for the foreseeable future i'm going to stop posting fics because the f1 rpf community needs a wake up call. i'm still deciding if I want to take those who are already posted off too.
we're doing something wrong and it needs acknowledging.
we all enjoy rpf and i think it should be in the interest of everyone taking care of people who kindly share their talent with us, giving us their works for free.
the rpf community has exactly two rules, which are very easy to follow: do not read what you don't like and do not share or talk about rpf outside of safe spaces, which already exists, where people involved could read them. There is no need for you to go and talk about it on Tik Tok, Instagram, Twitter, under official accounts' posts ect... when you can talk about them on here and most of the time stumble across the author themselves.
It's deeply disrespectful to the people who spend countless hours writing for your enjoyment
we write for you. you should be the first one trying to protect what we have and what we do. it's not that hard to understand.
another topic, the backlash, the hate, the death threats... guys, for real, this is deeply concerning. you have nothing better going on in your life that you need to come on here to spread hate because your life is miserable or you're jealous because you're incapable of writing that well.
So, seek professional help, please.
Stop posting elsewhere things related to f1rpf when authors specifically asked you not to.
Stop being disrespectful towards authors.
Stop flooding those real people's socials with comments about rpf content.
I'm not that popular to lead a strike but this is what I think is needed right now.
i feel like everything important about the zc situation has been said by people who have put it way better than i ever could, but it feels like the right moment to thank some people.
thank you to everyone who writes fics for huge ships, even if it feels like there‘s an abundance of stories already. thank you to everyone who writes fics for rarepairs, even if the pool of potential readers is incredibly small. thank you to everyone who creates fanart, whether it‘s a quick sketch in procreate or a really elaborate piece you spent hours on.
thank you to people creating heartbreaking web weaves. thank you to people creating gifs and f1 incorrect quotes and moodboards and memes and edits. thank you to people sharing their thoughts and headcanons and prompts.
thank you to everyone who (respectfully!) comments, sends in asks or reblogs and leaves some encouring words in the tags and thus motivates others to keep creating. you are just as essential to the fandom as the people creating the things you engage with.
thank you to everyone who adheres to rpf etiquette and archive locks their fics on ao3, posts about ships only on tumblr, ao3 and private discord servers and refrains from sharing fics or even refering to the ships outside of fandom spaces.
and lastly, thank you to everyone who respects other fans, writers and artists. take care of yourself and others. i‘m so grateful for you all <3
i have to say i am devastated with the way the zc debacle has come to end. there is a very serious conversation to be had about fandom etiquette in media spaces, especially in the media platforms where the people involved might come to learn about the fanfictions written about them.
this time the breach didn't come from a stupid jorunalist who published about fanfiction, or a media admin bringing up the topic with the drivers themselves, it came from you, the readers, pushing it up on every fucking platform i stepped in for the last 4 days. you were in the comments of the video oscar uploaded of him playing in the sim, in the mclaren comments section. their official tiktok, and i have seen so many people talking about it on twitter too. like. i get you love it, but what happened with zc is really scary. i know the f1 drivers have a very, very low chance of seeing this type of content, especially when the fics are locked. but you should have known that the other side of the equation (in zc's case) are people whose job is to be chronically online and they see everything that gets posted to their name.
you should not be talking about fanfic in places where the people involved might see them. and that's it. no exceptions.
i have seen people talking about my own fics out in the wild, and while it doesn't bother me personally, i know i am an outlier, and that probably comes from the fact not many people know and read my fics, because who knows if suddenly all the comments talking about zc these past days were about one of my fics, i too maybe would have freaked out and deleted everything and myself from the internet.
i get that people want to talk about the things that they love, even when they're fics; finding people out in the wild who like the same thing as you is such a joy, i know. but you should learn that there are places to do so. like here tumblr where you know drivers have the least chance to find it, and you could even stumble upon the actual author and become friends with them; or in private discord servers where you share things with your friends.
but these breaches in containment are what have pushed so many authors to abandon writing lately. the zc author isn't the only one who gave up on this hobby, and it's so fucking sad to see.
the whole situation broke my heart on so many levels that i genuinely lost a bit of interest in my own hobby. respect the people who spend their time creating stuff for you and your fandom. that's literally the least you can do.
i have to say i am devastated with the way the zc debacle has come to end. there is a very serious conversation to be had about fandom etiquette in media spaces, especially in the media platforms where the people involved might come to learn about the fanfictions written about them.
this time the breach didn't come from a stupid jorunalist who published about fanfiction, or a media admin bringing up the topic with the drivers themselves, it came from you, the readers, pushing it up on every fucking platform i stepped in for the last 4 days. you were in the comments of the video oscar uploaded of him playing in the sim, in the mclaren comments section. their official tiktok, and i have seen so many people talking about it on twitter too. like. i get you love it, but what happened with zc is really scary. i know the f1 drivers have a very, very low chance of seeing this type of content, especially when the fics are locked. but you should have known that the other side of the equation (in zc's case) are people whose job is to be chronically online and they see everything that gets posted to their name.
you should not be talking about fanfic in places where the people involved might see them. and that's it. no exceptions.
i have seen people talking about my own fics out in the wild, and while it doesn't bother me personally, i know i am an outlier, and that probably comes from the fact not many people know and read my fics, because who knows if suddenly all the comments talking about zc these past days were about one of my fics, i too maybe would have freaked out and deleted everything and myself from the internet.
i get that people want to talk about the things that they love, even when they're fics; finding people out in the wild who like the same thing as you is such a joy, i know. but you should learn that there are places to do so. like here tumblr where you know drivers have the least chance to find it, and you could even stumble upon the actual author and become friends with them; or in private discord servers where you share things with your friends.
but these breaches in containment are what have pushed so many authors to abandon writing lately. the zc author isn't the only one who gave up on this hobby, and it's so fucking sad to see.
just came here to say that sometimes I think some people should get some heavy therapy because what the fuck do you don't understand in "do not share rpf content on platforms people involved could see it"?
it's so fucking simple, come on.
people think before doing any of that please or writers will eventually stop sharing their works and EVERYONE will lose the possibility to be part of something that could help people in a way or another.
