need to focus on the race today. Especially you, Charles. This is your home race after all,” the youngest McLaren driver says.

“You both start on the front row,” Lando mentions, “BOTH of you need to stay focused.”

“Yes, you better focus too, Oscar. I want a 1-2 Leclerc podium today,” Charles adds.

“I will, I will. I’m just hoping to find Luka’s mom before the race.”

In the corner of his eye he sees Lando pull a face. Oscar is starting to worry that finding Luka’s mom is not going to happen anytime soon.

Chapter Text

Once the three drivers reach the FIA meeting room, the group splits up. Oscar and Lando find two unoccupied seats next to each other. Charles goes to the empty chair next to Max Verstappen and immediately starts discussing something with him.

Oscar takes Luka’s backpack off and puts it next to his chair. He sits Luka on his lap. The boy is quiet and looks around nervously. “It’s alright, Luka. Everyone at the table here is a race car driver. They are all very cool and kind, I promise,” Oscar assures the kid.

Some of the drivers sneak glances at him in interest. Oscar smiles back politely.

“He’s so quiet. Has he been like this the entire time?” Lando asks.

Oscar gives a tight smile. “Yeah, I think he is nervous to be around strangers.”

Lando frowns and looks at the kid. “What if he thinks he has to be quiet because that’s what he has been told?” Oscar opens his mouth to deny Lando’s statement, -because that’s ridiculous, it’s probably just shyness- but gets interrupted by the chairman of the meeting.

The Australian driver immediately knows this meeting is going to be a waste of his time. They repeat part of yesterday’s briefing and then go on to talk about some technical things of the track that everyone already knows.

Oscar has noticed before that Lando cannot sit still for his life. And he shows it again right now. The older McLaren driver is fidgeting with his bracelets first. Then moves on to pick at his nails.

Ten minutes into the meeting he feels Luka getting restless too. It’s subtle, he moves his hands around a bit. Then starts swinging his legs.

It's the moment when Lando starts playing with the plastic string clip on his McLaren hoodie that Luka locks onto Lando’s fidgeting as well.

The boy slightly moves in the direction of the older McLaren driver and looks at him with interest. Oscar is watching it unfold and an idea takes form in his mind.

He bumps Lando’s arm with his elbow. Lando startles out of whatever daydream he was in and looks at him. “I think he wants to sit with you. Can you hold him for a bit?” Oscar whispers.

Lando frowns and hesitates for a second. He then reaches his hands out towards Luka with a kind smile. He lets his hands hover in the air and waits for the kid’s reaction. Luka looks up at him and then to his hands. Oscar watches with bated breath.

Only after the kid grabs onto his arms does Lando hook his hands under Luka’s armpits and lifts him from Oscar’s lap to his own. Luka looks up at the older driver, who gives him a kind smile.

Oscar’s heart melts a bit. That was such a sweet interaction. He thinks he has never seen his teammate be this soft.

The younger McLaren driver diverts his focus back to the meeting director. But he does keep an eye on the other two. It does not take long for Luka to relax. Lando starts plucking at his bracelets again, with both arms around the kid.

The topic of the meeting has switched to what to do in case your car fails inside the famous Monégasque tunnel. They probably touch upon the topic because of the narrow escape that happened during the F2 qualification this week.

Oscar hears Lando snort softly and glances at the duo. Luka is touching the collection of bracelets on Lando’s wrist. He is very careful, like he seems to know they mean a lot to the driver. Lando separates all the bracelets and shows them one by one. Luka observes each one attentively, even though he probably can’t read what they say.

The Australian driver smiles. Lando is naturally good at this. Also, the kid is super well behaved. Oscar doesn’t think that that is normally the case with three-year-olds. He remembers there being something like the “Terrible Threes”. He needs to find the kid a toy or some other kind of reward for being so calm.

He can’t keep himself from zoning out for the rest of the meeting. He zones back in when he hears the chairman wrap up the meeting with: “are there any questions?”

Oscar raises his hand. The chairman gives him the floor. “Yes, but it’s unrelated to the meeting. This morning, I’ve found a kid walking around the paddock unsupervised. Does anyone recognize him?” He points to the child in question. “His name is Luka, three years old.”

A lot of headshakes once more. “Uh yeah, okay. That’s all.” The chairman moves on to the next question. One that is actually on topic. Oscar sits back, feeling dejected. A hand squeezes his arm. He looks at Lando. “It’s alright, Osc. We will figure it out.” The Australian gives his teammate an appreciative smile. “Yeah…”

The chairman closes the meeting and dismisses the drivers. The McLaren teammates leave their chairs. Lando carries Luka, Oscar swings the little Lightning McQueen backpack over his shoulder. Outside, Max is waiting for them.

“Hey guys, Charles told me about your child-situation. Kelly will be here with Penelope to watch the race this afternoon. If you want, I can ask her to pick up Luka before then. She won’t mind taking care of another kid. Especially one as well behaved as Luka,” the Dutchman says.

Oscar has almost lost all hope that he can find the kid’s mom before the race. “Thank you, Max, that’s very kind of you. Are you sure she won’t mind? And is Penelope okay with having another child around?”

“I promise, both won’t mind. I think Penelope will love having a kid her age to hang out with,” Max replies with a smile. Oscar thinks Luka might like that too. It’s better than being stuck with his PR manager for the afternoon.

“Alright, thanks mate. I really appreciate it.”

“I will text you when she’s on her way.”

“And I will text you if there’s a change of plans.”

“Wait, do I have your number?”

“You have mine,” Lando buts in, “you can text me. I will let Oscar know.”

“Okay, yeah. I’ll do that.”

Max gives them a thumbs up and then parts ways with them. It’s nice to have a back-up plan, Oscar thinks. He wants to keep searching for the kid’s mom. But time is running out.

He and Lando both have a team briefing later this morning. Then lunch, some PR stuff, and after that they must get ready for the race.

The drivers start walking back towards the McLaren paddock. Lando sets Luka on his shoulders. The kid doesn’t protest, and just puts his hands on Lando’s curls. The driver keeps him steady by holding onto his legs.

“You would make a good dad.” Oscar didn’t mean to say it out loud. But seeing Lando like this makes him feel... feelings. He doesn’t know how to explain.

Lando gives him the biggest grin. “Thank you! You too, by the way. I’ve wanted to tell you before the briefing.”

Oscar smiles back and really hopes he isn’t blushing. Because, God, why does hearing that feel so nice.

Halfway to the McLaren paddock, Lando breaks the comfortable silence they were walking in. “Oscar, what about the fans and the cameras. Should we keep Luka away from them?”

“I want to, but I think it’s impossible. He is attached to us, almost literally. The media will get access to the paddock soon and guided tours are scheduled around lunch. No way we can hide the kid when they are all coming to see us.”

Lando makes an affirming sound. “It might also help in finding his parents, innit? Though people are going to have so many questions.”

“Why? We just explain the situation.”

“Oscar, the kid looks a bit like you.”

“He does not. I swear, Lando, he looks nothing like me.”

The younger driver looks up at the kid sitting comfortably on Lando’s shoulders. Now that he looks at him closely… The hair color and nose shape do look familiar…

“Oh god…”

“Are you 100% sure he is not a secret lovechild?”

“Lando, that’s impossible. I wasn’t even in a relationship four years ago.”

“No hot one-night stands?” Lando has the audacity to grin.

Oscar slaps his arm. “No! I was completely focused on getting better at racing. Had this dumb ‘love is a distraction’ phase.”

Lando snorts at that, then turns serious. “What about Lily?”

“Luka is too old for that. Also, Lily would tell me for sure before dropping a child into my life.”

“Even after the breakup?”

“Yes, Lando, even after the breakup.”

The older driver hums. “It doesn’t change the fact that people are going to ask questions.”

“Then I will tell them the same thing I’ve been telling everyone this morning.”

“Over and over again?”

“Yep.”

Lando raises his eyebrows. “Or you could say nothing and watch the world burn. Free publicity and all that,” he suggests.

Oscar rolls his eyes. “And here I was thinking you were being helpful…”

“Aw, come on! It’s a pretty mint idea. I will be entertained with the resulting internet drama for the next couple of weeks.”

Oscar laughs. “You are such a gossip girl.”

“Am not!” Lando squeaks.

Oscar grins at him. Lando sighs and then laments, “okay, fine. Maybe a little…”

They soon arrive at McLaren. And walk upstairs, back to the calm corner that Oscar found before the briefing. “I’m going to set you down, Luka. Is that alright?” Lando asks. “Yes,” the kid replies.

“Are you doing okay Luka?” Oscar asks the toddler. The kid had been calmly looking around from Lando’s shoulders the entire way back. The boy didn’t seem that nervous anymore, but Oscar still wanted to check in. Luka nods.

Oscar is putting the little backpack on the floor when Charlotte walks in holding something. “Oh good, you are back. I’ve asked around the McLaren compound, but nobody is missing a child. I did find something else though.” She shows the thing she is holding.

It's a miniature McLaren F1 car, the size of her hand. It has the official 2024 livery and sports a tiny 81 on the front. “Oh! That’s mint!” Lando exclaims and steps forward. Oscar thanks her politely while Lando takes the little car and goes to show it to the kid.

“Luka, look! Charlotte got you something cool,” the older driver says while holding out the toy towards him. The toddler hesitates and looks at the adults in the room individually. It’s only after Oscar gives him an encouraging nod that Luka takes the car from Lando’s hand.

Luka looks at Charlotte and politely says, “thank you, Miss.”

Charlotte puts a hand to her chest. “Aw, you are very welcome, kiddo.”

Luka starts to inspect the car from all angles. Charlotte turns to Oscar and says, “so well behaved!”

Oscar frowns. “A bit too well behaved... He hasn’t even cracked a smile yet. He doesn’t talk unless spoken to. I’m starting to get worried there’s more behind it,” he tells her softly.

The older driver is listening in and turns towards Luka’s backpack next to the table.

“I think it’s time we-” “I need to-” Lando and Luka start at the same time. Luka immediately claps a hand over his mouth and stops talking. Lando freezes at the gesture.

Oscar flinches at the fear that strikes Luka’s little face. Oscar walks towards Luka and Lando. Charlotte steps back and gives the trio some space.

The older driver is usually the one to initiate contact, but he’s looking stressed. Oscar gives the Brit a comforting squeeze on his shoulder and crouches down to the kid’s eye level.

“Sorry…” the kid mumbles. “It’s alright, Luka, we don’t mind. Did someone tell you are not allowed to talk or something?” the Australian asks awkwardly.

“Mommy always says no talking when grown ups are talking. Children who talk are bad.” Luka explains softly. He’s looking at his shoes, avoiding eye contact with both men. He has the little car pressed to his chest, like he’s scared they might take it away from him.

That’s the most the kid has said all day, and it breaks Oscar’s heart.

“Luka... It’s alright to ask questions or to tell us if you need something. If you have something to say, please say it. Lando and I don’t mind. We interrupt each other very often,” the Australian says with a kind smile. “Grown-ups talk over each other all the time. It happens. And it doesn’t make you a bad person.”

Luka looks up at him. There are tears in the corners of his eyes. “Yes, Luka, what did you want to say?” the older driver asks.

“I need to pee,” the kid whispers. Oscar panics a bit, not sure how long the toddler has been keeping that to himself. “Okay, yes, that is crucial information. Thanks for telling us. Let’s go to the toilet.” He stands up and reaches his hand towards the kid, who grabs it and follows him.

He looks at Lando before he leaves the room. The Brit is holding the Lightning McQueen backpack like a lifeline. Oscar feels stupid for not checking the bag earlier.

Chapter Text

When Luka and Oscar come back from a well needed bathroom break, Lando has set out the contents of the backpack onto the table.

The Brit is holding a piece of paper in a white-knuckle grip.

Oh no…

“Luka? Why don’t you go play with your car on the carpet for a bit,” Oscar suggests.

When the kid walks off, Oscar joins Lando at the table. The backpack apparently contained an extra set of clothes, a tiger plushie, and the piece of paper he is dreading to read.

The younger driver looks at the older one with worry. “You are not going to like it,” Lando says when their eyes meet. “I realize. But I still think I should read it.”

The Brit huffs and holds the paper close to his chest, as if wanting to protect the younger driver from the message that’s on there.

Oscar keeps staring at him, anxiety going through the roof. Lando reluctantly gives him the paper and stays close by.

What Oscar reads on there is indeed something he doesn’t like at all.

-

‘If you are reading this, you have found my son Luka. I hope you will take care of him, as I do not want him back.

Luka was born in Liverpool on the 18th of January 2021. A month later, my husband suddenly died of a heart attack. That summer, I moved with Luka to Monaco to start a new life.

Do you know how hard it is to start a new life when you have a kid? It’s horrible. Every single moment is about them. I had zero time to follow my dreams or enjoy Monaco’s vibrant nightlife.

I’m too young to be a single mom stuck in a house. I’ve tried to get used to it for two years, but I’m over it…

I want to move on again. This time outside of Europe, so don’t look for me.

I do not want a repeat of what happened in Monaco. The kid interferes too much with my life. Which is why I am leaving my son. Monaco is the city of dreams. I bet he’s going to be fine there.

- Luka’s biological mother’

-

Oscar is shaking. His thoughts are going in circles. How can you abandon your child. How can you be so selfish. How can you ABANDON YOUR CHILD!

The racer is absolutely fuming with anger. His breaths are coming in short and quick.

“Oscar... Oscar. Osc.” Two large hands are on his shoulders. He looks at Lando, who is looking at him with sad green eyes.

“I hate her,” Oscar grits out. “Yeah, me too, Osc,” Lando says softly.

The paper is crumbling in the Australian’s shaky hands. “God, I was really hoping he was just lost. I saw the signs, but I didn’t want to believe someone can be such a bitch.”

Lando pulls a pained face and softly squeezes his teammates shoulders. His hands are trembling a bit.

Oscar comes to a realization: “you knew already… You knew that he was abandoned right from the beginning…”

Lando grimaces. “Sorry... I didn’t want to break it to you… But the kid carrying a backpack, and the timing of everything, the security guards not knowing anything… She didn’t want to be followed.”

Oscar sighs and closes his eyes. “I am an idiot for not figuring it out sooner.”

“No, you’re not! I think you did well. Staying positive and not giving up hope is important in a situation like this,” Lando says, then hesitates. “Can I give you a hug? I really want to give you a hug right now…” the older driver asks.

Oscar nods and gets pulled into a bear hug right after. Oscar places his arms around Lando and squeezes back. The Brit’s chin is on his shoulder, cheek almost touching his own.

The younger driver deflates into the hug. The shaking becomes less, and the anger is replacing itself with sadness. Lando doesn’t let go. He pats the space between Oscar’s shoulder blades.

It’s the comfort the Australian needed. He doesn’t want to let go, but also doesn’t want to burden the Brit.

He creates some space between them. Lando’s hands move from his back to his biceps and stay there. They look each other in the eye.

“Are you alright, Osc?” the older driver asks softly.

“Yeah, just mad. He has nowhere to go…”

“We will figure something out. He has you to take care of him right now, and I will help as much as I can. I bet if we tell the team they will keep an eye out for him as well.”

“Okay, yeah. I will do my best to keep him safe and happy. The poor kid... Thank you, Lando, I needed that.”

The older one smiles and squeezes his arms one last time before letting go. “Anytime. Want something to drink? I will grab you something. Team briefing starts in 20 minutes.”

Team briefing. Oscar forgot he has a race today. He’s in Monaco, at the street circuit he needs every bit of concentration for. He’s starting second on the grid today, and he has a kid to take care of. Why couldn’t he have found Luka on a regular Wednesday… He feels emotionally exhausted and it’s not even noon yet.

“I… Can I have another cup of coffee?”

“Of course!” Lando gives him a comforting smile and walks of.

The Australian takes a steadying breath. He’s shoved that detestable piece of paper in his back pocket. Not wanting to hold it any longer, but also not wanting to throw it away in case he needs it in the future.

He walks to Luka who is sitting on the carpet, drifting the little F1 car over the carpet. It brings a small smile to Oscar’s face. It looks like the car is making celebratory donuts.

He sits down next to the kid. “Hey, Luka. Do you like the toy Miss Charlotte got you?”

He gets an enthusiastic nod. “It goes fast! Look!” the boy exclaims. He makes another circle with the toy car, making engine sounds.

Oscar almost gets a whiplash from the change in character compared to half an hour ago.

Whether it is the toy, or the small pep-talk Oscar gave him, Luka is more animated than before.

“That’s really cool, Luka! It looks like my own race car. I hope I can make mine go as fast as yours goes,” the Australian says with a smile. The kid looks at him and smiles.

An actual smile! The first one, and it’s adorable as hell! Oscar melts…

“Luka, wanna see it go even faster?” He hears Lando say behind him. A white mug filled to the brim with coffee appears in front of his face.

Oscar wraps his hands around the mug and thanks the Brit. He gets another soft smile back.

When Lando goes to sit at the other side of the carpet, the Australian eyes him with suspicion.

Lando looks him in the eye and grins. “I will play nice. I promise, Osc.” The ‘Osc’ in question decides to trust him and sips at the still steaming coffee.

“Okay, Luka. Let’s see how fast it can go. Roll it towards me as fast as you can. I will catch it and roll it back to you,” the older driver explains.

Oscar sees Luka hesitate. The toddler looks at the younger driver for approval.

“Try it, Luka. Lando will catch it. He has super-fast reflexes,” Oscar appeases him.

“Re- flecesss,” Luka tests the word, but fails miserably.

“Reflexes. It’s when you can react very quickly. Like catch something that is moving very fast,” the Australian explains.

“I need it for driving my race car. Racers cannot drive race cars without fast reflexes. You will see this afternoon,” Lando says.

That apparently sells it. Luka rolls the toy car to Lando. Who doesn’t really have to use his ‘reflexes’, because the car stops halfway between them.

“Yes, good!” Lando exclaims while he scoots over to grab the little orange papaya car. He moves back to his original spot and says, “are you ready?” before rolling the car back to Luka.

Luka scrambles to grab the car before it bumps into him and giggles. “Okay, now back to me. As hard as you can!” the Brit cheers him on.

Oscar might actually be physically melting from the cuteness. He drinks his coffee with a delighted smile.

This time the car almost reaches Lando’s leg. The older driver cheers the kid on. The two keep going for a while. Lando looks happy and Luka doesn’t stop giggling. Oscar soaks it all up from the sideline.

Andrea Stella, team principal, walks up to them when it’s almost time for the team briefing. “Hello boys, are you ready for the race?”

Oscar stands up and shakes his hand. “Good morning, Andrea. And of course!” That’s a bit of a lie. He needs more time to calm down, but he thinks he can manage.

Lando follows his example, still holding the little McLaren car in his left hand. “Hi, Andrea. As ready as I will ever be.”

“And you must be Luka. Charlotte told me about you. Nice to meet you,” the principal sticks his hand out to the kid. The toddler copies the two racers shyly and shakes the man’s hand.

“He will be staying around the paddock for a bit, I hope that’s alright. Kelly Piquet is picking him up before the race,” the younger driver explains.

“That’s alright. Just make sure he stays a safe distance from the cars.”

“Yes, I will. Thank you, Andrea.”

The principal nods at him. “The team briefing will be held in the garage in five. I will let the team know the kid is staying.”

That went way better than expected. Lando gives the car back to Luka. “Luka, do you want to go see the big race cars?” the older racer asks.

Luka nods enthusiastically. Oscar downs the rest of his coffee and sets his cup on the table. “Alright, let’s go,” the Australian says, then scoops up the toddler, who goes willingly and wraps his arms around his neck.

The trio walk downstairs to the garage.

It’s bustling with engineers and other McLaren employees. Luka seems less bothered about the amount of people than before, so Oscar crosses the crowd to the front of the garage with Lando in tow. The moment the cars come in view; Luka is engrossed.

“That’s my car,” the younger driver points to the car closest to them, and then to the one further away, “that’s Lando’s car. Pretty cool right?”

Luka looks confused. Looks at the mini car he is holding and then back to Oscar’s car. “It’s yellow. Why?”

Oh yeah. Oscar overlooked the Senna wrap. How is he going to explain that to a kid?

Lando beats him to it: “Usually our cars are orange, just like your toy, but for this race they are yellow and green. It’s to remember a legendary driver called Ayrton Senna who sadly passed away in an accident thirty years ago.”

Bold and truthful, as Lando always is. Oscar appreciates that about him. Luka accepts the answer, and squirms in the Australians arms to get a closer look.

Oscar sets him down, but still holds on to his hand. “We will also be wearing yellow and green overalls,” the Australian tells him. “And helmets,” Lando buts in.

“No orange?”

“No orange today, mate. But next race for sure,” Oscar says.

They let Luka look at both cars in the couple minutes they have left before the team briefing. Luka loves it. “How fast does it go?” “Extremely fast! You will see it this afternoon when you watch the race,” the Brit tells him.

When the five minutes are over, the drivers take Luka over to the circle of people surrounding Andrea.

“Alright, briefing time. Today is extra special with the Senna tribute. Behave, focus on your jobs, don’t be idiots. I also want everyone to be wearing the tribute shirts this afternoon, so put one on after the briefing.

Another thing before we start the briefing. We’ve just received word that some fans have illegally entered the paddock through a hole in the fence somewhere. The hole has been found and patched, but security suspects there are still people walking around the paddock who shouldn’t be there. If you see anyone suspicious, let security know and they will handle it.

Because of the rogue fans, media access to the paddock has been delayed ‘till 1pm.”

A hole in the gate. That might have been where Luka came from. Maybe Oscar can ask for security footage around that area and figure out what Luka’s mom did.

The briefing is short but sweet. Mostly a reminder of what has been discussed before, with the warning not to forget how treacherous Monte Carlo can be. Luka is standing calmly next to Oscar the entire time.

“And with that we’re at the end of the briefing. Before you are dismissed, I want to let you know that we have a child in our midst today. His name is Luka. For the mental sanity of both our drivers, protect him with your life.” Oscar snorts at that. Dramatic Andrea is the best Andrea. “That’s all, thanks for your attention. Let’s get that podium today.”

With a couple of cheers and yessir’s the team splits up. Oscar makes another round with Luka through the garage while Lando stalks off to talk to some of his engineers. The Australian shows the toddler the little details.

The helmets he and Lando will be wearing, the headsets everyone will be using during the race. He gives Luka another close-up of his race car and then stops by his driver room with him to put on the Senna shirt before he forgets.

Clad in yellow, he looks at Luka. The toddler is soaking up everything quietly. The green shirt the kid is wearing under his overalls is almost the exact color of the green stripe on the tribute shirt. The match makes Oscar smile.

The driver grabs his hat and is about to put it on when he sees the three-year-old glance at it. “Luka, do you want my hat? You can have it if you want.”

A smile and a nod. Oscar grins back, adjusts the strap, and places it on the toddler’s head.
Luka beams up at him. Oscar almost dies of cuteness.

And with that it is lunchtime. The ones responsible have brought food for the entire team up to the common room.

It's there where they meet up with Lando again.

“Nice hat, Luka!” Lando grins at the two of them. Luka beams back.

“He is truly a part of the team now,” Oscar says.

“That’s absolutely adorable.”

They make their way over to the food. Oscar grabs a grilled cheese sandwich for Luka, as it’s the safest option. He reaches for the sandwiches with salmon and avocado for himself.

“Oscar, why… Every single time…” Lando complains.

“Oh, come on mate. It’s not that bad.”

“We will not be sitting at the same table if you pick that sandwich.”

Oscar rolls his eyes and grabs two of the sandwiches anyway. Lando hates fish with passion, but Oscar knows it’s an empty threat.

“Come Luka, let’s sit over there.” They walk over to said table and leave the other driver behind. Once they’re both situated and Oscar has gotten them both a glass of apple juice, lo and behold! Who sits down at their table?

It's yours truly, Lando Norris.

The Brit glares at Oscar. “I’m not forgiving you, Piastri.”

The Australian smirks at him and then takes a bite out of him delicious fish sandwich. Lando visibly cringes and pulls a disgusted face. He still doesn’t leave.

“Are you mad at Osca, Lano?” Luka whispers worriedly, half eaten sandwich clutched in his hand.

Lando groans and puts a hand over his eyes. Oscar laughs. “No, Luka, Lando hates fish. He doesn’t like it when I eat it near him. He’s just complaining about it.”

“I’m not mad, just disappointed.”

Oscar kicks him under the table lightly. The older driver kicks him back. After retaliating, Lando finally focusses on his own food.

They eat in comfortable silence after that.

It’s Lando’s phone that breaks it. “Got a text from Max. Kelly will be here to pick up Luka at 1PM, so right after lunch.”

“Alright, so in time before all the PR torture. That’s good. Can you let Max know I will meet her in front of the McLaren complex at that time?”

Lando nods and texts the triple world champion back.

Chapter Text

Oscar experiences Luka’s first toddler tantrum when Kelly comes to pick him up. The driver doesn’t have to wait long front of the McLaren complex before Kelly arrives with her daughter Penelope.

“Hi Oscar, it’s nice to meet you!” she says smiling.

“Nice to meet you too, Kelly. And you to Penelope!” he waves at the little girl. She waves back excitedly. “Thank you so much for wanting to take care of Luka for the afternoon. I truly appreciate the help.”

“It’s no bother! I think Penelope will love making a new friend.”

It's then when Luka realizes what’s going on. “Osca, noooo…” The boy’s grip around his neck tightens.

“Oh Luka, it’s alright. You’re going to have such a fun afternoon! You are going to watch the race from the best spot on the grandstands.”

“Nooooo! Stay!” Luka starts crying. Oscar freezes completely. His heart breaks. He doesn’t want the kid to feel abandoned again, but he also thinks it’s better for him to be away from the paddock for a bit.

“First time?” Kelly asks him sympathetically.

“Uhm yeah, sorry. Don’t know how to deal with it yet,” the McLaren driver admits with a grimace.

“That’s okay, I have some experience,” Kelly jokes. She steps forward and places herself so that Luka can see her.

“Hi Luka, nice to meet you! Me and Penelope are going to have a look at all the cool shops and the racetrack. After that it’s time to watch the race. We have a super cool spot in the grandstands. You’re gonna love it! And after the race I will bring you back to the paddock.”

“Lando or I will pick you up here. I promise it’s going to be way more fun than what me and Lando are going to do before the race. We have to have a lot more boring talks with people,” Oscar adds.

It makes Luka calm down a little bit. Penelope joins the conversation. “The cars are so cool during the race! They are super loud, and everyone in the stand cheers for them. Mom also said we can have ice cream before the race.”

The young girl beams up at Luka, who looks down at her from his place in Oscar’s arms.

“See, it will be fun. And you will see us again later this afternoon,” the driver says.

Luka is still sniffing, but let’s Kelly take him from Oscar and hold him. She places him on her hip and sways him like she has done it a thousand times before.

She grabs her phone from her back pocket, taps on it some and then turns it towards the driver.
“Here, add your number. That way I can reach you without bothering Max,” she tells him.

Oscar fills in his name and number and gives the phone back to her. “Thanks again,” he says with a smile. She kindly smiles back to him.

“Alright kids, time to go shopping,” she says. “And get ice cream,” Penelope exclaims. Kelly rolls her eyes fondly. “Yes, and get ice cream.”

“Bye Oscar,” she turns around and walks away. Penelope follows. Luka flinches and turns his head towards the driver. “Nooooo, Oscaaa!” he wails and reaches out a little hand towards him.

Kelly keeps walking. “It’s okay, Luka! Go have fun, I will see you later!” he calls and waves at the kid. The driver needs all the strength he has not to walk after them. Luka needs this, it feels terrible right now, but this is better. They will be reunited later. It’s okay.

The kid keeps crying till they are out of sight. Oscar’s heart is crying too. His arms feel empty.

He realizes he is standing there frozen in front of the McLaren complex when he notices the first group of people with cameras have flooded the paddock. Some of them have definitely seen the interaction…

Not wanting to be the center of attention, he turns around and heads back inside. In the garage, Lando finds him. The Australian must be looking how he’s feeling.

“How did it go?” the Brit asks.

“It was horrible… He cried, Lando. The poor kid cried! He was doing so well with us, and he trusted me, and I let him be taken from me. I feel like shit.” He places both hands over his eyes.

Lando stands next to him and places his hand between the younger driver’s shoulder blades and lets it rest there.

“You’re fine, Osc. You did the right thing. He will be okay after a bit. He’s going to love watching the race later and we will pick him up after,” he soothes the Australian. Hand rubbing up and down his teammates back.

Oscar let’s his hands fall away from his face. He looks at the Brit and sees the worried expression on his face. He takes a deep breath. “I know, but that was just- I hated that…”

“Yeah, I can imagine.” Once Lando deems him calmed down enough, he squeezes the younger’s nape and then let’s go.

“Are you okay to do all the PR stuff? I can tell them you got sick or something.”

“No, it’s alright. I just need to put up my PR persona. I can handle it.” Lando nods.

They get through the usual interviews. Some together, some by themselves. Because the media got access to the paddock later than usual, a lot of them haven’t seen Luka or don’t mention it.

When one of the interviewers does ask who the kid was, Oscar replies with “a friend”, and doesn’t elaborate.

Oscar is walking through the paddock on his own, waving at some guided fans here and there when he receives a text.

It's from an unknown number, but Oscar immediately knows it’s Kelly.

-
“It didn’t take long for him to calm down. He’s now talking with Penelope about your car. P has been spouting racing trivia at him, which he’s really interested in. AKA he is doing fine, no worries!”
-

The driver lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. He had been on edge ever since Luka left. The text calms him down significantly.

Knowing that Luka is alright, he finally feels ready to face his enthusiastic fans. He mingles into some guided tours, talks to fans, signs things left and right, and let’s fans take pictures with him.

They are all very kind and sweet, so Oscar doesn’t mind it. Some jokingly ask him how it feels to be part of the Leclerc family now, and the driver laughs and tells them it’s great to have family on the grid.

He tries not to think of Luka every time a kid walks up to him for a photo or to get something signed, but it’s a lost cause.

An alarm on his phone goes off when it’s time to get back to the garage. He says goodbye to his awesome fans, who wish him a great race.

Once back at the garage, Oscar goes through his usual procedures before the race. He meets with his engineers, talks with Andrea and Zak Brown about the strategy for today, and goes through his stretches with his coach.

On the other side of the garage, he notices Lando doing the exact same thing.

When it’s time to suit up, Oscar takes one last look at his phone. Kelly has texted him a photo.

He opens it and is greeting with the image of Luka and Penelope sitting on a bench in the sunshine together, both happily eating ice cream. Oscar’s cap looks ridiculously big on Luka’s head.

The picture is absolutely adorable. Oscar’s cheeks hurt from how hard he is smiling. He wonders if it’s weird to put the picture as his phone background, but does so anyway.

With a cooling vest and the yellow and green overall hanging around his hips, the driver meets up with Lando in the pitlane to go listen to the Monégasque anthem together. When the older driver sees his smile, he makes a questioning face.

“Kelly has just sent me the cutest photo of Luka,” Oscar says as they start walking.

“Oh my god, you are so attached to kid already,” the Brit teases him.

“Like you aren’t?” The Australian gives him a deadpan stare.

Lando holds up his hands placatingly. “Alright, okay. I guess we both like the kid…”

Oscar snorts. Then Lando adds: “you sound like a proud mom, though.”

The Australian wants to jab the Brit in the ribs so badly, but remembers there are cameras pointed towards them.

Though, when he sees Lando’s smug grin he can’t hold himself back and does it anyway…
Lando jumps away from him, hand to his side. “Ah! Okay, sorry, sorry!”

They walk the rest of the way in silence. Both with a grin on their face. Once there, they have to wait for the rest of the drivers in the beating sun. One of the McLaren employees with them notices Oscar squinting against the sunlight and hands him an umbrella.

A couple of minutes later, Carlos Sainz joins them. “Good day Oscar and Lando. How are you?”

“Doing good,” Lando replies for the both of them, “are you excited for the race?”

“Yeah man. Oscar, I see you have shade. Can I join?” the Spaniard asks.

Oscar nods and makes space for him under the umbrella. Carlos and he fight on track like crazy lately, but the guy is nice to be around. He doesn’t mind sharing.

Though he hopes the Spaniard stays away from him on track. It’s probably impossibility with them starting second and third. He hopes Lando can get in between them, but with the tight corners of Monte Carlo...

“How is the child doing? I don’t see him?” the Spaniard asks. Oscar remembers Carlos has seen Luka at the briefing this morning.

“Ah, he’s in the grandstand to watch to the race,” Oscar tells him.

“Oh, you better get on podium then. Make him proud. After me and Charles of course,” Carlos jokes.

“No way in hell you’re getting past me today, mate,” the Australian says with a grin.

“A challenge. I like it!”

Then it’s time for the National Anthem of Monaco. Everyone patiently listens. Oscar doesn’t understand the words, but it sounds quite cool with the choir of men only. Charles stands in the front like the Monégasque celebrity he is.

After they are dismissed, the drivers wish each other a good race and head back to their own teams who are preparing the cars on the grid. The two McLaren drivers walk to their papaya cars together.

“Good luck with the race, Lando. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Oscar says when they arrive.

“Says the most reckless one!” the Brit huffs and turns up his nose.

Oscar grins. Lando looks at him, then holds out his hand. The younger driver shakes it.

“May the best man win,” Lando says.

“May the best man win,” Oscar echoes.

Lando walks off to his own car behind Oscar’s. The Australian watches him go. He’s happy to have the Brit around today. He’s good with Luka, and his presence is comforting Oscar thinks.

With seven minutes left before lights out, the Australian gets into his car surrounded by his engineers. He hooks up everything he needs, does a radio check, and gets comfortable in his seat.

The engineers surrounding the car do their last checks and ask Oscar if everything is as it should be. He nods and closes his visor.

The team leaves his car, and he is on his own, waiting for the formation lap to start.

The clock strikes three, Charles drives away and Oscar follows.

Oscar uses the formation lap to warm his tires, but also takes his time to get into that calm racing mindset he likes to be in.

His usual strategy for that is to think of moments he felt comfortable or happy in. Winning his first sprint race, eating his favorite food with his family at home, going out with friends.

For some reason, Lando’s bearhug in the common room pops up in his mind as well.

When he drives through corner fifteen, he thinks of Luka and Lando playing on the carpet.

Lando himself is comforting, Oscar realizes. And as he enters the grid and looks at the other McLaren car in his mirrors, he is happy that the Brit starts close to him. They are rivals and they will both fight for the win, but he trusts Lando.

He hopes to see the other yellow car in his mirrors for the rest of the race.

All the cars are in place, the green flag waves, the first light turns on.

Oscar takes a deep breath, and it’s lights out!

He has a good start and keeps up with Charles, but Carlos is next to him in a fraction of a second. He hangs on for dear life on the outside of the first corner. Carlos’ car clips his. It’s only a slight touch, but he hopes the floor on the right side of his car is still intact.

With great exit speed he chases after Charles and catches up. In his mirrors he sees the other Ferrari go off track. He looks for a spot to pass Charles. At Monaco, the start of the race might be your only chance to overtake the race leader.

He gets super close to the Ferrari and pushes, hoping Charles screws up somewhere. When the red flag comes out and his engineer contacts him on the radio. He tells them to check the floor on the right side and drives to the pitlane with Lando right behind him.

He asks if everyone involved in the crash is okay once he enters the pitlane and gets an “I believe so”. Good, he wonders how bad of a crash it must have been for the red flag to come out on lap one.

He stops behind Charles, gets out of the car and leaves it to his engineers. He takes of his gloves and walks to the McLaren garage.

A red flag on lap one. Oscar wonders how long it will take before they can get back to racing. He thinks of Luka who’s sitting in the grandstand, having to wait for maybe a long time.

Once at the garage, Oscar takes of his helmet and goes to look at the screen for the replay of what happened. It’s a lot.

Carlos and he indeed touch, it wasn’t his imagination. Then the huge crash of Perez with the two Haas drivers. Debris everywhere on the track. Oscar gasps. Checo’s car is but a husk after what happened. No wonder the red flag came out.

Another replay starts, the two Alpine cars colliding right before the tunnel. One of the Alpine cars getting launched like a fucking bouncy ball.

What going on? What on earth is this first lap?

When he finds out that Carlos will be starting third on the grid again, the Australian is so confused. Didn’t he go of track? Shouldn’t he start at the back?

It's the non-existent consistency of the FIA again or something… What did Lando say this morning? “It’s the FIA, expect the unexpected.” Oscar is frustrated that the Brit was right again.

Speaking of the Brit, when Oscar is sitting down and waiting with his cooling vest on, his teammate comes to stand behind him. “Well, that sucked,” the older driver says.

The Australian looks up at him. “Yep.”

“Can’t believe Carlos is starting in third again.”

Oscar sighs, “Ah yeah, no choice but to accept it and hope we don’t collide again.”

“Did your car get damaged?” the Brit asks.

“Yep, they are repairing the flooring as we speak.”

“Fuck, that sucks, Osc.”

The Australian shrugs. “It’s part of racing, I guess. I will make do. I hope this doesn’t take too long. I’m worried about Luka having to sit in the beating sun.”

Lando smiles at him and pats his shoulder. “He will be fine! He’s wearing your hat and he’s had ice cream. Kelly will get him everything he needs for sure.”

Oscar has to agree with that.

Andrea walks up to the two drivers and tells them the race will restart in fifteen minutes. Oscar stands up, squeezes the older drivers arm in thanks, then leaves him to head back to where he’s put his helmet and gloves.

Five minutes later, when he sits back in his patched car at the front of the pitlane, Oscar vows to leave Carlos in the dust.

Chapter Text

That day, there’s a second formation lap, and a second start.

It’s lights out and away they go, again. This time Oscar gets a better start, moves in front of Carlos Sainz and stays in front of the Ferrari.

He can keep up to Leclerc. He tries to find a gap to pass the Monégasque, but can’t. Carlos is right up his ass, and it’s stressful. But if the Australian can’t find a gap to pass Charles, he doubts Carlos can find a gap to pass him.

Oscar focusses on using the perfect race line and keeping up with Charles without hitting any walls. It’s Charles home race and Oscar feels a bit bad for hoping that the Ferrari driver will make a mistake so he can get past. But he has the chance to win a Grand Prix here.

In the zone, fully focused lap after lap, Oscar follows Leclerc corner for corner. Around forty laps in, they reach the back of the pack and have to get past traffic. That is where the Australian loses some time on Charles.

The gap between Lando in fourth and George Russell in fifth is getting bigger and bigger. There is discussion about when or if the Australian will be pitting. Oscar knows they have to wait for the right moment and might even not pit at all if the Ferrari’s keep going on their set of tires.

The Ferrari’s don’t pit.

It is psychological warfare. With bolted shut flooring and tires that are slowly but surely wearing out, he drives the best he can through the tight streets of Monte Carlo. Staying concentrated and keeping his head cool.

When there’s only ten laps left, Charles starts to pull away from him. The gap between them grows and Oscar can’t keep up. In these last laps he changes his mission from chasing Charles to surviving and keeping Carlos behind him. It might even give Lando the slight chance to get past the Spaniard.

Charles brings home the win. Oscar passes the checkered flag second, with Carlos behind him in third. Lando misses out on a podium spot as he passes the line fourth.

Oscar waves at everyone he drives past. He wonders where Luka is sitting in the grandstand. He should’ve asked Kelly. He waves back at everyone waving at him just in case one of them is his the kid.

Second place! He did it! Not bad. Of course, first place would have been even better. But Charles deserves it, and the younger McLaren driver could have been overtaken by Carlos if he hadn’t kept his cool.

Second place is a job well done and he hears so on the radio as well. His teammates are proud of him. “Well done, buddy,” he hears his engineer say on the radio. The driver thanks his team and goes to park his car on the grid next to Charles’ already empty Ferrari.

He is tired, but listens to his engineer’s instructions and turns the car fully off, before disconnecting everything and getting out of the car.

He goes to his teammates who are off to the side and accepts their congratulations. He shakes their hands, takes in all the compliments and thanks them back for a job well done. He would’ve liked to talk to Lando after the race, but since the top three ends on the grid in Monaco instead of in the pit where all the other drivers are, he doesn’t get the chance.

He takes of his gloves, helmet, and balaclava and puts them on the box reserved for him. His PR manager Charlotte must have found him an extra hat, because there’s a fresh McLaren cap waiting for him on there as well. He thinks of Luka probably now proudly wearing his old one and smiles.

He puts the new one on and goes to Charles to congratulate him on his win. The Ferrari driver has finally won his home race and Oscar is very happy for him.

“Oscar!” He gets pulled into a side hug by the excited Monégasque.

“Well done, mate! Congrats!” the Australian says.

“You too, Oscar. Well done!” Charles tells him with the biggest grin.

Oscar notices the camera’s coming through and walks away from Charles to give them space.

He checks in with some of the McLaren team who have gathered in the corner. Then he heads to the cool down room. He is running hot. The Australian driver can’t wait to get there.

When he walks in, he sighs happily at the cold air that greets him. What a race, he thinks, as he goes to grab the towel on the number two pedestal.

It doesn’t take long for both Ferrari drivers to join him. They both immediately sit down in the chairs. Charles tells them he got so emotional in the last two laps he had a hard time seeing through the tears.

Oscar and Carlos giggle at that. The McLaren driver puts down the towel and changes his cap for the number two cap that’s laying there for him. Then goes to the last chair, turning it towards the other two before sitting down.

They discuss the race together until it’s time for them to go to the podium.

Carlos enters first, shaking hands with those up there and stepping onto the third platform. Oscar follows his example and then steps onto the second platform. Charles takes a different approach and hugs everyone before stepping onto the number one platform, Monégasque flag over his shoulders.

All eyes are on Charles lifting the golden trophy. Cheers sound all around them. Oscar celebrates with them.

When the McLaren driver receives his silver trophy, he lifts it in thanks to his team. Cheers sound for him as well. He tries to see if he can find Luka in the crowd, but it is a lost cause.

Cheers for Carlos sound when the raises the bronze trophy. After that, Oscar takes off his hat for the Monégasque anthem.

A quick photo moment and then Carlos and him assault Charles with champagne. Not that Oscar is safe from being doused, because when Carlos thinks Charles has had enough, he turns towards Oscar. And the Australian is soaked.

After that, Charles and Carlos have all the attention and Oscar sees the moment to grab his trophy and sneak off. With everyone celebrating a double Ferrari podium, the Australian is able to walk to the paddock in relative peace. The McLaren team members surrounding him might be helping too.

But right before reaching the McLaren hospitality, he gets stopped by one of the official F1 TV media crewmembers.

“Oscar! Some quick questions?” the interviewer asks. Oscar wants to walk by so badly, because Luka will be waiting for him at McLaren. But he got second place and cannot say no. Charlotte might actually kill him for ignoring his PR responsibilities.

So he puts on his PR smile and walks with them. They luckily don’t have that many questions, so Oscar is free to go quite quickly. It’s still annoying.

When he finally arrives in front of the McLaren compound he is bombarded with cheers and congratulations all over again. He shakes hands with Andrea and Zak, who both tell him they are proud of him.

Oscar thanks them and asks, “is Luka back yet?”

“Ah, the kid is with Lando in the garage,” Andrea tells him.

He nods, puts his trophy down and goes there. When he enters the garage, Lando is outside with Luka on his hip. He has changed into his normal clothes, wearing a double layered white shirt. They are looking at the tires that have been stacked in sets on the side.

Lando is talking to the kid, “and look, Oscar used these ones during the race. They are super worn down! Usually we can pit more, but Ferrari didn’t so we had to keep racing with them on old tires.”

Oscar watches them interact inside the garage. Lando does so well with him. Oscar sighs in relief.

It makes Lando look up at the Australian.

“Oscar!” the Brit exclaims with a big smile.

Oscar walks to them and gets pulled into a side hug by Lando. Which turns into a very awkward full hug, because Luka decides it’s the perfect moment to switch who to cling to. With the racers their faces way too close to each other Oscar is able to take Luka from Lando’s arms.

Their arms get tangled, and it takes a bit of struggling for Lando to separate himself from the other two. Oscar feels his cheeks burn. God, that was embarrassing. Luka is hugging him fiercely.

Lando giggles as he finally steps away from the other two. Then the older driver looks to his left and bursts out laughing.

“Ohhh, the Tumblr girlies are going to have a field day with that one!” he wheezes.

The Australian follows his gaze and finds camera’s. A lot of them. They might even be in the background of the official F1 TV presenters.

Oscar thinks his soul leaves his body.

They’ve been so lucky in keeping Luka away from the media. That luck has flown out of the window at Mach six right then and there. And then Lando and him being so close to each other on camera… The Tumblr girlies ARE going to have a field day and he can’t do anything to stop it.

“I missed you Osca!” Luka pulls him out of the downward anxiety spiral.

He looks down at the little kid and squeezes him tighter when he sees the big smile on his cute face. “I’ve missed you too, Luka,” he says earnestly. “Did you enjoy the race?”

Luka burst into a very animated reconstruction of the race. Lots of car noises are thrown at Oscar. Small legs wiggle against him. It’s impossible to follow the excited storytelling, but Oscar gets the gist of it: Luka, loved it and had a ton of fun.

“And you almost winned the race!” the toddler exclaims.

“Yes, Osc. You almost winned the race. Well done,” Lando buts in with a grin.

“Well thank you both. It was a difficult one. I would have loved to win, but I’m happy with second place,” Oscar says.

“You better be! You did great,” the older driver tells him.

They head inside. Oscar shows Luka the trophy before they head upstairs to the common room. Oscar sits down on one of the couches with Luka still clinging onto him. He sags into it and has to keep himself from closing his eyes. He might fall asleep if he does that…

Lando leaves them for a bit, then comes back with two cold sports drink for Oscar and himself and Capri-Sun for Luka. The younger driver accepts the drink with gratitude. He’s even happier that this time Lando is the one fighting with the Capri-Sun and its terrible paper straw. He thinks he might have cried if he had to do that right now.

Oscar feels drained. The day is not over for him yet. They will probably have a photo moment with the whole team soon. Then there’s the post-race press conference he has to attend.

And when he’s finally free to go, he has to get food somewhere and figure out sleeping arrangements with his newly acquired kid. He has no idea where he is going to find the energy to do all that.

Lando gives Luka the Capri-Sun, who grabs it like Oscar had shown him this morning. He then sits down in the armchair on Oscar’s left and folds his arms behind his head.

The Brit hesitates before asking: “Oscar, I doubt you are going out to party this evening.” Oscar shakes his head. “Do you have a place to stay for tonight?”

The younger driver frowns. “I have a hotel room...”

“You have a hotel room… Weren’t you working on getting an apartment in Monaco?” Lando lifts an eyebrow.

“Yes, but the one I signed up for still hasn’t replied,” Oscar complains.

“So you will be staying in a hotel room. With a kid.”

“Yep.” He pops the P. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

Lando pauses, then says, “you could stay with me. I live close by, and I have a spare bedroom.”

Oscar stares at him. Lando stares back, waiting for a reply. The Australian does not want to burden the Brit even more. His teammate has already been helping him all day.

But he also doesn’t want to decline. Staying in Lando’s big apartment with Lando being there to care of Luka with him. It sounds so much better than him having to figure it out alone in a tiny hotel room.

“Are you sure?” Oscar asks weakly, “I don’t want to overstep”.

“I am sure, Osc. The place is big enough for the three of us,” Lando says with that kind smile again.

The expression reminds Oscar of everything the other driver has done for him today already. It’s a lot, he realizes.

“Lando, why are you being so nice to me?” He carefully asks.

Lando huffs and leans forward. “Because you look like you need it, Osc, and I care.”

That’s the kindest thing someone has said to him in a while. Oscar needs a moment. He takes a steadying breath and smiles at the other driver.

“Thank you, Lando. I truly appreciate it. You’re a great friend.”

“Of course! Always, Oscar.”

Luka, who had been listening to the conversation timidly says: “we stay with Lano?”

Lando laughs. “Yes Luka, you two will be staying with me. It will be like a sleepover! Maybe we can make breakfast together tomorrow morning.”

“Pancakes?” the kid asks. Oscar snorts.

Lando pulls a thoughtful face. “I think I have all the ingredients we need…”

Luka lets out a happy squeal. Both drivers chuckle. They then take the time they have left for now to discuss the race. The kid doesn’t mind listening.

The trio gets pulled downstairs by Andrea later for a photo moment with the entire team. Luka doesn’t want to let go of Oscar. So, the Australian accepts his fate and keeps the kid with him.

The photos will be placed all over the internet. Oscar fears for the media bomb that it will definitely result in.

When it’s time for Oscar to go to the press conference, Lando tries to take Luka from him. But the kid does not want to leave the younger driver’s side.

He clings onto Oscar for dear life. It doesn’t matter what Oscar or Lando say to him, Luka keeps holding onto the Australian like a baby koala.

“It’s going to be super boring, Luka.”

“There’s going to be a lot of people, with cameras.”

“Noooo, don’t care! Osca, stay!”

And that’s how Oscar ends up in the press room with a kid on his lap. Carlos lies down on the couch and the McLaren driver would have followed his example if Luka wasn’t with him. He is being stared at by the whole room, with intensity. This is going to go horrible…

“Are those people gonna ask you things?” Luka asks him quietly while pointing at the people sitting in front of him.

“Yep. Many things.” The driver replies bleakly.

When Charles walks in at last, Oscar is dreading the start of the conference. It is indeed quite hectic. The chairman of the meeting thanks everyone for joining. Cameras are rolling and the possibility to ask questions is a go.

Charles has won today’s race, and it’s his home race, but Oscar is still the first one to get a question. Here we go, Oscar thinks.

“Oscar, I see you have a guest. Who’s the kid?”

Oscar opens his mouth to answer with his practiced story, when Charles beats him to it.

“That’s my grandchild. Don’t you see the resemblance?” The Monégasque jokes. Some interviewers laugh. Others think it’s serious. Oscar wants to disappear. He doesn’t know whether Charles’ comment has made it better or worse.

He decides that now is the moment to let the world know. “Thanks Charles, now nobody will believe my story,” he says with his PR smile on. Chuckles sound from the crowd. “This is Luka, I found him all alone in the paddock this morning. He will be staying with me for a bit.”

A lot of nods and the sound of writing on paper. The next question is also for Oscar: “is he yours?”

“If he was mine, I would have brought him, not found him.” The McLaren driver says deadpan.

When he gets asked another question about the toddler, Oscar tells them to let it go and focus on today’s race. He feels like he will be in trouble PR wise if he reveals more about Luka.

Charles finally gets the next couple of questions. Everyone seems happy for him, then an interviewer touches upon how this is Monaco and overtaking is hard. Like Charles’ win means less than if he had won somewhere else.

Oscar thinks it’s a dick move and speaks up. “Monaco is a tactical circuit. You need every bit of concentration to drive through the narrow streets without hitting the wall. Charles led the race for the entire seventy-seven laps while being pushed by me, Carlos, and Lando. One mistake could have cost him the race. I think this win is an insane accomplishment.”

Charles smiles at him. Luka has apparently understood what’s being said, because while Oscar is still holding the microphone close, Luka says: “And he was super-fast! Like Lightning McQueen!”

His little voice gets picked up by the microphone and the entire room hears it. And they all melt. A lot of them laugh, Carlos especially, who wheezes and almost dies of laughter on the opposite side of the couch. Charles beams at the kid.

“Thank you, Luka!” the Monégasque says excitedly, “See! I was fast like Lightning McQueen. I think that’s the best compliment I’ve gotten today.”

More laughs sound from the crowd. The mood lifts. The rest of the questions are way more respectful.

Chapter Text

They survive the rest of the press conference with minimal rude comments. When the conference is over, Oscar bids the two Ferrari drivers goodbye.

They are both sad to see Luka go and Charles demands to see his grandchild later this week. The McLaren driver rolls his eyes, but doesn’t say no.

When Oscar and Luka get back to the McLaren complex Lando is waiting for them downstairs.

“So, how did it go?” the Brit asks.

“I didn’t die of embarrassment, which is good,” Oscar states.

Lando huffs out a laugh.

“The people thought I was funny!” Luka exclaims.

“Oh?” Lando looks at Oscar for more context.

Oscar sighs fondly, he feels like he’s done that often today. “Yeah, he said Charles was as fast as Lightning McQueen. I think the entire room died of cuteness overload. It will be all over the internet by tomorrow… Charles loved it.”

Lando laughs and says to Luka, “well said, little man!” The toddler looks pleased.

The trio moves towards the driver rooms. Lando has already packed his stuff. His sports duffle lies in the hallway.

“Luka, do you mind hanging out with Lando for a bit? I need to get changed and pack my bags. I will be right back,” the Australian asks the kid.

Luka ponders and then relents. He lets Oscar set him down finally. “Let’s get your bag as well, Luka.” Lando holds out his hand, which the toddler takes.

The walk away to go to the common room and Oscar has a moment alone. When he enters his driver’s room, he is happy to finally change out of his champagne-stained racing overall. He loves the feeling of wearing his own casual shirt and pants after a day of wearing McLaren polos and racing gear.

He throws everything into his bag, not really caring whether the clothing he puts in there is folded or not. He wants to go home, or to Lando’s place, whatever. Somewhere he can go sleep, because the exhaustion is catching up to him.

Once he’s done, he takes one last look around the room to check if he has everything. After that, he walks out with his bag and meets up with Lando and Luka, who are waiting for him in the hallway.

Luka is carrying his own backpack. Lando has slung his sports bag over his shoulder. “Ready to go?” the Brit asks.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The trio walks through the paddock to the parking lot where Lando has parked his car. Luka is keeping up just fine, or maybe Oscar and Lando are slow. The Australian doesn’t know.

Lando apparently took one of his bigger, less flashy cars to the GP, which Oscar thinks is a blessing. The green BMW M3 CS has more space than the usual McLarens the Brit drives. The younger driver appreciates it. He doesn’t think the three of them and their bags would have fit otherwise.

“I think it’s best if Luka sits in the back,” Lando says. Oscar agrees. He places the kid on the seat behind the driver seat and fastens his seatbelt. He puts the little backpack on the seat next to the toddler, takes out the McLaren racecar, and gives it to him so he has something to play with while they drive.

The Australian steps back and looks at Luka, who is sitting patiently, well behaved as ever. He looks even smaller in the backseat of Lando’s car. “We need to get him a booster seat…” Lando comments over his shoulder.

Oscar is shocked by how much Lando sounds like a responsible dad in that moment. The younger one still can’t believe this is happening. Is he keeping Luka, like, forever? Also, why is Lando saying ‘we’? They are only staying the night, until Oscar has figured out what to do. Right?

“Uhm yeah, we will see tomorrow. I don’t think we will find one here,” he replies.

“I will drive carefully.”

The younger gives him an appreciative smile and closes Luka’s door. He and Lando both drop their bags into the trunk.

Oscar sits down in the passenger seat, fastens his seatbelt and looks behind him at Luka. The kid is quietly rubbing his eye. Poor kid is probably even more tired than him with everything he’s experienced today.

Lando sits down in the driver seat and turns on the child lock before getting ready himself. Once his seatbelt is on, he turns to Oscar and asks: “So, where to first?”

The younger driver gives him the address of his hotel, but when they get on the road, they find out that the traffic in Monaco is absolutely terrible after a race.

It takes a while to get through and Oscar can feel himself getting cranky. When they get off the main road, traffic finally calms down. They reach Oscar hotel a bit later.

The Australian is about t o ask Luka if he want to come with, but when he turns towards the backseat, he sees the toddler has fallen asleep. The kid’s head rests on the car door right below the window.

Oscar immediately shuts his mouth. Lando notices and looks around as well. “Okay, that’s precious,” Lando whispers. “Go get your stuff, Oscar. I will keep an eye on him.”

The Australian leaves the car quietly. After he enters the hotel, he takes the elevator up to the third floor. He opens the door to his hotel room with a swipe of his key.

He made a mess, he admits. Clothes are on the floor. His suitcase is lying open next to the bed. This morning, he was planning on staying in this room for a couple more days, so he hadn’t packed anything yet.

He's too tired to fold everything and put it in his suitcase neatly, so he grabs as much as he can at the same time and throws it in his suitcase. He will figure out the mess at Lando’s place tomorrow.

He remembers to pack the toiletries he placed in the bathroom. When he’s done, his suitcase almost doesn’t close. But with a bit of force, he makes it happen.

He grabs the key, checks the room one more time, and then leaves to check out downstairs. At the service desk they ask him why he is checking out early and whether something wasn’t to his liking. He has to explain his friend invited him to stay over at his apartment. He makes sure they know everything was good about his stay at the hotel and that they don’t have to worry.

He walks back to Lando’s car. The Brit is looking at his phone, but when he sees Oscar out of the corner of his eye, he scrambles to open the trunk with the switch on his dashboard. The trunk opens automatically, and Oscar puts his suitcase next to the two sport bags.

He closes the trunk softly and goes back to the passenger seat. When he sits back down, Lando looks at him, then quietly asks if everything went okay. The younger driver nods. He looks at Luka. The kid is still fast asleep.

“Alright, so what food are we getting?” Lando whispers.

“Can we ignore our diet and get fast food or something?” Oscar replies with the same low volume.

“Burger King it is.” Lando starts the car and drives out of the hotel parking lot.

Luckily, the drive to Burger King was short with almost no traffic. Lando drives into the drive-through. There are some cars before them, so they get to discuss what to get beforehand.

“You do all the talking?” the Australian softly asks his teammate, who nods. “In that case I want a whopper menu with curly fries.” The Brit gives him a thumbs up. “And a chocolate milkshake…” he belatedly adds.

“And for Luka a kid’s meal with nuggets?” Lando whisper-asks. “Yes, with apple juice. He likes apple juice.” The Brit nods again.

They kept super quiet to make sure the kid gets some more rest, but that is ruined the moment Lando opens his window to order.

“Hi! Welcome to Burger King! What would you like to order?” blasts from the drive-through speaker. Both drivers cringe. Oscar immediately looks at Luka, who sadly wakes up from the noise.

Luka grumbles and rubs his eyes. Lando sighs and then passive aggressively orders. Lando drives away to the first window once he’s done. Oscar puts a hand on his wrist to catch his attention, and maybe calm him down.

“They didn’t know we had a sleeping kid in the back. Please don’t be mad at the minimum-wage restaurant workers…” the younger driver says.

Lando grimaces and lets out a breath, “sorry, didn’t mean to…”

Oscar and Luka are apparently not the only ones getting tired. It’s 7PM, but after this long day it feels way later. Lando must be feeling it too.

“I’m hungry…” Luka lets them know. “Me too Luka, we will get our food soon. My apartment is five minutes away, we can eat there.” Lando tells the kid.

Okay, so his teammate is hangry, not just tired. That explains it, Oscar thinks.

They pay at the first window and get their food at the second. Lando hands everything to Oscar who sets the bag with food between his feet. He keeps the drinks safe in his hands.

The drive to Lando’s apartment is indeed a short one. They enter the complex through the garage. The Brit has his own private space apparently, because Oscar recognizes more of his cars.

Lando parks the BMW between his other sports cars. Both racers get out of the car. The Brit gets Luka out of the car and asks him to walk with them, because they can’t carry all the bags and food AND him at the same time.

Luka is hungry enough to listen to the request and once Lando and Oscar arms are loaded with all the baggage, they shuffle to the elevator together. The older driver presses the button with his elbow.

They don’t have to wait long for the door to open. “Can you press the button with the number two for us, Luka?” Lando asks.

The toddler doesn’t even hesitate before pressing the right button. Smart kid.

The elevator takes them up. The doors slide open and Lando guides them through the hallway to his front door. He puts down all the bags he is holding and fishes his keys from his pocket.

He opens the door and lets his guests go in first. When Oscar walks in he is immediately impressed by the open space that greets him. Lando’s apartment has an open kitchen, which is separated from the living room by a big dining table.

The windows in the living room are huge, spanning the entire height of the room floor to ceiling, letting lots of natural light in. The glass sliding door on the same side of the windows leads to a large balcony overlooking the beach.

The apartment looks pristine, no clothes or other belongings strewn around, it looks cleaned recently. Oscar bets that his teammate has a private housekeeper who comes by occasionally.

“Put your bags next to the hallway entrance on your right. We will fix that after dinner,” the Brit says as he walks past them and puts the bags with food on the wooden coffee table.

Oscar does as he’s told once he’s done looking around for the moment. He feels a bit out of place.

Lando sits down on the carpet next to the coffee table. Not even using the couch. “Come Luka, we got you chicken nuggies,” the Brit pats the space next to him, then starts ruffling through the bags.

Luka runs to Lando and drops down onto the carpet next to him. Oscar joins them at a more leisurely pace. The Brit spreads out a napkin as a placemat and places all items from Luka’s kid’s meal on there. When he finds the toy, he barks out a laugh.

Oscar looks up from unwrapping his own burger and sees Lando holding some sort of chicken figurine. The Australian snorts. “The irony…” A chicken toy in a kid’s meal with nuggets…

Luka doesn’t notice their interaction, too busy munching on his nuggets. Lando puts the toy behind the kid’s fries for him to find.

They eat in relative silence, all of them too hungry to talk between bites.

Oscar is onto his milkshake when Lando asks: “should we give Luka a bath before it’s bedtime?”

“Hm, might be smart. He’s quite awake now anyway after his little powernap in the car.”

Luka finds the chicken toy at that moment and makes an excited noise that is probably supposed to be chicken clucks. Oscar isn’t sure. Lando finds it hilarious.

“Haha! Okay, he’s definitely awake,” the Brit affirms with a grin.

Oscar smiles contently and fights back a yawn.

When they are done eating Lando gathers all the wrappers in one bag to be thrown away.

“Alright, Luka! Want to see your room?” Lando asks the toddler. “Yeah!” the kid gets up excitedly. Oscar is glad the older driver is matching Luka’s energy, because the Australian can’t anymore. He trails after the two into the hallway he has put the bags at.

The hallway is quite broad, with doors on both sides. The first door on their left is slightly open, and Oscar gets a peak of various fitness machines when he looks in. A home gym, convenient.

Lando opens the first door on the right. “Let me run a bath before we move on to your room, Luka,” the Brit says as he turns on the light and walks in. “Okay!” the kid patiently waits as Lando plugs the bath and turns on the tap.

Oscar watches from the door entrance. It’s a nice compact bathroom with a toilet, sink, and bathtub. There is an alcove with a washing machine and dryer as well.

Once the Brit has confirmed the tap is running at a comfortable temperature he stands up. “Okay, let’s go.” Oscar lets both of them through the door. The kid follows the older driver on his heels.

Lando opens the next door on the right of the hallway. “This is where you will be staying, Luka,” the driver explains. It’s a bedroom with a twin-size bed, already made, a small desk to the side and a wardrobe next to the door. Luka runs in and looks around. There isn’t much to look at. Only some random nicknacks on the planks above the desk and an old McLaren F1 poster, but the kid still stares in awe.

“Is this my room?” Luka asks.

“Yes, little man, it’s yours,” Lando tells him softly. Oscar smiles and doesn’t try to think about how it would still be temporarily.

They let Luka investigate the room a bit more before Lando picks him up and resumes his tour of the apartment. At the end of the hallway, he points to the last door on the right. “That’s my office,” he looks at Oscar, “there’s a sim racing rig in there as well. You can use it whenever you want to.”

Oscar nods at him. Then catches onto the fact that now there’s only one door left. And that door can only be…

“And this is my bedroom. Oscar and I will sleep here, so if you need anything during the night, you can come over and find us here,” Lando tells Luka.

And now Oscar really feels like he is overstepping… He walks in after Lando and Luka. There’s a king-size bed in the middle. On the right there’s a sliding door to an ensuite. The same ceiling-high windows that span the living room can be found here. Another balcony behind a glass sliding door. This one quite a bit smaller.

Oscar stares at the bed.

Lando must catch onto what he’s thinking. “Don’t you dare say you’re sleeping on the couch, Oscar. I won’t allow it. It’s a nice couch, but sleeping on it wrecks your neck…” He looks at Oscar intently. “The bed is big enough for both of us,” the Brit says, leaving no room for discussion.

The Australian lets out the breath he was holding. “Yeah, okay…” He’s too tired to complain anyway.

He really wants to sleep; however, it’s only nearing 8PM and they still have to give Luka a bath. Oscar wishes he had a better night’s sleep the night before, but the anticipation of starting second on the grid kept him awake for a long time. That, combined with today’s chaos has completely drained the younger driver’s battery.

Lando announces it is bathtime to Luka and goes back to the bathroom after grabbing the kid’s backpack from the hallway entrance. Oscar follows him around, wanting to help in some way. He decides to help the toddler get ready for his bath when Lando goes to check the water temperature.

“Bubbles?” Luka asks timidly while Oscar is getting him out of the overall. Lando immediately starts rummaging through the cupboard above the sink. “Aha!” he exclaims as he holds up a bottle of bath soap. He adds it to the water, maybe a bit too generous, and it starts foaming up swiftly.

They get the kid situated in the bath, who starts playing with the bubbles right away and gives a squeal. Oscar cringes as the sound strikes though his exhausted brain.

Lando goes to sit down next to the bath to keep a close eye on Luka. He looks up at the younger driver standing stationary next to him.

“Osc, why don’t you go shower too? I bet the champagne in your hair feels itchy,” the Brit pushes him.

“Don’t boss me around, Lando…” Oscar says a little bit too snippy. God, he’s tired.

Lando raises an eyebrow. Oscar wants to apologize immediately, but doesn’t get the chance. “I can see you debating a lot of things, but you’re not making any decisions… If me making the decision for you will help you, I will do so,” the older driver tells him matter-of-factly. “I can handle this. Go shower, Oscar.”

Oscar grumbles, but accepts defeat and does as he’s told. When he leaves the room, he hears Lando call after him: “there are fresh towels in the drawer beneath the sink!”

The Australian grabs the bags and his suitcase from the hallway entrance, and moves them to Lando’s room. He ruffles through his suitcase, cursing himself for packing it so messily in the hotel room before. He finds his favorite sleepshirt, a pair of clean boxers, and a pair of sweatpants, before entering the ensuite.

He feels like he is intruding, but nevertheless grabs a towel and turns on the shower. He locks the door, strips, and steps under the spray. The warm water soothes his soul. Lando was right, the champagne in his hair did feel itchy.

He is tired to the bone. He can feel it every time he closes his eyes to let the spray wash over him; he’s swaying a bit. He decides to make it quick before he actually falls asleep in the shower.

He finds a normal shampoo between all of Lando’s curly hair products. He scrubs the champagne out of his hair, then washes his body with the sporty smelling bodywash his teammate uses.

After one last rinse, he turns off the tap, and towels himself off. He pulls on his comfy night clothes with exhaustion. When he exits the ensuite, the bed is calling his name. He however wants to help Lando with Luka and goes to join them again.

When he shuffles into the other bathroom, Lando looks at him like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. There’s a rubber ducky placed on Luka’s head and a blob of soapy bubbles on top of Lando’s curls.

The Australian smiles at them, tired but fond. He sits down next to the bathtub like Lando. He looks the older driver in the eye. “Sorry for snapping. You were right,” he tells him.

“Of course I was, I’m always right.” Oscar doesn’t have the energy to reprimand him. He listens to Lando babble on. “I don’t want to boss you around again, but maybe you should go sleep. You look dead on your feet, Osc.”

“Hm, but I want to help with Luka,” says tiredly. Lando keeps talking. Oscar’s mind is drifting off. He’s blinking to keep his eyes open. Has Lando’s voice always sounded so nice? It’s strangely calming…

His eyes close against his will.

And he nods off.

- - o - -

Lando throws out his arm out just in time and catches Oscar’s head before it hits the side of the tub.

“You stubborn-” Lando snaps his mouth shut and sighs.

He looks at his teammate laying on his arm. Really looks at him. The Aussie looks dreamy, wearing a soft expression, cheeks and ears rosy from a sleepy blush, his famous ‘whoosh’ hanging into his face.

His hair is still slightly wet. All of a sudden, Lando has to keep himself from running his fingers through it.

Lando curses his own stupid monkey brain for the want that surfaces out of nowhere. Don’t you fucking DARE develop a crush on your teammate. ESPECIALLY when said teammate is going through a possible life changing experience and needs your help. The poor guy is going through enough already!

He takes a deep steadying breath and pushes the feeling aside. Then goes to gently shake his friend’s shoulder. “Oscar, wake up buddy.”

It takes a second, but Oscar breaths in and blearily blinks his eyes open. He groggily takes his head off Lando’s arm, rubbing his eye.

“Oh,” the younger driver softly says.

“Yes, ‘oh’. Go to bed Oscar. I can take care of the rest,” Lando tells him kindly.

Oscar nods and stands up slowly. He is swaying a bit. Lando reaches out to catch him in case he might fall, he doesn’t touch him though.

“What is your side?” Oscar asks him. Lando knows he is referring to the bed. “Any. Just pick the side you prefer, Osc.” The younger driver nods again.

The Brit expects him to leave the room, but the other driver surprises him by taking off Luka’s ducky, ruffling the kid’s damp hair, and placing the ducky back.

Then he reaches over and ruffles Lando’s hair too.

The Brit is stunned at the contact and stares at Oscar in awe. Soap bubbles float around them.

The younger driver sleepily wishes them both a good night.

When Lando has recovered enough to say good night back, the other has already turned away from him and is walking out.

So much for not developing a crush on his teammate, Lando thinks, as he feels the oh so familiar tingle in his chest.

Shit… He has doomed himself, hasn’t he?

Chapter Text

Oscar wakes up disoriented as hell, looking up at a ceiling he doesn’t recognize. There’s a shuffling noise coming from outside the room. Weak sunlight is filtering through the gap between the curtains and the ceiling.

The next thing he notices is the weight on his shoulder. When he looks down, he sees dark brown curls he’s learned to recognize on sight since he joined McLaren last year.

Oscar is absolutely stupefied.

Lando Norris, handsome as hell, can get anyone, crazily talented, Lando Norris is cuddling up to him. His head rests on the younger’s collarbone, trapping the Aussie’s arm. His right arm is slung over Oscar’s stomach, one of his legs tangled with his.

The Australian is silently freaking out. Lando has snuggled up to him. The last time Oscar had someone snuggle up to him like this was when he was still dating Lily.

He tries to calm his racing heart, because as much as he is freaking out, he does not want to wake up the other driver. He’s come to cherish the others’ hugs; they are remarkably comforting. Oscar is suddenly painfully aware it’s been ages since he got to cuddle with someone.

He takes some calming breaths and in a bold move cautiously places his hand on the Brit’s waist. He hopes the older driver doesn’t flee the moment he wakes up.

He closes his eyes again and listens to the others soft breaths. It’s oddly calming.

He doesn’t get much time to think about what this all means. Because the door opens and the handle springs back up with a loud click. He feels Lando flinch awake and braces for the other to scramble away from him.

He doesn’t. Lando grumbles, and tightens the arm he has around Oscar.

Oscar tries to work through the astonishment he’s feeling, because Luka shuffles into the room. He's wearing one of Lando’s old shirts and is basically swimming in it. The kid goes to stand next to the bed and tries to pull himself up. “Lano, Osca, wake up. It’s morning!” he greets them happily.

It is morning indeed, but Oscar has no idea how early. He helps Luka up with his free arm. Lando rubs his eyes. “What time is it?” he says with a gravelly voice. Which definitely doesn’t scratch Oscar’s brain.

Before he has time to grab his phone, Luka body-slams them both in the kidneys.

Both adults groan in pain at Luka aggressively joining their cuddle. “Ugh, Luka, careful,” Oscar tells the toddler. He gets a hold of his phone and turns on the screen.

“It’s 6 AM…” Oscar says exasperated.

“Nooo… Why…” Lando whines.

Oscar drops his phone next to his pillow and looks at Luka who is now leaning against him on the side Lando doesn’t occupy. The kid looks back at him with a worried face.

The Australian raises his free hand to pat down the toddler’s insane bed hair, but immediately drops it back down when Luka flinches.

Anger roars through his chest when he catches onto what that reaction might imply.

“Are you mad at me, Osca?” Luka ask carefully.

Lando is holding his breath, the Australian can feel it. Oscar shakes his head, needing a moment to find his words after that realization. “I’m just wondering why you are awake so early. Did you have a nightmare?” He asks after a moment of silence.

“No, a happy dream. But it was light when the dream was over,” Luka explains softly.

Oscar nods in understanding. Lando lets out the breath he was holding, lifts his hand from Oscar’s stomach and pats Luka’s back softly. “It’s alright, Luka. Let’s cuddle for a bit and then we will go make breakfast together,” the Brit says. He sounds tired.

The younger driver agrees to that idea. He opens his unoccupied arm and gives the kid an inviting smile. Luka flops down unto said arm. Lando’s big hand stays on the kids back, arm now slung over the both of them.

The kid relaxes when Oscar pats down his bed hair. The younger driver looks at him and asks: “What did you dream about?”

Luka smiles and starts a very vivid retelling of his dream. The dream was definitely influenced by yesterday, because it’s about an F1 race but Luka is driving. Oscar loses track of what’s happening when Luka starts telling him that then they had to race to the moon.

“and then Penelope- oh…” The kid suddenly quiets down. Oscar needs a second to realize that it is because Lando has started snoring softly. He also becomes aware of how he has been running his fingers up and down the Brit’s clothed back ever since Luka started telling his story.

He pauses, but resumes the movement when he comprehends that it sooths the both of them. That, and Lando isn’t complaining.

“Lano is sleeping,” Luka whispers. “Yeah,” Oscar whispers back, “he had a busy day yesterday. He must be tired.”

Luka hums. The kid looks at the older driver from his place on Oscar’s arm. He yawns. The Australian smiles. It’s contagious apparently.

“How did the rest of the dream go?” He asks the kid in a low volume. “Huh? Oh, we drove to the moon and I winned,” Luka starts his story back up again, this time in a whisper.

When he is talking about the part where they were going to get celebratory ice cream with his new friend Penelope, he slows down and his words become incomprehensible. Oscar just hums at him to keep him going. Until the toddler quiets down.

When Oscar looks at him, he sees that the kid is fast asleep. Following Lando into dreamland.

Oscar is trapped by the two sleepyheads, but doesn’t mind at all. He is comfortable as hell.

He has to blink away the tears that spring into his eyes when he becomes conscious of the idea that they look like a little family. He loves it. It’s so fragile and pure, his chest hurts when he thinks about it.

Oscar takes a deep breath and looks at the ceiling, debating what he should do today, who to call and what to get for Luka.

Because Luka is going nowhere, he decides right then and there.

And whether or not he wishes Luka’s mom chokes on a grape one day, there’s no one there who can prove it.

He looks down again and takes in the dark curls and fluffy brown hair, then closes his eyes and syncs his breathing with his teammate’s.

He is out like a light in no time.

---

The next time Oscar wakes up it is to Luka wriggling beside him. Lando is still fast asleep, but the kid is awake for sure, looking around and playing with the edge of his shirt.

The Australian grabs his phone again. 8 AM. That’s a way better time than before. Luka goes to sit upright when he sees that Oscar is awake as well. “Hi!” the kid whisper-yells at him with a grin. He grins back at the kid. “Good morning, Luka. Wanna go make pancakes?” he replies softly.

He gets an enthusiastic nod. The kid moves off the bed. Oscar looks down at Lando still snoozing, clinging to him like an octopus. “Give me a moment,” he whispers to Luka.

He carefully grabs Lando’s arm, the one that the older driver has slung over him, and tries to sneak from under the other man without waking him.

He isn’t successful, because the moment he moves, Lando takes a deep breath and wakes up. The Brit groans.

“Sorry, mate,” Oscar says. “We’re gonna go make breakfast. You don’t have to join us yet if you don’t want to.” He can’t stop himself from running a soothing hand over the older driver’s arm.

Lando rolls onto his back, untangling himself from Oscar, he places the arm the Aussie had just patted over his eyes. “No, it’s alright. Give me five more minutes. I will be there,” the Brit mumbles.

Oscar is free, but at what cost. He instantly misses the connection, and he hopes the pat on the other’s arm wasn’t too much. He gathers himself and gets out of bed. “Alright.”

He puts on his sweatpants and follows Luka to the hallway. He takes one more look at Lando, before he closes the door behind him.

In the kitchen, the first thing Oscar does is turn on the coffee machine. Both adults are going to need the energy today. Luka goes to sit in one of the chairs at the dinner table.

The Australian opens literally every cupboard and drawer to find a mug and everything he needs for the pancakes. He fills the mug with coffee, takes a quick sip, then puts all the ingredients and the bowl in front of Luka.

“Alright, Luka. I will get the measurements right, then you can put everything in and mix it as best as you can,” he tells the kid.

Oscar does as he’s said and helps the toddler pour the ingredients into the bowl. The moment the McLaren driver hands Luka the whisk, the kid goes absolutely ham on the batter.

Oscar can grab the bowl right before it tips over and then has to hold on to it for dear life.

Lando walks into the living room at that moment and makes a beeline for the coffee machine. He fills half of his mug with coffee, then opens the fridge and tops it off with milk. Oscar watches him plod around calmly, like there isn’t a toddler mixing pancake batter like a maniac two meters away from him.

The Australian suspects the older man is still half asleep, or he has seen chaos like this before and is blatantly ignoring the Vietnam flashbacks. He stuffs one of his hands in pocket of his black sweatpants, sips his coffee serenely, and goes to stand next to Oscar so he can look at what Luka is doing.

“Nice mixing, Luka. Do you like blueberries? I think I got a batch in the freezer. We can add them if you want,” Lando tells the kid.

“Yeah! Blueberries!” Luka exclaims. Lando goes to grab them.

He places the zip-lock bag with frozen berries next to the bowl, for the kid to add.

Luka stops with mixing to open the bag. Oscar switches from holding the bowl with both hands to holding it with one and grabbing his own coffee mug with the other.

“Thanks for the coffee, Osc,” Lando says.

“You’re welcome,” Oscar replies with a smile. They look at each other softly for a moment, then look back down to Luka who is dropping a large number of berries into the bowl.

If Lando doesn’t mention their cuddle session, then Oscar isn’t going to either. The connection that has been building between them doesn’t feel awkward because of it. So the Australian lets it go, and accepts that caring for Luka together might be making them more touchy-feely towards each other.

When Luka grabs the whisk again Oscar speaks up. “You’ve got to mix more carefully now, or the berries might fly out of the bowl.”

Luka looks at him and then looks back to the bowl with a thinking face. The boy, well behaved that he is, listens to the driver and stirs the batter more gently.

Lando grabs a cooking pan and turns on the stove. It’s one of those fancy induction ones. When the pan is hot, Lando tells Luka it’s time to bake the pancakes.

They put a chair next to the furnace for Luka. Oscar is worried the kid might burn himself, but Lando explains everything to Luka well. He also doesn’t let Luka scoop the batter or turn the pancakes by himself. The older driver holds his hand over the kid’s to guide him every time.

As much as Oscar likes watching the two interact, he has been disconnected from the outside world since yesterday afternoon. He walks back to Lando’s room to grab his phone.

He unlocks it and turns off airplane mode while he strolls back to the living room. His phone is silent for a second and then goes off without stopping. So many texts! His twitter X and Instagram notifications are going wild.

He opens the texts. And there’s one chat with A LOT of messages. “Oh god…”

Lando looks at him in alarm. “What, what is it?” the Brit asks him.

“I may or may not have forgotten to text my mom about… everything…”

Lando bursts out laughing.

“Don’t laugh! I’m going to have to have the worst phone call with her this afternoon…” Oscar tells him exasperated.

Oscar can see Lando trying to hold back his giggles. Oscar turns away from him, annoyed, and looks at the messages his mom sent him. They are unhinged. He can feel her excitement through the screen, but also notices the underlying message of ‘why do I have to learn this on social media, and not from you, my one and only son’.

He cringes at his own forgetfulness and texts his mom everything is alright and that he will call her later today. She is asleep right now, it’s midnight in Melbourne at the moment.

He has some texts from Logan, his friend since F2, asking if he’s doing okay caring for a random kid with all the media attention. He texts him back that he is alright and feeling fine. Even though he hasn’t seen the media attention yet.

He is dreading to open social media, so he doesn’t. Instead he pockets his phone and sets the table for the three of them. He finds maple syrup and fruit jam in one of the cupboard and puts those on the table too.

He sits down when the other two join him at the table. Lando places a plate stacked with pancakes on the table. “Look at how good the pancakes are that Luka made!” the Brit says.

“They look amazing, I can’t wait to try them,” Oscar replies. He smiles at Luka. The kid is beaming at the both of them.

They sit at the table together and eat the pancakes at a rapid speed. Some of them are more blueberry than pancake, but Oscar doesn’t complain. He looks at the other two and enjoys the moment. Both Lando and Luka have drowned their pancakes in maple syrup. It’s endearing, even though the Brit is miles off track with the diet his trainer Jon has put him on. Not that Oscar is fairing any better.

Tomorrow. They will pick up their diets tomorrow.

“So, what are we doing today, Osc?” Lando asks him between bites. “I wanted to call an adoption consulting firm to get some advice on the legal stuff,” Oscar replies.

Lando looks at him with widened eyes. His fork drops from his hand. His expression turns into the biggest grin.

“I knew it! You’re keeping him!” he cheers and points a finger at the younger’s face.

Luka startles and looks at them both.

Oscar gently pushes the other’s pointy finger down from his face. “Calm down,” he shushes the older driver, “I’m going to try. I can’t promise anything. I also don’t know if I’m the right guardian for him yet. I’m a Formula 1 racer, with a very messy schedule. I feel like it’s not the best condition to raise a child in.”

“Fu- fudge those thoughts. I know you will figure it out. You’re smart enough,” Lando is energized all of a sudden, talking with his hands and everything.

“As much as I’m happy that you think I’m smart,” the Australian says deadpan, “I have to be realistic about this, Lando. It would mean that he would be traveling to races with me. You know, the flights that completely jetlag us two. Imagine how horrible it would be for him.”

The older driver hums in thought.

“He would also miss out on school too much when he starts it next year,” Oscar adds.

“Okay, but that is a problem with a solution. Home schooling is a thing, and he would only miss out on six days of school max during Formula 1’s normal schedule,” Oscar opens his mouth to argue, but Lando immediately interrupts him. “Nope, I’m not taking double or triple headers into the equation, and you can’t make me”.

Oscar let’s out a frustrated huff. “Okay fine. Homeschooling when he is traveling. But it doesn’t solve the jetlag problem.”

“I think you will have to try and see what works best. Trial and error.”

The younger sits back with a defeated sigh. “What if I think I would be a terrible dad… Dragging him away from home all the time for my own benefit,” Oscar finally says hiding his face with his hands.

“What? Why? I’ve seen you yesterday, and just this morning as well. You’re doing great and will do great. You literally had a race yesterday, got second place, and still cared for Luka the entire day,” Lando reprimands him. “Heck, I bet Luka is going to be the most spoiled kid in Monaco in a few days’ time. Stop doubting yourself, Osc…”

“Okay, okay…” A deep breath. “Fine…” Oscar relents. There’s a moment of silence in which the younger driver collects his thoughts, and Lando collects his fork. Luka is watching from the sidelines and Oscar tries really hard not to be mad at himself for having this discussion with the kid next to them.

“I wanted to suggest we go shopping today,” Lando eventually asks when Oscar has calmed down.

“Agreed, I want to get Luka more toys, and one of those racetrack carpets.”

The kid perks up. “Toys? For me?” Luka asks.

Both drivers smile at him. “Of course! You have a room now, don’t you? Let’s fill it with things you like,” Lando tells him.

Luka lets out an excited noise.

“Alright, so planning for today: I call the adoption consulting firm, then we go to the mall. We can have lunch there as well,” Oscar sums up.

“And we get groceries on the way back,” Lando adds. The Australian agrees.

“But before we do anything, can I take a shower first?” the Brit asks timidly, scratching at the back of his neck.

“Yes, of course. Go shower, I will clean up.”

There are no pancakes left, so Lando leaves the table, but not before giving Oscar a grateful smile.

Which Oscar believes is undeserved, because it’s Lando’s apartment and the Brit doesn’t need his permission.

Wanting to give himself and Luka a distraction, he turns on the TV and searches for a kid friendly channel. Luka goes to sit on the couch the moment the Aussie switches the channel to an episode of SpongeBob.

With the nostalgic cartoon keeping his previous anxious thoughts away from the forefront of his mind, Oscar goes to clean up the table.

He places the dirty dishes and cutlery in the dishwasher, together with the bowl and whisk. He washes the cooking pan by hand, remembering his mom telling him pans like that need to be handled with more care.

He wipes the table, wrings the cloth and goes to stand next to the couch with his phone in his hand. He dares to open X and finds an absolute mess. It’s like someone has released one-hundred chickens into his driver room.

His notifications are a list, one that doesn’t end. It’s chaos.

People are speculating whether or not Luka is his biological child, even though he has clearly told them during the press conference that he is not. Then people go on to say Luka is Lando’s kid, because of the F1 TV footage at the front of the garage.

He's only just opened X, but already wants to close it. He decides to listen to that feeling and exits out of it. He wanted to see the photo of them three in front of the garage, because even though it was embarrassing, knowing the photographers that walk around the paddock it’s probably a nice photo.

He will look for it later, when he’s not feeling as anxious as he is now.

Lando walks back into the living room. Hair wet, curls hanging over his forehead. He’s changed into his day outfit. A nice pair of dark skinny jeans and a simple white t-shirt.

“Go make that phone call, Oscar. I will look after Luka,” the Brit says. “You can use my office if you want.”

Oscar walks to the hallway, but before he can pass Lando, a large hand gently grabs his wrist.

“Are you doing okay, Osc?” the older driver asks with a serious face.

Oscar grimaces. “I’m stressing out a bit,” he admits.

“Come here.” The younger driver lets himself be pulled into a hug. Arms wrap around him, and he copies the gesture. Lando is still warm from his shower. Comfy warm. Oscar can’t help but melt into the hug, again.

He gives in and buries his face into the crook of the Brit’s neck. Lando starts running his fingers through the short hairs at the base of Oscar’s head. The younger man didn’t know it was possible to relax even more, but he does.

They stay like that for a bit. Oscar gives himself the time to enjoy the moment. Once he has calmed down significantly, he separates himself gingerly and reluctantly lets go of the other man.

“Better?” Lando asks.

“Yeah, better. Thank you. I will be back soon,” the Australian replies softly.

The Brit nods and lets him walk away to the office.

Chapter Text

Luckily, the phone call with the adoption consulting firm wasn’t as stressful as Oscar was expecting. They understood the situation and even told him people finding abandoned kids happens more often. Oscar is quite horrified when he hears that.

When they ask him whether he wants to find a foster home for the kid or keep the kid himself, he tells them he would like to keep Luka. He does ask them for advice on how to adapt to suddenly having to care for a kid 24/7. They promise to send him the digital booklet they send to all new foster parents.

About the legal stuff, they tell him that if he has enough proof of Luka’s abandonment, they can start a case and look for Luka’s true identity and heritage. Which they need for the adoption.

Oscar promises to send them a photocopy of the letter from Luka’s backpack and the possible camera footage from the paddock.

They are kind to him, and it helps him stay calm, even when it’s getting far too real: he is adopting a kid. He is keeping Luka. Luka is going to be his SON.

He should have called his mom yesterday…

When he has all the information he needs, he ends the phone call after telling them he will keep them up to date.

That went well, better than expected.

He exits Lando’s office and decides this is the moment to change out of his night clothes. He enters Lando’s room, brushes his teeth in the ensuite and ruffles through his suitcase for his favorite shorts and a clean shirt. After putting those on, he walks back to the living room, where he finds Luka and Lando watching Spongebob together.

He joins them on the couch, Lando gives him a questioning look. Oscar gives him a smile and a thumbs up. The Brit smiles back at him, then looks back at the TV again, as if he knows Oscar will tell him about it when he’s ready.

Luka is wearing his daily clothes too. Lando must have gotten him to change while the Australian was making the phone call. He even did Luka’s hair. The kid is wearing the same overall as yesterday, but with a different shirt this time.

It's a yellow shirt. The combination of yellow with an overall triggers something in Oscar. It takes him a second to realize what it reminds him off. But when he does, he glares at Lando, because the guy did it on purpose for sure.

“Lando, why did you turn Luka into a Minion…”

Lando cackles. It’s a high screechy laugh.

“You noticed so quickly, oh my god!” the Brit says between giggles.

Oscar is unable to keep the dopey grin of his face. Lando’s laughter is infectious.

