Chapter Text
Sebastian loved being on the track; he loved the feeling of the car soaring down straights and around tight corners.
He loved hearing the crowds scream as their favourite team passes the finish line first.
Times like this though he loves more. The bright sun seeping into his skin as he lies on the thick blanket in his garden. A glass of homemade lemonade to his right and his new book to his left.
The two greatest loves of his life frolicking around in the pool causing droplets of water to splash up and onto his warm legs.
“Lew please don’t drown Charlie, Mattia will hit us with a law suit so big we’ll both go bankrupt,” He calls on a laugh, watching his boyfriend’s desperately try to dunk each other under the water.
“The little fucker called me old,” Lewis argues, grinning wildly when he finally manages to knock Charles off his feet and push him below the surface.
“You are old,” Sebastian teases on a mischievous smirk that turns into a grin when Lewis glares in his direction.
Charles laughs and the older man pushes him back under the water.
“Say that again and I’ll drag you in here too,” Lewis warns on a faux glare.
He only smiles angelically in return because Lewis really would force him into the pool and unlike his shirtless boyfriends he’s still fully clothed.
The summer break has been a welcome distraction from the particularly stressful season.
Mercedes are still struggling with their car which has often led Lewis to spend evenings pouring over data trying to figure out what’s going wrong, and not to mention his back pain from their porpoising issues.
Charles is fighting a brutal title battle with both Redbull cars. The internal pressure from the team seems to be getting to the younger man. Even during the break he’s been spending hours on the phone with Mattia, always coming back looking like he’s exhausted. It’s something Sebastian and Lewis have agreed to keep an eye on. They are both fully aware of the searing highs and lows that comes with a championship battle.
Sebastian’s season so far has been, well, pretty good. He’d managed to drag the car into the points most races, always beating out his teammate. The media are praising him rather than dragging his name through the dirt. Still though he can’t enjoy it too much whilst the people he loves more than anything are struggling with their own issues.
He peeks out from under his sunglasses when Lewis drops down on the blanket next to him, resting his arms behind his head. Sebastian’s eyes run down the toned muscles of his stomach and arms. The man might be in his late 30s but he looks like he could be on the runway.
“He has way too much energy. Sometimes I wish he had an off button,” Lewis mumbles, leaning over Sebastian to steal a sip of his lemonade.
“Thief,” Sebastian mutters on a smirk, but not doing anything to stop him. He leans up on his elbows when Lewis has lied back down and watches Charles messing about in the pool. “He’s the one that’s going to keep us young once we retire,”
Lewis opens one eye to squint up at him, “Or he’s going to send us into an early grave,”
Sebastian laughs and lightly smacks his boyfriend on the arm, “You’re the one who went and fell in love with a 24 year old,”
“You fell in love with him first!”
And Sebastian can’t argue with that. As soon as he left Ferrari he’d started sleeping with Charles. The strain of being teammates no longer hanging over their heads and allowing them to enjoy the other properly.
It only took a few months of hooking up in hotel rooms and he fell in love with Charles. Luckily for him Charles felt the same way.
It was a random post-race evening during the 2021 season when they invited Lewis to join them for a threesome. It was just supposed to be a bit of fun, and besides Sebastian always had a crush on the older man.
One night turned into every weekend and then before they all knew what had happened, they were in love.
Sebastian is in love with two drastically different people but he couldn’t imagine it being any other way.
There’s a splash from the pool and he looks over to see Charles pulling himself out and walking towards them.
The younger man stands over them shaking his head and limbs to dry himself off.
“Honestly Charles, use a towel,” Sebastian hisses, wiping the drops of water from his sunglasses and face.
“Can’t be bothered to go and get one,” Charles responds on a grin, throwing himself down between the two men and landing awkwardly.
Lewis grumbles to himself but moves over allowing Charles to spread out between them, his legs resting over Lewis’ and his head on Sebastian’s stomach.
“You’re a menace,” Sebastian mutters fondly, leaning down to press a kiss to his boyfriend’s lips.
Charles grins and tilts his head back, spotting the glass of lemonade. He pushes Sebastian’s face away and stretches his arm to grab the glass, slowly sipping it at an awkward angle.
“Have both of you forgotten where the kitchen is? I made that drink for me,”
“It’s tastes better when it’s yours,” Charles replies cheekily.
Sebastian scoffs and uses his finger to tilt the bottom of the glass as Charles is drinking it, causing the remaining liquid to tip onto the younger man’s face.
Charles splutters, quickly sitting up and in turn digging the heel of his foot into Lewis’ thigh.
“Charles!” Lewis snaps, pushing the Monegasque’s foot off and sitting up to glare at him.
“Seb, you dick! It’s all sticky!” Charles moans, gently pushing Sebastian in the chest. “It was his fault! He knocked the lemonade all over me!” Charles accuses.
“You shouldn’t have stolen my drink,” Sebastian smirks.
Lewis rolls his eyes at them, "I thought we were coming out here to relax in the sun,”
“We are,” Sebastian agrees, pushing Charles off him, “Go and wash it off, I don’t want you making me all sticky,”
Charles scowls at him but Sebastian is already picking up his book and trying to find the right page.
Lewis watches the younger man walk off into the house, “Do we pick on him too much?”
The German smirks and lowers his book, "No we pick on him just the right amount. He’s a menace but he knows we love him,”
Lewis grins and lies back down on the blanket closing his eyes and enjoying the peace and quiet that will inevitably end once their boyfriend is back.
