Count down to Forever | LN4
Lando Norris X Reader (Requested)
Summary: [SOULMATE AU] Lando meets his soulmate, and it's perfect, she's perfect.
Warning(s): Mild Language, Lando with self doubts, Oscar being the voice of reason—in a very Oscar way, Cliche meet cute. Fluffy.
"I have faith in what I see, now I know I have met....an angel.. in person, and she looks perfect"
Lando sat in his driver’s room, staring at the timer on his left wrist. The ticking of the seconds was quiet, almost like a whisper, but it was loud in his ears, as if time was calling his name.
Lando knew what it meant, of course. He knew soulmates existed, and everyone had a different type of bond.
Oscar and his soulmate shared a red string of fate, something so visible and tangible that no one could ever doubt it. And no one has, anyone who has seen the pair grow up together, knows that they are meant for each other.
Lando thinks he should feel jealous, maybe.
Carlos and his soulmate had a mutual pain bond, where if one felt pain, the other did too. When one had a permanent injury, the other also suffered the same. Lando couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would feel like.
At least Carlos doesn't have to feel periods, or maybe he does, Lando hasn't asked him that question, and Carlos had never brought it up.
Max and his soulmate? Well, they had each other’s initials on their skin, marking them in a way that felt simple but perfect for them.
Lando knew there were many kinds of soul bonds, but his own was… different.
It was a countdown.
It had appeared the day after he hit puberty, like a flash of ink on his skin. At first, it was just a random number of years, days, and hours. It seemed distant, like something that wouldn’t matter for a long while. But as the years passed, the timer slowly ticked down.
From years to months, and now, it was finally in days. The timer was counting down to the moment he would meet her, the one person who had the power to change his life forever. The one who would match his soul in a way that no one else ever could.
13 hours, 23 minutes, 56 seconds.
That was the time remaining.
Lando took a deep breath, staring at the timer, watching the numbers tick down. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, he was meeting her.
It felt so damn close. It was so damn close.
He considered his countdown to be both reassuring and frustrating at the same time.
Of course, he couldn’t say it was painful when Carlos’ soulmate probably went to sleep with an appendix one day and woke up without it, thanks to their bond. Lando could only imagine how deeply unsettling that must be.
Or how nerve-wracking it still must be for Charles—who hasn't found his soulmate yet, to listen carefully to make sure no one says the words written on his shoulder blade. Lando thought that sounded like a nightmare.
His timer, though, felt like a quiet kind of pressure. A soft, constant reminder that something was coming.
Something big. Something important.
At first, it had given him comfort. Back when the number of years was still high and the days counted in thousands, Lando thought it was a blessing. His soulmate would see him when he was at his best—when he’d finally grown into himself, maybe a little more mature. Maybe even, just maybe, worthy of her.
But now, seeing the days ticking away, he wasn’t sure what he felt anymore.
It had been years since he hit puberty. So many years, in fact, that the timer on his wrist had gone from a comforting countdown to a constant source of anxiety. The numbers were finally down to the wire, and Lando couldn’t help but feel jittery about it.
He had spent the past year staring at it, unable to focus on anything else.
Every time he remembered how much time he had left, his stomach churned, his nerves tightening. Everyone noticed it too. The nervous energy had been building up, and now, with only a day left, it was impossible to ignore.
Lando was really excited to meet his soulmate. He truly was. But if he was being honest with himself, he was also fucking terrified. Everyone knew it didn’t always work out the way you wanted it to.
He had seen relationships fall apart. He had seen people struggle with the weight of their soul bonds. And Lando was scared—scared his soulmate wouldn’t want him.
He was scared that when he finally met her, she might look at him and decide he wasn’t worth the wait.
He tried to push the thought aside, to drown it out with logic.
Why would she not want Lando Norris? Famous F1 driver, all-around golden retriever? He grinned at the thought of himself as a “golden retriever.” It was a joke his friends liked to throw around.
It made him laugh, but there was a bitter edge to it, too. That side of him, the more confident part of himself, knew the truth: He was a catch. He’d grown into his own, his place in the world as an F1 driver becoming clearer by the day. He had fans, he had respect, and he had a group of friends who genuinely cared about him. He was doing okay.
But there was another part of him, a smaller, quieter voice that still whispered in the back of his mind. It was the voice that made him second-guess himself, the voice that asked: What if she doesn’t like Lando?
Not Lando Norris, but Lando.
Lando, who needed time to warm up to people. Lando, who could be awkward and uncouth at first, stumbling over his words or trying too hard to make someone laugh. Lando, who wasn’t always the life of the party, and sometimes just needed his own space to recharge. Lando, who had panic attacks and random bursts of energy that he couldn’t always control. Lando, who had an insistent need for physical touch like a touch-starved child, always craving affection, even in the smallest of ways. It made him feel vulnerable.
Would she want to know him, all of him?
