With flying colours

Silverstone and sunlight

(Y/N POV)

The morning sunlight slipped through the hotel curtains, bright and harsh. It burned, almost like it was trying too hard to pierce through the fog in my chest. I lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the faint hum of traffic outside, wishing it was the roar of a race instead.

Silverstone was calling. The track, the crowds, the madness—it should have been exhilarating. And maybe it would have been, if I were anyone else. But I wasn't anyone else. I was me. And me was fragile, raw, messy.

Lando was still asleep beside me, his arm draped across my stomach. His presence was comforting, but even it couldn't fill the hollow emptiness I carried. I traced his fingers, wondering how someone so light, so unafraid, could love someone like me.

I didn't even need to speak the thought aloud—Max was already in my head. His voice, calm and steady: "You're stronger than you think. You don't have to do this alone."

Only he truly knew the depth of my darkness. Only he could navigate it without fear. Everyone else? They only saw pieces. Fragments. The mood swings, the silence, the sharp edges of my laughter. They didn't know the story behind the mask I wore.

I swung my legs off the bed, planting my feet on the floor. Lando stirred, muttering something incoherent, then opened one eye and smiled.

"Morning, superstar," he said.
I let myself smile back. "Morning, sunshine."
He sat up and leaned over, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Ready for Silverstone?"

I hesitated. "I... don't know if I am."
He grabbed my hand. "Then we'll go slow. Together."

I swallowed, nodding. There was a lump in my throat, but for the first time in weeks, it wasn't panic.

At the paddock, chaos waited as usual.
Max walked beside me, calm, composed, and impossibly protective. He gave the other drivers a polite nod, but none of them really understood why I was here, why I could feel so off on the outside but still step into this world. They watched, yes. They worried, yes. But they didn't understand. Only Max did.

"Remember," he whispered as we reached the track, "it's not a performance. Just... be yourself. That's enough."

I nodded, the words grounding me. Enough. Maybe I could be enough today.

Lando appeared beside me, grinning. "Ready to watch chaos unfold?"
I laughed softly. "Always."

The race itself was surreal.
The engines screamed. The crowd roared. Lando and Max stayed close, whispering in my ear, anchoring me while I lost myself in the beauty of the chaos. My heart beat fast, but not with fear this time. With something lighter. Something I hadn't felt in a long time.

And then Max's hand brushed mine. A small, grounding reminder that even if the world didn't understand me, someone did. Someone always did.

Lando leaned closer during the safety car laps, pressing his forehead against mine. "See? You're okay."
I let myself believe it.

After the race, under the open sky.
Silverstone was over, the sun dipping low, warm and golden. I stood beside Max and Lando, the wind brushing my hair, and for the first time in a long time, I felt whole.

Max rested a hand on my shoulder. "Proud of you," he said.
I smiled, leaning into him. "Thanks... for everything."

"You don't have to thank me," he said. "Just... keep being you. That's enough."

I looked at Lando, whose smile was pure joy and disbelief that someone like me could exist in his life. I reached for his hand, holding it tightly. "I think I can try," I said softly.

He squeezed mine back. "No trying. Just you. That's perfect."

The wind caught the hem of my jacket. The world felt big, but not impossible.

I had survived loss. I had survived grief. I had survived myself. And with Max and Lando beside me, maybe, just maybe, I could survive everything else too.

The paddock didn't understand me. The drivers didn't know my story. And that was okay.

Because I had the people who mattered.
Because for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel alone.

The roar of the crowd, the engines, the sun on my face—it didn't feel like a performance anymore.
It felt like home.

And I finally, truly, belonged.

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Writers note : I'm starting another story because this one slightly became a little bit out of control and I lost my thoughts of it. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! If you did enjoy it I highly think you would like my new story coming soon as well. For now this will be the finale of this story, let me know if you want me to add anymore to it :)