+ 2,756 words
+ Angst and comfort
+ Warnings: Mentions of death, bad parenting/abandonment
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"I got it, I got the internship." You spoke dumbfounded in front of Seb and Hannah with the letter in your hands.
They're both silent for a second taking it in. "OH MY GOD!!!" Hannah yells out and Seb's lips curl into a huge smile as he steps forward you engulfing you in a tight hug. He was so proud of you but he couldn't deny the nerves that formed in his stomach at the thought of you in the paddock soon.
Days before your first race Seb takes the time to let you know what to expect, what to look out for knowing that once you were there he couldn't guide you the way he wanted.
On the day of your first race, you're nothing short of excited, of course, you're nervous but you feel prepared, you feel ready, this was the moment you'd been waiting for since you were a kid being able to pursue your passion just like Seb had taught you.
You walk into the Ferrari garage, and right now you're only tasked with overlooking the professional's work and noting down observations and suggestions. You're in complete awe when you finally come face-to-face with the SF21 it was more beautiful than you'd imagined.
"Excuse me." You heard a voice behind you.
You turned around to find Charles Leclerc standing in front of you, you were completely surprised once again. "Oh sorry." You snapped back to reality.
"You are?" Charles asked not showing a smile as he climbed into his car.
"Oh yeah sorry, I'm y/n, the new intern." You extended your hand.
Charles scoffed not accepting your hand. "you?"
You quickly learned the attitude he wanted to take with you so you dropped your hand and adopted a more serious position. "Yes me is there a problem with that?" You asked him.
He eyed you up and down. "As long as you do your work and stay out of my way." He scoffed once more.
You laughed to yourself. "Your gonna spin if you go out like this." You decided to ignore his comment.
"What?" He furrowed his brows.
"Your wing was adjusted wrong, it's too open for the wind you're gonna have now, by the time you get into turn 5 you're gonna lose the car and you're gonna spin you kept eye contact with him.
It was his turn to laugh now. "Look I trust my team, a team who's had years of experience and has been doing this for way longer than you have, you're probably here because of daddy's money and I hope you know others would love to be in your position and aren't that lucky to have loving parents to treat them with things like this. So don't disrespect my team, they've earned their way up to their spots, unlike you, you don't belong here." He spat getting his helmet on and getting down into his car.
You were speechless, "Despite the fact that you knew the truth his words hit hard because he was partially right."
You decide to sit back, yes Charles does spin in turn 5 just like you'd said but you thought it best to keep your mouth shut from now on.
Back at the hotel, you have a lot of time to be alone in your room, you go over the notes you took today and the feedback you were provided with but it was hard to focus with Charles's words running through your mind.
Luckily you were pulled away from your work when there was a knock at the door. You knew it would be Seb since he'd texted you to get ready for dinner and he'd come get you as soon as he was back from the track.
You open the door. "Hey honey, how was your first day at work?" He embraced you asking enthusiastically.
You're quiet and he knows something is wrong. "I think this was a bad idea, I shouldn't be here," you reveal. But Seb knows there's more, there's something you're not telling him.
"Where is this coming from y/n? you deserve this more than anyone?
"Do I Seb? What puts me above everyone else?" You were getting emotional.
"You earned this through your own hard work and efforts." Seb reminded you.
"Yeah with your money!" You raised your voice frustrated. "With your money, because I had none after my parents stopped loving me...and I stopped belonging to them...to anyone. Seb, I don't belong here...and you know that," you said the last 4 words looking straight into his eyes as a couple of tears roll down your eyes.
"What are you talking about?" He asks, feeling a sting at the way those 4 words were directed at him.
"It's okay Seb, but even I realize you're ashamed of me." You wiped a few tears away. "I would be too..."
"Why are you saying that?" Seb got angry that you would even think that.
"You don't want the world to know I exist." you reconnected your eyes with his.
Seb's heart broke. He wanted to say 1000 things to make you understand how that wasn't the case but he wasn't able to emit a single-word product of the huge knot that had formed in his throat.
His heart broke more, the knot in his throat getting bigger and tighter as he saw the lights in your eyes dim with every second that passed where he didn't say anything, where he didn't immediately crush the thought away from your mind.
