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Nico woke slowly, the way he always did after six quiet hours of sleep. Pale morning light filtered through the half-open curtains, and a gentle breeze slipped in from the balcony door, cool against the bare skin of his chest and shoulders.
Gabi was still deeply asleep beside him, curled tight as if he had claimed every inch of space in the night. Messy dark curls tickled Nico’s cheek and nose with every slow breath the younger man took. Warm air brushed steadily against Nico’s neck where Gabi’s face rested, tucked there like it belonged. One bare leg lay heavy over Nico’s thigh, their skin sticking lightly where they touched. Both of them shirtless, the sheets pushed low around their hips.
Nico stayed perfectly still, letting the warmth of Gabi’s body sink into him. At twenty-one Gabi loved sleep the way some people loved coffee - deeply, unapologetically. He had once grinned and declared he only needed nine hours, as if that made him efficient. Nico, thirty-eight now and used to six, always woke first. He never minded. These quiet minutes had become his favourite part of any morning they managed to steal.
He watched the steady rise and fall of Gabi’s chest, the way his dark lashes rested against his cheeks. The boyish charm was still there, soft in the relaxed lines of his face, the slight pout of his lips, the way his curls fell wild across his forehead. Yet Nico could also see the young man Gabi had become over the last year and a half. The light stubble dusting his jaw - the remains of a beard he had shaved the day before - was new. It suited him. It spoke of someone who trained harder, thought deeper, carried himself with a quiet steadiness that had grown month by month. Nico felt a surge of respect so strong it almost surprised him.
His mind drifted back to the beginning.
When he had signed with Sauber and the new Audi project, excitement had come first - a fresh challenge, a new chapter after years of steady partnership with Kevin. Then the news landed: his teammate would be a twenty-year-old rookie. Nico had felt a flicker of resignation. He had expected noise, endless energy to manage, the loss of the easy rhythm he had known. Another young driver in the garage, bright and hungry, probably needing guidance whether he admitted it or not. He had braced himself to miss the comfortable, low-key dynamic he once had.
Instead, Gabi had walked into his life with an open smile and an extroverted warmth that never felt overbearing. From the very first days something between them had simply clicked. Conversations flowed without effort. Silences felt comfortable. Touches happened naturally - a hand on an arm while leaning over data, a shoulder brushing in narrow spaces, fingers lingering a second longer than necessary when passing a bottle of water. Gabi never pushed; he simply existed beside Nico with an ease that made the whole world feel lighter.
The moment Nico knew he was screwed had come during preseason testing, when a small piece of debris had caught him in the eye. Pain had flared sharp and sudden. Before he could even curse, Gabi was there, stepping close without hesitation. His hands had been so gentle on Nico’s face - warm fingertips carefully holding his jaw, thumb lightly brushing just beneath the injured eye, voice low and steady.
“Let me see,” Gabi had murmured, concern softening every word.
Nico had stood frozen, heart thudding for reasons that had nothing to do with the sting. In that single careful touch he had felt seen, cared for, wanted in a way that had nothing to do with lap times or telemetry. He had known right then, with Gabi’s breath warm on his skin and those dark eyes focused only on him, that his quiet, controlled world was never going to be the same.
From that day the shift had been gradual but unstoppable. Gabi’s laugh started to live in Nico’s chest even when they were apart. His steady presence became something Nico looked forward to without naming it. The rookie he had once worried would be extra work had quietly become the person who made every room feel warmer, every silence fuller, every touch more meaningful.
Nico’s hand moved of its own accord now, sliding slowly across the sheets until his palm settled on the smooth expanse of Gabi’s bare back. His thumb traced a lazy, gentle line along the curve of Gabi’s spine, feeling the warmth of living skin, the faint beat of his heart beneath. Gabi stirred without waking, a soft hum vibrating against Nico’s neck as he instinctively pressed closer. The leg over Nico’s thigh tightened, pulling them flush. Another curl brushed Nico’s lips. He smiled into the messy hair, breathing in the familiar scent of Gabi’s shampoo and sleepy skin.
Thirty-eight and twenty-one. The numbers still felt impossible some mornings. Yet here they were - bodies fitted together like they had been doing it for years, hearts beating in the same quiet rhythm. Nico had thought the rookie would bring chaos. Instead Gabi had brought peace. The kind of peace that settled deep in his bones and made him want to stay right here, breeze on their skin, curtains swaying, world shut gently outside the door.
Gabi mumbled something sleepy and half-formed, lips brushing Nico’s collarbone. Nico pressed a slow, lingering kiss to the top of his head, hand still warm on his back.
He smiled into the messy hair, breathing in the familiar scent of Gabi’s shampoo and sleepy skin.
Gabi’s breathing changed first - a small catch, then a slow, deeper inhale. His lashes fluttered. Once. Twice. He blinked a few times, eyes still heavy and unfocused, before they found Nico’s face only inches away. A tiny, unguarded yawn slipped out, mouth opening wide without any attempt to cover it. Normally that would have grated on Nico; with Gabi it was simply adorable, the kind of unguarded softness that made something warm bloom low in his chest.
Gabi stretched then, slow and lazy like a little puppy waking from a long nap. His back arched, shoulders rolling, one arm reaching overhead while the other stayed draped across Nico. The movement pressed him even closer, almost as if he were trying to crawl beneath Nico’s skin. Bare chest slid warm against bare chest. His hand wandered sleepily over Nico’s ribs and up to his sternum, palm spreading wide, fingers flexing once as if checking Nico was solid and real.
A soft, raspy murmur escaped against Nico’s neck. “Bom dia…”
Nico’s thumb kept tracing gentle circles on Gabi’s back. He answered just as quietly, voice low and warm.
“Guten Morgen.”
Gabi hummed, the sound vibrating through both of them, and nuzzled closer, curls tickling Nico’s jaw. In that moment everything settled. The constant travel, the hotel rooms that blurred together, the lack of any fixed address - none of it mattered. Nico felt a deep, bone-settling contentment wash over him. He belonged. Right here, tangled in warm sheets and warmer skin, listening to Gabi’s slow breaths and the faint sway of the curtains in the breeze.
Home wasn’t a place. It was this. It was him.