Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lando didn't know how it happened.

It was something so random- as fleeting as the ruffle of the wind in his hair as he ran down the stairs when his mother made pancakes, or as the way the scenery zipped past him when he felt his hands on the wheel of his car- but when it happened it never left his mind.

I mean, how does one forget the whole world just freeze except for you?

"I am not going insane, I am not going insane- ow- Why on Earth is this angled like this?- wait that's not the point, oh my god-"

The meeting room of the McLaren headquarters was black and white- a stark difference from the Papaya that decorated each and every wall of the building- and the noise that emanated off of its walls stuck silent in their throats as Lando threw another panicked look around his surroundings because- what?

Lando had never been one for thoughts of Alien visits or other such supernatural events, but what on Earth would possible make this whole scenario make sense other than some divine interpretation of being the only person who could move as the world froze around him?

He remembered the reason for the meeting- something about finding a new replacement for Daniel for 2023 and they had been about to announce the options.

Sadie- the PR manager- was looking at him with a small smile on her face, the hot tea in his hand was now frozen in the way it had been sloshing around when he had moved his wrist- Zac was looking at the ceiling, mouth comically open and Lando bit back the urge to stick the open packet of biscuits right inside before the reality of everything sank in.

Because Lando? Lando had been seconds away from dozing off, last nights race at Singapore had drained him- I mean a p4 after starting p7 wasn't that bad but he hated it, so close to the podium- the thrum of the engine beneath his fingers as the red Ferrari pulled away in front of him in the final laps, the checkered flag waving in his disgrace- so close yet so far.

So the minute he had felt his eyes almost close under the bright lights and Air-conditioned air the only thing that shocked him awake was when every single noise in the world abruptly shut off.

And if he had been any other person, in any other mindset than one of being extremely tired and extremely panicked than he would've probably stayed put- scraped his chair a little backwards, tried to question what was happening, wonder if it was going to go back to normal and then- if it did, wonder if he was hallucinating.

But he wasn't- he was a person running on three green teas, one croissant from the hotel buffet he had sneaked in and will-power which threatened to drain out of his body the minute the nails that he dug into his palm let themselves loose- so he did the exact opposite.

Well at least no ones had to hear that, extremely embarrassing - thats the thought that emits itself out of his brain when he finally does shut his mouth -a task he found extremely difficult even without the need of a cosmic event to cause it, but hey- and slowly shifts out of his chair.

Careful not to touch the body of the intern who had been hovering behind him to offer some advice but now stood still with the ink still bleeding onto the notepad- he exhaled lightly, trying to ignore the fast beating of his heart as he walked cautiously outside of the building with some hope that maybe, just maybe it was just a McLaren thing and everything outside would be perfectly normal but ofcourse it wasn't.

The yellow taxis are now a dark shade of grey, the passengers inside stuck in various movements, the birds frozen mid-flap of their wings, the child running to catch his balloon doesn't seem to reach it and he can swear he can see someones coffee stuck in the middle of falling over but his feet are stuck to the pavement.

Stuck and sinking- stuck and not seeming to let go.

"Right" He swallows gently, pulling the skin of his lips out, foot tapping impatiently against the concrete, "Right"

And then suddenly, its all back to normal. Lando doesn't even have the time to blink before suddenly, hes back into his seat in the headquarters and Zak continues to talk and Sadie offers him the same smile and the chair he had scraped backwards now rigid back in its place.

"What?" He doesn't realise hes said it, that is until sixteen eyes meet his own and Lando's hands curl closer into fists and he bites back the urge to scream once again.

"Your new teammate Lando," Zak gives him a proud smile, one that he had seen the many times before when Zak had introduced the newest addition to the team- the one which screamed 'this is the right choice' , 'we can do it and you will love it'.

"-Is going to be Oscar Piastri"

Lando doesn't know how the rest of the day goes, head in his hands as he curls up into himself in the white sheets of the Hotel bed. He knows the feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins, knows it because he experiences it every weekend and so the numbness that encases his body as loud pants escape him should be normal.

But its not normal, how can it be normal? Heck he just experienced the real life version of some weird sci-fi movie and he doubts he can tell anyone about it without sounding insane.

Briefly he wonders about the reactions he had received from Zak when he had only nodded numbly at the name, smiled brightly and given out a PR answer which had confused even himself before excusing himself out of the room and taking a taxi straight home.

He would deal with it another time- they were probably used to his shenanigans. He could almost see Sadie typing out the the email to give him a run through of what happened afterwards along with those smiley emojis that he found vaguely threatening. It was probably why she used it too.

Later that night he convinced himself it was a one time thing, a freak accident, something never to happen again and something he would forget soon anyways and he most probably did.

The next day he was convinced he had hallucinated the whole ordeal, so he shrugged his shoulders in the mirror, blinked his eyes and then went on with his day without another thought of the time-freeze whatsoever.

That was, until it happened again.
☼ ☼ ☼

The year went by as fast as it had started and Lando found himself back in the stifling heat of Bahrain, the papaya orange suit flopping around his waist and the drink he continued to gulp seeming to evaporate from his systems the minute it entered.

The words of his engineer droned over his head and Lando tried his hardest not to stare at his newest teammate standing at the opposite end of the garage.

And ofcourse Lando knew Oscar Piastri.

Knew him from the many trips the two of them had taken together over the course of media days and challenges they had had to film together, knew him from the late night scrolling in which he had observed the Australians face and clicked the follow button with bleary eyes and tried his hardest to stop his heart from thudding painfully when Oscar had thrown his first smile at Lando at their first meeting.

"And Lando- first race of the new season as well as meeting your new teammate- Oscar Piastri, can we have your thoughts onto what you think of him? As well as of the upcoming year ahead?"

"Well- the car is good, qualifying was great- its a one- two for us so looking forward to the race along with Oscar and-"

PR trained answers flowed like the champagne he knew he would taste tomorrow, from his lips, ever practised and ever ready to be spoken as the interviewers thrust microphones into his face. Slowly he wondered where Oscar was, eyes flitting across the media pen before zeroing down on the Australian who stood a few feet away.

A small smile on his face, hands raising to wipe the sweat off of his face and the accent prominent as he spoke and Lando wished he could just look for a little while longer, ignore the crowd and make his way towards him and wrap his hands around his shoulders and-

"Woah there-"

He whipped his head away, finally noticing the fact that he was already making his way back to his car and the voice that had followed was Oscar.

Still dressed in his McLaren shirt and disheveled from running, an awkward smile graced his face as he looked at Lando, the usual ruffle of his hair now sticking to his head due to the sweat and heat and yet Lando tried his hardest not to stare at the pink of his lips.

"Oscar-" He breathed out, stopping quickly and waving his hand. "Sorry mate didn't see you"

"Yeah- no worries," the Australian chuckled and Lando swore he could almost see the gears turn in his head. It was his first year after all, and after the shitstorm that had been Alpine last year he knew the boy was facing far too much scrutiny this year than he would have liked. "I was heading home too"

He saw the way Oscar glanced around nervously at the one car- parked in the lot. So, as all good teammates do, Lando tilted his head and asked. "Want a ride?"

And he can see him consider it, watch his eyes flit over ever so slightly before drawing in a small breath- "If you don't mind,"

"I don't" Lando grins, immediately making his way towards his car and getting into the drivers seat and seeing Oscar slide in hesitantly. His phone had already connected to the speaker, the navy blue of the leather seats and engine purring as he revved it before pulling out the parking lot.

"So," his fingers tapped against the steering wheel in tune to the song- a random German song he had heard in a club a while back and let it make its way into his playlist- "How was your first time?"

Next to him Oscar shuffles slightly. "First time?"

"At qualifying I mean-" Lando elaborates, the fresh chewing gum in his mouth getting a little too minty. "Did you like the car? The vibes?-" and maybe it was just to egg him on, Lando continued. "The people?"

"The people?" Oscar echoes, a confused look crossing his face. "Yeah- I mean, the mechanics are super nice and so is Andrea- the cars good too, might've been the first time I drove it today but still-"

And hes rambling, the words pouring out rather excitedly and hands waving to emphasise it- in this, Lando lets him- a small smile leaking onto his face as he takes a right, already seeing the LED sign of Hilton enter his vision.

But Oscar is talking, far too happily and far more open than Lando had ever seen him before- so screw him if he decided to accidentally take a wrong turn, loop around the hotel before making his way back into the driveway and passing the boy a pat on his back and a smile before the elevator doors shut.

It took him enough time to collapse onto his bed, open his phone and send a quick text to Max before time froze once again.

☼ ☼ ☼

"Honestly mate, I have to say I didn't really want to be a formula 1 driver in the beginning yknow?" Lando swings his legs from his position up on the walls that line some part of the track- now grey and white, and the person in his vision is frozen in the middle of raising their hand at something but he digresses.

Its a comical pose to be stuck in, mouth hanging open and legs parted mid stride- the large pimple on his forehead popping out in a way that Lando want's to get him a mask. Instead, he stretches out his hands and tugs at the McLaren bracelet around his wrist and looks pensively into the distance.

"Tried out my luck in quite a lot of stuff actually- MotoGP and all, too close for contact mate- but I guess its not all that bad, I mean- the cars are nice to drive, yknow going fast makes you feel happy and you get to see cool places and all that- but sometimes, it just makes me wonder how different it could've been, you get me?"

He looks pointedly at the man, silence enveloping the arena like a cloth draped over his ears and suddenly it strikes him how weird what he's doing is- but hey, he doesn't care- not right now he won't anyways. Beggars cant be choosers and the frozen cannot be complainers to listen to him rant about his life in the last rays of sunlight before he untimely evaporated- no, teleported- back onto his bed and got on with his day.

He swings his legs off soon after, gravel crunching below his feet and without thinking he throws a rock straight at the glass windows of the nearest house and hears the glass shatter with a small wince before straightening up once again.

There is a buzz against his skin and suddenly he knows the lapse is ending, colour bursting into the edges of his vision and his eyes start to black out and this time he doesn't fight it- throwing a last glance at the shattered window and biting down on his lip.

It wouldn't really matter anyways, the glass would reset, the little boys icecream would fall into the floor, the stone would be back on the road and Lando would be gone.

☼ ☼ ☼

"Lando?" Its buzzing in the paddock in Australia, the crowds outside scream as he and Oscar wait backstage for the fan forum. The weathers cold, and Lando shivers slightly in the thin windsheater he had dragged onto himself in the early morning and now regretted it very dearly.

Because Oscar- standing to his right, seemed right at home- ofcourse he did, this was his home- in a McLaren branded jacket and a nervous smile on his face that almost makes Lando coo the slightest as he glances at the veiled crowd.

He knows what it must feel like to be in front of such a large crowd at such a big level, and so he hums when he hears Oscar's voice. "Nervous?"

Lando lets his eyes drag themselves towards the shuffle of the Australian's boots and the gulp of his throat.

"A little," the brunnete shrugs his shoulders and theres a slight smile on his face. "It's- its a bit bigger than I thought?"

And maybe its the hesitant way the boy throws nervous glances back and forth that melts something in his heart. Everyone knew the cold faced, unfazed Oscar in media training and in the paddock- and if it went that way, on stage as well- but right now this was slightly different, the facade crumbling slightly and it was enough to let Lando know that he was scared.

So Lando turned around, clasped a hand onto Oscar's back and tilted his head. "Don't stress it, yeah? I'm here- If I can manage the car this year I doubt the crowds gonna be tougher"

It brings out a laugh from the Aussie, who's flushed cheeks turn slightly darker under the sun that peaked out through the clouds now. "Don't let Zac and Andrea hear you say that"

"Eh, they most probably know it too"

"Right," its a stupid conversation, Lando knows- but if its enough to release the tension from the boys shoulders then he finds out he doesn't care.

The fans outside scream as suddenly Lando's reminded of exactly where he is and how he got there, the fluorescent lights bright against his face as the commentator calls out their names and the wind whips down harshly against his face. So he squares his shoulders, turning his head slightly towards the brunnete and biting down on his lip.

"Ready?"

Oscar hesitates, ever so slightly before nodding his head. From the corner of his vision lando can see their PR manager gesturing slightly for them to head out, his shoes squeak slightly against the floor as he takes his first step. "I hope so,"

and then they're out.