But your conversation was interrupted by a closing door in the hallway, Seb hadn't shut the door behind him and you could hear footsteps coming closer. You wipe the rest of your tears away, looking down at the floor contemplating and trying to understand the last exchange between you and Seb.
"Oh, I thought we were meeting in the restaurant?" You heard a voice at the door.
You looked up and saw George Russell and Alex Albon.
"Is everything alright?" Alex asked noticing the tension.
Seb was still struggling to say anything.
"Yeah we're fine, what are you talking about meeting where? I thought we were getting dinner." You turned to Seb.
"Sh*t" we ruined the surprise. George whispered as if they weren't in front of you both.
"It's okay, uhm let's go." Seb forced a smile. "Please." He extended his hand out to you.
You both felt the same thing, you had that unfinished conversation, but you took Seb's hand nonetheless. Maybe everything would change after this but for tonight it didn't have to.
You went down and all the drivers were downstairs in a secluded part of the hotel restaurant. Seb had organized a dinner for everyone to get to know you and vice versa. Once Charles recognized you he felt incredibly embarrassed, he has massive respect for Seb and by the way, Seb holds you and walks with you he can tell you're important to him and Charles knows he was a dick to you apart from the fact that your prediction was right and you were only looking to help that day.
"Hey Boys thank you for coming, I want you to meet y/n" Seb introduces you.
"Hey." The boys say in unison. You notice how Charles simply looks down at his hands and you roll your eyes at his cowardness.
Seb pulls out a chair next to him and Fernando where you sit.
"y/n?" You hear a voice call your name and you look up seeing a tall blonde guy.
"Mick?" You ask, the last time you saw him he was only a kid, but those blue eyes, they couldn't belong to anyone else.
"Oh my god, the last time I saw you was-" He hesitated before finishing.
"It's so nice to see you." You quickly tried to divert the conversation but you noticed confused glances from a few people.
"C, mon let's eat," Seb suggested noticing your sudden nervousness.
You were keeping quiet, the boys asked a few questions trying to get to know you but you felt out of place and hesitant. Your anxiety only increases when the boys decide to start asking about your family, you notice Mick get tense and Seb keeps his gaze on you wondering what you'd be willing to share with the group.
"Do you have any siblings?" Carlos asked.
You felt a pang in your chest. "Uhm I did yeah." You quickly say continuing to eat.
Carlos furrows his brows but he catches onto the fact that you don't want to expand on your answer so he leaves it alone.
"How did you and Seb meet? Were your parents racing?" George asks.
"No, uhm I have a lot of work to do so I'm just gonna go. Excuse me." You set your fork and knife down not giving anyone any time to protest before you were already walking away leaving your plate half-eaten and a bunch of dumbfounded guys at the table.
"Did we say something?" Lando asked confused.
Mick and Seb shared a knowing look.
"Seb are you alright?" Lewis had noticed his friend hadn't been himself tonight.
Everyone could tell something was bothering Seb and he was always there for them so now it was their turn, and they encouraged him to talk.
"I f*cked up." Seb lets out a defeated sigh as he leans back in his chair.
"Who is she, Seb?" Charles speaks for the first time during the whole night.
Seb contemplates weather to discuss this or not, it's your story to tell not his but he also felt like he had done enough damage on his own and he wanted nothing more than for you to feel welcome in this environment before deciding to leave so maybe explaining to them would help.
"y/n and her older brother Felix were very close growing up, her family was loving and she was growing up in a beautiful home, I met her parents in high school, and Hannah and I remained friends, we were there when both Felix and y/n were born." Seb started. "We were incredibly close with the family, we'd meet up whenever we could, whenever I was free from racing or I would also sometimes take y/n and Felix with me to some of the races."
"That's where y/n and I met." Mick quickly added. All the boys were closely listening.
"But it all changed when y/n was 9, Felix was on his way home from school, he was in the school bus and-" Seb swallowed down the lump that began forming in his throat. "The driver fell asleep at the wheel, the bus swerved down and onto a ravine, and-" Seb had to take a second. "Felix died that day...and his parents died with him."
"Oh, my god," Daniel said to himself, a pitiful look in his eyes.
