The Papayas | A Landoscar Story

Bahrain.

The plane landed. Lando was in Bahrain. He now had to travel to the Circuit. He'd rented a car so he could actually get to the Circuit.

He started the drive to the Circuit, it wasn't too far from the airport, 15-30 minutes at most.

He pulled up and parked his car. Entering the paddock was something Lando missed, he missed it a lot. He missed his mates. It wasn't the same without Daniel Ricciardo in the garage, and it sure as hell wasn't the same seeing Oscar Piastri's name next to his.

"Lando! Over here!" A familiar voice called.

"Oscar!" He ran over to him. "How are you doing after all that seasickness bullshit?"

"I'm doing fine, still feel a little rough, But Y'know."

Lando's phone buzzed. This time it was Daniel.

~~~~~~~~~~~

> The Honeybadger 🦡 : Good luck, Last Lap Lando! Use that last lap magic that's in your possession!

> Last Lap Lando 🏎️ : Thanks, Danny.

> The Honeybadger 🦡: Your welcome, Lando.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lando looked Oscar in his endless brown gaze. He felt those butterflies again, he didn't know why. His gaze was locked onto Oscar's.

"Good luck, Lan."

"Good luck, Bunnyboy."

They walked to their cars, ready for Q1. They put their helmets on and entered their cars. This was it. Oscar's very first Quali of the season. Their cars exited the garages and scampered out the pits.

The cars were slow. They were struggling. McLaren didn't know why. The drivers didn't know why.

"BULLSHIT!" Lando yelled through his radio. "FUCKING BULLSHIT!"

Lando was out in Q1, but Oscar barely escaped the cold grasp of the knockout zone. He was fairly fast and Lando couldn't help but feel pride for him. He was out in Q2, though.

"Fuck me." Oscar was upset.

"Oscar, you were amazing." Lando coaxed him.

"The car's fucking broken."

"Yes, it's incredibly slow. I'll talk to Zak about it later. But for now, we can be grateful we didn't crash out."

"I guess..." Oscar was worried about it. He didn't want to be sacked after one race, teams did that sometimes.

"C'mon, lets grab a drink." Lando said, grabbing Oscar's hand gently.

The pair of them got a drink each. It was a tad warm so they didn't want to go thirsty. They headed back to the McLaren garage to have a breather. It was getting darker. Oscar and Lando looked at each other. Oscar noticed the hearts Lando had in his eyes for him, but decided not to say a word.

They changed out of their fireproof racesuits and into casual wear. Lando was wearing a McLaren polo and shorts, and Oscar was wearing the same.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They headed to their hotel and went to their rooms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Bunnyboy 🐰 : Hey!

> Lan 🧡 : Hey Bunnyboy!

> Bunnyboy 🐰 : How ya doin'?

> Lan 🧡 : Feelin' lonely. Why?

> Bunnyboy 🐰 : Okay, omw to ur room xx

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lando heard a gentle knock at his door. He went to open it.

"Hiya, Lan!"

"Hey Oz!"

Lando sat on his bed, inviting Oscar to sit with him on it by tapping it. Oscar took the message and sat next to him. They looked at each other for a while, before laughing and falling backwards onto Lando's bed. Lando turned his head to Oscar, before wrapping his arms around Oscar and squeezing him tight. Oscar did the same to Lando, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing him.

"Wanna go to dinner with me?" Oscar whispered.

"I'd love to, Oz." Lando whispered back.

They left Lando's room together, holding each other's hands subconsciously. They made their way to the dining room downstairs and sat at a table. A waitress approached them and asked what they'd like. They both requested a burger and a glass of Coke.

"Hah, we ordered the exact same thing!" Oscar exclaimed quietly.

"That's funny!" Lando replied

The waitress returned with their drinks and assured them that their food won't be too long, since it wasn't very busy at the time they were there. Then Lando's phone buzzed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Lewis 🦁: I saw you and Oscar holding hands in the lobby. You're only friends, right?

> Lando 🔸: We- Uhm- We weren't holding hands-

> Lewis 🦁 : Pretty sure you were.

> Lando 🔸: Nope-

> Lewis 🦁 : If you say so...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Fuck." Lando muttered under his breath.

The waitress returned again with their food. They thanked her and started to eat, taking smaller bites so they didn't look like animals.

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They finished their meals and drank their cokes, laughing about lots of things and making jokes with each other. Their waitress took their plates away, and again, the lads thanked her. They finished their drinks, payed, then left, holding hands again.

They both went to Lando's room and snuggled together to watch some TV. They fell asleep in each other's arms, again.