racing hearts - a Fabio Quartararo fanfiction [🇬🇧]

chapter 17

[Mockingbird - Eminem]

I put my now empty suitcase in the corner of the room and closed the closet in which I had just sorted my clothes.
We arrived an hour ago in France with the team and have already moved into our hotel room.
Fabio, who has been here since Monday, already knows where my hotel is and according to him he just drove to my place.
I was very happy to finally meet him again and to be able to spend the day with him today.
Even though our relationship seemed pretty exhausting despite the stress and the little time we got to see each other, we still managed it great. We knew what we were getting into before we got together. And if we hadn't been 100% sure that a relationship would work under those circumstances, we probably wouldn't have even considered it.
Of course we missed each other, but we both encouraged each other and if we didn't see each other for a long time, then the real meetings were even better.

Exhausted, I collapsed onto the bed after putting everything into the closet.
But there wasn't really time to take a deep breath because there was a knock on my hotel room door. And suddenly my heart started beating faster. That should be Fabio.
I was probably acting like a little girl right now, but I didn't care. In a few seconds I would finally be able to hold Fabio in my arms again.
I opened the door and in front of me appeared... Max.
"Hey, I'm supposed to..." but he cut himself off, "you don't look too happy to see me."
"Yes, I... it... oh, I was just expecting someone else," I tried to explain myself. Max seemed to understand what I was trying to say and tried to hide his grin.
"Yeah, I get it. I'm just supposed to tell you that tomorrow we won't leave for the paddock until half an hour later. So at a quarter to eight", he said while I listened to him.
"That's fine with me," I replied, "then I can at least sleep a little longer."
"Typical," Max whispered to himself and, after saying goodbye, disappeared back into his room.
I closed the door behind me and a feeling of mild disappointment flared up in me. I knew that Fabio was still to come, but I would have liked him to have been here now.
I started to go back to the bed but was stopped by another knock.
Again hope came up in me, which I buried shortly afterwards. It was probably Max again who had forgotten something.
That was his weakness. He could be quite forgetful at times. My weakness, on the other hand, was my punctuality. No matter where, I was almost always late. However, we both managed to complement each other very well. I always remind him of the things he forgets and he makes sure I get anywhere on time. Despite this, we often made fun of each other's weaknesses.

Again I went to the door and opened it, whereupon I immediately started talking: "Max, can't you stop forgetting..."
However, I stopped shortly after and my eyes widened. Max wasn't standing in front of me.
"Let's put it that way," Fabio began, causing his confused look to grin, "I would have expected an 'Oh Fabio, I've missed you so much, we finally meet again', but that's also a really interesting greeting."
I couldn't get a word out and only half listened to his words.
I didn't have to complain to Max because he wasn't around. It was Fabio who stood in front of me and knocked earlier.
I immediately gave him a stormy hug. "Finally you're here. God I missed you."
Fabio hugged me back and laughed, "There it is. I missed you too."
We broke up and just looked at each other. But not for too long, because shortly afterwards Fabio kissed me vigorously. It was a very intense kiss, which could only indicate that this hadn't happened in a long time. I hugged him even closer to me.
We did this for a few seconds before breaking away again.
"Come in," I said and he walked into my room.
"Well, you have to explain your first greeting to me again," said Fabio.
I laughed softly for a moment and then explained to him the reason for my first reaction.

