Chapter Text
Info:
Lando: pair figure skater (19yo, 178cm, male)
Oscar: ice hockey player (15yo, 162cm, male)
Carlos: pair figure skater (22yo, 166cm, female)
Charles: skier (21yo, 168cm, female)
Max: skier (21yo, 181cm, male)
George: ice hockey player (20yo, 183cm, male)
Carlos and Charles are already girlfriends, Max and George are already boyfriends!
—
Four years ago…
“New teammate’s joining us today, have you heard? Apparently he’s like some child prodigy in hockey, only 15 or something!” Charles gushed the moment she stepped onto the rink, skating towards her four friends.
George’s head shot up at the mention of his sport. “15? It’s definitely the Australian Piastri kid, that boy’s crazy good. I’d be glad to play alongside him rather than against him…”
“Piastri? Oscar Piastri? The Oscar Jack Piastri? Thought Coach was shitting me when he said that Elites scouted him!” exclaimed Lando, skating closer towards the group with Carlos trailing behind.
Max, who was warming up, looked up from his phone and chuckled. “Georgie, you may wanna take your words back, Coach just messaged and said your team’s gonna take turns playing against the kid after practice. He really wants to see how hard a 15 year old can slime all of you, huh.”
George whipped his head around so fast it definitely gave him whiplash and his eyes widened at his boyfriend’s words, mouth wide open.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t wait to see Gigi get absolutely destroyed by a kid!” Carlos giggled hysterically behind Lando, and soon the fits of laughter spread across all but George himself.
“Ugh, shut up, Lo. Lan, take her away please, we should be going now,” sighed the poor man, slowly getting up from the ice.
Goodbye kisses were exchanged between Charles and Carlos, and Max and George before they left the main rink to their respective team rinks for practice.
—
“Quick, hurry up! I wanna see Gee get obliterated by this Oscar!” shrieked Charles, dragging Max from their skiing room to the hockey rink. “Lan and Lo’s there already, come on!”
Upon arriving, the pair quickly settled next to the figure skaters, silently observing the happenings in the arena. George’s hockey team were uncharacteristically quiet, their eyes darting towards the main entrance and their bodies tense as if something was going to pounce on them any second. In a way, they were not wrong.
Just a few seconds later, the doors flew open. Chills ran down everyone’s spine as their eyes fell onto the boy standing tall at the entrance, looking at everyone with unflinching eyes, his freckled face devoid of any emotion. The soft brown halo of loose waves, along with the slightly longer length only adds to the youthfulness that intimidated everyone further.
Coach was the first to recover, clearing his throat before announcing, “Ah, Oscar Piastri, welcome to Ice Elites. Take your time warming up and let us know when you’re ready for your trial.”
Finally breaking his piercing gaze, Oscar turned away after nodding once, heading to go get himself ready. George gulped and slowly turned to meet the eyes of his friends, whose faces mirrored the terror of his own. George knew he was in for a grueling afternoon playing against this little Aussie.
—
A whistle blew and a split second later, George could only see the blue blur of Oscar’s jersey before the kid dashed past him with the puck.
Holy shit, the kid’s fast.
Although George was the last to play against him and having watched him fly past his teammates many times, it never ceased to amaze and terrify him. Playing against Oscar’s speed and agility was another thing. He may not have the advantages of height and size but those two traits certainly make up for it, if not more. In fact, the sheer difference in height and weight between the team and him further brings into light how skilled Oscar was. Furthermore, Oscar has yet to take a break between playing against George’s team but his body still pulsed with energy and his eyes continued to burn with confidence and competitive fire.
“Do 15 year olds just have this much stamina…?” Lando whispered, eyes never leaving the two players.
“And speed?” Carlos added.
“And reaction time?” Charles piped in.
Max replied, “Definitely not, this boy’s a monster on ice. He is dubbed “Iceboy” after all. Have you watched the Hockey Junior League’s finals? Insane playoff, that’s probably what got Elites to draft him. He is considered small for a forward, but his speed is something else entirely. Even the cameramen couldn’t catch up!”
