Warnings: male reader, child reader, fluff, reader faces harassment at school, crush turned creepy towards reader, consent issues, bullying mentioned, swearing, papa bears Ilya and Shane, good dad's hollanov
Notes:
Summary: (name) was a chill kid, despite not being biologically related to his dad's he took after them personality wise to a T so when telling the teachers doesn't work, he goes to his parents... Only for them to get called in when he yells at his stalker to fuck off.
Tag list: @polluxhasrisen @lazyanimal-things @ilocuras24 @rainglitchblonde
“Papa” (name) wandered to Ilya who was scrolling on his phone “hm, what is it?” He stopped looking at his phone and gave his son his direct attention and (name) signed “how do you deal with girls who won't leave you alone?” He asked and Ilya seemed very invested, his ten year old son seemed less shy and first love and more put off “you have admirer?” He asked and (name) grimaced.
“She won't go away, she steals my sweaters and I have to threaten to tell the teacher to get them back! She also writes on my stuff, it's annoying!” He said and Ilya could see how that would be frustrating especially because the man didn't even think (name) noticed girls or anyone romantically (he was thankful for that honestly, he didn't want his son worrying about such things till at least highschool) “whenever I tell her I don't like her and to go away she just pursues harder! It's creepy!”
“Do you want your dad and I to talk to her parents?” Ilya asked and (name) shrugged “I'm just tired of it, whenever I reject her people call me a jerk and try and make me feel bad”
Oh he was having a chat with the parents.
“Your dad and I will handle, ok?” He said to his son who nodded “/you go take Anya for a walk, ok?/” He fluently transitioned to Russian and his son hugged him “/thanks dad/” he said before running and calling for Anya “walk time, Anya!”
“My love, come here!” Ilya called after (name) left and Shane wandered into the kitchen/livingroom space “whats up?”
“Our son is having girl troubles” Ilya said simply and Shane looked curious “like a crush?”
“Girl likes him and he hates her, she harasses and classmates pressure him to talk to her” he said before mentioning the vandalism and theft issue and Shane looked less than thrilled “so we're picking him up tomorrow and talking to that kids mom, right?”
“You read my mind, my love”
(Name) Dreaded school, it took ten minutes of him on school grounds while he hung out with his friends for her to make an appearance “(name)!” She beamed and his friends looked equally put off, he was thankful they didn't tease him about this “please go away, I actually can't stand you” he said coldly and she just grinned “awww you flirt!”
“I looked up how to get a restraining order and I'm asking my dad's for one against you from my birthday.”
“So, you got any plans this weekend?”
“Nothing that involves you”
“I heard you have a hockey game tonight, I'm totally going to be there!”
“Please don't”
No one could question who his dad's were, the boy having both of their deadpan annoyance and Ilya’s sharp tongue as the bell rang, saving him.
It wasn't until lunch that she stole his pudding cup and he damn near lost it.
“Seriously, you're creepy and pathetic! Leave me alone you fucking stalker!” He snapped at her when she touched his hand and the cafeteria froze.
Ilya and Shane were called during practice, everyone understanding that they had something to handle with (name), the man telling the team situation and a few of them had their own stories like that “girls like the idea of dating a hockey player, those parents need to teach her to take rejection”
So when they pulled up at the school, they had a gameplan put in place for this.
(Name) Was sitting with his arms crossed, he looked pissed but not ashamed in the slightest “Hollander-Rozanov?” The secretary asked and Shane went to check on their son and Ilya went to the desk “we got call that our son was in trouble”
“Yes, let me get the VP and principal” she said and Ilya turned to his son “was the girl?” He asked his son who nodded “she stole my pudding cup and touched my hand, she wouldn't go away all day and I just had enough” it was a valid crashout after constant harassment and neither parent could really blame him, (name) was a chill kid and was very kind normally so this was clearly his breaking point.
“Glad you two could come” the principal spoke and Ilya looked them up and down, sceptical and Shane wrapped his arms around his son's shoulders “shall we go to my office?” They asked and the three followed, (name) knowing his parents wouldn't let this slide. “there was an incident at lunch today, (name) screamed at a female student “Seriously, you're creepy and pathetic! Leave me alone you fucking stalker” according to teachers, making her cry-- he's looking to face detention and possibly in school suspension for bullying” the principal said and (name) huffed and Shane furrowed his eyebrows at her words.
“How many times has he reported this girl to teachers for harassment?”
“I don't see--”
“I think it's very relevant, she's been stealing from our son, harassing him and refuses to take rejection to the point he feels he needs to scream at her to get the point across” papa bear came out “(name) has no history of this behavior, he is being borderline stalked and I must ask why her parents aren't here because I would love to explain to them that their daughter doesn't respect consent and the word “no”” he seethed and Ilya was so attracted to his husband “so you don't see how he handled the situation as problematic?” The principal fired back and Ilya scoffed “he handled it the only way he could, she didn't respect gentle rejection, no?”
“Where is the principal, who made our kid cry?” A voice called and Ilya and Shane stood up and stepped out “your daughter is the one who has been stalking and harassing our son?”
“Excuse me?” The mother snapped and Ilya dead stared “we have many records of him reporting her for stealing and unwanted touching, that is sexual harassment” he snapped and (name) felt so loved by his dad's as the parents froze “she's just playing around, a harmless crush”
“He said no, he said he's not interested in her” Shane pointed “teach your daughter consent before she gets arrested” and looked to his son “grab your bag, were going home” he ordered his son who ran out to get his bag “were taking our son home, consider us not suing for harassment and teacher negligence as a warning”
The two left the office and Shane sighed, a weight on his shoulders “papa bear ready to strike” Ilya teased and Shane looked at him with exhaustion “should we transfer schools?”
“Ok! I'm ready!” (Name) Said and the dad's each put a hand on his shoulder “normally we would ground you for the swearing but this time will be a pass, if someone's harassing you in any way” Shane stopped (name) in the parking lot and crouched to his level “tell us, I don't care how small you feel it is, we want to know you're safe”
“Ok dad... Sorry for not saying anything” (name) mumbled and Shane hugged his kid and Ilya fixed (name)s hair lovingly “no sorry, we are just happy you're safe”
(Name) Was doing his homework in the team benches while they practiced, the kid petting Chiron absentmindedly and his dad's glanced at him periodically to see if he was ok.
When practice was done, the team members chatted with the kid who smiled at his many uncles with kind eyes “you gonna win tonight?” Troy asked and (name) nodded with a grin “yup!”
During the drive home Ilya glanced at his son in the back seat “do you want to change school?”
“I like my friends so nah” so casual and calm and Ilya can't help but mentally compare him and Shane, his kid had his monotone attitude and general aloofness.
But on the ice?
That was Ilya with him and Shane's combined skill.
“He's going to be a monster if he pursues this professionally” she mumbled as they saw him destroy the rink with a grin.
summary: after being dumped for “being bad luck”, you don’t expect that drowning your sorrows will lead to getting married with a fellow heartbroken soul
a/n: Surprise! I am still working on my Vegas fics! It’s just…there’s only so many ways you can get accidentally married in Vegas and I’d like to make them all unique
a/n2: this is set in the 2024/2025 seasons
Masterlist
yn
liked by lando, carmenmmundt, oscarpiastri, and 2,111,445 others
tagged: lando
yn: 4 years with the best man I know 🧡🧡 here's to many many more, my love 😘
view all comments
user1: I love them so much
↳user2: couple goals for real
↳user1: exactly!
oscarpiastri: congratulations on four years!
↳yn: thanks osc!!
user3: I love how lowkey they are?
↳user4: seriously the best thing a famous couple could be is quietly in love
↳user5: yes!
↳user3: *side eyes certain couples* I completely agree
lando: 🧡🧡
↳yn: 💋💋
user6: …ok is it just me or was that very…underwhelming?
↳user7: no seriously??? She posted so many nice pictures and wrote poetry about him today and the most he's commented is 2 hearts???
user8: all men do is disappoint, honestly
user9: has anyone else seen ln4fans post?
↳user10: …how dare they??? yn has been by lando's side for YEARS…
ln4fan
liked by user, user, user, and 728,183 others
ln4fan: save my man! This is not his season and I do believe it's all yn's fault! He's had 3 dnfs and a dns in the last 6 races and it's only been the races that yn's been at. He really needs to dump the bad weight
view all comments
user11: wow
user12: I couldn't agree more!
user13: every single word you just said was wrong actually
user14: I've never seen anyone be so extremely wrong in my life really
user15: finally someone else is saying this!! I've BEEN saying it for years oh my god
↳user16: I don't know why you're celebrating? Lando and yn have been in love since before he started f1? Like he talks about their unspoken thing all the time
↳user17: be for real she's totally not fit to be a wag — she's never at the races, she's done nothing to support his brand…
↳user16: she has her own life? She doesn't need to revolve her life around his
↳user15: but a little more support to him wouldn't be too much to ask?
user18: I'm still stuck on the fact that Lando has had so much bad luck lately
↳user19: I went back to see which races she's been at and what lando finished and it's not great
↳user18: what really?
↳user19: he's never scored higher than 7th when yn is at a race — and that was only a single race, more commonly it was 9th or lower
↳not_lando: what?
↳user18: that's so crazy!
f1gossip
liked by user, user, user, and 1,823,813 others
f1gossip: Trouble in paradise? Fans spotted Lando Norris and long term girlfriend yn ln fighting after his disastrous qualifying today. Is this just a bump in the road or are certain rumors (that state that yn is Lando's bad luck charm) true?
view all comments
user20: Lando if you make my girl yn cry, I'm gonna make you fight
user21: dump her dump her dump her
↳user22: oh my god get a life
user23: I've been a Lando fan for pretty much his entire career and have watched them grow up together…I've never seen them act like that
↳user24: no my heart is literally breaking for them
user25: are we children of divorce right now?
↳user26: I think we might be
↳user25: 😭😭
user27: I need more information right now actually…
f1gossip
liked by user, user, user, and 1,922,111 others
f1gossip: Something must be in that Vegas air — mere hours after Lando and yn were spotted arguing, Alexandra Saint Mleux (Charles Leclerc's girlfriend) was seen storming through the Harry Reid International Airport. Is this the end of another one of the paddock's iconic relationship?
view all comments
user28: I don't know what's happening in Vegas but if it touches either of the lily's I'm hopping on a flight and fisting fighting them myself
↳user29: mood
user30: ok but we don't actually know if yn and lando are broken up!
↳user31: dude…they're totally broken up
↳user30: we don't know that yet! Let me have hope
user32: good! I never liked her
↳user33: just say you're jealous and get over yourself
user34: petition to ban Vegas forever? I can't take this anymore
↳user35: SIGNING RIGHT NOW
Private Messages: The Leclerc’s
Instagram Stories
user36 responded noooooo this is the worst timeline
oscarpiastri responded did you guys really break up?
user37 responded what do you mean you broke up???
user38 responded FINALLY YOU DROPPED HER
alex_albon responded lily is yelling at me right now what do you mean you guys broke up?
user39 responded this is gonna be good for you
user40 responded girl I'm so sorry
lilymhe responded what happened?? The one race I actually miss
user41 responded omg he actually did it
carmenmmundt responded call me hun
user42 responded was it mutual??
Private Messages: Charles and yn
lasvegasgossip
liked by user, user, user, and 17,222,125 others
lasvegasgossip: word on the street is that a famous but heartbroken athlete got hitched last night…who could it be?
view all comments
user50: oh my god who's in Vegas this weekend?
↳user51: the raiders and the browns are in town
↳user52: so are the knights and the kraken
↳user53: and so is f1…
user54: so many teams in the city this weekend and yet it could be any athlete that's not playing too
↳user55: I'm more focused on the heartbroken part like who's recently been heartbroken??
↳user56: I mean Lando Norris and yn ln just broke up?
↳user57: there's like 5 recent breakups with the hockey teams it could be
↳user58: there's no one in the football teams that could be described as heartbroken?
↳user59: there was something weird happening with Charles Leclerc and Alexandra Saint Mleux?
↳user60: so it could literally be anyone?
user61: I'm placing money on lando
↳user62: he does seem like someone who would get spontaneously drunk married
↳user63: drunk?
↳user62: all marriages in Vegas are drunk
f1fan
liked by user, user, user, and 2,822,193 others
f1fan: in a shocking turn of events, Lando Norris finishes the 2024 season with a DNF, DNS, DSQ, and a rare DNQ respectively — what a massive disappointment this must be for the British driver that was the favorite underdog of the season
view all comments
user64: HA this is totally because he dumped his biggest support system like a loser
↳user65: harsh but I agree
user66: who do I need to fight?? Like what the hell was that
↳user67: that was KARMA and JUSTICE for yn!!
↳user68: JUSTICE FOR YN
user69: I just…what the fuck happened? He was literally catching up to max and then all that shit happened??
↳user70: she probably cursed him or something honestly
↳user71: seriously! Like did you see how she confirmed the breakup? He was all respectful and she…wasn't
↳user70: I still cringe when I think about it
user72: the whiplash I get between this post and charles'… good lord 😂
↳user73: Charles took all of his bad luck and dumped it on Lando!
↳user72: for real!
charles_leclerc
liked by maxverstappen1, scuderiaferrari, oscarpiastri, and 2,778,445 others
charles_leclerc: what an amazing end to the season — thank you to Ferrari and to my good luck charm. now it's time to rest and recharge for next year
view all comments
user74: hell yeah!
↳user75: you totally rocked it!
maxverstappen1: Congratulations Charles liked by charles_leclerc
↳user76: they still don't follow each other btw
user77: fricking amazing to watch this!
oscarpiastri: congrats!!
user78: good luck charm??? Who??
↳user79: it's not Alex is it?
↳user78: highly unlikely - it seems like they've broken up. they haven't been seen together since Vegas and while Alex has privated her instagram, the number of posts have gone way down
user80: calling it now! Charles is the one who got married in Vegas
↳user81: iconic if true!
user82: 4 wins right in a row? Sexiest thing I’ve ever seen
Private Messages: Charles and yn
charles_priv
liked by notyn, madmax, op81, and 2,945 others
tagged: notyn
charles_priv: spending the winter break with my wife ♥️♥️
view all comments
notyn: the best winter break I've ever had
↳charles_priv: same chérie
madmax: when did you get married???
↳charles_priv: when I got drunk in Vegas
↳notyn: not gonna lie I don't remember anything about that night…
↳charles_priv: me either
↳madmax: hilarious but congrats
pierre: you've been married for months now and are just telling us???
↳charles_priv: …oops?
↳notyn: that's on Charles!
↳charles_priv: chérie!
↳pierre: oh you're perfect for one another
op81: awkward but congratulations
↳charles_priv: we would appreciate it if this news doesn't reach Lando
↳op81: yeah that's not going to be a problem, I don't even know who you people are
op81: but fyi he's hard key moping
↳notyn: he made his bed
arthur: it was great to get to know you! Might have to take your side if you get a divorce
↳charles_priv: Arthur!
↳arthur: only one of you 2 made me fresh baked cookies and it wasn't you
↳notyn: you're welcome arthur 💙
↳op81: wait cookies are in the table?
↳charles_priv: only for Leclerc's!
↳op81: you adopted me so I count! liked by notyn
↳notyn: he's got a point babe
f1gossip
liked by user, user, user, and 1,182,283 others
f1gossip: romance in the air? Charles Leclerc has been spotted with a new girlfriend in recent weeks — who might this mystery woman be?
view all comments
user83: don't worry guys it's just me
user84: who is she????
user85: that's so fast?
↳user86: really?
↳user85: it's only been a couple of months
↳user86: a lifetime for him honestly
↳user87: ummm rude??
↳user88: but fair I feel
user89: twitter detectives! Who is she?
↳user90: no idea yet! It's still too new
↳user89: but I need to know??
user91: I don't really care who she is because HE looks so happy with her
↳user92: he does! And I'm so happy for him
Private Messages: Charles and yn
charles_leclerc
liked by yn, pierregasly, maxverstappen1, and 2,111,203 others
tagged: yn
charles_leclerc: that mystery woman happens to be my wife, thank you
view all comments
user93: holy shit PLOT TWIST
↳user94: I honestly did NOT see this coming
↳user93: it definitely wasn't on my bingo card for the year
maxverstappen1: Congratulations again you guys
↳yn: thanks max!
user95: I'm loving this so much?? Like Lando really dumped her for being bad luck and then Charles is literally dominating this season liked by yn
↳user96: It's even better! He calls her his lucky charm
↳user95: I can see why!
landonorris: what the hell is this?!?
comment has been deleted by the author
yn: love you too babe! liked by charles_leclerc
user97: did you guys seriously get married in Vegas?
↳yn: we did!
↳user97: …and you're gonna stay married despite it starting in Vegas?
↳yn: well something good had to come from our broken hearts liked by charles_leclerc
↳charles_leclerc: despite the beginning, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me liked by yn
f1
liked by user, yn, user, and 2,991,988 others
tagged: charles_leclerc
f1: This weekend decides it all! Should Charles Leclerc score a single point this weekend, he becomes the 2025 World Drivers Champion — will this be the year the Monégasque driver takes home the championship? Or will Max Verstappen become a 5x champion?
view all comments
user98: Charles! Charles! Charles
↳user99: Leclerc! Leclerc! Leclerc!
user100: we're all rooting for you Charles!
yn: it'll be my husband for sure
↳user101: alright there Mrs Leclerc, flexing on us
↳yn: 😂😂
user102: I'm so sat right now
↳user103: BIG SAME
↳user104: it's gonna happen for sure!
charles_leclerc
liked by yn, arthur_leclerc, maxverstappen1, and 3,102,291 others
tagged: yn
charles_leclerc: I got to marry my lucky charm all over again
comments have been disabled
Taglist
If you want to join my taglist, interact with my taglist post. I won’t be adding from anywhere else
ᯓᡣ𐭩 𝖺 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗂 𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌!
ᯓᡣ𐭩 oscar piastri x writer!reader
ᯓᡣ𐭩 arranged marriage, eldest daughter x eldest son
ᝰ.ᐟ After a controversy threatens the reputation of Oscar Piastri, a carefully staged marriage to a sponsor’s daughter is meant to restore his image, nothing more than a strategic fix in the high-stakes world of Formula One, but as their perfectly crafted relationship begins to feel all too real behind closed doors, the line between performance and genuine love starts to blur, and they’re forced to confront whether what they have was ever just for show.
After seven years with Lily, Oscar isn’t sure he’s ready to try again. It’s left him cautious, careful, and more afraid to open up than he ever thought—or would admit. Then one blind date—with you, a burst of light he can’t ignore—makes him question everything he thought he knew about healing.
Can Oscar let the light in, or will lingering hurt and ghostly guilt push him away before it even begins?
1: The Blind Date
2: The Second Date
3: The Days Between
4: Cautious
5: The Third Date
6: Across Time Zones
7: Rollercoaster
8: Home-Cooked
9: Safe Enough
10: Fragile Spaces
11: Texting...
12: Treading Water
13: Limbo
14: Saltwater
15: Privacy
16: It's CANada
17: It's still CANada
18: Lego & Lavender
19: Crossroads
20: Edges of Permancences
21: Rumor Has It
22: Red Heels
23: Not Yet
24: Between the Noise
25: Menances
26: Hattie
27: Green
28: Three More Days
29: Cordially Invited
30: Stay Anyway
31: Gate 3
32: No Cameras Here
33: Spielberg in Papaya
34: Approved (For Now)
35: Suspended In It
36: Past Lives
📝 Prompt me: OPEN
If you’d like to be added to the taglist so you never miss a new part, now’s your chance—just let me know! 🫶
Also!! Please!! Feel free to slide into my inbox or scream in the comments with ideas, wishes, or unhinged thoughts about what should happen next. I will be reading. I will be influenced. 😌🤍
oscar piastri x yn!singer | request — here | masterlist |
"One night I was bored in bed, And stalked you on the internet" in which a popstar's crush on a f1 driver turns into a front page story...
note — (all manips made by me!!) i love this fic soooooo much, like it's very dear me.... hope you all enjoy it (not proofread ignore any mistakes) <3 !! likes, reblog's and comments are really appreciated ❤
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♬ Y/n L/n ‧ obsessed
Liked by yourinstagram, user1 and 772,256 others
oscarpiastri 💪
view all comments
user1 new song to add to the playlist
user2 thirst trap on main???
user3 y/n is holding her self back by not commenting
->user4 ik she's remembering her pr training right now
->user5 wait why????
->user4 it's a known thing among fans that she has a crush on oscar...
->user5 HUH!??!?!? how haven’t i heard about this??!???
user6 You got this 🏎️
user7 okay can mclaren invite y/n to a race please
user8 listening to obsessed?? why does oscar know ball
user9 need to see all his playlists
user10 Future world champion💪🔥🧡
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Liked by user1, user2 and 385,924 others
tmz Y/nL/n seen arriving in Melbourne, Australia today.
view all comments
user1 love her <3
user2 wait..... the australian gp is this weekend
->user3 and mclaren recently followed her....
->user4 are we thinking they invited her to oscar's home race!?!??!
->user3 YESSS
user5 this could be so major...
user6 winona hat is so cute
user7 she's going to find her a aussie man anyway she can
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Liked by user1, user2 and 645,758 others
YnLnNews Y/N IN AUSTRALIA!!!!! Y/n sat with Oscar Piastri prior to qualifying, Y/n cheered on Oscar as he qualified P2.
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user1 EVERYONE STAY CALM
user2 very important things happening right now
user3 who else was with them???? do we know how long they hung out..?
->user4 i saw a video of them talking and the poster said they were talking alone for about 15+ mins until someone on the team wanted to meet y/n
->user4 he sat with them for 5 mins and they kept talking for around 30 more minutes and hugged goodbye
->user3 omg ty sm user4 !!
user5 her SMILEEEE
user6 already loving them AIWLUHDFLUIAWG
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Liked by oscarpiastri, rachelzegler and 2,748,362 others
yourinstagram never finished that beer 🍻
view all comments
user1 summer maxing
user2 everywhere but that damn studio
oscarpiastri 🌹🍻
->user3 alright man... we get it
->user4 no im not jealous at all
user5 you r my inspo
user6 mclaren girllll
->user7 **oscar piastri girl
->user8 she's truly only there for the race and oscar
user9 gorgeous girl
user10 what dat mean???
->user11 idk maybe she never finished her beer????
->user10 okay 😐
user12 does the piano mean we're getting music?!!?!
user13 the last slide and the koala.... taking notes
user14 can you get any more perfect
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yourinstagram story !
view all story replies
oscarpiastri It was great to finally meet you in person!
yourinstagram a pleasure to meet you as well!!!
yourinstagram ik you have a busy schedule so ty for sparing the time!
oscarpiastri SPARING?? I would've skipped qualifying just to keep talking to you
oscarpiastri I wanted to meet you! So the schedule was cleared just for you!
oscarpiastri It obviously wasn't the race I would've liked for you to have been present for....
yourinstagram at least you didn't finish last!!!
yourinstagram hopefully the next race i go to will have a better outcome 🤞
oscarpiastri Speaking of you going to another race have you been to China? 👀
yourinstagram no…. but i’ve always wanted to go!!
oscarpiastri Well there is a race coming up in China if your up for that…?
yourinstagram mhmmmm that does sound like something i’d enjoy
yourinstagram and if i were to go…
oscarpiastri Mhm hmm 🤔
yourinstagram id like to find a place for us to get dinner, since you picked last time 😁
oscarpiastri You drive a hard bargain.. but i think we have a deal
yourinstagram good doing business with you 🤝
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Liked by user1, user2 and 855,758 others
enews Brewing Romance? Y/n L/n and Formula One Driver Oscar Piastri have been causing a stir as of late.
