Still Learning [C.L]

History

"That was a bad one" his voice barely more than a whisper and filled with concern
"I know" he turned into me, resting his head on my chest

This was the most vulnerable I had ever seen Charles, he felt almost child-like as he gripped tightly on to my waist for any sense of comfort. I ran my fingers through his hair as I continued to rub his back like a mother would, protecting their child from harm.

"Zhou's speaking on the radio so that's a good sign" I told him in the hopes it would ease his anxiety
"He is?" He questioned
"Yeah the team have heard from Alpha, they just need to get the car out, he's going to be fine" I reassured him

His grip loosened on my waist and met my gaze, eyes still filled with sadness

"Whenever they're that bad it just makes me think of Jules and Anthoine" his voice cracking as he spoke
"I know" I continued to rub his back "But Zhou's doing okay and Jules and Anthoine wouldn't want this to affect you in the race. They're right by your side cheering you on, just like they were in Spa and every race since"

His eyes narrowed and brows twisted in confusion whilst looking at me

"I thought you didn't watch F1?" He asked
"I may have watched a few episodes of Drive To Survive when you were away" I confessed sheepishly

A smile began to twitch at the corners of his mouth as he rolled his eyes jokingly

"What? I had to fill my Monday to Thursday when you weren't on my TV and the FaceTimes weren't long enough" I smiled back at him and his laughter filled the small room which was music to my ears

The sound was broken by a knock at the door informing Charles that he had to get set up to go again. We stood up and he pulled me against him, enveloping me in a hug

"Thank you" he whispered before pulling away
"Go give it your best, we're all rooting for you" I squeezed his arm through his suit and we made our way back into the garage

About 10 minutes later the cars were lined up on the grid for the restart and set off cleanly. The race was tense throughout as Charles battled his way out front, gaining and dropping places, making my stomach churn with every close call. He fought with Perez and Hamilton all the way, unfortunately his tyres not able to keep up with theirs in the end. The battle for third was still on with Hamilton as I egged Charles on from the garage to stay ahead and ultimately accepting defeat as the crowd roared watching Hamilton go through

"Fuck" I shouted at the TV screen I was watching at the back of the garage, causing a few mechanics to turn to look at me "Sorry" I half smiled back at them, my cheeks burning and Rebecca laughing by my side.

I sat in the garage watching Carlos take his first place spot on the podium, happy for him getting his maiden win in F1 but the feeling of upset for Charles was much greater. He walked back into the garage after his weigh in, looking defeated, coming over to me where I was still sat on my stool

"I've got a few things to wrap up here so I'll maybe be another hour or so" I nodded in response to him "and the team want us to go out tonight to celebrate Carlos' win. I was thinking we could go for a couple of drinks and go back to the hotel, I don't really feel up to partying" I nodded again
"Not a problem" I slipped off of the stool to stand in front of him, bringing him in for a hug "I'll go find Emma whilst you're busy" I gave him a quick kiss and walked along the pit lane to the RedBull garage

I spotted Emma at the side of the garage, sat with the same expression I had, full of disappointment. She left the garage to join me and we strolled back along the pit lane, trying to stay out of the way of mechanics that were starting to pack up the equipment.