Chapter Text
The Miami paddock buzzed with the usual chaos of a Grand Prix Thursday: mechanics, engineers, reporters, flashing lights, and voiceovers. But in the pack room Oscar had secured (it was still unclear whether extortion had been committed), the atmosphere was radically different. There, the noise had been kept outside, and what remained inside was an expectant, tense silence, charged with what was about to happen.
Oscar had asked for all the puppies to gather there. The space was prepared: sofas arranged in a circle, a few bottles of water on the coffee table, and the dim afternoon light filtering through the windows. It wasn't a cold environment, but it wasn't comfortable yet either. It was a neutral space, an agreed-upon ground for the inevitable.
Oscar's protective presence at the front, Logan glued to his side, Jack nearby, Gabriel pacing like a calm wall, although his eyes monitored every corner. Kimi, Liam, and Ollie arrived with tense, almost feline movements, alert to any change. Paul hung back a little, though his posture conveyed calculated calm, supported by Dino at his side. Franco and Isack entered silently, more withdrawn, but still keeping their distance from the others.
A few seconds later, the door opened. George entered first, with Lance pressed against his side as if to reinforce his presence. Behind them came Esteban and Mick, the former with tense shoulders and lowered gaze, the latter with a calm expression, his hands clasped in front of him in an almost humble gesture. Yuki and Alex brought up the rear, discreet, carrying an air of genuine discomfort.
The silence stretched for several seconds.
George was the first to speak. His voice, soft and clear, pierced the air like a carefully measured caress.
“Thank you for letting us be here. We know it’s not easy, but… we needed to do it. And we think you do too.”
His gaze lingered on each of those present, as if he wanted to make sure each pup felt seen. Then he took a deep breath.
“I was wrong. I was wrong not to warn you, not to put in more effort before leaving with Lance. It wasn’t because I didn’t value you. It was because I thought it would be easier to disappear than to face the conversation. And that wasn’t right.”
Lance lowered his head, pressing his lips together, and then spoke in a sincere murmur.
“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have…” He trailed off, as if the words caught in his throat. “George loved you, and so did I… but I did it wrong. I didn’t know how to say it.”
Oscar leaned forward on the couch, his tone firm but calm.
"This isn't easy to hear. But it's true, we need it to close this chapter in our lives."
Dino, sitting next to Paul, nodded silently, though his body remained rigid.
It was then that Yuki and Alex took a step forward. The Japanese man took a deep breath, staring at Isack, who instinctively shrank back a little on the sofa, taking refuge in Gabriel's arm.
"Isack," Alex began, his voice soft. "We should have told you the truth directly instead of waiting for someone else to do it. Not that we didn't love you. But that we weren't ready. Neither was I nor Yuki. We thought—mistakenly—that if we told you directly, it would be worse for you. That it would hurt more and you'd feel rejected. We didn't want you to start associating with the pack after that experience. So we avoided them. We avoided you."
Yuki, serious, leaned forward a little, his hands clasped together.
"We failed you by not trusting you with the truth. You weren't the problem. We were. And if you never want to come near us again, we'll understand. But if at some point…" he stopped, taking a deep breath, "if at some point you want to try again, we'll be there. We have no expectations. We'd just like to be able to try to make up for our mistake, if you're willing to let us."
Isack didn't respond. He just lowered his gaze, and Gabriel stroked his shoulder with a calm, protective gesture.
Mick was the next to speak. His tone was calm, measured, but imbued with sincerity.
"I want to apologize too. For not being there. For not making an effort to make you feel like you could count on me. I'm not going to make excuses. I just want to tell you that I care. That I truly care about you."
Esteban swallowed, his voice trembling a little as it came out.
"I... I did wrong. Running away without explanation. It was sudden, yes. You all know what our... situation has been, but it's no excuse. You had the right to know, to have me face you, to have me trust you to tell you that I wasn't in a good place and needed to leave. And instead, I left you with doubts, with wounds you didn't deserve. I'm sorry."
Silence fell again. Heavy. Painful. Franco shifted uncomfortably, not looking up from the floor. Liam had his arms crossed, his jaw tense. Ollie tapped his fingers on his leg, restless.
Oscar looked around, letting them react first. And it was Jack, in a low but firm voice, who spoke:
"It's appreciated hearing that. But... we can't pretend everything goes away just because we say 'I'm sorry.' We need time."
Dino immediately intervened, his tone gentle but charged with meaning.
"Time, yes. But this... this is a step."
Kimi nodded slowly.
"We can respect each other. Be civil. That's what matters now."
Logan, his voice soft but clear, added:
"And we can start here. With a truce. With the promise that, even if it still hurts, we're trying to move forward."
George, his eyes shining with suppressed emotion, bowed his head.
"That's all we asked for. A chance."
