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Winter break. That was something all the drivers looked forward to. Although they all loved racing more than anything, a few weeks away from the entire circus was more than welcomed after a long season. It was a time to wind down, take some rest, and focus on personal relationships before getting back into shape with their personal trainer before the next season. At least that was the case for most drivers. Carlos couldn't say the same. His winter break had been quite stressful, to say the least.
Carlos and his teammate Charles were currently staying in Maranello. Ferrari had an apartment ready for their drivers to use. It was a two-bedroom apartment where both Carlos and Charles had all their necessities at their disposal. Rarely both drivers were acquired at the factory at the same time. So, it was not often they were flatmates.
"Carlos, any pointers on Charles's simulator run?" One of the engineers asked Carlos, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"No, I think it was good." Truthfully, Carlos had only seen part of it. Well, he had watched all of it but he wasn't paying attention. Not really anyways.
"Okay you are up for one more qualifying simulation and then we are done for the day," The engineer said. Carlos followed him into the simulator room. Once Carlos sat down in the chair, everything around him started to fade. He was focusing on his driving and on absolutely nothing else.
Carlos and Charles had spent dinner together seated at the dining table. Both were eating their premade dinners that were carefully chosen for them by their performance coaches. Charles was excitedly talking about everything he had done over winter break.
"And then Joris nearly fell down the mountain," Charles said before giggling. Carlos forced a smile.
"Oh really?" Carlos said before laughing softly.
"Yeah, you should have been there. It was really funny."
After dinner, they both went on to do separate things. Both had their own routines they weren't planning on breaking.
"Carlos?" Charles asked while he approached the couch. He had been watching a sulking Carlos over the past hour. Although he could see Carlos tried to compose himself as soon as Charles walked into the room.
"Yes," Carlos asked while looking up at Charles.
"Talk to me," Charles said while he sat down on the couch next to Carlos.
"About what?" Charles had to refrain from rolling his eyes.
"About what's going on. I can clearly see that it's bothering you," Charles said. Carlos shrugged.
"It'll get better. It's not that big of a deal," Carlos said. He didn't really want to talk about it. Well, maybe he did. He just didn't know how. Besides, he didn't want Charles to think any less of him.
"Maybe it helps to talk. I won't tell anyone," Charles said.
"Did I change this year? Is there something about me different?" Carlos blurted out. Charles frowned. His mind was racing to find the implication of the question.
"No?" Charles said. He couldn't help but sound surprised.
"Everyone is leaving me. Rupert is gone, Ferrari doesn't want me anymore and Lando is being weird," Carlos sighed. For a brief moment, Charles saw the lip of the older man quiver. It didn't happen too often, but Charles was at a loss of words.
"You knew, no?" Carlos asked, pulling Charles back to reality.
"What?" Charles asked.
"You knew about Ferrari singing Lewis," Carlos said. Charles opened his mouth before closing it again. Yes, he had known about Lewis singing for Ferrari before Carlos. Ever since he got ahold of that information, he had the feeling that a piece of him was missing. Carlos might not be his best friend in the paddock, but they got perfectly along as teammates. They were happy to help each other when it was needed. And Charles was definitely going to miss having him around.
"So, it's true. You did know," Carlos said, taking Charles's silence as an answer.
"They told me a few weeks ago that there were talks. I never heard that he actually signed. I didn't tell you because I didn't know how serious the talks were. When the rumors came out, I knew how serious they were," Charles said. He chose his words carefully, hoping not to hurt Carlos. The latter nodded slowly.
"Am I a bad teammate? Am I a bad driver? A bad friend?" Carlos asked. For a brief second, he looked up. Charles saw the tears that were balancing on his eyelids.
"No, you are none of those things," Charles said.
"But why does everyone leave me? Ferrari, Rupert, Lando," Carlos swallowed hard at the sound of his boyfriend's name. Things hadn't been good between them lately.
"Lando? Did you and Lando break up?" Charles asked. Carlos shrugged.
"Not yet. But he is done with me, I think," Carlos said. This time he couldn't keep his tears in. A single tear rolled down his cheek. Carlos aggressively wiped it away. Charles frowned. He had talked to Lando just a few days ago. Lando didn't seem done with Carlos at all. Quite the opposite actually he had been happily chatting away about how much he loved Carlos to the point, that it had almost started to annoy Charles.
"What makes you think that?" Charles asked. Carlos shrugged.
"He hasn't been home a lot lately. I- er-" Carlos fell silent. He shook his head.
"Do you think he is cheating on you?" Charles asked filling in the gaps. Carlos took a shaky breath.
"Yes- no- maybe. I never thought he would cheat. But he has been spending so much time at Max's house," Carlos says. Charles's eyes widened.
"Max?"
"A few times a week he goes over to Max."