Sebastian shuffles down on the blanket and rests his shoulder against Lewis’ on a soft smile.
The man opens his eyes and presses a kiss to the blonde’s lips, “Read to me,”
Sebastian complies on a smile and starts reading the chapter on irreversible damage to the ozone layer out loud. It’s a dreary topic but the sounds of the German’s voice relax Lewis enough he feels his eyes flutter shut.
Sebastian had only been reading for ten minutes when they realise there’s something blocking the sun.
Both men’s eyes flicker upwards, and matching frowns appear on their faces when they see their boyfriend towering over them with a cheeky grin and holding a bucket of water.
“Payback is a bitch,” Charles declares gleefully.
Sebastian throws his book to the side and unsuccessfully tries to grab the younger man’s leg, failing when he steps back slightly.
“Don’t you dare, Charles, I mean it,” He warns in the tone he used to use when they were teammates and the younger man was driving him insane.
Apparently it doesn’t work this time though because Charles tips the bucket directly over both their heads and then sprints back into the house on a laugh, clutching the bucket in his hands.
Lewis and Sebastian sit up on an groan, swearing to themselves and rubbing the cold water off their skin.
“Remember what I was saying about him putting us in an early grave?” Lewis grates, but there’s a smile tugging at his lips.
Sebastian stands up with a smirk, “The only grave we should be worrying about is his. The little bastard,”
Lewis stands up next to him on a grin, “Shall we get our own payback?”
It doesn’t take them long to find their boyfriend who had decided the best place to hide would be in one of the spare bedrooms.
They manhandle him onto the bed and Sebastian is just glad he doesn’t have any neighbours, because the screams of laughter coming from Charles could easily be mistaken for a murder.
_______________________________________________
Sebastian and Lewis share a concerned look when there’s a crash and French curses from the kitchen.
When Charles had declared that he wanted to make them both dinner, they’d immediately shut the idea down.
Charles Leclerc is many things but one thing he isn’t is a good cook. No matter how simple the dish was Charles finds a way to either burn it to the point their smoke alarm starts blaring, or undercook it to the point they all get food poisoning.
Both Lewis and Sebastian had tried to teach their younger boyfriend to cook a few basic dishes, but when it always ended in Charles throwing a fit and accusing them of treating him like a child, they stopped.
It didn’t matter to either of the older men who cooked anyway. Sebastian and Lewis both enjoyed cooking and it meant they got to try out new vegan dishes.
So when Charles expressed his desire to cook them dinner, they’d tried to convince him that they’d rather him just relax and focus on the rest of the season.
The attempts hadn’t worked though and so after helping Charles find a simple vegan chilli recipe, he’d rushed off to the kitchen to start preparing it.
“I’m going to see if he needs any help,” Lewis blurts, when there’s another loud bang from the kitchen.
Sebastian reaches across the sofa to rest an arm on the older man's leg, “Don’t, you know he’ll just start moaning about how we don’t think he can do anything,”
Lewis nods his head on a resigned sigh and leans back into Sebastian’s arms.
The clashing and swearing from the other room only gets louder though and Sebastian can’t help but worry about the state of his kitchen.
“Charlie,” He yells, tipping his head back against the sofa and waiting for the kitchen door to swing open.
It does and a very stressed looking Monegasque pokes his head out of the door, tomato sauce smeared down his cheek.
“Yeah?” Charles queries, quickly shutting the door behind him but it was pointless because Sebastian had already seen the smoke drifting in the kitchen.
He shuffles around on the sofa and narrows his eyes on the younger man, "Have you turned off the smoke alarm?”
“No,” Charles answers quickly. Lewis snorts in amusement and Sebastian rolls his eyes. Charles had never been a good liar.
“How’s it going? Are you sure don’t want some help?”
The younger man glares at him, “Don’t do that, Seb! Don’t treat me like a child! I can cook one stupid dinner on my own!”
It’s an issue that comes up a lot in their relationship; Charles accusing Lewis and Sebastian of treating him like a child.
It’s not even something that they mean to do but them both being at least a decade older than Charles means they are a lot more mature and arguably know a lot more.
Lewis turns around on the sofa and smiles softly at their boyfriend, “We are just asking if you need any help, Charlie. Do you?”
“No, I’ve got everything under control,” Charles murmurs, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “It’ll be ready soon,”
He rushes back into the kitchen, shutting the door quickly again when smoke starts to escape.
“Turn the smoke alarm back on, Charles! I’m not dying in a house fire because you were too proud to admit you burned something!” Sebastian yells, making Lewis laugh out loud next to him.
“You know we are going to have to eat it no matter how horrible it tastes, he’ll just sulk all night if we don’t,” Lewis drawls, turning off the documentary they’d been watching.
“I was watching that,” Sebastian complains, wrestling with Lewis’ hand to try and retrieve the remote.
Lewis pulls it back on a smirk and lets out a squeak when the German lands on top of him, struggling to grab the remote.
“Lewis, I’m serious I was watching it,” He snaps, pinning the older man’s hand holding the remote up and prying his fingers away.
Lewis pokes two fingers into the man’s side and Sebastian smirks down at him, “You know that only works on Charles,”
The Brit huffs in annoyance when Sebastian sits back with his reclaimed remote and flicks back to his documentary on The Beatles.
