Red past | Charles Leclerc

Proud

We stood in front of my sister's house, Charles was rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet while we waited for her to come to the door. Lio was asleep so we had to text her when we arrived instead of knocking.

"Hiii," she squealed quietly pulling me into a hug.

"Hi Vic," I muttered, giving her a slight squeeze.

When she pulled away, her eyes flashed in Charles direction, a look of surprise and joy spreading across her face.

"Long time, no see," She laughed, wrapping her arms around him.

"Hey Vic, it's good to see you," he stated, reciprocating the hug.

"Thank you both for doing this," she lead us through the house, to the living room where Luka was sat playing on a iPad.

The noise of us making our way towards him forced his concentration away from the screen and instead to us.

He looked between us, a smile on his face when his gaze met mine, he ran towards us, I pulled him up to me laughing at his reaction. His arms flung around my shoulders as I held him in my arms.

When he let go, looking in Charles direction, he turned to me and his mother with a confused look on his face.

"Why is Charles Leclerc here?" He muttered quietly, the struggle of saying the words was evident on his face.

"Charles and Auntie Nika are going to be looking after you for a couple of hours while we go out," Victoria told him, placing her hand on his cheek as he looked at her, still remaining in my arms.

He nodded in response to her, turning to face Charles with a skeptical look.

~

Victoria and Tom left just under an hour after we arrived, Lio still remained asleep in his room while Luka sat on the floor showing his toys off to Charles.

He ran over to his toy box reaching deep into it, a smile appeared on his face just a few seconds before his hands emerged. He had two formula 1 cars in his hands, one of them being Max's 2022 car and the other his 2021 car. The distinctive difference being the different numbers on the front wing.

When Charles noticed what was in his hands, he turned to face me, sending me a look that said 'he can't be serious right now'.

I let out a laugh at his reaction watching intently as Charles questioned what was so special about Redbull.

"Uncle Max is the best driver," Luka teased, sticking his tongue out at the Monegasque.

Charles sat up reaching over, grabbing my nephew just before he began tickling his sides.

Luka erupted into high pitched giggles, still shouting about Max throughout his laughter.

A smile formed on my face as I watched the brunette laugh along with my nephew. When Luka was able to break free he ran at Charles jumping at him, just as he was about to land on Charles' chest the Ferrari driver caught him in his arms.

I loved seeing Charles interact with Luka, he was always amazing with kids but seeing him with my nephew warmed my heart, it made me love him even more.

After playing with Luka for another ten minutes he stood up making his way over to me. He sat down right next to me, so close that our sides touched. Even at the little contact I got butterflies in my stomach.

I hated his ability to do that, the power he has over me even with the slightest of actions. He places his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer to him, I rested my head on his chest as we both watched my nephew play with his toys, the large smile remaining on his face.

"Are you ok, amour?" He asked, his eyes filled with concern as he looked down at me.

"Yeah, more than fine," I smiled, moving from my position to give him a quick kiss before planting my head back on his chest.

I could feel his heart beating through his chest, it was rapid, a mirroring heart rate to mine. He planted a kiss on the top of my head, his thumb rubbing back and forth up my arm.

As I sat there in his arms watching the little boy entertain himself with only a plastic toy, I couldn't help but reminisce over a conversation me and Charles had before we broke up.

I watched him as took photos with a fan who couldn't have been more than 6 years old, he had a Ferrari shirt and hat on, a smile of pure happiness on his face, his eyes filled to the brink with tears of joy. My heart melted as I watched my boyfriend comfort the fan, hugging him until the tears no longer streamed down his face. After the kid had calmed down, the driver made his way over to me, a smile spread across his face.

"As much as I hate to admit it, that was adorable," I laughed taking his hand in mine.

"Your good with kids," I stated, getting a suspicious look from him.

"Hmm is that a compliment I hear?" He teased, planting a kiss on the side of my head.

"Don't get used to it, your ego is big enough as it is."

"You wound me Mila," he dramatically placed a hand on his heart, his dimples carving through his cheeks.

"Have you ever thought about what you'd name your child?" Truthfully, I was curious, we had this conversation when we were kids but I didn't assume his answers would be the same.

"I haven't really thought about a girl but if it was a boy I'd want to name him Jules," I didn't need to ask why, it was pretty self explanatory.

Jules was a big part of Charles' life when he was growing up, and now that he is gone, naming his child after his godfather would be a good way to honour the name and one of the people who helped him to get where he is today.

"Jules Leclerc, it has a nice ring to it," my gaze met his, both of us smiling from ear to ear.

I remember thinking how good of a father Charles would be to his future children, how caring, loving and supportive he would be towards them and any big decision they make in their life.

I placed my hands in his, thinking how proud Jules and his father would be of him if they were here. Probably more proud than anyone else.