Fallen in Liebe
Oscar Piastri x Hülkenberg sister!reader
Summary:
In which Y/N’s niece is ill and she’s alone at the restaurant until Australia’s Prince comes to the rescue again. His horse may be more orange than expected but she’s not one to judge.
1
Chapter 2
Nico had only managed 19th in FP2 and while Y/N naturally felt for him and hoped he could improve, she couldn’t help but be transfixed by the pace of the McLarens. Ok who was she kidding, she was really only observing car 81. But just to learn more about the championship, she told herself. Well, maybe to learn more about the driver but that was hardly a crime.
She had decided to go back to her hotel room while Nico was debriefing, knowing she needed to get ready for meeting him, Egle and Noemi at a traditional Italian restaurant in the centre of Imola. Egle had sent her the directions earlier in the day and assured her that there was no need to dress fancily unless she wanted to.
She chose a simple blouse and jeans combination with heels and a soft makeup look, nice enough to feel special without going overboard.
Nico had assured her that they wouldn’t be long and she could go to the restaurant herself to ensure they got a table.
Y/N had just entered the doors of the cozy restaurant when her phone buzzed in her bag.
Nico: Entschuldigung, wir wollten gerade los, aber Noemi ist plötzlich krank geworden, und wir halten es für das Beste, wenn wir im Hotel bleiben und sie sich ausruhen lassen. Du solltest das Restaurant trotzdem genießen, das Essen ist fantastisch (sorry we were just about to leave but Noemi was sick out of nowhere and we think it’s for the best that we stay at the hotel and let her rest. You should still enjoy the restaurant though, the food is fantastic).
Y/N: Keine Sorge, ich hoffe, es geht ihr bald besser. Ich bin gerade im Restaurant angekommen, also setze ich mich erst mal an einen Tisch. Ich schaue später mal vorbei, um zu sehen, wie es Noemi geht (no worries, I hope she feels better soon. I just got to the restaurant so I’ll grab a table for myself. I’ll come by later to see how Noemi’s feeling).
With that she put her phone back in her bag and was about to ask the waiter for a table when she noticed someone walking towards her.
It was Oscar.
“Hey” he said “Didn’t expect to see you here, are you alone?”
“Seems so” she replied a bit embarrassed “I was supposed to be having dinner with Nico and Egle but it seems like Noemi isn’t feeling well so they cancelled.”
“Ah that’s a shame. Well you won’t regret coming here.” He paused, scratching his neck a bit awkwardly “Do you… do you maybe want to join my table?”
She raised her eyebrows in surprise “Are you sure? This is the second time you’ll have come to my rescue.”
“You make it sound like I’m some fairytale prince. But yeah I’m sure, I mean as long as you don’t share McLaren secrets with your brother. I’m with Lando and a couple of engineers.” He quipped
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She said, playing along.
“Cool. Well just to warn you, Lando will probably put on the charming act and try to make you laugh but he’s harmless- mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“Yeah, you’ll see what I mean” his voice sounded long-suffering but he was smiling.
Y/N followed him to a table at the back of the restaurant and noticed how the others seemed to perk up when she walked over, readying themselves to tease Oscar.
A curly-haired man was the first to speak “Oi Oscar who’s this? She’s way out of your league mate. Hiya love, I’m Lando.”
Oscar rolled his eyes and gave her a look as if to say, see what I mean?
“Lando, this is Y/N. Y/N, this, unfortunately, is my teammate Lando Norris.”
“Unfortunately? Don’t lie Osc, you love me. Your life would be boring without me.”
Y/N laughed and Lando grinned proudly.
“Don’t encourage him, his ego’s big enough as it is. His head will weigh the car down too much if it gets any bigger.” Oscar said dryly, earning another laugh from Y/N. It was his turn now to hide the pleased look.
She took a seat in between Oscar and one of the engineers, whose name she’d learned was Harry. Lando sat on the other side of Oscar, smirking.
“So Y/N, what do you do?” Lando asked curiously.
“I’m a speech therapist in Germany. I help children with speech delays, stutters, problems with swallowing and various things. I also sometimes have adult clients as well.”