The metallic sounds of skate blades slicing the ice filled the rink, along with George’s teammates whoops. George clenched his jaw as Oscar swerved away sharply from him and headed toward the goal swiftly. Lunging forward, he hoped that Oscar would yield. That was not the case, unfortunately. Their sticks clacked violently and before George could take advantage of his bigger frame and body check him, Oscar slipped past him promptly, possessing full control over the puck and slid forward for a goal.
“Did you see that?! Goodness, George got his ass bitten for sure!” Lando shouted over the booming cheers of the hockey team.
“Not just his ass, mate, definitely his ankles too. Iceboy here never fails to escape with his speed.” Charles laughed out, shaking her head with amazement.
They continued to spectate during the cool down. Oscar took off his helmet and shook his head like a dog, attempting to free his hair from the compression of the tight headgear. Despite playing against multiple people in a row, his chest only heaved slightly, his face flushed a light pink on his milky skin and a sheen out sweat was barely visible. They watched as the team gave awkward compliments, unsure of how the Iceboy would react. Said boy’s cheeks flushed redder as he cast his gaze downwards, tipping his head down in acceptance of the praise. Coach came over and patted him on his back and shook his hand. Well, the Oscar Jack Piastri is officially part of the Ice Elites family.
As the team was dismissed for water break before debrief, the four of them watched Oscar skate off towards the seats where he had placed his bag. Oscar sat down on the seat, keeping his mouth guard and digging through his bag to retrieve his water bottle, opening the cap and taking long, grateful sips through the straw. His eyes fluttered shut and let out a soft sigh, melting into the chair as the trial’s exhaustion began to settle in his body.
“Is it… is it wrong to say that he looks cute…?” whispered Lando as they watched him stifle a little yawn. The others hummed in agreement; the terrifying Oscar Piastri does look rather adorable now.
After a moment of silence, Carlos asked, “Gosh, is he not uncomfortable? Why isn’t he heading to change out? Coach dismissed him already, so he doesn’t have to go for the debrief, no?”
They observed the kid closer. Carlos was right, the poor Aussie was not comfortable at all. He flexed and rotated his feet as if he was trying to give them some relief from the tight skates and he tugged uselessly on his protective gear. His discomfort was evident as he gnawed on his straw and occasionally huffed out in frustration. Clearly, something was not quite right as they watched Oscar place his water bottle away and attempt to untie the knots on his skates. It would have been amusing to see the Iceboy win against people twice his size but struggling to untie his shoes if it were not for the panicked whine escaping his throat and the tears forming.
Luckily, George, having witnessed the younger’s predicament, rushed over to his side before the four of them could even get up.
“Hey, hey, shhh, it’s okay. I got it, don’t worry,” George cooed, unlacing the shoes with ease that came from years of experience. “Not used to the skates yet, yeah?”
Oscar looked at him with wide, wet eyes, surprised by the unexpected help. His breaths came out as short gasps and his frenzied eyes attempted to meet George’s, hands scrambling to find purchase of the older’s forearms.
George put away the shoes that were no longer caging the Aussie’s feet and his eyes softened even more.
“Sweetheart, hey, breathe with me, okay? In and out, just like that… there you go!” he crooned softly, exaggerating his breathing to allow Oscar to slow his breathing down.
By then, Max, Lando, Charles and Carlos gathered quietly behind the kid, willing to offer any support he may need but patiently waiting for George’s cue for them to step in.
However, Oscar only seemed to neglibly get better, his gasps turning to shallow breaths and the panicked haze had yet to leave his eyes.
What’s going on? George thought as he rubbed soothing circles on Oscar’s arms in hopes of calming him down.
George’s brow creased and he bit his lip as he looked up at his friends. “Maxie, could you refill his water bottle please? Lan, be a dear and bring him to the locker room to get the rest of his gear off, I need to go for debrief.”
The two men acquiesced and quickly went their respective ways. George gave one last worried look before kissing Max’s cheek and joining his team back in the rink.
The two girls looked on worriedly, knowing they can’t do much to help the poor boy. Carlos wordlessly passed Oscar’s duffel bag to Lando, knowing that he might want to shower in the locker room. Lando accepted it, smiling gratefully at her before facing the poor kid.
Lando did not know how to go about bringing Oscar to the locker room since he knew he was most likely not able to stand, much less be able to walk. In a split second decision, he scooped the boy up into his arms and briskly walked towards the locker room, hoping for the best.
