Chapter Text
Oscar's recovery had been unusually quick; it was as if his body was fighting to be back in the car. Sadly, he was stuck doing a week of media before they could race at the next Grand Prix. Hed parked outside the MTC, noticing Lando’s car was already there. He was glad they'd made up; it would have been a season of hell if they’d still been frosty with one another.
He strolled into the building and immediately saw the setup, a couch with a laptop situated in the middle, boom mics already hovering above the set. Lando was sprawled on the couch, a cheeky look in his eyes. He lifted his hand to signal Oscar over and patted the couch next to him. Lando turned around, dragging a feather boa out of the box behind the couch, winding it around Oscar's neck. Oscar huffed, but he wasn't annoyed with Lando. Hed happily look a fool if it made Lando grin the way he was at that moment. Lando then proceeded to perch a suede cowboy hat on top of his curls and a pair of massive sunglasses on his nose.
The aim of the game was simple, finish the lyrics. Except Oscar was slightly nervous, he didn't really like singing, especially not online. Lando was way more extroverted than him. But, for the sake of the team, and Lando, he was going to push the feelings of unease aside and do the video.
They’d got to the 5th song: ‘Love Story by Taylor Swift’, one of Lando’s favourites. However, instead of taking the lead like he had done in the other songs, Lando pulled the comically large glasses off his face and stared deep into Oscar’s eyes, nodding at him to finish the lyric.
“Baby just say-” egged on Lando.
He turned away, looking into the camera, missing the way Oscar stared at him when he sang “Yes”.
Oscar’s eyes were filled with such lust and desire for Lando, the whole world could tell once the video was posted. People were quick to make fan edits of them, labelling them as ‘Landoscar’ and convincing their online followers that Oscar and Lando were in love.
The editors weren’t wrong. This feeling between them had gone way past teammate, it had moved, almost physically, under Oscar's skin, and he thought over it, over and over, trying to find a word, or excuse, or explanation for what the feeling was. He could never find the word, always finding himself thinking of Lando instead.
Until one day, after a particularly brutal qualifying in Singapore, a lightbulb went off in his head. Love. That was it. He loved Lando, with every inch of his being, every part of his heart belonged to Lando. They just got each other in a way that wasn't explainable, a way in which no one else could understand.
Lando felt it too. He felt it when Oscar was the first person he rushed too after the physically exhausting qualifying session, running to him and flying into a hug which to the public eye would just look like teammates being friendly but to them, it felt like ultimate comfort and the place they each wanted to spend the rest of their lives.
Coming into F1, Oscar never thought he’d fall for his teammate, the person he was supposed to want to always be ahead of, always beat, but here he found himself tangled in Landos arms, whispering soothing words into Landos hair. The photographers had moved past them, chasing down George Russell, who'd just achieved pole position and Oscar took that opportunity to press a quick kiss into Landos curls. It was quick but not quick enough as he soon felt the steely glare of Zak fix on them.
They were immediately hauled into a HR meeting, Zak forcing them to sit across from him like he was a headteacher telling off two schoolkids who got caught doing something they shouldn't have been doing. Zac pushed two contracts in front outlining rules for their supposed relationship they hadn't really talked about it this seriously. Neither was sure exactly what this was. It was definitely more than teammates but was it serious enough to be worth possibly tarnishing their careers and public image for. Not everyone was accepting and they'd surely lose some sponsors over this.
The sound of Landos voice broke the deep silence “Could me and Osc possibly have a moment to discuss this. Alone?”. He reached out and gave Oscars shaking hand a gentle reassuring squeeze. Oscar looked up, his eyes meeting Landos. He gave a small nod of agreement and Zak, taking that as his cue, pushed his chair back and left the room.
They turned to face each other properly, gripping onto each other's hands. Oscar cleared his throat and looked with pure intent at Lando. “Is this what you want, to make this official? No turning back” he asked
“I think I do-”
“I will not sign this contract until you are 100% sure of it Lando. You need to be completely ready to give us a try, for real. This is only the beginning, and you must be able to prepare for the worst. People are horrid and are going to say stuff about us and if you don't think you can handle it, tell me now and we will drop this all”
Lando had never seen this stern yet utterly caring side of Oscar before. He realised he wanted this. They could stand up against whatever people said. “I want this, Oscar. I want the whole world to see how much I love you”. As the last three words escaped Landos mouth, it seemed Oscars brain short circuited. “I love you Oscar” Lando repeated, solidifying just how much he meant it.
“I love you Lando, more than anything and I want to do life by your side. Let people come for us, just as long as I have you, I don't care about anyone else or anything else.”