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Lando let out a shaky breath. He’d just won the Hungarian Grand Prix, barely. Those last ten laps had his heart beating faster than he thought was humanly possible. Now, he was trying to get himself to calm down before going on the podium. He needed to look happy, flawless. He couldn’t give them one more thing to criticize him about.
Still, he couldn’t get himself to focus, to relax. His mind kept replaying the moment he saw Oscar lock up in his mirrors, thinking his race was finished. He kept thinking of how Oscar caught up to him so quickly, what would’ve happened if he had to do one more lap. Lando’s breathing quickened. He was starting to feel like he didn’t deserve this win. Lando shrunk in on himself, his thoughts becoming self-critical.
Lando abruptly looked up as he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He’d assumed George and Oscar were both already in the cooldown room, but here George was, walking towards him with a concerned expression.
“Mate, are you alright?” George questioned.
Lando let out a shaky breath, mentally preparing himself to speak. “Yeah, I'm okay,” he muttered, pushing himself off of the wall.
Lando had started to walk towards the cooldown room, but a hand grabbed his wrist before he could take a step.
“C’mon, you can’t fool me that easily.” George answered, a comforting smile spreading across his face.
Lando felt himself starting to break down. It was easy with George. He found a way to bring down Lando’s walls every time, always knowing what he needed.
Lando sighed. “It’s just..I feel like I didn’t earn this win. I messed up the race start. Oscar caught up to me so quickly at the end. I don’t even want to know what would’ve happened if there was another lap in the race.”
A beat passed, nobody spoke.
Lando hadn’t noticed that he started crying until his cheeks felt wet.
George, instead of saying anything, stepped closer, crowding Lando near the wall. George cupped Lando’s face, using his thumb to wipe the few tears that spilled from Lando’s eyes.
Then, George kissed him.
Lando’s eyes widened, surprised. He didn’t know George felt this way about him.
George stepped back, looking Lando in the eyes.
“You are more than deserving of this win. Yes, you made mistakes. Everyone makes them. Still, you kept racing, tried your best, and won. Oscar didn’t catch you and you won on merit. You’ve got nothing to be crying about. You’ve won, now go celebrate.”
Lando could hear the sincerity in George’s voice.
Instead of replying, Lando stepped forward and pressed a short kiss to George’s cheek.
“Thank you, George. You always know how to make me feel better,” Lando replied.
“Lando, you mean so much to me, and I want you to see how great you are. You deserve to be happy,” George proudly stated.
Lando couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his face.
George kissed Lando again, smiling into the kiss. “So…what does this make us?” George whispered.
“Well…we can be whatever you want to be, George. I don’t want to lose you.”
Before George could reply, a staff member found them and ushered them into the cooldown room, stating that they were taking “too long”.
As they took their seats, George leaned over and whispered in Lando’s ear.
“We’ll talk later, Norris.”