Japan. Russia. The United States. Brazil. All four of them flew past Casey.
Each Grand Prix brought them one step closer to Seb's last day in a Red Bull car. She could tell he was gearing up for the goodbye, and that this would be one of the hardest moments of his life.
On the other hand, she utterly couldn't wait for it to pass, for when it did, she would have him completely to herself all winter in Italy. And once that passed, they would hit the road again together, both in red uniforms. United again in the same garage, this time, opposite Kimi Raikkonen.
Antti, one of Casey's newest favourite people, would follow them and don a red uniform too, as would Britta. Thank god. Casey didn't know what would happen if they ever lost Britta, it was unthinkable.
The official announcement had come just a few days earlier, after Alonso had finally made his exit plans clear, allowing Ferrari to announce Seb officially as one of their 2015 drivers.
The morning of the Abu Dhabi race might have seemed like it began as any other race did, but it was so much more than that. You could feel it in every garage and see the potent mixture of sadness and excitement in the faces of the fans attending. Everyone involved in the world of Formula 1 would finally be finding out who would take home the World Champion title, Nico Rosberg or Lewis Hamilton, but they would also be saying a lot of goodbyes. Many of the drivers would cross the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi either for the last time in their current colours, or for the last time in their careers.
At Kimi's request, Casey had been relieved from her duties in the Ferrari garage for the entire duration of race day, which allowed her to spend it instead in the Red Bull garage. She wouldn't wear red or blue, she would just be there, for him.
And so it was that she found herself in the driver's room at the back of the garage, watching Seb step into his navy blue Red Bull race suit for the last time. He pulled it up to his hips, letting it hang there while he stared into the mirror. There was a noticeable edge to him today, like he wanted time to stop and to race in this blue, red and yellow car forever, but also for time to speed up and deliver him into the cockpit of the Ferrari he'd dreamed about his entire life.
He looked over at Casey suddenly and grinned sheepishly, "I'm not going to cry."
"Yes you will." she retorted instantly, returning his grin.
"Yeah, I probably will." he laughed, turning back to the mirror.
Casey pushed off the table she was sitting against and walked up behind him in the mirror. She threaded her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder, staring at their reflection.
"I can't wait for next year." she whispered, turning to kiss his neck softly. She watched as Seb closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"You, me, Kimi, Minttu, Britta and Antti all under one roof." she continued. She needed him to focus on the happy things before the race.
"Thank fuck you're here." he murmured, "If you'd chosen him, and I was standing here alone..."
Casey snorted, "You know that I'd never choose anyone over you."
Seb smiled and opened his eyes again before turning and pulling Casey into his chest. She slipped her arms around his neck and grazed her teeth across his jaw gently.
"Come on, let's go and enjoy being in the Red Bull garage one last time." she said, brushing her lips across his as she spoke.
Seb buried his head into her shoulder and squeezed the breath out of her before letting go.
"Okay, let's do that." he sighed nervously.
Casey and Seb stepped out of the driver's room and walked into the left hand side of the garage. Everyone was there, smiling at them as they noticed their arrival. While Seb went over to speak with Rocky and Christian, Casey made a beeline for the huddle of mechanics standing around Suzie.
"Of the lot of you, Suzie is the one I miss the least." Casey grinned as she joined the group and put her arms around Brand and Evan's waists.
"Look whose back." Brand exclaimed cheerfully, hanging his arm around her neck and kissing the top of her head.
"How's our boy doing?" Kyle asked.
"Doing alright." she replied confidently. Seb was always alright when the time came to get in the car and drive.
On Casey's left, Evan was being particularly quiet. It was very un-Evan-like.
"What's up?" she said quietly, turning towards him.
Evan seemed to jerk out of a trance as he stared down at the car and grinned back at her, "Nothing. I'm fine."
She watched him suspiciously for a few more moments as he desperately tried not to laugh.
"You're not telling me something." Casey stated.
"You're paranoid." Evan scoffed, waving his hand at her dismissively.
Casey glanced at Jacob, only to find him watching them with a knowing look on his face. She huffed at their game. Secretive little so and so's...
As the race loomed ever nearer, Casey's stomach churned more and more. As the half hour mark approached, she found herself leaning against the bench next to her old front left tyre position. Jacob appeared at her side, handing her a headset as she watched Seb pulling his race suit up over his shoulders and into place.
"Thank you." she said, hanging the headset around her neck. Jacob smiled and walked back towards the row of computers down the back, resuming his seat with the rest of his team of technicians.