—
Oscar’s shallow breaths had reverted back into gasps and occasionally a frantic cry that broke Lando’s heart. The younger’s hands clung onto his shoulder due to the sudden movements, so as soon as Lando stepped into the locker room, he sat the boy down on the bench and hastily took off his gears, from his gloves to the shin guards, leaving the Aussie in his innermost garments.
That seemed to help significantly, the frenzied haze no longer clouded his eyes and he regulated his breathing by himself. Lando murmured sweet praises as he imitated George by rubbing circles on Oscar’s back, watching him rub his knuckles together in attempts to self-soothe.
Soon enough, Oscar seemed to have calmed down completely. Seeing this, Lando decided against asking what happened and instead said, “The showers are behind the door there and your bag is here. Don’t worry, it’s clean. Do you want me to stay here?”
Oscar paused before weakly meeting the British’s eyes and nodding. Lando grinned and tipped his chin towards the shower door in a “then off you go” manner and sat himself on the bench.
—
After a while, Oscar emerged from the shower door back to the lockers. His face was dusted red from the cold shower and his hair was dripping wet, the towel on his head not doing much. He sported a black team shirt and loose fitting shorts, in which both garments seemed a size too big for Oscar’s profile, but Lando kept that to himself. Chuckling out loud, he reached up towards the towel and started to dry the boy’s hair, switching between ruffling and scrunching motions to bring his waves back.
Oscar was startled by the kind gesture of the older boy, but still hummed contently in response to Lando’s gentle touches.
Gosh, isn’t this kid cute.
Once Oscar’s hair was dry enough to Lando’s standard, the former packed his bag up and they headed back to the rink.
—
“Here they are! Drink up, Oscar,” George announced once they made their return, handing the full water bottle back to the kid.
“Crazy speed, by the way! Also, welcome to Ice Elites!” Charles exclaimed. “I’m Charles from the skiing team. That’s my girlfriend, Carlos, she’s a figure skater with Lando.”
“And I’m Max, George’s boyfriend. I’m on the skiing team with Charlie,” introduced Max.
Oscar’s eyes glimmered with childlike curiosity as he gave a shy wave to everyone.
“Well, I suppose we’ll be seeing more of you around! Especially George, so try not to kill him yeah? I’m planning on marrying that one.” Max laughed out, eliciting a giggle from Oscar as he nodded in promise.
Suddenly, the younger looked at the clock and straightaway grabbed his bag and dashed out the rink, but not without saying goodbye, thank you, and saying something about his mom in one breath before the boy was out of sight.
Leaving the adults nonplussed, they got their bearings after standing still for a while.
“So… that’s Oscar Jack Piastri,” Lando deadpanned. “Also, what happened just now?”
“Some sort of panic attack, I think. He might be claustrophobic or the gear overstimulated him, or both,” explained George.
Charles supplemented, “Did you notice that he’s in blue today? That’s his company’s adult gear but he’s still in their junior team and their gear is white! If he was given no adjustment time to the adult skates, I think his team’s a little cruel…”
The rest elliptically assented as they looked back at their younger days of fighting the discomfort from the harder skates. Hence, the five of them vowed to take care of the Australian from now on.
—
As Oscar had officially joined Ice Elites, the subsequent weeks leading up to two months, culminated in a routine for the five of them. The boy never brought up what had happened, so they did not mention it. Nevertheless, they did everything in their power to prevent the kid from having another panic attack.
The routine went this way: George would get Oscar out of the rink and straight to the locker room, hand him his water bottle, remove his gears and wait for him to finish showering. Oscar would then be brought to the rest of the four while George freshens himself up. They would then talk to Oscar, telling him about their sport, the company or anything to make the boy feel more comfortable around them.
They took pride in the progress they’ve made as Oscar had started to find home on Lando’s shoulder, sleepily leaning on as he hummed in acknowledgment from time to time at whatever story the two girls would tell him. That would go on until George comes back, and only then Oscar will get up and take his leave, rushing to what they assumed was a meet up with his mom.
This day was no different except that the kid did not excuse himself when George returned, only looking expectantly at the door.