While the pair have been linked to each other since late 2024, the two hadn't met in person till March 15th 2025. Piastri said after meeting L/n "We've talk prior to meeting, so it was nice to finally meet in person. She's lovely." With L/n's recent presence in China for the Chinese Grand Prix, people are starting to wonder if there's a couple in the making...
view all comments
user1 they're so cute! im here for it
user2 enews doesn't even know about their crushes on each other
->user3 i was fully expecting to see them mention that but was glad they didn't
->user4 truly don't know how i would react if there were articles written about my crush
user5 i've been rooting for them since she liked an edit of him on tiktok
user6 her with an athlete is scary but he seems chill
user7 not my favs being on the jumbotron wth
user8 i feel like ppl are going to say it's PR but i think they're dating honestly
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Liked by yourinstagram, alex_albon and 2,672,856 others
oscarpiastri First win of the year 🏆
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user1 wait is that y/n????
user2 LETS GOOOOOO
yourinstagram and to many more!!
->oscarpiastri 😉
->user3 okay they're cute i guess...
user4 Y/N MADE THE POST!!!!!
user5 mini goat 🐐
user6 keep on pushing oscar we love you!
user7 he knew to add that y/n pic iktr
user8 power couple omg?!
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Liked by user1, user2 and 45,758 others
deuxmoi While we do enjoy seeing young love, we can't help but wonder is it real... or is it PR?
Comment your thoughts below ⬇
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user1 it's not like they're two young attractive people dating they HAVE to be doing pr??? y'all are so bored, let them live
user2 no shade to oscar but there are much more famous guys she could've gotten with to "up" her image
->user3 LITERALLY
->user4 an actor would've made waves... like it's not about the perception
user5 they had crushes on each other and then started dating it's not rocket science
user6 no one likes you guys, please don't speak on the queen
user7 this is family business.. why are you here??
user8 they're happy.... why does it matter ?
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♬ The Cure ‧ Just like Heaven
Liked by yourinstagram, alex_albon and 4,842,584 others
oscarpiastri 💙🏝🌞
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user1 My parents omg
yourinstagram 🐢🌊🐠 Liked by oscarpiastri !
user2 she is a real life princess
user3 1st slide is my roman empire
user4 you two are adorbs
user5 does he know this is his instagram...? bro only posted 1 pic of his face 😭
->user6 because he knows we're here for y/n
->user5 fairs
user7 he knew to post her on main
user8 that picture being first is so iconic
user9 okay we need about 50 more pics of you 2 cuties
user10 ugh he matches her energy so well <333
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enews Y/n L/n teases new music in Vogue Interview!
"Everything that I've been writing has been written in this notebook and I feel like my last two albums are very angsty and heartbroken and just as a creative endeavor and also because I'm experiencing so much joy in my life, I've wanted to figure out how to like inject that into the songs that I'm making. And I'm really proud of it so far!”
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user1 we are about to get such a lover girl song
user2 she could never make a bad song... im so ready
user3 not related but her face card is so insane in that picture wow
user4 i just know she has a hit song on the way
user5 "y/n to grace us with new music" i can't wait
user6 oooo i need it NOWWW
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Liked by oscarpiastri, rachelzegler and 4,563,642 others
yourinstagram <3 !!!
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user1 oh mama is in loveeee
user2 posting her man on main wow
oscarpiastri = ❤♾ Liked by yourinstagram !
->user3 EXACTLYYYY
->user4 need them to get married
user5 it so SERIOUSSSS
user6 "I'm experiencing so much joy in my life" MY SHAYLAS
user7 holy hard launch
user8 and when u + me = <3 is a song title THEN WHAT????
user9 a WHOLE post dedicated to being in love... that love song is going to change my life
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yourinstagram drop dead is out now!!!! I was lucky enough to film the music video at the palace of Versailles a few months ago and I’m so stoked with how it turned out. I hope you guys love it as much as I do xoxo
more soon to come <3
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user1 Can’t stop listening!!!❤️
user2 obsessed is an understatement...
rachelzegler MY GIRLLLL Liked by yourinstagram !
user3 ALREADY LISTENED ATLEAST 100 times
user4 best song of all time
user5 might drop dead over this music video 😭
user6 literally changed my life
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Liked by yourinstagram, alex_albon and 3,842,584 others
oscarpiastri "drop dead (taken that eurostar to france)" music video filmed by me out now on y/n's youtube!
so proud of my girl ❤
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user1 HE FILMED IT????
yourinstagram thank you angel boy <3 Liked by oscarpiastri !
->user2 im so parasocial about them
->user3 OSCAR PLEASE TEACH ME YOUR WAYS
->user4 "angel boy" and "my girl" I LOVE THEMMMM
user5 this is so cute i can't
user6 OMGGGG THEY'RE SO ADORABLE
user7 she’s looking like an angel on the walls of versailles
user8 you can hear him say "perfect" at the VERY end of the video
->user9 I knew i heard something !!
->user10 very cute that she kept it in 🥺
user11 this is cooler than any race win lowkey
user12 the way the video is actually beautifully shot too, oscar you have a backup career in photography
user13 "my girl" someone hold me please i can’t take it
user14 PARENTSSS
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✎…… hope you all enjoyed as much i did!!! i adored making this fic <3
using the same profile picture for the tweets made finishing this go 99% faster... probably going to be doing that from now on 😭
The breeze is warm against your cheek as you face the open door leading towards the pool, the water peaceful and untouched.
Your towel hangs over the crook of your arm, soft to the touch.
The weather is perfect, warm enough to allow for the hope for a beautiful day and yet still cool enough to remind you that the sun has yet to reach its peak in the sky.
The sound of your footsteps against the tiles are barely noticeable in the soft breeze, as you waddle over to the edge of the pool.
Pulling your towel open and draping it across the floor, you free yourself from the confines of your linen shorts and shirt.
You adjust the bra of your swimsuit over your chest, slippers falling off your feet and landing next to your towel on the floor.
The water is chilly against your skin, goosebumps poking their heads out before your body adjusts to the temperature.
It takes a few steps before you’re fully submerged in the water, hair fanning out across the surface.
It’s quiet beneath the surface, more so than above it.
Your arms move into a familiar position, legs kicking softly in the water, swimming towards the edge of the pool.
When your fingers graze the glass separating the body of water from the edge of the cliff, your head resurfaces, droplets running down your lashes onto your lips and chin.
Your palms slide across your face, wiping the what water remains from your eyes and sliding into your hairline.
Before you, the beautiful mountains of Damian’s home stretch across the horizon, the tips still covered in snow, even in early June.
Your arms lay over the glass, chin resting on your damp skin as you try to imagine growing up here.
You know, from late night admissions and the soft murmurs of his past in early mornings that Damian’s life was full of scar-worthy training and heavy expectations.
The irony of the comparison between the heavenly views and the suffering he went through in this very home is not lost on you.
You imagine the sound of a much younger Damian’s feet, fat and slippery, slapping against these very same tiles, his mother’s soft laughter following him as his body meets the water. He told you once that this was his best memory, when he was too young to face his grandfather’s brutal expectations, when his full cheeks were a sign of health rather than lack of training.
Your heart breaks as you imagine the boy who once looked at these views and saw more than just beauty and tranquility, the boy whose childhood memories are haunted by the desperate need for approval his grandfather rarely gave.
You’re lost in thought so you don’t notice Damian’s quiet footsteps over the tiles, nor do you notice as he sheds his outer layers, stripping himself down to his shorts before sliding quietly into the water, as if being welcomed by his domain.
His hands are soft as they wrap around your waist but you cannot help flinching at the unexpected disturbance.
“Did I scare you?” His voice is deep and quiet, barely above a whisper, against your ear.
“Only a little.” You chuckle, turning your head back towards him to place a soft kiss against his cheek.
“I’m sorry, Beloved.” His lips shape around the words against your skin and you cannot help but think back to the boy who could barely bring himself to admit he was wrong, let alone apologise, all those years ago.
“You were gone when I woke up.”
“League business.” His head turns towards your neck, lips ghosting over the muscles of your throat.
“Anything serious?” You hum out, lost to the softness of his mouth.
“Nothing you need to worry about.” His nose nudges your jaw. “What were you thinking about just now?”
You smile softly, a quiet chuckle escaping your lips.
“You, fat and young, running around this house.”
His scoff holds no real heat, as his brows furrow, a look of mock offence taking over his lovely features.
“I was not fat.” His protest is weak, even to his own ears.
“I’ve seen those baby pictures, Dami, you looked like a big roll of dough.”
Now his offence seems genuine, an annoyed scowl taking over his face as you laugh at him.
“I still cannot believe you convinced my mother to show you those albums.”
“I didn’t have to do much convincing, my love, she was happy to offer all the blackmail material!”
Your laugh is delightful, blending with the quiet chirping of the birds.
“Your alliance against me is horror inspiring.” He laughs softly against your damp skin. “But I am glad she has taken a liking to you.” You hum and he carries on after a moment of silence. “Even if that means she keeps stealing your attention from me.”
Your smile is bright as you turn in his arms, your own wrapping around his neck.
“Don’t be jealous, even if it is a good colour on you.” You lean in, lips meeting his softly and he all but melts into your embrace, arms tightening around your back. “My attention is always on you.” You say between kisses, smiling again when his teeth roll your lower lip between them in appreciation.
“I am glad to know that.” He says, guiding your back against the glass as his hands wrap around your thighs, hoisting them against his waist. “I plan to make full use of it.”
Your laugh rings loudly as his head dips back where your neck meets your shoulder.
—
The french toast is soft and sweet, drizzled in honey, the fresh strawberry crunching beneath the pressure of your teeth as you chew happily.
Damian sits next to you, his plate decorated in blueberries and kiwi, the toast growing soggy the longer it remains untouched.
Damian’s nose is buried in a newspaper, the large pages crinkling slightly beneath his soft grip.
“Your breakfast is getting cold, my love.” You say, placing your hand over his, lowering one side of the newspaper.
His questioning gaze meets yours as you raise an eyebrow, eyes flickering down to his untouched plate, the very one he spent fifteen minutes perfecting.
Damian’s sigh is soft as he folds the magazine and places it on the table, his now free hand reaching for the tea set next to his bowl of yogurt.
“It’s cold.” He says, wincing at the now stale taste, placing the teacup back on the plate as you chuckle under your breath.
“I want to go into town today.” You say after a moment of silence.
Damian raises an eyebrow in your direction, mouth chewing softly on the bread.
“There’s a new book shop and I want to buy some new vinyls too.” He hums, nodding. “You can come with, if you’re free.”
Damian sighs softly, waiting until he’s swallowed, washing the toast down with a sip of your orange juice, before nodding again.
“Sure, Habibti. I can come.” Your smile is radiant, reaching for the jug to fill your cup again. “Do you also want to go into the market?”
You hum in approval.
“The apricots were delicious last time. I was thinking of making the jam again. I can bake the cake too if we pick up some flour on the way back.”
“Sounds like a plan.” His grin is soft as he leans towards you, placing his sticky lips against your cheek.
“Your lips are covered in honey.” You tease, pinching his cheek.
“You are imagining things.” He claims, grabbing your orange juice again.
“You know you can pour your own, yes?”
“Yours always tastes sweeter.” You chuckle, taking your cup out of his hold and placing it by your plate again.
The silence that follows is comfortable.
The sun shines into the room through the open doors, the curtains swaying softly in the breeze.
Moments like these are rare, with how hectic both of your lives are.
The bustling cities and unending expectations seem so far away now, tucked away from the world in your husband’s childhood home.
You smile to yourself, watching as Damian’s fork stabs lightly through the kiwi, cringing when the sour taste erupts in his mouth.
“I got a new yoga instructor.” You say, reaching for your juice.
“What was wrong with the last one?”
“I don’t know, but your mother suggested I get a new one.”
He sighs, fighting a smile.
“You know, you don’t have to take every advice she gives you, Beloved.”
“I know.” You protest weakly, watching his arm flex as he reaches for his chai. “Besides, apparently she’s going to open me all the way up, so I can finally get pregnant.”
Damian all but chokes on his drink, doubling over himself as he coughs up the liquid that is no doubt sliding down his wind pipe.
“What?” He rasps out, in between coughs.
“Yeah, your mother’s really hell-bent on me getting pregnant soon.” You say sweetly, running soothing circles over his back.
You try your best not to burst out laughing when he turns his bewildered expression back to you.
“We are not even twenty-six, yet. What does she want?” His tone is so alarmed you can’t help the giggle that escapes you.
“Grandchildren.” You laugh at his horrified expression again. “She’s not the only one.” He looks at you, confused. “Bruce brought it up the last time we were over for dinner.”
“For God’s sake.” He mutters, rolling his eyes.
“I’m not getting any younger, I’d like to bounce a grandchild or two on my knee.” You deepen your voice, trying to sound like your father-in-law.
Damian flushes a scarlet so deep it’s visible even under his heavy tan.
“He’s not even that old.” He grumbles and you can see him try to physically slap his blush away, hand falling softly on the back of his neck.
“He seems to disagree.” You chuckle, popping another strawberry in your mouth, trying to ignore Damian’s stare.
He opens his mouth, looking for something to say, but you beat him to it.
“Not yet, Dami.” Your eyes slide over to his face, meeting his gaze. “But soon.”
You try not to laugh as he fights the smile stretching across his full lips, lips that are on you before you can even register that he’s moved from his seat.
“Soon, then.” His voice is so so soft, you try not to melt under his loving gaze, emerald eyes tracing the soft curve of your cheek.
—
The summer sun is hot, even in your thin clothing, but the heaviness of Damian’s hand in yours is comforting, as he carries the books and records you kept handing to him until they almost dropped from his grip, in his other hand.
The umbrellas over the vendor stands do little to ease the scorching sun, but you don’t complain.
When you spot the familiar stall, you pull Damian with you as you make a beeline for it.
The man stood over the fruit with an iced bottle of water you’d kill for, smiles as he recognises your faces.
Your hand slips from Damian’s as you grab the plastic bag hanging from the nail hammered on one of the fruit boxes.
The apricots are ripe under your touch, their gooey softness mashing against one another as they fall into the pink plastic bag.
You hear Damian converse with the vendor as you move from apricots to strawberries to kiwis to big pink tomatoes that always remind you of home.
Moving from one end of the stall to the other, you spot a box of watermelons sitting a little lower than the rest of the fruit.
The skin of it is smooth under your palm as you gently hit the watermelon, checking for the sound.
Damian appears behind your back, repeating your motion until the two of you find one you both like.
Damian grabs another plastic bag, this one bigger than all the rest, waiting for the vendor to weigh your watermelon.
You hand the older man a canary melon to weigh when he slips the watermelon into the awaiting bag.
Before you know it, the two of you are making your way back to the car, while you munch on an unpeeled cucumber to help cool you down.
Your head is hot under your cap when you finally take it off.
Your hand reaches for the AC when Damian starts the engine and the cool air is a welcome relief from the stifling heat outside.
“Did we get everything we needed, Beloved?” Damian looks over at your nodding head before turning the gear and starting to drive.
“It gets so hot here.” You say, slipping your sunglasses off your face.
“Still not used to it after all these years?” He teases, hand resting on your thigh.
“I’m not sure I could ever get used to this heat.” Your hand rests atop his, fingers drawing soft circles on his scarred knuckles.
“We should go to the beach tomorrow.” Damian says, turning at the roundabout.
You smile, imagining the sound of the waves splashing against the sand and the smell of the salt in the air.
“Sounds like a plan.” Your voice is almost a whisper, as your free hand reaches for the radio, the familiar tunes filling the car.
-
The drive up to the house is quiet, safe for the music at a low volume.
Damian looks over at your figure and smiles when he sees you dozing off, head resting against the window.
His hand is still on your thigh and your hand is still on his, where you were playing with his fingers before falling asleep.
When he drives past the gates and shifts the car into Park, Damian’s thumb traces over the soft skin of your thigh before slipping carefully from under your grip.
Damian carries the produce, along with your books and vinyls, into the house, which is quiet besides the soft breeze created by the open windows and the front door.
He slips back into his seat, moving your sleeping head away from the window, resting it against the headrest, unclicking your seatbelt.
When he reaches for you from the now open door of your side, your head falls against his chest, eyes blinking open lazily as he picks you up and closes the car door behind him with the kick of his foot.
“Thanks.” You mumble into his chest and you can feel the low chuckle against your cheek from deep within him.
You settle into him, expecting a long walk up to your room when he places you down softly against the sofa.
Your eyes flutter open and you see Damian reaching for the new vinyls, picking the cover he most fondly remembers from his childhood and placing it under the needle of the turntable.
A soft voice fills the sunroom, the flowers above you saving you from the hot light of the sun.
When you turn your attention back to him, Damian is walking out of the room, only to walk back in soon after with two plates a bowl of washed fruit.
The china is placed on the low wood table and Damian slips under your legs, placing them on his lap before he starts peeling the peaches and the apples that glisten red under the sunlight.
You watch him with half-lidded eyes, waiting for him as he cuts the fruit into the thin slices that remind you of your mother’s sweet kiss against your cheek in the summer.
When he’s done, he taps your leg, motioning you to sit up.
You sink into his side when you do and he hands you a plate of fruit.
“Eat the apple first.” He commands softly, placing a kiss against your hairline.
The apple crunches under your teeth and decide that you’d rather eat the peaches.
The sticky juice of it runs down your chin and Damian wipes it away with his thumb, bringing it to his lips to lick away the moisture.
“It’s sweet.” He comments and you nod, sinking into him further.
He chuckles quietly and takes the plate from your hand, wrapping his arm around your shoulders as he feeds you a slice.
And all you can do is look up at him with stars in your eyes and imagine this house, filled with so many happy memories that have overridden the bad ones, full of childish laughter and wonder.
And you think his parents may be right, maybe it is time to bring a new addition to the family.
AHHHH I WANNA SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH HIM FEEDING ME PEELED PEACHES 💔💔💔
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
You filming a tiktok suddenly gets you famous, for all the wrong reasons.
genre: fluff
pairing: f!reader x (secret)bf!charles
warnings: -
word count: 1k
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
You have been dating charles secretly for quite some time now, 7 months to be exact. You haven't been to any of his races due to your busy schedule, so it was even easier for you to stay hidden. You privated your instagram immediately after you got together, and to your surprise fans didn't notice him suddenly following a random instagram account with only 300 followers.
However, your tiktok stayed public, as you haven't really got any views and you barely recorded videos anyway. You wanted to stay unknown as you weren't ready for all the media and all the people to swarm you, to hate on you, to be obsessed with you, it was just too much.
Today was one day where you actually decided to post, hitting the record button with you showing off your new beautiful dress and outfit after a night out, spinning around in it. However, there was one little twist. You recorded it in the bedroom while Charles was getting ready for bed in the back, his torso and slightly messy brown hair visible in the corner of the video.
You didn't notice it at all, and hit post, not checking the video twice to see if there was anything wrong with it. And damn, that was your biggest mistake in a while.
"You ready to sleep amour?" Charles asked as he tucked himself in bed, waiting for you with open arms.
"Yeah just a sec!" You said as you quickly got unready, switching into your comfy PJs and jumping next to him in bed, putting your phone on silent.
"Goodnight baby" he said as he kissed your forehead, hugging you while drifting off to sleep.
"Goodnight Charles" you said with a sleepy smile, and closed your eyes.
-
The morning sun shined through the big curtains and you slowly opened your eyes. Charles was still asleep, his hair messy, mouth slightly open, damn he was gorgeous. It was quite the sight to wake up to everytime you slept together.
You picked up your phone, looking at the time. You knew you couldn't fall asleep back, so you swiped up, as you slowly opened your mouth in shock.
"99+ notifications from tiktok"
What could have possibly happened? Your first tought was that maybe your video has just gone viral, which was not exactly bad, but you never really got more than 50 likes, so it was still unusual.
As you decided to click on the notification, your heart dropped to your chest, your phone opening up the comments of the video immediately.
user 1: who is that in the back? doesn't that look like leclerc?
user 2: you're gorgeous wow
user 3: yall call me crazy but that guys torso in the back looks awfully a lot like charles's
user 4: guys stop speculating things you can't even see the guys face
⤷user 5: yeah but his hair looks EXACTLY like leclercs its so weird
user 6: oh so thats why he didn't answer anything about his relationships to media okay!
You panicked, seeing your tiktok DM's flooding already with questions, and your instagram requests suddenly being packed aswell, not staying so anonymous as Charles was following you here.
As if on cue, your phone just buzzed, your best friend sending you a picture. Terrified, you still decided to open it, as your panic just grew more:
You didn't know what to do, like seriously. Should you just delete the video and act like nothing happened? But that's impossible now, a lot of people saw it. Should you just delete yourself from everywhere? That would just raise more suspicion.
As much as you didn't want to, you kept checking the comments everywhere, the hate ones getting to you the most:
user1: she wants that BAGGG
user2: She aint allat
user3: Charles can do better ngl
user4: watch her leave when she gets famous enough
As you kept anxiously reading, you heard a sleepy Charles's voice:
"Good morning beautiful, you okay?"
He could sense that something was off, by your shaky hands and glossy eyes checking your phone, not even daring to look at him.
He leaned over and he read some of the comments along with you, his hands immediately taking your phone away, inspecting it.
"How the hell-"
"I messed up Charles" you said as you buried your face in your hands, sobbing. "You were slightly visible in the video I posted yesterday and it went viral, they figured it out and-"
"Shh"
He said as he put his arms around you, pulling you in a comforting hug.
"So what? Atleast you don't have to hide now"
"But you know I don't like having all this attention on me" you said, completely dumbfounded in what you should do next.
He pulled away from the hug as he cupped your cheek in his hands, and slowly kissed you, easing all the tension that built up in you.
"You know what you should do baby? Just ignore them. Act like nothing happened, that will annoy them the most. And when you feel ready, we can tell them."
It actually sounded like the most logical thing to do, as you really wanted to go to his home race to support him in a few days.
"But now they will be all around me in the Monaco GP won't they?"
"I'll send all the media away, just tell me what you wan't me to do mon amour, I'll do it immediately" he said as he started rubbing small circles on your back, still trying to comfort you as much as he can.
"And if any pictures get out, atleast they will know you're mine now" he smiled as he pulled you in tight hug again.
And just like that, you calmed down in his arms, suddenly feeling like it's not even a big deal after all.
"Maybe that was the universe's sign to tell everyone else" you said as you smiled, for the first time this morning.
"Je t'aime" he said as he wiped your tears away, you melting in his touch, and cuddling for a few more hours in the bed.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
Small. Stupid. Jason shutting down the second things got too real.
You’d asked him - gently - why he’d disappeared for three days after a rough patrol. No text. No call. Just radio silence while you sat in your apartment worrying yourself sick.
“I was handling it,” he’d said, voice flat, arms crossed like he was bracing for impact. “You don’t need to know every detail of my shit.”
“I’m not asking for every detail,” you’d replied, trying to keep your voice steady. “I’m asking you to let me in. I’m your girlfriend, Jason. Not some civilian you have to protect from the truth.”
He’d laughed - short, bitter. “Yeah? Well maybe I don’t want you in. Maybe I don’t want you seeing the parts of me that are still fucked up from the grave.”
The words had landed like punches. You’d stood there, chest tight, and said the thing you’d been thinking for weeks.
“Maybe we need a break.”
Not a breakup.
A break.
Time. Space. Air.
Jason had gone very still. “What?”
