𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 ★ charles leclerc

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙬𝙤, charles

❝ rain came pouring down. ❞
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

A/N: anything written in italics and bold means it's from the commentary box!!

I've never wanted to win more than today. A second home win would mean a lot. Going out with Maisie would mean the world.

I absolutely need those points for the championship too.

I'm in the garage, warming up. I roll my neck from side to side, feeling the slight crack as the tension releases. My arms stretch overhead, fingers lacing together before I push them forward, loosening my shoulders.

I shake out my hands before grabbing the resistance band from the bench, looping it around my wrists and pulling it apart to activate my shoulders. In, out. Controlled movements. Andrea, my trainer stands beside me, nodding in quiet approval.

Pole position. Home race. My name is on every banner, every flag, every newspaper headline this morning. I'm here to win today. I'm not disappointing anyone. Especially not her.

I switch to lateral lunges, feeling the stretch in my legs. The mechanics are working around me, their movements efficient and precise.

Then, I catch something out of the corner of my eye, an engineer leaning toward Bryan, my race engineer, speaking in a low voice. His body shifts.

He nods and walks towards me. "Charles." His voice is calm, but there's something that worries me.

I grab a towel and wipe the sweat from the back of my neck before stepping closer. "What?"

"We're expecting heavy rain."

I pause. "How heavy?"

"Very." He glances at the screen. The radar shows the incoming storm, patches of green turning to deep red. "It'll hit just after lights out, most likely."

Fucking hell.

I exhale through my nose, slow and controlled. Rain changes everything. Monaco in the dry is already a battle of precision, one mistake, and you're in the wall. In the wet? It's a war of survival.

But there's one person who's mastered rain in a way no one else has except for the one and only Ayrton Senna. And that person is no other than Maisie Mikati even if she is starting P6.

"Full wets?" I ask.

"We'll start on inters unless it's a downpour from the formation lap."

I nod and let him go, having to continue my warm up and stay locked in.

Rain.

Fucking Rain.

If there's one thing that is more beautiful than watching the sunset, it's watching Maisie drive in the rain. People go crazy. When it is known a race is under rain, people actually multiply just to watch her.

Never has she made a mistake under the water.

Mistakes she's made many. Yet, when the sky goes dark and the road starts slipping, she's a beast. As if Senna himself enters her soul.

Everyone watches her when the rain starts to fall. She manages to find speed where no one else does. She comes alive in the chaos.

I clench my jaw. I can't let her get close. Not here. Not today.

I roll my shoulders back and pick up the skipping rope. Keep the body warm. Keep the blood moving.

"Relax." Andrea speaks in his deep voice, my body clearly tensing up after this news.