I don't want to get off these platforms because I really enjoy being able to connect thanks to the things we love but honestly this is getting heavy.
Heyyy hope you’re doing well, I was wondering if you still have a wattpad account? Cause I can’t find it for some reason
Hey, yeah i'm doing fine, sorry if i'm not posting much but i'm on our yearly holiday with my family and I have so little time. How are you doing? I still have the wattapad account and it's in the same username, but maybe it's easier if you search for one of the stories. let me know if you manage to find it!!
These are my favourite landoscar fics! I've read and loved all of them.
This part will list the Alternative Universe's one. The next part will list the ones in which their both drivers.
Some of them are very famous and you probably have already read them.
I hope you find this rec list useful.
Please, always remember to check the warnings before reading.
zero cycle, agustofwind (driver!Lando × gamer!Oscar, 4/4) - honestly, this is a work of art, not only the best landoscar fic but the best fics i've ever read over all.
Rope you in, Anonymous, 10/10 - I've loved their dynamic in this one and I'm a sucker for College AU's.
he's a maneater, mariahcarreyyy, 1/1 - another CollegeAU, I don't know why but it fits them so well.
the road not taken, zelebrini (miamimaiden), 7/7 - it's a second chance love story, which is also one of my favourite tropes (as you can probably see by the fics I've written)
Casual, loquarocoeur, 13/13 - and again, this is THE CollegeAU (as you probably know already), this made me fall in love with the roommates/friends with benefits trope.
love you with the lights on, nyoomfruits, 1/1 (dj!Lando × driver!Oscar, Oscar has a baby) - so, I wasn't sure about the child trope, but honestly, this is beautiful and it just fits them so well.
sunkissed, passengerprincipessa, 6/6 (yatchie!Lando×engineer!Oscar) - do you need summer vibes/backpacking across the Europe? this is the fic for you! I loved it, they're cute and stupid.
Mistletoe and Second Chances, kaymar814, 1/1 (CEO!Lando × grumpy baker!Oscar, small town vibes) - this reminded me of Gilmore's Girls' Stars Hollow, the whole girl is there and it's funny and cute and Christmas-y.
you love me (but you don't know it yet), nyoomfruits, 1/1 (driver!Lando × non driver!Oscar) - I loved Lando in this one, he's so funny, I actually laughed out loud.
No One's Ever Had Me, Not Like You, flufflybunny, 1/1 (driver!Lando×Non-driver!Oscar. Lando has a baby) - Again, this is so cute! Them with a child works so well.
uncertainty principle, corsi, 1/1 (driver!Lando × non-driver!Oscar, Oscar has a kid who competes in karts) - guys, omg, I was obsessed with this one. Oscar's kid is so cute.
where i am going is right where i am, nyoomfruits, 1/1 (Yoga Instructor!Lando × Pastry Chef!Oscar, small town vibes) - Again, Stars Hollow but with the grid. I don't know why Oscar being a baker/chef works so well but it does so I won't complain
Don't go baking my hear, nyoomfruits, 1/1 - They have a café together, Lando is oblivious, Oscar is so precious in this one. I loved them so much, this is in my top5.
already home, nyoomsfruits, 1/1 - I laughed so much, they get fake-married because of Lando's issues and then they realize they're in love for real.
12 Ways To Bake A Waffle-House (And Love), mrlan_oscpastry, 1/1 - So, uhm. This is actually pretty hard to explain because not only it's beautifully written, but it also deals with some pretty heavy themes, such as grief in a very complex way and difficult relationship with parents. It helped me a lot during a tough patch. Check the warnings and tags before reading.
meet me at the door while it's still open, orangebusoft, 1/1 - as i said before i really enjoy a good second chance trope and in this one they are exes who find their way back to each other (restaurant owner!Oscar × Chef!Lando). This dynamic works wonders.
i'm almost done with the last part for now of still you. ihihihih also next week i'm going on holiday so I won't be able to write much. I hope I'll be able to post it before I have to leave
Summary - Fresh off winning his first Formula One World Championship, Lando Norris returns to Bristol for a childhood friend's wedding, where he comes face to face with his first love, whom he hasn't seen since their relationship ended.
Warnings - angst, exes to lovers, fluff, second chance romance, reunion, happy ending. I wrote one sentence in French using Google Translate because I don't speak French so don't come for me please!
Note - This is a fanfiction. In no way it intends to offend or disrespect the real people the character take ispiration from. I absolutely do not in any way own anything in this story EXCEPT for Rory's character. I borrowed some pop songs that I do not in any way own. I heard them, liked them and thought they were something Ivy could have written but they are not mine. Everything else in this story is based on real life people. Characters do not represent who they are in real life. Please, do not associate anything in this book to real life drivers, to F1 and anything F1-adjacent. Enjoy!
Lando realised it six months after they got back together. He wanted to marry Rory.
It was as simple as that. They had wasted enough time already.
Those six months had only confirmed what he had known all along, even when they had been apart.
