Tetoās on the phone with Reyes for the fourth time in as many hoursāyes, heās still awake, yes, heās still talking, yes, heās still doped up to the gillsāwhen he spots, he blinks to make sure heās seeing it right, Oscar Piastri. Heās wearing an unbranded hoodie, shoulders so tightly pulled up it makes him look smaller, weaving around the nurses and visitors in the hallway unnoticed.Ā
āI will call you back in a second,ā Teto says, hanging up the phone and narrowing his eyes as Oscar counts down the room numbers untilā
āHey!ā Teto barks and Oscar nearly hits the ceiling, hand yanking away from the door handle to Carlosās hospital room. āNo visitors. And what the fuck are you doing here anyway?ā
āIām justāā Oscar says, shoulders creeping up even further past his ears. āIs heāhow is he doing?ā
āNone of your business,ā Teto says, which is unnecessary and mean but heās angry, been angry for hours at things he canāt take it out on, wet kerbs and concrete barriers. Oscar-fucking-Piastri, as he was referred to in the team 55 groupchat for most of 2023, will have to receive what Teto has been itching to deliver to the Williams strategist okaying Carlosās request to go on the slicks.Ā
Oscarās face goes tight all over, jaw bobbing as he swallows. He stares at Teto for a long moment and then his eyes flick to something just behind Teto. The second Teto turns around to look, Oscar, sneaky little fucker, moves like a cat, quick-quiet, slipping into Carlosās hospital room before Teto can do anything. He follows hot on Oscarās heels, fully intent on throwing him out of the window, but Oscar has already made it to Carlos andā
āHeeeey,ā Carlos says, sounding pleased and tired and completely blitzed. āYouāre here.ā
āYeah,ā Oscar says, voice tight as he sits on the edge of the bed, nervous eyes scouring the beeping monitors Carlos is attached to. āHow are you feeling?ā
āGreat,ā Carlos says emphatically and Oscar lets out a watery chuckle.
āYou canāt be here,ā Teto says and Carlosās eyes flick from Oscar to Teto, dopey smile getting even bigger.
āYouāre here too,ā Carlos says. āOscar is here and you are here. Teto and Oscar.ā
āThey got you on the good stuff, huh?ā Oscar says and Carlos laughs. When he tries to reach out, the sound turns into a groan and before Teto can even tackle Oscar off the bed for the crime of making Carlos want to move his injured arm, Oscar has already leaned in, gently pushing Carlos back against his pillows.Ā
āCareful there,ā Oscar says. āYour arm, is itāā
āBroken,ā Teto says, narrowing his eyes.Ā
āIt looked,ā Oscar swallows. His hand drops from Carlosās shoulder to his blanket-covered knee, thumb sweeping before he looks over his shoulder at Teto and he stuffs it in his hoodie pocket. āOn the broadcast. It looked pretty bad.ā
āHey, Oscar,ā Carlos says, head lolling to the side. āHave you ever been to Madrid?ā
āYeah,ā Oscar says. āFor an event.ā
āItās nice,ā Carlos says. āIn the summer. Madrid. Warm andāā
He makes a vague gesture with his good arm. āI am there. In the summer. You should be there.ā
āOh my god,ā Teto mutters, realisation setting in, and Oscar gives him a hunted look over his shoulder.Ā
āWeāll talk about it later, huh,ā Oscar says, so quietly Teto almost canāt hear him and Carlosās eyebrows knot together.