The Australian snorts. “You know you’ve just played yourself, right? Because Despicable Me is the perfect movie to watch with Luka tonight.” That makes Lando freeze immediately.

“Oh no… Oscar please…”

“What if we do a marathon? How many movies does the franchise have now?” Oscar asks playfully.

“Four…” Lando says quietly, “if you don’t count the Minions movies… Please Oscar, don’t make me suffer…”

“Okay fine, mate. We will only watch the first one, because Luka’s minion outfit does look cute,” Oscar demands with a grin.

“I feel like I didn’t get anything positive out of this deal…”

“Oh come on, it will be fun. You always say you love quality time.”

“I do! I do, but I don’t like Despicable Me, Oscar…” Lando whines, actually whines.

Oscar hums and looks at Lando’s pleading face. “We could also watch Cars,” Oscar finally gives in.

Luka perks up, “yes! Cars!!” Lando looks relieved. Oscar laughs.

“Alright Luka, we will watch Cars together this evening,” the younger driver says.

“But first, let’s finish this episode of Spongebob and then we go shopping. Get you some more clothes and toys,” Lando tells the toddler.

Luka nods and focusses on the screen again.

They watch in silence. Oscar notices that Luka is a concentrated listener. He doesn’t comment or laugh at the interesting or funny bits of the TV program. A smile on his face is the only proof he is enjoying it; he is mostly quietly absorbing the information.

When the episode is finished it is unexpectedly Luka who gets off the couch first. “Ready to go, little man?” Lando asks the kid. He gets a nod back.

They all have a quick bathroom break and then go put on their shoes. Luka accidentally puts his shoes on the wrong feet, so Oscar has to help him fix it. “It’s alright, it happens to the best of us, Luka,” Lando says when he sees the kid’s disappointed face.

With both shoes on the right feet, they take the elevator to the underground parking garage. With Luka being less tired that yesterday, he excitedly looks at all the cars the Brit has parked there.

Lando opens the same BMW they drove in yesterday. After securing Luka in the backseat, both racers get into their seats and fasten their seatbelts.

“Okay, so I’ve found a nice store that sells booster seats and other kid necessities on Google, I think that would be a good place to start,” Lando says as sets up the navigation.

Oscar feels like Lando has been doing all the work since yesterday evening and feels pretty bummed about it. He tried not to show it when he asks: “how are you so well prepared?”

“What, you thought I was watching Spongebob and being a menace ALL morning? I’ve done my homework.” Lando puts a hand on his chest dramatically.

Oscar doesn’t raise to the bait. He just smiles softly at the Brit. “Thanks, you’ve been great. I’m very happy that you’re helping me out, Lan.” The shortened name slips out without meaning to.

Lando’s dramatic act evaporates. He basically melts, and Oscar notices he might even be flustered, suddenly not knowing what to do with his hands.

The older driver scrapes his throat and after an awkward pause places both hands on the steering wheel.

“You’re welcome, Osc. Always.” The Brit says softly before starting the engine.

The younger racer is smiling as they drive away. That reaction was kinda… cute?

He should compliment Lando more often.

It's only a ten-minute drive, and then they are at their first stop of the day. It isn’t a very big store, but it’s crammed with aisles of products.

Oscar is holding Luka’s hand as they walk in. They rush through the baby aisles, not needing anything from that section. In a way, Oscar thinks it’s kind of sad he has and will never experience Luka as a baby. But at the same time, the amount of things he sees that babies would need… It seems like a ton of work.

Finding a toddler in the paddock sounds way better than finding a baby.

The arrive at the toddler section. A lot of the things there are unnecessary for them to get. Luka is already potty trained and is getting too old for a stroller. The kid is walking just fine with them and both Lando and Oscar don’t mind carrying him when he gets tired.

They do find some useful things. A high chair, for at the dinner table, that can be adjusted and “grows” with your kid. It’s surprisingly expensive, almost three-hundred euros, but the Tripp Trap is apparently a well know product. Oscar has the money to spend anyway. If it helps Luka be more comfortable, he does not care.

They get the chair. And a stepstool for in the bathroom, so the kid can brush his own teeth, wash his own hands. Do things by himself, like toddlers seem to want.

The trio arrives at the booster seat aisle and that’s where Lando and Oscar have to ask for help. There are too many options and neither of them have any idea what would be best.

One of the shop employees is happy to help. She takes on look at Luka and immediately starts pointing out car seats that will fit him for quite a while.

Then Oscar remembers: “we forgot to say that the booster seat needs to fit in the front seat of several different sports cars too.”

“Oh yes! I would love to drive around with him in the Spider,” Lando says.

The employee hums, then asks them to follow her to the back of the section. “We do have a selection of booster seats specially designed for sports cars. They should fit in the back of a normal car too.”

She points out the seats that would fit Luka and can be changed to his size while he grows. They look like actual racing seats, the bucket seats you see in rally cars. They all look great and sturdy as hell. Oscar can already guess the price range.

“We have so much to choose from, but that’s Monaco I guess,” the Australian says.

“Rich families, with lots of sports cars,” Lando adds.

The two drivers pick three booster seats they think look stylish and are sturdy at the same time. They set them next to each other and then let Luka pick which one he likes the best. The kid tries all three of them. Oscar can see him eyeing the dark blue one with the white trim.

He crouches down next to Luka and points at the blue one. “Do you like that one the most?” he asks softly. Luka doesn’t ask for things, they have learned yesterday. Luka waits for approval before doing anything. So Oscar tries to work with that, and shows him it’s okay to choose his favorite.

Luka nods. Lando seems to have caught on to what Oscar is doing and feigns innocence. “Hm? Which one Luka? I didn’t see.”

Luka walks to the chair and says: “I like this one most.”

“Oh! Nice choice!” “Good pick, Luka.” Both drivers praise the kid for telling them what he wants.

The shop employee smiles at the interaction and tells them she will grab a new one for them. Lando asks if they can leave the box here. The seat will be put to use at once. She tells them it’s no problem.

On their way to the checkout, Oscar spots something out of the corner of his eye. He stops abruptly and Lando bumps into him. The younger driver instinctively reaches out an arm to steady him.

“Lando look,” Oscar says. He points at the Lightning McQueen duvet cover he has spotted. They are standing way too close to each other. Lando huffs a laugh when he sees what the other is pointing at. It tickles Oscar’s neck hair.

Luka hasn’t noticed the adults have stopped and is unknowingly walking away from them.

“That’s mint! I’m going to get that for him as a surprise,” the Brit says. Oscar grins at him over his shoulder. “Please do, he will love it.”

“Alright, go to the check out. I will meet you there.”

Lando sneaks away, while Oscar catches up to Luka and tries not to act suspiciously.

He directs the kid to the checkout. Lando joins them when Oscar is paying for the seat, chair, and stepstool. After getting the receipt, the younger driver distracts Luka by talking about how cool the booster seat is.

Lando pays for the duvet cover and puts it into a new shopping bag without the kid noticing.

Mission accomplished.

They leave the shop and go to the car. Oscar loads everything into the trunk while Lando sets up the booster seat in the back seat.

The seat looks nice and fits well. When Oscar straps Luka in, the kid looks happy. The Australian realizes that the toddler can now look out of the car window. He is too short to do so without the booster seat.

When everyone is in the car with their seatbelts on, Lando asks: “alright, where to next?”

“I think the mall. Maybe alternating different stores will keep it interesting for him.” And for Oscar himself too…

“Like: shoes, toys, clothes, toys? That sort of mix?” the Brit says with a smile.

“Yep.”

“Sounds like a plan. I like it.”

The distances are short in Monaco. In no time they are parking the car in the mall’s underground parking place.

An escalator takes them to the first floor of the mall. At the entrance there’s a map with all the stores and what type of products they sell.

“Kid shoes… There,” Oscar points out on the map.

It’s on the other side of the mall. For Oscar and Lando the walk will be good. But for Luka?

Lando is way ahead of him. “Alright Luka, up you go!” the Brit says as he picks up the kid and places him on his shoulders.

The older driver is such a natural at this. Maybe Lando should be the one adopting Luka. Lost in thought he doesn’t notice the other starts walking.

“You coming, Osc?”

Two pairs of green eyes are looking at him expectedly. Oscar is suddenly reminded of the fans on X speculating that Luka might be Lando’s son. Lando’s eyes are paler though, with Luka’s having some brown mixed in.

He shakes himself out of his stupor and follows the other driver. “Sorry, got lost in thought.”

Lando shoots him a reassuring smile when he comes to walk next to him again.

It is quite a long walk, but with the Formula 1 stamina it is not a problem for both drivers. The mall is quiet, as it is a Monday and people have responsibilities. But there are some tourists around, who’ve probably turned their Monaco GP weekend into a full vacation.

Some of them seem to recognize the drivers, but none of them approach the two. Oscar is glad they forgot Luka’s McLaren hat at home the apartment. It would have caught attention.

They arrive at the outer corner of the mall where the little shop is located without anyone asking them for a photo, which Oscar thinks is nice.

The shop front is eye-burningly colorful, with the name of the store in Comic Sans above the entrance. It’s cute, in a sensory overload kind of way. When they enter, there are no other customers. The shop owner, a lady in the fifties, greets them happily. She has the same French accent Charles has.

Lando and Oscar look around for a bit, the shop owner joins them to help quite quickly.
“What shoe size does he have?” the lady asks.

“We don’t know,” Oscar says. Before he can explain, she goes: “well, let’s measure then! They grow so quickly at this age, hm?”

Lando sets down Luka. The kid is taking everything in quietly, looking at all the bright colors and the rows of shoes.

Oscar crouches down and takes off both Luka’s shoes, then goes to stand next to Lando as the shop lady measures the kid’s feet.

The younger driver glances at his teammate who is looking around like he’s a kid in a candy shop. When the lady tells them Luka’s shoe size Lando turns to look at him with a pleading face. Oscar snorts.

Lando’s excitement is so endearing Oscar can’t help but place a hand on the small of his back with a grin. “Yes Lando. Go look around, you can pick out the shoes.”

“Thank you!” the Brit says excitedly before basically storming off. Oscar’s hand slides of his back as he walks away to the other side of the store to look at the Nike sneakers. The warmth lingers on Oscar’s hand.

The shop lady catches his attention. She is smiling at him and says cheerfully: “you are such a lucky man! Your boyfriend is very handsome.”

Oscar completely freezes. In all of his PR training nobody has ever warned him about anything like this. His mind draws a blank on what to say and he panics.

“I- We- He-”

Breathe Oscar!

“Thanks…?” he finally replies awkwardly.

The lady gives him a kind smile and leaves the dumbfounded man behind to go back to her chores.

They look like boyfriends?

Oscar looks at Lando who is checking out shoes on the other side of the store with one hand on his hip and the other one rubbing his goatee. The white shirt he is wearing makes him look even more tan.

Of course the younger driver has noticed before that the Brit is absolutely gorgeous. But Lando is also way out of Oscar’s league. He deserves to be dating a model or something. Not an emotionally constipated Australian.

Lando suddenly turns to him with the biggest grin, showing off the cute gap between his front teeth, and shows Oscar a pair of white and red sneakers. The Brit slaps the shoes onto his other hand and the midsoles light up, flickering with color.

Oscar can’t help but reply to Lando’s excited face with a goofy grin and a thumbs up.

He tries not to focus on how his heart is beating faster than it should.

Lando comes back to Luka and Oscar with a ton of sneakers for the kid to try. The light-up shoes are an instant hit. They also decide on a pair of dark blue sneakers with green Velcro straps and a pair of classic brown shoes for when they have to go to some place more formal.

To Lando’s absolute dismay, Oscar also picks out a pair of red Crocs. The two adults discuss whether the blue-green shoes can count as ‘play’ shoes, so they don’t need to get the ‘awful’ Crocs.

But Oscar stands his ground, and they eventually walk out of the store with three pairs of new shoes and one pair of Crocs.

Luka is happily sitting on Lando’s shoulders again. Tiny hands on his curls.

When they walk past a booth that sells donuts and coffee, Lando bumps Oscar’s arm with his elbow.

“What do you say of an early coffee slash lunch break?” the Brit asks him once he has his attention.

And that’s how they end up at one of the tables with two coffees, a hot chocolate for Luka, and three donuts. Lando is looking at his phone. Searching online for the map of the mall.

Luka is contently munching on his strawberry donut. Oscar sits back against his chair, sipping on his americano.

It's then when a fan eventually approaches them. “I am so sorry to bother you, but could I get a picture? I’m such a fan of the both of you,” the young girl politely asks them.

The drivers agree to it and let her take a selfie with the two of them, facing away from Luka so he is not in the picture.

She thanks them gleefully and then says to Luka: “and I even got to meet the famous Luka! Hi Luka! Nice to meet you!” She waves at the kid. The toddler, being a little angel, politely waves back at her.

The girl coos, and thanks the drivers again before finally leaving them alone.

“That was sweet. I was worried about the attention he would get after yesterday’s press conference, but if it’s like this, it’s not that bad,” Oscar says before taking a bite out of his donut.

Lando frowns at him. “Why were you worried?”

Oscar shrugs.

“Oscar, did you look at your social media yet?”

“Barely, it looked messy, so I didn’t dare to scroll further.”

“Osc, they absolutely love Luka online. I have never seen more praise about a kid ever before. It’s like the entire F1 fan community has adopted him overnight. The sweetness of it all is crazy,” Lando explains.

“The memes are hilarious as well. You know that meme that says ‘I only had blank for a day and a half. But if anything happens to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself’? It’s all over the internet, but with Luka. They love him,” the Brit says with a fond grin.

“That’s… very specific… Okay, so no need to worry.”

“Not at all.”

“That’s good. It makes me happy to hear that.”

“Look through social media when we get home, you muppet. Stop avoiding it. I know you will love it.”

Oscar relents and Lando gives him a nod of approval back.

The adults finish their coffees and donuts in no time, but Luka needs a bit more time for his hot chocolate. So Lando shows Oscar all the toy stores they can go to in this mall on his phone.

They decide on one close by. The Google reviews say that they have a lot of car and racing toys.

Once Luka has finished his drink and the strawberry donut, they get up and make their way to the toy store.

Chapter Text

The walk to the first toy store isn’t that long, so they try to let Luka walk all the way. The boy is quick to grab Oscar’s hand, and then reaches for Lando’s with his other hand. Lando of course lets Luka hold onto his hand too.

That’s how the trio makes their way to the store: Luka in between them, hand in hand with both adults. Oscar wonders when the kid will realize he can swing between them if he wants to.

He peers down at Luka. The kid seems happy and calm. When he looks up again, his eyes meet Lando’s. The other is grinning. Oscar smiles back. The older driver opens his mouth as if he wants to say something, but then closes it, changing his mind.

“Hm?” Oscar wants to know what is going through the Brit’s head. The older is suddenly avoiding eye contact with him. He is looking… shy?

Now Oscar HAS to know what he wanted to say. He keeps staring at Lando, hoping that it will coax the words out. The older driver eventually looks back at him from the corner of his eye.

He seems to brace himself for the Australian’s reply and finally gives in.

“We look like a little family…” he says quietly.

Oscar smiles tenderly, that’s exactly what he was thinking as well.

“We definitely do, mate. It’s kinda cute,” the younger driver replies.

Lando gives him a weird look, a soft one. One Oscar cannot decipher.

A pause. The Brit then let’s out an “uh huh”.

The rest of the walk is in silence.

They arrive at the store and when they enter, they find out it’s a BIG story. Like can’t-see-where-it-ends big.

Oscar reluctantly lets go of Luka’s hand and gets a cart; he knows they will need it. Lando is already way too excited to think about the practicalities. Luka is looking around with large eyes.

When Oscar rejoins their little group, Lando is already pointing out things and rambling to Luka.

“And you can get anything you like, alright? No need to hold back,” the Brit says. Oscar snorts, they might need more than one cart.

Lando lets Luka take the lead and Oscar follows. The kid walks around for a bit, looking at everything.

They walk through three aisles without Luka grabbing anything.

The Australian notices he is hesitant, as if he doesn’t really know what to do. It doesn’t take long for Luka to confirm that, because he suddenly stands still. And then they hear a sniffing sound.

The kid is wiping at his eyes and Lando immediately crouches down next to him, horrified.

“Hey Luka, what’s wrong?” the Brit goes to soothingly rub the kids upper arms.

“I can’t choose! It’s too many!” the kid starts crying.

Lando picks him up, Oscar notices the older driver looks a bit shaky.

“Oh Luuk, I’m so so sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Lando’s voice cracks. Oscar abandons the cart and goes to stand next to the two.

Lando is trying to soothe the boy, faintly swinging him. It doesn’t work much.

The Brit gives Oscar a pleading look. The Australian can see that he’s definitely shaken. Now standing close to the two, the younger driver can see that Lando’s are glistening slightly.

Oscar immediately goes to rub both Lando’s and Luka’s back. One hand on each.

“It’s alright,” He tells them both. “We’d love to help, Luka. Let’s choose together, okay? You don’t have to decide on your own, if you don’t want to.”

That calms Luka down a bit. The crying changes to sniffing. He’s wiping his eyes.

Oscar goes to help wipe Luka’s tears, keeping his other hand between Lando’s shoulder blades.

“Sorry,” the toddler mumbles.

“Hm? Why? It’s okay, you just got overwhelmed, it happens,” Oscar explains. Lando is awfully quiet, and the Aussie hates it, but keeps his focus on the kid for now.

“Over-whelm?”

“Yep, when a lot of things happen at the same time, or it’s very busy around you and you suddenly don’t know what to do anymore. It’s a normal feeling. Adults feel it too sometimes.” He can think of several different instances when he himself got overwhelmed.

Luka takes a breath and then nods, accepting Oscar’s answer.

Lando finally speaks up, though his tone is unsteady. “No pressure. It’s okay to just look around. No need to pick anything if you don’t feel like it.”

“Okay,” Luka replies quietly, then looks back to the toys. When Lando puts him down, the kid strolls through the aisle with more confidence.

Oscar has not removed his hand from the other drivers back, and won’t do so until he knows the other is fine.

The other is not fine.

While Oscar reacts to setbacks with self-deprecation and anxiety, Lando responds emotionally and closes himself off. The younger driver can see it happen right now.

“Hey.” Oscar rubs at Lando’s back again. “What’s going on in that head of yours? Lando… tell me, please...”

The Brit turns and looks up at him. With how he has unconsciously curled into himself slightly, the height difference between them is more pronounced. Oscar doesn’t like it at all.

When he goes to speak, his voice sounds wobbly.

“I… made him cry… I- I feel like-” he can’t finish his sentence. He swallows and looks away.

Oscar glances around and sees they are alone.

Fuck it.

He pulls Lando in a hug, the same way Lando has done for him many times now. One of his hands comes to rest on the back of his head. He runs his fingers through the part where his curls meet the short hairs of his fade.

Lando’s arms wrap around his waist. Their cheeks touch, Oscar can feel the Brit’s stubble scrape his skin. He can’t help but lean into the touch.

“It’s not your fault… You were trying to be nice. You did nothing wrong, Lan,” he consoles him.

He can feel the older driver take a shaky breath.

“Sorry…”

“Don’t apologize…”

“I made your kid-” Oscar cuts him off and creates some space between them so he can look the other in the eye.

“No you didn’t. He got overwhelmed. He hasn’t had this much freedom before.”

A pause.

“…okay. Yeah, that makes sense...”

“And, I’m starting to get the feeling he isn’t just ‘mine’,” he gives Lando a knowing look. “We’re in this together it… Which I think is a comfort, really.”

“It is,” Lando says shyly, breaking eye contact.

Oscar rubs his shoulder. “You’re doing great with him, I promise.”

“Alright… Okay… Thanks Osc.” The Brit finally steps away from the other and wipes at his eyes.

“Also, no being sad in the toy store. That’s probably illegal or something…”

That gets Lando to let out a wry chuckle.

Oscar smiles at him softly. He then checks on Luka who hasn’t strayed far and is quietly looking at the knight figurines on display.

After that stressful moment, it takes a minute for the trio to calm down. But when they reach the area with the miniature cars the sad feeling makes place for excitement again.

The trio picks out cars together. From brightly colored sports cars to cool looking trucks. Luka finds a multi-level parking lot to store all the cars and Oscar immediately adds it to the cart.

Of course there are Hot Wheels as well. So they get a set of eight chaotic looking Hot Wheels and a track with a loop and launcher.

Oscar feels bad for the person at the checkout who has to scan this mess…

Lando finds a section with play carpets. There is a slight discussion whether they should get one with a racetrack or one with a city, but they then find a carpet with both. It is two sided, you can flip it over, with a racetrack on one side and a city on the other.

In the cart it goes.

Oscar finds miniature figures of the Cars characters, including Lightning McQueen. When he shows them to Luka, the kid squeals with happiness. He doesn’t want to put the cars in the cart, wanting to hold them all, but relents when Oscar says he can keep hold of the little Lightning McQueen.

Finally done with the car and race section, they move on to see if Luka likes anything else. In the end the kid has picked out a farm with animals and a tractor, a bunch of dinosaurs, and a wooden train set with a track.

It's probably not the last of the toys Oscar and Lando will be getting for Luka. The kid is so happy about everything. It’s the last for now though… because the cart is getting full.

To make sure Luka has things to do while they are traveling, they get him a couple of drawing blocks, coloring books, crayons, and colored pencils, with a neat bag to keep everything together.

Some funny looking books and puzzles are also added to the ever-growing pile.

They also find some plastic boxes to keep the toys in. Lando has to carry them, as they don’t fit in the cart anymore.

When the drivers decide it’s been enough, they finally go towards the checkout. Right before they get there, Lando finds a digital clock in the shape of a car. He adds it to the cart without asking.

Oscar snorts. He knows his teammate is grabbing it because of the 6AM wake-up call this morning.

“You know you’ve only got half a day left to teach him how to read it, right?” Oscar says with a grin.

“Hey! He’s a smart kid, he knows his numbers. It probably won’t be too hard.” Lando defends.

They make it through the checkout unscathed, though the lady behind the counter definitely deserves a break after that much scanning.

With how much the cart is piling over, the drivers decide to take a trip to the car. Oscar carries Luka this time, with Lando pushing the cart.

Once they are there, they load everything into the trunk. They will definitely need more than one trip to the apartment when they get there.

When they enter the mall again, they see a place where they collect carts and redistribute them to the different stores. They leave their cart there and go shopping for clothes.

They enter the first clothing store. When Oscar glances at Lando he realizes that this is his teammates territory. Lando loves to go shopping, especially for clothes. He puts great care into his outfits, and has even given Oscar advice before, when he was willing to listen.

The older driver immediately shows his passion for fashion. He goes through the racks methodically. Mumbling to himself, swiftly showing pieces of clothing to Luka and Oscar to see their reaction. The both of them follow him like little ducklings.

Lando figures out Luka’s clothing sizes very quickly, and is unstoppable after that. Oscar lets him take the lead completely. He holds out his hand to take the bundle of clothing Lando is already holding.

“I will carry it all. You do your thing,” Oscar tells him.

Lando beams at him. “Thank you, Osc!” he unceremoniously deposits the pile into Oscar’s arms.

Oscar smiles at the other’s excitement.

Though when the pile in his arms grows bigger and bigger Oscar’s smile slowly turns deadpan. He feels like a pack mule.

“Lando, a reminder that Luka is still growing and will grow out of everything within a couple of months.”

“Oh… Fudge, that’s true…” He looks a bit disappointed, but it’s only for a moment. Oscar can see the instant a lightbulb goes off in his head. “Doesn’t that mean we need to go shopping for new clothes every couple of months too?”

Oscar sighs fondly. “I guess so.”

“Yes!” Lando actually fist pumps. “I can accept that. Let’s go to the fitting room and see what we like.”

Oscar is dreading the impromptu fashion show the older driver will probably drag Luka into.

The employee managing the fitting rooms chuckles when she sees the trio walk past. The big pile of clothes in Oscar’s arms drew her attention. Lando doesn’t even notice, but Oscar smiles at her politely.

After the Australian has put everything into one of the changing rooms, Lando points at the chairs at the end of the hallway.

“You go sit over there.” Lando grabs his arm and gently pushes him in the right direction.

Oscar snorts and lets himself be bossed around.

He sits down in one of the plastic chairs and waits for them to show him the first outfit. It doesn’t take long before Luka is skipping towards him in a white cotton jersey t-shirt with light blue sleeves, and a cute pair of little baggy jeans.

“Nice!” Oscar says. “What do you think Luka? Do you like it?” he asks the boy when he gets close.

“Yes!” Luka beams at him. Lando is standing behind him with a grin on his face.

“Mint! First outfit in the pocket,” the Brit says. “Let’s go try the next one, little man.”

They go on like that for a bit. Luka tries something on, both adults ask for his opinion before giving their own. Whenever Luka says he likes it, it is basically already a score. There are some clothes Luka likes less, and Oscar and Lando don’t pressure him into getting them.

The younger driver was afraid Luka might not like being used as a dress-up doll, but he is actually loving it. Lando might have found his match.

After an outfit or five when Lando and Luka have gone back into the changing room, the employee from before comes up to Oscar wearing a big smile. “I’ve been watching you guys for a bit, and I must say it’s absolutely adorable and it’s making my day.”

Oscar laughs. “Thank you,” he says kindly.

She sighs. “Aw man, I wish my boyfriend liked shopping that much.”

And the boyfriend comment strikes again!

Oscar has to agree though, they truly look like boyfriends right now. With the way they are acting, there is no denying it.

The Australian doesn’t even try to explain. Because he does not know how. He does not want her to apologize for assuming and then having to reassure her that it's fine and she wasn’t the first to do so today. It’s a nice comment anyway.

“Uhm yeah, he loves shopping so much, it’s insane. I’m just gonna let him do his thing.”

“I think it’s sweet.” she giggles. “If you need any help, let me know. I can put back the clothing you three don’t like or grab different sizes of the things you do. Let me know!”

Oscar thanks her and watches her go.

He doesn’t get much time to think, because Luka walks out of the changing room with a very familiar outfit. Lando walks right behind him, wearing a shit-eating grin.

Oscar looks down at his own outfit, and bursts out laughing.

Luka is wearing an exact replica of Oscar’s quickly put together outfit. Shorts included.

The younger driver stands and picks Luka up. The boy is giggling. The Aussie’s cheeks hurt from smiling.

Lando is laughing in the same high-pitched way he did this morning, when Oscar figured out Luka’s minion outfit.

Oscar is starting to think that type of Lando laugh only comes out when he’s being a little shit. And it’s great.

“Hello, mini-me,” he says to Luka happily. The kid smiles at him and says, “I’m Osca!”

Both adults die of cuteness. Lando is giggling like crazy. “Can we please keep this outfit?” he says between bursts of laugher.

“Yeah, sure.” The Australian gives in way too quickly.

After another round of jokes and giggles, Lando and Luka go back to the changing room to try the rest of the clothes.

The fashion show keeps going for a bit longer, and when they are finally done, they go to the checkout with more than enough shirts and pants to last the summer.

Lando demands to pay for the clothes, since he picked them out. Oscar lets him.

They go to the next clothing store, arms filled with bags already.

Here they get sweaters and hoodies, a summer and a winter jacket for when they have to travel around, socks, underwear and other necessary items.

They also got swim trunks for Luka. They’re in Monaco and the beach is like, a thing there.

Oscar notices Luka is losing interest. He’s dragging his feet, and they eventually have to start carrying him again.

“I think it’s time we grab some lunch somewhere and then go home,” Oscar says as Lando puts the kid on his shoulders.

“Yeah, good plan. We are done here anyway,” Lando replies.

They pay for the last of the items and walk out of the store. On their way back to the car they find a peaceful lunchroom and order some sandwiches. They are eating their lunch in silence, surrounded by paper bags filled with clothes.

Oscar thinks about how it’s been twenty-four hours since they had lunch together in the common room of the McLaren hospitality. A couple of hours before the race. So much has changed within that short of a time period.

He likes it though. He loves how close Luka has grown to them already.

He loves this new type of connection that is forming between him and Lando. It makes him feel safe and secure. Like he isn’t alone in this. Having Lando around is great. Comforting.

He doesn’t want to leave the older driver. He hopes he and Luka can stay with Lando for a bit longer.

Luka is becoming ‘their’ child. And Oscar doesn’t mind it at all. He’s starting to figure out what that feeling might mean, but chooses to ignore it for now.

He’s not going to think too hard about it, and will just let the connection between them develop. Go with the flow and all.

When the three of them have finished their lunch, Oscar pays and leaves a tip. It’s around 2:30PM when they get back to the car.

Oscar is happy to leave the mall, the place was starting to annoy him. Shopping has always felt like a chore to him. With Luka and Lando it isn’t that bad, it was fun even, but still. He’s done with the place for now.

The adults load the bags into the trunk, next to all the toys and the kids chair. There’s a lot… Oscar suspects they might have overestimated a bit.

It's alright, they will figure it out back at the apartment.

After Luka is strapped into his brand-new booster chair, the drivers take their seats, and they start the drive back.

“Groceries. We need to get groceries,” Lando says.

“Uh yeah, right. Good thinking, mate. Did you get any meal recommendations from your trainer?”

“A couple,” the Brit replies and the sums up what Jon has told him. It’s close to what Oscar’s trainer has recommended.

The Australian makes a mental list of everything they need while Lando parks the car in front of the grocery store.

Shopping for groceries goes without a hitch, or well, almost. Lando is a picky eater. Pickier than Luka, who has apparently almost no dislikes except for broccoli and bell pepper.

Lando dislikes a lot of things. It takes a while to pick out the veggies. But when that’s done, the only thing Lando protests is Oscar getting fish. The Australian complies, not wanting to anger his host.

They get groceries for the entire week. Oscar likes that he and Luka have been included in the Brit’s meal plan till almost the next race weekend.

With another four bags filled to the brim with groceries, they pile into the car and go home.

The elevator to Lando’s apartment is put to the test with the amount of times the trio has to take it.

They start with the groceries so that what needs to be cooled is placed in the fridge and freezer first.

Once everything from the trunk is moved into the apartment, Oscar’s hands hurt from carrying so many bags. And they aren’t even slightly done.

They divide the tasks: Oscar will put together the high-chair, Lando will sort the clothing for washing, and Luka is going to unbox all his new toys.

They work on their own tasks together in Luka’s room. It’s cozy and domestic. Oscar feels fuzzy, like someone wrapped him in a blanket.

Luka plays with every toy he unpacks. The younger driver doubts the kid will be done with his task before dinner, but that’s perfectly fine. Watching him play and be happy makes Oscar happy as well.

Just when the Australian finishes putting together the chair, his phone starts buzzing.

He picks it up and sees that his mom is facetiming him. Is it 4PM already? Time is going crazy fast today.

Lando looks at him from his spot on the floor. “Your mom?” he asks.

Oscar nods.

“Welp, good luck, don’t die,” the Brit taunts him.

Oscar snorts at that and stands up. To walk to the office, Oscar has to walk past Lando, who is sitting on the floor surrounded by piles of clothing.

The older man has been a little shit the entire day, so Oscar doesn’t hold back and ruffles his neatly styled hair to bully him back.

The Brit replies with a squeaky ‘hey!’ and tries to grab Australian’s hand, but Oscar is faster. He leaps away from him, and all Lando can do is glare at him from his fashion prison.

Oscar shoots him a cheeky grin before leaving the room. He picks up the call and enters Lando’s office.

Chapter Text

“Hey mom,” Oscar says the moment he picks up the facetime call. He closes the door to Lando’s office behind him.

“Oscar Jack Piastri.” Oh god… “When were you planning on telling me I’ve become a grandmother?!”

The McLaren driver is unable to reply, because his mom keeps ranting and gives him zero time to apologize to her.

“I know you’re busy, sweety, and racing is everything you, but I’m your mom and I would like to know.” He gives her a sheepish smile.

“Everyone on social media is going crazy, and my friends are all asking me about it. But I have nothing to tell them because my SON forgot to inform me!” She is annoyed. Oscar can see it through the screen.

He is finally able to interrupt her: “I’m so sorry mom… I wanted to call you yesterday evening, but conked out before I could…”

“You fell asleep? But the kid was with you, right? Where-”

His mom pauses and stares at the screen.

“Oscar, where are you? Is that a Sim racing rig?” Oh no… This conversation just got even worse. “That isn’t your hotel room…”

“No it’s not… Luka and I are staying at Lando’s place,” Oscar drops the bomb and waits for the explosion.

“Lando’s place?! Wait, what?!”

“Uhm yep. He offered we could stay with him. At least until I find a different place.” Oscar remembers the amount of food they just bought. “But with the amount of groceries we got I think we need to stay for the rest of the week. If he lets me of course.”

Nicole Piastri is silently watching her son with a gaping mouth. Oscar is in trouble.

“Sweety…” Oscar sinks to the floor between the desk and Lando’s racing sim, resting his back against the wall. He is fearing for his life, and dignity, even though his mom is on the other side of the planet.

“Explain… From. The. Start. Don’t you dare leave anything out.”

He takes a deep breath and tells her everything. From how he found Luka, how Lando has been helping him, how his race went, and that he has decided to adopt Luka.

His mom takes it all in. When he tells her about Luka’s mom and the kids abandonment, she gasps. He leaves out that the boy flinched this morning when he raised his hand, not knowing if this is the right time to tell her just HOW much he hates Luka’s mom.

There’s a moment of peace and then his mom asks: “so, you’re staying with Lando? How is that going?” She has a smug expression on her face.

“It’s nice. Lando is being super sweet, and Luka loves him. I like it here,” he tells her the truth.

“Oh, uh huh. Did you and Lando… you know?” She whispers coyly.

The comment almost gives the Oscar a whiplash. He blushes at what she might be insinuating. Face bright red.

“What?! No! Mom, please!” he whisper-yells. He looks at the wall between the office and Luka’s room and prays the soundproofing Lando has put up keeps their conversation private.

“Oh come on! You’ve told me before that you think he’s handsome. I remember you fanboying over him years ago. You can’t reprimand me for hoping.”

Oscar closes his eyes and takes a deep steadying breath.

“Hoping for what, mom…”

“That I will have a son in law soon as well.”

“Mom!” He hisses, embarrassed and frustrated at the same time, “I will hang up if you don’t stop right there…”

She holds up the hand that is not holding her phone in a placating manner. Oscar runs a hand through his hair, trying to calm down his beating heart and willing the blush to go down.

“So nothing happened between you two?” his mom asks carefully.

He is unable to lie to his mom, always has been. “We may or may not have been cuddling when we woke up this morning,” he tells her reluctantly.

“Uh huh,” Nicole Piastri stays strangely calm. “So, you slept in the same bed?”

“It’s a two-bedroom apartment, and Luka has the spare bedroom. So, yes.” Oscar explains deadpan.

“And you don’t think there’s anything ‘relationship-y’ about that?” She is scrutinizing him.

Oscar looks away with a frown. Of course he thinks that. This whole day has been full of relationship-y moments, but no way is he going to ruin what they have now by talking about it. Or overthinking it and getting stuck in an anxiety spiral.

“Alright, sweety, I won’t push,” his mom finally relents, “but you have to give me Lando’s number. I’m adding him to the family chat.”

Oscar huffs, “no you’re not…”

“The number, please.”

“Don’t you dare… I will die of embarrassment and won’t talk to you for the rest of the week.”

“Hmpf, fine. I won’t add him.”

“I’m still not going to give you his number, I don’t trust you won’t tell him anything embarrassing. Ask me again later and I might agree, but not now.”

His mom accepts that, and they finally move onto a different topic. Like, when she can meet her grandson and if he’s excited for the next race. That becomes a combined topic when his mom tells him she might be able to fly out to Canada to watch the race.

That’s settled then. His mom and maybe one or two of his sisters will meet Luka at the Canadian GP. Sadly it won’t be the entire family, since his youngest sister has exams the week after. His dad will stay with her.

“So, can I see Luka now? Or is that not a good idea?”

As much as he wants to show off the kid to his mom, Oscar thinks Luka needs some more time to adjust to him and Lando before he stresses him out with ‘look Luka, this is your grandma’.

“Sorry mom, is it okay we keep that for the next time we call? I will update you with pictures of him, I promise.”

“It’s okay, sweety. Do what feels right,” she replies with a kind smile.

“Thanks mom, I love you.”

“I love you too, honey. Don’t forget to take care of yourself in all of this.”

“I will.”

“Talk to you soon!”

“Yes, talk to you soon. Bye!”

They end the facetime. Oscar is left alone, still sitting in the little nook between Lando’s desk and the racing sim. He runs a hand through his hair again.

That was… hectic…

He feels bad for not showing her Luka, but at the same time knows it is the right decision for today. He hasn’t even outright told the kid he is adopting him. The toddler was there when Lando and Oscar were talking about it, but does he understand he can stay with the Australian forever?

He takes a deep breath and stands up. When he walks back into Luka’s room, Lando is putting together the Hot Wheels track with Luka.

The older driver notices him in the corner of his eye. “Hey Osc, how did it go?” he asks.

“It was… fine? She was being chaotic, as always to be honest…”

Lando smiles at him. They look domestic, sitting there surrounded by track parts.

“Do you mind if I take a picture of you two for my mom? She really wanted to see Luka on Facetime, but that felt awkward to do...”

“Yeah sure,” Lando says with a grin.

Oscar opens his phone camera and snaps a photo of them and their Hot Wheels situation. Luka is too focused on what he’s building to notice, but Lando smiles and gives a thumbs up.

The Australian sends the photo to his mom immediately and goes to sit down next to Lando with a sigh.

“Your hair is all over the place, man,” Lando says. The older driver reaches over and runs his fingers through the other’s hair to fix some strands. Oscar desperately tries not to lean into the touch.

Oscar must be touch starved or something, because the way he relaxes...

“That’s better,” the Brit says as he removes his hand.

“Thanks,” Oscar says with a soft smile. When Lando smiles back at him, Oscar has to stomp down that little voice in the back of him mind. It sounds awfully much like his mother.

His mom might actually have a son in law soon if Lando keeps acting like this- shut up, brain…

“So what were you guys up to, except for building the racetrack?” The Australian asks to distract himself.

Luka takes the bait meant for Lando and shows Oscar all the toys they have unboxed and put out already. The play carpet is laid out on one side of the room, with the parking tower next to. The city side is facing upwards, ready to have a story acted out on it.

The dinosaurs and farm animals have been put to the side in the plastic boxes for now, together with the wooden train parts. On the desk on the other side of the room sit the art supplies.

It looks like a kids room already. Oscar loves it. “Nice, Luka, everything looks great!” The kid beams at him.

Oscar looks at Lando for his side of the story. “I’ve moved the chair you put together to the dining table and the first pile of clothes is in the washing machine.”

“Good job, both of you.” Oscar says. It makes Lando huff out a laugh, probably because the younger driver sounded like a kinder garden teacher.

They finish building the Hot Wheels track together. Once Luka has figured out how to use it, the adults leave him to and go make dinner together. They leave the door to Luka’s room open, so they can hear if something happens.

They go through the tasks of cooking like an oiled machine, as if they have done it many times before. Lando mans the stove, while Oscar chops the veggies for the pasta pesto.

It's so domestic and when Oscar lets himself overanalyze the moment, he acknowledges that it feels right.

When everything is cooking and the duo has to wait for the pasta to be done, Oscar rushes off to grab his laptop from his suitcase. Now might be the right time to e-mail the Monaco GP security.

He places his laptop on the dinner table and turns it on.

“Hey! No electronics at the dinner table!” Lando teases him. He points the wooden spoon he used to stir the pasta at the Australian threateningly. Oscar snorts when he sees that the Brit is holding his smartphone in the other hand.

“The pot calling the kettle black…” Oscar utters, while he opens Outlook and searches for the contact info he needs.

“Oi!” Lando grumbles. “What are you doing anyway, Osc?”

“Oh, the people at the adoption consulting firm said that if they get enough proof of abandonment, they can start a case and get the legal part started. I was hoping that maybe the security team caught something on camera yesterday,” Oscar explains.

The Brit hums. “Smart thinking. Did you keep the letter we found in his backpack?”

Oscar nods.

“Okay, we can scan it in later,” Lando tells him. He then leaves the younger driver to it and goes to look at his phone.

After writing an e-mail explaining the situation, Oscar adds Lando’s e-mail address as a CC and sends it out.

“Oscar?” The man in question looks up. Lando looks at his phone in concern. “Did you get a cryptic message from your PR manager too?”

Oscar frowns and takes his phone out of his pocket. Charlotte did send him a message. And it does indeed start with a cryptic: “we need to talk”.

Oh no… What did he do…?

He reads the rest of the message: “The Luka situation is getting a lot of attention online. I would like to discuss how we are going to deal with everything. And I would like an update on whether you are keeping the kid or not, because that would for sure influence the strategy Steph and I are fabricating.” ‘Steph’ being Lando’s PR manager Stephanie.

“We are expecting the three of you at the Monaco based office tomorrow at 10AM.”

Oops? Oscar looks at Lando and confirms his question with a grimace.

“Okay, fun… I’m not looking forward to going to the office on my day off…” Lando complains.

“Yeah, me neither… But it’s unavoidable, I guess. I hope Luka doesn’t mind coming along,” Oscar adds.

The younger driver texts Charlotte back, telling her that they will be there. He also informs her that he is keeping Luka, but that he is still working on the legal stuff.

Lando goes to strain the pasta. So, Oscar closes his laptop and puts it away. He grabs three deep plates and forks, while the Brit adds the pesto to the pan with veggies and meat, before throwing in the pasta and mixing it all together.

Both drivers were hoping to watch Cars on the couch while eating. So when Oscar goes to get Luka for dinner, he asks the kid if he knows how to eat with a normal fork.

Of course he does! Why did Oscar even doubt the toddler’s abilities.

And that’s how they are all sitting on the couch facing the TV, with a plate of pasta on each of their laps. Luka sits in between the two drivers, so he has the best view.

Lando starts the movie, and Oscar immediately knows they are going to have a great time watching together. Because they all say the opening line: “Speed, I am speed” at the exact same time.

Luka is giggling. Oscar loves that the toddler has watched this movie as much as he and Lando did when they were kids. Cars is a timeless movie it seems.

They do have a great time indeed. They make jokes and predict what is going to happen even though they can all dream the movie word for word from start to finish.

And to Oscar’s surprise, Luka drops pasta on his clothes only once. The kid looks a bit anxious of their reaction, but Lando just laughs and shows him how to hold his plate better so it’s less likely to happen again.

They all finish their food halfway through the movie, so Oscar takes their empty plates to the kitchen and grabs drinks for the three of them.

Lando smiles at him when he hands him the glass. Their fingers touch and the warmth lingers on Oscar’s fingers when he sits back down in his own spot.

The Australian wants to stay forever in this little bubble of happiness and comfort they have created.

When the movie comes to an end, Luka is smiling at them both. “That was fun!” he says. Lando and Oscar grin back at him. “It was!” the Brit agrees.

The younger driver can see the kid is getting tired though and when he looks at his watch, he sees that it is after eight.

“Alright, Luka, let’s get you to bed alright,” Oscar says. “Tomorrow, we have a busy day again. We are going to the McLaren office together. Maybe we can find a miniature version of Lando’s car there.”

When he says it like that, Luka doesn’t mind that it’s bedtime.

Lando stands up and when he passes Oscar leans down to whisper: “if you brush his teeth in the ensuite, I should have enough time to put on the Lightning McQueen duvet cover”. The younger driver nods at him.

The mission is a go. Oscar grabs the stepstool, Luka’s toothbrush, and the kids’ toothpaste they bought in the supermarket today. Lando told him Luka complained about the ‘spiciness’ of the normal mint toothpaste.

The Australian takes Luka to the ensuite while Lando slinks off to take the freshly washed cover out of the dryer.

Brushing someone else’s teeth is a bit harder than brushing your own, so Oscar struggles a bit. Luka luckily doesn’t mind. With the stepstool, the kid can rinse his mouth on his own, now being able to reach the tap.

When Oscar is brushing the toddlers hair, Luka asks: “where is Lano?”

“He had to go do something, but he will be back, don’t worry.”

Luka accepts the answer. Right when Luka is ready for bed, Lando walks back in.

He's carrying the same shirt Luka was wearing as a pajama last night. Lando helps Luka put it on, and Oscar gets a glimpse of what happened yesterday after he went to bed.

After they get Luka out of his day-clothes, Lando rolls up the shirt and holds open the neckline. Luka sticks his head through it without the older racer having to ask.

It’s super cute.

Lando helps Luka find the armholes with a giggle. Oscar smiles at the two.

They walk to Luka’s room and let the kid take the lead. When he enters, he sees his surprise immediately and squeals. Lando and Oscar laugh at his reaction.

Luka flops down on the bed. “It’s Lightning McQueen!” He basically hugs the picture of the beloved character, then springs back up and runs to the drivers.

“Thank you, Osca!” he hugs Oscar. “Thank you, Lano!” and he hugs Lando.

He giggles as he runs back to the bed again. He sits on the bed; the adults go to join him. Oscar sits down next to him, while Lando goes to sit on the floor beside them.

They are all smiling, joining in Luka’s excitement.

“Oh! And we got you a clock,” Lando says, pointing at the car shaped clock on the bedside table. It has red LED’s to show the time digitally. “It will help you know when it’s time to get out of bed.”

Luka looks at it and tilts his head in question. “What numbers are on there now?” Lando asks him. Luka hums and then says: “eight… four… one?”

“Yes! Great! You’re a GENIUS Luka!” Lando cheers. Luka grins shyly at that.

“So, Oscar and I sleep till eight, zero, zero. So if you wake up before then, and it’s not an emergency, you can go try to sleep some more. But if you can’t, you can of course play with your toys until then,” Lando tries to explain.

Oscar nods, that sounds like a good deal. “When is it an emergency?” he asks Lando, so Luka doesn’t have to.

“Oh, when you had a nightmare, or when you are scared, or when you are feeling sick or sad,” the Brit quickly explains. Luka nods in understanding.

Oscar is happy Luka seems to get it. Tomorrow morning they will see whether it works or not.

“Let’s get you under that awesome blanket, mate,” Oscar says and tucks him into bed.

“Today was fun,” Luka says while he rubs his eyes.

“For sure, kiddo. And there will be many more fun days to come,” Lando tells him.

“Osca and Lano are like mommy, but gooder,” Luka says quietly.

Oscar smiles. “Aw, Luka, that’s really sweet of you.” He runs a hand through the kids hair.

“And you are the nicest kid we have ever met,” Lando softly squeezes the little hand that is laying outside of the duvet.

“Mommy isn’t coming back, is she?” Luka suddenly says. Both racers freeze.

Oscar sighs. “No, we don’t think so…” he tells the kid fairly. He hopes the kid doesn’t start crying after such a nice happy evening.

Luka hums. “Okay…”

“But you can stay with us for as long as you need us to take care of you,” Lando says.

“I’m working on adopting you, Luka. Which means that you can stay with us forever if you want to,” Oscar says carefully, waiting for the kids reaction.

“Forever?” Luka asks.

“Yes, forever. Always and always,” Lando confirms.

Luka smiles at that. “Okay.” The kid is easily convinced, which is saying something, Oscar thinks.

“Do you think you are able to go to sleep?” Oscar asks.

“A bedtime story?” he asks while he looks at Lando. It’s apparently something Lando has done yesterday, and now Luka is expecting it.

Lando complies with a grin and tells a story from his karting days. Oscar listens and watches the older driver talk. He moves his hands a lot while telling the story. It’s endearing.

When the story is over, both drivers give Luka a pat on the head and a ‘goodnight’ before walking to the door.

“Love you!” Luka says when they reach the door.

Both drivers turn around abruptly.

“Love you too, Luka.” “Love you too, little man.” They say in unison.

Oscar turns off the light and when they are both outside, Lando closes the door.

They turn to look at each other, wearing the biggest grins.

The Australian softly pushes a very excited Lando towards the living room, wanting to give Luka the quiet he needs to fall asleep.

They basically rush into the living room and drop onto the couch next to each other.

“He said ‘love you’! I’m- Does that mean he is officially our kid now?!” Lando gushes.

Oscar laughs, it’s the bubbly one, the one he doesn’t let out often.

“I think so, mate!”

“Ah this is great! I love this so much,” the Brit says, not being able to hold back his words.

Oscar smiles at him. “Yeah, me too. Is it okay if me and Luka stay here for a while longer?” he finally asks.

“Stay as long as you like, Osc. I really enjoy having you two around, so please: mi casa es su casa,” Lando replies. He is still beaming.

“Thank you, Lando. You are amazing,” Oscar can’t help but look at the other driver softly.

“Always, Oscar,” the Brit says as he reaches over and squeezes the Australian’s hand.

Chapter Text

They sit on the couch together for a while, both claiming their own side. Oscar’s foot is resting on Lando’s calf, but the Brit doesn’t seem to mind.

There’s a football match playing on the TV. It’s more of a background noise, since the drivers are focused on their own phones.

Oscar is finally taking the time to scroll through his Social Media. Lando was right; everyone is really sweet. There are of course some mean posts, but those are unavoidable at this day and age.

He finds the picture of them in the paddock after the race. It’s absolutely adorable as expected. Luka’s happy face, Lando giggling, while Oscar has an embarrassed blush on his face. The Aussie is smiling in the pictures though.

There’s also a video of it circulating X, though it’s literally two pixels. It’s probably very much zoomed in F1 TV footage.

He saves the picture to his phone.

The memes are great indeed. The Formula 1 community have already claimed Luka as THEIR kid. Which is clear from the soviet union “OUR child” meme that keeps getting reposted.

The memes a good, the memes are spicy. Their fans have figured it all out from just one photo and the press conference. Oscar is a bit embarrassed about how much time it took himself to do the same.

The Landoscar shippers he sees on X every once in a while, are going absolute bonkers. But it’s all really sweet, so Oscar doesn’t mind, and even likes a post here and there.

Instagram is the same. Mostly happiness and curiosity. Everyone loves Luka. There’s actually a Luka edit he has been tagged, and Oscar finds it hilarious. It’s Luka saying his already infamous “And he was super-fast! Like Lightning McQueen!” sentence and then a sick beat drop with way too hyper special effects.

It makes the Australian die of laughter and when he shows Lando the Brit reacts the exact same way. He adds the reel to his stories. He hopes it doesn’t ruin Charlotte’s strategy.

He will wait for her opinion before posting anything else and lets the fans have their moment.

He keeps scrolling through Instagram, watching more reels from yesterday. He can feel himself getting tired. He sags down into the couch a bit more. It’s only half past nine, no way he is going to bed yet.

He starts yawning and then can’t stop. He stupidly decides to let his eyes rest for just a second.

He must have nodded off for a bit, because Lando is suddenly standing next to him squeezing his shoulder. He didn’t even notice the Brit get up.

“Don’t fall asleep on the couch, Osc. Go to bed,” Lando says.

Oscar sits up and rubs at his face. “I don’t get why I’m so tired all the time,” he mumbles.

Lando sighs. He stands in front of the younger driver with his hands on his hips, like a disappointed mom.

“It’s called emotional exhaustion, Oscar. And I bet it’s a very normal phenomenon for people who have just decided to adopt a kid.”

Oscar hums. He places his face in his hands. And almost falls asleep, again.

“Nope, not gonna happen. Up you go!” Lando says, as he grabs onto Oscar’s wrists and pulls him up.

The Aussie grumbles at him, but doesn’t get much time to protest as Lando is pushing him towards the hallway by his shoulders.

“Go. To. Bed.”

“Alright, alright!” Oscar holds up his hands in a disarming manner.

Lando lets go of him. Oscar accepts defeat and walks to Lando’s room. He goes through his bedtime routine in the ensuite.

When he’s ready for bed, he walks back into the living room to grab his phone. He left it on the couch.

Lando looks at him in suspicion as he walks in, as if he suspects Oscar will try to stay up for longer. But when the Australian grabs his phone and goes back towards Lando’s room, the older driver tells him: “Goodnight!”

Oscar wishes him the same.

Once in the bedroom, he lays down on the same side of the bed he did yesterday. He gets comfortable, but leaves the bedside lamp on, wanting to look through social media a bit more.

He doesn’t get to scroll very far though, because he is more exhausted than he expects. Sleep overtakes him.

- - o - -

One and a half hours later, Lando gets up from the couch to go to bed as well. He turns off the TV and the lights. When he walks into the hallway, he sees light shining from under his bedroom door. Is Oscar still awake?

But as he walks in he finds the Australian fast asleep, with the light still on. Lando quietly grabs the stuff he needs from the ensuite and leaves the room to follow his bedtime ritual in the other bathroom.

When he’s done, he goes back to the bedroom and quietly closes the bedroom door behind him.

Oscar is dead to the world, holding his phone in a loose grip. He probably fell asleep looking at it. It’s endearing, Lando thinks.

He reaches over the younger driver and carefully pulls the phone from his hand. He turns it off, it’s all he can do when it’s locked, and puts it on the bedside table, within Oscar’s reach.

The blankets only reach up to the Australian’s middle, which isn’t intentional. Lando realizes it when he sees the goosebumps on Oscar’s arm.

He grabs the duvet and readjusts it, so it covers him better. Oscar takes a deep breath in response and Lando fears he might have woken him up. But the Australian stays asleep.

Lando can’t help but look at him for a bit. Why is this man so entrancing? Stubborn as hell, yes. But also unfairly cute, and handsome too…

It's nice to see him relaxed like this. A soft facial expression, his bold eyebrows at rest. The contrast of the collection of moles on his fair skin reminds Lando of a sky full of stars.

Aaand he’s being creepy…

Lando grimaces and looks away. God, he is pining… badly… As much as he wants to reach out and run his fingers though Oscar’s soft hair again, he doesn’t.

Lando has been touchy-feely all day, and it must have been confusing for the Australian. The Brit knows Oscar just rolls with it, and he hates to burden him even more. All because the older driver can’t keep his hands to himself and HAS to touch the artwork reach out.

Damn his love language being physical touch…

He turns off the light and goes to his side of the bed with not one, but two pillows. He will build a wall to keep himself from glomping onto the younger driver like a desperate octopus…

He lays down and places one pillow in the middle of the bed, in between him and Oscar. He hugs the other one and places his head on top of it. Maybe if he is already hugging something he won’t move over to Oscar for affection.

It takes a bit of time, but Lando eventually falls asleep like that.

---

The Brit wakes up from his comfortable slumber halfway during the night because of a full bladder.

He sluggishly blinks his eyes open. He doesn’t want to move from the pleasant warmth, but has to.

Though, when he languidly tries to get out of bed, he catches on that he CAN’T.

His heart beats in his throat when he recognizes what is going on.

He is wrapped in Oscar’s arms. They are both lying on their side, facing each other. His head is lying on the Aussie’s bicep. Oscar’s other arm slung over his shoulders. His breaths tickling Lando’s curls. The Brit’s free arm is draped over the Oscar’s waist. The other arm trapped between their chests.

Lando has died and gone to heaven. This isn’t real, he is dreaming. Or dead.

But his bladder lets him know this is real and he is still very much alive.

He desperately doesn’t want to leave, because since when are Oscar’s shoulders wider than his and why hasn’t he noticed it before? Dammit Osc... What are you doing to him…

In a moment of weakness, he rests his forehead against the other’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. He lets himself take in the moment before he has to separate himself from the Australian.

He rolls onto his back, feeling sad. He carefully picks up the arm that’s holding him and lays it down on the mattress.

The pillows he had placed as a wall to keep himself away from the Australian are now keeping him in. He curses the way he has to roll over them. Did he actually do that in his sleep?! How the hell?

When he gets out of bed, Oscar’s breathing hasn’t changed, still asleep. Good.

Lando quietly leaves the room and goes to the bathroom in the halfway to do his business. When he’s done, he re-enters the bedroom just as quietly.

It's dark in the room, but the gap between the ceiling and the curtains lets in the warm orange glow coming from the streetlights below. With Lando’s eyes having adjusted to the dark, he can slightly see Oscar’s outline on the bed.

He hasn’t moved at all. He’s lying on the corner of his pillow, the side closest to Lando’s part of the bed.

The Brit would love to go back to the way they were snuggling before…

Fuck it…

He crawls back into bed and removes his pillow wall. He very carefully drags himself over to Oscar’s side.

And lays his head back down on the other’s bicep, looking at his sleeping face warily.

Oscar takes a deep breath and lets out a quiet hum at the movement.

The Australian will never beat the “polite cat” allegations, because he suddenly throws his arm back over Lando’s shoulder blades and pulls him in.

Oscar squeezes the older driver into his chest and buries his face in his hair, letting out a deep sigh.

Lando implodes mentally, right then and there.

He is completely stunned, his mind doing flips, trying to figure out what is happening.

Though when Oscar moves his face away from his hair and lays his head back on the pillow, Lando can’t help but chase him.

He nuzzles the bridge of his nose over the underside of Oscar’s chin. Almost as a thank you. He can feel the day-old stubble growing there. Lando decides he loves it.

When he moves his head back to his previous spot on Oscar’s bicep, he almost misses it; the younger driver presses a small kiss onto his hairline.

Lando freezes.

And then almost starts crying. Because he has never felt this loved before. And he knows that Oscar probably won’t remember doing it in the morning, but…

He loves this man…

He loves this man so much…

Lando tightens the arm he has wrapped around younger man’s back. He will take care of this man and his son for the rest of his life. It’s a vow, a mantra.

If anyone tries to take Oscar away from him, he will fight them tooth and nail. They will have to pry him from his cold dead hands.

He shakily buries his face into Oscar’s chest and runs his hand over his broad back. The Australian is fast asleep while Lando is having a revelation. The Brit almost snorts at the ridiculous situation he has found himself in.

But he relaxes, and it doesn’t take long for him to find sleep again, wrapped in Oscar’s arms.

- - o - -

---

Oscar wakes up to the sound of a beating heart. He drowsily opens his eyes and sees that he has made Lando his pillow. Though when he looks a bit further, he notices that Lando is on Oscar’s side of the bed.

Did they move towards each other during the night? Oscar doesn’t remember much, except that he has had the best night of sleep.

He doesn’t know how this position is comfortable to him, with half his upper body draped over Lando, but it is, and Oscar isn’t moving.

Lando’s arm is slung over his back, one of his big hands resting right underneath Oscar’s shoulder blades.

Ugh, he loves this. He almost falls back asleep again, but the same thing that happened yesterday, happens again today: the door opens with a click.

Lando grumbles under him, Oscar can feel it rumble through their chests.

Oscar lifts his head and hoists himself up on his elbow and hand. He turns his head and looks at the culprit of his disrupted sleep.

“Morning, Luka,” he says sleepily.

“Osca, Lano, it’s eight-zero-zero,” Luka says with a whisper.

“It is? Good job waiting,” Oscar tells him.

He tries to turn, to give the kid some space to crawl onto the bed. But realizes he can’t because Lando has trapped him right at the edge.

Though when Oscar looks at the Brit, he gets the shock of his life. Lando is awake and looking at him softly, and the Australian is literally hoovering over the guy…

Resting on his elbow on one side of Lando’s torso, and his hand on the other. Their faces are way too close together.

Oh god…

And of course Lando looks handsome as hell, his curls splayed on Oscar’s pillow.

The younger driver starts blushing like crazy, and then Lando makes it worse by talking.

“Good morning, Osc,” he says with his gravelly voice, still heavy with sleep.

Oscar combusts, and is barely able to reply: “morning” with a far too high-pitched voice.

“Ah sorry, let me make some space for you,” Lando says, and suddenly there’s a hand on Oscar’s waist. The Australian lets Lando scoot out of their embrace in a daze. The hand leaves, but the warmth lingers, a phenomenon that has occurred a lot in the past forty-eight hours.

Luka tries to climb up the bed, emphasis on the ‘tries’. It helps Oscar get back to reality.

Still a bit out of it, he sits up and grabs Luka under his armpits. He hugs the little guy.

“Did you sleep well?” he asks Luka. Luka nods.

Oscar doesn’t want to get out of bed yet. So he flops back down, taking Luka with him.

Lando didn’t go very far apparently, because Oscar basically falls on top of him. The Brit lets out an ‘oof’, and the younger driver apologizes, but neither of them move away.

They are lying side to side, squished together. The back of Oscar’s head rests on Lando’s arm.

Luka giggles, loving the affection. Both drivers chuckle at that.

Oscar feels Lando reach for something. When he settles down again, he is holding his phone. The Australian can look on the screen. The time is 8:04.

“I guess we don’t need the alarm I set for eight-fifteen anymore,” Lando says. Oscar snorts.

“How long is the drive to the office?” the Australian asks.

Lando hums, and replies: “about twenty minutes”.

The younger driver groans. That means they have to get up soon, and he doesn’t want to. “Ten more minutes,” he negotiates.

The Brit barks out a laugh, and then there are fingers running through Oscar’s hair. “I don’t think that's a good idea, Osc. You’re just gonna fall asleep again.”

Yes, and Lando softly scratching his scalp isn’t going to help with that.

Oscar heaves a big sigh and sits up through sheer willpower.

“You can do it, Oscar,” Lando says.

Oscar looks over his shoulder at him and gives him a deadpan look. The Brit is grinning smugly. He's lazing around, not making any effort to get up himself.

“You better get up too, Lando…” The younger driver glares at him. The brit has apparently decided to be an absolute menace, first thing in the morning.

“Or else?” he cheekily says.

Oscar doesn’t know what part of his brain comes up with the plan of action, but he reaches over to Lando’s side and tickles him.

The older driver yelps and surges away from him. He is out of bed in the blink of an eye. Oscar has never seen Lando move faster.

It is Oscar’s turn to look at his teammate with a shit-eating grin. Luka is laughing like crazy in the Aussie’s arms. Finding the Brit’s reaction very funny.

“Don’t you DARE, Piastri!” Lando squawks.

“You’ve just given me a weapon, Lando… And I’m not afraid to wield it,” Oscar says evilly.

They have a stare down. But Lando is the first to look away.

“I’m gonna go make breakfast…” he says, defeated. He hurriedly puts on his sweatpants and dashes out of the room.

Oscar lets out a laugh, Luka laughs with him. When they’ve both calmed down, Oscar changes into a fresh outfit and helps Luka get dressed too.

They enter the living room together. Oscar walks past Lando to grab a cup of coffee. The Brit throws him a wary look.

Oscar grins back at him.

And then remembers something.

“Oh shoot, I was supposed to e-mail the consulting firm yesterday,” he says with a frown.

“Oh, well you can do it now if you want. Breakfast isn’t done yet,” Lando tells him.

Oscar thanks him, grabs his laptop and rushes of to Lando’s office after he finds the cursed letter.

He connects Lando’s scanner to his laptop and scans the message. He immediately sends it to the firm after. Telling them he has e-mailed the security for camera footage and is expecting it soon.

He closes his laptop and leaves it in Lando’s office. When he enters the living room again, breakfast has been made; toast and scrambled eggs, with some fruit on the side.

“Thanks Lan, you’re a saint,” Oscar says with a sigh as he sits down.

Lando smiles at him. “You’re welcome!”

Luka is sitting in his highchair at the head of the table, in between the two adults. The height gives him a better view of the table.

They eat their food leisurely, talking in between bites about everything and nothing. When they are done, they all leave the table up to get ready. Since Oscar is already dressed, he offers to take care of the dishes again.

Lando thanks him gratefully and then hurries off to get dressed and do his hair.

They are out of the apartment and in the car right on schedule. Luka is buckled into his booster seat again, looking out the window the moment they start driving.

Lando was right, the drive to the office is exactly twenty minutes. The enter the office at nine-fifty. Perfect timing.

They don’t have to look very far; Charlotte and Stephanie are waiting for them at the entrance of the main floor.

“Good morning boys!” Stephanie says cheerily, “And nice to meet you Luka.” She waves at the kid. He’s in between the drivers, holding both their hands just like yesterday.

Charlotte smiles at the three of them and tells them to follow her.

They are led to a small meeting room with more cozy furniture. Oscar remembers the room being used to do interviews sometimes. It has comfortable armchairs and a coffee table in the middle, more like a living room.

Oscar sits down and sets Luka on his lap.

“Thanks for agreeing to a meeting on such a short notice,” Charlotte says to the two drivers. “The attention you two are getting because of Luka is insane and we need a plan of action.”

“There are articles being written about you three that are completely speculative. We think putting out a statement will help calm things down,” Stephanie adds.

“How bad is it?” Lando asks.

“From ‘has Lando’s wild nightly escapades finally caught up to him?’ to ‘is the kid a PR stunt?’; they are ridiculous,” Lando’s PR manager says.

Oscar grimaces.

“I’m working on adopting Luka, so he is here to stay. I will be taking him with me to race weekends. That’s as much as I can say for now,” the Australian adds.

“Oh? Nothing about Lando’s part in this?” Charlotte looks at him with suspicion.

Before Oscar can answer, Charlotte replies for him. “Like how you’re staying at his apartment and caring for the kid together?”

Oscar is gaping at her. How did she figure that out?

“You two are all over the internet, as we said,” Stephanie says as she grabs her tablet.

She turns it towards them and shows them a series of pictures, almost all of them from the mall:
- The three of them having coffee together, Lando showing Oscar something on his phone.
- Luka walking hand in hand with the both of them, while Lando and Oscar look at each other softly.
- Them loading in the car together, tons of bags around them.
- Them in the grocery store, Luka on Oscar’s hip, Lando pulling a disgusted face at the string beans Oscar is showing him.

“That’s uhm… That’s a lot…” Lando mutters.

“How didn’t we notice them…?” Oscar wonders out loud.

“You two were too preoccupied to detect anything around you,” Charlotte says deadpan.

Oscar looks ahead, avoiding eye contact with Lando at all costs. Because Luka wasn’t the only one distracting him in those moments. He had been focused on Lando just as much. The two of them being in their own world together most of the time.

Oscar hates that they are having this conversation when he woke up cuddling with Lando only two hours earlier. He knows he’s going to blush and make matters worse. Damn his pale skin.

Lando takes over, because of course he does. “Do we HAVE to tell everyone that we’re basically living together right now? Can’t we say I’m just helping Oscar?”

Charlotte sighs. “Boys, everyone is already onto it, let them have it. It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“But won’t that make them assume… things…? Like, what our… relationship… is in this…?” Oscar can barely bring out. He vaguely points between him and Lando.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the question of the week,” Stephanie mumbles. Charlotte elbows her.

“It’s shared custody, we can tell them that,” Lando says. Oscar feels strangely protected.

Stephanie snorts. “Oh yes, just two bros being dads! Living together!” Charlotte rolls her eyes.

“It has a nice ring to it,” the Brit says.

Oscar wants to sink through the floor. He wants to be anywhere but here. This is torture.

The anxiety coursing through his body is insane. For the past two days, Lando has been his rock in these types of moments. Oscar can’t help it; he accidentally looks at the Brit.

And sees that Lando is blushing. The Brit gives him a kind smile, it’s a little wavery though.

Oscar combusts, the blush he had been holding back finally released from its cage. He looks away in panic.

Wait what? Oh my god, does the older driver know-

“Oh, I see what’s going on,” Charlotte says, “you two need to TALK. The earlier the better.”

“You owe me fifty bucks, ‘lotte,” Stephanie comments.

“Yeah, yeah, Steph…”

Maybe if Oscar closes his eyes, he can pretend he’s not here. He hugs Luka closer. His mind is all over the place.

He doesn’t WANT to talk, because it might ruin what he has been given. Why does no one understand that?! Oscar doesn’t need more than this, and he dreads losing it because they gave it a name.

There’s a chance one of them freaks out about it and then he will be all alone. No more Lando by his side. No more ‘playing house’. Having to separate Luka and Lando would break his heart in many ways. He desperately doesn’t want the comfort to be destroyed.

“Alright, that’s enough…” Lando saves him.

Charlotte sighs.

“Okay, fine… Then this is how we formulate it: Oscar and Lando are adopting Luka. The kid is now under the protection of McLaren and has become part of the team. As a driver’s kid he has the same privileges as his driver parents, which includes security and access to all facilities,” Charlotte states. “It doesn’t really fix any of the speculation, but it’s a statement that might calm things down slightly.”

“Agreed,” Stephanie says. “What do you two think?” she asks the drivers.

“Yeah, that’s great, I think…” Lando replies, he sounds a bit out of it.

Oscar nods. He scrapes his throat. “That’s fine.” He can feel Lando give him a worried look. He hopes the older driver doesn’t reach out to him, because even though he would love the support, he might flinch at the contact.

“Good, then we’ve agreed upon that. We will send it through to the other departments as well. Let the social media managers do their thing. Don’t post anything else before receiving instructions,” Steph explains.

Both drivers nod.

Chapter Text

The meeting calms down after that. They talk practicalities, for example who will be the designated babysitter at the hospitality when both drivers are busy.

Oscar has calmed down enough to take part in the conversation. The PR managers themselves wouldn’t mind taking care of Luka when needed, and Lando says that his trainer Jon will probably enjoy keeping the kid company as well.

It's not really the task of a PR manager, but they are here now. Stephanie tells them Andrea and Zak have already agreed that Luka can stay in the paddock while they are out driving.

And then the true PR part of the meeting comes up. Steph stands up, goes to the corner of the room and comes back with a large box.

“Since Luka will be hanging around you two and the entirety of McLaren, we’ve gathered some things for him,” Stephanie tells them, as she holds out the box to Lando.

Lando takes it from her and opens it. Oscar leans over to see what’s inside.

It's merch, a lot of merch. All in Luka’s size. Lando laughs. Right on top of the pile of clothes is his cap, the black 4 a high contrast on the bright papaya.

“Look Luka! Now you’ve got mine too!” the Brit tells the kid with a grin. He places the cap on Luka’s fluffy brown hair. Lando’s excitement makes Oscar smile.

In the box they find the latest OP81 and LN4 hoodies, t-shirts, joggers and shorts. Some McLaren polos in kids size are in there as well. Oscar didn’t even know they existed in such a small size. It’s adorable.

“Make us happy, dress him in merch on qualification and race days. The fans will love it. We will love it,” Charlotte says.

“A mix of both your merch preferably,” Stephanie adds.

It's official: McLaren sees Luka as both Oscar’s and Lando’s kid. Luka has two dads and they’re both Formula 1 drivers. The whole world will know by the start of the Canadian GP.

Oscar isn’t really comprehending it yet. It doesn’t feel real, like it’s happening to someone else and not him.

Everyone will think he and Lando are in a relationship. Because no way will people accept that they are just two teammates sharing a child. Who does that?

Oscar doesn’t know if he’s ready for the backlash he will be facing. Also, is what Lando and he are having a relationship even? The Australian is starting to accept it’s much more than friendship, but what if Lando still thinks it’s platonic?

Oscar thinks he’s getting delusional, because Lando put his hand on the Australian’s waist this morning like it was normal and runs his fingers through his hair as if they belong there. Lando HAS to know this is more than friendship… More than ‘two bros being dads’…

It's here, the anxiety spiral he was so afraid to get stuck in.

Because Formula is a manly masculine sport, and he has always hidden his possible attraction to men.

And now when he’s made it to the top, he might ruin it all because he wants to play house with his teammate. While said teammate is actually rivalling the World Champion and shouldn’t get distracted by trivial things.

What about the sponsors? What about the fans? Will they turn their backs when they find out he and Lando might be…

Oscar is so lost in thought he doesn’t even notice the meeting is over. He utters a goodbye to both women when they leave. And then he is alone with Lando and Luka again.

Fingers start running over his arm. Oscar flinches. The fingers immediately stop caressing his skin. The younger driver hates his own reaction, because he misses the touch instantly.

“Hey Osc, are you there?” Lando asks softly. Oscar might cry. He nods.

“Anxiety attack?”

Another nod.

“Ah shit.” Lando has been doing so well, trying not to cuss in front of Luka. His slip up shows that the older driver isn’t dealing well at the moment.

It makes Oscar look at him, to gauge his expression. The older driver is worried for him. His hands hoover between them, as if he doesn’t know what to do with them.

“Can I do something for you?”

Lando is such a sweetheart… It unfreezes Oscar’s tongue.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” the Australian says. It’s barely a whisper, but Lando hears it.

“We don’t have to talk about it. We don’t have to talk about anything. But please know that I’m here to listen when you DO want to talk,” the Brit tells him. There’s desperation in his voice.

“Okay…” the younger man says quietly.

The older man keeps going. “We’re doing fine together, right? We’re having fun.” Oscar nods. “Then why change or rush that or whatever?”

Oscar nods again and looks back at the floor trying to sort out his thoughts. It isn’t working.

“Osco,” the stupid nickname breaks him out of the spiral, “can I touch you or is that going to freak you out more?” Lando asks carefully.

“Please,” it’s all the younger driver can bring out.

“Please what, Osc.”

Oscar doesn’t know how to say it, so he shows it; he holds out his hand to the other driver.

Lando immediately grabs hold of it. The Brit’s hand is much larger than his, wrapping around Oscar’s smaller one protectively.

The Australian closes his eyes and tries to breath slowly, hoping it will calm his racing mind.

Lando caresses his knuckles with his thumb. It’s soothing. Oscar focusses on the feeling.

“Is Osca alright?” he hears Luka ask.

Lando sighs. “He will be. He got overwhelmed, just like you did yesterday at the toy store. He needs some time to calm down, but he will be fine,” the Brit explains. Though he still sounds worried in some sort of way. Luka hums and leans into the Aussie a bit more.

They stay like that for a bit.

Until finally Oscar squeezes Lando’s hand, then takes in a deep breath. He pinches the bridge of his nose with the other hand. He opens his eyes and lets the hand fall away from his face while he breathes out.

“I’m back I think.” He doesn’t let go of Lando’s hand, needing the comfort still. He rubs Luka’s back with his free hand.

“Sorry for worrying you, Luka.” He looks at Lando. “And for worrying you too. Didn’t mean to freak out.”

“You’re good, please don’t apologize,” the Brit tells him. He hasn’t stopped moving his thumb, the soothing little circles continue.

Since Oscar isn’t saying anything, Lando keeps talking. “Do you think you’re feeling well enough to walk to the car?”

Oscar has a mental check-in with himself. When it comes back positive, he nods. He can walk to the car.

“Okay, you hold Luka, while I carry the box?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” He doesn’t want to let go of Lando’s hand… But also doesn’t want to walk hand in hand through the McLaren office. Not now. He will freak out again and it won’t be pretty.

“Hm, just follow me,” Lando squeezes his hand one more time and then lets go.

Lando stands up and grabs the box. Oscar follows after him as instructed, Luka in his arms. The kid has wrapped his arms around the drivers neck. It helps to ground him.

He feels dizzy, so focusing on following Lando is the right choice to make. Some colleagues greet them, the drivers greet them back, though in Oscar’s case it’s lackluster. Not that they notice. To them the Australian is being his usual deadpan self.

Oscar is starting to think that only his family and Lando notice it when he’s not feeling well.

They finally leave the building. The sunlight warms Oscar’s skin. He takes a breath of fresh air. The nausea finally stops getting worse.

It’s the shitty thing about anxiety attacks. The symptoms are usually lighter that with a panic attack, but they linger. He can feel his heartbeat slowing back down. His fight-flight-freeze response is still going haywire though. Oscar knows it can last for the rest of the day if he’s unlucky.

When they reach the car, Oscar suddenly remembers something through the slight brain fog.

“Lando, wait… We can’t leave yet…” he says.

The Brit looks up from where he is putting the box in the trunk. “Hm?”

“I promised Luka a replica of your car,” Oscar explains. He doesn’t want to go back inside, but he promised. He hates breaking promises.

“Do we have to get it now? I can text Steph and we can pick it up later this week,” Lando suggests.

Oscar shakes his head. He’s a Piastri. A promise is a promise.

“You stubborn- You know what… Go sit in the car. I will go get it,” the Brit tells him.

The Australian gives him an annoyed look. Lando is doing all the work once more.

Lando shakes his head at him. “Nope, you’re not winning this. You’re staying here.” He closes the trunk and then walks around Oscar to open the front passenger door.

“I’m feeling okay. I can come with,” the younger driver presses on.

“Buddy, I can literally see you’re squeezing your eyes in discomfort and the sweat on your forehead is telling…”

Oscar grumbles. He doesn’t move.

Lando gently grabs his upper arm and drags Oscar over. “Please sit down. I can do this by myself, and I think you could use the quiet.”

The Aussie huffs, and then finally relents, sitting down in the seat with Luka still in his arms.

Familiar fingers are brushing through his hair. He looks up at Lando who is wearing a grimace. “Stay here, alright? I will be right back,” the older driver tells him.

He takes back his hand, puts the car keys on the dashboard in front of Oscar, and softly closes the car door.

Oscar takes a deep breath. He lets his head drop onto the headrest and closes his eyes. He might be dizzier than he thought. He rubs a hand over the kid’s back.

“Sorry, Luka, I didn’t mean-”

“No sorry! Lano said no sorry…” Luka tells him matter of fact.

Oscar huffs out a laugh. Luka is learning from Lando at a rapid speed. Like father like son, in a way. It’s weird that they are ganging up on him right now. The McLaren driver has to admit it is endearing.

“Okay Luka, no sorry…” he tells the kid, because he’s right. Of course the kid is right. The anxiety attack had a valid trigger. And there isn’t anything you can do to stop it once it starts.

Oscar holds onto Luka and relaxes into his seat. Lando was right as well, he needed the quiet.

Ten minutes later he’s almost dozing off. Luka is humming softly, still calmly lounging in the driver’s arms.

Fingers tap on the car window, and then the door opens. Lando is back holding a little papaya racecar. This one has a four on the nose.

“I got it,” the Brit says with a smile. Oscar smiles back at him.

“How are you doing, Osc?”

“Yeah, feeling better.”

Lando hums, he then carefully takes Luka from his arms. “Alright, little man, let’s get you strapped in. Time to go home.”

Oscar lets Lando do his thing and puts his own seatbelt on in the meantime.

Lando eventually takes place in the driver seat and reaches over the grab the car keys from the dashboard on Oscar’s side.

He speaks up after he’s put the key in the contact: “I was thinking… There’s a park with a playground close to my apartment. We can pack some sandwiches when we get back home and then have a little picnic at the park?”

“That sounds great… I would love that,” Oscar tells him.

“Good, then we’ll do that.” He turns on the ignition. The Brit switches off the radio before it can make any sound.

They drive back in silence. Well, mostly silence, because Luka is making race car noises in the backseat, playing with his new toy. He’s holding it up to the window and it probably looks like it’s driving next to them on the road from his perspective.

Oscar is turned around in his seat, watching Luka play for a bit. When he turns back after a while, he sees Lando glance at him.

The Australian pats the Brit’s knee in thanks. It puts a smile on Lando’s face.

When they entire the garage beneath the apartment complex, Lando heaves a sigh.

Oscar gives him a questioning look.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I had the realization that fans now know of my ‘under cover’ car,” the Brit tells him.

“Yeah, the photos… They didn’t even hide your plate. It’s a b-move in my opinion,” Oscar replies.

“I guess we’ve got to look for a new one then.”

‘We’. Lando says it again. ‘We’re having fun. Then why change or rush that or whatever?’ he said at the office. Lando isn’t going anywhere, and he wants Oscar to stay right by his side.

The Australian takes a deep breath. It’s going to be alright. It has been alright for the past 48 hours, great even. That won’t change now. Whatever happens, happens. From the meeting with their PR managers he knows they have the support of the team, no matter the outcome.

Deep breaths, Oscar. Enjoy the moment, like you’ve been doing for the past two days.

After Lando parks the car, Oscar gets out before the Brit can and goes to Luka. While the Australian helps their kid out of his booster seat, Lando grabs the box from the trunk.

They fall back into their familiar way of working together. Lando goes to put the box into Luka’s room, while Oscar looks for the kid’s Crocs.

They make sandwiches together in comfortable silence. Of course using ingredients their trainers would approve of. Oscar makes a peanut butter sandwich for Luka.

The Australian fills two bottles with water and one with apple juice. He finds cooling elements in the freezer. Lando in the meantime gathers a blanket, cooling bag, backpack and some other things they might need.

Oscar is changing Luka’s blue shoes for the red Crocs when Lando joins them. The Brit places a white cap onto Oscar’s head. The Australian recognizes it because of the bright blue-yellow design under the peak. He knows there’s a light blue LN4 on the side of it.

“It might help hide our identity a bit,” Lando says, as he adjusts his own black cap with a grin.

Oscar doubts it, but he has to admit that, except for the design on the underside, he’s wearing one of Lando’s more inconspicuous caps.

They exit the apartment complex through the front door for the first time. Lando said the park is in walking distance.

The Brit is carrying the backpack and the blanket, while Oscar has Luka on his hip. It’s sunny outside, it feels like summer, even though it’s the end of May. Lando’s apartment complex is apparently in a quiet part of the city. There is almost no one around when they cross the street.

Oscar lags behind a bit. Looking around.

Lando must notice, because he stops walking and turns around, waiting for him to catch up.

The Brit then holds out his hand to the younger driver. It’s an invitation.

Oscar takes it, slipping his hand into Lando’s. And of course the older driver looks at him with that sweet, sweet smile of his. The Australian might melt into a puddle one day soon, and it will all be his teammate’s fault. Turning into dust, running through Lando’s fingers like sand.

Oscar takes a moment to breathe through the rush of feelings. The Brit’s smile turns into a face of worry. Oscar squeezes his hand before he can apologize, or even worse; let go of his hand.

Lando seems to understand, because he rubs his thumb over Oscar’s knuckles softly and then starts walking, dragging the younger driver with him carefully.

They walk hand in hand, all the way to the park. It’s peaceful, Oscar loves it. He finally shakes off the last of the discomfort that had been lingering under his skin since the meeting.

When they reach the playground, they look for a quiet place to put their blanket, away from the path. There are quite a lot of kids already playing there. Most of them are probably Luka’s age or younger, since it’s a school day.

There’s a trio of mom’s sitting on a bench together, chatting away. An elderly couple is helping a little girl on the slide. Probably grandparents, on babysitting duty. Oscar thinks of his mom.

They find a nice spot in the grass on the other side of the playground. There’s shade from big trees that surround the place, and a bush hides them from view from the people walking by on the main path.

Lando lets go of Oscar’s hand to spread out the blanket. The Australian sets down Luka. The kid looks at the playground, but stays with them, even though Oscar can see he’s excited to go play.

“Alright Luka, you can go play. But! Make sure you stay in sight, alright? And if any of the other kids are mean to you come to us, okay?” Oscar takes of Luka’s McLaren 4 cap and ruffles his hair.

“Okay!” the kid says enthusiastically and then runs off. Lando laughs and sits down on the blanket. Oscar places Luka’s cap on top of the backpack and follows the Brit’s example.

Luka has climbed the first steps of the playground equipment closest to them. When he’s standing on the platform he waves at them. Both McLaren drivers wave back.

A little boy climbing up the next platform starts talking to him and their kid focusses on him instead. Oscar hopes Luka can make some friends today.

“This is nice,” Lando says next to him. Oscar looks at him. He’s digging through the backpack and hands Oscar his packet of sandwiches moments later. Their hands brush, there isn’t any weird lingering feeling this time. Probably because the Australian already feels warm and fuzzy all over.