Rory was the love of his life, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He started looking up engagement ring designs on his phone during Media Day before the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The first person to find out had been, unsurprisingly, Oscar Piastri.
His teammate had been hovering over his shoulder during one of those painfully long FIA drivers' meetings, where everyone complained about the same things every weekend and somehow nothing ever changed.
Lando had long since given up pretending to pay attention.
“Why do we even have to come here?” Oscar muttered under his breath. “They don't listen to us anyway, what's the point?”
Lando only hummed, scrolling through another jeweller's website.
Oscar frowned. “...Wait, what are those?” He paused leaning forward to take a better look. “...Is that a ring?”
Lando locked the screen as quickly as he could.
“...Oh my God,” Oscar whispered, eyes widening. “Is that an engagement ring?”
Lando sighed dramatically. “You weren't supposed to see that.”
“Oh my God.”
“Can you stop saying that?”
“You're going to propose to Rory.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Oh my God!”
Then it had been Will's turn. They were supposed to be discussing tyre strategy for the weekend.
Lando had nodded along for a solid twenty minutes, throwing in the occasional “Yeah,” and “Makes sense,” before abruptly interrupting Will mid-sentence.
“Do you think Rory's more of a warm yellow gold person or a white gold person? I'm looking at rings but I think she'd look great with both…”
Silence fell between them. Will blinked. Lando blinked back. Will looked down at the strategy sheets spread across the table. Then back at Lando. Then back at the strategy sheets again, as if checking he hadn't accidentally suffered a concussion.
“...Are you planning on proposing to Rory,” he asked cautiously, “or is this a metaphorical question?”
Lando stared at him with furrowed brows. “Duh.” He scoffed, “I want to propose, obviously.”
Will leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“...Right. We'll come back to the tyre degradation in a minute.”
“I just think oval is a bit too trendy. Like, every major VIP who got engaged in the last two years got an oval cut… I don't want to be a copycat…”
“I cannot believe we really are having this conversation right now.”
“Will. Focus, please.” Lando pulled out his phone and started showing images to his race engineer.
"Lando."
“Emerald or oval?” He insisted.
Will sighed the sigh of a man who had unwillingly somehow turned from a Formula One race engineer to an unofficial engagement consultant in the same afternoon.
“I think emerald… She, uh… I don't know. Just… yeah.”
Two weeks later, Lando and Rory were on a yacht just off the coast of Monaco with Max and Pietra.
The afternoon had stretched lazily into evening, the kind of summer day where time seemed to move slower. The sea was calm beneath them, the water reflecting the golden light of the setting sun.
Rory and Pietra were sitting together at the end of the deck, shoulders pressed close, both of them staring at something on Rory’s phone. Every few seconds one of them would burst into laughter, whispering something that made the other laugh even harder.
Lando couldn’t hear what they were saying.
He didn’t need to.
He was too busy watching her.
There was something about seeing Rory like this completely relaxed, comfortable, surrounded by people she loved, that still felt unreal sometimes.
For years, he had convinced himself that having everything meant standing on podiums, winning races, hearing thousands of people chant his name.
And it had, for a while.
But this? Sitting on a boat in Monaco, watching the woman he loved laugh with one of his closest friends, feeling the warmth of the evening sun on his skin?
This was the part he had never imagined he would get.
His smile softened as Rory pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, completely unaware that he was staring.
Max, leaning beside him against the counter, noticed.
“Mate,” he said, amused. “You’re doing it again.”
Lando blinked and looked away. “Doing what?”
“Looking at her like she invented oxygen.”
Lando rolled his eyes, but the smile stayed. “Shut up.”
Max laughed quietly. “You’re so obvious.” For a moment, neither of them said anything.
The yacht rocked gently beneath their feet. Behind them, Rory and Pietra were still laughing.
Then Lando turned towards him.
“Do you have something to do tomorrow?”
Max frowned immediately. That was never a normal question.
“No, I haven’t.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why? What are you up to?”
Lando looked back towards Rory.
There was a strange nervousness settling in his chest. He needed someone by his side for this part.
“Can you come with me?” he asked.
Max raised an eyebrow. “Where?”
“I have…” Lando hesitated, suddenly feeling ridiculous. “A thing to do.”
The next morning, Lando and Max got out of Lando's apartment early in the morning when the two girls were still asleep.
Lando, on the other hand, had barely slept. Which was ridiculous. He had driven Formula One cars at over 300 kilometres per hour. He had fought for a World Championship. He had stood on podiums in front of hundreds of thousands of people. And yet walking into a jewellery store felt more terrifying.
“You know,” Max said as they drove through Monaco, “for someone who claims he’s not nervous, you’re tapping your fingers like you’re about to start a qualifying lap."
Lando immediately stopped. He hadn’t even noticed.
“I’m not nervous.”
“You are.”
“Am not.”
Max smiled. “You’re buying an engagement ring, mate. You’re allowed to be nervous.”
The words made it feel even more real. Lando looked out of the window, watching Monaco pass by.
“I just…” he started.
Max glanced at him.
“I don’t want to mess this up.”
His best friend’s expression softened. “Lando.”
He looked over.
“You already spent years trying to convince yourself that losing her was the right thing because you thought your career had to come first.”
Lando stayed quiet.
“Don’t overthink the part where you get to keep her.”
A few minutes later, they stopped outside a small, elegant jewellery boutique tucked away on one of Montecarlo's quieter streets.
Not as flashy as most places in the Principality. It didn’t scream ‘money’. It felt personal, the kind of place where the person behind the counter actually cares.
