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Seb announced his retirement at the end of the 2022 season. Racing kept him busy and he couldn’t make much time for Kimi. Back when they were both racing, they were basically joined at the hip and could always be next to each other. But Seb’s gotten into his years too, and he wasn’t really suited for this fast paced competitive lifestyle anymore. It wasn’t a particularly hard decision, it was bound to happen, but it was undoubtedly still a bittersweet moment.
The two have been dating on and off for a few years, somewhere during their Ferrari days. None of them wanted to rush it, and there were times when they were too occupied fighting for the championship to be able to properly develop their relationship. Focusing on their careers were their priorities then.
But now that they’ve both retired, they can finally devote their time to the other, doing the things that they couldn’t do in their youths, experiencing certain things for the first time. Some of it with each other.
Kimi went to fetch Seb at the airport even though the younger male was insistent he would be fine alone, lest they get caught by the media.
“Kimi,” Seb greeted warmly, pulling the Finn in for a big embrace. Kimi pressed a kiss onto Seb’s cheeks, which caused him to pull away quickly, slightly embarrassed that they were still in public. Seb turned around briskly making sure that nobody caught them, even though they both were under hoods and had their caps titled low. Kimi grinned at that.
They spent no more time at the airport and had a quiet drive home. The long flight put Seb out like a light, and he spent most of the drive leaned against the window, letting the gentle vibrations knock him out.
“We’re here, Kulta,” Kimi spoke softly, gently unbuckling Seb’s seatbelt for him. He stretched his back before groggily stepping out of the car. By then, Kimi had already gotten everything out of the trunk and was ready to head in. Seb smiled at the sight and waddled over quickly, looping his arms through Kimi’s. He held back a giggle when Kimi drew his arm closer to himself, pulling Seb in.
Kimi set the luggages and bags aside casually while Seb took his new home in. He settled down on the couch, bouncing up and down and muttered to himself, “Could be a little softer.” He glanced at Kimi and patted the empty space beside him. Kimi smiled and threw his jacket over the couch before taking his seat, slinging his arms around the younger male who leaned onto his shoulder.
“So, what should we do first?” Seb asked, propping his legs up and placing his hands on his knees.
“Hm… Unpack? Go to your old place and prepare the move?” Kimi replied.
Seb pouted and elbowed him, “Come on! We should go on a date or something… I want to go on one.”
Kimi tilted his head back, giving it some thought. They’ve been on countless dates before, but they’ve grown more mellow with their age. Of course it would still be nice to go on fun and active dates, but that didn’t seem like the best idea at the moment. The sun had long set too and Kimi would just stay home for the night if he could. Seb on the other hand was determined to have a date on his first day officially being with Kimi, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to dampen his spirit.
“A movie?” Kimi suggested.
That piqued Seb’s interest. The last time he’s been to a cinema must’ve been years ago. It wasn’t a very conventional way to catch movies, with him being a high profile driver and all. He’d never hear the end of it from Britta if he was caught by the media being just out and about.
Kimi was already on his phone, scrolling through the movies that were being screened at the cinema nearest to them. “A lot of Christmas films,” he grumbled. “I like Christmas!” Seb chirped in, taking the phone from his hands. Kimi wasn’t really a fan of those cliche, sappy, one off films, but for Seb he’d force himself to do anything. Even… Watching a sappy movie. But he didn’t want to draw the short end of the stick.
Kimi turned towards Seb abruptly, leaning in towards him and pushing the German down. Seb blushed and held the phone tightly over his face, shrinking into his jacket. “K-Kimi..?” he squeaked out. Kimi leaned in closer and Seb shut his eyes instinctively, expecting a kiss. “Woah, Kimi!” he yelped again as he felt a pair of cold hands graze his waist. Without warning, Kimi yanked Seb’s clothes off. He didn’t care about his phone that went on the floor together with it.
He planted a kiss onto Seb’s bare neck, sliding his tongue across the skin and sucking lightly. “Kimi!” Seb squealed, tangling his fingers into Kimi’s short hair. A deep red mark formed on his neck and Kimi pulled away to admire his work.