They relax in the shade together, eating their lunch in peace.

~~~^~~~

Osca said go play, so Luka does! The playground is super big, with lots of things to climb on. And swings! Many swings!

Luka doesn’t know where to start, he’s only been to a playground a couple of times. Momma didn’t like them, but he always thought there were cool.

He stays close by like Osca said. He looks back to see if he can still see him and Lano, then goes to climb the closest thing.

The rope is rough in his hands, and he feels the sand that’s trapped in it rub his fingers. He hopes Lano and Osca don’t get angry at him for making his clothes dirty, but remembers that the two grown-ups don’t get angry. Not even when he wakes them up way too early by accident.

He climbs to the first floor. He’s glad Osca put the Crocs on in ‘sport mode’, as the man had called it. It helps him climb even better. He stands up and looks over the edge.

Osca and Lano are looking at him, so he waves at them with a giddy smile. The two wave back.

“Are those your dads?” There’s another kid talking at him from the rope-climbing-thingy to the next floor.

Before Luka can reply, the boy starts talking again. “My dad is here too! He’s the best dad of the world!”

That’s nice and all, but Luka does not agree. Because if Lano and Osca are his dads as this boy says, then they are the best in the world and the boy is lying.

He doesn’t want to sound rude though, so he doesn’t bother correcting him.

“That’s cool, my name is Luka, what is yours?” he asks instead.

“Josh! Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“The slide here is the coolest! But it is hard to climb to. Want to join me?”

“Yeah sure!”

They climb further together and help each other at the hard parts. Luka looks back at his two grown-ups every once in a while, checking if he can still see them. Osca gives him a thumbs up every time he notices Luka looking over. The rest of the times he is calmly talking to Lano.

Luka is happy Osca feels better. It was scary that he was so quiet this morning.

Josh holds out a hand to him to pull him up to the next platform.

“This is the first slide, see? It’s a cool one, but the other one is even cooler,” the darkhaired boy says with a grin.

Luka smiles back at him. “Okay! Let’s go there.”

They pass this slide and climb even further. Though while he’s climbing Luka notices that they are getting higher and higher up in the air. It’s a bit scary.

When they reach the next floor, they are so high up, Luka’s legs feel wobbly. There’s a slide starting from the platform, and some sort of fireman pole on the other side. Meaning that a part of the barrier is open.

Luka peaks over the edge and immediately scrambles back. The ground is VERY far away.
He shuffles to the slide and looks down. The slide is STEEP. And suddenly Luka can’t move.

“Come on Luka! Let’s go!” Josh says excitedly.

“N- No, I’m scared…”

“It’s okay, I go down this slide all the time. It’s fun!”

“I’m sorry… I- I can’t!”

“Aw…” Josh looks a bit disappointed. “It’s okay, we can go back to the other slide.”

But when Luka looks back to the other floor it suddenly looks very far away from him. And he can see the floor through the ropes and it’s so deep. And-

He needs help! He wants Osca or Lano. Osca is even taller than Lano, maybe he can reach Luka up here.

“OSCAAA!!!”

“Osca?” Josh asks.

“My dad, one of my dads is called Osca.”

“You call your dad by his name? My dad gets mad when I do that.”

Oh… Is that a bad thing to do? Luka didn’t know.

“Luka? Where are you? Are you okay?!” that’s Osca’s voice!

Luka looks over the edge again and sees those familiar friendly brown eyes look up at him.

“There you are! What’s going on?”

“I’m scared… The slide is scary and going back is scary too…” Luka tells him sadly.

“That’s alright, do you need me to help you down?”

Luka nods.

“Okay, sit down here, mate. I will grab you.” Osca pats the wooden floor close to the fireman pole.

Luka does as Osca says and the grown-up scoops him up from the edge. Luka wraps his arms around Osca’s neck. That’s better.

“Thanks, dad,” he says. He feels Osca freeze. Luka hopes he didn’t say anything wrong.

But he soon gets a pat on the head as a response and Osca is smiling.

“Aw, you’re leaving?” Luka turns around in Osca’s arms to look at Josh.

“Oh hey, did you make a friend, Luka?” Osca asks.

Luka nods and points at the boy. “That’s Josh! He’s super cool and nice!”

“Oh wow, nice to meet you, Josh. Luka is going to eat a sandwich with us and then he will be back, alright? Maybe you can play on swings together later?”

“Yeah!!! The swings!” Josh says excitedly. “There’s very cool swings here, made of tires.”

“Woah!” Luka exclaims.

“Yes, but food first, okay?” Osca tells them.

“Okay, see you later, Josh.” Luka waves at his new friend. Josh waves back with a “bye!”.

Osca takes him back to Lano, whose still sitting on the blanket.

“Hey Luuk! What happened?” the curly haired man says.

“I climbed too high and got scared…” Osca sets him down, so he goes to sit next to Lano, who is looking through the bag.

“Oh no! That’s alright though, everyone gets scared sometimes. That’s why we need to help each other,” Lano explains, then hands him a peanut butter sandwich.

“Thanks dad,” Luka says as he takes it from him. Lano startles and almost drops the sandwich. But Luka it already holding onto it, so it’s fine.

He can see Lano look at Osca. Osca shrugs. “He called me dad just now too,” Osca tells him.

“Luka, what’s going on…” Lano asks.

“You are both my dads?”

“N- yes, but-” Lano stops talking.

“You can keep calling us Lano and Osca if you want, Luka,” Osca explains.

“But I want to call you both? Osca, dad, Lano, dad.”

Both adults seem frozen. Luka is too deep in thought to notice though. Because calling both of them dad is confusing.

He points to Osca: “Dad”. He points to Lano: “Papa”. He knows some kids call their dad papa; he has heard it before.

He's suddenly being hugged from two sides. Luka giggles into the group hug. Hands pat over his head and back.

“Thank you, Luka,” he hears Osca say. He sounds a bit like this morning, his voice waving up and down in tone.

Luka nuzzles his face against Osca’s chest in response.

“If we are your dads, then you are our son… And we love you…” Lano says with the same shaky voice as Osca.

Luka smiles. He loves his dads too.

Chapter Text

And that’s how Oscar finds himself in a pile of limbs and happy giggles. The Australian uses it to calm his racing heart again.

Luka screaming his name at the top of his lungs immediately triggered his barely dormant fight-flight response. He was up and running towards where he heard the noise before Lando could even stand up.

He got rewarded for his efforts with a “thanks dad” though, so it was all worth it. Very much worth it. Oscar would react the same way a hundred times over.

Dad and papa. Oscar and Lando are now dad and papa. He can’t believe how natural it feels.

“Wait, I need to eat. Josh is waiting,” Luka says from in between them. He wiggles for some space.

Both adults laugh and drop their arms. Oscar scoots over to sit behind Luka, so he can lean on Lando for a bit, craving the contact after such an existential moment. The Brit gives it to him of course.

Lando leans back against him and moves his arm in such a way that his hand ends up resting next to Oscar, arm around his back so the Aussie is half resting against his chest.

Oscar still can’t believe this happening. The want for this new connection is mutual. And every single time the younger driver starts doubting it again, Lando does something to prove that he is loving this too.

The Brit rummages through the backpack that’s by his side. He takes out the bottle of apple juice and tries to open it with on hand, refusing to take back the arm he has wound around his teammate.

Oscar takes pity on him and takes it from him. He opens the bottle using both hands and gives it to Luka once the kid is done with his sandwich. The kid hurriedly drinks a quarter of it and then gives it back.

“Can I go back to play with Josh?” he asks.

“Of course Luka!” Lando says. The kid beams at them and then runs off.

Lando snorts, while Oscar huffs out a laugh. The Brit leans even more against him and places his head on his shoulder, resting his cheek on the relaxed muscles.

“I love this,” Lando mumbles.

Oscar starts running his fingers over Lando’s arm, the one that’s wrapped around him protectively.

“Yeah, me too,” Oscar replies breathlessly.

“How are you doing?” The Australian can feel him say it where his back rests against the older driver’s chest.

“My emotions and thoughts are all over the place, but with everything considered I’m doing well. I’m glad we kept going. You are such a sweetheart, you have no idea,” Oscar still doesn’t put a name on it, still unable to believe they are growing into a relationship.

Lando chuckles. “I’m so happy you didn’t freak out. I don’t know what I would have done if you left me. I haven’t felt this comfortable and content in years.”

“Yeah me too… Thank you for calming me down as much as you could. First, I was afraid that your… uhm… affection was just because of some sort of baby fever?” Lando snorts. “And that you would leave me once things got real.” The older driver tightens his hold. “And then I started thinking about if things got real…”

“You’re worried about what the public will say…” Oscar nods. “Fuck them…” Lando says.

Now it’s Oscar’s turn to huff out a laugh, because that’s far from what his PR training has taught him.

“No, I mean it Oscar. What are they going to say? Mean things? Don’t they already do half the time?” Lando grumbles, there’s definitely some sass. Oscar knows what Lando is talking about. The media often has dumb opinions and fans will always fight each other over trivial things.

They should have done this, they should have done that. Why did Lando say this, why didn’t Oscar respond to that. You can never make everyone happy, and the unnecessary debates are endless.

F2 was bad already, but in F1 the drama is even worse. Formula 1 being the most watched motorsport worldwide probably doesn’t help that. Everyone and their dad voice their opinion about it.

Oscar tries to ignore the bad and look at the good as much as he can, because otherwise he would go insane.

“You know what… Yes. Fuck them. What do they really know anyway?” Oscar says after thinking it over.

Lando rubs his cheek over Oscar’s shoulder. It reminds the Australian of the way cats say: ‘I like you’.

“So we’re really doing this, huh. Letting it evolve and all?” the Brit says quietly.

“Yeah,” Oscar replies. He can say it without a doubt now, though he feels the nerves.

Lando hums. “Please tell me if I ever go too fast or do something you feel uncomfortable with,” he says into Oscar’s shoulder.

“I promise, and the same to you,” Oscar says as he rests his hand on top of Lando’s and threads their fingers.

They stay like that for a bit, even though they are in public.

Luka eventually walks up to them, with Josh in tow. “Lano! Help us swing, please?”

Lando lifts his head from Oscar’s shoulder. “Oh, uh… yeah sure!” He removes his hand, and squeezes the part between the Aussie’s shoulder and neck as an apology after he stands up.

Oscar is left reeling though, because he swears; he felt Lando press a kiss to his shoulder before he got up.

“Alright, show me the way kiddos!” Lando walks after them, until Luka says to Josh with a grin: “see! I told you my papa would help!”

It stops Lando in his track. He looks back at the younger driver for emotional support. Oscar gives it to him in the form of a double thumbs up and a giddy smile.

He sees Lando take a deep breath. The Brit takes his cap off and drags a hand through his curls before placing it back on. He adjusts it again, as he shows Oscar a shy smile.

Yep. That’s a person overwhelmed with their emotions right there. Oscar is seeing it happen live.

Lando gathers himself together and follows after the two boys. Physically, the Australian feels cold, missing the warmth of the Brit against his back. Mentally though, he feels so incredibly warm.

He watches Lando help both kids on the swing and then start pushing them. The toddlers are giggling like crazy and the smile on the older driver’s face melts Oscar’s heart. He can’t get enough of this.

Oscar takes out his phone and snaps a quick picture, wanting to save the moment.

He watches on for a while, but flops down onto the blanket when he feels the first bubbles of nervousness in his chest. Because they look like father and son, and the gorgeous man enthusiastically playing with the kids is… his…

Is his…? He stares up at the sky. Lando… is his… now? What does that even mean? Are they boyfriends? That’s way too fast though, right? Luka has only been with them for two and a half days. They’ve only been cuddly-touchy towards each other since Sunday.

What do boyfriends even do? Memories of him and Lily come to the surface, but Lando replaces her in his mind’s eye. Oscar presses his hands to his face, hiding the blush nobody can see anyway.

The movement dislodges the cap Lando gave him. The cap with Lando’s initials… God, Lando has already tagged Oscar as his and the Australian didn’t even notice.

Oscar spaces out looking at the sky. Unable to follow the rapid flow of thoughts and emotions, so he doesn’t. No more thoughts, only clouds.

He places one of his hands on his chest, feeling his heart beat in his chest roughly. He takes steady breaths and keeps looking at the clouds floating above him. And eventually calms down again.

He can’t keep panicking, he’s a Formula 1 driver for god’s sake. The one people keep saying is the calmest one on the grid.

He’s going to be fine. He and Lando are in this together and they both want this. Whatever this is. They will be fine.

He eventually dozes off to the sound of swings squeaking and kids laughter.

---

The blanket underneath him moves. Oscar blinks open his eyes, and squeezes them shut again because of the bright sunlight.

His cap gets adjusted on his head, the brim now hiding the light from his eyes. He’s starting to recognize the soft way Lando cares for him.

“Sorry Osc, didn’t mean to wake you…”

“Hm, no it’s fine mate. I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep.”

“Your talent still amazes me. I wish I could fall asleep anywhere like you do.”

“Lando, I’ve seen you fall asleep against a wall, waiting for the race to resume because of a red flag.”

“Hah, lies, that was once, and you weren’t even my teammate then.”

Oscar snorts. “No, but I saw it happen live on TV. What did they say again?” He looks at Lando with an innocent smile. “Don’t you dare… I’m warning you…” the Brit glares at him.

“And it’s all too much for little Lando Norris.” Oscar imitates the commentators voice.

Then promptly gets an ice-cold water bottle pressed against his neck. The Australian will never admit that he squealed.

Not even after the bubbly laugh it pulls out of Lando.

Oscar sits up and takes the offending water bottle the Brit is offering him with another giggle. The Australian rolls his eyes fondly, loving the joy in Lando’s eyes. Even if it is his own extend.

The younger driver drinks some water looking at the playground. Luka is still playing with Josh. Both of them are on a sand scooper, trying to make one big mountain of sand in between them.

“You know, sometimes I’m annoyed you knew of me before I even knew you existed…” Lando suddenly speaks up next to him.

“Huh, yes, I guess that’s true. I’ve been watching you race for quite some years. Even before you started racing in Formula 1.”

“Oh god… You’ve seen my rookie year…”

“Lando, you have seen MY rookie year…”

“Huh, oh yeah…”

Oscar laughs. It’s a full body laugh, head thrown back and all. Lando shakes his head at him with a smile.

They sit next to each other in comfortable silence for a moment. “I wish I had known you for as long as you’ve known me though…” Lando eventually says.

“I promise that watching you on TV is very different from knowing you in real life.”

“How so?” Lando grumbles.

“Well, for example, I can do this now,” Oscar says as he takes hold of the Brit’s hand.

He can see the older driver melt. “Okay, that was smooth...” Lando gives him a shy smile. Oscar of course smiles back at him. They hold hands for a while, watching Luka play.

That is until Lando has a full body shiver. “Are you feeling cold, Lan?” the Australian looks at him. Oscar has always been able to handle the cold better than the Brit. Fans keep pointing out every time McLaren posts a picture of them together, with Lando in a sweater and him in a polo shirt.

The sun has gone behind the clouds and from what Oscar can see there are more big clouds coming.

“Maybe a little… I should have brought a sweater…” Lando replies.

“We can go back if you want. We’ve been here for quite a while already,” Oscar lets him know.

“I don’t want to pull Luka from his new friend…”

Of course Lando puts Luka before himself. The guy loves the kid to pieces. Oscar smiles at that.

“And I don’t want you to freeze. Come on, let’s go.” The Australian stands up and pulls Lando with him.

Lando looks in Luka’s direction with a frown, reluctant to break the news. But Oscar can see the goosebumps forming on the Brit’s tan skin, and starts packing the bag.

Maybe Oscar will wear a hoodie next time, just in case Lando gets cold again.

The Australian puts the backpack on his back and holds the blanket under his arm. He stands next to Lando and rubs the Brit’s arm with the upper side of his hand. “It’s alright Lando. He has enough fun things to do at home.” The older man looks up at him with a weird look Oscar can’t decipher.

Before Oscar does anything stupid, like pat him on the cheek or something, he grabs hold of the Brit’s hand again and starts walking towards Luka. Lando can’t do anything but follow.

They reach the little sandpit quickly. “Hey Luka, it’s time to go home,” Oscar tells the kid. He knows it’s sudden for the kid, and he hopes he won’t be too mad.

“Aw…” Luka says he looks at Josh, but gets out of the pit and walks to the two adults.

Lando lets go of Oscar’s hand and crouches down.

“Sorry kiddo… I promise we will go back here as much as we can,” the Brit tells the kid.

Luka nods and says: “I like it here. Josh is my new friend.”

Oscar looks at the other kid with a smile. “Josh lives close by, right?” The kid nods. “Then you will see each other again soon.”

“Oh okay”, Luka says when he hears that.

“Okay, goodbye Luka, see you soon!” Josh says. He runs off after Luka wishes him goodbye too.

Lando puts Luka on his shoulders, and immediately grabs Oscar’s hand again after, tangling their fingers.

Right before they leave the playground, they see Josh point at them. The kid is standing next to a man, presumably his dad. The man looks at them and greets them by putting up a hand. Lando repeats the gesture shortly with the hand he was holding Luka, while Oscar gives him a little nod as both hands are occupied.

Luka waves at Josh frantically. Lando changes his grip on Luka’s leg, so the kid doesn’t fall off.

They walk back to the apartment together. Lando and Oscar hand in hand. There are more people around now, but they don’t seem interested in the little family and walk past without recognizing them.

At least that’s what the Australian hopes. The leaked pictures Stephanie showed them this morning have made him a bit paranoid. He’s not letting go of the other’s hand though. The paparazzi aren’t going to influence his life. It’s something he has decided years before.

So, if he and Lando want to hold hands, they will be holding hands. If Oscar didn’t have his hands full, he would’ve even wrapped his arms around the other guy, because the Brit has started shivering slightly. The cold setting in.

When they reach the apartment complex, they walk up the stairs to the second floor.

Lando opens the front door and lets go of Oscar’s hand to put Luka down. The Australian takes his chance, drops down the backpack and picnic blanket, and walks to the master bedroom.

There he grabs the first hoodie he finds and goes back to the front door. Lando gives him a questioning look, but Oscar doesn’t reply verbally. He presses the hoodie against the Brits chest. Lando grins at him and accepts it.

Oscar turns towards Luka and crouches down to help him with the Crocs. The kid is struggling to take them off.

“Uhm, Oscar?” he hears Lando say timidly. The younger driver looks at him from his spot on the ground and stares.

“This isn’t my hoodie…”

A blush explodes over Oscar’s face. He hadn’t realized he grabbed his own hoodie in his rush to get something warm for Lando to wear.

He also had no idea they had a different clothing size. Lando is indeed wearing Oscar’s hoodie, his dark blue one. It’s one of his personal ones, not a merch one, which is good because the Australian would have exploded on the spot.

It's a bit too big for the older driver. Sleeves falling over his hands a bit instead of ending at his wrists. It isn’t that noticeable, but Oscar KNOWS that’s his own hoodie, and Lando is wearing it.

He must have been staring at the Brit dumbly, because Lando looks away and puts his hands in the hoodie’s pocket.

“You’re not getting it back,” Lando mumbles.

None of Oscar’s brain cells are functioning properly, so he focusses on the task at hand and frees Luka from his Crocs.

Then realizes he shouldn’t have because he had a plan in which Luka needed his shoes.

He sits down the floor and hides his face in his hands.

“Oscar? Did I make you malfunction?” Lando nudges the Aussie’s shoulder with his hand. “Come on, Osc. Talk to me.”

“Maybe a little…” the younger driver speaks up. It’s muffled in his hands. Lando hears it anyway and snorts.

Oscar grumbles. “No but I had this whole plan that you and Luka could go for a drive in the Spider. And now I’ve taken off his shoes while he will still need them if you agree to it. And YES, that means that you are indeed messing with my head…”

He's rambling…

Lando is giggling. Oscar is complaining and he is laughing.

“So, what you mean to say is that I’m a distraction?” The Australian can hear the smugness in Lando’s voice.

The younger driver drops his hands from his face and looks up at his teammate. “Yes, very much,” he says deadpan. The Brit showing off the cute little gap between his teeth isn’t helping at all.

“Please go on a drive with him…” Oscar whispers. God, he needs some time away from the older driver. To process A LOT of things.

“He will be needing shoes then.”

It's bullying. Lando is bullying him, pestering him. And he does it with a smile. Oscar might commit a very confusing murder if the Brit keeps going. Death by tickles, or something.

It doesn’t come to that; Luka has listened in as usual, and is putting on his blue shoes from this morning, all by himself.

“Well somebody is eager to go for a drive,” Lando says as he rests both hands on top of Oscar shoulders and massages the muscles there.

The touch causes a tingle in Oscar’s chest and neck. He replies with a hum, unable to say anything until Lando lets go.

The Brit takes the keys from both the BMW and McLaren Spider, and opens the front door. “Let’s go Luuk!” He looks back at Oscar, who is still sitting on the floor. “Will you be alright by yourself, Osc?”

“Of course! Go have fun,” the Australian tells them. “Bye dad!” Luka says. Oscar waves.

“Spare keys are in the back of the drawer with the cooking utensils. In case you need to go out,” Lando tells him, before saying goodbye as well and closing the door.

Finally alone, Oscar flops down on his back, and stares at the ceiling. What on earth is his life right now?

He loves it, but he is so overwhelmed, and the anxiety attack from this morning has made him jittery. He’s unable to think clearly.

Here he is, lying on the floor in his teammate’s apartment. Said teammate now his probably boyfriend. They have a child together. It sounds as if he has landed himself in a stupidly sappy Netflix series.

He takes some time to gather himself, and eventually gets off of the floor. He decides to focus on the practicalities.

He empties the backpack and puts everything back where it should go. He doesn’t know where Lando got the picnic blanket from, so he leaves it on top of the ottoman by the front door.

He then goes to the office and opens his laptop. He doesn’t have to wait long for it to start up.

When he checks his e-mails, he finds a reply from the Monégasque security. Now he wishes that Lando was here, because the footage he finds attached to the e-mail is so incriminating.

He was planning to use his time alone to work through his thoughts and emotions, but that’s not happening apparently…

They have sent him several videos. Some from the road next to the paddock, the gate barely in view. And also from the paddock itself. The timing of each video tells a story.

If he puts everything on the same timeline, it starts with a video of a woman and a kid walking side by side over the road. The kid is Luka. Oscar knows for sure. He recognizes the overall and red backpack.

The woman is carrying something long. It becomes clear what it is she’s holding, when she walks closer to the camera. It’s a steel bolt cutter…

They walk out of frame.

The next video on the timeline shows Luka coming out from between two buildings. He keeps looking back, but then sees someone hauling tires and curiosity catches him. He follows the guy for a bit, but can’t keep up. He looks back confused. The kid walks around aimlessly after that, then moves out of frame again.

The next video is the moment Oscar and Luka met. It starts with more aimless wandering for Luka. Then Oscar sees himself walk into frame. The Australian still isn’t sure why, but past Oscar catches the kids attention. And then Luka grabs onto him and Oscar crouches down to talk to him.

He skips the rest of the video, knowing how it ends. There’s another video, filmed by the camera facing the road outside again. It starts at the same time as the video where Luka meets Oscar. It shows a blond lady walking away on the road next to the paddock. She still carries the steel bolt cutter and walks with a slight spring in her step.

Luka’s mom… That’s Luka’s mom… And she looks happy… Walking away at a brisk pace.

God, Oscar hates that woman so much. He is fuming.

He knew seeing the camera footage would hurt, but this is ridiculous.

He suddenly feels alone, missing Lando by his side. He takes deep breaths and saves the footage to his laptop.

He needs a cup of tea. Something calming.

The driver listens to his needs and goes to the kitchen. Of course Lando’s fancy kitchen has a boiling water tap, and Oscar has a cup of hot water in a second. He finds tea in one of the top cupboards and puts a bag of Earl Grey tea into the water.

He moves back to the office, cup of tea in hand. He sits back down at the desk.

He sends the footage to the adoption consulting firm in chronological order. He also tells them to add a second adoptive parent to Luka’s file. One Lando Norris will be adopting the kid with him.

Once he has sent the email, he calls him mom. He doesn’t know what time it is for her, but he needs to talk to someone.

She picks up at the second ring.

“Hey honey, you only called me yesterday. What’s going on?”

Moms intuition, Oscar calls it.

He tells her about the video footage and how mad he is. How he has seen Luka flinch and wait before he does anything. The kid is walking on eggshells. It’s getting better, but he’s careful not to accidentally anger them or something.

His mom listens and fumes with him. Sharing his anger. It’s something he desperately needed.

“And I don’t even know how to tell Lando about the videos, because I know he will be so so mad. And I don’t know how to deal with that yet, mom.”

“It will be fine, sweety. Don’t hide it from him. The earlier you show him, the earlier you two can work past it.”

Oscar hums at that, agreeing with her.

“How are you two doing anyway? I saw some paparazzi photos…”

“Ah... Uhm… So, you may or may not have a son in law soon?”

It is quiet on the other side of the line for a second.

“Excuse me, what?” She sounds so confused and Oscar doesn’t blame her.

“We had the worst meeting at the office today. Our PR manager have pretty much demanded we talk about the connection that has been growing between us.”

“Okay yes, good. And you did, right?” she says excitedly.

“Uhm, yeah? But more with actions than with words? I think that Lando likes me, and I definitely like him. But we haven’t said it out loud?”

“Then how do you know…”

“Because I had a horrible anxiety attack about the meeting and Lando said: ‘we’re having fun. Then why change or rush that?’ and then helped calm me down… Holding my hand and all…” Oscar explains.

“Oh, Oscar that’s so sweet! Not the anxiety attack, that’s terrible, honey… But Lando! He’s such a sweetheart.”

“I know! And he has been that way for the entire day. Helping me stay calm, cuddling up to me, walking hand in hand with me… Mom, it isn’t even officially a relationship yet, and I’m already so in love with it.”

“And with him it seems,” of course she knows…

He sighs. “Yeah… and with him…” Oscar admits.

His mom can’t keep in the happy squeal. “Well if it makes you both happy, please let it grow to its full potential,” his mom tells him excitedly.

He can only agree.

They talk a bit longer. It’s nice to hear her voice and her opinions about the things that have been happening. She is also very excited that him and Lando are letting the relationship grow. She can’t stop gushing about it. Oscar finally relents and sends her Lando’s number.

They eventually say their goodbyes and his mom wishes him a goodnight even though it is barely dinner time for him yet.

She is such a great rock to lean on, exactly as a mother should be…

Chapter Text

The front door opens with a click and happy chatter rushes in. Oscar can hear it from the office since he left the door to the room open. He stays where he is, not knowing yet if he can face Lando without immediately worrying him.

He doesn’t get to hide though.

“Oscar! Where are you?” He hears Lando ask in the hallway.

“I’m in the office…”

Lando steps in and Oscar swivels toward him. “Care to explain why I’m in your family group chat?” the Brit says. He looks nervous.

“Ah, she acts quick…” he is going to explain, but Luka interrupts them.

The kid tugs at Lando’s hand, getting his attention. “Can I go play in my room?”

“Yes of course,” both drivers say at the same time. “You don’t need to ask permission for that, little man,” Lando says as he ruffles Luka’s hair.

The kid beams at them both and then rushes off.

“Back to the point…” the Brit says, now that they are alone.

“Yeah uhm, I called my mom and told her about us? She’s been pestering me about your number since yesterday. She’s a bit too excited maybe, but she means well,” Oscar explains with a grimace.

“Uh huh, alright, expect to be added to my family’s group chat as well then.”

“Oh god…”

“Yes, exactly that. You’re going to suffer the embarrassment with me,” Lando looks down his nose at him.

Oscar huffs.

Lando suddenly turns serious. “Was there another reason you called your mom? From what I know you don’t usually call your mom that often. Are you feeling alright?”

The Australian sighs. The older driver sees right through him.

“They’ve sent me the camera footage from the paddock…”

“Oh shit…”

“Yeah…”

“How bad is it?” Lando goes to stand in front of him, staring at the laptop that is still open on the desk.

“The footage is incriminating. You can clearly see her carrying a heavy duty cutter. You know, the type you cut steel with,” Oscar tells him.

“She’s the one who made the hole in the fence!”

“Yes, for sure…”

“Show me?”

Oscar hesitates. Then turns the chair back towards the desk and opens the folder where he has saved the footage to. Lando comes to stand behind the chair. The Australian clicks the first video. But he has to pause it ten seconds in.

“I- Do you mind watching the videos by yourself? I don’t want to watch them again…”

Hands come to rest on his shoulders, grounding him. “Of course, Osc…”

Oscar stands up and looks at Lando. He pulls the Brit into a quick hug, arms around his neck, pressing their cheeks together. Lando pats his back. “Thanks, I’m going to start dinner. Take your time, alright?” Oscar tells him.

He gives in to the urge and presses a small kiss to Lando’s cheek when he lets go.

He leaves a frozen Miami Grand Prix winner in the office, not daring to look back.

In the hallway, he throws a look into Luka’s room, to see him play with his cars on the carpet. It makes Oscar smile softly.

Once in the kitchen, he grabs all the ingredients he needs and first starts chopping the vegetables. The repeated action empties his mind, and he is able to think clearly again. Cooking has always calmed him. The outcome isn’t always perfect, but he has improved significantly compared to when he just moved out.

It’s when he’s at the stove adding the eggs to the shakshuka that Lando walks in. Arms wrap around him as the older man hugs him from behind. Oscar relaxes and leans back into the touch, placing one of his own arms over Lando’s. The Brit rests his forehead against the younger drivers nape.

“I hate her so much…” Oscar knows exactly what he’s talking about.

The Australian sighs as he squeezes Lando’s arm. “Yeah, me too…” he says quietly.

“If we ever meet the bitch, please hold me back. I might punch her in the face otherwise…,” Lando growls.

Oscar leans his head against Lando’s and takes a deep breath. Shoulders rising up and back down. Lando follows the movement. They stay like that, holding onto each other, with the sound of the extractor fan and food sizzling in the background.

The close contact slowly extinguishes the smoldering anger in both their chests.

Eventually the oven beeps, letting them know the bread Oscar was baking is done. Lando squeezes Oscar waist once more before separating himself from the Australian and saving the bread from its burning doom.

They fall into step once more. Lando sets the table, while Oscar slices the bread and keeps an eye on the simmering shakshuka.

At last, Lando goes to get Luka. They come back together when the younger driver places the pan on the table.

Shakshuka is quite a hearty dish, with eggs, beans, feta cheese, and a lot of veggies. Oscar was afraid Luka might not like it, especially with the fresh spinach he added. But the kid eats with enthusiasm. Both driver’s trainers would be proud. It’s great to know Luka isn’t picky and can follow their athlete diet no problem.

Oscar is finally able to ask the question he’s been wanting to ask since the other two got home; “So! How was the drive? Did you have fun, Luka?”

“Yeah!” Luka pipes up. “Papa’s car is super cool! And fast like this!” he imitates the roar of the McLaren, or tries to. It’s stupidly cute and both adults smile goofily.

“And it changes color!” the kid adds.

Oscar throws a questioning look in Lando’s direction.

“It has color shifting carbon,” the older driver explains, “the can either look purple or blue, depending on how the light catches it.”

The Australian gives an interested hum. He remembers Lando had the entire car custom made and understands the proud look the Brit is showing him.

Luka and Lando talk a bit more about the drive and the car. Oscar listens with attention.

It’s so sweet to see how the both of them are just as excited about it. The Aussie makes a mental note to encourage them to go on a ride together more often.

When all of them are done eating, Luka asks if he can go back to play with his cars. His dads obviously agree. Lando clears the table, since Oscar has done all the cooking.

The Australian flops down on the couch and takes his phone from his pocket. He sends the picture he made of Lando pushing Luka on the swing to his mom.

Then he sees that McLaren’s head social media marketeer has sent him a message. It’s a mock-up of the post he is supposed to place on several social media channels. There’s a statement of him and Lando adopting Luka. With pictures attached of the three of them in the paddock. Including the team photo in which Luka is right in between them, smiling at the camera, and Luka on his lap during the press conference.

It ends with ‘be ready to see our cute grid kid around the paddock more often!’.

Oscar doesn’t think and just posts what he’s supposed to. If he thinks about it, he might hesitate and not do it at all. He trusts the marketeers know what they are doing.

During this time, Lando has joined him on the couch. A mirror to last evening.

Lando has apparently gotten instructions to post something too, because after Oscar has placed his post on Instagram, he sees Lando has posted as well.

The Brit’s post includes a photo of Lando holding Luka outside of the garage. The older driver smiles down at the kid. The photo was probably taken while Oscar wasn’t there yet, still on his way to the McLaren complex after the podium celebration. It’s an adorable photo.

He likes the post.

Oscar dares to scroll further and knows this will be the last time he can before the internet explodes again because of their announcement. He finds the pictures the paparazzi have taken of them yesterday, but luckily doesn’t see any new ones.

He hopes it stays that way, because they have been very obvious today. And it was in public…

He didn’t see anyone snooping at the park today though. And the people there were mostly locals who didn’t pay much attention to them.

He suddenly gets a lot of notifications. With Instagram being the noisiest. There’s a lot of likes already. The comments vary, most are positive, some negative… After reading some he decides he’s not in the right headspace to be looking through them and exits out of Instagram, muting the notifications from all his social media.

He's getting messages. Quite a lot of them. From friends and fellow drivers. He replies to them as best as he can. Then goes to hide in his family group chat and sees that Lando typing in there as well.

He looks up at the older driver sitting next to him and smiles at the concentrated expression on his face. The text message he sends is super polite. Mostly a thank you to Oscar’s mom welcoming him to the chat. And a hello to the rest of the family.

Lando looks up to see Oscar looking at him and smiles at him shyly.

“Look at you being all nice,” the Australian says.

“Hey, first impressions are important!” the Brit tells him.

Oscar snorts.

And then starts overthinking again.

“Weren’t you going to add me to you family chat as well?” Oscar asks him quietly.

Lando frowns. “I think you have had enough to deal with today, Osc...”

The younger driver’s shoulders sag in relief. He’s happy he doesn’t need to face Lando’s parents and siblings just yet. He might have said something stupid with how harrowed he is feeling at the moment.

Lando is focusing on his phone again, giving Oscar time to gather himself once more.

When the Australian looks at time in the corner of his screen, he sees that it’s already 8PM. How did the time go by so fast?

“If we want to give Luka a bath before bedtime, we’ve got to do it now…” Oscar says mostly to himself.

Lando looks up from his phone. “Oh, yeah and he definitely needs one after playing around in the sand,” the Brit replies.

He was done torturing himself with social media anyway. Both drivers get up from the couch and walk to Luka’s room together.

There they see that Luka has flipped over the play carpet by himself and is racing both McLaren miniatures over the racetrack.

Oscar doesn’t know how much more cuteness he can take before he drops dead…

Lando stands by his side, their shoulders bump against each other.

“Who’s winning, Luka?” the Brit asks with a grin.

The kid looks up at them. “It’s not a real race, it’s for fun!” he explains. Oscar loves that the kid probably can’t decide.

“Oh that’s really nice,” the Australian tells him. Luka grins at them.

There’s a pause… Neither of the men standing by the door want to tell the kid that it’s time for a bath and that he has to stop playing. But Luka is perceptible as heck for a three year old. He notices, stares and waits for them to say something.

Oscar might join Lando in punching Luka’s mom if they ever meet her, because this isn’t normal toddler behavior and screams possible trauma.

Lando sighs, seeing it as well, then rips off the bandaid. “Wanna take another bubble bath, Luka?”

The kid looks at them and then back to his toys and then back at them again.

Oscar hates it. “We can wait another five minutes if you’re not done. We don’t mind,” he immediately tells Luka.

But Luka shakes his head and stands up, leaving the race cars behind. He makes grabby hands at Oscar, so the Australian picks him up and hugs him to his chest.

Lando and Oscar are both a bit sad about it, but still take Luka to the bathroom. Lando runs the bath and adds the bubbles while Oscar helps the kid out of his clothes.

The bubbles again take Luka’s interest as Oscar places him in the bath. Lando walks off to Luka’s room to get the toddler’s night clothes.

The Australian can’t stop thinking and has to say something as he starts washing the kid’s hair.

“Luka, you know you can say no to us if you want to, right? It’s okay to disagree with us, we won’t get mad,” he tells him. It might come back to bite them, but Oscar can’t help it. Kids are not supposed to be this compliant.

Luka pops another bubble. Oscar knows the kid heard him, even if he looks distracted. The McLaren driver lets it rest, not wanting to agitate Luka or himself any further.

Lando walks back in and settles down next to the Australian.

“Did you see the weather forecast for tomorrow?” the Brit asks his teammate. Oscar shakes his head.

“It’s going to be super-hot… No rain or clouds. We could go to the beach?” Lando tells him.

It’s their last day off tomorrow, so if they want to have a relaxing day on the beach, it might be their last chance for a while.

But… “Isn’t the beach going to be busy?” He doesn’t want to be surrounded by strangers and possible fans…

Lando grins at him. “I know a secret spot. Charles shared it with me a while ago. Only local families know of it.”

Oscar pulls up an eyebrow, skeptical.

“I promise, Osc. I’ve been there many times, not a fan in sight,” Lando reassures him.

The younger driver hums, then pats the Brit’s knee. “Okay, sure. I trust you.”

Lando grins at him.

Luka is excited to go to the beach too, asking the two adults if they will build a sandcastle with him tomorrow. They agree of course.

When Luka is clean and wearing his big pajama shirt, the trio goes through the kid’s now regular bedtime routine.

With shiny teeth and brushed hair, Luka crawls into bed. The adults refrain from standing on the play carpet, avoiding disturbing Luka’s possibly thought out storyline.

This time Oscar tells a bedtime story. About how he played a lot of cricket as a kid before he started racing. Luka isn’t the only one listening to him with rapt attention. Lando looks at him with fascination as he tells the story.

By the end Luka is looking at the two of them with bleary eyes, clearly tired.

“Sleep well Luka, love you,” Oscar tells the kid. He kisses the boy’s forehead and tucks him in. Lando follows his example right after. “Love you, little man. See you tomorrow.”

“Love you too, dad. Love you too, papa,” Luka replies sleepily.

The adults turn off the light and leave the room.

The McLaren drivers pause in the hallway. They stare at each other. Lando fidgets and then speaks up. “So, uhm, the boys have asked me if I wanted to do some sim racing with them? And I kinda want to stream for a bit.”

Oscar smiles at him. It looks like he is asking for permission, which is funny, because Lando can do whatever he wants.

“That’s fine, do your thing. Are you sure you want to though? I think your chat might be insane after the statements we’ve just released,” Oscar tells him.

“Oh shit, you’re right…” Lando rubs at his chin, then concludes with: “ah it’s whatever… They’re going to have to get used to it anyway.”

That makes Oscar laugh, the tension falling from his shoulders. “I will entertain myself, no worries,” he tells the older driver.

“No more social media alright, give yourself some time to rest,” Lando says. There’s worry in his voice.

The Australian must pull some sort of face, because the Brit’s expression softens.

And then there’s a hand cupping his cheek. “Why don’t you take a bath as well? Relax for a bit,” the older driver says softly. His thumb brushes over Oscar’s cheek bone.

Oscar leans into it and closes his eyes for a second. He loves how often Lando has reached out to him today. He’s always known the Brit to be tactile, but after this morning’s meeting it has increased ten-fold. Oscar is starting to crave it, he realizes. Even though it confuses him and throws his thoughts into overdrive.

He lets out a breath and looks at Lando, who is still staring at him with the softest look.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan… Thank you,” Oscar eventually says. He then avoids eye contact, because if he keeps staring into Lando’s kind green eyes he might kiss him… And that would tear his mind apart, breaking it into a million pieces. He can’t handle that mental strain right now.

Yep, distance, he needs distance.

He gets it though, because Lando pats his cheek and then lets go. “Take care, alright?” the Brit tells him and moves away.

Oscar watches him go. It’s only after door to the office closes that he is able to unfreeze himself.

He goes to the bathroom and runs another bath. Adding the same bubble soap they’ve used for Luka.

He enters the master bedroom and returns to the bathroom with the stuff he needs. He locks the door, and hopes he doesn’t fall asleep in the bath, because no one would be able to save him from drowning.

When he finally settles into the tub, the hot water instantly calms his muscles. He must have been unconsciously straining. It’s weird how mental distress can influence you physically. He needs to listen to Lando’s ideas more often. This was exactly what he needed.

He takes his sweet time, even adding more hot water when the bath goes cold after a while.

Though while he’s sitting there, he starts to miss Lando. Which is ridiculous, because they are literally in the same apartment, and he’s seen the Brit less than an hour ago. He blames it on the stress that he had to deal with today. Lando being a steady rock in the storm.

He sighs and gets out of the tub, draining the water. When he’s toweling himself dry, he comes up with a plan.

With his joggers and his soft sleep shirt on, he exits the bathroom and moves to the kitchen. There he fills two glasses with ice-cold Coca Cola.

Time to execute the rest of his plan…

He walks through the hallway towards the office. Oscar barely hears Lando’s voice through the soundproofing the Brit has put up in the room. Good to know… He opens the door with his elbow.

Lando stops in the middle of his sentence, looking away from the screen to look at him. Oscar shuffles in and closes the door behind him.

“Hey,” Lando greets him. Please don’t say his name… please don’t say his name…

Oscar stays out of view of the camera, knowing exactly where it ends, as he walks towards the other man.

“Are you doing okay?” Lando asks him softly. Oscar nods at him, then holds out one of the glasses to him.

“Oh! Thank you!” the Brit says with a surprised grin, taking the glass from his fingers. His fingers brush over Oscar’s. Because of course they do. It’s a common occurrence since Sunday.

Lando raises the glass in cheers and then takes a sip. Oscar smiles and then turns around to place his own glass on the edge of the desk.

He grabs his laptop and instead of sitting on the desk chair, he sits down on the floor between the desk and the racing sim. The same nook he sat in yesterday when he called his mom. The desk has a closed side, so Oscar can lean against the wall and the desk at the same time.

It's a comfy little spot, and he can look at Lando without being in view of the camera. It’s a win-win.

He sets the laptop on his lap and opens it. He runs a hand through his hair in thought.

Lando makes a strained noise, Oscar looks up to see that he’s being stared at.

“No, uhm, yes you can start the next race if you want, Max,” the Brit says in his microphone. He turns back to his screen.

Oscar has to stifle a giggle when Lando says: “and if chat could stop going full Sherlock Holmes on someone’s hand, I would really appreciate it…”

The Australian opens an extra tab with the stream, so he can have a peek at what the chat is saying. The chat is going wild, scrolling by so fast Oscar can’t read anything. He doesn’t know how Lando is keeping up with it.

He splits the screen and slides the chat on one side, while he opens Google on the other.

He researches how abused children might act. A terms comes up that perfectly describes Luka’s behavior: ‘excessive compliance’. ‘Clingy, difficulty with separation’ is another one that hits the nail on the head.

Instead of getting mad once more he focusses on learning how to help Luka. It helps that Lando is in the room with him. He’s not talking to him, so Oscar doesn’t have to focus on what he is saying. But the cadence of how he speaks is soothing and keeps him calm.

Him laughing and joking around with his friends while he plays keeps a smile on Oscar’s face, even though he is researching serious topics.

The Australian mostly reads that a traumatized kid needs time and love. The obvious. But also something both him and Lando are eager to give to him.

There are also some great tips on parenting kids like Luka: tell them ahead of time if the situation they are in now is going to change.

Lando and Oscar have been doing that instinctively already, but it might be good to be aware of it. That way they won’t have a repeat of this evening when Luka immediately stopped playing. He will warn the kid ten minutes ahead of time in the future.

And that’s how he ends up reading the entire digital booklet the adoption consulting firm has sent him, soaking up the information as best as he can.

- - o - -

Lando is forty-five minutes into streaming and playing Forza Horizon 5 with his friends when the door to the office opens. They are right in between two races, everyone is modding a car for the next one, but Lando is completely distracted by Oscar shuffling in.

“Hey,” he greets the Australian. He’s wearing joggers and the shirt he slept in yesterday as well. He doesn’t look distressed, but Lando knows he is great at hiding it. Did something happen? Why is he here?

He forgets he’s streaming for a second as Oscar is walking towards him.

“Are you doing okay?” he asks softly. He gets a nod back and then the younger driver holds out a filled glass to him.

Lando is surprised. “Oh! Thank you!” Did Oscar come here to bring him a drink? That’s super sweet. He takes the glass from the Aussie’s fingers. In the corner of his eyes he sees on the stream preview that only his arm can be seen on video. He’s hidden himself from the viewers skillfully.

Lando smiles at his teammate and raises the glass in cheers. When he takes a sip, he finds out it is ice-cold Coca Cola. The Brit almost lets out a happy sigh.

He sets the drink right next to him on the little table and focusses back on the screen, expecting Oscar to leave now that he has done what he came here to do.

Oscar doesn’t leave.

Instead he grabs his laptop and sits down between the desk and the racing sim. A part of Lando’s flabbergasted mind is reminded of a foster kitten who wants to stay close, but doesn’t lay on your chest just yet. Hanging out in your area, but out of reach.

He has to physically shake himself to get rid of his surprise. Meanwhile Oscar gets comfy and leans back against the wall, placing his laptop on his lap.

He looks at the monitor for a second. His friends have been talking in his ears and he only understands what they are saying now that he tunes back in. Of course the chat is going wild:

‘First the hoodie? Now there’s someone in Lando’s apartment?’

‘Who was that?!’

‘BF got him a DRINK! POGGERS’

‘Did you guys see the soft look he had on his face???’

‘Lando’s girlfriend?’

‘Guys! The announcement on Insta! Remember the announcement!’

‘There was a mole on their thumb! Doesn’t Oscar have a mole on his thumb??’

‘OSCAR??? IS THAT YOU?’

‘SUS *amongus emoji*’

Oh god, the chat is going FERAL. Wait, does Oscar have a mole on his thumb? And if he does, how do people know? Who’s checking out his boyfr- boyfriend…? on such a detailed level? That’s his job, back off.

He looks at the Australian, right as the younger man runs his fingers through his still slightly wet hair. A strained noise slips out of Lando’s mouth, because HE wants to do that, but Oscar is out of reach.

Oscar looks up at him. Pretty brown eyes staring into his. One of his friends, Max Fewtrell, choses that time to pipe up.

“Everyone ready for the next race? Lando, how about you. Or are you still getting distracted?”

Curse Max and his fucking sass. He definitely has Lando’s stream open somewhere in the background.

“No, uhm, yes you can start the next race if you want, Max,” Lando tells him. Moving his attention back to the screen where his only half finished car stares back at him.

Ah whatever. Forza Horizon 5 is an arcade style game anyway; he doesn’t have to go full tryhard. He will use the same car he used in the last race.

Max starts the session with a laugh. Lando can’t help but look at his chat, who are putting two and two together way too quickly for his liking…

“And if chat could stop going full Sherlock Holmes on someone’s hand, I would really appreciate it…” he grumbles out. His friends laugh at his misfortune. Lando sees Oscar stifle a laugh in the corner of his eye.

Streaming might have been a bad idea… But hey, Oscar has searched out his company even though the younger driver has been nervous about the public’s opinion. That’s a massive win in Lando’s book.

Chapter Text

---o---
In the next hour of Lando’s stream, he races around with his friends, while throwing looks at Oscar every once in a while.

The Australian changes how he sits a couple of times, but he doesn’t leave, even though the floor has to be uncomfortable.

Lando is ordering a bean bag after he’s done streaming… Because Oscar has to like the spot a lot if he’s still occupying it after an hour.

Oscar eventually starts yawning and Lando knows what he’s in for. He could boss him around again and tell him to go to bed, but the Australian is an adult and can choose for himself.

He also doesn’t want to Oscar to leave…

It happens after the next race. He’s bickering with Aarav about who pushed who into the barrier when he sees Oscar droop against the desk in the corner of is eye.

He stops halfway through his argument.

“Lando? You there?” Aarav asks. “Huh, oh yeah. Give me a moment guys… I’ll be right back,” the Brit tells his friends.

He mutes his microphone in both the Discord chat and on stream, then takes off his headset. He gets out of the racing sim and walks towards Oscar, crouching down in front of him.

The Australian is dead to the world, breathing softly. Shaking his shoulder doesn’t work this time… Lando doesn’t know how it happened, because he had been squabbling with his friends quiet loudly.

He carefully takes the laptop from Oscar’s hands. He sneaks a peek at the screen and sees several tabs open about parenting and how to care for an possibly abused child.

Oh Oscar…

He closes the laptop and places it on the desk, then turns his attention back to the sleeping brunette in front of him.

He looks peaceful, even in the awkward position he has placed himself in. Lando contemplates what to do. He could carry the younger driver to the bedroom, they’re both about the same weight, so with a bit of struggle he should be able to.

At the same time his stream is still running, and there’s no way he can keep them both out of frame. He doesn’t like turning of the camera, since his viewers always come up with crazy conspiracy theories when he does…

Ugh, and he can’t end the stream because he’s in the middle of a long championship in Forza Horizon 5 and that would end his streak. He needs about thirty more minutes. He’s the championship leader at the moment. No way he is giving any of his friends the win by ending it in a DNF.

He also doesn’t want to Oscar to leave…

Alright, if Oscar wants to sleep on the floor Lando can at least make it a bit more comfortable for the guy.

He's made his decision. He leaves the office and grabs Oscar’s pillow from the bedroom, then goes to the living room to look for a light blanket. He finds one folded under the coffee table.

Once back in the office he sits down in front of Oscar and carefully takes hold of the Australians head, lifting it from the desk’s hard surface.

With his free hand, he places the pillow between the side of the desk and Oscar’s face, before carefully laying his head back down.

For the finishing touch, he drapes the blanket over him. Oscar, stubborn as heck, is only wearing a t-shirt. Lando doesn’t want him to get cold.

The Brit hopes Oscar didn’t give him the only hoodie he has with him…

The movement brings him close to Oscar’s face, and Lando can’t stop himself; he presses a small kiss to the Australian’s forehead.

He rests his hand on Oscar’s cheek when he leans back, rubbing the skin there with his thumb. Lando sighs. “Why are you like this, Osc… You’re going to be the death of me…” he whispers to deaf ears.

He stares at the cute man before him. Thirty more minutes, and then he will drag Oscar to bed.

He know he isn’t able to stay away from the viewers and his friends for much longer. He does sulk about it when he moves back to his gaming chair.

He unmutes himself. “Alright I’m back guys,” he tells both his friends and chat. “Welcome back bruv,” Aarav says to him.

“Is everything okay, Lando?” Max asks. He actually sounds worried. Lando has been texting with Max about… well everything for the past few days. He’s Lando’s best friend, of course he knows.

Chat is spamming ‘PILLOW’, so they have probably seen something.

“Yeah, he’s fine, just tired,” Lando tells then honestly.

“Okay, good,” Max replies.

“If feel like I’m missing out on something…” Aarav says. “Yeah, me too,” Steve pipes up.

“And I will tell you after stream. Let’s keep going! I’m well on my way to win this championship,” Lando sasses.

“In your dreams!” Aarav rises to the challenge.

The championship does indeed last for about thirty more minutes. Lando wins by a hair. If he wasn’t so distracted by Oscar sleeping in his little nook the Brit would have had a way bigger lead. At least that’s what he tells himself.

He says goodbye to his chat and stops the stream while they are still asking a thousand questions a minute. He would usually interact more with them, but the questions getting more and more personal.

Lando doesn’t want Oscar to wake up to a video of the Brit accidentally exposing their relationship. If he stays vague, they can only speculate.

He tells the boys though, when they are chilling in the Discord voice call after.

“I think it’s really sweet, Lando. Please treasure it… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you be this caring in a relationship before,” Max says.

“He’s funny and has a cute face from what I’ve seen of him, so I totally get that you’re falling for him,” Aarav tells him.

“Sharing a kid together is definitely speeding up the process…” Steve adds.

That’s acceptance, maybe even excitement, Lando knows his friends.

They talk a bit more. About Oscar, Luka, but also about normal day to day things. It’s nice to hang out like this for a little bit.

But Oscar is asleep leaning against a desk and Lando wants to move him to a comfier spot.

After he says goodbye and turns off his computer, the noise of the PC fans stops, and the room quiets down.

Lando crouches down in front of Oscar, who is still sleeping peacefully. How is he going to do this?

He carefully takes one of Oscar’s arms and puts it over his own shoulders. He’s going to try and carry the Australian. With one of his arms under Oscar’s legs and one over his back, he pulls the younger driver towards him.

But as Oscar’s head falls on Lando’s collarbone, he flinches awake. The little whine that leaves him does something to Lando, because dammit why is this man so cute!

“Sorry, Osc… You fell asleep in the office,” the Brit tells him. He rubs his back, as a small apology for bringing him back to the waking world. Oscar hums.

“I was going to carry you to the bedroom, but you woke up.”

The Australian buries his face into the side of Lando’s neck. “How is that supposed to work, Lan? I’m taller than you…” he mumbles.

“Wanna test the theory?”

“Not really…”

“Let’s test the theory!”

He stands up and takes Oscar with him. Who lets out a squawk and wraps both arms around his neck.

Of course he is perfectly able to carry him, what does he take him for?

Oscar lifts his head and looks at him as he starts walking. Lando looks back and grins at the blush that’s spreading over the younger driver’s face.

Oscar is tall, but he isn’t heavy, so carrying him is no problem for Formula 1 driver Lando Norris.

The Brit places Oscar down on the edge of the bed and goes to stand in front of him with his hands on his hips. “So! Are you impressed?” He says proudly.

Oscar is staring at him. The Australian then breaks eye contact and scrapes his throat. “Yeah, well done…” he says softly. Lando preens.

Then, the Australian starts fidgeting with his fingers. Oscar never really fidgets, that’s Lando’s thing…

Oh shit… Did he go too far?

Lando tries to save the situation and stop Oscar from overthinking.

“Let’s uhm… Let’s brush our teeth and get to bed, alright?”

Horrible. That was horrible, Lando…

“Yeah, good plan,” Oscar says. He’s still avoiding eye contact.

Ahw he really messed up, didn’t he? Dammit, he shouldn’t have gotten so excited…

But when they’re brushing their teeth in the ensuite together, Oscar starts making eye contact again through the mirror. Lando smiles at him, and he gets a smile back.

Okay, they’re fine, everything is fine. He probably just spooked the Aussie for a second. No need to panic, Lando.

They both go through their bedtime routine, Oscar a bit more drowsily than Lando.

They are done at the same time and are ready to crawl into bed, when Oscar says: “Lando, where is my pillow?”

The Brit looks at him sheepishly... “It’s in the office… I will get it.”

“Why is it in the-”

Lando walks out before he can finish his sentence. He grabs the pillow from the little nook Oscar napped in and returns to the bedroom. There he hands over the pillow shyly.

The younger driver is smiling at him softly.

Now it’s Lando’s turn to avoid eye contact, because he feels caught. “I uhm, wanted you to be comfortable… so I… uh…”

“Thank you, Lando. That’s really sweet…” Oscar tells him gently. The Australian then gets into bed, putting the pillow in its rightful place.

This is the first they have gone to bed at the same time, Lando realizes. The younger man had been asleep when he came in yesterday and the day before as well.

The Brit lifts the duvet on his side of the bed and crawls under. He lays down on his back and turns off the light.

Lando doesn’t move, he just stares at the ceiling in the now dark room. He knows they will end up cuddling anyway, but he doesn’t think he should initiate it now, not after Oscar reaction to getting carried.

The younger driver shuffles around besides him. “So… are we… uhm… going to cuddle?” Oscar asks timidly.

Lando grimaces. He wants to, but he also doesn’t want to burden the Australian even more.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…” he says eventually.

“Huh? Why not?” Oscar sounds so confused. His voice weak.

The Brit instantly tells him the truth, not wanting to add even more worry. “I’ve been overwhelming you all day, Osc. I don’t want to make it worse…”

It’s quiet for a moment. Lando waits for the shoe to drop. Then Oscar huffs out an exasperated laugh.

“Oh no, you don’t get to do that…”

“Do what?” Lando asks quietly.

“You carried me to the bedroom… Which completely fried my brain, thank you… And then you say we shouldn’t cuddle because it might overwhelm me?” he sounds kind of mad.

“Sorry…” the Brit whispers.

“No, fuck you…” Oscar growls, and then drops himself on Lando’s chest.

The older driver lets out an ‘oof’ as the sudden weight pushes the air out of his chest. He immediately wraps his arms over Oscar’s back. One hand between his shoulder blades, the other comes to rest on his waist.

“Did it cross your mind that I perhaps LIKE the cuddles?” the Australian grumbles out with his cheek smushed against Lando’s sternum. His brown locks tickle the Brit’s chin.

Lando needs a moment to take it all in. Oscar likes the cuddles. Lando knew it already of course, but to hear him say it out loud… Is special for some reason.

He rubs his hands up and down the broad back.

“Sorry, Osc. I didn’t mean to upset you… I’ve noticed, yeah...” he tells him gently.

Oscar heaves a big sigh. Lando can feel it rush through his own chest. The contact makes him feel warm. Oscar’s body temperature is naturally higher than his, which makes him an extremely comfortable heated blanket.

“I will stop assuming, but please… Please promise me you will tell if I do something you don’t like or something that makes you uncomfortable,” Lando finally speaks out.

“I already promised before…”

“I know, but…”

“You haven’t made me uncomfortable even once today. I might need a moment to process what’s going on here and there, but I’ve been loving all the cuddles and little touches…” Oscar explains. He’s running his fingers over Lando’s shoulder from where his arm is trapped in the Brit’s embrace.

There’s a moment of silence between them.

Then Oscar speaks again.

“Lando, are we boyfriends?”

Lando stops breathing. His hands freeze in their tracks.

He then squeezes Oscar ever tighter.

“If you want to, then we are,” he says quietly.

“I want to…. Do you?”

“Yes! Yes, please…”

“Okay… Okay Lando…,” Oscar says gently.

Lando’s hand is shaking when he starts running his fingers through Oscar’s hair, holding the Australian. Guiding him through the onslaught of thoughts the younger driver must be having.

Not that Lando is fairing any better…

He has a boyfriend. Oh my god, he has a boyfriend, and he’s the cutest, sweetest, funniest, most caring guy he’s ever met.

He presses a kiss into Oscar’s hair, overpowered by his feelings.

His boyfriend lets out a happy hum.

“I love you,” he hears Oscar say softly.

Way to murder someone. Lando might die.

“I love you too,” Lando says breathlessly.

They hold onto each other as if the other might vanish from their arms. Lando is going to need a moment to be able to sleep tonight. His heart is racing, right underneath Oscar’s ear.

He stares at the ceiling and listens to his boyfriends breathing. Feels his ribs move under his hand, the other one still running through his hair.

He can feel the moment Oscar nods off completely. He goes limp and becomes even more of a dead weight. Lando understands, the Australian has to be exhausted.

The Brit will hold him through the night, no questions asked.

He syncs his breaths with Oscar’s. The feeling is so comforting he eventually falls asleep as well, fingers tangled in soft brown hair.

- - o - -

---

Oscar is the first one to wake up in the morning. When he opens his eyes, he sees sunlight filtering into the room. Since Luka isn’t here yet, it has to be before eight.

Lando is a lovely weight against his back. With an arm slung over Oscar’s waist the older driver is spooning him. His breath tickles the little hairs on Oscar’s neck.

Lando…

Yesterday evening…

He said it, he said it out loud. Oscar can’t believe it.

The whole evening was a trainwreck anyway. With Oscar falling asleep in the office while Lando was streaming, and Lando caring for him as kindly as ever.

Lando then carried him to the bedroom?! The Australian still feels the butterflies in his stomach when he thinks about it. The Brit’s arms wrapped around him, the stupidly goofy grin when he realized that he’s strong enough to carry Oscar. And then the ‘are you proud of me’-stance after.

Oscar was two seconds away from kissing him without warning. Mental meltdown be damned. The guy is so insanely adorable, and he doesn’t even know it.

No, not ‘the guy’… HIS guy…

Because Oscar couldn’t take it anymore and asked the question to end all questions.

And Lando said yes! Yes PLEASE, even… And the speed of his heart rate after…

Oscar will never get over it.

He has a boyfriend now… The most gorgeous, adorable, funniest, loving, and warmhearted man is his boyfriend!

Oscar can’t believe it. But the arm slung over his waist and the comforting weight behind him is his proof. His body feels warm where Lando’s body is aligned with his. Which is almost the full length of his body.

Oscar places his hand over Lando’s, tangling their fingers. He can have this. It’s amazing.

He takes in the moment, matching his breathing with Lando. He’s about to fall asleep again when the Brit behind him stretches himself out and resettles with a hum, burying his face in Oscar’s nape.

Lando is waking up, slowly this time.

Oscar is actually kind of annoyed he’s not facing Lando… Because he would have loved to see it… As a compromise, the starts running his fingers over the Brit’s arm.

Lando takes in a deep breath and then lets out a sigh that rushes over the Aussie’s shoulders. Oscar’s skin tingles.

Lando makes it worse by pressing a kiss to the base of his neck. Oscar shivers.

He can feel the Brit’s smile against his skin.

“Good morning, Osc,” Lando says. With his morning voice. Again. He is going to be the death of him. And Lando knows it, it seems...

“Morning, Lan…” Oscar replies softly. The hand he is holding squeezes his in kind.

The younger driver can’t take it anymore… He has to SEE Lando.

He turns around in their embrace. Their knees bonk against each other. Lando is looking at him with the stupidest grin as Oscar places his head back on the pillow they have been sharing.

Of course Oscar’s boyfriend looks gorgeous the moment he wakes up. Curls ruffled, tan skin looking beautifully warm in the morning light, his smile scrunches up his eyes in the most adorable way.

Oscar stares, taking it all in. The man before him is his boyfriend, his partner, his significant other.

The Australian knows he’s blushing. Because of course his body betrays him.

Lando is looking back at him, pretty green eyes flickering all over the place, fascinated by all the details on Oscar’s face.

Oscar loves him to pieces. All his feelings bubble to the surface at the same time. He wants to kiss him; he wants to kiss him so badly.

So he gathers all the courage he can and leans towards him, Lando looks down at his lips…

And then the door opens with a click.

Both men instantly flinch back, the moment broken. “Dad! Papa! It’s eight-zero-zero,” Luka says happily.

Oscar groans as he rolls onto his back. He places his arm over his face with a grumble, because of course their son cockblocks them stops them.

Lando holds onto Oscar waist, howling with laughter. The Australian can feel his laugh shake through the mattress and he can’t help but smile fondly at the stupid situation.

Lando takes some deep breaths to calm down his laughter. “Good morning, Luka!” Lando says in between giggles. He leans over Oscar to pull the toddler onto the mattress.

The Brit hugs Luka into his chest and lays back down, placing his head in Oscar shoulder. Luka settles down between them.

Oscar runs his fingers through the short hair on Lando’s temple. The older driver lets out a happy sigh at the feeling.

Luka is looking at them curiously.

“Did you have a good sleep, Luka?” Oscar asks him. He ruffles the fluffy bed hair the toddler is sporting. The kid leans into it.

“Yeah! I had a dream we built a sandcastle to the sky!” Luka says happily.

“That’s nice, little man. We’re gonna build a big one on the beach today too, right?” Lando tells him.

Luka nods enthusiastically and squishes himself even more between them. Oscar and Lando chuckle.

They stay like that for a while, just cuddling, holding onto each other in a little pile.

That is until Lando’s stomach growls loudly.

“Breakfast?” Oscar says.

“Yes, let’s go make breakfast,” Lando agrees.

The trio moves to the kitchen. Oscar makes coffee while Lando starts preparing French toast.

Now that both drivers have figured out that they like the little kisses they’ve been giving each other, they can’t stop doing it…

Oscar gets a peck on the cheek when he hands Lando his coffee. He made it how the older man likes it; with a generous splash of milk.

As Lando is cooking the toast, Oscar wraps his arms over the Brit’s shoulders and presses a kiss to the smooth skin underneath Lando’s ear. The Australian can feel the soft chuckle Lando lets out travel through both their chests.

The want to kiss Lando stays right underneath Oscar’s skin. But they are both busy getting everything ready. Now isn’t the time.

Oscar knows he will get his moment soon. And this time he won’t hesitate to act on it.

The pile of freshly made French toast piles up quite quickly, so Oscar removes himself from Lando’s back and grabs the strawberries from the fridge. He washes them and cuts them into smaller pieces.

The Australian is starting to feel right at home in Lando’s kitchen. In the entire apartment actually… It’s as if he has been living here for a while. He doesn’t feel at all like he is a guest.

He tells Lando when they are enjoying breakfast together.

“I think I should call the apartment I signed up for and tell them I’m not interested anymore…” Oscar says out loud.

The man on the other side of the table looks up at him in surprise. “Are you moving in?” Lando says. He sounds hopeful.

Oscar nods. “If that’s okay with you of course.”

“Yes! Yes, of course!” the Brit tells him.

They smile at each other happily.

Oscar looks away at Luka, who is contently munching on a strawberry, to collect his thoughts. He's moving in with his teammate now boyfriend Lando Norris after only three days because a cute toddle grabbed onto him in the Monégasque paddock.

He can’t believe his life right now.

Just go with the flow, Oscar. Do what feels right. No need to rush, no need to fight it.

And when he looks back at Lando all he sees is a soft and supportive smile. What did he do to deserve this? Oscar doesn’t know. But he will take it and hold it close to his chest.

Forever preferably.

After they finish breakfast, all of them change into a beach outfit. Oscar is happy he packed his swim shorts, suddenly grateful for the ice baths he sometimes has to take from his trainer after races.

He also throws on a shirt and grabs the same blue hoodie Lando wore yesterday, just in case.

They pack several bags. Lando explains that the secret beach place they are going to is a bay in between two rocky cliffs. There aren’t any facilities or beach bars, so they have to take a lot with them.

Lando leaves the apartment to go to the storage he owns in another part of the building. Meanwhile Oscar helps Luka get dressed. He’s happy that him and Lando found arm floaties for Luka right next to the swim trunks during their shopping trip. The floaties will be needed today for sure.

Lando returns back to the apartment with a parasol, a small bucket, and a cooling box. The box gets filled with drinks, the sandwiches they’ve prepared, and healthy snacks like sliced cucumber and fruit. Some cooling elements are placed on top to keep everything extra cool.

When Oscar picks up the box by its handle it’s slightly heavy, but the professional Formula 1 drivers won’t have any problem carrying it down to the beach.

They pack two bags with necessities like towels, sunscreen, some unhealthy snacks, and both Lando’s and Oscar’s sunglasses. Oscar adds the blue hoodie to the bag as well and one of Luka’s sweaters in case it suddenly gets cold.

Lando doesn’t have any ‘sandcastle tools’, as he calls them. So, they repurpose an old serving spoon as a shovel for Luka to scoop the sand with.

When all of them are wearing a cap and shoes or slippers, or in Luka’s case; Crocs, they leave the apartment behind.

It's time to go to the beach!

Chapter Text

It has to be a secret beach spot indeed, because Lando parks the car on the side of a normal suburban street. The pavement looks old, which is rare in Monaco.

Oscar gets out of the car and looks around. It’s a street with family homes on one side of the road. On the other side Oscar mostly sees rocks and bushes, but if he stands on his toes, he can spot the sea.

“Okay, so… I think one of us needs to carry Luka. The path might be too difficult to walk on for him,” Lando explains as he gets Luka out of his booster seat.

Oscar is gathering the bags from the trunk. “How difficult are we talking, because we have a lot of bags…”

Lando goes to stand next to Oscar with Luka in his arms and stares at their luggage. “Yeah, uhm… I will walk twice?” The Australian shoots him a confused look. “I promise you Oscar, it’s better than carrying a toddler, two bags, a cooling box, and an umbrella down the rocky stairs in one go…”

Oscar stares at him deadpan, hoping the Brit is joking. Lando gives him an apologetic grin. The Australian decides not to comment.

He follows his boyfriend with one of the bags over his shoulder and the cooling box in one hand. They walk over the sandy-rocky path next to the peaceful road for a bit.

Lando is mumbling to himself. Luka looks content, with his small arms wrapped around the Brit’s neck.

“Was it here? No… Maybe- Oh!” Lando suddenly walks into bushes and all Oscar can do is follow close behind.

It's a path through the bushes, definitely a cowpath or desire path, one made by humans in this case. It’s a narrow trail where vegetation makes way for sand and small rocks.

“Lando, is this where you murder me?” Oscar says flatly to the back of Lando’s head. The man before him gasps and looks over his shoulder at him.

“I would never!” he sounds offended.

Oscar points out the overgrown bushes surrounding them. “It’s the perfect spot to be honest…”

Lando snorts. “It gets less murdery once we’re past the bushes,” he tells the Australian.

And it does. Once they are out of the bushes, Oscar can start seeing the water. The vegetation opens up to a pretty pathway surrounded by two natural rock walls. There are stairs that lead downwards, made from the same rock.

Lando was right, the stairs would be hard to walk on for Luka. Oscar even has trouble with the cooling box here and there. Luckily it isn’t steep. And there are little flat parts in between sets of steps. Someone really thought this out.

Once they reach the bottom they step into the sand. A rock wall is still hiding the bay from view, but Oscar can hear the waves roll onto the sand.

The Australian looks up at the stairs and thinks about having to walk back up at the end of the day… He suddenly feels bad for Lando, as the Brit promised to get the last bag and the umbrella after dropping them off…

“Come on Osc! You’ve got to see this,” his boyfriend catches his attention. Lando leads them around the rock wall with a big smile.

The beach comes into view and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It is indeed a bay; the sea stops a little land inwards, surrounded by a bank of soft white sand. The beach itself is framed by cliff walls.

It’s like a private beach, which is almost confirmed by how quiet it is. There’s an older couple enjoying the sunshine on the other side of the bay, and an elderly lady is dipping her feet into the water.

The trio finds a nice spot away from the entrance. Oscar sets down the bag and cooling box, while Lando helps Luka out of his Crocs.

“Alright, I will be right back,” the Brit tells Oscar.

“Be careful on the stairs,” the Australian can’t help but say. It gets him a little pat to the cheek.

“Yes mom. I will be careful,” Lando says with a grin.

Oscar rolls his eyes fondly.

He watches Lando leave, and then focusses on Luka.

“Okay sweetheart, let’s put some sunscreen on you first.” He grabs his own towel and spreads it out on the sand. He takes the sunscreen from the bag, sits down on the towel and pats the spot in front of him.

Luka understands, and moves to stand in front of the Australian. He helps Luka take off his shirt and then rubs sunscreen all over him. He makes sure not to miss any spots. Oscar would be so mad at himself if the kid got sunburned.

“Okay Luka, we’ve got to wait for a bit for the sunscreen to dry, but we can go in the water after,” Oscar tells him.

Luka nods, and instead of going to play in the sand like Oscar expected, the kid sits down on the towel in front of him.

Oscar sighs with a soft smile. “You’re such a good kid, Luka…” He runs his fingers through the toddlers fluffy hair. The last remainder of sunscreen on the McLaren driver’s hand makes his brown hair stick up weirdly.

Luka looks at him, as if trying to pinpoint what Oscar is saying. “I mean it Luka; you are the most well behaved and sweet kid ever. I’m proud of you.”

Luka gets up and suddenly Oscar has a toddler clinging onto him. The Australian hugs him back.

“I love you, dad!” Luka tells him.

Oscar didn’t know his smile could get any wider. “I love you too, Luka…”

He hears something fall onto the sand and suddenly there are two arms wrapped around him and Luka.

“I can’t believe that I almost missed out on cuddles,” Lando says right next to his ear.

Oscar barks out a laugh and takes one of his arms from around Luka’s back and wraps it around Lando’s waist to pull him into the hug.

“Papa! Love you, papa!” Luka exclaims, happy that Lando joined the cuddle.

The Brit sags into the hug. “Aw, Luka, I love you too!”

It's so insanely soft.

Oscar can’t believe this is his little family now. He’s a Formula 1 driver, his boyfriend is the Formula 1 driver he has been following for ages, and they have adopted the cutest toddler ever, completely by accident.

Luka beams up at them both and Oscar knows he and Lando are wearing goofy grins.

“Can we go swim?” Luka asks politely.

“Soon kiddo, let’s wait for the sunscreen to dry. And Oscar and I need to put some on too,” Lando tells him. “Why don’t you go play in the sand until then?”

Luka nods and wiggles himself out of the embrace.

As he waddles off, Oscar remembers something. “Oh, Luka?” The kid turns back around.

“I know you will stay close, but I have some beach rules for safety, okay?” Oscar says with a grimace. God, he does sound like a mom…

Luka nods and waits patiently for Oscar to go on.

“Okay, so, the sea can be dangerous. Only go swimming when one of us is with you, alright?” the Australian explains.

Luka puts a thumbs up, which makes Lando snort.

“Oh and make sure we can see where you are, okay?” Oscar adds.

A second thumb comes up and then Luka turns away and walks off. Only to plop down into the soft sand 5 meters away.

Lando loses it. “He is definitely your kid,” the older driver giggles. “A carbon copy! He did ‘the Piastri’ and all!”

Oscar grins at Lando, who is still holding onto him. He squeezes the Brit’s waist.

They sit in comfortable silence and look at Luka for a bit.

“I didn’t fall down the stairs,” Lando tells him out of nowhere.

The Australian huff out a laugh. He can see it move the curls hanging over Lando’s forehead.

“I’m proud of you,” he says with a serious face. Though he can feel the corners of his lips go upwards.

Lando pushes him lightly, and stands up. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”

Oscar can hear the laughter in his voice. It makes him laugh as well.

“Go put on sunscreen, you muppet, our son wants to go for a swim,” Lando says as he digs through the bag.

Oscar listens, taking off his shirt. Lando makes a squeaky noise, but when the younger driver looks over to him, the Brit seems focused on finding something in the bag. He wonders what the Brit is looking for.

As he is applying sunscreen on his legs, Lando spreads out his own towel right next to Oscar’s. He places it so close; the towels overlap just a bit. Oscar thinks it’s stinking cute, but can’t really name why.

It's when the Australian is rubbing sunscreen over his shoulders as far as he can reach, that Lando speaks up.

“Osco, do you need me to put sunscreen on your back?” Lando asks kindly.

“Oh, uh, yes please,” Oscar says and hands the older driver the tube.

And he quickly realizes he messed up, because the Brit is going to touch his bare back. It sounds weird intimate when he thinks about it.

It IS weirdly intimate, he finds out, when Lando’s fingers start brushing over his skin.

His strong hands feel amazing against Oscar’s back, but it’s also A LOT, and he has to close his eyes to focus on the feeling. Lando does his shoulders first and then works his way down.

Right under his shoulder blades, his hands disappear for a second. And then return with more very cold sunscreen.

Oscar flinches. Lando immediately stops.

“Oscar, am I overwhelming you? Do you need me to stop?” the Brit asks.

“Yes. No.” the younger driver tells him breathlessly.

Lando drops his forehead on Oscar’s shoulder, probably getting sunscreen on his forehead.

“I will stop.”

“Lando…”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“Lan…” Oscar turns partly, so he is facing his boyfriend.

Lando opens his mouth as if to say something, but closes it again after seeing the intense look on Oscar’s face.

The Australian uses the hand he isn’t using to hold himself up to cradle the Brit’s face with.

“I want to kiss you, like… very much,” he tells Lando. It’s probably not even a good sentence, but Oscar might have forgotten how English works for the moment.

Lando gapes at him and then lets out a little “oh”.

Oscar doesn’t wait any longer. He bravely closes the gap, heart in his throat.

Lando’s eyes flutter shut as Oscar presses their lips together. It's a soft peck at first, to test the waters. But Lando eagerly leans into it and gives him a soft peck back when he retreats a bit. It sets off a chain reaction.

Lando’s hand settles against his face, probably spreading sunscreen all over. Their lips meet again, even more eagerly. The Brit’s lips are warm and so incredibly soft, Oscar loses himself over them.

He feels dizzy, kissing Lando. And when the Brit deepens the kiss, his brain logs out.

They eventually have to stop, out of breath. Their foreheads lean against each other. Oscar doesn’t remember closing his eyes. His heart is beating in his chest frantically.

When he slowly opens his eyes, gorgeous green eyes are looking back at him. Oscar’s chest feels tight, as if it’s about to burst.

“I love you,” he whispers softly.

Their noses bump together. Lando hums and presses one more kiss under Oscar’s eye.

“I love you too.”

Oscar takes a deep breath. Hearing him say the words out loud is the best thing in the world.

And also, he kissed Lando fucking Norris… He needs a moment to process what just happened.

Lando fingers are brushing over his cheek. He chuckles softly. “I don’t think your face has any chance of getting sunburned now,” the Brit tells him.

He moves away, Oscar hand falls on the older driver’s shoulder instead. Then, two hands are on his face, carefully spreading out the sunscreen more evenly.

The Australian closes his eyes. It feels so nice. He feels so loved.

He happily leans into the touch.

Eventually Lando stops his movements and cradles Oscar’s face in both hands.

“You are such a gorgeous man… I can’t believe I have you…” Lando whispers.

Oscar opens his eyes. The look Lando gives him melts his heart. What did he do to deserve this man? How can a person be this sweet and caring…

“You’re making it very hard for me not to kiss you again,” Oscar says breathlessly.

Lando laughs. “We shouldn’t, we have to go for a swim. We promised.”

The younger driver huffs. “Yeah, we promised…”

“Want me to do the rest of your back?” the Brit asks.

Oscar nods and reluctantly turns away from him. Though when Lando’s hands come to massage his back again, he doesn’t mind facing away from him.

Once he’s done, Lando presses a kiss to his shoulder and then moves away to put sunscreen on himself. Oscar thanks him, and then focusses on Luka for a bit.

His mind is going crazy. Thoughts passing by so fast he can’t grasp them, and at the same time he feels so calm. His body feels soft and relaxed.

Luka is digging in the sand with his hands. Every once in a while, he stops, picks something up and moves it to a different spot. He’s probably looking for nice rocks or other little trinkets.

“Alright Oscar, sunscreen me up!” Lando presses the tube into Oscar’s hands.

The Australian looks over to see a shirtless Lando flop down onto his towel, face down.

An exasperated laugh escapes Oscar.

Lando grins up at him from where his cheek is smushed against the fabric.

He's such an idiot, but he is Oscar’s idiot, and Oscar loves him.

“Okay, alright, I’ll return the favor,” the Australian says with a laugh.

When he puts the sunscreen onto his hands, he looks at Lando’s back. The older driver’s muscles are more defined than his, more delicate also. Oscar thinks it’s pretty, just like everything else about Lando.

When he first places his hands on the Brit’s back, the younger driver is shocked by the contrast of his hands on Lando’s tan skin. A shocked little “woah” slips out of his mouth.

Lando makes a questioning hum, one that Oscar feels underneath his fingertip.

“Ah… I’m surprised by the difference in our skin tones. I like the contrast,” he explains softly.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful, right?” Lando says.

Oscar gives an affirmative hum, not daring to open his mouth and say something stupidly sappy by accident.

Instead he massages the sunscreen onto Lando’s back. He follows the muscles carefully, enjoying the feel of his warm skin under his fingers.

It feels amazing to be able to map out the expanse of Lando’s back with his hands. It’s in this moment that he finds out you CAN innocently explore each other’s body without it having to lead to more.

He treasures the moment and gets a bit overwhelmed when he thinks of how he can have this again in the future.

Lando hums and stretches out like a cat. Oscar feels the muscles in his back shift. And then the expanse of the Brits ribs as he breathes in deeply. When he breathes back out, his body fully relaxes.

“I feel like a cavemen discovering fire,” Oscar says dumbly.

A laugh bursts out of Lando. “Is that why you’re still rubbing my back? I’m pretty sure you’ve covered every part of it in sunscreen already,” he says between giggles, like the absolute menace he is.

“Slander… Defamation of a fellow Formula 1 driver…” Oscar huffs, but he doesn’t stop running his fingers over the tan skin.

If people could purr, he knows Lando would be doing so right now. He looks completely relaxed and content.

A bit too content…

He nudges Lando in the side. It gets him a grumble.

“Don’t fall asleep, Lan. We promised to go swimming,” he tells his boyfriend.

A sigh, and then Lando rolls onto his side, away from Oscar. “Stop making me fall asleep then, and hand me a floatie,” the Brit protests.

The Australian grins at him kindly. It makes Lando roll his eyes, but Oscar can see the smile he’s trying to hide.

Oscar moves away slightly to rummage through the bag. He finds Luka’s floaties and hands one of them to Lando. They both inflate one.

Floaties aren’t the best solution, but they don’t know if Luka can swim yet, and Oscar isn’t planning on giving a swimming lesson on the fly without a bit of extra safety.

“Luka, do you want go swimming?” the Australian asks the kid. He talks loudly so Luka hears him, as the kid is still digging in the sand a bit further away.

“Yes!” Luka exclaims. He grabs something from the sand and comes to them.

“What do you have, little man?” Lando asks him, he holds up his hand. A silent question to see what the kid is holding.

Luka drops his finds into Lando’s waiting palm. “Oh wow!” both men say at the same time.

“That one is really cool,” Oscar says as he points at the slightly orange rock in Lando’s hand.

“Yeah! And this one has holes! Look!” Luka excitedly picks up a grey rock with tiny holes all over, and shows it to them.

“Amazing, Luka!” Lando says.

“Let’s find a safe place for them so we can go for a swim, alright?” the Australian says as he digs through the bag once more. He finds one of the paper cups they’ve packed and shows it to Luka.

“Let’s put them in here.”

Luka nods and takes his trinkets from Lando’s hand, to put them in the cup Oscar is holding.

Oscar then carefully places the cup in the bag, upright so no rocks fall out.

He then turns back to Luka and says: “let’s go swim”.

Luka cheers and then holds out his arms. It makes Lando chuckle. They both put a floatie on the toddlers arms.

The drivers get up from their towels. Lando grabs Luka and puts him on his hip. He then holds out his hand to Oscar. The Australian takes it, entwining their fingers.

They walk to the water together. Luka is giggling in anticipation.

Lando reaches the water first, and gasps as it rolls over his feet. Oscar knows why a fraction of a second later. The water is COLD.

They should’ve expected it though. It’s the end of May.

“Okay, Luka, the water is cold, so be prepared,” Lando tells the kid.

“I wanna feel!” Luka struggles in the Brit’s hold.

“And you will, but I warned you…”

The older driver lets go of Oscar’s hand and sets the kid down. Or tries to, because the moment Luka’s toes touch the water, the kid curls up his legs and squeaks.

“Ah sorry, kiddo!” Lando says and immediately steps out of the water. He puts him down again with his feet in the sand.

Oscar smiles at the care that Lando shows again and again around Luka.

“Go into the water at your own pace, Luka. It’s alright!” the Australian tells the kid, who is now standing at the edge of the beach. He holds onto Lando’s hand like a lifeline.

“You don’t have to swim if you don’t want to. It’s very cold indeed. Oscar is used to it because he sometimes has to take ice-baths after racing,” Lando explains.

To prove the Brit’s point, Oscar walks a bit further and promptly sits down into the water. He tries not to flinch as he does, and succeeds.

“Show off…” the older driver tells him fondly. Oscar’s efforts get rewarded with a small spray of cold water as Lando kicks it at him. This time the Australian does flinch.

He would have fought back, but Luka is right next to Lando, and the poor toddler would surely be caught in the crossfire.

“Come on, Luka! You can do it!” Oscar cheers him on.

Luka takes a couple of steps.

“Hey, good job, kiddo,” Lando tells him.

Bit by bit Luka walks through the water to where Oscar is sitting. The water reaches above the kids knees. Both adults compliment him all the way.

“Once you’re in the water, it isn’t that cold anymore,” the Australian tells him. To make his point, he leans back and lays down into the water.

Luka lets go of Lando’s hand and dips down a bit, but doesn’t dare to go further.

“Look Luka, like this,” the Brit says. Then he takes a couple of big steps to the deeper part and flops down into the water. The scream Lando lets out makes Oscar laugh.

“And now I don’t feel cold anymore,” the older driver says when he’s past the shock.

Luka giggles. The toddler looks at the water, debating whether he dares… And then throws himself down like Lando did.

When the cold hits, he scrambles. But Lando was right, and as both men are complimenting him for being so brave, he gets used to the cold.

Oscar moves so he’s right next to Luka. Luka grabs onto his arm and floats himself. Lando comes their way as well.

They stay in the water together for a bit. They don’t do much, they mostly just sit or float. Lando splashes them with water once, and gets splashed back by both Oscar and Luka.

The older driver wisely stops splashing them, so it doesn’t turn into an all-out war.

Luka has eventually had enough and they leave the water to go dry themselves on their towels.
But only after Luka flops down in the sand right on the shore with a giggle and then runs back to the water again. His entire back and neon green swim shorts are covered in sand.

He drops down into the water with a squeal. It probably washes off only half of it. Oscar and Lando laugh at his antics.

“He’s getting another bath tonight,” the Brit says with a smile. “Yep!” Oscar agrees.

With all of them done goofing around, they walk back to the towels.

Oscar grabs Luka’s towel from the bag while Lando takes off Luka’s floaties. The Australian wraps the toddler in the towel and sits down on his own towel, placing Luka on his lap.

Lando sits down right next to him, invading Oscar’s towel, not that the younger driver minds. He leans against him as he dries Luka’s hair as best as possible.

Luka is still giggling, loving the attention. Oscar can’t stop smiling and when he looks at Lando he sees that the Brit is smiling too.

He moves in to kiss Lando and immediately gets a response. Their lips meet. It’s short and sweet, making Oscar feel loved and even happier than he already was.

His little family. He has a loving boyfriend and an adorable son. What more can he wish for!

He takes it all in as he dries Luka so the kid can go play in the sand again.

Suddenly there’s a voice coming from behind them: “I should have known you three would be here!”

When Oscar looks over his shoulder, he sees Charles Leclerc walk towards them, with Max Verstappen right on his heels. Both of them wearing a goofy grin.

Chapter Text

“Oh hey, Charles! Max!” Lando greets them, “I promise I didn’t tell anyone else about your spot.”

Charles chuckles. “It’s alright, mate. I don’t mind sharing it with the people I like.”

Meanwhile, Oscar is freaking out. Because Lando is still right next to him, with his arm around Oscar’s back and Oscar hasn’t moved. And there’s no way they didn’t see them kiss just now.

He doesn’t know how to go further. Does he create distance between him and Lando and act like nothing happened? He doesn’t want to though… Today was supposed to be a fun day where they could explore being boyfriends before having to go back to work tomorrow…

And even though he looks up to Charles and Max as colleagues and fellow drivers, he sees them as friends.

So he doesn’t move from Lando’s side, even though he’s terrified of their reaction.

“Do you mind if we join you?” Max asks.

Oscar freezes. Lando must feel it, because he looks at the Australian. Oscar doesn’t look back, too tangled in his own mind.

Does he want them to join? He doesn’t know, but telling them to go to the other side of the bay is a no go. And he knows their company will be fun and Luka will like it as well, but what if the two older men disagree with his and Lando’s relationship?

The Brit drags his fingers through Oscar’s hair, pulling him out of his thoughts. The action from Lando left no room for speculation though…

Apparently, they were talking to him, but the Australian zoned out.

“No hard feelings if you don’t want us to, Oscar,” Charles says kindly.

“Uhm, no it’s alright. Please join us. Sorry, I freaked out for a moment,” Oscar tells them quietly.

“Very understandable,” Max says, nodding like he knows what the younger McLaren driver is talking about.

“Oh god, yes… so understandable,” Charles adds with a horrified look. The Dutchman and Monégasque look at each other knowingly.

Wait what?

Luka takes that moment to recognize the Ferrari driver.

“Lightning McQueen!” he cheers and points to Charles with the biggest grin.

All four men burst out laughing. Charles kneels down in the sand next to Oscar and Luka. He doesn’t invade their space, staying at a polite distance. The Monegasque smiles and waves at the kid.

“Hi Luka! Nice to see you again,” Charles tells the kid.

Oscar smiles down at Luka, who looks slightly starstruck. Lando giggles next to him, Oscar can feel it against his shoulder blade. “Luka, do you remember his name?” he asks the kid.

That has Luka thinking. Oscar can see the gears turn in his little head.

“Chals?”

Charles physically melts. Max wheezes where he’s putting down his and Charles towels. Oscar notices that the blond overlaps their towels slightly, like Lando did with theirs. He suddenly feels like he’s figuring something out he shouldn’t...

Max looks up at them with a giddy smile. “I love how he gets the ‘ch’ right.” He lays down on the towel furthest from the McLaren drivers, keeping the closer spot free for Charles.

Lando speaks up: “if he doesn’t call us dad and papa, we are Lano and Osca. I still can’t handle how adorable it is...”

“Aw...” Charles gushes, he looks at Luka with a fond smile. He was already on there unconsciously, but Charles has been officially added to Oscar’s mental list of ‘people who can be trusted to protect Luka with their life’.

Charles points behind him. “Do you remember that guy? I think you’ve only seen him briefly. So, if you forgot that’s completely fine.”

Luka turns his head to the side as he looks at Max. The blond world champion waves at the toddler.

The kid thinks hard but can’t come up with an answer. He shyly hides his face in the towel still wrapped around him, leaning against Oscar.

Lando rubs Luka’s back and says: “his name is Max.”

That perks Luka right up. “Max? Penelope’s friend?”

“Yeah!” Max cheers. “Good job remembering!” Oscar tells him.

“I love how he remembers P’s exact name correctly, even though it’s the longest one he probably learnt last weekend,” Max says to Oscar and Lando fondly.

And that’s Max Verstappen added to his earlier mentioned mental list.

Charles giggles as he sits down next to Max.

“I think it’s fellow kid privilege,” Lando says matter of fact.

“I see you three went swimming already. Is the water cold today?” Charles says absentmindedly as he takes his shirt off.

The way Max checks him out before looking back to the water confirms Oscar suspicion.

Are Max and Charles...?

No, that’s impossible! Max has Kelly, right?

Is he witnessing an affair? No... No way they would make it this obvious.

He opens his mouth to ask his burning question. But Luka interrupts him to answer Charles’ question.

“Super cold! But when you’re in the water, it don’t feel cold anymore,” the kid explains, echoing what Oscar told him. He gets up from Oscar’s lap, his towel piles onto the Australian’s lap.

Luka turns to his dads. “Can I play again?” he asks them. “Of course sweetheart,” Oscar tells him. “Oh wait! Luka, we brought you some tools to play in the sand with,” Lando says excitedly.

The older driver leaves Oscar’s side and stands to dig through their luggage for the small bucket and spoon shovel.

Luka thanks him, at which Lando ruffles his hair with a grin.

The kid leaves them to go back to the spot he was occupying earlier. He sits down in the sand and immediately goes to town with his shovel.

The four adults watch him for a second.

Then Lando turns around, facing all of them.

“Okay, now... Explain,” the Brit points to Max and Charles vaguely.

“Huh?” Charles says dumbly. Max pinches the bridge of his nose, like he knows where this is going.

Okay, so Oscar isn’t going crazy...

“Charles... Why are you two here, together?” the Australian asks carefully. He sees Lando cross his arms and raise an eyebrow. They are both wondering the same thing.

“Can’t friends go to the beach togeth-” the Ferrari driver tries.

“We have been in a relationship for over two years now,” Max tells them with zero hesitation.

Charles gasps.

If Oscar was sitting in a chair, he would have fallen out of it for sure. Lando chokes on his own spit.

“Max!” the Monégasque yells exasperated.

“Oh, come on Charlie! We saw them kiss just now. It’s only fair they know about us too!” Max tells him.

Oscar visibly freezes. Lando and him were caught red handed. He suspected it already, but to hear it out loud...

Charles swats at Max’ arm. “Brain to mouth filter! We’ve talked about this before, mon Coeur...”

Max rolls his eyes and wraps his arms around Charles, pulling the brunette against his chest.

“Schat... They are in the same boat as us, why wouldn’t we tell them?” the Dutchman asks him.

Charles looks at the man holding him. “I know, I know. But you could have done it a bit more discreetly,” he grumbles.

Oscar unfreezes himself when he hears Charles annoyance. He still has a burning question. He moves so he is facing the two older drivers directly. Lando takes that moment to sit next to him again, his arm wraps around the Australian’s back in that familiar protective way.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you two are in a happy relationship,” Oscar starts, “but what about Kelly?”

Max perks up and looks Oscar in the eye. “Kelly is my shield.”

“He’s horrible at hiding our relationship... He’s so fu- freaking clingy it’s insane. I love that about him, but people were starting to get suspicious...” Charles adds.

“I have a habit of pulling Charles towards me whenever he is close... Uhm, it has happened a bit too often in public. We shared a lot of podiums in 2022, which was when we first started dating. I would like, linger around him so much that our relationship almost got revealed...” Max explains bashfully.

“So the Lestappen fans were on to something, huh,” Lando says, “a lot of things make so much more sense now...”

“Not only the Lestappen fans...” Charles complains. “The rumours were reaching the mainstream media.”

“I was already friends with Kelly before I started dating Charles, and Kelly and I also had some rumours going. After her divorce she kept being bombarded by weird guys asking her out. She wanted to live the single mom life for a while and enjoy time with Penelope. So, we got to talking,” Max tells them.

“And you created a fake relationship to get everyone of both your backs,” Oscar fills in the blanks.

Max nods. “It’s a win-win. People leave her alone, and the rumours of me and Charles die the moment they come up.”

Lando hums. Oscar looks at him only to see that the Brit is looking at him.

“Oscar and I’s relationship has basically been revealed to the whole world already. Or at least us adopting Luka together. We don’t know yet if we should announce our very new relationship outright. We’re fearing the possible backlash from the public... Is there a specific reason you two have kept it a secret?” Lando asks them.

Max sighs and looks away for a second. Charles gives him a sad smile and squeezes his hand.

When Max looks back at the McLaren drivers he’s wearing a determined expression. “If it comes out that I am gay, I’m going to have to take on the Leclerc name very quickly. My dad will disown me for sure...”

Both McLaren drivers grimace. They should have known... It’s quiet for a second. All of them understanding the weight of what the blond is saying.

“It’s a risk. But if you two are possibly paving the way for me and Charles then you deserve to know about our relationship,” Max explains softly.

“Your secret is safe with us,” Oscar immediately says.

“We’re taking it to the grave if we have to,” Lando adds.

Max gives them a thankful smile. “See, I knew we could trust them, schat.” Charles chuckles and softly scratches the hairs behind Max’ ear with his free hand.

Oscar can see Max lean into the touch. It reminds him of Lando doing the exact same thing every time he runs his fingers through the Brit’s hair.

Charles and Max have been in a relationship for over two years and are still doing the same soft actions Lando and Oscar have just started doing. To Oscar it’s a sort of proof that he can reach out to Lando for hundreds of times, and get the same sweet reaction every time, maybe even years later.

It fills his heart with happiness.

Who knew that seeing his friends and colleagues in a happy relationship could make him stop worrying about the future for a bit.

Charles speaks up. “I get that you’re nervous about your relationship being known by the public. But from what I’ve seen online, people are receiving what’s already been revealed very well. I hope it calms the nerves a bit...”

Oscar nods. “It does help. We haven’t said out loud yet that we are dating, but the announcement of us adopting Luka together has made a lot of fans think that we are...”

“I think me streaming with your hoodie on hasn’t helped our case, Osc...” Lando says.

Oscar looks at Lando, who is looking back at him with a grimace. “Yeah... It was cute though...” the Australian says with a shy smile. It’s Lando’s turn to blush. The younger driver can see it bloom on his tan skin now that they are sitting so close to each other.

It makes Oscar’s heart beat faster. Endeared, he kisses Lando’s cheek. “It also didn’t help that I brought you a drink... The chaos that came from me showing my arm on video is completely my fault.”

“So that’s why my social media feed is filled with zoomed in images of your arm!” Charles exclaims.

Lando bursts out laughing. Oscar hides his face in his hands.

“They were going full Sherlock on us during the stream. It was insane to see how quickly they started to put two and two together!” Lando explains. He doesn’t sound annoyed by it.

Oscar lifts his face from his hands. “And at the same time, it’s all speculation thus far, because we haven’t confirmed anything. We can still hide our relationship if we want...” the Australian theorises.

Max snorts. “With how unknowingly lovey-dovey you two have been for the last couple of days, I doubt it’s a secret you can keep for long,” the Dutchman says.

“What’s the reason you two would keep hiding it? From what I know both your families would support you no matter what, and the fans are reacting positively to the rumours,” Charles asks.

Lando looks at Oscar, who sighs and leans back more against the Brit.

“I’m afraid sponsors will drop out... McLaren is doing so well, we can’t have that right now... Also, how are we supposed to race in countries like Hungary, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar if we reveal our relationship?” Oscar tells them.

“The FIA would protect you. No way they wouldn’t,” Charles says.

“I’m not sure about that...” the Australian says.

“If you two can’t race those races, then we won’t either...” Max tells them boldly. “And I bet the rest of the grid will join us. We have too many races on the calendar anyway, we could demand those races to be scrapped if they won’t let you two race. Also, fuck the Qatar GP. I think half the grid fainted last year...”

Oscar snorts at Max’ rant. “Yeah, fair... I think I fainted twice in the cooldown room. Lost a couple of seconds here and there...”

Lando jolts. “You what?! You never told me about that...”

Oscar gives him an apologetic smile. He shouldn’t have said it...

“Did you tell ANYONE?” Lando asks him. He looks him in the eye with raised eyebrows.

Oscar’s smile turns into a grimace. “Uhm, nobody really noticed, so I... No... I only asked my trainer to help cool me down quickly when I got back to the garage...” He doesn’t dare lie.

“You...!” Lando pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

Oscar looks at Charles and Max for help, but they only smile sympathetically at him. Watching him dig his own grave in amusement.

“Oscar.”

Lando’s hands cup his cheeks, making him look into the Brit’s concerned eyes.

“If you ever don’t feel good or sick, please tell me... You deserve help if you need it, so ask for it. Please,” his voice turns soft at the end of his sentence. He sounds desperate.

Oscar nods. He’s kind of embarrassed this is happening in front of their friends but has to make sure Lando knows that he’s heard him and will listen to him.

Lando nods back, accepting Oscar’s non-verbal answer. The Brit then lets go of his face and returns to his original place, slightly behind Oscar, with one of his arms around the Australian’s back. Oscar leans back against his chest.

Charles is digging through his and Max’ bags. Meanwhile Max is watching Luka with a smile. They are giving the other couple some sort of privacy. Oscar appreciates it.

It also gives Lando an opening to press a kiss right beneath Oscar’s ear. It kind of feels like an apology. Oscar smiles, knowing the older McLaren driver didn’t mean to embarrass him.

The Ferrari driver is rubbing sunscreen on his legs when he speaks up again. “I also don’t think you will have to be worried about sponsors. Pride month starts at the end of this week... And we all know how much our sponsors like pride month.”

Max barks out a laugh. “You’re going to have to beat the sponsors off with a stick!”

The image makes both Lando and Oscar laugh.

“Just do what feels good. If you want to keep it quiet for a bit longer, that’s perfectly okay. They don’t need to know about your private life anyway. But if it gets revealed, I wouldn’t freak out too much. Let chaos run its course. It will calm down again,” Charles rambles.

“Can you tell that we’ve thought about this often?” Max says with a grimace from behind Charles.

Oscar crosses his arms with a smile and says: “No not at all. Glad you’re sharing it with us though. Thank you.”

“Max and I are finally not alone anymore. Of course we’re sharing what we’ve already figured out. And we will be right behind you to support you, whatever happens,” Charles says with a kind expression.

“Osca! Lano! Look what I’ve found!” Luka is running towards them. He has been digging around in the sand while the adults were talking.

All the adults give him their full attention as he comes to a stop in front of the McLaren drivers.

Lando holds his hand out again. The toddler drops his find in Lando’s waiting hand with a beaming smile and then throws himself onto Oscar’s lap.

The Australian wraps his arms around the kid and hugs him tightly while he looks at what Lando is holding.

“It’s all pointy! Like a triangle,” Luka tells them.

“Oh!” Oscar recognizes it as he has found them in Australia on the beach more often. Lando gives him a questioning look.

“It’s a shark tooth, that’s a rare find, Luka,” he explains. When his son looks up at him Oscar can see the excitement in his eyes.

“Wow! Really?” Lando brings his hand closer to his face, inspecting the tooth from a better angle.

“Huh, those are indeed rare to find in Monaco. I’ve never even seen a shark here and I go to the beach every chance I get,” Charles tells them. He has given Max the sunscreen, who is putting it on Charles’ back.

Max looks like he has done it a thousand times before. He even joins the conversation. “Luka is like a treasure hunter. Indiana Jones. What more did you find, kiddo?”

Luka looks at where he was digging and then back up to Oscar. He looks torn between wanting to show them more of their treasures and staying with his dads for a bit.

Oscar notices. “We can show him the cup with the rocks you’ve found,” the Australian says to him as he leans over to their bags.

He retrieves the cup and asks Luka: “is it okay if I give the cup to Charles?” Luka nods.

Charles reaches over and takes the paper cup with a thank you.

Lando decides it’s time for some drinks and hands Luka his shark tooth back. He stands up to rummage through the cooling box.

The Ferrari driver looks into the cup like it’s the gateway to Narnia. He takes out one of the rocks and holds it so Max can see it too.

“Look! This one is orange!” the Monégasque exclaims.

Max gasps. “You dare say the ‘O’ word? In front of them?! It’s papaya, Charlie! Show some respect to your son’s team!” the Dutchman says dramatically.

Both McLaren drivers burst out laughing. Luka giggles at their laughter, probably not even getting the joke, but happy because his dads are laughing.

“It’s really pretty Luka,” Charles says with a smile after the laughter dies down. Max gives an approving nod. The blond is spreading sunscreen over his own arms now, done with Charles’ back.

“Ohhh, and look at this one, Max,” the Ferrari driver takes the next rock out of the cup.

“Hey! That one has holes! It looks like cheese,” the RedBull driver jokes.

Luka giggles. “Don’t eat it!” the kid warns him.

“I wouldn’t dare,” Max promises.

They go through the rest of the cup with excitement. Luka is grinning like crazy, loving the attention.

When Lando hold out a small drink carton with apple juice to Luka, the toddler takes it without hesitation. He holds the carton in one hand and sips on the straw the Brit has already put in there. With the other hand he holds the shark tooth close to his chest.

It's super cute, and it takes Oscar a moment to realize that Lando is holding out a cup with cold Coca Cola towards him. He unwraps one of his hands from around Luka and takes it.

“Returning the favor,” Lando says with a wink. Oscar huffs into his cup with a fond smile.

The Australian absorbs the moment, sipping his drink. Lando offers Max and Charles a drink, but they decline, saying they have their own with them. They do give the cup with rocks to Lando and when the Brit holds out the cup to Luka, he drops his shark tooth in there for safekeeping.

Lando puts the cup back in the bag securely. He grabs a water bottle, takes a drink, and then carefully lays down right behind Oscar. He props up his head with one of his arms. Oscar looks down at him. Lando looks back up at him with a grin that again brings attention to the cute gap between his teeth.

God, why is he so attractive… The want to kiss him bubbles up again, but Oscar pushes it down.

When he finishes his drink, he digs a little hole in the sand so the cup stays upright, and he can maybe use it again later. He then leans back and places his free hand behind Lando, trapping the Brit between his back and his arm.

Lando starts tracing shapes on his back in response. Oscar tries not to shiver. He relaxes to the touch after a couple seconds.

When Max and Charles are done with their sunscreen routine, Max gets up. “I brought a ball, do you want to play, Luka?”

Luka gasps and gets up as well. He hands his empty drink carton to Oscar. And then rushes over to Max, who is taking the ball from his bag.

Oscar is glad the kid didn’t ask for permission this time. He hopes Luka is starting to understand he can choose to go play at any time.

And that’s how Max and Luka end up kicking the ball over and over. Max kicks softly so Luka has enough time to react. Meanwhile Luka kicks the ball as hard as he can, making the ball go flying in a random direction. Max stumbles around a lot.

Charles, who is watching them play, snorts. “He sometimes behaves like he has never used his legs before in his life. You should have seen him play football; it was hilarious.”

Oscar smiles at the fond expression on the Ferrari driver’s face.

“He such an idiot… I love him,” Monégasque confesses.

Lando chuckles from behind Oscar.

“Thanks for letting him play with Luka. He’s been wanting to adopt a kid for quite some time… We obviously can’t. At least, not now,” Charles tells them.

Oscar hums, feeling bad for Max. And for Charles, if he understands the sudden sad smile on his face correctly.

“You two can be uncles or something if you want to?” Oscar says. He’s happy to have more friends around who will take care of Luka if they need to.

“Oh Oscar, that’s so nice of you! We would love to! Is that okay with you, Lando?” Charles asks politely.

“Yes of course!” the Brit confirms kindly. He then turns to Oscar with a serious look. “Your family tree is getting weirder and weirder, Osc… Your dad is Luka’s uncle?” he bullies the Australian.

The Ferrari driver burst out laughing. Oscar stays dead quiet. And then tickles Lando’s side, punishing him for being a little shit.

Lando squeals and tries to turn away from him, but can’t escape Oscar’s clutches. The younger McLaren driver rolls with him and attacks him with both hands. Lando involuntary laughs a high pitchy shriek.

He eventually gets hold of Oscar’s hands, wrapping his fingers over the Australian’s smaller ones, keeping them from moving. Lando is out of breath, looking up at him with the biggest grin.

Oscar can’t help it. He kisses his boyfriend right then and there. He can feel the smile on Lando’s lips. The Brit laughs as they separate. Oscar stares down at him, trying to keep his facial expression neutral, but failing. A goofy smile showing through the cracks.

“You are such a menace…” the Australian says fondly.

“You love it,” Lando taunts him, still holding his hands custody.

“I do, but expect to be tickled without warning. I know your weakness, Lando Norris,” Oscar threatens him.

He hears Charles laugh from the side. Both drivers look to the Monégasque.

“I brought a book to read, but I have so many entertaining things to watch I don’t think I will need it,” the Ferrari driver says with a chuckle.

Lando snorts. Oscar flops down on top of him, kind of embarrassed. It doesn’t stop him from hearing the Brit’s heart beat rapidly in his chest. When Lando releases his hands and wraps his arms around him, Oscar feels like he is right where he belongs.

Chapter Text

Oscar, Lando and Charles eventually end up joining Max and Luka. They all stand in a large circle, first kicking the ball towards each other. But when Lando picks up the ball and yells “Max, catch!” before throwing the ball to a scrambling Oscar, it starts a whole new game.

Luka loves it! You catch someone’s attention and then throw the ball to a completely different person. The element of surprise makes it confusing for everyone, but also very funny.

The kid’s happy cackle every time they fumble a ball makes all of them laugh and they keep going for quite some time. Oscar and Lando share giddy looks every time their kid laughs with glee.

It doesn’t matter that Luka can’t throw hard enough for the adults to be able to catch the ball. They make a show of divebombing the ball every time it rolls towards them.

Luka even falls over from giggling too hard and Oscar can’t stop laughing at the cuteness.

They all get tired after a while and have to stop.

“I’m going for a swim,” Charles says from his spot on the sand, having sat down to catch the ball Lando threw at him.

“Yep, I’m joining,” Max says.

Luka looks at his dads with hopeful eyes.

Oscar would do anything for Luka, but he also wants to bask in the sun for a bit…

The Australian must look reluctant, because Lando fixes the problem for him. “You can go with Charles and Max if you want, little man. But you have to wear your floaties and stay close to them alright?”

“If you two are okay with that of course,” Oscar says to the other couple.

“Sure!” Charles says with a smile. Max beams at them, happy to share more time with Luka.

Oscar grabs Luka’s floaties and puts them on. The kid tries to help his dad as best as he can by patiently holding out his arms.

When they are all set, Luka runs off to Charles and Max who are waiting for him to join them.

Luka grabs Charles’ extended hand. Oscar is blown away by it. Because Luka has been shy when meeting new people all week, with kids being the only exception. But here he is trusting the Monégasque and Dutchman no problem.

As the trio walks off, the sting of jealousy he was expecting never comes, and instead Oscar feels so incredibly happy and fond. He goes to stand behind Lando. He wraps his arms around the Brit’s middle, pulling him into his chest.

Lando chuckles and leans back into him. When Oscar puts his head on the older driver’s shoulder, Lando rests his head against Oscar’s. The Brit is holding the ball Max left behind.

Luka turns around and waves at them halfway to the water. Both man wave back immediately.

“I’m so happy he is learning to trust other people,” Oscar sighs.

“It’s probably helping that we’ve been laughing and joking around with them,” Lando comments.

“Yeah it definitely helps.”

“Max and Charles are being very kind to him as well,” the Brit chuckles.

“Did you see his little face when they were complimenting the rocks he found?” the younger driver asks.

“Yes! So insanely cute…”

“Absolutely adorable…”

They both sigh at the same time. It makes them both chuckle. Oscar squeezes his arms tighter.

“I still can’t believe this is happening,” the Australian says quietly.

“Yeah, me neither… It feels like a dream…” Lando replies.

Oscar’s face hurts from smiling so much. Lando turns his head and kisses him on the cheek.

“Come on, let’s go sit down, I’m tired,” the Brit tells him.

The Australian only lets him go after kissing Lando’s cheek back. A peck for a peck, it’s only fair.

They walk the short way back to their towels. Lando drops Max’ ball back into the bag it was taken from. Meanwhile, Oscar searches the cooling box for a healthy snack. He finds some tangerines and takes them with him to his towel.

He sits down and crosses his legs. Moments later, Lando lays down next to him. It is endearing how the older driver shuffles closer to him so their legs touch. Oscar’s knee rests against Lando’s upper leg.

“I forgot we bought tangerines. But I hate peeling them, so I never buy them... They have a lot of those annoying stringy thingies,” the Brit rants.

“So you like tangerines, you just don’t like the pith?”

“The pith? Is that what you call it? What the heck? Oscar, how do you know these kind of things?”

When the Australian looks back at him, the older driver is looking at him with curiosity. Like he’s trying to understand how Oscar’s brain works.

All the younger driver can do is shrug. “Not sure… I tend to remember a lot of useless facts. My mum definitely boosted that by getting me a NatGeo Junior magazine subscription at the age of six…”

“Damn,” Lando says, he sounds impressed.

“Yeah.”

“You’re such a nerd,” Lando tells him fondly.

“Hey!” Oscar feels slightly offended, but the awed look on Lando’s face calms down the feeling.

He looks back to the sea, straightening his back. Luka is running after Max in the shallow part of the water. Oscar can faintly hear Luka squeal and Charles laughing.

He smiles at the scene, happy to see that Luka feels safe to have fun and play. He suddenly wishes there were other kids on the beach for Luka to play with.

The four adults will have to do.

He focuses on peeling the first tangerine. He’s happy he keeps his nails long; they are a great tool.

He startles when Lando’s fingers suddenly touch his back. The hand immediately retreats.

Oscar pats Lando’s leg.

“Sorry, it was just a bit unexpected, I didn’t mean to flinch.”

“Ah okay, I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable,” Lando says meekly.

Oscar is sad that the Brit hasn’t gone back to what he was trying to do before.

“You don’t make me uncomfortable. I’m not really used to suddenly being touched, that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. I need a moment to adjust sometimes,” Oscar explains.

Lando hums. “Is this what you meant yesterday?”

Oscar blushes when he thinks about the rambling he did while lying on Lando’s chest last evening. “Yeah. I love the little touches, I’m just… not used to them. It takes a moment to process sometimes.”

When Lando’s hand still doesn’t reach back out, the Australian sighs. “I promised that I would tell you if I was uncomfortable, remember?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Well then...” Oscar waves his hand vaguely.

Lando huffs out a laugh when he catches on what the younger driver is trying to convey.

“You have a cluster of freckles on your ribs, I wanted to touch them.”

“Well then, go do that,” the Australian grumbles.

Lando laughs, but before Oscar can say anything else, the Brit’s fingers are on his back again. More firmly this time. The Aussie doesn’t startle this time, and relaxes instead.

He focusses back on peeling the tangerine while the feeling of Lando’s touch on his skin calms his mind. The Brit traces shapes on his back, probably moving from freckle to freckle. It’s nice, Oscar thinks.

He tries to remove the pith from the tangerine as best as he can. He then breaks off two sections and holds it out to Lando.

It takes the Brit a second to realize the pieces of fruit are meant for him. He grabs them from Oscar’s hand. Their fingers brush. Oscar isn’t surprised they do.

“Did you- Aw! You did!” Lando sighs fondly. The older driver lays his hand flat on the Aussie’s back. It makes Oscar look back at him. Lando is wearing a goofy smile, looking at him softly.

He hasn’t even eaten the pieces of fruit dangling from his finger. Oscar pushes his elbow, which almost squishes the tangerine parts against Lando’s lips. “Go on, try them,” the Australian tells him.

“I love you,” Lando says tenderly. He then pops the pieces of fruit into his mouth.

It throws Oscar for a loop. He involuntary laughs, bending over, hanging his head in astonishment. Lando’s hand on his back moves with him, brushing up and down.

When he is done giggling, he turns back towards his boyfriend. “It’s just a piece of fruit, Lando.” He wants to hug him. The Brit is looking at him like he has hung the moon, and it makes Oscar’s chest tingle like crazy. “I love you too,” he says softly.

Lando grins. Oscar thinks he can get used to this. He goes back to peeling the tangerine, but not without a smile on his lips.

The Australian shares the rest of the tangerine with the lounging Brit, who takes the pieces from his hand every time.

When Oscar is onto the second tangerine Lando acts even lazier. When the younger driver holds out the next piece, Lando doesn’t take them.

The Australian looks back at him. Lando has put the arm not resting on Oscar’s back under his head. He has closed his eyes, enjoying the sunshine.

“Do you want some more?” Oscar asks him.

Instead of answering or taking the pieces from the Australian’s hand, Lando nods and opens his mouth.

Oscar huffs out an astonished laugh.

“I’m not feeding you…”

Lando scrunches up his face. “Aw…” He pouts, actually pouts, and Oscar is a weak man when it comes to Lando.

He sighs, and gives in. He carefully places the fruit against Lando’s lips. The Brit lets out a happy hum and opens his mouth, gingerly taking the pieces from Oscar’s hand with his teeth. His lips brush Oscar’s fingers.

Yep, that’s it. The Australian’s brain is melting. He doesn’t know if he is able to do that again without kissing Lando right after…

The ‘thank you’ and happy smile from Lando make it even more difficult.

So he takes extra care to remove all the pith from the tangerine parts. Really focuses on it so maybe his mind calms down a bit.

He eats a couple of slices himself before he even has the courage to give the last two to Lando.

He knows he doesn’t have to, that if he feels uncomfortable, he can grab Lando’s hand and put the fruit in his hand instead.

But what he feels isn’t discomfort. It’s a lot of feeling bunched together. Curiosity, love, nervousness, excitement. And if he dares to think about it, the slightest bit of arousal. Because Lando is absolutely gorgeous.

It's that last feeling that scares him. The idea of that sort of intimacy feels like a large wave rolling towards him, a tsunami sized one. It is something he doesn’t want to explore yet. It would open a can of worms in his mind with a lot of things to think about.

His anxiety spikes when he thinks about it escalating and then having to say no to Lando because he’s freaking out. He wants to take this slow. Bask in the lovely unhurried pace their relationship is growing in. Be boyfriends and do boyfriend things.

He knows Lando would- will wait for him.

“I can hear you overthinking things,” the Brit speaks up. He curls his fingers, scratching Oscar’s back with his nails softly. When Oscar looks at him, he still has his eyes closed. There’s a slight frown on his face, as if he can sense the Australian’s sudden anxiety.

Lando is the first person, next to him mum, to have figured out that part of him. Oscar sighs, his body relaxing with the breath he lets out. What is he even worried about, Lando can read him like an open book.

He moves the tangerine peels to the side and lies down on his side, placing his head on Lando’s collarbone, holding onto the last tangerine parts. The Brit immediately makes space for him. Oscar ends up resting against Lando’s side with the older drivers arm wrapped around them.

The Australian holds the pieces of fruit in front of Lando’s face. The Brit opens his eyes.

“I didn’t know you had more,” he says. Oscar can hear the hum of his voice though his chest.

Lando eats the last pieces of tangerine from the Aussie’s hand, and kisses his fingers before he can move them away.

Instead of the spike of confusing feelings Oscar was expecting, he just feels enamored. Being close to Lando is so incredible calming and nice. Especially because Lando isn’t asking for more. The words ‘we’re having fun. Then why change or rush that?’ echo in his mind again.

He rests the hand Lando kissed on the Brit’s chest. He traces the muscles that lead to his shoulder, loving the contrast between his fingers and the beautiful tan skin beneath them.

Lando lifts the hand that was resting on Oscar’s waist and uses it to run his fingers though the Australian’s hair instead.

“I think it’s amazing how your mind goes a million miles an hour behind that poker face of yours,” Lando tells him.

Oscar sighs. “You see right through it though…”

“I’m starting to. It’s going to take a lot more practice to fully understand what is going on in there.”

“You’re one of the first ones willing to try…”

Lando hums at that. His fingers massage Oscar’s scalp. The Australian relaxes against his side fully, closing his eyes at the feeling.

The older driver kisses his forehead. When he moves away, Oscar chases him. Lando understands what he wants and kisses him properly, soft lips meeting his.

Oscar can taste the tangerines they’ve shared, the sweet flavor on both their tongues when Lando deepens the kiss. It’s slow, gentle, loving, and Oscar can’t get enough.

When they move away from each other, Oscar feels out of breath. He kisses the mole next to Lando’s nose, the one that cutely moves upwards whenever he smiles. The Brit chuckles in response.

They snuggle for a while longer, enjoying the contact, lazing in the sunshine together. Lando’s hand keeps threading through his hair. The touch comforting.

Oscar hears giggling and knows that it’s Luka before he opens his eyes. He starts to smile, but the smile disappears quickly when Luka throws himself over him and Lando, skin ice cold and dripping sea water everywhere.

Oscar gasps while Lando yelps. The Australian then laughs so hard he wheezes, because that was such a Lando thing to do. Luka is definitely their kid. Flesh and blood or not.

They both sit up, Lando grabbing Luka under his armpits and placing the kid on his lap, cold sea water be damned.

Max and Charles are walking up to them. Max’s is laughing his ass off. Charles looks very amused.

“Sorry! He wanted to surprise you. We couldn’t hold him back,” Charles explains.

Oscar grins. “He’s just like his papa; a lovable menace,” he says.

Lando ruffles the kid’s hair with a smile. “Did you have fun?” the Brit asks Luka.

“Yeah! Me and Max and Chals played sharky,” Luka beams at them.

“Oh that sounds fun,” Lando says.

Oscar looks at the other couple with a curious face. Max smiles back at him. “One person is the shark and has to catch the other. If you catch someone, they become the shark,” the Dutchman explains.

Lando snorts. “So a beach version of tag?” he asks smugly.

“Basically, yes,” Charles says.

“But you have to make like a fin above your head,” Max adds. He places both hands on top of his head, making a little triangle. Luka copies him. “Like this, dad!”

“Oh no! A shark!” Lando yelps. He leans away from Luka as if he is scared.

Luka breaks down laughing. He grabs onto Lando, wrapping his arms around his neck. “The shark caught me! Oscar, save me!” Lando cries dramatically.

The Brit falls flat on his back taking Luka with him. Both of them squeal with laughter. Oscar giggles at their antics.

“Maybe the shark will let you go if I give him some food?” the Australian says. That catches Luka’s attention.

Oscar gets up to grab the sandwiches from the cooling box. Lando sits back up with Luka still hanging onto his neck.

Though, when Oscar hands him a sandwich, he lets go with one arm and takes it from him. It’s a sandwich with mashed banana and cinnamon.

The sweet smell reminds Oscar of his own childhood when his mum would make the same sandwich for him. Lando echoed his nostalgia when they were making said sandwich this morning.

Charles and Max grab their food as well. That’s how they all end up eating lunch together.