He barely noticed when the door cracked open.
“Lando,” his trainer called, leaning against the doorframe. “Zak wants you in the team meeting. Now.”
Lando blinked, shaking himself out of his daze. “Right. Yeah. Coming.”
He forced himself up, rolling his shoulders and shaking out his hands as if that would help the nervous energy buzzing under his skin. He grabbed a water bottle, took a sip he didn’t really need, and made his way to the meeting room.
Inside, the usual suspects were already seated—Zak, the engineers, strategists, a few mechanics, and of course, Oscar, who glanced up when Lando entered.
Zak barely looked up before launching into the meeting. “Alright, boys. Let’s talk strategy.”
Lando dropped into his chair, hands on the table, trying to look engaged as Zak ran through tire strategies, pit stop timings, and race simulations. But he couldn’t focus. His leg bounced under the table. His fingers tapped against his thigh. He shifted in his seat every few minutes. He could feel the countdown, hear it in his head, ticking away like a bomb waiting to go off.
Across the table, Oscar squinted at him.
Lando ignored him, staring at the strategy notes in front of him, pretending to listen as an engineer explained something about tire degradation.
___________________________
Oscar waits until the room clears out before speaking. “Alright,” he says, leveling Lando with a look. “What’s going on?”
Lando exhales sharply, staring down at the numbers on his wrist. “The countdown ends tomorrow.”
Oscar blinks. “Your soulmate timer?”
Lando nods. “Yeah.”
Oscar is quiet for a moment, considering him. “You nervous?”
Lando scoffs, rubbing his hand over his face. “Mate, I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”
Oscar’s voice is calm, steady. “Why?”
Lando looks at him, incredulous. “Because—what if she doesn’t like me? What if she meets me and decides I’m not worth it? What if she—”
Oscar cuts him off, tone matter-of-fact. “What if she does?”
Lando falters.
Oscar tilts his head. “What if she’s nervous too? What if she’s worried you won’t like her?”
Lando hadn’t thought of that. He’s spent so long worrying about being enough that it never occurred to him that she might be feeling the same.
Oscar shrugs. “You’re Lando. You’re an idiot sometimes, but you’re also... you.” He gives Lando a pointed look. “And if she’s meant for you, she’ll see that.”
Lando exhales, some of the anxiety in his chest loosening. He nods slowly. “Yeah. Okay.”
Oscar pats his shoulder once. “Good. Now, stop acting like a nervous wreck. It’s weird.”
Lando laughs as he watches Oscar walk towards his soulmate, who was visiting him before they both travel to Melbourne together for a mini holiday before the season starts.
Lando wonders if he'll have someone like that.
Well, you'll find out tomorrow mate
And isn't that a thought to keep you up all night.
___________________________
Lando sat in the McLaren garage, arms crossed, leg bouncing so hard it was shaking the whole chair. His eyes kept flicking to the countdown on his wrist—1 hour and 57 minutes.
He hadn't slept. He couldn't. He was running on adrenaline, nerves, and whatever was left of his sanity.
Oscar, sitting across from him, had been watching in silence for a while now. Finally, he sighed. “You look awful.”
“Thanks, Osc” Lando muttered.
“No, really,” Charlotte added as she walked past, then doubled back to take in the full disaster that was Lando Norris. “You look like you fought sleep and..lost.”
“I didn’t fight,” Lando grumbled. “Just… didn’t sleep at all.”
Zak, who had been reviewing data, finally looked up. “Why?”
Oscar barely waited a second before answering. “He’s meeting his soulmate today.”
Silence. Then, understanding.
“Ohhh,” Zak said.
“Oh,” Charlotte echoed.
“Yeah,” one of the strategists, Alex, nodded. “Fair enough.”
Lando groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “It’s stupid.”
“It’s not,” Charlotte said immediately.
Zak hummed. “If I had to meet the person destined to put up with me forever, I’d be nervous too.”
Charlotte snorted. “Mate, you’ve been married for years.”
Zak shrugged. “Doesn’t mean she’s not still stuck with me.”
Alex grinned. “Yeah, but at least you didn’t look like this when you met her.” he motioned towards Lando's... well, everything.
Lando scowled. “I hate you all.”
Oscar, looking entirely too entertained, leaned back in his chair. “You know, we’ve all been where you are. Well, except me, ‘cause I’ve known since I was a kid.”
Lando shot him a glare. “Not helpful.”
Oscar ignored him. “But everyone else? Yeah. Zak, Charlotte, the others—they all went through it. And guess what?”
Lando sighed. “What?”
“It works out,” Oscar said simply. “So stop stressing. Just be you.”
Lando exhaled, the weight in his chest easing just a little.
Zak clapped his hands. “Right. Now that we’ve reassured our nervous wreck of a driver—go eat or drink something. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
Charlotte smirked. “Yeah, would be pretty embarrassing if you collapsed before even meeting her.”
