The Week of Angst| I
Lando Norris| The Rain Before The Storm
Pairing lando × female reader
Warning angst, accident, therapy
Lando Norris had always been a man in motion. As one of Formula 1’s most promising drivers, he lived life on the edge, chasing fractions of a second with precision and nerve. But for all the roaring crowds, champagne showers, and victory laps, he’d never known what it felt like to stop—to truly be still—until he met Y/n
She wasn’t part of his world. There were no selfies at the paddock, no requests for autographs. She had no idea who he was when they first met at a small gallery opening in Monaco. Y/n, an artist, stood beside one of her paintings, gesturing animatedly as she explained her work to a group of strangers. Lando was captivated—not just by her art but by her presence, her effortless warmth.
When he finally approached her, he stumbled over his words, uncharacteristically shy. She smiled at him, amused, and asked, “Do you always talk like you’re going 200 miles an hour?”
And just like that, Lando Norris, the man who lived for speed, slowed down.
Their connection was immediate, magnetic. They spent hours talking that night, about her art, his racing, their wildly different lives. For the first time in years, Lando felt seen—not as an athlete, not as a brand, but as a man.
Their love grew in the spaces between races, in stolen weekends and late-night phone calls. Y/n brought color to his world, grounding him in a way he never knew he needed. She teased him endlessly, saying he cared more about his car than himself, but she was the one who made sure he ate after grueling days at the track.
It was a rainy evening in Tuscany, six months after they met, when Lando decided he couldn’t wait any longer. They were staying at a quiet vineyard after a particularly exhausting season. He’d planned a grand proposal—candles, music, the works—but as they walked back to their villa, hand in hand, the words spilled out of him.
“Y/n,” he said, stopping suddenly.
She turned to him, her brow furrowing. “What is it?”
“I can’t imagine my life without you,” he said, his voice trembling. “I don’t want to imagine it. Will you marry me?”
Her breath caught, her eyes wide with shock. Then, slowly, her lips curled into the most radiant smile he’d ever seen. “Yes,” she whispered.
Rain began to fall as if the heavens were celebrating with them. They laughed, letting the drops soak their clothes, and he spun her in his arms. When he kissed her, it wasn’t just a kiss; it was a promise.
But life, as it often does, had other plans.
A few weeks after their engagement, y/n’s younger brother, James, was in a horrific car accident. Unfortunately he couldn't survive , the sight of him broken and fragile in a hospital bed shook y/n to her core. She spent days by his side, but at the end he passed. She felt as if ahe lost the most precious thing in this world. She felt lost. her usual brightness dimmed by worry and guilt.
Lando tried to support her, doing everything he could to make her life easier. But the cracks were beginning to show. She stopped painting, stopped laughing. The woman who once teased him for being too serious now seemed like a shadow of herself.
One night they sat on the couch in their small apartment, the space once filled with laughter now weighed down by a heavy, suffocating silence. Y/n stared at her hands, twisting the silver ring on her finger. She had rehearsed this moment in her head a hundred times, but now that it was here, every word felt like a dagger in her chest.
Lando sat beside her, his knee bouncing with nervous energy. He could sense something was wrong—he’d felt it for weeks. The light in her eyes had faded, her smiles had grown rare, and the woman who once teased him endlessly now barely spoke.
“Y/n,” he said softly, breaking the silence. “What’s going on? Please talk to me.”
Her chest tightened at the sound of his voice. She knew how much he loved her, how hard he’d been trying to hold her together. But the weight she carried had become too much, and she couldn’t bear to see him hurt because of her.
“I’ve been thinking,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper.
Lando turned to her fully, his brows furrowing. “About what?”
She took a deep breath, her fingers trembling as she twisted the ring off her finger and set it gently on the coffee table.
His eyes flicked to the ring, and a wave of panic swept over him. “Y/n, no. Don’t do this.”
“I can’t,” she said, her voice cracking. “I can’t keep pretending everything is okay, Lando. I’m not okay.”
He reached for her hand, but she pulled away, the motion stabbing at his heart. “You don’t have to pretend with me. Whatever you’re going through, we’ll get through it together. I’ll do anything—just tell me what you need.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she shook her head. “That’s the problem, Lando. I don’t even know what I need. I feel like I’m drowning, and I’m dragging you down with me.”
“You’re not dragging me down,” he said firmly, his voice rising with desperation. “You’re the most important person in my life, Y/n. Let me help you.”
“I’ve tried,” she choked out. “I’ve tried to let you in, but this… this darkness inside me, it’s bigger than us. Every day, I wake up and I feel… empty. And seeing you try so hard to fix me when I can’t even fix myself—it’s killing me.”
He swallowed hard, his throat tight with emotion. “Then let me carry you through this. You don’t have to go through it alone.”
Her gaze met his, her eyes filled with sorrow. “That’s just it, Lando. I don’t want you to carry me. I don’t want you to sacrifice your happiness, your life, for someone who can’t even get out of bed most days.”
“You’re not a burden,” he said, his voice breaking. “Don’t you see that? I love you, Y/n I don’t care how hard it gets.”
“And I love you too,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “That’s why I have to let you go. You deserve someone who can be there for you, someone who isn’t broken.”
He stood abruptly, running his hands through his hair. “Stop saying that! You’re not broken, y/n. You’re just… you’re going through something, and that’s okay. We can get help, therapy, whatever you need. Just don’t do this.”
Her tears came harder now, her shoulders shaking as she whispered, “I’ve already made up my mind.”
Lando sank back onto the couch, his head in his hands. He was silent for a long moment before finally looking at her, his eyes red and shining. “Please don’t do this,” he said again, his voice barely audible.