~~~^~~~

Luka holds Chals’ hand as they walk to the water. The Lightning McQueen man is super nice and makes his dads laugh, so Luka likes him.

Strangers usually scare Luka, but Lano and Osca know these two people. And Max kicked the ball with him and is Penelope’s friend, so he likes Max as well. He is happy to go swimming with him and Chals.

Halfway there he looks back to see if he can still see his dads. He can!

Osca stands behind Lano with his arms around him. They have been huggy and kissy all day. The kissy part is new. Luka thinks it makes them look like a mommy and daddy, but they are both daddies. He is glad that his dad and papa like each other so much.

They are looking at him, so he waves. They wave back immediately. It makes Luka happy. They have been huggy and kissy towards each other, but they never forget about Luka and always give him attention.

His mommy often said she was too busy to look at Luka. His mommy isn’t here though, and Osca said she will not come back. Luka does feel sad about it, but he is also happy. His dad and papa are way better at mom things than mommy ever was.

They are way nicer too. Never getting mad at him or yelling at him. And their hands are soft, always kind. It makes Luka feel safe.

It's why he feels safe now too, following Osca and Lano’s friends.

He turns back to the sea, excited to play in the water again.

Chals and Max have the same reaction to the cold water as Lano and Osca. Luka knows how to battle the cold.

He runs further into the water and flops down. The cold hits and Luka shrieks, but after a couple of seconds it isn’t so bad anymore.

Max is standing next to him. The blond man is laughing very loudly. “Did Lando teach you that?” he asks with a kind smile.

Luka nods. “Papa showed me!”

Chals giggles. “Let me try,” he says. Chals sits down next to him. He doesn’t scream like Lano.

“Ah, it’s really cold!” is all he says, his voice sounds squeaky. “You did it like Osca!” Luka says happily.

“Yeah, I’m trying the Lando method,” Max says. He wades to the deeper part and lets himself fall into the water. He splutters when the cold hits.

Luka laughs. It makes the adults laugh too.

Max crawls towards them. He claps his hands above his head and keeps them there.

“I’m a shark and I’m going to catch you!” the blond man says.

“Oh no Luka! We have to run away! Or the shark eats us,” Chals says with a wink. Luka giggles.

Chals stands up and runs away. “Try to catch me shark!”

Max runs after Chals with his hands in a fin shape above his head, but Chals is faster and loses him.

It makes Luka laugh, but the sound also catches the shark’s attention. And now Luka has to run away from the shark. He runs through the undeep water. It slows him down a bit, but if he runs from side to side, he might lose Max like Chals did.

He can escape from the shark for a while, but Max still catches him. Gently tapping his shoulder.

“Got you!!”

Luka squeals.

“Now you’re the shark Luka! Go catch him back!” Chals yells at him from far away.

“Oh no!” Max yelps and runs away from Luka.

Luka runs right after him, making a little fin above his head like Max did.

He roars! It makes Max scream. Chals is laughing on the side.

Though when Max runs past the Lightning McQueen man, the other man doesn’t run away.

Which makes him easier to catch, Luka thinks. He stops running after Max and runs towards Chals. The man shrieks and starts running away, but it’s too late.

Luka glomps onto his arm. “ROAR, I CAUGHT YOU!”

“No! The betrayal, Luka!” Chals whines.

It makes Luka laugh. But then he realizes that he has to start running away

Luckily Chals runs after Max, giving Luka some time to catch his breath.

They play sharky for quite a while. Until Luka is tired.

He sits down in the water again. The small waves roll past. He digs his feet into the wet sand, with every wave his feet get more uncovered.

Max and Chals sit down next to him, one on each side. They are both out of breath, but they look very happy. And when Luka smiles at them, they smile back.

Osca and Lano’s friends are nice… If all of his dads friends are nice, he can’t wait to meet more of them.

“So Luka, do you like staying with Lando and Oscar?” Max asks him after a moment of silence.

“Uh huh! They are the bestest! Dad even said he is proud of me, and him and papa always help me. And they like hugs. A lot.”

“Aw, that’s nice, Luka,” Chals says.

“Dad says I can stay with him and Lano forever,” Luka explains.

Max hums. “Does that make you happy?” he asks. His voice sounds shy, or soft.

Luka nods with a beaming smile, he loves his dads.

Chals speaks up. “Is Lando ‘papa’ and Oscar ‘dad’?”

“Yeah!” Luka says.

Chals nods in understanding.

“Luka, you know we are Lando’s and Oscar’s friends, right?” Max asks him.

“Uh huh.”

“If anything ever happens and you need someone to help you, you can always come to us too, alright?” the blond man tells him. “We will always help you.”

Luka looks at him, and then at Chals. Chals’ smile says he agrees with what Max is saying.

“Okay,” Luka nods.

After a while of sitting in the waves, they walk back to the towels.

Luka sees Lano and Osca are being all huggy again. He grins.

He turns to Max and Chals who are walking next to him. “Shh! I’m going to scare dad and papa,” Luka says. He holds his pointer finger in front of his mouth to make his plan more clear.

They both chuckle. Chals winks at him and Max gives him a thumbs up.

He sneaks towards his dads, but when he gets close, he can’t help but giggle at his own plan.

He sees Osca start to smile and takes that moment to throw himself on top of them.

Osca gasps while Lano yelps.

For a fraction of a second Luka fears they will get mad at Luka for making them wet.

But then dad starts laughing so loud he makes a noise that reminds Luka of a frog.

They sit up and papa grabs him under his arms softly and puts him on his lap. Both adults are smiling at him. It makes Luka love them even more.

He can hear Max laughing.

“Sorry! He said he wanted to surprise you. We couldn’t hold him back,” Chals explains.

Dad grins. “He’s just like his papa; a lovable menace,” he says.

That makes Luka think. He is like papa?

Papa ruffles his hair with a smile. “Did you have fun?” the Lano asks Luka.

Luka immediately thinks of all the fun he had. He beams at his parents.

“Yeah! Me and Max and Chals played sharky,” he tells them.

“Oh that sounds fun,” Lano says.

“One person is the shark and has to catch the other. If you catch someone, they become the shark,” Max explains to them.

Lano makes a snorting sound. “So a beach version of tag?” he asks.

Tag? Luka has never played tag before.

“Basically, yes,” Chals says.

Oh, so tag is like sharky. Then Luka has played tag before.

“But you have to make like a fin above your head,” Max adds. He makes the fin above his head again. It makes Luka happy to see the blond man showing his dads how to be the shark.

Luka does the same, to make it more clear to them. You can’t play sharky without the fin. “Like this, dad!” he tells Osca.

“Oh no! A shark!” Lano yelps. He leans away from Luka as if he is scared.

Luka laughs. Does papa think he really turned into a shark? That’s super funny!

He grabs onto Lano, wrapping his arms around his neck. “The shark caught me! Oscar, save me!” papa cries.

Lano drops down on his back and Luka goes down with him. Papa holds onto him, keeping him safe. Even though he has to be scared of shark-Luka.

He and papa both squeal with laughter. Luka hears dad giggle.

“Maybe the shark will let you go if I give him some food?” Osca says. That catches Luka’s attention. He was starting to get hungry from all that running around.

He cuddles his papa, who has wrapped him into a hug.

When Lano sits up again it’s because Osca wants to give Luka a sandwich. He doesn’t want to let go of papa, but also wants to eat the sandwich. He does both at the same time and keeps one arm around his neck while he grabs the sandwich.

He takes a bite. The sandwich is delicious! It tastes sweet and like banana. It makes Luka think of cake, but it’s a sandwich. Very confusing…

He doesn’t mind it though, and happily munches on it.

They all eat lunch together, and while he is eating Luka thinks that he will ask the adults to build a sandcastle with him after they are all done.

Chapter Text

After everyone finishes their food, Luka speaks up.

“Can we build a sandcastle like in my dream?”

Oscar immediately knows what he’s talking about. “I think it will be hard to build one that reaches the sky, but maybe we can make a really big one? With lots of walls and towers.”

Luka gasps. “Yeah!”

“Oh! That sounds really cool,” Max says. “Can I help?”

Luka nods.

It’s how they all end up standing in a circle looking at the spot they want to build the castle in. Luka is holding onto his trusty spoon-shovel.

“Maybe it’s a good idea to draw out what you want to build were?” Lando suggests.

Luka hums, it’s something he is picking up from his dads, Oscar notices. The tidbit of familiarity makes him smile.

The kid takes his spoon. And starts drawing in the sand.

“The king lives here! In a really big house with towers.” Luka draws a square in the middle.

He draws out more. Two rings of walls, lots of towers for the knights. When Lando tells him the knights will need stables for the horses, Luka immediately finds a spot.

“Like this,” Luka explains his vision to the four men.

“Nice Luka!” Charles says. The kid shows them a beaming smile.

They all set to work, Luka directing where they need to go. And Oscar is so incredibly proud. Because his kid is talking and telling them what he wants. It shows that Luka trusts them and knows that they will help him.

He shares a look with Lando, who is wearing the softest smile. The older McLaren driver’s eyes crinkle at the proud face Oscar must be making. Their son is finally behaving as a kid should. He has been showing it more and more, but this is solid proof.

Together with Luka dropping on top of them soaking them in seawater, Oscar knows their kid is finally showing his true self without the fear.

Luka isn’t shy, Luka is calculated. Trained to wait for a reaction before doing anything. And now that he knows he is safe to do what kids do, he is finally letting himself be who he is.

Oscar can see it happening right in front of him, as Luka is babbling to Max about how high the main building should be and where the towers should go.

The Australian is working on building the first walls and moats. Max and Lando help Luka make a large mountain of sand where the King will reside. Oscar loves how serious those two are about it. They try to make the pile of sand as compact as possible. Every time they add sand to it and pat it down, Luka helps. Little hands slapping the sand.

Lando giggles every time it happens, which is often.

Charles is a bit further away from them, collecting seashells. He told them he would be helping with decorating.

While Lando shapes the big pile of sand into something more representing a square castle building, Max moves on to build the towers on each corner. Luka follows him to get sand away from the ‘construction site’ as Lando called it.

Oscar watches them and then focusses on the cute, concentrated look on Lando’s face as the Brit is carving out the sand. They make eye contact over the sand pile, and Lando grins at him. Oscar smiles back, loving to see that his boyfriend is completely in his element.

Max and Luka come back with more sand. Max carefully flips over the bucket and taps the bottom to get the packed sand loose, Luka helps of course. He then carefully lifts the bucket, leaving a nice tower standing. Luka squeals when it gets revealed. And then takes Max’ hand, pulling him back towards where they got the sand.

They repeat the process three more times until they’ve built the first layer of the four towers.

“Okay, Luka, now comes the tricky part,” Max says. Luka looks at him with a curious face. “If we want to make the towers higher, we have to stack another bucket of sand on top.” Luka nods. “But we have to be very careful, or it will crumble and destroy the first layer as well…”

Luka has a serious expression on his face as he walks away with Max to get more sand. They pack the sand really tightly in the bucket and then come back.

Max gingerly places the bucket upside down on top of the first tower. He and Luka tap the bucket, both on the top as on the sides. Lando and Oscar watch with attention. Charles comes to stand next to Oscar, looking at what they are doing as well.

Max slowly lifts the bucket. And the tower stays standing!

A choir of “ohhh!” can be heard.

Luka squeals with happiness again.

“Yes! We did it! High-five!” Max says with excitement. Holding his hand up in front of Luka, who immediately high-fives him.

“Good job, Luka and Max, it’s really starting to look like a castle now,” Charles says. Luka looks at Lando and then at Oscar, both of them nod in proud approval.

Luka grins and then runs back to where they got the sand, Max following him on his heels.

Charles giggles and sits down in the sand to decorate the wall Oscar has made so far, sticking seashells into the sand.

“I love how Max is joining Luka’s antics, it’s really sweet,” Oscar says to the Monegasque.

Charles smiles and looks at his boyfriend. “He has some lost childhood time to make up for…”

Lando frowns. “Aaand now I’m sad,” the Brit says.

“Ah sorry…” Charles grimaces. “I didn’t mean to… He’s okay, just didn’t get much time to be a kid. I think it’s why he now throws himself into making friends and joking around with them as much as he can.”

Oscar looks at Max as well. In the last couple of years it has become more and more clear that the Dutchman hasn’t had the best childhood, with his dad caring more about making him into the racing monster he is today instead of letting him be a kid. He’s heard stories that shout abuse.

In a way, Max and Luka are alike.

“He has achieved what his dad had wanted him to achieve, being the world champion, so his dad is finally letting Max be. The asshole still hoovers though… I can’t wait for that guy to finally get a paddock ban…” the Ferrari driver rants.

“Agreed,” Lando says. He’s frowning at the pile of sand in front of him.

“But Max won’t instigate it?” Oscar asks.

“Jos is still his dad. It’s the thing that is withholding him from taking action. Because even though Jos is a tough dad and Max is starting to understand what truly happened when he was a kid, the man is still his dad. Jos raised him and has been with him all his life. Max will always see him as family,” Charles explains.

Oscar wonders if that’s how Luka thinks about his mom as well. Would he go back to her if she ever returns? Even though she wasn’t the best mom?

Max and Luka come back with another bucket of sand. Max gives them a questioning look. Charles smiles at him softly and shakes his head. Max’ automatic response is to smile back.

Luka and him sit down again, in front of the next tower. They repeat the careful process of tapping the bucket. But this time, as Max lifts the bucket, the tower crumbles.

“Aw…” “Oh no!”

Luka gasps.

“It’s okay Luka, try again! You two will get it right next time,” Lando tells him kindly. Luka looks him in the eye and then nods, determined look on his face.

Lando is right, they do get it right next time. The last two high towers also work out well.

With that the King’s quarters are finished. Luka and Max start helping with the other buildings and walls. Oscar is trying to give the stables a pointy roof without it falling to pieces. He is not really succeeding and has to try again.

That’s when Lando picks up the bucket. “I’m grabbing some water to fill the moats,” he says as he walks away.

“Oh uh, Lan… I don’t think-” Oscar tries, but Lando is already out of hearing range.

“It’s not going to work,” Charles says, Oscar nods. “Huh?” Max asks.

“You will see…” the Australian comments as he watches Lando scoop up seawater with the bucket.

Lando comes back with a happy expression on his face. Oscar smirks, already knowing what will happen.

“Okay, which one do we fill with water first, Luka?” the Brit asks.

“This one!” Luka points.

“Alright, here we go!” Lando says and then empties his bucket in the moat.

Only for the water to disappear immediately, soaked up by the sand.

Oscar is reminded of that video of a raccoon washing his cotton candy and it vanishing right in front of him. Lando is staring at the ground with that same sad and disappointed expression.

The Australian bursts out laughing, holding his stomach, folding over. He has trouble breathing from how hard he is laughing. Charles and Max are laughing as well. Luka looks down at the moat with a giggle.

“The sand drinked everything!” Luka says, amazed.

When Oscar looks up, Lando is looking at him with an annoyed expression. Arms folded.

It makes the younger driver have another laughing fit.

“It’s not that funny, Osc…” Lando grumbles.

Luka pats his leg. “It’s okay papa. The bad guys will get stuck in the mud,” the kid tries to soothe him. Lando lets out an exasperated sigh, but ruffles Luka’s hair as a thank you.

Still giggling, the group resumes their work.

Lando goes to stand behind Oscar and places his hands on his shoulders. The Australian yelps. The Brit’s hands are still cold from the seawater. Lando chuckles and sits down on his knees right behind him, draping himself over the younger driver. His arms hanging over Oscar’s shoulders, hugging his chest.

“So you think my misfortune is funny, huh?” Lando grumbles in his ear. Oscar shivers. He grabs onto the Brit’s arms and leans back against him. He giggles at the mental image of ‘raccoon Lando’ that is ingrained in his brain now.

“Sorry, I thought your reaction was funny,” Oscar explains with a smile, squeezing the older drivers arms.

Lando snorts. “I’ve noticed.”

Oscar kisses the Brit’s bicep and snuggles into his strong arms. Unable to hold back his love for the man holding him.

Lando huffs at the action and places his chin on top of Oscar’s head. “You have been forgiven, Mister Piastri, but only because I’m a generous boyfriend.”

Oscar giggles. “I feel honored.”

They hold onto each other for a bit. Oscar treasures the feeling of being wrapped in an embrace. Lando skin is cooler than his, the Brit’s body temperature naturally lower than his. It’s a nice feeling.

“Alright, we have a castle to build,” Lando says as he moves away. Oscar grumbles. He likes to snuggle with Lando, and he wasn’t ready to stop yet.

“Sorry babe,” the Brit soothes him, before kissing him. The younger driver’s brain freezes at the nickname. He kisses Lando back. It’s soft and sweet, just a little kiss. Lando’s hand is on his face for a moment, his thumb caressing his cheek.

The Brit then leaves his side to help Luka on the other side of the sandcastle. His touch lingers on Oscar’s skin, as it always does. Oscar feels loved.

They all work on the giant sandcastle together, building rows of walls and towers. It eventually extends because Max and Oscar agree that a castle needs farms to sustain itself. They all know they are taking this way to seriously and making it bigger than it has to be.

But it’s fun and they are all enjoying themselves, so why stop?

Oscar eventually does have to stop, because when he is working on a part a bit further away, he suddenly experiences a wave of dizziness. He stops moving, bracing himself in the sand, and checks in with himself. He feels hot as well. The sun is too bright and the sand too warm all of a sudden.

Ah shoot, he should have known better… When will he learn…

“Uhm guys, I’m going to cool down in the water for a bit,” he says, then stands up. Maybe a bit too quickly, because another wave of dizziness hits him and he has to hold still so the ground doesn’t tilt.

“Oscar, are you okay?” he hears Lando say.

“I think I’m overheating a bit, just need to cool down,” Oscar explains. When Lando gets up the Australian tries to wave him off. It doesn’t work and the Brit is in front of him in seconds.

“Alright, let’s go,” the older McLaren driver says as he grabs Oscar’s hand, gently pulling him in the direction of the water.

Oscar digs his feet in the sand. “Lando, you can stay here, I’m alright.”

“Yeah, not happening, nice try.” Another pull on his arm. Oscar stumbles after him.

“But Luka-”

“Charles and Max will keep an eye on him. Come on, let’s cool you down,” Lando tells him kindly.

Oscar sighs, but accepts defeat and follows after him. He lets go of Lando’s hand and wraps his own arm around the Brit’s upper arm instead.

“How are you feeling?” Lando asks him.

“Dizzy…” Oscar admits.

His boyfriend hums. “You can’t handle heat well,” Lando puts the puzzle pieces together.

“Uhm, yeah no I can’t… Which is ridiculous, because I’m literally Australian…”

“Does the McLaren team know?”

“They do. They try to help me as best as they can without pulling attention to it,” Oscar tells him.

“The cooling vests, and the parasols.” Lando realizes.

“Exactly.”

They reach the water. They both walk in until it reaches above their knees. Then Oscar sits down. The cold hits him like a truck, the Australian winces.

Lando’s hands come to rest on his shoulders. “Holy shit, your skin is burning hot.” The Brit sounds worried.

Oscar stays still, letting the water lap at his stomach. One of Lando’s hands disappears and comes back wet and cold from the seawater. Oscar’s breath hitches as the large hand cools the side of his neck.

“Does that help?” Lando asks timidly. Oscar nods.

The Brit does the same thing with his other hand. The Australian relaxes in his hold.

He cools down rapidly. Lando helps by scooping water over his back, the other hand still on his neck.

Now that the spike of heat is gone, Oscar feels tired.

“Does this happen during races too?” Lando asks.

“Sometimes, in Qatar as I’ve said before. But I try my best to prevent it,” the younger driver explains.

“How the hell did you do so well in Qatar if you were dealing with… this?”

Oscar chuckles. “I wanted to be done, with both races… So I just drove like a maniac. Not sure if you noticed…”

Lando snorts.

Oscar takes a deep breath. “Okay, I’m feeling better, let’s go back.”

“Are you sure? If you need to stay here for a bit longer, that’s okay.” Lando squeezes his fingers, massaging the muscles in Oscar’s neck.

“Hm, I think I want to lie down for a bit.”

“Still dizzy?”

“Yeah, still a bit dizzy. And tired…” the Australian grumbles.

“Hm, okay, let me help you up,” Lando says. He moves in front of Oscar and holds out his hands.

“Lando, come on… I can stand up by myself,” the Australian complains. He knows the Brit is just trying to help, but it’s making him feel fragile. He has always had a hard time accepting help from others…

“I know, but I like helping you, so please let me,” Lando tells him.

The first part of the sentence makes Oscar accept defeat and he grabs onto the older driver’s hands. Lando pulls him up. Instead of letting the Australian go when he’s standing, the Brit guides Oscar’s arms around his waist and wraps his own strong arms around Oscar’s neck.

Pulled into the embrace, the Aussie relaxes. Lando’s cheek is touching his. And when he starts talking, it’s right next to Oscar’s ear.

“It’s okay to let people help you. It’s doesn’t make you weak and it doesn’t make you a burden.”

Oscar sighs and squeezes his arms tighter around Lando’s waist. “You have helped me so many times this week already. Which is really sweet of course, but I’ve not given you anything back,” the Australian complains. He keeps going before his boyfriend can reply. “You do all the work while I freeze up, get anxiety attacks, or fall asleep in the stupidest places.”

“So?” Lando sounds nonchalant. “Also, that’s a lie, because I do get something out of it.”

“Well then, what do you get out of it…”

“You, first of all, which has been amazing,” the Brit leaves him reeling. “I’m serious, Osc.” He takes hold of Oscar’s face and looks into his eyes.

“I’ve said it before; I’ve not felt this calm and content in ages. You are grounding me. And taking care of you, while we are going through this life changing experience together, gives me purpose. Focusing on YOU and being with you is helping ME finally calm down.”

Oscar is floored by Lando’s confession. Unable to do anything but stare into those captivating green eyes.

“And you put up with my chaotic bullshit all the time, help my dyslexic ass find the words I’m looking for without judging, and challenge me to be a better person in general,”

Lando keeps going. “And you’re just so incredibly sweet, like, so sweet my teeth might actually fall out. I envy your endless kindness. You found a stranger’s kid in the paddock and immediately took it upon yourself to take care of him and help him find his mom.”

The Brit’s chest is heaving. He looks like he might try to shake sense into the younger driver.

Oscar takes one of his hands from Lando’s waist and places it on the back of his head instead, dragging his fingers through his hair.

He can’t keep looking into those eyes, not when they are looking into his soul, filling with frustrated tears. With a deep shaky breath, Oscar pulls Lando ever closer and buries his face into his neck.

“Okay… okay… I’m sorry…” Oscar whispers against his skin. Lando wraps his arms around his shoulders.

“Don’t apologize, just let me help,” the Brit says. He caresses the younger driver’s spine with his fingers, running them up and down his back. Oscar nods. Lando should be able to feel it.

“Alright, let’s get you out of the sunshine.”

Oscar lets Lando maneuver him until they are side by side. The Brit’s arm stays wrapped around his waist as they walk back to the towels.

They walk past the sandcastle construction site. Luka looks up at them. “Is dad okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright Luka. I was feeling a bit too hot, but I’m doing better now,” Oscar explains. He hopes he sounds convincing enough. His voice might still waver a bit.

“He’s going to rest for a little while, he will be fine,” Lando adds.

Luka nods in understanding.

Oscar hates worrying his kid. Max and Charles look at him with concern as well… He hates worrying his friends.

The Australian smiles at them. Showing them he is okay.

They then move on to the towels. Oscar sits down. Lando walks past him and takes something from the cooling box. He presses a cold bottle of water into his hands.

Oscar drinks half of it and then sets it down beside him. He lies down and closes his eyes. It suddenly becomes dark. He opens his eyes in confusion and sees Lando setting up the parasol they took with them. The shade covers his entire body, and Oscar feels the difference immediately.

“Thank you,” Oscar says with a soft smile.

“Anytime.” He gets a smile back, Lando’s face scrunching up cutely.

The Brit moves out of his field of vision. Oscar hears him ruffle through their bags and then the click of the cooling box.

“Okay, so, I have one more thing that will help cool you down. It might be a bit overkill though…” Lando tells him.

“Hit me with it,” Oscar spurs him on, trusting his boyfriend.

“Remember how we have cooling elements? I could place one against your neck. That might be nice,” Lando explains.

“You know what, yes. Please do…” Oscar tells him. He still feels slightly hot, as if it lingers under his skin.

He hears Lando scurry around. The Brit then sits down next to him. He places one of his hands on the Aussie’s waist, as if he can’t help but hold him. With the other he shows his creation; a cooling element wrapped in cloth.

“Don’t spook,” Lando says with a raised eyebrow.

Oscar grins at him. “I will try not to.”

The Brit gently places the cooling element against the side of his neck. Oscar flinches at the cold, but relaxes when he gets used to the temperature. With the cloth this close to his face he recognizes it smells like Lando. The older driver has wrapped the cooling element in his own shirt.

“Better?”

“Yeah, that helps.” It really does. He doesn’t feel like he is burning anymore.

Lando runs his hand through his hair. Oscar closes his eyes, enjoying the feeling of those familiar fingers carding through his hair.

“Get some rest, alright?” the older driver says. He then feels Lando kiss his forehead before he moves away.

Oscar misses the touch. But lying in the shade, with a cold pack on his neck that smells comfortably like his boyfriend, he feels himself slip away.

A nap doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

---

Oscar doesn’t know how much time went by when he slowly wakes up again. The first thing he senses is the sand beneath his towel and the cold against his neck.

His hearing comes back next. He hears a lot of giggles from a bit further away.

“King Dragon sends his regards!” he hears Lando say in the snobbiest voice ever. Then the poor imitation of a gun being shot. Max cries dramatically.

Luka giggles loudly. “Papa! You can’t use a gun! You are a knight!”

Oscar smiles. He opens his eyes, his nap muddled brain interested in what’s going on.

He leans his head to the side to take in the scene. He sees Luka has taken place next to the King’s quarters of the sandcastle. On the other side of his field of vision is Max, right next to a large tower of sand. Probably triple or even quadruple buckets high. Oscar is surprised the pilar is standing with how fragile it looks.

Lando stands in the middle, now holding an imaginary sword.

The two adults have a fake fight. A horribly choreographed one… Oscar huffs out a laugh.

“Oh hey, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” Charles asks. It takes the Australian a second to figure out where his voice is coming from. But when he sits up and looks next to him, he finds the Monegasque sitting on his own towel. He is holding an e-reader.

“Feeling better, definitely. Still half asleep though. How much did I miss?”

Charles grins. “I think you slept for like an hour? In that time they’ve acted out a story as long as a Lord of the Rings movie.”

“Aw, and I missed it…” Oscar says it with a smile, but he is actually a bit disappointed.

“Don’t worry man, I took videos and photos. I will send them to you, they are hilarious!” the Ferrari driver tells him.

“Oh wow, thank you. Yes please. My mom would love those as well.”

“Of course!”

Lando wins the fake fight. Max is on his back in the sand. The Brit is holding his imaginary sword above his head.

“My liege!” Lando says dramatically. “Do I slay the monster?”

Luka holds out a tiny hand. “Spare him! He can be friends with the castle.”

Oscar wonders if Luka knows what ‘to spare’ means or if he has heard the sentence in a movie before and is just reciting it at the right time. It’s very cute anyway that the kid decides to spare the monster.

“Monster Max! Promise you won’t break the walls again,” Luka says.

“I promise!” Max pledges.

Lando looks at Luka. “And they lived happily ever after?” the Brit asks the kid.

“Yes they lived very happy forever, and everyone in the castle loved the monster,” Luka adds.

Max gets up from the sand with a smile. Lando picks up Luka and lifts him up high, above his head.

“Cheer for your king! Hip hip hooray!” the Brit cheers. Luka squeals and laughs loudly, the happy sound is music to Oscar’s ears.

On the third hooray, Oscar joins them. It makes Lando look at him instantly. Luka notices and follows his gaze.

“Daddy!” the kid yells. He wiggles in Lando’s grip. The moment he sets the toddler down, Luka storms over to Oscar and hugs him.

“Hey Luka! What’s going on?” the Australian asks him as he wraps his arms around the kid.

Lando is right next to him in an instant, carding his fingers through hair. Oscar leans into the touch. “You slept like the dead, Osc. He got a bit worried.”

“Ah,” the Australian understands. Luka looks up at him. “I’m okay sweetheart, just needed some rest.”

“Promise?” Luka is mastering the puppy-dog eyes.

“I promise,” Oscar says truthfully, rubbing his hand up and down the kid’s back. “Did you have fun?”

“Yes! Max and papa are really funny.”

He tells Oscar the story with hands and feet. The lore is hard to follow here and there, but the Australian loves to watch the kid excitedly recite the story. He is reminded of how Luka behaves like Lando again.

Now that Luka is getting comfortable, he shows more hyper behavior, the same type Lando shows when he’s happy or excited. It’s really cute to see. It’s like they were meant to be family.

Oscar holds onto both his loved ones, wrapping one arm around his boyfriend and the other around his son.

When Lando nuzzles the side of his face in response, Oscar feels loved.

Chapter Text

They lounge around on the beach for a couple of hours longer. Oscar feels good enough to join them when Luka wants to play around again. The sandcastle keeps getting bigger and bigger, with more sections added to expand the imaginary world.

It starts getting colder at the end of the afternoon. The burning heat of the early summer sun is becoming less. That’s when they all decide it’s been fun. They pack up everything and exchange the last snacks.

Max and Charles have a hand free and can help the other couple carry all their bags back to the car.

The walk upstairs is indeed as daunting as Oscar expected. This time he is carrying Luka, so Lando can carry the cooling box and the parasol.

Once they reach the top, they are all tired. Oscar huffs a laugh. Four Formula 1 drivers at the peak of their health were beaten by rocky stairs.

Max and Charles help put the luggage in the BMW. And then it’s time to say goodbye.

“Thanks for hanging out with us today, it was a lot of fun,” Lando says with a smile.

The two older drivers smile back at him. “Thank you too for letting us. It was great to lounge around together,” Charles says. “And we loved playing with Luka,” Max adds.

“Are they leaving?” Luka asks Oscar timidly, still wrapped in the McLaren drivers arms.

“Yeah, sorry mate… You will see them again soon. Next week for sure. We will be racing together,” the Australian explains.

“Aw… Okay…”

“We had fun, Luka! It was nice meeting you again,” Charles says with a little wave.

“Alright, it’s time to go home. Your racetrack is waiting for you,” Lando says. He ruffles the kid’s hair.

“Ooh, a racetrack?” Max asks.

Oscar grins. “Yeah, he’s making our cars race each other on there. It’s cute,” he says.

Charles and Max look at each other. “Those miniature cars they make for marketing?” the Ferrari driver asks. Oscar nods.

“Uh huh, okay,” Max says. Oscar can see the both of them are planning something.

“We will see you all next week in Canada, alright?” Charles says with a smile.

“Yes, see you then,” Lando says with a kind expression on his face.

“Say goodbye to uncle Max and uncle Charles,” Oscar tells the kid.

“Bye uncle Max! Bye uncle Chals!” Luka waves at them.

Oscar can see them melt. They wave back and say goodbye too. Then they walk away into a different direction.

When they’re out of sight, Oscar puts Luka in his trusty car seat.

“Oscar, do you want to drive back?”

The Australian looks up. He makes eye contact with Lando over the open car door.

“Are you feeling alright?” the younger driver asks.

Lando raises an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re asking me to drive your car…”

“And that is a weird thing how?”

Oscar squints his eyes at him, checking him over. “Because you are extremely attached to your cars, and I’ve not heard of anyone else driving them.”

“I will have you know I give my car keys to parking valets quite often…” the Brit grumbles.

“That is different.”

Lando sighs. “Do you want to drive or not? I know you feel better, and I’ve been driving you around all the time without asking you if you want to drive.” He jingles the keys in front of Oscar’s face. “Come on, you like driving.”

It's a specific sort of trust if a car enthusiast slash car collector lets you drive their car. Oscar knows it. He takes the keys from Lando’s fingers. The Brit grins at him and then walks off to the passenger side.

Oscar finishes strapping Luka in and closes the door, opening the driver side door instead.

He gets in and slides the chair back a bit.

Lando scoffs. “You’re not THAT much taller.” He sounds annoyed but fond.

Oscar smirks at him as he fastens his seatbelt.

The Australian checks if he can see everything he needs in the mirror and then starts the car.

“You are one-hundred percent sure about this?” Oscar tests Lando’s patience one more time.

“Oscar… You race Formula 1 cars for a living… Drive!” The Brit smacks his arm.

The Australian chuckles and stops pestering his boyfriend.

He puts the car in reverse, leaving the parking space they were occupying. The car is large, but easy to drive. Oscar gets comfortable driving the BMW within a couple of minutes.

Lando opens his window a bit. The wind ruffles his curls, Oscar can see it when he turns his head. He looks at ease, watching the scenery pass by. Elbow on the windowsill, head resting on his hand.

Oscar focusses on the road as he ponders. Lando letting him- asking him to drive back is an important show of faith in the younger driver’s opinion. The Brit being so relaxed adds to that. It's some sort of love language; Oscar doesn’t know which one yet, but it makes him smile.

“Lando?”

“Yes?”

“Would you let me drive the Spider if I wanted to?” Oscar asks carefully, wanting to know where the trust ends.

“Of course,” Lando says without hesitation.

Oscar feels warm. The Brit goes back to watching the scenery, unknowing to the mind break the younger driver is experiencing in that moment.

“Thank you,” Oscar whispers with a grin.

“Hm?”

Lando didn’t hear him, which might be good because Oscar is getting way too sentimental. “Nothing,” the Australian says as he pats Lando’s thigh.

They drive in comfortable silence for a while. The air outside has become a pleasant temperature and as it blows in through Lando’s window, the smell of sea and sand fills the car.

It's lovely, and if Oscar wasn’t already as happy and relaxed as physically possible, it would have contributed to his peaceful mood for sure.

“Aw, Luka had a busy day huh,” Lando says suddenly. When Oscar looks at him, he sees the Brit is looking at the backseat. He checks the rearview mirror and sees Luka conked out. His little head rests against the side of his booster seat.

“Imagine having so much fun you fall asleep on your way home,” Oscar says with a soft smile.

“He deserves it… I’m glad he enjoyed himself today. I’m also happy he likes Charles and Max. It’s nice to have friends around who know what you’re going through.”

“Agreed. I love that Luka is learning he can be himself around us and our friends. He’s even joking around, it makes me so happy,” Oscar adds.

The Formula 1 drivers chat at a low volume for a while longer.

When they enter the garage of the apartment complex, they are both reluctant to wake up their kid.

But Luka desperately needs a shower, and they haven’t eaten dinner yet.

“Sorry buddy,” Lando says as he scoops up a barely awake Luka.

They make quick work of bringing everything and everyone up to the apartment. They leave most of the luggage to be put away later.

“Okay, let’s go get cleaned up, Luka,” Oscar says, as he takes the kid from Lando’s arms. The Brit lets him. He kisses Lando on the cheek. “Go shower, honey. I will take care of this.”

The Brit blinks at him and Oscar only realizes why as he walks away. The term of endearment slipped out unconsciously.

He goes to Luka’s room and grabs a fresh lounging outfit. The kid is a bit fussy in his arms. Oscar knows the kid has to be tired, the nap in the car was not enough.

When he moves to the bathroom with Luka in one arm and fresh toddler clothes under his other, the kid starts whining.

“I don’t wanna wash, I wanna sleep…”

“I know, Luuk. And you can sleep soon. But we need to wash away the sand and eat something first, okay?”

“Noooo….” Luka grouches.

He takes off the kid’s shirt and swimming shorts with some struggle. Sand falls out, covering the bathroom floor. The toddler struggles against him.

“I wanna go to bed!” Luka wails.

“I know, sweetheart. But look at all the sand covering you. It will get in your bed if we don’t wash it off,” Oscar tries to explain.

“Nooo…”

The Australian sighs. He knows why Luka is complaining, the kid is super tired and it’s making him grouchy, but he can’t give in. A part of him wants to though, because the kid is finally going against him, as kids do.

He has a bit of a dilemma.

He wants Luka to know that he can go against Oscar and Lando, he’s allowed to complain. But he also wants to do what’s best. And right now that is giving Luka a quick shower.

“Sorry, Luka, I promise I will be fast,” Oscar says as he picks up the kid and places him in the empty bathtub.

Luka starts crying, throwing a tantrum.

Oscar shushes him as he grabs the hand shower. He turns it on and waits a couple of seconds for the water to become a comfortable temperature.

“Okay, let’s get you cleaned quickly,” he rinses of most of the sand first. He then grabs the soap to clean the toddler more thoroughly.

Luka moves and struggles the whole time, even with how quick and efficient Oscar is trying to be. Water flies everywhere. Including on the floor and on the kid’s helpful parent.

Oscar pushes through, even though Luka is fussing.

At last he flushes the soap from the kids hair, tilting his head back so the soap doesn’t get in his eyes. Luka’s crying has turned into sobs. It breaks Oscar’s heart.

“Sorry sweetheart, I’m almost done, I promise,” the Australian tries to soothe him again, like he has been the entire time.

He does one last rinse and then turns off the water. He grabs the clean towel he set aside earlier and drapes it over Luka. He dries the toddler’s hair before wrapping him up in the towel. He picks him up and moves him to a clean part of the bathroom.

There he dries off the rest of the water. Luka has given up on fighting and is just quietly sobbing. When Oscar is wrestling on a soft shirt, Lando joins them.

“Hey, Luka, you look fresh,” the Brit says as he walks in. Luka looks up at him with his teary eyes. Lando frowns and immediately looks at Oscar.

“He’s not happy with me. He wanted to sleep, but I made him shower instead,” the Australian explains with a grimace.

“Which explains why you are soaked,” Lando says with a smirk. He looks around. “Why everything is soaked…”

Oscar follows where he is looking. The bathroom is a mess.

“Yeah, sorry, I will clean it up…”

“No need, housecleaning will be here tomorrow while we’re away. Just use Luka’s towel to dry the floor a bit, they will take care of the rest,” Lando tells him. The Brit picks Luka up, wrapping him in his arms.

“I knew it…” Oscar says.

“What.”

“I was expecting you to have a housekeeper when I first walked in last Sunday,” Oscar confesses.

Lando rolls his eyes. “Because my driver room is always a mess?”

“Hm, yes that… and no way you can keep this place so tidy on your own. Not with your schedule.”

They stare at each other until Lando snorts.

“Sorry, I can’t take you serious when you look like a drowned cat,” the Brit says with a giggle.

Oscar huffs.

“Go shower, you muppet. Come on Luka, let’s make dinner,” Lando tells him.

Another friendly fight lost by Oscar Piastri. Especially when the older driver leaves him standing in the dirty bathroom. Oscar hears Luka whine again. Lando soothes him as they walk away.

The Aussie does what Lando told him to do and uses Luka’s towel to dry the floor a bit. He drops the now wet and sandy towel in front of the washing machine and leaves the scene of the crime.

He gathers a clean outfit for himself and goes to the ensuite. The mirror in the bathroom is still foggy from Lando’s shower.

He makes quick work of cleaning the sand from his body. He cringes at the feeling of sand behind his ears, not knowing how it even got there. He scrubs the salt water from his hair, using Lando’s shampoo.

When he closes his eyes, he still feels a bit of vertigo; a last remnant of his body overheating on the beach. When he is truly clean, he turns the temperature to cold, cooling himself once more before turning off the water and getting out of the shower.

He dries himself and puts on the clothes. He picked out a soft pair of shorts and an oversized shirt. Perfect for a summer evening.

He joins his boyfriend and son in the living room. The door to the balcony is open, letting in a nice breeze. Lando is holding Luka while flipping the pieces of chicken in the pan with his other hand.

Luka is quietly watching what the Brit is doing with his arms wrapped around his neck. Oscar walks up to then and places his hand on the small of Lando’s back. It gets his attention.

Lando smiles at him, as he always does. Oscar moves in for a quick kiss. The Brit responds, leaning in and pressing his soft lips against Oscar’s. The Aussie smiles into the kiss. He loves this man.

“What are you making?” Oscar asks when he pulls away.

“Oh something really simple. A salad, with some air-fried potatoes and grilled chicken,” Lando tells him.

“Sounds great. I don’t think I could eat pasta with this heat…”

“Yeah, me neither. Light food is better with this kind of weather.” Lando rolls over another piece of chicken with his spatula. “We can eat outside on the balcony if you want.”

Oscar looks at the balcony. It does look inviting to sit in the summer breeze, enjoying the last sunshine.

“Sure, I will set the table.”

“Thanks!”

Oscar moves away from him, going to the drawer that holds the utensils. “How is Luka doing?” he asks, throwing it into the little group. Luka doesn’t respond.

“Still a bit grumpy, but I explained it, so he’s going to eat dinner with us, and then he can go to bed if he wants to,” Lando says instead.

The Australian looks at the kid, who is looking back at him with a tired face. His cute green-brown eyes are bleary. “Sounds like a good plan.”

As he walks past them to go to the balcony, Oscar presses a small kiss to Luka’s head. A small apology for upsetting the child. Luka takes one arm from around Lando’s neck to rub at his eyes.

Yeah, they are getting nothing more out of him. The toddler’s energy is spent. Oscar wouldn’t be surprised if he falls asleep with his little face in his food.

The younger driver sets the table. And he is right on time, because Lando is quick to follow him with the food.

They all sit down at the table. Luka’s highchair has been moved to the outside table as well. Not that he needs it for long. Oscar doubts Luka is going to make it till the end of dinner with how drowsy he looks.

“Alright kiddo, let’s eat,” Lando says. He pats the kid’s hair, hoping to soothe the grouchy child.

“Wanna go sleep…” Luka says again.

Oscar places two pieces of chicken on the kids plate, some potato slices and a bit of salad. It’s not much, but he doesn’t think Luka can finish any more.

“Eat this first, then we will get you to bed…” the Australian bargains.

“Nooo,” Luka complains.

“Come on little man. If you go to bed without eating anything you will wake up hungry later,” Lando explains.

Luka grabs his fork and stabs at his food. He grumpily eats his food. Oscar doesn’t complain, even though the kid is avoiding the veggies. He is eating and that’s all that matters. Lando and him chat for a bit, eating their own dinner.

Luka eventually starts whining again. Oscar is satisfied with how much the kid has eaten, even though it’s way less than he normally eats. With all the snacks he has had today it should be enough.

“Okay Luka, thank you for listening. Let’s get you to bed alright,” the Australian tells him.

The little kid sniffs and nods with a sad face. He’s done.

Oscar stands up and picks up the kid. “Should I come with?” Lando asks.

The Australian shakes his head. “I can handle it.”

He looks down at Luka. “Let’s say goodnight to papa,” he tells him. He leans towards Lando, placing Luka in front of him. The kid twists in his arms and hugs Lando’s neck briefly.

“Have a good sleep, Luka. Love you,” Lando tells him. He kisses the kid’s forehead. Luka doesn’t reply, but actions speak a thousand words. He releases his hands from Lando’s neck and wraps one around Oscar’s instead. The little hand kiss he throws the Brit after is proof the kid loves his papa dearly.

Oscar smiles at Lando’s tender expression.

The Australian brings the kid to the ensuite and quickly brushes his teeth. He finds the sleepshirt in the toddler’s bedroom and quickly changes Luka into it. The kid crawls in his bed the moment Oscar is done.

“Okay sweetheart, do you want a story, or do you just want to sleep?” Oscar asks as he pulls the curtains closed.

“Sleep,” Luka replies groggily.

“Alright,” Oscar says. He kisses his forehead. “Goodnight, sleep tight. Lando and I will wake you up tomorrow. We’re going to the McLaren office again tomorrow.”

What he’s saying doesn’t seem to register in the toddler mind. The Australian regrets not informing the kid earlier, but he wasn’t expecting him to be so tired. He didn’t have the time to tell him.

“I love you, Luka,” he tells the kid as he moves away. He isn’t expecting a reply, and it would be rightful with how Oscar has pressured the kid into taking a shower and eating dinner against his will.

“Love you too, dad,” Luka whispers when Oscar turns his back.

Oscar can’t hold back the happy hum as he walks away. “See you tomorrow,” he says, closing the door, finally giving the kid some peace.

Once outside, he takes a deep breath. Luka isn’t mad at him, he’s just grumpy and tired. This is part of parenting. This is normal. This happens to all parents. Oscar feels a weird mix of emotions, sad and happy at the same time.

Luka is improving by the minute. Finally standing up for himself, even though it means going against his dads.

He walks back to the balcony. Lando looks up at him when he walks through the sliding door.

“God, he was grumpy. Good to know that means he’s tired,” the Brit says.

“He’s probably already asleep with how tired he was,” Oscar replies.

The Australian goes to stand behind Lando and wraps his arms around his shoulder, burying his face into the crook of him neck. His skin is comfortably warm.

“Sorry for not being there when you showered him…” Lando tells him as he leans back against him.

“It wouldn’t have made him fuss less. He wasn’t happy with the idea in general.”

“Okay true, and we both would have made him shower anyway.”

“I wanted to take care of him on my own as well. You have been doing most of the parenting tasks.”

“That’s not true,” Lando says as he starts running his fingers though Oscar’s hair. “I think we are both doing just as much. And is it even a task if I have fun doing it?”

The younger driver hums. “Not really, I guess…”

“Exactly.”

“Stop being the voice of reason.”

“Never.”

Oscar snorts and tightens his hold.

“Come on, babe. Your food is getting cold,” Lando says as he softly pulls at the brown strands.

The Australian giggles. “It’s a salad.”

“You know what I mean…” Lando grumbles.

Oscar gives in and lets go of him, but not before kissing him on the cheek. Lando chases him and they share a soft kiss.

The Australian leaves Lando’s side after and they eat the rest of their dinner together. They chat about all sorts of things. It’s nice; the summer breeze cooling his skin, the sunshine keeping the real cold away, chatting with his lovely boyfriend.

“So, would you like to unpack your suitcase tonight? I could make space for you in the closet,” Lando says abruptly.

It throws Oscar for a loop. He didn’t forget of course; he’s going to live with Lando. But wow, he wasn’t expecting the Brit to get right to it.

When he thinks about it, it does make sense. Why leave everything in his suitcase if he is going to stay?

He agrees with Lando’s plan, even though he is still processing what it means.

And that is what they end up doing after dinner. But not before Oscar checks his laptop and sees that the adoption consulting firm has sent him an e-mail.

The message it contains makes Oscar insanely happy. They’ve done their research and found out that Luka has truly been abandoned. His mum isn’t registered in the UK nor Monaco at the moment.

Thanks to his birthday and birthplace mentioned in the letter him mum left behind they have been able to find his true identity.

Luka’s full name is Luka Otto Baker, born on the 18th of January 2021 in a hospital in Liverpool. The only close family he still has next to his mum are his biological grandparents who are still registered in Liverpool. But by the law of the United Kingdom, grandparents are not allowed to adopt their grandchildren.

Monaco luckily has a way more open adoption procedure. If Oscar and Lando are available tomorrow afternoon they could even go to the firm to sign everything they need after a bit of discussion and a short screening.

It's funny that they use the words ‘short screening’, but they explain that because the Formula 1 driver’s lives are very public, they didn’t have any problems researching the both of them. They only need some last confirmation that Luka will be getting everything he needs.

Oscar reads the entire email out loud to Lando.

When he’s done, they both stare at each other for a minute, letting it sink in. It’s official, they are adopting Luka. And they might even do it tomorrow if their schedule lets them.

They both pull out their phones in sync, checking their calendars.

“4PM would work for me. I actually have fitness training then, but if I can use your home gym, I know my trainer would let me do the workout by myself after dinner,” Oscar says.

“Of course you can! I personally have a meeting with my head engineer, but I think I can reschedule that,” Lando tells him.

Oscar nods and takes a deep breath. When he looks up at Lando, the Brit has the biggest grin on his face. The Australian replies with his own glowing smile. They are going to have a kid, officially. It’s really happening.

As Oscar types a reply back to the e-mail, Lando hangs over his shoulder, watching him type.

He ends the e-mail with ‘kind regards, Lando and Oscar’.

Lando points at the screen. “It should be the other way around, because you’re the one typing.”

“Hm?” Oscar doesn’t know what he means.

“Our names. First Oscar, then Lando.”

“But it’s polite this way. It shows you are just as important as I am,” the Australian argues.

“Which is cute, and also confusing. You’ve been the one writing to them all week,” Lando says.

The younger driver has no choice but to agree with that and switches their names around. He then presses send.

Lando kisses his cheek. “Alright, it’s time to unpack that suitcase of yours.”

“I didn’t bring that much. I wasn’t expecting to stay in Monaco for so long… Which reminds me that I have message a moving company to get my stuff from my own apartment in London…”

The Brit snorts. “Okay fine, I will leave you to it. If you need me, I will be in the bedroom reorganizing OUR closet.”

He sounds so smug about it. He looks smug about it. It makes Oscar want to kiss him once more.

So he does, and Lando happily kisses him back.

Chapter Text

Oscar messages a moving company and then sends his family, and in extension Lando, some of the photos Charles took. He makes sure Max and Charles aren’t in any of the photos. He doesn’t want to accidentally reveal their relationship.

He then goes to join his boyfriend in the bedroom. When he walks in, he freezes at the piles of clothes on the bed. Lando is in the middle of it all, sorting out things. Through the open sliding doors, Oscar can see the build in wardrobe is almost empty.

“So, I was thinking,” the Brit starts. “The wardrobe has three sections. You can take the left side, and I will take the right side. We can use the middle for bedding and blankets, or shared clothing?”

Oscar looks at the enormous piles of clothes and mentally compares it with his own collection of clothes this in London.

“You definitely have more than I do. Don’t worry about branching out towards the middle,” the Australian tells him with a fond smile. Lando looks at the mess he has made and sighs.

“I uhm… I might need it indeed… Thanks,” he says. Oscar giggles at his admission.

He grabs his suitcase and starts sorting his own things. Clean clothes on the bed for now, dirty clothes in a pile by the door.

They work in a tandem, sorting their clothes, placing them on the designated planks or hangers. Oscar is of course done way quicker.

“Do you have anything that needs to go in the washing machine? I want to run a cycle,” he asks the Brit.

“Oh, you can add it to the laundry hamper. I will put it all in the washing machine when I’m done with this,” Lando says off handedly.

Oscar looks at the chaos surrounding his boyfriend. “Yeah, not going to happen,” he says with a smirk. The older driver looks up at him in confusion.

Instead of replying, the Australian walks into the ensuite and grabs the hamper there. He stops by the door and adds his own pile to the hamper before walking to the other bathroom.

There he grabs all Luka’s dirty clothes from the second hamper. He places everything in the washing machine and starts a cycle.

When he walks back into the bedroom, Lando looks up at him with a smile. “You’re a cutie, you know that?”

Oscar stumbles. “Huh?”

“I know what you’re doing. It’s cute,” the Brit adds. And then he goes back to sorting his clothes as if he didn’t just make the younger drivers brain glitch.

Oscar approaches him, stepping into the circle of clothing piles. He stands behind Lando, as the Brit is folding a sweater, and wraps his arms around his waist, burying his face in his shoulder.

Lando hums. He stops what he is doing and leans back against him. Oscar feels warm and cozy. Hugging Lando soothes him every time. He’s glad he can now do it whenever he wants to. Boyfriend privileges and all that.

“Thank you for doing this for me,” he tells the Brit.

The older driver huffs. “Of course! How are we going to live in the same apartment if I won’t even make space for you.”

“Allowing me to move into your apartment is already something I should thank you for.”

“Oscar,” Lando throws the sweater he was holding on the bed and turns around in the Australian’s embrace, placing his arms around his neck. “I love having you here. I was the one who wanted you and Luka to live here in the first place,” he tells him as he stares into his eyes.

Oscar fidgets with Lando’s shirt. “I know… I’m just… You adjust to this so quickly. To me. To Luka.”

The older man smiles at him softly, his fingers twiddle with Oscar’s hair. “I may or may not have been wanting a little family for a while. Uhm, and then Luka happened, and you allowed me to help you. Then I fell in love. Hard. And you replied in kind.”

The Australian melts. He leans his forehead against Lando’s, curls tickling his skin. “Yeah, the falling in love part went quite quick from my side as well. It may have helped that I have been unconsciously crushing on you for a while…”

Lando lets out a squeaky sound. This close to his face, Oscar can see a blush start to form on his tan skin. The Aussie smiles at that and rubs their noses together, watching his boyfriend squirm at the idea that he has had a crush on him for much longer.

“I’m not used people falling in love with ME though. People don’t usually invest this much time in me… Which is why I’m having trouble accepting that this is real,” Oscar admits.

Lando creates a bit of distance between their faces. “What? Why? Who hurt you, Oscar.”

“It’s nothing…”

“No, it is something, because you have been fussy about asking for help all week. And every time I give you a compliment, you look at me as if I’ve said something weird,” Lando tugs at his hair softly. As if he’s trying to pull the answer out.

Oscar hesitates. Not sure if he should bother his boyfriend with this. But Lando is looking at him with a frown, waiting for him to speak.

He sighs. “It’s… Stupid… I uhm. I didn’t have the best time in high school. I was the quiet kid in the back of the class. Had trouble making friends because of that. My mom would tell me to go to parties my classmates organized anyway. ‘That way you stay connected’, she would say…

It didn’t really help. I only felt left out more. I could often hear people talk behind my back about me being bland and boring.” Lando’s face turns sad, but he doesn’t interrupt. “My confidence dropped a lot. I could luckily focus on carting, which is what pulled me through.

College was better. More people like me. There to study and focus on their future. I made a couple of friends.

And after that it was me focusing on racing. I had this entire ‘love is a distraction’ phase, as I mentioned before.” Lando huffs out a breath. “So I didn’t even try to find a relationship.”

“I dated Lily for two years. My one and only relationship before you… And that was way different. There was always distance between us, both literally and figuratively. She was a friend from college. It took a long time to go from dating to being boyfriend and girlfriend.”

He stares at Lando. Drinks him in. The frown on his forehead, his soft curls, his beautiful eyes.

“This is different. This is… I don’t know… I love it. I love you. But wow is this new… I’m usually the one taking care of others. I’m the big brother. And now I’m being taken care of, unconditionally. It’s unfamiliar,” Oscar tells him.

Lando stays quiet. He fidgets with the hair on the back of Oscar’s head again and looks away for a second in thought. When he focusses back on him, he opens his mouth. “I love you too. And I agree that this is different. You are different, compared to what I’ve experienced before…”

Oscar gives him an encouraging smile. It makes Lando take a deep breath. And then he shares his story.

“I’ve always had to go fast. That’s all my life has been about. Grow up fast, built my career as fast as possible. I love my parents, but my dad has an insanely successful company, something he himself has built. Which put quite a lot of pressure on my own shoulders. I had to perform, and I had to do it well, to follow in his footsteps.

I rushed through high school, fucked up a lot of tests because of my dyslexia, and got home educated after that. Didn’t have much time to experience the joys of being a teenager because I was working my way up to Formula 1.

I really wanted a relationship though, desperate for that connection, so I dated several people. All of those relationships were rushed, and over quickly.

And then I got into Formula 1, and got a crush on my teammate, Carlos.” Oscar blinks. The grimace on Lando’s face it telling.

“It was fucking stupid. It was admiration turned into obsession. I was a starstruck rookie…”

Lando looks away from him, biting his lip in frustration. “We uhm…”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Oscar says as runs his hands over the Brit’s back.

The older driver shakes his head and tells him anyway. “We both got drunk at a party one evening… it escalated into a one-night stand. Something I will never forgive myself for.” Oscar isn’t surprised he and Carlos have had a thing. The videos of that time are proof there was something going on between them.

Lando regretting it can mean many things, and Oscar fears for all of them. The Brit is still avoiding eye contact. The Australian unwinds one of his arms from around him. He places a hand on Lando’s cheek, directing his attention back to him.

Oscar strokes his thumb over Lando’s cheek. Little soothing circles. It makes the older man take a deep breath and gather the courage to go on with his story.

“It created such a power unbalance between us. Carlos didn’t mean for it to happen of course, but it happened anyway.

The next year I spent stomping down my hopeless crush on my teammate. I had what I can only describe as a ‘slut year’ in which I dated anyone and everyone.

I let people walk over me, I didn’t set boundaries because I never knew how to. In almost all those relationships the other person took control…”

He falls silent. Oscar can see his mind is miles away. It makes his chest hurt to imagine what the Brit might be thinking about.

Lando shakes himself.

“What I mean to say is… This is the first time I feel like my own person. I know our relationship is new, but it’s soft, slow, and sweet. It’s such a contrast between how rushed I’ve always felt before. What we have feels healing.

You’re letting me help you and take care of you when you need it. And at the same time you help me, by letting me do my thing. You take care of me when I need it, without me asking you to. We are equal in this relationship, and it makes me so incredibly happy.”

Lando is breathing deeply. His eyes are a bit glossy. Oscar moves his head to the side slightly and then softly tugs at his boyfriend, guiding his head to rest in the crook of his neck. Lando goes willingly, melting into the touch.

Oscar moves his arms, one hand on the back of his neck, the other running up and down his side, arms wrapped around him. He presses a kiss to his neck, before leaning his head on top of Lando’s.

“Thank you for telling me,” he whispers. He nuzzles his face into the Brit’s fluffy curls. Lando squeezes his arms tighter around Oscar in response. “We’re doing so well together. Of course we are equal, and we always will be. I know I can trust you. And I know you know that you can trust me too,” the Australian adds.

It doesn’t sound coherent in Oscar mind, but he doesn’t care. Oscar has always had trouble with words, but he knows Lando needs them, so he tries. Lando has proven before that he can read him like an open book. He knows his boyfriend will know what he means, even if he himself doesn’t know what he is saying.

Lando takes a deep breath and lets go of it slowly. Oscar can feel him sag even more against him. Can feel his rapid heartbeat in his chest where it touches his own.

“Thanks for telling me your story as well,” Lando mumbles against his neck. “Sorry for waltzing over it with my own.”

“Don’t apologize, you didn’t waltz over me. That’s not how I see it. I was vulnerable in front of you, you were vulnerable in front of me,” Oscar tells him. “I think this was a conversation we both needed.”

A moment of hesitation and then Lando nods against his shoulder. Oscar kisses his neck again, the soft spot right beneath his ear. The Brit buries his face even more in response. The younger driver didn’t even know it was possible.

They stay like that for a while, enveloped in an embrace.

Lando eventually creates some space between them. “I was reorganizing the closet…”

Oscar snorts. “Let me help.”

“Okay,” Lando says with a tender smile. He leans in and kisses Oscar, who kisses back full of affection for the man before him.

When the Brit slinks himself out of the embrace, his boyfriend lets him go.

“Do you want me to put the stacks you’ve made back into the closet?” Oscar asks, hand on the small of Lando’s back as the older driver looks at the chaos around them.

“That would be nice, thank you,” Lando says sincerely.

It's what they do for the rest the evening. The older driver makes stacks of clothing and directs Oscar where to place them. They fold the clothes that have gotten unfurled together. The Australian gives the folded clothes to Lando every time, letting the Brit decide where he wants to put them.

If the process is slow because they keep cuddling with each other all the time, that is their own problem.

The hugs and kisses, the cooling air blowing into the room through the open balcony door, and the easy conversation between them. Oscar loves every bit of it, and if he thinks about it, he is quite sad that they have to hide this when they go to the office tomorrow.

A couple of trusted people will be informed about their relationship, but most McLaren employees should be none the wiser. For now at least. Until they know if revealing their relationship to the world is a smart thing to do.

When they are done reorganizing the closet, it is definitely time for bed. Especially with how they have to get up early tomorrow.

The go through their bedtime routine together, and when they crawl towards each other under the cover Oscar thinks about how it has only been twenty-four hours since they first confessed their love to each other.

As he wraps his arms around the Brit and buries his face in his hair, he is amazed by how natural everything feels. As if they slot together like puzzle pieces, meant for each other. It might be the excitement of young love. It might be how well they balance each other out without being opposites.

Does it really matter? He has a boyfriend, one who very much wants to be with him.

They fall asleep tangled together. Not sure who is holding who.

---

Oscar hears a rumble through his sleep loaded brain, and then a whimper close by. He wakes up slightly, unsure where the noise came from.

He opens his eyes and blearily looks at the ceiling.

A flash lights up the room.

A couple of seconds later a rumble can be heard.

Lando fusses around on top of his chest. Still asleep, but not peacefully. Oscar can feel a tremor go through his back. He tiredly runs his hands over the Brit’s clothed back. Trying to soothe whatever dream or nightmare might be plaguing Lando’s mind.

Another flash and another rumble. Closer this time. Louder this time.

Lando flinches. His breathing starts to pick up.

“Shhh, you’re okay,” Oscar tells him softly, massaging the back of the Brit’s neck.

Another flash. Oscar braces for the rumble. The next round of thunder has Lando awake and sitting upright in bed in a fraction of a second. Hitched breaths battering his chest.

Oscar is wide awake immediately, sitting up as well, facing him. He places both hands on the Brit’s shaking shoulders.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s just thunder. You’re inside. Nothing can happen,” Oscar rambles off worriedly. He has never seen Lando like this. It’s scary.

The Brit doesn’t say anything, he keeps breathing rapidly. Oscar leans over to the side of the bed to turn on the bedside lamp. It lights up the room, giving him a better view of Lando’s fear stricken face.

“Hey,” Oscar tries to get a response out of Lando. Any. “Hey, it’s okay, nothing can happen.” He places his hands on the Brit’s cheeks, making him look up at him. Lando swallows and nods almost imperceptibly.

Oscar wraps him into a hug. Lando falls into him. His body shakes with the next rumble. Oscar keeps running his hand up and down his back, trying to soothe him.

He worries about Lando’s reaction, a lot.

He lies down and takes the older driver with him. He pulls the duvet over both of them, cocooning Lando.

He can feel the Brit take deeper breaths. Measured and careful, as if he is fighting through his own instinct.

“It happens every time. It’s so stupid,” Lando tells him between breaths. His voice is high-pitched.

Oscar runs a hand through his curls as the next round of thunder hits. The storm is getting closer.

“Did something happen before?” the Australian fishes for a puzzle piece.

