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Esteban could sense the tension that wracked Lando’s frame before the younger man even entered the room. The door sensor clicked before the door swung open and in stepped Lando, his body hunched in on itself, shoulders tense and tight with disappointment.
“Lando,” Esteban called, voice soft. Lando’s head snapped up before he winced and rubbed at his chest. Esteban frowned. No one had mentioned any injuries to him, and it was late enough after the race for any winded feelings to be long gone. Therefore, Esteban knew that Lando had omitted some details when telling him about the crash. “You are hurt.”
“It’s fine, just some bruising,” Lando dismissed with a wave of his hand. He kicked his shoes off, grunting when he nearly fell over in the process, before he stumbled towards the bed, dropping into Esteban’s lap with a pained hiss. “Just a little bit.”
“Your insistence on assuring me that it’s only a little bit of bruising has me thinking otherwise,” Esteban said, sharp and blunt. He cradled Lando’s face in his palms, looking at the oceanic eyes he so loved. God, Lando was beautiful. Esteban hated how beautiful he was sometimes.
“It’s fine,” Lando mumbled, leaning forward to try and capture Esteban’s lips with his own.
“But are you?” Esteban inquired. Lando huffed at that and buried his face in Esteban’s neck, his pursuit of a kiss being abandoned in an instance. Esteban sighed and tightened his hold on Lando, tucking him closer to his chest. “I worry about you. Hearing you crashed… merde, I wanted to jump out of the car and make sure you were okay.”
“You can’t go sacrificing points for me, muppet,” Lando muttered. His words were syrupy slow and thick with sleep. Esteban couldn’t help but huff out a breath of laughter, one hand sinking into the curls that tickled the nape of Lando’s neck. Lando always complained about his hair, insistent he needed a haircut, but he never got round to it.
Esteban didn’t mind. If there was one thing he loved more than anything, it was Lando’s curls and the feeling of them twining and binding around his fingers.
“I would do anything if you asked,” Esteban sighed. Lando pulled away at that, staring at Esteban with sleepy yet wide eyes. Esteban smiled and shrugged, pulling Lando in for a short, sweet kiss. “I mean it.”
Lando whined and hid his face in Esteban’s neck again, the warmth of his skin palpable and obvious to the touch. “Don’t say stuff like that!” Lando cried out weakly. Esteban chuckled out an apology before he gently pulled Lando away from his hiding spot. He pressed their lips together once more before pulling back with a soft smile.
“We should shower and then head to bed,” Esteban muttered. Lando sighed before nodding and slipping from Esteban’s lap. He tugged his shirt over his head, wincing as he did so, and Esteban sucked in a sharp breath at the sight that greeted him.
Layers upon layers of purple and black bruises mottled the tan warmth of Lando’s torso and Esteban wanted to cry. How could the universe be so cruel as to hurt the love of his life like that? It was unfair, and sometimes he wished they didn’t participate in such a cruel sport.
But who were they if they didn’t have Formula 1? Would they have even found each other? Esteban liked to hope so, liked to think the two of them were soulmates, destined to find each other in any and every life they were graced with, but he couldn’t be sure.
That was why he treasured the life they had together in that moment. That’s why he got so fearful, so horrified, when Lando crashed and he saw the injuries that mottled his skin. Even after he’d cut his nose in Miami the year prior, celebrations run rampant and ended before Esteban knew Lando liked them to, even then, Esteban had been so full of anxiety.
(Lando has kissed him over and over and over until Esteban had accepted that Lando was fine, was alive, was there.)
“You coming or?” Lando said. He’d discarded most of his clothes, only his boxers still covering him, and he hovered in the doorway to the ensuite, a yawn ripping through him. Esteban frowned and stood up, slowly crossing over.
“Lando… this is really bad. I’m worried,” Esteban said. Lando sighed and rolled his eyes, looping his arms around Esteban’s waist as he peered up at him, lashes connecting soft and slow as he blinked. It was alluring.
“I’m fine. You don’t need to go big protective bear mode,” Lando said before he giggled, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Leave the bear stuff to your teammate.” Esteban huffed out a laugh before he shook his head.
“You cannot talk to me about protective mode. Didn’t you threaten to cause ‘never ending amounts of financial strain’ for Alpine when they booted me last year?” Esteban chuckled. Lando nodded brightly, the gap in his teeth visible as he smiled, bright and wide.
“I’d do it for Haas too if they fucked you over,” Lando said. Esteban could tell he meant it from the genuine warmth that lingered in his eyes and Esteban chuckled fondly. His boyfriend was a little gremlin, well and truly, and Esteban adored it far more than he should.
“Haas treat me better than Alpine ever did, don’t you worry about that,” Esteban said. Lando hummed and pressed himself closer to Esteban’s front, a soft sigh of content slipping from his lips when Esteban tightened his hold.