-------------------------

It was afternoon when Fabio and I decided to go outside. He said he knew a neighborhood here which wasn't really filled with people. Apparently it should be quite nice there and there should also be a small park for walking.
We made our way there, which didn't take that long.
"Shall we get a quick cup of coffee and then go to the park?" Fabio asked me, pointing to a small café that looked pretty inviting.
I nodded and we entered the store.
It looked pretty cozy from inside.
The walls were painted white, with two of them being light blue. There were a few wooden shelves with plants on them.
In itself it looked really great and when I was younger and visited school I would have only wished for a shop like this to study there.
Because even though I already had my future in sight, I really cared about my grades. An emergency solution was needed if racing hadn't worked out.
But thank God it did work out.
Suddenly a thought occurred to me.
"Can I order?" I asked Fabio.
He eyed me, confused by my question, but complied.
We went to the counter, where a slightly older woman was waiting for us, who had long blonde hair that reached her waist.
So I started ordering: "Allô, pouvons-nous avoir deux cappuccinos à emporter, s'il vous plaît?"
I felt Fabio's eyes burn on my neck and I had to suppress a grin.
Surprise!
After a short wait, she turned around with the finished cappuccinos while Fabio and I didn't say a word.
"Y a-t-il autre chose que je puisse faire pour vous?" the woman asked. I looked at Fabio with a questioning look if we needed anything else.
Without taking his eyes off me, he replied: "Non, c'est tout, merci."
I quickly paid and we left the store.
As soon as we were outside, Fabio found his voice again, "Nika, do you want to tell me that we've known each other since February and you never told me that you're fluent in French?"
"I'm always open for surprises," I replied with a grin and took a sip.
"How?" he asked, still surprised.
"How what?" I replied provocatively.
"How are you able speak French?"
So I started to explain when we entered the park, "I used to spend every summer in France. We always went to my grandparents', they are from France, just like my mum..."
When I met Fabio's eyes, I stopped as I realized what I was saying.
"... Um, you kind of learn it automatically when you're always here. I learned the rest at school," I quickly finished my sentence.
I could almost feel Fabio having a question on the tip of his tongue. Probably even several.
However, I was grateful to him for something at the moment. For being able to read my body language. Because I clearly didn't want to talk about it at the moment and he seemed to respect it.
Sure, he deserves an explanation, but not right now. The right moment will come. Maybe sooner than I think.
Fabio swallowed his questions, grabbed my hand and instead answered in a whisper, "I'm here for you. And I'll always do everything to bring your smile back and see it if you ever lose it."
I appreciated his words. For real.
And yet I couldn't answer anything.
Fabio seemed to understand and changed the subject abruptly: "Does that theoretically mean that we can always talk in French?"
I laughed, "Theoretically yes, but I'll be honest with you, English is easier for me."

Fabio and I had a nice day. The walk was very calming and at the end we went to a pizzeria, after which we went back to my hotel room.
We have already agreed that Fabio will sleep at my place tonight.
We were already very tired, so we got ready for bed but didn't want to go to sleep yet.
After we were done, we got into bed and turned on the TV, which was playing some reality show.
"What time are you coming back tomorrow?" Fabio asked me, to which I said that I would be back at the hotel at 11 am.
"Well because..." he started slowly and I looked at him, "I want to introduce you to my family tomorrow."
He blurted out the last part.
"What?"
That was my first reaction. Well, how should I put it, I was just quite... Surprised. Yes, surprised is a good thing.
"Yes, I want you to get to know my family and they to meet you," he said, now a tone more confident, "I mean, if we're here now and have all afternoon tomorrow... It kind of feels like the right time."
I slowly got a smile on my lips, "Oh, I would love to meet your family."
"Really?" Fabio asked with a smile.
"Yes, of course, why not? But I can tell you that I will panic at the latest tomorrow after I'm back because I'm afraid that they won't like me. But apart from that..."
Fabio laughed, "Don't worry, I'll try to calm you down then."
And out of nowhere there was silence again between us. However, it was not a quiet silence. Because there was a question in the air.
Just like when we went for a walk.
"Nika, can I ask you something?" came Fabio's voice.
I knew what was coming.
"Yes, of course."
"Because of your family... Do you want to talk to me about it and tell me something? If not, that's okay. You only have to do it if you feel comfortable..."
However, I interrupted his waterfall words by grabbing his hand.
It seemed like the moment I was talking about before was here. I noticed it because somehow I didn't feel afraid anymore. Fabio could be trusted and he clearly has the right to know.
"It's okay. I'll explain, okay?" I said.
You could see surprise cross his face and a brief twinkle in his eyes, but he gave me a warm smile.
"Okay. Come here," he replied, and he put an arm around me, cradling me lightly against his bare chest.
"But I'll tell you straight away: don't be surprised if it sounds a bit complicated."