'There you guys are.'
Lando and I take a seat at the table Eve and Jon picked.
'Yeah sorry we're a bit later.' I say.
'It's okay, we have food.'
Eve takes another bite of her croissant and gives me a thumbs up.
I chuckle and set my plate down as well, picking up one of the grapes.
Lando is quiet as he looks at his as good as empty plate.
'Jon...' Lando starts. He clenches his jaw before looking up at him.
'I'm, I'm sorry about yesterday. I really should have done better but I couldn't, and-'
'Come on Lando, you have nothing to apologize for.' Jon interrupts.
'Yes I do.' Lando says back.
I lay my hand on his arm, holding he's not going back down this dark side of his mind 'you won pole in qualifying this weekend mate, what would you apologize for?' Jon's words make him look back down. Eve gives him a sad smile.
'Listen to him Lando. You should look past the one mistake you made, and see the whole picture.' Eve chimes in. I move my hand from his arm to take another piece of fruit from my plate. 'She's right you know.' I chime in.
He shakes his head 'still.'
'My god you're stubborn.'
Eve leans back into her seat.
'You won pole in qualifying. You led the maturity of that race, and you proofed, to everyone, that you could win. Even from Mercedes and Red Bull.' Jon's words get no reaction from Lando.
'Jesus Lando. You're twenty one! Do you think this was your only change of a win? Do you know how talented you are already?' Eve snap but means it well.
Lando looks at me and I give him a reassuring smile.
'They're right.' I say as I gently pat his shoulder.
'It doesn't change the fact that I made a mistake that kept me from winning, and I let down the team with that.'
'Lando...'
his turns to me when I say his name.
'You made us proud. I know I'm proud. And I know Jon is proud of you. The whole team is proud of what you've shown this weekend. And yeah, the last few laps clouded over the situation, but that doesn't mean they don't know what you did do. That you did set personal records. We're all so proud of you Lando, believe me.'
He lets out a shaky breath and blinks away the tears in his eyes.
'Will you trust me and my words? Please?'
He nods and looks back down to his plate.
'Eat something, we'll be traveling the whole day.' Jon says as he gives him a sympathetic look. He plays with the blank slice of toast but doesn't take a bite.
After breakfast I go back up to Lando's room to help him pack.
When the door closes, and I know no one can see us, I grab his hand to stop him.
'Come here.' I nearly whisper as I pull him to me.
Expecting him to back away like yesterday, he surprises me by a tight hug.
His arms are wrapped around my waist as he has his head dropped down into my shoulder. I rub his back before gently scratching the back of his neck.
'I'm still proud of you.'
He stays quiet.
'Please....'
I take a deep breath.
'Please tell me you'll be okay when I leave.'
The hitch in his breath and the sniffle after answers in one way.
'Hun Please.'
I rub his side with one hand as the other gently scratches his neck.
'I'm scared to be alone right now.'
I close my eyes and clench my jaw at his words.
'You'll have Jon around. You can call me tonight.'
He backs away, turning away from me quickly as he wipes his face with his sleeve.
'Look at me.' I say softly as I turn him back to me.
He avoids my eyes as I cup his cheeks with my hands and wipe away the tears.
'Maybe this week will be really nice. You still haven't told me what you are going to do in Italy.' My words create the faintest on smiles on his face. 'I'm releasing my own kart.' My jaw drops. He's told me how much he wants that. 'Wait really?' I say in excitement. He smiles at my reaction and nods his head between my hands.
'Oh Lando im so proud! That must be so much fun.'
I let him go and wrap him in a hug, making him stumble back a little.
He chuckles 'Yeah it's amazing.'
I pull back enough to look him in the eyes as my arms are still around his neck, and his hands are still on my waist. 'I'm so happy for you.' I say as I look at him and give him a smile. 'Thank you.' His rosy cheeks and small smile warm my heart.
A silence falls while we're still close to one another, and Lando's eyes fall down to my lips, making me realize how close we actually are. 'You're gorgeous.' He whispers as he meets my eyes again.
Even though my face is burning, my heart beats calmly in my chest, body warm close to his, comfortable in his hands. I smile and bite my lip as I take one hand to fix his curls, following the movement of my hand with my eyes before letting my hand rest on his shoulder and letting my eyes wander back to his.
'Whenever we get close, I don't ever want to let go.'
I let out a long breath, feeling the same.
'We both have places to be.'
'I know.... I know.'
I lay my fingertips on his jaw on one side and kiss his cheek on the other side.
'After Turkey.... we'll see each other after Turkey.' I remind us both.
Lando breaths out a 'yes.' Before taking the hand that was still close to his face, and kisses the palm of it. 'Please promise you'll be there.' He says softly.
The contact of his lips on my skin makes my heart skip a beat. His words after remind me of something else. 'Oh by the way...' I pull out the necklace he gave me for safe keeping last time we saw one another. His grin grows as wide as ever as he takes the pendant in his hand, necklace still around my neck.
'You really kept it on.'
'Of course.' I answer as he meets my eyes.
He stays quiet for a moment while switching between my eyes.
'Keep it. It's yours.' He says softly.
He pulls the fabric of the hoodie I'm wearing back, and lets the pendant fall behind it, the cool silver touching my skin. 'No it's yours.' I say as I try to take it back out.
Lando backs away from me, leaving me feeling cold.
'It's yours now. Besides, it looks better on you anyways.'
I roll my eyes with a smile as I watch him walk further into the room.
'Now help me pack please.'