Charles was at a loss for words and truly didn't know what to say.
"Carlos, you are not a bad driver, teammate, or friend," Charles started. He really wasn't one to give pep talks. So, he tried to choose his words carefully.
"To be honest, I am going to miss you as a teammate. Because you always challenge me to become a better driver. I like having you on the team because you always make me laugh. Even when you call me lord Perceval," Charles said. That made Carlos' lip curl up momentarily.
They had spent the entire night talking. Charles tried his best to explain why everything Carlos had said wasn't true. That was followed by Charles trying to cheer Carlos up. They ended up watching Carlos's favorite movie. It made Charles happy to hear Carlos's laugh at some of the comedic scenes. The next day Charles was not required at the factory. Which meant that he had the house to himself.
When Charles was sure Carlos wasn't going to come back, Charles picked up the phone to call Max.
"Hey Charlie, what's up?" Max asked as soon as he picked up the phone.
"Has Lando been over at your house a lot?" Charles asked. He heard a questioning sound coming from Max.
"Why are you asking that?" Max asked instead of giving a straight answer. He looked at Lando who was sitting opposite of him at his kitchen table.
"Carlos thinks Lando doesn't love him anymore. And he is confused at why Lando has been spending so much time at your house," Charles chose his words somewhat carefully. He didn't want Lando to be accused of cheating when Carlos wasn't even sure if that was what was happening.
"Hold on, Lando is sitting next to me right now. Let me put you on speaker," Max said. Charles soon heard Lando's voice greeting him through the phone.
"Can you repeat what you just said?" Max asked. Charles did just that. Max watched Lando's eyes widen. His mouth fell open.
"Fuck, does he really think I am going to leave him?" Charles immediately picked up on the rising panic in Lando's voice. Instead of giving a verbal answer, Charles hummed.
"Are you with him right now, Charles?" Max asked.
"No, he is at the factory. That's why I am calling now," Charles explained.
"Charles, can you keep a secret? Like, I need you to swear you won't tell anyone especially not Carlos," Lando said. A frown appeared on Charles's face.
"I can keep a secret. But if you are asking me to hide that you are cheating, I can't do that," Charles said slowly.
"No, no, no. It's nothing like that. It's a good secret," Lando said.
"Okay, I won't tell," Charles said.
"I am going to propose to Carlos next week. Max has been helping me prepare," Lando said. Charles's mouth fell open.
"That's amazing. Oh my god," Charles said. He felt the excitement all throughout his body. Carlos had once told him that he really wanted to get married when the time was right. Charles could only imagine how happy Carlos would be knowing Lando wanted to marry him.
Now that Charles was in on the plan, it was his job to convince Carlos that he should just go home and talk to Lando. Which sounded more difficult than it was. Charles just told Carlos he had to talk to Lando to see what was going on. Most of Carlos's worries had disappeared after Lando had asked him out to dinner the first day he arrived back home. They spend the entire night chatting and catching up on stories. It truly felt like old times. For the first time in a long time, Carlos momentarily forgot his struggles.
It was just a few days later that Lando had planned the proposal. He had taken Carlos to a private beach. After enjoying an evening picnic, they waited for the sun to set. Lando wanted nothing more than to opt out of proposing. He had truly done his best to act as normal as possible throughout the day. His hands had been shaking since getting up in the morning. It had taken him great effort to get any food down.
"The sun is almost setting. Let's take some photos," Lando said. He got a little tripod out of his bag. He made sure to set it up so that it was facing the sunset. Instead of taking a photo, he hit the record button. The little black box was burning in his pocket. He held out a hand for Carlos to pull him up. Lando did a quick check to make sure they were standing in the frame before he captured Carlos's lips in his own.
"Te amo, cariño," Carlos mumbled against Lando's lips.
"Yo también," Lando said. He pecked Carlos's lips once more. After a quick glance to the phone, to make sure everything was ready, he let himself sink to one knee. Carlos's eyes widened. Lando took hold of Carlos's hand.
"Carlos, mi amor, mi vida, my angel. I love you so unbelievably much. Ever since I met you I knew we were meant to be together. Whenever I am around you I feel my heart starting to beat faster. You've taken care of me since the day we met. You even put up with my craziness every day. Which not a lot of people manage to do," Lando said. A giggle escaped from Carlos's lips.
"I love you more than anything and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro, will you marry me?" Lando asked. Carlos's hand was still in front of his mouth. He nodded. Lando's heart felt like it was about to burst before Carlos even opened his mouth.
"Yes, yes, yes," Carlos said. Lando let go of Carlos's hand just so he could get the ring out of the box. He took ahold of Carlos's hand again before slipping the ring on his finger. Carlos gently pulled Lando up before embracing him in a big hug. He swayed them softly from side to side.