Lando took a deep breath before getting out of the car. Max followed him without saying a word.
“Bonjour!” A fancy-dressed woman smiled kindly at them when they stepped inside. She couldn’t be more than fifty years old. “Que puis-je faire pour vous aujourd'hui?”
Lando scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed, “Uh, English, s'il te plaît?”
Max stifled a laugh, beside him.
“Oh!” She smiled “Yes, of course! Welcome, what can I do for you today?” She repeated in English with a thick French accent.
Lando opened his mouth and then closed it without saying a word, anxiety taking over for a moment.
Max patted his shoulder and stepped forward, “Hi, my friend here is looking for something special. An engagement ring.”
The woman smiled warmly, “Oh, wonderful! Come, did you have something in mind already?”
Lando shook his head, “I looked at some designs online but… I don't know, they're different up close.”
She nodded, “Yes, they are. I always tell my clients that the engagement ring is important, but the most important part is the story behind it. Each one tells something. So, let's start there. What do you want it to say?”
“That I love her. And I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” Lando started, “That she's my best friend.”
Max scoffed next to him, crossing his arms. Lando chuckled and whispered “Sorry. You come just after, I swear,” before turning back to the jeweller.
“I want it to be hers. Something that she'll actually want to wear. It has to remind me of her.”
The woman listened, taking mental notes, “Then, what is she like? So we can look for something specific.”
Lando took a deep breath, “I've known her since we were kids. She was my first girlfriend,” he smiled, “but… I lost her for a while and a few months back I finally got to have her back and my life has never felt fuller. She's the person I want next to me each day for as long as I live.”
The woman let him speak. Max smiled softly listening.
“She's a primary school teacher in England, that's where we both are from.” He continued, “She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She loves kids and teaching. She's a natural at it. Uh, her name's Lorelai, but she goes by Rory. She glares at everyone who uses her first name like they have insulted her.” Lando laughed under his breath, “And she loves bookshops and pressing the flowers I buy her into old books because she says it's romantic… I'm sorry, I'm rambling. Uh, I don't think that information is useful now… I just… I clearly have no idea what I'm doing.” His hand rested on top of the exposition glass.
“What's your name, young man?” The woman asked, smiling.
“Lando,” he said.
“I'm Geneviève,” she smiled fondly, “You're a young man in love, experiencing for the first time what it means to want to ask someone to spend the rest of their life with you with something meaningful,” she reached across the counter and squeezed his hand, “It's more common that you'd think, the having no idea of what to do. You love her and you want to tell her in a special way, that's enough.”
Lando smiled and nodded, a little reassured.
Geneviève gave him one last smile, “Well, you told me a lot of useful things, actually. She's a simple girl. I guess she doesn't enjoy over-the-top things.”
“She made me return a Birkin bag once.”
Geneviève widened her eyes, “Oh mon dieu. I think I know what we need.” She reached behind the counter and picked up an exhibitor with lots of diamond rings cut in different shapes, “Come, you two. Let’s sit.”
They sat at a table in a quiet and luminous corner of the shop and started looking at rings.
“It'd help if you could tell me what kind of jewellery she usually wears.”
Lando thought about it for a minute before answering, “She wears this golden necklace her grandma gave to her every day. But almost nothing else. A couple of rings when she's feeling a little wild.”
Geneviève smiled and nodded. “She likes timeless. She probably has taste.” The jeweler put some rings in front of Lando. “These are what I'd suggest you look at.”
The first one was an oval-cut diamond held by four prongs, with smaller diamonds lined the shoulders of the silver band.
Lando looked at it just for a minute before going to the next one.
The second one was a round-cut diamond settled on a cathedral setting and a halo of smaller diamonds around it. Lando took it between his two fingers to look at it better before settling it back down.
Max liked the third one. He pointed at the marquise-cut diamond set on a slender platinum band by four prongs. The pavé diamonds followed the curve of the band.
“That's a good choice. It was very popular in the 80s,” Geneviève said.
Lando nodded but put it down on the exhibitor, “It's beautiful but… doesn't say Rory yet.”
“We can keep looking, don't worry.” Max smiled, “What about that one?”
The ring was built around an emerald-cut diamond. As soon as Lando looked at it, it was clear that the rectangular shape had been chosen because it commanded everyone's attention.
Beneath the stone was hidden a halo of smaller diamonds, that added to the spark of the diamond when it turned, but almost disappeared from sight if you looked at it from above.
Everything was set on a warm gold band with pavè diamonds along the curves.
Lando didn’t answer immediately.
His fingers hovered above the ring, careful not to touch it yet. Something about it made him stop, his eyes fixed on the way the stone reflected the light around them.
“This one caught your attention.” Geneviève exhaled, “I should have known you'd like the emerald cut.”
Lando simply nodded and finally picked the ring up. “It's beautiful.”
“Yeah?” The woman asked, amused, “Tell me why.”
“It's different from the others,” He turned it slightly, watching the light move across the emerald-cut diamond. “It’s elegant,” he continued. “It’s simple from a distance, but then you look closer and there’s more to it. You wouldn't even know the halo is there if you didn't watch closely.”
“And Rory is like that?” She asked.
Lando nodded again, “Yeah. She’s not someone who needs everyone looking at her. She doesn’t walk into a room trying to be the centre of attention. But somehow she's always been the only person I notice when I enter a room.”
Geneviève carefully took the ring back from Lando and placed it on the velvet cushion.“Let me tell you something about emerald cuts.”
Lando looked at her, waiting.
“They are often chosen by people who appreciate structure and elegance. They’re not about creating the biggest sparkle possible. They’re about clarity.”
