Chapter Text
Monaco, April 2026 F1 “Spring Break”
The morning after they returned from Japan, pale sunlight filtered into Gabi’s apartment kitchen. Nico had stayed the night. The quiet domestic rhythm felt familiar on the surface.
Gabi stood at the stove, slowly stirring the scrambled eggs. He wore only a loose t-shirt and shorts, hair still messy from sleep. Nico walked up behind him, slid his arms around Gabi’s waist, and pressed a soft kiss to the side of his neck. His hands settled warmly against Gabi’s hips, thumbs brushing gently over the fabric.
“Morning,” Nico murmured against his neck. “This smells incredible.”
Gabi stayed focused on the pan. He didn’t lean back into the touch the way he usually would. His body remained slightly tense under Nico’s hands.
Nico noticed. He turned Gabi around carefully, one hand moving up to lift Gabi’s chin so their eyes met. He leaned in and kissed him - slow, lingering, full of quiet affection. When he pulled back, his thumb stayed gently stroking Gabi’s jaw.
“You okay?” Nico asked softly, searching his face. “You’ve seemed a little distant since we got back.”
Gabi offered a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Just tired. The jetlag is hitting harder than I thought.”
He leaned forward and kissed Nico again - light, brief, almost careful. Nothing more. Then he turned back to the stove to tend to the eggs.
Nico stayed close for another moment, hands resting on Gabi’s waist, before he finally stepped back and continued setting plates on the kitchen counter. They ate breakfast together, talking about small things - the weather, training plans, nothing important. The conversation stayed surface-level. Comfortable enough on the outside. Hollow underneath.
Later, as they finished cleaning up, Gabi asked casually, “Want to go to the gym later?”
Nico shook his head. “Can’t today. I’m seeing Noemi this afternoon. But tomorrow works. I’ll pick you up?”
Gabi nodded. “Tomorrow sounds good.”
Nico pulled him in for one last kiss before leaving - warm, easy, like everything was normal. Gabi let it happen. He kissed him back, feeling the tension ease up a little. But the moment the door closed behind Nico, the apartment felt heavier.
Nico picked Gabi up right on time.
The Monaco spring weather was mild and pleasant, warm enough for t-shirts and shorts.
Gabi slid into the passenger seat, and as soon as they pulled away from the building, Nico reached over and rested his right hand comfortably on Gabi’s thigh. His thumb moved in slow, absent circles against the bare skin.
They joked lightly during the short drive - about a ridiculous training video Ollie had sent in the group chat, about how bad the traffic would be during the Monaco race weekend.
Nico’s hand stayed warm and steady on Gabi’s leg, casual and possessive in the privacy of the car.
But the second they parked and stepped out into the public space outside the gym, everything changed.
Nico pulled his hand back immediately. He put noticeable space between them as they walked toward the entrance. His posture shifted - more upright, more professional.
When they passed a couple of other people and trainers near the door, Nico gave Gabi nothing more than a polite nod and a neutral comment about their upcoming training focus.
Inside the gym the distance remained.
Nico worked beside him but never too close. No lingering touches. No teasing remarks. No easy laughter. He acted exactly like a teammate and colleague - respectful, focused, friendly but nothing more.
Gabi felt every shift like a physical blow.
The contrast between the man who had kissed his neck and held his waist that morning and the man who now treated him with polite distance in public was almost impossible to process.
Gabi kept his expression neutral and pushed through the workout, but inside the whiplash left a cold, heavy feeling in his chest.
This was what Nico wanted.
This was the version of them he had chosen.
And Gabi had no idea how long he could keep pretending it didn’t hurt.
After the gym they returned to Gabi’s apartment. The moment the front door closed behind them, Gabi headed toward the bathroom.
“I’m going to shower,” he said.
Nico tilted his head with a small smile. “Is that information… or an invitation?”
Gabi hesitated for a moment before glancing back at him and smiled - the first real one Nico had seen in days. “Invitation.”
They stepped into the shower together. The warm water cascaded over them inside the small cabin, creating a private world locked away from everything outside.
Nico washed Gabi’s back with slow, careful movements, hands gliding over his shoulders and down his spine.
Gabi returned the gesture, running soapy hands across Nico’s chest and arms. They stood close under the stream, foreheads nearly touching, exchanging soft, lingering kisses. They relaxed into the simple comfort of being close, skin against skin, the outside world feeling far away.
Afterward they wrapped themselves in fluffy white towels and changed into comfortable pyjamas.
They settled on the couch together, Gabi leaning against Nico’s side as Nico wrapped an arm around him. The TV played quietly in the background, but neither of them paid much attention.
After a while Gabi spoke, voice quiet.
“I talked to my mum earlier. My parents and my brother are coming to Monaco next week for a visit.”
Nico’s body tensed slightly. First came a flash of shock, then clear nervousness. He remembered meeting Gabi’s family in Brazil, but back then he had only been a teammate. Things were very different now.
“Do they know about us?” Nico asked carefully.
Gabi shook his head. “No. I didn’t want to tell them over the phone.”
Nico exhaled slowly, his fingers tracing absent patterns on Gabi’s arm.
“That’s… a lot. Do you want to tell them before they arrive, or when they’re here with me present?”
Gabi stared at the ceiling for a moment. “I don’t know. Part of me wants to tell them before so they have time to process it. But another part thinks it might be better if you’re there. So they can see us together.”
Nico nodded, trying to stay calm. “And if they don’t react well? If they don’t accept it?”
Gabi’s voice grew quieter. “I’ve been thinking about that constantly. They’re staying for a few days before they travel through Europe. That’s a long time if things get awkward or bad. I don’t know how to prepare for that.”
Nico tightened his arm around Gabi, pulling him a little closer. “Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”
Gabi let out a slow breath. “I just hate that I even have to worry about this. I hate that we’re in a situation where I have to think about how to introduce you… how to present us. Do I say ‘this is Nico, my teammate’… or do I say ‘this is Nico, the man I’m in love with’? It feels impossible either way.”
He paused, then continued, his voice quieter but heavier.
“And it’s not just the visit. It’s everything. Earlier at the gym… you were so different the second we stepped out of the car. Cold. Professional. Like I was just another driver on the team. Then we come home and you’re like this again - affectionate, caring, touching me like you can’t get enough. I don’t know how to deal with that switch anymore. It’s exhausting.”
Nico’s arm tightened around him, but he stayed silent, letting Gabi speak.
“I know why you do it. But watching you turn it on and off like that… it hurts. One minute you’re kissing my neck in the kitchen, the next minute you won’t even look at me properly. And now my family is coming and I don´t know which version of us you want them to see.”
Nico swallowed, clearly uneasy. For a moment he stayed silent, visibly processing what Gabi had said. Then he spoke, his voice steady but serious.
“I want to meet your parents as your boyfriend. The same way my family has met you as my partner. I have no plans to hide in front of your family or mine. We’re not pretending in private spaces like that.”
He didn’t address the rest of what Gabi had said - the difficulty of the constant switch between cold in public and affectionate in private, the exhaustion of it. Instead he focused only on the family visit.
“We’ll decide together how and when you want to tell them. If you want to do it before they arrive, we’ll do that. If you want me there when you tell them, I’ll be right beside you. We’ll handle whatever comes after.”
Gabi nodded slowly, but the worry remained etched on his face. They stayed cuddled together on the couch in the quiet apartment. On the surface everything looked peaceful. Underneath, the tension remained - thick, unspoken, and growing heavier with every passing day. The upcoming family visit now hung between them like another layer of pressure they both had to navigate.