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𝕗𝕚𝕗𝕥𝕪

{ riley's version }

_

I'd almost finished my TikTok. I was just waiting for Quali to be over and from what I'd seen, I probably wasn't going to be finishing the TikTok. Lando qualified at P16. He hasn't come back to the garage yet and I was worried. I'd been running errands when he brought the car in but he'd walked off the second he could. I had no clue where he was and that's what was worrisome. I wanted to go after him but I had no clue where he was.

I got up, tucking my phone into my pocket to try and find Izzy. She was chatting with one of the photographers which meant posts had already been pushed.

"Iz?"

She looked up and her smile changed into something more welcoming. "Hey girl, what's up?"

"Did you see where Lan went?"

She thought for a second. "It looked like he was walking toward the parking lot."

I nodded and thanked her before heading that way. I knew he couldn't be happy with these results but I didn't want him sitting alone with his thoughts. I remembered how it felt. To be pissed about something not going the way you planned after working hard. He was smart enough to know that most of what happened during today's session couldn't be his fault but that didn't mean the voices shut down.

I spotted someone I knew. "George!"

He looked up. "Hey, Riley!"

"Have you seen Lan?"

"He was actually just looking for you."

I groaned, trying to not pull out my hair. "Where did you send him?"

"Hospitality."

I turned on my heel and sped walked toward the hospitality room. I hoped he was still there but that hope disappeared as I saw him walk out and rush down the stairs, looking pisses. The words on my tongue got stuck there as he looked up, eyes meeting. And I didn't have to move because he rushed toward me. My arms opened as he collided with me, arms wrapping around my waist and his head tucking into my shoulder.

"Riles..."

"Hi, Lan."

"This weekend has sucked."

I snorted as he pulled back to look at me. His hand raised to push some hair back from my face that came loose while running around to find him.

"You still have the race tomorrow."

He rolled his eyes. "I don't even want to race."

"Hey now." I took his hand and started to walk us to somewhere that could be a bit more quiet and away from media. It would not be good if that statement got out. "You still have a chance."

"I'm not touching the podium this weekend."

"Maybe not but you can still give it a try."

"Why are you trying to make me feel better?"

I snorted as we walked back into the garage and back to the driver's room. I took the couch and Lando laid his head on my lap, looking up at me.

"We still have to do the second part of that TikTok."

"I will throw your phone."

I started to laugh and my smile grew when I saw him trying to hide his own.

"You'll have to buy me a new one."

"What can I buy you that will get me out of this TikTok?"

I leaned down and bumped his head. "Nada."

_

"I can't."

"Lando Norris." I put my hands on his shoulders, pausing for a second to realize how tense he was. "So help me god if you don't get in that car, I will personally steal the keys to one of your cars and crash it."

He gasped at me. "You wouldn't."

"I crashed Logan's Range Rover because he ate my last tamale."

"Damn girl."

I shrugged, shaking his shoulders lightly. "Focus. You have to race."

"Riles.."

"Please, Lan." I took his face in my hands, for in him to look at me. "For the team. For the points. For you... for me."

He nodded and then he did something I completely didn't expect. I froze as his lips touched the warm skin on my forehead. But as he pulled back, he did the head bump and walked past me.

"Hey, Riles?"

I turned around, still slightly in shock from what just happened. "Hm?"

"Next time, I'm the one that gets a good luck kiss."

_ 

It was the last few laps of the race. Lando was sitting at P4 and Oscar was in P1. I couldn't be more excited for Oscar. He deserved a real win after what happened in Hungary. There was a lot of PR that had to be done after that but from what I'd seen, many people moved on from it after everything after Lando won again. I still felt bad because Oscar did deserve a good first win. 

But here it was. Two laps left and he was ten seconds ahead. No one could come back from that. Charles was in P2 and George was in P3. But I was more excited that Lando went from P16 to P4. That was an amazing climb and something to be proud of. I hoped he was happy with the results. 

"Ri, come on." 

I stood up as Izzy grabbed my hand. We were walking toward the winners' circle to celebrate with Oscar. I was smiling as I watched the screen, listening as Crofty spoke. It couldn't be more exciting to see this in real life. Izzy was gripping my hand like I was going to get lost but we had press passes and it wasn't like anyone was going to block us when we flashed them. 

We got up to the front and Zak flashed us a smile as we watched the last lap. I held my breath as Oscar came into the last stretch. He crossed the line and the world around us got real loud. The team erupted in cheers and there was a lot of hugging. Izzy hugged me as Oscar took his lap to pull into the winners' circle but I slinked my way out to go find Lando. 

He had already stopped the car and was getting out. There wasn't anything blocking me and I waved as he looked over in my direction. I couldn't see anything past the helmet but I could tell that he was smiling as he ran over to me. I giggled as he spun me around in a hug. 

"I told you." 

"Oh shut up, Riles." 

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a/n: hehehehe hehehe hehehe. also, if you guys like this. go read my other fic too. it's not a lot of romance but it's good as well. and like. more to read. anyways. love it or don't :p