Chapter Text
“Lewis Hamilton just posted: Roscoe’s favourite Christmas present ♡”
The Instagram post had a picture of Roscoe on the floor, in his mouth was the rope toy Nico had dropped off the day before. No Instagram mention or hint from who the mysterious gift giver was.
Comments flooded in under Lewis’ photo,
“Roscoe is just adorable!!!! Who gave this??”
“What a lucky boy <3”
“Adorable!”
-
Nico woke up on Christmas morning to his daughters jumping on his bed, giggling and excited for unwrapping presents. He chased them off the sheets, giving them the greenlight to start opening their gifts.
As he shuffled into the living room, he found the two girls tearing through wrapping paper, the remnants strewn across the carpeted floor.
“I wanna open the big box! The one outside our door yesterday!”
Alaia announced, bouncing up and down in excitement. Nico just shrugged his shoulders and nodded, sitting down next to them. He too was interested to see what Lewis bought this year.
That was when the notification came through.
“Lewis Hamilton just posted: Roscoe’s favourite Christmas present ♡”
The German quickly clicked on the banner, bringing him to the post, where Roscoe was holding the toy in his mouth. His heartbeat quickened at the sight, a faint pink blooming on his cheeks. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he stared at the photo. He probably looked ridiculous, grinning stupidly at his phone screen like that.
“Papa! Look! Mr Santa gave me a Barbie with a dog!”
Nico turned away from the screen, looking to his daughter holding up a Barbie set. He smiled at her as he asked about the gifts they got.
The morning was spent with Alaia and Naila ripping up beautifully wrapped presents, leaving the living room filled with strips of rainbow paper. An exasperated Vivian and Nico spent the rest of the time cleaning up after the girls, definitely no time to cook lunch.
Vivian sent Nico out to get some takeout, delivery was expensive nowadays. Not even a retired F1 driver could afford it without wincing at the price.
Nico walked into the elevator with his head down, scrolling through his Instagram feed without noticing who was in it. Only after he heard someone clearing their throat did he finally look up. Lewis Hamilton.
They locked eyes, Nico once again felt warmth creep up his cheeks, shoulders tensing when their eyes met.
“Merry Christmas.”
Lewis mumbled, quickly breaking the eye contact.
“Hey! I- uh, saw your post, about Roscoe. Hope he liked the gift.”
Nico stammered, he could feel his heart in his throat as he pieced his words together. It’s been a while since they spoke on casual terms, the only interaction between them being interviews in the paddock.
Just as Lewis was about to answer, the elevator jerked violently, clanging sounds echoing through the shaft. The two men were startled, Nico lost his footing and stumbled forward. He closed his eyes, muscles tensing, bracing for the fall. Lewis moved instinctively, stepping forward to grab him before he actually fell.
Nico slowly opened his eyes, feeling a hand on his waist, and another cupping his elbow gently.
“I got you.”
It was said under his breath, almost going unnoticed. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Nico has sharp ears.
“Thanks, Lew. I-I mean, Lewis.”
The nickname slipped out uncontrollably, years of it going unused didn’t stop it from rolling off Nico's tongue smoothly. Nico caught himself, swiftly stepping back, dusting his shirt, and clearing his throat. That was awkward.
Lewis also took a step back, his eyes darting around the enclosed space. The tension in the small box felt like it was about to snap any moment.
“It seems like the lift stopped working.”
Lewis pointed out objectively, trying to direct their focus to something else other than the building tension in the room.
“Yes...! yes, the lift. I’ll call the counter.”
Nico offered, swiftly whipping out his phone to dial in the number to their apartment’s head office. Lewis stood there quietly, nodding in agreement.
The quick phone call left a frown on the German’s face, hanging up with a sigh.
“It’s a public holiday; they’ll take some time to reach us. They just told me to hang on tight.”
Nico grumbled as he sent a quick text to Vivian: “The elevator is stuck, won’t be back with food for a while. Hope the kids aren’t too hungry.”
the situation couldn’t be any worse. Stuck in a broken elevator on Christmas day, with your ex-teammate, ex-situationship, thingy.
Merry fucking Christmas.
-
Twenty minutes went by, the two neighbours moved to sitting on the ground, both using their phone, trying not to look up to meet the other’s eye.
The silence was broken by Nico, who couldn’t bear the deafening silence between them.
“it’s been a while since we talked.”
“Yeah, tell me ‘Bout it.”
“How’s Roscoe?”
Lewis’ eyes lit up at the mention of Roscoe.
“He’s been well. Honestly, he really enjoyed the toy you got him, thanks.”
Lewis flashed a sideways smile; Nico’s heart fluttered ever so slightly at the gesture. After all these years, maybe his feelings never really disappeared. When it was quiet, the guilt gnawed at Nico, the guilt of starting a family on top of the complicated bond that haunted him for almost a decade. And at this moment, it felt unbearable.
Nico buried his face in his hands, sucking in a harsh breath. This was getting too much for him. His heart can't take this.
The words that come out of his mouth next were not him.
“How about you join me for dinner? Uh- with Vivian and the girls, of course.”
The second part of the sentence came out almost choked, a part of him wanted it to be just the two of them. A part of him that felt twisted and rotten. But whats wrong with two guys having dinner together?
Lewis’ eyes widened ever so slightly, Nico could see his muscles tense up at the invitation. He scratched his cheek, taking time to decide what he wanted to say.
“Only if its convenient for you guys, sure.”
Nico felt butterflies in his stomach, he was sure his face was dusted pink. A smile he couldn’t help formed on his face.
“Okay. See you at seven?”
The brit hummed in agreement; his eyes somehow twinkled under the flickering fluorescent lights.
Not long after, the technicians came. A loud bang on the elevator door jolted the two men out of their lovestruck eye contact. The pair shared a sheepish grin.
Both hearts felt like they were mending, gradually mending a relationship that stood stagnant for almost a decade.