peridot | lando norris

4 |monaco|

lando pov.

"what else does maeve say about me?" i asked niamh and she hums. "well, technically mom doesn't say anything about you. there's just times she's slipped out a 'you're just like lando, jesus christ' and sometimes when we do something she'd tell me how you used to do it" 

i nodded, listening to her. "have i ever said anything about maeve to you?"i asked, not knowing what my slip ups could've been. "not really, just her driving and the fact that she taught you how to braid. you only ever say stuff when were about to do something she won't necessarily be too pleased with" i think about it and itch my brow. "that is how it is,innit?" she nodded and paused the show. we'd completed 5 episodes and were pretty full on the sugar and carrots. feeling a crash coming in.

"can i ask you something?" "you don't have to ask to ask sweetheart, sure" i say, looking at her. she had a pillow propped up against the arm of the couch, leaning her back against it. she had her legs spread on the couch straight, her socked feet touching my thigh whenever she wiggled her toes. 
"why did mom and you break up?" 

i blink, processing her words. "um, why do you think people break up in general?" i wanted to get her understanding about the topic. i wouldn't load a dump of the past on her, but i wasn't going to lie to her either. this was the time i got to be with her the longest through the year, i wasn't going to cut down a discussion because we had time and she seemed open to it. 

usually, it'd just be me driving up and down from woking, meeting at maeve's apartment for a meal whenever i was there for work and had that kind of time on hand which was accumulated to probably 2-3 days a month at max. sometimes it wouldn't even be once if it's a tight schedule and i'd end up on face time with her during those weeks. maeve too had a very rigid daily schedule, it was hard but we managed, all for niamh. 

"because they don't love eachother anymore...i mean people date because they like eachother so they breakup when they don't?" she says and i smile. "what other reasons can be there? what do you think?"  i ask and she puffs her cheeks and lets out a huff. "i guess if they fight a lot but that's again because...if you don't like someone you'd pick a fight" i looked at her and smiled. 

i miss the innocense in life. back when things were simple.

"well, you're not wrong, let me tell you that. sometimes, people who love eachother and care about eachother make choices that ...hmm... don't go well together. you could love someone but they might do something that makes it difficult to continue loving them"  "like cheating?" she said and i nodded and scratched the back of my neck. "yeah, like cheating but that's pretty extreme np? maybe let's say...you don't like running but someone you love enjoys it a lot. if they ask you to run with them everyday, would you?" she shrugs. 

"it depends" i snap my fingers and point at her."exactly, it's not a yes or a no. you don't want to do it because you don't like it, but also want to do it for someone who really likes it. so you decide that you don't want to run and the other person, continues to go on a run without you. it doesn't mean you don't love them anymore, does it?" she shakes her head. 

"but, if they spend let's say, all their afternoons running, you have your ballet class in the morning and both of you are too tired to meet eachother at night and go to bed. what happens?" she looks at me confused. "they don't see eachother. but-" "but?" i ask her and she bites her lip. "don't do that, they'll bleed- unless you're gonna put vaseline on them" she stops. niamh hated vaseline so that was an easy fix.

"can i ask you another question?" i ask her and she nods. "why do you think people date? or go out together per say" she shrugs. "i guess to have that person on speed dial. it's like a best friend that you kiss and well-"