Chapter Text
Lando’s POV
Super Max:
Hey mate, Daniel and I are going to Vermont for winter break, you wanna come?
Lando:
Mate I love you guys but I’m not about to third wheel
Super Max:
Come on it wouldn’t be that bad
Bring Carlos then
Maybe you’ll finally get the balls to ask him out
Lando:
First of all, fuck off
Secondly, I’ll think about it.
Lando sighed as he dropped his phone onto his chest. Going to Vermont for his break did sound really nice, and he loved spending time with Max and Daniel, but ever since they’d gotten together – officially, at least – they’d made him feel very single. It wasn’t their fault he’d been pining over Carlos for the past three years though. And Max was right, Lando knew he either had to man up and tell Carlos how he feels, or move on. Though he’d been working on the latter for quite some time to no avail. Maybe this trip would be exactly what he needed to get over Carlos once and for all. He picked up his phone and opened his messaging app before he could chicken out.
Lando:
Hey Carlos, Max invited me to vacay w him and Dan in Vermont. Do you wanna come with?
Muppet-head:
…
Lando’s heart rate skyrocketed as the three dots appeared to indicate Carlos was already responding. Oh god, what if he was trying to figure out how to let Lando down gently? Panicking, Lando typed out an additional text and hit send before he could really think about it.
Carlos’ POV
My Cabrón:
Hey Carlos, Max invited me to vacay w him and Dan in Vermont. Do you wanna come with?
Carlos sucked in a sharp breath as he tried to calm himself down enough to respond. Him and Lando with Daniel and Max? Was this a double date? He started to type back of course, but before he could send it off a new text from Lando came through.
My Cabrón:
You should invite Charles too
Oh. So it’s not a date then. Carlos felt disappointed, and then felt disappointed in himself for feeling disappointed. He would take whatever Lando was willing to give him, and if that meant only being friends, Carlos would accept it. At least they were best friends.
Carlos:
I’d love to come Cabrón, I’ll text Charles, idk what his plans are, he might be busy.
Please, please let Charles be busy. It wasn’t that Carlos didn’t like Charles, they got along just fine, but Charles knew about Carlos’ feelings for Lando, and Carlos didn’t trust him not to slip up and tell Lando. It didn’t help that Carlos had never even told Charles about his feelings for Lando, he’d just guessed. He’d come up to him after he and Lando had celebrated their second and third places on the podium together and told him that if he was trying to keep his feelings secret he was doing a really bad job of it. Carlos had told him to fuck off and Charles had just grinned triumphantly before shouting ‘I KNEW IT’ as loud as he could, earning them a decent amount of odd looks from the rest of the Ferrari team.
Ever since that day a year and a half ago Charles had taken every chance he got to tease Carlos about Lando. Carlos opened his messages with Charles to see that he had sent him a screenshot of the McLaren instagram. It was a picture of Lando in his black fireproofs, looking like some sort of model.
Sharl:
IMG_1022.heic
Oh my god, have you seen how hot he is?
Carlos:
Yes Charles, I have seen how hot he is, thank you.
Also, he just invited us to vacation in Vermont with him, Max and Danny.
Sharl:
So you want me to fifth wheel?
No, thank you.
Carlos:
Okay, I’ll tell him you can’t go
Charles POV
Charles smirked to himself, thinking about Carlos and Lando going on vacation with Daniel and Max. It was literally a double date. There was no way those two could make it through the trip without getting together.
“What are you so pleased about, mon amour?” Pierre asked as he sat down next to Charles on their couch. Their couch. In their apartment. It was new, living together, but Charles wouldn’t trade it for the world. He loved this man more than anything, even if they were keeping their relationship a secret for the time being.
“I just told Carlos that I cannot go on vacation with him and Lando. They are going to Vermont with Max and Daniel, it is going to be so romantic! They’ll be together by the end of it for sure!” Charles was getting more and more excited. Finally, he wouldn’t have to deal with Carlos’ heart eyes and longing sighs whenever Lando was around. Which was basically all the time.
Charles just didn’t get it. They were both so obviously head over heels for each other, how could two people be so dense?
“I appreciate your optimism of course, but haven’t they gone on vacation together before? How will this be any different?” Pierre asked him gently, knowing how Charles could get about Carlos and Lando.
Charles opened his mouth to respond, but paused as he realized that it probably wouldn’t be any different. Knowing those idiots they would end up avoiding each other for fear of ‘coming on too strong’ or something equally as stupid.
“Fuck, you are right babe, they are too stupid to get together on their own. But! It is okay, because I have a plan,” Charles said, gears already turning. “I will go to Vermont with them and I will make sure they get together. I will play cupid, as they say.” He turned to Pierre, grinning proudly at his own genius. Pierre, wisely, nodded encouragingly.
“This will surely work, mon chou, and it is good, because Alpine is making me go on a vacation with Esteban. Some sort of team-building retreat, so I would have had to leave you here alone. I hate the idea of you here without me.” Pierre leaned in and kissed Charles sweetly before pulling back.
Charles beamed at him. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, mon amour.”
Carloser:
Okay, I’ll tell him you can’t go
Charles:
Wait! I changed my mind, tell Lando I would love to come :)