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While Luke and Dino haven't been dating for all that long, Luke wasn't stupid and he knew when something was wrong with his boyfriend. What he didn’t know was what he should do.
Dino was pulling away from him, and Luke could tell. His boyfriend was normally a very touchy person. He loved to wrap his arms around Luke, lay his head next to Luke, and he loved when Luke pressed kisses to his every beauty mark and mole. Now Dino shied away from everyone of Luke’s approaches, making excuses as to why he needed to leave as soon as possible. It was extremely obvious because of the fact that they were on the same team.
Dino left every briefing quickly, when they used to walk out together, fingers brushing, still trying to hide their relationship.
He had tried to talk to Dino, but everytime Dino was adamant that there was nothing wrong, that he was just tired, or just not in the mood for people, and Luke was worried, this was not like Dino.
Luke didn’t think that Dino wanted to break up with him, as much as he thought there might be another problem. Luke’s solution, Oliver Bearman, and Kimi Antonelli. Luke was aware that they had been friends with Dino back when they had all been in Prema, but his biggest roadblock was going to be how to contact them.
Luke had never been close to the two Prema boys, and therefore didn’t have their contact info. There was one F1 driver he did have contact with, Max Verstappen. When he had done a Team Redline stream he had gotten close with the Red Bull driver, and they texted every once in a while.
Luke scrolled through his contacts until he found Max’s contact. He opened it and texted Max.
Max Verstappen
You:
Hey Max do you have Kimi or Ollie’s number?
Max Verstappen:
Ya, why?
You:
Dino’s acting weird and I know he was friends with them. I want to see if they have any idea what might be up.
Max Verstappen:
Dino Beganovic?
You:
Yes. We’re dating.
Max Verstappen:
Cool, I’ll send you their contacts.
You:
Thanks.
Max Verstappen:
👍
Luke stared at the contacts that had just been shared with him. He knew he should just text them as soon as possible, but he was nervous. Dino had clearly shown Luke just how much the two of them meant to him. Luke desperately didn’t want to mess it up. He didn’t actually know if Dino had told the two F1 drivers that they were dating. He hoped Dino wouldn't mind. He knew Dino would probably prefer to be the one to tell his friends, but at this point Luke was pretty sure whatever was going on with Dino was an emergency.
Luke clicked open the contacts he had been sent, and texted Kimi and Ollie.
Kimi Antonelli and Ollie Bearman
You:
Hello, this is Luke Browning. Max Verstappen gave me your numbers, because I’m concerned about Dino.
Kimi Antonelli:
The F2 Driver?
You:
Me or Dino? Because I guess the answer to both is yes.
Ollie Bearman:
Right besides being Dino’s teammate, why would you be concerned about him?
You:
We're dating.
Kimi Antonelli:
YOU’RE WHAT??
Ollie Bearman:
WHY DIDN’T HE TELL US, AND WHY ARE YOU THE ONE TELLING US?
You:
As I said, I'm worried about him, and I don’t know why he didn’t tell you. I wouldn't have told you if I wasn't worried about him.
Kimi Antonelli:
Right, ok so what’s up?
You:
He’s being super avodent, and whenever I ask him what's going on he just pushes me further away. He’s also been quiet.
Ollie Bearman:
Quiet?
Kimi Antonelli:
He’s dying.
Ollie Bearman:
What?
You:
I don’t think that’s it. I feel like I might have done something, but he wont talk to me.
Ollie Bearman:
What do you mean by that?
You:
I don’t know, more like just vibes.
Kimi Antonelli:
If you hurt him…
Ollie Bearman:
I second that.
You:
Right, I agree but that's not the point. I just want to know what’s going on with my boyfriend.
Ollie Bearman:
I mean Dino is not the easiest to work with, emotions wise.
Kimi Antonelli:
He’s a shove it all down, and fake it till you make it kinda guy.
Ollie Bearman:
I don’t know if I have an answer for you.
Kimi Antonelli:
Tell him you know something is wrong, don’t ask. Be kind about it, but don’t back down. He’ll probably break down, but if you're a good boyfriend…
You:
Right, thank you so much. Also threat heard and understood.
Kimi Antonelli:
Good, and good luck.
Luke looked up from his phone. He had to think of a good time to talk to Dino about this. He knew cornering his boyfriend was a terrible idea, and due to the amount Dino was avoiding him, he didn’t know if he could convince Dino to just come and hang out with him right now. What he did know, he realized, was his boyfriend's hotel number.
Luke got up and carefully made his way down the hall to where Dino was supposed to be sleeping. He knocked on Dino’s door and waited, hoping that Dino would answer.
It took a moment for the door to open, Dino’s eyes went wide for a moment, before he seemed to put himself back together. It was obvious Dino had been crying, and now Luke pushed in, pulling the door shut behind him.
“Dino, I know something is wrong, talk to me. I care about you. I hate to see you hurting.” Dino turned away from Luke making his way over to the couch and sitting down, Luke followed. “Dino please, I love you.” Luke reached out grasping for his boyfriend, who he missed touching so desperately. Dino moved away from his outstretched hand, and Luke felt something in him break. Not for himself, but for Dino.