Lando gets Oscar's number from Zak- not like he asked for it, or waited outside his team managers headquarters for around twenty minutes with fingers tapping against his phone screen and trying to come up with a valid reason why he wanted it- only to be hit with a bright smile and a 'good to see you are getting along' from the man and a pat on his very stunned back.

"Mate- you know you could have just taken it from the Drivers group chat right?" Max Fewtrell laughs from his side of the couch, and Lando doesn't have the energy to raise his hand and flip him off because- thinking back to it, yes- he could have done that, why didn't he do that?

"piss off mate" he groaned instead, eyes shutting lightly as the laptop that sat a few feet away from him continued to play the show he was watching.

"i mean- have you even texted him yet?"

The brunnete moves slightly, theres an itch at the base of his neck and as he reaches out to scratch it the realisation sinks in. Shit.

"Lando? Landooo I'm taking that silence as a no then-"

"Oh right-" And then hes getting up, already grabbing his charging phone highlighting a dismal fifteen percent , fingers shaking slightly as he typed in the way he had saved Oscar's name and clicking hastily onto the chat icon.

-Oscarr-

-hey mate lando here
-got ur number from zak
delivered 13:04

slowly he watched the two ticks appear, turn grey and then quicker than he had expected turn blue and suddenly time freezes again.

Lando tries to think of correlations. He really does, as he sits in the middle of the busy traffic road. The cars around him are in black and white, the drivers and passengers caught in a daze of a flurry of motion caught still while a lone figure crossed his legs and lent his weight onto his right hand.

But there isn't anything- unless you count the theory of time freezing every time hes around his teammate, but that makes zero sense cause in no way can Oscar be controlling time and space like an avenger, he doesn't seem the type- so maybe its just random? Luck of the draw?

Maybe its some twisted humour to mess up his brain before races so when hes knee deep into this mess the only thing he can do is do absolutely nothing.

☼ ☼ ☼

The paddock bustles with action on saturday, and with it Lando tries his hardest to make it past the crowds gathering below the McLaren headquarters. Qualifying went as well as it could possible go- p6 with this car and its not close to the podium but its better than what he could have thought possible from the data and so he'll take it.

"Lando!" a whirl of motion catches the corner of his eye and its all he can do to turn before the overwhelming scent of Carlos's perfume overtakes his nose and large arms slap themselves across his back with a thud. "It was a good quali for you no?"

He smiles back, all teeth and eyes crinkling- "Yeah- yeah, its good- not great but better than last week so- improvement?"

"Yes cabron, good enough to get up there now?" The spaniard shrugs his shoulders against Lando's and suddenly the good nature building up came crashing down as the meaning behind those words hit a little harder than they should have and so his smile crumbled away.

"Ha-yeah maybe-" Theres an itch in his neck now, tugging at his feet and making the patter of his heart beat much faster to be called normal anxiety levels.

Carlos- thank god for that, doesn't notice. "Well that is good- the two of us up there together would be a sight no?"

And thats the thing isn't it, because Carlos has been there before. He has felt the champagne on his skin and the trophy in his hands lifted up to the sky as the crowds scream for him in joy. But Lando? No, his streak seemed to have satisfied itself with a third place back last year on a fluke before keeping him down in the low scorers for the rest of it and god- wasn't that harsh?

For the borrowing of imagination to keep away from him what reality could not give could only work for so long before the high left and the buzz and adrenaline turned to medicinal rushes and weary hands thrashing the steering wheels.

So when Lando speaks, the words are slightly harsher and his steps turning far more rushed as he turns towards the McLaren pits. "yeah- yeah, look I have to go now we'll take later yeah?"

He doesn't wait for the reply, doesn't see the confused look on the brunnetes face before it turns to a careless shrug as he sees the Brit walk straight inside and he most definitely doesn't see stark brown eyes keeping a close eye on him from behind orange racing suits and furrowed brows.

"Where did you disappear to?" After thorty minutes of absolute wallowing is when Lando gets the call to head towards the meeting room- debrief time and he bites back a groan at the thought before perking up as from across the room pops up a familiar head of his teammate.

The Australian falls in sync with lando's footsteps, long legs slowing down to match pace and Lando can see that the other had been sleeping. From the constant blinking and squinting of his eyes, the pillow marks across his left cheek and the yawns he tried his hardest to stifle.

"M' room," Oscar's voice is soft. "god knows I wouldn't have waken up if John hadn't called me"

"Well it must have been a good nap," Lando nods, taking a left and pushing his hands into the holes on his sweater. It was colder now more than before, the weather would be a wreck for his curls but atleast it was just another day before he was done with it.

"Yeah," Oscar replied, voice breaking slightly. "What about you? Disappeared much earlier than me"

"You noticed?" Lando turns slightly, to face the Australian who now seems a little put on the spot- eyes widening slightly as he reaches for the back of his neck and laughs slightly- awkwardly.

"I mean- you're pretty noticeable when you're around"

And it would be a lie if Lando said it didn't make his heart flutter just the slightest at those words, but this wasn't the time to delve into those thoughts- there would never be a time to delve into those- and so he tilts his head instead, blinking slowly and meeting warm brown eyes with a slight smirk.

"Did you miss me Osc?"

To his surprise, Oscar's cheeks redden slightly as he shakes his head, eyes darting around hurriedly. "I never said that"

"Oh so you did?" Lando grins triumphantly, bouncing on his heels slightly as they stand in the corner of some corridor, with Oscar leaning against the wall, a golden light illuminating his face as Lando backs him up the slightest. "Didn't you?"

"Just walk"

And they're walking again but this time Oscar's disappearing down ahead with his brown hair flopping along his white sweater- and something in Lando's chest stirs at the thought that there was something else here at play.

"Answer the question first yeah?"

"We're late Lando-"

Suddenly hes running to catch up, hands waving as he flags down the brunnete with a grin on his face replacing the earlier dread that had been filling his bones. It shouldnt make sense, just being in someones presence managing to calm him down and yet it does.

"Zaks used to it now-"

Oscars closer to the door now, he can see Andrea waving at them from inside and Lando wants to have the last word in this matter because this is just too interesting for him to not catch up on and so its not his fault when the lights blur in front of his eyes and suddenly theres a wall right in his face.

"-just cause you've got long legs doesn't mean you- hmph"

Wall- he just crashed into a wall, a solid, moving-wait a minute- Lando frowns, feeling something shift in front of him and looking up.

"Woah" Hes greeted with a flustered Oscar, whos one hand is holding onto the door and the other clutched awkwardly on Lando's back that its sending heat waves all the way down to his toes.

"Shit, sorry" Lando hisses, jumping backwards as mortification greets him in bright orange and red hues all over his face.

Oscar- for his part just looks amused, biting his lower lip. "Its fine- you um, wanna go in?"

And if it couldn't get any worse, its just then that Lando realises he did all of this in front of twenty people who are now looking at him with even more judgement than he had thought they could possibly muster. "yeah, yeah- lets-"

The chair scrapes as he sits down, a notebook open in front of him and Oscar sits across. Silvia looks at him with reproach, Zak seems to have finished the quiet chuckle he had been having and claps his hands together.

"Well that was a wonderful introduction of our drivers for our junior members,"

and shit Lando had forgotten. The nervous ,fresh faces in front of him now seemed to look so intensely at him that it made him want to get up and leave right at the moment because what the hell had been that entry before.

In the next three seconds he throws a glance at Oscar, watches him wince in return when they make eye contact before Lando throws up an awkward smile on his face, gives a thumbs up while at it. (he will rethink this later and watch the youtube video a million times while clicking the dislike button because ofcourse this was the most replayed part of it all)

Great. Wonderful. Fantastic.

Chapter Text

Summer break comes by and theres nothing so great for Lando to reminiscence on the past races. They had been fine, scrounging up a few more points than before yet it was never enough- not to get up onto the top step and so he had to bite down on his temptations for yet another year.

The time freezing had seemed to have dialled itself down considerably, popping up randomly for short times- not that he could measure it, he had tried, with a stopwatch only to find out the hands didn't move. So he had given up on it, spending the time trying to catch up on his sleep and the rest of it exploring the cities without being mobbed.

Small pleasures.

Hes on a boat, down somewhere in Monaco with Max lounging a few chairs away. It was supposed to be a break, away from the hustle and bustle and with the jetskis attached to the back of the ship and yet here he was- lying down with a cool breeze blowing across him as he sipped on a tonic- waiting for a reply from Oscar.

Lando knows that hes travelling in Istanbul, hes seen it across his Instagram page as well as from the many photos the two have shared to each other over messages because- what a shocker, they talk- a lot.

"Mate- do you want another drink?" The dutch accent peeks out heavily as Max speaks and Lando looks up, stopping from mindlessly thumbing across Oscar's contact as the bubbles continued to swirl in the left corner.

"Huh-what?"

The blonde only gives him a deadpan expression, one hand out holding a can. "Another drink-do you want one?"

"Yeah-yeah," hes reaching out, grabbing the cold can quickly and sighing. "Thanks mate"

He expects the conversation to end there, for Max to walk back out to Danny and the rest of the gang who had pulled up. Instead, Max makes a move closer towards his chair, flopping down hard and motioning for lando to scoot over.

"What happened?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that Lando?"

And its the Dutch forwardness that takes him back, a surprised hmmp leaving his lips as he stares incredulously at the other man.

"I'm good- I-" he scratches the back of his neck, his phone buzzes and when he sees a familiar name pop up on the screen- cant lie, his heart thumps just a little louder.

The motion doesn't go unnoticed, the blonde's eyes moving towards the screen with a frown before being replaced with understanding. "Oscar? Really?"

"Oh piss of mate, " lando groans, the sun suddenly too harsh and his skin getting too tanned because he doesn't want anyone to know, they won't understand- he himself doesn't understand whats going on.

"I didn't say anything," Max has the nerves to push his sunglasses onto his nose and take a sip of his beer.

"I know that look- its not like that, at all- were teammates"

"And yet here you are waiting for him to reply in the middle of the ocean , surrounded by your friends -like a lovesick kid"

"I'm not- wasn't waiting for his reply-" He laughs, trying his hardest to make it sound realistic and throwing glances everywhere except at his face.

"Uh-huh" Another sip of his drink, Lando follows en-suite, nervousness bumping its way down with the liquid he swallows.

"I wasn't"

"Right"

"I really wasn't, could care less-"

"Ok"

"I mean- its the only times timezones match, but its like teammate stuff yknow?" hes rambling now, hands waving in the air while an amused look is the only thing that greets him.

"Didn't know sending pictures of birds and the food you both ate qualifies as teammate stuff"

"-And its quite nice to talk to him actually- what do you know about the food thing?"

"You leave your phone on the table and expect Danny not to snoop around?"

"You're kidding me"

☼ ☼ ☼

Zandvoort stands were laid out in orange and navy blue, home crowds greeting the home hero as Lando stood next to the proud dutchman. There was a gnawing feeling in his gut, pulling at his chest with every step he took on the truck and suddenly he was wishing he was anywhere but here.

"Hey," Thats until there is a familiar presence next to him, smelling faintly of cedar and something else he couldn't quite identify.

"Oscar" he whirled around, the grip he had on the railing loosening as he looked at the Australian with a smile. "Long time"

"I saw you in the garage five minutes ago"

Lando pouts, "Let me have my moment mate"

"Right" Oscar laughs, teeth showing and Lando pulls at the edges of his shirt. Its a nice laugh."Sorry then, do continue"

"Nah- you ruined it" he bumps his shoulders into Oscars, skin burning at the slightest of touches and Lando knows hes fucked. Through the corner of his eye, he can see Max looking at them- a small smile on his face as he tilts his head, before looking towards Charles again. "Next time well see"

Oscar only hums, pulling his cap off his head in a fluid movement to run a hand through his hair and- suddenly all he wants to do is reach up, grab onto the brown curls and ruffle them ever so much that the immensity of his feelings take Lando himself by surprise- so when his breath stutters at the movement, it takes his hardest to cover it by coughing.