“It’s boring man, you weren’t even alive when they were around,”
Sebastian arches an eyebrow at him, “So? I can still appreciate their music. It’s better than that stuff you listen to,”
“I don’t know what your issue with Kanye West is. Charles likes his stuff,”
“Charles is also barely in his mid twenties, that should say it all,”
Lewis scoffs and smacks him in the arm, “Dick,”
Sebastian catches his wrist and pulls him into a kiss on a grin, “I love you despite your music taste,”
“Yeah the same to you,” The Brit mumbles, opening his mouth to deepen the kiss, whilst sneakily trying to grab the remote back.
Sebastian feels him reach for it and pulls away on a smirk, “Nice try,”
They wrestle around on the sofa again until Charles walks in from the dining room and looks down at them with a smirk, “You two are children. Dinners ready,”
“Shut it, you menace,” Sebastian quips, turning the TV off and standing up to ruffle the younger man’s hair.
Charles bats his hand away, and grabs Lewis’ to pull him up off the sofa, “Come on, I’ve added some extra spices in the chilli. It’s going to be better than either of yours,”
The older men share an apprehensive look at the idea of Charles doing anything but following the recipe word to word, but trail after him regardless.
“So, what do you think?” Charles asks eagerly looking between his boyfriends once they’ve sat down at the table and he’s convinced them to try it first.
Lewis chews his mouthful slowly, desperately trying to keep it in his mouth. “It’s really nice, Charlie. When you said you added some extra spices what did you mean?”
Sebastian forcefully swallows his mouthful and hides his smile behind his hand as he looks at the older man struggling to gulp down the chilli.
Charles shrugs his shoulders and takes a sip of his water, “I just added some other stuff Seb had in his spice rack, and I put some more salt in it,”
“Oh yeah you can definitely taste the salt,” Sebastian comments on a smirk, dragging his fork around the bowl to try and inspect what else the younger man had added.
Charles narrows his eyes on him and folds his arms across his chest, "You hate it,”
Sebastian’s eyes widen and he reaches his hand out to grasp the man’s own, “I don’t. It’s just got a lot of flavour. It’s really good for your first try,”
Charles pulls his hand away on a glare and takes a tentative bite of his own food.
Lewis and Sebastian grin when Charles scrunches his nose and swallows the mouthful.
None of them say anything as they look down at their bowls of what some might describe as chilli.
“Let’s just order from that Indian restaurant down the road,” Charles mumbles, resting his head on his bent arm.
“At least you’re pretty,” Sebastian jokes.
“And an extremely talented driver,” Lewis adds.
Charles looks between them on a scowl, "Fuck off,” He hisses, before they all burst out laughing.
_______________________________________________
Lewis looks between the brooding men on a sigh. Sebastian is dragging his fork around the bowl of vegan pasta and Charles hasn’t even looked at his food, instead choosing to glare down at his phone.
When his engineer had told him that the red flag was due to a crash between Sebastian and Charles, his heart stopped.
Images of Jules and Anthoine flashing through his mind as he desperately shouted through the radio asking for an update.
The rain had been hammering down on the track and most drivers had been pleading over the radio for it to be stopped.
Lewis’ heart finally felt like it started beating again when he rounded the corner on the way to the pit lane and saw both his boyfriends out of the car and seemingly okay.
He didn’t miss their body language though and it was obvious both were absolutely fuming.
“You two are going to have to talk at some point,” Lewis comments dryly. The two men had engaged in a shouting match in Lewis’ drivers room after the race - spitting heated insults at each other - but haven’t said a word since.
He had to actually drag Charles onto the plane with them to go back to Switzerland following the race. The younger man outright refusing to be in the same space as Sebastian.
The flight had been tense and Lewis felt like a referee sat between them watching them shoot glares at the other.
“I’ll talk to him when he apologises,” Charles spits, and Lewis already knows where this is going.
Sebastian scoffs in annoyance and drops his fork on the table, “Apologise? The only thing I can apologise for is not teaching you better when we were teammates,” He snaps, “I’m sorry that I assumed you’d learnt your lesson after the first two times you crashed into me,”
“Seb, come on,” Lewis interjects on a frown, “Don’t go bringing up the past,”
Charles shoots dark eyes across the table at his boyfriend, “You’ve ruined my fucking chance at the championship! All because you were so desperate to get your shit car on the podium!”
“Charlie, you still have a shot at the championship. The season is nowhere near done yet. I’ve seen crazier things,” Lewis soothes, reaching a hand across the table and grasping the younger man’s hand. Charles looks down at their entwined hands and glares, pulling his hand free. “Don’t Lewis, I know you blame me too,”
“Of course he blames you! Everyone could see that it was your fault! You tried a ridiculous move and it backfired! You’re reckless, Charles. You always have been!”
Lewis scowls at Sebastian. He’d hoped having a nice dinner together would calm the atmosphere but it seems to only have made things worse.
He won’t admit it to Charles because he’s pretty sure the Ferrari driver would lose his head but from what he can tell the crash was his fault. Charles has had a sequence of bad races though and he doesn’t want to make things worse.
The Ferrari driver had driven an excellent race making it up from tenth due to his penalty and ending up fighting Sebastian for the P3 position. That was until he tried to overtake without leaving enough space, resulting in them both clipping each other and spinning off the track.
“The stewards didn’t seem to think it was my fault!” Charles argues and Lewis doesn’t point out that they haven’t put any blame on Sebastian either.
