Love in thirds

13.1 Charles & Sofia

Rushing through the paddock you make your way to your building, waving a greeting to your colleagues before you reach your team. "Sorry, sorry, I'm here" you pant, smiling at your grinning colleagues while sitting down. "I guess someone didn't want you to leave his garage?" one of them asks, and you blush while nodding. Charles had dragged you with him this morning, excitedly chatting about how this was his home race, and how he couldn't wait until he was able to go on track. You loved seeing his enthusiasm, even if it meant running through the paddock because you were almost late for work.

"Well, I have a nice surprise for you then" your manager says while walking towards your desk. "You can go to Charles' garage to make an article about it being his home race, observing him and everything that happens. Try to not get too distracted though" she says, winking at you before explaining to the other team members what their duties are for the day. You can't wipe the smile of your face when you make your way back to the Ferrari garage, popping into the hospitality for a coffee and a quick chat with Marie.

"They're letting you do the article on Charles? I love that for you!" she says, smiling brightly at you. "It would've been even more fun if Nell was here to take the photo's" you say, pouting at Marie who nods. "Who says I'm not here to take photo's though?" you hear a familiar voice, turning around to see your heavily pregnant friend smiling at the two of you. "What are you doing here!" you and Marie exclaim in union, rushing towards her to give her a hug. "I was bored, begged Danny to bring me with him and now I escaped Michael's piercing gaze to find you two. Think it won't take long before he's using a megaphone to try and find me though, just had to use the restroom since Bean is killing my bladder" she says, pointing at her belly before walking towards the restroom.

"I don't even know why I thought that she would stay home" you say, looking at Marie who starts laughing. "I know right, as if Daniel could keep her away here" you giggle, waiting until Nell is back to walk her to the McLaren garage. Michael lets out a sigh of relief, grabbing her hand to bring her back to the chair that was hers. "Don't ever do that to me again, Daniel will fucking murder me if something happens! Sofia, tell her that she needs to stay here" he tells you, pointing at Nell. "Please stay seated, I'll pick you up later for lunch" you tell her, waving bye at her when she nods, shifting in the chair while accepting the cookie Michael gives her.

You walk towards Charles' garage, greeting everyone you see on your way, before entering the garage. "Hey! You're back already" one of his mechanics say, and you nod, explaining why you came back. "He's going to love that! Well, you know everything here already so make yourself at home. If you have questions, just come to us" he says, smiling at you before walking back towards one of the screens, chatting to his colleague while they go over some data. You take a seat at the back of the garage, noting down a few things while you observe the team. You smile when you see the photographer for the weekend, waving him over to you so you can see what he took pictures of. "I'll make sure to write a few things that'll go well with the pictures, that way it makes sense in total, you know?" you tell him, and he nods before giving some ideas about text.

"Mon amour! What are you doing here!" you look up when you hear Charles' confused voice while he walks towards you after giving his helmet and baclava to his trainer. "I'm working in your garage, writing the article about you and your home race" you say, giggling when his face brightens up before he leans down to peck your lips. "Wow, I'm so happy!" he says, kissing you again before looking behind him when one of the mechanics calls him over. "Okay, I'm going to do the things I'm being paid for, it makes me feel more relaxed to know that you're here though" he tells you, stroking your cheek while he looks at you with a loving gaze, snapping out of it when he hears his name being called again. "I'll see you in a bit ma chérie."

The rest of the weekend flies by: Charles manages to get pole position, which makes him so happy that he's unable to stop smiling, even in his sleep. Sunday is nerve wrecking for him, flashbacks of the Monaco race where he couldn't even start after getting pole position make him fidgety the whole morning. You manage to calm him down, with some help from the team, and by the time he's in the car he's back in the zone. You write down as much as you can while trying to focus on the race, finger crossing the whole time you have nothing that you want to write down. The moment he crosses the finish line as the first is something that feels like it happened in slow motion. The whole team is silent before the garage erupts in shouts and clapping hands.