Just then, a woman’s voice with a heavy Australian accent called out, “Oscy baby! I’m here!”
Everyone looked at said baby on Lando’s shoulders as he languidly sat up straight and sighed. “Mom…”
Oscar’s mom walked over and embraced her son in a bear hug. “I came over as soon as I could, your coach — well, ex-coach now, was being such a bit-”
“Mom!”
“Sorry, being such an awful person. Would not let you go, that one. Said we had to pay for you to switch companies, like as if all the medals and trophies you won for them couldn’t pay that off, and even their debt! I told you, these motherfu-”
“Mom, okay! Thank you for talking to them for me,” exasperated Oscar, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“Of course dear,” his mom smiled, turning to acknowledge the athletes around. “Hello, everyone! I’m Nicole Piastri, his mom. Thank you for taking care of my boy!”
“Absolutely! We’re happy to have him in our Elites family,” chirped Carlos.
“Thank you, angel. Baby, you got your bags packed? Head to the car first, okay? I’ll be with you in a bit.”
Oscar nodded and turned to his friends, doing a small wave and whispering bye. The rest cooed and waved back in unison. Once the boy was out of sight, Nicole’s smile turned sad.
“Hello Lando, Carlos, Charles, Max and George. Yes, Oscar has been talking about you guys to me for the past few weeks. I have to thank all of you for helping him with his panic attack on his first day,” she started. “Oscar’s really shy but I can tell he really likes all of you. He even wanted to come earlier so he can watch you practice your spins and jumps!” Her gaze landed on Lando and Carlos.
She sighed before continuing, “Look, I’m just really glad Oscar’s willing to open himself up to new people again. His old company exploited him to say the least. My boy has been through a few forms of bullying there, so he didn’t have the best time or friends. The coach had the audacity to try to keep Oscy hidden from the public eye just so no other better companies could scout him!”
The five of them felt their hearts break. How could anyone treat the sweet boy with such contempt?
“But it’s all good now, I’m really glad Ice Elites immediately scouted him after the Hockey Junior League finals. I love the togetherness and team spirit here, I’m sure Oscy is starting to find his place,” Nicole went on.
“Now that the mental aspect is solved for Oscy, I’m just really worried about the physical part. Not in the sense that he’s injured, but about housing. You see, the rest of his family are in Australia, only him and I came over to America. But my husband has a business trip soon and I have three younger daughters, but obviously I can’t leave a 15 year old alone. We had an apartment closer to his old company, but Elites is pretty far from there. If Oscar ever rushed off it’s because I need to fetch him in time to discuss… administrative things with the shitty coaches. We’re planning to sell that apartment since there’s no use for it now, but I can’t just buy an apartment around here for him to live alone for who knows how long!”
They could tell the poor woman was on the verge of a meltdown, so Charles placed her hand on her shoulder comfortingly.
“Mrs Piastri, we may be able to help you…” Charles trailed off, looking at her girlfriend for approval for something. She was met with a nod of tacit consent.
Carlos took over, explaining, “I own a duplex just across from here, all five of us live there. There’s 4 bedrooms, Charlie and I share one, Maxie and Gigi share another and Lando has his room. Oscar could take the last one!”
They could see the weight being lifted from Nicole’s shoulders as she breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s wonderful news, Oscar would love this! He may be reserved, but once he likes someone, he’ll want to spend a lot of time with them. As a parent, I still do have my reservations, but all of you are adults already, so I’m putting my trust in all of you.”
Soon after, they exchanged numbers and housing information for Oscar to get ready for his move. Nicole hugged all of them and quickly bid them farewell to not leave her son waiting for too long. They reassured her that it was no big deal and waved her off.
“So…” Carlos turned to face her friends, “we’ve got a baby in our Charlos-Russtappen-Norris household, eh?”
“Yeah, Oscar Jack Piastri. The terrifying Iceboy on ice, but not so cold off the ice.” Max shook his head and huffed out a little laugh.
They stood in silence, internalising what had just happened.
Lando spoke first. “I really just want to put him in my pocket and never let him deal with any more hardships.”
Nods followed, coming to a silent agreement that they would go to the ends of the earth together to ensure Oscar feels safe and comfortable with his new life.