“Just… a break,” you’d said, voice cracking. “Not forever. I just need to breathe, Jason. And you need to figure out if you even want me in your life or if I’m just another person you’re protecting from yourself.”
He hadn’t argued. Hadn’t fought. He’d just nodded once, jaw tight, and left.
That was nine days ago.
Jason Todd had never been good at feelings.
He’d spent years building walls so high no one could climb them. Death had only made them taller. But you - quiet, patient, stubborn you - had somehow slipped through the cracks anyway.
Now those cracks felt like canyons.
He’d spent the first few days throwing himself into work. Patrols. Warehouse raids. Anything to keep his hands busy and his mind quiet. But every night he came home to an empty apartment and the silence screamed louder than any gunshot.
Then he saw you.
It was at a small café near the university. You were sitting outside with a guy — some tall, friendly-looking idiot with glasses and a soft smile. He said something that made you laugh, head tilted back, eyes bright the way they used to be with him.
Jason’s stomach dropped.
He told himself it was nothing. Just a friend. You were allowed to have friends. But the image stuck - you smiling at someone else while he was falling apart.
That night he did something he’d sworn he’d never do.
He drank.
Not a beer. Not a glass of whiskey.
A bottle. Then another.
The alcohol burned going down, but it didn’t quiet the noise in his head. It only made it louder. By 2am he was drunk for the first time in his life, sitting on the floor of his apartment with his phone in his hand, thumb hovering over your name.
He pressed call.
You answered on the third ring, voice sleepy. “Jason?”
“You’re out there smiling at other guys,” he slurred, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. “While I’m sitting here like a fucking idiot thinking about you every second. You said a break. Not a breakup. But it feels like you’re already moving on. Like I was just a phase. Like-“
“Jason,” you cut in, sounding more awake now. “Are you drunk?”
He laughed — ugly and raw. “Yeah. First time in ages. Congratulations. You made the emotionally constipated zombie drink. Happy now?”
There was a pause. Then your voice, sharper. “Stop it. You’re spiraling. Come over. We need to talk.”
“No,” he snapped, but his voice cracked. “You wanted space. You got it. Go smile at your new friend. I’m sure he’s nicer. Doesn’t have blood on his hands. Doesn’t wake up screaming—”
“Jason Todd,” you said, voice firm but gentle, the way you always got when he was like this. “Stop. You’re breaking my heart right now. I’m coming over. Do not hang up.”
He didn’t.
He sat on the floor, phone pressed to his ear, listening to you move around your apartment, the sound of keys, the door closing. Twenty minutes later there was a knock.
He opened it.
You stood there in sweatpants and one of his old hoodies, hair messy, eyes wide with worry. The second you saw him - red-eyed, swaying slightly, looking smaller than you’d ever seen him - your face crumpled.
“Oh, Jay…”
He broke.
The tears came fast and ugly, shoulders shaking as he tried to hold them back. “I’m sorry,” he choked out. “I’m so fucking sorry. I thought… I thought you were done. I saw you with that guy and I just… I panicked. I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be someone worth staying for.”
You stepped inside, closing the door behind you, and pulled him into your arms. He collapsed against you, burying his face in your neck, arms wrapping around your waist like you might disappear.
“I’m not done,” you whispered, holding him tight. “It was a break, Jason. Not a breakup. I needed space because I was scared too. Scared that you’d keep shutting me out until there was nothing left of us. But I never stopped loving you. Not for a second.”
He cried harder, the kind of raw, broken sound that tore at your chest. You guided him to the couch, pulling him down so his head rested in your lap. Your fingers stroked through his hair, slow and soothing, the way you knew he liked.
“I love you,” you said quietly. “The angry parts. The scared parts. The parts that think they’re too broken to be loved. All of them. You’re not too much. You’re not too damaged. You’re mine. And I’m yours. Okay?”
He nodded against your thigh, fingers clutching the hem of your hoodie. “Okay,” he whispered, voice hoarse. “I’m sorry I got drunk. I’m sorry I said those things. I was just… scared. I saw you smiling and I thought I’d lost you for good.”
“You haven’t,” you assured him, leaning down to kiss his temple. “I’m right here. And I’m staying. We’ll figure out the rest. Together.”
Jason stayed curled in your lap for a long time, breathing gradually evening out as your fingers continued their slow path through his hair. Every so often he’d press a kiss to your thigh or your wrist, like he needed the constant reminder you were real.
“I love you,” he said again, softer this time. “More than I know how to say. I’ll try to be better. Less… constipated.”
You laughed quietly, the sound warm. “I love you too. Even when you’re emotionally constipated. Especially then.”
He shifted, pulling you down so you were lying beside him on the couch, your head on his chest. His arms wrapped around you, holding you like you were the only safe thing left in the world.
The city hummed far below. The argument, the fear, the drunk call — all of it faded into the background as Jason held you close, his heartbeat steady under your ear.
“I’m keeping you,” he whispered into your hair. “For as long as you’ll let me.”
You smiled, pressing a kiss to his chest. “Good. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
In the quiet dark of the apartment, Jason Todd — the man who came back from the dead, the one who built walls so high no one could climb them — finally let someone in.
And you?
You stayed.
Because loving Jason Todd had never been easy.
But it had always been worth it.
a/n : this is a newer request I got but I’m working on older ones sorry! (Reqs open <3) @moviecritc bc u wanted to be tagged babe 🌷 ac as usual : @/ciricearts
Pairing: Max Verstappen x Charlotte Fischer (Original Character)
Summary: Charlotte Fischer has spent years making sure no one in Formula One knows who she really is.
At Red Bull, she is simply Charlotte: Cambridge graduate, simulator engineer, owner of a deeply judgmental cat, and the woman responsible for making the team’s broken 2025 car model finally tell the truth.
She prefers it that way. No family name. No questions. No one looking at her like she is someone’s daughter, someone’s mistake, or someone’s failure to protect.
Max Verstappen notices her anyway.
Warnings and Notes: I wrote fanfiction of my own fanfiction. This is the result.
As always big thanks to @llirawolf , who listens to me ramble.
Winning Imola felt good.
It always did — the track, the flow, the way a lap could come together there like a sentence that finally made sense. The car had still been difficult, still on the edge of uncooperative, but he’d dragged it where it needed to go and stood on the top step anyway.
Applause. Champagne. Noise.
By the time Max made it back to the factory a few days later, the win had already settled into something quieter — pride instead of adrenaline. He expected congratulations. Handshakes. Smiles.
What he hadn’t expected was how clearly, immediately, he knew where he was going.
Charlotte’s desk sat where it always did: half-buried in screens, notes taped at precise angles, a mug that had definitely gone cold hours ago. She was leaning forward slightly, chin tucked, eyes fixed on a replay loop from the simulator, fingers tapping lightly against the desk as she thought.
Max stopped a few steps away, watching her for a moment.
Still pretty. Still focused. Still not looking at him.
He cleared his throat.
She glanced up. Recognition flickered — quick, contained.
“Hey,” she said.
Just that.
No excitement. No smile. No Imola! hanging in the air between them.
He waited.
Nothing happened.
“Well,” Max said finally, tilting his head, “we won.”
Charlotte nodded once. “Yes. Congratulations.”
That was it.
No follow-up questions. No gushing. No visible awe. She turned back to the screen, already rewinding a segment of the run.
Max frowned slightly. “…You saw the race?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And the mid-corner balance looked improved,” she said, still watching the data. “The correlation update helped.”
He blinked. “That’s—” He stopped himself, then tried again. “That’s all?”
Charlotte looked back at him properly this time, dark eyes assessing, not unkind — just curious. “Did you want something else?”
Max stared at her.
People usually did something when he won. Even people who tried very hard not to care still leaked enthusiasm at the edges. Pride. Excitement. Relief.
Charlotte just… processed it.
He shifted his weight, suddenly aware that this wasn’t going the way he’d pictured.
“I thought,” he said slowly, “you might be… impressed.”
She considered that. “I’m glad the work helped,” she said eventually. “But you’ve won races before.”
It wasn’t dismissive. It wasn’t rude. It was factual.
Max felt something unfamiliar flicker in his chest — not annoyance, not quite — more like disorientation. “…Right,” he said.
She tilted her head slightly, studying him now. “Is everything okay?”
He huffed out a small laugh despite himself. “Yeah. Just—”
He stopped. Tried to find the words.
Normally, this part was easy.
Normally, the women he was interested in reacted. There was a rhythm to it — admiration first, curiosity second, the unspoken understanding that this was impressive and he was part of it.
Charlotte wasn’t playing that game.
She wasn’t unimpressed.
She just wasn’t impressed by that.
“I just wanted to say hi,” he said finally.
She nodded. “Hi.”
Then, as if remembering something, she added, “Good drive.”
Two words. Earned. Clean.
Max felt more validated by that than he wanted to admit.
She turned back to her work, conversation clearly concluded.
Max stood there for a second longer than necessary, then walked away, hands in his pockets, brain spinning.
That had not gone according to plan.
At all.
He’d come expecting to dazzle her.
Instead, he’d been treated like a variable that performed as expected.
And for the first time in a long while, Max Verstappen found himself genuinely, deeply dumbfounded.
Which was… annoying.
And, inconveniently—
Kind of thrilling.
***
GP did not look surprised.
Which, frankly, offended Max a little.
They were walking down the corridor toward the sim wing, Max still buzzing with post-win energy that had nowhere to go, irritation prickling under his skin like static. He’d tried to ignore it. Failed. Badly.
“So,” Max said finally, unable to help himself, “I went to see Charlotte.”
GP hummed. Noncommittal. Dangerous. “And?” he asked.
Max stopped walking and turned on him. “She didn’t care.”
GP blinked. “About what.”
“About Imola,” Max said, exasperated. “About the win. About—” He gestured vaguely at himself. “Any of it.”
GP sipped his coffee. Took his time.
“She said congratulations,” Max added quickly. “But like. Professionally.”
GP stared at him for a long moment. Then: “Mate.”
Max folded his arms. “Don’t.”
“You have it bad.”
Max scoffed. “I do not.”
“You came to find me specifically to complain about a woman not being impressed by you winning a Grand Prix,” GP said evenly. “That’s not subtle.”
Max opened his mouth to argue. Closed it. “…She just went straight back to her screen,” he muttered. “Like I was a meeting reminder.”
GP nodded. “Sounds like Charlotte.”
Max frowned. “You know her?”
GP shrugged. “Some. Hannah does more. They’re friends through one of the other sim engineers.”
Max perked up despite himself. “They’re friends?”
“Yes,” GP said. “They talk. Coffee. Normal human things.”
Max exhaled. “Of course they do.”
GP gave him a sideways look. “You’re spiralling.”
“I am not spiralling.”
“You are,” GP said calmly, “standing in a hallway, emotionally compromised by a woman who complimented your driving efficiency instead of your ego.”
Max grimaced. “When you say it like that, it sounds —”
“It sounds accurate,” GP finished.
They resumed walking.
GP took another sip of coffee, then added casually, “Also, you need to recalibrate your expectations.”
Max shot him a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
GP didn’t hesitate. “Charlotte has a Cambridge degree,” he said. “She’s been buried in sim models since she was about twenty-two. She’s not a wannabe model, influencer, or someone impressed by trophies.”
Max bristled. “I don’t only go for—”
GP raised an eyebrow.
Max sighed. “…Usually.”
“Exactly,” GP said. “She doesn’t orbit your world. She has her own. And she’s not going to perform admiration on command.”
Max stared ahead, jaw tight.
“That doesn’t mean she doesn’t care,” GP added. “It means you’re going to have to try something you’re not very good at.”
Max groaned. “What.”
“Being interesting without winning something,” GP said.
“That’s harsh.”
They walked in silence for a moment.
“…She said the car looked better,” Max muttered. “Said the correlation update helped. That it was a ‘Good Drive’.”
GP smiled faintly. “High praise. From her.”
Max glanced at him. “You think?”
“I know,” GP said. “If Charlotte Fischer tells you ‘good drive’ and means it, that’s about as close as you’ll get to a standing ovation.”
Max absorbed that slowly. Then, quieter: “I didn’t know what to do.”
Aero_Matt:rumour check
did max actually go to charlotte after imola expecting her to be impressed
Sim_Ruby:yes
Aero_Matt:oh my god
Garage_Pete:how bad was it
Sim_Ruby:she said congratulations and then went back to the model
Strategy_Leah:iconic
Composite_Tom:brutal
Powertrains_Nina:efficient
Garage_Pete:did she at least smile
Sim_Ruby:no
Aero_Matt:MAX VERSTAPPEN WON IMOLA AND GOT A CALENDAR NOTIFICATION RESPONSE
Comms_Jess:wait is charlotte even single
Aero_Matt:do we know literally anything about charlotte
Sim_Ruby:she has a cat
Garage_Pete:called tilly
Powertrains_Nina:tilly wears hats
Composite_Tom:crochet hats
Strategy_Leah:seasonal crochet hats
Comms_Jess:okay so we know cat lore
do we know boyfriend lore
Sim_Ruby:no boyfriend has ever been mentioned
Aero_Matt:has ANY personal human ever been mentioned
Powertrains_Nina:hannah?
Garage_Pete:hannah is not charlotte’s boyfriend
Strategy_Hannah:Thank you for clarifying.
Comms_Jess:no but seriously
she’s pretty, terrifyingly smart, has an expensive accent, went to cambridge, and max is acting like a teenage boy
someone should know if she’s single
Composite_Tom:“expensive accent” is so real
Aero_Matt:she says “can’t” like there’s inheritance involved
Sim_Ruby:she was born in austria though
Comms_Jess:SHE WAS WHAT
Garage_Pete:welcome to charlotte lore part 2
Strategy_Leah:austrian but sounds like she was educated by the bbc
Powertrains_Nina:because she was
Aero_Matt:boarding school apparently
Comms_Jess:how do we know all this and still not know if she has a boyfriend
Sim_Ruby:to be fair charlotte doesn’t talk about herself
Composite_Tom:she once answered “did you have a good weekend?” with “it was operationally sufficient”
Garage_Pete:that’s romantic actually
Comms_Jess:max would probably propose if she said that to him
Engineering_GP:Do not give him ideas.
Aero_Matt:GP CONFIRMED MAX HAS IDEAS
Engineering_GP:I confirmed nothing.
Strategy_Hannah:You confirmed it by appearing.
Engineering_GP:I regret teaching any of you how to use Slack.
Comms_Jess:okay facts we know about Charlotte Fischer:
Austrian
Cambridge
sim engineer wizard
posh accent
cat named Tilly
crochets cat hats
immune to Max Verstappen Grand Prix victory flirting
possibly single
mysterious family situation??
Aero_Matt:what family situation
Sim_Ruby:her mother died, I think
Comms_Jess:oh
Powertrains_Nina:yeah. she doesn’t talk about it much.
Garage_Pete:does she have family here?
Sim_Ruby:not really, I don’t think
Composite_Tom:I’ve never heard her mention anyone
Strategy_Leah:she has Tilly
Strategy_Hannah:And before anyone gets weird: that is enough information.
Comms_Jess:understood
Aero_Matt:respecting boundaries in the gossip channel
growth
Garage_Pete:wait wasn’t there also the cancer thing
Comms_Jess:the what
Sim_Ruby:Pete.
Garage_Pete:sorry
Strategy_Hannah:Careful.
Garage_Pete:no I mean not gossip way
just like
That why everyone is protective of her, right?
Powertrains_Nina:yes. partly.
Composite_Tom:she had a brain tumour a few years ago. she’s okay now.
Comms_Jess:oh my god
Strategy_Leah:she gets migraines sometimes. we cover when she’s out.
Comms_Jess:okay suddenly max having a crush is less funny and more like
oh no he is going to be extremely sincere about this
Engineering_GP:Unfortunately, yes.
Aero_Matt:does max know about the cancer?
Strategy_Hannah:Not from this channel.
Sim_Ruby:good point
Garage_Pete:if max finds out he’s going to hover
Strategy_Leah:he already hovers
Composite_Tom:he does emotional hovering
Comms_Jess:what does emotional hovering look like
Sim_Ruby:asking whether the low-speed model has been updated when what he means is “is Charlotte here today”
Aero_Matt:walking past the sim wing three times
Powertrains_Nina:bringing coffee and pretending it was extra
Garage_Pete:liking Tilly’s strawberry bonnet at 01:13
Comms_Jess:HE DID WHAT
Strategy_Hannah:Please stop monitoring the man’s likes.
Aero_Matt:he followed a 39-follower cat account
that’s public behaviour
Comms_Jess:back to the important bit
how did max take charlotte not being impressed by imola
Engineering_GP:Badly.
Aero_Matt:details
Engineering_GP:No.
Strategy_Hannah:He complained that she “didn’t care.”
Composite_Tom:HAHAHAHA
Garage_Pete:world champion defeated by woman saying “expected performance”
Strategy_Leah:to be fair she did say good drive
Sim_Ruby:that is basically a standing ovation from Charlotte
Powertrains_Nina:that is Charlotte throwing underwear on stage
Strategy_Hannah:Nina.
Powertrains_Nina:sorry
Aero_Matt:did GP give him advice
Engineering_GP:I told him to be interesting without winning something.
Comms_Jess:that is the meanest and most useful advice I’ve ever heard
Garage_Pete:did he survive it
Engineering_GP:Barely.
Sim_Ruby:max has never had to flirt uphill before
Composite_Tom:flirt uphill 😭
Strategy_Leah:Charlotte is basically Eau Rouge emotionally
Strategy_Hannah:Difficult, fast, and punishes arrogance?
Engineering_GP:Accurate.
Sim_Ruby:I am gonna go and find out if Charlotte has a boyfriend.
***
It happened over coffee.
It always did.
There was something about the Red Bull sim wing before ten in the morning that made people forget themselves. Maybe it was the bad coffee. Maybe it was the hours. Maybe it was the false intimacy of standing around half-awake with mugs in hand, pretending they were not all about to spend the day arguing with data that had the emotional temperament of a spoilt racehorse.
Charlotte had been halfway through explaining a small but irritating inconsistency in a tyre degradation model when one of the younger engineers, Ruby, — bright, well-meaning, and entirely too invested in the romantic prospects of everyone around them — looked at her over the rim of her mug.
“You know,” Ruby said, far too casually, “my friend is single.”
Charlotte paused. Only for a second. “No,” she said.
Ruby blinked. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“You were going to tell me he works in aero,” Charlotte replied, turning back toward the screen. “Possibly that he is tall. Probably that he is normal, which is never as reassuring as people think it is.”
A beat.
Ruby’s mouth fell open. “How did you—”
“You have tried this twice before.”
“I have not.”
“You have. Once with the gearbox analyst. Once with the composite materials guy who owned a bearded dragon.”
“He was lovely.”
“He brought the bearded dragon to a first date.”
“That shows commitment.”
“That shows poor judgment.”
Someone at the next desk laughed into their coffee.
Ruby, undeterred, leaned against the edge of Charlotte’s workstation. “Okay, but this one is different.”
“They never are.”
“He’s nice.”
“I’m sure.”
“Tall.”
“As predicted.”
“Works in aero.”
“Tragic.”
“And he’s normal.”
Charlotte looked at her then.
Ruby winced. “Okay, I hear it now.”
“Good.”
“Oh, come on,” Ruby said, laughing. “It’s just coffee. No pressure. You might like him.”
Charlotte’s face settled automatically into something pleasant and final.
“No, thank you.”
The words came easily.
Too easily.
They always had.
Ruby held her gaze for a moment, looking for a crack in the answer, some hidden hesitation she could widen into a yes. Charlotte gave her nothing.
Eventually, Ruby shrugged. “Fine. Your loss.”
“Statistically unlikely.”
That earned another laugh, and the conversation drifted back toward the model, toward tyre behaviour and track evolution and the clean relief of problems that did not ask to be loved.
Charlotte appreciated that.
She appreciated people who knew when to stop.
Still, the thought followed her after Ruby left.
It sat beside her through the next simulation review, quiet and unwelcome. It lingered when she corrected an input error, when she sent an update to Hannah, when she stood by the coffee machine later and realised she had forgotten to drink the first cup entirely.
Dating required openness.
Not the fashionable kind of vulnerability people discussed in seminars, all neat language and tidy conclusions. Not the sort of thing that could be packaged into a sentence about communication styles.
Real openness.
The kind that meant letting someone close enough to see the places where you had learned not to expect much.
Charlotte did not have that in her anymore.
Or maybe she had once, and it had been worn away so gradually she had not noticed until it was gone. Either way, she had lost the ability to trust gently a very, very long time ago.
She had never had a boyfriend.
Not in school, where safety had felt temporary and affection like something that could be revoked without warning. She had been too busy learning which version of herself took up the least space.
Not at Cambridge, where she had worked until her eyes burned and her hands cramped, pouring herself into problem sets, libraries, lectures, late-night calculations, anything that could be solved by discipline. People had flirted. Some had even been kind about it. She had deflected them all with essays and deadlines and the cold, efficient belief that competence was a better investment than connection.
There had always been something more important.
Then there had been the cancer.
That had settled the matter in a very definitive way.
Charlotte still remembered the room where the doctor told her.
Sterile walls. Too-bright lights.
A poster about neurological symptoms curling slightly at one corner. The careful, gentle cadence of a specialist explaining timelines and treatment options and probabilities as if kindness could soften the shape of the words.
Tumour.
Surgery.
Radiation.
Chemotherapy.
Monitoring.
Support.
They had said that word several times.
Support.
As if it were a thing a person could simply decide to have.
Charlotte had sat with her hands folded in her lap, listening carefully, asking precise questions, nodding in the appropriate places. And somewhere beneath the clinical calm, a thought had arrived with perfect clarity.
This is not something you ask someone to share.
Nobody should be burdened with that.
The fear. The uncertainty. The possibility that she might disappear halfway through someone loving her.
She had survived, yes.
But survival had come with a cost.
It had taught her to carry her own weight and then some. To plan for the worst and apologise for nothing. To assume that if life dropped something unbearable into her hands, it was still her responsibility to hold it.
Opening herself up enough to let someone in would mean explaining too much.
Her mother.
Her father.
The house where she had learned to be silent.
The years no one had come for her.
The scars, visible and otherwise.
Charlotte no longer knew how to do that without flinching.
So she didn’t.
It was easier that way.
Cleaner.
By the time Charlotte got home that evening, the migraine had settled in properly.
Not the sharp kind. Not the kind that made her vision blur at the edges and forced her immediately into darkness.
This was duller. Heavier. A pressure wrapped around her skull like a hand tightening very slowly, making the world feel faintly misaligned, as though everything was half a second behind where it ought to be.
She unlocked the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind her.
For a moment, she stayed there.
Bag dropped at her feet.
Forehead pressed against the cool wood.
Breathing.
In.
Out.
Again.
It was not panic.
It never was anymore.
But migraines still carried echoes.
Pressure behind the eye. Light sensitivity. The low, traitorous whisper at the back of her mind: you have felt this before.
Charlotte closed her eyes.
“I know,” she murmured, to no one in particular. “I know.”
A soft, questioning noise answered from the hallway.
Charlotte opened her eyes and looked down.
Tilly sat on the floor, tail curled neatly around her paws, a round orange face tilted up in stern disapproval. She looked profoundly unimpressed by human frailty.
“You’re right,” Charlotte said quietly. “I’m late.”
Tilly blinked.
Judgment, but with affection.
Probably.
Charlotte kicked off her shoes and padded into the living room, switching off the overhead light before it could worsen the pressure behind her eyes. She left only the small lamp on near the sofa, its glow low and amber.
Muscle memory.
