𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗥𝗘 | M.V.

ғᴏʀᴛʏ ɴɪɴᴇ

"Just waiting for Max to be ready and reading some news articles," she answered Daniel.

"They're not good articles, I guess, by the look on your face," Lando said with a slight chuckle. Madelyn shook her head.

"No, they're not. But that's not a surprise, is it?" Madelyn said. Both McLaren drivers shook their heads.

"Max has had a target on his head since he entered the sport. He's used to it by now," Daniel spoke.

"I know," Madelyn said as she looked down and started fidgeting with her fingernails. "I prefer not to read the articles, but I have to because it's my job," she shrugged. Lando and Daniel pressed their lips together as they tried to understand how she felt.

The last few weeks had not been easy, and neither had the media. While Max did his best on the track, she had to watch from the sidelines and meanwhile deal with all the bad things the media had to say about Max. Then there were the fans, who wished Max and the team the most terrible things. That couldn't be easy for a rookie press officer.

The silence between the three of them was interrupted by the opening doors behind them. Madelyn turned and saw Max walking out with Christian. Shortly behind them came Checo. "This area is off-limits to you guys," Christian winked at Daniel and Lando, chuckling. He left Max with the trio and walked away with Checo beside him. Max walked to the table and sat down in the remaining empty chair.

"What are you three gossiping about?" He asked as he leaned over to kiss Madelyn's cheek, who started blushing. Her eyes shot to Lando to see if he was uncomfortable, but all he could do was grin at the lovey-dovey couple. She was glad things worked out great between the three of them.

"Media," Daniel answered his good friend. Max rolled his eyes and sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

"What have they been saying now?" He asked, irritated.

"The usual," Madelyn said. "Nothing to worry about." She laid her hand on his knee and stroked her thumb comfortably over the fabric of his jeans.

"You know I don't care about what they say. As long as they don't hurt my family, they can kiss my ass," Max scoffed. His comment caused the other three to chuckle. They chatted about the race for a while until it was time to head toward the airport. They got into the van, which drove them toward the airport. Once in Max's private jet, they all took their seats, and it didn't take long before they were in the air.

✭・.・✫

Mid-flight, Madelyn was wide awake. Across from her, Max had fallen asleep in his chair. The same went for Daniel on the other side of the aisle. With her legs drawn toward her, Madelyn looked through the window and stared at the blinking light at the end of the wing.

"What's on your mind?" She heard someone whisper from the other side of the aisle. Startled, she turned her head and saw Lando looking at her from her seat. She thought he was also asleep, but apparently, he was not.

"Nothing," She whispered to him, trying not to wake the others on the plane.

"It's important to tell someone if something's on your mind," Lando explained. "So, c'mon, tell me."

Madelyn sighed before she adjusted her sitting position more toward him. "I just wished I could do more for him." She turned her head toward her boyfriend across from her.

"What do you mean?" Lando furrowed his brows.

"I mean, he's exhausted. But he refuses to admit it, which is even more exhausting for him. I wish I could take some burden off his shoulders, some stress. But I can't drive the car for him, and that's the most important thing right now."

"I think you're doing more for him than you realize," Lando said with a smile. It was now Madelyn's turn to furrow her brows. Lando chuckled at her facial expression before he continued talking.

"He's going to kill me for telling you this, but he has talked a lot about you during the past few race weekends. And each time your name came up in a conversation, he couldn't stop talking about how thankful he had been for your presence. He said you've made the last few weekends a lot easier for him and how happy he was to have you here."

"He really said those things?" Madelyn asked, after which Lando nodded at her. Madelyn turned her head again toward the Red Bull driver in front of her and stared at him.

"Do you want a hug?" Lando asked.

"Yes, please," Madelyn said and stood up from her chair. She walked over to Lando's and sat on the armrest. Lando wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her onto his lap. He pressed a comforting kiss on her hair, and they hugged for a few minutes in silence before they heard a familiar voice say:

"Get your hands off my girlfriend, Norris."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

lando and madelyn are like rachel and joey from friends, and i love it!

one more to go 😭

i think you can all guess which race that's going to be :)