Seb quickly wrapped his hand around his neck, hiding the mark but not the flush that painted his neck a different colour. “Ack, Kimi! What was that for?” he blurted, surprise in his voice.
Kimi just shrugged and got off the couch, leaving Seb flustered as he sat upright blankly. A few moments later, Kimi came back with a hoodie in his hands.
“Put this on,” Kimi said, extending his clothes to Seb.
Seb narrowed his eyes but took it, “Why…?”
“We can go catch the movie now,” Kimi replied. He’d never admit that he just wanted Seb to wear his clothes. Sure, they’ve shared clothes before, pretty often during their time at Ferrari together actually. But to truly have Seb put on clothes that belonged to him was kind of, well, arousing to say the least. It’s a shame they were about the same height and he couldn’t achieve the oversized boyfriend hoodie look, but Seb’s smaller frame was enough for the hoodie to hang just slightly too loose around him.
He looked adorable as he tugged down on the hem of the hoodie to examine the design. Kimi pushed a cap down onto Seb’s fluffy dark golden hair, reaching a hand out as he stepped towards the door. “Let’s go,” he said.
Seb smiled and gave his hand to Kimi, swiping his overcoat from the coat stand beside the door. He placed a hand on Kimi’s shoulder for support as he slipped on his shoes and Kimi took the chance to tuck Seb’s hand into his own coat right as he let go. They grinned at each other before taking a step out into the cool night, shutting the door gently behind them.
Their first checkpoint was the cinemas. They ended up picking the sappy Christmas movie Seb wanted to watch. Kimi intended to book out an auditorium so they could have it for themselves, but Seb wanted to do it like how ‘normal’ couples did it.
It wasn’t a long drive before they reached. Seb shooed Kimi off to buy the tickets at the kiosk as he went to pick out snacks. Even though he had his cheat days, his diet remained strict as a Formula 1 driver. It’s been a long time since he’s had popcorn and nachos too, he really wanted to try a bit of everything. Even when Kimi got back, Seb was still staring intently at the popcorn showcase and the chalkboard menu hung up above.
“One small caramel and plain popcorn, and one small guacamole, cheese and jalapeño nachos,” Kimi interrupted. Seb looked at him expectantly. “And a large iced lemon tea,” he added.
He patted Seb on the head and flicked up the tickets between his index and middle finger. Seb adjusted his hat shyly as he followed Kimi to collect the food at the counter.
It was late, and the cinema was pretty empty. Just a few pairs of couples scattered sparsely in the room snuggled up close next to each other. Seb seemed to be more interested in the food though, much to Kimi’s disappointment. He was trying everything, taking time to savour the taste and in deep contemplation about the flavour profile, making sure to wash the leftovers down with the drink.
Kimi was maybe just a little annoyed at that, along with the fact that Seb seemed really into the movie too. Well, of course he was, he wanted to watch it. But Kimi had secretly hoped for Seb to cuddle up next to him like the other couples were doing. Plus they were sat all the way at the back, so Seb couldn’t make any excuses about being too embarrassed about PDA. Seb just cared more about the food and movie at the moment, Kimi wasn’t in his line of sight at all.
Kimi sunk into his seat slightly and picked up a singular piece of popcorn, holding it between his teeth.
“Sheb,” he called out softly, words slightly incoherent in his attempt to speak through the food. Seb let out a small acknowledging hum but his eyes were still glued to the movie. Kimi gave a few impatient taps to his arm before he finally turned over. He immediately leaned over for a kiss, taking Seb by surprise. He pushed the popcorn into the other’s mouth, then let his tongue freely explore Seb’s. A little spicy from the jalapeños, but his breath was cold from the iced drink.
Seb’s so easily flustered. Maybe it was because 2022 was the first season they didn’t spend together after they started dating, and he got unaccustomed to Kimi’s antics. He was quiet but sly, always finding ways to catch him off guard, even in public. It didn’t look like it, but Kimi was quite the casanova, much more so than Seb. It was just that Seb flirted with everyone jokingly, while Kimi saved his charm only for Seb.