Survival habits never quite left. They only softened around the edges until they looked like preferences.
Tilly followed at her heels.
Charlotte sank onto the couch carefully, one hand pressed against her temple. The migraine pulsed, insistent but contained.
Unpleasant.
Not alarming.
She repeated that to herself automatically.
Unpleasant. Not alarming.
Still, every migraine carried the echo of hospital lights. Of MRI machines humming too close to her skull. Of doctors speaking gently in that terrible voice people used when they were about to change your life.
It’s probably nothing, they had said at first.
It had not been nothing.
Tilly jumped up beside her without waiting for an invitation, circled once, then climbed into Charlotte’s lap with the deliberate gravity of a creature who considered herself medically essential.
Charlotte exhaled.
“There you are,” she whispered.
Tilly tucked herself against Charlotte’s stomach, purring almost immediately.
Charlotte let her head fall back against the couch.
“Cancer cat,” she murmured, resting one hand on Tilly’s warm back.
Tilly flicked an ear.
Charlotte had gotten Tilly on a Tuesday.
Charlotte remembered that with unreasonable clarity.
The shelter had smelled of disinfectant, old blankets, and damp fur. Charlotte had still been wearing the blouse she wore to the appointment. She remembered that too. White. Stupid choice. Too formal for a diagnosis, too ordinary for the fact that her life had just split neatly into before and after.
The doctor’s voice had still been in her head.
We caught it early.
The prognosis is good.
You’ll need support.
She had not called her father.
She had not called anyone.
Instead, she had gone to the shelter on the way home, because some part of her had known before the rest of her caught up that she could not return to an empty flat with a brain tumour and nothing alive waiting for her.
Tilly had been in the last cage.
Quiet. Watchful. Recently surrendered.
Not performing charm. Not pawing at the bars. Not begging to be chosen.
Just sitting there, looking at Charlotte with an expression that seemed to say, Well?
Charlotte had crouched in front of the cage.
Tilly had stared back.
And Charlotte had thought, with startling, absurd clarity: If I die, this cat will not understand why I left.
So she had stayed.
Through surgery.
Through radiation.
Through the long, ugly recovery no one put in pamphlets properly — the fatigue, the dizziness, the fear disguised as medical vigilance, the slow crawl back into a body that no longer felt entirely trustworthy.
She had stayed because every evening there was a cat waiting to be fed.
A cat waiting to complain.
A cat waiting to climb onto her chest as if she could hold Charlotte’s soul in place by sheer stubbornness.
Charlotte stroked Tilly’s fur now, slow and steady, feeling the vibration of her purr seep through her hand and into her bones.
“I stayed,” she whispered. “See?”
Tilly pressed closer.
The migraine dulled, fractionally.
Outside, the world went on. Rumours, races, strategy calls, factory gossip, the noise of a season slowly trying to eat itself alive.
Inside, there was low light, warm fur, and the steady proof of something Charlotte still struggled to name.
Not happiness, exactly.
Not peace.
But life.
Chosen once.
Chosen again.
Chosen every day since.
Charlotte closed her eyes and let herself rest beneath the weight of the cat who had once made survival feel less like an obligation and more like a promise.
Just for a moment.
Just long enough to remember why she was still here.
***
The simulator room was wrong.
Not silent — the simulator room was never silent. There was always the low electrical hum of machinery, the faint murmur of engineers speaking in half-sentences, the click of keys, the shuffle of someone moving between consoles with a coffee in one hand and three problems in the other.
But it was missing something.
Max noticed before he meant to.
A rhythm.
A presence.
The far console, usually lit before the rest of the room had properly settled, was dark.
Charlotte’s chair was empty.
Max pulled off his gloves slowly, gaze lingering on the workstation as if she might appear if he looked long enough. Which was stupid. He knew it was stupid. He had known her properly for only a handful of weeks, and yet somehow his brain had already started cataloguing the room by whether or not Charlotte Fischer was in it.
He looked away.
“Where’s Charlotte?” he asked.
Casual.
Perfectly casual.
Like he had simply noticed a missing engineer and not the absence of a particular woman with short dark hair, dark eyes, and the ability to make him feel like an idiot by raising one eyebrow.
One of the sim engineers looked up from their laptop. “She called in sick.”
Max nodded. “Oh.”
The word landed badly.
Too heavy.
Too obvious.
He made himself set his gloves down.
Another engineer, older and more familiar, grimaced slightly. “Yeah. Migraines.”
Max paused. “Migraines?”
“Yeah.”
“She gets those a lot?”
The engineer hesitated.
It was small. Barely anything. But Max noticed it the way he noticed hesitation in a car before it snapped.
The first engineer glanced at the second.
The second shrugged. “After the brain tumour,” they said. “Yeah. Sometimes they’re brutal.”
Max went still.
For a second, the hum of the room seemed to flatten into one long, dull note.
“…The what?”
Both engineers looked at him.
The older one’s expression shifted first.
Realisation. Then regret.
“Oh,” they said slowly. “You didn’t know.”
Max shook his head once.
“No.”
The answer came out too quiet.
There was another pause, and this one was heavier. A silent exchange moved between the two engineers — not gossip, not panic, just the quick calculation of people who had learned there were things you handled carefully because Charlotte mattered.
That, somehow, made it worse.
The younger engineer spoke first, voice gentler now.
“She had cancer. A few years ago. Brain tumour.” He said it plainly, without drama, which only made the words more brutal. “She survived. Obviously. But the migraines stuck around.”
Max stared at them.
Brain tumour.
Cancer.
The words did not fit.
They refused to attach themselves to the woman he knew — precise, contained Charlotte, who rewound sim runs with a frown of intense concentration and spoke about flawed modelling assumptions like the data had personally betrayed her.
Charlotte, who crocheted tiny hats for her cat.
Charlotte, who had looked at him after Imola like winning a Grand Prix was a perfectly normal thing for a Grand Prix driver to have done.
Charlotte, who had made the car honest again.
“She’s fine now,” the engineer added quickly, as if Max had asked. As if the room could feel the sudden, sharp drop in him. “It’s not… I mean, they monitor everything. She’s okay. It’s just that sometimes her body reminds her.”
Max nodded.
He did not trust himself to speak.
Sometimes her body reminds her.
He looked toward the empty console again.
Her screens were off.
Her chair pushed in.
A neat absence.
The older engineer followed his gaze and sighed softly. “We basically force her to stay home when it hits.”
Max’s eyes moved back to them.
“Force her?”
“She’d work through it otherwise.”
“Of course she would,” the younger engineer muttered, fond and exasperated. “Last time she tried to remote into the model review from her sofa with one eye open.”
“She lasted eleven minutes,” the older one said. “Then Hannah threatened to change her passwords.”
Despite himself, Max almost smiled.
Almost.
“She’s stubborn,” the younger engineer said.
“Brilliant,” the other added. “But stubborn.”
Then their tone shifted, just slightly. Firmer. Protective.
“And we don’t mess around with it. If Charlotte says she’s not okay, she’s not okay. End of.”
Max looked between them.
That was when he saw it properly.
Not pity.
Not curiosity.
Not the strange, hungry interest people sometimes had in someone else’s tragedy.
This was different.
Quiet. Unshowy. Absolute.
They protected her.
Not because she had asked them to.
Max suspected Charlotte Fischer rarely asked anyone for anything.
They protected her because they had decided she was theirs.
The sim department’s. Red Bull’s, in that strange, territorial way the team had with people it loved.
The same way half the building treated Max like he was both weapon and child.
Except Charlotte had earned it without ever inviting it.
Something tightened in Max’s chest.
“How long has she been here?” he asked.
“Since she graduated,” the younger engineer said. “Cambridge. Straight in.”
“Barely took time off even then,” the older one added. “Had to be bullied into it, obviously.”
Max let out a slow breath.
Cambridge.
Austria.
Boarding school.
The cat account.
Cancer.
Migraines.
The pieces rearranged themselves, but they still did not make a full picture. If anything, they made less sense now. Or maybe they made too much.
Charlotte’s composure. Her distance. The way she did not waste energy trying to be liked. The way she treated praise like a weather report. The way she had made herself necessary and still somehow almost invisible.
“She never talks about it,” Max said.
It was not really a question.
“No,” the older engineer replied. “And we don’t push.”
The younger one glanced toward Charlotte’s empty console, expression softening. “She earned that.”
Max nodded once.
He understood that.
More than he expected to.
There were things people did not get to know simply because they were curious.
There were parts of a person that had to be offered, not taken.
Still, the knowledge sat badly in him.
He had gone to her desk after Imola wanting her to be impressed.
The memory turned sour now.
He had stood there with a trophy somewhere in the building and a win still fresh in everyone’s mouth, waiting for Charlotte Fischer to look at him like he was extraordinary.
And she had survived a brain tumour.
Of course she had not cared about Imola the way he wanted her to.
Of course she had looked at him like winning was simply what he was supposed to do.
Her scale for important had been rewritten by things he had not even imagined.
Max swallowed.
“Right,” he said finally. “Okay.”
It was neither right nor okay, but there was nothing else to say.
He turned back toward the simulator, movements automatic. Helmet. Seat. Straps. Wheel. Systems coming online around him, the familiar ritual settling over his body even as his mind stayed fixed on the empty workstation beyond the glass.
The run began.
The car loaded.
The model waited.
Max stared at the screen for a moment longer than necessary.
He was supposed to be thinking about balance. Entry instability. Rear load. The thousand problems of a car that wanted to punish him for believing in it too much.
Instead, he thought about Charlotte sitting alone somewhere with a migraine bad enough to keep her away from the one place she seemed to prefer over people.
He thought about her colleagues closing ranks without needing to discuss it.
He thought about a woman who had survived something enormous and then returned to work as if that were the logical next step.
A few days ago, he had been curious about her.
Annoyingly curious.
Embarrassingly curious.
He had wanted to know why she sounded British when she was Austrian. Why she crocheted hats for her cat. Why she looked at him like he was a variable instead of a world champion.
Now the curiosity had changed shape.
It had become concern.
Not abstract. Not polite.
Personal.
Max tightened his hands on the wheel.
That was inconvenient.
That was dangerous.
That was very, very bad.
Through the glass, Charlotte’s console remained dark.
Max looked at it once more.
Then he drove.
***
Max found Hannah exactly where he expected to find her.
In her office. Half-hidden behind two monitors, shoulders rounded toward a screen full of data, a mug beside her hand that had probably been hot once in a previous lifetime.
She looked up when he knocked.
Then immediately narrowed her eyes.
“You have a face,” she said.
Max paused in the doorway. “I always have a face.”
“No,” Hannah said. “You have that face. The one where you are about to ask a question you have already decided is casual, even though it absolutely is not.”
Max exhaled through his nose and leaned one shoulder against the doorframe.
“I found out about Charlotte.”
Hannah’s expression changed.
Not dramatically. Not with alarm.
Just softer.
“Oh,” she said.
That confirmed it before she said anything else.
Max’s jaw tightened.
“They said she called in sick. Migraine.”
Hannah nodded once. “Yeah. That happens sometimes.”
“Because of the tumour.”
She watched him for a moment, measuring how much he knew and how much he was trying very hard not to show he cared.
“Yes,” she said eventually. “Brain tumour. Cancer. A few years ago.”
The words were not new anymore. He had already heard them in the sim room.
They still landed badly.
Max looked down at the floor, then back at her. “She’s okay?”
“If it’s one of the migraines, she’ll be fine in a day or two,” Hannah said. “She knows her limits.”
Max gave her a look.
Hannah sighed. “Mostly.”
That sounded more like Charlotte.
“She tries to work through them?”
“Of course she does,” Hannah said, as if this was a deeply irritating fact of nature. “Because apparently surviving cancer did not teach her that rest is not a moral failure.”
Max’s mouth pressed into a line.
Hannah leaned back in her chair.
“She doesn’t like people making a thing out of it,” she added. “She doesn’t hide it exactly, but she doesn’t volunteer it either. It’s not how she wants people to see her.”
“No,” Max said quietly. “I can understand that.”
Hannah studied him.
There was too much understanding in her face.
Max hated that.
He shifted, folding his arms. “So she’s alone?”
Hannah blinked.
“Alone?”
“At home,” Max clarified too quickly. “I mean, if she has a migraine. Is someone there? A boyfriend or something?”
Silence.
It lasted half a second too long.
Then Hannah’s eyebrows rose.
Max immediately regretted everything.
“Oh,” she said.
“No.”
“Oh, Max.”
“I am just asking.”
“No, you are absolutely not just asking.”
He straightened. “It’s a normal question.”
“It became abnormal the second you said boyfriend or something like the word boyfriend was trying to murder you.”
Max looked away. “Forget I asked.”
“I will do no such thing.”
“Hannah.”
“She’s single,” Hannah said, far too calmly.
Max’s eyes flicked back to her before he could stop them.
Hannah saw it.
Of course she saw it.
Her smile sharpened.
“She lives alone,” she continued. “A few minutes from campus. Quiet flat. One cat. No boyfriend. No secret husband. No dramatic situationship with an aero engineer, despite several people’s attempts.”
Max absorbed that with a level of interest he did not want to examine.
“Oh,” he said.
Hannah’s smile became unbearable.
“Right,” he added, because apparently he was determined to make it worse.
She rested her chin in her hand.
“You want to check on her.”
“No,” Max said automatically.
Hannah waited.
He made it three seconds.
“…Maybe.”
“There it is.”
“I can’t just show up at her apartment,” he said. “That’s weird.”
“It can be weird,” Hannah allowed.
Max stared at her. “That is not helpful.”
“It depends how you do it.”
“How is there a non-weird way to show up at someone’s home when they’re sick?”
“By not making it about yourself,” Hannah said simply. “By bringing something useful. By leaving if she wants you to leave. By not expecting gratitude, vulnerability, or a scene from a romantic comedy.”
Max frowned. “I don’t want a romantic comedy.”
“No,” Hannah said. “You want a woman who doesn’t care that you won Imola to let you care about her without biting your head off.”
Max opened his mouth. Closed it. “That is very specific.”
“And yet accurate.”
He rubbed a hand over his face.
“I don’t even know her that well.”
“No,” Hannah agreed. “You don’t.”
That should have helped.
It did not.
“But you know enough to be worried,” she added.
Max looked at her.
Hannah’s voice softened. “And for Charlotte, someone being worried without trying to take over is not the worst thing in the world.”
“She doesn’t need me checking on her.”
“No,” Hannah said. “She doesn’t need anyone.”
That hit him harder than expected.
Because Hannah did not say it admiringly.
She said it like it was a fact and a wound at the same time.
Max looked toward the corridor, though Charlotte was not there. Her empty console flashed in his mind again. Dark screens. Chair pushed in. The whole room subtly wrong without her.
“She would hate people fussing,” he said.
“She would despise it.”
“So I should not fuss.”
“Correct.”
“But checking is different?”
“It can be.”
Max huffed. “You are being very unhelpful for someone who knows her.”
“I know her well enough to know she won’t want pity,” Hannah said. “And I know you well enough to know pity is not what this is.”
Max went still.
Hannah let that sit for a moment.
Then she stood, picking up her tablet.
“Don’t overthink it.”
“That is impossible.”
“For you, apparently.” She moved around the desk, then paused beside him. “Bring normal things. Migraine-safe things. Crackers. Electrolytes. Nothing scented. Nothing loud. Don’t knock like the police. If she opens the door and tells you to go away, go away.”
Max nodded slowly, committing the list to memory with the same seriousness he gave race strategy.
Hannah looked at him and sighed.
“Oh, you are completely doomed.”
“I am not.”
“Max,” she said, almost fond now. “You came into my office to ask whether Charlotte Fischer has a boyfriend because you heard she has a migraine.”
He said nothing.
There was really nothing useful to say.
Hannah patted his arm once as she passed.
“She lives on Hawthorn Close,” she said. “Number twelve. I did not tell you that.”
Max stared after her.
“That seems very much like you told me.”
“No,” Hannah called over her shoulder. “I merely released information into the room. What you do with it is between you, your conscience, and whatever terrible romantic instincts you apparently have.”
“Hannah.”
She glanced back, smiling now.
“You really do have it bad.”
Then she was gone, leaving Max alone in her office doorway with Charlotte’s address in his head, concern sitting uncomfortably behind his ribs, and the deeply inconvenient realisation that, for once, winning something would not help him at all.
SUMMARY: Theodore Nott thought surviving Dueling Club would be the hardest part of his week. Turns out, surviving his angry girlfriend was significantly worse.
Based off of this request. @red--roses hope you like it<3
You were furious.
It wasn’t the fact that Theodore had gotten hurt in Dueling Club. It was the fact that you had to hear it from Lavender Brown — three days later — that he’d taken a nasty curse to the ribs and had been walking around like nothing happened.
So when he finally found you in your room that evening, you didn’t even let him speak first.
“You got hurt,” you said flatly, arms crossed. “And you didn’t tell me.”
Theo sighed, running a hand through his messy brown hair. “It wasn’t serious. I handled it.”
“That’s not the point, Theodore.” You used his full name like a weapon.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“I’m your girlfriend. You don’t get to decide what I can and can’t handle. You don’t get to keep me in the dark ‘for my own good.’”
“I was protecting you,” he said quietly, jaw tight. “You already worry enough.”
“I’m not a child,” you snapped. “If you can’t trust me with the truth, then what are we even doing?”
The argument ended in a tense stalemate. Theo tried to reach for you, but you stepped back and left him standing there.
And that’s when you decided on petty terrorism.
The next evening, the entire friend group was gathered in the Slytherin common room for a casual dinner.
You sat right next to Theo like nothing was wrong — except everything was wrong, and you were making sure he felt it.
You picked up a piece of spaghetti with your fork, looked him dead in the eyes, and cut it cleanly in half.
Mattheo choked on his drink.
Theo’s eyes flicked to the broken pasta, then back to your face. He said nothing.
Pansy’s eyebrows shot up. Daphne pressed her lips together, trying not to smile.
Later, when Theo reached for the salt, you moved it just out of his reach.
When he gave you a look, you smiled sweetly.
“Communication is so important in relationships, don’t you think, Pansy?” you asked.
Pansy nearly lost it. “Oh my god.”
Enzo was grinning like an idiot. Blaise leaned back in his chair, thoroughly entertained. Even Draco looked amused.
Theo's jaw ticked. You weren't done.
When Mattheo asked Theo something about Quidditch practice, you turned to Mattheo with an innocent expression.
“Do you actually listen when people talk to you, Mattheo? Or do you also decide what people can and can’t handle?”
Mattheo laughed, raising his hands slightly. “I’m not getting involved in this.”
Theo finally spoke, voice low.
“Can we talk?”
You blinked at him, feigning innocence. “About what, Theodore?”
Blaise muttered under his breath, “She’s evil. I respect it.”
Later that night, you “accidentally” moved Theo’s bookmark three chapters forward in the book he was reading.
When he noticed, he gave you a long, tired look.
You just smiled and went back to your own book.
The group was losing their minds in the background.
“Ten galleons says she wins,” Enzo whispered.
“I’m not betting against her,” Pansy replied. “She’s unhinged right now.”
Theo eventually cornered you near the fireplace when most people had gone to bed.
He looked exhausted.
“Are you done?” he asked.
You crossed your arms. “Are you going to stop hiding things from me?”
He stepped closer, voice softening.
“I thought I was protecting you. I hate worrying you. I hate seeing you scared because of me.”
“I’m more scared when I find out from other people that you’re hurt,” you said, voice cracking just a little. “I’m your girlfriend, Theo. Let me be there for you. Even when it’s ugly.”
Theo stared at you for a long moment, then pulled you into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around you.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured into your hair. “I’ll tell you next time. Even if it’s stupid and small.”
You hugged him back, tension finally draining from your shoulders.
“…You’re still Theodore for the rest of the week though,” you mumbled against his chest.
He let out a quiet laugh, the sound rumbling through him.
“Fair enough.”
You smiled into his sweater.
Because no matter what, he was still your Theodore.
I've finally gotten enough motivation to go through my drafts and publish them lol.
heyyy loved your bimbo gf x damian and i was wondering if you could do like an angst story of where she hears like someone in the fam or damian saying something about her personality/her in general, and she pulls back and tries to act “less stupid” IK SORRY I LOVE TJOSE calling their partner clingy and they start pulling away😖😖. all good if u can’t 🙂↕️🤚🏽
݁ 𓈒 ཐི 𓉸 𝓡EBRANDING ( 𝓑AD 𝓘DEA ) !!
⏜︵ pairing 𓈒 𓈒 𓈒 damian wayne x bimbo!girlfriend
꒰ 🎀 ꒱ synopsis 𓈒 𓈒 𓈒 damian trying to figure out why the girl who never stopped talking suddenly won’t even look at him.
BY GOD’S GRACE —- OR ALFRED’S PATIENCE, WHICHEVER COUNTED AS THE BIGGER MIRACLE — NO ONE KNEW HOW DAMIAN WAYNE ENDED UP WITH YOU.
you, in your hot-pink mini skirt and glitter nails and perfume that could probably be classified as a biochemical weapon. you, who once asked if bats had “like… eyelids?” and said it with total sincerity. you, who got distracted mid-sentence because you saw a dog wearing a sweater across the street and immediately forgot what you were talking about.
he didn’t understand it. not even a little.
in public, he looked like he was enduring a hostage situation anytime you laced your fingers through his, and yet he never pulled away. even when your rings (all four on one hand, because of course) dug into his knuckles. even when your bracelets jingled like an incoming sleigh team every time you moved. even when people stared — and they did stare, because you were a walking neon sign next to gotham’s resident brood incarnate — he held on.
the part that truly terrified him was how natural it had become. you walked a half-step ahead of him, your attention flickering everywhere at once, like a very pretty, very distractible magpie. every few seconds you’d gasp softly, at a storefront display, or a pigeon, or a baby in a stroller, and damian would be forced to stop, recalibrate, and wait while you admired whatever had stolen your focus this time. he pretended irritation, checking his watch, sighing dramatically, muttering something about time management, but he always waited. he always looked back to make sure you hadn’t tripped over a crack in the sidewalk or wandered into traffic because you spotted a cat.
he didn’t like how instinctive that check had become. how protective. how fond. even now, walking beside you through gotham’s crowded winter market, he found himself cataloguing every variable: uneven cobblestones you might twist an ankle on, the man selling roasted chestnuts who had a suspicious glint in his eye, the group of teenagers he didn’t trust within a ten-foot radius of you.
meanwhile, you were enthusiastically informing him that hot chocolate “tastes better when you’re cold, it’s like a scientific fact,” and waving your arms enough that he nearly intercepted a candy cane you almost smacked someone with. damian endured it with the same expression he used during board meetings: thin-lipped, jaw set, eyes forward like he was marching toward an execution he’d personally scheduled. you didn’t notice. you never noticed. you were too busy being incandescent.
you tugged him deeper into the market, past the string lights dripping like molten gold from the eaves, past the vendors shouting holiday deals, past the speakers humming old carols warped by cold air. your boots clicked over the cobblestones, a rhythm at war with itself, but you walked like someone incapable of stumbling. pure luck, damian thought grimly. or some divine protection he absolutely did not trust.
you stopped every ten seconds. literally every ten. at a stall selling knit hats shaped like reindeer. at a booth offering “mood scarves” that allegedly changed color with emotion. at a stand where a man was playing holiday songs on wine glasses filled with water, and you stood there, enraptured, like you had just discovered music for the first time in your life. you pointed at everything. gasped at everything. oohed and aahed and squealed at everything.
damian — who had been dragged out of the manor under the pretense of “getting fresh air” — followed silently behind you like a highly disgruntled bodyguard, hands in his pockets, scarf wrapped too neatly. he looked miserable. he was miserable. the cold, the crowds, the noise. you, on the other hand, were explaining — loudly — that snow “should be illegal because it’s too pretty and also slippery and also cold and also sparkly,” and damian was trying to figure out how one person could hold that many contradictory opinions in a single breath. then you gasped. you always gasped. this time it was because a vendor had tiny mason jars filled with glitter suspended in clear gel, labeled aesthetic snow globes. you sprinted.
damian muttered something in arabic that was probably a curse, then sped up to keep you from accidentally joining a passing family and wandering home with them. you pressed your face so close to the jars your breath fogged the glass. “damian,” you whispered. “it’s like… the universe. but tiny.”
he stared at you, then stared at the jar. then back at you. “…it’s glitter.”