"That was the day they stopped being parents, they stopped caring like parents, they stopped loving like parents...but the problem was they still had a daughter." Seb got emotional remembering what he'd witnessed then.
"y/n." Charles whispered to himself, with each word Seb recounted he hated himself more and more.
"You see at first things seemed normal, the family was mourning the way they should and everyone gave them space because how do you comfort someone whose lost a child? but I was worried for y/n so I kept a close eye and noticed how slowly her parents lost the ability to take care of themselves leaving that responsibility to y/n." Seb couldn't hold back the angry tears that spilled from his eyes.
The boys all shared looks of distress and anger with him.
"y/n would go out for food, cook for them, clean the house, she was doing everything for them that she forgot about herself and she was only 9." Seb cried. "So I decided to report her parents and took custody of y/n, Hannah and I raised her from them trying to give her the best life we could, letting her finish school and university, we bonded over racing, I taught her everything I knew but I never wanted her to come out on track with me because I never wanted her to live under my shadow, I didn't want her to feel trapped because of my last name so Hannah and I never told anyone about her." Seb shook his head disappointed in himself. "I thought I was doing the right thing."
"She graduated last year with a degree in mechanical engineering and data science and she applied for an internship with a lot of teams, she didn't tell me until after she'd sent her applications. But she got it, she got the internship all on her own but just after 1 day she feels like she doesn't belong and she thinks I'm ashamed of her because I hid her so long." Seb's tears ran free now.
Mick rubbed Seb's shoulder in a comforting manner trying to show his support. The boys all tried digesting everything they heard. Charles hated himself for the way he'd treated you today, he had to apologize to you and he felt at fault with the way you felt.
"Seb you did what you thought was best for her and that's never wrong. You got her out of a situation that would kill her, you gave her a home, love and family, and a real opportunity at life and that's more than most people could say they've done." Lewis spoke.
"Go talk to her, I think she needs to hear that she belongs not only in the paddock but in your family too." Mick suggested.
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You locked yourself in your room, you were tired of crying so instead you decided to try to distract yourself, you put on old races, where Seb was racing, and remembered where you were when they took place, how you would watch him from home hoping you'd be able to experience it with him one day.
Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock at your door. You paused the tv and headed to open the door finding Seb on the other side.
"You didn't finish your dinner?" You asked him unsure of what else to say.
"I had something more important to do," Seb replied. "Can I come in?" He asked.
You sighed but nodded and let him in. Seb's eyes immediately landed on what you were watching. "I'm not ashamed of you y/n." Seb didn't hesitate to speak this time.
Your eyes snapped up to his. "Seb-" you were about to speak.
"I'm not and I need you to understand that, it kills me to think you ever thought that." Seb stopped you before you could interrupt him. "You are one of the biggest prides in my life, I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping you hidden from me and from my name because I didn't want you to ever feel like you got by because of me, I didn't want people to take advantage of you and your connection to me, I didn't want the world's eyes on you ready to judge you at any given time. I was trying to protect you." Seb explained.
You couldn't hide your tears now. "You are the person I looked up to the most in my life after Felix, the day he died there was a hole that formed in my heart and I thought I'd never be able to feel whole again but you made me feel loved and safe again and for that, I will forever be thankful, but I don't know where I belong if my own parents were able to stop loving me how do I know you won't do the same?" You cried.
"Look your parents, the way they lost themselves, what they did to you is unforgivable. But it's crazy because I won't ever be able to hate them, they gave me my first daughter." His voice cracked. His eyes filled with pride as he looked at you.
"What?" Seb had never said that to you before.
"I didn't want you to feel like I was putting some sort of claim over you but you are my daughter y/n, you belong with me, in our family because you are my daughter and I love you and that will never, ever change." Seb was clear with his last words.
You didn't know what to say, you had no words so instead you showed him. You ran into his arms and the hold you had on each other was so tight you knew Seb would never let you go, like he said you belonged with him and Hannah and your home was there.
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A/N:
Welcome to the first story of Book 2. This was one that I had in the drafts for a while and I have so many more drafts (56) I have to finish and post.
This story definitely extended more than I intended but it was more for comfort and I liked the way it was carried out.
Would you guys like a Part 2 where I expand a little on y/n and Charles? and maybe the drivers welcoming her a little more?