Halo

XLI

"Stella!" 

I turned to see a lock of shock on Mick's face as his electric blue eyes bore into mine. No words passed between us, but I almost felt as if there was some sort of understanding that we went through. 

"Mick," I whispered as he walked up to me and enveloped me in a tight hug. He began crying and I only held onto him tighter before kissing his forehead softly. 

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. 

"I think we both know where we each went wrong and from now on we really have to talk to each other." 

Mick smiled down at me through his tears. "I promise." 

"I love you, Mick." 

The rest of the night we spent talking over the past few months. What happened, what went wrong, and what went right. Mick and I touched on his teammate issue and while I didn't want to push anything I made it clear about how my money would be placed. 

I also called Lewis. There would be another time for him and me to talk but for now, we can just have some peace.

The next morning Mick and I flew to Bahrain for preseason testing. He saw I was in a horrible mood over having to be up early in the morning, but he still managed to make me laugh while we flew. 

"Stella, you know how much love I have for you, and just know you can pull me out the moment you need me. F1 means nothing to me without you." Mick whispered. 

I smiled softly, "And same with my career, it's all meaningless without you. I love you, and we're a team in this together." 

Mick kissed me again before resting on my shoulders while I continued drawing designs. I wanted to work a bit on designs for Menswear which Mick was helping me a bit on. I was also making some of the F1 drivers the face of the menswear company. 

When we arrived in Bahrain, we got to the hotel before Mick would be going for press and I would be going for the press as well. 

Soon we arrived early in the morning at the point where the sun wasn't even up yet. I was fully rested by the time we reached the hotel. Mick got into his team clothes while I dressed in white high-top converse, white jeans, and a Mercedes team jacket. Since I was of course a sponsor and held shares. 

"Are you ready to do this?" Mick asked as we arrived at the circuit after breakfast. 

"Let's do this!" I exclaimed. 

We split up as I made my way over to Mercedes where Toto was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Deciding to leave him be I went over to where Lewis was gearing up for his first drive. 

"Hey, little sis."

"Hey, the uniforms look amazing. I really outdid myself again!" I joked. 

Lewis raised a brow, "Seriously though, the Uniforms are amazing, and as a large sponsor hopefully we'll make your time and bran worthy of us." 

"You have," I whispered before giving him a hug. "Be safe out there Lewis, this sand storm settling in isn't ideal. Just...just the grip is different and I can't have you spinning into any railing or something." 

Lewis pulled away to look me in the eyes, "and risk ruining your uniform, I wouldn't dare." 

He was joking, but I could tell the deeper meaning behind his words. At the end of the day, I would always be extremely worried about my big brother. Lewis, Lewis, Lewis, we would go to the ends of the earth for each other and simultaneously be in an argument but have the same end goal. 

I left the Mercedes garage and moved down to Haas to check on things there. Mazepin came up to and Mick made a beeline to my side. I sent Mick a look, sometimes thinking her forgets I'm one of the highest trained officers in England. 

"Nikita," I nodded. 

"I've heard lot's about you, perhaps you would like to meet my father who would love to invest in your company." He replied. 

For emphasis, I switched to Russian, "I'm watching you extremely close Mazepin. I've got to upper hand here, so don't test your luck." 

He looked at me with a shocked face before turning back to the garage after giving me a curt nod. 

"Whatever did you say?" Mick questioned. 

"I asserted dominance." 

"I really want to kiss you right now." 

I pulled down my mask quickly allowing Mick to give me a quick kiss, that at some point was going to end up all over social media and F1 news. 

"I love you and promise to be safe out there," I whispered to him. 

"I promise." 

With one last kiss, I let Mick get back to the garage and I went over to talk with Toto about everything going on. I was a bit worried for the boys like always, especially Mick and Lewis, but they knew what they were doing. 

We sat at the pit wall watching the drivers go round and round. I could hear Lewis talking when I was handed a pair of headphones. I remembered the time when Nico won the WDC and I had on a headset as we were screaming back and forth to each other as he finished the race. 

That was hands down one of my favorite memories for F1. I hope to make so many more with Mick as well. 

By the time the third day was over, I was ready to return home. Even on the jet, I was anxious to return to Paris, so work would continue for this year. 

Things were changing as S.M.S.&Co. I was getting a new face for the designs and as much as Mick wanted to do it, he was more focused on getting used to F1. So, after a few calls, I had Timothée Chalamet flying in to offer him the honor of being the newest face of the brand. 

It was Hero for a while, but before it was actually Leonardo DiCaprio so it was always a coveted spot. Let's hope Timothée is more permanent than Hero at least. I mean...I can always go back to Leo. Fingers crossed.