“IN A JAR,” you insisted, as if that changed the nature of the cosmos.
he pinched the bridge of his nose, which he did often around you, because loving you required full-body endurance. you were beautiful, incandescent, a human firework. but you also operated on a wavelength that fried ninety percent of his higher brain function on contact.
after several minutes of you debating which jar “felt like your aura,” damian became aware of movement to his left. teenage boys again. different group, same expression: wide eyes, slow grin, subtle nudge. damian didn’t turn his head, just let his gaze slide sideways with the precision of someone trained to kill you with eye contact alone. he assessed them like threats. measured distance, posture, intent.
then he exhaled, and in one smooth motion he unwound his scarf, his favorite scarf, the dark green cashmere one alfred bought him. you looked up just in time for him to loop it around your neck. it swallowed your collarbone, your shoulders, half your face. you blinked at him, startled, already forgetting the glitter jars existed. “oh.. but… this is your scarf,” you said, muffled behind fabric.
“it’s cold,” he said simply. “and you’re incapable of dressing yourself appropriately for winter.”
he did not mention the boys. he did not acknowledge the way they looked away instantly, suddenly very interested in a nearby churro stand. he just tugged the ends of the scarf tight, adjusting it so it framed your jaw the way he liked. “you’re so cute!” you said, beaming, patting his cheek with a glove that had sequins glued onto it in a pattern that made absolutely no sense.
he closed his eyes, breathed in patience, and opened them. “we’re going home.”
“nooo,” you whined immediately. “i’m not done seeing things.”
“you have been ‘seeing things’ for two hours.”
you crossed your arms, pouting so dramatically a small child walking by mimicked it. damian watched this happen from the corner of his eye and genuinely considered the possibility that god was punishing him for past sins. “i’m not cold.” you said stubbornly.
“you were shivering.”
“i’m fine.”
“your lips are turning blue.”
“blue is festive.”
damian stared at you for several seconds, long enough that you began to sway a little under the weight of his silence. then he sighed, one of those deep, despairing sighs that felt like he was exhaling his whole soul. “please,” he said, voice barely above a murmur. “let’s go home.”
you paused. not because you understood, not because you perceived the emotional vulnerability behind the word please, but because your ears caught something else. “home?” you repeated, eyes lighting up. “can we make hot chocolate?”
“yes.”
“with the marshmallows?”
“yes.”
“AND whipped cream?”
“yes.”
you clapped your hands, delighted. “okay! we can go home!”
damian exhaled in relief so palpable the vendor at the next stall looked over, concerned. he took your hand, firmly, because you tended to wander, and began guiding you through the crowd. you were a lot. exhausting. irritating. distractible in a way that defied physics. but as you swung your joined hands happily, humming off-key, damian found — to his own horror — that he didn’t mind.
the manor came into view like a dark, brooding castle against the snowfall. you gasped again, you always gasped, as if you hadn’t seen it a hundred times already. “it looks like a big chocolate cake with snow frosting,” you whispered reverently.
damian closed his eyes for a full second. “it looks like a historical landmark.” he corrected, pulling you toward the door before you licked the railing “just to see if it tastes cold.”
inside, warmth hit you instantly, along with the low murmur of multiple voices. the wayne family was gathered like some kind of chaotic holiday constellation. dick was the first to spot you. “HEY! sparkles!” he beamed, using the nickname he’d given you on day one. he swooped in for a hug and you squealed, throwing your arms around him. damian’s eye twitched.
“you’re freezing,” dick said, rubbing your arms. “why didn’t demon spawn give you his jacket?”
“i gave her my scarf.” damian said, clipped, already regretting coming home at all.
“awww,” dick grinned, “look at you being thoughtful.”
damian turned away before anyone saw the betrayal of warmth on his face. steph popped up next, nearly knocking you over. “BABE, oh my god, your outfit. you’re like a peppermint bimbo dream.”
you gasped. “do you think i look like a candy cane?”
“yes,” she said solemnly. “but in a sexy way.”
damian muttered something that sounded like a vow of vengeance. jason leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, wearing that insufferable half-smirk. “barbie’s home.”
you waved enthusiastically. “hi jay!!”
he winked. damian glared so viciously jason only grinned harder. bruce looked up from a conversation with alfred, hands tucked behind his back. “welcome home,” he said, in that quiet, unreadable bruce-wayne-trying-to-be-approachable voice. he always sounded slightly startled when he spoke to you, like he hadn’t adjusted to your presence yet.
and then: alfred. alfred, who you adored. alfred, who adored you right back. you sprinted toward him like a toddler and he caught you with the reflexes of someone who’d been catching vigilantes his whole life. “miss,” he greeted warmly. “i see you’ve survived another outing with master damian.”
“barely,” you sighed dramatically. “he won’t let me buy important things.”
alfred raised a brow. “important things such as…?”
you lowered your voice. “a spoon.”
“i see.”
tim, on the other hand, lingered near the stairs. he nodded politely, said a quiet “hey,” and retreated upward with a mug of coffee. he didn’t dislike you. he was just… overwhelmed by you. which was fair. you overwhelmed most people, including yourself sometimes.
the rest of the family, though, stayed gathered in the living room, one of those rare nights where the manor felt less like a museum and more like… a home. the tree lights glowed warm gold, the fireplace crackled, and someone (probably dick) had put on a playlist of aggressively cheerful holiday music that clashed horribly with gotham’s usual mood.
you plopped down on the rug with zero grace, legs out, nearly knocking over a stack of presents. “careful.” jason said sharply from the armchair, leaning forward as if ready to catch whatever catastrophe you might accidentally summon.
“i am careful,” you insisted, immediately proving yourself a liar by elbowing a decorative nutcracker so hard its jaw snapped shut with a click.
damian lowered himself onto the sofa with the expression of someone bracing for incoming shrapnel. “try not to break anything else.”
“i didn’t break anything!” you said, horrified. “it just closed its mouth. maybe it’s shy.”
jason snorted. “yeah, that’s what it is. the nutcracker is shy.”
“don’t tease her.” dick scolded lightly, tossing a pillow at jason.
“i just think he closed it on purpose. maybe he’s, like, alive.”
bruce, who had been reading the newspaper and trying very hard to pretend his home wasn’t a sitcom, slowly lowered the pages. “the nutcracker,” he said evenly, “is not alive.”
“we don’t know that.” you whispered.
alfred passed through with a tray of hot cocoa, perfectly timed as always. “refreshments,” he announced. “and master richard, perhaps turning the music down two notches might save my hearing.”
“yes sir,” dick said, already adjusting the speaker. then he plopped down beside you on the rug, handing you a mug. “careful, sparkles. it’s hot.”
“that’s okay,” you chirped. “hot chocolate tastes better when it’s hot.”
jason choked on his drink. steph buried her face into a pillow to muffle her laughter. bruce closed his eyes like he was in pain. damian pinched the bridge of his nose. alfred, however, smiled with the serenity of a man who had survived decades of wayne-family chaos. “very astute observation.” he told you kindly, handing you a marshmallow like it was a medal of honor.
conversation resumed, steph teasing jason about his inability to drink like a normal person, jason threatening to “accidentally” drop a gingerbread house on her head, dick explaining some bizarre titans holiday tradition no one asked about, and bruce pretending the sports section of the newspaper was suddenly a riveting masterpiece of literature. you sat on the rug beside the couch with damian on the couch behind you, his arms crossed, expression unimpressed by everything except maybe you, though he would rather perish than admit it.
for a while, you stayed where you were, humming absently, nodding along to dick’s animated retelling of “the time starfire tried to cook a turkey using only solar energy.” but then you noticed it. damian. on the couch. without you. your lower lip jutted out immediately, a soft pout forming like a storm cloud gathering over a cartoon sun. you twisted around, peeking up at him. he didn’t look back—didn’t even pretend to notice your growing distress. he just sipped his tea like this wasn’t the emotional betrayal of the century. so you rose to your feet, brushing off imaginary dust like you were preparing for something noble.
you stepped behind the couch. damian didn’t turn. maybe he didn’t think you’d actually do it. but you did. you leaned down, looped your arms around the back of his neck, and draped yourself over him like he was the most comfortable office chair in existence. your cheek pressed to the top of his head. his hair was very soft. you made a content sound—something between a hum and a sigh, happy and unapologetically attached.
conversation stopped just for a second. just long enough for everyone to register the image of gotham’s most glaringly intense son sitting rigid and red-tipped and tragically resigned while his hyperactive, glitter-brained girlfriend clung to him. “aww,” dick said. loudly. too loudly. “she loves you.”
damian glared at him so hard dick should’ve combusted. “i was sitting alone,” you murmured into damian’s hair, like it was a tragic confession. “and you were up here. and i didn’t wanna be down there. without you.”
steph silently mouthed koala to jason, who nodded like this explained everything.
damian huffed, annoyed, increasingly embarrassed. “you are incapable of functioning without proximity, it seems.”
“that’s not true,” you said, tightening your arms around him. “i just like you.”
jason muttered, “simp.” behind his mug.
damian’s head snapped up, eyes murderous. “what was that?”
“i said ‘sip.’ this hot chocolate? amazing.”
bruce hid a smile behind his hand.
“we’re leaving.” damian announced abruptly, standing so fast your arms slipped from around him in a startled little flutter. his ears were red. his cheeks, too.
you blinked up at him, confused. “leaving? where?”
“my room,” he said, already taking your hand, already pulling you up from the floor with a rushed, awkward gentleness, as if he was trying very hard not to look like he was trying very hard. “we are going upstairs. now.”
jason smirked. “wow. didn’t even last ten minutes.”
“quiet,” damian snapped without turning around, posture stiff, every inch of him radiating tightly wound embarrassment. “both of you.”
dick waved cheerfully. “have fun, you two!”
steph added, “don’t do anything i wouldn’t do!”
“that leaves very little.” jason murmured.
you didn’t catch most of it, you were too busy trotting after damian, your smaller steps hurrying to keep up with his fast, purposeful stride. his grip on your hand was firm, determined, like if he let go for even a second the universe would see its chance and steal you. the manor’s main staircase curved upward in a grand sweep, damian practically marched up them, trying to retain some dignity, but his composure cracked every time he heard muffled laughter drifting from the living room.
you tried to keep close—closer than close—your free hand finding the back of his sweater as if you needed the extra anchor. he glanced over his shoulder, huffed, and tugged you along faster. “they’re so mean to you.” you whispered sympathetically.
“they’re insufferable,” damian corrected, though his voice wavered with residual fluster. “and your commentary is not helping.”
“i thought it was.”
“it wasn’t.”
you reached the landing. damian inhaled deeply, the kind of breath someone takes when they’re trying to reset their dignity. he released your hand, just to straighten his sweater, and immediately you reached for him again on instinct. he caught your wrist mid-grab. “wait.”
you froze. “wait?”
“stay here,” he ordered, pointing to a specific spot on the landing as if you were prone to drifting into the walls. “i’m going back down.”
you took half a step to follow him. he gently pressed a palm to your shoulder to keep you still. “no. stay.”
“but—”
“i am getting more hot chocolate,” he said, like you were a skittish deer and he knew any sudden movement would send you spiraling. “you don’t need to follow me everywhere.”
you blinked. “…but i like following you.”
“yes, I know,” he muttered, eyes briefly squeezing shut. “i am… acutely aware.” you leaned forward again. he immediately held up a hand. “stay.”
you pouted. “but—”
“i will return in less than two minutes.” his tone took on that strict, no-argument cadence that only partially worked on you. “you will be fine. stand here. do not go downstairs. do not wander. do not attempt to hug me while i’m on the steps.”
“but you’re warm.”
he inhaled sharply through his nose. “i will be warm upstairs,” he said tightly.
“will you be long?”
“no.”
“…are you sure?”
“yes.”
“…but what if you—”
he placed both hands on your shoulders. “if you follow me, todd will never let me hear the end of it.”
you gasped softly like he’d revealed a national secret. “oh. okay.” you nodded, suddenly solemn. “i’ll stay.”
damian exhaled, relieved. “good.”
he released you, took one cautious step down the stairs, then glanced back again just to make sure you were still in place. you were. standing exactly where he told you to. swaying slightly, humming, waiting.
for about… twelve seconds.
that was the absolute maximum amount of time your brain could focus on standing still before it started whispering intrusive thoughts like i wonder if my phone is downstairs, and maybe alfred made cookies, and i want to hug damian again.
you looked around. nothing to do. nowhere to sit. no sparkly things to stare at. you fidgeted. tapped your fingers together. shifted your weight from one foot to the other like a restless cartoon rabbit. then it hit you like a tragic revelation: your phone. you had left your phone.
damian said to stay. yes, but he also said two minutes. and it had probably been two minutes. or close. or approaching the general vicinity of two minutes.
so you took a quiet step down. then another. just enough to peek around the railing, scanning for the pink sparkle phone case you left —- and you froze. damian’s voice drifted up toward you, low and sharp in that way he only sounded when he was frustrated and trying not to be. “—exhausted,” you make out. “she drags me all over the city, asks the most ridiculous questions, wanders off every five seconds—i swear, i spend more time chasing after her than actually speaking to her.”
you blinked. damian complained all the time—he got grumpy, he lectured, he huffed and sighed and called everyone inept—but hearing it like this, when he thought you couldn’t hear him… it stung.
then jason’s voice cut in, louder, rougher, crueler in that careless way he didn’t always mean but absolutely could be. “please. you knew what you were signing up for. shes dumb as a bag of glitter and even clingier.” a snort. “she’s probably losing her mind right now being, what, sixty seconds away from you?”
your stomach dropped. like the floor disappeared under your feet for a second, leaving you suspended in the shock of it. you backed up—one careful, trembling step—then another, until the voices blurred into an indistinct hum beneath you. they kept talking, but it all blended together, washed out, meaningless, like your brain had hit some emergency switch that dimmed the world to static.
your hands lifted slowly. you stared at them. glittery nail polish, tiny rhinestones you’d spent an hour arranging, a smudge of hot chocolate on your thumb. they looked… wrong suddenly. too bright. too silly. like something made for a different kind of girl, one who knew where she fit, one who wasn’t just taking up space she didn’t deserve.
clingy.
dumb as a bag of glitter.
exhausted.
the words looped, sharp and quiet and far too convincing. you curled your fingers in, palms trembling. for a heartbeat, you actually felt monstrous. like some overly loud, overly bright creature someone had accidentally let into a place built for competent people. did they ever want you here?
you tried to breathe, but your chest tightened instead, squeezing the air you needed. you took another step back, spine brushing the wall, grounding and suffocating at the same time. your own boyfriend had to leave the room just to vent about you. that part hurt the worst.
it made something in your stomach twist. damian always looked tired after spending time with you—had you been misreading everything? all the little moments, all the soft touches, the tiny smiles he pretended weren’t real?
maybe he was just putting up with you.
you squeezed your eyes shut. the staircase felt too narrow now. the ceiling too low. the air too thick. you felt cornered and foolish and painfully aware of every inch of space you took up. they were all downstairs being… normal. competent. sharp-witted. capable. they fit each other.
you didn’t fit anything.
you pressed a hand to your chest and tried not to imagine what else they might’ve said once you stopped listening, but imagination didn’t need permission. it filled in the silence fast—too fast—spilling over with every insecure thought you’d ever tried to ignore.
you talk too much.
you never shut up.
you make him tired.
you’re only good for your looks.
you’re embarrassing.
you’re not smart enough to belong here.
you don’t know when to stop.
you make everything harder.
you make him miserable.
you knew you weren’t smart, not in the way they were. not in the strategic, clever way that made the whole family feel like a universe made of constellations you couldn’t read. you knew your thoughts came out tangled, loud, too bright. you knew you got excited about things no one else cared about. you knew you filled space you didn’t mean to fill. you weren’t stupid. you just… weren’t them, and suddenly that difference felt like a crack running through your whole body.
your chest tightened again, frustration building hot and prickling behind your eyes. you hated that you were upset. hated that you cared. hated that you were fighting three different internal battles when, moments ago, you’d been fine—happy, even. you didn’t want to cry. not here. not over this. not when crying would only prove you were exactly what they thought—overreactive, fragile, childish.
that’s when damian came back up the stairs. the first thing you saw was the tension in his shoulders, jaw tight, knuckles red like he’d scraped them on something. his eyes snapped to you, scanning your face like he needed to make sure you were still in one piece. “let’s go.” he said, hand flexing once before he reached for you. you pulled away.
damian froze.
you’d never pulled away from him. not once. not even when he was irritated, or short, or lecturing you about “awareness” and “basic survival instincts.” you were a limpet by nature—sticky, clingy, gravitational, so the tiny step you took back immediately raised his suspicion.
his brows pulled together. “what are you doing?” he asked quietly, like the words were foreign in his mouth.
you swallowed, forcing your face into something bright. something harmless. “i think i’m just—uh—gonna go,” you replied, voice wobbling in a way you desperately hoped he didn’t notice.
“go where?”
you gestured vaguely with both hands. “away. you know. like… elsewhere. in the world.”
damian stared at you like you were speaking a language he knew but couldn’t translate. “what are you talking about?”
“anyway!” you said, nodding too fast. “phone. downstairs.” you sidestepped him before he could reach for you again, before he noticed how your eyes were glassy or how your smile didn’t reach anywhere near your eyes. your footsteps were too light, like you were afraid the floor would creak loud enough to force him to follow.
the living room felt too bright when you crossed it. everyone looked up. your phone sat exactly where you left it. you grabbed it without slowing, no one said anything. jason wasn’t there anymore. you didn’t look at damian’s family. didn’t smile. didn’t trip into a conversation you didn’t belong in. for once, you were silent.
then you walked straight to the front door and stepped out before anyone could ask where you were going or why your hands were shaking so badly. the door shut behind you with a soft click. for the first time since you’d met damian wayne—you left without waiting for him to follow.
THAT WAS THREE WEEKS AGO.
three weeks of quiet, of measured distances, of self-imposed walls that hadn’t existed before. you had pulled back from damian, massively, and the change wasn’t subtle. the way you used to lean on him, hang from his arm, brush against him with every opportunity, had dwindled to nothing more than casual proximity, a few polite touches that didn’t linger. the energy you used to spill in torrents, in bubbles of laughter, tangles of words, and endless questions, was now trapped somewhere in your head, swirling in loops of overthinking and guilt.
you tried to talk less. you weren’t… cold, exactly. not frozen. just cautious, careful, distant. it was easier this way, you told yourself. easier to manage the way your chest would tighten whenever he looked at you too long, the way your stomach twisted when you remembered the words that had come out of jason and damian’s mouth, the way the heat of embarrassment and self-consciousness would settle into your bones.
your energy had shifted, rerouted. the bursts of color, the endless chatter, the way you used to loop damian into every tiny moment of your day, gone. replaced with shopping trips, coffee with friends, scrolling endlessly through things that sparkled or made your brain go soft and bubbly. you stopped including him. little things, first: a funny text that once would have gone to him, now sent to a friend instead. small selfies, small stories, small jokes. everything you had once handed him first now filtered through other people, other spaces, other worlds where the intensity wasn’t suffocating, wasn’t steeped in the weight of knowing him too well.
you loved him. absolutely. you didn’t stop loving him, you just thought you needed to be less. less clingy, less loud, less hyper, less distracting. damian had never asked you to shrink yourself, had never told you to dim, and maybe that was what made this worse: you assumed he preferred it. you assumed that by stepping back, by quieting yourself, you were giving him the room he needed, that the less obvious, less vibrant you was somehow easier for him to manage.
and yes, you missed him. some mornings you reached for your phone to tell him a dumb thing, and then stopped, realizing you were… stopping yourself. he hadn’t reached out. not to notice the change, not to prod, not to tease you back into yourself. he noticed, of course he did. the weight of your absence pressed in on him in subtle ways, the way he scanned a room and didn’t see your usual bright energy where he expected it, the way he thought of you mid-task and almost smiled before realizing you weren’t part of it anymore.
he brushed it off. called it temporary, a mood, a phase, maybe even a test, something he didn’t need to fuss over, but his chest tightened anyway. his thoughts lingered where you used to be. the absence of your voice, your laugh, the way you dragged him into ridiculous distractions—it left a hollow spot, and for the first time, he couldn’t just fix it by putting you in arm’s reach or side-eyeing the world into submission.
it had been three days since you’d last spoken. three days. three whole mornings, afternoons, and nights without damian. three weeks ago, this would’ve felt unbearable, but now you let it exist.
your phone buzzed. damian. the name made your chest twitch in ways you’d fought to ignore for days. you stared at the screen, fingers hovering, trying to gauge if this was courage or a trap. you finally swiped. “hello,” you greeted, voice careful, neutral. no enthusiastic hi, no giddy ‘i missed you’ that would’ve given him too much.
there was a pause. long enough that you could hear him breathing through the line, waiting for something—maybe the enthusiasm he always got from you, the little giddy inflections. you didn’t give them. “there is a gala tonight.” he said finally. “you will accompany me.”
you blinked, caught off guard. gala. fancy. sparkly. the very thought made your chest flutter before your brain scrambled to caution: he’s probably going to hate how much i distract him, everyone will stare, i’ll trip or say something dumb.
“probably… not.” you decline, voice small, careful, almost mumbling. the words sounded foreign even to you.
“excuse me?”
“i said… probably not.”
silence. you could almost hear him processing. “i was under the impression—” he started, measured, but there was an edge. “—that this would have been agreeable.”
you swallowed. you hated that your chest felt tight. “i just… maybe next time,” you said, hoping it sounded casual even though your stomach sank.
“you love these events,” he said, almost accusing. “what is the matter?”
you fumbled, scrambling for something—anything—sensible. “i think .. the cat might be mad at me?”
