our time - lestappen

forever

January 2025

Charles Leclerc

I'm sweating underneath my suit. I've been looking at myself in the mirror, desperately trying to make sure my hair, my suit, everything needs to be perfect. And even then, I'm filled with anticipation. Everything needs to go right, please.

I switched to Mercedes for a season and it had been decent, to be honest. We were 3rd in the constructors and I finished 7th in the driver's championship, and frankly it wasn't a special season but we got through it with some highlights.

Max took his 4th championship and I couldn't be any prouder of him. He's on top of Formula One right now and he's eyeing his 5th consecutive title.

Now, though, I'm going to be in the same car as him. And fuck, I'm not going to make it easy for him. There's been some anticipation building because everyone expects it to be very competitive between us but I can't wait. Even if we crash into each other, even if there's tension within the team, that's racing. It won't break us.

Right now, though, I'm not even thinking about racing. I'm thinking about how embarrassing it would be if I trip while I'm walking down the aisle or something like that. We had decided to set our wedding in Italy, ironically. It's a beautiful venue in the Tuscan foothills and I can't think of a better location to make things official.

Everything happens in a blur. I do not, in fact, trip whilst walking down the aisle and it's not long before I'm in front of Max, our eyes locked and the tears already threatening to fall. He's even about to start crying, he'll deny it for the rest of his life but the photos that we'll have from today will show otherwise.

I pull the tiny notecard from my pocket, the officiant handing me a microphone. There's no way I could remember everything I want to say to him at the altar, and it seems he isn't going to try to memorize it either.

"Max, my love," I start, "If someone had told me all those years ago that I would be standing here marrying you, I would have looked at them like they were insane. I remember the days that I hated you like they were yesterday. I hated how aggressive you were, how cold you were whenever I tried to be nice.

But as we grew up side by side, I started to see that there was so much more to you than the emotionless boy I got at races. You slowly worked your way into my heart, and even though I would never have admitted it at the time, I looked up to you since I started in Formula One.

And even since then, you've gone from a rival, to an acquaintance, to a friend, to a lot more than a friend. I knew you were mine the second you let me see you for you, not for who you think everyone wanted you to be. And the truth is, there is no version of you that I would rather know that your true self. It has been a privilege to love you, to be able to call myself yours, and now to spend the rest of my life with you.

Unless it's on track, I promise to never leave your side, to always stand by you even in the most adverse of times. Our love will win over anything we're put up against, it already has and it will continue to do so forever.

I would say everything I love about you, but then I'd be standing here for the rest of my life. So in brief terms, I'll just say that there is no greater honor for me than to love you and to watch you shine. You are and always will be the love of my life and I can't even find the words to express how, just... perfect you are. So let today mark the start of our forever because it's always been you and it will only ever be you."

I feel myself choking on the sobs and even his hand reaching out to grab mine isn't soothing me. His words are similar to mine, but he's thrown in a few of the childhood memories, eliciting laughs and some groans from the crowd. I even catch Lando tearing up, I know he sees himself in my position but with Carlos, those two are bound to be a forever thing too.