Chapter Text
Lando has never been a huge fan of magazines, especially those stupid tabloid ones with celebrity gossip on the front cover, treating peoples lives like some spectacle; in his perspective they’re tacky.
He’s alright with the artsier or less invasive ones. Fashion magazines, sports magazines, hell he’s voluntarily done a few of those himself.
But in his perceptive those are classier ones, unlike the trashy celebrity gossip kind. Not the type you would see at the front counter of some supermarket, next to the gum and chocolate bars.
They have never really been his thing, though especially not now that he’s in them. It feels a little vein to buy a book with a photo of yourself posing half naked plastered on the front of it.
Lando knows he looks good, he doesn’t need a constant reminder of that sitting on a shelf. Well, unless he’s bringing some girl over to impress or something; then maybe he can see the point.
Today though, as Lando has been getting ready for today's race. Zak walked in with some magazine, putting it down on a bench for Lando to have a look at.
The magazine Zak bought is one of the tackiest of them all, a teen magazine known for stretching he truth and making disastrously bad headlines.
Right on the front cover is Lando and Oscar holdings hands walking out of their dinner, with a big red circle around their intertwined hands.
Lando rolled his eyes when Zak showed it to him, he shoved it to the side and said he didn’t care. But Zak left the magazine in Lando’s garage to have a look at anyway, saying something about ‘good publicity’ on the way out.
As always, the magazine is annoyingly bold, a tacky colour palette of yellows and reds, designed to catch your eye amongst the magazine rack.
Lando has had run ins with them past, they love making up bullshit just for headlines; the usual. He usually would ignore a magazine like this, especially when he’s the one on the front page. But as he looks at this latest issue, it’s like he’s looking at it in an entirely different light.
As always, the headline is tacky. Written in bold text in a font designed to catch your eye.
“Landoscar is REAL?? McLaren boys spotted HOLDING HANDS, is this the end of the McLaren team as we know it? How will they recover?!”
As always, dramatic and absolutely stupid.
“The end of McLaren as we know it” they held hands, on a date. McLaren isn’t going to single handedly shut down operations because of a little hand holding.
Hell, McLaren is the one making all of this fucking happen!
God these people are always so dramatic, it pisses Lando off.
Hell they got caught eating each others faces off a few days ago, a little hand holding isn’t even the worst of it!
But that isn’t what Lando is focused on right now, what he’s looking at is the image below that text with an absolutely hideous font.
Them, together, holding hands, walking out of the restaurant.
Looking at every detail they managed to capture of the two of them. Oscar’s hand was leading, shown directly to the cameras in front of the both of them as they walked down those steps side by side.
The slight veins in Oscar’s hands, a few faint scratches visible on his skin. The way his hand is so tightly holding Lando’s, so secure, the chemistry somehow looking so real.
Oscar has a faint smile on his face, it was meant to comfort Lando at the time. But right now Lando can’t help but see the warmth in it.
It was just a spur of the moment glance, surely it doesn’t mean anything. Lando knows that he’s probably crazy to see anything other than an act in that photo.
But as Lando looks at the magazine, he can’t help but see the real affection in that photo. And that maybe, that moment meant something for Oscar; that maybe all of this means something to Oscar.
He has been acting weird, Oscar acted weird throughout dinner, even Lando has to admit some of those glances between the two of them don’t exactly scream ‘co-workers’.
I mean, he’s been making some comments lately that feel strangely real, and others that feel like they hold deeper feelings than they should.
But that’s crazy though right?
This doesn’t mean anything, this can’t mean anything.
Lando isn’t gay, Oscar isn’t gay. Landoscar isn’t ‘real’, at least in the way everyone seems to think it is.
He’s straight, very straight.
Though for some reason, as Lando continues to look at that photo he feels like he can’t look away; it’s like his stomach is churning inside of him. A wave of a strange emotion washing over him.
Warmth maybe? A hint of affection?
