Chapter Text
And so there it was. The season was finally over, ending on a poor note, and Lando tried his best not to feel too shitty about it. His Vegas crash scared everyone around him (including himself) and he really felt the weight of the season fall on his shoulders. So when he touched down back at home, barely had time to catch up with his mum as he was already packing his bags to hit the slopes, he felt light and weightless.
Finally having the time to properly catch up with his friends and do something just for fun felt so good. All of the mishaps of the ´23 season seemed to be forgotten among the endless blue skies and snow. Slopes, parties, more slopes and more parties, with the holidays spent with his family; and just like that, he found himself back in Monaco, in his flat, alone.
There was a certain routine to fulfill, workout plans to complete, a diet to stick to, but also a whole lot of hobbies that were just gathering dust during the season. He thought he might play games, maybe even stream some. Try making a beat or DJ a set at a club, if they'll have him. There were also quite a lot of administrative things to do and the ´24 season related meetings to attend, so as his mum pointed out, it was not really a proper holiday anyway.
“I´ll have a proper holiday when I retire, you know?” was what he told her. It didn't worry him that he still had stuff to do - he was almost excited to be busy with other things, not just racing. As much as he loved F1, he sometimes found the repeating schedule quite tiring. And so, after he spent the few days after New Year´s nursing a hangover, he dove right into everything that has been waiting for him throughout the season.
End of January rolled around and Lando found himself in his bed. It was barely 6pm, as his watch promptly reminded him, and the next six to eight hours had a lot of potential, yet he couldn't bring himself to leave the covers behind to even fetch his computer. There were pictures to be edited, DJ sets to coordinate, games to be played, chats to be answered, creative decisions to be made, yet Lando refused to move. The feeling was eating him alive. He had all the time in the world, at least until the season prep was fully going to start, and he hated it. He went to the gym because he had to and he ate because he had to and sometimes Max and Charles would drag him out to get a drink. But in his actual free time? He was just waiting for the minutes to pass. He loved all his pastime activities during the season, when sneaking a quiet hour to edit his pictures felt like an oasis of tranquility. But now? It felt like a chore. Everything felt like a chore.
Eventually, his pondering lulled him to sleep. He woke, startled by his phone ringing.
“Um, hullo..?”
“Lando? Hello? No workout stats from you this morning? What's up? Have you been drinking again because I get it you´re on vacation now and everything but it's important for the body to keep up with the-” Jon´s voice carried itself to Lando´s ear.
“Hi, no, sorry, I guess i just- overslept?” he answered, a slight rasp in his voice. When was the last time he drank water?
“Oh? Alright. Well, please, hit the gym asap. You know that training in the morning is better for the body because….”
He went on and on and Lando was listening out of respect, mostly, but the thought of going to the gym sounded dreadful.
So he didn´t. For about three hours. Disobeying Jon felt absolutely terrible and he promised himself to never do it again. But the dread that dawned on him when the sole thought of getting up and going to the gym occurred - he had to do something about that. Usually, he would just hit up the boys who lived nearby and ask them to join him, but somehow everyone was either busy or straight up gone. What are the perks of having friends in the area if none of them are of any use?
He felt lonely, even though he could hardly say he was alone. Max thought he was missing a meaning, by which he obviously meant a body, but Lando found himself almost repulsed by any girl eyeing him at the clubs lately. He missed communicating with someone who got him, but Max was so busy with Quadrant he could hardly chat about life. So when one afternoon, just as he arrived from the shops with something vaguely resembling his dietary plan meals, and found a reel of a crazy cat captioned “that one friend with ADHD” from one Oscar Jack Piastri, he hit the call button as fast as humanly possible. Act first, think later, that was his signature, right?
“Hello?” Oscar appeared on the screen, clearly in a very comfortable position on a bed that looked like standart hotel suite issue. Lando´s breath caught in his throat as he came to his senses and realized that calling might not have been the best idea he had. What time is it in Australia anyway? Where is he? What is he wearing? Is he in a hotel room? Shit, am I interrupting a romantic getaway with Lily?
“Oh God. Oh I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have- Are you in a hotel? Are you guys on vacation? Is Lily there? I´m so sorry for interrupting-” he stumbled on his words, a clear panic in his voice.
“Oh. Um no mate, it's quite alright. I´m not busy or anything. I- I´m actually pretty happy you called, it was getting a bit lonely down here,” Oscar said with the faintest smile on his thin lips. Lando had to stop for a second to take it all in. It was very unlike him to be so stressed about imposing - they were friends after all, right?
“Oh. Alrighty then. Are you in a hotel room though? I thought we agreed we are sick of those after the season.”
Oscar suddenly became very aware of the fan on the ceiling, with his hand automatically reaching for the nape of his neck. Lando could practically sense the nervousness across the globe. He could hear the rookie teammate take a deep breath.
“I broke up with Lily and… My family has been giving me a lot of opinions on that so I just.. Had to get out. Even mom, who is usually on my side, had a lot to say. So I-”
“Oh my God I am so so sorry mate. For the breakup. I mean for the shit your family is giving you… or… Did you go on a vacation? Like the Bahamas or sum? Get a rebound-” Lando blurted out. Try thinking first, talking later for a change, dickhead! Not his proudest moment.
“It's fine, it was bound to happen anyway. But uh, no, no Bahamas and definitely no rebounds. I´m still in Melbourne, just in a hotel. I really needed to get away. But enough about that, you called because..?”
Lando suddenly remembered he was the one initiating this call. He felt stupid.
“Oh yeah, it was because.. You kept sending me these memes with ADHD and I did some googling and I think I have the ADHD burnout and I thought maybe because you keep sending me those memes you might know how to deal or something.. Sorry, it is stupid now that I´m thinking about it.”
Oscar smirked at the tiny picture of Lando in the corner of his screen.
“I don't know much about ADHD burnouts but my mom always used to say that it's best to fight normal burnout with a friend. So fetch Max or Max or literally anyone and have them face the battle with you.”
“You see, that's the thing,” Lando started to say as he propped his phone against a tea mug on the counter and started putting the groceries away, “everyone is either busy or on vacation. It feels like the streets of Monaco were swept of human existence. Or maybe I´m too big of a pussy to go out and make new friends. But either way, I´m alone.” And embarrassed to face my parents in this state, he thought to himself. Oscar's hand was back at the nape of his neck, seemingly scratching more nervously than before.
“If that is the case, I could, uh, join you? If you fancied? I mean unless you have plans or a girlfriend or literally anything-” he stated in a slightly shaky, unsure tone. Lando was too excited to notice.
“You mean you would come here? Like be my flat buddy?” he almost shrieked in excitement.
“Well, even your couch would feel more familiar than another damn hotel room,” Oscar said, his voice growing surer as he watched the older of them practically jump around his kitchen counter, as if he was about to break into a song.
“Well, that's a deal then. Go look up flights or I'll send a private jet! Go! Go!”
Oscar ended the call with almost a tear in his eye. Maybe it hasn't been for nothing. Maybe his family was wrong and he did make the right decision.