After he'd thoroughly re-acquainted himself with Casey's lips, Seb finally pulled away, listening to her rapid breathing.
"Do you have to be at work tomorrow?" he asked, untangling his hand from her hair and lacing their fingers together instead as he lay on his back next to her.
"Day off." she replied, somewhat breathlessly.
Seb grinned in the dark, "Good."
"When are you flying out?" she asked, pulling her hand free again.
"Yet to be determined." he replied, turning his head to face her. He felt her fingers touch down on his jaw, making their way from his ear down to his chin.
"That sounds amazingly vague." Casey mumbled as she moved in closer to his side and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I made them cancel my flight as soon as I saw you on Friday." he said, smiling sheepishly in the dark, "Wasn't going to leave the country without either fixing things or kidnapping you."
"Really? Kidnapping. Sounds exciting..."
"We can still role-play it if you want..."
Casey sniggered and slapped his chest lightly, before adding, "...Maybe later."
She felt him sigh contentedly as she nuzzled his neck, gently nipping the sensitive skin there.
"If you want absolutely no sleep then by all means keep doing that." he murmured huskily. She knew that tone.
"I'm already at maximum restraint capacity here." he added.
Truth be told Casey was beyond exhausted by that point, after an arduous evening and not a lot of sleep the night before, due to... certain events.
She smirked and kissed his neck instead, "Goodnight Seb."
He pressed his lips against her forehead and they both fell back to sleep.
---
Casey stirred the next morning as she felt Sebastian disappear from her side and sit up. She prised her eyes open to find him smiling down at her.
"Stop." she said, covering her face with her hands.
He laughed quietly and smoothed her hair back from her face, "Get up beautiful, we have shit to do today."
Casey peered at him curiously as he stood up and stretched. Aside from being momentarily distracted by the muscles flexing across his back, she wondered what 'shit' entailed on this particular occasion.
He sauntered out of the room and disappeared down the hallway. Casey quickly scrambled out of the bed and followed him, not before looking around the room now that she was seeing it in daylight. It wasn't as spectacular as the first room, the one he'd put her in to sleep, but it was still amazingly serene.
"Seb?" she called, making her way down the stairs and through the lounge towards the kitchen. She found him right where she expected him, half-buried behind the refrigerator door.
"Yuh?" he replied, knocking the door closed with his hip as he carried a carton of eggs and a handful of tomatoes over to the counter. He was still sans shirt, with the only cover coming from a pair of baggy track pants that hung tantalizingly low off his hips.
"I need to get clothes today, preferably ones that aren't yours." she said, walking over to him and running her fingers down his shoulder blades as he cracked eggs over a pan.
"We'll get all that, don't worry." he replied casually, twisting around to kiss her gently.
She hugged her arms around his middle and leaned her cheek against his back. It was only just starting to sink in that she had her lovable, mischievous German back and that she could do as she pleased with him. But in some ways it also already felt like the last 2 months had never even happened. How things can change in 24 hours.
"I have some things to fill you in on." he said after a few moments.
"Oh?" Casey replied, releasing his waist and walking around the counter to take a seat as she watched him cook.
"So... this is going to sound awkward..." he began, turning to face her.
Casey raised an eyebrow at him and gestured for him to continue.
"Well, I'll start at the beginning." he said, turning back to the eggs.
"God, I'm hungry." Casey interjected, staring at the pan in front of him.
"Oh so now you're hungry." he retorted, "I put a lot of effort into that dinner last night you know. I had to read the instructions on what to do and everything."
Casey smirked, "I bet you ignored what they said anyway."
Seb turned around to face her again, "Why does everyone say that! I do not ignore instructions!"
"Rocky practically has to play reverse psychology with you to get you to do anything he says!" Casey exclaimed, shaking her head.
"That is crap." Sebastian muttered, turning away again to hide his smile.
"Sebastian, just get the car home please." Casey said, imitating Rocky's accent, "Pretty much as soon as we hear him saying that we know your sectors will all come up purple."
Seb grinned to himself proudly, "Of course they will. And then he lies to me and tells me I didn't get the fastest lap just to piss me off."
"You're as bad as each other." Casey mused, returning to supervising his shoulder muscles as he stirred the eggs.
"Anyway, as I was saying." he said, clearing his throat, "I'm leaving Red Bull at the end of the season."
Casey's jaw fell open in shock, "You ...what?"
Seb chuckled, walking over to the island counter and spooning the cooked eggs out on to two plates.
"It was time." he shrugged, shooting her a nervous smile and handing her one of the plates.
Casey rubbed her temples and shut her eyes, "Did you hit your head on something?"
"The only thing I could do while you were gone was think about what I was doing with my life and it became clear, I've won four world titles in a Red Bull, but seven-year-old me still wants one in a Ferrari."
Casey's eyes snapped open again and she gaped at him. Seb opened his mouth to continue but she quickly interjected, "Are you about to tell me you've signed a Ferrari contract?"
Seb bit his lip in a tell-tale manner.
"We're teammates again?" Casey laughed incredulously.
"I signed it the night before I set eyes on you in the Ferrari uniform. It was like the universe was having a great fucking laugh at me." Seb said, shaking his head.
"Shit." Casey breathed, "This is big. I feel so sorry for Britta."