It’s crazy though right?
This doesn’t mean anything, it can’t mean anything. Lando only agreed to this for the bonus he’s getting, not because he wants to date his co-worker.
Hell the idea of that sounds stupid, dating Oscar? It’s a bad idea, a horrible one even.
Lando tries to ignore the thoughts constantly running through his head. He’s meant to be focusing on the race, it’s Sunday, literal fucking race day and all he can think about is that stupid fucking moment in that photo.
When he manages to forget, his mind quickly drifts back too Oscar, he thinks about this relationship, what this all could mean, how light and fluttery he feels around him.
Again, it doesn’t matter.
Because at the end of the day, Lando will always end up with a girl.
So what if he thinks Oscar’s hands felt so perfect against his own, so what if he felt in awe of Oscar when he walked into that restaurant two nights ago now. So what if he can feel his heart beat a little quicker when Oscar is around.
And so what if he’s looking at a photo of them holding hands, and secretly kind of wishing that they could do it again.
At the end of the day, Oscar isn’t a girl. And Lando is very much into girls, there's no point complicating this any more than it already has been.
Lando runs his thumb across their intertwined hands in the photo, his mind feeling fuzzy from all that has happened over the last few days.
He can remember so clearly how safe he felt, how it was like the world melted away and the only thing that mattered in that moment was Oscar.
Lando lets out a sigh, looking away from the magazine and rubbing his temples as he tries to not let himself overthink this.
He knew it would be complicated, but not in this way.
In Lando’s mind he isn’t questioning his sexuality, he’s questioning the situation itself.
Everyone has been so obsessed with this, and it’s made it even harder for him to process what is happening.
Zak was right, people have become obsessed with this ‘relationship’ that they have crafted. People who never even thought about F1 are now talking about this, hell he’s seen face on every news station lately.
Maybe it’s good for business, but it hasn’t been good for Lando’s head. Because he feels like he can’t think about anything other than this situation, specifically he can only think about Oscar.
Fucking hell, he wishes he never agreed to this nightmare.
Zak burning his contract right in front of him would have probably been better off in the long run, because all this has done is driven Lando crazy.
Oscar walks into the room, seeing Lando as he looks down at the magazine on Zak’s desk; he lets out a sigh and enters the room.
He walks up next to Lando, looking at the magazine too. His eyes going back and forth from them holding hands in that photo, towards Lando’s hand hanging right next to Oscar; so close to his own.
Lando doesn’t react, he just keeps looking at the photo; his mind too preoccupied with everything he’s been thinking about lately.
“I saw Zak on the way here,” Oscar says, breaking the silence between the two of them, “He’s happy with how things are going, he’s already planning ‘the next stage’.”
Lando takes a deep breath and lets it out with a sigh, looking towards Oscar as he’s still deep in thought about everything.
His breath hitches a little when he sees Oscar, in an entirely straight way of course.
Why does he look so good?
He’s in his race suit, getting ready for the race that is going to begin in only about an hour now. It’s nothing Lando hasn’t seen before, but Lando can’t help but notice how well it compliments his features, showing off the slight dip to his hip.
Lando tries to shake the thoughts out of his mind.
It’s the situation getting to him, that's all; he doesn’t actually mean any of this does he?
He can’t.
For the hundredth time now, he isn’t gay.
But from the sounds of it, Oscar might not be so straight.
The only question on his mind right now is, what does this mean for Oscar? Because Lando can’t shake the feeling that this means something to him.
Lando lets out a sigh.
“Zak’s too focused on this, I can hardly think about the race with how much he’s pushing this, you know?” Lando responds, rubbing his head as he tries to quiet down his thoughts.
“Is he too focused on this, or are you too focused on this?” Oscar responds.
Lando looks up at Oscar, his brow furrowing with annoyance at Oscar’s blunt response.
“This isn’t exactly normal you know Oscar,” Lando responds, sounding a little offended as he thinks over what Oscar might be insinuating, “I’m lying to the world, I’m not going to love this.”