“I almost got hit by lightning once,” Lando says when the rumble is over. “Went on a run in the morning, it was cloudy. Lightning hit a tree right as I ran by. The power of it… The way the ground shook…”

“Oh shit, that is terrifying,” Oscar says genuinely.

“I’ve been scared of thunderstorms ever since,” the Brit confesses.

“I can imagine.” The younger driver nuzzles at his hairline. The Brit lying on his chest with his arms on both sides of Oscar’s chest. Lando keeps taking deep breaths. Oscar realizes the older driver is syncing his breaths with his.

He thinks of all the storms that happened during races, where he has seen Lando on TV huddled up between teammates during a red flag. He has been dealing this on his own for years, hasn’t he?

Oscar keeps talking him through every rumble of thunder, careful hands massaging his tense muscles.

That is until lightning strikes, closely, and the resulting thunder is a loud crack. They both flinch.

And that’s when they hear it.

“LANOOOOO!!! OSCAAAAA!!!”

They are both out of bed within a second, rushing through the door. Lando stumbles as another crack of thunder sounds. Oscar keeps him upright by grabbing his waist. They run through the hallway to their kid’s room.

Lando gets there first, the adrenaline making him speed up. When Oscar walks through the door through Luka’s bedroom, Lando is already by the bed.

“Luka? Hey kiddo…” the Brit says in a wobbly voice. Oscar turns on the light in the room as Lando crouches down beside the bed.

“PAPAAAA,” Luka wails as he throws himself around the older driver’s neck. “I- I- ’m scared!” he sobs.

Oscar can see Lando pick him up with shaking hands. The Brit tries to shush Luka and stands up again with the kid wrapped in his arms. Lando looks up at his boyfriend, and it makes Oscar walk towards him immediately.

“Oh Luka, it’s okay. The thunder is loud, but it can’t get to us,” the Australian says as he wraps the both of them into a hug. He squeezes them both tightly and presses a kiss to Luka’s head and then one to Lando’s.

Another flash. Oscar closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. The following thunder makes Luka cry out. Lando whines, leaning his head against Oscar’s shoulder.

“Deep breaths,” he tells Lando softly, his hands rubbing in circles over his back. A small nod.

“Come on you two, let’s cuddle in the big bed together,” he says, corralling them towards the master bedroom. Maybe if they all snuggle up under the blankets it will be less scary for the both of them.

Luka is sobbing in Lando’s arms as they walk through the hallway. Oscar pats his little head. His other arm is wrapped around the Brit’s waist.

Back in the bedroom he turns on the other bedside lamp as well. Lando crawls into bed, staying on Oscar’s side of the mattress. The Australian slides under the duvet right next to him.

Lando lifts his head as Oscar goes to wrap his arms around him. The younger driver understands, and places one of his arms underneath his head like a little pillow. He throws the other arm over his middle, hand splayed on his back.

Lando buries his face in his chest. It’s a hug-ception; the Brit has Luka hugged to his chest, while Oscar has Lando hugged to his chest, meaning he is hugging them both at the same time.

It would have been cute, hadn’t Luka been crying and Lando been shaking.

Oscar tries to soothe them both. It’s hard. Lando tries his best to follow his breathing though and finally calms down a bit. Luka’s crying turns into sobbing.

But with every thunder crack the both of them flinch and Luka wails.

Oscar talks to them. About everything and nothing. It seems to calm down Lando further, so he keeps going.

But then the loudest crack of thunder sounds. Louder than all the other they’ve heard before.

And the light goes out.

“No!” Lando cries. Luka screams.

Oscar pulls them tighter. He looks around him but can’t see anything. It’s dark. Darker than usual. If the Australian is right, the streetlights just went out as well. It’s a blockwide power outage at least.

“Shhh, it’s scary, I know,” he squeezes Lando’s neck with the hand that’s connected to the arm trapped underneath the Brit, and runs his fingers through Luka’s hair with his other hand. “The lightning just struck a powerline or something. It happens, nothing to worry about,” he explains, forcing himself to stay calm. His family needs him. He thinks about possible ways to make it less scary for all of them.

“I will get some candles,” he says, remembering the candles in jars on the coffee table.

“No! Oscar don’t leave…” Lando complains, out of breath. Luka is wailing loudly between them.

Oscar nuzzles the top of his head. “I promise it will be less scary if we have some light in here.”

“I don’t want you to go…”

“I will be back in no time. You can do this, I believe in you,” the Australian says. He kisses the top of his head. Once. Twice.

Another rumble. Oscar waits till it fades away again.

“I will be right back.” Lando nods against his chest and Oscar takes that as his cue to disentangle himself from his terrified family.

He grabs his phone and uses it as a light to guide himself out of the door and through the hallway. He walks as fast as he dares through the living room and grabs the two candles from the coffee table.

He basically sprints to the kitchen and grabs the lighter from the drawer. He then rushes right back to the bedroom. Luka is still crying loudly.

“I’m back,” he tells Lando. He hears a soft okay from the Brit as he quickly lights the candles. He places both candles on the bedside table in his side, the side closest to them.

They light up the room pretty well, and Oscar lets out a sigh of relief.

He looks at Lando, who is looking up at him with glassy eyes. He runs his finger through the Brit’s curls and then grabs his pillow, placing it against the headboard.

He sits down on the bed and rests his back against the pillow. He splits his legs and grabs onto Lando, dragging him between his legs, pulling him against his chest. Lando takes Luka with him into the half upright position.

Oscar finds a corner of the duvet; he pulls and places the blanket over the three of them. When he is done tucking them in, he then wraps his arms around them. It the safest feeling position the Australian can think of.

Lando’s head rests against Oscar’s collarbone. The younger driver rests his cheek on top of his head. Luka sits on Oscar’s leg, with the Brit’s arms around him. It’s a super close cuddle, a tangle of limbs, with the Australian being a protective shield around them.

He can feel Lando calm down. Luka’s wailing turns into sad sobs.

At the next rumble, he squeezes his arms. He takes a deep breath for Lando to follow. And Lando does follow.

Luka only sobs this time, no more loud crying.

Oscar starts talking again. Rambling about things. About the rules of cricket, about which track he likes the most, about what country they go to has the best food. Just simple things they don’t need to follow.

He runs his fingers over Lando’s arm. Rubs his hand over Luka’s back.

Luka falls asleep in exhaustion a bit later. Lando stays awake until the times between lightning and thunder become longer. The storm has gone over them, it will only get better from now on.

Oscar listens as Lando starts snoring lightly.

He stops talking. He stays where he is, holding them close even though his legs have gone numb.

Until the lights turn back on an hour later, the power issue fixed.

That’s when he carefully maneuvers all of them down to the mattress. He lies down and pulls Lando against one side of his body and Luka to the other. It separates them, but it might be better as Luka still fusses around a lot in his sleep. Oscar doesn’t want Lando to wake up again.

It takes a bit longer, but eventually Oscar too falls asleep again. With his loved ones by his side.

Chapter Text

The blare of the alarm is like nails on chalkboard through Oscar’s brain. He flinches awake. Lando groans against his neck. Luka whines on the other side of him.

The Australian feels around for his phone. 7AM. He automatically presses snooze, even though he knows it’s a bad idea.

They have to go to the office today and Oscar set his alarm an hour earlier than the last couple days. But after a night like that, he curses having set the alarm so early.

“Ten more minutes,” Lando grouches.

“It’s only going to be worse,” Oscar tells him.

“I don’t want to get up yet, Osc…”

The Australian traces Lando’s spine with his fingers. “Me neither, but we’re going to be late if we don’t. I want to avoid getting scolded today…”

The Brit sighs, the air tickles Oscar’s neck and chest. “Yeah, valid… Andrea is going to be all ‘you had three days off to laze around and you’re still late?’ and it’s going to be annoying,” Lando says with a sleepy voice. He yawns after.

Oscar kisses his forehead and then looks at Luka, who is looking at them. The younger driver can’t gauge his mood. “Let’s go make breakfast, Luka.”

He seems to be only half awake. No reaction from him.

Oscar pats his head. “Did you sleep well after the storm was gone?” he asks the kid carefully. A tiny nod. Okay good. The kid doesn’t seem angry or fussy like yesterday, he’s just having a hard time connecting to the waking world.

“I would like some coffee as well,” Lando mentions.

The Australian smiles and pokes his side. “Get up then, you’re trapping me.”

Lando squeezes him with the arm he has wrapped around his waist. A big sigh, and then the Brit pushes himself up with his other arm.

He hoovers over Oscar and smiles down at him, though it’s a tired one. Last night wasn’t kind to him…

He leans down and kisses Oscar. Soft lips meet his. The Australian ignores the morning breath, knowing his is probably not any better. He smiles into the kiss.

And then the alarm he put on snooze goes off. Both of them groan in annoyance. Luka giggles.

Lando sits up and takes Luka in his arms as Oscar moves to turn of the alarm.

“You think that’s funny, little man?” the Brit asks him with a sleepy smirk.

Luka giggles again. “Alarm said no more kissies,” he says.

It makes Oscar bark out a laugh. The Australian swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands up. “The alarm said: ‘no more kissies, time for breakfast’,” he tells his boyfriend and son.

He holds out his arm to Lando. When he takes it, Oscar pulls him up as well.

They walk through the hallway together. In the kitchen the Australian instantly moves to the coffee machine, turning it on, letting it heat up.

After putting Luka in his chair, Lando opens the fridge to scavenge for the ingredients he needs for whatever breakfast he was planning to make.

Seeing the sleepy and kind of grouchy look on Lando’s face, the Australian takes over. “Let me make breakfast. You go get your coffee,” Oscar tells him gently.

Lando gives him a thankful look and moves away from the counter. He trails his fingers over Oscar shoulders as he walks past to get to the coffee machine.

The younger driver focusses on making breakfast. Wholegrain toast, eggs, and tomato. With some avocado for himself. He cracks the eggs into the frying pan and washes his hands.

As he is slicing the tomato, Lando comes up to him with two cups of coffee. He places one cup on the counter next to Oscar’s hand.

He slinks under the younger man’s arm, demanding to stand in the circle of his arms. Lando rests his head on Oscar’s collarbone, sipping on his own latte.

Oscar snorts. A sleepy Lando is a clingy Lando it seems. He rubs his cheek over the unruly curls as he finishes cutting the tomato and avocado.

“Thanks for last night,” the Brit tells him after a bit of silent cuddling.

“No need to thank me. I’m glad you’re doing okay now. It was scary to see you like that…”

“Sorry…”

“Also no need to apologize…”

Lando hums instead of saying sorry for saying sorry.

“If I wasn’t freaking out about the power outage, I would say that that was the best cuddle I’ve ever had,” the Brit adds.

Oscar smiles.

“You feel safe,” Lando says.

The Aussie presses a kiss to his forehead. “So do you.”

They rest against each other as they wait for the toast and the eggs to be done.

“Today is going to be difficult…” Lando mentions. “I’ve gotten so used to reaching out to you and holding you I might do it by accident…”

“Yeah, same here… We are going to have to avoid doing that today…” Oscar says.

“This is like the opposite of that fake boyfriend trope you see in movies sometimes,” the Brit says.

Oscar laughs. “We’re going to have to fake being single.”

Lando giggles at that. “How good is your acting?”

“Horrible…” the Australian grimaces.

The older driver smiles up at him. “Good to know we’re doomed already.”

“Hey!” Oscar says as he squeezes Lando’s waist. “Have some faith in me… I think you are going to have a harder time keeping it a secret than I will…”

Lando looks up at him, taking his head off the Aussie collarbone. Realization strikes. The Brit probably thinks of the same thing as Oscar; he’s being clingy. The stress from last night probably has a hand in it.

“Oh shoot… Yeah you might be right,” Lando says nervously.

“We’re just going to have to try,” Oscar tells him.

“Should we go there in separate cars? It might make them less suspicious.”

“We went there in the same car on Tuesday. That ship has sailed already.”

“Ah no… We haven’t really thought this out, have we?” Lando scrunches up his face. “ugh, this is going to suck, whether they figure it out or not…”

Oscar rubs his back with a fond smile.

The bread in the toaster jumps up. Both men flinch, and then chuckle.

“Come on, let’s eat breakfast,” the Australian says as he pecks Lando’s lips. The Brit looks at him.

Oscar can see that the muscles between his eyebrows are still scrunched up. He smooths it out with his thumb. “A wise man once told me: ‘we will figure it out, Osc’. And we did figure it out,” he tells the older driver.

Lando’s worry is awakening Oscar’s big brother side. So even though he is quite nervous about today, he will soothe the Brit as best as he can.

Lando grins at him. “Turning my own weapon against me I see… Yeah, we will figure it out. We’re in this together. Whatever happens, happens.”

The older driver leaves his side to grab the toast and start making plates for the three of them. He does it with a smile. Oscar adds fried eggs to all the plates.

He thinks about how last night showed him that Lando isn’t unflappable. His boyfriend needs his help as much as Oscar needs his. The Australian will do his utmost best to keep him happy and safe.

The conversation they had while reorganizing the closet has him extra careful not to come over as controlling. He needs to let Lando decide for himself.

It’s a bit like how he has been taking care of Luka, Oscar realizes.

He knows already how to protect someone without constraining them.

They will be alright.

They eat breakfast together. Oscar was expecting Luka to be grumpier, but he is actually doing quite well. He is still sleepy it seems, not saying much. But when he talks it’s with a happy tone. The kid seems excited to go back to the office again.

Maybe they will get the chance to show Luka around before they have meetings all day. The first day is normally a busy one… with lots of people they need to talk to. He hopes they can keep Luka entertained.

Lando and he might have to think about finding a nanny.

That still makes Oscar nervous though, because Luka is only just learning to trust people. He thinks getting a nanny at this stage might reverse all improvement the kid has had in the last couple of days.

Maybe they can try it out today by leaving the kid with someone else for a bit? Stephanie and Charlotte volunteered. Will Luka be able to stay calm if his dads are out of sight?

He looks at their son, who is happily munching on his toast. Luka is either going to have a fun day or a stressful one. The possibility of it being a bad idea to take Luka with them is making him squirm.

Until Lando places a hand over his.

He looks at the Brit, who is wearing a knowing expression. Right… They will figure it out. Whatever happens, happens.

The soft touch calms him down. Not being able to reach out to Lando is going to be a problem. For them both…

After breakfast, they quickly get ready for the day. Oscar picks out Luka’s clothes. It’s much colder than yesterday, springtime showing it true colors by being unpredictable as ever. He grabs the little neon colored LN4 hoodie that came from the box of merchandise Stephanie gave them last Tuesday, and matches it with dark pants.

With Luka dressed and ready to go out, he places the kid with Lando so he can get ready himself. After throwing on jeans and a gray oversized shirt, he also grabs his light blue hoodie from the closet. He doesn’t put it on, but takes it with him as a precaution.

When he goes back to Lando, the Brit is watching how Luka is putting on his own shoes. It’s the red pair with the light up midsoles. Luka struggles with the laces, not knowing yet how to tie them.

Lando waits until Luka looks up at him with an expression that says: ‘help me’. “Do you want me to help?” the older driver asks. Luka nods. Only then does Lando crouch down. Oscar smiles at the moment.

Oscar grabs his own shoes and puts them on while he listens to Lando explain how to tie a bow knot. Luka nods as if he understands, but the Aussie knows the kid will have to practice it himself before he truly understands.

When Luka’s shoes are on, the kid stomps around a bit, watching them light up. Lando is about to pick him up when the toddler suddenly runs off. The two adults watch him run to the window. He then turns around and runs back to them.

“They make me go fast!” he exclaims as he comes to a stop in front of them. Lando laughs while Oscar gives him the biggest smile. “They do, huh!” the Australian tells him. Luka beams at that.

“They are so cool!” he has a toothy grin on his face as he jumps up and down. It activates the lights every time.

Oscar chuckles at his happiness.

“And you can show them to everyone at the office today,” Lando says to him.

Luka nods excitedly, and then makes grabby hands towards Oscar. The younger driver picks him up and kisses his forehead. The boy wraps his arms around his dad’s neck.

Lando watches the interaction with a fond smile.

“Ready to go?” Oscar asks him.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The drive to the office is peaceful. The radio is on, but at a low volume. Luka is humming in the back, something completely different than what’s on the radio. The dissonance should have been annoying to Oscar, but it’s not.

Lando is the one driving. Halfway there, Lando places a hand on Oscar’s thigh and keeps it there.

“I feel like a passenger princess when you do that,” the Australian tells him with a giggle.

“Oh, is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Lando asks him. Oscar places his hand on top of the Brit’s bigger one and tangles their fingers.

Lando smiles. “I take that means that it’s a good thing?”

Oscar hums in confirmation.

They are able to hold hands until Lando has to put the car in reverse so he can park it in the parking lot. They have arrived and Oscar isn’t sure if he is happy about it or not.

“Before we get out and I’m going to have to hold myself back all day…” Lando starts. Oscar turns towards him. The Brit looks around them, to see if there’s anyone around. When he deems the coast clear he puts a hand on Oscar’s cheek and pulls the Australian towards him.

The kiss they share is one full of love. Lando’s lips are soft against his. Oscar runs his fingers through the Brits curls, probably messing them up. Lando doesn’t seem to mind, too preoccupied.

They can’t risk getting seen, which is why Oscar reluctantly puts an end to it. He rubs their noses together softly and smiles at the older driver. He gets a smile back, he always does.

Lando lets out a sad sigh as they separate. “I don’t know if I’m going to survive keeping my distance from you…”

“We don’t have to stay away from each other, we just can’t do boyfriend things.”

Lando grumbles.

“It will only be till half past three in the afternoon.” Oscar looks at the clock. “That’s seven hours. We can be all lovey-dovey at the adoption center. And we will have the entire evening to cuddle and hang out together.”

“I don’t know how Max and Charles do it,” the Brit complains.

Oscar snorts. “We didn’t even start yet. Who knows, maybe it isn’t that bad?”

Lando gives him a doubtful look. It makes the Australian giggle. He looks around and when he sees no one he presses a quick kiss to his cheek.

“Come on, it’s time to go in. The longer we stay here the more we raise suspicion,” Oscar tells him. Another sigh, a pat to the Aussie’s leg, and then they both open their doors.

Lando gets Luka out of his seat. The kid is eager to get out.

The Brit places the toddler on his shoulders and locks the car. Oscar follows him as he starts walking towards the building.

The Australian is amazed by how a part of his brain already wants to reach out to his boyfriend. They have been walking hand in hand too often the past couple of days it seems…

He stomps down the feeling, not sure what to do with his hands. He decides to use them to tie his hoodie around his middle. He now has the sleeves to fiddle with.

As they walk in, they get greeted by the first group of people. Kind hellos and good mornings are shared. Luka seems to be at ease on Lando’s shoulders and waves at them. It puts giddy smiles on a lot of faces. Everyone that meets Luka loves the kid instantly.

They make it to the main lounge no problem. Lando makes a beeline to the coffee machine. Oscar giggles. The Brit looks at him with a pained face. Okay, yeah, some extra caffeine in his bloodstream would be nice…

Jon, Lando’s trainer, is in the kitchen as well. “Oh? Is that the famous Luka I see?” the man asks.

“Morning, Jon,” Lando says as he takes Luka off his shoulders. Oscar echoes the comment, walking past him to get to the coffee machine. He places a mug underneath and presses the latte button. He waits for the machine to be done before placing another mug underneath for his own americano.

He holds the mug towards Lando who takes it without looking, too deep into a conversation with Jon.

The trainer crouches down to Luka’s level and introduces himself. The kid is a bit shy now that he is standing on the floor and hides slightly behind Lando’s leg. One of the Brit’s large hands comes to rest on top of the kid’s head.

“Nice to meet you Luka, I’m Jon! I work with your dad a lot,” the trainer tells the kid. Luka looks at Oscar with a frown. And then at Lando.

The Brit chuckles. “With me, not with dad dad.”

“With papa?”

“Yes, with papa,” Lando confirms.

Jon looks at them all with a dumbfounded expression. Oscar can only watch on while sipping his coffee. Jon scrutinizes Lando. The Brit looks at the Australian for help, who has to look away so they don’t accidentally blow their cover by smiling stupidly at each other.

He is single. He is a single man caring for a kid together with his teammate, who is his friend and definitely not his boyfriend. That their shared kid has decided to promote them both to dad with different synonyms is completely out of their control.

Just to bros being dads.

“Lando, I think we need to talk about some things today…”

“Jon, please don’t.”

The trainer looks around them. They are out of earshot of everyone else.

“Are you two keeping it a secret for a specific reason?” Jon asks them deadpan.

Oscar whips his face towards him. Busted, already.

Jon smiles sheepishly at the Australian. Lando is gaping like a fish.
“How…?” Oscar tries.

“I’ve known Lando for quite a while. Whenever this dude is handed food or a drink by someone else, he treats it like it’s a live bomb,” Jon explains.

“The coffee?! Oscar handing me a mug had you figure it out?!” Lando whisper yells.

Jon crosses his arms smugly. “You took a sip without even looking at what was in there. You never do that.”

Oscar pinches the bridge of his nose. How the hell was he supposed to know?

“And then Luka got confused and your reaction was way too… I don’t know... So, Oscar is dad, and you are papa?” Jon asks Lando.

The Brit nods, annoyed. He takes another sip of the latte Oscar got him. The Australian thinks he has never seen anyone angrily drink coffee.

Oscar goes to stand next to him, letting their elbows bump against each other. “We are not sure how the public will react to us being… you know… boyfriends…” he says quietly. “We want to keep it quiet so no one in the team can accidentally leak it. I guess we aren’t that good at hiding it if you guessed it this quickly.”

“You were going to be filled in, Jon. But you just had to go and figure it out by yourself within minutes…” Lando grouches.

Jon laughs. “Happy to hear I would have been told anyway.” He looks at Oscar. “You two aren’t that obvious, don’t worry. I just know Lando too well for my own good.”

Lando huffs.

“I’m amazed you didn’t text me about it earlier,” the trainer asks the Brit.

“We both basically forgot about our phones for a couple of days it seems…” Lando says as he looks at Oscar. The Australian nods. They have been lost in their own world. It’s been nice.

“Does Kim know yet?” Jon asks Oscar. The younger driver freezes.

He forgot.

He forgot to tell his own trainer anything about this. And- oh no. Did he… He forgot to tell Mark as well! And… he texted Logan once, but that’s it. What on earth is wrong with him?!

Jon laughs. “I take that as a no.”

“Lano and Osca were busy,” Luka interrupts. “We went to the beach and the playground, and I met Josh! And they bought me cars and a donut.” He takes a breath. “And my super cool shoes.” The kid tells him excitedly as he stomps a foot.

Oscar has to rub a hand over his own face to kill the cute aggression that Luka just activated. Lando is beaming down at the toddler. Luka is still hiding behind the Brit’s leg, but is peeking around to talk to Jon. The kid is figuring out whether Jon is a friend or not, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be confident at the same time. It’s a confusing mix in Oscar’s opinion.

“Woah! That sounds amazing Luka. And your shoes are awesome!” Jon tells Luka. “Do the disco shoes make you dance better?”

The kid shakes his little head. “No, but they make me super-fast!”

“Unbelievable! You will have to show me some time,” the trainer says, recognizing the kid’s need to stay close to his dads right now.

Luka nods excitedly. He leans his head against the side Lando’s leg in a half hug. The Brit replies by petting his hair.

“I will tell you more about it later, Jon. We have a meeting with Zak and Andrea,” Lando tells his trainer.

“Oh god… don’t die…” Jon says.

“I- what- it probably won’t be too bad?” the Brit says.

Oscar grimaces. “I hope so Lan. I’m not sure how they will react to be honest.”

“They already know we are adopting Luka together… I doubt they will react badly.”

The older driver looks at his boyfriend. “Andrea won’t care. All he will say is ‘as long as your performance doesn’t drop’. Zak might complain about image for a bit, but will eventually be like ‘but fine, it’s your choice. Don’t do anything stupid’.”

Oscar smiles at the terrible impersonations. He knows Lando is trying to keep the Australian’s anxiety level low.

It’s working.

Jon sighs. “You’ve been with McLaren for too long.”

“And I signed another multi-year contract recently, so they can’t get rid of me any time soon,” Lando says with a half shrug, a hand still resting on Luka’s head.

Oscar chuckles. The Brit smiles at him, eyes crinkling.

“Okay, well, I will leave terrorizing the two old men to you then,” Jon says. He tells them he will see them later, and walks off. The two drivers watch him go.

“Horrible first meeting. We got busted already,” Lando says quietly.

“If that’s how everyone is able to figure it out, I don’t know how we’re supposed to hide it. All I did was give you a mug,” Oscar complains.

“Was I acting weird?” Lando asks him.

“No?” The Aussie thinks about it, but no, Lando behaved completely normal.

The Brit sighs again. “We will have to keep up the act I guess.”

“Just two dads, being bros,” Oscar jokes.

Lando giggles. “Just two dads, being bros.”

The meeting with Andrea and Zak goes as they expected. Zak is the most shocked of the two. He complains about the image of McLaren for a bit and how this could change a lot. He agrees with keeping it a secret for a while so they can figure out how to deal with everything PR and Marketing-wise.

He does in the end approve of the relationship though. He talks about how much calmer Lando has been since Oscar joined the team and how them being in a relationship now might make them even better teammates.

He also likes Luka. “He’s a sweet kid,” Zak tells them. He has no problem with the toddler coming with them to race weekends.

Andrea gives zero shits. Even says that he knew the moment he saw Luka with them in the paddock. “You two were immediately playing house the moment he showed up.”

“Hey! It took us only three days to figure out something was going on between us,” Lando says annoyed. “Give us some credit.” He has his hands crossed over his chest.

Oscar snorts. It makes Luka look up at him. The kid is sitting on his lap. The Australian has his arms wrapped around him.

Of course they were playing house the moment Luka showed up. The kid grabbed onto them like a lifeline. Literally.

“I don’t mind what you two do, as long as it doesn’t influence your performance. We can win the constructors championship this year and might even have a chance at winning the drivers’ championship,” Andrea tells them as he looks at Lando.

“Yes,” Zak says. “Don’t get distracted.”

“And ask for help if you need it. Whatever sort of problem you two have,” the team principal commands them.

The two driver agree to that in unison.

Chapter Text

The meeting with Andrea and Zak goes on for a bit longer. Discussing strategy and talking about their performance in Monaco. What could have been done better, what went well, what they need to work on.

It’s the same old thing. They get told about next week’s team briefing, when and where it will be. One Wednesday in Montreal of course. Tomorrow they will have one as well, to discuss everything with all the teams.

It's the typical first meeting of the day. Or even a first meeting after the mini break they usually get after a race.

Luka is getting bored. Both Oscar and Lando notice. The kid is still sitting on the Australian’s lap, but he is fussing a bit, looking around a lot, swinging his legs. Oscar is reminded of that first drivers meeting at the Monegasque paddock.

It seems that Lando is reminded too, as the Brit reaches out to their kid. Luka grabs onto him and lets his papa pick him up. Lando doesn’t stop talking to Andrea while he does it. It has become a natural thing to do; helping his boyfriend and son.

Andrea’s attention switches to Oscar when Lando is done with his story. Luka is now on Lando’s lap, fidgeting with the adults bracelets again.

The déjà vu Oscar gets makes him reply to Andrea’s question a bit late. He watches the Brit in the corner of his eye.

Lando fidgets with Luka’s shoelaces. Even taking out the knots and redoing them. Zak and Andrea don’t even notice Lando’s fidgeting, too used to it already. They both know the older driver focusses better when he does it.

It catches Luka’s attention though. The kid watches Lando untie and tie the laces twice, and then moves his other foot up to mimic the Brit’s movements with the other shoe.

Oscar keeps up the conversation with Zak and Andrea while Lando silently teaches the toddler how to tie his own shoes.

The kid doesn’t get it the first couple of tries. But Lando patiently shows him again and again. He even watches where Luka gets stuck and shows that part to him super slowly.

Oscar is dying of cuteness. He tries not to let it distract him too much as Zak talks about what their engineering team are working on.

That is until Luka throws his arms up. “I did it!” he whisper yells.

And all four adults in the room chuckle. Zak smiles at the small kid. Andrea looks at the two drivers with a crinkle in his eyes.

“Well done, Luka,” Lando says as he ruffles the kid’s hair.

Luka looks to Oscar. The Australian gives him a beaming smile and a thumbs up. Luka replies with two thumbs up and a grin of his own.

It makes the Australian giggle.

“Not sure how you’ve found a kid that acts like the both of you,” Zak starts, interrupting his own story. “But that’s adorable.”

“I don’t think you will have to worry about brand image, Zak,” Andrea tells him. “The media is going to love kid. They might even forget about his dads being in a relationship.”

Lando snorts.

Zak rolls his eyes with a smile. “Alright… But try to keep it a secret until further notice. I want to have a plan in place.”

“We want to let a small group of people know,” Oscar tells them. “Our trainers and PR managers for example. I haven’t told Mark yet…” Lando nods, agreeing with the Australian.

“But for the rest we will try to keep it a secret until there is a plan in place,” the Brit adds.

Oscar grimaces. Andrea catches it, and smirks at him. “What are you thinking about, Oscar?” the team principal asks.

“It- uhm… it might be hard?” the younger driver says. Lando looks at him with an encouraging smile. “Jon already caught on, and we didn’t even do anything obvious. I just handed Lando a mug.”

“We also got kinda used to reaching out to each other in the past couple of days?” the Brit continues timidly. “It feels really weird to keep our distance now…”

Oscar runs a hand through his own brown locks, getting slightly anxious. “We might accidentally reveal ourselves…”

Lando pats his boyfriend’s leg. Reassuring him. Oscar smiles at him kindly, silently thanking him.

Zak is rubbing at his beard in thought.

Andrea speaks up. “Thanks for telling us. We can try and anticipate.” The principal looks to the side for a second, thinking. “I could also sneakily let you know when you two are being too obvious. Stand in between you two during interviews etcetera.”

“That might help,” Zak says. “I will see if I can help as well.”

“We don’t WANT to be separated though… So please don’t change our schedule so we don’t see each other, or something…” Lando grumbles.

Zak laughs. “No, no. You’re fine. Do talk with your assistants as well, though. You can let them know.”

That’s good advice, Oscar thinks. He would like a shared hotel room for example… Their assistants could make that happen.

The meeting eventually comes to a close. Zak and Andrea leave the two drivers.

Lando immediately takes the time alone in the meeting room to run a hand through Oscar’s hair. “That wasn’t that horrible,” the Brit tells him. Oscar leans in, giving him a quick side hug, arm slung over the Brit’s shoulder.

“It wasn’t. You were right,” the Australian says.

They smile at each other for a moment, before creating space between them again. The warmth of the quick hug lingers on the back of Oscar’s neck.

“You did really good, Luka,” Lando tells the kid.

“It was pretty boring, huh,” Oscar says to him.

Luka looks at them both. Then he nods.

Oscar sighs. They should have brought the kid something to play with. He completely forgot. It’s probably parenting 101: how to keep your kid entertained while away from home. Step one: bring their favorite toys.

“Sorry, sweetheart… It might be a boring day for you today…” the Australian tells him, feeling bad.

“Maybe we can find some pencils and paper?” Lando tries.

Oscar hums.

“Charlotte might know if we have colored pencils lying around,” the Australian says.

The older driver smiles at him. “Speaking of PR Managers… Our next meeting is with them. Want to go bother them?”

Oscar laughs. “Yeah, sounds good. Let’s go.”

The walk to the next meeting room, the one they used for the emergency meeting on Tuesday as well.

Luka walks in between them, right hand holding Oscar’s, left hand holding Lando’s. Halfway there, both driver suddenly feel a weight drag down their arms. Luka hangs onto them, pulling himself up.

The two drivers automatically swing him forward. When Luka lands back on his feet he bursts out in giggles. The lights on his shoes flash brightly. “Again!” he cheers as he stays behind a bit. The drivers follow his instructions and pull him up, swinging him forward.

Luka squeals. Lando barks out a laugh, while Oscar lets out a giggle. “Of course you choose now to figure out you can swing between us,” the Australian tells Luka fondly.

Lando snorts. “This is what boredom does to a kid, Osc.”

Luka keeps going. With lots of giggles and happy squeals. His dads swing him every time.

Oscar fears they won’t be able to hide anything with how they are acting. Some colleagues pass by, they kindly say hi with a smile. The drivers of course reply back the way they normally would, but now with a kid swinging between them.

Oscar swears he can hear one of the ladies whisper “they should simply get together at this point” to her team member after they’ve walked by. The Australian tries desperately not to blush.

He sneaks a look at Lando, who is looking down at their kid with a fond smile. Oscar wonders what she would say if she knew the gorgeous man beside him is actually already his boyfriend. The thought makes the younger want to reach out to the Brit. Feel that fond smile against his own lips, like he has felt many times yesterday.

But no, he has to stomp it down.

Oscar doesn’t know how many ‘just two bros being dads’ he has in him, and they are only one meeting in…

They get to the meeting room and find out Stephanie and Charlotte are already there. The two women greet the drivers.

The moment Stephanie says hi to Luka, the kid hides slightly behind Oscar. The Australian crouches down and takes the kid in his arms. “That’s Stephanie, sweetheart. We met her on Tuesday as well, do you remember?” Oscar says as he stands up, taking the kid with him.

Luka looks at her again. And then nods. “Hello,” the kid says quietly.

The change in behavior is weird. And Oscar recognizes that women trigger the stranger danger in Luka more than men. He was hiding from Jon as well, but talked to him after Lando and Oscar had a chat with the trainer.

Stephanie isn’t a new person though. But maybe new enough for Luka to still be wary.

“She got you my cap, and the hoodie you are wearing as well,” Lando tells the kid. That gets Luka thinking. The kid looks at Charlotte, who is standing on the other side of the room. He points at her shyly. “That’s the car lady,” he says.

Oscar giggles at the happy smile that Charlotte shows in reply. “Yeah, she got you the toy car. Good job remembering,” he praises Luka.

“It’s nice to see you again, Luka. How are you doing?” Charlotte asks him. “Good!” Luka says with enthusiasm.

“Glad to hear,” Stephanie joins into the conversation.

“Charlotte, do you happen to know if we have any colored pencils lying around? It’s a bit boring for him to sit quietly while we talk…” Oscar asks his PR manager.

“Oh, yes, of course. Give me a second,” she says, and then walks out of the room.

Which leaves them alone with Stephanie.

“So… Did you two talk?” Lando’s PR manager asks cheekily.

Lando slinks towards Oscar, placing a hand on the small of the Australian’s back. “You could say that…” he jokes. The change in Stephanie’s expression is hilarious. Eyes widening at the Brit’s bold move.

“Well… That’s one way to announce you two are dating…” Charlotte says behind them after closing the door.

The blond lady walks over to the coffee table and places a stack of paper and a collection of colored pencils on the tabletop.

Stephanie burst out laughing. “What a Lando way to do it,” she says between giggles. Charlotte comes to stand next to her, wearing a smile as well. She crosses her arms over her chest.

“So! Who asked who?” Charlotte asks.

“I did, actually,” Oscar speaks up, looking at the Brit with a grin. Lando softly smiles back at him. He seems to be recalling the moment fondly.

“Ugh! Lando!” Stephanie exclaims exasperated.

The two drivers look at their PR managers in confusion.

“Yes!” Charlotte cheers. “I’m getting my money back AND fifty bucks extra. I always believed in you, Oscar.”

The Australian barks out a laugh. Lando rubs a hand over his face, feeling embarrassed.

“What did you two bet on…” the Brit asks awkwardly.

Charlotte is happy to explain. “We uhm, both knew that you had a crush on Oscar, Lando. You walking after your teammate the entire day being all protective and overly helpful on Sunday confirmed that. We bet on if Oscar had figured out his own feeling already or not.”

“Charlotte thought you needed more time to figure it out, but then you blushed like crazy when you looked at him on Tuesday. Which confirmed that you were crushing on Lando too, and made me win fifty bucks,” Stephanie adds. She is sulking a bit, Oscar notices.

“After the meeting we bet on who would ask the other first,” Charlotte continues. “Stephanie was all ‘Lando is the bold one’, while I expected Lando to keep quiet. I knew you would eventually crack, Oscar.”

“And now I lose the fifty bucks I won and have to add in another fifty bucks…” Stephanie complains.

The two drivers laugh. The idea that their PR manager bet on them is really funny to think about.

“But this is good. Congratulations on becoming boyfriends and adopting a son. Is that official already?” Charlotte speaks up.

“Thank you,” Lando replies. “We will be making it official this afternoon. We have an appointment at the adoption firm.”

“Oh wow, it’s getting real,” Stephanie says.

Oscar grimaces. “Which is definitely not still terrifying…” Lando rubs his hand up and down his back, comforting him.

Charlotte gives him a kind smile. “You are doing so well. Luka couldn’t have gotten better parents than the two of you.”

It's so nice to hear his PR manager say that. She is the one who will have to implement a plan for how to deal with the public if their relationship gets revealed. And she isn’t mad or frustrated. She is excited about it, cheering them on. Stephanie is reacting the exact same. It’s the support they need.

Oscar lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Are you two ready to talk business? I would love to show you how the public has been reacting to Luka and the two of you being his dads,” Lando’s PR manager asks.

The Australian nods. He squeezes Lando’s arm as the older man lets go of him, and then sets Luka down on the floor.

“Look, Luka, Charlotte got you colored pencils. You can go draw if you want to,” the younger driver says. Luka looks up at him and then at the pencils.

The ladies give him space, opening a path to the head of the table where the pencils are laid out.

Stephanie and Charlotte settle down on one side of the table, taking the armchairs.

Lando and Oscar sit together on the couch on the other side, not minding the closeness. At all.

The Brit sits the closest to Luka and leans towards him. The Brit grabs the orange pencil. “Hey look. This pencil is the color of our race cars.”

Lando is a genius, Oscar thinks. Because it’s the perfect hidden encouragement for Luka to take the pencil from the Brit’s hand and start drawing.

With Luka’s focus elsewhere, Stephanie starts the meeting by telling them all about how positive the fans are online. Luka is being received very well by their fans. There is indeed speculation going on about his and Lando’s relationship. But Stephanie thinks it will only make things easier when they do decide to come out to the public.

They discuss what to say and do if the truth comes out by accident. And also how to reply to questions about their relationship before then. Charlotte and Stephanie have formed a plan. It also involves less LGBTQ+ friendly countries and what they should or shouldn’t do.

“What if our relationship gets revealed and those countries decide to not let us race?” Oscar asks.

Stephanie turns up her nose at that. “Huh, well they can expect to be sued by us. The FIA and the organization of Formula One as well. They are boasting about ‘inclusion’ and pride month, so if they even try to exclude you two there will be consequences for them…”

“We know more teams would join in too. There have been discussions about it between teams before. I was there,” Charlotte says.

“Boycotting those races could be possible if they don’t want to listen,” Stephanie adds.

Oscar thinks of how Charles and Max promised to join if it would come to a boycott. “We do have some drivers on our side for that already,” he tells them.

“Max and Charles, right?” Charlotte drops the bomb. Lando flinches. Oscar gapes at them.

The Brit starts fidgeting with his sweater. “How do you two know that? Please don’t tell me there are photos of our beach day circulating the internet…”

“Oh, no, you’re good,” Stephanie tells them. “We have a pact with the RedBull and Mercedes PR managers. Some other teams as well. If something happens where we might need other drivers’ or team’s help, we share it in the group. There is a sighed NDA that protects everyone.”

“Max’ PR manager told us Max might be dating a fellow driver. We already have a plan in place in case that story comes out. If you two are okay with it, we can add your relationship to the plan as well?” Charlotte says.

“How do you know that Charles…” Oscar asks.

Charlotte gives him a deadpan look. “Really Oscar… Max and Charles have been all over each other since 2022… I wasn’t born yesterday.”

“And there are more things going on with your fellow drivers that we cannot disclose without their permission, but we knew you two would be willing to help out incase anything ever gets leaked. We know they would do the same for you,” Stephanie finishes.

“That’s… good to know,” Lando says. “It does make it less daunting.”

“I would still like to avoid revealing anything for the rest of this season at least. Lando has the possibility to win the championship. There’s the constructors championship. Figuring out how to take care of Luka while we are busy is already going to be a challenge. I don’t know if I can handle the stress of being outed as well,” Oscar tells them sincerely.

Lando nods. “I’m with Oscar. We have a lot to deal with. The media is already scrutinizing any move I make because I’m getting closer to Max points wise. For both our sanity, let’s keep it quiet for as long as possible.” He sounds slightly bothered.

Oscar can see the sudden nervousness in Lando’s body language. If the Brit had had a good night sleep, it wouldn’t have even been visible.

As the two PR Manager talk about plans and ways to hide it for now, the younger driver drapes his arm over the backrest of the couch. He rests his underarm against Lando’s shoulder. He finds he can reach the back of Lando’s neck with his fingers. Oscar absentmindedly starts playing with the baby hairs at the back of the Brit’s head as he listens to the conversation.

In the corner of his eye he can see the nervousness melt away from Lando.

Maybe the reason why Lando can read Oscar like an open book is because the Brit hides how stressed he can be as well. The angry and emotional Lando he sometimes sees in the paddock after a bad race might actually be a result of him feeling overwhelmed or nervous.

Oscar realizes he has learned a lot about his boyfriend last night. The Brit will focus on helping others when something stressful occurs. But that doesn’t mean he is indifferent to what happens to himself. Oscar tends to freeze when feelings are high, while Lando fights by showing his emotions.

The Australian silently promises Lando to keep a better eye on him.

Not that the Brit knows it. All he gets from Oscar is a little squeeze to the back of him neck.

The meeting thankfully doesn’t last much longer.

The focus returns to Luka, who has been silently drawing for a while now.

“What did you draw, Luka?” Stephanie asks the kid kindly. The toddler flinches and looks up at her, but when he sees the kind smile on her face, he relaxes.

“It’s papa and daddy and me and the race car,” Luka explains, pointing at each figure.

Oscar looks over to the paper and has to hold onto Lando for mental support. Because Luka drew their little family and it’s so sweet Oscar can feel tears gather in his eyes.

“Oh, that’s so nice of you! It looks really good!” Lando says with a wobbly voice. The Brit is feeling it too.

Luka’s drawing shows three vague figures. Two tall ones with a small one in the middle. The tall one on the left has black swirls on top of his head. The one on the right has brown waves on his head. The little figure in the middle has brown floppy hair as well, depicting Luka. A smile has been drawn on all their faces.

The three figures have been connected with lines. Oscar realizes it means they are holding hands, like the three of them did in real life barely an hour ago.

The blob of orange underneath the trio represents the Formula 1 car. It’s boxy and Oscar can barely make out which side is the back and which side it’s the front.

“That’s going on the fridge tonight,” Oscar says fondly.

Lando whines. “We don’t have fridge magnets…”

“Tape, we’ll use tape. We bought tape for Luka during our shopping trip,” the Australian rambles.

Lando swallows and nods.

When Oscar looks up at Charlotte and Stephanie, his own PR manager is leaning over Lando’s one to have a peek at the drawing. Stephanie is actively melting into a puddle. “That’s so cute, oh my god…” Charlotte says softly.

If he hadn’t already, Luka had won them over for sure now.

Lando gets on his knees next to Luka and hugs him tightly. The kid giggles. “You like it?” the toddler asks, looking at his papa first, and then at his dad.

“We love it!” Oscar tells him with the biggest smile. Moving from the couch to give Luka a hug as well.

They all need a moment to calm down after that.

They were planning to go eat lunch together at the cafeteria, since it’s almost noon, but the five of them stay in the meeting room for longer. Stephanie finally gets Luka to chat with her for a bit.

He seems to trust Charlotte as well.

Lando shares that he only has meetings without Oscar after lunch. When the Australian checks his own schedule, he finds out that it’s true.

“What if you take Luka with you to the first meeting and then we switch at 2PM,” Lando suggests.

Oscar hums. “That could work. But he would have to sit with me for a couple of very boring meetings…”

Lando grimaces. “Yeah, same for me…”

“If I may,” Charlotte interrupts. “I could give him a tour of the building after lunch, if you let me of course. Stephanie has some time to watch him as well. And maybe Jon could take over later? You mentioned that he would probably like to help.”

Oscar takes a deep breath. “That sounds really nice in theory, but Luka has trouble trusting people. Yesterday went really well with Max and Charles. We don’t want him to freak out… I’m afraid it might reverse the progress we’ve made.”

Lando sighs. “But we also don’t want him to be bored all day…”

Stephanie speaks up. “How about this; we try it and see if Luka likes it. If he freaks out, we bring him to one of you immediately. We will keep you up to date with where he is in the building so you can stop by as much as you want in between meetings.”

Oscar thinks about it. He feels like it’s a dilemma. Again. He has had quite some dilemmas to deal with this week.

Lando is looking at the Australian. Waiting patiently. Oscar looks him in the eye. Green meeting brown.

“What do you think, Lan?”

The Brit shrugs. “We could try. I think it’s better than having him be bored all day. He might not want to come with us tomorrow…”

Oscar grimaces. “Okay yeah, let’s try it…”

He catches the toddlers attention. “Luka? We are going to eat lunch soon, and after that papa and I only have very boring meetings. Stephanie and Charlotte would love to show you all the cool things at the office. Is it okay if you go with them?”

“Dad and I will come see you as much as we can. And we will pick you up later. Stephanie knows all the cool car facts, she would love to tell you,” Lando adds.

“We could stop by the garage,” Stephanie agrees with a smile.

Luka looks down and fidgets with his neon hoodie. “Promise you come back?” the kid asks.

Oscar’s heart shatters. Lando’s breath hitches.

“Always, Luuk, we will always come back,” the Australian says.

Lando points at the drawing Luka made. “That’s us, forever. We will never leave you,” the Brit tells him.

The serious look on both their faces has Luka believing them. He gives them a serious nod.

Oscar wants to strangle the kid’s mum. Shake sense into her.

“Okay, I will go with Lotte and Stephie,” Luka says.

Chapter Text

After everyone has calmed down, they walk to the cafeteria together. Oscar desperately wants to hold Lando’s hand after what just happened, but he can’t with the eyes that are on them.

So he wraps his arms tighter around their son, pressing a kiss to the kid’s forehead.

“What do you want to eat, Osc,” Lando asks as he grabs a tray and enters the line. Oscar walks after him and looks over his shoulder to see today’s options.

“The pasta looks nice. I think it would be Kim approved as well,” the Australian tells him. Lando nods and gets the same for Luka. The Brit himself picks something with rice. The kitchen staff gingerly prepares their order.

A tray full of food later, they wait for Stephanie and Charlotte, and then make their way to an empty table. Oscar sets Luka down in a chair. The kid looks around him. It’s quite busy. Most of the McLaren employees take their lunch break around this time.

Some eat at their desk, but it’s good for team bonding to eat together. It’s encouraged to do so at least once a week.

Luka doesn’t look scared. Just a bit wary. But when Oscar sits down next to him, that falls away as well. The Australian sets Luka’s plate in front of him.

“Ah shoot,” Lando speaks up. “I forgot cutlery…”

Before Oscar can even say anything, the Brit is already walking back.

“So, what did you all do during your break?” Charlotte asks.

It's Luka that takes it upon himself to tell her. “We went to the mall. Osca and Lano bought me a racetrack! And cool shoes. And then we went here. Hmmm. Then we went to the playground. And I met my friend Josh there, it was fun.”

Oscar smiles at him. “Yesterday we went to the beach,” the Australian says after Luka is done talking. It does start another toddler ramble, though. “Yes! I played sharky with Max and Chals and we built a super duper big sandcastle.”

“Wow! That sounds awesome, Luka,” Stephanie says. Charlotte giggles.

Oscar is distracted from the conversation by two big hands coming to rest on his shoulders. There’s a pile of cutlery on the table that Oscar didn’t even notice, too focused on Luka’s epic story telling.

The weight is familiar and comforting. Something Oscar desperately needed. Lando squeezes the muscles between his shoulder and neck. Rubbing at the skin though Oscar’s shirt.

Oscar loves it. And he hates that he has to softly push Lando towards the chair on his other side. The Brit is walking a fine line between acting friendly and boyfriendy… The Australian notices some looks in their direction.

Lando obeys the small push. He squeezes one more time and then moves away to sit in the unoccupied chair. The Brit gives Luka and Oscar their cutlery and then starts digging into his own food.

Oscar smiles when the older driver places his leg in such a way it presses against Oscar’s. The Australian pushes back softly. He can see the smile form on Lando’s face and has to look away.

Luka eats his pasta without problem. Stephanie compliments him on knowing how to use a fork already.

“I was thinking,” Charlotte starts when most of her food is gone, “it might be smart to make a group chat with the people who know, and volunteered to help out with Luka.”

Oscar puts down his fork. “That’s a great idea.” He grabs his phone and starts compiling a group chat.

Three phones chime and buzz in sync. Lando snorts at the sound.

The Australian turns to him. “I don’t have Jon’s number, but you have admin rights. If you want, you can add him,” he tells him.

Lando smiles at him. “Thank you, I will.”

Stephanie is typing away on her phone. Oscar sees the name of the group chat change to “Luka’s Daycare Squad”.

The Australian giggles at the name. Lando makes a questioning noise. Oscar shows him his phone screen and the name of the group chat on it.

The Brit laughs. “Aww, that’s cute!”

Stephanie flips her hair over her shoulder with a self-satisfied look. Charlotte giggles at her colleague.

“We will keep you two updated where we are,” Stephanie says. “Mind letting us know if you change locations? That way we can find you if Luka needs one of you.”

Lando speaks up. “Yes, of course. I think we both would like to check up on him every once in a while.” Oscar nods, agreeing with his boyfriend.

“You two are adorable,” Charlotte comments offhandedly.

Oscar looks at Lando and can’t help the blush that spreads over his cheeks. The Brit grins at him, teeth on display.

~~~^~~~

Luka munches on his tasty pasta as the grown-ups are talking to each other. Lano and Osca said that they will be busy with boring stuff after lunch. He hopes they are hungry and eat a lot so lunch is long, and he can stay with them for longer.

He isn’t scared of Lotte and Stephie, no way!

But they are new, and Lotte looks a bit like mum. She doesn’t act like her though. Osca’s friend is more smiley. Her laugh is funny too.

Stephie has a lot of energy. She is all bouncy. Lano’s friend is a bit overwhelming here and there. But she seems to mean well. She asked him about the drawing and was very nice about it.

Oh! The drawing! Papa and daddy were so happy about it. Their voices got all wavery again. Luka might want to become a drawer when he grows up if people are so amazed by his art.

A drawer, maybe. Is it called a drawer? Someone who draws. Or drive the coolest cars like his dads. Maybe he can do both at the same time?

He thinks about it as he grabs his apple juice and drinks some.

Apple juice is his favorite! Together with the squishy juice packets Osca and Lano gave him at the racetrack. Luka wonders when they go to the racetrack again. That was fun!

Watching the yellow cars shoot by. Penelope was cheering for the dark blue ones. He was nervous to be away from the adults who found him, but watching the race was so cool it made him forget all about it.

And then Osca got a trophy, and he looked like a superhero. Luka wants to see it again. And this time be close to daddy and papa so he can cheer for them and give them hugs.

Osca said they would be going racing soon again. Next week even. Daddy said so when Chals and Max had to leave.

Does that mean going to the racetrack again? Luka will have to ask his parents soon.

Speaking of Osca, the tall man puts down his fork and when Luka looks at his daddy’s plate, he sees it is empty.

Aw…

Lano is scraping his spoon through his bowl as well, gathering the last rice in one spot.

Luka doesn’t want them to be done eating, it means they will leave.

But at the same time Stephie said she would show him the garage, which probably means cool cars, like in the garage at home.

And Osca and Lano both said they would come back. They promised. Lano said they are like in the drawing, forever. That means for a REALLY long time.

Maybe today is the same as when he went to play in the playground alone and met Josh. Maybe he will meet more cool people today.

He's nervous…

And he doesn’t know what he wants…

Because the first talk was very boring. If Lano didn’t show him how to tie his shows, he would have died of boredom…

The one with Stephie and Lotte wasn’t so bad. It was nice to draw. He didn’t have to listen, which was nice.

He doesn’t want more boring talks, but he also doesn’t want to leave his dads.

Lotte and Stephie seem nice though… And they might bring him back to Osca and Lano when he needs them. They are friends with them.

Okay.

Luka will try to go with the two ladies and see if it’s fun.

If not, he will cry for his papa and daddy as loud as he can. Just like last night.

Lano and Osca ran to him immediately. The held him through the scary storm. Hugging him, rubbing his back. The cuddles made him feel safe. And then he fell asleep in their bed. He has never slept in a big bed before. But Lano and Osca let him.

Papa and daddy are the best.

He wants to trust they come back. They have done what they promised, all week. They haven’t lied to him.

But he trusted mum to come back too. And she didn’t.

He knows Osca and Lano are different, but a small part of him still fears them leaving.

He gets startled from his thoughts by a hand combing through his hair.

“Are you okay, Luka?” daddy asks. His friendly brown eyes are frowning.

Luka nods.

Lano leans forwards, looking around Osca. “If you need us, you can ask Stephanie or Charlotte and they will take you to us, alright? They have our phone numbers.”

“We won’t be away for long, and we will stop by as much as we can,” Osca adds.

“Okay,” Luka says with another serious nods.

More pats through his hair. Daddy and papa smile at him.

“We have to go now. It will be alright, we will be right there if you need us,” Osca says.

“We will still be in this same building. Think of it as if you’re playing in your room at home. We’re not far, just out of sight,” Lano explains as he stands up.

That helps, Luka thinks.

Osca stands up as well. Luka is standing with them before he knows it.

Daddy pats his head and crouches down. “We will see you later,” the grown up says. And then Luka is wrapped into a hug. Luka thinks Osca will miss him too.

When the taller man lets go and moves away with a soft smile, Lano takes his place. Luka’s hair gets ruffled by a large hand. His papa is smiling at him. He is wrapped into another hug and gets a kiss on his cheek.

“Have fun, little man,” Lano says as he lets go.

Yeah, he will be having fun, probably. But as he watches the two of them go and waves at them when they wave at him, he feels fear.

He sees Lano wrap an arm over Osca’s shoulder, ruffling his hair, as they walk out of the room.

And then they are gone.

Luka is still standing next to the table. He wants to run after them, very badly.

“Luka?” Stephie says. “Want to know a secret?”

Luka tears his eyes away from the door his papa and dad just walked through.

He doesn’t reply, he stares at her and waits.

“You can’t tell your dads, but the kitchen serves ice cream. Would you like some?” Stephie tells him with a kind smile.

Luka nods.

“What flavor do you like the most?” Lotte asks.

Luka thinks about it. “Strawberry.” Like the donut he had at the mall on Monday.

“Oh! Strawberry is my favorite too!” Stephie says excitedly.

“Want to come with us to the kitchen? Rebecca hides the ice cream in the back,” Lotte says.

Luka nods and makes a thumbs up, like Osca does when he doesn’t want to talk.

The two ladies stand next to each other waiting for Luka to join them. But it’s quite a big room and there are a lot of new people.

He is frozen until Lotte holds out her hand. Luka looks at it, and then at her. The smile on her face is kind and patient.

Lotte is Osca’s friend, and Lano’s as well because of that. She gave him the car, she helps Osca. Even though she has hair like his mum, he thinks he can trust her.

He grabs hold of her hand.

Her hand is softer than Osca’s or Lano’s, and smaller too. He thinks of Kelly, Penelope’s mom. He is suddenly happy Lotte didn’t pick him up. It would be too much the same as the last time Osca and Lano had to leave.

“Let’s go find the ice cream,” Lotte says, pulling him out of his thoughts.

They walk through the cafeteria. People look at them, but it’s all with friendly and curious looks.

When they reach the counter, Lotte walks right through the little doors, entering the kitchen without warning.

Is that allowed?

There’s a lady in the kitchen. She looks older than Stephie and Lotte. “Hey Rebecca!”

The lady with curly gray hair turns around. “Charlotte, hello,” Rebecca greets them. “And Stephanie. You two brought a guest, I see?”

“This is Luka,” Stephie tells her.

Before Lano’s friend can explain further. Rebecca fills in the gaps. “Oh! I’ve heard about you. Nice to meet you, Luka!” She holds out her hand. Luka shakes it politely, like he has seen Osca and Lano do when they meet people.

“God, he looks a bit like them, doesn’t he?” the older lady mumbles to Lotte.

“I know right, it’s a cute coincidence, don’t you think?” Lotte replies with a smile. Luka wonders what’s going on.

Rebecca nods before turning her attention back to Luka. “So! This is my kitchen, welcome, new friend!” she says as she points around her. Luka looks around. There are several counters, stoves, and sinks.

“Damien and Tatiana are having their lunch break now, but you can usually find them here as well. Damien makes the best coffee and hot chocolate. And Tatiana’s cookies are to die for. You have to try them some time,” the lady rambles. Luka doesn’t know if he can remember all of the information later.

“But let me guess, you are here for the ice cream?” Rebecca says.

Luka nods. “Lotte said it was a secret…”

Charlotte laughs. “You have to keep it a secret from your dads, they will want ice cream too the next time, especially Lando, but they can’t have it.”

“They follow a diet, specially made for them so they are as healthy as they can be to race,” Rebecca explains.

Luka nods, understanding.

Rebecca smiles and then turns away from them to open the freezer. “What flavor?”

“Strawberry,” Stephie says.

“For all three of you?”

“Yes please,” Lano’s friend replies.

Luka watches a Rebecca takes a tub out of the freezes and scoops ice cream into three bowls.

“Luka? Can I put you on the counter?” Lotte asks him.

He looks at her. Thinks about it. And then nods.

Lotte gently picks him up under his armpits and lifts him. She carefully sets him down so his feet dangle over the edge.

Rebecca gives him one of the bowls and a spoon. He scoops some ice cream on his spoon and tastes it.

It's delicious! It tastes like real strawberries and yogurt.

“We make the ice cream ourselves,” Rebecca says proudly.

“Which is why it is the absolute best!” Stephie exclaims, eating her ice cream rapidly. Luka giggles at how fast she scoops up the next bite.

Luka wiggles his feet. This is fun!

The ice cream is good and the people he meets are nice.

They eat the ice cream together while they chat about all sorts of things. Rebecca asks him about what food he likes and what his dads have been feeding him the past couple of days. Luka tries to explain the egg-bread-tomato food Osca made the day before yesterday.

Rebecca gives him a proud look when she gets what he means. “You are no picky eater, huh?”

Luka shakes his head. “But broccoli is very not tasty.”

Rebecca nods seriously, while Stephie and Lotte giggle.

“I don’t like broccoli either, Luka,” Stephie confesses with a disgusted face.

Luka thinks he can be friends with her. She likes strawberry ice cream the most and hates broccoli just like him.

The girls all share their likes and dislikes for foods, until all the ice cream is gone.

“Want to go to the garage to see all the cool sports cars?” Lotte asks him.

Luka nods excitedly.

Rebecca takes his empty bowl with a smile. Luka thanks her for the ice cream.

“No problem! You are always welcome in my kitchen, Luka. For secret ice cream or to have a chat,” the older lady tells him. He beams at her. That’s really nice of her to say. He really wants to try the hot chocolate that Damien guy makes. Maybe he will ask for it one day.

Lotte puts him back on the floor, but only after politely asking.

When they exit the kitchen, the cafeteria is way quieter that before. It’s nice.

He follows Lotte and Stephie downstairs through a big glass door. That’s when he sees it. Many, many brightly colored sports cars.

“Woah!” Luka can’t help but say.

He runs away from the two ladies to the super cool orange car that’s closest to them.

“Oh, Luka-” Lotte starts, she doesn’t finish her sentence when he stops right in front of it and puts his hands in his hoodie pocket.

No touching, only looking. Lano told him when he showed all the cars in the garage before they drove in the Spider together.

The front has a flat scoop on the underside and two sets of headlights. Lots of gaps Luka can look through. Lano explained the gaps were for air… flow? They make the car more sticky. Luka doesn’t know what that last part means, but it sounds funny.

He walks around it. The door has a window in it. Which is weird, because why would you want other people to see your feet? His light up shoes would be visible though, he thinks that is kind of cool indeed.

The back of the car has not one, not two, but three exhausts in a little triangle and a super big wing. So big it might fly away if it goes fast enough, Luka thinks.

“That’s the McLaren Senna,” Stephie explains. She tells him a couple of facts with quite a lot of numbers he will probably forget. But it’s cool to hear how fast it can go.

“Want to sit in the driver seat?” Lotte says.

He can?

Luka nods excitedly.

Stephie opens the door. Instead of going to the side, it opens upwards.

He looks at the inside first, before looking back at Stephie. She smiles at him. “You can have a seat if you want.”

He gets in carefully, and sits down in the chair. He can’t look over the steering wheel, but that’s okay. He has a lot to look at inside the car.

All the buttons and screens. The steering wheel is cool as well. He dares to put his hands on it.

“Luka? Can you look here?” Stephie asks quietly. He looks at her and sees that she is holding a phone.

“Aw that’s cute…” Lotte says over her shoulder.

Luka gives them a questioning look. “I took a picture of you,” Stephie says as she shows him the screen. “I think you dads will love seeing you have fun. I will send it to them.”

“Put it in the group chat please,” Lotte tells her. Stephie nods.

Luka isn’t used to people wanting to take photos of him, but it has happened a lot since he met Osca and Lano. He doesn’t mind, as long as it isn’t all the time.

After he is done looking at the Senna, Stephie shows him a couple more cars. There are some old race cars as well.

It's while he is looking at these cars and listening to Stephie explain, that Lano shows up.

“Papa!” Luka squeals when he spots him. He immediately runs towards him.

“Haha! Hey kiddo, how are you doing?” Lano says as he picks him up.

“Good! Stephie and Lotte are showing me all the cool cars!” Luka says excitedly. He wraps his arms around papa’s neck and squeezes. He snuggles against him, rubbing their cheeks together.

“Are you having fun?” Lano asks softly.

“Yeah,” he replies truthfully.

“Glad to hear, little man…”

Luka shows him a beaming smile. Lano smiles back at him. He is happy to see papa.

“I have to go to another meeting sadly, but I wanted to see if you were okay first,” Lano explains.

Luka nods, understanding. “I’m okay.”

“Good,” papa says. He ruffles his hair with his big hand. It always makes Luka feel safe when he does that.

Luka is set down on the floor. Lano crouches down and rubs Luka’s cheeks with both hands.

“I will see you later, alright? I will be right around the corner if you need me,” papa says.

“Okay! Byebye!” Luka tells him as papa stands up again. Lano smiles kindly at him and waves before walking away again.

Luka grins. Papa is right here, and daddy probably is too. He can have fun with Stephie and Lotte and still be close to his parents. It makes him very happy.

They look at a couple more cars and then Stephie says she has to go upstairs to go chat with someone. Lotte tells her they can all go together. While Stephie is busy, Lotte can give him a tour through the different offices.

And that’s what they do. They all go upstairs. Stephie splits up with them, but promises she will meet up with them again later.

Lotte walks him through all the office sections, explaining what work they do where. He sees Andrea, Lano’s and Osca’s… boss? The man waves at him when he sees him, so he waves back politely.

Some of the people working at their desk seem very excited to meet Luka. He carefully holds his hand out to each of them. He has learned from watching his dads that it is something you do when you first say hi to someone.

The people he meets always make a happy sound and then shake it. Luka doesn’t understand why it makes them so happy, but it makes it way less scary to do.

It's how he meets several cool people in the office. Ben shows him pictures of his dogs. Emile has cool dice. Sophie can make paper boats and a bird like thingies. Lola collects pretty rocks.

Luka loves it when people show him things they like. Their smile makes him smile. Everyone is super nice as well.

When Lotte and he walk to the next office section, he hears a very familiar voice.

There’s a door open in the hallway and when they walk by, he can look in. Only to see Osca! He freezes at the door opening. Daddy is busy talking with two other people. One of them is writing something on a board.

He wants to say hi to daddy, who hasn’t seen him yet. But he doesn’t dare to interrupt them. Lotte makes the choice for him, by knocking on the door frame.

Osca perks up and looks over. “Sorry to interrupt,” Lotte starts. But she can’t finish he sentence as daddy jumps up from his seat. “Luka! Hi sweetheart!” his dad says as he walks towards him.

Luka runs up to him. Osca catches him and hoists him up, hugging him close to his chest. “How are you?” daddy asks him. “Good! Everyone is super nice, and the cars are ultra cool!” Luka explains as he looks at Osca’s smiling face with his own grin.

“Oh, that’s amazing! Glad to hear, Luuk.”

“And I saw papa. Lano said hello. Did you see papa too?”

Osca shakes his head. Luka pouts at him. Osca love Lano, it’s not fair that he didn’t get to see him. It also means that Lano didn’t get to see Osca. Which is also unfair, as Lano loves Osca too.

Daddy giggles at the face Luka pulls. “It’s okay, I will see him later.”

His turns towards the other two men in the room. Both of them are wearing a weird expression, one that says they know something they shouldn’t. Osca’s cheeks turn pink.

“Uhm, Tom, Kim, meet Luka,” daddy says shyly.

“Luka! Hello, nice to finally meet you,” the tall man with very short hair says. “I’m Tom, Oscar’s race engineer. I talk in his ear when he is racing.”

“Nice to meet you,” Luka says.

“So polite!” the other man, the one with the glasses, starts. “My name is Kim. I’m Oscar’s personal trainer. I make sure he stays healthy.”

“He does the same for me as what Jon does for Lando,” Osca explains to him. Luka nods. He doesn’t fully understand it, but these are people daddy works with a lot. He might understand better later.

“Nice to meet you too, Kim,” Luka says. He then snuggles into Osca’s arms, hiding his face in his dad’s neck. Osca chuckles.

“I’m almost done with this meeting, Luka, but then I have another one… Is there something else Charlotte can show you, so you have something fun to do instead?” daddy tells him.

“We didn’t go to the engineering side of the office yet. They might like to share some fun racing facts with him,” Lotte says.

“Oh yeah, they love to ramble on about anything,” Tom speaks up. “Just ask a question and they will never stop talking.”

“Lovely,” Lotte comments.

Osca laughs. “Luka likes car talk, right?”

Luka nods excitedly.

“Well… I guess we’re going there then…” Lotte says.

Daddy hugs Luka tighter for a second and then carefully sets him down. “I will be close by, alright?”

“Just like Lano,” Luka says with a nod.

“Just like Lando,” Osca echoes with a smile.

“Okay, see you soon?”

“Yes, I will see you soon, Luka.” Osca squeezes his shoulder and pats the top of his head.

Luka beams at him before saying goodbye. He walks through the door without looking back, knowing Osca will be right there when he needs him.

It's time for more adventure. Luka can’t wait.

~~~^~~~

Chapter Text

~~~^~~~

Luka walks after Lotte through the hallway. He is still smiling at how he saw both Lano and Osca without searching for them.

He is having a great time. This is fun!

Lotte seems a bit annoyed though, he wonders why. Did he do anything wrong? He fidgets with his hoodie strings. She would tell him, right? Mum always did.

He is thinking about asking her when Stephie walks towards them.

“Hey you two! I’m done and ready to hang out again,” Lano’s friend says.

“Great! Because I brought up the bright idea to go to the engineering department…” Lotte grumbles.

Stephie laughs. “I love how much you dislike the engineering department.”

Lotte throws her hands in the air. “They never stop talking! Don’t get me wrong, they are great people. But they keep yapping about the tiniest details and I can never follow along.”

Stephie giggles again. “If you want, I can take Luka there by myself and you can finish some work instead?”

“Oh please, I always stand there spacing out for ages, listening to them explain things I don’t understand. It makes me feel awkward every time…” Lotte begs her.

So that’s why Lotte seemed annoyed. Luka is glad it wasn’t his fault.

Osca’s friend turns to him. “Is that okay for you too, Luka? I will see you later, I promise.”

Luka is a bit surprised that she is asking him too. He nods.

Lotte crouches down in front of him. “I had a lot of fun! Thanks for coming with me today,” she says with a kind smile.

Luka smiles back. “Thank you too!” he says.

Her smile turns into a grin. “Catch you later, Luka,” she says as she stands up.

“Bye Steph.”

“Bye ‘Lotte.”

Stephie waves at her as she walks off. Luka follows her example.

“Ready to go?” Stephie asks him once Lotte is out of view.

Luka nods. When Stephie holds out her hand, he takes it.

“So, our lovely engineers are a bit talkative. Not about the basic things. Nono, they won’t talk about the weather. Or maybe they will, but only if it’s in connection with cars and racing. They will love to show you EVERYTHING. If it becomes a bit too much, please let me know…” she explains.

“Okay,” Luka says. Now he is getting curious.

There’s an open door they walk through. It’s a sudden change. He hears lots of people talk. On his right he sees three people draw on a board together. There are desks in the middle of the room, but also to the sides. The ones on the side have big fluffy walls around them.

It's busy. A lot of people are typing on the computer with a headset on.

When Luka and Stephie walk in, a lot of people look up from what they are doing.

“The child is here.” “Oh my god we get to meet him.” “Do you think he likes car facts?” “Dave, I bet he loves them.” “Yes!” “Shhhh!” “Don’t get too excited guys.” “He’s so tiny!” “Aw, look at the little LN4 hoodie.” “He looks like Oscar.” “Does he?” “I think he looks more like Lando.” “Bull-” “Shh!” “Please, behave you dumba- dummies.” “Agreeing with Laura on this.” “Stop talking so loudly, you might scare him away!” “I’m not getting involved in this.” “You never get involved in anything, Louis, you cavemen.” “Will you all shut up before he decides to leave and never come back?”

There’s a lot of chatting going on. Luka can’t follow what is happening. He hides a bit behind Stephie.

Stephie laughs. “Hey friends, meet Luka. He was wondering what you all do in here,” she says. The chatter quiets down a bit.

There’s a lot of looks thrown around. Until a blond man stands up from his seat. “Hello Luka, nice to meet you,” he says with a little wave. “I’m Bart, one of Lando’s race engineers.”

Normally Luka would stick out his hand so they can have a handshake, but he is feeling watched and he’s frozen. “Hello,” he says instead. Replying with his own little wave.

“Awww.” “Love him already.” “So polite!” “What a cutie…” “Guys stop…” “Behave.”

Bart clears his throat and the chatter dies down. “Uhm, welcome to the engineering department. We are all very excited to meet you.” He pauses and glares at a some people. “Some of us a bit TOO excited.”

The people he glared at scramble and return to their work. Luka thinks it’s a bit funny.

Bart comes to stand in front of Luka. “Here we design and invent things for the McLaren cars. For the sports cars you may have seen downstairs and the race cars your parents drive,” the man explains.

“For example,” Bart points at the group writing on the board, “my colleagues over there are working on a new wing for the race car.”

Luka looks at where he is pointing at. Now that he looks better, he can sort of see the shape.

Bart points at another group of people. Luka looks. “The group over there is looking at the data from the last race. It will help them make the car even better.”

Bart walks to the other side of the room and beckons with his hand. Stephie walks after him and so does Luka.

“This is Dave. He’s on the design team for the next sports car,” he says.

“Hi Luka, nice to meet you!” the older man says. Luka smiles at him and shakes his hand when the man holds his hand out.

Dave immediately starts explaining what he is doing. “I’m working on the front of the car and the airflow that should help keep the engine cool and give the car more downforce.” He shows a 3D picture on his screen, turning it around to let Luka see the other sides.

Woah! That’s cool!

“He has also worked on the Senna,” Stephie mentions.

“Yeah together with the team in London. This new car has some similar features,” Dave says.

The man talks about all sorts of things that this new car will have. Luka listens with attention. He doesn’t understand everything, but he tries to follow as best as he can.

He even asks some questions. For example, Lano talked about air-flow before. Dave knows all about it when he asks him.

It fun! He is so focused on what Dave is telling him that he doesn’t even notice Bart rolling an extra chair to the desk for him. Once he realizes it’s for him, he hops on, only just tall enough to do so.

When he looks up a bit later, he sees that Stephie has gone to the other side of the room. He finds it doesn’t scare him. A new person stops by Dave’s desk and introduces herself as Laura. She chats with Dave shortly and then turns to Luka, showing him on her tablet what she is working on.

Dave has to go back to work, so Laura takes over and takes him to another group of desks. They take the chair with them. There he gets another lesson, this time about different type of materials that they use on the race cars and what they all can do.

It happens a couple more times; someone new comes over and shows him something cool.

That is until Bart comes up to him together with Stephie.

“Hey Luka, are you having fun?” the blond man asks him. Luka nods.

“Awesome! Stephanie and I have something else you might love. Want to see it?”

Luka tilts his head to the side, thinking. He then nods, deciding he is too curious to not go.

He waves goodbye to Louis, the man who was showing him something about… corner… speed? Luka didn’t get it, but the colorful lines on the screen looked like rollercoasters, and the man talked about them calmly.

He follows Bart and Stephie through a hallway. They enter a different room. It has some desks too, but there aren’t a lot of people. It’s way quieter than in the other room. On the side there are two racing sims.

One of them is exactly like the one at home, the other looks… strange…

“Lando and Oscar sometimes drive in these so we can collect data. I thought I could adjust one, so it fits you, Luka,” Bart says. Now that Luka looks better, he sees that the steering wheel and pedals are super close to the seat.

Bart is looking at him with an excited face. “Want to have a seat to see if it fits?”

Luka looks at him and then at Stephie. Stephie smiles at him. “Bart set this all up just for you. It will make him really happy if you try it,” she says when she sees his hesitation.

He looks at the two racing sims next to each other.

“Now papa and daddy can’t race each other… They might get sad,” Luka tells them. He fidgets with the strings on his hoodie.

Stephie laughs. “Ah yeah, they love racing each other, huh.”

Luka nods.

Bart smiles at him. “They are not usually here at the same time. I think they can share one. And if we need to have them race each other we can change it back, no problem.”

“I think Lando and Oscar would love to race YOU, Luka,” Stephie says.

All of those things might be true. But it still slightly bothers him.

“Luka, don’t you have a racing sim at home as well?” Stephie tries again. Luka nods. “Don’t your dads share that one as well?” she says, way quieter suddenly.

Oh, that’s true! “Papa said daddy can use it any time,” Luka remembers.

Stephie coughs. “Uh huh, yeah, exactly. It will be fine.”

Luka nods. He holds his hands out to Stephie.

“They live together?” he hears Bart whisper to Stephie as she puts Luka in the racing chair.

Stephie sighs. “Yes, but that’s a secret and should stay a secret for now.”

“My lips are sealed. God, it was time though. I’ve stopped keeping count of how many times Lando mentioned Oscar in completely unrelated conversations…” Bart says. The blond man bends down to adjust the pedals a bit more.

Luka grabs the steering wheel like he has seen the racers do at the race on the big screen.

“Okay Luka, let’s get you a nice track to drive. I’m thinking Silverstone,” Bart mumbles while he presses the buttons on the steering wheel.

He explains how the steering works and what pedal does what. And then starts up the race.

The screen changes and suddenly Luka is in a race car. Papa’s car! Luka can make out the number 4. He is sitting in papa’s car! That is super cool! Luka giggles.

“Now, if you push the gas padel you will go forward.”

Luka does what Bart says. And the car goes forward, FAST. Luka laughs. But then there’s a bend in the road. He steers through it. And goes too fast, hitting a wall. Oops.

Oh no! He crashed papa’s car! Is it broken now?!

Bart reaches over and presses a button. And then the car is back at the start. Oh.

“You can use that button to go back. Try letting go of the gas pedal in the corners, and you have to break if you go really fast, or you fly of the road.”

Luka tries. It works better this time. But he still hits a wall in the next corner.

“It’s okay!” Bart says. “It is difficult, it will take some more tries to get the hang of it. Just try again.”

Luka presses the button Bart showed him, and he is back at the start again. He does it again, and again, and again. And completely loses track of everything happening around him.

It takes a lot more tries, but eventually Luka sees the finish line. Bart and Stephie cheer when he goes over it. There are more cheers in the room. Luka startles and looks up from the screen he was so focused on. There are a lot of people watching.

Including Lano and Osca. “Daddy! Papa!” Luka exclaims. He beams at them. They both have the biggest smiles on their face.

“Your first clean lap! Keep going kiddo!” papa cheers. Luka looks back at the screen, having to steer away from a wall again. He laughs when papa ruffles his hair.

Luka drives another lap. When he crosses the finish line the little crowd cheers again.

“Lan- Lando, I NEED to show him the racing line,” Luka hears daddy say. “I’m itching to drive with him.”

Lano barks out a laugh. Luka looks up at his papa, who is standing behind his chair, leaning on the backrest with his arms.

“I’m not holding you back,” Lano tells him. He turns his attention back to Luka. “Is it okay if Oscar joins you?”

Luka nods excitedly.

Papa reaches over and pauses the game for him. Luka watches as daddy climbs into the other chair. The other screen turns on. Osca clicks some buttons on his own steering wheel, while Lano does the same on Luka’s.

And then the racetrack is visible in front of him again. This time with another orange car next to his. That’s daddy, he is racing with daddy!

“Okay Luka, try to follow what dad does as best as you can. He’s going to show you how to drive the track even faster,” papa tells him as he places his hands on his shoulders.

Osca drives off and Luka follows as best as he can. Daddy sometimes makes weird moves going to the left or right before a curve. Luka tries not to think too much and just repeats what Osca does.

Daddy sometimes goes a bit too fast, but he waits for Luka to catch up every time. It’s fun to drive with him. Luka giggles when he catches up again.

And then the finish line is there already. Huh? How did that happen?

Luka looks up in confusion. Lano is grinning down at him.

“It’s called the racing line, the fasted way to drive around the track. It might feel a bit weird at first, but it makes you take corners faster. You enter and exit corners a certain way. It’s uhm, difficult to describe,” papa tries to explain.

“You don’t have to follow it perfectly, but staying close to the racing line helps you flow better through the track,” Osca adds.

Luka nods, he sort of understands. “Can we go again?” he asks.

Chuckles sound through the room.

“Of course. Let’s go, sweetheart,” daddy says. He speeds up again. Luka follows with a smile on his face.

~~~^~~~

When Oscar is finally done with his meetings, the first thing he does is check his phone. He had seen the cute picture of Luka in the McLaren Senna and was cursing his entire being for not being able to leave the meeting. He wanted to be there and see Luka have fun with his own eyes.

Then Luka stopped by and told him Lando checked in on him some time ago. Oscar misses his boyfriend, not having seen him for hours after lunch.

His skin feels itchy, restless.

He doesn’t understand why the need to see his boyfriend is so severe. They used to go weeks without seeing each other, now he gets anxious when he hasn’t seen the Brit in an hour.

Is he… touch starved or something? Has one week of closeness made him addicted to Lando’s presence?

That’s embarrassing…

He checks the group chat. There are several new messages. Including a couple of pictures of Luka chilling with some engineers. And some guy named Bart has been added by Stephanie? What on earth is happening…

Tom and Kim, who Oscar added to the group right at the end of their meeting, are already chatting with Jon. The Australian is still scrolling through their conversation when he sees Lando start to type.

Lando:
Guys… Why is Bart in here?

Stephanie:
I may or not have fucked up…

Lando:
Steph… What did you do…

Charlotte:
Omg girl… what did you do

Stephanie:
I accidentally set Luka up to reveal you two are dating. Don’t worry, only Bart knows.

Bart:
Hi everyone! Happy to be part of the Luka Daycare Squad. He was hesitant to get into the racing sim I had adjusted for him.

He said, and I quote: “Now papa and daddy can’t race each other… They might get sad”.

Stephanie reminded him that you two share a sim at home as well.

I connected the dots pretty quickly after…

Congrats you two! Your secret is safe with me.

[picture of Luka in the racing sim]

Lando:
… I swear, Luka might kill me with his cuteness one day. Thanks Bart, welcome to the chat I guess

Jon:
Bart, that’s the cutest shit ever.

Tom:
Is the kid always this well behaved?

Oscar:
Always has been, always will be. We think.

Tom:
Huh, babysitting him is going to be walk in the park then! Can’t wait for my turn.

Lando:
Osc! You’re alive!

Oscar:
Alive and kicking. Where are you?

Lando:
Second floor, walking from the east wing to the engineering section.

Oscar:
Okay. Stay right there.

Lando:
Aight!

Stephanie:
Please only kiss each other in secluded spaces! You have my blessing.

Charlotte:
Steph, my dear colleague and friend...

Kim:
You have to agree with her though.

Tom:
I’m learning so much about you all and I’ve only been in this chat for an hour.

Bart:
Slightly starting to regret my decision to join.

Stephanie:
Oh, shut up Bart! I’m in the same room. I can literally see you are smiling at your phone.

Jon:
Agreeing with Stephanie on the secluded spaces part. Also, that’s a blatant lie Bart. You live for this sort of stuff… I know you do…

Oscar rolls his eyes at the banter going on in the chat and locks his screen. He finds the closest staircase and rushes up a flight.

Then to the left. Another hallway to the right. In the next hallway he finds Lando. The Brit is leaning against a wall, looking at his phone. His hair looks a bit wild, like he has been running his hand through it. Some curls going to wrong way.

A weight falls from Oscar’s shoulders when he takes in how his boyfriend rubs his eye.

“Hey,” he says softly, when he is close enough.

Lando looks up so quickly Oscar thinks he can hear his neck crack. “Oh thank god, you’re here.”

Oscar frowns. “What’s going on? Are you alright?” He wants to hug the older man so badly. He can feel it in his entire being. But they are in a hallway.

What he doesn’t expect is for Lando to grab him by the front of his shirt and drag him through a door. Bewildered, he lets himself be manhandled.

They enter a bathroom. An empty one. The Brit looks at the stalls to see all of them unlocked.

The second the door closes, Lando swings his arms around Oscar’s neck, pulling the Australian flush against him. Oscar immediately replies by wrapping his own arms around Lando’s waist.

Lando’s hair tickles Oscar’s face as he buries his face in the Australian’s neck. “What’s going on, Lan…” He sways them from side to side and kisses the Brit above his ear.

“I don’t know,” Lando whispers. “I just really missed you. Which is ridiculous, because it’s only been a couple of hours…” The last part comes out as a grumble, as if he is mad at himself.

“Me too, honey. I missed you too,” Oscar confesses as he buries his face in Lando’s curls.

“I don’t get it. I feel so stupid, and needy,” Lando says. There’s a slight whimper at the end of his sentence. Oscar’s anxiety spikes. “It’s okay,” he tells his boyfriend, and maybe himself.

He carefully lifts his head and uses one of his hands to grab Lando’s chin gently. It makes the Brit look up at him. Oscar can see his eyes are slightly wet, eyelashes clumping together. It makes his eyes look even greener.

He rubs his thumb over Lando’s cheek. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. You’re tired. Heck, we’re both sleep deprived after last night.”

Oscar has a realization. “We’ve been in a safe happy bubble together all week. It’s no wonder we’re missing each other after we’ve been glued together twenty-four seven for the past couple of days. Especially with how close we are growing.”

“Last night doesn’t help…” Lando mumbles softly.

Oscar sighs. The air moves the Brit’s dark curls. “No it doesn’t.” He presses a kiss to Lando’s cheek. The older man melts against him. Stress bleeding away from him.

Lando pecks him on the mouth when he tries to move away. Fuck it, Oscar thinks, they are in a secluded place anyway.

He leans back against the wall and pulls Lando even closer. He kisses him for real this time. The older man’s stubble scratches his skin, but Oscar could care less and deepens the kiss when Lando invites him.

Noses bump together, hands caress skin, long eyelashes graze against his cheek. He feels like he is drowning. He needed this. He needed this so badly.

When they separate for air, Oscar leans his forehead against Lando’s. The Brit is right, it feels stupid and needy. But god, does he crave it.

He nuzzles Lando’s nose with his own. It makes the older man smile. A much better expression than the one he was showing before.

Lando buries himself against Oscar’s chest. The Australian leans his head back against the wall. He closes his eyes and soaks in their embrace.

The older man chuckles. “If someone sees us walk out together it might be a bit hard to explain.”

Oscar giggles at the mental image. “Oh shit, yeah you’re right.”

“I’m suddenly very glad I didn’t accidentally pull you into the janitors closet a couple of doors down. People would have suspected far different things than innocent hugs and kisses.”

Oscar barks a laugh as his cheeks heat up.

“Let’s vow to never let it escalate further than this at the office,” the Australian says with slight embarrassment.

It's Lando’s turn to laugh and blush. “Agreed.”

They lean against each other for a short while longer. Then Lando untangles himself and creates some space between them. The Brit can’t help but peck Oscar’s lips one more time before he says: “Luka is probably waiting for us. Let’s go see out son.”

Oscar smiles at him. “I can’t wait to see his driving skills.” Lando grins back at him. “I bet he’s a quick learner.”

Lando steps away from him, but before he can open the door. Oscar calls him back. “Let me fix your hair first. Your curls are all messed up.”

The Brit stands dutifully still, bending his head down so the Australian can reach better. Oscar runs his finger through his hair and fixes the curl pattern, detangling some strands. Lando sighs at the feeling.

Once they are both looking acceptable and unsuspicious to the public eye, they sneak out of the bathroom and make their way to the engineering department.

They walk in together, with a respectable space between them.

The engineers are as curious as ever, looking up from their work to see who walked in.

“Your son is in the racing sim,” a guy with an aura of correctness tells them. He immediately goes back to his work.

The lady next to him grimaces. “Don’t mind Louis’ bluntness, the man hasn’t been socialized… But yes, Luka is in the other room,” she tells them. Oscar can see Louis roll his eyes.

The Australian smiles at the engineers kindly. Lando thanks them.

The two drivers enter the other room. There’s a small crowd formed around the racing sims. Lando takes the lead and shuffles through the people gathered there.

The moment the group realizes who the two guys that just arrived are, the crowd immediately makes way for them.

Oscar and Lando find Stephanie and Bart. They sidle up next to them. Their colleagues greet the two drivers with smug grins. “He hasn’t finished a lap yet, but he is stubborn,” Stephanie tells them. Oscar fondly huffs out a laugh and turns his attention to his son.

Luka is laser focused on the screen, trying to follow the road as well as he can. He doesn’t succeed and bumps into a wall. The car is damaged, it comes to a standstill. Without fussing or being mad about it, Luka presses the reset button and starts over.

The crowd watches on silently, not wanting to break the kid’s focus.

Lando gapes at their child. He then leans over to Oscar and whispers: “he is definitely your child. How the hell is he staying so calm…” The Australian smiles proudly at the Brit. He sneaks a peek at the reset counter in the corner of the screen.

Forty-one resets and Luka isn’t even squirming.

But apparently the one that Lando and Oscar join to watch is the golden lap. The lap that Luka worked so hard for. The Australian waits with bated breath, not daring to make any noise. The toddler turns corner after corner, skirting the track limits here and there, but never touching the wall.

The transmission is on automatic, but Luka’s drive is impressive, especially for a three year old. His determination to get where he wants to be is what’s most notable.

Lando grabs a hold of Oscar’s upper arm and squeezes, needing something to hold onto. The younger driver barely notices it, too fixated on the screen.

The finish line is only a couple of corners away and Oscar is almost praying for Luka to get through safely.

With laser focus and now practiced precision he makes it through. The finish line is in sight. Luka speeds up, seeing it as well.

The moment he crosses the line the crowd cheers loudly. Oscar and Lando with them. Stephanie lets out a squeal.

Luka startles and looks up. He looks around, taking in the crowd, and then his eyes fall on his parents.

His slightly fearful expression turns into a beaming smile. Oscar unconsciously replies with his own. It makes his cheeks hurt. He is so insanely proud of their kid.

“Daddy! Papa!” Luka exclaims.

“Your first clean lap! Keep going kiddo!” Lando cheers. He sounds absolutely elated. The Brit relieves his shaky grip on Oscar’s upper arm and walks up to the sim. He goes to stand behind it, right as Luka looks back at the screen.

The toddler has to steer away from the wall he was headed towards. He is able to stay inside the track limits. Lando chuckles at that and ruffles Luka’s hair. The kid laughs at the action, Oscar can see him lean into the touch.

They watch as Luka starts another lap. The Australian joins Lando behind the racing chair. The crowd makes space for them. The Brit folds him arms, setting them on top of the backrest. Oscar stands next to him as close as he dares to with an audience. Their elbows press against each other.

Luka drives another flawless lap, and Oscar starts feeling an itch. He wants to drive with Luka, show him the racing line that make Silverstone so much fun to drive. He looks at Lando, who is fully focused, watching Luka race with a proud smile.