āItās nice,ā he says again and Oscar makes a soothing noise, hand rising and stuttering on the way to Carlosās face before it reroutes to his good shoulder.Ā
āOkay, yeah,ā Oscar says. āYeah, thatāsāokay.ā
āOkay,ā Carlos sighs, mollified already, blinking slowly and Oscarās thumb touches the side of his neck before quickly retreating down.Ā
āYou should sleep,ā Oscar says. āWeāll talk tomorrow, yeah? You can tell me what the doctors said.ā
āTeto can tell you,ā Carlos says drowsily, head drooping to the side. Itās serious, Teto realises with stunning clarity. Whatever thisāwhateverās happening here. Carlos unguarded and soft, Oscar strung tight with worry and fear. Itās serious.Ā
āSure, yeah,ā Teto says and Oscar gives him a look thatās so full of aching gratitude Teto wants to throw a blanket over it and remain happily convinced that Oscar Piastri is a pain in Carlosās ass and nothing else.Ā
āIāll call you,ā Oscar says, standing up and lingering. Because Tetoās a good friend, he turns his back to them and fiddles with the curtains to draw them closed, long enough to hear the springs in the mattress squeak and the quiet murmur of Oscarās voice followed by Carlosās content hmm. When Teto turns back, he catches the end of Oscar guiltily wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Not slick.Ā
Oscar gets out of the hospital room in phases, steps stuttering as he keeps looking back at Carlos, already mostly knocked out again. Teto follows him, the same urge continuously tugging his chin over his shoulder to see Carlos sink back into his pillows.Ā
āWeāre friends,ā Oscar says defensively, even though Teto hasnāt said anything, turning to the coffee machine, the bit of his neck visible above his collar a tightly coiled line. āWeāreāitās notāweāre friends.ā
āHow long has this been going on?ā Teto asks and Oscar stabs a finger against the keypad of the hospital coffee machine until it starts humming.
āI donāt know what youāre talking about,ā Oscar says and Teto rolls his eyes.
āHow long?ā He asks and Oscar sighs. He unknots all at once, shoulders drooping.Ā
āA while,ā he says. Then he turns to Teto, his stern glare mostly ineffective when combined with trembling fingers clutching a paper cup with hot chocolate. āYou canāt tell anyone.ā
āNo shit,ā Teto says. āBut why didnāt heāCarlos tells me everything.ā
āHe wanted to,ā Oscar says. āBut I asked him not to tell anyone.ā
He maintains unflinching eye contact with Teto as he takes a swig from the cup, face scrunching against what Teto already knows has the consistency of granulated sugar floating in lukewarm water. Tetoās been here for half a day already, he knows the only drinkable thing in the machine is the espresso, provided you slam it back quick enough for it to not make contact with your tastebuds. Tetoās known Carlos for most of his life, so he doesnāt know why Oscar thinks he can pull off a lie about Carlos in Tetoās face. Still, itās kind of nice that he tries.Ā
āNo, you didnāt,ā Teto says.
āNo, I didnāt,ā Oscar admits. āBut it wasnāt likeāitās not personal. You know how he is.ā
Yeah, Teto knows how Carlos is. Of course Teto knows. Whatās surprising is that Oscar does.
āI canāt believeāā Teto says, shaking his head. āI thought he was seeing someone, you know? He was grinning at his phone all stupid constantly and I thoughtāhey, donāt look so fucking smug.ā
Oscar, unbearable smugness finally putting some colour back into his pale face, shrugs.Ā
āItās not reallyāā Oscar says. āI mean, I thought. Casual. I thought.ā
āVery casual,ā Teto says. āShowing up here.āĀ
āAnd Madrid,ā Oscar says, looking pleased for a brief moment before reality etches worry back into his expression. āSo I guess we both suck at casual.ā
āVisiting hours start at ten tomorrow,ā Teto says. āWhenās your flight?ā
āTwo hours ago,ā Oscar says. āIāll be there. Will you let me know if thereāsāif thereās anything?ā
Teto promises heāll let Oscar know, not remembering he doesnāt even have Oscarās number until Oscarās already gone. Heāll have to go through Carlosās phone to get it, and be very careful while doing it so he doesnāt see anything thatāll scar him for life. When he goes back into the hospital room, Carlos is not yet entirely asleep, blinking at Teto sleepily.Ā
āCarlos, really. Him?ā Teto asks, trying not to sound too despairing and Carlos sighs happily.Ā
āYeah,ā he slurs and Teto rolls his eyes to the ceiling, mutters dios mio under his breath.Ā
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