half a second, half a life
Lewis Hamilton/Nico Rosberg (brocedes), 5,5k, read on AO3 here!
“The crowd was brutal.” Lewis smiles without his eyes. “Didn’t hear a thing.” Nico says nothing. Because he did. He heard all of it. Every jeer. Every sneer that wasn’t about tire degradation or a missed apex or team strategy. No, those boos were personal. They always are, when it’s Lewis. And Lewis has gotten too good at pretending they don’t matter. But Nico knows better. He’s known better since they were kids and Lewis took every karting loss like it was a death. Since the days Lewis would lie next to him in the dark and whisper, I have to win, I have to, it’s the only way they’ll let me in. Since Nico realized that losing cost Lewis far more than it ever cost him. There are too many versions of Lewis in his mind. The boy who used to steal the last apple juice from the fridge. The teenager who used to call him mate like it meant something. The young man who crossed the garage floor in 2013 with hope in his eyes like they could still build something out of this mess. Like this team could be theirs. Now all Nico sees is armor. Glossed over. Gorgeous, but untouchable. “I didn’t come to fight,” Nico says. Lewis finally laughs, sharp and low. “Sure you did. That’s the only reason you ever speak to me.”
OR: Nico wins, but it’s like breaking the tape at the finish line and realizing you left something important behind at the start.
for the lovely @frerrari, thanks for always being insane about nico and lewis with me <3
