CHARLOS: the Unknown Distance

I saw you then

It has been quite a short season for the young Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr. driving an F1 car for McLaren but Carlos enjoyed his last moments alongside his good friend British driver Lando Norris until the very last moment. But it was time to move on and become part of the well-known Italian team.

Carlos felt bad about leaving his best friend, but at the same time he couldn't wait for the new season. There was something... someone he had looked up to since he first got behind the wheel of an F1. It is his future teammate Charles Leclerc. There was always something so appealing about the French speaking man from Monaco that it always made Carlos turn in his direction. Whenever they got a chance to talk for a while it was always so nice.

Charles was saddened by the departure of his German teammate Sebastian Vettel. Charles could learn so much from him but at the same time he liked the thought of a handsome Spanish man by his side.

Carlos always knew that his love belonged to men even though he tried to hide it all his life but Charles wasn't sure. He knew that he would feel good with a man, but he was so afraid of the opinion of others that he hid his feelings even from himself.

( At the meeting and welcoming Carlos to the team)

Saying goodbye to McLaren was heartbreaking for Carlos. He had tears in his eyes as he and Lando exchanged helmets and read each other's messages. He tried not to let the Italians know his sadness, but soon he didn't have to anymore. "Wow I see the Italians know how to celebrate" said Carlos as he shook hands with the Scuderia Ferrari team principal with a smile on his face. Binotto laughed "Yes, I'm only half Italian, but I can feel it very well".

Then there were a few welcome speeches in front of the team and then the party started. Carlos had the entire evening to get to know his pit crew and the team, but the first person he looked for was his new handsome teammate. Before he could even look around, he felt a ring-bound hand on his shoulder. "Hello mate so how do you like the party?" said the man with a slight French accent. Carlos turned around and froze for a moment. He had never seen Charles like this. A smoky black suit with a standing horse logo, neat shiny hair and light black glasses that made his blue brown eyes look bigger. Carlos broke away from looking directly into his gorgeous eyes after a few seconds and quickly found some kind of answer "Um hi yeah that's good I like the atmosphere" Oh my god Carlos this is bullshit He thought right after he finished his sentence. He tried to say something to correct it, but Charles started talking "yeah, but you'd better not drink too much or you'll join them and you won't be able to get to the hotel by yourself" Carlos gave a short laugh "speaking from personal experience?" Charles looked away in shame but with a laugh he said "something like that... Anyway one drink won't cut us down do you want some?" Charles said it with a nervous smile, hoping Carlos would accept his invitation."Oh yeah of course" Carlos said excited that Charles asked him out for a drink.

They sat at the bar and Carlos talked about a glass of Italian Lambrusco Dell'emilia, thinking that he would please the Italians present. Charles ordered the same because his mind was so full of thoughts about the man sitting next to him that he couldn't think of other drink names. A small light was strung around the bar that shone in the spaniel's dark brown eyes. Charles couldn't look away from Carlos' shining eyes and when the handsome Spaniard noticed that Charles was watching him through his perfectly fitting glasses, their eyes locked.

"Hey Carlos!" They were interrupted by a half-drunk Ricky. Charles immediately looked away and sipped his wine with a guilty look at the ground."Come join us, the first party is important to create a good relationship with the team" Ricky said. Carlos looked at Charles "you know Charles and I were discussing some-" Charles jumped into his speech "no, that's fine, go meet your pit crew, I wanted to discuss something with the boss anyway" Charles got up from his chair and began to slowly walk away "Enjoy the party mate" said and left.
"Now you're free so we'll show you how to celebrate, come on" Ricky said and took Carlos by the shoulder. Carlos looked back in the direction Charles left and then left with the man who interrupted their moment.

It was shortly after midnight and Charles said good night to everyone and make his way to the front door. Carlos saw him and got up from the table to catch up with his new teammate before he left. He staggered a bit because he had already drunk a few glasses of wine, but he walked straight in Charles's direction. "Charles are you leaving already? You should join us" Carlos said in a hyperactive voice. “I was just talking about you". "really?” Charles asked "Yeah I saw you then... When you came in as a rookie I thought fuck this guy is hot" Carlos said with a deep look in Charles' direction (Maybe already a little more drunk than it seemed). Charles stared in confusion, but immediately Sade's Smooth operator started playing. A cheery voice with a distinctly Italian accent spoke up "Hey Smooth Operator the party is calling you! where are you?" Carlos laughed and answered in a loud voice "I'll be right back guys wait for me!". Carlos turned back to the seemingly tired man in front of him "Are you sure you don't want to join us? It still looks like a great night" Charles looked at Carlos with a tired look "no I'm done but you enjoy it". "Ok as you wish then good night" Carlos said. "But remember what I told you so you don't end up under the table" said Charles with a cheerful tone. Carlos laughed loudly and yelled at the disappearing Charles in the darkness "we'll see!"

Charles was walking alone on the way to his hotel with a small smile still on his face from the fun conversation with his teammate. But after a while the smile disappeared from his face... Did Carlos mean what he said or was the alcohol talking? Charles thought. Did Carlos really like him?

Okay, so we're at the end of the first part. Let me know how you like it so far in the comments.

The next part will probably be a little shorter, but it will be followed by a big thing and it will be the beginning of the main theme of the story!