Complaining about someone liking F1 or a driver because they got into the sport through drive to survive is the Motorsport equivalent of seeing someone wearing a band shirt and asking them to name 3 songs.
a/n: the Lance brainrot is strong rn, my mutual (on main), is the reason for this
If you find me because of this: sup bear :^)
word count: ~1.3k
p.s.: multiple (small) time jumps in this one, sorry if it's confusing :')
Meeting the parents for the first time was always a momentous occasion, no less when their net worth was valued at around 2.9 billion.
You had seen snippets of Lawrence around the grid, interacting with his, well, employees and Seb. And maybe you had paid special attention to the clips that showed him with Lance.
Your assumption had always been that rich people didn't spend as much time with their children, and therefore didn't have as close of a bond with them. But looking at the duo's interaction, at least on-screen, you felt the love.
So when Lance asked you to come along to Abu Dhabi, for the last race of the season where the whole Stroll family would come together, you were cautiously optimistic that it wouldn't entirely be a disaster.
Lance had offered you to join him, his dad, Sebastian, and the rest of the team on the flight, but so had Chloe. She would arrive the same day but spend it exploring all the sights the city had to offer. And Scotty would be there as well. So it really was a no-brainer.
Despite your cautious optimism regarding Lawrence, you knew Chloe and Scotty. The two had introduced you and Lance after all.
So there you were, in the United Arab Emirates. It was 4 in the morning when you arrived, and you were ready to get to the hotel and catch up on at least another 7 hours of sleep. You had no idea how Lance kept up all this travelling, or how Scotty could still look as happy as he always did. Beside you, Chloe yawned as she flagged down a taxi and gave them the address to the hotel you would be staying at.
The taxi driver helped you pack your suitcases into the trunk, and off you were.
You watched the light of the metropolis pass you by, entranced by the multitude of them. An uncountable amount of lights later, the taxi came to a final halt.
Chloe paid the driver as Scotty and you went to retrieve your suitcases from the trunk. Just then you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket, Lance had texted you a number about 2 hours ago. You stared at it for a good while, before turning your phone to Scotty.
He immediately laughed at the lovey-dovey-ness of your previous messages, before concluding that it must be Lance's room number.
Chloe, who had been looking over, and hanging from, Scotty's shoulder agreed, before ushering you two into the hotel lobby and checking in.
With all three room keys in hand, she walked towards the elevator as if she owned the place. Scotty couldn't keep a comment about how great her ass looked in his brain, so you just rolled your eyes at them and followed silently.
You got off the elevator at a different level from them and told Chloe to text you before they went out exploring the city. She assured you, that you wouldn't be left behind in the hotel, and then the elevator doors closed.
You walked down the corridors of the hotel and searched for the room number Lance had texted you. It was pretty easy to find, seeing as the floor didn't have all that many rooms in the first place.
The lock on the door let out a small beep when you let yourself in, you were thankful that Scotty had convinced you that short but comfortable clothes were the best choice for the plane ride. You just had to get rid of your shoes before you could fall into bed next to Lance now.
His hair was a mess but he looked decidedly peaceful, and you couldn't help taking a snapshot of his current state. When you were satisfied, you crawled in next to Lance, who almost immediately hugged you to his chest.
He whispered some very muffled words of affection at you, and before long you were both asleep in each other's arms.
The Thursday press conferences were in the afternoon, but Lance had to be at the paddock a little earlier. He tempted you to stay in bed with him, ordering room service and having breakfast in bed, but you offered to let him join you in the shower instead. It convinced Lance to get out of bed with you.
You sent Chloe a quick text, asking if she and Scotty wanted to get breakfast with you and Lance in a bit. Her answer was almost immediate, she would have to drag Scotty out of bed, a long and arduous process, but they'd love to join.
Things didn't get steamy in the shower, besides the glass fogging up, you were just happy to be in each other's arms. Besides, you weren't sure you had the time to heat things up even more.
So you let the warm water cascade over yourselves for a while, before getting out and drying off.
You took a little longer to get ready than Lance, who had already settled in and unpacked his bags the night before. But when you were ready, you made your way down to the lobby, hands intertwined.
Chloe and Scotty were sitting on a sofa close to the entrance and chatting animatedly. So Lance got the idea to scare the ever-loving shit out of his older sister, who he loved oh so dearly. It worked thanks to your incessant waving at Scotty, who had seen Lance coming. And to his, Lance's, and your amusement, Chloe jumped out of her seat and damn near reached the ceiling.
She scolded Lance, turning to you to confirm she had made reservations at a lovely little café they had been to before and went back to giving her younger brother an earful.
Scotty threw his arm around your shoulder and dragged you behind them, commenting on their siblinghood and throwing you a big grin.
Maybe Chloe should have warned you, maybe you were happy she didn't. When the four of you got to the café, which was certainly as lovely as Chloe had promised, Lawrence and his wife Raquel had taken a seat at one of the tables. And Chloe approached that same table in long strides, still dragging her brother behind her.
When Scotty saw his father-in-law, his arm fell back down to his side, but he gave you a reassuring smile.
Lance hugged his father quickly and greeted Raquel warmly, Chloe raised on her tiptoes to kiss her father's cheek and repeated the process with Raquel.
Scotty greeted the two quickly and casually, before moving to sit next to Chloe. Which meant the only open seat was between Lance and his father.
You swallowed down the apprehensiveness and went in to shake Lawrence's hand.
His eyes scanned you for a second before he pulled you into a one-armed hug. The action left you flabbergasted. Lawrence bellowed out a laugh at your expression.
"Y/n, I assume? Lance here has been talking about you quite a bit. Can't quite seem to shut up about you, in fact, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
You glanced over at Lance, who had gone a little red at the comment. Much to the delight of Chloe and Scotty, even Raquel seemed like she could barely keep in her laughter.
"Pleasure to meet you too, Mr Stroll. Even if I didn't quite expect to meet you like this."
He smiled, and despite his outward appearance, it radiated the warmth of a loving father.
"Why don't we sit down, Lance and I don't have all day after all."
Lance grabbed and squeezed your hand as you took your seat. You couldn't resist pecking his lips then and there, you counted this breakfast as a win.