Luka drives another clean lap, and everyone cheers again when he crosses the finish line. Oscar is already moving towards the other racing sim when he says: “Lan- Lando, I NEED to show him the racing line. I’m itching to drive with him.”

Lando barks out a laugh. Oscar looks back at him, feeling a blush spread over his face. The Brit is looking at him fondly, eyes twinkling.

“I’m not holding you back,” the Brit tells him, then turns his attention back to Luka. “Is it okay if Oscar joins you?”

Luka nods excitedly.

The Australian’s chest feels warm.

He doesn’t waste any more time and climbs into the sim, turning it on at the same time. He works together with Lando to sync the sims. He selects Silverstone and presses start.

The track shows up on his screen, with Lando’s car right beside him. When did he last race the Brit in this sim? It must have been ages; they haven’t done any sim racing together for a while. The excitement he feels tells him they should definitely race each other in the near future.

“Okay Luka, try to follow what dad does as best as you can. He’s going to show you how to drive the track even faster,” Lando says.

Right, he is showing Luka the racing line. Don’t go full Formula 1 driver on the poor kid…

Oscar presses the gas pedal and drives off, shifting gears when he sees in his mirrors that Luka is following him.

The Aussie drives the racing line diligently, way slower than usual, but Luka can’t keep up when he goes faster by accident. Whenever there’s too much of a gap between their cars, Oscar slows down. Luka giggles as he catches up again.

Luka follows him so well! Oscar is proud and incredibly happy, because he’s driving with his SON. When he sneaks a peek to the right, he sees the insane concentration on Luka’s face and the delight on Lando’s. Oscar’s cheeks hurt from smiling.

They cross the finish line together. The small crowd that has gathered cheers again. Lots of laughs and giggles sound through the room. The team is enjoying the show.

Oscar looks at Luka, who is looking up at Lando in confusion. The smitten look on the Brit’s face makes Oscar melt. He wants to hug them both, cuddle up with them in a corner somewhere. His little family.

“It’s called the racing line, the fasted way to drive around the track. It might feel a bit weird at first, but it makes you take corners faster. You enter and exit corners a certain way. It’s uhm, difficult to explain,” Lando tries to explain.

Oscar is shaken from his thoughts. “You don’t have to follow it perfectly, but staying close to the racing line helps you flow better through the track,” he adds.

Luka nods, seeming to understand what they are saying. “Can we go again?” the toddler asks.

Chuckles sound through the room. Oscar’s heart might burst.

“Of course. Let’s go, sweetheart,” the Australian says. Everything to make their kid happy. He presses the gas pedal and speeds up again. Luka immediately follows him to drive lap after lap with his dad.

The moment Luka is old enough; they are going karting. The three of them, together. Oscar can’t wait.

Chapter Text

They drive around the track together for a while longer, until Lando looks at his watch and tells them it’s almost time to go. The crowd slowly disperses after they finish their final lap. Luka has been driving in front of Oscar for the past five laps, putting what he has learned into practice.

Oscar shuts down his own sim, while Lando helps Luka do the same. The kid is rubbing his eyes, and the Australian is reminded again of the disrupted sleep that they all had last night.

He climbs out of the sim and crouches down next to Luka’s. “You did well, Luka! You are driving the track like a true race driver. I’m so proud of you.” He pats the toddler’s cheek. His skin is feeling slightly warm, the exhaustion of the day setting in.

A familiar large hand squeezes his shoulder. He looks up at Lando. The Brit is smiling at him. He apparently wasn’t looking for Oscar’s attention specifically, because he starts talking to Luka.

“What do you think, Luka. Want to go with us to the office again tomorrow?” the older driver says while he keeps his hand on the Australian’s shoulder, softly squeezing the muscles there. The need to touch so great he does it even though they are in public.

“Hmhm! That was fun. Today was fun,” Luka says. He yawns after.

Oscar grimaces. Uh oh… Are they going to have a repeat from yesterday? Is it grumpy Luka time?

He pats Lando’s hand and then stands up. “Glad to hear. Let me get you out. It’s time to go, sweetheart,” he says.

He lifts Luka out of the sim, who goes willingly. The toddler wraps his arms around Oscar’s neck. He rests his little face under the Australian’s chin. Lando chuckles.

“Aw, too much fun makes a kid tired huh,” Stephanie says. She and Bart had been watching from a slight distance the entire time.

Oscar huffs. “Tell me about it,” he says fondly.

“Luka? Can you say bye to Bart and Stephanie, or are you too tired?” Lando tries.

Oscar feels Luka move his face to the side, facing the duo. He waves his hand tiredly, not even fully letting go of his dad’s neck. “Byebye Stephie. Byebye Bart.”

The adults in the room chuckle. “Byebye Luka, see you tomorrow!” Stephanie tells the kid with a wave of her own. Bart follows her example.

Lando and Oscar say their goodbyes too and thank them for taking care of Luka for them. “Anytime! The kid is such a joy to have around. I think the entire engineering team loves him already,” Bart says.

It makes Oscar happy to hear that.

As they are on their way back to Charlotte’s workspace, Oscar starts hearing little snores. He looks down to see Luka out like a light. How the kid can fall asleep while he’s being carried through a busy office the Aussie doesn’t know.

“Did he… Is he asleep?” Lando asks, he sounds just as amazed as Oscar feels.

“Yep.”

“That is adorable…”

Oscar smiles at him. The fond expression on the Brit’s face is adorable too.

“I’m glad he feels safe enough to fall asleep. He looked like he needed it.”

“Yeah, he was rubbing his eyes a lot. Had a tired blush on his face for the last five laps as well,” Lando adds his own observations.

Oscar tries not to jostle Luka as they turn a corner. Hoping their son stays asleep so he maybe won’t be grumpy later.

They reach Charlotte’s little personal cubicle without Luka waking up and Oscar thanks the universe. Oscar’s PR manager is slightly sad she can’t say bye to the kid and vows to keep watch over him tomorrow morning as a compensation.

Oscar and Lando thank her for her time and agree to her being the designated nanny for tomorrow morning. They collect the drawing Luka made. Charlotte had kept it safe for them since the two drivers don’t really have their own workspace. They are usually all over the office.

Luckily Oscar’s assistant will be taking care of that. When the Australian mentioned to them that he would like a safe space for Luka to chill in they immediately volunteered to help. They are also going to make sure the drivers would have a family room waiting for them in Canada.

Knowing Mars, the crafty assistant will have a private office slash room for Luka and his dads by tomorrow. They are efficient like that.

They say goodbye to Charlotte. Lando carefully stows away the drawing and hangs Oscar’s hoodie over his shoulder. Time to go to the adoption center.

Luka stays asleep against Oscar’s chest the entire trip to the car. Not even walking down the stairs wakes him.

Lando opens Luka’s door for Oscar. The Australian throws him a thankful smile. Now the tricky part; getting Luka in his booster seat without waking him up.

He supports the kid’s head as he carefully removes the octopus hold Luka has on him. The kid huffs and Oscar fears he will wake up. But when he places him in his car seat, Luka snuggles into it, leaning his head against the side.

Oscar gingerly straps him in. When he’s done, he tries to close the door as soft as possible. Mission accomplished.

He turns to Lando who is leaning against the car, watching operation ‘keep Luka napping’ come to an end. “He’s still asleep?” the Brit asks.

Oscar nods and sighs in relief. Lando giggles at him.

“Can I drive?” the Australian asks softly. The Brit takes hold of his hand and drops the car key in his palm. Oscar grins. “I take that as a yes.”

The Australian looks around them and when he sees they are alone he runs a hand through Lando’s curls. The older driver lets out a breath, relaxing at the feeling.

“I think Luka is not the only tired one,” Oscar teases.

“I’m going to nap so hard on this car ride, you have no idea,” Lando whispers. The younger driver huffs out a laugh. The Brit looks back up at him and Oscar lets his hand slide from his curls to his shoulder, rubbing his thumb over the skin not covered by his crewneck.

“If you are okay with that of course,” Lando says with a wry smile.

“He asks the man who has been falling asleep in weird places all week,” Oscar says exasperated. “Please have a nap. I don’t mind driving in silence.”

Lando gives him a thankful look. Oscar squeezes the muscle between his neck and shoulder before letting go. The Brit rounds the car at the rapid speed and gets into the passenger seat. Oscar gets in the car as well.

They both close the doors as softly as possible. Luka sleeps on.

Oscar adjusts the seat and starts up the navigation. The center is about half an hour away, maybe a bit longer since traffic can be bad in Monaco at this time of day.

Before he starts the engine, he turns to Lando and beckons him. The Brit leans over. Oscar presses a kiss to his forehead. Lando hums, trapping Oscar’s face between his hands, and kisses him properly.

It's a soft kiss, no heat, just a need for contact. Oscar leans his forehead against Lando’s after.

“Have a good nap, alright? I will wake you up before we get there,” the Aussie tells his boyfriend softly. A tired nod and then Lando moves away to lean against the window, using Oscar’s folded hoodie as a pillow. The younger driver smiles at the sight.

He starts the engine and leaves the parking lot. He tries to drive as smoothly as possible so his boyfriend and son can have some well needed rest. Rolling out his braking and trying not to go too fast through corners. Once he reaches the main road it becomes easier.

He drives in peaceful silence for a while. There is indeed some traffic, and he has to wait in front of traffic lights for longer than usual. It doesn’t bother him.

When they are five minutes away from their destination, Oscar reaches over and traces his hand over Lando’s side. “Lan,” he starts softly. “Wake up, honey.” No response. He pushes the Brit’s shoulder, gently shakes him with one hand. No response.

Oscar rolls his eyes and nudges him again. “Come on, mister Norris.” A deep breath, but no further signs of him waking up. The Australian has to remove his hand from Lando’s shoulder to steer through a corner and switch lanes after. Once he’s back on a straight he tries a different method.

He sneaks his hand under Lando’s sweater, running his hand over the bare skin of his back.

Lando’s breath hitches. “Cold…” he grumbles sleepily.

Oscar giggles. “We’re almost there. I promised to wake you up.”

A sigh and then the Brit sits up straight. Oscar’s hoodie falls down from the window. Lando puts it on his lap and wraps a hand around the Australian’s wrist, prying the slightly cold limb from the warm skin of his back.

Not that Oscar is getting his hand back, because Lando holds onto it while he rubs his eyes with his other hand. The younger driver snorts when the Brit yawns again.

“Welcome back to the world of the living,” he says softly.

“I don’t want to be back yet,” Lando grumbles.

Oscar giggles.

“Are we there already?”

The Australian sneaks a peek at the navigation. “Yeah, three minutes out…”

Lando hums. In the corner of his eye, Oscar can see he is trying to wake himself up. He shakes his head a couple of times, blinking rapidly.

“Are you nervous?” the Brit asks him after a minute.

“A bit,” Oscar confesses. “I think I’m well enough mentally prepared. But it’s still a huge step.”

“Uh huh, it’s insane how much has changed within a couple of days,” Lando adds.

“One week I’m single and childless. The next I’m officially adopting a son with my boyfriend,” Oscar jokes.

Lando snorts loudly. “How the turntables have turned.”

The Brit rubs the last of his sleepiness away as Oscar parks the car at their destination.

“Are you ready?” Oscar asks his boyfriend.

The older driver smiles at him softy. “I’m ready if you are.” The both of them turn around to look at Luka, who is still fast asleep.

“Do you think he is ready?” Oscar says quietly. Lando chuckles. “I think he was ready the moment he grabbed onto your leg in the paddock.”

The Australian smiles at that. “And otherwise the moment he crawled into our bed on the first morning.”

The Brit grabs his hand and squeezes. “Let’s go make our little family official.”

Oscar squeezes back and doesn’t mention that if they truly want to make it official, the two of them would need to get married as well. He’s not going there right now. That’s a thought to mull over another time.

The two drivers both get out of the car. Oscar opens Luka’s door and crouches down. “Luka? It’s time to wake up sweetheart.” He caresses the toddler’s cheek with his knuckles.

A little frown shows on his face. He doesn’t fully wake up, but he’s getting there.

Lando reaches over Oscar and runs his fingers through Luka’s hair. “Come on buddy, wakey wakey.”

Luka whines and then lifts a hand to rub at his face. He blinks a couple of times, and then focusses his gaze on his dads.

“There you are,” Oscar says kindly. The glassy look in his eyes reminds the Australian of a puppy.

“Where is here?” Luka mumbles.

It's endearing how he struggles more with words when he is half asleep, Oscar thinks.

“We are at the adoption center. Do you remember what that means?” Lando tries carefully.

Oscar doubts the kid will remember. But it doesn’t stop a half awake Luka from trying to figure it out. The Australian can almost hear the little gears grind in his mind.

“We are signing a paper that tells the government we want you to stay with us forever,” Lando eventually helps him out. Oscar feels warmth flood his chest at the words the Brit chose.

Luka looks at the both of them, alternating his gaze between their loving smiles. “Really?” he says timidly.

Both Lando and Oscar nod at the same time. “You will be our son, for real,” the younger driver tells him.

It might be too heavy of a conversation for a sleepy toddler, but Luka soaks it in. The smile that shows on his face is soft. The same one his dads have been showing him often in the past couple of days.

Lando pats his head as Oscar pats his cheek. They didn’t even mean to do it in sync. The three of them all giggle together.

Oscar takes the toddler out of his seat and gets a hug in reply. Two small arms wrapped around his neck. The Australian rubs his cheek on top of Luka’s head. When he looks at Lando, the Brit is standing close by with a fond expression on his face.

“Let’s go,” Lando says as he holds out his hand. Oscar shifts Luka to one arm and grabs hold of it. The touch grounds him, especially when Lando starts rubbing his thumb over his skin.

They walk into the building. There is a small service desk right at the entrance. The lady behind it greets them.

“We have an appointment with Owen,” Oscar tells her when she asks how she can help.

“You three have great timing.”

A man walks up to them from the hallway. A short lady follows behind him. Seeing how Lando and Oscar both have their hands full, they greet them with a kind wave.

The man’s dark skin matches perfectly with the olive green of his sweater, which makes him seem friendly and approachable.

The lady is wearing blue striped overalls, with a grey shirt. Her ginger hair is braided, but definitely by a kid’s hand. The blue butterfly clips give it away. She introduces herself as Riley.

They then both kindly greet Luka. The toddler doesn’t shy away from them and their soft ways of speaking. He politely waves back.

The duo leads the little family to a nice spacious room. With two couches facing each other. There are toys strewn around, like some other kids have just been in here. Oscar spots the look in Luka’s eyes as he sets the toddler down.

“Can Luka play with the toys?” the Australian asks so Luka doesn’t have to.

“Of course! That’s what they are for,” Riley says happily.

“He likes to know whether or not he is allowed to do things,” Lando tells Owen and Riley, as he and Oscar sit down on one of the couches together.

“Hm, yes. Mister Piastri told us in an email before,” Owen is the one to speak up next.

“Please, call me Oscar,” he motions to Lando after seeing the wry smile on his face, “and him Lando as well.”

“Very well!” Owen says. “Thank you for coming here on such a short notice. Welcome to the Sunflower Meadow Adoption Center. The building next to this one is the orphanage. This is the consultancy part of the organization. Some parts overlap.”

“Our jobs are an overlap too,” Riley adds. “I teach the kindergarten class, and as a child psychologist I help oversee the adoptions as well.”

“While I am one of the caretakers at the orphanage, I am also a consultant and take care of most of the paperwork,” Owen tells them.

Lando takes the lead, keeping up the friendly conversation. “Sounds like a lot of work! Fulfilling also.”

Riley nods enthusiastically. “I love my job. Working with kids is amazing. Figuring out what makes them tick and how they can be their true selves is gratifying indeed.”

Owen chuckles. “So yes, we are both very excited to meet you three.”

The man starts talking about the emails they have exchanged and how it is pretty clear that Luka seems happy in their presence. They mention the press conference, and the photos made by the paparazzi on Monday.

While they are talking, Luka is rubbing his eyes a lot. He’s playing with the toys strewn around a bit, but he mostly takes in what’s going on. The kid is tired. The nap was too short. Or too long and it’s made him groggy.

Owen and Riley ask the two drivers some questions. Does Luka have his own room? How is Luka behaving with other kids? How is he reacting to adults? Does Luka stay glued to them all the time or is he able to play by himself while they are in another room?

Owen comments that they have less questions than usual, because they already know about the drivers’ careers and whether or not they have enough money to keep taking care of a kid.

They do ask a bit extra about how they are going to give Luka the attention he needs while they have such a busy schedule and whether or not the kid is joining them on their travels.

Lando and Oscar answer each question truthfully, with the Australian doing most of the talking. The older driver’s energy is pretty low, Oscar notices. He has stopped fidgeting even, which is quite rare, and stares off into the distance every once in a while.

The Aussie reaches over, and grabs hold of his hand as he is answering a question from Owen. He squeezes gently and gets a little squeeze back. Oscar tangles their fingers and starts caressing his thumb up and down Lando’s own thumb.

It seems to help the tired Brit concentrate back on the conversation, as he chimes in at the next question. Lando scoots a bit closer to him, and leans against Oscar’s side. The younger driver smiles fondly at the action.

It triggers something in Owen and Riley too, as they start asking question about their relationship with soft smiles. They are noting things down as Oscar replies.

“Now, I have a bit of a mean question, but still one I need to ask,” Riley says with a grimace.

Oscar smiles at her politely, letting her know she can ask what she wants to ask.

“What if you two ever break up? What will happen to Luka then?”

Lando flinches. Oscar freezes, while his mind goes a million miles an hour. He gets the question, sort of. They are in a very new relationship. One that needs to stay hidden from the public for a while. Anything can happen. They haven’t even had their first fight yet.

Oscar breath hitches at the idea. Cold sweat breaking out on his back. Lando’s grip on his hand turns tight.

“I- we- we haven’t talked- I’m not planning to leave-” Oscar tries, but a sudden wave of anxiety overwhelms him.

“We’re not going to break up,” the Brit says quietly, defensively.

“No one plans a breakup,” Owen comments.

Oscar feels a desperate need to run away. Just the idea is making him so anxious he feels nauseous.

Lando takes a deep breath, deciding on something. “Oscar would become the main caretaker. Luka would stay with-”

The Australian looks at the Brit so fast his neck cracks. “Absolutely not. You love Luka, I’m not taking him away from you…”

Lando visibly swallows and looks him in the eyes.

“You’re the one who understands him the best. He’s like you. You’ve been doing all the parenting stuff like it’s comes natural to you. You would do way better as the main caretaker…” the Australian tells him. His voice is wavery. Which is normal when you’re on the verge of crying, Oscar guesses.

The Brit shakes his head vigorously. “You are trying to do everything in your might to be the best parent Luka could have, Osc. I’ve seen your research on how to take care of kids like him. You are such a gentle parent. You would do everything for him… He would thrive with you. I’m just the fun dad….”

“No. No no-” Oscar starts.

Only to be interrupted by Riley. “Sorry for the question guys. You don’t have to answer. We’ve seen what we wanted to see.”

The two drivers deflate, the charged energy leaving them both. They are sitting across from two phycologists. It was a test. Of course it was a test. For Luka’s safety and wellbeing.

Oscar tries to take deep breaths. Lando lets go of the younger man’s hand and starts running his hand over his shoulders, soothing him. Oscar can feel the shake in his boyfriend’s fingers and leans more against him.

Owen speaks up. “Please excuse us… Questions like those are how we find out the true extend of a relationship. We didn’t mean to upset you two.”

The tall man stands up. “Would you two like some tea?” Oscar nods, while Lando whispers a “yes please”.

Owen leaves the room.

Luka has noticed his dads distress and climbs up on the couch to sit on Oscar’s lap, his feet in Lando’s. The Australian chuckles, a part of the anxiety falling off of him. He wraps his arms around Luka.

Lando pats Luka’s cheek with his unoccupied hand. “You are so sweet, little man. We’re okay, we promise,” the Brit tells him.

Riley hums, and writes something down in her notebook. It makes Oscar look up at her. She looks back as him with a soft smile.

Oscar can’t help but ask her: “are there people who react differently to the question? What does it mean?”

Riley seems happy to explain. “It’s a question we use on couples who are looking to adopt one of the kids from our orphanage. I’ve seen couples become selfish and defend why they should be the one to keep the kid after a breakup. Those couples are not fit to adopt a child.”

“Then there are the couples who immediately think out a planning of ‘workdays with me, weekends with you’. Not the greatest fit, but also not the worst. It does show that the relationship is less connected than first thought.”

“And then there is the reaction we like the most: when couples stutter and stumble and try to give their partner and the kid the best choice. It’s what parenting is about. You sacrifice your own time and comfort for your child. Your partner should fit into that seamlessly.”

Oscar thinks about it. It makes sense. A lot. It shows how much Lando and him love each other and want the best for each other. It’s still a mean question though.

Owen walks back in with a tray. He sets it on the tray and grabs the teapot to fill the mugs he brought.

He hands the first filled mug to Lando, who takes it and gives it to Oscar. The Australian can only smile at him fondly as he sips his tea. The Brit blushes and takes the second mug from Owen’s hand. His other hand is still rubbing circles on Oscar’s back.

Owen starts talking. “Your reaction is exactly what we wanted to see. It was the perfect example; one we could use in the textbook we have for training. If you two would be up for it, we might even ask you to adopt a child from our orphanage in a couple years’ time.”

Oscar freezes. Lando’s hand stills as well. They look at each other. “Maybe?” Lando says. “Maybe…” his boyfriend echoes.

The two phycologists look at them kindly.

The tall man then takes another cup from the tray. “I brought Luka some juice as well.”

Luka looks at him when he says his name, but doesn’t reach out to take the cup. Oscar rubs his back. “Mister Owen got you some juice, do you want some?” the Australian asks his son. Luka doesn’t reply.

Lando takes the cup from Owen’s hand and then holds it in front of Luka. “It looks like orange juice,” the Brit says. Only when the cup is in Lando’s hand does Luka take it and drink from it.

“Hah! I knew it!” Riley exclaims. The two drivers look up in confusion. “He is so connected to you two.”

Owen chuckles at her excitement. “What she means is that Luka is learning to trust strangers because he trusts you two. If you two seem comfortable in someone’s company, he will trust them as well.”

Riley grins like she has just solved a puzzle. “And we just accidentally broke that trust by making you upset. He’s a smart kid, who observes and sees more than he lets on.”

“In a way that’s good, a great sign. But it also ruined our plan to have Luka talk with us in private,” Owen buts in.

Lando laughs. “Yeah, I doubt we can make him leave our side right now.”

Riley seems interested to try it anyway. “Luka, can I talk to you while you dads go wait in the hallway? I have some important questions to ask.”

Luka immediately shakes his head.

“And if Owen asks the questions?” she tries again.

Another shake. “No. Papa and daddy stay.” Luka answers. He sounds resolute, leaning himself against Oscar even more, a tiny hand clawed onto his shirt.

The Australian runs a soothing hand over the kid’s back. “We will stay, don’t worry Luka.”

Lando runs his finger through the toddler’s hair. “Don’t be too mad at them, they are just doing their job. They are not trying to be mean,” the Brit tells him softly.

The annoyed huff Luka lets out makes Oscar smile. That’s their kid, alright.

Chapter Text

~~~^~~~
Luka doesn’t like them… Riley and Owen seemed nice, but they made Osca and Lano upset. Daddy’s voice was waving up and down again, just like that time when they first went to the office.

Lano is rubbing his hand over Osca’s back. Papa looks upset too. His eyebrows are all frowny.

Luka was too busy sorting the colored cubes, so he didn’t hear what the lady asked his dads. It does not help that he is feeling sleepy. But he has decided he doesn’t like them anymore.

When the tall man leaves the room, Luka leaves the cubes on the floor and walks to the couch. He pulls himself up and flops down in Osca’s lap. He throws his own legs over papa’s long ones.

Daddy chuckles and wraps his arms around Luka, hugging him. Luka rests his head against his chest. When Lano pats his cheek with his big safe hand Luka rubs his head against it.

“You are so sweet, little man. We’re okay, we promise,” papa tells him. His kind green eyes crinkle. Luka is happy he isn’t frowning anymore.

Osca talks to Riley and then the lady starts talking a lot. Luka doesn’t listen, too busy checking if daddy and papa are really okay. They sounded really sad just now.

He has his ear presses to daddy’s chest and can hear his heartbeat slow down. He is breathing deeper as well. Luka relaxes against him while he stares at Lano.

Papa looks tired. He even rubs at his face while he listens to the lady. Luka understands how he is feeling. He hopes he can nap with Lano and Osca in the big bed again later.

The tall man comes back with a wooden plate thingy. It has cups and a teapot. He grabs the pot by the ear and fills a one of the cups. He gives it to Lano and Lano gives it to Osca. He then takes the second cup for himself.

The tall man asks his dads a question that makes them both freeze. Luka flinches and looks at them both. Was it a mean question again? He didn’t hear, but if papa and daddy react like that…

But then his parents look at each other and relax again. “Maybe” can be heard twice.

They don’t seem sad or otherwise upset this time.

“I brought Luka some juice as well.” Owen catches his attention. The tall man holds out a cup to Luka.

Luka frowns at it. He doesn’t want it. He’s still mad at the two people on the other side of the room. He doesn’t want to be anywhere close to the man.

Osca rubs his back. “Mister Owen got you some juice, do you want some?”

He might want some juice, but not when Owen is holding it.

Lano takes the cup instead. His papa looks into it, checking it out, and then holds it out to Luka. “It looks like orange juice,” papa says. Luka looks at him and then at the cup. He takes it from Lano and takes a sip. It’s orange juice indeed. Papa was right.

“Hah! I knew it!” Riley says loudly. Luka shrinks against Osca’s chest. She and Owen start talking about Luka. Luka doesn’t understand their excitement.

Lano laughs. “Yeah, I doubt we can make him leave our side right now.”

“Luka, can I talk to you while you dads go wait in the hallway? I have some important questions to ask,” Riley asks him.

He shakes his head with energy.

No. way.

He is not leaving his dads. Especially not for her. If she wants to ask him important questions, she will have to do it while Lano and Osca are there too. He knows she can’t make his dads leave. Papa and daddy always protect and care for him. They will listen to him if he wants them to stay.

“And if Owen asks the questions?” she tries again.

He shakes his head again.

Nope!

He has had to miss his dads a lot already today. No way is he going to just let them leave. Especially not when it means he has to talk to a stranger he doesn’t really like.

“No. Papa and daddy stay.”

He’s angry she even dares to ask when she upset his dads minutes ago. He leans even more against Osca, grabbing his shirt. He’s not leaving. Papa and daddy aren’t leaving either.

No.

Daddy runs a soothing hand over his back. “We will stay, don’t worry Luka,” he says. Papa starts petting his hair.

The soft and kind touches calm him down a bit.

“Don’t be too mad at them, they are just doing their job. They are not trying to be mean,” Lano tells him softly.

Luka lets out an annoyed huff. If it’s her job to ask mean questions, he thinks it’s a stupid job.

Riley smiles at him. Luka glares back.

Lano keeps patting his hair.

Owen is the one to ask the first question: “Luka, do you like living with Lando and Oscar?”

Duh! They are the bestest dads, and they got him toys and they kept him safe in the storm. He can race with them, and they always say they love him.

“Yes.”

He doesn’t want to give Owen the long answer. He doesn’t deserve to hear it yet. It’s stupid to think Luka doesn’t like living with his dads.

He finishes his juice and Lano takes the cup from him, putting it back on the table. Luka grabs a hold of one of Osca’s hands and plays with his fingers. Inspecting his long nails. Daddy lets him. Lano’s big hand comes to rest on Luka’s shins.

He calms himself down, thinking about why he is here with papa and daddy anyway. After this they will be the goverame- govrenem- gov- the kings, queens, and rulers of the country will know Luka is staying with Lano and Osca forever.

Luka is going to be their son. They are going to be his real dads, his real family.

But he has to reply to the questions first.

“That’s good to hear! What do you like the most about living with Lando and Oscar?” Riley asks the next question.

Luka thinks. That’s a difficult question, because he likes a lot of things. He loves that they take him to places. That they don’t get mad at him. That Lano played Castle with him and Max on the beach. That Osca always gives him snacks and juice right when he is starting to get hungry or thirsty.

“I like everything,” he says as he looks Riley in the eye.

“Everything?” Riley asks. Luka thinks he also hears Osca mumble it.

He nods.

Papa speaks up next. “What about the bath yesterday?”

When Luka looks up at his dads, Osca is looking down at him with a frowny face, while Lano has a small smile on his face.

Luka hums. “The bath was not fun. But having no more sand was good. Being clean is nice.”

Lano giggles and pats his leg. Osca takes a deep breath, the frown leaves his face.

“Sand on your skin is annoying, right?” Owen says.

Luka nods. “We went to the beach yesterday and it was super fun. We made a big sandcastle together and I played with Lano and uncle Max. But then we got home, I was sleepy… Daddy made me shower. I was sad because I wanna sleep.”

He didn’t mean to tell them so much, but it just came out.

“And you didn’t like the shower, but being clean was nice,” Owen comments with a thinking hum.

Luka nods.

“You’re such a sweet kid, Luka,” Osca says quietly as he rubs his back again. Luka grins at him, squinting his eyes like he sees papa do sometimes. Daddy smiles back at him.

Riley catches his attention. “Do you want to stay with Lando and Oscar?”

“Yes!” Luka replies happily.

The lady gives his dads a weird look.

“But what about mom? Don’t you miss your mom?”

Luka freezes. Does he miss his mommy?

He fidgets with Osca’s hand a bit more, trying to think of an answer.

Luka is sad she left. That she told him to go through the gate and wait for her there. And then she didn’t come back. Because he loved her. She was all he knew.

He feels Lano softly squeezing his leg. Osca is very quiet, letting Luka play with his hand.

He is sad she left. But also sort of happy. Because he got to meet papa and daddy.

And papa and daddy care for him like mommy did, but ten thousand times more.

Daddy and papa never get mad; she did.

Daddy and papa never yell at him; she did.

Daddy and papa don’t push, pinch, or slap him; she did sometimes, when she got really mad.

Daddy and papa tell him they love him, often; she almost never did.

Daddy and papa play with him; she almost never did.

Daddy and papa take him to places; she almost never did.

Daddy and papa teach him things; she said she was too busy.

Daddy and papa are happy a lot; she was more sad than happy.

He misses her. Because he loved her. She is- was- is- was his mom. But he also does not miss her.

Because Lano and Osca love him and want to keep him forever and their hands are soft and they tell him they are proud of him and they hug and kiss him and-

He misses mommy, but he loves Osca and Lano more. He thinks.

Luka eventually nods. Giving Riley some sort of reply.

“I miss her, but also not.”

The lady hums.

She turns her attention to his dads. “I’m sorry Lando and Oscar, I have one more mean question to ask him…”

Luka looks at his dads for a moment. Lano’s jaw looks like it hurts with how the muscle moves. Osca is stock-still.

“Luka?” He looks at her again. “What if your mom comes back? Would you go with her?”

“She’s not coming back,” he says immediately. If she wanted to, she would have already.

Riley doesn’t say anything. She just looks him in the eye. Kindly, in a way. Luka still doesn’t like her.

Lano ruffles his hair with his soft big hand. Luka leans against it.

“You don’t have to reply if you don’t want to, little man…” papa says. Osca’s hand on his back starts moving again.

Would he go with her?

That would mean saying goodbye to daddy and papa. Because mommy didn’t like strangers. She didn’t take him to places, so she wouldn’t take him to visit them.

So no. He misses her and he is sad she left. But he would not go with her.

He shakes his head.

“No?” Owen says.

“No, I wanna stay with Lano and Osca.”

~~~^~~~

The amount of relief Oscar feels at Luka’s headshake is insane. What a shitty question to ask a possibly abused kid! The Australian has to remind himself that she is a professional and she probably has her reasons. But wow…

Lando is fuming. He can feel it, the high-strung energy in his boyfriend’s body next to him, ready to burst. He presses his leg more against the Brit’s. If Luka wasn’t holding onto his hand, he would have grabbed Lando’s hand with it. But now all he can do is lean against him, hoping he doesn’t explode.

He now realizes why Owen and Riley wanted to talk to Luka without them present.

Firstly to not accidentally influence the kid’s replies. Secondly so they wouldn’t have been angry at the miserable questions.

“That’s good,” Riley tells their kid. “Because after today you will be staying with them forever.”

Owen smiles, a soft and open one. “We are done bothering you three. I think it’s time to move onto the paperwork.”

Oscar lets out a sigh of relief. He hugs Luka, and puts his cheek on top of his head. Lando rubs his hand over the Australian’s back. Oscar can feel it shake.

Owen and Riley both stand up. The Aussie lifts his head to watch them. The tall man tells them he is grabbing the files they need and that he will be right back. Riley gathers the teacups and winks, before leaving the room as well.

Oscar takes the moment of privacy to take his hand from Luka carefully and swing that arm around Lando instead. He pulls the Brit towards him, kissing him on the cheek.

Lando deflates, leaning his full weight against Oscar. His head comes to rest on the younger driver’s shoulder. Oscar puts his own head on top of his, snuggling into his fluffy curls.

“Those were some shitty questions…” the Brit says. He sounds almost breathless. Lando never cusses in front of Luka. He’s going through it. Oscar rubs his arm. Soft strokes over the sweater he is wearing.

He hums, agreeing with his boyfriend. “Thanks for staying calm,” he tells him quietly. Lando scoffs. It makes the Australian smile.

The Brit is a menace and will joke around a lot. But the second someone even slightly bothers their little family he becomes protective as hell.

He is shaky himself. What an emotional rollercoaster…

“Thank you for answering those question, Luka. They weren’t fun, and I think you’re brave for answering them,” Lando tells Luka, the arm not slung around Oscar middle coming to rest on the kid’s cheek.

Luka hums. It reminds Oscar of himself. “I one hundred percent agree with Lando,” he says with a tender smile.

“I miss mommy, but I love you papa and daddy,” Luka mumbles.

Lando sighs fondly. “We know sweetie, and we love you too.”

“A lot,” Oscar adds.

The Australian is already hugging his little family, but he would like to go home cuddle on the couch with the both of them… He needs it after today.

Owen and Riley walk back in. Lando doesn’t lift his head from Oscar’s shoulder like the Australian expected him to do. Instead the Brit snuggles more against his boyfriend and tightens his hold on his waist.

Oscar feels slightly embarrassed at the public display of affection, but at Owen’s and Riley’s soft looks he relaxes again.

“Let’s make your family official, huh,” Owen says as he pushes one stack of paper towards the couple.

Lando moves from his comfy spot on the Australian’s shoulder to take it from the table. Owen reads his own version out loud, and the two McLaren drivers follow with him, flipping through the document.

Luka watches them read. Oscar keeps his hand on the kid’s back, fidgeting with the neon LN4 hoodie Luka is wearing.

“Alright, so if you want you can pick a different surname for him,” Owen tells then once they reach the end of the document, where it talks about the adoption process. All Oscar and Lando have to do is sign the document and Luka will be officially their kid.

Oscar’s heart is beating in his throat. He wants Luka to be their son so badly, and at the same time it is terrifying. Because that means he and Lando have full responsibility, and Luka is connected to them forever. What if he screws up?

Lando’s hand on his waist grounds him. They can do this. They have been doing it, and it has been going so well. No need to panic, it’s just on paper. They were already a family.

His boyfriend pulls him from his thoughts. “So, ready to give Luka your surname?”

Oscar looks at him with a frown. “Mine?”

“Yes! He found you first,” Lando says with a grin.

“But what about you? You are as much his dad as I am…”

“I think it should be Luka Otto Piastri...”

Oscar’s brain blanks. He coughs in his hand at the thought that comes up in his smooth brain. “What- uhm. What if we ever get married…?” he asks softly.

The surprise in Lando’s eyes throws him for a loop. The blush that rises to his tan cheeks betrays his thoughts.

The Brit looks down at his hand, avoiding eye contact. He brushes non-existent dust off Luka’s shoe.

“I wouldn’t mind being called Lando Piastri…”

Oscar’s breath catches. He repeats the name in his mind. Lando Piastri.

He loves it. And at the same time… Lando Norris is a name that carries a legacy…

He scrapes his throat. “I love that, and I love you to pieces for wanting that… But I would also love being called Oscar Norris…”

Lando looks up with a snap. The tips of his ears are red. With how warm Oscar’s face is feeling he knows he isn’t fairing any better.

He sees Lando’s gorgeous green eyes start to water. “What if…” the Brit takes a deep shaky breath before continuing. “What if… we go for a double surname. Let him have both our names.”

Oscar needs a moment. He takes his hand from Lando’s shoulder and runs it through the shorter hairs on the back of his head. “Yeah… I think that’s a good choice… We can decide on our surnames when the time comes.”

Lando nods, probably too shaky to reply out loud.

“So, Norris-Piastri it is-” the younger driver starts.

Lando shakes his head. It throws off Oscar’s hand. The Australian looks at him with wide eyes.

“No, Osc. Piastri-Norris,” the Brit tells him. He sounds determined, desperate in a way. “He found you first. It’s the reason why we are here, like this,” he throws his free hand around in a vague gesture, “and why we are in a relationship in the first place.”

Oscar is melting. Mentally and physically. He wants to take Lando in his arms and hug and kiss him till the end of time.

“Okay. Okay, Lan…” he massages the muscles in his boyfriends neck, hoping to calm him down slightly, even though his own heart is racing in his chest.

“And it makes more sense! Piastri-Norris flows better than Norris-Piastri because of the vowel at the end of your surname,” the Brit rambles on. He fidgets with Luka’s shoelace.

Oscar can only look at him fondly. “Alright, honey… I agree…” he soothes the -what he can only name- ‘overwhelming excitement’ that Lando is showing.

Riley laughs. Oscar completely forgot she and Owen are still in the room. “I think it has been decided. Luka Otto Piastri-Norris it will be.”

Owen hands them a pen and gestures to the lasts piece of paper. A very official looking one. “Write down his new full name on the line in the middle and then sign beneath your own names once you’re ready,” he tells them.

Lando gives the pen to Oscar. When the Australian feels how much Lando’s hand shakes, he knows why.

The Australian moves Luka to the Brit’s lap and bend towards the table, looking the document over.

He takes a deep breath and with a steady hand writes down “Luka Otto Piastri-Norris” underneath the line “From now on, Luka Otto Baker will be named:”.

“Adopted in the Principality of Monaco, on the 30th of May 2024, by Oscar Jack Piastri and Lando Norris.”

One more steading breath, and a soothing squeeze to his shoulder from Lando, and then he signs right below his name. It’s such a weird feeling. He has signed many things: caps, hoodies, photos. But this feels more important than anything he has ever signed, including his contract at McLaren.

He stares at the black ink. It’s official. Luka is his son. Now all he needs is for Lando to sign as well and make their family complete.

He slides the document to his boyfriend, who untangles himself from Oscar’s side. The Australian takes Luka from his lap as Lando eagerly takes the pen from his fingers. Of course their fingers brush. As they should.

Oscar hugs Luka to his chest and places a hand on the small of Lando’s back as he leans forward to sign underneath his name. The Australian can feel him shake through the soft sweater the Brit is wearing. He rubs a soothing hand up and down as he watches the older driver gather himself.

Lando puts the pen to the paper and writes his own signature under his own name, right next to Oscar’s.

When the Brit leans back again, Oscar pulls him into a chaste kiss. Unable to deny himself the affection he NEEDS to give Lando.

Lando gives in and leans his forehead against his after, taking in the moment.

And then Luka gets pulled into a tiny group hugs. The boy giggles as two pairs of arms wrap around him. It makes his dads laugh cheerfully as well.

They are a happy family. It’s official. Oscar and Lando have a son. Together. And it’s the sweetest kid to ever exist.

Oscar hears a deep chuckle on the other side of the room and looks up to see Owen and Riley smiling at them.

“You three will be juuuust fine!” Riley says happily. Owen laughs kindly.

Oscar thanks the duo kindly. Lando as well, though the Australian still notices a sprinkle of protectiveness.

The official document gets copied by Owen, so the firm has a digital copy as well. Then the document is placed in a fancy looking folder for them to take home.

There’s someone at the adoption center who is licensed to take passport photos. Lando complains that if they knew it would be photo day today, they would have dressed the kid in something fancier.

Oscar loves the idea that Luka will be wearing the neon LN4 hoodie on his passport, right next to the double-barrelled name.

The photo is pretty quickly taken, and Riley tells them they will put everything in motion. They can probably pick up the new passport. Since dual-citizenship is not allowed in Monaco, they decide to get Luka a Monegasque passport only. For the time being at least. The kid will probably grow up there and it’s a strong passport, allowing for travel everywhere no problem.

They eventually say goodbye to Owen and Riley at the entrance. Owen tells them they can always ask them questions and contact them via email like they have been doing before.

It's nice to have a safety net. That if they struggle with anything parenting wise, they can reach out and ask.

And then they are free, as an official family, to spend their afternoon however way they want to.

Lando puts Luka back in his booster seat once they reach the car. The kid seems ready to go home too. He fusses a bit, making it hard for Lando to strap him in. Oscar giggles at the struggle.

Though when the Brit is done, he stands back up, closes the door, and gets all up in Oscar’s personal space. The Australian smiles at him and gets the biggest grin back.

The Brit huffs and moves back, creating space between them again when he realizes what he is doing. “We are in public. I want to kiss you, but we are in public,” Lando grouches.

Oscar laughs, folding over. He puts a non-boyfriendy hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Let’s go home them. I’ve been wanting to cuddle on the couch with you for the past couple of hours.”

Lando throws his hands up. “We have to celebrate though. We cannot not celebrate adopting Luka.”

Oscar hums. “How about we get ice cream before we go home. I bet Luka likes that as well.”

Lando agrees.

And so they make a stop at the ice cream parlor, where Luka acts very suspicious about the strawberry ice cream. Saying he wants something else even though it’s his favorite, because he knows were to get the best strawberry flavored ice cream.

“Where?” Lando asks him as they sit on a bench together.

Luka doesn’t reply. He just keeps eating his chocolate favored ice cream.

The Brit waits. Hoping for the kid to crack. Luka doesn’t.

“O-kay, little man… Hide your secrets…”

Oscar laughs at them, enjoying his own mango ice cream.

Chapter Text

The first thing Oscar notices when they enter the apartment is that it’s clean. It smells clean, and the sand from the beach is gone from the floor. The kitchen looks spotless.

Lando walks further into the apartment without mentioning it, like this happens every Thursday.

“Let’s put your drawing on the fridge, Luka!” the Brit says with a goofy smile. Oscar can almost feel his excitement. The Australian is pretty excited about it himself.

Lando opens every drawer in the kitchen with a mumbled “tape.” “tape.” “tape?”

Oscar giggles. “We bought some for Luka. Wait here, I will get it.”

The Australian walks into the hallway. When he passes the bathroom, he takes a peek inside. It's clean as well, the sand from yesterday is nowhere to be seen. It’s like Luka’s stressful shower never happened.

He walks past it and enters Luka’s room. Only to see that his toys are still in the same place on the floor, on the racing carpet, left undisturbed. He breathes a sigh of relief. He should thank Lando for telling the housekeeper to leave Luka’s toys be.

The only thing they did clean in the room is some of the surfaces, like the desk and the planks on the wall. The sheets look freshly washed as well.

But Luka’s space has been left as is. As it should, Oscar thinks. Luka deserves his own space. He is allowed to have his toys strewn around. Having someone tidy them up could possibly give him the idea that the toys are not truly his. Oscar doesn’t want that.

He rummages through the pencil case on the desk and finds the colored tape they bought the kid earlier that week.

It’s bright red, because Luka loves the color red. Oscar already knows it’s going to look really funny in the mostly white kitchen.

He walks back to his boyfriend and son. The two of them are waiting patiently by the fridge. He gives Lando the roll of tape.

Luka is already holding the drawing, as if he can’t wait to put it on the fridge himself.

“How about I pick you up and you hold the drawing where you want it to be,” the Australian tells Luka. “Then Lando can tape the corners stuck.”

The kid nods excitedly. Lando giggles at the excitement and rummages through the drawers for a pair of scissors to cut the tape.

Oscar crouches down and picks Luka up, holding him so he faces the fridge door. “Where do you want to put it?”

Luka hums and moves it from left to right until he finds a spot he likes. “Here!”

“Okay little man. Hold it there,” Lando says as he cuts the first piece of tape.

The Brit tapes the drawing to the fridge corner by corner, while Luka holds the drawing steady, and Oscar holds Luka steady.

When they are done, they take a step back together and admire it.

It’s slightly slanted, but the Australian thinks it adds character. The red tape and the colorful drawing itself are a stark contrast to the pristine white kitchen. Lando sighs fondly.

“That’s us forever now,” the Brit says as he points at the drawing.

“Yeah!” Luka says happily.

Oscar grins as he puts the kid back down. “And there’s so much space left on the fridge. Imagine how many more drawing we can put up.”

He turns to Lando. The older driver is looking at the fridge with a soft look in his eyes. As if he is envisioning it being filled with drawing already.

Hanging up Luka’s drawing is like the perfect finale to today. They are officially a family. What better way to start it off than to tape your son’s family drawing to the fridge door.

He wants to hug them both. Cuddle with them like he has been craving the entire day.

He apparently isn’t alone in that.

“Can we cuddle?” Luka asks.

Lando’s shoulders sag. “Yes, please…” the Brit agrees.

Oscar laughs. “Of course,” he says. And then he walks to the couch and flops down on his back.

Lando follows quickly, throwing himself down in the space between Oscar’s side and the backrest of the couch. Oscar wraps an arm around him and hoist Luka up with the other, pulling the kid against his chest.

And then, having the weight of Lando’s head on his collarbone and Luka laying on his chest, Oscar heaves the biggest sigh. The Brit chuckles when the younger driver buries his face into his curls.

Luka giggles when Lando’s throws his arm over the kid as well, joining Oscar’s arm in a loving hug.

Oscar hums at the giggles, a smile on his face. Lando traces his finger up and down his bare arm. He loves this. He needed this.

“You two have no idea how many times I’ve thought about snuggling on the couch together today,” the Australian tells his weighted blankets.

“Three-thousand times,” Luka says matter-of-factly.

It’s Oscar time to giggle. “You know what, yes Luka. Three-thousand times. I love you two.”

Lando’s breath hitches for a moment. The Aussie presses a kiss to his head. The Brit lifts his head to peck his boyfriends lips. Oscar lets him, with a smile.

Luka snuggles into their arms. “I love you too daddy and papa.”

Lando takes his hand from Oscar’s arm and ruffles the kid’s hair. “Love you too, Luka. And I love you too Osc.”

The Australian knows. Because Lando has been showing it non-verbally all week. But it’s so good to hear it.

And to hear that their son loves them… That the kid wants them to be his parents.

It’s on paper now. He has their surnames now.

SurnameS.

Luka Otto Piastri-Norris.

Oscar has the feeling he is dreaming. That this week, the week that changed his life forever, is all a dream and he will wake up sad and alone in his hotel room.

But instead he has woken up to Lando Norris right beside him, four times in a row. Shared breakfast with him and their kid, four times in a row.

This is his life now, and Oscar can’t get enough of it.

Saying ‘I love you’ seems like an understatement to how he feels about them both.

He takes another deep breath. His heart hurts. He holds them both, trying not to cry.

He is so comfortable; he closes his eyes and almost immediately starts floating between awake and asleep.

A nap with his loved ones? Oscar can’t say no to that.

Sleep pulls him under.

---

He wakes up groggy and disoriented to Lando fussing against him. The Brit is still asleep snuggled up to Oscar. But the Australian can feel his muscles twitch. Lando’s arm tightens against his stomach.

Wait, where is Luka?

Oscar snaps to full focus and listens. He calms down when he hears Luka’s slight humming and the sound of toys softly clicking together. The kid is playing by himself in his bedroom.

When he decided he wanted to cuddle on the couch he wasn’t expecting to fall asleep, and for Lando to fall asleep as well.

Thinking of Lando: his boyfriend twitches again. There’s tension in his body. His breath hitches.

A nightmare?

Oscar rubs his hand over the Brit’s arm. “Lan?”

Lando flinches awake, jostling them both. His breathing is erratic. Oscar watches as he looks around the room and then at him, calming down the moment their eyes meet.

He sags back against the Australian. Oscar runs a hand through the Brit’s hair. Worried.

“What was that? Are you alright?” the younger driver asks him. He keeps running a soothing hand over Lando’s sweater clad arm.

A nod against his chest. “Bad dream,” the Brit croaks out, “I think”.

Oscar hums. “You think?”

“Don’t remember,” Lando mumbles. “We had to get away from something. Don’t remember what…”

The Australian tightens his hold on his boyfriend. It is weird to fall asleep so deeply during a nap. It means the Brit is probably more tired than he lets on.

Lando rubs his face with his hand, fighting to stay awake. “What time is it?” he mumbles groggily.

Oscar reaches over to the coffee table where he left his phone. He unlocks it.

“Oh shit…” he says when he sees the time.

“Hm?”

“It’s half past six…”

“Half past six?!” Lando is sitting upright within a second. He grabs his forehead, probably dealing with some dizziness after getting up so quickly.

Oscar sits up more carefully, looking his boyfriend over. His cheeks are a bit red, his brows pinched.

“Are you alright, Lan?” the Australian says.

“Yeah. I’m okay. Feeling a bit woozy from napping for TWO HOURS…” the older driver says exasperated. Oscar doesn’t think it’s just that, because he did the exact same and is feeling fine.

The Australian places a hand on Lando’s forehead, replacing Lando’s own. He feels warm. “You’re not getting sick, are you?”

Lando leans against it. “No, I’m just tired Osc. I’ve got a bit of a headache from sleeping so deeply. That’s all.”

Oscar hums, moving his hand from his forehead to his cheek. “Do you need anything?”

“Food,” Lando replies immediately, green eyes locked with Oscar’s brown ones. He looks dead serious. Like it’s a life and death situation.

The Australian giggles. “Yeah, were kind of behind schedule on that department, aren’t we?”

Lando huffs. “I can’t believe we napped through dinner time. I feel bad for Luka.”

Oscar listens to the ‘car noises’ coming from Luka’s bedroom. “I think he is okay? How about you go check on him and I make dinner.”

Lando fidgets with the sleeves of his hoodie. God, he looks tired…

“How about YOU go do your workout Kim gave you, while I make dinner,” the Brit says in response. “I wanted to FaceTime my family, together. And your mom as well. We should do that after dinner.”

Oh yes, that’s true. Kim gave him a short workout list so Lando and him could go to the adoption center early. His trainer will be quite annoyed with him if skips it…

“Hm, sounds like a plan. Will you be alright?” Oscar asks his boyfriend again, gently. He doesn’t want to overstep, but he’s worried.

Lando rolls his eyes with a fond smile. “Yes, you muppet. I’m a bit groggy, no more than that. I can make dinner just fine.”

The Brit kisses his cheek and detangles himself from Oscar. He stands up, spreading his arms to make his point.

“Alright, alright. I believe you.” The Australian follows him with a chuckle. Their high difference is more clear when they are standing right in front of each other. Oscar leans down slightly and kisses him softly. He can feel the smile on Lando’s lips.

Separating from the sweet kiss, Lando turns him around and gingerly pushes him towards the hallway. Oscar giggles and half heartedly resists, only to be pocked in the ribs. “Come on Osc…” Lando huffs.

The Australian puts up his hands placatingly and walks towards the hallway, leaving the older driver. He looks back one more time. Lando makes a shooing motion, with a fond look.

Oscar listens, he walks away for real this time.

He walks towards the hallway to Luka’s room, wanting to check in on the kid first. He pokes his head around the corner. Luka has turned the play carpet around and is playing on the city side. There’s a weird mash of normal cars, sport cars, and Formula 1 cars strewn around.

Luka is mumbling to himself. Oscar steps into the doorway and knocks on the door frame softly. The toddler looks up. He smiles when he sees it’s Oscar.

“Are you doing alright sweetie?” he asks his son. Luka nods happily. “Sorry for falling asleep on you… Papa and I were very tired…”

Luka shrugs. “It’s okay!” He is still moving the car he is holding over the carpet. He seems content. Oscar is happy that the toddler knows he can go to his room to play any time.

“Lando is making dinner right now. I will be in the room on the other side of the hallway until he is done,” he tells the kid.

Luka nods. He shows his dad a thumbs up and resumes playing with his cars.

Oscar huffs a laugh. He squeezes the door frame and watches Luka play for a couple more seconds, before moving to the master bedroom to change into his workout clothes. He walks to the home gym after.

There are a couple basic fitness machines in the room, like a treadmill, a stationary bike, and a weight bench with several different dumbbells and weights. It’s more than enough.

He follows the routine Kim sent him to a T. It’s luckily a short one, almost no cardio, mostly strength training.

It's when he’s doing some last simple cool-down stretches on the yoga mat that Luka sneaks into the room.

“Hello Osca! What are you doing?” the toddler asks him as the small child comes to stand next to him. Oscar looks up at him with a smile.

He has a bit of a flashback to his youth when Luka flops down on him with a giggle. But from the viewpoint of his mum.

Mum has been doing Pilates for as long as he can remember. And he, little Oscar, would always stop by to play airplane with her for a bit.

“Luka, want to play airplane?” he asks Luka with a smile.

The toddler tilts his head, not really understanding. He looks intrigued though, so Oscar decides to go through with it.

“Come here. Lean on my hands,” he tells the kid, as he puts his hands under Luka’s arms.

Luka listens and leans forwards. Oscar picks him up and folds his legs, so he is lifting the kid’s legs with his knees as well.

Luka giggles as he is hanging suspended in the air. Oscar holds him up, even though he can feel the strain in his stomach.

“Spread your arms. You’re an airplane now, Luuk,” the Australian tells him with a grin.

The toddler spreads his arms and squeals. The squeal turns into fully high-pitched laughter when Oscar moves him from side to side with a ‘nyoom’ sound effect.

“Oh no! Turbulence, hold on Luka!” He moves the toddler up and down. Luka screeches happily. Oscar laughs loudly at the kid’s excitement. He now knows why his mum would always indulge him. It’s freaking adorable!

It's an insane core workout though, and the Australian needs a second. He moves Luka back down, so he stands by his legs. He sits up himself and takes a moment to breathe.

Luka is still giggling. “Again! Again!” the kid cheers with the biggest smile.

Oscar throws his head back and laughs loudly.

“Sure, come here!” he holds out his hands when he has recovered. Luka flops down on them and Oscar lifts him up again, using both his hands and legs.

The kid can’t stop laughing. His giggles are infectious, and the Australian can’t help but laugh with him.

Airplane noises sound through the home gym, coming from the both of them. Airplane noises and laughter.

Another chuckle joins the room, and Oscar looks to the side to see Lando leaning against the door frame. The look in the Brit’s eyes is so fond, Oscar stops and stares for a moment.

Another squeal from Luka pulls his attention back to the little airplane he is holding.

He sways him around a bit more until the muscles in his stomach hurt. “Time to land, Luka, dinner is ready,” he tells their son with a bright smile.

“Food!” Luka cheers.

Oscar sits up and puts the kid back on his own feet. Luka is still giggling. The Australian grins at him. “Let’s go sweetie, papa is waiting for us.”

Luka nods excitedly. When Oscar stands up, he picks the toddler up with him, holding him against his chest. Lando is still waiting for them in the doorway, with the biggest gleaming smile.

The Brit is holding a fresh towel and drapes it over Oscar’s neck when he comes to stand in front of him.

“That was so insanely cute,” Lando says almost breathlessly.

Oscar laughs. He kisses the older driver’s forehead. Curls tickle his nose.

“How long were you watching?” he asks the Brit as they walk to the kitchen together.

“A while,” Lando tells him with a chuckle. The Australian blushes. He makes himself busy putting Luka in his highchair.

The table has already been set. Pans in the middle, glasses filled with water already.

Oscar uses the towel Lando gave him to dry most of the sweat off his face and neck. He then washes his hands, before sitting down in his now pretty much designated chair at the table.

“Thanks for cooking. And setting the table and everything,” Oscar thanks the older driver. Lando smiles at him. He doesn’t say anything, but the ankle that comes to rest against his own under the table says enough.

‘Of course. Always.’

God, he loves his boyfriend.

Oscar gets the honor of scooping up the food for all of them. It’s tandoori chicken rice with lots of (Lando approved) veggies.

It's good. The Australian doesn’t know why people always say Lando is a bad cook. Everything the Brit has made for them this week has been good.

Luka likes it as well. Of course the kid does… He survived the shakshuka too. Though he seems to have some trouble scooping up the rice with his fork. Oscar grabs a spoon for him halfway through.

The rest of dinner goes without issue, though Oscar notices Lando isn’t talking as much as usual. He’s eating less than usual. The Brit is leaning his head on his hand a lot, as if it’s too heavy.

He doesn’t look sick or anything. He seems rather content even, listening to his son and boyfriend talk with a smile on his face. He just looks tired. Blinking a lot, moving sluggishly.

He buts into the conversation every once in a while, but it’s way less often than usual.

Oscar focuses on Luka’s story. The toddler is talking about his day at McLaren, and it is super cute to hear about it from his viewpoint. Apparently, he has made friends with people in all different sections of the office.

The kid has learned things from Lando and Oscar’s colleagues that the racing drivers themselves don’t even know. Hearing about Emile’s secret dice collection and Sophie’s origami obsession from the excited view of a kid is a lot of fun.

He talks about Charlotte and Stephanie like he has known them for ages. Oscar is happy to hear their choice to leave Luka with them ended up being a good one. He was worried the exposure to so many new people might freak the toddler out, and have him revert back to his shy behavior from that first day in the paddock.

But the complete opposite happened and the Australian thanks the stars, and his amazing co-workers, that it went so well. It feels like a victory. Proof that Luka is becoming more comfortable with himself. And that he completely trusts what Lando and Oscar say and do.

The Australian complements Luka on being such a good kid and that everyone at the office was very happy that they got to meet him. Luka seems happy to hear that they have another day at the office tomorrow.

Oscar hopes tomorrow will go just as well as today did.

He knows it won’t be a walk in the park to have Luka unlearn the fearful behavior his mother taught him. But it’s a start. And if bad days should happen, Oscar has something to lean back on. Evidence that what he and Lando are doing for Luka is good.

He looks at Lando, who tries to hide a yawn. The Brit still has some food left on his plate, but has pushed said plate away from himself anyway. He looks exhausted.

With dinner being over, Oscar gathers all the plates. Only for Lando to complain.

“You go shower, Osc. I can clean up,” the Brit tells him on the other side of the table.

The younger driver frowns at him. “Lando…” He doesn’t know how to tell his boyfriend to go lie down, without sounding controlling. He remembers what the Brit told him yesterday: ‘In almost all those relationships the other person took control…’

He doesn’t want to push his boundaries and overstep by accident.

Lando seems to catch on what the Australian is trying to tell him. He smiles at the Australian. “I love you for being so observant. I’m tired, but I really want to call our parents before I go to bed… They deserve to hear from us…”

Oscar looks down at the small pile of plates. “We could call them tomorrow. They would be willing to wait,” he tells his boyfriend with a small voice.

He flinches when he feels Lando’s fingers brush over his forehead. Pushing the probably sweaty hair out of his eyes. Oscar looks up carefully.

His boyfriend is still smiling at him fondly. “I’m alright Osc. Thank you for noticing. And I will go to bed after we’ve talked to our parents.” He takes a breath, brushes another hair off of Oscar’s forehead. “But I’m too excited to tell them. I can’t wait till tomorrow.”

Oscar sighs and grabs a hold of Lando’s hand. “Alright, then I will shower quickly.” He squeezes Lando’s hand. Or as much of it as he can with his hand being way smaller than the Brit’s. “We should call your parents first. If you’re too tired after we will call my mum tomorrow.”

“Okay, agreed,” Lando says. He gives a squeeze back and then lets go of his hand. Oscar smiles at him softly before leaving the table. He walks towards the hallway and kisses the top of Luka’s head when he moves past him. The kid is still chilling in his highchair, not in a rush to get away from the table.

Chapter Text

Oscar showers quickly, using Lando’s products, again. It’s nice to smell like Lando. Calming. And his boyfriend hasn’t complained yet, so he doesn’t feel too bad. He makes sure to avoid the more expensive looking shampoo for curly hair though.

He dries himself just as quickly, rubbing the towel through his hair roughly to get it dry. He puts on his comfy sweatpants and grabs a freshly washed sleepshirt from the closet.

When he throws it over his head, he realizes that it smells like Lando as well. He should have known it would happen, since washing all their clothes together with the same detergent does indeed make all their clothes smell the same.

But it’s Lando’s detergent, and he just used Lando’s soap in the shower as well. He has a bit of a moment, where his brain needs to catch up to what’s going on. He stands frozen for a second, breathing in the comforting feeling of smelling his boyfriend on himself.

He shakes himself, telling himself it’s not a big deal. This is his life now. And it’s good.

He walks back towards the living room. He hears Lando chatting with someone. The Brit is sitting on the couch with Luka next to him, his laptop on his lap.

Lando notices him as he sneaks towards the couch. “Oh hey, you’re back! My parents were a bit impatient when I texted them…” he tells the Australian. “So I started without you, sorry.”

Oscar huffs a laugh. He’s actually glad Lando already started the call. The earlier they are done calling their parents, the earlier Lando can go sleep. He looks Lando over. He looks alright. All smiley and content.

Oscar walks over to where his boyfriend is sitting and picks Luka up when the kid makes grabby hands at him. He sits down right next to Lando, thighs flush against each other, and places Luka on his lap. Lando leans into him immediately.

Only then does he focus on the screen. Two happy faces meet him. Lando’s mum, Cisca, and his dad, Adam.

Oscar smiles at them politely. He realizes he completely forgot to be nervous about meeting Lando’s family, because he was too focused on Lando’s wellbeing.

“Hello Oscar! Thank you for keeping my son off the streets,” Cisca greets him. Oscar throws his head back in laughter. Lando giggles at his reaction. God, she would be a good potential friend for his own mum.

“I think it’s all thanks to him,” the Australian says with a grin when he is done laughing. He glances at Lando, who is smiling at him.

“We’ve already met you of course, but it’s nice to meet you like this, Oscar,” Adam speaks up. The older Norris smiles at him kindly.

Lando takes over the conversation after Oscar had some more time to chat with the Brit’s parents. They are both very kind and care for Lando so much the Australian can feel it through the screen.

They keep telling Oscar he is always welcome and that he is now part of their family.

When Lando reveals they have officially adopted Luka together his parents cheer happily.

“So we not only get a son in law but another grandchild too?! Lando! You could have warned us!” Cisca tells her son exasperated.

Lando scratches his goatee sheepishly. “I’m sorry… This week has been a bit of a roller coaster… It been a bit tough to keep everyone up to date…”

Adam laughs loudly. It’s warm, even though the speakers on the laptop make it sound a bit tinny.

“It’s a lot of work, a partner and a kid, huh?” the father says smugly.

Lando huffs. Oscar smiles at him and drapes his arm over the backrest of the couch. He plays with Lando’s hair.

“It’s good though, having a safe haven. People to take care off. Who want you to stay close to them,” Adam says, he looks off into the distance.

Cisca bumps his elbow with her own. “Don’t get all sentimental on him old man. Don’t embarrass him in front of his boyfriend,” she reprimands her husband.

Oscar blushes at being called Lando’s boyfriend. Hearing someone else say it is still a shock.

Lando scrapes his throat. “So, will you both be at the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend?” he asks softly.

“Ah yes, kiddo! And your sister Flo is coming with us as well,” Adam tells them.

“I can’t wait to meet Luka for real,” Cisca says excitedly. Oscar chuckles as Luka perks up at hearing his name.

“Family dinner on Friday?” Adam asks them. “Yes,” Lando replies, “together with the Piastri family if you don’t mind…”

“Sure! We’ve got to meet the other side of the family, don’t we?” Cisca says. Adam agrees with a nod.

Oscar smiles at them.

“And add you boyfriend to the family group chat will you. I want to be able to chat with my son in law,” Lando’s mum adds.

The Australian blushes, thanking her politely for being so welcoming.

After a bit more chatting, they kindly say their goodbyes.

“They’re leaving?” Luka speaks up all of a sudden. “Yes, little man,” Lando tells him, “but don’t worry. We have to say goodbye to grandma and grandpa Norris for now, but we will see them again, alright? Next week even!”

Luka nods, and then waves at the screen. “Bye grandma and grandpa Norris!” he says cheerfully.

Cisca and Adam melt immediately. “Byebye kiddo, we will see you soon.” The old man waves back. Cisca follows his example, unable to say anything.

Lando and Oscar wave as well, and then the screen goes blank. The call has ended.

“That went well!” the Brit says. He yawns right after.

Oscar massages his neck and Lando sighs at the feeling.

“It did… Your parents are lovely,” Oscar says. “Are you doing okay?” he can’t help but add.

Lando nods, the Australian feels the muscles shift in his neck. “Yeah,” the older driver tells him. He does sound a bit groggy though. “Let’s call your mum, then I can finally go to bed.” He rubs his eyes.

Oscar wonders if the Brit can still muster the energy to talk to his mum. He decides to bet on it and calls her on his phone. She picks up within seconds.

“Hey Osc! What’s going on sweetie?” she immediately greets him, before realizing she is looking at Lando and her new grandson as well.

She squeals and sits upright. “Hello you three! Nice to meet you Luka!” Luka waves at her politely. She waves back, confused but excited.

“Hi mama Piastri,” Lando greets her smoothly. Oscar rolls his eyes fondly. Too tired to function, but not too tired to be the perfect son in law.

“Oscar! You could have warn-” Nicole Piastri starts.

“Mum, we have something to tell you,” Oscar interrupts her before she can go on a tangent.

Mama Piastri falls silent.

“We officially adopted Luka today, together,” he starts. “Which makes you a grandmother.”

Lando snorts at his boldness. Oscar smiles at the screen as he watches his mum come to terms with the fact that she now has a son in law and a grandson.

“Way to drop a bomb on your mum, Osc,” Lando leans his head on Oscar’s shoulder.

Nicole unfreezes. “How-, what-, this soon?!”

Oscar nods. He tells her about today and everything that has happened. The day at McLaren, and the questions they asked at the adoption center. She squeals when she hears that they have chosen a double-barrelled last name for Luka.

Meanwhile, as he is talking, Lando leans more and more against him. Oscar moves his arm from the back of the couch to rest over the Brit’s back, hand on his waist. Keeping him in place as Lando fights falling asleep tooth and nail.

The Brit doesn’t succeed, and Oscar feels the exact moment Lando loses the fight. He goes limp, his breathing evening out. The Australian keeps chatting with his mum, but at a lower volume.

She notices. “Did he fall asleep?”

Oscar puts his head on Lando’s. “Yeah, sorry, he’s had a rough night…”

“Oh, don’t apologize! Poor boy…”

Oscar smiles at her softly. “I’m a bit worried about him though… He didn’t lose that much sleep, but he was so incredibly tired today. Had two naps. They didn’t help him at all. He feels a bit warm as well,” he shares his thoughts with his mum.

Nicole hums. “Did he say he was feeling sick?” Oscar shakes his head. “Then I think it’s just absolute exhaustion. He has been dealing with the same things you have been dealing with this week, and you complained to me you have been sleeping more than usual….”

Oscar frowns. “He has been acting like everything is normal. He is putting his energy into helping me feel comfortable.”

His mum nods. “And now that he feels safe and knows you will be there for him, the exhaustion hits him like a truck.”

Oscar looks down at Lando’s dark brown curls. Fond and worried at the same time.

“Go take care of him. We will call some other time. I’ve put the family dinner in my calendar already. Your sisters Hattie and Edie will be coming as well,” his mum rambles.

“Thanks. Glad to hear most of the family is joining us,” he says softly. “Talk to you soon, mum.”

“Talk to you soon, sweetie. And byebye, Luka. See you next week!”

“Bye grandma Pastry,” Luka says with a wave.

He can see his mum is trying not to squeal. Oscar chuckles and ends the call with another goodbye.

Then he is alone, with a sleeping boyfriend on his shoulder and a happy kid on his lap.

“Was it nice meeting your grandparents?” Oscar asks Luka softly. The toddler nods enthusiastically. He then looks at Lando.

“Papa is asleep?” he asks.

Oscar nods, carefully, trying not to dislodge the Brit. “He was very tired today… I’m going to bring him to bed. If you want, you can go play in your room for a bit. I will help you get ready for bed after I’m done helping Lando.”

Luka shows him a thumbs up and scrambles off the couch to go play in his room.

Oscar can now fully focus on his boyfriend. He still feels warm. The Australian can feel the difference in their body temperature where they touch. He heaves a sigh and tries not to worry.

He decides not to try and wake the Brit up. Lando is going to feel awful if he is woken up again.

He carefully bends over and slides his unoccupied arm under the Brit’s knees. And then pulls Lando into his lap. The older driver’s head lulls against Oscar’s chest and the Aussie hooks his chin over the top of it to keep him in place.

Lando’s breathing doesn’t change. The soft huffs stay the same.

If Lando can carry him, then he can carry Lando, right?

He scoots to the edge of the couch and gathers his and Lando’s weight. And then does the squat of his life; getting up while holding his boyfriend.

He has to adjust his hold slightly to keep him more secure against his chest. But it works, and Lando is still asleep.

He starts walking, carefully, slowly. He makes it into the bedroom, but the moment he gingerly sets Lando down on the bed, the Brit whines and wakes up.

Sort of.

“Wha’s happening,” Lando mumbles. He is able to keep himself upright. Oscar bends down to his eye level.

“You fell asleep on the couch. I’m just bringing you to bed,” the Australian tells him. He runs a hand through his curls. Lando makes a humming noise.

“I fell ’sleep ‘n front ‘f your mum…” the Brit complains sleepily.

Oscar giggles. Of course Lando worries about that…

“She said it was fine. She was more worried about you being that tired,” the younger driver explains to his boyfriend.

Another hum. The Brit blearily blinks his eyes. One of hands comes to rub at his face.

Oscar takes a deep breath. Sleepy Lando is adorable…

“Alright, let’s get you to bed,” he tells him. Lando nods groggily. Oscar grabs a hold of the hem of his sweater and lifts it. Helping the Brit take the sweater and then the t-shirt underneath it off.

Lando speaks up. “Not how I ‘magined the firs’ time being stripped by you would go…”

Oscar bursts out in giggles at the embarrassed face that follows after. He didn’t mean to say that out loud, for sure.

“’rry,” Lando says with a huff.

Oscar rubs his fingers through his curls with a big smile on his face. “You will get your chance, Lan. Don’t worry.”

Lando chuckles tiredly.

When he moves to take off his jeans himself, Oscar goes to grab a fresh sleepshirt for the Brit.

Though when he turns away from the closet with one of Lando’s faded band shirts, he sees that the Brit is face down on the bed already. Blanket pushed to the side.

He’s only wearing only his boxers. And his socks.

“Oh come on… at least take you socks off...” Oscar complains. Lando replies with an annoyed groan.

The Australian gives up on the shirt. If the Brit is that grouchy about having to take off his socks, there is no way he will get up to put on a shirt. He places the sleepshirt on the bedside table, just in case Lando wakes up feeling cold halfway through the night.

The sleep-drunk McLaren driver doesn’t make any move to take of his socks. Oscar can see he is on his way back to dreamland.

He decides to help Lando. But the moment he grabs hold of one of his socks, the Brit pulls his leg away like a cat not wanting its paws to be touched.

“No… Osc! Lemme have socks…” Lando whines.

Oscar sighs.

“’s cold…” his half asleep boyfriend adds.

Oscar rolls his eyes fondly.

Sleep-drunk Lando doesn’t have a brain to mouth filter at all. Also, it’s not cold. Lando is being goofy.

“It’s already a sin that you’re wearing socks to bed mate…” When was the last time he said ‘mate’ to Lando? Is the older driver’s sleep drunk behavior making him revert to his roots? “At least change the socks… You wore these all day.”

Lando doesn’t reply verbally. He just sticks up his sock clad feet and waits.

Oscar barks out a laugh.

He grabs a fresh pair of socks and indulges Lando. He changes the sock on each foot for a clean one. He again realizes that putting socks on someone else is actually a challenge. When he is done with a leg, Lando drops it down on the bed unceremoniously.

Wearing a pair of fresh socks, Lando heaves the biggest sigh Oscar has heard him do yet. The Aussie can’t help but giggle.

He pulls the duvet over Lando, leaving his shoulders uncovered, so the warmth coming off of his skin can maybe dissipate a bit.

He sits down next to the bed. At eye level with his boyfriend. Lando senses it, and his sleep muddled brain forces him to open is eyes and look at the Australian.

Oscar smiles as he sees pretty green eyes focus on him. He runs a finger over Lando’s nose. “Don’t feel too embarrassed about this tomorrow. I think it was cute.”

Lando huffs. Oscar can feel his breath tickle the hairs on his arm.

The Brit stares at him for a second. “Love you,” he says softly.

Oscar’s heart fills with warmth. “Yeah, I love you too,” he replies just as soft.

He leans forward and kisses his boyfriends nose, and then his cheek. He leans his cheek on Lando’s cheek for a moment, running a hand over his bare back. He still feels warm.

“Good night, Lan,” he says as he removes himself from the Brit. As he stands up, he hears Lando mumble a “g’night” too.

He turns off the light as he walks out of the room. He carefully closes the door, not wanting to startle Lando with any loud noise. He is probably already halfway into dreamland.

He leans against the wall in the hallway. Hiding his warm face in his hands. That was freaking adorable. Oscar might be going mad.

He needs a moment to process what just happened.

He also desperately wants to join Lando in bed and cuddle till he falls asleep. But he can’t, he shouldn’t.

For one, Luka is still up and could probably use some company until it’s his bedtime. And maybe he should take the quiet moment to finally call Mark. He completely forgot to keep his manager up to date.

He gathers himself and walks into Luka’s room. He tries to be quiet, as the kid seems super concentrated. He is mumbling to himself.

Oscar sits down next to the play carpet. Luka pauses and looks at him. Oscar smiles and then looks at the chaos that’s before them.

Luka waits.

For what, the Australian doesn’t know. But he didn’t mean to interrupt Luka’s fun. So he leans down and stares a bit closer at the tower of cows Luka made on top of the market.

He tilts his head slightly, wondering how the kid got them to stay stacked on top of each other. In the corner of his eye he sees Luka tilt his head as well, while looking at Oscar.

Oscar tries not to pay too much attention to it. He looks at the truck hauling a donkey on the other side of the map.

It works. Luka resumes what he was doing.

Oscar tries to follow along what sort of story the kid is playing out. But it’s too intricate for him to understand.

Eventually, Luka hands him a horse.

“Oh thanks,” Oscar says as he takes it from his son’s hand. Not sure what Luka want him to do with it, he makes the plastic animal hobble over the road.

“Attack the cows,” Luka explains. “The horses and the cows are fighting.”

Oh damn.

“Can I throw them over?” Oscar asks him.

“Only if the horses win,” Luka says seriously.

The kid pulls him into his play. Giving pointers on where to go. Oscar tries his best to follow along. Being the older brother of three commanding sisters has it plusses it seems.

Not that Luka minds it when Oscar deviates from the plan. The toddler actually seems to find it fun to look for different solutions when it happens.

Though he seems a bit hesitant here and there. He asks everything politely.

Oscar wonders how much Luka got to play with other kid’s like this in the past.

Lando and him should set up a playdate for him soon. Maybe with Penelope? Or Josh, if the kid’s dad approves.

Oscar doesn’t really know what time it is when Luka starts yawning. But with the cows placed strategically on the carpet, he carefully proposes to Luka that maybe he should continue the story tomorrow.

Luka hums, agreeing with him.

No tantrum. No ‘I want to keep going’. Luka agrees with him and even gets up before he does.

In the bathroom, Oscar helps Luka brush his teeth. The Australian did the kid’s hair today. While Lando likes to use a bit of gel to style the unruly fluff, Oscar prefers water and chaos, as he does for his own hair. It’s convenient now, since there’s no gel they need to wash out.

It makes Luka’s bedtime routine way shorter. He tries to get the toddler to wear the new pajamas they got at the store last Monday. Luka fusses at the idea.
“I want the big shirt!” the toddler tells him. He crosses his arms, making it impossible for his dad to put on the PJ’s.

Oscar huffs. “The big shirt is in our bedroom closet, sweetheart. I don’t want to accidentally wake up Lando…”

Luka pouts. “But I like the big shirt… It feels like a hug… I like hugs.”

Oscar pats the kid’s hair, trying to think of a solution. He puts his other hand on his hip automatically. Only to be reminded that the sleepshirt he himself is wearing is clean and has barely been worn.

He looks down at Luka, who is fidgeting, looking at the floor. He debates whether it’s stupid to give the kid his own shirt. It’s what he has on hand though…

“Luka? Would you like to wear my shirt?” he asks carefully.

The kid looks up and then looks at the washed-out shirt his dad is wearing. Luka thinks about it and then nods. Oscar sighs and takes his shirt off, draping it over the toddler instead.

Oscar’s shirt is even longer than Lando’s and reaches below Luka knees.

A little hum sounds from Luka. The little kid wraps him arms around himself with a content sigh. Oscar can’t help but smile.

“Ready to go sleep now?” he asks the toddler kindly

“Yeah,” Luka replies softly.

The kid climbs in bed himself. Oscar pulls the duvet over him and tucks it around him, so he is wrapped in a little cocoon. Luka giggles and snuggles more into the bed.

“Do you want a story?” Oscar says as he sits down next to the bed.

Luka shakes his head. “No?” the Aussie says, a bit surprised.

“I’m too tired… I want a hug and then sleep. I can have more stories tomorrow,” the kid mumbles. He is blinking his green-brown eyes to stay awake.

Oscar chuckles. He leans over and hugs him. Little arms escape the cocoon and wrap around his neck.

“I love you daddy,” Luka says with his cheek against his cheek.

“I love you too, son,” Oscar says back just a quietly. He kisses the kid’s forehead before pulling back. “Have a good night.”

“Good night,” Luka replies as he hides his arms under the blanket again.

Oscar smiles at the action. Luka closes his eyes, unable to keep them open now that he is lying down. The driver turns around and walks to the door.

He turns off the light and walks out, but before he closes the door, he whispers: “see you tomorrow”.

A pause. And then a very quiet “see you tomorrow” sounds from the other side of the room. Oscar is smiling as he closes the door.

And then he is alone, standing in the hallway of Lando’s, no, their apartment.

Without a shirt.

And suddenly he feels overwhelmed. Because what is his life? How did he get here?

He runs his hands over his naked arms, trying to soothe himself. His skin tickles. Energy is thrumming through his body.

The anxious feeling he has felt off and on this week is rearing its head again. Aw no! He was doing so well today!

He knows why; today has been a lot. He’s tired. Now that he is done caring for his boyfriend and kid, his body is finally able to process what happened.

The shaky feeling isn’t a surprise.

He is frustrated about it though… Because he was planning to finally call Mark this evening, but that will have to wait till tomorrow.

He walks into the living room, planning to find his forgotten hoodie and chill on the couch for a bit.

But when he stands there, alone, while he knows he can go to bed and cuddle up with his boyfriend…

His boyfriend.

Oscar wonders when it will start to feel like it is normal. He has a boyfriend, it’s Formula 1 driver Lando Norris who he has been looking up to for years. Who trusts him to take care of him when he needs it. Oh, and they have officially adopted a son together.

Normal stuff. Nothing to freak out about.

Yep, he is feeling too many feelings to sit on the couch by himself.

He turns off all the lights, locks the front door, and goes through his bedtime routine at a rapid speed in the bigger bathroom.

When he’s done, he carefully opens the door to the master bedroom, trying to be as quiet as possible. He sneaks in and closes it behind himself just as quietly.

He crosses the space to the side of the bed and carefully lifts the duvet. Lando is still breathing calmly. Soft snores as he breathes in. A part of Oscar immediately calms down at the sound.

Lando has rolled on his back apparently, and when Oscar lies down, he finds out that the Brit has his arm stretched out over Oscar’s side of the bed.

The Australian follows it, scooting over to Lando’s side. He gingerly lies his head down on the Brit’s chest, and wraps his arm around him. The other one is trapped between them.

The skin contact is soothing. The warmth coming from Lando’s skin, though less than before, grounds him.

Lando is fast asleep, but still notices Oscar’s arrival unconsciously. The Australian feels him sigh deeply, and then the arm not trapped by the younger man’s shoulder comes to rest along Oscar’s own. Grabbing hold of it sleepily.

The arm he had stretched out gets pulled in, and Oscar’s breath hitches when his boyfriend’s big hand comes to rest on the side of his neck.

The Brit hums half asleep. The Australian can barely make out an “’sc”. Lando surprises him by nuzzling his nose in Oscar’s hair for a moment, before he falls back asleep fully.

Oscar is wide awake. Heart thumping in his chest. Lando’s love for him is so clear it hurts. He softly squeezes him, buries his face more into the Brit’s chest.

He listens to Lando’s heartbeat for a while. Breathing with him. The feeling is amazing.

This is where he wants to be, forever. Loved and held by his incredible boyfriend.

He gets to sort his thoughts for a while, calmed down by Lando’s presence. It’s what he needed. He mentally apologizes to Mark Webber, for making him wait another day.

He eventually stops fighting his tiredness and falls asleep in Lando’s arms.

Chapter Text

Cozy. Happy. Loving.

The next couple of days are like that.

On Friday, they go to the office again. Of course after a sweet morning where Lando wakes up slightly embarrassed about the night before. Oscar can’t stop giggling at his boyfriend’s bashful glances.

He peppers the Brit’s face with kisses, before they go wake up Luka together.

It's the same song as the day before. They eat breakfast, go to the office together, try not to be too boyfriend-y in public.

Charlotte takes care of Luka for a while when both Lando and Oscar have meetings in the morning. The kid loves to wander around the section the PR Manager works at.

And Mars, Oscar’s assistant, is as quick as ever. They have a room prepared and reserved for Luka and his parents before lunch time. It’s their own private space, with a couch and table. The two drivers are more prepared today and have brought stuff for Luka to play with.

Oscar didn’t dare to disrupt the cows vs horses war going on in the kid’s room, so he packed the collection of dinosaurs instead. The kid’s crayons and a nice coloring book have been brought as well.

The Australian is able to explain the concept of the kids room to Luka right before lunch time. Luka is thrilled to have his dad with him. The room is less interesting. But when the younger McLaren driver unpacks the bag with toys, Luka settles and understands that the room is his space.

He is free to go there whenever he wants. As long as he tells the person who is keeping an eye on him.

When Bart finds out during lunch, that the McLaren office now has a kids room, he immediately starts rambling about his own daughter. He and his wife can never find a nanny on Tuesdays, and it would be great if he could bring Eva to the office instead. Now that there’s a designated space for kids and a daycare squad in place, he would be able to.

If Oscar and Lando agree of course. And his manager as well.

The two McLaren driver of course agree. More kids around Luka will be great for his development. Eva is the same age apparently, maybe half a year older. They are both preschoolers until next year.

Bart is so excited about the prospect of being able to bring his daughter to work, that he goes to his manager right after.

Within hours the office administration team is on the case. An office wide email is sent out to figure out who else has kids at home and is struggling to find daycare for them. A bunch of people indeed have preschoolers with no place to go on various weekdays.

A system is set up to help out those parents. More kids can be taken to the office like Luka. The administrators are even looking for a designated nanny to help keep everything on track and the kids happy.

A preschool teacher will be hired within days.

Lando and Oscar are amazed by how quickly everything changes. Tom has probably influenced the administrators, using the kid as a bargaining tool.

Oscar’s race engineer had been jumping to babysit Luka for a bit. So after lunch the drivers left Luka with him. At first Luka was a bit hesitant, but Tom’s excitement quickly won him over.

After lunch Tom may or may not have taken the kid to meet the administration team. Who were very much charmed by the polite toddler.

Later in the day, Oscar finds Lando and Luka in the racing sims, side by side. The room is empty, so Oscar leans over the back of Lando’s chair and hugs him, burying his face in his curls. Lando is so distracted by it he runs off the track, letting Luka by.

It turns into a race instead. With Luka not knowing the rules at all, they spent more time in the gravel than on the track. Luka can’t stop giggling at Lando’s reactions.

Oscar loves to see that Luka can be as much as a menace as Lando. And that the Brit is at the end of it almost all the time.

They go home together, and this time don’t fall asleep on the couch. Dinner is served on time.

After dinner, Luka goes to play in his room again. The fight between the horses and cows ends with the horses winning.

Lando takes some time to play video games with friends. With Max Fewtrell in particular.

Oscar finally calls his manager. Of course they have texted a bit this week, but Mark has no idea of the full development, AKA Oscar acquiring a boyfriend and a son.

Mark answers the phone pretty confused. Because Oscar doesn’t call him without warning. The younger Australian has to calm him down, as Mark immediately worries something is wrong.

Oscar is able to reassure him that everything is alright. He is calling because he wants to share how his week has been going.

Mark stays confused. So Oscar just tells him flat out. The entire story.

How Luka has been doing. How Lando has been helping Oscar out. How quickly their connection grew into a relationship. How natural it felt. How they have now officially adopted Luka, together.

Mark listens in silence for the most part. But Oscar does notice the excitement whenever he hums to keep Oscar going.

And Mark is indeed excited for him. When Oscar finishes with, “and I’m sorry for only calling you now”, Mark replies immediately tells him it’s fine and that he understands.

The older Australian congratulates him with way too much enthusiasm. Though Oscar fears slightly for Lando the next time the two meet. The Brit is going to be questioned by the manager for sure.

Mark is basically family. Oscar’s unofficial second dad.

And the young McLaren driver isn’t surprised by his protectiveness.

Yes, Mark is happy for Oscar and Lando, and he can’t wait to meet Luka. But he also tells Oscar to please be careful. That teammates can turn on each other when they both want the win.

He mentions the Multi-21 incident, because of course he does. Tells Oscar to never let what happens on track influence their relationship off track.

“We racer can behave erratically during races. Please, have a talk with Lando about those sorts of situations. How you two will handle being parents for Luka after a bad race weekend. How you will handle being in a relationship after having a fight on track,” Mark tells him.

Of course the situation is different. He and Sebastian Vettel weren’t in a relationship. But their friendship took a hit that day, and they needed some time to go back to the way they were.

Oscar tells him he will talk with Lando. No way is he going to let their careers ruin what they have right now. And he knows that Lando will agree. Oscar knows he is loved. That Lando will do, and has done everything for him and Luka.

He knows for sure they will figure it out once a fight happens. But it’s good to plan ahead and talk about it beforehand.

So he agrees with Mark. Something his manager proudly approves.

Oscar invites the older Australian to the family dinner, already having made the decision together with his boyfriend to invite him.

He didn’t expect Mark to get all sentimental, but it happens. Oscar giggles at how proud and happy his manager sounds.

Mark is thrilled to be invited.

The rest of the evening is super chill. They all do their own thing, but keep the doors open to stay connected. Oscar brings both Luka and Lando a drink and some snacks before going to relax on the couch.

His lips still tingle from the kiss Lando gave him when he handed the Brit a cold drink. He barely hears what the presenter on the TV is saying as he is too pre-occupied thinking off how Lando boasted about him to Max.

“No, Max, it’s like the sweetest thing ever. It’s the second time he has done this. I love him. He is such a cutie, and a gentleman, and he’s mine!”

The blush that crawled onto the Australian face after hearing that has yet to leave. Oscar half focusses on the TV, while he absorbs the sounds of Luka playing in his room and Lando playing CoD with Max. He relaxes against the pillows of the couch with a smile.

That’s the sound of home. A chaotic and energetic, but oh so happy home.

The weekend starts with another trip to the office. Since both Lando and him were free from Monday till Wednesday, they have a bit of work to catch up with.

Luckily the office is calm, and the work is over quickly. Before lunch they are already on their way back home.

Oscar reminds his boyfriend that they are almost out of groceries. And they decide to go on a grocery shopping trip together.

Which turns out to be a horrible idea…

Saturdays are the absolute worst day to go grocery shopping and Oscar remembers why he never goes to the supermarket during the weekend.

It’s CROWDED.

Luka is held in Oscar’s arms the entire time. Lando behaves like he is only helping ‘single dad Oscar’ out by keeping his distance and grabbing what Oscar tells him to. Lando reminds him of some things they need in a very funny way. Acting all friendly and helpful when he is in fact giving himself the chance to non-suspiciously add things to the cart.

