Starting Again (A Charles Leclerc Fic)

034 : from korea with love pt1

The past few days had been busy for Katrina ever since the others left for pre-season testing. She knew that if she had too much free time, she'd end up missing and thinking about Charles. He was tied up with his Driver Duties for Ferrari, and the other drivers were also occupied with their own teams. Their once lively group chat was now quiet, and she missed the random messages, memes, and funny TikTok videos that Alex would share.

This week had really tested their new relationship. She had an idea of how famous Charles was, but now she was seeing firsthand just how much being a Ferrari driver affected his time. It frustrated her that their schedules never aligned, and when they finally did have time, they were both too tired to do much and would fall asleep during their calls.

Some days were harder than others. She never realized how much she could miss someone until she started dating him. Sometimes, she'd call just to watch him eat, work out, or practice in the simulator, feeling closer to him. Charles had expressed similar feelings, which reassured her that she wasn't alone in this. In his job, distractions were dangerous; they had seen what could happen if he lost focus, and she didn't want that to repeat. She tried her best to smile and reassure him that everything was fine, even though it was tough for her.

The night before, she had stayed up late—well, early in the morning—working on a new song she'd been thinking about. As soon as she finally got to sleep, loud knocks and the doorbell woke her up repeatedly.

At first, she was ready to yell at Sofia for doing this, but when she opened the door, it wasn't Sofia. It was two girls she hadn't seen in months.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, nearly in tears.

"Well, we promised we'd visit once we were done with work, right? So here we are," Mavi said, but before she could finish, she was already hugging both Mavi and Sammy tightly.

"I've missed you both so much."

They hugged her back and motioned to come inside.

"Your place looks a bit messy, K," Sammy teased.

"I haven't had time to clean," she apologized.

"Isn't it unlike you to have a messy house?" Mavi asked with curiosity.

"I've been working in my studio all week."

"No time for your man?" Sammy joked.

"Charles already left for testing."

"Ooh, so you're missing your boo," Sammy teased.

"Stop it," she scolded them with a smile.

"I'm happy for you, K. But we didn't just come here to see your house. Sammy and I have a surprise for you," Mavi said, handing her an envelope.

Her eyes widened as she looked from the envelope to her friends.

"Oh my god."

"Surprise!" they said, grinning.

"I love you both so much."

Inside the envelope were three passes for the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix.

"We know you're missing Charles like crazy and don't want to watch his first race alone, so we decided to surprise you with this," Sammy explained.

"That way, we can experience this new world you're in, and also meet Charles and the others."

"Just admit it, M, you want to meet Verstappen too."

"Maybe... but honestly, we owe Charles big time for making you this happy. I never thought I'd see you smile again after what happened in Korea."