Casey's eyes darted back to Seb, who was now fully zipped into his suit and had his white balaclava in his hands, ready to go. She watched him glance around the garage before spotting her and making his way over.
"Wish me luck then." he murmured.
Casey couldn't think of a time before when she'd kissed him in front of a full media presence. In fact, she was almost 100% certain she never had. Occasionally, after a race, they'd been affectionate if the cameras weren't around anymore, but right before a race? With at least 3 dedicated cameramen in the garage with them and several more in the pit-lane right outside the door? Never.
If there was a time to break that, here it was.
She reached around his neck and pulled him into her, pressing her lips against his softly and giggling as he stepped in closer to her, trying futilely to shield them from the cameras. He'd instantly gone shy.
A couple of whistles around the garage met Casey and Sebastian's ears and she felt him smirk.
"Don't you dare pull away from me." she whispered against his lips, breaking into a playful grin.
She felt Seb's hand reach up and cup her jaw gently as he kissed her even harder. A moment later an audible rise of cat-calls from the crowd in the pit straight grandstand alerted Casey to the fact that she was surely being broadcast on the live feed at that very moment and subsequently shown on the huge screens dotted around the track. She decided she'd tortured Seb enough and pulled away, biting her lip.
Seb's sparkling blue eyes were staring back at her with one eyebrow raised.
"Pleased with yourself?" he whispered.
Casey nodded, shooting him a smug smile.
He laughed quietly and kissed her forehead before leaning into her ear.
"I love you, even when you force me to be wildly uncomfortable." he muttered before leaning back to pull his balaclava over his head.
"I love you to." Casey replied with a grin.
"Well, I hope you two never break up now because that kiss is gonna' be firmly entrenched all across the internet as quick as you can say 'Tumblr GIF'..." Antti quipped, appearing next to Seb and handing him his helmet.
"Fantastic." Seb laughed bashfully, narrowing his eyes at Casey for good measure.
She looked back at him innocently, tipping her head to the side.
"If you're done auditioning for 'World's Most Public Display of Affection', we need you to get in the car now Seb." Evan smirked, squeezing a hand down on their driver's shoulder.
"Oh god..." Seb mumbled, pulling each of his gloves on and turning away from the three of them towards his car.
Antti quickly lurched forward and slapped him on the butt sharply, causing the German to spin around and gape at them in surprise. Casey and Antti doubled over with laughter at the look on his face as Evan continued to shoo him away.
"It's not like I enjoyed having any dignity anyway." Seb called back over his shoulder, trying to sound upset but letting a smile slip through.
Casey and Antti snickered to themselves as they watched him disappear under his helmet and step into the cockpit of his RB10.
"Are you sad that this is your last day in blue?" Casey asked, turning to Antti who was now perched on the bench next to her.
Antti chuckled and threw his arm around her shoulders, "Not one bit!"
"And why is that?" she asked, allowing him to pull her against his side.
"Because I still get to follow you two around the world in a red shirt next year." he replied enthusiastically.
"He does look good in red." a petite, honey-blonde girl said, joining them at the bench.
"Hello you." Antti said fondly, wrapping his free arm around the girl's waist and pulling her into his other side.
"Ella!" Casey exclaimed, leaning forward to look at her, "Where have you been hiding?"
Ella, Antti's girlfriend of 3 months (who'd also been invited into the Red Bull garage for the day), shot Casey a devious smile.
"I just got Valterri's autograph!" she squeaked, holding out her arm.
Casey looked down at the black scrawl across the inside of her forearm and laughed, "No more baths for you then!"
Ella's smile couldn't have been any wider as she stared down at her arm, all doe-eyed. "He's so cute!" she cooed, before quickly looking up at Antti, "But not as cute as you!"
"Nice save." Casey smirked as Antti shook his head in amusement.
Ella had already been to stay with Casey, Seb and Antti at the house in Italy multiple times over the last few weeks. Casey had instantly taken to her. She was so bright and bubbly and fun. All of them had become closer with her added presence.
"I'll get you a headset, they're about to launch." Casey said, pushing off the bench and slipping through the various mechanics and technicians hovering around the car. She wandered up to Jake and leaned down behind him.
"Any spare headsets?" she murmured into his ear.
"Mhm." he nodded with a mouthful of muesli bar, reaching forward to a small stack of headsets behind his computer and handing one up to Casey.
