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There’s approximately 1,300 miles between them and he’s still all Nico could think of.
All around them the festive mood is infectious as families chatter away, all ready for Christmas Eve. Nico excuses himself from their table and walks to the balcony. The chilly air is a welcome distraction and he puts on his suit jacket back to keep warm. From here he could see the snow-capped mountains, the light frost still making the pines at the base visible. The soft golden light from the lanterns make the pool glow in a jarring shade of teal. It was like standing inside a snow globe.
He takes out his phone, unable to take his eyes away from the mobile wallpaper. It’s a photo of him laughing and hugging Carlos from behind as he cuts through the cake at Renault’s party after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His fingers hover on their chat box, debating with himself whether he should send a selfie or just maybe the mountains. Show Carlos how beautiful this place is. He decided to take a photo of the countryside, all white and grey against the almost purple sky.
He hesitates before typing a message, unsure of what he could say that will not sound rude or tacky or god forbid, both.
He misses him more than he could ever admit — the easy way of being around him, the lilt of his accent when he’s talking about something he loves, the stubborn set of his jaw even when he’s losing round after round of arm wrestling to Nico. In the end, he settles for
‘Wish you were here.’
Nico takes one last glance at the view, takes a deep breath and goes back inside.
They were about to start with dessert when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He feels like an idiot for the way he’s feeling when he saw who it was from. It was a photo of Carlos sitting on the grass, his hair fluffy and tousled carelessly. He was smiling slightly at the camera with Piñon trying his damnedest to get away from Carlos’ grip. Nico lets out a loud laugh at the clear struggle in both of them. Across from him, his mom smiled softly and there really is nothing else he could do but smile back. Captioned below the photo was
‘Next time show your dumb face so I don’t miss it too much’.
Before they left, Nico stood in front of the Christmas tree decorated in varying colors and strung with lights that look like little stars. He takes a picture of himself and sends it with the one thing he’s always wanted to say to Carlos in person:
All I want for Christmas is you, my cabrón.