“that is… hardly a valid reason to refuse a gala. do you have another?”
you chewed your lip, wringing your hands together, flustered. “well… um… i… my… my shoes, they… they might be too sparkly. it could blind people.”
another pause. he was quiet for a moment, and you imagined the pinched line of his mouth, the narrowed eyes. “you are speaking nonsense,” he said finally. “yet i can hear—” he hesitated. “something. you are hiding something. tell me.”
you swallowed, wishing—like, really wishing—you were smart enough to conjure a reason that sounded real, that would satisfy him, that wouldn’t make you sound like a complete disaster. but your brain was doing that thing it always did: looping through sparkly shoes, cats, and ice cream flavors, none of which helped. “uh… okay, bye!” you blurted, voice a little too cheerful, and clicked the end call before he could ask anything else.
phew. you totally nailed that.
you flopped onto your couch, fuzzy pajamas tangling around your legs, grabbed the nearest pint of cookie dough ice cream, and dug in. you flipped through streaming apps with the emotional depth of a goldfish, settling on the first movie poster that had pretty colors. something with singing. something where no one looked like they were judging you from across a mansion living room.
the opening song started and you tucked yourself deeper into your couch cocoon, blanket shaped like a giant strawberry wrapped around your shoulders. ice cream: half-gone. brain: mercifully vacant. you weren’t wallowing—you refused to wallow—because wallowing required staying on one thought for longer than eleven seconds, and you simply weren’t built for that. you tried once, earlier, to reflect on the past few weeks, but halfway through thinking “maybe i am too much,” you saw a commercial for sparkly lip gloss and forgot what sadness was entirely.
so you watched your movie. you giggled when the prince tripped over the scenery, gasped dramatically at every plot twist even though it was a kids’ film, and kicked your feet when the heroine got her magical dress. for a while, it was easy to pretend the world was simple and that your heart wasn’t bruised in places you didn’t know how to fix. and then—
“you didn’t answer my texts.”
you screamed. not like a cute scream. like a full-body, weaponized shriek. your spoon flew upward, brandished like a dagger, cookie dough chunk poised for battle. “WHO—OH MY GOD—DAMIAN? WHY ARE YOU—THAT—YOU CAN’T JUST—TELEPORT!”
he did not look amused. or apologetic. or impressed by your ice-cream-based defense strategy. “i used the spare key,” he corrected, pinching the bridge of his nose. “and you clearly need instruction in self-defense. that was pathetic.”
you were still holding the spoon like it was a sword. “i—i could’ve blinded you.”
“with dessert?”
“it has chunks.”
he stared at you, long and defeated, and only then—only after your heart slowed and your lungs remembered their job—did you realize he was here. in your apartment. beside your couch. shoulders tense, breath steady in that controlled way he used when something was wrong. something he wasn’t willing to ignore anymore.
you froze. frozen like a marshmallow left out in the snow, like a popsicle that somehow knew it had to impress a god and didn’t stand a chance. normally you would’ve launched yourself at him—arms first, lips trailing kisses, a flurry of glittering enthusiasm that left him winded just from being near you. normally, you would’ve clung. right now, you were… decidedly not normal.
damian’s eyes narrowed. “well?” he prompted, voice flat but heavy with expectation, the kind of expectation that made you suddenly hyper-aware of every corner of your apartment. normally, this tone would’ve made your heart skip in excitement. now it made it do a weird little hiccup of anxiety.
“uh,” you mumbled. “i just thought maybe… maybe galas are, like… too fancy?” you added lamely, as if words themselves could distract from the gaping void of uncertainty settling in your chest.
“too fancy? for you?” his shoulders stiffened as if the very suggestion was a personal affront. usually he would have let you flail a little, let you stumble through a hundred excuses. now… his chest tightened, frustration bleeding into something heavier. you stumbled back a half-step, then another, blanket bunching under your hands, your stomach doing that weird tumble-your-insides thing that always showed up when damian looked at you like this. tall. looming. imposing. “enough,” he snapped, and it was tight, like he’d been holding it in so long that the words barely cleared his throat before they landed hard. “you won’t even let me touch you. what is the matter?”
you froze mid-step. your mind spun. normally, you would’ve fallen into his chest without thinking, melting into the warmth of his hands and the press of his body. now… now your instincts screamed no, and the resulting flush of guilt and embarrassment made your chest feel too tight. damian’s brow furrowed, and then the corners of his lips tugged down in that small pout that made him look younger and frustrated all at once. “do you understand,” he murmured, stepping closer, his presence filling every inch of the space around you, “how… difficult it is to… not feel you next to me?”
his chest rose and fell faster, not from exertion, but from the absence of contact, the starvation of closeness he’d been used to every time you had been your usual clingy, adorable self. the pout deepened as if the lack of your touch was physically weighing on him. he stepped closer again, unsure if you would flee or collapse into him. “i—” you started, voice trembling, then stopped. all your words felt stupid, worthless, inadequate. your brain short-circuited under the weight of his eyes and the sheer want radiating from him, and you pressed your lips together, biting the inside of your cheek, retreating another half-step despite every rational part of you screaming to just lean in.
you swallowed, words tripping out of you before you could stop them. “i just… don’t want to exhaust you. i don’t want to—” your voice faltered, a squeak barely audible, “—make things harder.”
damian froze mid-step, a slow inhale pulling the air into him as if he’d been holding it without realizing. his eyes widened slightly—not with anger, but with something more jagged: shock, confusion, and a flicker of… hurt. “what did you hear?” he asked, careful.
“i heard. what you said to jason. and… and what he said.”
the silence that followed was almost unbearable. the pout faded, replaced by a rigid line of restraint. you could feel it—the weight of all the emotion he’d been bottling for weeks. damian’s breath left him in a controlled exhale, the kind he used when he was forcing himself not to retreat behind pride or irritation. he lifted his chin a fraction, meeting your eyes head‑on, refusing to let you look away. “i won’t pretend i didn’t say those things,” he began. “i did. you do overwhelm me sometimes. you move fast, you talk fast, you feel fast—things i was not raised to understand.”
his hands flexed once, then stilled at his sides. “but that does not mean i don’t want you near me. it does not mean i’m… tired of you.” his jaw clenched for a moment before he forced it to ease. “i was frustrated. not with you— with myself. with not knowing how to keep up.” he took a step closer, the way he approached a frightened animal he didn’t want to spook. “but listen to me very clearly. i will never let anyone speak poorly of you.” another breath. “and when todd opened his mouth,” he continued, forming his words with visible disgust. “i struck him. immediately.”
your eyes widened, and he caught the flicker of shock before you could mask it. “i will not allow anyone—friend, brother, stranger—to demean you. even when i am frustrated. even when i am overwhelmed. especially then. you are…” he hesitated, searching for the correct word, something true. “you are too important.”
your mouth opened, closed, then opened again, nothing elegant, nothing clever, just a stunned scramble of breath. the words too important echoed through you like someone had rung a bell inside your ribs. warmth spread through your chest, an almost dizzy relief, ridiculous and overwhelming in the best possible way. “you… punched jason,” you said finally, voice disbelieving. “for me.”
damian’s expression barely shifted, but something in his eyes flickered—pride, irritation, stubborn protectiveness. “he deserved worse.” he mumbled.
you almost giggled. it was stupid, but the image of damian decking jason because of you made something in your stomach flip. of course damian would do that. of course he would. and yet knowing he actually had—that he hadn’t just stood there letting it happen—felt like someone had lifted a weight you didn’t know you’d been carrying. you swallowed, voice wobbling as your thoughts spilled out. “but… am i not embarrassing? i mean—maybe this is better, right? i thought giving you space would help. that you’d… appreciate it.” you fiddled with your sleeve. “i thought maybe you’d finally get a break from me.”
the sound damian made was halfway between a scoff and an incredulous breath. “a break,” he repeated, as if the word personally offended him.
“i just thought—”
“no,” he cut in. “if i wanted space, i would tell you. i never asked for this.”
you blinked at him, startled by how quickly he closed the gap between you—two steps, maybe three, but enough that you had to tilt your chin up, enough that you felt the heat of him, the intensity he never tried to soften. “you think this is better?” he asked, voice tight. “you think this—this distance—is something i want?”
your breath caught. he shook his head once, the movement irritated. his eyes met yours, almost pleading. “it’s maddening.”
“you don’t exhaust me,” he continued. “you… unsettle me. in ways i am still learning to navigate. but i do not want you far from me.” his voice softened, but only barely. “i need you close. this distance,” he added, gaze flicking down to your hands before snapping back to your face, “is the only thing that has exhausted me.”
the relief hit first. then the warmth. then the stupid, overwhelming, giddy joy that flooded through you so fast it made your knees weak. then you were moving. “oh my god—damiiiii,” you squeaked, and whatever distance had been between you shattered as you launched yourself forward, practically colliding with his chest. his hands flew up on instinct, catching you like he always did, prepared even when you weren’t.
you wrapped your arms around his neck, squeezing him so tight he let out a soft, startled grunt. “you need me close?” you beamed, already peppering his jaw with quick, excited kisses. “oh my god, i was dying—i missed you so much—you should’ve just said something, damian, i thought you hated me—and i wanted to go to the gala so bad—”
“beloved—” he tried, but you were already cupping his face, kissing him again, soft then messy then eager, like you were making up for every second you’d held back. his hands settled on your waist, grounding but firm, like he was afraid you’d vanish again. you felt him breathe out slowly against your mouth, tension draining inch by inch. “wait—” damian tried again, voice catching somewhere between stern and breathless, but you were already kissing him for the fourth—fifth?—sixth time, you’d lost count, your hands on his cheeks, then his jaw, then his collar, like you were trying to make up for three weeks of starvation all at once.
“i need—listen—”
another kiss.
“i’m trying to—”
another, this one landing on the corner of his mouth because you mis-aimed from excitement. “you are impossible—”
you kissed the complaint right off his lips.
he exhaled hard against your mouth, a shaky sound that betrayed how much he’d missed this. “i got you something,” he finally managed, pushing the words out between soft, stolen breaths.
you froze—dramatically, predictably—eyes wide, lips still brushing his because you had absolutely no spatial awareness when excited. “you didn’t,” you gasped.
he gave you a look that was half fond, half exasperated. “i did.”
you almost shrieked, clutching his shoulders. “what is it? oh my god—damian, did you—did you get me the spoon??”
he blinked. “no. not the spoon. i knew you wanted to go to the gala,” he murmured when you finally pulled back for air—only because you had to, not because you wanted to. his voice was that low, almost-raspy softness he only ever used with you. “i know you.”
you were grinning so hard it was embarrassing. “you do?” you asked, glowing, practically bouncing in his arms.
he huffed—fond, resigned, completely undone—in the way only someone hopelessly in love could sound. “yes,” he said simply. “which is why i bought you a new gown.”
you gasped like he’d just offered you oxygen after drowning. “AWWW.”
“do not yell,” he muttered, though his lips twitched like he was fighting a smile.
“damian wayne,” you clutched his shoulders, scandalized and delighted and unhinged. “you bought me a gown and you didn’t even tell me??”
“i attempted to.” he gave you a look. “you hung up on me.”
you took forever to get ready.
not ‘a little long,’ not ‘fashionably delayed’—no. this was a questline. a saga. a biblical-length journey of outfit changes, makeup crises, and one thirty-second meltdown where you thought your eyeliner betrayed you (it did not).
damian waited.
or rather: he stood behind you with his arms crossed, pacing once, sighing twice, and then finally submitting to holding your hair clips for you. but when you stepped out—sparkling, glowing, wearing the dress he bought you—his entire posture changed. his breath literally hitched.
and at the gala? he didn’t let you out of arm’s reach once. every time someone’s eyes lingered too long, damian’s hand slid to your waist. the kind of possessive that said: look all you want, she’s going home with me. he guided you through the crowd. kissed your temple once when you made him laugh, glared at at least six people for daring to compliment you, absolutely threatened one guy with eye contact alone.
you thrived. you sparkled. for the first time in weeks, you felt entirely, stupidly, loudly like yourself again.
when the night wound down, you walked out with your heels dangling from your fingers, damian’s jacket around your shoulders, his hand loosely holding yours like he still wasn’t convinced you wouldn’t disappear. “where are we going?” you asked, swinging your joined hands dramatically.
“a detour,” he said simply.
the detour was the winter market.
the spoon—your ridiculous, rhinestone-encrusted, princess-coded spoon—was in a display window. damian walked inside without a word, bought it, and handed it to you.
you stared at it, serious as death. “damian,” you whispered. “i will treasure this spoon more than i will treasure any of our hypothetical future children.”
“that is—”
he paused.
“…deeply concerning.”
you nodded solemnly. “they’ll understand.”
he pinched the bridge of his nose. you hugged the spoon. somewhere in the back of your head, one final thought sparked:
when i see jason, i’m gonna… i’m gonna… unplug his phone charger. so he wakes up with like… 4%.
a terrifying threat.
damian exhaled, half-laughing, half in love, tugging you against him, “please never change.”
A/N: HAIII thank you for the love girl u already know i was on this shit the second i got this request ive been obsessed with the idea of bimbo!reader for some reason lately 😭💕💕 i hope this was okayyy
⋆˚꩜。 everytime you casually crack your back and shoulders around wayne manor, you trigger damian’s assassin-trained instincts when the sounds resemble those of seasoned vigilantes after combat. damian is convinced you're secretly hiding a double life, so he spirals into an obsessive investigation, analyzing your posture and movements only to finally find out it's because you suffer from scoliosis and chronic pain. f!reader
⋆˚꩜。request
Damian Wayne had heard bones crack before.
In fact, he’d heard bones crack in more ways than most people could ever stomach. Cass’s quiet, deliberate stretches before patrol, Dick’s relieved sigh after a backflip that landed slightly off center, Jason’s absolutely atrocious habit of popping his knuckles before he fought someone, like he was threatening their existence with his joints alone. Even Bruce, who pretended to be invincible, cracked his neck sometimes after long nights hunched over the Batcomputer.
Damian, therefore, thought he fully understood the range of sounds the human skeleton was capable of producing. Until you walked into the Manor kitchen at 7:14 am on a perfectly mundane day, reached up for a mug on the highest shelf, and unleashed a crack so loud Damian almost dropped his tea.
He snapped his head toward you instantly, eyes wide, alarm bells exploding in his brain. You blinked, hand still hovering mid air, then casually brought the mug down, completely unaware that you’d just triggered Damian Wayne’s fight or flight response. “Morning” you said, still sleepy, rubbing your shoulder. And then, you did it again. A rolling, echoing series of pops down your spine as you twisted slightly left, like bubble wrap being stepped on by God himself.
Damian stood frozen, teacup halfway to his mouth, staring at you like you’d just revealed you were secretly a cyborg. “Are you—what are you doing?” he demanded sharply, tone caught somewhere between horrified and offended on behalf of human anatomy. You yawned. “Cracking my back”
“Cracking your back.” he repeated, as if he needed the words to settle into place before he decided whether to call for medical support or exorcism. You nodded. “Yeah. I have scoliosis and chronic muscle tension pops like crazy” You reached your arm across your chest in a stretch and your shoulder snapped loudly enough that it echoed. Damian flinched, actually flinched. “You’re in pain?” he asked, voice dropping but eyes narrowing like he was analyzing intel. “Sometimes,” you said. “But it’s fine”
It wasn't fine, at least not to Damian. You just didn’t know he had already spiraled into a completely different interpretation of events.
Because Damian Wayne, raised by assassins, surrounded by vigilantes, and genetically predisposed to suspicion, only had one logical conclusion: no civilian cracked like that, no civilian made noises that dramatic unless they’d seen years of combat, injuries, falling off rooftops, he had heard these exact pops from Nightwing after getting thrown through a skylight, he had heard similar ones from Tim after he’d dislocated his shoulder during a pursuit. Civilians did not sound like that before breakfast. Damian hid his reaction poorly, his eyes scanned you the way he scanned suspects: your posture, your breathing, the way you favored your left side slightly, the scars you always brushed off as “old accidents”
You poured your coffee, completely unaware that Damian was now reorganizing his understanding of your entire existence. “I’ll… be in the living roo,” you said, confused by his stare. “Yes.” he replied distractedly, “Carry on.” The second you left the room, Damian immediately abandoned his tea and went straight into investigation mode. Within minutes, he was in the Cave. By ten minutes, he had three separate monitors pulled up. By fifteen, he had a full conspiracy wall equivalent across three screens and twenty tabs. Surveillance footage: analyzing your gait. Medical records: sealed, suspicious. Public background: too clean. Social media presence: minimal. Obviously hiding something.
Bruce happened to walk by and stopped, eyebrow raised. “What exactly are you doing?” Damian didn’t look away from the screen. “I am determining whether she is a vigilante.” Bruce blinked. “She’s not.” “How do you know?” Damian asked without missing a beat. Bruce gave him a flat stare. “Because she told me she wasn’t.”
“That means nothing,” Damian muttered, typing faster. “People lie.” Bruce sighed and left. This was not his battle.
Over the next forty eight hours, Damian Wayne watched you like a hawk. Subtly, of course. Or, what he thought was subtle. “Damian is staring at me again” you whispered to Dick at one point. Dick, unhelpfully, whispered back, “He’s in love” Damian, ten feet away said "I can hear you."
Every sound you made, every stretch, every pop of your spine, Damian catalogued. Every time you reached for something and your ribs made a satisfying crack, he zeroed in like a predator hearing a twig snap. You bent down to tie your shoe, your lower back popped. Damian’s head shot up from across the room. You reached up to adjust your hair, your shoulder clicked loudly. Damian quietly gasped like he had just uncovered a lead. You leaned sideways on the couch, your hip cracked. Damian’s eyes widened, mind racing. He cornered Dick later. “Her joint noises exceed the decibel level of a normal civilian.” “What?” “Her spine sounds like Grayson’s after a four story fall.” “Hey—!” “Therefore,” Damian continued, pacing now, “she either has undergone extensive combat training, has participated in clandestine operations, or she is acquiring injuries not accounted for by her supposed normal civilian lifestyle.” Dick stared. “…or she just has scoliosis?” “No,” Damian dismissed instantly. “You don’t understand. She cracked her sternum earlier.”
“Her what—?” Damian started sketching something on a notepad, some kind of diagram of a human skeleton with little red circles where he had noted your cracks. It was insane, it was unhinged but it was spectacularly Damian.
But the tipping point came when you were lying on the Manor couch, scrolling on your phone, and absently twisted your torso to stretch. The crack that came out of your spine was so loud it echoed through the entire room like a gunshot. Damian dropped the book he was holding. Jason yelled “What the—was that you or the house settling?” Tim peeked over his laptop, concerned. Cass looked impressed. And you just sighed in relief. “Oh thank god, that one was stuck since yesterday.” Damian stared at you like you had just confessed to murder. He approached you slowly, like you were a wild animal or an unstable grenade. “Explain.” he said. Just that. One word. You blinked. “Explain… what?”
“That.” he said, pointing at your spine as if it had personally offended him. “The sounds your body produces. The injuries you are hiding. Your combat background. The truth.” You squinted. “…Damian, I’m not hiding anything”
“You cracked your spine in seventeen places.”
“It’s scoliosis.”
“You cracked your hip.”
“Also scoliosis.”
“Your shoulder dislocates visibly.”
“Chronic pain.”
He stared. Hard. You sighed and sat up slowly. “Damian, I’m not a vigilante” He crossed his arms tightly, jaw set. “Prove it.” You rolled your eyes, set your phone aside, and, because chronic pain people are built different, proceeded to demonstrate the stupidest, most painful, most benign reason for all your dramatic bone noises: stretching your arms up, bending to the side, rotating your spine, and yes, in a truly cinematic series of crunchy snaps, your body produced a full symphony of cracks. Damian actually leaned back in shock, eyes wide. You finished, shrugged, and said casually, “See? Chronic tension. Not secret ninja” Damian blinked rapidly, stared at you for a long moment, and then, quietly, in a voice so soft it almost wasn’t Damian at all.“Does it… hurt?” You paused. His tone wasn’t suspicious this time. It was gentle, concerned and vulnerable in a way he didn’t allow himself often. “…Sometimes” you admitted. “But it’s manageable” Damian sat beside you stiffly, as if calculating the exact appropriate distance, then scooted just a little closer, trying to pretend it was casual. “You should tell me,” he muttered. “If your body is injured. Or if you are in pain.” “I don’t want to worry you” you said softly. “Too late.” he muttered. You smiled a little. He looked away quickly, ears slightly red. After a moment, Damian spoke again, voice low. “I only… I only suspected you were a vigilante because I feared you were putting yourself at risk without support.” You raised an eyebrow. “You mean you care?” “I mean,” he corrected stiffly, “I would prefer to know the capabilities and vulnerabilities of people I—” He stopped himself. Completely froze. You watched him, amused. “People you…?” His jaw clenched. “…people I consider important.”
You didn’t tease him. You just leaned slightly, not enough to startle him, just enough that your shoulder brushed his. Another tiny crack sounded. Damian glared at your joints like they were personally challenging him. “You must stop doing that." he muttered. “I literally can’t” you laughed. He huffed. After a long pause, he added, “If it relieves your pain, then… I suppose it is acceptable.” That, from Damian, was basically a love confessional. You softened. “…Thank you” Damian didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he reached out, hesitating just a heartbeat, then placed his hand very gently on your back, fingers warm, careful. “Tell me where it hurts” he whispered. You exhaled and Damian Wayne, who had spent two days constructing a conspiracy board to prove you were a secret vigilante, now sat beside you with a hand on your spine like you were something precious he was trying to understand. Eventually, he spoke again. “Next time,” he said softly, “Warn me before your skeleton explodes.”
“That’s not how scoliosis works, Damian” “Evidently I still have much to learn.” he muttered. You smiled, warm, grateful, a little in love. Damian pretended not to notice. But he did. And later, when you cracked your shoulder again while reaching for a book, Damian didn’t flinch. He just sighed softly, walked over, and took the book down for you like it was the most natural thing in the world. “You’re ridiculous.” he said. “You’re dramatic” you replied. “We are both correct.” he conceded. And maybe he smiled just a little. (He absolutely did.)
Damian loves you. It's why he didn't push you away when he first saw you. It's why he asked you to prom. It's why he started to care about his safety. It's why he proposed in a field of your favourite flowers. Why he spent days on his vows. Why he planned the wedding to your liking. Why he had a corner in your new house for your achievements.
He gave you a house,you made it home. He bought a couch,you put your snoopy blanket on it.
He bought the bed,you put your plushies on it.
Your shoe next to his. Your showering products next to his. Your jacket hung with his.
The "د" initial on your necklace. Your initial tattoed on his heart.
He spent thousands for a walk in closet, a small couch in there so you could give him a personal fashion show.
Flying first class so you could see your favourite band perform.
Showing you off in galas he was forced to go to.
It's why he texts you whenever he can,to make sure you are ok.
It's why he takes pictures of you in every occassion.
Why he has two sketch books filled with you.
Why he became less snappy with his family.
Why he takes your makeup off for you when you're tired. Tracing your face, his pupils wide with love.
Why he makes you food, so you wouldn't tire yourself with standing.
Why he watches shows he has no interest in, just for you.
Why he wakes up everyday with a reason to live, the reason sleeping next to him.
Pairing: Max Verstappen x Charlotte Fischer (Original Character)
Summary: Charlotte Fischer has spent years making sure no one in Formula One knows who she really is.
At Red Bull, she is simply Charlotte: Cambridge graduate, simulator engineer, owner of a deeply judgmental cat, and the woman responsible for making the team’s broken 2025 car model finally tell the truth.
She prefers it that way. No family name. No questions. No one looking at her like she is someone’s daughter, someone’s mistake, or someone’s failure to protect.
Max Verstappen notices her anyway.
Warnings and Notes: I wrote fanfiction of my own fanfiction. This is the result.
As always big thanks to @llirawolf , who listens to me ramble.
Charlotte Fischer had been at Red Bull since the week after she graduated.
She’d sent in her CV like anyone else. Interviewed in a windowless room with bad coffee and too many questions. Signed her contract quietly and moved her life to Milton Keynes with the vague sense that she’d chosen something irreversible.
Sometimes — usually when she was three coffees deep and the sim refused to behave — it amused her, in a dry, private way, that she’d ended up here of all places.
Red Bull Racing.
The irony wasn’t lost on her.
No one here knew who she was related to.
No one softened their tone around her. No one watched her for signs of brilliance or disappointment. No one projected legacy onto her shoulders.
She wasn’t anyone’s daughter.
She could just be Charlotte.
Just another engineer with too many tabs open and a stubborn relationship with data.