“Kimi—!” Seb stammered, quickly covering his mouth with his hand after realising he may have spoken a little too loudly. Kimi had a sly grin plastered over his face as he pushed his hips forward to lean back at more of an angle.
“Eyes forward, Kulta,” Kimi teased. Seb frowned and quickly settled back into his seat properly, adjusting his cap. The Finn placed his arm on their shared armrest, palms facing up. Seb wanted to leap off a cliff for still falling for Kimi’s extremely unchivalrous coquetry.
They had their hands interlocked for the remainder of the movie.
Seb got out of the cinema with puffy eyes and empty food containers. It was a real tearjerker, made Seb feel like he was experiencing his one sided teenage crush all over again. Kimi reckoned he was asleep for half the movie though.
Seb let out a deep breath, stretching his back with his arms up. “It was really nice!” he beamed. “Where should we go next?”
Kimi pinched the bridge of his nose, “It’s almost one. Maybe home?”
Seb stopped abruptly in his tracks and made a 180 turn to stop Kimi. “Hmm, maybe buy groceries?” he chimed, completely ignoring Kimi’s statement.
Kimi tilted his head and made an expression as if saying, I guess we can, if you really want to. He couldn’t say no to Seb. “But there won’t be any shops open at this hour,” Kimi said.
Seb crossed his arms and thought about it for a moment, “Well, we can go to a petrol station or convenience store.”
Kimi shrugged, which was basically his way of going along with Seb’s idea. The German flashed a toothy smile and dragged Kimi to the car, letting himself be the passenger princess again. It was the least Kimi could do considering Seb spent the year driving and he didn’t. Or so he claimed!
They pulled up to a petrol station nearby. It was small, and mostly sold snacks and beverages. That was enough for Seb though. He rarely spent the night out like this on his own accord. The times he did, it was usually for team meetings after night races. And his last season wasn’t really one filled with celebration either, making most of his race weekends somewhat repetitive.
It was kind of exciting, fun, to have a late night out like that. Made him feel young, like the main character of a movie. And it felt different from the thrill of a podium or win. To simply be out with Kimi like this made him feel like they were newlyweds. Plus, after spending so long without Kimi by his side, he was really Kimi-starved. It was just fun to be with him, no matter what they were doing. It was the little things like this that made him realise how his future was going to be like, together with the man he loved. It made his heart race, like he was living a dream that came true.
“Kimi, look at this!” Seb gushed, pointing at a logo of a blonde spiky-haired mascot with sunglasses. He picked up the packet and positioned it beside Kimi’s face. “Looks like you,” he said, trying to muffle his chuckles.
“I look better than that,” Kimi refuted, pushing down his hand gently.
It’s been a long time since Seb got the chance to personally pick out his own groceries, or snacks really. He was used to having this service tailored for him by his personal trainer since he had a diet to follow. Even when he indulged in his favourite delights, it was usually something he ordered online.
Every moment he spent with Kimi today felt like a breath of fresh air. The fact that he could now devote his time to Kimi, to spend every waking moment with him, to get used to having Kimi in his life again. Seb’s never felt so in love.
His rose tinted glasses was swiftly broken by the sight of Kimi picking out beers from the fridge though. Nothing wrong with it, and Seb didn’t mind drinking, but just not tonight. “Kimi, not today?” Seb said, in his attempt to encourage Kimi to put them away.
Maybe it was the way he was looking at Kimi with his crystal blue eyes, or the way that his cheeks were slightly puffed. Or perhaps even the softness in his voice. It was persuasive and firm, but somewhat meek. Either way, Kimi was weak to it. He pressed his lips into a thin line and put the can back, but broke back into a smile seeing Seb’s radiant beam. Hell, he’d quit drinking for Seb. It would be hard, but he’d do it if Seb really wanted him to.
They spent a while more back and forth and the store. Seb took his own sweet time picking out various assortments of snacks and instant foods he rarely got the chance to eat when he was still driving.
“Oh, I’ve never tried this flavour before!” Seb said, picking up a cup of instant noodles and holding it up in the air like it was a trophy.
Kimi laughed, “Do you want to eat it?”
