Like a moth drawn to a flame

He always did

*Luisa*

Charles walked beside me. We wanted to see what developed between us. No commitments, no pressure. Honesty was the only thing we promised ourselves.

And it worked well.

We had taken two second places and another win in the three races after Bahrain and were currently in the lead.

And still we found moments just for us two. When he slept by my side, when he held my hand when we were alone. It was a nice feeling to see something grow. It took time, but it worked well.

We were on our way to his car. After a great qualifying session, Charles would start from second place today. George had taken pole. It had only been a hundredth that the Mercedes driver was ahead of Charles.

Our goal was to leave the Mercedes behind us already at the start. Charles, Seb and I had spent a long time last night working on the strategy for the race. We had gone through data, discussed possibilities and were now in a position to react to anything that happened. We wanted to win the race.

Halfway through the race, Mick met us. My little brother was grinning broadly. He was driving this weekend for Lewis, who had had to call in sick with food poisoning. Mick had stepped in and shown what he could do in the first free practice session already. Today he started from fourth place. I was incredibly proud of him and I did indulge him anything. But I couldn't indulge him the victory.

"Well, ready for the race?", I asked and hugged him, he nodded immediately.

"I'm so excited. I hope I can show everyone what I can do.", he grinned all over his face.

I hadn't seen him this happy in a long time. The fact that Haas had fired him had cut him deeply. But he was clearly better off at Mercedes. Toto had taken him under his wing and I was sure he was promoting him the way he needed. Mick felt comfortable and you could clearly see that.

"You already have.", I smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek "But don't think Charles will let you through. We want to win this.".

Mick laughed "Don't worry. But I won't back down either.", now looking at Charles.

He laughed next to me and patted Mick on the shoulder "I'm looking forward to meeting you on the track.".

"I'm looking forward too.", Mick grinned "I've got a chance against you this time too.".

"The Mercedes is actually a bit more competitive than the Haas.".

Mick nodded enthusiastically, then I heard Bono calling after him "Coming!" he replied, pressed another kiss on my cheek, chimed in with Charles and then disappeared towards the Mercedes pit.

We reached the pits. Charles was immediately prepared for the race, while I continued to the command post. Only Seb was already there. Fred and Matteo were still in the pits. I settled down next to Seb and put on my headphones.

"Ready?" asked Seb, I nodded and turned on everything I was about to need.

I pulled my notebook out of my back pocket and placed it on the table.

"He's going to be fine. We have a good strategy for today and Charles will do it.", he briefly put his hand on mine.

I lifted my gaze and looked at Seb. He squeezed my hand, but then let it go and turned to the screens.

"Charles? Can you hear me?", I asked over the radio and got a laugh back.

"Loud and clear, cherie."

"Wonderful. We'll push you right out and...you know the drill."