Not A Verstappen || CL16 & LN4

Untitled Part 9

"Thank you," you sighed with relief, unconsciously leaning into Lando's side.

"You can tell me what's going on over a nice cuppa tea and a muf- shit, my muffins." She was quick to turn and dart back in the house, leaving Charles and Lando quietly laughing beside you. Since you weren't going to be getting a hotel, Lando grabbed the suitcase from the back of the SUV before heading inside the modest home.

"So you didn't get your cooking skills from her," Charles teased as he inhaled the sweet scent of berry muffins filling the entrance hall.

"Depends if she burned them or not," you said, only half joking.

"Woah, it's little Spitz!" Lando stopped in front of the wall that was covered in portraits from being a baby through to winning F2. "Where's the rest?"

"Jos is always at the races," you murmured, "and he has a restraining order."

Charles' eyebrows lifted at the news and he understood even more why you disliked seeing him at each one supporting Max.

"Apparently trying to get the child support owed is classed as harassment," you said with a roll of your eyes. "We really put the fun in dysfunctional family."

Lando snorted but once he started laughing he couldn't stop. "I'm sorry, it's really not funny."

You had seen him laugh enough in interviews to know it's what he did when he felt awkward and didn't know what to say. "Did you want to put our luggage in our room? It's there, second door on the right."

He gratefully took the escape you gave him and wheeled the suitcase down the hall as Charles continued his way along slowly, taking his time to see how you had aged over the years. "Oh my god, this has to be my favourite," he said pointing to a particularly bad photo. "Why don't you style your hair like this anymore?"

"Ha-ha, not all of our mothers can be hairdressers. You must be the only one on the grid that hasn't had one bad hair style," you huffed playfully before pointing to the photo of your first karting race. "This is mine."

Charles stepped closer to see the wide smile you had with your helmet tucked under your arms and your two front teeth missing. You had kept the coins the tooth fairy left you in a savings jar so that you could pay for the fuel for the race. At one point you could remember considering pulling out another tooth that wasn't wiggly just so you could afford a replacement part. 

"You've come a long way, amour," Charles said proudly as he pulled you under his arm and kissed your temple.

"Charles," your mum called as she stuck her head into the hall as held out a jar of jam. "Could you be a dear and open this for me, please?"

Slipping from your side he went to help your mum while you went to check in on Lando. He hadn't made any progress at unpacking when you found him standing in front of your closet, his fingers tracing the pencil marks on the door jamb.

"I can't ever remember you being this short," he said as you wrapped your arms around his waist and rested your cheek in the dip between his shoulder blades. "Your presence always seemed bigger, I was so intimidated by it."

You chuckled a little at his admission. "I couldn't let anyone see how petrified I really was. Mum called it my brave face. I guess she couldn't really say bitch face at that age."

Turning in your arms, Lando cupped your face and tipped it back to meet your eyes. "I like brave face better." Rising on your toes, you closed the distance between your lips and kissed him softly.

"Lunch is re-" Your mother came to a halt in the doorway but neither of you made an attempt to hide what she had obviously seen. "Sweetheart, can we have a word?"

You chewed your lip as you nodded and stepped out of the room to see Charles was in the hall behind her but he slipped into the bedroom to give you a sense of privacy while still being close enough to step in if needed.

It was impossible to get a read on your mother's face as she opened the linen closet in the hall, effectively blocking them from sight, and she started piling blankets into her arms.

"Honey, I'm not one to tell you how to live your life but I saw the pictures of you and Charles together, and the little moment you had in the hall. So please tell me you're not planning on breaking his heart? He looks absolutely besotted with you."

You smiled at the thought and shook your head before looking at her with a nervousness you had never had when telling her the truth. "I'm not planning on breaking either of their hearts," you said after swallowing the wave of nausea that rose with your trepidation. She had been the first person you told when you had your first kiss, she had been the one you called when you got your first period. There had never been secrets between the two of you and you didn't want to start now. "I love them, mum."

"Oh, sweetheart, you can't string them both along-"

"No, mum, I love them both." You stared at her as she blinked slowly once, then twice. On the third blink her eyes widened and she nearly dropped the blankets she held. "It also helps that they love each other too."

You gave her a moment to process her thoughts but when you counted to ten and she still hadn't said anything the sickening churning in your gut nearly sent you running for the bathroom. "Mum?" She looked at the blankets and silently placed them back on the shelf. "I'm sorry if I've disappointed you, mum, I didn't plan to but they make me unbelievably happy."

"I'm not disappointed, just surprised," your mum said softly as she closed the linen cupboard and wrapped an arm around your shoulder. "I want you to be happy, honey, that's all any parent wants for their child...I guess it saves me making up the rollout bed."

You choked out a laugh, grateful that she could accept the news and crack a joke at the same time. "I can stop feeling sick now."

"As long as you're not pregnant. You are being careful, right?"

"Yes, thank you for your concern," you muttered sarcastically. "I really don't want to talk about this again."

"You skipped the talk last time," she reminded you and you remembered feeling the need to escape.

"For good reason too! You tried to tell me your 'sexual experiences' but as far as I am concerned you had sex once to make me and that's it."

Her laugh filled the hallway and she clutched her chest. "Oh, darling, you have no idea."

"I do not need to hear anything else." You stuck your fingers in your ears as you retreated to your bedroom but her laugh still taunted you when you closed the door behind you. Leaning against the cold wood you met your boyfriends' amused faces where they sat on the bed and pretended to shiver in disgust. "Gross."

Lando was the first to rise and he placed his hand above your head as he leaned in with a grin. "That went well."

"Surprisingly," you admitted with a giggle of relief. "Though Max set the bar of expectation really low."

Charles wrapped his arms around Lando's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder with a smile that you returned. "I missed this smile," he commented quietly as he reached out to trace your lips. "When I see it, I know everything is right in the world."

"Well, not everything," Lando stated, earning a pinch to his nipple from Charles. "What? It's true. We are going to face Max in nine days, that's a fact."

You sighed at the best case scenario, because you could be called to Milton Keynes at any point before then too. "Then how about we make a deal and not mention it? Let me bury my head in the sand for as long as I can."

"Deal," Charles agreed before you both stared at Lando, waiting for his answer.

"Fine, deal, but I want it noted that this was peer pressured."

"So sassy," you said as you grabbed his shirt and pulled him flush against your body. "Now seal it with a kiss."