"Whatever it is, just say it." Aimee sighed, pausing the movie the two of them were watching.
"What?" Lando looked at her blankly.
"You want to say something, I can see it all over your face. Just say it." She repeated.
He'd been in a weird mood for the entire week following their breakfast and her revelation about leaving. Four days in, she'd finally had enough.
"I... it's fine. Don't worry about it." Lando mumbled. "Put the movie back on."
"Not until you tell me what's going on." She shook her head.
"Can you just leave it, please?" He sighed.
It wasn't her fault, he knew that. But he couldn't stop himself from getting annoyed as she pushed him. He'd got so in his own head as they'd sat there, not watching the movie at all, too lost in his own thoughts.
The proximity of the two of them sat on the sofa had sent his thoughts spiralling. It had become so incredibly normal to have her there with him. The two of them spending almost all their time together.
He spent almost every night in his spare room- her room- and had woken every morning with her in his arms.
She was the first person he wanted to talk to when something funny happened in one of his training sessions or when there was some news about developments on the car.
And as the days went by, it was another day closer to her being able to travel, and another day closer to her leaving him.
He'd spent most of the day lost in his own thoughts trying to decide if there was any way she could ever return what he felt for her. Whether it would be wrong of him to tell her and put her in that position when she was in such desperate need of a friend.
But he didn't want to just be her friend.
"Lando." She prompted, and he realised she'd been looking at him the entire time, waiting for him to say something.
"I uh..." he searched for the words but his head was completely empty. "I don't know, Aims."
"I'm going to need a bit more than that." She raised an eyebrow at him, but her hand automatically found its way to his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Talk to me."
He turned to face her, eyes searching her face for a moment as he took in her features. Those blue eyes that looked like they were finally starting to get their sparkle back, the almost completely faded bruises that were a faint shadow across her cheek now, the way she pulled her lip through her teeth as she watched him, waiting. He was trying to commit it all to memory.
"I just..." he took a deep breath, forcing the words out "I'm going to really, really miss you. I'll miss this."
He was taken by surprise as Aimee threw her arms around him and wrapped him in what was probably the tightest hug he'd ever experienced. When he realised she wasn't going to let him go any time soon he dropped his head to rest against her shoulder, soaking the moment in. Her fingers brushed through his curls.
"I know you don't understand it, I'm not even sure I understand it..." Aimee started quietly. "But I think I have to do this for me... I just... I am so, so grateful for everything you've done for me Lando, I really am. But I think..."
"You think..." he promoted as she stopped.
Aimee took a deep breath, her fingers tightening in his hair a little, relieved that he at least couldn't see her face.
"I think my feelings for you maybe aren't just friendly anymore." She blurted out.
"And I know that someone like me doesn't ever fit into your life, and I don't want to make things awkward between us.You've done so much for me and been such a good friend. I don't want to ruin it. I think maybe some distance between us is what I need to-"
Lando sat up, keeping his arms around her, but turning so he could look at her. "Stop for a minute." He interrupted.
Aimee froze like a deer in headlights, waiting for him to continue. If she could, she'd get up and run out of that room to save herself the embarrassment of what was coming. Stupid broken leg.
"What on earth have I done to make you think I don't feel the same?" He asked.
Aimee just continued to stare at him in confusion. "What?"
"Aimee..." he laughed quietly, feeling very unsure of himself. "Come on, you're not blind."
"I...." She stuttered. There was no way this was happening, not after everything. Because at the end of the day, how could someone like him ever look at someone like her in that way?
"I'm not sad about you leaving McLaren, Aimee." He told her. "I'm sad about the thought of you not being here for me to come home to every night. I'm sad at the thought of you not being in the garage with me after every race. I'm sad at the thought of this ending, because having you here has made me realise how much I love spending time with you. I've been kicking myself all week because I know the timing is horrible and you've been through so much and I should just be your friend but I... I..."
"You what?" She raised an eyebrow at him as he floundered for the words. He breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed the mischievous twinkle in her eye and the barely contained smile.
"I like you, Aimee." He eventually got the words out. It wasn't nearly enough to describe how he actually felt, but he seemed to have suddenly forgotten how to speak english with her looking at him like that.
"Really?" She asked quietly, looking at him as though she thought he'd gone mad. He was starting to wonder if he had.
"Really." He nodded, gently brushing her hair out of her face.
He could practically see the internal debate going on in her head as she tried to find a reason to doubt his words. Years of Tom telling her that she wasn't enough, that she would never be enough, even all the times he'd made comments about her flirting with Lando spinning around in her head as she found herself wondering if he was right after all.
"Stop overthinking it." Lando whispered. "Stop finding a reason not to let yourself be happy."
She looked at him for a moment longer, their faces now barely a couple of inches apart. Her fingers reached up to ghost over the stubble on his chin before finding their way back into his hair, pulling his lips down to meet hers.
YOU ARE READING
Stay With Me- Lando Norris
Fanfiction*Completed* After discovering that one of his coworkers is in a desperate situation, Lando makes it his mission to try and help her. Except she doesn't want his help, and does everything she can to push him away.