Two minutes later hes making his way towards Max, pulling the Dutchman away from a smiling Monegasque and running a hand through his neck. "What do you want Lando?"

"Mate-" Lando looks up, biting his lip and catching blue eyes and leading them towards the papaya boy who was talking to Logan. "I'm fucked"

☼ ☼ ☼

If theres one thing Lando learns, is its harder to be subtle enough to hide whatever it is thats going on with you when you come to terms with it. In this case, it was getting to know that you had a crush on your own teammate.

He hasn't told anyone, well except for Max, whose only reaction was to laugh in his face before telling him to go for it- but he can't, because ofcourse Oscar isn't going to feel the same way. They've know each other for just about a year, and even though Lando's emotions have been on a speed run he doubts thats the case with everyones so he digresses.

There is a certain time for everything, he doesn't mind waiting- for all he knows this thing might blow itself over in a week or two so why get so worked up?

But right now? Standing in MTC next to the perpetrator of such a dilemma who is frowning concentratedly at the data showing on the screen, pale skin flushed red from the cold and hands tapping against the glass table, he finds himself lacking.

In his defence, was it really fair for Oscar too look like that? Brown hair fluffed up even though efforts had been put trying to tame it, the oversized hoodie sitting comfortably on his shoulders in a way that Lando wanted to pull it off.

He huffed out a breath, shaking his head only to be caught by Zak who passed him a pointed gaze from the opposite end of the table. "Anything bothering you Lando?"

"No-" Lando immediately shifts his gaze away from the Australian, uncrossing his hands and furiously shaking his head. "sorry, continue- please"

"Right" Andrea says, giving a pointed glare at the Brit who tries to laugh it off with an awkward chuckle and scrape of his chair.

"Thought you were the more responsible person between the two of us mate," its when they're walking out that Lando finds himself suddenly cornered by Oscar, hands in his pockets as he pulls at the sweater hes thrown on over his shirt.

Lando looks down, fighting to clear the blush he knows will probably take over his face because - god the accent? Australians never sounded this good? Did they?

"Taking up your trademark am I?" He jokes back, holding open the door as they make their way out of the glass and into the open air. His car keys are in his pocket and they both make their way to the garage. "Out and about in dreamland while Andrea talks about aerodynamics,"

Its a bit late, pale sunlight filtering through the trees and over the lake before it falls into lando's eyes.

Oscar only laughs, making Lando look up to see the way his face lights up. "Don't think thats a good thing-if he asks us for our inputs today were fucked"

Lando raises an eyebrow at that, "Don't tell me you did too"

Oscar only shrugs, eliciting a grin out of the Brit. "Ten minutes in and I'm out mate."

"Naughty," Lando gasps, leaves crunching below his feet as they pull closer to the parking lot. "Might have to report this back to Zak now yeah?"

At that Oscar pauses, eyes narrowing as he looks at the mischievous look that grew on his teammates face. "You wouldn't"

"Might," He pulls out his keys, watching the lights light up on his McLaren. Oscar's is parked right next to it, and right now hes careful to keep his expression as neutral as he can, even when Oscar takes a step closer to him, tilting his head to look at Lando and pouting ever so slightly.

"Well then I'll have to report the chocolates I caught you sneaking into your drivers room this weekend no?"

And that is enough to make Lando freeze as he reaches for the door handle, turn around with a gasp and point a finger at the smirk that popped up on the Aussie's face. "Now thats a low blow- I need those snickers to live mate"

"Fire for fire Lan- Lando" His voice drops a tone lower, mirth sparkling as he crosses his arms and suddenly Lando can see the veins on his hands as the sleeves of his hoodie roll up.

But thats not what he finds himself focusing on. No- its the last word, three letters that had quickly been converted back into his whole name. Lan. It was a nickname, he hadn't heard it before- no, was he opposed to it? again, no.

"'s the way the world works"

"Well-uh" it throws him off, with the warmth suddenly taking over his body, the gaze ever so sparkling and heart thudding faster. "Well it shouldn't- blackmails a one way lane as far as I know"

"Ever heard of leverage?"

Lan.

Its funny, the way ever cell in his body wants Oscar to say that word again. Wants to drag it out of his mouth till hes memorised the way his lips move to pronounce it. Want, want, want.

"If we go down we go down together, that type of thing no?"

"Mhhm," Lando watches his throat bob, the way he absentmindedly bites his lower lip. And then, far too soon the Aussie moves, dropping his head and reaching into his pocket of this own car keys.

"Well then, see you around Lando"

"See ya mate, 1-2 on sunday?"

Lando watches Oscar get into the drivers seat, hands on the window as he flashes a smile- tilting his head only for his hair to fall into his left eye. "Might want to focus on quali first yeah?"

Chapter Text

"So Lando, going into this weekend with a win in the last and a pole position in this one? How do you feel? Are you confident?"

"Yes, the car's good- we've seen that and the tracks always been good so I have hopes- um," Hes looks out, at the excited look from the reporter who pushes a microphone into his face and Lando wants to sigh. "But lets see what the weekend brings, but super excited-"

"-And ofcourse, your teammate Oscar's in p5 currently- do you think he'll manage to make it up onto the podium with you or-?"

The question takes him my surprise, the hands which had been toying with the straw on his drink freezing ever so slightly before he clears his throat. Ofcourse he wanted Oscar on the podium with him, ofcourse he knew Oscar could manage it-

"Yeah- ofcourse, I mean, double McLaren podium is what the team is aiming for today- Oscar, he showed great pace in quali so- the cars also good-"

From the corner of his eye, he can see the Aussie doing his rounds, hes dressed in the McLaren shirt, the same polite smile on his face that had the internet term him a polite cat, quite fitting actually- at first he hadn't seen it, but then with a closer look he could make it out.

"-lando?"

"Huh?" He turns around, snapping him back to reality as he realises he had managed to stop talking just to stare at- Oh- "- I mean-" the tips of his ears turn red, "-he can do it, so hoping for the best and uh-yeah-"

Later, down when hes greeting the fans outside and reaching for the number of bracelets that they hang on out for him- all with his name or something related to him displayed on the tiles, but this time- when the familiar orange and blue decorate his arms, theres another name that catches his eyes in the midst.

Its a simple bracelet, one which says OSCAR in bold letters and the fan holding it has another one with LN4 on it too which she's holding out with more vigour than the other one, but its in a bold movement that Lando reaches forward, snatching the other one into his hands and slipping it on as casually as he could before moving on.

He doesn't think anyone would catch it, what with the rush and the crowds- quite forgetting the number of phones that had been capturing his every move at that moment as he reached for the bracelet.

Not as he makes his way down the paddock, catching eyes with Oscar and immediately beelining his way over there. "1-2 yeah?" He smiles, eyes crinkling as he claps a hand across the Aussies shoulders.

"I mean- I'll try but-" Oscar stutters, eyes drifting downwards to the bracelets on his hand, sharpening the slightest as they catch onto something before looking back up. "Yeah, 1-2"

"Thats the attitude" He spurred, grinning quickly before making a mock salute. "See ya on track mate,"

So yes- he doubted anyone noticed.

That was until a hour later that Alex sidled up to his side, throwing his arms around his shoulders.

"Oscar is it?"

"Mate what-" Lando begins, abruptly cut off.

Alex only shakes his head, taking a sip from his bottle and smiling. "You aren't as subtle as you think- its all over Twitter"

Then, as if to drive the point home- he looks pointedly at the bracelet still on his wrist, the name seeming to shine under the afternoon sun and hes turning bright red. "I-I didn't notice," its a lame attempt at excusing himself, "What with the crowds and all"

The brit only snorts, "Lando- you once returned a bracelet that you grabbed cause it had Daniel's name on it. Everyone knows you like to only wear yours-"

And that was true wasn't it?

"-I'm your best mate, who are you fooling?"

"It's- not like that" He mutters.

"hey-I'm not going to judge you mate, I mean- I'm proud of you for coming to terms with it, finally-"

And its the switch that suddenly makes Lando scowl, "What do you mean finally?"

Alex opens his mouth, to reply- only to be pulled away by a Williams official and suddenly Lando's being dragged right back by a McLaren one, he looks back at the blonde just in time to see him wink and suddenly time freezes again.

"Well then," the now familiar grey landscape stands by idly as Lando makes his way through it, straight across the track, catching Charles frowning at his phone and against his will he doesn't peek.

Hes walking again, down the pit lane when suddenly theres a flash at the corner of his eyes. "What-"

He whirls around, just in time to see something dart across the side of the Red bull garage, the slightest huff of wind and then- Lando's eyes widen.

There was someone else who wasn't affected by this.

"Hey- wait-" He doesn't know who hes screaming at, not as he runs down behind the mysterious figure, the endurance sessions paying off and its as hes rounding yet another corner, but the thing- or person, or whatever it is- is nowhere to be seen.

So he starts to slow down, ever so slightly- lungs gasping for air and the thought of giving up entertaining his mind because maybe it was just him hallucinating? Its been far too long and supposed sensory deprivation does have extreme results, he read that on buzzfeed once so-

Another flash of black darts back across in front of him.

Lando blinks. Not hallucinating then, one point to him.

"Hey- wait, I'm not- why are you running?"

This time he runs faster, adrenaline pumping his legs faster and when he realises where the person is heading, down towards the grandstands- that Lando decides to take a shortcut.

Hes been on this track for so many years, he knows the get by's, and so its at the gates to the paddock that he rounds up onto the figure. Its a man, thats for sure- but hes dressed fully in black, a cap over his face so that even when he turns, Lando doesn't catch onto a single feature on his covered face.

That is, except for startling brown eyes before the world whirls round his feet and the next minute, hes back in front to his car- mouth forming a sentence to a phantom before abruptly shutting up.

And fifteen feet away, with a mouth set in a hard line and shock echoing across each bone in his body- Oscar Piastri tries his hardest to understand why familiar green eyes and curly brown hair running down a black and white landscape had even been possible.

Chapter Text

Monza goes to Charles Leclerc and Lando contents himself with third place and he hates it. Going from pole to second place in the first lap and then losing yet another place to grapple with the aftermath of Oscar moving past him was enough to make him want to skip the podium and get on the nearest flight out of here.

He couldn't be mad, it was a fair move- a dangerous one, yeah- they still have post race debriefs left and ofcourse Zak is going to give them a lecture about safety in the race and what-not and its in the cooldown room that Lando sees Oscar pass weary glances in his direction and he hates it.

The medias a shitstorm, as always- bottling up pole positions, expected. Doom-scrolling had never been his preferred choice of breaking down but this year it wasn't hard, this time it wasn't just random guesses from twenty people living god knows where- no this time it was facts, statistics- and none of them in his favour.

And to top all of it, are the amount of times hes found himself screaming at a black and white world- stomping his feet, running across the track for god knows what reason as if its the only way to control the storm rising inside him.

On the podium hes sprayed with champagne and ushered off just as fast to clean up and then theres some time between the meetings that he finds himself sitting in his room, legs against his chest and phone in his hand while his mind still reels from the revelations of today.

"There is someone else," its a whisper that leaves his throat, chewing the inside of his lip.

He supposes theres a reason this time hes lingered along the hospitality and the public areas more, desperately scanning the place for another glimpse of the slightest movement- but hes been wrong, seen nothing and now it haunts him.

There is someone else and hes here. There is someone else and yet they run away. There is someone else who knows whats happening. There is-

"Lando?"

There is a knock on his door, and a soft voice that Lando curses his heart for immediately skipping a beat.

"Yeah?"

"Can-can I come in?" And its the hesitance in his voice that makes Lando walk quickly towards the door, there is still some bitterness stuck in the clogs of his throat- the lingering distaste of the fact that he could have won this one- always present.

His hands still on the handle. He could have won this one if it hadn't been for Oscar-

"Give me a sec-" He doesn't have to open the door, he can just sit there, there are always excuses- why would he want to let him in?

"Its fine I can come back later-" and there is the voice again, the slightest of cracks in the tone and Lando folds. The door clicking open as he pulls the handle down with a small sigh and looks up to meet the new arrivals eyes- and freezes.

Oscar's hair was wet.

Ofcourse thats the first thing he notices- shit.