“Knowing Mattia he probably payed the FIA off. Anything for the Ferrari Prince,” Sebastian mutters sharply.
Charles shoots up off his chair and Lewis has to jump up too, placing an arm over his chest in warning, “Don’t, Charles. Sit down,”
Sebastian stands up too, a smirk plastered on his face and daring eyes. Lewis flicks his head to the German, “Seb, man, you are better than this. Can’t we just move past this?” He pleads.
Sebastian ignores him, his eyes not leaving the younger man’s, “What are you going to do to Charles? Are you going to hit me? Will that make you feel better about screwing up our races?”
Charles pushes against Lewis’ arm, but the oldest man rearranges his hold on his boyfriend, gripping his shoulder to keep him in place.
“You did it on purpose! You never got to win a championship with Ferrari and so you don’t want me to get one! Admit it!” Charles accuses, his eyes morphing into slits when the German bursts out a bitter laugh.
Sebastian shakes his head on a roll of the eyes, “Honestly Charles,” He starts his voice becoming quieter and condescending, “I’d love for you to win a championship with Ferrari but if today is anything to go by you’re just not ready. You’ve still got a lot to learn, kiddo,”
The patronising pet name is enough for Lewis to know he’s fighting a losing battle. He wonders if he should have just let Charles go back to Monaco so that both his boyfriends could have processed the race themselves before taking it out on each other.
Charles pushes past Lewis with a steely determination, and shoves his hands into the blonde’s chest. Sebastian is obviously expecting it though because he doesn’t stumble and instead grips the younger man’s wrists, staring him down.
Lewis pushes them apart, resting a firm hand on each of their chests. His eyes flick between the two men and he frowns, “I know you’re both angry but we always promised each other that we wouldn’t let racing affect our relationship. You two love each other and I don’t want this to come between you or for me to end up in the middle of it all,”
Sebastian’s face softens and Lewis can feel him relax against his hand, “I’m sorry Lew, this isn’t fair on you,” He murmurs, pressing a kiss to the older man’s cheek, “Charlie, we’ll talk about this tomorrow when we are in a better head space. Let’s just have our dinner and then watch a film,”
Lewis breathes a sigh of relief. Sebastian isn’t the same man he was 10 years ago. He’s more mature now and Lewis has never been so thankful.
They both watch Charles hesitantly waiting for his reaction, and the flicker of pure insolence in his eyes suggests it’s not going to be a very good one.
“Fuck you, Seb,” He hisses, “I don’t even want to look at you right now,”
The Monegasque stalks out of the room, leaving his phone on the table and they hear the front door slam.
Sebastian shrugs his shoulders as if he wasn’t expecting anything other than that reaction, “I tried. I’m not going to fall over and beg him forgiveness when I’m not at fault,”
Lewis pinches his nose and glances at the abandoned phone, “He’s not even taken his phone. What if something happens to him? We have no idea where he’s gone,”
Sebastian wraps his arms around the older man and presses a chaste kiss to his neck, “He’ll be fine. I know he acts like a child sometimes but he’s not and he can look after himself. He’ll be back in an hour,”
Lewis pulls back with worried eyes, “If you say so,” He relents, resting their foreheads together, “I shouldn’t have made him come back here. I thought it’d be better for you two to clear the air but I think you both needed some space,”
The German shakes his head on a soft smile, “You did the right thing. I want him here. He might be a menace but I love him even if he did ruin my best race of the season,”
“You really were amazing man, I can’t believe you were about to drag that tractor up to the podium,”
Sebastian steps back with an arched eyebrow, “You agree it was Charles’ fault right?”
Lewis rolls his eyes fondly and pokes the man in the stomach, “I’m not taking sides, Seb,”
Sebastian grins and claps his hands together, “That is basically you agreeing then,” He quips, pushing their lips together.
Lewis opens his mouth to deepen the kiss before pulling back on narrowed eyes, “Don’t you dare say anything to Charles,”
The German only laughs and pulls the older man’s mouth back to his.
Two hours later they’re sitting on the sofa cuddled together and pretending to watch a shitty film, both casting the occasional worried glance at the rain outside.
“Where the fuck is he?” Sebastian mutters, looking out of the window again and only seeing his car. The sun has set now and the temperature has dropped.
Lewis casts his gaze over to the front door, hoping the young man will burst through with a dimpled grin.
The anger that Sebastian was vibrating with earlier seems to have vanished and has been replaced with dread at the thought of their boyfriend out in the rain, cold and heartbroken.
“I bet he’s got lost, you know how clueless he is when it comes to directions,” Sebastian murmurs, “I should go out and look for him,”
Lewis stands pulling his boyfriend up with him by the hand, “We’ll both go,”
They pull on their coats and pile into Sebastian’s pick up truck, agreeing that they’ll drive down to the lake first.
Charles had always said it was his favourite part of Switzerland and the only thing that could ever persuade him to move out of Monaco.
As soon as they reach the lake they spot a dark figure kneeling down on the grass at the lake side.
“Fucking hell, man,” Lewis breathes, pulling up his hood and swinging the door open to run over to his drenched boyfriend. Sebastian chases after him, not even bothering to shut the car doors.
“Oh Charlie,” Lewis purrs, dropping down next to the younger man and pulling the sniffling boy into his arms, “Charlie, sweetheart, it’s okay,”
Sebastian kneels down next them, caressing the younger man’s cheek, and using his thumb to wipe away the falling tears. “Let’s go home, Charles,”
A sob escapes Charles’ mouth and he drags in a shaky breath, “I’m a fucking failure. All I do is fuck everything up. They must be so disappointed in me,”
Lewis’ heart breaks at the ragged words. He doesn’t need to ask who they is. Everyone knows the ghosts Charles carries with him everyday.
