Chapter Text
The hotel room was finally quiet.
For the first time that day, Arvid was alone.
No cameras. No interviews. No questions. Just silence.
It wasn't like he was avoiding it. He was used to it. That was part of his work. Sometimes he liked to say things that would get him sacked by his team.
But not today. He was too exhausted to think about stupid questions asked by interviewers and come up with the most sarcastic answers.
His trophy was here, on the nightstand. It reminded him of all the effort he had put in. It was thanks to the entire team. Good qualifying, strategy, a fast pit stop.
He thought about it before the race. At that moment it was unbelievable. His first podium? In Spielberg? During his rookie season in F1?
It was better than he expected. All the congratulations, all the posts about him on every app. The points he scored to gain a few places in the standings.
If it was a dream, he didn't want to wake up.
But knocking on the door brought him out of his thoughts. It had been an hour since he left the paddock and locked himself in a room.
He didn't ask who's there. Fatigue was getting the better of him. He just opened the door and saw Liam in the doorway.
"What are you doing here?" Arvid asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I didn't even have time to congratulate you, mate," Liam replied with a smirk. "You left the paddock very quickly."
"I was too tired to talk to anybody," he confessed, rubbing his eyes. "Come on in."
Arvid fell onto the bed while Liam was closing the door. He stopped and looked at the trophy standing in front of him
"You drove well all weekend," Liam said. "I knew you would be on a podium."
"I thought about it but I didn't want to get my hopes up," Arvid chuckled. "The media will be talking about me until the next race. I need to take advantage of it."
"You want to get kicked out from the team?" Liam couldn't help but smile.
He sat next to Arvid, already knowing what was going through Arvid's mind. The younger driver loved causing drama. Thinking before speaking was never really his strong suit.
"I just want to have some fun." Arvid replied with the most innocent voice.
There was a moment of silence. Arvid focused on the thoughts running through his mind. He closed his eyes, forgetting about Liam.
He wanted some time for himself. He wanted to look at the trophy again and rest. He wasn't tired. He was exhausted in the way he always felt when his mind couldn't focus on one thing.
Arvid knew that Liam came here on purpose.
"Do you have any plans to celebrate your podium? Max has been sitting at the bar for an hour." Liam asked.
"He won a race for the first time in a year. We all know that he likes to drink. That's not for me," Arvid scoffed. "Don't even tell me that Charles is with him there."
"Would you be surprised if I say so?" He raised his eyebrows. "They just have their own way to celebrate."
Arvid shook his head at the thought of them. Last time Charles celebrated his win — well, it was three weeks ago — we found him on the corridor without a shirt. No one even had asked about it.
He loved causing drama, that was true. But only when he did it consciously. Arvid didn't need another headline telling that one of the VCARB drivers got drunk and ended up in a strange place.
Still with his eyes closed, Arvid felt the touch under his shirt. It was Liam's hand on his waist.
"Liam..." He murmured.
It wasn't their first time being closer than they should be. As much as Arvid pretended to hate it, Liam knew exactly how to get a reaction out of him.
A shiver ran through Arvid's body. And as always, it happend when Liam touched him on purpose, not by accident.
Before, it was just putting his hand on Arvid's shoulder longer than he did with any of his other friends. Smiling after every good result or picking on him during the interview.
"What?" Liam asked with a grin on his face.
"I fucking hate you," Arvid grumbled, which caused Liam's smile to grow wider.
They both knew it wasn't true. Arvid wanted Liam to tease him, but he never admitted it. That was why he didn't tell him to stop. He wanted to feel the New Zealander's hand slowly moving on his chest.
"That was a compliment." Liam leaned over him.
Arvid didn't see it, his eyes were still closed, but he felt it. His heart skipped a beat. Suddenly he wasn't tired after that long race.
"Why do you always treat me like that?" The younger let out a quiet sigh.
"You say it like you don't want it," Liam replied, knowing damn well what he was doing.
"That wasn't an answer to my question." Arvid couldn't take it anymore. This went too far, they had no choice. Not when Liam came to his hotel room with a certain plan in his head.
"Really? I didn't know." his sarcastic voice was like Arvid was hit by a truck. Lindblad knew that he always used that voice to answer strange interviewers' questions. And now it turned against him.
Arvid didn't open his eyes. Not when Liam's hand was still wandering under his shirt, not when Liam kissed him.
That was something he had never even dared to think about. He thought that Liam only liked to drive him crazy.
If it was one of his games, Arvid didn't want to stop playing.
He put his arms around Liam's neck, pulling him closer. He had never been in a situation like this before. He didn't know what to do, but as long as he felt Liam's lips against his, everything felt right.
Liam slowly moved away from Arvid. He didn't want it to go so far unless he knew Arvid was okay with it.
But it seemed like it. Arvid was smiling and he didn't want to let go of Liam.
"Why are you grinning like that?" Liam asked, not knowing what it meant.
"That was my first podium," Arvid replied. His thoughts returned to the events of a few hours ago. "And my first kiss."
"Wait, really?" The New Zealander couldn't believe it. "I thought you had been with someone before."
"I know that everyone loves me and my answers, but that doesn't mean I love them back," Arvid laughed. "I think I should be on the podium more often."
Liam leaned against the wall behind him. Arvid didn't know what was going through his mind but he didn't want it to end like that.
He laid his head on Liam's chest. There were still things left unsaid, but he felt that this was right.
"Will it be okay if I stay the night?" Liam glanced at him with hesitation. Maybe he still didn't know what had actually happened between them. He wanted to leave Arvid space if he needed it. He didn't want to impose himself.
"I want you to stay the night," Arvid insisted, so Liam couldn't resist.