Oscar huffs, sounding borderline offended.
Because, Oscar knows a lot about lying to the world. He’s been hiding a major part of him from everyone he’s known for a while now. He might be coming out under the guise of a PR relationship, but it doesn’t make this any less real for him.
He’s falling for his coworker, and he knows how stupid that is; but it doesn’t change that it’s happening.
For once he’s being honest about how his own sexuality, and for Lando it’s all this one big lie.
As much as it shouldn’t, it hurts. As much as he knows he can’t blame Lando for any of this, part of him wants too. Because at the end of the day, he wants Lando so bad; and this is both ripping that opportunity away from him and giving it to him at the same time.
Why can’t he have a chance?
What’s stopping Lando? Because whatever it was seemed to go away whenever that picture of them was taken weeks ago now.
“Believe me, I know about lying.”
The words come out of his mouth before he can really think them over. When Oscar processes what he said, he looks down at the magazine again; not able to make eye contact with Lando.
Fuck.
He really needs to start thinking his words over more.
Lando’s annoyance melts away, and he looks at Oscar with confusion instead.
“The hell does that mean?” Lando asks, sounding half shocked and half concerned.
Oscar huffs, but it doesn’t sound amused; more tired if anything.
“Nothing,” he looks up at Lando again, trying his hardest to keep his expression neutral, “It’s nothing.”
Lando rolls his eyes, unconvinced, “It’s something, you keep saying things Oscar. All these... Weird comments.”
Oscar looks down at the magazine again, seeing the warmth between the two of them. The slight smile on Lando’s face as they held hands, walking down that staircase knowing the entire world would see them.
That warmth is gone now.
Right now, it feels awkward, a little tense even.
He turns around, walking towards the other side of the garage. Not wanting to confront this right now.
Oscar can hardly focus on racing after all of this anyway, he doesn’t want to make it harder by having a conversation about this with Lando.
“It’s nothing,” Oscar repeats, turning his head around slightly to face Lando, “You’re right, we need too focus on the race. We’re both too focused on this... Situation.”
Oscar walks out of the garage, taking a deep breath as he heads to his own; trying his hardest to not feel hurt by everything that has happened lately.
He knows it isn’t Lando’s fault, but he just wants him so bad.
God he wishes he never agreed to this, he knew he would end up getting hurt in the long run.
Lando will move away from this like nothing happened, and Oscar will feel like he had his heart ripped out in the end; he just knows it.
As Oscar walk away, Lando rubs his temples, trying to shut his mind off so he can actually focus on the damn race.
Lando knows the both of them are too focused on this thing, but he’s left wondering if they’re focusing on the same thing or not. Because Lando has a feeling that Oscar is keeping something from him.
Truthfully, how would have they ended up this way in the first place otherwise?
Maybe, Oscar does like him.
And now Lando has to figure out what that means for himself; because for some reason he can feel a slight warmth in his chest at the idea of that alone.
----
The race went... Interestingly.
Nothing spectacular, 4th and 5th; not horrible, not great though.
They spent a solid chunk of it trying to fight each other off from taking the other’s position, turns out their ‘relationship’ isn’t going to get in the way of their racing. Zak seemed happy with that, a fake relationship is good for business but so is tension and passion.
Basically, all Zak wants out of this is attention and for people to be taking about McLaren; and well they have been.
Lando was a little disappointed by the result, after back to back wins.
Maybe they could have done better, they were hoping for a win of course; and if they both weren’t so absorbed in everything that has been happening lately it might have happened. Turns out a fake relationship takes a lot of your energy.
Even with the average result, Lando wanted to go to a club; and Oscar was sort of dragged along being his ‘boyfriend’.
Not that Lando really expects to be around Oscar much tonight, he’s been around him too much lately. Specifically, Oscar’s been on his mind too much.