Seb rolled his eyes, "She's making her workload well known to me."
"Does this mean I'm going to lose my job at the end of this season?" Casey asked in exasperation.
Seb snorted, "I don't think that will be happening. I had it more in mind that they'd transfer you ...to my car." he said smugly. Seb did have an uncanny knack for getting his way, which he knew perfectly well and took full advantage of often.
"Oh god, I'm going to have to sign that HR form again." Casey mumbled, deep in thought.
"So... that's that news." he said casually, taking a seat beside her and digging in to his breakfast.
"I get the feeling there's more news..." Casey said suspiciously.
"Eat first, then I'll show you." he said, glancing at her mysteriously.
---
"So you're probably wondering where we are..." Seb said as he lead Casey out the front door after they'd finished breakfast.
"Maybe... but I'm not complaining, it's stunning." she replied, taking in a deep breath of the fresh outdoor air and looking around at the quiet grounds surrounding the house.
"After I entered negotiations with Ferrari a few weeks ago I may have been a little pro-active." he said, reaching back for her hand. Casey took it as they walked around the side of the house into a perfectly manicured garden full of fruit-bearing trees.
"I'll be spending a lot more time in Italy. And I didn't want to spend it in hotels or apartments. Not again." he said, shaking his head, "So I bought this place."
Casey looked at him in surprise, "This house is yours?"
"Expedited settlement." Seb nodded with a cheeky grin.
"Wow..."
"Obviously, I didn't know for sure if I'd ever see you again but it was always in my mind to find something you'd want to live in just as much as I would. Just in case I got another chance..." Seb said quietly as he came to a stop.
She gave him a quizzical look before he pulled her into his arms.
"Are you asking me to move in with you? Here?" Casey asked weakly as she rested her chin on his shoulder and looked back up at the house.
"If I was, what would you say?" he replied. She could hear the smile in his tone.
"Please don't make me cry again." she whispered, starting to feel overwhelmed.
Seb pulled back and laughed, "You aren't supposed to cry!"
He swiped away a tear that had escaped down her cheek and pressed his lips against hers in a bid to distract her. She deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and pouring her heart into it.
Seb felt the happiness coursing through every vein in his body as she kissed him lovingly. He couldn't have hoped for a better ending to the nightmare the last 2 months had given him. He had no doubt in his mind that she still loved him, she'd never stopped. Even with Heikki doing his god damn best to change that.
He pulled away slightly but kept their lips touching, "I love you Casey. I missed you so much."
"I love you too." she whispered, biting his bottom lip affectionately and pulling him back in.
He growled under his breath and moved down to her neck, biting her skin and brushing his lips over the red marks he left in his wake. He paused after a moment, remembering just how much they'd have to do that day if he got his way.
Seb pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, "So, is that a yes?"
"Of course it is." she replied, running her hands through his hair on the back of his head and pulling him into a hug. Seb took a deep, content breath.
"Then we have work to do. How much stuff did you bring to Italy?"
"I sold most things, the apartment came furnished so currently I have about 2 suitcases of possessions to my name." Casey laughed ashamedly.
"I'll drive." Seb said, kissing her nose and striding away back towards the front of the house. Casey bit her lip as she watched him go, still naked from the waist up.
"Are you planning on wearing a shirt for this expedition?" she called after him.
"We'll see... maybe I just like how much you stare at me when I don't." he said, smirking back over his shoulder at her.
Casey rolled her eyes in amusement and hurried after him.
---
As Casey pushed her key into the lock of her apartment door, a second door down the hallway of the Ferrari international apartments opened and the occupant poked his head out.
"Ah, thought it might be you." Ric's Canadian accent called.
Casey looked down the hallway, spotting Ric as he ducked out of his door and walked towards them. He was carrying Casey's backpack in his hand.
He looked up as he approached and immediately did a double take as his eyes landed on Seb, who was leaning against the wall casually.
"Jesus." Ric breathed.
"You've met Seb?" Casey asked, gesturing her hand vaguely.
"Ah... no! Good to finally meet you." Ric said nervously, holding out his hand to Seb.
"This is Ric, he's a mechanic for Kimi and a wheel gunner on the pit crew." Casey announced with a polite smile back at Ric. Seb nodded, shooting him a friendly smile.
"Uhh, you left this yesterday." Ric said, trying to remember why he was there.
"Thanks for rescuing it." Casey grinned, taking the bag from him.
"No problem." he said, "Well, I'll leave you too it. See you at work tomorrow."
"Bye!" Casey smiled, grabbing Seb's hand and pushing her way through the apartment door.
Packing up her belongings took almost no time at all, due mostly to the fact that Casey still hadn't unpacked in the first place. Seb carried the cases out to the car while she did one last sweep of the place before locking the door behind her.
In less than twenty minutes they were back on the main road again.
"Where to?" Casey asked, relieved to be back in a set of her own clothes. She had no problem wearing Seb's clothes in private but being caught out in public in them was slightly less ideal.
"Well," Seb began, checking the time on his watch briefly as he maneuvered through the traffic, "We need to buy a few things..."
"Okay?" she said curiously.
Seb bit his lip mischievously, "Well, I figure for starters, you're going to need a car."