Lando’s eyes dropped back to the ring.
And maybe that was why it felt right.
Because after years of confusion, of wondering whether his dream was worth losing her for, of thinking success would somehow fill every empty space, he finally saw things clearly.
Rory was it.
Not the distraction from his career.
Not the person waiting on the sidelines.
But the person he wanted beside him when everything else was over.
“That's the one.” He whispered, still looking at it.
Geneviève smiled even wider, “Oh, très bien!”
“Is it possible to customize it?” Lando asked.
“Well, of course. What would you like to change?” The jeweler responded.
“Oh, no. Not to change it. I want to add something.” And he picked up his phone to show it to her.
“I saw this gemstone a while back. It’s called an imperial topaz, I think.”
Geneviève leaned closer to look at the picture on his phone. The stone glowed a deep, warm orange, almost like it held a little piece of sunlight inside it.
“Imperial topaz,” she sighed gently. “Yes. A beautiful stone. Very rare."
Max looked over his shoulder and immediately shook his head. “Are you serious?”
Lando frowned. “What?”
“You’re putting a racing reference in an engagement ring.”
“It’s not a racing reference.”
Max raised an eyebrow. “It’s a little bit of a racing reference.”
Lando ignored him. “I’ve always raced with McLaren,” he explained to Geneviève. “And their colour is orange. Papaya, technically, but…” He smiled slightly, looking back at the image. “This feels like something that belongs to me. And that's part of my life too. I want it to say that she has every part of me.”
The jeweller studied him for a moment, then the ring. “That's really sweet, Lando.”
Something softened in his expression.
“Could you hide it? I want it to belong just to us.”
Geneviève smiled knowingly. She picked up the ring again, turning it carefully beneath the light.
“We could set a small imperial topaz inside the band. Hidden. Engrave around it, perhaps.”
Lando looked at her. “Engraved?”
“Yes. Most people do it. Something personal. A date. A word. Anything that belongs only to you two.”
For a moment, he thought about it,“Could it be ‘still you’?” he said quietly.
Geneviève smiled, “That's perfect.”
Max patted both hands on his shoulders from behind, grinning.“You’re a softie.”
Lando immediately looked offended. “I’m not.”
“Mate, you just spent ten minutes explaining why a gemstone represents the emotional complexity of your relationship.”
Geneviève tried to hide her laugh.
“That sounds like a softie to me.”
Lando sighed, looking back at the ring.
“Just… don’t tell anyone.”
Max smiled, “Your secret is safe with me,” he paused, “Although I might tell Oscar.”
Lando turned to glare at him, “Max!”
Geneviève laughed softly.
“Messieurs, sorry to interrupt, but before we get too carried away, we should discuss the practical side.”
Max immediately stepped back, hands raised in surrender.
Lando simply shrugged and pulled his credit card from his wallet, placing it on the counter.
The jeweller glanced at it, then back at him. Having worked in Monaco long enough, she barely reacted. “You don’t even want to know the price first?”
Lando looked at the ring again. “I think whatever it is…” He smiled faintly. “It’s worth every cent.”
Max stared at him. “Okay, romantic. Beautiful. Very touching.” He leaned closer. “But maybe we should know the number? Just so you’re aware of exactly how much trouble you’re getting yourself into.”
Lando rolled his eyes. “You know I can afford it.”
“I know you can afford it,” Max said. “I’m saying maybe your bank account deserves a warning.”
Lando sighed, but turned back to Geneviève. “So… how much?”
The jeweller picked up the notes she had made during their conversation and calculated for a moment before writing the figure down.
She turned the paper around.
Max looked first. The silence lasted a little too long. “Holy shit.”
Lando glanced at him. “That bad?”
Max looked between him and the number. “That’s not a ring. That’s a house. A big one.”
Lando only smiled slightly. “She’s worth more than a house.”
Max shook his head. “You are genuinely impossible.”
Geneviève smiled before looking back at her notes.
“So, to confirm: a four-carat natural emerald-cut diamond, D colour, internally flawless. Eighteen-karat Fairmined yellow gold band. Cathedral setting, hidden halo, pavé diamonds, custom imperial topaz detail, and engraving.”
Lando nodded. “Yes.”
She looked over the details once more.
“This will require sourcing the diamond, creating the custom setting, hand-setting every stone, and engraving the band.”
“How long?” Lando asked.
Geneviève hesitated. “At best?”
Lando nodded. “If I push my workshop and everything goes perfectly… six months.”
Lando looked down at the design again.
Six months wasn’t long. Not when he had spent years trying to find his way back to her.
I promise the last part (for now) is almost finished. I can't bring myself to do it because I'm scared I'll mess it up but I eventually will. Hopefully you'll have it by the end of the week
Summary - Fresh off winning his first Formula One World Championship, Lando Norris returns to Bristol for a childhood friend's wedding, where he comes face to face with his first love, whom he hasn't seen since their relationship ended.
Warnings - angst, exes to lovers, fluff, second chance romance, reunion, happy ending. I wrote one sentence in French using Google Translate because I don't speak French so don't come for me please!
Note - This is a fanfiction. In no way it intends to offend or disrespect the real people the character take ispiration from. I absolutely do not in any way own anything in this story EXCEPT for Rory's character. I borrowed some pop songs that I do not in any way own. I heard them, liked them and thought they were something Ivy could have written but they are not mine. Everything else in this story is based on real life people. Characters do not represent who they are in real life. Please, do not associate anything in this book to real life drivers, to F1 and anything F1-adjacent. Enjoy!