Y/n reached out and touched his cheek, her hand lingering for a moment. “I’ll always love you, Lando. But I can’t be the person you need right now. And I can’t keep hurting you like this.”
He grabbed her hand, holding it tightly as if he could keep her from slipping away. “You’re everything I need. Please, Y/n. Don’t leave me.”
She gently pulled her hand away, the loss of her touch leaving him cold. “I’m sorry,” she said, standing slowly.
Lando watched as she picked up her bag, his heart shattering with every step she took toward the door. “Y/n,” he called out, his voice cracking.
She paused at the door, her back to him. “Goodbye, Lando,” she whispered, and then she was gone.
The apartment felt unbearably empty without her. He sat on the couch for hours, staring at the ring on the table, the echo of her words ringing in his ears.
And when the silence became too much, he finally broke, his sobs filling the space where her laughter once lived.
The next two years were a blur of races and emptiness. Lando won more than ever before, but the victories felt hollow. He threw himself into his career, hoping the adrenaline would drown out the ache in his chest. It didn’t.
Nights were the worst. Alone in his apartment, he’d replay every moment with y/n, wondering if there was something he could have done differently. He missed her laugh, the way she scrunched her nose when she was deep in thought, the way she made him feel like he was more than just a driver.
Y/n missed him too. She spent months in therapy, untangling the guilt and grief that had consumed her. Slowly, she began to heal. She started painting again, pouring her pain into her work. But every time she finished a piece, she thought of Lando. She wondered if he was okay, if he still thought of her.
It was a humid summer night when fate brought them together again. Lando was at a club with his teammates, reluctant but too tired to argue. He was nursing a drink at the bar when he saw her.
Y/n.
She looked different. Stronger. Her eyes, once clouded with pain, now glimmered with something lighter. But she was still Y/n. His Y/n.
She turned, and their eyes met. Time stopped.
He approached her cautiously, his heart pounding. “Y/n,” he said, his voice rough with emotion.
“Lando,” she breathed, her eyes searching his.
They didn’t speak for a long moment, the noise of the club fading into the background. Finally, she smiled, tentative but real. “How have you been?”
“Better now,” he said softly.
They sat in a quiet corner, talking as if no time had passed. She told him about her therapy, about finding herself again. He told her about the nights he’d spent missing her, the races that felt meaningless without her there.
When the club closed, he hesitated before asking, “Can I see you again?”
She looked at him for a long moment before nodding. “I’d like that,”
---
They started slow, rebuilding what had been broken. They became friends again, but it wasn’t long before the old spark reignited. The way she laughed at his jokes, the way he touched her hand just a little longer than necessary—it was undeniable.
One rainy evening, as they decided to meet at their regular stop just like older times..
The small café on the corner of the bustling city street was nearly empty, save for a handful of customers enjoying the calm of the afternoon. At a table near the window, Lando sat across from Y/n.
“when you told me to met here, I was so surprised, I can’t believe you still remembered this place,” she said, her fingers brushing the edge of her coffee cup.
“How could I forget?” Lando replied, his lips curving into a small smile. “We used to sit here for hours, pretending we didn’t notice the staff trying to close up around us.”
Y/n laughed softly, and for a moment, it felt like nothing had changed. “And you’d always order that ridiculous caramel mocha with extra whipped cream. What was it you called it? ‘Fuel for champions’?”
He chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “Hey, don’t mock the champion’s drink. It got me through some tough times on and off the track.”
She shook her head, her smile faltering slightly. “I’ve missed this… talking to you like this.”
Lando’s expression softened. “I’ve missed it too.”
There was a pause, not awkward but filled with the weight of everything they’d lost. Lando finally broke the silence.
“Do you remember that trip to Tuscany?” he asked, his voice quieter now.
Y/n’s eyes lit up with a mix of nostalgia and emotion. “How could I forget? That was the first time I ever saw you truly relax. You were so happy… spinning me around in the rain like we didn’t have a care in the world.”
“That was the night I proposed,” he said, his voice tinged with both fondness and sorrow. “I’ve never seen you look more beautiful than you did under those stars.”
She looked down at her hands, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’ve thought about that night a lot. About how perfect it all felt… how I ruined it.”
“Y/n, you didn’t ruin anything,” Lando said, leaning forward. “You were going through something I couldn’t fully understand, but that doesn’t change how much I loved you. How much I still…” He stopped himself, the words hanging in the air.
She met his gaze, her eyes glistening. “You still… what?”
He hesitated, then took a deep breath. “How much I still love you. I never stopped, Y/n.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she shook her head. “Lando, I don’t know if I deserve that. I left you. I broke us.”
“You didn’t break us,” he said firmly. “Life threw us into a storm we weren’t ready for. But we survived it, didn’t we? And sitting here with you now, it feels like… maybe we’re still standing.”
She reached across the table, her fingers brushing against his. “Do you really think we can find our way back to what we had?”
He turned his hand over, intertwining his fingers with hers. “I don’t want what we had. I want something even better. I want the future we dreamed of, Y/n. And I want it with you.”
Her breath hitched, and for a moment, she couldn’t speak. Finally, she whispered, “I’ve missed you so much, Lando. I’ve missed us.”
“Then let’s start again,” he said, his voice steady but filled with hope. “No pressure, no expectations. Just you and me, one day at a time.”
A small, tearful smile broke across her face as she nodded. “I’d like that.”
He smiled back, his grip on her hand tightening slightly. For the first time in years, the weight on both their hearts felt a little lighter.
Outside, the rain began to fall softly, but neither of them noticed. They were too lost in each other, their hearts finally finding their way back home.
Under the rain, they danced once more, not as strangers reuniting, but as two souls who had weathered life's storms and found their way back to each other. This time, they knew their love was unbreakable.