blondie | valtteri bottas [COMPLETED]

george khalil | 10

[1149 words]

valtteri's agent was blowing up his phone when it was revealed that he would miss most of press day due to the fact that the flight had delayed by a few hours. it was the stop over that was causing the issue. it would delay him by an extra 12 hours. it was coincidental, the timings of the flight. including the fact that he hadn't intentionally booked the same flight as dima.

dima's head was lulling of your the side when valtteri's hand reached up and gently repositioned it. her head was laying on his shoulder at a weird angle, and his repositioning meant it was now in the crook of his neck. he prayed that his neck wasn't too warm due to blush that was making its way onto his face.

they were waiting before immigration. dima insisted she wouldn't go through until valtteri's issue with the stopover was solved.

he picked up the call, making sure to keep his hand by dima's hair so she wouldn't fall.

'valtteri this is not ideal. you're going to need a place to do your interviews.' that would have been idea had they still been in helsinki. they had reached beirut half an hour ago and he doubted there was a quiet place in the city. it was so packed inside the airport despite the pandemic and dima wasn't aware of his issue. dima's family were late to pick her up. she only knew something went wrong with his stop over.

'who are you talking to?' he didn't notice that she was awake and now staring at him with her hair messier than it was before she fell asleep.

valtteri sighed. 'my agent. i'm late to media duties and-'

he was interrupted again by the sound of dima's phone ringing. it was her father and she apologised for cutting him off before picking it up.

her arabic flowed naturally and she ran her fingers through her messy dark hair in an attempt to tame it. he could see that her eyes flickered to him mid conversation.

he shamelessly held eye contact with her dark eyes that seemed to drive him insane, like it had done when they were younger. there was something alluring about them, in valtteri's mind, something captivating.

she seemed to have cut the call and had started walking back to valtteri and eventually nudged him with her shoulders when he was lost in his thoughts.

'vicky, what's wrong?'

'my flight is delayed by like 12 hours so i'll miss media day but my agent says i'm not allowed to miss it. i'll have to find somewhere to stay here and set up something for a virtual presser.' valtteri was tired and sleepy and couldn't think of anything straight.

dima thought for a second before placing her hand on his arm.

'let's get outside and think of something there. i'm sure papa's study is quiet enough for a presser.' she was smooth with her words, hinting at valtteri to think about what she said. 

'i haven't got a visa.' he pointed out. he needed a visa to stay in beirut and his finnish passport didn't grant him visa free access in lebanon.

dima quickly brushed it off. 'you can get it on arrival. i know.'

he started at her for a second before taking his carry on bag and taking his hand out for her to hold on to.

she hesitantly placed her hand in his, a little worried about the show of pda in public. in finland, it's fine but in lebanon they had to be a bit more cautious with...whatever valtteri and dima had with each other.

the two walked to immigration and he realised that dima had dual citizenship so she would never need a visa.

'how do you know i can get an on arrival visa so confidently? i don't think you'd need it.' he asked out of curiosity.  dima struggled to keep her hand from going limp in his hand.

she didn't know what to say except the truth.

"my ex husband always forgot have it in advance so we almost always had to get it on arrival." her words threw valtteri off. he guessed there must be have been someone in her life the decade he was gone but he never expected her to have been married.

dima? married? it seemed odd to him.

it was strange and funny to him at the same time that they were both divorcees. he sensed that she didn't want to talk about it so he dropped off the subject.

he got his visa quickly, as dima had assured him, before moving towards baggage reclaim and finally leaving the airport. the summer breeze in beirut was strong, the humidity even stronger. he was sweating like crazy. especially after the comment by an old lady next to them telling them they were a good looking couple.

he hoped he didn't look too bad when dima's family picked him up.

'i know it's not your usual finnish weather but it'll get better.' dima laid her hand in vallteri's shoulder reassuring him that he'll be fine. he held her eyes as he placed his hand over hers and squeezed it in response.

at the time, dima's phone ringed again and she quickly picked it up, holding it to her ear with her free hand. she was speaking rapidly and without breaks. in the mean time, she had stepped closer to valtteri who was still sat down and occupied herself in his hair.

his blonde hair wasn't necessarily uncommon in lebanon, it just stood out more. she gently brushed her fingers through his hair, as valtteri tried to stop himself from sleeping with his head resting against her midsection right then and there. he was tired.

'we'll see you there.' she finished off in arabic, but valtteri had already picked up a bit from her.

dima switched to finnish to explain to valtteri that her father was somewhere by the arrivals hall and they'd have to walk there.

valtteri stood and subconsciously reached for dima, wrapping his arm around her shoulder before letting go and walking towards the exit, now with their bags.

he spotted dima's father and he was shocked to see that he still looked largely the same as what he remembered him as. he suddenly felt like he was 15 again, being scolded by dima's father for putting fireworks in the neighbours mailbox again.

'there's a good lad.' GEORGE KHALIL joked as he hugged valtteri in greeting.

dima was pouting as she noticed that her father greeted her boyfr- best friend  before her.

'don't get upset princess.' her father was in good spirits as he kissed his daughter on the forehead and gestured for the two to follow him to the car.

this was going to be a long day.

—-

i'm sorry it's so rushed .

author x