Oscar has to keep himself from cracking up many times. “What about eggs? Do you still have enough eggs?” the Brit asks him when they walk past another family. Oscar grins at him. “Now that you mention it, I think I’m all out,” the Aussie tells him.

Lando hums and adds a carton of twenty-four to the shopping cart. Which is totally not suspicious and definitely a normal amount of eggs Oscar would buy if he lived by himself.

Definitely.

Lando’s theatrics are really cute though, and nobody is calling them out on their bullshit. The younger driver lets him.

The luckiest part is that no one comes up to them or shoves a phone in their face during their time at the grocery store. Oscar is amazed by it. Everyone seems too busy with their own thing to take notice, or bother, the little family.

He does check social media later to see if anyone took any pictures of them, wanting to know if they need to do any damage control.

But he finds none. Only the old photos circulating over and over again. The Landoscar tag is for some unknown reason very sophisticated. After the freakout there at the start of the week, the fans have decided collectively to give them space.

Yes, the tag is very busy. But it’s also pretty respectful and kind.

‘If you see them in real life, no you didn’t. For the love of god: leave them be. Don’t be like the paparazzi. If you do find new pictures taken of them without their consent, DO NOT repost them. They deserve their space. Especially if Luka is with them.’

Thousands of fans agree.

‘They are raising a child together. What more could we possibly want? Respect them and wait. Patience my friends.’ The post has 10K likes. Many comments echo the ‘patience my friends’.

Lando giggles in amazement when Oscar shows it to him.

That might explain the lack of new photos.

On Sunday they have the entire day off. Which they start as lazy as possible.

Yes, Luka does wake them up at eight-zero-zero, but doesn’t mind cuddling in the big bed for a while.

They make a big breakfast and eat it on the balcony together, basking in the morning sun. Breakfast evolves into them lazing around on the lounge set after they bring a bunch of Luka’s toys to the balcony.

Oscar worries at first about the kid playing on the balcony. They are two stories up. Luckily the railings are high, reaching Oscar’s midsection. Thick glass panels, without any gaps the kid could possible fall through. There are gaps between the panels and the floor though, so Lando makes it his life mission to close them. That way Luka’s cars and other toys can’t accidentally roll off.

And both drivers agree that Luka is only allowed on the balcony if one of them is there as well. At least until he is older.

It’s a nice calm morning. And at the end of it, they pack some sandwiches and drinks to go to the playground again.

It’s way busier than last time, so Oscar and Lando are a bit wary. Some of the locals recognize them and greet the when they walk up to the playground. They politely greet them back. Oscar with a bit of embarrassment at being recognized already.

A kid runs up to them immediately. “Luka! You’re back!!!”

“Josh!!!” Luka runs up to his friend, leaving his dads behind.

Lando giggles as Josh grabs Luka’s arms and happily jumps up and down. Luka laughs and joins him, jumping up and down as well. Oscar watches them fondly.

Luka runs off, following Josh, but freezes and looks behind him for a second. At his dads. Lando and Oscar smile and wave at him. Luka grins and waves back, and then goes back to running after Josh.

Lando and Oscar find a spot at the benches this time. There is one occupied by an elderly lady who is knitting something. She smiles at them and pats the bench to let them know there is enough space for them. They sit down with a smile, making sure to keep some space between them.

The lady keeps on knitting, throwing glances at the playground to see if her grandchild is still behaving.

Lando and Oscar get lost in a conversation for a while. Eating their sandwiches in peace.

That is until the lady speaks up in broken English. “Are you two the new husbands they are speaking about? The two dads with the calm son?” She says it kindly, with a sparkle in her eyes.

Oscar chokes on the sip of water he was taking. Lando pats him on the back. The Australian is freaking out. There is gossip about them going around at the playground? Also, husbands?!

Lando looks at him, and must see the fear in his eyes. The Brit opens his mouth to say something, but closes it again.

What do they do? Lie? Tell the truth? She already sort of knows the truth it seems.

They apparently take too long to reply, as the lady speaks up again.

“Please! No worries! The park is safe. We are like family here. We keep secrets,” she tells them. She doesn’t stop. “I had girlfriend as well. She is not here anymore, but I loved her. Way better than husband…”

Lando giggles awkwardly at her story, which makes her smile at them again. “See? It’s same! I know you worry. But no need.” She pauses her knitting, laying her project on her lap.

Oscar takes a deep breath. Lando looks at him, urging the Australian to talk to her. Giving him the space to decide what he will reveal.

“Uhm, thank you. We are not husbands, but boyfriends. It needs to stay a secret for now though… Luka, the boy with the red sweater, is our son,” Oscar tells her carefully.

She nods. “He is very sweet boy. I hope my grandson Jonas can make friends with him.” She points at the blond boy in the sand pit.

“How old is Luka?” she asks. “Three years old,” Lando replies.

“Ah! Same age! Would be perfect. Maybe will be in same class next year,” she says with a laugh.

Oscar and Lando agree. It would be nice for Luka to make friends before going to school. That way he doesn’t feel alone. The lady chats with them some more, but leaves them be after, continuing her knitting.

The Australian doesn’t know what to think of the conversation yet. Should he be worried?

Yet he didn’t see anything online from their last time at the park. Maybe they can trust her in that the people here do keep their secrets. Everyone greets them politely. The mothers that come up to them later are all very kind. They don’t specifically mention the relationship between the two drivers, but Oscar can see in their eyes that they may know.

It does make him anxious and fidgety. Which Lando notices.

Lando leans towards him. “Will it help if I lay my arm around you or is that going to make it worse,” he whispers. Oscar looks into his green eyes. There’s a worried frown on his face.

Oscar throws his hands up and sags down on the bench a bit. “I don’t know…”

He is freaking out about people knowing, Even though it seems he doesn’t have to. Everyone is all happy and kind. Behaving friendly and welcoming.

Nobody is taking pictures of them. Everyone keeps a polite distance. Everyone that comes to talk to them mostly talks about Luka and how well behaved the kid seems.

It confusing. All of it. And Oscar sort of wants to leave so he can hide at home and not deal with whatever this is.

But Luka is having so much fun, and more kids are joining him and Josh in some sort of hide and seek tag game.

Oscar doesn’t know what he wants.

“Let me know if I make it worse, alright?” Lando says softly next to him. And then a familiar arm drapes over the backrest, right along Oscar’s shoulders.

When the Australian doesn’t push him away, but slightly relaxes instead, the Brit starts fidgeting with the fabric of Oscar’s shirt. Rubbing soft circles into his skin without being too obvious.

The younger driver takes a deep breath, and wishes he could lean he entire body against his boyfriend. Like he has done many times before in the past week.

But no, he doesn’t trust the people around them yet. He and Lando are not tucked away next to a bush this time. He doesn’t want to broadcast their relationship. Not now.

It takes a while, but Oscar eventually relaxes.

The old lady leaves a bit later. She says goodbye to them before calling Jonas over. Luka waves at the blond boy as he leaves. The kid had joined their game. Oscar isn’t sure he can call them friends yet, but Luka will definitely recognize the kid the next time they come here.

The empty space on the bench doesn’t stay unoccupied for long. A man settles down next to them with a grin. He looks a bit other than the two of them, probably in his early thirties. Dark hair and a trimmed beard frame his round face.

Oscar recognizes him. Lando does too. “Oh! Hi, you’re Josh’s dad,” the Brit says politely. He sticks out a hand, which the man shakes.

“Yes! And you two are Luka’s dads,” he replies. “The name is James. I’m happy to finally have some fellow dads at the playground.”

Lando and Oscar introduce themselves as well. Oscar shakes his hand with a polite smile.

“Welcome to this little community. It’s mostly locals here, tourists don’t know the place. Or don’t care for it. Do you two live close by as well?” He points to the reddish brick houses that can be seen through the trees. “We live over there.”

Lando and Oscar share a look, not sure how much to tell him.

“Oh shoot, sorry. I forgot you two are Formula 1 drivers. You shouldn’t tell me if it compromises your safety,” James adds, horrified.

Oscar flinches. Lando’s hand freezes on his shoulder. This man has seen them cuddle on a blanket last week.

“You… know?” Lando mumbles.

“I- yes- sorry, don’t mean to stress you out. I recognized you two last Tuesday. I’ve seen him on the podium last week.” He points to Oscar. “But please know that it doesn’t matter? There are lots of kids here with famous parents. We are in Monaco after all.”

He smiles at them. His round face makes him look kind. “Heck, my wife is a famous businesswoman. And I’m an artist with quite a good number of regular customers. We all want to keep our kids and private lives safe here.” He gestures at the playground.

Oscar nods slowly. Lando squeezes his shoulder.

“Sorry for ruining… this… I hope it doesn’t make you stay away from this place,” James says awkwardly.

Lando shakes his head. “Oh, no you didn’t. It’s fine. We are just trying to keep our relationship a secret for the time being…”

“It’s safe with me, I swear,” the man says desperately. “Josh has a hard time making friends since he can be quite bossy and a ‘know it all’. I’m so happy he met Luka. He has been talking about your kid all week. I will do everything in my power to make sure they can stay friends. Which includes keeping your relationship a secret.”

Oscar can see how much it means to him. He unconsciously scoots closer to Lando. Needing his steady presence. “It’s alright. It’s nice to finally meet you properly. I’m happy to hear Josh has been talking about Luka that often. Luka was the same. He boasted about making a friend at the playground to everyone he met this week,” the Australian tells him kindly.

James heaves a sigh in relief. “That’s good!” Lando chuckles.

After the first shock, the trio has a nice conversation about their kids. They agree on Josh and Luka playdates. Arranging the first one after the McLaren drivers are back from the GP in Canada.

Josh is apparently one year older, but is being homeschooled right now since he had a hard time making friends in class.

They tell James about Luka’s possible abuse, and that the kid has probably never really had friends before. Being around Josh and other kids will be great for his development.

James is quite sad to hear about Luka’s past. He expresses that he is happy that befriending Josh might be helpful for the toddler.

They talk for a while longer. About all sorts of things. James works from home apparently, while his wife is away often. She does take several weeks off in a row in the summer and winter though. It works for them, but Josh doesn’t see her that often. Only during the weekends or late in the evenings.

Lando and Oscar tell him about their own messed up schedule and that they don’t know yet how Luka will react to all the traveling.

James offers to take care of Luka when they need him to, after the parents get to know each other better.

It’s nice to learn about Josh and his family. And James asks good questions. Not too invasive, but deep enough to really get to know them.

Lando eventually asks him if they could see some of his artwork. At which James gasps.

“I forgot I drew you guys!” he exclaims as he grabs his backpack and rummages through it. He pulls out a sketchbook. “This is my doodle book. I use it to pass time. Usually at the playground as well.”

He flips through it. Oscar watches over Lando’s shoulder. He recognizes some of the people in the drawings. There’s a drawing of the old lady they talked to earlier. Her knitting project on her lap. It’s a nice sketch. Rough around the edges, but it perfectly captures her.

A couple of pages later he is staring at a sketch of him and Lando, sitting on the blanket together. Oscar leaning against Lando. The Brit’s arm around him. His head is on the Aussie’s shoulder. If Oscar looks well, he can see the fond smile on his own face.
“I hope it doesn’t bother you…” James says, as he hands them the sketchbook.

“It’s gorgeous…” Lando says softly. Oscar hums in agreement. They look so soft and happy. Is this how the people who know of their relationship see them?

They both stare at the beautiful sketch.

“You can keep it if you want?” James tells them. When Oscar looks at him, he sees a happy grin on the man’s face. “Yes please, we would love that,” the Australian says. Lando smiles at him.

Oscar has to keep himself from kissing his boyfriend. They are in public, he reminds himself. Even if said public place seems to be a safe space. He doesn’t dare to yet.

At home the sketch gets an honorary place on the fridge, right next to Luka’s drawing. They kind of want to frame it, and maybe they will in the future. But for now it is part of the art collection that is slowly growing on the fridge door.

Lando had taken a polaroid picture of Luka and Oscar on the balcony this morning. Oscar made him add it as well.

They both know the fridge will be filled with memories in no time.

On Monday Lando has a photoshoot with a sponsor. Luka and Oscar are home alone, with the Australian needing to do some work on his laptop.

It’s not as strange for Oscar to be alone in Lando’s apartment. Not anymore. It’s becoming his own home as well.

That day his clothing and other stuff from his own apartment in London gets delivered. It’s only his clothing and personal items. He doesn’t know what to do with the furniture, and he hasn’t sold the apartment yet. So Oscar has decided to tackle that problem at a later date.

Maybe they can keep the apartment, for when they have to go to the MTC? That way they don’t have to stay at a hotel. The old apartment even has two room. He could re-organize the second room, which he didn’t use much, for Luka.

He will have to talk about it with Lando.

On Tuesday, the drivers both have some work to do in the morning, and they even visit the office for a couple of hours. Luka doesn’t mind it at all, as he gets to spend some time with Eva, Bart’s daughter. They become fast friends as they both like drawing, and cars. Eva likes motorcycles especially, and even lets Luka play with the motorcycle toy she has with her.

Plus, Eva is super chill. Calm and polite like Luka. Lando and Oscar are happy to see how content Luka looks when they come to pick him up.

They collect the passport in the afternoon. Lando and Oscar giggle fondly at how happy Luka looks in his picture.

The rest of the afternoon and evening are spent packing their bags and getting ready for tomorrow.

It’s time to go to Canada.

Chapter Text

Oscar, Lando and Luka make their way through the airport towards Max’ private jet. The Dutch man invited the little family to fly with him and Charles.

The McLaren drivers immediately agreed, happy with the invitation. It’s a long way to Montreal. Eleven hours to be exact. Horribly long for Luka’s first flight. Having the space to move around will be great for him. And he knows Max and Charles already.

Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is the closest to Monaco and has a separate terminal for private jets. The VIP treatment they get is great. Luggage is checked in for them at a separate entrance. The only other people at the terminal are other private jet customers and staff.

Lando has flown with Max before and leads the way. The Brit is carrying his and Oscar’s shared backpack, as well as Luka’s Cars backpack. The red backpack has been filled with the kid’s toys, coloring books and pencils, and other thing to keep him busy.

Oscar follows his boyfriend closely, carrying Luka in his arms. The toddler has his arms wrapped around the Australian’s neck. Luka is humming a song that Oscar vaguely recognizes as one of the country songs that Lando listens to. The kid is contently looking around.

When Lando asked him if he had flown before, Luka said he didn’t think so. The two drivers suspect that he has actually flown before, but he doesn’t remember.

Oscar hopes everything goes well. Luka seemed excited to hear that they were going to be above the clouds. Oscar doubts the excitement will still be the same a couple hours after departure.

A member of the staff is waiting for them. “Lando and Oscar? the kind stewardess greets them. “Yep, that’s us,” Lando greets her. Oscar nods and smiles politely. She smiles back at him and focuses on Luka. “And Luka, of course,” she adds. She waves at the kid. Luka removes an arm from Oscar’s neck and waves back, ever the polite one.

“Welcome! The jet is this way. Please, follow me.”

She leads them outside and the black and orange jet is immediately spotted by Luka. “Woah! Super cool!”

Lando giggles at the kid’s amazement. “That’s Max’ plane, sweetheart,” Oscar says.

They climb the stairs and enter the beautiful jet. The crew greets them. Luka waves again, charming the crew.

Already.

Several voices can be heard, and when Oscar turns the corner, he spots Max and Charles.

And Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon.

“Uncle Chals! Uncle Max!” Luka wiggles in Oscar’s grip. The Australian puts him down as Lando steps aside, giving the kid the space to run towards the other drivers.

Max immediately bends down. “Hey-hey kiddo! I’ve missed you!” He hugs Luka and grins as the toddler starts excitedly talking about the plane. When Charles leans over, Luka makes grabby hands at him.

The Monegasque happily picks him up. Max stands back up at the same time, keeping up his conversation with the little kid.

Oscar is watching it happen with a smile. He sees Lando look at him in the corner of his eye. The Australian looks back at him. They share a grin.

Alex walks up to them and the moment is broken. The Williams driver shakes both their hands in greeting. “Congrats on the son,” Alex says with a giggle.

Lando snorts at the comment. Oscar smiles, but internally he is trying to figure out what the William driver knows.

Also, what does Pierre know? He walks up to the French man and shakes his hand as well.

“I didn’t know you two would be flying with us too,” Oscar says sheepishly. Pierre laughs. “Yeah, that’s totally Charles fault. He invited me, but didn’t even tell Max.”

“Way to blame it on me!” Charles speaks up, having listened in. “I didn’t know that Alex would be flying with us as well, since some guy forgot to tell me.” He glares at Max, who barely notices it, as he is too busy showing Luka all the cool things around the plane.

Oscar doesn’t really know what to do or say. He wasn’t expecting extra company. Max and Charles are the only drivers who know about the relationship between Lando and Oscar. The Australian had planned on a peaceful flight where they wouldn’t have to hide their relationship.

They already have to act like normal teammates all weekend. And now on the eleven hour flight as well?

Wait… Do Alex and Pierre even know about Max and Charles…?

He looks at Lando for help. Hoping the Brit will take the lead, like he always does. But the Brit is putting away the backpacks and doesn’t notice.

Luckily, Oscar doesn’t have to say anything yet, as the conversation goes elsewhere. Luka has been put down on the floor again and runs back to Oscar. “Daddy, it’s so cool here!” He does his familiar leg grab and then looks at Pierre and Alex with curious eyes. Oscar pats his hair. It distracts him from the questions running through his mind.

“Hi, Luka! I’m Alex,” the William driver greets the kid with a smile and a little wave. “Nice to meet you.”

Luka greets him, though a bit shyly. “Alex, and Pierre,” Oscar points at the French man, “are also friends of me and Lando. They are racecar drivers too.”

Pierre crouches down in front of Luka. “I’m Pierre, Charles best friend,” he tells the kid. Luka holds out a hand. Pierre shakes it and looks up at Oscar a bit bewildered.

The Australian giggles. “Yeah, he is very polite. Greets everyone the way Lando and I greet people.”

“Cute,” Pierre says with a grin. He stands up again just as Lando joins them. “He knows how to do a fist bump. But he keeps shaking hands like a tiny businessman,” the Brit jokes.

Oscar raises his arm towards Lando automatically, but drops it when he notices what he’s doing. Lando glances at him. The Aussie can basically feel how the Brit scans his face. The younger McLaren driver doesn’t like the resulting frown.

The crew interrupts them. They are ready to depart. If everyone could find a seat. The stewardess from before comes up to Oscar with a booster seat for Luka. “Penelope flies with us as well, sometimes. We are well equipped to take care of toddlers,” she says as she places the seat on the forward facing chair next to the window.

“Ready to go above the clouds?” Lando asks Luka. The kid nods excitedly.

Oscar smiles at them. “Want to sit next to him?” he asks the Brit softly.

“You sure?” Lando replies. A squeeze to the Aussie’s elbow. A hidden bit of comfort. Oscar nods, and gently pushes him towards the seat next to Luka, hand on his lower back.

Alex is too busy chatting with Max to notice, and Pierre has already taken a seat with his back towards the two double seats.

Oscar chooses to sit down in the seat facing Luka. A table separates them, but said table will be perfect if Luka wants to draw later.

Alex walks over to them. “Mind if I sit with you guys?”

Lando makes eye contact with Oscar, and leans his head to the side slightly. Their silent conversation skills have been developing like crazy in past week.

The Australian replies to Alex, it’s what Lando is asking from him. “Sure, mate,” he says as he leans more towards the window, giving Alex more personal space.

Alex sits down with a thank you and fastens his seatbelt. “Is this Luka’s first time flying?” he asks.

“The first time he remembers,” Lando tells him. Alex hums and smiles at the kid when Luka looks at him. “Are you excited?”

Luka nods happily.

“It’s nice you got the window seat. We’re flying over France, so you will be seeing a lot of cool things.”

“Like clouds?”

Alex chuckles. “Yeah, lots of clouds. But mountains and cities also.”

Luka hums and excitedly wiggles his feet. The plane starts moving, and the kid focusses on what happens outside.

They roll onto the runway. Lando turns to Luka. “Alright, remember what we told you?”

“The engine will make noise, and then we go drive fast and fly away,” Luka recalls.

“Yes, good job remembering. They are testing the wing flaps now. You can see them move,” Lando says. He points outside and Luka follows where he is pointing as the engines start to rumble.

“Woah.”

And then the plane drives off, gaining speed quickly. Oscar watches Luka’s face intently. He personally dislikes take-off and landing the most. He hopes Luka finds it more fun than scary.

The kid looks a bit spooked, but when Lando puts a hand on his shoulder he relaxes partly. The plane lifts from the ground, the swooping feeling familiar in Oscar’s stomach.

Luka leans forward, basically glueing himself to the window. The city becomes smaller and smaller. They turn north to go west, and Luka gets a full view of Nice.

Oscar smiles at the fascination on the kid’s face. Lando points out some things for him, having flown in this area many times before. Luka nods, full focus on what’s going outside.

The kid starts yawning, his ears probably feeling weird from the air pressure. Oscar fishes the bag of Haribo candy from his hoodie pocket. He has kept it on him for this exact reason.

Alex gasps. “You have a secret stash and didn’t tell me the whole time?” the Williams driver whisper yells. Oscar barks out a laugh as he grabs two cola candies from the bag and holds them within Luka’s eyesight.

The kid spot them and takes them from Oscar’s finger. He eats one and holds the other one in a tight fist. Lando and he have figured out which candies and snacks the kid likes the most. Cola flavored things are very high on the list.

He holds out the bag to Alex. “The cola thingies are Luka’s favorite, so if you could avoid them…”

“Of course!” Alex says as he grabs two gummy bears from the bag.

Oscar holds the bag out to Lando next, who snorts and says “the first and last one of this weekend…” The Australian giggles. “I highly doubt it, but I will let you believe it,” he replies.

He grabs some candy for himself as the plane stops ascending as quickly. The seatbelt light turns off. There’s movement behind Oscar and then Max’ face peeks around the corner of the double seats.

“I hear you guys have candy?” the Dutchman says. Charles smacks his shoulder. “We’re literally on your private plane. You know, where you hide your secret stash of M&Ms?”

Max drops down on the credenza, a bench that’s placed along the sidewall of the plane. It faces the conference table the little family, and Alex, are sitting at.

Charles sits down more gingerly. Folding his legs under him and leaning against Max. Oscar’s eyebrows rise at the blatant show of affection. Especially after Max wraps his arm around the Ferrari driver’s waist.

Pierre, who follows them to the bench as well, doesn’t blink an eye. And Alex is more interested in the M&Ms than the couple behavior.

Oscar thinks about what Alex’ and Pierre’s non-reaction means as he holds out the bag to Lando, who takes it and holds it out to Max. The trio on the bench all politely take a piece of candy from the bag.

When Max hands the bag back to Lando, the Brit leans over to him and whispers something. Max looks confused for a moment, nods, and then looks up at Oscar.

“Oh. Yes, Alex and Pierre know about me and Charles,” the Dutchman says out loud. Lando’s shoulders sag in relief and Oscar can feel some of the tension leave his own body.

Alex perks up. “Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s only fair,” he starts. Oscar moves himself so he is facing Alex more. The Williams driver looks at the McLaren duo and sheepishly scratches his neck. “George and I has a bit of an arrangement when we both started Formula 1. They know about that too. An eye for an eye?”

Lando’s eyes get comically wide. “Are you… serious?” Alex nods.

“What sort of arrangement? If you don’t mind us asking…” Oscar says quietly, not sure if he is understanding it right.

Alex looks at Luka who is still very engrossed in the world outside the window. He probably won’t hear or understand the conversation with how distracted he is.

“Intimacy after races…” Alex admits.

Lando gasps. “No! And I never knew?!”

Alex chuckles. “Our first years in F1 were quite… tough. We were high strung. It was just a bit of fun. Stress relief. Comfort. It ended when he got a girlfriend, since it was supposed to be casual. And I met Lily shortly after.” He shrugs in a ‘it is what it is’ sort of way.

Oscar stares at Alex. The Williams driver is smiling. Fondly.

“Was it…” Oscar pauses, trying to figure out what he wants to ask. “Did it hurt when it ended?”

Alex hums. “Yeah, I guess. I did have feelings for George. It’s kind of hard to not develop feelings for each other when you’re sharing so much?” He looks at Oscar with a slight frown. “Eh, I don’t know. We’ve put it behind us. It was fun while it lasted, and we are both happy with our partners now. We’re good friends still.”

Lando looks distraught. Oscar can imagine why. The Brit started his Formula 1 career at the same time as George and Alex. Sees them as friends. But they never told him.

Oscar understands though, very much. It’s a secret that should never see the light of day outside of the group they are with now.

Lando speaks up, picking at his nails. “Why are you telling us this now?”

Alex sets his elbow on the table and leans his head on his hand. “Because we’re sharing gay little secrets.” He looks at Pierre. “And I’m not the only one with one.”

Pierre immediately looks away.

Charles giggles.

Alex keeps staring at the Frenchman expectantly. Pierre looks at them and then looks away again.

Oscar doesn’t want him to feel pressured. “You don’t have to tell us. Just because Alex shared his story doesn’t mean you have to as well.” Lando nods in agreement.

Pierre looks at the Australian. “Thanks Oscar-”

“Aw, come on! But it’s not even an embarrassing story. It’s just cute,” Charles says, bumping his shoulder against his friend.

Oscar realizes the other drivers are oversharing because they suspect Lando and him. They are trying to make them feel comfortable. Give them an easy and safe space to share their relationship status.

Pierre fidgets with his watch. “I guess I could share…”

“You really don’t have to if it makes you feel uncomfortable,” Lando tells him.

“No, Charles is right. It IS kind of cute,” he shakes his head and gathers himself. “Yuki and I… have been flirting with each other a bit too close to the sun…”

Oscar smiles at the bashful look on Pierre face.

“He-” the Frenchman pauses, lost in thought. He scrapes his throat and tries again. “Okay. He has been trying really hard to seduce me… And it’s working. And he knows it’s working. And if he was the one to choose, we were already official. But I’m absolutely terrified.”

Charles pats him on the back. “You’re in denial, that’s why.”

Pierre glares at him. “No I’m not!”

Alex giggles at the blush that is starting to show on the Frenchman’s face.

“I’m not! I know I like him…” He takes a deep breath. “It’s just not how I imagined my life to be. I wanted a wife and kids and a cute little house in the countryside after I’m done with Formula 1…”

“But slowly the image of your future wife is replacing itself with Yuki Tsunoda,” Charles jokes.

Pierre hides his face in his hands with a groan. Lando snorts while Max barks out a laugh.

“That’s really sweet, Pierre,” Oscar says genuinely. The Frenchman shows him a painful smile.

“So… What are you two now? In the flow?” Lando asks.

“In the flow?” Pierre asks.

“Like, that stage where you know you like each other, but it feels too soon to make it a relationship,” the older McLaren driver explains.

“That’s a normal thing to dating?” the Frenchman says incredulously.

“Yes.” “Yep.” “Definitely.”

“Oh.”

Oscar smiles at the how the nervous energy leaves Pierre’s body.

The Australian looks at Lando, who is still grinning at the Frenchman.

He thinks they should share. Alex and Pierre laid out a red carpet to them.

Lando makes eye contact with him. A leg comes to rest against his, and Oscar knows it’s his boyfriend who is trying to give him some hidden support.

He takes a deep breath, and dares to talk. “Speaking of gay little secrets…” All the attention suddenly switches to him, and he freezes for a moment. Charles smiles at him encouragingly.

He swallows nervously. “Lando and I are in a relationship.”

“Aw heck yeah!” Alex immediately cheers.

Pierre is grinning at them. “Congrats you two. I was hoping you two would be, with how well you seem to be coparenting Luka.”

Alex beams at the McLaren drivers. “I suspected it. Glad to know my gut feeling was correct. That’s amazing.”

A weight falls off Oscar shoulders. He pushes his leg against Lando’s. The look the Brit sends him is a proud one.

“We do want to make it public in the future. It’s supposed to stay a secret for a while longer,” Lando explains to Pierre and Alex.

They both nod.

“Having to act like we’re just friends is a bit difficult though, after how close we’ve grown in the past two weeks…” Oscar says sheepishly.

Pierre grimaces. “Yeah, I can imagine.”

Max speaks up for the first time in a while, having quietly listened to them talk. “You two should just snuggle on the plane. That’s what Charles and I do. It’s like charging a battery.” He emphasizes it by hugging his boyfriend and leaning his chin on the Monegasque’s shoulder.

Lando and Oscar look at each other. The Australian craves it. And now that the secret is out, they can actually be as sappy as they want.

Alex laughs loudly and gets up from his seat to let Oscar out. The Aussie leaves the row slightly embarrassed. Luka’s booster seat gets thrown on the couch behind them. Lando puts the kid on his lap instead and shuffles over to the window seat.

When Oscar sits down on Lando’s original seat, the Brit throws his arm around him instantly. Oscar relaxes against him with a sigh.

Alex giggles while Pierre nods knowingly.

The Williams driver scoots over to the window and makes space for the Frenchman. “Finally! An actual seat,” Pierre says as he flops down in the open chair.

“What’s wrong with the bench?” Charles says slightly offended.

Pierre grins at him. “You two are on it.”

The banter that follows makes Oscar laugh.

Luka eventually becomes a bit bored looking out the window. The adults pull him into a conversation. Lando and Oscar did a really good job of making Luka drive on Gilles-Villeneuve, the circuit they are racing on this weekend.

So Luka is able to ask questions about that, and follow Pierre’s rant about the hairpin curve. Because he has driven it, and his dads have shown him the racing line.

Max thinks it’s cute as fu- frick that they have been sim racing with Luka. “Can I PLEASE race with him sometime?” the Dutchman basically begs them. Knowing Max’s love for sim racing, the Aussie knows Luka will deal with a full Maxplaining session the moment Max gets the chance to teach him.

Before Oscar or Lando can reply, Charles perks up. “Oh! Wait! Max and I got you something Luka.”

The Monegasque is up and moving before Max can process it. The startled look on Max’ face is pretty funny.

Lando laughs. Max looks over to them.

“But yes, Max, you can sim race with Luka sometime,” Oscar tells him.

“Thank you,” the Dutchman says. Happy to have a reply after the sudden interruption. He then looks back at Charles. “Charlie, get mine too, will you?”

“Already on it!” the Ferrari driver replies, rummaging through their bags.

It doesn’t take long for Charles to come back with two packages.

Luka watches the Monegasque with curiosity.

“Here you go! A present from me, and a present from Max,” Charles says as he hands Luka the packages.

Luka carefully takes them and sets them in front of him. He looks at Charles, and then back at the packages. He then looks around at all the adults who are watching him expectantly.

He doesn’t make a move to open the presents.

But looks at Lando and Oscar for guidance instead.

Lando ruffles his hair. “You can open them, little man. They are yours.”

Luka fidgets with the paper, not really opening them. Oscar knows why. He doubts the kid has ever opened any presents before…

“Here Luka, like this,” Oscar says. He tears a corner of the wrapping paper open.

Together with his dad, Luka dares to open the packages. When the content of the first package gets revealed, the kid lets out a little gasp.

It's a miniature of Max’ car. The bright red and yellow a stark contrast to the deep dark blue undercoat.

“Aw, now you really have collection, Luka,” Lando says. Luka smiles.

Opening the next package is less of an ordeal now that he has already opened one. The moment Luka reveals the little red Ferrari he squeals. “Lighting McQueen!”

The entire room bursts out in laughter.

“Yes Luka!” Charles cheers. Luka beams at him.

Luka looks at the two racecars happily. He carefully aligns them on the table.

“Thank you uncle Max and uncle Chals…”

When Oscar looks at the other couple the two are smiling like crazy.

“If I knew you were collecting them, I would’ve brought you a mini of my car as well, Luka,” Alex says. The Williams driver is leaning on the table, looking at the cars.

“Yeah, he’s getting mine too,” Pierre says.

Luka only half hears them it seems, as he is closely inspecting the cars.

“Number one… and number… one-six,” he mumbles.

“I actually have the number thirty-three, or three-three. But I won last year, so I can use the number one,” Max explains. “Charles is number sixteen.”

Luka hums.

“He knows numbers already?” Alex says amazed by Luka’s intelligence. “How old is he again?”

“He’s three,” Oscar tells him. “But he’s a very quick learner and can count to ten already.”

Luka proves his dad’s point. “Papa is number four! And daddy is eight-one.”

“Woah,” Pierre says.

“That’s it, I’m teaching him how to play UNO...” Alex says. He shoos Pierre away from the aisle seat to grab his backpack. Pierre doesn’t care, scooting over to steal Alex’ window seat.

Lando heaves the biggest sigh. Oscar can feel the movement against his side.

“This is going to be such a long flight…” the Brit complains when Alex excitedly shows them his deck of UNO cards.

Oscar giggles, and rests his head on Lando’s shoulder, letting the torture of Alex Albon explaining a game wash over him.

Chapter Text

In the hour that follows Luka learns how to play UNO with the help of Lando, as they play together. And Oscar, since Lando keeps holding his and Luka’s cards too far away from them and Oscar can see everything they have.

Luka understands the concept of ‘color on color’ very quickly and starts noticing when they have the same number as well. The others give Luka the time to decide, not pressuring him at all. Lando only suggests cards for him, not really interfering unless the kid is truly missing something or making a mistake.

Luka loves it! And even uses the action card with a giggle, basically bullying Pierre by skipping him three times in a row. Pierre throws a fit, it’s mostly acting, but Luka loves it and laughs loudly every time the French man does it.

The adults love the kid’s reactions. It’s why they use their action cards way quicker than usual. The plus two and plus three cards come out as well. Luka doesn’t complain when he has to draw two cards. Payback from Pierre.

He laughs loudly when Max has to pull eight cards a round later. Oscar can’t stop chuckling at the little toddler. Lando looks on proudly, mostly being a card holder for Luka at this stage.

It doesn’t matter who wins, the game restarts the moment it ends. It’s rematches over and over again. Whenever plus twos or plus fours get stacked, they ask Luka if he knows how many cards the next player needs to draw. If by the end of the flight Luka knows how to skip count, Oscar isn’t surprised.

They play for at least an hour. Drinks are served by the stewards. Snacks go around the table.

Max and Oscar are the first ones to quit playing and watch the others play instead. It takes a couple more rounds, and then the rest of the party gets tired of the game as well.

Everyone starts doing their own thing for a bit.

Max unfolds the couch in the back of the plane into a make-shift bed and goes to take a nap. Charles joins him quite quickly.

Oscar has taken Luka from Lando’s lap, so the Brit can doodle on his iPad. The older McLaren driver has been working on a helmet design for Quadrant. Drawing is also a sort of me-time for Lando. A healthy way to collect his thoughts, Oscar has noticed.

It’s something he likes to do while still being in Oscar vicinity though. For example last Sunday evening when Oscar wanted to watch a cricket match, Lando would join him, leaning against him on the couch while drawing on his iPad.

It’s really cute…

Meanwhile, Alex uses the UNO cards to teach Luka a lot of the drivers numbers. Even quizzing him a little after. Luka seems hungry to learn, and follows Alex’ ‘lesson’ with rapt attention.

It’s insane how quickly Luka picks it up. He learns most of the grids numbers scarily fast. Oscar almost fears how smart the toddler seems to be for his age.

Alex eventually gets pulled into a conversation with Pierre again, leaving the table. With nothing to do now, Luka turns to his dads. He looks over to Lando’s iPad, watching the older man draw.

But Oscar can feel him start fidgeting. “Alright Luuk, Lando and I have another surprise for you,” the Australian announces.

“Oh yeah!” Lando perks up next to them and puts down his iPad. He takes Luka from Oscar lap so the younger driver can get up.

Oscar walks to their bags and rummages through them until he finds what he was looking for: Lando’s old Nintendo DSi.

The Brit came up with the idea when they were discussing how to keep Luka entertained on the plane. They didn’t want to give Luka access to their phones or tablets. No dumb kid series like Coco Melon.

Then Lando remembered he should still own a Nintendo DSi. They had a little debate over whether or not it’s the same principal as a tablet. But Lando reminded Oscar that they can limit his Nintendo use by only giving him access to a couple of games.

Tracking down said DSi was a bit of an adventure. In the end they found it deep in an old box in the back of Lando’s and now his storage, surrounded by other relics of Lando’s past. The excitement the Brit showed at unearthing his old apple green Nintendo sold Oscar on the idea to give it to Luka.

Lando wiped the entire memory, giving Luka a clean slate. It was possible to turn off the internet and DSi store in the parental control settings, with made Oscar quite happy. The battery life isn’t that great anymore, maybe an hour or two max. But that’s more than enough, and also a nice excuse for Luka to put it away after some time.

They decided on three games for this weekend: a simple puzzle game, Nintendogs, and Mario kart. That way if Luka doesn’t like one of the games, he has two more to try out.

Oscar takes the DS from the bag, placing Nintendogs in the game slot. It’s a simple first game to try.

He walks back to Lando and Luka, and gives the toddler the little game console. Oscar can see the excitement in Lando’s eyes as he starts explaining to Luka what it is. The Australian thinks Luka won’t be the only one kept busy by the DS. He sits down on the other side of the table, giving Luka his own seat to lounge.

He does tangle his legs with his boyfriend’s though as he grabs Alex’ UNO cards left behind on the table.

“You flip it open like so, and then you turn it on here,” Lando says. The happy start-up sound can be heard from the old speakers. Lando hums contently at the sound, making Oscar look at him fondly. The Brit is too busy to notice.

As Lando shows Luka the menu and how the Nintendo works, Oscar lays down a crude variation of solitaire with the UNO cards.

Luka giggles, tapping on the screen with the stylus. “It asks you to pick your favorite color, Luka,” Lando says. The toddler taps the screen, trying to click the right color. “Red!”

“Good choice”, sounds from the back of the plane. Oscar looks up and sees Lando turn around in his chair to glare at Charles through the gap between the headrests. “You’re sleeping Charles. Sleeping people usually don’t talk.”

A chuckle that sounds a lot like Max. Then the audience goes quiet again.

Oscar smiles as he lies down another card.

A birthdays gets filled in, and then Lando finally makes Luka turn on the game.

Tinny dog woofs sound from the speakers.

Luka absolutely loves it. After Lando tells him how the game works, the kid is super happy to try it out and pick a dog to take care of. Lando slowly eases off, letting Luka explore the game himself.

It’s a simple game, and you don’t need to be able to read to understand what’s going on or what you need to do most of the time.

Feed the dog(s), play with them, walk them. It’s super simple.

And Luka loves it.

Lando goes back to drawing, keeping an eye on what their kid is doing in the meantime.

Doing their own thing in the same space is peaceful. Oscar likes it. A lot.

He starts another game of solitaire with himself and may or may not kick Lando’s leg when the Brit mentions old people love to play that game as well. No, Oscar is not a boomer trapped in a young person’s body, thank you very much.

Another hour goes by without any of them really noticing it.

Luka logs out of the game after a while and explores the menu for a bit, Oscar can hear it from the change in sounds. He finds the PictoChat and draws for a while. Lando and Oscar glance at him when he starts scrubbing the stylus all over the screen.

The Brit smiles at what he sees on Luka’s DS. “Trying to fill the entire thing?” he says. Luka nods, a determined look in his eyes. Lando watches him fondly, probably remembering doing the same thing himself when he was a kid.

Oscar goes back to sorting the UNO deck and packages it neatly for Alex. He then gets up to grab his e-reader from the backpack. And one of the pillows Charles and Max threw off the couch. Pierre smiles at him from his place in one of the club seat at the front of the plane, tablet in hand, earbuds in. The Frenchman is probably watching a movie.

Alex is asleep with his head against the window on the other side…
Oscar returns to the double seats they have been occupying. He props the pillow against the wall, leaning against it, putting his feet up in the empty seat next to him.

He reads for a while. It’s a simple thriller. A trope he has read a hundred times already. But it’s nice. Interesting enough to keep going.

Until he hears the distorted sound of a camera shutter, and then some giggles. He looks up at Luka to see the kid grinning at him. Lando snorts. Oscar gives them a confused smile.

“He has found the camera feature,” Lando tells his boyfriend with a cheerful look.

Luka turns and points the tiny camera towards the Brit. Lando immediately smiles brightly. A click sounds and then Luka shows Lando the screen.

“Nice one, little man. Very retro,” the older McLaren driver tells him, ruffling his hair.

Oscar huffs out a laugh. Luka turns the screen back to himself and plays with the camera some more. “How many pixels did you count,” the Australian asks Lando jokingly. Lando giggles. “Not many, but it’s cute.”

Luka takes some more photos. Of the plane, of himself, of the miniature cars Max and Charles got him, of the view outside.

He even dares to take a picture of Pierre who notices and gives him a happy thumbs up.

Oscar can barely focus on his book with how cute Luka is acting. Lando seems to be the same, as he hasn’t made a lot of progress on his drawing.

Luka keeps himself busy no problem.

That is until the kid flinches and turns to Lando for help. “Papa, the light turned red!” He shows Lando the two tiny lights to the right of the screen.

“Oh,” Lando says as Luka basically pushes the DS into his dad’s hands. The small pout on Luka’s face hurts Oscar’s chest.

“That means the battery is almost empty, Luka. It’s time to turn it off and charge it,” Lando explains.

“It’s not broken?”

“No, no, this is normal,” Lando soothes him.

Oscar checks the time on his watch. The poor old battery lasted a bit over two hours. Which is probably more than enough screen time for a toddler. But hey, they are on a twelve hour flight. Two hours is nothing.

They aren’t even halfway there.

“We will put it on the charger for you, sweetheart. You can play with it again later, when the battery is full again,” Oscar tells Luka, making sure the kid understands the DSi won’t vanish. That this wasn’t a onetime experience.

“Hmm okay,” Luka says. Lando shows him how to turn off the device, so he can do it himself next time.

Lando picks Luka up and puts him back in the window seat, slinking out of the double seats himself. The Brit rummages through the backpack, looking for the charger. Luka stares at Oscar for a second.

Oscar smiles at him. “Did you have fun?” Luka nods happily. “I made lots of pictures.” the kid says. “We saw! There will be a lot of people taking pictures at the racetrack this weekend, maybe you can too.”

Luka hums thoughtfully.

Oscar can hear Lando chuckle at the idea. The Brit is probably already imagining Luka shuffling around with the apple green DS, taking pictures of everything. Surrounded by professional photographers. The idea is adorable.

Oscar smiles when Lando squeezes his leg as he walks past to take a seat next to Luka.

They chat for a bit while Luka plays with his cars. Until they get interrupted by the plane crew. They are serving some sort of lunch. The time is definitely off, but that’s what happens with international flights.

When they land in Montreal it will be 3PM local time. Which is 9PM in Monaco. They are having lunch now and probably will be getting some sort of dinner four to five hours later.

They will probably eat a second dinner in Montreal, just to keep awake. Time difference is weird, but the first day it’s best to keep going for as long as you can. Oscar hopes Luka can handle it.

A nap on the plane will probably help.

Speaking of naps. A disheveled looking Max Verstappen appears when lunch gets served. He throws himself on the little bench. His hair is all over the place. He looks half asleep. Oscar doesn’t think he has even seen the Dutchman like this.

Lando snorts. “Did you sleep well, Max?”

Max rubs his face and groans. “I feel like I just woke up from hibernation…”

Oscar and Lando laugh.

“It was only two hours, mon coeur,” Charles says as he goes to stand next to Max, patting the blond hair down. The RedBull driver lets him, staying still so Charles can fix his bed head.

The Monegasque is looking at his boyfriend fondly, looking quite awake himself.

Oscar smiles at the soft moment.

Pierre and a dazed looking Alex join them. “Did you get any sleep, Charles?” the Frenchman asks his friend.

“Eh, a bit. It was nice to laze around though,” the Ferrari driver says.

Alex looks between Charles and Max. “I feel like snoozing is a better choice than actually falling asleep and having a full nap.” He sounds like he knows the experience. With the way he rubs his hand over his neck, Oscar wonders if it hurts. The last time he saw Alex, the Williams driver was basically drooling against the window.

Lando gets up from his seat and takes Luka with him. The kid doesn’t mind. The Brit shuffles towards the double seat Oscar is occupying and holds out to toddler to him.

The Australian giggles and puts down his e-reader taking Luka from Lando’s arms. “Are you coming to cuddle with me?” he tells the kid softly. Luka wraps his arms around Oscar’s neck and hugs him.

“Apparently yes,” Alex jokes. “I love that he doesn’t care that Lando grabbed him and dropped him on you. No explanation.”

Lando huffs. “Ah shut it, I’m making space for you two.” Oscar gets what he means and lifts his legs from the chair, letting Lando take a seat. He puts his feet back up, on the Brit’s lap. Lando rewards the movement by immediately going to massage his calf. The other hand comes to rest on his shin.

It's nice. He tightens his hold on Luka, the kid lying against his chest. Luka rubs his cheek against his dad’s. Oscar leans his head on top of Luka’s when the kid settles down with his head on Oscar’s collarbone.

The group is chatting about something, but the younger McLaren driver is more focused on his son. “Are you still doing okay?” he asks him. Luka nods. “No hurting ears?” A little head shake. “Alright.” He kisses the top of Luka’s head.

They all eat lunch together. Lazy banter fills the space. Alex and Pierre have taken the seats on the opposite side of the table. Pierre asks for permission from Luka to pick up the miniature cars. Luka is alright with it and keeps munching on his croissant in peace. The kid might be getting a little tired.

Pierre and Alex both inspect the little cars. Alex types something on his phone after carefully placing the tiny Ferrari back in its previous place.

When the table is cleared up after dinner, Max speaks up. “If anyone wants to nap on the couch, please take it.”

Looks are shared. Alex holds up his hands. “I’ve slept enough.” Oscar and Lando get looked at. Yes, Oscar would love to nap on the couch, and it would be nice for Luka to sleep some of the hours away. But he doesn’t want to selfishly take it and deny Pierre a place to nap.

He looks at the Frenchman. Pierre understands. “It’s fine, you guys take it. I can never sleep on flights. The movement makes me restless.”

And that’s how Oscar and Lando end up on the couch at the back of the plane. The Australian has taken the pillow he hogged earlier with him, which he shares with Luka.

Lando has lied down behind Oscar, throwing an arm over the Australian’s waist. His forehead rests against Oscar’s nape. Curls tickling the back of Oscar’s head.

It's familiar, the soft breaths against his back. But it’s new to experience it while their friends and colleagues are not even five meters away from them. It takes a bit for the younger McLaren driver to settle down. Lando’s comfortable presence calms him down though, like it always does.

Luka falls asleep first. The Australian is glad the kid will get some rest. Oscar fights sleep for a while. He listens as the others chat quietly. But when Lando’s breaths even out it’s hard to not follow his boyfriend into dreamland.

---

~~~^~~~

When Luka wakes up a while later, he needs a moment to think where he is. He’s on the plane, they are flying. Lano and Osca told him it would be good to take a nap because the day will be long.

He doesn’t know how long he slept, but he is awake now. Osca and Lano are still sleeping. Daddy is sort of holding Luka, but Luka could wiggle away from him if he wants. Osca probably won’t even notice.

Luka doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t feel tired anymore, but Osca and Lano are asleep, so he can’t ask them if it’s okay if he leaves them. He also doesn’t want to wake them up. They both like sleeping a lot.

He knows Max and Chals, though. And on the beach papa and daddy where fine with him going to the sea with them. So maybe it is okay? It’s not like he can leave the plane. He thinks.

He carefully pulls himself out of Osca’s arms and sits upright. Then he finds out the only way off the couch-bed-sleep-thing is to crawl over his dads…

He huffs, annoyed. He really does want to leave though. So he dares to crawl over them, and flops himself back on the couch behind Lano.

Osca sniffs in his sleep and rolls onto his back. Papa hums and wakes up a bit. “You alright, Luka?” Lano asks sleepily. He pushes himself up a bit so he can look at Luka. “I’m done napping. I’m going to Max and Chals,” Luka explains.

Lano nods sleepily and then lies back down again. He puts his head on Osca’s shoulder, hugs daddy with his arm, and goes right back to sleep.

That probably meant that Luka can do what he wants?

When papa doesn’t move to stop Luka, the crawls off the couch and waddles over to the table with the seats he sat in before.

Max and Chals notice him immediately. They are sitting in the two chairs facing the back of the plane. Max is leaning against Chals, the way Osca likes to do with Lano.

“Hey kiddo, are you done napping?” Max asks him.

Luka nods and looks around.

Lex is lying on his belly on the bench-thingy, reading a book. P- Pie- Pear is sitting at the window, in the seat Luka was in when the plane started flying.

“Want to sit with us?” Chals says. He has a laptop in front of him on the table.

Pear pats the seat next to him with a kind smile.

Luka is way less scared of new people than before. So yes, he dares to sit next to Pear. The man talks the same as Chals. With some words sounding a bit… odd… sometimes. Not in a bad way. But different from Osca and Lano.

When Luka has climbed on the seat next to Pear, the man turns his tablet to him. “I think I have a movie you would like on here. We can watch it together, if you want?”

Oh that would be great! He smiles and nods at the man.

Pear smiles back and focusses on finding the movie on the tablet.

“What movie?” Chals asks.

Luka sees the picture of a mouse with a spoon appear on the screen.

“Ratatouille,” Pear says. “My niece really likes the movie. I think I’ve watched it over twenty times now because of her…”

Chals giggles. “It’s a good movie.”

Max chuckles, but doesn’t look up from his phone.

Pear smiles. “It is! Want to watch with us?”

Chals shakes his head. “Thank you, but I’m working on something.”

“Ice cream doesn’t market itself,” Max says with a smile.

“Ice cream?” Luka asks as the first sounds of the movie start playing.

“Yeah, I’m selling ice cream soon,” Chals says. He is looking at his laptop, doing two things at the same time: talking and thinking. “What’s your favorite ice cream flavor Luka?”

“Strawberry,” Luka says excitedly. Does that mean Chals is making ice cream? Like Rebecca at the office? He wonders if Chals strawberry ice cream is as good as Rebecca’s.

He wants to ask, but the movie starts, distracting him from the conversation. There’s a mouse on the screen. Many mouses. They are looking for food. They seem to be talking, but Luka can’t understand what they are saying.

It looks nice though, and he sort of understands what is happening. The main mouse is looking for super good food after the chef on the TV said something nice. And he finds it in a house, but there are humans who don’t like mouses.

A couple minutes later, Max suddenly says: “guys. It’s in French.”

Pear startles. Chals looks up from his laptop. “Oh, you’re right,” Chals says.

The movie gets paused by Pear. Luka can’t stop the sad noise that comes out of his mouth. He was watching! It was fun…

“Oh, aw, sorry Luka,” Pear says. He presses play again. “It’s in French though. I don’t think I have it in English. You won’t be able to understand.”

Luka shrugs. He doesn’t care. Some kids at the playground spoke the same language and he still played with them. They all had fun together anyway.

“Can you understand French, Luka?” Chals asks, amazed.

Luka shakes his head. “But I can see what they are doing!” he says with a smile, letting Pear and Chals know it’s okay.

Pear hums.

While the movie goes on, Pear explains some things here and there. After a bit he even starts saying what the characters say. Chals joins in. They even do the same voices as the characters in the movie and it makes Luka giggle.

Max laughs a lot and starts pointing out every time a character says ‘fromage’. “They said cheese again.” It makes Chals giggle and roll his eyes every time.

Luka can only half follow the movie with how happy and funny the grown-ups are being. It doesn’t matter, because this is more fun!

Whenever he looks at Lex, who is still lying on the bench, he sees the man is smiling. He is probably listening to them while reading his book.

Osca and Lano wake up when the movie is almost at the end. “What on earth are you all doing?” Lano asks as Lex makes space for them on the bench.

Luka smiles at his dads. “Watching a movie,” he says excitedly. Daddy chuckles, while papa makes a snorting noise. They both seem happy.

When the movie ends. Luka thanks Pear and Chals for helping him. They say they loved it and that they wouldn’t mind doing it again.

The rest of the flight isn’t that long anymore. Not as long as before. Luka gets to play around a bit more with the green-flippy-game-thing that says D.S. when he turns it on.

He takes pictures of everyone, feeds the dogs, and draws some more.

Then more food is brought out and they eat dinner together. It’s nice, it makes everyone feel like family.

When dinner is over, the airplane people announce that they will be landing within an hour. The grown-ups all pack their stuff slowly.

Lano finds Luka’s booster seat and places it back by the window. When Luka sits down on it, he can see land outside!

Everyone finds a seat and puts on their seat belts. Lex sits with Pear, Max, and Chals this time. Lano sits on the other side of the table, while Osca sits next to Luka.

The closer they get to the land, the more the plane moves. It’s a bit scary, but also cool. They go through the clouds and then he can see the city getting closer and closer.

“Alright sweetheart, when we land you will feel the plane bump the ground with it’s wheels. And then the pilot will brake, like in a car,” Osca explains.

And what he says does happen a couple of minutes later.

The braking is scary. It’s unexpected and it feels shaky. But then they slow down, and the plane is calmly driving over the road.

After taking some turns, the plane comes to a stop and the airplane people talk to them.

Are they done?

Apparently yes, because everyone stands up.

Daddy takes him out of his seat and holds him. Luka is fine with it, wrapping his arms around Osca’s neck.

Luka waves at the airplane people when he leaves the plane. They all wave back with a smile.

The walk through the airport is wild. Lots of new views and smells and everything. Osca sets Luka down when they are waiting for their bags. Luka is glad when Lano puts him on his shoulders. Being so high up feels safe. He can look over everything, and Lano holds his legs so he can’t fall off.

After they all get their bags, they go through many doors. Talk to a couple of people. They have to show some sort of book-thingy Osca calls a passport. They ask Luka why he is here in Canada.

“Papa and daddy are going racing,” he replies with a smile. Lano chuckles. The lady focusses back on his dads.

Once they finally get outside, a car is waiting for them. A man gives papa the keys and they have to sign some things, but when they are done Osca explains that the car is theirs for the weekend.

They say goodbye to Max, Chals, Lex, and Pear. Lano says that Luka will see them tomorrow, so it’s okay.

And then his dads put the bags in the car and the trip to the hotel starts.

Chapter Text

Lando is the one to open the door to their hotel room. The first thing Oscar sees when he walks in is that it is so much bigger than his usual hotel room.

A short hallway around the bathroom leads them to a little living room, complete with a couch, chair, TV, table, and a kitchenette.

There are no windows in the living room, but with the doors to the two small bedrooms open, there is more than enough natural light.

The room on the left is bigger with a king-size bed. The one on the right has a single sized bed and a small desk. There are some puzzles and books for kids in the room. Which is a nice extra.

Yes, the two McLaren drivers have brought a lot of Luka’s toys, but it’s good to see the hotel cares.

Lando and Oscar take the time to put away their luggage while Luka walks around, looking in every cupboard and drawer. The kid will sometimes catch their attention with a little excited “look!”. Both adults nod and hum happily every time the toddler shows them something.

Oscar knows the kid’s energy will be crashing soon. They will have to keep him busy so he can stay awake for long enough to adjust to the new time-zone.

It's two hours past the Luka’s usual bedtime in Monaco already. The nap seems to have worked. He doesn’t seem too tired now. Oscar hopes he can stay awake for a couple of hours longer.

“I think that went quite well,” Lando says in the living room. Oscar goes over to him, having unpacked their toiletries. The Brit insisted on taking all his hair products with them. And of course Lando’s bodywash that they all use now.

“Yeah, the flight went perfect. He did really well,” Oscar says as he joins his boyfriend on the couch, leaning against him. Lando immediately wraps his arm over his shoulder and kisses his cheek.

The Brit hums. “I was expecting him to be way more fussy. But he didn’t complain once.”

Luka is making car noises in his room. Oscar looks over to see him playing with his Formula 1 cars. Four now in total. Lando must have taken them out of the kid’s backpack while the younger driver was busy unpacking.

“He is super well behaved. And I think he genuinely enjoyed hanging out with the others,” Oscar says. He snuggles more against his boyfriend, tracing his fingers over Lando’s arm.

“I still can’t believe they made him watch a movie in French…” the Brit complains.

Oscar giggles. “We live in Monaco. Maybe it’s smart to show him more French stuff. It will make his life easier if he can talk with the locals.”

Lando huffs. “Yes, let’s teach him French when we both barely know how to order food in French.”

The Aussie smiles. “Charles would love to teach Luka, and his mum would be so happy to hear the kid speak a bit of French the next time we visit her for a haircut.”

Lando chuckles. “Okay, yeah.”

“My friends at the park talk in French too!” Luka speaks up from his spot on the floor, sneakily listening in…

“Oh, that’s true,” Lando says. Oscar can feel him as much as see him nod.

“Fromage means cheese!” the kid says happily.

Lando chokes. Oscar giggles loudly. Of all the words to remember, cheese is apparently the one. It might have to do with Max repeating it over and over again.

“Good job remembering, sweetheart,” Oscar tells Luka with a smile, looking at him over the backrest of the couch.

Luka grins goofily and gives him a thumbs up.

“Yep, definitely our kid…” Lando mumbles fondly.

---

Half an hour later, they go downstairs to grab a bite. It’s a five-star hotel with lots of VIP care and private spaces that Oscar and Lando have access to.

They decide to have dinner in the hotel restaurant. Neither drivers are in the mood to travel through the city to find a different place to eat.

It’s midnight in Monaco, but 6PM in Montreal. Oscar wouldn’t mind eating dinner before chilling for another hour or two, and then going to bed. He’s pretty tired.

They find a table and order something simple.

Lando sinfully orders fries with nuggets. For Luka.

But he steals a fry here and there when he thinks Oscar isn’t looking. Luka doesn’t notice at all, getting more and more tired by the minute.

They are all eating their food peacefully when they find out that they aren’t the only Formula 1 drivers in the hotel. Kick Sauber and Haas have both booked their drivers rooms in the same hotel as McLaren.

Kevin and his wife stop by, with both their daughters. They have a nice chat with the McLaren drivers. “Happy to have more dads on the grid,” the Haas driver says with a grin.

His daughter Laura seems more awake than Luka when the two toddlers say hi to each other. The other daughter is fast asleep in Kevin’s wife’s arms.

“You can join us for dinner, if you want?” Lando tells them kindly. Kevin politely declines. “We were just passing through.”

As they watch the small family leave, Oscar has the realization that Lando and him look just like that.

They have gotten a bit better at hiding their relationship in public, but it’s hard to not behave like a family when you have a little toddler running between the two of you.

Oscar wonders how it will go tomorrow at the paddock.

When Luka starts falling asleep, almost resting his head in his nuggets, the two drivers decide to call it a day. Oscar is amazed they even got this far with the kid.

“Come on, Luuk. Let’s get you to bed,” Lando says as he picks him up. A small okay can be heard from where the toddler immediately buries his face in his papa’s neck.

The McLaren drivers pay for their dinner and enter the elevator. Before the door closes a blond guy joins them. “Valtteri!” Oscar says, recognizing the man before them.

“Oh! Hey guys!” the man says cheerfully. “Ready for tomorrow? Will you be walking the track?” He presses the button to his own floor.

“Ah yes,” Lando says.

“Nice! You too, Oscar?” Valtteri looks at the Australian, who nods politely.

“Good! We will see each other then!” the Finnish driver says as they reach his floor and the door opens. And with that, he is gone.

Oscar and Lando give each other a puzzled look. The man didn’t even seem fazed at seeing the two McLaren drivers together with a kid.

“He has a big mustache,” Luka mumbles sleepily. The two adults giggle.

Back in their hotel room, they help Luka through the process of getting to bed. Nobody has the energy for a toddler bath, so they go through the rest of the tasks quickly.

Oscar and Lando tuck Luka in together, and after a kiss from the both of them, Luka is asleep the moment they close the door to his room.

Oscar sighs, and hears his boyfriend sigh in sync. He grins at the Brit and opens his arms. “Come here.” Lando huffs a laugh and walks into his embrace, wrapping his arms around Oscar’s waist.

The Australian leans in to kiss his boyfriend sweetly. The feeling so familiar after two weeks, it feels like home. Lando smiles softly against his lips.

Oscar rakes his fingers through the shorter hairs behind Lando’s ears as he deepens the kiss, nibbling at his lower lip. The Brit groans and pulls back slightly.

“Don’t provoke me, Osc. Or I will escalate this…” he warns.

Oscar giggles. “Sorry,” he says softly before pressing another chaste kiss to his lips. He leans his forehead against Lando’s and sighs contently. Lando chuckles. His fingers rub little circles on Oscar’s back.

They have been intimate with each other before, yes. But everything in that area is still so new to Oscar that they have agreed to take it slowly. And especially not with a toddler sleeping only one wall away.

Lando loves it though. And he is so incredibly sweet to Oscar, letting the Australian take his time to explore all the parts of an intimate relationship with patience.

But the Brit has a higher drive than Oscar for sure. The younger man shouldn’t tease him if he isn’t looking to actually have sex with his boyfriend tonight.

Lando rubs his nose against Oscar’s. “Ready to face the world tomorrow?”

“No…” the Aussie says with a quiet sigh, leaning back to look into Lando’s eyes. The Brit is smiling at him softly. That same smile that makes Oscar fall in love with him over and over again. “But with you next to me it isn’t that bad.”

The older driver hums happily. “Sappy old man…”

“Hey!” Oscar says, tickling Lando’s neck. His boyfriend cringes away from him. Oscar misses his soft embrace, but still laughs at the karate stand Lando takes on.

He jumps towards Lando, wrapping his arms around his waist and hoisting him up. Lando squawks and slaps Oscar’s shoulders, kicking him in the shin half-heartedly at the same time. “Unhand me, you muppet!”

Oscar doesn’t listen, sitting on the couch and dragging his boyfriend onto his lap. Lando’s cheeks look slightly flushed. The Australian grins at him. The Brit melts, deflating against Oscar’s chest.

“I love you,” Lando says, resting his forehead in the crook of Oscar’s neck. The younger driver kisses his cheekbone. “I love you too.”

They bask in the comfort for a bit, silently enjoying each other’s company.

“Do you think we should take two cars to the paddock tomorrow?” Lando mumbles.

Oscar hums. “If we want to avoid suspicion, maybe, yes? But I don’t want to…”

“Maybe we can be all like ‘yeah, no we met in the lobby and then decided to drive together’,” the Brit says, thinking out loud.

Oscar chuckles at the sassy way he says it. “We could do that…”

“Any other ideas how to not act to lovey dovey tomorrow?” Lando asks.

“Just deny everything.”

The Brit laughs. “Gaslight them.”

Oscar sort of loves the idea of convincing everyone that Lando and him are still only teammates. Teammates sharing a toddler.

It’s the ‘two bros being dads’ act all over again.

“I think we have been doing quite well lately with the fake not-relationship,” Oscar says.

Lando hums in agreement.

The only one who could give it away is Luka, who will swing from dad to dad like a little monkey. No filter now that he is getting more and more comfortable.

Oscar hopes the kid’s cuteness will distract everyone from the fact that the two McLaren drivers may be boyfriends.

Later in bed, with his head resting on Lando’s chest, Oscar thinks about it some more. Worries about what will happen if the media finds out for real.

It takes him a while to fall asleep, but his boyfriend’s heartbeat is the best white noise in the world, and eventually drags him under.

---

In the morning, the thing happens that Oscar was predicting would happen if they put their son to bed at 7PM happens.

Luka is awake.

WAY too early.

He is right in their doorway, having quietly opened the door. Half awake, Oscar watches his son with bleary eyes. He hums and sits up, detangling himself from Lando’s octopus hold.

“Sweety…” he says groggily. He feels disoriented as hell, the different time zone messing with his sleep pattern.

“Sorry Osca but I waited and eight zero zero doesn’t come…” Luka says sadly.

“C’me here,” Oscar says, holding his arm out towards him. Lando groans in his sleep, annoyed at the movement. Oscar rolls his eyes at the noise as he pulls Luka onto the bed.

He hugs the toddler to his chest and lays back down with his head on Lando’s arm. Luka indulges him, lying flat on Oscar chest. The plastic eye of Luka’s plushie presses uncomfortably against the Australian’s rib, but Oscar ignores it and even falls back asleep for a bit.

Luka keeps fidgeting though; shuffling between them, playing with the button on Lando’s sleepshirt, poking at Oscar’s eyebrow with his tiny finger.

Lando moves, while Oscar floats between awake and asleep. He registers the Brit talking to Luka, but doesn’t understand what is being said.

When Lando carefully pulls his arm from under Oscar’s head, the Australian wakes up. He takes a deep breath and rubs his eyes, trying to make sense of the situation.

Lando takes Luka from his side and disappears from the bed entirely. Oscar hates the cold feeling. Sleepy, but determent to follow Lando’s warmth, he rolls over and sits on the side of the bed.

He debates his life choices as he pulls the closest hoodie over his head. It’s slightly tight, as it is probably one of Lando’s. He can’t prove that by smell anymore though, since he uses Lando’s soap and detergent all the time now.

He staggers into the living room. Lando is at the kitchenette fidgeting with the coffee machine.

Oscar goes to stand right behind him, leaning against him and putting his head on the Brit’s shoulder with a tired sigh. He wraps his arms around him, burying his hands in the pocket of his boyfriend’s hoodie.

Lando runs his fingers through Oscar’s hair with his free hand. The Australian thinks he might have actually fallen asleep for a couple of seconds, because the next time he opens his eyes, there are two mugs of coffee on the counter in front of them.

“What time is it?” Oscar mumbles. He hears Nintendo sounds behind him. Luka has probably found the DSi again. Or Lando gave it to him. Oscar doesn’t know.

Lando hums, leaning his head against Oscar for a second before taking a sip of coffee. “Five o’clock… sadly…”

Oscar groans. “I knew it was going to happen, and I’m still unprepared.”

Lando chuckles sleepily. “Glad we didn’t go to bed too late.”

The Australian takes one of his hands from Lando’s hoodie and grabs the mug the Brit made for him. He takes a sip over Lando’s shoulder. He doesn’t want to move… He is comfy…

And so is Lando it seems, because he is leaning back against him heavily.

“Can we even get breakfast this early…?” Oscar asks.

Lando shakes his head. “We have to wait one more hour. You can go back to bed if you want? I think I can handle a gaming toddler.”

Oscar grumbles. The coffee is waking him up. He could maybe snooze for a bit, but not without Lando.

“Can we cuddle on the couch instead?” the Australian says softly. Lando chuckles and softly strokes his hair with a warm hand. “Of course, babe.” A kiss gets pressed to Oscar’s cheek.

The Aussie hums and then finally releases Lando from his hold, only doing so because he was promised more cuddles.

They both move to the couch with a mug in hand. When Oscar walks past Luka on the armchair, he pats the kid’s head. Luka barely notices him, fully focused on his Nintendo.

Lando sits down on the couch first and pats the spot next to him. Oscar takes two more gulps of coffee, before placing his mug on the table and joining his boyfriend on the couch.

He folds himself up so he can put his head on Lando’s lap. The couch is small, but Oscar makes it work. The Brit chuckles and immediately starts running his fingers through Oscar’s hair again. His other hand comes to run up and down his side in a soothing pattern.

Oscar yawns and falls into a light sleep with the Mario Kart sounds from Luka’s DS in the background.

---

The extra thirty minutes of sleep is just what he needed. He feels better when he wakes up. Less groggy.

They give Luka a bath and both take a shower before it’s finally time to get breakfast downstairs.

They don’t need a private booth, because there is no one there yet. Oscar understands completely, because he also doesn’t want to be in the restaurant that early.

He has to admit it’s sort of nice though; they get their food within minutes.

Luka is very awake for 6AM. He chats about Mario Kart with excitement. Oscar wonders how distracted he will be because of it today.

They can only stretch out breakfast time for forty minutes…

They are back in the hotel room, and it isn’t even 7AM.

Oscar flops down on their bed dramatically. Lando sits down next to him, the mattress dipping. Luka is squealing in the other room, running back and forth with one of his McLaren racecars.

Lando lies down on Oscar, burying his face in the Aussie’s hoodie. “I’m SO bored,” he grumbles.

The younger driver snorts. “Maybe we should just go to the paddock already…”

“It’s way too early…”

“It is…”

A shared sigh.

“We probably avoid most of the media if we go now though,” Oscar says, wrapping his arms around Lando.

“Fair point. It’s out of character for us though…” the Brit mumbles against his neck.

Oscar hums in agreement.

But they do get up and get ready to go. Because Luka is not going to calm down any time soon, and maybe the new environment will help.

Having their teammates around to help distract the kid will help as well.

When Oscar calls his assistant to request a pickup for him and his little family, they sound a bit too amazed at the fact that Oscar is awake at this hour. Mars happily tells him that they will send a car their way before hanging up.

With how close the hotel is to the circuit; their pickup will probably arrive in fifteen to twenty minutes.

Oscar and Lando scramble to grab everything they need. They mostly pack stuff for Luka, who will love to have his Nintendo to take photos.

After checking the weather one last time to make sure Luka will be fine in his LN4 hoodie and a jacket, they head downstairs.

They don’t have to wait for long. The car arrives quickly.

On the way to the circuit, Luka looks out of the window with excited curiosity. Oscar thinks that might be his permanent state today.

They drive over the bridge onto the inner city island that is home to the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit. Luka gasps loudly. “I raced here!”

“Yes, you did, little man!” Lando says proudly. Oscar smiles.

The car stops close to the gates. Luka is so excited he almost wiggles out of Oscar’s hands when the Australian takes him out of his seat.

The second Oscar puts him down on the ground the kid is off.

It’s unexpected.

The kid runs towards the gates with his little light-up shoes, surprising both dads.

Lando is able to catch up with him in a couple of paces. He scoops the toddler up. “Calm down, little man. You have four full days to explore everything. Don’t run off without us,” the Brit says, looking down at him.

Luka makes a whiney noise. Oscar ruffles his hair before placing the kid’s 81 hat on his head. “There will be a lot of people and it’s a very big place. We will be worried if we can’t see you.”

The kid hums. “Like on the beach!” Luka says, understanding what his dad is trying to say.

Lando nods. “Exactly!”

“Okay,” Luka says after which Lando puts him down. “Hands?” he says, holding out his small hand to Lando. The Brit immediately takes it.

Oscar swings their shared backpack over his shoulder and thanks the driver.

The little family makes its way to the gates. Luka is small enough to walk under the bars, but Lando stops him from doing so, picking him up for a second to scan his card. They get through and Luka’s feet meet the floor again.

Oscar follows them through quickly.

It's usually super busy when Oscar enters the paddock; fans framing the gates, and photographers taking photos from every angle.

Today though, it’s comfortably quiet. There are only a handful of fans who wave tiredly, probably only half awake themselves. Oscar and Lando walk over to sign some things. The first McLaren hat of the weekend gets signed.

Luka watches them do their thing. “It’s the same!” the kid says as he points at his own hat and then at the girl’s hat. The fan giggles loudly. “Hi Luka!”

Oscar laughs at how amazed Luka looks at how the girl knows his name. He waves back politely.

Lando and Oscar have agreed to keep the kid out of reach of their fans for the time being. Waves are fine, but no fist bumps or high-fives yet until they know for sure their kid will be safe.

The girl coo’s at his little wave though. “So cute oh my god!”

Lando lets the group take a selfie with them and then the two McLaren drivers bid the fans farewell.

Inside the fence, a photographer is patiently waiting for them. It’s someone Oscar has seen many times before. He can’t remember the guy’s name, but he is always respectful towards the drivers. The kind man never interrupts them, and waits patiently for the perfect picture. He is silently there, capturing the best moments.

“Bright and early, I see!” the man greets them happily.

Lando laughs. Oscar points at Luka. “The alarm clock went off way too early this morning,” he says without thinking.

Luka pulls on his arm. Oscar looks down at him. “He has a camera,” the kid says quietly, like it’s a secret.

“Yes, he does. You will see him walk by often. He takes a lot of pictures,” Oscar replies with a smile. “Remember what we told you?”

“Just smile!” Luka says, grinning up at him. “Exactly!” Oscar says, giving the kid a thumbs up with his free hand.

“Do you mind if I take some pictures of Luka as well this weekend?” the photographer asks kindly.

“No, go ahead. It’s going to be impossible to hide him from the cameras anyway…” Lando says.

“Thanks for asking, though. We appreciate it,” Oscar tells the man.

The photographer smiles and wishes them a good day. And only then does he take a couple of pictures.

Luka waves at the man, still holding onto the younger driver’s hand when they enter the paddock for real.

It’s super quiet. Oscar thinks he has never been this early at the track ever. Before most of the staff, that is.

It’s nice though, and they make it to the McLaren hospitality in no time. Oscar’s assistant cheerfully greets the family when they walk in.

“I never expected to see this from you, Oscar,” they say as they push their gold-framed glasses further up their nose. “You three are some of the first to arrive.”

“Let’s say it wasn’t planned…” Oscar says dreadfully.

Mars giggles. “Stephanie and Charlotte aren’t even here yet. I’ve called them after you called me though, and they are on their way.”

Oscar grimaces. He hopes his PR manager isn’t too grumpy at being called out of bed.

The two drivers make their way up to the common room. “I wonder if we screwed up Stephanie’s planning,” Lando says sheepishly as he sits down on one of the couches.

As if summoned by his comment, the Brit’s PR manager walks upstairs. “Yes, you did!”

Oscar puts the backpack in a safe place and joins his boyfriend.

“Are you two sick?” Stephanie asks. She sounds genuinely worried.

“We put Luka to bed too early last night…” Oscar explains with a quiet sigh.

“Oh…” Stephanie says, looking at the toddler who is happily exploring the room, looking at the track through the window. “Is he high-energy today?”

“Very…” Lando tells her, right as Luka squeaks his fingers over the slightly foggy window.

“It’s quite a stark difference from the last time he was at a racetrack,” Oscar says, remembering how shy and scared the kid was in Monaco.

He doesn’t mind the excited energy that comes off of the kid. It reminds him a bit of Lando. Especially rookie Lando he got to see on TV and on stream. Hyperactive and easily entertained.

He hopes Luka will settle down in the next couple of hours though.

Charlotte joins them fifteen minutes later. With both PR managers present, the group discusses the change of plans.

Since the track walk won’t start until 10AM, they decide to reschedule filming the next McLaren content videos to the morning.

Today new planning: filming content, a track walk, lunch, interviews with some TV crews, the pitlane walk, and a press conference for the both of them. In that order.

They have a lot to do today. Luka is in for a treat.

Chapter Text

The two drivers go to their driver rooms to change into their team kits. They of course take Luka with them, showing him the two small rooms.
There’s a small hallway between their doors, with another door separating them from the rest of the team.

Luka walks from Lando’s room to Oscar’s and back.

“It’s the same!” the toddler says.

“They are,” Lando says with a soft smile. “Good job noticing.”

Oscar is noticing something as well. Because now that he thinks about it, their favorite side of the bed might be linked to the way their driver rooms are arranged.

The Australian smiles at the realization.

After Luka is done racing between the two rooms and pointing at everything he sees, Oscar crouches down next to him.

“These are our driver rooms. No one can come in here unless we let them,” the Aussie tells him. The kid looks up at him with attention. “If you lose us, you go here, alright? And we will find you.”

Lando crouches down as well. “It’s also very busy in the garage all day. This is a quiet place where we go hide when it’s all too loud,” he adds.

“When you get overwhelm,” Luka says, nodding.

Lando smiles. “Yes, when we get overwhelmed. But also when YOU get overwhelmed. Think of this as the living room back home, the big room with the couch and the TV.”

“Okay!” the kid answers happily.

That’s actually a smart comparison to make, since they tend to share the living room a lot. Whether it’s all three of them sharing the couch, or all of them doing their own thing.

Whenever Oscar uses his laptop at the dinner table, Luka almost always joins him with a couple of crayons and a piece of paper.

The living room has become a place where they can go to when they need each other’s company.

The driver rooms are indeed like the living room at home.

After they make sure Luka knows where to go in case of an emergency, the two of them finally get into their team kits.

It's a bit odd for them to have two separate rooms now though, since they have been living in close quarters with each other.

Lando must feel the same, because the moment he is done he throws himself on Oscar’s couch.

“This might sound dumb, but maybe we can transform the two rooms into one big one? Ask for a table in mine and a better couch in yours?” the Brit thinks out loud as Oscar pulls his McLaren shirt on.

Oscar sighs. “I would love that, but how do we organize that without the entire team getting suspicious?”

Lando hums. Oscar expects a genius solution.

“I have absolutely no clue…” the older driver says instead. Oscar snorts.

“Maybe Mars can help us?” the Aussie thinks out loud. “Your assistant is efficient, but I doubt they can renovate our rooms in secret,” Lando replies.

He gets up from the couch and walks over, placing a peck on Oscar’s lips. “We will make do.”

The Australian grabs hold of his boyfriend’s wrist, squeezing softly. “We will, but it’s alright to ask. Maybe Stephanie and Charlotte have an idea. For the time being we can share?”

Lando nods. “Leave the doors open?”

“Yeah,” Oscar agrees with a soft smile. He tugs on Lando’s wrist, pulling his arm around his waist.

The older driver gets the message and wraps both arms around him. Oscar throws his own arms around Lando’s shoulders and buries his face in the Brit’s neck.

“What’s this about then?” Lando mumbles in his ear, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Oscar huffs. “I want some more cuddles before we have to go back to our teammate roles…”

The Brit giggles. The younger driver feels it against his chest. He feels warm and comfortable, and Oscar doesn’t want to let go.

“We will survive,” Lando says. Oscar can hear the smile in his voice.

“Barely,” the Aussie grumbles.

“I want huggies too!” a little voice comes from below them. The two adults look down with a smile, to see Luka making grabby hands at them.

The drivers detangle themselves. Lando bends down and picks up Luka, who curls his tiny arms around the Brit’s neck immediately. Oscar chuckles and then wraps his arms around the both of them.

Luka makes a happy giggly sound. It makes both adults smile goofily as well.

---

Sasha is their designated Social Media manager for the weekend. She’s their age and Oscar and Lando have worked with her many times before.

She always comes up with silly ideas for videos. And she does it again today.

The first video, Lando and Oscar have to choose between two terrible ‘would you rather’ answers.

The two drivers are standing in front of the McLaren logo in the common room, both with a stack of cards in their hands. Luka is on the other side of the room, standing next to Sasha.

The kid isn’t allowed to be in the video. “I’m pretty sure that would classify as child labor,” Sasha told them with a grimace.

Oscar agrees wholeheartedly and so does Lando. The kid shouldn’t become part of the McLaren branding.

But Luka just wants to be with his dads and is fidgeting where he stands, ten kiddie paces away from his parents.

Charlotte and Stephanie are in a meeting and can’t keep track of him. Which means he gets to stay with Lando and Oscar.

But it also means he has to be patient.

And Oscar knows their kid is an absolute saint. But he is also very excited about today and in a new space.

Which is why when Sasha starts filming, he is wondering when the toddler is going to interrupt…

They make it through the intro unscathed. But the moment Oscar lifts his first card, Luka’s patience is up.

The toddler comes over making a noise that screams ‘upset toddler’. It’s a noise he makes when he wants something, but he doesn’t know what or how to put it into words.

Lando immediately bends down and scoops him up. Luka buries his little face in his papa’s neck.

Oscar sighs softly. He gives Sasha an apologetic smile. She shakes her head with a smile, showing him it’s no problem.

“Sorry, little man, but we have work to do,” Lando tells the toddler as he rocks him.

Another fussy whine.

Oscar rakes his mind on what to do. That’s when he remembers the DSi.

“Luka?” the Aussie tries getting the toddler’s attention. “Maybe you can help Sasha.”

The kid looks at him curiously.

Oscar points at the Social Media manager. “See how she is making a video of us? Maybe you can take pictures of us with your DS?”

Luka glows when he registers the words. Lando chuckles when the kid starts moving around in his arms. The Brit puts the kid down and Luka immediately runs to his backpack that they left on the couch.

He ruffles through it all on his own, and the three adults just watch fondly as he finds the green Nintendo.

He turns it on, and the startup sound fills the room. Sasha giggles.

Oscar looks at Lando, the Brit looks back with a grin. They are both thinking the same thing: another team member won over by Luka’s cuteness.

Luka walks back to them as he goes through the menu to find the photo app. The sounds are a bit loud.

“You have to be quiet though, little man,” Lando tells him. “Maybe you can turn off the sound?”

Oscar watches amazed as Luka slides the volume button down and nods at his papa. “You’re such a good kid, Luka,” the Australian can’t stop the compliment.

Luka beams at them and then points the camera of his DS at his parents, standing by Sasha’s side.

“Good job!” Sasha tells him proudly. She turns back to the two dads. “Let’s try again.”

This time they make it through the video and the next one without any interruptions. Well except for some uncontrollable giggles.

Lando’s disgusted face at some of the ‘would you rathers’ is too funny and Oscar can’t hold back his laughter every time.

“Why would you want wet sleeves every time you wash your hands, Oscar?” the Brit had said with disgust.

“Because having to shave with peanut butter as shaving cream sounds even worse,” the Aussie had explained between giggles.

“No! Because you would have the benefit of having a snack every time you shave,” Lando had argued.

“Do you know how hard it is to wash off peanut butter?” the Aussie had said, remembering Luka’s sandwich accident from last week.

It was Lando’s time to laugh. “Okay, fair! But I would still prefer it over the wet sleeves.”

“To each their own,” Oscar had replied with a fond smile.

The second video was a familiar one; draw the track.

After that they were free to go.

Oscar really hopes it hadn’t been too fond and familiar. Because the way the videos flowed felt easy and a bit too much like a conversation they would have had at home.

They can’t do much about it though. At least they are consciously keeping distance between them.

Luka did really well, taking pictures of them and walking around a bit to take pictures of other things.

He even made them pose with their track drawings which the two drivers make him do as well whenever he finishes a drawing.

The resulting smiles on Luka’s photos are very real.

Sasha leaves them with a happy wave and a thank you at Luka, who waves back like his life depends on it.

Then, the two adults go downstairs to the garage. Oscar carries Luka. The toddler is all to glad that he is able to cuddle with his dad.

But when they enter the garage, his attention immediately goes to the car in front of him. And then to the car on the other side.

Luka squeals cutely, catching the attention of several mechanics. The two drivers chuckle.

“Want to sit in one?” Lando asks the kid.

Luka nods so hard, Oscar is scared he will hurt his neck. The Brit reaches out to him and Luka lets go of Oscar’s neck to drop himself into Lando’s waiting hands.

Lando hoists him up against his hip and then walks over to his car on the right. Luka points at the bright four on the side as they walk by.

“Papa’s car!” the toddler says. Lando smiles brightly. “Yes, it is!” he says. The mechanics standing close by physically melt.

The Brit turns to them. “Can he sit in the car or are you guys busy with something?”

One of the mechanics speaks up. “Oh no, please! Go ahead.”

“Thank you!” Luka says from Lando’s arms, polite as ever.

Oscar watches on from the sidelines with a smile on his face.

Lando carefully leans over the halo to place Luka in the car. The moment he reaches the seat, with his feet, Luka sits down.

He looks around with stars in his eyes and Oscar’s chest squeezes. Several mechanics coo at the sight. One of them scrambles to the workbench, grabbing the missing steering wheel.

“Here,” the man says, leaning over the car over the other side to put the steering wheel in. “Now it’s complete.”

Luka’s smile is bright when he looks up at Lando. He turns his head to find Oscar as well, but the toddler is too short to look over the high walls of the cockpit.

Oscar makes his way over to Lando, so he is the kids line of sight. Their elbows bump together, and the Aussie wishes he could throw his arm around the Brit’s waist instead.

He shakes the thought from his head and smiles down at their son. “What do you think, Luka?” he asks him.

“It’s super cool!” the toddler says excitedly.

Something about Luka sitting in Lando’s car with his 81 cap on is scratching Oscar’s brain in just the perfect way. He grabs his phone from one of his pockets to take a photo.

For his mum of course. Definitely not so he can set it as his phone background.

Lando happily explains all the buttons on the steering wheel to Luka. The toddler listens with rapt attention.

Luka gets some time in the car, looking at everything, before Will and Tom make their way over to them.

“That is absolutely adorable,” Oscar’s engineer mumbles when they get close enough to see what’s going on.

The two drivers greet them.

Will chuckles at the sight. “We were about to ask you two if you were ready to walk the track, but…”

Lando straightens before looking at his watch. “Oh shoot, we forgot the time, didn’t we…?”

“It’s fine, we can wait,” Tom immediately says. Not wanting to cut the cute moment short.

But Luka has been in there for ten minutes at least and the two drivers are on a schedule today. “We can go now. It’s alright,” the younger driver says.

He turns to Luka. “Want to see the track you raced on, Luka?” he asks the kid. The toddler makes an excited noise and stands up in the cockpit with his hands out to his dad.

Lando removes the steering wheel to make space as Oscar reaches over the halo to pull the kid out.

They thank the mechanics for their time and then follow the two race engineers to the front of the garage.

More people are waiting for them in between Lando’s and Oscar’s boxes. The Australian feels slightly ashamed making them wait. But Luka is happy, and he can’t find it in himself to apologize.

They don’t seem annoyed though. And when they start walking over the pit lane to the pit exit, a nice conversation starts between them all.

Luka is on Lando’s shoulders for the first part, loving being able to look over everything. He hums and points out things. Even talking about the racing line here and there.

A kilometer in, he starts getting restless and Lando puts him down. Oscar watches fondly as the toddler runs around in front of them making car noises.

The Australian is deliberately walking on the other side of the group, keeping space between him and Lando so they don’t unconsciously do anything stupid, like hold hands or something.

There are quite a lot of photographers lurking around, and the Australian is being extra cautious.

Luka takes up all their attention though, because he is following the racing line with a slow jog, holding his hands out like he is in the racing sim.

It looks so dumb, but so incredibly adorable, everyone they pass by is happily cooing at the kid.

A bicycle goes past them, only to slow down next to Luka. “Someone is already racing I see,” Valtteri Bottas says cheerfully.

Luka looks up and immediately points up at the Fin. “Mustache man!” Valtteri laughs loudly.

Oscar is again surprised by how comfortable Luka has gotten over the past weeks. Lando apologizes when the rest of the group catches up with them. “He remembers you from yesterday, but he doesn’t know your name.”

The blond man grins at them. “It’s okay. Mustache man sounds like a cool code name,” he says, before turning back to the kid.

“I’m Valtteri. What’s your name?” the Fin asks. He already knows the kid’s name, Oscar is sure, but he is being polite.

“Luka! Nice to meet you, Val- Valt- Teri,” the kid tries the Scandinavian name. Oscar already knows the kid is going to forget about the ‘Val’ part.

“He’s a racing driver too, little man,” Lando explains.

Luka hums in thought. “Which number?”

The Fin looks surprised. “Seventy-seven…?”

“Oh! Bottas!” Luka promptly fills in. Surprised noises come out of the group gathered around the kid.

Valtteri laughs again. “Yes, that’s me! Nice to meet you too!” he says enthusiastically. He reaches his fist out and Luka bumps his fist with his own.

There is a bit more chatting, and then the Fin leaves them to finish his lap around the circuit.

“That was so smart, Luka. How did you know the number?” Will asks the kid.

Luka smiles bashfully. “Lex told me.” Will frowns at Lando.

“Albon,” the Brit explains. “We shared a plane with him.”

“Lex told me all the numbers!” Luka says happily.

Oscar chuckles. “And his toddler brain absorbs information like a sponge.”

Tom shivers. “Imagine how smart he is going to be when he gets older…”

Lando smiles, sharing a look with Oscar. “It’s terrifying. I’m going to be surrounded by geniuses,” he says, squeezing his eyes in what Oscar’s knows is a hidden wink. The Aussie rolls his eyes fondly.

Will and Tom chuckle, while the rest of the group looks between the drivers curiously. Oscar avoids Lando’s eyes and watches Luka skip around instead.

It takes a bit of time, but Luka eventually settles. They have about one third of the track to go when the toddler walks to Oscar and grabs his hand.

“Hello, sweetheart, are you having fun?” the Aussie asks him. Luka looks up at him with a toothy smile. “Yeah!”

“Good,” Oscar says, squeezing his tiny hand softly.

They walk next to each other in silence for a couple of minutes, before Luka speaks up again. “I wanna hold Lano’s hand too…” He makes a grabby movement with his empty hand.

Oscar sighs quietly. He doesn’t want to raise suspicion. “Lando is all the way over there. Next time, alright?”

But since the kid has gotten comfortable, his true toddler behavior has been coming through. “But why?” he says with a sad voice.

Oscar has no idea what to reply.

Because papa and daddy are hiding their relationship? Because papa wants to look at that side of the track?

But Oscar doesn’t get time to make up a believable reply.

“LANO!” Luka yells as best as he can. The Brit startles, the conversation he was having with Will coming to a halt.

“What’s up, Luuk?” Lando asks, turning around to walk backwards in front of the group. Luka holds out his free hand. “Can we hold hands?”

Lando makes eye contact with Oscar. They both know it’s not a good idea.

“Uhhh,” the Brit starts, trying to find a solution. “Oscar is already holding your hand. That’s nice too, right?”

Luka grumbles. “Yes… but I like- we…” He huffs. Actually huffs. “We always hold hands…”

Oscar feels horrible, and from the look on his face, he guesses Lando does too. The Brit immediately walks over to them, grabbing the kids other hand.

“Sorry, little man…” Lando says as he rubs the kid’s back with his other hand. “It’s confusing, I know…”

It's not a good idea to walk side by side like this, but Oscar relaxes at having the Brit close to him.

Luka rubs his face against Oscar’s hand first and then against Lando’s as well. A bit like a cat. “Papa and daddy are being weird today…” he mumbles.

Oscar sighs, feeling his heart squeeze. He leans down to whisper in his ear. “I know, sweetheart. I will explain later, okay?” he says softly.

Luka nods. He holds onto both their hands like he personally needs to fix the distance between the them.

Maybe they should have told him earlier that they are keeping their relationship a secret? Oscar assumed he wouldn’t be able to understand. But from his behavior it seems he will.

The Aussie curses the kid’s hypersensitivity to everything and everyone around him. Especially because he knows what caused it.

The longer they walk though, the more he calms down. Luka does too. All three of them do really. Luka is swinging their hands back and forth rhythmically, and Lando is humming a tune Oscar’s knows is from his country music playlist.

It’s nice.

Especially since the other people with them don’t seem to mind them being in their own world. Tom and Will are too busy chatting and the others have their own things to talk about.

Oscar does spot some photographers and knows the internet is going to love the resulting photos.

He tries not to behave any differently and keeps his attention on the track instead of on the gorgeous man beside him.

As long as he doesn’t give Lando anymore heart eyes, they will be fine. Probably.

They eventually get back to the pitlane, having finished one lap of walking. Luka has walked at least three kilometers of the four-point-four kilometer track by himself, and Oscar is proud.

They get back to the hospitality perfectly on time for lunch.

Oscar’s leg tingle pleasantly from the walk as the little family sits down at one of the tables in the common room.

Charlotte and Stephanie join them. The two racers discuss what’s best for Luka in the afternoon. But Luka just wants to stay close, complaining every time someone even mentions separating him from the two drivers.

Oscar wonders if it is because he is worried about him and Lando.

Which is why even though after lunch they have to go to do some interviews, the two dads take him to their driver rooms.

Oscar closes the door behind him as Lando pulls Luka onto his lap, sitting down on the couch in Oscar’s room.

The Australian joins them, leaning against his boyfriend. Luka looks up at them with a scrunched up face.

Oscar pats his hair. “We’re acting different today, aren’t we…” he says.

Luka nods.

Lando slides his arm behind Oscar’s back and the Aussie relaxes at the touch. “Your dad and I love each other very much, but it has to stay a secret,” the older driver replies.

Luka frowns. “Why?”

Oscar sighs, not knowing how to explain to a kid that some people don’t like it when two men are dating.

“Because some people won’t like it if they know we are in love…” he says eventually.

Luka looks sad. “Why not?”

Oscar grimaces. Lando takes over. “Because some people can be a bit mean.”

“And we don’t want that. So we are trying to find a way to make them… be nice…” Oscar adds. He knows he’s being vague.

“Is it because you are two daddies?” Luka mumbles. “My friends all have a mommy and a daddy.”

Oscar’s mouth falls open, amazed that Luka connected the dots himself. Yes, having two dads is less common. And Luka has noticed. But he doesn’t seem to care about that at all. Oscar looks at Lando and sees the same surprise on his face.

The Brit lets out a breath. “Yes, kiddo, it’s because a lot of other kids have a daddy and a mommy. Some people think that only a mommy and a daddy can love each other,” he explains softly.

“That’s mean…” Luka says sadly.

Oscar smiles slightly at the reaction. “It is. And we don’t want them to be mean. So me and papa being in love has to be a secret until we know how we can do that…” the Aussie says.

Luka nods, understanding.

“Which is why Lando and I were walking so far away from each other,” Oscar tells him. “I still love him very much.”

“We’re not mad at each other. Not at all. We are scared that if we stay too close to each other we will accidentally cuddle,” Lando says with a grin.

Luka giggles. “Like at home!”

Oscar can’t help but chuckle fondly. “Yeah, like at home.”

The Brit squeezes Oscar’s waist and puts his free hand on Luka’s shoulder. “Will you help us keep it a secret?” he asks.

The toddler nods. His face is stoic, like he’s on a mission. Oscar sees a tiny part of himself reflected in Luka. “Thank you, sweetheart,” he says softly.

Luka gets up and stands on Lando lap, wrapping a tiny arm around Lando’s neck and another around Oscar’s. The two adults let him pull them in with his weak toddler grip.

He snuggles against both their cheeks at the same time. The two adults wrap him into a full hug, Lando’s arm under Oscar’s.

The Australian melts.

They end up in a cuddle pile on the couch, staying like that for longer than they should. But the “I love yous” spoken in the small driver room are worth every annoyed interviewer later.

Chapter Text

~~~^~~~
Luka is happy papa and daddy aren’t mad at each other. He was afraid they were fighting.