Charlotte liked it that way.
The simulator lived deep inside the building, far from daylight and distraction.
Charlotte liked to joke — only to herself — that you could lose entire days down there and no one would notice.
She’d learned the rhythms of the place: the hum of machines, the faint smell of warmed electronics, the way the air never quite changed. It was insulated from the outside world, from weather and seasons and expectations.
The sim didn’t care who her father was. It didn’t care who her mother had been.
It didn’t care that she’d once lain in a hospital bed counting ceiling tiles and wondering if this would be the last room she would ever see.
The sim only cared whether the model was wrong.
If the numbers were wrong, it told her.
If the assumptions were flawed, it punished her.
If she fixed it, it responded honestly.
There was no pity in it.
Only cause and effect.
She spent most of her time down there — long hours, irregular meals, headphones on, mind locked into the language of physics and probability. People sometimes forgot she existed until something broke or improved unexpectedly.
She didn’t mind.
Being invisible had its advantages.
There were days — quieter ones, harder ones — when she recognised the truth without flinching:
When it wasn’t Tilly the cat keeping her alive, it had been this.
The focus. The problems.
The sense that something complex could be understood if she stayed with it long enough.
She had survived because she’d had reasons to keep thinking forward.
Sometimes, late at night, she’d sit alone in the sim control room, lights low, replaying runs not because she needed to — but because the repetition was grounding.
The steady hum reminded her that she was still here, that time was still moving.
She didn’t think about her father much while she worked.
That part of her life felt distant, sealed off behind professional neutrality and old decisions. Here, she was judged on output, not origin.
Here, she was competent.
Here, she mattered.
Charlotte adjusted a parameter, watched the model settle, and made a note to herself for the next session.
Just Charlotte.
And that was more than enough.
***
The car was lying to him.
Max had known it for weeks, in that low, irritating way that lived between shoulder blades and instincts — the way a thing felt wrong even when the numbers insisted otherwise.
The simulator said one thing. The track said another.
And every time he brought it up, it got smoothed over with words like correlation and tolerance and development window.
None of which helped when the rear snapped like it hated him personally.
So when GP told him there was someone in the sim department who wanted ten minutes of his time, Max expected another polite meeting.
Another explanation.
Another we’re working on it.
He did not expect her.
She was standing half-turned toward the screen when he walked in, arms crossed loosely, posture straight but not stiff.
Tall. Longer legs than most people in the room.
Short dark hair that brushed her jaw, slightly mussed like she’d run a hand through it too many times.
Dark eyes — sharp, focused— flicked to him, assessed him, and then went straight back to the data.
No awe. No hesitation.
Interesting.
“Max, this is Charlotte Fischer.” GP said. “Sim engineer. Charlotte, Max.”
Charlotte Fischer nodded once. No smile. No fuss.
“Hi, nice to meet you.”
Her voice was calm. Neutral in a way that suggested it had been trained that way.
Max nodded back, suddenly very aware of the fact that he was still in his race suit and probably smelled faintly like heat and frustration.
“So,” he said, because silence felt loaded already. “You found something.”
“Yes,” she said immediately, uncrossing her arms and stepping closer to the screen. “The sim wasn’t wrong because of bad inputs. It was wrong because it was assuming the car behaved honestly.”
Max blinked.
“…Okay.”
She glanced at him then, just briefly, and there was something dry in her expression. Not amused. Not impressed. Just… certain.
“The aero load model is overcorrecting for yaw instability,” she continued. “Which means the sim compensates in ways the real car can’t. It’s smoothing behavior that doesn’t exist. So when you drive it, you subconsciously trust a balance you’ll never actually have on track.”
GP inhaled slowly, like someone bracing.
Max stepped closer, eyes narrowing at the replay she pulled up.
“That’s why it snaps,” he said quietly. “Mid-corner. Feels fine until it doesn’t.”
Charlotte nodded. “Yes.”
Not maybe. Not we think. Yes.
She pulled up a comparison run — sim versus real telemetry — and the discrepancy was suddenly obvious, glaring in hindsight. The sim was lying, and it had been doing it for months.
“I adjusted the assumptions,” she said. “Removed the artificial stabilisation. It’s… less pleasant to drive now.”
Max snorted.
“Good.”
That earned him a real look. One eyebrow lifted slightly. “I thought you might say that.”
He liked her already.
They ran the updated sim together.
The car was ugly, nervous, difficult — and suddenly, it made sense. The feedback matched his hands. The fear points lined up with reality.
When Max climbed out, adrenaline buzzing in his veins, he realised something else had changed.
He was smiling. “That’s it,” he said, turning toward her. “That’s the car.”
Charlotte inclined her head, like she’d expected nothing else.
“You’ll still hate it,” she said. “Just for the correct reasons now.”
He laughed before he could stop himself.
GP cleared his throat, looking between them with interest. “Good work,” he said to Charlotte.
She nodded again, already gathering her tablet, mentally moving on.
Max watched her for half a second too long.
Pretty was the wrong word. She wasn’t decorative. She was… arresting.
Tall, composed, dark hair sharp against pale skin, dark eyes that didn’t seek approval. Someone who fixed things quietly and didn’t need applause for it.
And something else — something he couldn’t quite name — tugged at him.
Familiarity, maybe. Or recognition.
As she turned to leave, Max found himself speaking without planning it. “You’ll be around for the next sessions?”
Charlotte paused, glanced back at him. “Yes.”
Just that.
Then she walked out, steps measured, already gone from the moment.
Max stood there, helmet under his arm, heart doing something annoying and unexpected.
GP watched him, unimpressed. “…Don’t,” he said flatly.
Max didn’t even look away from the door. “I haven’t done anything.”
GP huffed. “You’re thinking too loudly.”
Max smiled to himself, slow and crooked. Yeah. He definitely was.
***
Lunch was a brief ceasefire between debriefs and damage limitation.
They were halfway through eating when Charlotte appeared at the edge of the table, tablet tucked under her arm, tote bag slung over one shoulder.
She paused, polite. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Max looked up immediately. Tried not to look like he had.
Hannah smiled. “You’re not interrupting.”
Charlotte reached into her bag and pulled out something… knitted. Crocheted, actually. Thick yarn, carefully shaped.
It was a tiny hat.
A ridiculous, adorable, painstakingly made tiny hat.
“This is for Nimbus,” Charlotte said, handing it to Hannah. “Your daughters asked if the ears could be… exaggerated.”
Hannah gasped softly. “Oh my god. They’re going to lose their minds.”
Max stared at the hat.
Then at Charlotte.
Then back at the hat.
“…Is that,” he said slowly, “a cat-sized hat?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation. No embarrassment.
GP choked on his drink.
Hannah turned the little thing over in her hands, inspecting the stitches. “You’re a miracle worker. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Charlotte hesitated, then added, “If Nimbus hates it, tell them it’s my fault.”
“He won’t,” Hannah said confidently. “He tolerates nonsense remarkably well.”
Charlotte nodded once, satisfied, and glanced briefly at Max — just a flicker — before stepping back.
“Enjoy lunch,” she said.
Then she was gone again, leaving behind a crochet hat and a table full of stunned engineers.
There was a beat of silence.
Max broke it immediately.
“I need to see pictures,” he said, pointing at the hat. “Immediately. When your cat wears that.”
Hannah laughed. “Of course you do.”
“I’m serious,” Max said. “This is important.”
GP sighed into his coffee. “Please explain to me how this is now important.”
Max ignored him, eyes still on the hat.
Hannah smiled knowingly. “Charlotte has an Instagram.”
Max’s head snapped up. “She does?”
“Yes,” Hannah said casually. “She only posts her cat. Modeling the hats.”
Max froze. “…Only that?”
“Yes.”
“How many hats are we talking about?”
Hannah shrugged. “Seasonal. Themes. There was a little witch one at Halloween.”
Max was already pulling out his phone.
“What’s the handle?”
Hannah told him.
Max followed the account without a second’s hesitation.
The feed loaded.
Cat. Hat. Another hat. A different angle of the same cat. A caption that was aggressively understated.
Max stared.
Then smiled.
Then liked three photos in a row before realising he probably shouldn’t like all of them.
GP watched him with the weary expression of a man who had seen this before and knew how it ended.
“You are,” GP said, “deeply predictable.”
Max didn’t look up.
“She crochets hats,” he said faintly. “For cats.”
“Yes,” Hannah said. “And?”
“And she fixes our sim,” Max added. “And she’s tall.”
Hannah snorted.
GP stood, collecting his tray. “I’m leaving before this gets worse.”
Max finally glanced up, phone still in his hand, eyes bright.
“It’s already worse,” he said cheerfully.
And he liked another photo anyway.
Max was still scrolling when GP came back with his coffee.
Another cat. Another hat.
Max liked it.
Hannah watched him do it.
She didn’t say anything at first. Just leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, eyes flicking between Max, the phone, and GP with the quiet confidence of someone about to ruin a man’s day.
“Ah,” she said eventually. “There it is.”
Max frowned. “What.”
GP glanced over. Took in the scene in half a second. “Oh,” GP said flatly. “No.”
Max finally looked up. “What do you mean no.”
“You have a crush,” Hannah said, far too cheerfully.
Max scoffed. “I do not.”
GP sat down slowly, the way one does when bracing for disappointment.
“You followed an engineer’s cat Instagram within thirty seconds,” GP said. “And you’re smiling at your phone.”
“It’s a cat,” Max argued. “In a hat!”
Hannah raised an eyebrow. “You don’t follow my cat.”
“That’s because your cat doesn’t wear costumes,” Max shot back.
GP pinched the bridge of his nose.
“This,” he said, gesturing vaguely at Max, “is exactly how it starts.”
Max rolled his eyes. “You’re both being dramatic.”
Hannah leaned forward. “Max. You asked me to send you photos of Nimbus wearing the hat. You said it was ‘important.’”
“It is important.”
GP stared at him. “Why.”
Max opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
“Well,” he said, stalling, “because—”
Hannah smiled sweetly. “Because you like her.”
“I like that she fixed the sim,” Max said quickly.
“And crocheted a hat for my cat,” Hannah added.
“And has an Instagram for it,” GP said.
“And you followed it immediately,” Hannah finished.
They both looked at him.
Max exhaled through his nose, defeated.
“…Fine,” he muttered. “Maybe a little.”
Hannah clapped once. “Oh god. You have a crush.”
GP groaned. “We are not doing this in the middle of a season from hell.”
Max looked back at his phone. The orange cat stared out from the screen, tiny hat slightly askew.
“She’s just… interesting,” he said, quieter now. “And she’s good. At her job.”
GP gave him a long look. “So were many people before who you did not stalk via crochet content.”
Max shrugged.
Hannah laughed outright. “This is adorable. I give it three weeks before you ask her about yarn.”
“I am not asking her about yarn,” Max protested.
GP didn’t even look convinced.
Max liked another photo.
Just one more.
For science.
***
Meanwhile on Twitter:
@/gridwatcher:
🚨 extremely important max verstappen following update 🚨
he just followed… a cat account???
@/tyredegpls: a WHAT account
@/gridwatcher: no because look
it’s just
a cat
wearing crocheted hats
@/papayapanic: pls tell me you’re joking
@/gridwatcher: I WISH I WAS
handle is literally tillyshats
@/softsector: hold on
scrolling
oh my god
WHY IS IT SO CUTE
@/dutchdelight33: max: fighting a cursed car every weekend
also max: yes. tiny hat.
@/downforcegirlie: this is the most unhinged thing he’s done all season and that is SAYING something
@/gridwatcher: the captions are killing me
“she hated this.”
bestie SAME
@/tyredegpls: do we think max knows the person irl or is this just him discovering joy again
@/softsector: either way i support his healing journey through crochet cat hats
@/downforcegirlie: he’s gonna like every post isn’t he
@/softsector: he already liked three in a row. source: me, refreshing.
@/gridwatcher: someone please tell him twitter has eyes
@/papayapanic: no don’t
this is the only joy we have this season
@/gridwatcher: max verstappen following a cat crochet account is the most emotionally stable thing he’s done in months and honestly? relatable.
@/papayaemergency: the captions are like
“she did not consent”
“winter collection complete”
I’m crying
@/F1Detective: give us 24 hours
@/F1Detective (later): ok so:
– account has existed for years
– never posted anything F1 related
– follows exactly 12 people
– max followed it today
this is either chaos or romance
@/OrangeSector33: max verstappen silently liking crochet cat content during a catastrophic season is my new coping mechanism
@/MaxAppreciation: I just know GP saw this and sighed
@/SlowPitStop: this is how it starts
first the cat
then the yarn
then suddenly he’s knitting in the garage
@/RedBullChaos: max hasn’t liked anything else today
just the cat
priorities king 👑
@/DutchF1Watcher: I don’t care who runs the account
I just want them to know
they made the fandom happy today 🧶🐱
Sim_Ruby: because he is a dedicated professional athlete committed to improving performance
Aero_Matt: ruby
Sim_Ruby: because charlotte is here
Strategy_Leah: ah
Composite_Tom: there it is
Garage_Pete: wait are we allowed to say that now
Strategy_Hannah: No.
Garage_Pete: so yes
Strategy_Hannah: Also no.
Sim_Ruby: Max asked whether the updated low-speed model was ready
Aero_Matt: is it
Sim_Ruby: it was ready yesterday
Aero_Matt: and did he know that
Sim_Ruby: yes
Aero_Matt: Beautiful
Powertrains_Nina: I saw him walk past the sim wing three times this morning
Garage_Pete: maybe he was lost
Powertrains_Nina: max verstappen has been in this building since he was seventeen
Garage_Pete: emotionally lost
Composite_Tom: that checks out
PR_Sophie: Can someone confirm whether Max has actually followed the cat account or is this another rumour?
Strategy_Leah: confirmed
PR_Sophie: oh my god
Aero_Matt: what cat account
Sim_Ruby: Charlotte’s cat. Tilly. The crochet hats.
Aero_Matt: the WHAT
Garage_Pete: welcome to the lore
Powertrains_Nina: Tilly has worn, to my knowledge:
pumpkin hat
dinosaur hat
mushroom hat
flower hat
PR_Sophie: and max followed within approximately thirty seconds of learning it existed
Aero_Matt: that is not a crush
that is a telemetry trace
Engineering_GP: All of you have work to do.
Aero_Matt: so do you
Engineering_GP: Correct. Mine is apparently preventing a world champion from flirting like a concussed golden retriever.
Sim_Ruby: GP
Garage_Pete: A CONCUSSED GOLDEN RETRIEVER
Powertrains_Nina: accurate though
Strategy_Hannah: Unfortunately.
PR_Sophie: For legal purposes, no one is to discuss this outside internal channels.
Aero_Matt: we have legal purposes now?
PR_Sophie: Max liking five consecutive photos of a cat wearing hats is market-sensitive information.
Strategy_Leah: true
Composite_Tom: the FIA should investigate
Garage_Pete: penalty for excessive adorableness
Sim_Ruby: UPDATE: Charlotte just told Max the simulator was “less wrong than yesterday” and he smiled like she handed him a trophy
Aero_Matt: oh he is GONE gone
Powertrains_Nina: did she mean it as praise?
Sim_Ruby: for Charlotte? yes
Strategy_Hannah: That is basically a sonnet from her.
Engineering_GP: Do not encourage him.
Strategy_Hannah: I am not encouraging him. I am observing.
Engineering_GP: You gave him her cat Instagram.
Strategy_Hannah: That was cultural enrichment!
Garage_Pete: max just asked whether charlotte was having lunch
Aero_Matt: normal
Garage_Pete: then immediately said “not like that”
Strategy_Leah: less normal
Garage_Pete: then left without eating
Composite_Tom: catastrophic
Powertrains_Nina: has anyone told charlotte
Sim_Ruby: told charlotte what
Powertrains_Nina: that the entire building thinks max has a crush on her
Sim_Ruby: she knows
Aero_Matt: SHE KNOWS?
Sim_Ruby: she has eyes
Strategy_Hannah: And a Cambridge degree.
Garage_Pete: so what is she doing about it
Sim_Ruby: mostly pretending not to know
Strategy_Leah: valid
Composite_Tom: romance, but make it deeply repressed and data-driven
Sim_Ruby: MAX JUST BROUGHT CHARLOTTE A COFFEE
Aero_Matt: did she accept it
Sim_Ruby: yes
Composite_Tom: oh my god
Garage_Pete: wedding when
Strategy_Hannah: Do not be weird.
Garage_Pete: sorry
Powertrains_Nina: what kind of coffee
Sim_Ruby: black. no sugar. exactly how she drinks it.
Strategy_Leah: oh
Aero_Matt: OH
Composite_Tom: he knows her coffee order
Garage_Pete: we are so back
***
Charlotte arrived early enough that the building had not fully woken yet.
The corridor lights were still dimmed to half-strength, the air cool and quiet in the way she liked best, before the factory filled with voices and footsteps and the restless machinery of a race weekend being prepared in a thousand invisible ways.
She had a coffee in one hand, her tablet tucked beneath her arm, and half her mind already turning over the work she had left unfinished the night before.
There was still a discrepancy in the latest sim run that annoyed her.
Not enough to be alarming.
Enough to be personal.
She slowed when she reached the entrance to the sim wing.
Voices drifted from the coffee machine.
Two engineers stood near the counter, jackets still on, mugs in hand, bodies loose with the kind of ease people only had before the day had properly claimed them. They were talking the way people talked when work had not yet narrowed them down to data and deadlines.
“My mum keeps asking if I’m coming home for Easter,” one of them said, amused. “As if I can just teleport.”
The other laughed. “Mine’s already planning Christmas. It’s March.”
“Better than my dad,” the first replied. “He sends spreadsheets. Travel options. Budget comparisons. Last year there were colour-coded tabs.”
Charlotte stopped just out of sight.
Family talk had a way of slipping under her skin before she had time to brace for it. It was always the harmless conversations that did the most damage.
The little complaints. The fond exasperation. The casual certainty that someone was waiting somewhere, planning too much, caring clumsily but consistently.
She waited until the moment passed, then stepped forward.
The engineers glanced over, nodded in greeting, and moved aside to let her reach the coffee machine. Their conversation faded naturally as work reasserted itself.
Normal.
Unremarkable.
Charlotte returned the nod, polite and distant, then continued down the corridor with her coffee warming her hand.
She did not think about her family often.
Not actively.
It was not something she pushed away so much as something that had ceased to belong to her daily life. Like a room in a house she had stopped entering until, eventually, she no longer remembered the exact placement of the furniture.
She had a mother once.
That part was easy to remember.
Warmth. Beauty that had nothing to do with mirrors. A laugh that lived in the body more than the mouth. Hands that tucked hair behind Charlotte’s ear with absentminded tenderness. A voice that spoke to her as if she were already someone worth listening to.
Then she had a father.
Had.
The word still landed strangely.
She had not spoken to him in nearly four years now. Not properly. Not since the last argument — if it could even be called that. Arguments implied heat on both sides. Noise. Back-and-forth. Something alive enough to resist.
What they had…that was a rupture.
A single moment where everything unspoken finally surfaced, where Charlotte stopped absorbing it quietly and said, in every way she knew how, this hurts.
And he had answered with calm-downs.
With compromises.
With that familiar, polished instinct to keep the peace, as if peace had ever been neutral. As if it had not always been purchased with her silence.
She had walked out that night without slamming the door.
She had never gone back.
Cutting contact had not been dramatic.
It had been administrative.
She changed her number. Updated emergency contacts. Removed his name from forms and replaced it with her own. Changed what needed changing, signed what needed signing, and built a life that no longer required anyone else’s permission to continue.
It had not felt like loss.
That had surprised her, at first.
It had felt like relief.
She reached the simulator control room and set her things down. The machines hummed around her, steady and familiar, wrapping the room in a sound she understood better than most people’s voices.
This, she could trust.
Data did not ask where you were from.
It did not ask who raised you.
It did not assume connection where there was none.
She powered up her workstation, eyes scanning the screen as systems came online. The familiar glow caught against her coffee cup, her notes, the edge of her hand.
Families, she thought, were something you either got lucky with or learned to live without.
She had learned. And she had survived.
Still, sometimes, she could not help thinking about it.
It happened more often than she liked to admit.
Not deliberately. Not masochistically.
Just… in passing.
A screen left on in the background. A photograph in a paddock recap. A video clip that autoplayed before she could stop it.
Her father laughing with Jack on his shoulders.
Her father leaning down to listen to Rosa, one hand warm and familiar at her back.
Her father with Benedict, proud and attentive and present in a way that looked effortless from the outside.
A father.
Charlotte never sought those moments out, but they found her anyway, slipping into her periphery like static she could never quite tune out.
Every time, she wondered the same thing.
How can you do it for them?
How could he know how to kneel to a child’s height, how to listen, how to protect, how to make himself soft enough to be trusted — and still never have managed it for her?
She did not think it with anger anymore.
That part had burned out years ago.
What remained was quieter. Sharper.
Confusion, edged with grief.
She had been there first.
The thought arrived uninvited every time. Not as an accusation. Not even as a plea.
Just as fact.
She had been there first.
Stephanie’s face surfaced next, as it often did when Charlotte let herself follow the thread.
Stephanie, cool and immaculate. Stephanie, whose displeasure had never needed to become a raised voice to be felt. Stephanie, who had looked at Charlotte as if she were a problem that should have resolved itself through gratitude and silence.
Charlotte had spent years trying to be smaller around her.
Quieter.
Easier.
Less inconveniently alive.
It had never worked.
Nothing would have worked.
That had been one of the cruellest things to learn. That sometimes there was no correct version of yourself that would make someone love you. Sometimes the offence was not your behaviour, or your tone, or your awkwardness, or your grief.
Sometimes the offence was simply that you existed.
Susie belonged in a different category altogether.
Susie had never been cruel.
That mattered.
It also had not been enough.
Charlotte had learned early that kindness without intervention still left bruises. That sympathy did not stop harm if it stayed quiet. That a soft look across a dinner table was not the same thing as someone saying, enough.
She did not resent Susie.
Not exactly.
She simply had not trusted her.
And that, too, had felt inevitable.
Her mother was the only one untouched by complication.
Charlotte missed her with a dull, persistent ache that had nothing to do with time. No amount of years had softened it. No amount of success had replaced the absence. It lived in her quietly, beneath the skin, like an old injury that ached before rain.
She missed the way her mother had spoken to her like Charlotte’s thoughts mattered.
The way she had touched her hair when she was thinking.
The way she had laughed — full-bodied, unselfconscious, generous — as if joy was not something to ration.
She missed the safety of her.
The certainty.
Sometimes Charlotte tried to imagine what her life would have been if her mother had lived.
She suspected the answer was: simpler.
Not easier.
Just less lonely.
She rarely allowed herself to dwell on the question that haunted her most.
If she were still alive, would any of this have happened?
Charlotte knew the answer.
No.
Because her mother would never have let anyone make her feel optional.
She sat down at her desk, set her coffee beside the keyboard, and pulled up the latest sim data.
The discrepancy was still there, waiting for her.
Good.
That, at least, was something she knew how to fix.
***
Max hadn’t meant to listen.
That was the thing.
He was not sneaking around the sim wing like some sort of stalker who lingered near doorways because Charlotte Fischer happened to be on the other side of them.
He was simply walking.
And then he heard her laugh.
Not the small, contained sound she sometimes made when someone said something mildly funny and she decided, apparently by committee, that it deserved acknowledgement.
This was different.
Quick. Unpolished. Surprised out of her.
Max slowed before he could stop himself.
The office door was half-open. Voices drifted out into the corridor — easy, bright, the kind of conversation people had when the day had not fully sharpened around them yet.
