Abrade - [Charles Leclerc] A Sequel To Corrode

[E P I L O G U E]

A/N: I have no idea how graduations work for high school in Monaco so I might have bullshitted this, but ahh it's fiction anyway.

Joanne silently eyed Teresa in the mirror as she was seated in front of her. She reached for another small pin, moving some strands up and locking them against her scalp. "If you want more curls to hang out, we can unpin some in front," Joanne said, twirling her daughter's black hair around her fingers before she adjusted them next to her face. "No, I like it like this," Teresa replied. Joanne nodded, reaching for the bottle of hairspray to go over her up-do, careful not to spray anything into her face. "You look beautiful, honey," Joanne hummed. "Liam asked whether you wanted to drive with him and Jules or with dad to the gala." Teresa thought about it for a second, knowing Charles would take the Ferrari, which had only place for two. "If you don't mind riding with Jules and Liam..." Teresa said. Joanne smiled.

"That's fine," she said. "As long as you won't roll your eyes at me when I cry a little and take too many pictures when you pick up your diploma," she said. "I promise," Teresa laughed. Joanne sighed softly at the thought that her baby was eighteen already, getting her degree to go to university next year. She locked the necklace in her neck, adjusting the pendant in the mirror. "Get your shoes and purse, I'll wait for you downstairs," Joanne smiled. Teresa got up with a nod. "Mom?" she asked before Joanne could leave. "Thank you," she said, gladly hugging her mother before making her way to her room. Joanne felt a lump in her throat as she walked downstairs, where she was greeted by Mick, who held out his hand for her to help her down the last few steps. "You look beautiful, Joanne," he complimented her. "You should see my daughter," Joanne sighed, making Charles smile at her.

He gladly wrapped his wife up in his arms, holding her against his side while his fingers rubbed comforting circles on her hip. "Did you bring tissues?" Charles muttered against her ear, making her scoff and slap his chest lightly, although she knew he saw the corners of her eyes were slightly watery. "You look angelic, mon amour," he whispered as he kissed her cheek. Liam and Jules joined them in the hallway, looking as handsome as their father in their black suites, the anchor of the crew's logo stitched into the jacket. Mick had gone upstairs to guide Teresa downstairs, making sure she wouldn't trip over her feet in her first pair of Louboutins, which she had gotten for her eighteenth birthday. Charles loved spoiling his daughter as much as his wife with fashion items, but Joanne was satisfied that she still loved shopping with her mother more than with her dad.

"She's going to join you in the Ferrari," Joanne said. Charles squeezed her hip as their daughter walked downstairs with a smile on her face, almost as if Mick was walking her down the aisle like he had done with Joanne all those years ago, but this was her graduation evening. Charles couldn't deny the small lump in his throat either, knowing that his little girl was becoming a grown woman and just made another step that was so important for her future. Pride blossomed in his chest. "I hate to breaking it to you, boys, but the mixed genes look even better," Mick teased Liam and Jules, who scoffed, brushing off their suits and pushing their hands in their pockets. Jules had fully taken over the crew last year after training another year with Charles after the kidnapping of Teresa, and now he was doing excellent. He was establishing good relationships, also with the sons of his partners, and Charles nearly couldn't believe the next generation was literally taking over.

Mick opened the door for them, handing Charles the key of the Ferrari he had parked in front of the door. Teresa sat down in the passengers' seat, locking her seatbelt and waiting for him to start the car. He steered the car onto the road and saw Liam driving the Urus in his rearview mirror. "Are you nervous?" Charles hummed. "A little," Teresa confessed. "You look beautiful, darling. Did your mother cry while she did your make-up?" he asked, making her laugh. "She was desperately trying not to." Charles smiled, knowing Joanne had barely gotten any sleep the last couple of days as she wanted everything to be perfect for Teresa. The dress was tailor-made, the shoes needed to have her initials, the hair clips needed to match, the jewelry needed to be original and nice. "We're so proud of you, Teresa," he said. "Many moments in the past years haven't been easy. Many people don't realize how much work you put in to be able to graduate this year."