"Um-" Lando blinks. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah-yeah, uh-" he moves aside, blinking yet again and watching the Australian make his way inside. "Don't mind the mess,"

Oscar just blinks, turning around to face Lando, his expression turning from anxious to slightly less nervous before he speaks. "if this is a mess, you'de die in my room mate"

"Seen the memes actually," Lando sits onto his bed, crossing his legs onto the soft blankets and giving a pointed look at Oscar. "You plan on just standing there or-"

He doesn't get an answer, only a tentative step closer before the brunnete sits down on the floor- looking up at him with soft brown eyes which, startlingly reminded him of something else he had seen before but couldn't quite place.

"So-"

"How was your race?" And thats- thats a question alright.

"What do you mean?" Lando stretches his arms, theres a tension building between his shoulder blades, a familiar itch to pull out all the stress, the anger and throw it al out at the soft eyes that are looking at him- brown and deep and slightly rimmed with red that-

Wait a minute.

He doesn't mean to notice, he doesn't want to notice but he does. As he waits for his reply, watching Oscar's fiddle with the ring hes worn on his finger, his eyes find themselves tracking the slightest movement of his muscles, the bob of his throat- the hitch in his breath and ofcourse- ofcourse the flush across his cheeks.

But why would he be sad?

It takes a minute, no- a little longer to be honest before it hits him square in the chest. The media didn't exactly just target one person did they?

"I mean- I saw the memes too and you tend to take things too harsh for your own good so-"

Lando's mind races far too fast, images returning from his memory back to the front like the back-press on his camera because- the backlash the other driver had been receiving over everything this year was insane.

Does he even care about the team? One-man player, no respect to the sport- fighting for a championship for the wrong team- etc, etc, etc and today? Today it would get even worse.

"Don't tell me you read the gossip pages mate," he cuts in, gentler. Theres another hitch in the youngers breathe, the slightest scratch of nails against his own skin.

"No-not that much , I mean-"

"So you did-" He remains unconvinced.

"-Mark tells me its good to stay updated and all, yknow in case of surprising news or-"

"Mate-"

"-And I read the articles about m-you, so thought I'd-"

"If its the content you're worried about, let me tell you firsthand-" he exhales slightly, "Those journalists don' t know as much as they pretend to- its all just to make catchy headlines- I mean, have you seen the one they made on George last week? That was another level of delusional- and-"

The Australian looks down, picking at the hair on the carpets because- yes, he knows that- but doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. "Yeah- yeah-"

"You drove well today, the overtake was a masterclass- a bit dangerous yeah, but good so you really don't need to be sorry about it or even care about what they have to say cause in the end its a race right? if thats what you're so worried about-"

"Sorry-" the word cuts through Lando's rant, making the older Brit pause mid sentence, tilting his head to look at the flustered Aussie.

"Why are you-" the realisation hits him as the sentence is halfway out of his mouth, causing the tension to melt slightly from his face as he softens his voice, trying to look into the younger's eyes who- continues to look away.

So, he reaches upwards, snagging his hand across Oscar's to catch his attention . "Oscar-"

"-for taking up your time like this-"

"Osc-"

"-you-uh- probably wanted to relax and I-"

"Osc-" he's a little more insistent this time, moving his feet till hes almost on the floor now- centimetres away from the rambling boy as the dull ache in his chest turns into a fierce need to protect.

"'came in to talk- oh" Oscar blinks hurriedly, only to see that Lando's now right in front of him. The two sprawled in the tiny space on the floor, with Lando looking into his eyes with an earnest expression- but he doesn't know- doesn't know what to expect- he-

He doesn't expect a pair of hands circling his neck a few seconds either.

"Wha-" his hands jump upwards involuntarily, warmth falling over him as a body closes in around his chest- a chin buried in his shoulder while rough curls tickle his cheeks.

"You really need to start listening more Osc," the brit's voice is muffled, and Oscar can only hum in reply. Theres heat pooling in his cheeks, down his hands and straight to his heart and the ring on his hand burning against pale skin because this can't be real.

In no world would Lando Norris ever be hugging Oscar like this.

Lando pulls away, and Oscar can finally drop his hands from their awkward half-rise half-down look, he knows his face is red and the words die on his tongue as hes about to speak and theres a nonchalant look on the Brit's face as he look about.

Not as if he had just made Oscar's heart pound in his chest and the fierce red overtaking his cheeks was not because of the warmth that had enclosed his body earlier.

Oscar clears his throat. "Right,"

Lando- whos eyes sparkle under the white lights, whose face is glittering with a smile- looks at him. "You can come here anytime mate, I don't mind- nice to have someone to talk to,"

And then theres silence, in which Lando breathes out evenly- their gazes colliding as a small hesitant smile starts to play on Oscar's lips and it makes Lando want to grab his face and- no, no he can't think of such things.

"Thank you Lan,"

And as Lando watches Oscar get up, swipe right on the notification on his phone-probably from Mark- and pulls on the door handle- he grins, eyes crinkling as he stretches his hands ever so slightly. "Anytime Osc"

And if- across the continent- Max Fewtrell's phone buzzes with a few hundred new messages in the next ten minutes- all typed out with the precision one could have when he was the only one moving- all from a certain someone whos fingers shivered across the keyboard in shock- well that was news for another time.

Chapter Text

It become a tradition from then on.

After each race, for Lando to be greeted by Oscar while passing down the hallways- or after press conferences, for the two of them to sit down in the cramped space and just- talk. It had begun with shy and hesitant gestures and open ended questions, slowly turning into a mutual habit- in driver conferences, or after team meeting.

Its really that simple, Lando learns- to wait for the other to appear.

For Oscar to knock on his door, pop his head in with his nose crinkling as he makes fun of Lando's music taste and shaking his head as Lando only increases the volume and starts to sing the lyrics obnoxiously to spite him.

But there are times, when Lando makes his way towards Oscar's room- barges in without knocking and waving off the startled Australian's bereavement as he tells him to knock.

"Mate- what if I was naked or something?" he had sputtered one time, eyes wide as Lando had just kicked open the door to his room- making Oscar almost throw his phone up in shock.

The perpetrator had only shrugged his shoulders, "Well you aren't- so?"

And that was the end of that argument wasn't it.

So its one of these days, last race before winterbreak where Lando finds himself sitting awfully cramped up in between the foot of the bed and the wall- while Oscar sits on top of the bed, hair ruffled and eyes bleary from the sleep that the Brit had woken him up from. It was a comfortable silence that enveloped them, until Oscar spoke up.

"What would you do if you could freeze time?"

Lando's hands pause in the middle of scrolling on his phone. "What-" he clears his throat. It's a harmless question, one which he knows Oscar probably saw on Tiktok or something and decided to ask- but these days, it hit a little close to home. "What do you mean?"

Brown eyes stare back at him intently. "I mean- if you could freeze time, what would you do- in, the frozen time?"

"I don't know mate- not much to do is there?" He chuckles slightly. The answers given from first-hand experience, spent in countless grey landscapes which bled back into colour at random.

Oscar hums in reply, Lando hears him shift from his cross legged position. "Yeah- its fun to think about"

"Why- you planning on telling me you have superpowers Osc?" He jokes, raising his elbow to push it against the Australians in joke.

But the Aussie only looks at him, glancing away from the ball in his hand and back at his face in a way which is slightly incriminating. "Maybe"

"Cryptic I see,"

"No-" and with that, the brunnete settles back down again, however there seems to be some hesitance in the movement, eyes blinking blearily and the Brit notices he twists a ring around his finger. Its a simple thing, a smooth band of elegant gold which glows in the light and there seems to be some writing engraved over the edges which disappear behind closed fists.

"just wondering"

"-well then, if were on the topic of just wondering- I guess, I'd just- go around?" Lando stretches his hands slightly, "-cut the crowds and-" thats when he remembers the mysterious flashes of the mystery figure he had seen running away from him and frowns, "check if theres any others- makes for lonely company"

And Oscar? He only blinks, slow and languid with a look in his eyes which screams that hes dimensions away from their conversation. "What about you?"

Lando reaches out, pulls at Oscar's shoulders and shakes his head as the brunnete yelps before coming back to the present.

"I-" he hesitates, toying with the ring yet again. "Mostly what you said- but I'd try to find out how it was happening as well, make it stop maybe- find out the cause, that sort of stuff-"

"Too technical Osc-" Lando fakes a yawn in reply, relishing in the grin that greets him. "'s hypo-hypno-"

"-Hypothetical"

"-that," Lando snaps his fingers, "would be cool if it happened though"

And thats the end of that.

☼ ☼ ☼

He thought that would be the end of that conversation, it would be put onto the dust shelves of memory and Lando would continue to experience these weird lapses and yet- now he never saw the figure again, not the three times it had happened after and it irked him.

That was until one day, during the breaks that they got in Media duties where he and Oscar were to film a commercial together did it pop up again.

Theres more than three makeup brushes hovering over his face and the harsh bulb lights around the makeup mirror make him squint his eye sin annoyance. It's an AD for a hotel they're staying at, for new sponsors and what else- and right next to him is Oscar.

The Australians more or less done with his own makeup, sitting in a slightly shaded area of the hotel room as the script they had to read out was laid out in his lap. Lando sidles up next to him in another fifteen minutes, locking his phone and shaking his head to ensure that his hair was set properly.

"Planning on following the script are we?" the chair scrapes as Lando drags it next to him, a flash of satisfaction creeping up him as he realises this is the first time Oscar hasn't flinched at the sudden intrusion into his space.

"We kind of have to-" His voice is soft, hair fluffed up as he flips the page.

"Nah mate, you've got to improvise- the crew loves it" The minty taste of the chewing gum in his mouth dies down over time and he stretches his hands in the air.

"Or maybe they're just used to you not listening-" Oscar grins, tilting his head as he sees the frown forming on the Brit's face as he grumbles slightly. "Just saying-"

"I see how it is,"

"Do I bend to give you a better view?"

And oh, so thats how it is.

"Oscar!" He feigns hurt, scoffing as he theres a bright peal of laughter that echoes from the Aussie. "That is a sensitive topic yknow?"

"Sorry mate," Oscar's grinning, eyes sparkling under the lights.

Vaguely Lando can hear the camera crew call out to them, cameras already pointing towards them while their managers stand a bit further away and suddenly hes wishing that they didn't have to just meet up for the sake of PR duties. Shoo all of the staff away even if it was for another five minutes- heck, hell take another ten seconds if he could, but he can't.

Hes settling himself down on his seat, a giggle escaping his throat as he sees an incredulous look pass Oscar's face as he holds up the hairdryer that hes been given, throwing a pointed look at the Brit with an expression that screamed 'what am I doing here?'

Lando had smiled right back, 'Do it for the pay raise mate'

Oscar had managed a small nod before being whisked away into the roll of the film and Lando followed en suite soon after.

"That took much longer than I thought it would," its when they're making their way out of the lobby that they get some time to talk. Lando shoves his hands in his pocket, biting his lip in thought as he walks next to Oscar.

"Mate the amount of retakes I had to do for a one-second clip were insane," he whistled lowly out of his teeth. His stomach rumbles as they walk, and the urge to stop at the nearest Mcdonald's he finds on the way back just to grab a plate of fries is maddening- cut to the screams of his nutritionists but he could deal with that later.

"Improv didn't work out that well did it?" Oscar replies, and Lando laughs slightly- pushing the door open and holding it for the Aussie who nods his head.

But its when theyre giving their keys to the valet that Lando notices a certain hardness in the others stance, a small frown on his face as he glances nervously at his phone and back at the supercars that continue to make their way in and out of the lobby.

So- as a good teammate, Lando pushes his shoulder against Oscars. "You alright mate?"

"Hmm? Yeah-good- why?"

"You seem a bit out of it thats all" Lando shrugs his shoulders, running a hand through his curls as he looks pointedly at Oscar's face.

Hes gotten a bit more tanned that before, pale skin now slightly more bronze and hair growing out to almost form a mullet at the back- ends of the brown curling ever so slightly that it made Lando want to pull them ever so slightly.

He doesn't really expect a reply, so its a shock when Oscar does suck in a breathe- squaring his shoulders ever so slightly before he replies- "Are you hungry?"

