Six Inch - [Lando Norris]

Двадцать семь

      Natalya woke up before Lando did. She rolled to her other side to see him facing her, one of his arms tugged under his face. She sighed softly, pulling the sheets down a little to cool her warm skin. She sat up and reached for the glass of water he had put on the nightstand last night. Her movements caused him to wake up too and Lando rolled to his back, folding his hands together behind his head. It was quiet between them as Natalya looked over at him, leaning back on her hands. "Did you sleep well?" Lando spoke up, clearing his throat after as his voice was still thick with sleep. "I did," she hummed. He nodded slowly. "Come here," Lando muttered, and she moved to get into his embrace. His arm curled around her while she rested her head on his chest. For a moment, they didn't say anything, but Lando spoke up again eventually. "Why did you make the deal with Sainz?" He asked calmly, feeling her nails drawing patterns on his bare chest.

"Money and a place to stay in Madrid. It's simple and materialistic as hell," Natalya said. "When he presented his plan to me, I had never seen you before or heard of you before. I never knew his real intentions the past few times we've spoken about it," she continued. "You got yourself into this for money?" Lando asked, turning to his side to properly face her. "For the larger part, yes. Coming from a background like mine... It means a lot to have your own money as a woman, Lando. Being able to live independently as a Russian woman meant the world to me, and other things didn't matter. The fact that I was a part of Sainz' crew was already dangerous enough, I couldn't see why I wouldn't want to participate in his plan," Natalya said. "I was honored he chose me to be part of his special project, as the new girl," she added. "I just never expected to meet you like that and get to know you like this." Lando listened to her softly.

"Next to all of it, I liked the thrill, to be honest. I like being admired, spoiled and praised," Natalya shrugged, not minding to admit it. "Oh, you do," Lando hummed, and it made her let out a breathy chuckle. "The moment we came home from Moscow, I wanted to tell you about everything, because I felt like what we had during that getaway was different from before," she started again. "I told Carlos I was in London with you, but of course he discovered that I lied to him. His men thrashed my apartment and made sure you knew about my participation in his plan. It escalated from then on," Natalya finished. "You lied to him, so you could be with me?" Lando asked. "Don't make it sound romantic," she snorted. "No, but you still did something dangerous, he could have searched you and hurt you instead, or kill you," Lando continued. Natalya's smile dropped a little and she looked down at her nails when she picked on the fabric of the duvet.

"It's not like you carried a lot of sympathy when you discovered my betrayal towards you, Lando," she softly said, remembering the awful confrontation that had followed after Lando came into her destroyed apartment and forced her to tell him all about it. He had threatened her with a weapon and she had slapped him harshly across the face, both of them guilty at that moment. "I'm sorry for that, I was just... furious, really. I was ready to just..." Lando looked away from her and swallowed harshly, his jaw clenching as he shook his head. Natalya knew what he was about to say, but neither of them finished the sentence. "It's alright," Natalya said, however, he shook his head again and turned back to her, looking into her eyes. His fingers reached out to caress her face, gliding his fingertips over her beautiful features. "I meant what I said before we left to Moscow, that I wanted you on my side, that I thought we could beat the world together. And I still mean it," Lando said.

"The fact that you've been training so hard and proved your loyalty, proved me wrong that I thought you'd work together with Sainz on this," he added. "I had to work for it," Natalya added, glancing over at him when she thought about the silence threat and the muscle aches she had suffered all those weeks. The corners of Lando's mouth moved slightly upwards. "I know," he replied, and they softly laughed. "The truth is, Natalya... I'm in love with you," Lando gave in. "So, that's supposed to make me forgive you for the mental torture you put me through the last couple of weeks?" Natalya asked, a slight sarcastic tone to her voice, which surprised him. "Natalya, please-..." "Don't worry about it," she chuckled. "But do you see what I mean? Just because you're in love with me, doesn't mean you can just t-..." "I love you," Lando blurted out, causing them to look up at each other. "Shut up," Natalya replied, which caused disbelief to shimmer in his eyes, but she leaned forward to kiss him.