He tightens his arms on the boy, resting his cheek on wet hair, “Don’t talk like that, sweetheart. They will be so proud of you. We are so proud of you. You’re not a failure, your team is failing you. You’re doing everything right,”
“Bullshit,” He spits, scrubbing at the tears on his cheeks, only for them to be wet again by rain drops, “You were right Seb, I’m not ready to be a champion. I’ll never be ready,”
Sebastian sighs and pulls Charles so he’s resting between them, both of them wrapping a strong arm around his shoulders. “I didn’t mean that, Charlie. I was just angry. You’re ready to be a champion. It’s Ferrari that aren’t. You’re strong, fearless and amazing. You inspire me everyday,”
The Monegasque pushes his face into Sebastian’s chest, his body trembling from a mix of tears and the cold, “I don’t think I can do this anymore. Every time I feel like something is going my way it doesn’t,”
Lewis can’t help but worry what this must look like if someone walks by. Three race drivers cuddled up beside a lake in the dark and under the heavy rain. One of them balling their eyes out and the other two not far behind.
“Let’s go home and talk, Charlie. It’s freezing out here and you’ve probably already caught a cold,” He declares, standing up and waiting for Sebastian to do the same before they lean down and gather their boyfriend between them, leading him to the car.
Sebastian drives them back to the house, shooting concerned looks at Lewis in the backseat as he holds the crying boy in his arms.
As soon as they make it through the front door, Sebastian tells Charles to take his wet clothes off, eventually deciding to do it himself when the boy makes no effort to move.
Charles doesn’t react when the German pulls off his sweatpants, shoes, and socks. The tears are still falling and he lets out a cry when Sebastian tries to pull him away from Lewis so he can remove his thin t-shirt.
“Please, Charles, I need to get you out of these clothes,” He begs, looking to the older man for help. Lewis gently pries the boy off him enough to allow Sebastian to remove his top.
Sebastian runs up the stairs ahead of them to turn on the shower and heat it up. Lewis leads Charles up to the bathroom letting the boy cling onto him so tightly he can feel his nails digging into his skin.
The two older men quickly strip off their clothes and Lewis pulls off Charles’ boxers, before guiding him into the large shower cubicle.
Charles collapses to the floor, his back up against the tiles and his head dropping forward to his bent knees.
Lewis has never seen his boyfriend like this before. After Monaco the younger man was devastated but it was nothing compared to this. The look of pure fear on Sebastian’s face implies he’s never seen him this way either.
Lewis sits down on the floor next to him and pulls Charles into his lap so that they’re under the warm spray of the shower.
“Charles, please talk to us. We love you and it’s breaking our hearts seeing you like this,”
The brunette looks up at him in anguish, “You shouldn’t love me. You two don’t need me. I’m nothing compared to you. You’re world champions and I’m just a failure,”
Sebastian crouches down beside them with teary eyes looking just as out of his depth as Lewis is feeling.
Lewis cards a hand through the the younger man’s hair, “I don’t love Seb because he’s a world champion, Charlie. I love him because he’s him and I love you because you’re you. You could be a fucking waiter and I’d still love you. You’re our sunshine. You brighten the darkest days with your smile. You help us keep hold of our youth. We need you, sweetheart,”
He looks down at Charles and searches for any sign that the words have sunk in. A sign that their gorgeous boy remembers what he means to them.
“You’d be better off without me,” Charles utters between tears, “Everyone would,”
The heartbreaking statement is enough to force the tears Lewis has been desperately trying to hold. They drop onto Charles’ hair mixing in with the stream from the shower.
“Stop it, Charles,” Sebastian snaps, causing both Lewis and Charles to jolt in shock at the outburst. The German grips Charles’ chin between his fingers and roughly turns his face so they’re looking at each other, “Don’t you fucking dare talk about yourself that way. You’re the most important person in our lives and we wouldn’t survive without you. Your family wouldn’t. All of your friends wouldn’t and you’ve got more than anyone I know. People love you, Charles, and if I could burn Ferrari to the ground for what they’re doing to you I would,”
Charles sniffles and Lewis can feel the world brighten when a smirk tugs at the younger man’s lips, “I don’t think Mattia would be very impressed if you did that,” He mumbles.
Sebastian scoffs on a watery grin, stroking his thumb across the boy’s cheek, “I don’t give a fuck. I’d do anything to protect you,” He looks at the oldest man on a soft smile, “Lewis would too. You know that right?”
Charles let’s out a breathy laugh and nods, “I know,”
“Good, and don’t you ever dare forget it. I will not be impressed if we have to traipse down to the lake in the pouring rain again to search for you,”
Lewis smiles at the warmth in Sebastian’s tone and hugs the boy tighter, glad to just see a semblance of a smile on his face again.
“I’m sorry,” Charles utters, looking between them ashamedly.
Lewis shakes his head vehemently, “You have nothing to be sorry for, Charlie. We will always be here for you, no matter what,”
Sebastian let’s out a groan and wiggles his back against the wall, “Can we stand up now and actually wash ourselves? Lewis and I aren’t as young as you and if this is killing my back, I can’t imagine his is much better,”
Lewis scoffs and shoves the German in the shoulder knocking him off balance. Sebastian falls back into the corner of the cubicle on a grin.