Lando blinks, he can see that his cars pulled up in the driveway- right behind it is Oscar's. Two McLaren's gleaming under the artificial lights and yet he can't get himself to move towards them.

Oscar seems to take the silence as a no, shoulders sagging and blinking slowly. "This took too much time and -I thought you would be hungry so- wanna go grab something to eat before we head off?"

And if the way Lando's eyes lit up was any answer to the question then maybe Oscar would not have laughed awkwardly again as the brunette nodded his head.

"Read my mind mate-"

"You don't have to- I was just wondering-" Oscar continues, rushing out his words in a way that makes Lando want to grab his collar to shut him up. Its cute, endearing at most- but right now, hes hungry- for the company of Oscar and, yes the food as well- but mostly the company.

He doesn't like to dwell on that thought.

"Osc I'm starving actually, lets go"

The Aussie wisely keeps his mouth shut, nodding his head as a small blush starts to creep up his neck. Lando smiles, turning his head to catch the eyes of the valet who stands next to the drivers seat before returning them back towards the brunnete.

"Your car or mine?"

"So-" The car doors shut quickly and Lando felt his ears pop as he sat in the passengers seat- eyes trailing carefully across the inside of Oscar's car. Its a 750S, grey in colour while the seats a wine red.

"Whats the plan tomorrow?"

"Um-" Oscar was considering it, eyes focused on the road as his fingers drummed against the steering wheel to the beat of the song playing. It's a popular song, hes probably heard it on the radio somewhere and Lando knows he should be focusing on the GPS on his phone but he cant- not with the way Oscar shifts his hands a he drives one handed, the other resting on his lap.

"Nothing much- wake up and all, got physio soon after"

Lando winced in sympathy, resting hsi head against the headrest as strip of red lights pass across his vision- stark against the dark sky."Mines day after- wanted a break"

"I'm surprised he listened"

"Who wouldn't?" Lando grinned and Oscar shook his head, turning slightly to look at lando. "It's me were talking about"

"Cocky, aren't we?" He replied, tilting his head as the brit bounced on his soles with far too much energy for someone right out the set.

"Nah-Not cocky- certain" and if the way Oscar looked as Lando blinked surprised him, it disappeared as his phone pinged and he yelped out in shock realising that they just missed the turn. "Right-right-turn right-"

"Table for two?" Lando felt his mouth drop as they walked closer to the restaurant. It was a popular one, even more difficult to take walk-in reservations but he believed they could manage, being famous did have its perks once in a while.

Its when hes close enough that he could smell everything, the pastries- the pasta- the drinks and the bustle of chefs and people as the shuffled for seating in the hotel lounge. Oscar spoke as Lando followed behind in his wake.

"Im sorry sir, we are currently full" The waiter replied reproachfully, shuffling through his book and Lando almost screamed at the thought. "We have a slot free in about- one hour, yes"

"That's far too long!" Lando whispered, tugging at the brunnetes arm. "Osc I can't survive that long"

"Well I think we've got to" Oscar deadpanned, biting his lip as they walked out of the driveway. They had given their number, at least Oscar had.

"Oscarrrr" and it was his accent that made its way through, turning the last letter into a 'ah' and made the Australian still ever so slightly- wind biting their skin and making a red appear on Lando's cheeks. "I am so hungry I swear I could eat a horse right now"

"Well I'll let you know if I find a place which sells those yeah?" Oscar snorts.

The windows were painted with a layer of frost and the trees blowing their leaves out as a layer of water covered the pavement. From the corner of his eye Lando saw Oscar breathe out, breathe freezing as it exited his chapped lips that made him want to desperately introduce him to a lip balm.

"Cmon, lets just walk- well probably find a place along the way"

"Yeah good idea-" The brunnete looked awkward, scratching the back of his neck- their pace finally coming to a stop and the two faced each other as they spoke. "I'v heard this streets pretty popular cause of the restaurants- just pray we get a table"

He was probably saying something more, but Lando didn't know why his eyes couldn't leave the others face, hypnotised in the slightest shuffle of his feet and the tilt of his head as he considered the watch on his wrist. So he looked around, watching the bells ring as people entered and exited places- the smell of food wafting over their noses and making his stomach grumble ever so slightly.

And somehow- when Lando's eyes fell onto the corner of the street, he didn't know whether his eyes deceived him or not when - because where a bookstore had sat cozily just seconds ago now had disappeared and had a cafe open with a line of people queing outside it.

He opened his mouth- raising his hand to point it out only to see Oscar had noticed it too- shoulder rising as his eyes lit up and he grinned.

"Did you-"

"Well there's a place to eat!"

Oscar's tone was infectious when he was excited, a stark difference from the usual indifference that coated his voice at meetings and on the radio and so Lando felt his words die down in his mouth as he hurried behind the brunnete into the shop, hands unclenching from the fists they had formed from the warmth of the place which was- surprisingly empty.

"Table for two?"

The waiter smiled, "Right this way sir"

The foods good- its the biggest compliment that Lando can give it. But its what happens in between that had him confused. "mate why is the food actually so good?"

Oscar looks up from his plate- a salmon dish, mind you that Lando can' t bear to look at but he digresses- scraping his knife across the glass and frowning. "I think they have a Michelin star for a reason mate"

"They do?" He replies incredulously, eyes widening comically as he wipes the bread crumbs off of his face.

"It was on the door Lando" The brunnete looked pragmatically,

Oscar raised his hand, looking pointedly at Lando before turning back at the waiter.

He was sitting comfortably, leaned back against the chair with the dim lighting and small chatter in the background, maybe it was the PR training- Lando thought a little numbly- as he watched Oscar reach out his hand as the waiter came back with the bill- pulling out his wallet and it was then that Lando stopped staring at his teammate and raised his hand.

"Wait- wait a second, you're not paying"

Oscar's hand froze halfway to the card machine. "I kind of am actually"

"Nuh uh" and then the Brit had pushed himself forward, hand wrapping over the others and pulling it away and giving a look to the waiter who suddenly seemed far too busy in the workings of his machine. "This one's on me"

"I called you out Lan, I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be paying"

Lan, Lan, Lan

"Well I came right? So it's on me"

"Thats not how it works."

"Well it does now"

And he can see the look of exasperation on the Aussie's face, all red with eyebrows turned and hands crossed as he- once again, pushes his card forward towards the waiter who looks like hes caught up in something he really didn't want to be and thats when Lando decides to go for it.

Hes not backing down, he is the one going to be paying and so without another thought in his brain he leans forward- grabs a hold of Oscar's outstretched hand in one of his own, ofcourse to push it away - but the thing is, he has by far miscalculated the flexibility he has in himself so its in the position that Lando, half bent over the table feels his foot slip out under the table from where he had been on his tiptoes.

The next thing he knows is the fact that hes gone and pushed away Oscar's hand and in the while of thoughts that cross his mind he yelps, reaching out with his free hand to grab the only thing he can find- which just so happens to be Oscar's collar and pulls.

"Lan-mpph"

Theres a buzz in Lando's ears- one which he knows is important and familiar- overtaking the absolute mortification that courses through him as the cutlery to his side clatters to the ground with a bang. Theres a vague sound from the waiter but the only thing that Lando can focus on- is the way the background weaves itself into black and white and with it- absolute shock that resonates all over Oscar's features as much in Lando's body as he doesn't freeze with it.

Chapter Text

"What-Oscar-"

It takes them a few minutes-seconds, Lando doesn't know- can't really keep track when the clock is frozen black and white- to settle down yet again. But this time Oscar's hair is messed up, shirt ruffled from where Lando had grabbed him. The waiter still had

his arm outstretched, wedged awkwardly between the two of them while the Australian seemed to weld himself into the chair he was sitting in. It was an uncomfortable silence stretching in between as lando tried to take in what had just happened. One hand picking at the skin near his nail as his mind worked furiously to make sense of things.

"This happened to you before too?"

Hes not alone

Hes not alone

Its comical the way oscar looks up, like a kicked puppy who doesn't know where to go or what to do and that puzzles him. Why was he so scared? Nothing really happened when time froze, hes pretty sure it should go back to normal in some time but now they can talk. Discuss- heck they could finally figure out whats going on- whos causing this and-

"I mean I did think about it when the time freezing question came up but- that was random - and I didn't think that deep and-"

"Um-" The Australian looks up from his lap, a hand stretching out to scratch his neck and maybe its the colour scheme they're in or a reality- but Lando swears the Aussie is suddenly far to red to make sense off. "Lando- I didn't know how to tell you this, I swear I didn't think it-"

But its exciting, because with thoughts running a thousand miles faster than Lando could catch up to he beams- "Mate this is great"

Oscar stills. "It is?"

Lando nods eagerly, swooping his hand out in front to knock off the cutlery on the table and leaning forward. "It's good to know I'm not the only one stuck in this mess-"

"Stuck?"

"-and you're smart- if I do say so myself so maybe-" Now its Oscar's whos leaning ahead, swallowing weakly as their heads come closer against the glass window. "'we can finally find out whos behind this whole thing and put a stop to it"

"Whos-" And really Lando should find it concerning, the way that Oscar glances around, swallowing weakly but honestly maybe it is a bit scary to be stuck here so who is Lando to judge? "behind it?"

"Yes Osc, keep up" he hums fervently, knees hitting the table cloth before he stands up and makes his way over to Oscar's side of the table, holding out a hand. "Lets walk, its too stuffy in here"

Earlier he would have probably freaked out at the idea of holding onto the Aussie's hand so casually, but now? now he thinks they've crossed the boundary of the simple gesture of touching other becoming a mind breaking thing to do.

Not that he thinks too much of such things.

Oscar grabs onto it and Lando ignores the slightest thud in his heart, as he grips tighter to help the other up. Honestly, he thinks that would be the end of the warmth on his own palm, so when they cross out the threshold of the restaurant and there is still the ever increasing familiarity of Oscar's hand in his own that Lando finds himself falling into delusions of what it would be like in another universe.

The street is dim, the crows in the air halted in the movement of their wings, a leaf lingers still in the air- about to fall down but it doesn't. There is a sound this time, Lando finds himself hyper-aware of it- the crunch of two pairs of feet on the gravel, a gentle breathe next to his own.

Two people moving in frozen time.

Two people with their hands entwined.

And its just at that moment, when Lando decides to finally open his mouth, conscious enough to the swing of their hands that it disappears. Theres an indescribable look on Oscar's face, left hand now pulled close to his own body as he keeps his gaze square ahead.

And Lando wants to scream, yell out loud and grab hold of that hand and entwine it back with his own because he likes it- he will always like it, but he can't. He won't. So instead, he curls his own into a fist, pretending to not notice how much the cold hits him inside the jacket pocket he stuffs his right hand in.

They continue to walk.

"This is taking too long," It's Oscar who breaks the silence, frustration lacing his voice.

Lando pauses, they're nearing the end of the road anyways- the corner into the main road looming ahead. "What do you mean?"

"I mean- It should go back to normal by now, its-" Oscar runs a hand through his hair, "It should stop now there isn't a reason for it to anymore-"

"Reason?"

"Uh-I mean I think this has to be happening for a reason- but the reasons taking too long and I-we can't figure it out so-" The Aussie rambles on, biting his lip and Lando can only look at him.

"Right-" he cuts in, "Do you think its only us who aren't frozen?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean-" Lando chews on his lower lips, crossing his arms to gather some warmth in his body. "At first I thought I was the only one, then I saw you- so maybe- theres someone else too-"

"No"

The finality in Oscar's voice is what makes the brunnete freeze. "You sound confident"

"I mean-" and suddenly the Aussie's backtracking, the nervousness back in his voice as he sees the way Lando narrows his eyes. "I doubt it- its a possibility but I doubt it"

"Maybe its just a McLaren thing" Lando hums. "we should ask Zac and Andrea yeah?"

"Maybe they'll send us to a good psychiatrist hospital after too" Oscar replies, a smile playing on his lips as he kicks at a stone on the ground.

"You think they have good beds there? and a TV?"

Still frozen yet in motion.

"I don't know mate- never been to one"

"Why not?"