“Wow intelligent, kind and beautiful. That must be very rewarding.”
Y/N blushed “It is, I love it. It’s hard work and there are tough days but I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
“So how long have you been suffering this one then?” Lando asked, gesturing to Oscar.
Y/N looked at Oscar but he avoided eye contact, suddenly finding his napkin way more interesting.
“Oh erm, we’re not together. We actually only met yesterday.” She smiled awkwardly.
Lando coughed “Right sorry.” He paused to compose himself “There’s clearly a story there though. How does a German speech therapist find herself in Imola?”
Y/N recovered quickly. “My brother works in the paddock” she said vaguely.
“For which team?”
“Sauber.” She said, seeing no reason to lie. Sauber was quite a big team, it seemed unlikely Lando would guess.
Lando raised his eyebrows but was about to accept her answer without question when her phone rang.
“Hallo Nico” She answered unthinkingly, having seen the Caller ID. (Hello Nico)
Lando choked on his drink.
“Y/N, wie gehts? Ich wollte nur mal kurz nachfragen. Wie schmeckt das Essen?”(Y/N how are you? I’m just checking in. How’s the food?)
“Lecker danke, das war eine gute Empfehlung.” (Delicious thank you. This was a good recommendation.)
“Keine Sorge.” He paused, listening to the close conversation in the background and hearing a familiar, unmistakably Australian voice. “Bist du allein?” He asked, already knowing the answer. (No worries. Are you alone?)
“Nein, Oscar war hier und hat mich eingeladen, mich zu ihm, Lando und ein paar Ingenieuren zu setzen, damit ich nicht alleine bin. Ich habe ihm versprochen, dir keine Informationen über McLaren zu geben.” She joked (No Oscar was here and invited me to sit with him, Lando and some engineers so I wouldn’t be alone. I promised him I wouldn’t feed you any information about McLaren.)
“Wirklich? Das war sehr nett von ihm, du hast offenbar schon Eindruck hinterlassen” Nico teased. (Really? That was very nice of him, you’ve clearly made an impression already.)
“Nun, was soll ich sagen” she said sarcastically (well what can I say)
Nico chuckled “Ich muss jetzt auflegen. Viel Spaß mit deinem Freund” (I have to go now. Have a nice time with your boyfriend.)
“Dummkopf, er ist nicht mein Freund. Ich habe ihn erst gestern kennengelernt” (Idiot, he’s not my boyfriend. I only met him yesterday.”
“Wir werden sehen. Bis später Y/N” (we’ll see. See you later Y/N.”
“Tschüss” (Bye)
Y/N ended the call and found that Lando and the engineers were all staring at her.
“Nico” Lando said questioningly
“Yes” Y/N confirmed. Oscar smirked, looking forward to how this was going to go down.
“As in Hülkenberg?” Harry asked politely.
“Yes, he’s my brother”
“Hang on a minute” Lando burst out “you said your brother worked in the paddock!”
Y/N shrugged unbothered “He does technically.”
Lando spluttered “I mean true but still. You’re Nico Hülkenberg’s sister?”
“I am.” She said simply.
“You knew?” Lando accused, turning to Oscar now.
“I did. I was just as surprised as you were.”
“Ok I need the story now. How the fuck do you know each other?”
“My niece got lost in the paddock yesterday. I bumped into him and he helped me find her. Then he walked with me back to Sauber where Nico was waiting.”
“That’s crazy. So Oscar was your knight-in-Papaya-overalls?”
“I guess. Polo shirt technically.”
They chatted for a bit longer before Lando subtly gestured to the engineers that they should leave.
Before they left, Lando bent his head towards Oscar’s ear so that only he could hear. “Good luck mate. You’ve been giving her heart eyes ever since we got here and if you mess this up Nico will crash into you.”
He smiled at Y/N and left, flanked by both engineers and ignoring the flush climbing up Oscar’s neck.
Then there were two.
Y/N smiled softly at Oscar “They seem nice. I see what you mean about Lando.”
Oscar laughed “Yeah he can be a handful but he means well. Heard you mention my name to Nico.” He commented, hoping it sounded as casual as he intended.