"Thank you!" she sang, kissing his cheek before turning on her heel and hurrying back over to Antti and Ella as the RB10 fired into life. She lifted the headset over Ella's head and the two girls smiled at each other before turning to watch Seb pull out of the garage and disappear out into the pit lane for the very last time in a Red Bull.
---
As Seb began his final lap for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and subsequently his final lap for Red Bull Racing, he felt his hands gripping the steering wheel impossibly tighter as he maintained a respectable P5 position. The team radio was silent for now as Rocky allowed him to focus on getting the car home. Seb was however struggling to think about anything other than how quickly he was approaching the very last time he would talk to Rocky and Christian over his radio.
What could he possibly say to them that would encapsulate all of the records they'd broken and all of the title's they'd won together, as a team.
His body was already drained of energy from the exertion of the race. Yet he could still feel his heart beating extra fast as he anticipated what was to come.
As he rounded the final corner of the Abu Dhabi circuit, he saw them, all of them - the entire Red Bull garage, both Daniel's side and his own, all standing up on the pit lane fence. Seb felt his throat burn painfully as the team collectively saluted him as he flew past the checkered flag.
"Well done mate, you got everything out that she had to give." Rocky's solemn voice sounded over the radio.
"Sebastian Vettel..." Christian's voice began. Seb could hear the sadness in his tone and took a sharp intake of breath as he glided around the circuit back towards the pit entry. He could have never anticipated just how hard this goodbye was going to be.
"44 poles, 38 victories, 4 consecutive world championships... you're leaving incredibly big boots behind Seb..." Christian continued fondly. Seb smiled beneath his helmet, despite his throat still burning and his vision blurring.
He tried to clear his throat and said the only thing he could think of in that moment, "Thank you guys, thank you for everything."
---
The after party that evening was beyond anything the team had ever hosted before. Sending off a four time world champion was no small affair. They found themselves in an enormous, grandeur hotel function room, overlooking the Abu Dhabi city lights from a staggering altitude.
Speeches were made and drinks were toasted. Casey stayed close to Seb's side the whole night, serving as a constant reminder that he wasn't saying goodbye to absolutely everyone.
It was finally time for Seb to speak to the team and give his thanks.
"Words can't do this justice..." he began, standing up on the corner of the foot-high stage that was housing the DJ's equipment.
"You gave me everything. All of you. I remember every single pole position and every last trophy we've won. You gave me four world titles, gave me a car I could take to the limits, gave me lifelong friends..." he continued. The Jager in his stomach was helping to hold his voice steady.
"Hell, it wasn't really on offer, but you even gave me a girlfriend." he said, causing the room to burst into laughter and cat-calls. Casey grinned sheepishly from her spot in the crowd surrounding Seb.
"Thank you for 6 years of sweat, tears, lack of sleep, long-haul flights... and all the time you sacrificed away from your families to support me." he finished, shaking his head in disbelief.
"We'd do another 6 years of it in a heart beat for you mate!" Brand shouted from somewhere in the back. Casey smiled as Seb hung his head. He was done.
She moved forward and stepped up on to the stage, pulling him into her arms as the entire room erupted into deafening cheers and applause. She felt another set of arms around her as Britta joined them and the two women held their champion as he finally fell apart.
---
11 March, 2015
Casey walked into the Ferrari garage, still a little jet-lagged from the 36 hours of travelling she'd just completed from Italy to Melbourne.
And there she was, Seb's beautiful brand new red Ferrari, sitting up on trolleys as the mechanics pieced her together bit by bit. Casey walked past slowly and out through the garage door into the sunshine of the pit lane.
She gazed down towards the Red Bull garage curiously. She'd barely heard from Evan or Jacob over winter. They'd told her they were going on a holiday around Asia and had only been able to email every so often. She was very eager to see both of them and to convince herself that they were both in fact still alive.
It would have to wait though, as her duties were calling to her and she had a lot to do to prepare Seb's car for the first Free Practice session in 2 days time. If she got time for a lunch break later, she'd try to hunt the two boys down then.
Seb, Britta and Antti were out in the city of Melbourne that day, flitting between interviews and appearances non-stop, no doubt. Casey had kissed Seb goodbye while he was still laying in bed asleep earlier that morning.
So it came as a surprise to Casey when she turned back around to face her garage, only to see Seb standing there in front of the car, watching her. She loved the way he looked in the red and white driver's uniform. She wondered how long she'd need before her heart didn't thud extra loudly in her chest every time she saw him in it.
"What are you doing here?" she laughed, bouncing towards him and jumping into his arms. She felt him bury his head in her hair.
"I have something for you." was his muffled reply.