"Doesn't seem like a good vacation spot if thats what you're asking"

"Mate have you seen those haunted hospital videos? It looks pretty cool"

"Until you end up dead in one of them- yeah its cool" Oscar deadpans, eliciting a jab into his ribs.

"Don't ruin the fun of it Oscarr" he rolls the end of the name, dragging it along far longer than necessary as the boy in question only rolled his eyes in response.

Its another two steps ahead when Lando feels the familiar tingle in his body, the way his body seems to vibrate on the spot and when he looks around he sees that Oscar can sense it too.

Its in another few seconds that they're back in the restaurant, stuck in the awkward predicament with Lando's face far too close for comfort yet again and the waiter drops his plate in the process of helping, apologising profusely afterwards as Lando wipes the wine spilled onto his shirt with a face red enough to match while Oscar laughs in the background.

But its when they're back in the hotel, Lando about to exit the elevator to his floor while Oscar scrolls on his phone next to him that he pauses. "You think we can actually find the reason for this?"

Oscar looks up, gaze softening as he sees the worry that emanates from the brit's posture. "You've got me on your side now mate"

There were something else, something lingering at the back of both of their unspoken conversations that they couldn't bring themselves to say so he still lingered, half out onto the carpeted floor and half in the polished marble of the lift. "yeah-yeah I'v got you"

Seconds- minutes, who was Lando to count them?

"Night Lando" The silence breaks as Oscar shifts his foot, whispering the words as his eyes don't leave Lando's and yet it seems to break the trance that the Brit has found himself in.

He lets go of his hand blocking the door of the elevator, nodding his head. "Night Oscar"

Chapter Text

The first time that it happens when they're together is a few days later. The race is due to start in another hour but the two had managed to escape back into Oscar's driver room and lean against the metal beds while scrolling on his phone and the Australian shuts his eyes.

"Oscar-" Lando shifts slightly, pushing his hand out to touch Oscar's shoulder. They're close enough, the Aussies back touching against Lando's thigh as they sit on the ground- not that the closeness was affecting the Brit in anyway, ofcourse not.

Two cups of drinks sat on the coffee table- hot chocolate and a cappuccino that was techincally supposed to be Lando's, but after finding out there was no sugar- oscar had switched their cups.

"Osc- mate get up look at this"

"Hmm?" The slightest movement, followed by a yawn and then bleary brown eyes glancing confused at him in a way that made Lando's eyes widen ever so slightly.

"You look like a Koala"

" there are other animals from Australia too, mate"

"What?" Its the look that Oscar gives him that makes him laugh, the mess of hair and the squinting eyes which relax when Lando moves to switch of the light right above the two of them. "No I meant you genuinely look like one, with the big ears and all"

"Pretty sure I don't" The Australian shifts, sitting up properly and suddenly hes all up in lando's space. Much closer than before, legs falling next to each other while their hands seem so close and yet they dont touch.

That night in the restaurant had led to a new dynamic, one in which suddenly Lando was realising that Oscar wasn't closing himself off- not as much as before. But there was a careful consideration behind every move, a calculated precision that reminded him of how Lando used to stare at SIM data before the races, deciding on angles and trajectories to find the safest and quickest path forward- but this wasn't that.

"I'll let you know I'm not the only person who thinks so by the way- your fans agree with me, wait-" he pokes his mouth with his tongue, pulling his phone out in triumphant motion and going onto tik tok. "Pretty sure I'v got one saved-"

He knows there will be videos of it, there are videos of everything honestly- and hes seen all of them. Call it a slight obsession but the polite cat memes are seared in his brain from now on.

"You see stuff about me often?"

Freeze

"Uhm-" backtrack, Lando laughs hesitantly throwing a quick glance at the amused look on the Aussies face. This was not how he wanted to get caught for his stupid crush on, no this is not how he would go down.

"'S funny Oscar- how else do I bully you in the near future?"

"Bullying mate? Should I start collecting blackmail material too?"

"Uh-huh- standard teammate procedure honestly- you've got to learn the ropes someday"

"And what does Zak think of this whole procedure?"

And maybe its the bemused look on oscar's face that causes Lando to smirk, raising a finger and quickly shifting it to oscar's lips in a quick motion. "What he doesn't know doesn't hurt him yeah?"

Its at that sentence, with the close proximity of the two yet again- where Lando's face is now inches away from the startled Australians, Lando's finger still in between them and theyre so close- so close that he can feel the others breathe against his cheek, sunlight filtering a pale orange onto their faces and suddenly he cant breathe-

and-

"Lando," Oscar's voice is soft, he hasn't moved. Eyes flitting precariously between the fingers on his lips and back to Lando's face, he knows its red- god he can feel his heart thudding right down to his toes.

Lando gulps. He should pull away, go back down the path he had walked on before and sit another five feet away but he can't- no, he doesn't want to- because maybe, just maybe this isn't as one sided as he hoped, because maybe-

"Yeah?" He swallows gently, eyes fluttering shut for just a second as suddenly Oscar's moving even closer, tilting his head and theres this look in his eyes that screams everything that Lando wants to hear-

"I-" an even breath exhaled, "I want to tell you something-"

"Yeah?" Lando starts to pull his hand away, theres a certain friction in the air dragging him in but just as he drops his hand, gentle fingers grab right onto it, freezing them in mid-air. Its a gentle touch, hesitant yet grounding.

"-Been wanting to tell you since last week-"

"Yeah?" One word, one syllabus.

And just when he thinks its going to happen, theres a knock on the door.

"Lando? Oscar- You in there?"

The trance breaks and suddenly there are hands on Lando's chest, the grip on his hand disappearing as in a whirl of movements he pushed back. Further away than he had been and scrambling towards the opposite end is Oscar, eyes wide and a furious blush on his cheeks as suddenly hes looking anywhere but at the Brit.

Before Lando can even process it, the absolute astonishment running through his love-addled brain for a few seconds, the first feeling to flow through is hurt.

Then its shock and the third is-

"Lando? Oscar? We know you're in there- race starts in thirty minutes and Zak would appreciate it if you made it out for a debrief before that"

"Oh shit"

_

They don't talk about it.

Not really- not when suddenly every cell in lando's body vibrates whenever the two are slightly closer and yet oscar seems to have decided he never wants to be seen again. At least, not with him.

It starts of small, the subtle glance in the Media pen and the way even after finishing on podium its like Oscar's disappeared. He can't hold it against him, post race celebrations are time consuming- so when its really noticeable is in the post race debrief.

Lando's early- for once, settled down in the usual chair of his near the AC, twirling his pen idly in his hands while his trainer glares down at his phone. Zak makes his entry soon after, theres a smile on his face- one which drags the two into polite conversation until the door bursts open yet again and Oscar walks in.

"Fashionably late Piastri- congratulations on your podium, fantastic" The McLaren team principal beams, leaping up from his chair to clap the Aussie on his back.

Lando will congratulate him, ofcourse he will- once Oscar sits down ofcourse, in the empty chair thats decidedly become the reserved one for the brunnete- so when Lando leans back slightly, the congratulations on his tongue as he waits- its confusion that splits through him when the brunnete pulls out the chair across the table and sits down with a small thunk.

"Sorry about that- press ran over" Oscar smiles nervously, its the same PR trained smile as he pokes his mouth with his tongue and decidedly- doesn't look in the general vicinity of Lando.

"Lando you better watch out no?" Andrea speaks up, a twinkle in his eyes. "Being late is your trademark so far"

"Yeah Osc- stealing my titles are you?" He speaks like its a joke, fingers drumming against the table as he looks at Oscar, willing the boy to glance up from the table- but no, no hes greeted with nothing but a downcast chuckle and a shuffle in his seat and-

Oh.

The room is cramping up around him, the squeak of the chair far too loud and the cool air causing goosebumps across his skin because this doesn't make sense and theres a sinking feeling rising in his gut.

They're supposed to be talking about the strategies for the next weekend, but his mind can't bring itself to focus- instead hes rushing through every interaction with the boy to figure out what on Earth he had done for this reaction.

Thirty minute far too long later, Lando finds himself walking out of the MTC alone. Hands in his pockets and then hes into his car, the windows rolled up and the music far too loud as he pulls out the driveway.

Its fifteen minutes later- when hes dragged himself out to the club wearing a shirt with far too many buttons undone and hands reaching for another glass that the familiar feel of black and white washes over him yet again.

Its different now- Lando supposes as he walks out of the bar- to find yourself alone once again. The last few times had been caught up with Oscar as they had tried to figure out what had happened but now? Now he was crunching leaves beneath his shoes and biting down thoughts of anything except the dull tempo of his breath in the cold air.

While ten miles away- brown eyes squeezed shut in a dark hotel room thinking of nothing else except the hurt that had flashed in green eyes and the way his heart squeezed itself shut with every breathe he exhaled.

Chapter Text

The next weekend rolls by and suddenly theres a shift in the McLaren headquarters.

Familiar squabbles turning to awkward glances across crowded rooms and the familiar chiding of finding the two drivers in each others vicinity turning into confusion when the dullness of becoming coworkers again creeps in.

And in all this? Lando's sick.

Honestly its horrible luck. One which happened from dragging Max out to a restaurant he had seen on Instagram, ordering quite an exotic dish and puking his guts out later at home. If he had been superstitious, he would have thought this was a sign- but thankfully, hes not.

Things dont matter till you make them matter.

You accept it and move on- now thats what hes going to do. Because theres a simmer of hurt which doesn't seem to leave his body, through the persistent ache at the base of his chest which he wants to blame on the race- the sickness, but its not that. He doubts it will ever be that.

"Honestly bob, do you really think you should be racing today?" Max F's voice filters out through the phone, propped up against the wall while Lando braces himself pitifully against his bed.

Theres a dull headache forming at the back of his temple, the protein shake he was supposed to finish an hour ago, full next to him.

"Its really not that bad" Lando protests weakly, promptly breaking over into a cough.

"and I'm the world champion- genuinely mate, did you tell Jon?"

"Course not," the alarm on the Brit's phone buzzes. "Can't sit this one out"

"Why is that?" Theres a small pause in the organised walk of Lando's, as he pulls on his fireproofs- toying with the edge of the zip as he exhales.

"Don't know- just is, 'm on pole- cant back down now"

He doesn't even have to turn around to know that Max is giving him the most deadpan look ever. "plan on telling yourself that if you crash out mid race?"

"Think I can hold onto it for a lap at least?"

"Bob,"

Lando bites his lip, taking the phone in his hand. Hes worried, the nerves hitting harder than they had before as he watches his best friend shift the angle to a better lighted place.

"Just- be careful yeah?" And Lando grins? Ignoring the shake of his hand as he reaches for the disconnect button, curls bouncing on his forehead.

"When am I not?"

☼ ☼ ☼

Hes not careful.

No- Lando knows hes not twenty laps into the race.

He could have called it off as jitters, cause of the change in temperature- but not with the way his vision threatens to black out in front of him as he turns yet another corner down towards the main straight, the wall dangerously close to him before he pulls away at the last second.

Theres a memory film playing at the back of his head, a small irrelevent piece of tape stuck on fast forward and then rewind with blurred edges and hasty sideways glances to opposite ends of orange garages not meeting one another.

Ten minutes to the starting line.

Lando's zipping on his suit, done with the weight checks and pulling on his helmet. He can hear his engineer drone next to him, tire management and the temperature- and he knows he should be listening, but the weathers hot and humid and it really doesn't help his case. Especially not when the minute that Oscar walks in on the opposite side Lando feels that familiar coldness creep up his bones and the world blurred to black and white and once again there are two breaths exhaled at the same time in the world yet again.

"Lando" At other times that would have been enough to make the Brit turn around, face the Australian with a smile on his face because- its Oscar isn't it? But now- now Lando finds himself toying with the ends of his fireproofs, head decidedly in the opposite direction because say what may- through the softness and hesitance in the Aussies voice, the hurt was still there wasn't it?

"yeah?" Theres a sting in his throat. "I-" a shuffle of feet, the slightest of movement.

"Could you- turn around?" Lando screws his eyes shut hard enough to make stars pop up behind them, lower lip bloody from pricking at it.

"Why?"

