Work Text:
Looking through the lens of the camera, memories came flooding back to Lando. The last time he took a photo of someone it had been Carlos, in the streets of Barcelona, on a rainy day when the skies were thick with grey clouds and the rain was cold, very much like the love Carlos brought to him. Lando didn’t realise it at first, but Carlos was never in love with him, though the younger man was very much head over heels with the Spaniard. It has taken countless broken promises of a future together and many nights of loneliness when Lando finally realised that maybe the love was unrequited.
From that moment on Lando decided to go at the world alone, he wouldn’t let anyone be as close to him as he let Carlos, until a certain young Australian entered his life.
From the moment Oscar Piastri joined the McLaren F1 team, Lando felt a connection. He was weary at first as this was the same connection that he felt with Carlos, but as their time together grew, that connection he shared with Oscar made him feel safe, warm, and most importantly, loved. Oscar gave Lando all the attention that he craved and the space when needed and Lando appreciated every moment he spent with Oscar.
The pair were inseparable, practically joined at the hip, one didn’t go anywhere without the other, and yes this made Charlotte’s life a living nightmare when she had to separate the two, but just like a gigantic magnet, they found each other no matter what.
During the winter break, Oscar has decided to go back home and visit his family and friends and catch up on some much-needed ‘me’ time, Lando on the other hand stayed in the UK and visited his parents. Even though there was land and sea between them, Lando and Oscar talked every day and every night, and many times one or other fell asleep on the phone, because you know, time zones are a bitch.
It wasn’t until a couple of weeks into the winter break that Lando had enough of being separated from his teammate, his twin, his soulmate. He booked the first flight out to Melbourne and told no one except Daniel. The flight was exhausting for Lando, he couldn’t sleep due to the sheer excitement and anxiety he had for seeing Oscar again. He planned to meet up with Daniel because it would be rude not to, and then navigate his way through the streets of Melbourne to Oscar’s house. He was hoping that Oscar wouldn’t look at his ‘Find My’ app because he would definitely notice that Lando wasn’t roaming the streets of Bristol.
The flight landed somewhat later than planned, and this only added to his anxiety as he just wanted to get off the plane and step foot on Australian soil. He texted Daniel when he landed to let him know that he had arrived and that he would soon be driving out to have lunch with him and spill the details of his plan to him, Lando thought of Daniel as his big brother who was fiercely protective of him and would definitely take a bullet if needed.
Lando grabbed his bags from the baggage claim and hastily made his way to the car rental desk. Once he grabbed the keys, found his car, and loaded it up, he was on his way to Daniel.
The journey to Daniel’s farm was nice, the sun was shining down on Lando and he felt a sense of home as he drove the streets and the motorway. He pulled up to Daniel’s house and jumped out, Daniel came rushing up to Lando and pulled him into a huge bear hug which Lando relaxed into, not knowing that he was tense at all. Daniel had fired up the barbecue and had some burgers and sausages on the go, Lando told Daniel the reason why he was over there and told him about his inner turmoil about his love for Oscar but also about the fear of it ending up as Carlos did. Daniel didn’t say much throughout Lando’s conversation except for the usual hums of agreement and the hug and kiss on Lando’s forehead when Lando broke down and started crying when talking about his history with Carlos.
Daniel gave Lando a look that very much solidified that Lando wasn’t crazy after all and that his love for Oscar was pure, with this in mind Lando typed in Oscar’s address and started driving.
The scenery as Lando drove was breathtaking, the hills, the outline of the city in the distance and the buzz of warmth that enveloped Lando as he neared his destination was enough to make him feel a million butterflies in his stomach. As he approached Oscar’s street, a wave of uncertainty came over Lando, what if he doesn’t like me back, what if this is all just a game, what if Carlos put him up to this, these thoughts were racing through his mind but was broken by a ping from his phone and a message from Daniel.
🍯🦡: Lando, I have always been so proud of you and thank you for sharing what you did today, it meant a lot, you’ve got this little brother, go and tell him. You both belong with each other.
Lando felt a single tear fall from his face, he wiped away the remains and slowly pulled up to Oscar’s house. Daniel was right, they did belong together and it's now or never to find out if the young Australian shared the same thoughts. He turned off the engine and stepped out of the car, he looked up at Oscar’s house in awe, it was this grand house that stood at the end of the street, Lando had never really taken Oscar’s house in before as he had visited as a friend, a teammate but looking up at Oscar’s window he saw the Australian pop his head up and it very quickly disappeared from sight. Lando made a move to the front door as it swung open, and there stood Oscar, all dishevelled, hair sticking up all over the place and he could tell that Oscar’s t-shirt was the wrong way round. Lando let out a little giggle as Oscar gestured to let him in, Lando gladly stepped over the threshold, there was no going back now.
