lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

~ due ~

Bahrain, March 2019

"How is the press treating you?" Max asked Pia as they were waiting for podium finishers to come on the podium. They were waiting for the Mercedes couple and Charles. It was Charles' first podium in F1. He dreamt about it for a long time despite it being a bit bittersweet. He should have finished first, but engine problems destroyed it all.

"Well, you know how it is. I'm trying to avoid them at all costs," Pia answered honestly. The fact that Pia was back in the paddock made a lot of noise. The journalists were interested in what she was doing there. Would she work with her father? How was the relationship with her father? They asked all those annoying questions that Pia didn't want to answer.

"It will get better with the time. You will see." Max was talking out of his experience. Pia was just new meat in the paddock, and that attracted journalists. He knew how nosy people were. They were interested in Pia's relationship with her biological father. They wanted to know pretty much everything that meant some drama.

"How is my father treating you?" the Italian asked him as they announced the winner of this race. It was Joanna once again. It wasn't that big of a surprise. Everyone thought she would win this Grand Prix.

"Pia, we promised each other we won't talk about that," Max said in a slightly warning tone.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. To be honest, I don't know what bigger torture is - working with my father or trying to date Joanna." From Pia's voice, it was clearly hearable that she meant it as a joke, but it somehow still hit Max.

"How does it feel to see him up there?" Max asked his friend as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"How does it feel to see her up there?" Pia returned him the question as Charles and Joanna were spraying each other with champagne. It was a bit funny. Pia would call it the podium of the exes.

"It's different, and you know that. Charles was always kind to you." Of course, Pia knew that. They both had their reason why those relationships didn't last. In Max's case, the bad guy was Joanna, and in Pia's case, the bad guy was her.

"So, how does it feel?" Max demanded his answer. When Pia was about to answer, she got disturbed by the voice of the young Briton.

"Hey. Good race today, huh?" Lando asked. The question clearly was on Max, but Lando was looking at Pia.

"Well, it wasn't a victory for me, but it wasn't the worse," Max was honest. He would like to fight for the victories, but he knew that their car wasn't on that level. "It wasn't a bad race for you either, no? You finished 6th. Your first point in Formula One, my friend," he praised Lando a little bit. He deserved to hear that he was doing great.

"Yeah, it wasn't a bad weekend for us," Lando admitted with a smile on his face. He was pretty delighted with his performance.

"Congratulations on your first points," Pia joined the conversation once again.

"Thank you?" It sort of sounded like a question since Lando wanted to tell her name, but he didn't know it.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Pia," she said, and she offered the young Briton her hand. Lando gladly accepted it.

"Lando. I thought Max would introduce us, but yeah, I was wrong," Lando said slightly annoyed, which caused Max to roll his eyes.

"You're not five, mate. You can introduce yourself," Max brushed it off quickly. They were old enough to handle it by themselves.

"I know. So, you're working here?" Lando asked. Max had to cover his burst of laughter with coughing. He found it so amusing that the young Briton was so clueless.

"Oh, no. I'm just a passionate fan," she said and gave him a smile. She found it kind of appealing when somebody didn't know who she was. It reminded her of the beginning of her relationship with Charles. He didn't know who her father was, and after he found out, he simply didn't care.

"Of which team?" Lando asked. Pia should've been ready to answer such a question when she presented herself as a passionate fan.

"Ferrari. Everyone is a Ferrari fan, no?" the Italian repeated the sentence Sebastian told her years ago. Well, she was destined to cheer for Ferrari anyways. She was an Italian, and every Italian cheered for Ferrari.

"Everyone is a McLaren fan," Lando opposed Pia.

"Well, perhaps every Briton is a McLaren fan, but in Italy, we wear red," she said with a smile on her face, and Lando seemed to be taken aback by it. Perhaps he thought that Pia was British just like him because of the British accent she had, thanks to her father.

As they talked more, the paddock was getting emptier. The majority of teams were packing all their things in order to be able to leave as soon as possible. Sebastian was already on his way to the hotel since Pia told him she would like to spend some time with Max. She assumed that when Seb had already left, Charles would be gone as well, but she just saw him right in front of her.

He was still in the red racing suit that fitted him perfectly. His hair was still a bit wet from the champagne. Pia was surprised when she didn't see Charlotte next to his side. She was always somewhere around him.

"Will you excuse me for a moment?" Pia said to Lando and Max when they were closer to the Monegasque. Pia noticed a smirk on Max's face, signalising he would ask about it later.

"Charles." Her voice calling his name sounded the same as years ago. She was slightly taller than he remembered. Her caramel hair was still framing her pretty cute face. Her smile was still as infectious as he remembered it, and her eyes were still that mesmerizing. He had to shake his head to come back to his senses.

"Yes?" he said and tilted his head a little bit. He almost looked like a puppy.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on that podium. You should've won, but you'll crush 'em next time." She told him the same thing she had told him all those years ago in Sarno when she first met him. She switched to French because she didn't want that many people to understand them. Maybe she didn't want Lando to understand.

That sentence made him smile. So, he remembers it, Pia thought. He remembered their first conversation just like her. That made Pia smile as well.

"Thank you. It means a lot." Pia doubted it meant a lot. She assumed that he added the next sentence just because he didn't want to say just thank you.

She was walking back to the boys when his voice stopped her. "Pia." He probably didn't have a reason why to say it. He just wanted to say her name, so he did.

"Yes?" she asked as she turned around to face him again. Perhaps, nowadays, he was even more worthy of sin. He was staring right into her eyes, and he could see perhaps a little bit of hope and expectation.

Charles froze. He didn't really know what to say. Maybe saying her name wasn't the best idea. "Forza Ferrari," he just let out in the end. He knew how awkward it sounded, but he couldn't think of anything else.

He relaxed a little bit when he heard her laugh. He would almost swear that she still had that spark in her eyes when she laughed. "Forza Ferrari, Charles," she exclaimed with happiness in her voice. She would never let him be alone in an awkward position. She promised herself she would not let him down ever again.