POV: You Love Charles Leclerc

22. Familiar Faces

1372 words
This one is also inspired by ALM0623 their F1 imagines book is so good, I just had to recreate more then just one. Definitely go and check them out ☺️ also this is a story directed at females because it makes it easier to write, obviously if you do not identify as female you can still read it but just so you know there will be female pronouns and female-directed words (idk what they're called 😂) instead of gender neutral because I didn't really know how to write it as gender neutral (if you read it you'll know, I don't wanna spoil it 😂) but enjoy!

You loved your life- you lived in the most beautiful place on earth (Monaco, of course) with the love of your life who just so happened to be your husband and your perfect baby boy, Jules. Well, he was 4 but he was still a baby in your eyes; he always would be. On the first day of school, you had worried about him, would he make friends? What if he hated it? However, all of your fears vanished when he had come home that day and recalled everything that had happened with a huge smile on his face.
It was now a week and a half into the school year and he was still loving it. You picked him up from school and walked him home like you did everyday, him telling you everything that had happened. Charles hadn't come home from work yet so it was just you and Jules until tea time. You made tea while he played in the kitchen so you could watch him. You thought it was so cute how he would only play with F1 cars instead of regular toy cars since he found out what his dad did for work and he would always pick them out when you took him to the toy shop. You hadn't taken him to any races just yet but you wanted to because of the way he looked at his dad on the TV when a race was on, he had a look of pure joy and pride on his face even though you knew he didn't really understand what was going on. "Mama?" He stopped playing and looked up at you, busying yourself with the vegetables. "Oui, bebe? (Yes baby?)"
"I made a friend today." He said shortly. He hadn't mentioned it earlier, you wondered what had made him say it now.
"That's amazing, buddy. Who is it?"
"His name is Theo and he's in my class. We were partners today because we had to be in 2s and he speaks mostly Italian and I am the only one who can speak Italian so we made friends. He's very nice."
"That's wonderful, baby. Maybe you can invite him for tea on Friday, that would be nice, wouldn't it?" You suggested.
"Okay, mama. I will ask tomorrow."
He continued to ramble to himself as he played and after about an hour, the tea was ready and a key had clicked in the lock. "Jules, who's that?" You pointed at the door just as Charles entered the hallway. He was about to take off his shoes when Jules shouted "Daddy!" and jumped on him, clearly excited to see him. He always was.
"Hi baby." Charles said, picking him up and throwing him in the air much to Jules' delight. You had followed him through to the hall to greet Charles and to watch the adorable interaction between the 2 of them. Watching them always made your day so much better, Charles was so good with Jules and Jules looked up to his dad so much. Charles looked round at you and smiled, knowing how much you loved to see them together. He picked Jules back up and walked over to you. "Hi ma cherie," he greeted you, giving you a kiss.
"Ewwwww!" Jules covered his eyes, shaking his head furiously, making you and Charles laugh.
"Hey! Am I not allowed to kiss the people I love the most?" Charles said, laughing still. He gave Jules a kiss on the cheek to which he shook his head even more.
"Ew! Daddy! No!" He wiped his cheek, as if to remove the kiss. This made you laugh even more.
At tea, you all sat around the dining table. The room was quiet as everyone was eating but you decided to break the silence. "Jules, did you have something to tell daddy?" You prompted.
"Oh yes! I made a friend! His name is Theo and he is very nice." Jules said proudly.
"That's great, bud." Charles approved, smiling.
"Mama said I can bring him for tea on Friday. Can I?"
"Of course! I'd love to meet him."
The rest of tea continued smoothly, everyone talking about their day and then Charles helped you clear up the dishes while Jules went to play before bed. You couldn't help but notice Charles thinking about something. It was probably work but you asked anyway. "Are you okay, baby?"
"Of course ma cherie, just thinking." He smiled but you knew he was worried about something.
"What is it?" You asked.
"I don't know, I recognise the name Theo but I don't know where from. I guess it's a popular name though, right? I'm just overthinking."
"Yeah, your probably right. Let me know if you remember though." You finished the last dish and got Jules ready for bed before handing him over to Charles for him to read him a story.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————
When you picked up Jules from school, you also brought home Theo, Jules' new friend. He seemed to be a lot like Jules and you knew he would get on well with him. You sort of realised what Charles meant when he said he recognised the name because, now that you had seen Theo, you recognised him from somewhere too, you just could not pinpoint it. You shook it off and let them play when you got home while you started on tea: sausage, chips and beans. A staple 4 year old's meal.
Charles got home just as tea for the boys was ready, you were still making yours and Charles' tea for later and you called the boys down for tea. When Theo ran into the dining room after Jules. Charles froze. He had recognised him too. But his reaction showed you that he knew exactly where he knew him from. You said nothing as the kids ate and when they went back upstairs you questioned him. "You recognised him too." You said, indicating that you had too.
"Yeah." Was all Charles said, before going to change out of his work clothes.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————
At 7pm, it was time for Theo to be picked up, much to their dismay. You helped Theo get his coat just as the doorbell rang, indicating that his mum was there to pick him up. You opened the door and you froze, much like Charles had at tea. Everything you had questioned about Theo suddenly made sense. At the door, looking as shocked as you did, stood Charlotte Sine, Charles' ex-girlfriend. You decided to be nice even though it pained you to do so, mainly for Theo and Jules than anyone else. "Hi, Theo is just getting his shoes." You looked her dead in the eye as you spoke. She had not been the nicest to you when you and Charles had first gone public but she seemed to have moved on now. "Okay, thanks." She smiled, you didn't know if it was fake or not but you didn't care. Theo came running to Charlotte shortly followed by Charles and Jules. Charles stopped in his tracks, putting an arm on Jules' shoulder. He stepped forward to snake an arm around your waist which you were grateful for. If looks could kill, Charlotte would be 6 feet under by now- Charles was glaring at her while staying completely silent. "It was lovely to meet you, Theo." You broke the silence, "make sure you come round again," then you turned to Charlotte, "he's such a lovely boy. It was a pleasure to have him." You smiled at her.
"Thank you, maybe next time Jules can come to ours?" Charlotte suggested before thanking you again and leaving. Once her car had pulled off the drive, you took Jules up to bed.
Once he was asleep, you went back down to Charles, who was finishing up the dishes from tea and had out some music on quietly. You came up behind him and hugged him from behind, swaying slightly to the music. You stayed there for a few minutes just holding him. "It's okay." You said quietly, rubbing his back. He turned around quickly and started to kiss you, deeply and passionately, just like when you first started dating all those years ago. "Je t'aime, ma cherie."
"Je t'aime, baby."

A/N: I was writing this while watching the Austin GP so I don't know how good it is, I know I waffled a lot which made it really long but I think it's still okay. I've said it before but I'll say it again: I love Charlotte, I definitely don't have anything against her and I love her and Charles together, this was just for the story. Also, I know Charlotte isn't Italian but just pretend 😁 or pretend Theo's dad is so he speaks mostly Italian (idk 😂) I won't spoil anything of the race if you're going to watch it or haven't seen the results yet but oof! What a race! Okay that's it or I'll say something I shouldn't and you'll all be mad at me 😂
Remember you are loved and strong and beautiful ❤️
-A