"Te amo, te amo, te amo," Carlos whispered in Lando's ear.
"I love you too, Carlos."
By the time they sat down on the blanket again, Lando quickly stopped the recording before shoving his phone in his pocket. He would look at the footage later. Carlos's eyes were fixated on his ring finger.
"You asked me to marry you," Carlos said. It was so quiet that Lando almost didn't hear him.
"I did," Lando confirmed. Carlos couldn't explain what his head felt like. It was so full and empty at the same time. All he knew was that every single thought running through his head was about Lando.
"You want to marry me," Carlos said.
"I do, Carlos. I want to marry you. Because I love you so much. You are my everything," Lando said. Carlos nodded again.
"Wow," He mumbled.
Lando scooted over before wrapping his arm around Carlos.
"Are you alright, darling?" Lando asked. Carlos let himself backward, taking Lando with him. Luckily the blanket was big enough to ensure they didn't land in the sand. Carlos placed his head on Lando's shoulder.
"I am okay. I am fantastic," Carlos said. Lando rubbed his hand over Carlos's shoulder.
That night when they were lying in bed, Carlos in Lando's arms, Lando's emotions suddenly washed over him. He felt the tears against his cheeks before he fully realized that he was crying. Although neither of them had said anything for a long time, they both hadn't fallen asleep either. Carlos felt the way Lando's chest was going up and down in waves.
"Amor?" Carlos asked while he placed his hand on Lando's chest.
"I am okay," Lando sniffled.
"Doesn't sound like you are," Carlos said. He tried to push himself up to look at Lando's face, but Lando kept him firmly against his chest.
"I am okay. Just overwhelmed."
Carlos rubbed his hand over Lando's back.
"Were you afraid I was going to say no?" Carlos asked. Lando hummed.
"Yeah. I know we talked about marriage some time ago. I just didn't know if you would think it was too early. But I just love you so much. And I want nothing more than to be your husband. I am nothing without you," Lando rambled.
"You're the sweetest man ever," Carlos mumbled into Lando's hair.
"Thank you."
"I love you so much, Lando. Words can't describe how much. I want nothing more than to marry you. I am really glad you asked me," Carlos said. Lando broke free from Carlos's embrace to look at him.
"I love you too," Lando said. He immediately connected his lips. Carlos completely melted into the kiss.
"Sweet dreams," Carlos said after they broke apart.
"Sweet dreams." With that, Lando laid his head back on Carlos's chest. Within seconds, he fell asleep.
The next morning Carlos knew he had to talk about what happened the previous week.
"Lando, I need to talk to you about something," Carlos said while he sat down next to Lando on the couch.
"Charles already talked to me," Lando said. Carlos's head shot up.
"He did?" Carlos asked while a frown appeared on his face.
"Don't be mad at him. He wanted to help you," Lando said. Carlos nodded slowly.
"What did he say?" Carlos asked hoping that Charles didn't say things too literally.
"Charles said that you were feeling unsure about my love for you and that you were confused about why I spend so much time at Max's house," Lando said.
"Yeah," Carlos mumbled.
"I knew nothing was happening. I knew you would never do anything like that. But it was so confusing that you spent so much time at Max's house. And with everything Ferrari, Rupert, and you. It was hard," Carlos said. He could feel the lump in his throat coming back. Lando took ahold of one of Carlos's hands.
"I know, love. It's okay. I get why you were confused. Next time anything like this happens, please come and talk to me, okay? I'd have much rather spilled the secret if that meant you wouldn't have beat yourself up," Lando said. His thumb caressed the back of Carlos's hand.
"Okay, I am sorry," Carlos said.
"I filmed the proposal," Lando said to redirect the conversation. The video Lando had taken was sent to his social media editor. He had promised to edit the video, taking the sound away and replacing it with a soft song. Lando connected his phone to the TV before playing the video. They watched Lando get on one knee before delivering his speech. Carlos wrapped an arm around Lando, pulling him close.
"I thought we could send this to our friends and family to break the news," Lando said.
"Yes, this looks wonderful. I am so curious to know how everyone is going to react," Carlos said. After sending it to their family, they send the video in a group chat with Max, Daniel, Charles, Alex, George, and Oscar.
Alex: WHAT?
Alex: Oh my god, congratulations!
George: Well, I didn't see that coming. Congratulations, lads!
Max: Damn, Lando must look good on his knees
Daniel: Max Emilian Verstappen, you did not just say that
Charles: Someone is in trouble
Max: Congratulations Lando and Carlos! I was already waiting for the phone call
Daniel: I am not done with you just yet
Daniel: But first, congratulations guys! I really didn't see this coming
Oscar: When is the wedding?
Lando: Thanks guys! I can't believe he said yes!
Carlos: Gracias hermanos
Carlos: Oh and Max, he does look good on his knees ;P