“Hey, what… erm… Hi Lando” Oscar stuttered as he closed the front door.
Lando went over to the shoe rack and took his shoes off before facing Oscar, “Hi Oscar, erm… sorry I should have said that I was coming over.” Lando started to rub his neck, maybe this was a bad idea after all, but Daniel’s message kept playing in his head.
“No, no it’s ok, just a bit of a surprise really.” Oscar made his way into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. “I’ve just woken up, sorry.”
“Hey, there’s no need to apologise, I’m the one that kinda turned up unannounced.” Lando shuffled back and forth on his feet as he rested against the counter.
Oscar passed Lando the glass of water that he didn't know he needed but was very thankful for as his mouth had suddenly gone dry. Oscar then poured himself one, “Speaking of which, not that I mind at all you just turning up” Oscar said with a smile on his face, “but why are you here? Haven’t you got a meeting at MTC this week?”
Lando’s face dropped, he had completely forgotten about his schedule, he took a mental note to message Charlotte and send her a box of expensive chocolates and flowers to say sorry, and some wine probably wouldn't go amiss. Oscar chuckled when he looked at Lando “You’d forgotten hadn’t you?”
Lando looked down on the floor, nodding his head repeatedly. “It’s cool Lando, just please remember to message Charlotte to rearrange it and be thankful you’re on the other side of the world as you know what she is like.” Oscar heard a giggle escape from Lando.
“Yeah, I’ll send her a message in a moment.” Lando looked up and met Oscar’s eyes, Oscar’s eyes scrunched up with a beaming smile. “So yeah, the reason I’m here. Well… Oscar…” Oscar hummed to let Lando know he was paying attention “There’s somethings that I have to say and well… It’s not been easy, in fact it’s been so bloody difficult, but it’s fine, I’m ok, it’s cool, I’m chill, you know…”
Oscar stepped toward the Brit and put his hand on his waist, “Lando, you’re rambling.” Oscar smiled down at Lando and Lando thought this little shit has grown again can he please stop.
“Oscar, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and the past couple of months have been hard on me, but I want you to know that you have been a solid foundation in my life, a constant and I wanted to let you know how I feel about that.”
Oscar kept his eyes on Lando as he spilled his heart out, “Oscar, you mean more to me than anyone has ever meant. You are the person that I seek comfort in, seek warmth, seek light. You are the person that I want to be around as you make my life so much more better. Oscar, I’m in love with you and have been since the day we met, that day you walked into that meeting room at MTC I was like fuck who is this amazing guy in front of me. I was drawn to you like a moth to a flame and I never want to leave your orbit.”
Lando starred at Oscar with such intensity as the tears started to form under his eyes. “Oscar, I want to be with you for the rest of my life.” Lando closed the gap between their bodies, tilted his head up and softy placed his lips onto Oscar’s. For a very brief moment Oscar stood still, until Lando felt him melt into the kiss.
The kiss was everything Lando thought it would be, the love for Oscar poured out of him and Oscar took every drop, the kiss was soft and Lando could have died happily right there and then.
The kiss lasted for what could have been minutes, hours, days even and it wasn’t until Oscar stepped back that Lando missed the warmth from his lips.
“Ok, now it’s my turn. Lando, I have wished for this day to happen, I have dreamt about it for months, if not years, I remember seeing you in the Paddock for the first time all those years ago and I felt the instant connection we had. In my heart, you are the man of my dreams, and I would gladly spend the rest of our lives together. I have wanted this for so long and I’m never letting go.”
Oscar wrapped Lando in an embrace filled with hope and a future together, Oscar placed a kiss on top of Lando’s curls, “I love you Lan”.
Lando’s breath hitched his through at the thought of someone else loving him, but soon forgot about that thought, “I love you too Osc”.
Oscar intertwined their fingers and gently pulled Lando towards the stairs of his family home, they entered the bedroom and Lando kicked the door closed gently. Oscar guided him over to his bed when he laid down and tapped the space next to him, Lando eagerly joined.
Oscar wrapped his arm around the Brits waist and planted soft kisses into his curls. Lando felt his eyes becoming heavy as the excitement and the anxiety of the day started to wear off. Oscar grabbed his phone from the bedside table and shot Charlotte a quick message to let her know that Lando wouldn’t be attending the meeting at MTC this week and quickly got a response from her.
Charlotte: God finally
Oscar chuckled at the message, put his phone into sleep mode and went back to his new-found boyfriend who was clearly fast asleep judging by the little snores coming out of his mouth. Oscar made a note to message Logan later to let him know what had happened, because heaven forbid he should forget to tell his best friend.
And that’s how Lando is now looking through the lens of his camera and it doesn’t bring horrible memories flooding back, it now brings a tall, young Australian who’s smile could light up the world, and it does, his world.