“Maybe you should get one of those seats in here, you know that old people have in their showers,”
Sebastian arches an eyebrow at Lewis, “Are we going to let him get away with that?”
Lewis grins, “Not a chance, man,”
Charles attempts to stand up and sprint out of the cubicle but the two older men yank him back down between them and dig their fingers into all the places they know will make the younger man fall apart in giggles.
Lewis looks over the squirming, giggling mess between them, and smiles at Sebastian.
Sebastian smiles back and the unspoken thankfulness that their beautiful boyfriend is okay again falls between them. They know that this isn’t the end of the trouble Charles will have, it’ll only get harder as the season progresses, but together they can get through anything.
The teasing turns to kisses and the three of them melt into each other’s mouths, clinging onto what often feels like the only people keeping them afloat.
After Sebastian moans about his back again they wash and dry themselves, before falling into the large bed.
Charles snuggles between them, his eyes slowly blinking shut as the exhaustion of the day hits him.
“Seb,” He murmurs sleepily, his head resting on the German’s chest, “I still think the crash was your fault,”
Sebastian stares down at him, and for a second Lewis worries that they’re going to start arguing again, then he snorts in amusement, ruffling Charles’ dark hair, “I’m sure you do, Charlie. We’ll agree to disagree on that one I think. Just like Brazil,”
“Brazil was your -“ Charles starts to argue but Lewis clamps a hand over his mouth on an amused smile, “Go to sleep, Charlie,”
Charles smirks and snuggles down further into the bed, his head on Sebastian’s chest and his back pressing into Lewis’ front. A whispered “love you both,” before the telltale heavy breathing escapes his mouth that means he’s asleep.
Lewis looks down at him on a frown and presses a soft kiss to the back of his head, “I had no idea that he was struggling so much. We need to keep an eye on him. I don’t think my heart will survive a repeat of tonight,”
“I should never have let him leave when he was in that state at dinner,” Sebastian mumbles regretfully, and Lewis reaches a hand across the boy between them to cup the blonde’s cheek.
“We had no idea that it was going to get as bad as it did. It doesn’t matter now anyway, he’s right here and we’ll never let him get like that again,”
Sebastian nods solemnly and turns his face to press a kiss to Lewis’ palm, “I love you, Lew,”
“I love you too, Seb,”
_______________________________________________
As soon as Lewis hears the bathroom door click shut he turns to Charles who is scrolling on his phone, an arm tucked behind his head.
“I’m going to meet the guy selling the XR750 today. I’ll be gone a few hours and so you need to keep Seb distracted, okay Charlie?”
Charles’ eyes widen and he drops his phone on his bare chest, “I can’t do that! He’ll see right through me, he always does! Why can’t I go and pick up the bike?”
Lewis strokes a finger down his boyfriend’s side, smirking at the shiver it elicits, “Because the guy is expecting me, I’ve been arranging it. He’ll be confused if some bright eyed kid turns up,”
“Don’t call me a kid,” Charles bites, rolling onto his side and nibbling the older man’s neck. Lewis let’s out a moan but pushes him back on a smirk, “Stop distracting me. I know you’re not a kid but you look young and I’ve spoken to this guy already. It’s really important I collect it today,”
Charles sighs and rolls onto his back again, grabbing his phone from where it had fallen next to him.
Tomorrow is Sebastian’s 35th birthday and they’d been racking their brains for what to get him for months. The German had been no help whatsoever, always assuring them all he wants is to spend the day with them.
It was during a press conference that Sebastian had answered the one motorbike he’d always wanted but never been able to get his hands on was the Harley Davidson - XR750. Charles who had been seated a few chairs down from him made a mental note to tell Lewis.
Lewis was thrilled that they’d finally found something they could get their boyfriend that he actually wanted, and he’d scoured the internet for days trying to find someone selling one.
They hear the shower turn off after only five minutes. Sebastian always had quick showers and encouraged both his boyfriend’s to do the same for environmental reasons.
“I’m going to tell him that I’ve got a sponsor event to attend. Do not ruin the surprise Charles,” Lewis hisses and Charles smacks him in the arm on an affronted look.
“I won’t! I can keep it a secret for one more day! I’ve kept it this long!”
Lewis levels him with a pointed stare, “Only because I’ve been around to make sure you’re keeping your mouth shut. Seb’s smart, don’t let him trick you into telling him,”
“Lew, I will definitely be able to keep it a secret. I’m not that stupid,”
“You’re not stupid at all, Charlie,” Lewis promises, pulling the younger man into his side and pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“Why are you calling yourself stupid again, Charlie? What did we tell you about calling yourself that?” Sebastian asks walking back into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Charles flicks panicked eyes to Lewis and the older man glares back, already regretting the plan of leaving the younger man alone with Sebastian because he’s so fucking bad at keeping secrets.
Sebastian turns back around from the drawers where he’s pulling out a t-shirt and eyes them both suspiciously when neither of them reply, “What were you two talking about?”
Charles’ eyes drop to the mattress and Lewis pinches his leg under the cover, making the boy yelp.