He’s felt the weight of the world on his shoulders lately, so he thought that maybe if he gets a bit of attention from some girls it will help him forget about everything. Specifically, it might help him forget about Oscar; because at this point it’s becoming a little concerning for Lando too.
I mean, he’s still pretty sure he isn’t gay. But he can see how having a man on your mind 24/7 could make you seem a little gay.
You know, don’t all straight people need a reminder of the fact that they like girls? This is perfectly normal.
Or at least Lando is telling himself it is.
Oscar didn’t exactly want to go watch Lando flirt with random girls at a club, truly it’s the last thing he wants to do after such a long day. But he agreed anyway, mainly because he felt like he didn’t have a choice in the matter anyway.
If he didn’t come, Lando would be suspicious why and he might piece together the fact that Oscar likes him. And at the moment, he’s made it pretty clear that this is just a ‘fake relationship’ too him, so Oscar would rather not complicate things further.
So here they are, at some club in Italy; surrounded by strangers.
Lando is having a pretty great time, he quickly found a girl he liked with a fun group of friends. He’s sitting in some booth, playing some drinking game he doesn’t fully understand, as he sits next to the girl, laughing at some joke she told that he also doesn’t entirely understand.
Light, fun.
For once he isn’t thinking about Oscar, he isn’t thinking about this relationship. He’s tipsy, and all he can think about is the pretty girl sitting next to him laughing at his stupid jokes.
This is the closest he’s felt to his version of normal in two weeks.
Oscar on the other hand is gripping his fourth beer bottle of the night so hard that it could break, as he stands by the bar looking at Lando from across the club; his eyes unable to break away.
He’s making those girls laugh, whispering into that one girls ear every few moments making her blush and laugh. They’re entirely absorbed in themselves.
It hurts.
Maybe Lando hasn’t been exactly for this plan, he’s been complaining about it every step of the way. But Oscar naively had a slight hint of hope that maybe he wouldn’t flirt with girls during this ‘relationship’, that this situation would make him be exclusive for once.
He was wrong, very wrong.
Oscar wants to sit down directly between Lando and that girl, and tell them all who Lando actually belongs too.
But he cant, because this relationship doesn’t mean shit too Lando.
It’s fake, and he knew that from the very beginning. But he was stupid enough to have the slightest hint of hope in his chest that it might become real one day.
It wont, he can see that now.
And even if part of him knew the whole time it wouldn’t, it doesn’t make it hurt any less.
“You’re obvious you know that?” someone says from beside him, someone with a thick accent that sounds sort of French but also doesn’t.
Oscar looks towards the direction of the voice, and he sees Charles looking at him with a slight smirk on his face. Oscar lets out a sigh, looking back towards Lando.
The other drivers know that this is for PR, Zak sent out emails to every single team to make sure they wouldn’t accidentally ‘ruin this perfect plan’. They have all been surprised, confused, and a little weirded out.
Well, all except for a few; Charles being one of them. Oddly Charles is pretty supportive, which has been pretty refreshing; especially for Oscar.
Even though Oscar knows Charles isn’t trying to be mean, he still feels called out by Charles’ comment.
“About?” Oscar asks in response, his voice sounding tense.
Charles huffs, “This isn’t just a PR thing for you is it? You like him.”
Oscar’s head snaps back towards Charles, looking offended. Not offended because he’s wrong, Charles is stating the obvious, Oscar just feels called out.
He goes to deny it, but instead he lets out a slight scoff, “Does it matter?” he responds, his words tense with frustration and hurt, “He’s obviously into them, It’s not like I’ve got a chance anyway.”
Charles looks back at Lando for a moment, and then back at Oscar, “Believe me, he seemed pretty into you 2 weeks ago.”
Oscar’s head snaps towards Charles instantly.
Oh god.
Does he remember?
“The hell does that mean?” he asks.
Charles leans back against the bar, a slight smirk on his face, “C’mon, surely you remember what happened at that club after Zandvoort. Neither of you were exactly subtle.”