She chuckled gently “He was just checking up on me and then he asked if I was alone and well,” she laughed, pausing slightly “Your accent isn’t the most inconspicuous, especially in Italy.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m sure there’s loads of Australians in Imola” he said sarcastically.
She smirked “Know any Italian with that surname Piastri?”
“A bit” he said vaguely. She raised an eyebrow in doubt. “I know some basic things.”
She leaned back in her chair. “Go on then”, she dared him.
“Ciao, buongiorno, grazie, come stai, tutto bene.”
“Wow practically fluent” she said, voice dripping in sarcasm.
“Yeah alright Miss Four Languages.” He said rolling his eyes.
“Say that again and try to sound less impressed. I can’t help that in Germany, we put a lot of effort into languages” she teased
“In my defence, my great-great grandfather was Italian so it was quite a long time ago. I’m like a tiny bit Italian. I’m about as Italian as a carbonara with cream in it.”
“Carbonara” she mimicked in her best attempt at his accent, elongating the vowels exaggeratedly.
“Wow” he blinked in surprise “I do not sound like that.”
She giggled “I know, it needs work. In all seriousness, a carbonara with cream is a crime.”
“Agreed. Anyway, teach me some German then oh wise one.”
“What do you want to know?”
He shrugged “Basics.”
“Alright. To introduce yourself you would say, hallo ich heiße Oscar.”
He repeated it dutifully.
“Honestly, not bad. Then you could say ich komme aus Australien“
“That means I’m from Australia?” He questioned
“Exactly.”
He repeated it again.
“Then you could say: Ich bin Formel-1 Rennfahrer bei McLaren.”
“I am a Formula 1 driver for McLaren?”
“Correct.”
He repeated it, Australian accent curling endearingly around the words. She smiled despite herself.
“It needs some work” she said, trying to push down the soft feeling in her chest at his effort.
“Tough crowd.”
“Have to keep you on your toes. You drivers have big enough egos already.”
“Rude.”
“Accurate” she countered “Believe me, I know.”
“Nico’s that bad huh?”
“Nico’s Nico. He’s Egle’s problem now. He has her to massage his ego” she paused thoughtfully “Actually she probably deflates it more.”
He laughed “Wow I can feel the affection.”
“I love my brother but I’m allowed to keep him humble. Do you have any siblings?”
“Three younger sisters.”
“Wow someone was outnumbered at home. Then you know what I mean.”
“I do.”
There was a moment of silence and then the waiter approached them apologetically to tell them the restaurant would be closing soon.
They were surprised, neither had realised how late it was.
“Which hotel are you staying at, I can walk you?”
She told him the name.
“That’s simple then, I’m staying there as well. All the drivers stay there. Nico arranged it I’m guessing?”
“He did, a condition of me agreeing to come.”
“Remind me to thank him” he said quietly, too quietly for Y/N to hear.
She stumbled through the cobblestone streets, sincerely regretting her choice of shoes. They weren’t impractical heels by any means, they were a relatively low heel but clearly unsuited to the historic Italian city and she began to curse them. They looked beautiful with her outfit but she felt as though she were a newborn baby giraffe.
She powered on, determined to walk normally and confidently but Oscar had noticed her struggle.
“Those shoes don’t seem like they were the best decision given the terrain.” He commented
“No, I really regret choosing them right now. I read that Imola had cobblestones but I thought they’d be fine. I was stupidly overconfident” she sighed
She was mid-laugh at something Oscar had said when her foot caught on the ground and she tripped, catching herself just before she face planted.
“You alright?” He asked
“Yeah thanks apart from my pride but I’ll survive.”
He smiled slightly and gave a joking sigh as if he were undergoing great hardship before extending an arm for her to take. “So you don’t almost kiss the street again” he said awkwardly by way of explanation.
“Thanks” she said, reaching out to take it.
They arrived at the hotel.
“Well thanks for everything.” Y/N said “I’m going to go and check on my niece and then go to bed.”
“No worries, I guess I’ll see you around”
“I guess so. Night Oscar.”
“Night Y/N”
She smiled and made her way to Nico and Egle’s room, knocking the door.