“I know that. They treat me nice too. Laura’s pretty neat,” Lando said. He was falling asleep again, his weight resting more and more against Esteban’s body as the seconds ticked by. Esteban chuckled and pressed a kiss to the crown of Lando’s head before he lightly shook him. “Hey!” Lando grumbled.
“Shower. And some bruise cream,” Esteban said. Lando sighed and turned, muttering under his breath as he entered the ensuite. Esteban tugged his clothes off and followed after Lando, lightly tapping his boyfriend’s ass as Lando bent forward, detangling his boxers from his feet.
“Don’t start, I’m too tired,” Lando whined. Esteban smiled apologetically before turning the shower on, watching as the ensuite became steamier with each passing second. Lando liked the water scorching hot for some reason and whilst Esteban wasn’t the same, he’d come to tolerate it over the years. One of the many side effects of dating Lando Norris, he supposed.
“I’m not, mon amour, don’t worry. I’m not as insatiable as you can be sometimes,” Esteban said with a chuckle. When the water was warm enough, he carefully guided Lando under, aware of the hiss that would greet his ears when the spray hit Lando’s tender, bruised flesh.
He still didn’t like hearing it.
“Mm… you always want to romance me, don’t you?” Lando said as he leant back into Esteban’s arms. Esteban pressed kisses up and down the right side of Lando’s face, watching his smile grow more and more with each one. “Makes sense though. You are French.”
“What?” Esteban asked. Lando giggled, twisting around until he was stood face to face with Esteban, eyes dripping with love. “What does that even mean?” Esteban continued, pressing their lips together quickly. Lando hummed and took a few seconds to open his eyes before he replied.
“French people are supposed to be some of the most romantic people in the world,” Lando said. Esteban had a look of confusion on his face before he sighed and shook his head, torrents of fondness pouring through his being as he stared at the handsome man before him, stray drops of water dripping from his lashes. “What? It’s true!”
“Sure, mon amour. But I don’t agree. Anyone can be romantic if they try hard enough,” Esteban said. Lando hummed and pressed up onto his tiptoes, kissing Esteban once more. “I would consider you a romantic.”
“I’m not that romantic,” Lando said with a giggle.
“You literally have hordes of fangirls dying to be yours because of the stupid amounts of romantic stuff you do.”
“And you don’t?” Lando said. Esteban shook his head, the smile never leaving his face. The size of his fanbase compared to Lando’s meant nothing to Esteban. He could have had no fans, after all, therefore he treasured the ones he did have.
(He also didn’t want to admit that having as many fans as Lando did seemed far too daunting for his liking.)
“Not as much as you.”
“It’s a shame, then. They’re missing out,” Lando said with a pout and Esteban couldn’t resist. He leant down and kissed Lando again, a proper kiss, soft and coaxing and laced with love. He poured every emotion he felt for Lando into the kiss, heart fluttering when Lando hummed and shuffled closer, his fingers lightly groping at Esteban’s shoulders. Esteban knew he was probably on his tiptoes. “I love you,” he muttered.
Esteban smiled into the kiss, dragging Lando even closer. He squeezed at the younger man’s hips before pulling back and lightly nosing at Lando’s cheek. Lando whined and Esteban couldn’t help the laugh that slipped from his lips. If there was one thing he loved more than anything, it was teasing Lando.
“Say it back!” Lando whined. Esteban laughed again and leant down, connecting their lips. Lando melted into it with ease, never able to resist Esteban’s kisses. Esteban wasn’t much better. Any form of contact with Lando and he was melting like ice cream on boiling hot tarmac.
“I love you too,” Esteban said when they parted. Lando blinked sleepily before he hummed delightfully and pressed closer to Esteban’s chest. There was a mischievous edge to the sound and before Esteban could say anything, Lando opened his mouth and spoke.
“If you love me so much, you can wash my hair for me,” Lando said. His eyes were closed, and Esteban couldn’t help but laugh, drumming his fingers along Lando’s torso as he let silence fill the small shower. After a few minutes, Lando huffed and grumbled, trying and failing to escape from Esteban’s arms. “I was just joking.”
“And who’s to say I wasn’t either, hmm?” Esteban said. Lando glared at him before giggling. “You call me muppet a lot, but I think it might be you who is the true muppet here,” Esteban said. Lando huffed but didn’t fight back, just shuffled closer until he could curl his arms around Esteban’s torso again.
“You love me though?”
“Of course I do,” Esteban said. Lando smiled sweetly at that, and Esteban melted. He was so, well and truly, in love. He couldn’t deny that any longer. He was overflowing with love for Lando. If someone asked, Esteban was pretty sure he’d spill and spill and spill until the whole world knew of the love he held for the gorgeous man before him.
Without further comment, Esteban reached behind Lando and grabbed the bottle of shampoo.