“You remember?” Oscar asks, not wanting to confirm or deny anything yet.
Charles lets out a laugh, “God I wish I could forget it, he was all over you man.”
Oscar almost chokes on his beer at that response.
All over HIM?
Lando was all over HIM?
Not the other way around?
So Oscar didn’t confess? Lando instead approached him? The thought of it alone is making Oscar’s head spin.
Oscar looks back at Lando, who is now leaning against a girl trying to ‘show her something’; which is exclusively a ploy to make her blush.
“All over me?” Oscar asks, confusion and shock clear in his tone, “Lando was all over me?”
Charles lets out a laugh, “Mate, you were moping around all night; so he dragged you to the dance floor. He then made you dance together for like 4 songs straight and then you both ended up in that booth trying to rip each other’s clothes off,” he smirks as he recounts the story, “Seriously, Alex had to remind Lando that public indecency is illegal when he tried to take your jeans off.”
Oh god.
Oscar feels his heart pounding in his chest, his cheeks warming as he visualizes what that might have been like; feeling utterly dumbfounded by this information.
The one out of the two of them that has been so certain that he is one-thousand percent straight, is the one who initiated this all? Lando danced with him?!
“What happened after that?” Oscar asks, sounding like he’s in awe of all of this information.
Charles huffs, “You guys left after Alex made sure you kept your clothes on, Lando saying something about being a buzzkill on his way out. But believe me, I’m surprised you guys didn’t eat each other’s faces off; there was too much passion there.”
Oscar shakes his head, in disbelief.
Lando initiated it, the guy who has been ripping Oscar’s heart out of his chest over and over again for the last two weeks now was the one to try and get in Oscar’s pants.
Wait.
Did he get into Oscar’s pants?
God, there are still so many unanswered questions; but this does answer a few of them.
Again, he knows he shouldn’t feel this way but those words help rebuild the hope that has been keeping Oscar going for the last few weeks; even through all of the accidental stabs directly to his heart.
He can’t stop looking at Lando, as he’s being his usual self with those girls, making them laugh, making them smile and twirl their hair like they’re in some teen romance movie.
Two weeks ago, that was him.
Lando approached him, Lando danced with him, Lando flirted with him, Lando tried to get in his pants.
And tonight, he’s entirely forgotten about him; he’s moved on like none of this matters.
It both gives him hope, yet rips his heart out. Because he so badly wants to be one of them.
Why can’t he do that again? Why doesn’t Lando want him? Why the hell is Lando so damn sure he’s straight?
You know what maybe Oscar isn’t wrong to have hope after all. Maybe Lando is lying to himself, maybe there is something there and Lando just needs to discover that himself.
God, Oscar hopes so; because it’s what he’s been hoping for since the very beginning.
“Do you think he likes me back?” Oscar asks, being a little blunt with a few drinks in his system by now.
Charles looks at Lando and then back at Oscar, “Honestly, I think Lando is kinda into everyone.”
Oscar huffs, “That doesn’t help.”
Charles laughs and rolls his eyes, “This is Lando we’re talking about, he’s a flirt; he fucks anyone who will give him the time of day. Truly who knows what he feels towards you, but I don’t think it’s entirely a ‘friendship’ between you.”
Oscar huffs looks at Charles, “You seriously think he might be gay? And that he might be into me?”
Charles can’t help but smirk, “Well after seeing him grind on you, he sure as hell isn’t straight.”
Oscar rolls his eyes and then looks back at Lando again, seeing him downing a shot as some girl laughs. It still hurts, but watching it hurts a little less that he knows the information he does now.
Even if he hasn’t gotten confirmation of if Lando is truly gay or not, he feels like he’s got more than enough information tonight to help his delusion.
Because maybe, Oscar isn’t so crazy to think that Lando is gay. And maybe, Lando just needs to see what he’s missing out on because from the sounds of it; he saw it that night.