Lando realised it six months after they got back together. He wanted to marry Rory.
It was as simple as that. They had wasted enough time already.
Those six months had only confirmed what he had known all along, even when they had been apart.
Rory was the love of his life, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He started looking up engagement ring designs on his phone during Media Day before the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The first person to find out had been, unsurprisingly, Oscar Piastri.
His teammate had been hovering over his shoulder during one of those painfully long FIA drivers' meetings, where everyone complained about the same things every weekend and somehow nothing ever changed.
Lando had long since given up pretending to pay attention.
“Why do we even have to come here?” Oscar muttered under his breath. “They don't listen to us anyway, what's the point?”
Lando only hummed, scrolling through another jeweller's website.
Oscar frowned. “...Wait, what are those?” He paused leaning forward to take a better look. “...Is that a ring?”
Lando locked the screen as quickly as he could.
“...Oh my God,” Oscar whispered, eyes widening. “Is that an engagement ring?”
Lando sighed dramatically. “You weren't supposed to see that.”
“Oh my God.”
“Can you stop saying that?”
“You're going to propose to Rory.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Oh my God!”
Then it had been Will's turn. They were supposed to be discussing tyre strategy for the weekend.
Lando had nodded along for a solid twenty minutes, throwing in the occasional “Yeah,” and “Makes sense,” before abruptly interrupting Will mid-sentence.
“Do you think Rory's more of a warm yellow gold person or a white gold person? I'm looking at rings but I think she'd look great with both…”
Silence fell between them. Will blinked. Lando blinked back. Will looked down at the strategy sheets spread across the table. Then back at Lando. Then back at the strategy sheets again, as if checking he hadn't accidentally suffered a concussion.
“...Are you planning on proposing to Rory,” he asked cautiously, “or is this a metaphorical question?”
Lando stared at him with furrowed brows. “Duh.” He scoffed, “I want to propose, obviously.”
Will leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“...Right. We'll come back to the tyre degradation in a minute.”
“I just think oval is a bit too trendy. Like, every major VIP who got engaged in the last two years got an oval cut… I don't want to be a copycat…”
“I cannot believe we really are having this conversation right now.”
“Will. Focus, please.” Lando pulled out his phone and started showing images to his race engineer.
"Lando."
“Emerald or oval?” He insisted.
Will sighed the sigh of a man who had unwillingly somehow turned from a Formula One race engineer to an unofficial engagement consultant in the same afternoon.
“I think emerald… She, uh… I don't know. Just… yeah.”
Two weeks later, Lando and Rory were on a yacht just off the coast of Monaco with Max and Pietra.
The afternoon had stretched lazily into evening, the kind of summer day where time seemed to move slower. The sea was calm beneath them, the water reflecting the golden light of the setting sun.
Rory and Pietra were sitting together at the end of the deck, shoulders pressed close, both of them staring at something on Rory’s phone. Every few seconds one of them would burst into laughter, whispering something that made the other laugh even harder.
Lando couldn’t hear what they were saying.
He didn’t need to.
He was too busy watching her.
There was something about seeing Rory like this completely relaxed, comfortable, surrounded by people she loved, that still felt unreal sometimes.
For years, he had convinced himself that having everything meant standing on podiums, winning races, hearing thousands of people chant his name.
And it had, for a while.
But this? Sitting on a boat in Monaco, watching the woman he loved laugh with one of his closest friends, feeling the warmth of the evening sun on his skin?
This was the part he had never imagined he would get.
His smile softened as Rory pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, completely unaware that he was staring.
Max, leaning beside him against the counter, noticed.
“Mate,” he said, amused. “You’re doing it again.”
Lando blinked and looked away. “Doing what?”
“Looking at her like she invented oxygen.”
Lando rolled his eyes, but the smile stayed. “Shut up.”
Max laughed quietly. “You’re so obvious.” For a moment, neither of them said anything.
The yacht rocked gently beneath their feet. Behind them, Rory and Pietra were still laughing.
Then Lando turned towards him.
“Do you have something to do tomorrow?”
Max frowned immediately. That was never a normal question.
“No, I haven’t.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why? What are you up to?”
Lando looked back towards Rory.
There was a strange nervousness settling in his chest. He needed someone by his side for this part.
“Can you come with me?” he asked.
Max raised an eyebrow. “Where?”
“I have…” Lando hesitated, suddenly feeling ridiculous. “A thing to do.”
The next morning, Lando and Max got out of Lando's apartment early in the morning when the two girls were still asleep.
Lando, on the other hand, had barely slept. Which was ridiculous. He had driven Formula One cars at over 300 kilometres per hour. He had fought for a World Championship. He had stood on podiums in front of hundreds of thousands of people. And yet walking into a jewellery store felt more terrifying.
“You know,” Max said as they drove through Monaco, “for someone who claims he’s not nervous, you’re tapping your fingers like you’re about to start a qualifying lap."
Lando immediately stopped. He hadn’t even noticed.
“I’m not nervous.”
“You are.”
“Am not.”
Max smiled. “You’re buying an engagement ring, mate. You’re allowed to be nervous.”
The words made it feel even more real. Lando looked out of the window, watching Monaco pass by.
“I just…” he started.
Max glanced at him.
“I don’t want to mess this up.”
His best friend’s expression softened. “Lando.”
He looked over.
“You already spent years trying to convince yourself that losing her was the right thing because you thought your career had to come first.”
Lando stayed quiet.
“Don’t overthink the part where you get to keep her.”