Osca and Lano were not yelling at each other or anything. But it was super weird for them to walk so far away from each other.

And then Osca and Lano said they couldn’t hold hands together. Luka got really worried.

Because they all hold hands together all the time, wherever they go. And he gets to swing between them and try to match their steps. Luka loves it.

So Luka is very happy to hear they are not mad at each other and that they love each other.

But he is also sad they are hiding.

And for a dumb reason too!

Yes, Josh has a mommy and a daddy. And Jonas does too. And they all played together anyway.

Josh and Jonas never said it was weird. Luka doesn’t think it’s weird either.

He has two dads and he loves both of them. Very much.

Daddy is very caring. He will make sure Luka understands what’s happening. He always has food ready before he is even hungry. He gets Luka all his favorite things without him asking. He knows what Luka wants even when Luka himself doesn’t know.

And his hugs are soft. Luka loves his hugs. Osca always holds him close. Kisses his hair and his cheek.

Papa is kind, and playful. He always jokes around and says silly things. He always comes up with ideas that make it even more fun. Like the blueberries in the pancakes. Or the bubbles in the bathtub. Papa always tries his best to make Luka laugh.

And Lano can also be strong. He picks him up all the time. Catches him when Luka jumps in his arms. Luka loves sitting on his shoulders. Lano will hold his legs, protecting him from falling, and Luka gets to see everything. All from a safe spot.

Luka doesn’t want a mommy and a daddy like everyone else… He wants papa and daddy.

He is angry that other people might be mean to his dads. All because they find out Osca and Lano love each other very much.

He almost can’t believe it’s true.

But Osca said it with his serious face.

Luka is mad about it. Because how can you be mean to two people who love each other. Isn’t it nice when people love each other?

Mommy sometimes had people come over, and Luka thought he would finally get a daddy. But she yelled all the time and slammed the doors. And then they left and never came back.

Luka thinks having two happy dads are way better than a yelling mum and dad…

Now that he knows why Lano and Osca were acting so weird, he doesn’t want to leave them.

“We have interviews, little man. It’s going to be super boring,” Lano tells him. Luka shakes his head and wraps his arms around papa’s leg.

Osca crouches down in front of Luka and Lano. “Tom would love to show you everything around here,” Osca says.

Luka looks at the man he is pointing. Luka of course remembers him. It’s the one with very short hair and the happy smile. The radio man who talks in Osca’s ears when he races.

“I want to go with you…” Luka mumbles.

Lano’s hand lands on Luka’s head. His hat moves and blocks his eyes for a moment, before Lano fixes it. “I know, Luuk. But you can’t…” papa says softly.

Luka whines, feeling very unhappy.

“We will be back later. The time will go by quickly with how many cool things Tom has to show you,” Osca tells him.

“I saw there was an ice cream van at the start of the paddock,” Tom says. Luka knows he is only trying to make him come with.

He shakes his head again.

Osca sighs. He deflates like a balloon and sits down on the floor in front of Luka. “Please, Luka… Lando and I can’t take care of you while we are being interviewed. We want you to stay with the McLaren team, where we know you will be safe.”

“Think of it as when we are at the office, and Oscar and I have boring meetings. You hang out with our teammates all the time,” Lano says. “And when we come back you always say you had fun.”

“We will be back soon enough. You can hang out with us later and all evening too,” Osca adds.

Luka huffs. He doesn’t want to leave them alone. But he also understands they need to do their jobs.

“Okay… then I go with Tom…” he says. “But come back soon!”

Lano pats his head. “We will, Luka. We promise,” he says.

Luka looks at Osca for his reply. Daddy smiles at him. “Of course.”

“And I want a hug!” Luka tells them.

He is not leaving without a hug from the both of them.

Lano laughs, but then bends down to hug Luka. His head is on top of Luka’s. Luka squeezes his arms as best as he can. “Love you,” Luka says.

Papa steals his hat and ruffles his hair wildly. “Love you too, little man…” Then he places the hat back with a big smile. Luka grins at him.

Then he looks at Osca. Daddy is still sitting on the floor. When he opens his arms, Luka runs to him and throws himself against his dad’s chest.

Osca’s arms wrap around him and squeeze. “Love you,” Luka says again. “Love you too, sweetheart. Thank you for listening…” Osca says softly.

Luka nods. His hat almost falls off, but daddy catches it and puts it back.

“We will see you soon, alright?” Osca tells him, rubbing his back.

“Okay,” Luka mumbles. He lets go of Osca, his dad drops his arms.

Luka walks to Tom. He stares up at him. “Hello Luka,” the tall man says with a kind smile. “Hello Tom,” Luka replies.

“Thanks for coming with me. I’m scared to go alone,” the radio man says. Luka giggles, knowing he is joking.

When Luka looks back at his dads, he sees Lano grabbing the hand Osca holds out. Papa pulls daddy up. They chuckle as they bump into each other.

Lano steps back so they don’t tumble to the ground.

Luka is happy to see nothing is different.

“Well, it’s time for us to go,” Tom says. “I’m hungry for some ice cream.”

Osca laughs. “Have fun! See you later,” Lano says, waving at Tom and Luka.

Luka waves back. “Byebye!”

“Byebye, sweetheart,” Osca replies.

When Tom starts walking, Luka follows him.

He looks back one more time and sees Lano and Osca walking away. Papa’s hand is still wrapped around daddy’s hand.

He turns back to Tom and walks after him. The radio man looks at him. “Want to hold hands?” he says as he holds out his hand.

Luka doesn’t know…

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But we have to stay close to each other, alright?” Tom says next.

Luka nods, showing him a thumbs up. Tom laughs and puts his thumb up as well.

Luka listens and walks next to him. Tom takes him to the big space next to all the buildings. There where Luka met the photo man in the morning.

There are flowers and benches, tents, all sorts of things. Luka already saw it this morning, but there is a lot to see.

There are people walking around. It’s busier than when he was here in the morning. Luka stays close to Tom.

“I don’t know if your dads already told you, but this is the paddock plaza. Everyone with a paddock pass can come in here. You will see other drivers, members from other teams, guests and media crews,” Tom tells him. Luka listens as best as he can while he looks around.

He sees a lot of different color shirts. Blue, green, red, more blue but a different sort of blue. And orange of course, the same papa and daddy wear.

“Today, you won’t see a lot of guests until the pitlane walk. Most of the fans aren’t allowed here. But you will see a lot of photographers and people with microphones,” Tom keeps talking. “Tomorrow there will be more guests. Lots of people with their phones out…”

Luka hums, in the way Osca sometimes does so Lano keeps talking.

“And I hear your grandparents will be in the paddock as well,” Tom says happily. Luka tilts his head, not fully understanding.

He has seen his grandmas and grandpa on the phone before. But how can they be here tomorrow if they are far away?

“I hope I was allowed to tell you that…” Tom mumbles. Luka looks up at him with a frown. The radio man smiles back. “Eh, it’s probably fine.”

Tom stops in front of a small van. Luka almost walks into him. Tom greets the man inside the van and then turns to Luka.

“Alright! What flavor ice cream do you like?” he asks. Luka tries to look over the edge to the ice cream, but he is not tall enough.

“Can I pick you up? So you can see what flavors they have?” Tom asks.

Luka still doesn’t like to be picked up by anyone other than Lano or Osca. Maybe uncle Max or uncle Chals can pick him up.

But he wants to see the ice cream. Tom talks a lot, but never too loud, and Luka thinks he is nice. So maybe he can pick Luka up. But only for a bit.

“Okay,” Luka says. Tom bends down and picks Luka up from under his armpits. He puts Luka on his arm. Luka throws his arm over his shoulder and looks around from the new high up place.

He can now look into the van. There is lots of ice cream. The man in the van waves. He has a funny white hat. Luka waves back at him.

“What flavors do you have?” Tom asks the man. The man sums up all sorts of things while pointing at the silver bowls in front of them.

Luka of course loves strawberry. But the strawberry ice cream they make at the office is the bestest. Luka doesn’t know if he should pick that flavor.

Banana sounds tasty. Like the sandwich he ate at the beach. But there is also chocolate. He likes chocolate too.

He takes too long to pick. Because Tom tries to help. “I know for sure you will come here again tomorrow. So if you pick one flavor today, you can pick another tomorrow,” he says. “You will be here all weekend. And your grandparents will love to buy you ice cream too…”

Two ice creams? Luka can have two ice creams? One today, and one tomorrow?

But which one will he choose now, and which one will he choose tomorrow? Luka doesn’t know.

“I really like chocolate,” Tom says. “If I choose chocolate, you can try mine? And then you can choose something different.”

“Oh!” Luka says. That’s really nice of Tom. “Thank you!”

“So! Which one will you pick?” the radio man asks again.

Luka hums. He really likes strawberry. And even if it isn’t as tasty as Rebecca’s ice cream it will still be tasty.

“Strawberry,” he says after he is done thinking.

The man in the van nods and starts scooping the ice cream. “That’s a good choice, Luka,” Tom tells him cheerfully. He bends down and carefully sets Luka on the ground again.

Luka didn’t hate being held by Tom, but he is happy to stand on his own feet.

Tom gives him the cone with strawberry ice cream. Luka has a little taste. It’s great! Very sweet. Luka likes it.

Tom holds out his chocolate ice cream. “Here, you can try,” the radio man says. Luka has a taste of the chocolate flavor as well. It’s nice too!

“We can trade if you want?” Tom asks. Luka shakes his head. “I like mine,” he says.

Tom smiles and steals his ice cream back. “That’s great to hear,” he tells Luka. He then points at the rocks next to all the pink flowers. “Let’s go sit over there.”

Luka nods and walks over, Tom right behind him.

Luka is able to crawl onto the rocky-bench-thingy by himself. Even with ice cream in his hand. He has to eat quickly though, because it is starting to melt.

He licks the sides first, like Lano taught him to do. Tom sits down next to him.

A lot of people are walking by. Luka likes watching them. They all have different colored shirts. Some have a thin purple vest on.

Luka and Tom eat their ice cream in silence. Luka munches on the cone. He sees people with cameras. They are taking photos of everything.

Luka makes a sad noise. He wishes he had his DS so he could make pictures too.

“What’s going on?” Tom asks. The man has already finished his ice cream.

“I want to takes picture too,” Luka mumbles.

“With your DS?” the radio man says. Luka nods. Tom grins. “Well lucky for you, your dad gave it to me,” he tells Luka.

Luka perks up as the man reaches into his pocket. Luka squeals at the sight of the bright green flip thingy.

He quickly finishes the ice cream cone and wipes his hands on his pants. Tom makes a snorting sound, and holds out the DS.

Luka takes it out of his hand happily and opens it. He kicks his legs in excitement as he turns it on and grabs the little pen from the side.

He taps to the photo part. The screens show what the camera sees, and Luka turns around in a circle to see how everything looks on the screen.

He then looks up, thinking of what he can photograph first. He takes a picture of the ice cream van first, just to practice.

And then he sees a butterfly land on the pink flowers close by. He walks towards it slowly, trying not to scare the small animal.

Its wings open and close as it eats the flower. Or smells the flower. Luka doesn’t really know what butterflies do. He will have to ask Osca later. Osca will know.

Luka takes a couple of pictures and hums, feeling happy.

He turns around and sees Tom is looking at him with a smile. He is still sitting on the rocks, but he is letting Luka walk around.

Luka point the camera towards him. Tom’s smile becomes even happier. “Cheeeeese!” the man says. Luka doesn’t know why he says it, but it makes him giggle. He takes a picture.

And then, in the corner of his eye, he sees a doggie!

All his thoughts of taking photos are gone. He quickly closes the DS and puts the little pen back. And then he starts walking to the doggie.

“Oh, Luka, wait,” he hears Tom say.

But Luka doesn’t wait. He comes to a stop in front of the doggie. It has a lot of soft wrinkles, and friendly eyes. “Hello doggie!” Luka says.

He then looks up at the owner. The man has cool braids and a shiny dot on his nose. “Hello sir! Can I pet the doggie?” he asks. Lano and Osca always tell him to ask first before petting animals.

The man chuckles. “Hello to you too. Go ahead, buddy!”

Luka makes a happy noise. He puts his DS in one hand and holds the other in front of the doggie so he can smell.

The doggie smells and then even licks his hand. Luka giggles and pets the doggie gently. He wrinkles are super funny, but he is also soft.

The owner crouches down and also pets the doggie. His skin is full of drawings. “What’s the doggie’s name?” Luka asks.

“Roscoe,” the man says with a smile. Luka repeats the name as best as he can. “Yeah! Exactly,” the man with the drawings says.

“And I think your name is Luka, right?” he says. Luka looks up in surprise. “Yes! That’s my name!” he says excitedly. He pats the doggie again. “How do you know?” Luka asks.

The man giggles. “I am friends with your dads. My name is Lewis Hamilton.”

Luka gasps. “Number forty-four!” The man is a racing driver too! Just like daddy and papa!

The man looks surprised now too. “Oh- what- How did you know?”

Luka flops one of Roscoe’s brown ears with his fingers. “Lex taught me,” he says proudly.

“Lex?” Lewis asks. “Alex?” Luka nods.

“Alex Albon taught you?” Luka nods again.

“He taught me all the numbers!” Luka says excitedly. “Wow! That’s really cool, buddy. You’re a smart kid for remembering them.”

Luka forgot about Tom and almost spooks when the man speaks. “He remembered Valtteri’s number as well. He almost fell off his bicycle hearing it,” Tom says.

Lewis laughs. “Amazing!”

The drawings man talks to Tom a bit more. Luka doesn’t listen. Too busy petting Roscoe. The doggie seems to like him. Luka gets a lick on his cheek. He giggles and hugs the doggie softly.

“You really like dogs, don’t you?” Lewis says. Luka looks up to see him smiling.

Luka nods and smiles back. “I just think they are soooo cute!”

It makes the man chuckle. “He will be here all weekend. You can come cuddle with him anytime. The McLaren paddock is right next to my team’s paddock,” he says. There is a pause. “But make sure to ask your parents first alright? Never walk off without telling them.”

Luka nods. He understands. Osca and Lano told him it will be very busy here this weekend. They are scared he will get lost. And he doesn’t want to get lost. He knows he shouldn’t run off here.

“Good,” Lewis says. He stands up. “Welp... Me and Roscoe need to get going.”

“Aw,” Luka says, feeling slightly sad.

“Don’t worry, you will see Roscoe again for sure,” the man says.

Luka remembers the DS he is holding. “Can I take a picture? Of the doggie?”

“Of course!” Lewis replies.

Luka pets Roscoe one more time and then steps back. He opens his DS. The camera is still open. He takes out the pen and points the camera at the doggie.

He taps the screen and takes a photo. “Thank you!” he says to Lewis. The man laughs.

“We will see you around,” the man with the drawings says.

“See ya!” Luka says. It’s something Lano sometimes uses to say goodbye. He waves at him, still holding the small pen. Lewis waves back cheerfully.

And then they leave. Luka watches them go.

Tom chuckles, catching Luka’s attention. “That was really nice. Good job asking if you could pet the dog,” he says.

Luka smiles.

Tom smiles back. “Ready to go back?” he asks. Luka nods. “Great! I have a lot of fun things to show you.”

Luka follows him as they walk back from where they came from. Tom leads him through the building with all the orange.

Luka is starting to really like orange. Red is still his favorite color. But orange feels like his home.

They walk through the garage again and Tom shows him all sorts of things. The headphones on the wall, the screens, the tires.

Tom shows Luka all the tools and everything the team uses for the pitstops. And all the extra parts for Osca’s car.

“Why do you need more?” Luka asks while looking at all the car noses.

Tom hums. He fidgets with Luka’s DS. Luka gave it to him for safe keeping. Tom points at the flaps at the front. “Well, this one is different than the one underneath. This one is better for when there is rain, while the other one is better for when it’s dry,” he explains.

Luka tries to see the difference. One of them has thinner flaps than the other.

“And sometimes a nose gets damaged in a race, so it’s good to have more. That way we can change it during a pitstop if we need to,” Tom adds.

Luka understands.

Tom then takes him further out to the pitlane. He explains what the little roof with the chairs is. “Will, Andrea, Zak, and I sit there when Lando or Oscar are driving on the track. We get all sorts of information that will help us decide what to do during a race. For example when to change the tires.”

Luka also learns that the garages next to his dads’ are from the other teams. On the left is Mercedes. Tom explains that that’s Lewis’ team.

On the right is Chals’ team.

Luka is happy to hear papa and daddy are surrounded by friends.

Luka is also very happy to see them walk up to him from the garage. Luka squeals and runs towards them. Lano and Osca laugh loudly.

He doesn’t know who to hug first. Lano already has his arms out and Luka throws himself into them.

Papa pulls him up against his chest and Luka rubs his face in his neck with a giggle. He then leans back and makes a grabby hand towards Osca.

Daddy leans in and kisses his cheek. Luka wraps his arms around Osca’s neck while he leans his shoulder on papa’s chest.

Lano chuckles. “You can’t hug us both at the same time, little man. You’re going to have to let go of one of us.”

“No!” Luka says cheerfully.

Osca laughs, and then pulls Luka arms from around his neck. He squeezes Luka’s hands when Luka whines. He doesn’t want daddy to leave…

“You have to help us hide the cuddles, remember?” Osca says. There is a smile on his face. Luka huffs. Lano makes a snorting sound.

He luckily gets enough cuddles in the common room from the both of them. Tom tells them all about what had happened with Lewis and Roscoe.

Luka sips on his Capri-sun while sitting on Osca’s lap. Daddy’s arms are around him. Luka is happy they are back.

He did have fun with Tom, and it was nice to meet a doggie, but he likes being with his dads more. A lot more.

A bit later, Luka starts hearing voices from outside. Many voices.

Luka looks into the direction of the windows. Confused.

“It’s time for the pitlane walk,” Osca explains. “Lando and I are going outside soon to greet all the fans. We will be signing all sorts of things and taking photos with them.”

“Like this morning,” Luka says, remembering the people at the gate.

“Yes, like this morning,” Lano tells him. “But with way more people…”

“We need you to stay in the garage, okay? You can watch us, but you can’t come over,” Osca says.

Luka makes a sad noise. Why does it keep happening? He just wants to stay with his papa and dad…

“It’s for your safety, sweetheart. These people are strangers, even if they like us. We are afraid someone might hurt you. There will be a lot of fans, and we can’t keep an eye on you when we’re busy,” daddy adds.

Luka doesn’t like it. But he knows he has to listen. Papa and daddy are trying to protect him.

So he does stay in the garage. Papa’s garage. He stands right at the line to the outside and watches his dads do high fives and scribble with a pen.

There are a lot of people, just like daddy said. They are all yelling. Screaming Osca’s and Lano’s names.

Many people are taking pictures with their phones. Tom already warned him they would, but Luka never knew it would be this much.

Some people wave at Luka and even call his name. Luka smiles and waves back politely. Osca said that’s what he does too.

Tom is standing by his side. When Luka asks for his DS, Tom gives it to him. Luka goes to the camera again.

He takes photos of papa and daddy with all the happy people.

The people seem to think it is really funny. He thinks of what Tom said when Luka took a picture of him.

“SAY CHEESE!” Luka yells. The people all laugh loudly and do what he says.

Luka grins brightly when he sees Lano and Osca are smiling too.

Luka giggles and takes the bestest picture ever.

~~~^~~~

Chapter Text

Oscar is so incredibly proud of his son. Not only did he stay in the garage, like the Aussie asked, but he also won over the entire crowd.

When the fans are asked to leave, Oscar walks away from the barriers. Luka notices and smiles at him brightly.

He makes grabby hands, as best as he can while holding his Nintendo, even though Oscar is still ten paces away from him.

The toddler stays in place, not crossing the line on the floor.

Oscar’s heart melts. He crouches down and scoops him up pressing him to his chest. Luka giggles loudly.

His arms find their rightful place around Oscar’s neck. The younger McLaren driver leans his head on top of Luka’s and sways back and forth.

When he hears coos of adoration, he remembers he is still in public. He looks up to see a couple fans dragging out their exit.

Oscar smiles sheepishly. He gives them an awkward thumbs up and can’t hold back his laugh when Luka does the same.

Lando is laughing loudly as he walks up to them. Oscar knows he wants to join the hug. He can see it in the Brit’s eyes.

But Lando is strong and only pats Oscar’s shoulder as he comes to stand next to them. “Good job, Luka. I can’t wait to see all the photos you’ve made today,” he says.

Luka grins at him over Oscar’s shoulder.

Oscar won’t be surprised if Lando is scrolling through that DS later tonight.

They watch the last of the fans leave before they head inside. Luka is glued to Oscar like an octopus and probably won’t be letting go any time soon.

Which is fine, because Oscar has some time to spare. The only thing left on the schedule today is a press conference for the both of them. Luckily not at the same time.

Lando is supposed to join the first one and Oscar the second. Which means Luka can stay with the Aussie for now, and Lando can take over later.

He is still so immensely happy Lando extended his help that first day in Monaco. Oscar doesn’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t. He doesn’t want to know, actually… Doesn’t want to think about it.

Because even though it is hard hiding their relationship right now, the amount of joy and love Oscar experiences on a daily basis is worth everything.

He watches Lando’s back as they walk after each other to their driver rooms. He loves the man before him so much his heart could burst.

Which is why when the door closes behind him and they are in private, Oscar moves Luka to one arm and reaches over with the other, grabbing Lando’s team shirt.

The Brit lets himself be pulled towards Oscar. Lando smiles as the Aussie presses their lips together.

His boyfriend kisses him back sweetly. Luka giggles between them, loving the family group hug Lando is winding them in. Oscar chuckles against the Brit’s lips.

The younger driver desperately wants to cuddle up with Lando. Preferably safe in their hotel room where they don’t have to worry about anything.

He leans his forehead on Lando’s shoulder. The Brit takes one of his arms from around the Aussie middle and runs a hand through Oscar’s hair.

“I’m done with today,” Oscar mumbles, closing his eyes at the soft touch. He has always disliked media day. It’s the awkward smiles and the focus he needs for every interview. The endless talks about things he doesn’t care about.

And now that he has a boyfriend and a son it’s even worse.

Lando kisses his hair. “Me too, babe…” he huffs. “One more thing. One more thing and then we can finally go back to the hotel.

“One more thing,” Oscar says with a sigh. It’s sadly the thing he dislikes the most. Press conferences are always a drag… The questions are predictable most of the time, but that doesn’t make it any better.

He already knows they will be asking about Luka. Probably about Lando too. He knows what he will answer. Has thought about it many times.

He still isn’t looking forward to it.

Lando has to go first though. Oscar doesn’t know whether or not he is happy that they were put in separate press groups.

For Luka it’s great of course. But the Aussie would love to have the moral support that is his boyfriend.

It’s one more thing. One more thing and then they can finally go back to the hotel, find something to eat, and then chill in their room together. No more tasks, no more questions.

He lifts his head from Lando’s shoulder and sighs. The Brit chuckles, rubbing his knuckles over Oscar’s cheek gently. Luka is still contently resting against Oscar’s chest.

He sees Lando glance at his watch and frown. “I have to go…” the Brit says.

“Alright…” Oscar says reluctantly. Lando kisses his cheek one more time.

“I will see you soon. Shift change by the press room?” the older driver asks, nodding at Luka.

“Yes, that’s fine, I think. I hope he agrees as well…” Oscar replies.

Lando snorts. “He better does. I haven’t had any Luka hugs in a while.”

Oscar smiles at him. It’s only been a bit more than an hour since Lando held Luka. The Aussie gets it though.

Lando lets go of his little family and moves to the mirror to fix his curls. Luka knows the behavior. Lando usually fixes his hair when he has to go out.

“Where are you going?” the toddler asks. Oscar pulls him a little tighter.

“To a press conference. Like the one you went to with Oscar after the race in Monaco,” the Brit tells the toddler as he rubs at his hair. “I have one first, and then Oscar has one. You will stay with Oscar now. But when I’m done, we can hang out together, alright?”

Luka makes a sad noise. The poor toddler deals with separation anxiety every time they leave. It’s getting better, but Luka has to be reminded they will come back every time.

Lando takes off Luka’s hat and ruffles his hair. “We will see each other soon.”

Luka nods. The Brit places back the hat, pushing the brim a bit lower than it should be jokingly. The toddler giggles and pushes the brim back up.

“Okay. Until soon,” Luka says.

Lando smiles. “Until soon, little man.”

The Brit looks at Oscar, who smiles back at him. “Until soon,” the Aussie echoes cheekily.

Lando giggles. He throws them a hand-kiss and then he is out the door.

The smile stays on Oscar’s face as he puts Luka down and finds something for him to play with.

The Aussie rolls one of Luka’s racecars towards him. The toddler immediately plops down on the floor and rolls it back.

Oscar chuckles and sits down with his back against the wall. He grabs the car and rolls it to Luka once more.

They go back and forth like that for a while. Oscar asks Luka some more about his hours with Tom. The Aussie is glad to hear it went well.

With how reluctant Luka was beforehand, he was afraid the kid would be upset for a while longer. Luckily Luka’s displeasure was short lived. It seems Luka enjoyed his little adventure with Tom. He enthusiastically talks about Lewis’ dog, and all the car parts Tom showed him.

“And Lewis said I could visit the doggie. But I have to tell you and papa,” Luka tells him, rolling the car to his dad.

“That’s really nice of him. His team is right next to our team. We can probably go say hi later this weekend,” Oscar says. “And yes, please ask me or papa before going somewhere, alright? We will be very worried if we can’t find you.”

Luka nods. “I will tell you,” he promises.

Oscar hopes he will. Luka might have separation anxiety for real, but it might have rubbed off on Oscar. The Australian doesn’t like not having the toddler in his sight, even when he knows he is safe with anyone from the Daycare Squad.

Everything in Oscar’s being is constantly screaming to keep the toddler safe and happy. He feels it deep in his bones.

When he mentioned it to his mum over the phone earlier this week, she let out a proud noise. “That’s the parent-instinct talking, Osc. You can’t escape it. Can you now finally imagine how I feel every time you step into that racecar?”

Oscar thought he understood before. But he understands it so much more now.

A part of him hopes Luka doesn’t like karting when he is old enough to try. He knows his job is dangerous. It’s something he is aware of every time he gets into the car. And now he is hyper aware that Lando is doing the exact same dangerous thing.

He sort of wishes Luka stays in the safety of the garage, even in the far future.

And at the same time he wants Luka to experience the thrill he experiences as a racecar driver. Especially with how much the toddler loves cars, the same way he did when he was Luka’s age.

They will have to see.

But he respects his mum even more for staying calm. He should probably tell he appreciates her more often.

An alarm goes off on his phone. Oscar stops the racecar from hitting his leg and goes to turn off the alarm. It’s time for him to go to the conference room.

He looks at his son who is sitting on the floor watching him expectantly. Oscar lets out a breath. “It’s time to go for a walk, Luka,” he tells the kid. He feels bad for cutting playtime short.

“Where are we going?” the toddler asks.

Oscar stands up and puts away the racecar as he talks. “I have to go to all the people with the cameras. Lando is there now. He will meet us, and you can go play with him while I talk to the media people.”

“Hm, okay…” Luka says. Oscar hears the reluctance in his voice.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart… Today is busy and chaotic… Not much time for cuddles and playing,” Oscar says sadly. He holds out his hand towards him.

Luka grabs onto it with his tiny fingers. Oscar pulls him up. Now standing on his feet, Luka takes off his hat and fidgets with the little strap on the back.

The Aussie’s heart break at what Luka says next.

“I wanna go home…” the toddler says quietly.

Oscar’s breath hitches. “Oh, I’m sorry… Almost, alright?”

Luka looks up with watery eyes. When he rubs at his face, Oscar realizes the kid has to be quite tired. He woke up super early this morning and saw a lot of things today.

The poor kid’s energy is drained. Which is what’s making him fussy.

“Come here,” Oscar says as he bends down and picks him up. Luka’s hat gets squished between them as Luka leans his full weight against his dad’s chest.

The toddler rests his head on Oscar’s collarbone and sighs. The McLaren driver chuckles. He steps in front in the mirror to check his hair and is overwhelmed by how he looks with Luka in his arms.

He thinks he has seen photos of himself as a toddler in his parents arms. It’s almost a recreation of said photos. Oscar’s chest squeezes at the image.

He holds Luka with one arm as he quickly fixes his hair with his free hand. And then he wraps both arms around his son securely.

He opens the door with his elbow. He walks through the hospitality and into the paddock.

Luka snuggles up to him even closer, pressing his face into Oscar’s neck and fidgeting with the collar of his dad’s team polo.

Oscar looks down to see him looking around silently. “Are you tired?” he asks the toddler. There’s a pause, and then Luka nods. “It’s okay to take a nap,” Oscar tries.

A fussy toddler huff. But then Oscar can feel him sag more against him.

Oscar walks as steadily as possible, taking even steps. When people greet him, he only nods with a kind smile.

He doesn’t even reach the media center before Luka nods off completely. His small body goes limp. Oscar holds him tight, hooking his chin over Luka’s head so his head doesn’t slide down.

When he reaches the media center, the security guards throw one look at him before letting him inside. Oscar thanks them quietly and makes his way through the building.

Oscar can hear Lando’s voice through the wall as he walks around the conference room. The anxiety he didn’t know he was feeling falls off his shoulders.

He can’t hear what the Brit is saying, but the microphone boosts his voice loud enough for Oscar to recognize it is him.

Luka makes a tiny noise in his sleep. Oscar wonders if the kid recognizes the voice too.

He rounds the corner to the backstage area and finds some other drivers already waiting there. Alex and Carlos are chatting with each other about who knows what.

Alex notices Oscar first and waves happily. And then he makes a cooing noise when he sees Luka. “Is he actually asleep?!” the William’s driver whisper yells.

Oscar nods.

“While you were walking?” Carlos asks softly, confused.

“Yeah,” the McLaren driver says just as quietly.

“That’s adorable,” Alex gushes. “He feels so safe with the two of you.”

Oscar smiles. It still feels like a dream. The way Luka has grown in the past weeks is insane and the Aussie almost doesn’t remember the time the toddler didn’t feel relaxed in their presence.

It’s that moment that Oscar notices Logan walks in. He perks up. He hasn’t seen his best friend since the start of the Monaco race weekend.

They have been texting of course, but they haven’t had time to meet halfway through.

“Oscar!” Logan says excitingly. The Australian greets him happily. Logan takes a moment to shake hands with Alex and Carlos before turning to Oscar.

He bends down a bit to look at the sleeping toddler. “I was going to say I’m glad to finally meet Luka, but he doesn’t know I’m here,” the American says.

Oscar giggles. “I will tell him you were here.”

“He has no idea who I am,” Logan reminds him with a chuckle.

“He will know your driver number if you say your name,” Alex pipes up.

The American lets out a surprised noise.

“Yeah, Alex thought him all the drivers on the grid,” Oscar tells him.

Logan looks at the Australian and his son with a soft look. It’s what makes Oscar aware that he has been unconsciously swaying Luka.

Oscar looks at his friend. He looks energetic. Happy.

The McLaren driver is glad to see it. The American has been under a lot of pressure lately. He knows Logan hasn’t shown the true extent of his skills yet.

Hasn’t been able to.

Oscar knows it’s slowly shattering his friend’s confidence.

He knows Logan has been looking around to maybe make the switch to the IndyCar Series next year. It is or the team he is with, or the pressure of Formula 1 itself that is making Logan not performing the way Oscar knows he can.

They have talked about it. Oscar knows it has been keeping him busy.

So when Carlos asks Alex a question, the Aussie leans towards his friend. “How are you doing?”

Logan smiles at him, appreciation clear in his eyes. “I’m doing okay. A bit nervous for the weekend, but guess that’s not unusual,” the American says.

Oscar smiles. “Let me know if you need someone to rant to,” he says, knowing they don’t have the time nor the privacy to talk in detail now.

“I will,” Logan promises. “And how about you? How are you doing?”

The McLaren driver hums. “Good. Really good even. I was anxious to bring him here,” he says, nodding at Luka, “but he is taking everything in stride. He was getting fussy though, which usually means he’s tired. I’m happy he is napping now.”

Logan is grinning at him. “And Lando? How is he treating you?”

Oscar blushes. Carlos perks up, having heard the words as well.

Shit… Carlos doesn’t know yet…

“Yes, how is that idiot treating you? He hasn’t shut up it the entire time… I hope he’s not making you go crazy?” the Spaniard asks.

Or maybe he does know… Because he is one of Lando’s closest friends on the grid.

Oscar is surprised by the small spike of jealousy in his chest. He wonders if Lando feels the same about Oscar’s friendship with Logan.

“He is really sweet,” Oscar replies. “He is incredible with Luka. He has been a steady rock for me to lean on during this whole… lifechanging experience....” A fond smile creeps onto his face. “I am eternally grateful he stepped up to help, and very happy to have him by my side.”

“They are disgustingly cute together,” Alex adds nonchalantly.

“Hey!” Oscar lets out, feeling embarrassed. The blush on his face only gets worse. He can feel the warmth on his cheeks.

Carlos laughs. Oscar wants to hide in a ditch.

When the Spaniard calms down, he speaks up again. “I’m glad you and Lando found each other. Lando has been wanting a family for a long time. I’m happy he has one now.”

The kindness in his eyes makes Oscar feel guilty about the slight jealousy gnawing in his gut. Oscar smiles back at him. “Thanks Carlos. I feel lucky to have him.”

Their conversation is interrupted by Lewis walking in. “Hello boys,” the Brit says cheerfully. “Oh, the McLaren kid is here as well,” he adds, way softer than before.

Everyone greets the seven-time world champion kindly.

“Thanks for letting Luka meet Roscoe,” Oscar says. “I think he has told us about it several times now.”

Lewis chuckles. “Luka was such a sweetheart. Roscoe likes him. It was really no trouble.”

Suddenly, the door to the conference room opens. Max, Charles, Lance, and George walk out with Lando in tow.

The five drivers greet the other group and wish them luck. The first group walks off, minus Lando, who comes to a stop in front of Oscar.

The Aussie lets out a content sigh at the soft smile on Lando’s face. “How did it go?” Oscar asks.

“It wasn’t too bad,” the Brit replies. He carefully wraps his hands around Luka’s middle. “Is he asleep?”

“Yes, he was tired. He fell asleep while I walked here,” Oscar says, gingerly removing his chin from its resting place on Luka’s head.

Lando grimaces. “Did he throw a tantrum?” The Aussie shakes his head, leaning over to transfer the toddler over to Lando’s chest. “He was a bit grumpy before he fell asleep, and that was that. He did mention wanting to go home, though.”

Luka stirs when Lando hoists him up. Oscar catches Luka’s hat from falling to the floor.

“Papa?”

The Brit presses a kiss to his hair. “Yes, little man. It’s me.” He uses one hand to take the hat from Oscar’s fingers.

The moment the older McLaren driver tries to place the hat back on top of Luka’s head, the toddler shakes his head. “No more hat…” Luka mumbles disgruntled.

Lando and Oscar sigh at the same time. “Ah, yeah… That’s what I meant,” the Aussie tells his boyfriend.

Lando huffs a laugh. “Good, more hats for me.” He places the hat on top of his own backwards facing hat.

“Lan…” Oscar warns, knowing people will talk when they see the number eighty-one anywhere on Lando.

The Brit grins at him, showing off the little gap between his teeth Oscar loves so much. “What? It’s Luka’s hat.”

The Aussie lets out a defeated breath. Lando grins and squints his eyes at him placatingly. “Good luck. Don’t let them bite you,” his boyfriend says. And then he is walking off.

Oscar fondly watches him go. He looks ridiculous with two hats. One brim facing forwards and one backwards. The Australian has to pry his eyes away from him.

When he looks back around. Alex, Carlos, and Logan are grinning at him madly. Lewis is connecting the dots right then and there. Oscar can almost see the lightbulb above his head.

A staff member appears to usher them in. Which means they don’t get to talk about it… Oscar prays the blush on his cheeks isn’t that visible as he sits down on the couch between Logan and Lewis.

The press conference doesn’t feel too much like torture. The media keeps away from most of the personal stuff and focusses more on the race weekend and the drivers expectations.

In the corner of his eye, Oscar notices Lewis keeps glancing at him. But when the Australian looks back at him, the Mercedes driver seems lost in thought and is not truly looking at Oscar.

One journalist finally addresses the elephant in the room. “Oscar, I’ve said it to Lando as well; congratulations on adopting a child! I think we are all very excited to see little Luka run around the McLaren paddock. What made you decide to adopt the child together with your teammate?”

It sounds like an innocent question, but Oscar knows she is secretly trying to figure out the full depth of Oscar’s and Lando’s relationship.

He picks up his microphone. He knows how to answer this.

“When I first met Luka and found out he was abandoned I had already decided I wanted to adopt him. In comparison to Lando, I had absolutely no knowledge of how to take care of a kid. My teammate helped me figure it all out and Luka imprinted on him like a little duckling.”

A shared giggle goes around the room.

“I didn’t want to separate them, which is why Lando and I choose to coparent him,” Oscar ends his shallow explanation. He knows Lando has said something similar if he was asked the same question.

The journalist isn’t done yet. “Did it change the relationship between you and your teammate?”

Oscar hums, faking needing to think. “We already worked well together, but I think we’ve gotten closer. I know it will make us better teammates as well.”

Keep it flat. Keep it simple. Only a snippet of the truth, but never the full story.

He puts his microphone on the couch and ends the conversation with a small smile and a strong nod.

He can see the journalist sigh as she sits back down. She didn’t get the details she wanted. Oscar would like to keep it that way.

They can speculate, but as long as Lando and he don’t say it out loud or show it in public, it will stay speculation.

The crowd understands they are not getting anything more out of the subject, and they move on. Oscar is happy to answer some questions about his driving instead.

The conference doesn’t drag on for too long, which Oscar is grateful for. He really wants to go back to Lando and Luka.

Oscar follows his fellow drivers out of the room. They walk out through the back entrance to avoid more questions from the crowd.

Alex and Logan veer off right at the start, needing to do some more media for Williams.

Carlos takes one look at his watch and then starts almost sprint walking to the Ferrari hospitality after telling Lewis and Oscar he has a meeting.

Which is how Oscar finds himself alone with the seven-time world champion. “Let’s walk together,” the man says.

Oscar agrees. They have to go in the same direction anyway.

They walk in comfortable silence for a minute before Lewis finally says what’s on his mind. “I think I know what’s going on between you and Lando…” Oscar isn’t surprised. “And I fully support you two.”

Lewis stares at his shoes as he walks. The next thing is said so softly, the Aussie almost doesn’t hear it.

“I wish I could have had what you two have right now…”

Oscar holds his breath. Lewis looks ahead and stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Please… Never ever let anything that happens on track ruin your relationship…”

He then turns his head and looks the McLaren driver right in the eye. Oscar sees a vulnerable man. “You will fight on track. You might crash into each other. Full of adrenaline, you might steal each other’s win one day.”

He takes a deep breath. “DO NOT let it ruin your relationship. Talk it out. Apologize. Listen to each other,” the Mercedes driver almost begs him.

Oscar swallows and nods.

Lewis grimaces. He sighs. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to…” Another sigh.

“It’s alright,” Oscar says quietly.

The Mercedes driver shows him a pained smile. “It’s just something I wish I had understood ten years ago,” Lewis says with a strained voice.

Oscar takes a deep breath. “Thank you… Lewis… I appreciate it.” A pause. “And I promise Lando and I will talk…. whenever anything happens…”

The Australian doesn’t know what to do or say. He doesn’t even know if Lewis meant to reveal this much to him.

The subject awkwardly changes. The rest of the walk is calm, but Oscar can see the Mercedes driver is fighting his memories.

After they part ways, Oscar feels haunted by the fact that Lewis’ utterly destroyed relationship with Nico Rosberg wasn’t as platonic as he remembers it to be.

Chapter Text

Oscar still feels a bit shaken by what Lewis told him as he enters the McLaren hospitality. Because the seven time world champion is not the first one telling him about team parings falling apart.

Mark also mentioned being hurt after Sebastian ignored a team order and overtook him, winning the race instead.

And now he finds out Hamilton and Rosberg were apparently a thing…

Were.

Because their rivalry and the things that happened on track completely destroyed them.

Oscar takes a deep breath. He knows he has been creeping closer to Lando’s skill level… What if they actually get to have a title fight with each other one day?

Will they really be able to keep what happened on track from hurting their relationship?

What if the tension between them hurts Luka in the process?

He knows him and Lando will communicate. They promised each other they would talk about it if something stupid ever happens between them.

But Oscar is still scared. Because what if?

He huffs and walks through the hospitality lost in thought. It’s quiet, most of the McLaren team members have already left.

With how much he has done and experienced today, Oscar is ready to go to their hotel room as well… He needs some time alone with Lando. A snuggle session on the small couch in their room sounds amazing.

Especially with the anxiety that is starting to bubble up again…

He opens the privacy door hiding the driver rooms and automatically looks into Lando’s room in search of his boyfriend and son.

But instead, Oscar finds them lying on the couch of his own driver room.

Lando is lying flat on his back, eyes closed, with his arms around the toddler that is clinging to his chest like a koala.

Apparently, Luka wasn’t the only tired one, because the Brit is definitely asleep. His face is slack, while his eyelashes move slightly as he dreams. He takes deep breaths, snoring softly as the crick in his neck obstructs his airflow a bit.

Luka is sleeping with his little mouth open. Oscar can see a puddle of drool on Lando’s shirt.

Oscar’s chest squeezes at the adorable scene.

He grabs his phone from his pocket and takes a picture, wanting to keep the memory.

He hates to disturb the peaceful moment, but he also really wants to go back to the hotel. It is getting close to dinner time, and with their bodies still adjusting to the new time zone, they should definitely eat on time.

He slowly steps closer and sits down on the edge of the small couch.

He lifts his hand and gingerly strokes a finger over Lando’s nose. He almost dies of cuteness as the Brit’s nose scrunches up at the feeling.

“Lando, you’ve got to wake up, honey,” Oscar whispers.

The older man’s breath hitches. There’s a small groan.

Oscar runs his fingers through the loose curls on Lando’s forehead. “We need to get back to the hotel,” he tells his boyfriend softly, waking him up slowly.

Lando blearily blinks his eyes open. He squints up at the light. Oscar moves in front of it, so it doesn’t shine in his eyes anymore.

The Aussie smiles as Lando’s green eyes lock with his. “Good morning,” he says teasingly, watching the Brit take in a deep breath.

“Didn’t mean to fall asleep…,” Lando says, voice rough.

Oscar chuckles. “I guess you needed it.”

Lando hums. He moves his arms and seems to realize he is still holding Luka. They both look down at the toddler who is dead to the world.

“Not sure if we should let him sleep or wake him up…,” Oscar says. The kid was tired, yes. But the Aussie also doesn’t want to be woken up even earlier tomorrow morning because the kid had too much sleep during the day.

Lando sighs and throws his legs over the side of the couch. He sits upright slowly, cradling the toddler in his arms. “You said he wanted to go home, right?”

“Yeah, but I think he was just tired,” the younger man says.

Lando stares down at the sleeping toddler. “Maybe we should let him sleep until we get back to the hotel? That way he can’t be fussy…” He pauses. “If that is what he sees as home now, that is…”

The Brit reaches down for his shoes with one hand, but can’t reach with the toddler in his arms.

Oscar chuckles and gets them for him.

He holds them out to the Brit. Lando doesn’t take them. He instead looks up at the Aussie with pleading eyes.

“Really…” Oscar says exasperated.

“I’m holding Luka,” Lando says. The corners of his mouth tilt upwards.

Oscar sighs and crouches down in front of the Brit. “You’re such a princess sometimes…” he mumbles fondly as he undoes the laces of Lando’s shoes and folds back the front flap.

Lando sticks his foot into the first shoe with a giggle. “Every once in a while, yes.” He hums. Oscar waits for the next chaotic comment as he ties the laces of Lando’s shoe.

“I like it the other way around more though,” Lando eventually says.

The Aussie chokes on his spit as a blush forms on his face. Because of course Lando does… He has been taking care of Oscar diligently for the past two weeks. The Brit laughs at his reaction.

Oscar pinches the muscles in Lando’s calf in retaliation. His boyfriend lifts his still shoeless foot to kick his arm softly.

The Aussie chuckles, holding out the other shoe. “I will tie your shoelaces together if you keep being a menace,” he warns deadpan.

Lando laughs.

And then Luka groans against the Brit’s chest. Both adults freeze as they watch the toddler wake up.

“Sorry, little man… Me and your dad were joking around,” Lando sheepishly, patting the kid on the back.

Luka huffs and moves one of his hands from Lando’s shirt to rub at his eye.

“Home…?” he mumbles.

Oscar’s heart breaks a little. “Yes, Luka, we’re going back to the hotel.” He quickly moves to put on Lando’s other shoe. The Brit helps as much as he can with his hands occupied.

“Together?” Luka asks groggily.

“Yes, all three of us,” Lando explains. He leans down to kiss Luka’s forehead.

The kid hums. “Okay,” he says, before slumping against Lando’s chest again.

The two dads look at each other. Maybe that was what the kid meant by ‘going home’… The two drivers have been all over the place all day…

Luka must have missed the three of them being together.

Yes, he has had time with Lando, and he has had time with Oscar today. Not much though… And even less time with both dads at the same time…

Tomorrow should be better though.

Media day is super busy, and the two drivers have tasks and meetings the entire day. But on Fridays it’s usually just a team meeting, and then free practice one and two.

In between there is lots of time to kill. It is exactly why drivers usually invite their families and friends from Friday to Sunday, skipping Thursday.

With both of Lando’s shoes tied, the two adults get up. Oscar gathers the bags they brought and looks into Lando’s room as well to see if the Brit has left something there that they might need at the hotel.

And then they leave the driver rooms and walk into the hospitality in search of someone who can bring them back to the hotel.

“Tomorrow we are taking the rental car,” Lando says. McLaren doesn’t like it when they drive themselves to the paddock. Having a person drive them gives an extra layer of security.

Plus, they are usually tired after a long day.

But right now, Oscar has to agree with his boyfriend. He wants to get back to the hotel as fast as possible, but the guy who drove them this morning is nowhere to be found.

Luckily, Oscar’s trainer is still in the hospitality. Kim walks up to them when he spots the little family.

“Are you guys done with everything?” the trainer asks.

Oscar nods. He looks at what the man is holding; three containers with food.

“Alright, good.” Kim holds out the containers to Oscar, who is the only one with his hands free. “Jon and I sorted dinner for you three. Each container is labeled, so don’t eat each other’s food…”

The Australian frowns as he grabs hold of the containers. They have been eating the same these past weeks, so he doesn’t know why they are getting different food now…

Kim points at Lando. “That man apparently forgets to drink during a race weekend. Jon added some supplements to his food so that he retains the things he DOES drink better.”

Oscar snorts and looks at his boyfriend. Lando huffs, seemingly feeling a bit embarrassed.

“I will help you remember, if you want?” the younger driver asks.

Lando shrugs.

The Brit might be embarrassed about it, but it is not going to stop Oscar from subtly reminding him.

The Aussie turns back to Kim and asks him where they can find the guy who drove them here this morning.

“I’m going back to the hotel too. I could drive you three if you’d like,” the trainer says.

Amazing. Perfect.

And that is how the little family finds their way to the hotel with ease. As they are driving, Oscar texts his assistant about it, so that they can cancel the original lift.

Mars texts back, letting him know that they did and wishing the family a good evening.

At the hotel, they say goodbye to Kim and then make their way to their hotel room. In the elevator, Lando stares at the three containers in Oscar’s hands. Luka is still lounging on his papa, looking around with more energy than before his nap.

“I’m so happy we can just chill in our hotel room for dinner,” Lando says. Oscar has to agree. He desperately needs some privacy with his boyfriend and son.

They of course have their driver rooms in the paddock, but it is not the same.

As they enter the hotel room, both adults sigh in relief at the same time. Luka giggles at the sound, and Oscar can’t help but smile too.

He sets the three containers on the coffee table as Lando puts Luka on the ground. The kid follows Oscar around as the Aussie drops their bags in a corner and goes to search for forks in the small kitchenette.

“What are you looking?” Luka asks. The sentence is not completely correct, but Oscar understands and does not correct him.

“I’m looking for forks,” the Aussie says, using the correct wording, hoping the toddler will catch it.

The kid points at the drawer on the right. “Forks are there,” he says.

Surprised by Luka’s knowledge, Oscar opens the drawer and actually finds what he is looking for. “Wha- how did you know?”

“He looked into every drawer yesterday,” Lando says behind them.

Oh, that’s true. “Huh, good job remembering, Luka,” Oscar tells the kid, patting his fluffy hair.

Luka beams up at him.

Oscar grabs the forks as he listens to the containers being opened by Lando. They all gather around the coffee table, sitting on the floor like they did the first evening in Lando’s apartment.

The first part of dinner is silent, all three of them too hungry to talk.

“How did your press conference go?” Lando eventually asks Oscar, breaking the silence.

“It was fine. There were a couple of questions about Luka and… us,” the Aussie replies. “But I think I answered those pretty neutrally.”

“Yeah, I had the same… It is as if the media is forgetting we are here to race? Gossip sells, yes, but we’re all racing each other while going three hundred kilometers an hour. You would say that is more interesting than us possibly being in a relationship?” the Brit rants, moving his fork around as he talks.

Oscar chuckles. He of course agrees with Lando, but he does remember a time were he himself was still a fan instead of a driver and loved all the extra news surrounding the drivers.

He can’t fault them for wanting to know more. But the pushy way they go at it is annoying. It sometimes makes him feel like a little bug trapped in a glass jar.

He looks at Luka, who is happily munching on the pasta Kim made for him. With the little boy glued to them at all times, of course the media is asking questions.

Everyone online loves the kid. And they are ecstatic that both McLaren drivers are taking care of Luka.

Of course they want to know all about it.

They will just have to endure the questions until the excitement dies down.

Lando and him are the first ever driver duo to adopt a kid. The first ever drivers to find a kid walking around the paddock and think: ‘you are my child now’.

It will take a while for that to become normal. Oscar wonders if it will be months or years…

The rest of dinner the two drivers chat calmly. Luka buts in here and there.

The toddler mentions Roscoe again.

Oscar and Lando look at each other thinking the same thing… Maybe they need to get Luka a pet somewhere in the future.

The mention of Roscoe again reminds the Aussie of the conversation he has had with Lewis. He hopes to be able to talk with Lando about it soon. Preferably while Luka is busy or asleep, so the kid doesn’t listen in too much.

But he doesn’t get the chance, because after dinner, Lando grabs his laptop and coaxes Luka to sit next to him on the couch.

“Want to look at the pictures you took on the big screen?” the Brit asks, connecting the apple green DS with his laptop.

“We can do that?” Luka asks, confused.

“Yeah!” Lando says happily. Oscar goes to stand behind the couch so he can look on the Brit’s laptop screen.

“Woah!” Luka lets out when Lando opens the first photo.

It’s an image of the table in the plane; the moment Luka found the camera on his DS. The toddler giggles. “There is nothing!” he says.

Lando and Oscar chuckle. The Brit clicks through the next photos. Luka took photos of a lot of things on the plane.

It is super cute to see where his toddler brain focuses on. His miniature cars have been photographed from all angles.

There are some photos of Lando, and some photos of Oscar. All in that same grainy low quality texture.

The camera is shitty, yes, but it is WHAT Luka photographed that makes both adults a bit emotional.

Lando’s smile is dopey and boyish. Oscar’s is soft, and so real, even with the small amount of pixels.

The Australian puts his hands on Lando’s shoulders, needing the contact.

And then the soft moment turns into one of giggles when the photos with effects start coming up. The toddler’s laughter at his own deformed face on such a big screen triggers a laughing fit for both drivers too.

There are some photos of the other passengers on the jet too. Some with a filter, some normal. Well, as normal as they can be with a DSi camera. The pictures look as if they were taken in 2009.

As they go through all the pictures Luka has taken, the composition gets better. As if Luka is learning how to make better looking photos. The brightness is still too high, with the camera making things lighter than they are, but the composition is not too bad. Things are actually fully in frame.

Oscar can see the gears turning in Lando’s head.

When they have cycled through all of the photos, he watches as the Brit saves the images to his laptop.

“That was really nice, Luka. You are great at taking photos,” Oscar says.

“Can I do it again tomorrow?” the kid asks happily.

Oscar reaches over to pat his hair. “Of course sweetheart.”

Lando turns his head to the toddler. “Can I show some of your pictures to our fans?” he asks.

Yeah, Oscar was expecting that. With Lando having photography as his hobby, his kid showing the same interest in taking photos must make him extremely happy.

Luka frowns. “Fans?”

“Yes, the people who came to see me and Oscar in the pitlane. And the lady at the beginning for example, who said hi to you after she took a picture with us,” the Brit explains.

“Oh!” Luka says. “Do you think they like the photos?”

“They will love them!” Lando tells him.

“Okay,” the toddler says with a happy smile.

The Brit can’t hold back his excitement and pulls the kid into a hug. “You are so talented! I’m proud of you,” Lando says, rubbing his face in Luka’s fluffy hair.

Oscar chuckles. Luka looks up at the Aussie with a confused face. “Papa is being strange,” the kid mumbles softly, as if Lando can’t hear him.

“Oi!” the older driver lets out exasperated.

Oscar can’t hold it anymore and laughs loudly, bending at the waist. Of course the toddler tells it how it is. Lando’s excitement about sharing a hobby probably feels slightly overwhelming to the kid.

The Australian works through sets of giggles before he is able to calm down. The pout on Lando’s face triggers a new one every time Oscar looks at him.

Luka doesn’t seem too bothered by it all. He pats his papa’s arm and then slides out of the hug and off of the couch.

He takes the DSi where Lando left it after disconnecting it and makes his way to the chair on the other side of the coffee table.

Still giggling, Oscar rounds the couch and steals Luka’s old spot. Lando huffs, but opens his arm and welcomes the Aussie anyway.

Oscar leans against the Brit’s side. Lando’s arm wraps around his waist.

“I can’t believe both my son AND my boyfriend are bullying me,” the older man says. There’s a fond tone to his voice.

“Sorry Lan, Luka’s reaction was too toddler-like to ignore,” Oscar says with another giggle. He leans his head back to rest on Lando’s shoulder.

The Brit sighs and leans his head on top of Oscar’s.

And for a moment, they just bask in each other’s presence.

“I’ve missed you,” Lando says, right by his ear.

Oscar gets what he means. They have been together a couple of times today. But with all the eyes on them and their tight schedule they haven’t had much time to hold each other like they are doing now.

“I’ve missed you too,” he replies, turning his head to kiss Lando on the cheek. Only for the Brit to turn his head and kiss him properly.

Oscar raises his hand and rests it on the back of Lando’s head, pulling him in more. The angle is odd, but they both don’t care.

Not wanting to traumatize their son, who is sitting barely two meters away from them playing Mario Kart on his Nintendo, they keep it short.

Lando doesn’t remove his hand from under Oscar’s shirt when they separate though, tracing his fingers over the skin of the Aussie’s hip.

Oscar buries his face in Lando’s neck, breathing in his cologne. Lando rubs his cheek over Oscar’s, the way Luka does sometimes. It always reminds the Aussie of how cats greet the ones they love the most.

It’s adorable and Oscar floats for a moment as he thinks of how perfect his life is right now.

Lando hums as if he reads the younger driver’s thought. He keeps his head on top of Oscar’s as he starts pressing the keys of his laptop.

An hour later, Lando has made a ‘luka.jpg’ Instagram page.

With the laptop on the coffee table, Oscar has made Lando’s lap his pillow. They are both scrolling through social media separately.

The Aussie watches Luka’s account explode with followers after the post. It doesn’t help that Lando tagged Lewis’ Roscoe account and that both dads have added the post to their stories.

Oscar was a bit hesitant when Lando said he was making a new account. Luka should not get any access to social media at all, and he is afraid Luka might want that when he finds out that the account is for him.

But he understands that Lando didn’t want to add Luka’s photos to his own social media. “It will be easier for us to repost his things as well… Us reposting each other is less explainable than us reposting our son,” the Brit argued.

And so the account was made. The caption reads: “Managed by lando.jpg until the artist is old enough (2037)”.

Lando has been very careful with which pictures to post. There are no selfies Luka has made, because the kid will be shown enough on all other F1 accounts this weekend anyway…

Instead, there is a photo that was taken while they were filming the promotional videos in the morning. A photo of the view from the plane. A photo of the miniature cars Luka is collecting. A photo of Tom with his thumbs up. A photo of a butterfly.

And then the most important photos; one of Roscoe and the photo Luka took of the fans in the pitlane.

Everyone is going wild about it. There as so many compliments and hyped comments on the post it makes Oscar’s heart swell.

He stares at the name Lando has put above the bio, that has many people talking about it.

“Photos by Luka Piastri-Norris”

“You just had to put up his full name,” the Aussie tells his boyfriend quietly.

Lando looks down at him. “I may have already said it out loud at the press conference…”

Oscar’s mouth falls open. “No…”

“They kept asking if it was Luka Piastri or Luka Norris…” the Brit says sheepishly.

“So you straight up told them?” the younger driver asks him with his eyebrows raised.

Lando shrugs. “I couldn’t lie… and they would have found out on their own…”

They are one step closer to actually revealing their relationship… Oscar wonders how much shit he will have to deal with tomorrow…

“How did they react?” he tries, feeling anxious about the world knowing they picked a double barreled surname.

Lando hums. He puts his phone to the side and starts running his fingers through Oscar’s hair, sensing the Aussie’s anxiety.

“Good, I guess. Lots of happy sounds. I was asked why we chose the double name. To which I replied he is as much your son as he is mine. I reminded them we are coparenting, and that you didn’t want me to feel left out,” the Brit tells him.

“Which is true,” Oscar mumbles.

“See?” Lando says. “We’re not lying. We still haven’t said we are dating. People can speculate all they want.”

“Unless we outright tell them, it isn’t true,” Oscar remembers the earlier conversations they have had.

“Or if I kiss you on the mouth in public by accident…” Lando mumbles.

That makes Oscar snort.

He knows it won’t happen, since they got quite good at hiding and can now keep their boyfriendy behavior until they are alone.

They of course stand next to each other more often and act closer as well. But as long as they don’t kiss, or hug each other as lovingly as they do in private, they should be fine.

The hard part is answering questions. Because talking around the answers the media wants is a chore.

---

Two hours later, Luka starts to yawn so much the two drivers bring him to bed before he can become fussy again.

The kid does want a bedtime story, so Lando rapidly thinks up one about a dog who likes going on adventures.

Luka is asleep before Lando can think of any sort of ending to the story.

Oscar teases him, telling him he now has an entire day to think of where the story will go.

It is late enough for them both to go to sleep too.

Especially because they were up early, and Oscar expects to be woken up early tomorrow morning too.

He replies to his mum’s text message. She and his sisters have arrived at their own hotel. Mark has texted him something similar.

His mum is too tired to call or meet up, saying they will get to the paddock on their own tomorrow and that he should not wait up for them.

Oscar wishes them all a good night. He is excited, and nervous, for them to meet Luka for the first time.

The two dads go through their bedtime routine together with practiced ease.

The moment Lando gets into be next to him, Oscar shuffles over and lies his head on Lando’s chest. His boyfriend chuckles. The movement of his chest is a comforting feeling under Oscar’s cheek.

Two strong arms wrap around him. “I can’t believe you are the clingy one today,” the Brit says before kissing the top of Oscar’s head.

The Aussie sighs. This is where he loves to be the most; safe in Lando’s arms.

“I walked back to the hospitality with Lewis…” Oscar mumbles, knowing why he has been clingy all evening.

Lando hums, encouraging him to keep going.

Oscar traces the muscles in the Brit’s shoulder with his fingers. “He said something quite… disturbing I guess…” The younger driver takes a breath before continuing. “He basically told me that he had a relationship with Nico Rosberg…”

Lando gasps.

Oscar keeps going. “But that it all fell apart because of their title fight. He told me: ‘I wish I could have had what you two have right now’. And then he almost begged me to promise him we would talk out whatever happened on track. That we wouldn’t let it destroy our relationship, no matter what happened.”

“Holy fuck…” Lando mumbles.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too,” Oscar says with a grimace.

There’s a moment where they are both silent, letting the words sink in.

“You’re afraid it will happen to us too?” Lando eventually mumbles softly. “It is not the first time someone has told us that…”

Oscar shrugs.

He doesn’t know.

He doesn’t think they will, but with how many warnings they have gotten already, he is starting to wonder if it is inevitable.

Lando takes a deep breath and then lets it all out, rubbing his hands over Oscar’s arm and back. “I don’t think we will,” he says firmly, echoing the Aussie’s initial thought.

Oscar presses his cheek against his boyfriends chest even harder, wanting to merge with the comforting tone the Brit is using.

“We communicate well. And we’ve proven that we work together very well. On and off track. Shit might happen, but I think we can fix it with ease,” the Brit tells him.

Oscar scrapes his throat. “What if… I don’t know… For whatever reason, I steal your win. High on adrenaline, like Sebastian Vettel did…”

Lando huffs. “I would be mad, don’t get me wrong. But I know we will make it right. We love Luka too much to let it destroy us…”

“I sleep on the couch for a week, but it will all be fine in the end…?” Oscar says, only half joking.

Lando chuckles. “I wouldn’t make you sleep on the couch. Well… maybe for one night…” he jokes back.

Oscar chuckles. He knows he wouldn’t kick Lando out of their bed if it was the other way around.

“But in all seriousness. I do not care what happens on track. We both know we’re high on adrenaline out there. We might do something stupid one day that will ruin the other’s race,” the Brit tells him. “But I know we are mature enough to keep that separate from our relationship.”

Oscar hums. “I agree… We might have to talk it out, but I highly doubt we will let it ruin… this…” He lifts his hand to gesture vaguely in the dark. A million words to describe what ‘this’ means crosses his mind as he says it.

Lando catches his hand with his own. He softly squeezes Oscar’s fingers before bringing them towards his face.

He kisses Oscar knuckles and says: “‘this’ is worth more than anything”.

Chapter Text

Light barely shines through the curtains when the door opens with a click. Oscar groggily blinks himself awake, trying to comprehend where he is.

Lando is lying on his arm, his hand feels numb where it is trapped underneath the Brit’s body. Soft curls tickle Oscar chin, while Lando’s hand is warm on his stomach where it has made its way underneath the Aussie’s shirt.

Small footsteps can be heard on the carpet right next to the bed.

Oscar rolls his head to the other side and stares at the floof of brown hair that is now frozen in place.

“Daddy are you awake…?” he hears a soft whisper.

“Luka,” Oscar mumbles. “What time is it?” he asks blearily and without thinking.

Luka stays quiet for a moment. His hands come up to the mattress to fidget with the fabric of the fitted sheet.

Then the toddler says something so silently, Oscar can’t hear what he is saying.

He reaches his hand out and grabs one of Luka’s hands. “Sorry sweetheart, I’m not awake enough to understand,” he mumbles, softly pulling on the kid’s hand.

Lando is trapping him, so he can’t really pull Luka up. But he knows the toddler is getting better at climbing things and that he can get onto the bed himself.

Luka doesn’t wait to prove that, and grabs hold of his arm. The kid climbs up the bed with all his might.

He flops down next to Oscar.

“What were you saying?” the Australian whispers softly.

Luka leans towards him. “That it is not eight zero zero yet…”

Oscar can’t help the giggle that escapes him. The poor toddler sounds so sad about it.

The younger driver knows that he has been woken up later than he was yesterday. He feels way less tired and is waking up faster than he did the day before.

Lando makes a squeaky noise in his sleep as he must unconsciously feel the giggles going through his boyfriend where their sides are pressed together.

“It’s alright, Luuk,” Oscar says softly. “Want to cuddle for a bit?”

The toddler nods wildly. The Australian opens his arm and gets body slammed by an entire child. He can’t help but giggle again. Lando’s annoyed sleepy huff makes it even better.

“Careful,” Oscar quietly tells Luka with a smile. “Let Lando sleep for a little bit longer, alright?”

Luka hums and then rubs his cheek over Oscar’s shoulder happily. The younger driver bends his neck to press a kiss to the toddlers hair.

And then he lays his head back down on his pillow and stares at the ceiling. He lets out a comfortable sigh at the feeling of being trapped by his little family. Lando on one arm, and his son wrapped in the other.

Soft rain patters against the window. Low morning light filters through the gaps in the curtain. He automatically starts rubbing his hand over Luka’s shoulder.

The world outside is starting slowly. Oscar can hear some trucks drive around, but traffic isn’t too busy yet.

His guess is that it is after six, but not later than seven.

Which is better than yesterday for sure. And Lando and he went to bed early, so if he counts the hours, he knows he has had a full night of sleep if not more.

Seven in the morning almost feels like sleeping in.

He is definitely awake now. Usually he feels the pull of sleep trying to drag him under again, but not today. Luka seems to be dozing slightly though.

The Australian sighs. Now that he is awake, he would like some coffee. It isn’t necessarily the taste he is craving, more so the casual habit of slowly drinking a cup before the day begins.

He could even crawl back in bed with it and sit against the headboard to soak up the softness of the morning.

He leans down to his toddler. “I going to make some coffee. Do you want to come with me? Or do you want to stay in the bed?” he asks softly.

Luka hums before answering. “In bed.”

“Alright,” Oscar whispers back before he starts moving. He unwraps his arm from around Luka and then starts carefully sliding his hand from under his boyfriend.

Lando is lying on his stomach with his arms and legs spread wide. His head on Oscar shoulder. Being a dead weight in general.

As Oscar gets his arm back, Lando takes a deep breath and then groans. The Aussie carefully sits upright, hoping to make it fast so his boyfriend doesn’t wake up.

But he fails.

“Osc… Nooooo…” the Brit says mournfully, waking up as Oscar’s warmth leaves him.

Oscar chuckles and leans down to press a kiss to Lando’s cheekbone. “I want coffee, honey,” he says, before pressing another kiss on his pointy ear.

The Brit grumbles loudly. “’s cold…”

It is definitely colder than the day before. And Oscar did waddle after Lando when the older driver got up yesterday for the exact same reason.

The Aussie turns around on the bed and sits on his knees. Luka is looking at them with a content smile. Oscar grins at him before bending over and wrapping the toddler in his arms.

Luka giggles as Oscar drags him.

“Lando?” the younger man says with a smile.

The Brit opens his eyes.

“Have the child,” Oscar tells him, and then he puts Luka on top of him. The toddler’s giggles become louder.

Lando huffs fondly and turns so he can wrap his arms around the toddler. “Good morning, my tiny monster,” he whispers quietly. “Did you wake Oscar up?”

“It was an accidentally,” Luka whispers back.

Lando and Oscar both chuckle. “Sure, kiddo,” the Brit says happily.

The Australian stares for a moment longer, before he remembers why he wanted to get up in the first place.

He reluctantly turns away from the cute scene and walks into the small living room. He starts the coffee machine as he listens to Lando talk to Luka.

He should have put on his sweatpants… His legs are cold…

When both cups have been made, he rushes back to the bedroom. There he finds his boyfriend leaning against the headboard with their son lying on his papa’s chest.

Lando looks up at him as he walks in and perks up at the two cups he is holding.

“You’re an angel,” the Brit mumbles when Oscar holds out one of the cups. The Australian snorts and lets go of the cup once Lando has a good grasp on the ear.

He puts his own cup on the side table before lifting the blanket and climbing back in bed. The lingering warmth he left behind is still there and Oscar sighs contently at the feeling.

He scoots closer to the other warmth source in bed. Lando puts his head on the Australian’s shoulder the moment he notices.

Oscar kisses the top of his head, burying his face in the Brit’s curls. Lando hums appreciatively as he sips his coffee.

“It’s raining,” Luka says from where he is snuggled against Lando’s chest.

“Yeah,” Oscar says.

“It goes pitter patter on the window…” the kid mumbles. Oscar reaches over to pat his fluffy bed hair down. “Pitter patter indeed, sweetheart.”

Lando lifts his head from his boyfriend’s shoulder and reaches over to the other side. “It rains a lot here,” he says as he grabs his phone. “It might even rain during the race.”

“I like rain, but not thunder,” Luka mentions, pointing a finger up like his dad does sometimes when he explains something.

Lando leans back against Oscar and starts scrolling on his phone. The Aussie can see he is looking up the weather.

Oscar grabs his coffee from the side table and sips it. “Are you excited for today, Luka?” he asks the kid.

“Will you be away again so much?” Luka asks.

“Aw no, little man,” Lando says, putting his phone down to rub the kid’s back.

Oscar’s heart breaks a little. “It will be better today, I promise.”

“Yes. You will get to see the cars drive around the track. Which will be the only time we are away.” Lando explains.

“We have a team meeting in the morning, but you will be with us,” Oscar adds. “And after that you will get to meet grandma Piastri and grandma and grandpa Norris. My sisters, your aunties, will be there too.”

“They are here?” Luka says, sounding confused.

“Yeah, kiddo, they are,” Lando confirms.

“But they are super far away?” the kid tries to understand.

The puzzle pieces connect for Oscar. Luka refers to the times the dads have told him their family lives far away.

“Luka, we took the airplane, right?” the Aussie says.

“Yeah?” Luka replies.

“And it took us a long time to get here.”

“Uh huh,” the kid says cutely.

“We are very far away from home.”

“Oh.”

“And my mum and sisters and Lando’s parents are doing the same,” Oscar explains.

“So they all go with the airplane very far, to go here?” Luka asks, looking up at his dad.

Oscar smiles at him. “Exactly!” The two drivers see he is mulling it over.

The Aussie doesn’t understand why he is having such trouble understanding. He’s a smart kid. And he usually understands most of the things they say.

But he seems to have a hard time believing that if someone lives far away you can still meet up with them.

Could it be something the toddler’s mum told him? Maybe about his actual family?

Luka probably has grandparents. He also knows what grandparents are. He knew before Lando and Oscar talked about it. They didn’t have to explain the concept.

Has Luka’s biological mum denied him access to his grandparents? The kid must have asked her about it. Seen other kids with grandparents.

Did she say they live far away? So he could never see them?

A spike a fury goes through Oscar.

What on earth has been going on in that woman’s head for her to deny the kid of any type of familial love?

He looks at Lando. The frown on the Brit’s face shows he is probably connecting similar dots.

Oscar takes a deep breath and goes to run his hand through Luka’s hair again. “You will see, sweetheart. People can live very far away from each other and still see each other every once in a while.”

The toddler’s brown-green eyes focus on him. And then Luka nods, believing his dad.

Lando is frozen by Oscar’s side. His phone with the weather app open forgotten by his side. The Aussie throws back the last of his coffee and puts the empty cup on the side table.

He then swings his arm over Lando’s shoulders and rubs his arm, trying to get him back to the present.

They are both imagining it again: Luka’s mum isolating her child. Keeping him in the unknown for no apparent reason.

“Why don’t we get some breakfast,” the younger driver tries to steer them all back to a better subject. “I saw they have pancakes on Friday…”

Luka perks up. “Pancakes?”

“Uh huh,” Oscar says.

“With blueberries?!” the toddler asks excitedly.

Oscar pulls a face. “M- maybe…?”

Lando unfreezes as the conversation goes back to happy territory. The comforting hand on his arm seems to help too. “Let’s go see,” the Brit says.

Luka almost launches himself off the bed. Oscar chuckles and catches him before he falls off and knocks himself out.

“Calm down, sweetheart,” he tells the toddler fondly. “They will still be there after we put some day clothes on.”

---

There are indeed still pancakes when they get downstairs. And when the kid politely asks if they have blueberries the waiter is happy to change his order for him.

“Custom pancakes, Luka. Good job asking,” Lando applauds him.

The two dads have been working very hard to get the toddler to ask what he wants.

‘You can ask anyone anything. As long as you ask politely, and accept that people can answer no’ is what they have repeated to him over and over again.

This is an enormous win. And Lando only had to carefully encourage him once.

Luka beams at them and swings his legs happily on the couch.

They have a little private spot in the VIP lounge where nobody can come to bother them. The high walls hide the driver’s from view and Oscar is able to sit across from his boyfriend without being scared someone will take pictures of them.

Oscar and Lando both get a trainer approved meal. Though, the older driver sneaks a piece of one of Luka’s pancakes when the kid can’t finish it. The Australian doesn’t say anything, he just watches the crime with a fond smile.

After breakfast is done, they head back upstairs for a moment to do the last of their prepping.

They pack their bags, throwing in what they might need for themselves or for Luka at the paddock.

Lando tells them it will be raining almost the entire day…

They can expect delays and red flags during practice.

“Do you think we should put his wellies on?” Lando asks as he sits on the floor in the hallway. They have been debating about what to have Luka wear.

They know they will be inside for most of the day. But the kid might like having a bit of fun in the rain. And their family might want to walk around the paddock too.

“Maybe put his wellies on and put his blue sneakers in his backpack? That way we can change them easily when were inside,” Oscar suggests. The blue sneakers have velcro, making them easy to slip on and off.

Lando hums in agreement and does what Oscar said.

They pack some more things for the toddler and then put on their own McLaren polos. It’s a bit hard to pick out clothes for Luka. Because it’s going to rain today, and it might be cold, but the kid is going to be inside for most of the time?

They decide on layers. A t-shirt with a McLaren hoodie on top and then a thin blue rain jacket. Oscar hopes it is enough.

It is not cold, but the rain can make it FEEL cold. Or it feels clammy. It could honestly be both.

For himself he knows that he prefers to be cold over feeling too warm. Lando is the opposite.

For Luka? They have no idea yet. The kid doesn’t complain about feeling cold or warm. Never has. So it is just guesswork for them…

Just in case, Oscar puts the toddler’s navy OP81 sweater in his backpack as well. Something Luka could wear underneath the slightly oversized McLaren hoodie.

“What hat do you want to wear, Luka?” Lando asks, holding out the stack of different hats the toddler has collected.

Luka points at the neon green bucket hat the Brit is holding. “This one!”

Lando sighs fondly and looks at Oscar. “You’re just like your dad, little man… That’s an outfit sin…”

The Australian snorts. He has to admit; yes, every piece of Luka’s outfit is mismatched. The LN4 bucket hat is the cherry on top.

“Outfit sign…?” Luka asks, not understanding Lando at all.

Oscar steps closer and puts a hand on Lando’s shoulder with a smile on his face. “Papa is being silly, sweetheart. He wishes he could wear a bucket hat too today.”

Lando sticks his tongue out towards the Aussie and then plonks the hat onto Luka’s head. “It is a nice hat...”

“It will keep the rain out of my face!” Luka says happily, grabbing hold of the rim with his little fingers. “It is like a roof!”

Lando and Oscar both chuckle. The beaming smile on the kid’s face is adorable.

With everything gathered and everyone dressed for the weather, the little family leaves the hotel room and takes the elevator down to the garage.

On the way down, Oscar texts his assistant that they are on their way and they won’t need a lift this time.

The rental car is a white Porsche Cayenne. A similar size to the BMW they have at home. It’s simple, at least compared to what Lando usually rents, but it’s perfect for the three of them.

They can even take two passenger with them if they want to. That might be useful for when they go out for dinner with the rest of the family tonight.

Speaking of family, Lando offers to drive so that Oscar can text their family members. They strap Luka into the car seat and put their bags in the back.

And then the two adults both get into the car. Lando links his phone with the car sound system and puts on his usual country music list.

Oscar focuses on his phone as Lando types in the destination into the navigation.

His mum and sisters are definitely still asleep. Last seen online late last night. He sends his mum a message about where they can pick up their paddock passes and that they are already going to the circuit. He doesn’t get a reply.

Mark though, immediately texts him back when he gets the messages. “Alright Oscar. I will join you in an hour or two. Anything I need to know in advance?” the manager texts.

“Not really,” Oscar texts back. “We do have a team meeting until 11 though.”

“Then I will arrive at the hospitality after 11,” Mark texts back.

The young Australian dares to message Cisca, Lando’s mum. He sends her the same information he sent his own mum and hopes he isn’t overstepping.

They are driving on the main road in Montreal with the windscreen wipers on max speed when Cisca texts back.

She is super sweet, and Oscar feels a bit stupid for being nervous to text her. Lando’s parents will arrive at the paddock around the same time his own mum and sisters will, right before lunch.

Oscar lets out a breath at the idea that the family will be together all day. He feels a bit anxious about it. He hopes Luka reacts well.

He also wonders how it will be to talk with Lando’s parents now that he is their son’s boyfriend…

Lando seems to smell that he is getting lost in his head again and puts a hand on Oscar’s leg.

He doesn’t say anything. He just rests his hand there. The comforting weight is enough to ground the Australian.

Oscar carefully places his hand on top of Lando’s and tangles their fingers. The Brit squeezes back and keeps humming the country song that is playing.

Luka tries to follow the song as best as he can too. Oscar looks at the toddler through the rearview mirror and smiles at the concentration on his face as he misses half of the notes.

It is raining buckets when they cross over the bridge onto the Montreal island.

“Practice is going to be fun today…” Lando mumbles. Oscar can barely hear it over the roaring of the rain.

“If we even get to go on track…” Oscar replies looking at the sea of water on the circuit.

They arrive at the gate to the VIP parking. The drivers reluctantly let go of each other’s hand before the car comes to a stop. Lando opens his windows to talk to the guy who is standing with an umbrella battling the rain.

Lando doesn’t have to say much for the man to open the gate for them. The Brit thanks him and wishes him a good day before driving through and hurriedly closing the window.

“Do we have an umbrella in the car?” Lando asks out loud.

Oscar grimaces. “No.”

“Shoot…” the Brit mumbles as he parks the car smoothly.

They would have had an umbrella if they went with the lift McLaren wanted them to take…

For a moment they sit in the parked car in silence. The engine turned off. Fog gathering on the windows from the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the vehicle.

“Do I… text my assistant to come get us?” Oscar says sheepishly.

Lando snorts. He probably feels just as awkward as Oscar feels about not wanting to go outside in the pouring rain.

“What are we waiting?” Luka asks them, swinging his legs in his car seat.

Oscar turns around in his seat. “We forgot an umbrella, sweetheart. And it is raining quite hard…”

“We’re thinking about what to do,” Lando adds.

Then Luka points outside. “Maybe Jon can help?” the toddler says pointing at the figure that is walking towards the car.

Lando lets out a sigh of relief. He lowers the window as the trainer reaches the car. He has one umbrella shielding himself, and if Oscar is correct, he is holding another one in the other hand.

“Afraid to get wet?” Jon says with a grin, taunting Lando.

“Yes, actually,” the Brit replies dryly.

Jon laughs.

“Come on then. I was sent to fetch you two,” the trainer says.

Then starts the awkward dance of the small family getting out of the car with two umbrellas between the four of them.

It’s a lot of sharing and thinking ahead, but they get it done. And then they walk towards the side entrance of the paddock together, still sort of dry.

Lando is carrying the bags as Jon holds their umbrella for them. Oscar is holding Luka’s hand, and their umbrella.

The toddler is pulling on his arm excitedly. His excitement from yesterday morning back completely.

Luka is trying to pull his hand out of Oscar’s grip. “I wanna splash!” he says eagerly.

“And you are allowed to splash after we get through the gates,” Oscar tells him gently, adjusting his grip on the toddler’s hand. He is very careful not to accidentally squeeze too hard.

Luka makes a huffy noise and tries to wring himself out of his grasp again.

“Patience Luka!” Lando says from behind them. Loud, but calm. The toddler stops pulling Oscar’s arm. And makes a whiney noise.

“It’s for safety, remember?” Oscar says, looking at the fans that have gathered at the sides.

He will not be able to greet them today, not with how energetic Luka is being… He feels bad for them.

They have been standing out in the rain waiting for the two McLaren drivers. And for the other drivers of course. But still.

Lando takes on the task of waving at them. “Sorry guys! We’ll stop next time,” the Brit tells them, pointing at Luka who is almost dragging Oscar.

Oscar scoops up the unruly toddler as he approaches the gate and then tries to scan his badge while holding Luka and the umbrella at the same time.

Lando reaches over and grabs Oscar’s badge from where the Aussie is wrestling with it and presses it to the scanner.

Oscar lets out a sigh of relief as the gate unlocks and he is able to get through.

“Wanna SPLASH!!!” Luka yells way too close to his face. Oscar shushes him as he takes a couple of steps to get away from the gate.

The moment he puts Luka down on his own two feet the toddler is off.

Much to the delight of the surrounding photographers, the kid sprints to the first big puddle, completely ignoring the streaming rain, and jumps into it.

The resulting splash reaches a couple of the media people that are standing around. Giggles can be heard from the crowd.

Oscar hears the camera shutter clicks rapidly as he gets close to his son who is stomping in the puddle aggressively with his wellies.

Luka squeals happily, unbothered that his rain jacket is still open.

Oscar sighs tiredly as he watches the toddler go ham on the puddle. He puts a hand on his hip as Jon and Lando join him on the side of the puddle.

Jon is laughing loudly at the scene.

“You packed another sweater for him, right?” Lando asks softly.

Oscar huffs. Maybe a bit too fondly for the situation. “Yes… I did…”

The Brit pats his shoulder in a teammate way. Not that it matters since all the cameras are focused on their son.

The Aussie doesn’t like that Luka was almost ignoring him. But when he comes back to them and stares up at them soaked but with a beaming smile, Oscar can’t help but forgive the little guy.

“Thanks for staying close, sweetheart,” Oscar says, bending down to uselessly close Luka’s raincoat. He hopes that focusing on what the kid did RIGHT will help Luka follow what Oscar wants him to do next time.

“You almost pulled dad’s arm from his shoulder though,” Lando says, leaning down to straighten Luka’s soaked bucket hat. “You have to be careful, alright? He needs his arms to race and to give hugs.”

Of course Lando doesn’t want to let it go. He cares about the both of them and doesn’t want to see his boyfriend suffer.

Luka looks at Oscar in surprise.

Oscar smiles at him and straightens up. He holds out his hand to the toddler.

“Sorry Osca…” Luka says, grabbing hold of his dad’s hand and joining him under the umbrella.

“It’s okay, but Lando is right. You have to be gentle,” Oscar says gingerly, not wanting the toddler to feel guilty about the whole thing right after he had fun splashing in the puddle.

But he also doesn’t want a repeat of what happened. Luka thrashing around while Oscar is trying to keep everything together was quite a stressful experience.

“Okay…,” Luka tells him as he rubs his wet face against the Aussie’s hand he is holding.

“Don’t feel bad,” Oscar says softly squeezing Luka’s fingers. “I’m glad you had fun splashing in the puddle.”

“Can I splash again later?” the toddler asks.

Lando giggles behind them.

Oscar smiles down at him to see Luka give him puppy eyes. “Of course sweetheart. But let’s go somewhere dry first and warm up a bit,” he tells the kid.

Luka’s wet skin feels cold against his fingers. He doesn’t want the kid to get sick.

“Okay!” Luka says happily, the slight reprimand not bothering him at all.

Oscar lets out the breath he was holding, glad that they didn’t ruin the kid’s mood.