"I-wanted to-, talk"

"yeah?"

"Yes"

"-about what?"

Theres an interesting shade of grey on the wall in front of him, a mix between light and dark grey- was that even a colour? he wondered.

"About-"

Ignoring you, walking off like I forgot you existed, us- Theres an itch under Lando's skin as he waits, fingers freezing on the edge of his helmet as the dull thud of his heartbeat echoes sharper. Would it be that? Would it be a conversation if it was that?

"-Andrea told me that there is usually always one crash here so we should expect a safety car so-"

Out of all things he expected. It hadn't been that. And its the absurdity of it that breaks out a laugh from Lando. No, its not a laugh- its a bark- a hoot if you must, of absolute shock and then he turns around, pivoting on one foot with an incredulous look to face the brunnete. "

You're kidding me"

Hes not. From Oscar's face, its obvious hes not.

The Papaya driver was standing at the corner that divided the two cars, his usual fluffed up hair mussed up and brown eyes looking as he if he hadn't slept in a year or two. "Lan-" The Aussie begins again, the orange harsh against the black and white background. "

No. You are kidding me. You are-" Lando laughs again, canines showing as he takes a step closer towards the boy. "-aren't you? Because that is what this is isn't it? a joke? to do this?"

"What are you-"

"-pretend like I dont fucking exist-" another step forwards, theres an animal feeling rising in Lando's chest as he sees the confusion on the boys face. No- how can he be confused? "-and now ask me about what- safety car probabilities? Are we back to being friends again? Oscar?"

Oscar.

He sees the exact moment when the last sentence hits, from the way the Aussies shoulders sag slightly, eyes blowing wider apart. Lando never called him Oscar.

"-Lando- please-" theres vulnerability in Oscar's voice now, almost pleading and Lando can sense it- taste it on his tongue the way he takes a step closer, they're almost touching now- once again, but this time the tension is charged, breaths coming harsh and uneven.

And Lando wants to know.

He wants to hear him out, ofcourse he does.

Things dont matter unless you make them matter- wasn't this one of the finest examples? So he waits, for that slightest second longer- to hear what the Australian had to say but that when he felt it, the familiar coldness wash over his body yet again and god- they were going back.

He knows Oscar senses it too, from the keening sound that he makes at the bottom of his throat and suddenly his hand reaches out to grab Lando's, brown eyes meeting his own.

"I didn't mean to ignore you-"

"Good thing it doesn't matter to me yeah"

From the corner he can see the slightest hints of colour seep back in, the faraway chirp of birds and through all of it - the hurt that flashes in oscar's eyes at his statement. He's opening his mouth, and yet Lando waits and then in a whirl hes back to the end of the garage and trembling hands that had held his own slid down into the seat of their car and made their way to the grid.

God, he shouldnt have entered the car.

☼ ☼ ☼

The results aren't exactly great, down in p7 after a miserable safety car- because ofcourse there was- and another ten laps driving circles down in his own head before he pushed himself out and dragged his feet into his drivers room with all the energy he had. Somewhere someone had made it known to him that there was another McLaren on the podium.

The headquarters empty as they waited for the driver to appear below the podium and lando knows he should go there, throw a smile on his face because hes happy for the team- for the points in Constructor's and in some miserable self-deprecating way, happy because Oscar deserves it. Theres a quote he finds on his feed later, with an instrumental song playing in the back.

This longing has no end.

Usually he wouldn't think much of it, pushing right past but now? with his head propped up against the window as he sits in his car and yet he doesn't drive he pauses.

This longing will last forever. It sounds far more fitting doesn't it. That longing will last longer than he knows, far up there as is the will to have champagne sprayed across his face as the exhilaration hits him every weekend from the top step.

No, but he will put up a brave face because if he pretends it doesn't bother him, then it doesn't because where is he to store the heartache clawing at him then in the far away jars of forgetting and never remembered again.

The rain seems to patter even louder, he's forgotten to switch the radio off. Theres a honk of a car behind him, the familiar roar of his engine as he decides to finally pull out of the parking.

Chapter Text

In all honestly lando had supposed that showdown between the two of them would be the end of everything. There would be that icy animosity back between the two, Netflix cameras lapping up every part of it that they could find so that Lando could watch it a year later with a bitter taste in his mouth and a drink in the other.

But its a race weekend, he doesn't have the time to think about these things. Theres yet another familiar buzz under his skin this weekend and he doesn't know if thats a good one or not. The weathers rather pleasant, he deduces- squinting under his sunglasses as he looks at the track.

"Hiya there mate," Its Alex who slaps a hand across his back as they make their way across. "haven't seen you in a while"

Lando grins, "Yeah? Been a long time mate-"

Alex's eyes crinkle, they had met for dinner just the last night, going through a eight course meal of Japanese foods before calling it a night and grabbing ice-cream, unbeknownst to their trainers ofcourse- otherwise Lando doubts either of them would be seen today.

"-Wanna keep it that way?"

"Harsh little Lando," the Thai-Brit pouts, hand over his heart, "very harsh"

Lando only shook his head in response, knocking shoulders with his friend as the ease in their conversations fluttering through convos as they made their way towards the Williams garage.

And its as the two walk, engaged in talks as Lando groans on and on about the food poisoning he had had last week- "mental, honestly felt like I was living in the toilet-" and the Williams driver waggled his fingers to exaggerate something that the two didn't seem to notice the way brown eyes couldn't drag themselves away from their receding figures- clutched around a coffee cup while another half empty one sat on the table a few feet away.

So yes, Lando had expected silence from either sides of the garage. And so- its a surprise, when hes sitting in the meeting room, Zak and Andrea in front as they wait for Oscar to make his way in. Hes scrolling on his phone when the door opens revealing a sightly ruffled up Oscar- blinking in a way that reminded Lando of when he used to burst into the Australians room and wake him up.

"Sorry for being late- there was a rush at the cafe right now" his voice is soft, and Lando doesn't look up, not today. He waits for the familiar sound of a chair being dragged behind across the room, for Zak to shake his head and begin their strategy- but suddenly theres someone right next to him and it startles him.

A coffee cup is placed in front of him.

"What?"

Hes greeted with nervous brown eyes, an expression on the Australians face has he bites down on his lower lip and points at the cup. "Got you something"

Lando meets his eyes. Theres a familiar frown on his face as he tilts his head- form the corner of his vision he can see Andrea smile proudly while Zak mumbles on about teammate bonds and Lando supposes he can't exactly refuse it in front of them.

"Thanks mate"

"no worries Lan-mate"

As Oscar sits down, a rush of thoughts drag through Lando's head especially the one which screams- why? Why now? Why this?

But then again, what if hes overthinking?

As Lando grabs the cup, taking a sip and almost revelling at the taste because its exactly how he likes it- three sugars and all - he doesn't notice the way a certain brunnete looks at him with a hesitant expression, hands gripping the edges of the chair like a lifeline relaxing slightly as they see the curly-haired boy raise his eyebrows in appreciation before taking another sip.

They don't talk about it. Not with the way Lando's dragged out by his coach and Oscar by his own but the cup lies finished inside the room but that seems to be the start of things. Because suddenly, its become a habit.

For Lando to be waiting in the paddock and then suddenly theres a cup of coffee in front of him, iced or hot depending on the weather and all Lando can do is offer a small confused smile before Oscar disappears again- somewhere to do work or file in information on the car he doesn't know.

But the coffee sloshes in its cup and Lando doesn't know what to say.

☼ ☼ ☼

They don't talk about it.

Not when they make their way towards the driver parade together, smiles on their faces as the crowd gathers fast and loud around them.

It hurts- ofcourse it does, but Lando knows theres a tentative edge to what Oscar has started doing.

Theres another thing thats ofcourse even more confusing, and that is the fact that the random moments of time stopping had died down to almost nothing in the past month. Its not like Lando misses it- but sometimes he finds himself reminiscing those times where the cold crept up and suddenly he was the most important thing in frozen time.

"So lando- thoughts on this week?"

The mic gets shoved into his face and Lando has to bite back a scowl. "Good- waiting to start the race on pole, cars good too"

"Oh well-" and suddenly theres almost a predatory look on the mans face when he continues, "would you like to share anything about your relationship with your teammate Oscar?"

Lando can feel the minute three pairs of eyes snap straight to his face. He believes he has the decency not to freak out.

"-What?"

"Well the fans seemed to have noticed some tension between the two of you recently," the man chuckles, the cameras catching each minute of his face and suddenly Lando doesn't quite know what to say. "Anything to do with Hungary at all? Or something different?"

The thing is he doesn't like doing media. Doesn't like the way he shoves his foot in his mouth the minute those words manage to get under his skin, and so now- put on the spot to a question he doesn't know the answer to himself- he knows the minute he blurts out whatever it is hes going to manage, hes going to regret it.

"No- its nothing like that-"

"Shouldn't that question be directed to me then?"

The words die down on his tongue when suddenly he feels someone- no, not someone -him- push his way through the rest of the drivers to suddenly stand close- far too close, Lando registers seconds later- with narrowed eyes and a glare on his face masked under a lazy smile which looked far more threatening than welcoming.

"Oh- Oscar, I was just going to come up to you next-" the announcer doesn't seem to be a bit bothered, not with the way theres a crowd gathering around them now, not with how Lando steps backwards ever so slightly, disappearing in the way Oscar just steps forward. "the question is the same so-"

Right into the place that the Brit was making his way out off effortlessly, as if they meant to do the swap of interviews, meant for the sharp question turns into a forgotten topic as the Australian switches topics faster than Lando can suck in a breath.

And in all this, it takes Lando another five seconds to realise that somehow his hand has circled its way around Oscar's own hand. Oscar keeps his right hand behind his back, right where the Brit's standing, subtle yet he doesn't seem to be taking it out, still busy in the interview and yet Lando knows he knows it.

Its familiar, the stretch of pale hands encircled in the Brit's, a ghost of a touch but now- now he doesn't know what to think of it.

He throws a glance around, fervently looking to make sure there weren't any cameras to catch the motion before he pulled his hand away, turning his head the next minute to mask the expanse of red creeping up his neck.

It's Max who catches the minute they lose contact. Watches the way Oscar's shoulders droop ever so slightly as he pulls his right hand to swipe across his hair, the way Lando glances at his own with a scrutinising gaze.

☼ ☼ ☼

Its when they're filtering out of the conference room later that day, done with the race and still Lando's high from the champagne on the podium that suddenly he feels it- the way a cold chills his bones and the grey is back.

Well then.

He stumbles into Oscar some time later, making his way down the track only to come across a splash of orange making its way from the opposite end of the strait.

"Can I help you?" Hes not cold, he doesn't want to be- but still, Oscar flinches.

"Walking the track?" the brunnete asks tentatively, shifting the cap on his head.

"You tell me" Lando tries to kick a rather large piece of gravel off the road, god knows what it could have done to someones car earlier.

"Right," Lando levels his gaze to the Australians.

"Right then,"

They end up walking together, and Lando can't help but remember when these walks had been comfortable- because this? This was anything but that.

"Thank you, by the way-" he clears his throat, shoving his hands in his pocket gaze directed downwards. He wants to take a few steps closer, wants to break his own walls and ask- ask what was the matter, what was the reason for this.

"For what?"

"The- the drivers parade, thanks for - uh, stepping in- dunno what he wanted me to say honestly"

"Oh," a pause, the softest exhale "You looked uncomfortable, thought I'd help you out"

Theres a flutter in Lando's chest. He looks up, trying to catch a glance at the boy who had managed to capture and break his heart in record time, only to see that he was already looking at him. "Never liked media"

"I know"

They're nearing the corner now, Lando can see the birds that had been flying over the track stuck halfway through the air- the grandstands emptying ever so slowly, and most of all- he can see the exact moment his resolve crumbles and he turns around violently.

"Oscar," his voice is soft, almost cracking as he stands still. The only movement between them the way they exhale, green eyes catching tender brown ones. "Lets talk"

Its the way that Lando can immediately see some tension release from the Australians face, the way his eyes widen ever so slightly before he opens his mouth to speak.

They have time, more than enough time- for this- to remove all this awkwardness and even if it meant to go back to being acquaintances then Lando wouldn't mind.