Charles followed the instructions to the Casino, where the graduation of the university was held. Teresa had gotten some nasty comments after she had been absent after the kidnapping. People were saying she 'bought' her diploma, but Charles and Joanne knew how hard she studied to catch up on all the classes she missed. Joanne had helped her with Spanish till the late hours of the day sometimes, while Charles cleared his schedule to help her review economics before an exam. Charles stopped the car in front of the valet parking, looking over at his daughter. He caressed her face, watching her lips curl up with a smile. "Remember that yourself, the people you love are the only ones who need to be proud of you. People who're running their mouth behind your back are terrified to say it to your face, and those people won't get far in life. Now go and get in front of the car. I want to take a picture of my beautiful girls together." Teresa's smile widened as she got out.

Charles waved Joanne over as she got out of the car with Liam and Jules, making them stand together, the Casino in the background. His fingers trembled a little as he handed over the keys to the valet parking, entwining his hand with his wife's as they made their ways inside. He had made slight fun of Joanne and her emotions, but he knew deep down he was just as emotional as she was. On days like these, he couldn't be grateful enough for having Joanne in his life. If she hadn't been so nice to him all those years ago, when their sons were just kids and friends, if she judged him for his job and if she had wanted him to stay away because he was a mobster, he would have never gotten out of the darkness that lingered in his head. He would have never seen his son happy. He would have never seen his son having a mother who loved him. He would have never had a daughter who's graduating from school.

"I left the tissues in the car," Joanne muttered as they were brought to their seats in the front row of the hall. Charles chuckled, swallowing the emotions that were stuck in his throat. He had his hand on his phone while the other was wrapped around Joanne's shoulders, waiting patiently till Teresa got to walk up and take her diploma. The dean of the school asked her some questions about what she wanted to do in the future, and she explained her choice of university and the bachelor's degree she wanted to enroll in. Charles recorded everything, while Joanne made probably a thousand pictures. Liam and Jules were off to find the open bar. After the ceremony, they stayed for a drink as well. Joanne spoke to some other moms while Teresa was with Anthoine. "Relax," Joanne said. "They've been dating for two years now." Charles looked down at her, knowing she was right.

"I don't want her to stop pursuing her goals for a boy. Let alone a Gasly," he grumbled, making Joanne chuckle. "She won't," she was sure. "Because she's a Leclerc." Charles gnawed down at her bottom lip. "You're always right," he admitted. "You should know that by now," Joanne added, taking another sip of her champagne. Charles smiled lovingly at her. "I love you," he said, kissing the top of her hand. "I love you more," she replied, looking up at her husband, both of them proud of their family.

Thank you!

Thank you all soooooo much for staying with Charles and Joanne throughout the sequel. I grew so incredibly attached to this couple and I loved writing about Charles in this role, with Jules and Liam and Teresa. I hope you liked seeing them grow up, seeing Charles and Joanne grow and connect even better, and I looooved the little side plot with Mick and Celia.

Thank so much for taking the time to read this story and also for everyone who came back to Corrode after reading it before already. The amount of messages/comments I got with people saying they were reading it for a second, third or even fourth time? Insaneee! Incredibly grateful to have taken you on this journey with Charles and Joanne.

A special thanks to Judy_Taurus who has translated Corrode into Hungarian already and is about to complete Abrade in Hungarian as well. Over the past years I have had a lot of copyrights issues with other writers, who translated my work into other languages, but didn't give me credits as the original author. I know I can trust Judy with all of my works and I would not hesitate to let her translate a story of mine again <3

I have to be honest that finding the time to write for this story was a struggle here and there. I was busy with my Masters and working at the same time, while occasionally travelling to F1 (oop). I'm currently writing a story with Carlos Sainz (The Feature Game), in case you want to check it out. I do plan to write more stories with Charles in the future, but this can take a little while. See ya laterzzz!