Egle opened the door, allowing Y/N into the room where Noemi was lying in bed, sleeping peacefully and clutching her stuffed bunny.
“How is she?” Y/N asked quietly
“Better. Tired though, it took a lot out of her” Egle replied, brushing some hair away from her daughter’s face.
Y/N nodded.
“So…” Nico began and there was a clear smirk in his tone “you and Piastri? He came to your rescue again?”
“I’m not a damsel in distress in a fairytale Nico”
“Could’ve fooled me. You and your Aussie Prince Charming.”
She rolled her eyes “I had a nice time thank you Nico, the restaurant was wonderful.”
“Not just the restaurant.” Nico quipped
Y/N winced a little, her trip had ever so slightly jolted her ankle.
Egle noticed “What did you do to your ankle?”
“Nothing, I just tripped.”
“Too busy staring into his eyes were you?” Nico joked “Ooh Oscar you’re so handsome and so funny” he put on a high-pitched voice, pretending to twirl his hair.
“Ich schwöre bei Gott, ich bringe dich um“ (I swear to God, I‘m going to kill you.)
“Now, now there’s a child present. Keep your violence contained around my daughter.” Nico teased.
“Keep your mouth closed then and maybe I won’t have to deprive her of a father and Egle of a husband” she threatened.
“I should warn Piastri about this aggressive streak. Mind you, there’s worse things where he’s from. Even the birds want you dead in Australia.”
“I’m too tired for this. Goodnight”
“Night.” Egle and Nico called.
Y/N rolled her eyes and walked towards her room, ready to go to sleep.
Then she bumped into someone “Oh I’m so sorry” she said instinctively
“We really need to stop meeting like this.”
She raised her eyes slowly. Oscar was stood in front of her, smirking with his hands in his pockets.
“Twice in one night? If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were into me Hulkenberg.” He continued, eyes dancing with mirth.
“My earlier point about drivers and big egos still stands Piastri. And it’s Hülkenberg with ü.” She said, exaggerating the sound.
He laughed, tipping his head back “You have to have some kind of an ego to be successful in Formula 1. Besides, I have a smaller ego than other people on the grid.”
“Do you or are you just better at hiding it?” She teased.
He laughed again “Bit of both.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping? What with qualifying tomorrow and all?”
“I am but you bumped into me so it’s your fault.”
“You could just stop talking to me.”
“I could” he admitted easily but remained exactly where he was, smiling down at her.
“Unglaublich“ she muttered (unbelievable).
“I don’t know what that means but I’m choosing to take it as a compliment.”
“I wouldn’t” she warned jokingly.
He ignored her “So how’s your niece? And your ankle?”
“Both better, thank you. Noemi’s sleeping”
“Good, happy to hear that.”
“Yeah.” She yawned
“Wow, I’m that interesting huh?” He joked
She rolled her eyes. “It’s been a long day”
“Whatever makes you feel better” he teased “I’ll let you go to sleep then.”
“That would be nice. I expect I’ll see you tomorrow anyway.”
“I’ll be the one in the orange car, driving the fastest”
“I thought that was Lando?” She said seriously but her lips twitched.
“Thanks, you really know how to fill a man with confidence.” He said dryly.
“My pleasure. Just one thing before I go. Say Hülkenberg. With ü”
“That’s impossible.”
“Just try. Üüü. Hülkenberg”
“Hulkenberg”
“Here try this. Say ee but round the lips more like saying oo”
He tried again.
“Closer. It needs practice”
“Right, so do I have homework for next time I see you?
“Oh absolutely. Good night again Oscar.”
“Fantastic. Night Y/N.”
She gave a genuine smile and walked into her hotel room, closing the door behind her. As soon as the door clicked closed her genuine smile was replaced by a giddy one which she quickly scolded herself for. She was not a lovesick teenager. But God he was interesting. Funny, attractive, kind. What was not to like?
Qualifying came around quickly the next day, following an FP3 in which Nico had finished 19th once more but Oscar had finished P2.
Y/N was hooked and though she sympathised with Nico after a mistake sent him through the gravel, knocking him out in Q1, she couldn’t take her eyes away from the battle for pole, which Oscar snatched for himself, continually finding pace and improving his lap times to beat Max Verstappen by 3 tenths of a second.