A few minutes later, they stopped outside a small, elegant jewellery boutique tucked away on one of Montecarlo's quieter streets.
Not as flashy as most places in the Principality. It didn’t scream ‘money’. It felt personal, the kind of place where the person behind the counter actually cares.
Lando took a deep breath before getting out of the car. Max followed him without saying a word.
“Bonjour!” A fancy-dressed woman smiled kindly at them when they stepped inside. She couldn’t be more than fifty years old. “Que puis-je faire pour vous aujourd'hui?”
Lando scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed, “Uh, English, s'il te plaît?”
Max stifled a laugh, beside him.
“Oh!” She smiled “Yes, of course! Welcome, what can I do for you today?” She repeated in English with a thick French accent.
Lando opened his mouth and then closed it without saying a word, anxiety taking over for a moment.
Max patted his shoulder and stepped forward, “Hi, my friend here is looking for something special. An engagement ring.”
The woman smiled warmly, “Oh, wonderful! Come, did you have something in mind already?”
Lando shook his head, “I looked at some designs online but… I don't know, they're different up close.”
She nodded, “Yes, they are. I always tell my clients that the engagement ring is important, but the most important part is the story behind it. Each one tells something. So, let's start there. What do you want it to say?”
“That I love her. And I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” Lando started, “That she's my best friend.”
Max scoffed next to him, crossing his arms. Lando chuckled and whispered “Sorry. You come just after, I swear,” before turning back to the jeweller.
“I want it to be hers. Something that she'll actually want to wear. It has to remind me of her.”
The woman listened, taking mental notes, “Then, what is she like? So we can look for something specific.”
Lando took a deep breath, “I've known her since we were kids. She was my first girlfriend,” he smiled, “but… I lost her for a while and a few months back I finally got to have her back and my life has never felt fuller. She's the person I want next to me each day for as long as I live.”
The woman let him speak. Max smiled softly listening.
“She's a primary school teacher in England, that's where we both are from.” He continued, “She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She loves kids and teaching. She's a natural at it. Uh, her name's Lorelai, but she goes by Rory. She glares at everyone who uses her first name like they have insulted her.” Lando laughed under his breath, “And she loves bookshops and pressing the flowers I buy her into old books because she says it's romantic… I'm sorry, I'm rambling. Uh, I don't think that information is useful now… I just… I clearly have no idea what I'm doing.” His hand rested on top of the exposition glass.
“What's your name, young man?” The woman asked, smiling.
“Lando,” he said.
“I'm Geneviève,” she smiled fondly, “You're a young man in love, experiencing for the first time what it means to want to ask someone to spend the rest of their life with you with something meaningful,” she reached across the counter and squeezed his hand, “It's more common that you'd think, the having no idea of what to do. You love her and you want to tell her in a special way, that's enough.”
Lando smiled and nodded, a little reassured.
Geneviève gave him one last smile, “Well, you told me a lot of useful things, actually. She's a simple girl. I guess she doesn't enjoy over-the-top things.”
“She made me return a Birkin bag once.”
Geneviève widened her eyes, “Oh mon dieu. I think I know what we need.” She reached behind the counter and picked up an exhibitor with lots of diamond rings cut in different shapes, “Come, you two. Let’s sit.”
They sat at a table in a quiet and luminous corner of the shop and started looking at rings.
“It'd help if you could tell me what kind of jewellery she usually wears.”
Lando thought about it for a minute before answering, “She wears this golden necklace her grandma gave to her every day. But almost nothing else. A couple of rings when she's feeling a little wild.”
Geneviève smiled and nodded. “She likes timeless. She probably has taste.” The jeweler put some rings in front of Lando. “These are what I'd suggest you look at.”
The first one was an oval-cut diamond held by four prongs, with smaller diamonds lined the shoulders of the silver band.
Lando looked at it just for a minute before going to the next one.
The second one was a round-cut diamond settled on a cathedral setting and a halo of smaller diamonds around it. Lando took it between his two fingers to look at it better before settling it back down.
Max liked the third one. He pointed at the marquise-cut diamond set on a slender platinum band by four prongs. The pavé diamonds followed the curve of the band.
“That's a good choice. It was very popular in the 80s,” Geneviève said.
Lando nodded but put it down on the exhibitor, “It's beautiful but… doesn't say Rory yet.”
“We can keep looking, don't worry.” Max smiled, “What about that one?”
The ring was built around an emerald-cut diamond. As soon as Lando looked at it, it was clear that the rectangular shape had been chosen because it commanded everyone's attention.
Beneath the stone was hidden a halo of smaller diamonds, that added to the spark of the diamond when it turned, but almost disappeared from sight if you looked at it from above.
Everything was set on a warm gold band with pavè diamonds along the curves.
Lando didn’t answer immediately.
His fingers hovered above the ring, careful not to touch it yet. Something about it made him stop, his eyes fixed on the way the stone reflected the light around them.
“This one caught your attention.” Geneviève exhaled, “I should have known you'd like the emerald cut.”
Lando simply nodded and finally picked the ring up. “It's beautiful.”
“Yeah?” The woman asked, amused, “Tell me why.”
“It's different from the others,” He turned it slightly, watching the light move across the emerald-cut diamond. “It’s elegant,” he continued. “It’s simple from a distance, but then you look closer and there’s more to it. You wouldn't even know the halo is there if you didn't watch closely.”
“And Rory is like that?” She asked.
Lando nodded again, “Yeah. She’s not someone who needs everyone looking at her. She doesn’t walk into a room trying to be the centre of attention. But somehow she's always been the only person I notice when I enter a room.”