Seb chucked the noodles into his other hand that was holding onto a mountain of snacks. “Yeah, I think I’ll eat it when we get home!” Even though he’s already had a bunch of food earlier, there seems to always be room for more.
Kimi picked it out of his arms, “We can try it now.” He made his way to the cashier, prompting Seb to follow him. He paid for all the items like it was his second nature and left only the noodles out of the plastic bag. “Come here,” he said, making his way over to the seating area in the store. Seb watched eagerly as Kimi started preparing the noodles with the hot water dispenser. And in a few minutes, it was ready.
Kimi set the piping hot cup on the table, passing the fork to Seb, who gladly took it from him. He made sure to give it a good whiff before picking up a forkful of it. Kimi propped his arm up on the table and rested his chin on his hand, staring at Seb as he ate. “Is it good?” he asked.
Seb held his hand up towards Kimi to excuse himself from talking when he still had his mouth full of food. “It’s super good! Try some,” Seb replied, picking up a big mouthful and bringing it towards Kimi.
“It’s hot,” Kimi stated. What a sly fox, that one. Seb bit on his lower lip to hold back his smile, but ended up complying with him. He blew on the noodles a few times, making sure to look up at the older male as he did so. His eyes are beautiful and he’s taking full advantage of it. Kimi couldn’t help but smirk.
He licked the corner of his lip as he finished chewing and nodded, giving his approval at Seb’s taste. In just a flash, Seb’s already wolfed down every last bit of noodles and drank all the soup, letting out a satisfied exhale as he set the empty cup down onto the table. Kimi was still staring at him. “Is there something on my face or are you just looking because I’m handsome?” Seb teased.
Kimi reached his hand out towards Seb’s mouth and wiped the corner lightly, before retrieving his hand and licking the residue off his thumb. “There’s something on your face,” he said, watching Seb flush at his smooth movement.
Seb let out a silent scream while Kimi got off the chair with the bag of snacks in his arm and headed for the door. They were about to leave and head home, but an unfamiliar voice broke the silence.
“Ah, ahem— Are you Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen?” the voice was soft and timid. The both of them still had their caps and hoods low, but it’s not like they were really trying to hide their identity. Kimi didn’t understand German but their names were universal in every language. He was going to brush it off, but Seb was a nicer guy.
He turned over to the young lady behind the cashier. She was tiny, and didn’t look a day over 18 at best (even though she had to be since the store sold tobacco and alcohol). He tipped his hat up so she could get a clearer view of his face and she just about squealed into her hands.
“Ohmygoodness— Oh, I— Uhm— Could you, could you sign something for me?” the lass asked. Seb smiled and nodded as she hurriedly dug out a notebook from her bag. She opened up to a random page and clicked a pen, putting them down on the counter facing towards Seb. He took the pen and signed right in the middle of the page, putting in some effort to make it look extra nice. “And your name?” Seb asked, looking up at the lady.
She just barely managed to squeak out her name and probably almost had the blood vessels in her nose pop as Seb addressed the signature to her, adding a little note on the side. Then he nudged Kimi, prompting him to sign the other page. Kimi didn’t really do autographs, but whatever. He signed it casually and Seb stepped on his foot, whispering to him to write the other things he did. He sighed but did it anyway. His penmanship was horrible but she definitely didn’t seem to mind at all.
Seb waved goodbye to the nice young lady who looked like she was on the verge of exploding as they left. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face after and elbowed Kimi, “We still got it, huh?” Frankly, Kimi didn’t really care about that, but it was nice to see that the interaction made Seb’s day much better than it already was. He just shrugged, giving one of his signatures bwoahs.
The drive home was nice and quiet, with Seb trying out more of the snacks and sweets he (well, Kimi) bought. It was hushed out, much unlike some cities that continued to bustle throughout the night. The silence brought a sense of tranquility and soothed the fun night out they had.
Perhaps Kimi was just an efficient driver, but they got home much faster than Seb thought, before he could fully take in the stars that sparkled the sky and the water that mirrored it. The two of them were pretty spent at this point and all ready to hop in the bed even without washing up. Stepping through the front door, Kimi pulled Seb in by the waist.
“Welcome home, Kulta.”