“We were just talking about the race the other day,” Charles babbles, “And about how I’m stupid for losing the rear around the last corner,”
The German pulls on his jeans and leans back against the drawers with crossed arms and narrowed eyes, “You won at Silverstone, and I don’t remember you ever losing the rear. You drove a brilliant race,”
Charles feels his cheeks flush and he flicks cautious eyes to Lewis who is looking everywhere but his direction, “No, well - um - you were quite a bit behind me. You wouldn’t have seen it,”
“What were you really talking about?”
Lewis shakes his head on a smile, “We were talking about Silverstone, Seb. Why are you being so weird, man?”
Sebastian looks at him in disbelief then focuses his attention on the youngest man, “Charlie, look at me,”
Charles keeps his gaze on his phone but can feel both men’s eyes on him. Sebastian has always been able to read him too easily. It’s a blessing and a curse.
“Charles,” Sebastian warns, dawdling over to them on a smirk.
The Monegasque jumps out of the bed and rushes past his boyfriend, dodging the hands that shoot out to grab him by the waist. “I’m having a shower,” He calls behind his back, locking himself in the bathroom.
Lewis keeps a straight face as Sebastian gawks at him, “I know you two are planning something,” He drawls.
The oldest man shrugs his shoulders on an arched eyebrow, “I have no idea what you’re going on about, Seb,” He replies evenly, “By the way I’ve got a sponsor event to attend today. Can I take the truck? It’s only a couple of hours away,”
“What’s the event?”
“Just some photoshoot for Tommy Hilfiger. George will be there too,” He lies on a smile.
Sebastian looks at him sceptically, “In Switzerland?”
Lewis hums in agreement and the blonde leans over the bed, holding himself up with his hands against the mattress. Their lips meet and Lewis wraps a hand around the man’s nape, pulling him closer, “I might not be able to get it out of you but I will be able to get it out of Charles - he’s never been able to lie to me,” Sebastian mumbles against his lips, biting down gently.
Lewis pulls back on a roll of the eyes, “Still have no idea what you’re talking about. Can I take the truck or not?”
Sebastian presses one final chaste kiss against the older man’s lips before standing back up, “Yeah that’s fine. Are you going to be back for dinner?”
“Definitely. I’ll cook tonight. I’m going to leave in about half an hour so I’ll be back before 5pm,”
The bathroom door opens and Charles walks out with wet hair and hesitant eyes. Lewis shoots him a warning look and Sebastian smirks.
“Just me and you today, Charlie. Apparently Lew has a sponsor event. What do you want to do?”
“Oh yeah? The Puma one right? I remember you talking about it the other day,” Charles utters, smiling at Lewis and feeling awfully proud of himself for keeping up the lie.
Sebastian snorts in amusement.
“No, the Tommy Hilfiger one,” Lewis grates, narrowing his eyes on his boyfriend.
Charles’ eyes widen and he grabs some of his clothes out of the drawer Sebastian cleared for him months ago, “Oh yeah - yeah - sorry, I remember now. Anyway I’m going for a run,” He proclaims, running out of the room holding his clothes and with the towel slipping down his slim waist.
Sebastian watches him run out on a grin and turns back to Lewis, “I’m going to have fun with this,”
Lewis gives him an unamused look and pushes pass him to use the bathroom.
By the time he’s showered and dressed, Charles is walking back up the stairs to change out of his running gear.
He crowds the younger man against the wall, “Where’s Seb?”
“He’s downstairs reading the newspaper. I managed to sneak by him without any questions,”
Lewis sighs in relief, “Good. You’re going to come with me to get the bike. Seb’s on a mission to find out what we are planning and he’ll get it out of you if you’re alone with him,”
Charles arches an eyebrow at him, “That will just make him more suspicious, no? He won’t be able to get me to tell him. I can lie for one more day,”
Lewis repeatedly prods his boyfriend in the side and the younger man squirms and pushes him off on a glare, “Oh yeah there’s no way he’ll be able to get it out of you,” Lewis replies, the sarcasm dripping from his voice. “Get changed, we are leaving in 10 minutes,”
Charles huffs a breath in annoyance but wanders off into the bedroom and Lewis heads downstairs.
“Charles is going to come with me,” He informs his boyfriend’s back.
Sebastian turns around on the chair and lowers his newspaper, “And why would Charles, a Ferrari driver, need to go to a Mercedes photo shoot?”
Lewis pours himself a cup of fresh coffee and takes a seat next to him, “He wants to see George. You know how close they all are,”
“Maybe I can come,” Sebastian suggests, resting his chin on his bent arm and eyeing the older man.
“Yeah man, you’re more than welcome. It’s going to be pretty boring though, not really your thing,”
Sebastian hums thoughtfully but they’re interrupted by Charles pounding down the stairs, “I’m ready,”
Lewis downs the rest of his coffee - grimacing when the hot liquid burns his throat - and gets up from the table. He leans over to press a kiss to the German’s lips, “We’ll be back in a few hours, love you,”
“Love you too,” Sebastian mumbles once the man has pulled away and is wrapping an arm around their boyfriend.
Sebastian eyes Charles, silently assessing him. The youngest man withers under his gaze and looks away, “Love you Seb, bye,” He calls over his shoulder as Lewis drags him out of the front door, grabbing the car keys on the way.
“That was a close call,” Charles laughs as they slide into the truck.
Lewis turns to him on narrowed eyes, “You’re the worst liar I’ve ever known. When you eventually retire I hope you know there’s no future for you in acting,”
Charles scoffs and slaps him on the arm, “Hey! I was in the new Disney film remember,”
“You had one line and it’s an animation,” Lewis deadpans, starting up the truck.