"Oh?" she said, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. He nodded and she watched a grin creep across his face as a very familiar, loud voice sounded from within the garage behind them.
"There's no way in hell you look better than me in red, Brand."
Casey's eyes widened as she looked over Seb's shoulder to see Evan, Brand and Jacob sauntering into the garage as if they owned the place. All three of them wore Ferrari crew uniform.
"What the fuck..." Casey breathed as Evan caught sight of her and smirked wildly. He walked towards her, causing Jacob and Brand to follow his lead.
"What the actual fuck!" she repeated, albeit much more loudly, as she skirted around Seb and fell into Evan's arms.
"Surprise!" Evan laughed in her ear as she death-gripped him.
"Somebody needs to seriously explain. Like right now." Casey cried, finally releasing him and grabbing Jacob next.
"You have no idea how hard it has been to hide these guys from you all round Maranello for the past 3 weeks." Seb said mischievously.
"Three weeks!?" Casey exclaimed in confusion, finally moving to Brand and hugging him tightly. She looked over her shoulder at Seb, feeling like her head was spinning. He just stood there grinning at her.
"How?" she said, feeling her eyes well up.
"It was always in my contract, to bring with me any of my technicians or mechanics, if I chose to do so." he said nonchalantly, "These 3... and you might also notice Nathan down the back of the garage, all took up my offer."
Casey's hand found it's way up to cover her mouth in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing but there they were, right in front of her in their Ferrari crew outfits. She would never have dreamed that after leaving Red Bull the way she had, she'd somehow find herself back under the same roof as Seb, Evan, Jacob and Brand all at once, ever again. It was blissfully overwhelming.
"I'm going to cry." she whimpered, grabbing Evan's hand tightly and sniffing as he squeezed her fingers.
"No you're not." Seb said, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"You haven't even heard the best part!" Evan said smugly.
"Guess who lost his job to make room?" Jacob said with a raised eyebrow.
Casey's face dawned with realisation, "I was wondering why I hadn't heard that idiot's voice in a while!"
"Poor old Blake." Evan tutted, not in the least bit sympathetic.
"When did you know? When did this happen!" Casey asked, still mystified as to how they'd coordinated this so well without her having a single clue.
"We signed our contracts before Brazil." Jacob replied with a cheeky smile.
Casey gaped at him, "So that's why you were both so quiet in Abu Dhabi! It was your last race with Red Bull too! Ugh, how did I not pick up on that more!"
The 3 of them laughed and looked between themselves cunningly.
"You were preoccupied with this blubbering mess." Evan commented, jutting his chin towards Seb.
"I was not blubbering!" Seb retorted sheepishly. He was.
"Alright, enough chit-chat you lot. We have a lot of work to do!" Brand barked happily, marching back into the garage and instantly taking charge of bossing everyone around.
Casey grinned as she watched him go inside.
"Really not sure I completely understand why we had to bring him." Evan said, winking as he turned and followed Brand back inside with Jacob at his heels.
Casey turned back to Seb and shook her head at him slowly, "Sneaky."
"I am." he agreed proudly before pulling her into his chest.
"Thank you." she said, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"New year, new team, new car, old friends. That is the best way to do it." he said.
Casey pulled away slightly and met his bright blue gaze, "Are you ready for your fifth title then?"
Seb squeezed her against his chest before running his lips across her cheek and biting her lower lip tenderly, "With you beside me, very ready."
The End.
Author's Note: Wow. What an amazingly fun experience it has been to write this story and get to know all of you. Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck with me from the very beginning all the way until now. I hope I did this finale justice and that you all enjoyed it. Thank you for every last vote, comment and direct message you've ever sent. You don't know just how great they are to receive! Every time I would post a chapter I would sit and watch as the notifications came in and smile at each one!
You helped me to make Fifth Light the most viewed, most commented and most voted F1 story on Wattpad and I am SO grateful for the huge amount of fun I've had while achieveing that!
The F1 community on Wattpad are a great bunch and I really hope you will all join me on my new story which I have already written the first three chapters of! I can't wait to show you guys! Please make sure you follow me so that you get notified when it is released.
Before I sign off from Fifth Light, I just want to list a few names of those who have contributed to this story. You are all so very awesome and I have appreciated every last bit of support you gave!
Without further ado, I dedicate this chapter to:
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ameeliah
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I've probably missed a few names and I do apologise to anyone whose missing, I still appreciate every last vote and comment I received from all of you!
I now pronounce Fifth Light complete. :)