“How?” Luke was surprised at the way Dino’s voice sounded. It was scratchy from crying, but also full of so much self loathing, Luke almost recoiled, but he didn’t. He reached out again, and this time Dino didn’t move away. He didn’t move towards Luke like he used to, but at least he didn’t move away.
“Dino, I don't know what you mean by that.” Luke brushed his fingers along the tip of Dino’s ear. “How could I not love you? You're amazing.”
Dino sucked in a sharp breath. “You don’t really think that.”
Luke pulled Dino’s face close to him, grabbing the taller boy and holding him close. “Dino, what’s going on? What’s making you think this way?” Luke grasped at Dino’s hair, the smooth strands, normally so well taken care of, seemed to have lost some of their shine.
“Luke,” Dino started, then stopped. He clutched Luke’s shirt tightly, as if anticipating this to be the last time he would be able to hold Luke like this ever again. “Luke, look at you. Podium after podium, you're fifth in the championship. You're an amazing driver, and I’m not even P9 anymore, not after this race. Luke, you deserve someone better.” Luke was silent, and Dino started to pull away from him, but Luke grasped Dino as if he was a life line.
“I don’t care what you win. I’m not dating you for your standing, by that logic I should be dating Alexander or something.” Luke made a face at that. “I think I would rather not.” Dino didn’t say anything. “Dino I would love you if you were last, if you quit, if you were first, if you got into Formula One and I didn’t, or if I got into Formula One and you didn’t. I don’t love people for how many podiums they get, that would be stupid. Tell me no one has said something like that to you.”
Dino looked up to Luke, “when I won the FRECA championship I got a boyfriend, but when I stopped being on the top he broke up with me. He told me that there was no point in dating someone who didn’t get podiums, that there was nothing else to me.” Dino’s voice was so sad, so heartbroken, and Luke was trying his hardest to not flat out threaten murder. He grasped Dino’s shirt tighter, and took a deep breath. He was definitely going to text Kimi and Ollie about this later and they were going to find that man, but for now he needed to focus on his boyfriend.
“Dino, if I stopped getting podiums would you break up with me?” The question was dangerous, but Luke was sure Dino was going to disagree, and Luke would be able to use that. Dino was quiet for a moment.
“No, but you have things besides winning that make you amazing.” Luke was offended for Dino. Nothing else that made him interesting? Luke could think of five things just then, and more.
“Dino you have so many more things than winning that make me love you. You’re a good dancer, you’re super funny, and I love you. I love how you lean into my touch, and your beauty marks that I can kiss, and the way you blush away from the kisses I place on them. I want nothing more than to be with you. Do you know how hard it’s been to have you pulling away from me? I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Dino pulled himself up so he could look more into Luke’s eyes. “I just got stuck in my head. I’m sorry.” Luke brushed a few strands of Dino’s hair off of his face.
“Nah, don’t apologise, just maybe talk to me, ya?” Dino smiled, and reached up to ruffle Luke’s hair.
“Ya I will.” Luke grabbed Dino’s hand and pulled the younger up closer to him.
Suddenly Luke remembered something, “Dino, I told Kimi and Ollie were dating.” Dino immediately pulled back.
“What?” he didn’t sound mad, more just shocked. “How and also why?”
“I was worried, and I just didn’t know what to do, so I texted Max and asked for their number so I could ask for some advice.” Dino blinked at him. “They seemed supportive, well I suppose they threatened me, but..” Dino cut him off by kissing him.
It was Luke’s turn to blink confusedly at Dino. “That means a lot to me.” Dino whispered. “It means a lot to me that you put in the effort to ask my friends to try to help me, and it means a lot to me that you wanted their approval. Thank you.” Luke stared up at Dino in shock. “You mean a lot to me.” The last part was a whisper, Luke reached down to grab Dino’s hips, and pull him closer.
“You mean a lot to me too Dino.” he whispered back, arms wrapping around the taller boy's lanky frame.
They laid like that for a while, and when Dino’s breath started to even out, and Luke was pretty sure his boyfriend was asleep, he pulled out his phone and opened his chat with Kimi and Ollie.
Kimi Antonelli and Ollie Bearman
You:
We talked, and I need to know if you guys know the identity of a boyfriend Dino might have had in 2022.
Ollie Bearman:
Why?
You:
He may or may not have convinced Dino that being on the podium was Dino’s only worth.
Kimi Antonelli:
In that case, yes we do know who that was.
You:
So are you going to help me find and kill him or…?
Kimi Antonelli:
Most definitely.
Ollie Bearman:
Oh, 100%, also I’ll ask Charles if he wants to help. Charles likes Dino.
You:
Good.
Luke pulled Dino up closer to him, as he placed his phone on the table next to the couch. He was sure that he was going to have a sore back after sleeping under his unfairly tall boyfriend on the couch, but really who cares.
He snuggled in closer to Dino’s hair, grinning into the strands that adorned his lover's head. Dino subconsciously pushed himself closer to Luke’s face, and Luke placed a kiss upon the other’s forehead, just where one of his beauty marks lay.
Luke smiled, he had yet to win the championship, but he knew he had won at life, as cheesy as it sounded.