It was exhilarating and she found herself grinning from ear to ear. What she hadn’t noticed was that Nico had returned from analysing his qualifying performance with the engineers and was now walking straight towards her.
He glanced at the screen where Oscar was now climbing out of the car in parc fermé and shook his head, casting his eyes briefly towards the sky as if begging for strength.
“Could you look any happier?” he said in mock disgust “Honestly, you’re still my sister you know? You’re supposed to be comforting me not grinning from ear to ear for your little crush.”
She glared at him “I do not have a crush on him.”
He gave her a disbelieving look. “Of course you don’t. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
They turned back to the screen where Oscar was now being interviewed. “He looks like a carrot in that race suit.” Nico commented
“That’s rich coming from you. If you stood next to him you could be a pair of highlighters.” She paused, gazing critically at the neon green “or traffic lights.”
Nico glanced down at himself “Fair point.”
“He was right.” Y/N mumbled to herself.
“Right about what?”
Y/N startled, not expecting Nico to have heard her “He said he’d be the one in the orange car, driving the fastest.”
Nico smirked “He’s trying to impress you.”
“I said I thought that would be Lando.” She admitted quietly, laughing
He chuckled “There she is. Don’t make it easy for him.”
“Make what easy for him?” She said innocently but her eyes shone with mirth.
Nico let out another laugh before he was called away again. Y/N watched him go before deciding she was going to be brave.
She left the Sauber garage and walked towards the other end of the paddock.
When the orange of McLaren came into view, she began to feel slightly nervous about purposely seeking him out but shook it away.
The only problem was that she couldn’t just walk into the McLaren garage and Oscar was nowhere to be seen.
Then she noticed a person walking towards her. Harry, the engineer she’d met the other day.
“Hi. Y/N right?” He said curiously.
“Yes, that’s me. And your name was Harry?”
He nodded “What can I do for you? Long way for you to come from Sauber.”
“Oh. Erm. Well…” she stuttered awkwardly before sighing “I was… I was looking for Oscar but well, I can’t see him and I can’t go inside.”
Harry nodded in understanding. “He’s in a team briefing but he should be out any minute now and then I’ll get him for you.”
She smiled “Thank you.”
While they waited, they engaged in polite conversation about Harry’s work at McLaren before a figure appeared in their peripheral vision.
“Oscar” Harry called, causing the man in question to glance in his direction curiously before noticing Y/N standing there, just on the threshold of the garage entrance.
He walked over “Hey”
“Hey” she said smiling. Harry excused himself from the conversation.
“Can’t keep away?” Oscar joked.
She shot him a look of mock irritation “Actually I came to congratulate you on getting pole position. Your driving was really impressive.”
He smiled genuinely but bashfully “Thanks, that’s really nice of you.”
“You’re welcome. Third one in a row.”
“Have you been researching me?”
“No I actually listen to the commentators.” She deadpanned.
“Fair enough. They have useful things to say sometimes”
“Sometimes” she agreed, as if conceding a point “Maybe your Italian ancestors will help you win tomorrow.”
“Here’s hoping”
“Were they from Emilia Romagna?”
“No, Tuscany.”
“Well with any luck that’s considered close enough.”
“We’ll see.”
There was a short silence. “Well anyway.” She said “well done again. I’d better go and see Nico. He’s less than pleased with his qualifying results and I was going to go with him and see how Noemi’s doing.”
With that she walked off and Oscar watched her back as she disappeared into the distance, not noticing the soft, bemused smile that occupied his lips. It seemed as though he’d known her forever, with the established back and forth that they appeared to have developed.
It had required no prior communication or thought, it just happened naturally as if they had been doing this for years. It was actually a bit disconcerting but in a weirdly pleasant way.
Oscar wasn’t willing to dwell on it in too much depth at the moment, afraid of the conclusion he might draw even at this early stage. He shook his head and reentered the garage, preparing himself to discuss brake balance once more and not the pretty German woman who so happened to be another driver’s sister. He was in trouble.
Taglist:
@recklessyears @landossainz @lliicsa @harleymetall @pitstop-piastri