Geneviève carefully took the ring back from Lando and placed it on the velvet cushion.“Let me tell you something about emerald cuts.”
Lando looked at her, waiting.
“They are often chosen by people who appreciate structure and elegance. They’re not about creating the biggest sparkle possible. They’re about clarity.”
Lando’s eyes dropped back to the ring.
And maybe that was why it felt right.
Because after years of confusion, of wondering whether his dream was worth losing her for, of thinking success would somehow fill every empty space, he finally saw things clearly.
Rory was it.
Not the distraction from his career.
Not the person waiting on the sidelines.
But the person he wanted beside him when everything else was over.
“That's the one.” He whispered, still looking at it.
Geneviève smiled even wider, “Oh, très bien!”
“Is it possible to customize it?” Lando asked.
“Well, of course. What would you like to change?” The jeweler responded.
“Oh, no. Not to change it. I want to add something.” And he picked up his phone to show it to her.
“I saw this gemstone a while back. It’s called an imperial topaz, I think.”
Geneviève leaned closer to look at the picture on his phone. The stone glowed a deep, warm orange, almost like it held a little piece of sunlight inside it.
“Imperial topaz,” she sighed gently. “Yes. A beautiful stone. Very rare."
Max looked over his shoulder and immediately shook his head. “Are you serious?”
Lando frowned. “What?”
“You’re putting a racing reference in an engagement ring.”
“It’s not a racing reference.”
Max raised an eyebrow. “It’s a little bit of a racing reference.”
Lando ignored him. “I’ve always raced with McLaren,” he explained to Geneviève. “And their colour is orange. Papaya, technically, but…” He smiled slightly, looking back at the image. “This feels like something that belongs to me. And that's part of my life too. I want it to say that she has every part of me.”
The jeweller studied him for a moment, then the ring. “That's really sweet, Lando.”
Something softened in his expression.
“Could you hide it? I want it to belong just to us.”
Geneviève smiled knowingly. She picked up the ring again, turning it carefully beneath the light.
“We could set a small imperial topaz inside the band. Hidden. Engrave around it, perhaps.”
Lando looked at her. “Engraved?”
“Yes. Most people do it. Something personal. A date. A word. Anything that belongs only to you two.”
For a moment, he thought about it,“Could it be ‘still you’?” he said quietly.
Geneviève smiled, “That's perfect.”
Max patted both hands on his shoulders from behind, grinning.“You’re a softie.”
Lando immediately looked offended. “I’m not.”
“Mate, you just spent ten minutes explaining why a gemstone represents the emotional complexity of your relationship.”
Geneviève tried to hide her laugh.
“That sounds like a softie to me.”
Lando sighed, looking back at the ring.
“Just… don’t tell anyone.”
Max smiled, “Your secret is safe with me,” he paused, “Although I might tell Oscar.”
Lando turned to glare at him, “Max!”
Geneviève laughed softly.
“Messieurs, sorry to interrupt, but before we get too carried away, we should discuss the practical side.”
Max immediately stepped back, hands raised in surrender.
Lando simply shrugged and pulled his credit card from his wallet, placing it on the counter.
The jeweller glanced at it, then back at him. Having worked in Monaco long enough, she barely reacted. “You don’t even want to know the price first?”
Lando looked at the ring again. “I think whatever it is…” He smiled faintly. “It’s worth every cent.”
Max stared at him. “Okay, romantic. Beautiful. Very touching.” He leaned closer. “But maybe we should know the number? Just so you’re aware of exactly how much trouble you’re getting yourself into.”
Lando rolled his eyes. “You know I can afford it.”
“I know you can afford it,” Max said. “I’m saying maybe your bank account deserves a warning.”
Lando sighed, but turned back to Geneviève. “So… how much?”
The jeweller picked up the notes she had made during their conversation and calculated for a moment before writing the figure down.
She turned the paper around.
Max looked first. The silence lasted a little too long. “Holy shit.”
Lando glanced at him. “That bad?”
Max looked between him and the number. “That’s not a ring. That’s a house. A big one.”
Lando only smiled slightly. “She’s worth more than a house.”
Max shook his head. “You are genuinely impossible.”
Geneviève smiled before looking back at her notes.
“So, to confirm: a four-carat natural emerald-cut diamond, D colour, internally flawless. Eighteen-karat Fairmined yellow gold band. Cathedral setting, hidden halo, pavé diamonds, custom imperial topaz detail, and engraving.”
Lando nodded. “Yes.”
She looked over the details once more.
“This will require sourcing the diamond, creating the custom setting, hand-setting every stone, and engraving the band.”
“How long?” Lando asked.
Geneviève hesitated. “At best?”
Lando nodded. “If I push my workshop and everything goes perfectly… six months.”
Lando looked down at the design again.
Six months wasn’t long. Not when he had spent years trying to find his way back to her.
Summary - Fresh off winning his first Formula One World Championship, Lando Norris returns to Bristol for a childhood friend's wedding, where he comes face to face with his first love, whom he hasn't seen since their relationship ended.
Warnings - angst, exes to lovers, fluff, second chance romance, reunion, happy ending.
Note - This is a fanfiction. In no way it intends to offend or disrespect the real people the character take ispiration from. I absolutely do not in any way own anything in this story EXCEPT for Rory's character. I borrowed some pop songs that I do not in any way own. I heard them, liked them and thought they were something Ivy could have written but they are not mine. Everything else in this story is based on real life people. Characters do not represent who they are in real life. Please, do not associate anything in this book to real life drivers, to F1 and anything F1-adjacent. Enjoy!