Lando groaned. “I really hate you all.”
But for the first time that day, he actually felt a little better.
________________________
Lando stood, his eyes glued to the countdown timer on his wrist. Seconds seemed to stretch and warp before his eyes, the clock counting down with an unrelenting precision.
Six... Five... Four...
The food court at McLaren’s Bahrain base was alive with chatter, but everything around him felt like background noise.
He had no coffee now. It had long since been abandoned on the table. It had stopped working its magic hours ago. Lando only had his timer, and the ever-decreasing seconds were all that seemed to matter. He took a slow, steadying breath, trying to focus.
Two... One...
Zero.
And then, before he could even think to breathe or move, something—no, someone—suddenly collided into him. It was so quick, so unexpected, that Lando didn’t have time to react, to step aside or brace himself.
The impact surprised him with the force of it. Her papers—dozens of them—exploded into the air around them like snowflakes, swirling in a chaotic dance before they settled to the ground.
Lando instinctively reached out, his hands finding her waist, his fingers wrapping around her as he steadied her in his arms.
The moment felt like it was happening in slow motion, every second suspended in time.
He caught her. Like a movie scene, the way he pulled her against him, his heart leaping in his chest. She was there, right in front of him—her warmth against him, her breath soft against his skin.
His chest tightened. Perfect.
It wasn’t just a word. It was everything. She was everything.
For a few seconds, the world around him disappeared, and he simply held her there, feeling the pulse of her in his arms, the beat of his heart syncing with hers. Lando knew, without a doubt, that this was it.
This was her. This was the moment he’d been waiting for, for what felt like forever, and everything in the world seemed to make sense for the first time.
Then, reality hit. He was still holding her. His heart raced, suddenly aware of the weight of the moment.
He had to let go. Right?
But his hands lingered on her waist as if they didn’t want to let go. He could feel the heat of her body, the slight tremor in her touch, and in that second, he realized she was just as affected.
Her touch felt like coming home.
“Oh—uh... sorry, I... didn’t mean to...” Lando’s voice was breathless, his usual confidence faltering in the face of everything he’d ever wanted. He slowly released her, stepping back a fraction, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to let her go entirely.
She smiled then, a soft, knowing smile. It was shy but warm. There was a hint of excitement in her eyes—something that matched the fluttering in his chest.
They stood there, neither of them speaking for a moment, as if the weight of the moment was too much to fully comprehend just yet.
Her gaze met his, and he could see the same wonder in her eyes. She didn’t seem like she was in a rush to leave either.
The silence between them hung for just a moment, and then Lando awkwardly scratched the back of his head, still not quite sure what to say.
“I'm Lando,” he said, his voice slightly shaky. “Nice to meet you... soulmate.”
She took a small step back and gave him another soft smile, her cheeks tinged with a light blush.
“Nice to finally meet you, Lando,” she said, her tone just as shy but equally sincere. “It’s Y/N.”
“Do you wanna get some coffee?”
Y/n raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “I thought you were just coming out?”
Lando chuckled, the sound genuine, his nerves easing with her playful tone. “No, well, I mean, yeah, but...I could use another one.”
There was no way in hell he was letting a moment like this slip away. Not when he was standing here with her, his soulmate, the person he’d been waiting for.
Y/n smiled, nodding. “I could definitely use one.”
And just like that, the wait was over.
There were no more numbers to stare at, no more nerves twisting in his stomach. It was just the two of them, standing in a world that felt just a little bit smaller, just a little bit brighter.
The start of something. Something he was finally ready for.
The start to his forever.
______________________________________
Thank you for reading!
Thank you @prttylight for requesting this little piece, I hope I did justice to your request, once again, thank you so much for requesting, it was a wonderful writing.
AND ONCE AGAIN, TO ANYONE WHO MISSED THE MEMO, REQUESTS ARE VERY MUCH OPEN, PLEASE SEND IN SOME.
Jules♡
Taglist: @anamiad00msday @evie-119 @that-one-little-soybean @six-call @stressed-cherry @il0vereadingstuff @whatevenisthisxxxxx @freyathehuntress @nina-or-anna-or-nora @allthings-fandoms @larastark3107 @myescapefromthislife @wertyuizxcvbnm @halleest @hs2016 @lucyysthings @justaf1girl @bernelflo @mendes-bae @chelseyyouraverageluigi @llando4norris @sid-is-gr8 @henna006 @hurtblossom @quinquinquincy @ts1mp0ne @spidercat-soccerfan @kodzuvk @wherethefuckisthething @hellowgoodbye @prttylight @l4ndonorizz @edgyficuselastica @k-kaliop @charlesgirl16 @chloes-book-corner @1mverstappen @inchidentofftrack @blackmage24 @angelluv16 @alice-went-away @teamnovalak @wierdflowerpower @sunshine-and-midnight-rain @maxswhore33