Charles huffs and leans back in the seat, “I’m not that bad,”
Lewis turns to him on a grin and squeezes his knee, “You are but it’s okay. As your boyfriend it’s actually quite reassuring that you can’t lie,”
Lewis instructs the younger man to put the address for the seller into his phone. They take advantage of not having Sebastian in the car with them and listen to Kanye West for most of the journey.
The drive takes them about three hours in the end because much to Lewis’ annoyance they have to stop at several gas stations so Charles can use the toilet.
They bicker about Charles having the bladder of a child and their favourite Jay Z song before pulling up in front of the large house.
“Stay here,” Lewis instructs, ignoring the look of indignation on the boy’s face and pressing a kiss to his cheek, before climbing out of the truck.
The seller is a nice guy and Lewis transfers him the money once he sees the bike is in pristine condition and he’s had a test drive down the road. He grins at Charles as he steps off the bike and sees the look of jealousy on his face through the front window.
It takes all three of them to lift the bike into the back of the pick up truck. Lewis grabs the blanket they take for picnics out of the back seat and covers the bike with it.
He’s about to start the car up when Charles’ phone starts blaring the generic IPhone ringtone. The younger man pulls it out of his pocket and his eyes widen when he sees who’s calling.
“It’s Seb,” He panics, looking at Lewis.
“Answer it and put it on speaker,”
“Hey Seb, everything okay?” Charles asks, holding the phone near his mouth.
“Charlie, how’s it going at the photo shoot? Are you bored out of your mind yet?”
Charles forces a laugh and it sounds so unnatural that Lewis shoots him a look. “No it’s not too bad. I’m just waiting with George for Lewis to be done then we’re coming back,”
“Perfect. I need to talk to George about something FIA related. Can you pass the phone to him?”
Charles can hear Sebastian’s smirk through the phone.
“Um - yeah - yeah - course, let me put him on,” He stutters as Lewis is mouthing what the fuck are you doing at him.
He waves the phone around in the air, his arms flailing in panic.
“Charlie?” Sebastian questions, and Charles repeatedly smacks his head against the window.
“Sorry Seb, George isn’t here,” He babbles.
“I thought you were standing with him?”
Charles clears his throat and he’s glad that Sebastian can’t see him because he knows his face is the same colour as his Ferrari shirt.
“I thought it was George next to me but it wasn’t, it’s a photographer,”
Lewis sighs and drops his head to the steering wheel in exasperation.
“Right so you mistook one of your best friends for a photographer you met for the first time today?” Sebastian drawls.
Lewis is gesturing for him to end the call and Charles nods frantically, “Got to go, bye Seb,” He spits, ending the call and dropping the phone on his lap as if it might burn him.
He glances at his boyfriend on a sheepish smile and Lewis just shakes his head on a fond smile, “I fucking love you, you know. At least when I retire I know I’ll never be bored with you around causing trouble,”
Charles pouts, “I don’t cause trouble,”
Lewis kisses the pout off his face and strokes a thumb across his cheek, “You do but don’t worry Seb and I will always be there to get you out of it,”
The drive back to Sebastian’s house is just as long because as Lewis expected they had to make several stops along the way for a toilet and then for something to eat.
“I’m going to put the bike into the garage, you go in and make sure Seb doesn’t come outside,” Lewis instructs when they arrive onto the country road leading up to their boyfriend’s house. “Do not blow this, Charlie. We’ve only got to get through tonight and then we can give it to him,”
“Shut up, I won’t,” Charles insists, although he’s already not trusting himself to keep up the lie.
Lewis practically shoves him out of the car and he pulls out his key to Sebastian’s house, letting himself in the door.
It looks like there’s no one in and he breathes a sigh of relief as he settles down at the kitchen counter, grabbing a bottle of water off the side.
He’s scrolling through his phone and sipping from the bottle, when two fingers dig into his sides from behind.
He spits out his mouthful of water on a squeal and drops his arms to his sides, flipping around on his stool to find Sebastian grinning at him.
“You’re back. How’d it go?”
Charles forces a smile, “It was good. What did you do today?”
Sebastian leans in to press a kiss to his lips, “How’s George?” He asks, ignoring the younger man’s question.
Charles starts to panic again when Sebastian’s hands move to his sides on a smirk and he throws desperate eyes to the front door, waiting for Lewis to come in.
Apparently luck is on his side because the front door swings open and Lewis walks in on narrowed eyes when he sees them.
The oldest man quickly distracts Sebastian with talk about what they’re going to have for dinner and Charles spits out an excuse that he’s going to go and stream upstairs.
Lewis makes sure not to leave his boyfriends alone together all evening because he knows it’ll only take thirty seconds of Sebastian’s relentless fingers digging into Charles’ sensitive body and he’d blurt out everything.
Both of them are feeling quite confident in themselves as they lie in bed that night, Sebastian softly snoring behind Charles.
“I can’t believe we actually pulled it off. I hope he likes the bike,” Charles whispers on a grin next to Lewis’ face.
Lewis hushes him with a kiss and they fall asleep with smiles on their faces.
Sebastian open’s one eye and shuffles closer to Charles on a soft beam, placing an arm across him and over Lewis’ back.
He won’t tell either of his boyfriend’s that he’d seen an email from the seller on Lewis’ laptop when he was using it to check his work emails. His heart is too full from the lengths they’ve gone to surprise him and it has been fun teasing Charles all day.