Charlotte’s voice cut through the others.
Distinct.
Calm.
Impeccably British in that way that made Max think of expensive schools and people who used forks correctly even when angry.
“You know,” one of her colleagues said, audibly grinning, “every time you say can’t, I expect you to start announcing tea.”
Charlotte made an offended sound. “That’s not even fair.”
“It is,” another voice chimed in. “You sound like you went to the kind of school that has its own crest.”
“I did,” Charlotte said dryly.
Max stopped walking.
He pulled out his phone, because apparently he was now that person and if anyone asked, he could pretend he had received a message.
“Called it,” the first colleague said triumphantly. “I knew it. Boarding school.”
“Very pricey boarding school,” Charlotte corrected. “With uniforms that cost more than my rent.”
Someone laughed. “You’re joking.”
“I wish I were. There was a blazer. It had piping.”
“Oh, posh-posh.”
“Traumatised-posh,” Charlotte corrected. “There is a difference.”
Max’s mouth twitched despite himself.
He could picture it too easily.
Charlotte in some severe school uniform, dark hair shorter even then maybe, dark eyes already watchful, standing too straight because someone somewhere had taught her posture could be armour.
Charlotte learning early how to sound composed. How to make every sentence smooth enough that no one could grab hold of it.
He filed it away.
Boarding school.
Expensive.
Old money, maybe.
Or at least money somewhere.
That part did not quite fit with the rest of her, though. Not with the way she never talked like someone expecting anything to be handed to her. Not with the way she moved through Red Bull like she had carved out every inch of space herself.
Then one of her colleagues said, “Okay, but wait — you’re not even British, are you?”
There was a pause.
Small. Almost nothing.
Max noticed anyway.
“No,” Charlotte said. “I was born in Austria.”
That stopped him properly.
Austria.
The word clicked into place somewhere in the back of his mind, sharp and unexpected.
“In Austria?” the colleague echoed. “Then why do you sound like you were raised by the BBC?”
Charlotte huffed softly. “Because I moved young and learned quickly that sounding neutral was useful.”
The colleague laughed. “Neutral? Charlotte, you sound like you should be disappointed in my table manners.”
“I often am.”
More laughter.
Max did not laugh this time.
Sounding neutral was useful.
He turned the words over once.
Twice.
He had learned, in the few weeks since Charlotte had appeared properly in his orbit, that she rarely wasted words. She could make a joke, yes. She could be dry enough to make GP look up from his coffee. But she did not say things by accident.
Useful.
Not natural.
Not inherited.
Useful.
He stored that away too.
Austrian.
Moved young.
Accent chosen. Or trained. Or both.
He should have kept walking.
He really should have.
Instead, he stood there in the corridor with his phone in his hand, pretending to scroll through nothing, collecting pieces of Charlotte Fischer like small, mismatched parts of a car he did not yet understand.
Cat Instagram.
That had been the first piece, really.
The account with the orange cat in crocheted hats.
Tilly’s hats. sixty-seven posts. No selfies. No friends. No food pictures. No glamorous life tucked between work and travel.
Just a cat staring into the camera with offended dignity while wearing whatever newest crocheted creation her owner had made.
Max had followed the account within thirty seconds of finding it.
Hannah and GP had mocked him for that.
Fairly, maybe.
He had liked only three photos at first, because he had enough self-control not to like all of them immediately. Then he had gone back later and liked two more, because the cat had been wearing a tiny mushroom hat and he was not made of stone.
That had told him something about Charlotte too.
Not the obvious thing — that she liked cats, though that was important and frankly made her more interesting.
But the other thing.
That she made things with her hands.
Tiny, impractical, ridiculous things.
For a cat.
The same woman who spoke in clean, precise lines about sim correlation and flawed modelling assumptions spent her free time crocheting hats for an animal that looked furious about it.
Max liked that more than he knew what to do with.
Now Austria. Boarding school. The accent.
The little pause before she answered.
He put those beside the cat hats in his head.
None of it made a full picture.
All of it made him want to look again.
“So what,” the first colleague said, still teasing, “secret posh childhood?”
Charlotte made a sound Max could not quite read. “Something like that.”
That was not an answer.
Max knew that because he gave those kinds of answers all the time.
The ones that sounded enough like truth that people stopped asking.
“Come on,” the colleague pressed. “Austria, British boarding school, Cambridge, Red Bull. That’s a lot.”
“It looks more coherent on paper than it was in practice,” Charlotte said.
There it was again.
A sentence with a door behind it.
Max stared at his phone without seeing it.
“Did your parents just decide England would build character?” someone asked.
Another pause.
Longer this time.
Then Charlotte said, lightly, “Something like that.”
The same phrase.
Different weight.
Max’s fingers tightened around his phone.
Parents.
So there were parents. Or had been. Rich enough for boarding school. Connected enough for Cambridge. Absent enough, maybe, that Charlotte had learned to make her voice sound like something that could not be questioned.
He did not know.
That was the problem.
He did not know anything, really.
He knew she was tall. That he had noticed immediately.
Tall, short dark hair, dark eyes that looked at data like it had personally offended her. Pretty in a way that did not ask to be looked at and therefore made him want to look more, which was annoying and inconvenient and absolutely GP’s fault somehow.
He knew she was good.
Not normal good. Not useful member of the department good.
Very good.
The kind of good that made people in the sim wing listen when she spoke. The kind of good that had made the car, for the first time in weeks, feel honestly bad instead of dishonestly manageable. The kind of good that mattered, because Max hated being lied to by machines almost as much as he hated being lied to by people.
He knew she was not impressed by him.
That might have been the worst part.
Or the best.
He had not decided.
She did not look at him like most people looked at him. Not fans. Not sponsors. Not women who already knew his reputation before he opened his mouth.
Charlotte looked at him like a data point.
A very fast data point, maybe.
Occasionally useful.
Occasionally irritating.
But not miraculous.
Max should have found that insulting.
Instead, he found himself walking slightly slower past corridors where he knew she worked, checking whether she was in the sim bay before he asked a question he could probably have asked someone else, and thinking about an orange cat in a frog hat more often than was dignified.
“Anyway,” Charlotte said inside the office, her voice shifting back toward professional even as the others still sounded amused. “If we are finished psychoanalysing my vowels, the model is still wrong.”
Someone groaned. “You’re no fun.”
“I am enormous fun,” Charlotte replied. “In controlled conditions.”
Max nearly smiled.
There she was.
The door closed on the conversation a moment later, the voices muffling into work.
Max stood there for half a second longer.
Then he put his phone away and continued toward the sim bay.
By the time he arrived, Charlotte was already there, because of course she was. She sat at her desk with her posture perfect and her eyes on the screen, short dark hair tucked behind one ear, speaking to another engineer in that polished British register that now sounded different to him.
Not fake.
Never fake.
Constructed.
There was a difference.
Max watched her while pretending not to.
Austria, he thought.
Boarding school.
Cambridge.
Cat.
Parents with money, maybe. Or money around her. Or something complicated enough that she had learned to answer around it.
He added each fact to the quiet little folder in his mind labelled Charlotte Fischer.
It was becoming embarrassingly full.
She looked up suddenly, as if she had felt him watching.
Max, who was excellent under pressure and had won world championships, immediately forgot what he had come in for.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
“Did you need something?”
“Yes,” Max said.
A pause.
Her eyebrow rose a fraction higher.
He recovered badly.
“The sim,” he said. “I wanted to ask about the updated model.”
That was at least true.
Charlotte turned back to her screen. “Sit down, then.”
Max sat.
Too quickly.
Behind him, GP made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a cough and even more suspiciously like amusement.
Max ignored him.
Charlotte pulled up the model, all focus again, all precision. The polished accent. The steady hands. The brain that saw flaws in systems and fixed them before anyone else had found the right question.
Max listened.
Mostly.
But some part of him stayed in the corridor, holding the pieces he had collected.
He wondered how many versions of herself Charlotte Fischer had built to get here.
And, more dangerously, whether she ever let anyone see the one underneath.
***
The apartment was quiet in the particular way Monaco became quiet at night.
Not silent.
Never silent.
There was always the low hush of the city beyond the glass, the distant drag of tyres over tarmac, the occasional voice rising from the street below and dissolving into the dark. But up here, above most of it, the noise arrived softened. Cushioned. Expensive.
Toto Wolff sat alone at the dining table, laptop open in front of him, the glow of the screen cutting pale lines across the polished stone.
The paperwork was orderly.
Of course it was.
Trust statements. Account summaries. Investment reports. Tax documents. Things that made sense because numbers had the decency to declare what they were. They could be checked, balanced, corrected.
He had reviewed these accounts often enough to know most of them by heart.
Often enough to pretend this part would not still hurt.
He scrolled.
Benedict’s trust was active. University fees. Living expenses. Transfers made with the faint carelessness of someone who had always known the safety net was there.
Rosa’s was the same. Regular withdrawals. Sensible ones, mostly. A larger payment for an apartment deposit. A few indulgences Toto had noticed and chosen not to comment on.
They were using what he had built for them.
That was the point of it, he told himself. That had always been the point.
Then the next file opened. Charlotte Wolff.
Her name sat there in the same clean font as the others, understated and formal, as if it were simply another account to review. As if it did not reach through the screen and close around his throat.
Toto went still.
The balance was untouched.
No withdrawals.
No requests.
No transfers.
No activity beyond interest accrual and the neat, automatic work of money compounding around an absence.
For years.
He stared at the numbers for a long time.
Four years since she had blocked his number.
Four years since his calls had stopped ringing through and gone instead into that cold, immediate silence. Four years since messages had remained delivered but unanswered, until eventually even that stopped because he no longer knew whether she had the same number at all.
Four years since he had told himself the same cowardly thing over and over.
She will call if she needs something.
It had sounded reasonable at the time.
Respectful, even.
A way of giving her space. A way of not forcing himself into a life she had clearly decided to keep without him.
Now, looking at the untouched trust, he saw it for what it had been.
An excuse.
She had never called.
Not for money.
Not for help.
Not because she was frightened.
Not because she was ill.
Not because there was no one else.
She had taken his absence and made it permanent.
Cleanly.
Efficiently.
Like Charlotte did most things.
And the worst part — the part that sat heavy and sickening beneath his ribs — was that he had always known she would be capable of it.
Even as a child, she had been too self-contained.
Too careful.
Too ready to take responsibility for the temperature of a room before any adult had asked why a child was reading it so closely.
He could still see her sometimes, if he let himself.
Small at the edge of a dining table. Hands folded. Back straight. Eyes lowered, then lifted, then lowered again. Watching. Measuring. Learning what not to say.
He remembered the way her shoulders tightened when Stephanie spoke her name.
He remembered the way she grew quieter over the years.
He remembered noticing.
That was the unforgivable thing.
Not ignorance.
Not blindness.
Not some convenient failure of perception.
He had noticed.
He had seen enough to know.
The tension in her jaw. The way she left rooms before she could be dismissed from them. The way she stopped asking for things. The way she learned, year by year, to make needing him unnecessary.
And he had done nothing.
Not because he had not loved her.
That was the excuse he had reached for in darker moments, but even he had never managed to make himself believe it.
He had loved her.
He had simply loved his own peace more.
He had loved the fragile balance of the household more.
He had loved avoiding confrontation more.
He had loved the version of himself who could provide everything measurable and pretend protection was included somewhere in the cost.
Toto pressed his fingers to his eyes.
“I didn’t protect her,” he said.
The words fell into the empty apartment and stayed there.
They did not shock him.
They were too old for that.
Too worn down by repetition.
Too true.
Behind him, the door opened softly.
Toto did not turn around.
He heard Susie come in, the quiet click of keys set down, the pause that followed when she saw him sitting there in the dark with the laptop open and every line of his body pulled tight.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
It was not really a question.
Susie had always been better than most people at reading the shape of disaster before anyone named it.
Toto kept his eyes on the screen.
“I really fucked up with her,” he said.
The apartment seemed to hold its breath.
Susie did not ask who.
That was its own kind of mercy.
After a moment, she came closer. Her hand settled lightly on the back of his chair, not quite touching him yet.
“Charlotte,” she said.
Toto nodded once.
The name hurt more when Susie said it.
“She hasn’t touched the trust,” he said. “Not once.”
Susie’s gaze moved to the laptop.
Toto heard her inhale.
“Years,” he continued, and his voice sounded strange even to himself. Too flat. Too controlled. “No withdrawals. No calls. No requests. Nothing.”
Susie was quiet.
“I told myself she would call if she needed money,” he said.
The shame of it rose hot in his throat.
“God,” he muttered. “Money.”
Susie’s hand moved from the chair to his shoulder.
“That was never how Charlotte asked for help,” she said gently.
Toto laughed once.
Short.
Humourless.
“She didn’t ask,” he said. “That was the point.”
“I know.”
“No.” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think I did. Not properly.”
He looked back at the screen.
At the pristine account.
At the money he had set aside like proof of fatherhood. As if a trust fund could stand in for all the rooms where he had remained silent. As if Cambridge and doctors and security and a name on paperwork could add up to safety.
“I gave her everything except what she needed,” he said.
Susie said nothing.
There was kindness in her silence, but not absolution. He was grateful for that.
“She was a child,” Toto said, and this time his voice cracked around it. “She was a child, Susie. And I left her alone in that house.”
“You were there,” Susie said softly.
“That’s worse.”
Her hand tightened on his shoulder.
He closed his eyes.
“She looked at me that night,” he said. “Before she left. After I told her to calm down.”
The memory came back with brutal clarity.
Charlotte standing at the table, pale with fury, eyes too bright and too dry. Stephanie offended. Rosa defensive. Benedict silent.
And Charlotte looking at him.
Not waiting for him to fix it anymore.
Just watching him fail one final time.
“I thought I was de-escalating,” he said.
The word tasted obscene.
Susie did not soften it for him.
“You were choosing the room,” she said. “Not her.”
Toto nodded.
The truth of it settled between them like dust.
“I know.”
He had known then too, perhaps. Somewhere beneath the practiced instinct. Beneath the diplomacy, the management, the relentless need to make every conflict survivable by making it smaller.
Charlotte had not needed the conflict made smaller.
She had needed him to make himself larger.
He had not.
Susie drew out the chair beside him and sat.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The laptop screen dimmed slightly, the numbers fading toward grey.
After a long moment, Susie said, “You could try reaching out again.”
Toto stared at Charlotte’s name.
“I don’t know how.”
“Start with the truth.”
He let out another brittle laugh. “Which part?”
“All of it.”
“That would take years.”
“Then start with one sentence.”
He looked at her then.
Susie’s face was calm, but her eyes were not easy. She was not offering comfort. Not exactly. She was offering something harder.
A way forward that did not pretend forward meant forgiveness.
“She blocked me,” he said. “I don’t even know if anything would reach her.”
“You could write.”
“She might not read it.”
“She might not,” Susie agreed.
“She might hate me.”
Susie held his gaze.
“Toto.”
He looked away first.
Of course.
“I don’t even know what she’s doing,” he admitted. The words came quietly, and somehow that made them worse. “Where she lives. Who she knows. Whether she is happy. Whether she is safe.”
His mouth tightened.
“I don’t know who she is anymore.”
Susie’s expression flickered.
Pain.
Regret.
Something she did not ask him to name.
“She made a life without me,” Toto said.
The laptop went darker again, Charlotte’s untouched account now barely visible on the screen.
He looked at it anyway.
“And I taught her how.”
Susie reached for his hand then.
He let her take it.
For once, there was nothing to fix. No strategy to find. No call to make. No negotiation, no restructuring, no transfer of money large enough to alter the shape of what had happened.
There was only the untouched trust fund.
The daughter who had not needed it.
The father who had mistaken provision for protection until the evidence became impossible to ignore.
And in the expensive quiet of the Monaco apartment, Toto Wolff finally understood that Charlotte had not left because he had given her too little.
She had left because the one thing she had needed from him had never been something he could buy.
Note: This is actually just slop bro I can’t. Anyways, I saw the tadc movie a couple of days ago and the rot is eroding my brain. This is short af but I needed to write something about this movie or else I’d explode. Might post my other fics from my ao3 on here but idk. ALSO I can’t remember exact dialogue from the movie so I winged it in some places. Okay I hope the 3 people who read this slop enjoy.
Summary: this basically follows the plot of the last 20 minutes of the movie. If you’ve seen it you’ll know what scenes I’m talking about lol.
Word count: 1.6k
Tags: light angst, canon deaths, fluff, guilt (if you squint), reunions, could be read as romantic or platonic (kinda leaning towards romantic icl), second person pov (I’m so bad at knowing the differences between povs it’s bad).
Things were looking up. Well, as up as things could look, recent events considered. After Jax's abstraction you, Gangle, and Zooble grouped to stay safe while trying to think of ways to safely deal with Jax. Sure, Jax was an asshole, and you always kinda resented him for how he treated Gangle, but you couldn't help how your heart felt heavy seeing his jagged form ram into objects.
You had tried your best to justify Gangle mumbling on about how she couldn't bring herself to cry for Jax. Said that she didn't need to do anything for him, not after how he treated her for who knows how long. She left you with a sad smile.
Before Jax had left everyone looking over their shoulders, you had spent more time with Kinger, especially after Jax called him out at the beginning of all of this. This wasn't his fault, not close to it. It was a mistake. Sure, a huge one on his part, but a mistake nonetheless. Anyone could have messed up in his situation, you know he tried his best. Most of the time you spent with him was learning to conjure things like shapes and flat surfaces. Once you had managed to conjure up a good-sized square, only for it to pathetically glide down to the floor like a piece of paper. The genuine chuckle that you heard from Kinger was worth it.
You thought about Caine. His last moments with everyone were always in the back of your mind, really. His frustrated pleas towards everyone stuck with you. You should've been beyond angry at him for how he tortured your friends, yourself included, but when he had you pinned to the wall alongside everyone else, you felt your heart break. Caine had to have seen your sympathetic expression aimed towards him because he refused to look your way a second time while he gushed to the unwilling circus members.
You wanted to talk about him with Kinger, but you didn't want to rub salt in the wound. You would feel like the scum of the earth if you confessed your sympathies towards the AI and were only to be met with betrayed looks.
When Ragatha pulled you with her to a hallway, alongside with everyone else, you asked what was wrong. She had said something about Pomni going to confront Jax before you were forced to squint your eyes from the sheer blinding white light that made everyone stop in their tracks. You barely had time to recognize Pomnis' figure before you were helping reel her back in with everyone else. She skidded to a halt in front of everyone, her entire body glitching in different places. You offered a hand to her and hoisted her up to her feet. You smiled at Ragatha as she promised Pomni that everyone was in this together.
═══════ ═══════
Sometimes you'd get distracted by the softer memories you had with the ringmaster. Once you had found two differently colored pieces of small paper in a drawer in one of the halls. It was corny in retrospect, but you thought it would be a nice gesture. You had folded the papers to form a small flower. You had hesitated to call out for Caine at first, but did it before you could talk yourself out of it. He poofed into the air in front of you, lying on his side, cane in hand.
"Yes, my frabjous crab cake!" He had batted his eyes at you. You looked down at the small flower in your hand and offered it to him between two fingers. "Thought you'd like this. I learned to make these when I was younger and didn't see why not." You smiled at him. He had straightened his body from his lying position and stared down at the gift with small pupils. You didn't miss the uncertainty in his body language as he held his hands. As if he were unsure if you were actually giving him something. "You… You made that for me?" The hopeful shimmer in his eyes had cemented the idea in your mind to give him more handmade gifts in the future.
You nodded and ushered the craft towards him once more. He looked at the combined pieces of paper and carefully reached his hand out. His hand wrapped around your own for a moment as he grabbed the flower. When he brought the flower closer to him, he remained silent for a moment, only to take in the gift fully. He slowly looked back up to your eyes in a way that made you fidget in place. For a moment, you had thought that he might not have appreciated the quick gift, though that was shot down as he swung an arm around your shoulder and brought you into a side hug.
"Why, you shouldn't have! I'm simply so excited I could POP! It's not every day a human gifts me something!" You shrug your shoulders humbly at his thanks. "It's no problem, I'm glad you like it."
Oh, what you'd do to see his softened eyes again.
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After a few more days, everyone had pitched in to help make Jax get more comfortable in the towering peaks of the blankets and pillows that made up the purple tent. You were glad Jax was as comfortable as he could be, no matter how much of a jerk he was.
After that, things had fallen into a strange calm. You and the others sat on the couches that made up the common area. Pomni lay on the purple coach, her jester body glitching near constantly. That was until the sounds of the glitches coming from her suddenly cut off with a small 'pop!'. Rightly confused, she looked down at her body and patted her seemingly healed self. You jumped to your feet, feeling your heart clench, and whipped your eyes to search the area.
There was only one person everyone knew who had done that many times before.
From a distance ahead of everyone, you saw him, Caine. He was holding his cane to his chest in a sheepish way, and his eyes were barely visible from behind his teeth. The others also rose to their feet, justifiably just as confused as you were. Because there he was, as if he had been here the whole time. You hadn't realized you had taken a step closer to him. "Caine?" If this were any other meeting with him, you're sure you would have been looked at weirdly by the others for how tenderly you regarded him. Caine's upper set of teeth lifted at the sound of your voice, and when he looked to you, his shoulders relaxed.
Though he quickly shut his teeth and shook his head as though to regain his thoughts. He looked back towards everyone. "Wait, I just need to say this." He spared a glance at you as an apology for changing the subject. "I… I'm sorry. For not listening to all of you, for keeping you under my thumb, for everything. I've had time to think about all my wrongdoings, and I know now that I should never have done that. To any of you. I won't ask you to forgive me." He took time to look at each of you as he spoke. His voice was so uncharacteristically quiet and soft, it took you way off guard.
You glanced at everyone around you and weren't surprised to see everyone in tense postures. Most of their faces were set in hesitant expressions. You heard the unexpected, but familiar sigh of Zooble, and everyone turned their attention to them. "Look, Caine, what you did to me, to everyone, is not something that we'll be able to just forgive." Caine's expression fell, and he closed his teeth. "But that doesn’t mean we can't work our way there eventually." Caine's teeth rose back up, and he looked at Zooble, awed.
Zoobles' words thankfully seemed to take off a good amount of the edge from everyone, physically at least. Caine straightened his posture, trying to resemble the confidence of his old self. "Well, I have a surprise for everyone! When you all are ready, you can meet me at the stage." With that, he floated off towards the stage, his eyes downcast. While the others cast unsure glances at each other, you wasted no time in following him.
You didn't call for his attention immediately, wanting to have a little privacy from the distance from the common area and the stage. When you thought the two of you were far enough, you broke the silence. "Caine?" He could sense you had closely followed him, so the sight of you hadn't surprised him. He glanced at you from over his shoulder before turning his body to face you. The two of you didn't break eye contact as he slowly lowered himself from the air until he was eye level with you. He uttered your name with the same sureness he spoke with a few moments ago.
Your expression softened, and a smile formed on your lips. "I'm glad you're back, Caine. Really." He released the nervous grip he had on his cane. His teeth lifted once more, and his eyes were blown wide.
This might have been too soon for him, but you'd regret not trying. You spread your arms open and look at him with a quirked brow. His gaze lowers to your open arms for a moment, then back to your warm gaze. You playfully tilted your head. "Gonna leave me han- oof!" Caine, wrapping his arms around you and burying his teeth as much as he could into your shoulder, cut your words short. You were taken aback by his quick movements for a moment. Though you quickly wrapped your arms around him in return and pressed your face against the side of his teeth.