"I'm going to start. What happened a month ago?" hes direct about it, turning towards the grey strands of grass on the sides of the track and sitting down, patting the area next to him, pulling his knees close to him when Oscar follows.

"I-" they're not looking at each other, no. "There isn't an excuse for it I know"

"Well then don't give me an excuse, give me a reason"

"Lando-" he can hear Oscar sigh, the rustle of his hands delving into his pockets and then out. "I'm-I'm the reason time is stopping"

Chapter Text

It shouldn’t hit him as hard as it does.

No, the sentence is far too simple to have such an impact in a way where it seems to knock the slightest breathe left in Lando’s chest as he stutters out a breathe seemingly swallowing itself in a broken “what?”
Because- what?

Oscar was looking away again, those steadfast brown eyes crumbling back as they snapped away to look at the grass surrounding them, a nervous hand tugging hard at the grey blades as if they could wish away everything he had just said- as if they could take away the wide eyed astonishment and confusion that was overtaking Lando’s whole mind. “What do you mean it’s you? It’s not you- I refuse to believe you of all people can do magic mate- should be my honour honestly-“

“ I’m not kidding, Lando”

“And Max loses the championship this year“ he snorts, “- honestly Oscar I know we re going through a bit of a rough spot right now but you don’t have to lie about- well especially about stuff like this, I mean- I was going to come sort it out soon enough”

The rest of the words stutter themselves to a stop when suddenly Lando feels two hands reach out to cup his face- dragging away the chill creeping through his bones as suddenly the Skys not the only thing he can see and now its pale skin, dotted with freckles and a hint a nervous smile that is far too close for his liking.
“Lando- I’m really not joking right now”

And maybe its the way Oscar says it, with that resigned look that cuts through the mischief that was overtaking Lando’s own brain of thinking this was a joke. That cuts through the fog enveloping the Brit’s mind at their proximity, at the mere inches between them and settles with the sound of a dull thump when it hits hard like the clang of thirty bells and a hurricane alarm and he blinks.

“Oh”

“Oh” Oscar echoes him, and suddenly Lando flinches- shoulders shaking ever so slightly as his lips part to a strangled gasp and Oscar’s hands are gone now, far from his jawbone and taking along with it his face to suddenly nowhere near the Brit.

“No- no that can’t be true- we talked about this, we tried to find out why - you told me that it wasn’t-“
Hes rambling, mind racing but he knows hes right- he knows, because Oscar had told him this before.

That one day walking out the restaurant, the time right after when they had tried to find the root cause and Oscar had grabbed out to reach the Brit’s hand, stopping his own spiral of thoughts and telling him to leave it for a while. Oscar because he had been the one to say that he didn’t know why it was happening, been the one to say it wasn’t-
Lando stills.

“Lando,” He knows Oscar sees the exact moment it hits him, knows from the way hes speaking again with that soft voice and eyes trying to reach for Lando’s own but- “I never told you it wasn’t me”
“I-“ There’s a lingering feeling that lodges itself down Lando’s throat. Surprisingly, its not anger- no, he knows that feeling far too well- no, its different. “How?”

Confusion for the most of it, but something else that he can’t quite identify coating down the veins of his hands before sneaking down as if spreading across the small patch of the hill that separates them. Its seeking, threading out each interaction as if looking for the things he himself can’t see- can’t quite place because Why?

Why could Oscar do this? Why was he doing this? Why was he telling him now?

“Would you believe me if I say I’m not that- sure?” And its when lando throws the Aussie a disparaging look, he notices the slightest bit of hesitation before the last word.

“I have just gotten to know that my teammate’s a fricking magician- Oscar you better have a better theory than that”

The Aussie winces, “‘m not a magician actually-“

“You prefer witch? Warlock ? Or some Australian thing I don’t know better mate?” Hes scowling now, hands crossed and yet the earlier confusion is seeming to disappear down back into the easy going banter that had always been around the two of them because deep down there’s a feeling, the slightest one at that that makes Lando think maybe he knows why they had drifted apart in the first place. “Lets get to the main problem here”

“I mean- I had a feeling it was because of me for a while now- but I confirmed it about three weeks ago?”
The timeline sinks in a second later- Lando nods- swallows. “-Read about it a bit too, called my mom and she called some friend of hers who said its makes sense for it to be me and for it to be you. Something about understanding and coming to terms with things and-" he groans slightly, pulling at his hair before settling back down "The thing was I didn’t know how to tell you without making it a weird situation so I- mostly wanted to make it go away quietly but-“

“So you ignored me?”

“I swear I didn’t mean to I-“ and there’s that look on the Australians face again, that panicked expression as he looks at Lando like a man catching his last look at the sun and it throws his head into a spiral yet again because that can’t be it- it can never be it.

“Oscar- you could have just told me- its cool, really-” He doesn’t know why his voice comes off slightly harsher than he expect it to- but it gets his point across, watching the way Oscar’s face falls ever so slightly before he pulls at the grass again. “I would have understood- we could have figured it out faster and-“

“-because its not that simple Lando!”

Lando didn’t know how it was possible to feel time stop for the second time. No- he didn’t know it was possible to feel his world freeze into another turn of lighter gray and lighter white as suddenly Oscar’s voice broke- far from the non emotional behaviour he displaced, no- now- as Lando cast a surprised look at the brunnete he couldn’t bring himself to look away.
Because Oscar’s eyes were wide apart, cheeks pink and hands clenched together at the lapels of his jacket and that look in his eyes almost desperate as he spoke.
“Its not that simple- it never was that simple and I can’t- I can’t tell you that because you won’t understand- you won’t-“

“So make me understand!” Hes shouting back now, blood pounding far too fast to his head and it vaguely registers to the back of his head that they’re standing up now. Feet on the ground and arms in the air as they stare at each other, mouth firm and Lando knows that this is it.

He knows from the way that Oscar opens his mouth, shuts it as he glances around almost in exasperation- before locking his gaze back.
Knows from the way hes taking a step forward and so is Lando, its electric almost- the pull that now has the two angled against each other. Knows from the way hes suddenly reaching out to grab Oscar’s jacket in his own hands, knows from the way Oscar makes a frustrated sound at the back of his throat and hes taking yet another step closer- closer and closer to where Lando can feel Oscar’s breathe against his face, knows Oscar can probably feel his pulse beneath his thin sweater and he knows from the way neither of them seem to want to step away.

“Make me understand Oscar because I swear to god I’m not a mind reader and I really want to know-mph”

Hes cut off with the press of Oscar’s lips against his own. And its gentle, far too gentle for the pent up emotions that rush throughout Lando’s body, fizzling their way up from his stomach to warm the numbness threatening to settle there and his eyes flutter shut because God, it was perfect.

They pull away far too fast for his liking, breaths rough and jagged and Lando can only find himself staring at Oscar’s bright red lips. He knows there’s a red flare on his face, he knows hes probably smiling far too brightly too but he knows hes not the only one when he blinks, mind running to catch up to the aftermath only to see wide eyes and pink cheeks dotted with freckles staring right back at him.

“I-“ The buzz cuts itself short the minute Lando sees Oscar frown. “I-I didn’t mean to- I”

“Oh-“ and he knows its gone, knows it was just a spur of the moment because why else would Oscar Piastri ever- “Right, yeah no worries- we’ll just forget about it”

“What? No!”

Lando pauses. “What?”

But this time its Oscar who looks at him confused. “Shit- I, uh- Did you not want to- do this?” Hes waving his hands now, and it almost makes Lando laugh at the gesture before he waves right back.

“No!” He sees Oscar’s eyes widen, and it takes a moment for him to collect his thoughts to realise exactly what hes said and yelp’s, “No- I mean- yes, yes I wanted to but- did you?” It comes off far too tentative and yet he can’t not know, biting down on his bottom lip because- holy hell.

“Yes! Yes- I- I wanted to too!” The brunnete replies sharply, blinking far too rapidly and suddenly the blood rush removes itself right out of Lando’s brain as fast as it had entered and now hes not trailing round the ditch in front of him slowly, no- now hes about to leap right into it but still, just for the slightest bit of safety right before he finds himself toeing at the edge with wide eyes and a heart beating far too loudly he has to ask.

“Are- are you sure?”

Its at that moment that Lando finally sees the clarity slap itself across Oscar’s face- “Well- I was the one who kissed you wasn’t I?”
He could only watch as the nervousness crumbles into reaching out yet again to find Lando’s hand in his own and this time hes not pulling away, not with the way hes shifting forward- bodies tilting and suddenly those eyes which had earlier been the cause of far too many hardships now seemed to be the ones who melted them all away.

“Took you long enough”

Lando’s smiling now. Smiling far too hard and far too wide to be considered sane because ofcourse it was on a random Sunday in a random turn of a track whos name he couldn’t remember (but he would now) would be where it all unravelled like this- but he isn’t complaining, not when Oscar’s fingers reach toward his neck- flittering lightly across his lip before the Brit finds himself melting right back into another kiss.

“I hate to say it-“ Its Oscar who pulls away again, eliciting the slightest keen from the Brit. “-but I think our times up”

“Well aren’t you a jokester” the jest juxtaposes itself the minute Lando sees the colour melting itself right back into his vision, when he sees the slightest wisps of Oscar’s own essence turning to smoke and he can feel his limbs turn to jelly yet again but this time- for the first time, he wishes it wasn’t so soon.

“Best of luck for the race Lan,” there’s a cacophony in Lando’s ear, the crowds roar pulling him back to look at the grandstands that turn from grey to flickers of red, orange and blue- there are Marshalls making their way towards the gravel but his attention gravitates towards the smiling Aussie.
The sun shines itself brighter against blue skies and the weather seems far better than before, shimmering onto Oscar’s skin in a way that makes him look far better than Lando had ever seen him before and suddenly hes reaction out yet again- grasping for the warmth with a smile and crinkled eyes that return to him with a foxlike joy on his face.

Lando - Lan

“Good luck Osc,” warmth echoes down his stomach, “We are going to talk about this more later”

Oscar- Osc

“The time thing or the other thing?” Oscar is yelling back, slightly dazed with legs already gone back to the garage and yet he can’t stop his teeth from catching the light.

He considers it- just a second longer till he knows his arms gone and the cheers are louder. “Both”

Its right when they’re both almost gone- last dredges of themselves stuck to the grass of turn four that Oscar speaks. “I like the second part better”

And just like that they’re back- twenty steps away in their own garages with hands buzzing and feet shuffling far too excitedly against concreted floors and Lando can’t help to throw a glance towards the other end of the garage- its almost a fever dream, most of it and now there’s a sinking feeling in his gut that maybe he had just dreamt it all up, lost himself into delusions that-

He feels his breathe catch the minute he sees that Oscar is already looking at him. Wide eyed and flushed cheeks as he lingers far too close to the boundary between the two sides of the Papaya garage and Lando knows, knows from the way that he catches his own eyes that hes scared of the same possibility.

And so Lando smiles, ignoring the surprised look of his race engineer and the alarm ringing next to him- tilts his head to tap his wrist right at the place where he would wear his watch.

“Thirty minutes to the race mate,”

“Right” Hes focusing- ofcourse hes focusing, its his job to focus (and to drive but that’s far more of a afterthought) because he knows from the way Oscar drops his gloves that he knows.

And so Lando watches the Australian get into his seat, hands on the steering wheel gripping a little tighter than usual (ofcourse he hasn’t craned his neck to watch that) as he pulls on his helmet, pausing just a brief second and in that second Lando swore he could see the slightest of grey flicker across his vision before It disappeared the minute Oscar flashed a smile- tilting his head only for his hair to fall into his left eye and cause him to wince while the Brit bit back a snicker.

Old habits.

Hes next- he knows, waiting till Oscar pulls out the garage and suddenly the gears are in his hand and the radio crackles in his ears.
Starting in the front row, and all it takes is the slightest look to his right to know that Oscar is right there too, hands on his helmet as if waving at him while the crowd watches with a mighty roar - waiting till the lights flicker on and then hes on the pedal and hes gone.

Old Habits- Lando has to conclude- and rough starts but so many new beginnings.