No one smiled. No one rose to hug. But the air, though still heavy, was a little lighter. As if everyone had accepted that the journey wouldn't be traveled in a day, but that at least they'd taken the first step. A tentative truce. A silent promise of respect. And the faint hope that, with time, the wound might begin to heal.
"Thank you for letting us be here." Lance looked around, making sure to meet each pup's gaze even though some avoided it. "I know it hasn't been easy. I know you didn't have to do this."
Mick merely nodded, not interrupting.
"It hurt." Paul's voice was low, but firm. "Not because you left. That was your decision. It hurt because we were left without an explanation. Because from one day to the next... we thought we didn't matter anymore."
Dino, at his side, supported him with a slight nod, his hand almost automatically reaching for his omega's.
"It wasn't fair to us," he added, his tone calm but laced with restrained reproach. "We were trying to learn to trust. And you..." he looked directly at Yuki, "you were our role models. When you left without saying anything, all we were left with was the thought that we'd done something wrong."
Esteban closed his eyes for a moment, as if the words were digging into his chest.
Logan spoke then, his tone soft, but the sadness in him evident:
"I... I felt abandoned. And not because you owed me anything, Este, but because I thought I had a place in your world. And suddenly... I didn't." He squeezed Oscar's hand for support. "Sometimes I think you never gave us credit. That you never trusted that we could understand if you'd spoken up."
George swallowed, his eyes shining, and replied slowly.
"You're right. I have nothing more to say about that. We were stupid people who decided to follow the communication style of very misguided references, even though we knew it wasn't good."
A soft murmur came from the sofa where Isack was lying. The Frenchman stirred, curled up on Gabriel's side, staring down at his own hands.
"It was worse than a no," he whispered, barely audible.
Everyone turned to him. Isack didn't look up, but continued, his voice trembling:
"Because I can understand a 'no.' I can cry, I can hurt... but at least I know what happened. Instead... everyone left me waiting. They left me thinking that maybe I'd done something wrong. That if I was sweeter, calmer, more obedient... maybe then they'd love me." He finally raised his gaze, damp but firm. "I felt... discarded. Like I was too little to be loved."
The silence that followed Isack's words was so profound that the clatter of cutlery could be heard in the hotel restaurant on the other side of the wall. The Frenchman was breathing heavily, as if daring to say it had opened the wound again, fresh and vulnerable. Ollie, sitting next to him, slid his arm behind Isack's back until he embraced him completely, pulling him against his chest with an almost instinctive tenderness.
Gabriel didn't move away; quite the opposite. He leaned forward slightly, his hand resting on Isack's knee, a firm, silent touch that said "I'm here" without any words.
It was then that Alex cleared his throat. His voice wasn't his usual, joking spark he usually carried on the dance floor: it was broken, low, and had a barely perceptible tremor.
"Isack... I..." He paused for a second, as if searching for the right words. "I know. I was one of those who didn't take care of you. And I never fixed it.” It was hard to look him in the eye, but he tried. “It wasn't that I didn't want you around. It was that I didn't know how. I thought someone else would do it better, and I hid behind that. I didn't have the courage to say anything to you, and what I did was worse. I'm sorry.”
Isack swallowed, his face half-hidden against Ollie's chest. His voice came out low, raspy.
“I never asked for you to take care of me. I just wanted you to tell me. That you wouldn't. That would have been enough.” A small sob broke his voice. “But you ignored me like I didn't exist. Both of you did.”
“I was your teammate, Isack,” Yuki began. “And… I wasn't there for you. I thought being distant was best, that not getting involved would give you freedom. But really, I just left you alone. And now I understand that that hurt you. That… I failed you as a friend.”
The Algerian's breathing quickened. He squeezed his eyes shut, his fingers pressing against the fabric of Ollie's T-shirt. Gabriel leaned closer, putting an arm around his back and stroking his shoulder, firm and steady.
Liam, who had been keeping calm until then, spoke suddenly, his voice dry and sharp:
"You have no idea what that meant to him." His eyes were fixed on Yuki and Alex, dark and intense. "It wasn't 'just a mistake.' It was something that shaped how he saw himself. You went on with your lives while he wondered what was wrong with it."
Silence fell again, heavy. No one dared to contradict him. Isack, still in Ollie's arms, murmured with difficulty:
"I felt like I was... disposable. Like my presence had no value to you." He leaned slightly toward Gabriel, as if seeking a double refuge, between Ollie's embrace and the Brazilian's secure touch. "And even though I know it wasn't malicious, it hurts just the same."
Ollie gently kissed Isack's temple, murmuring a soft "shhhh" to calm him. Gabriel held him a little closer, making it clear that he didn't have to continue bearing the weight of those memories alone.
Yuki lowered his head, visibly affected. Alex did too. Neither of them tried to justify themselves. There was something about the way Liam had spoken that had closed the door to any excuses: the only thing they could do was listen.
Oscar, sensing the intensity of the moment, intervened in a calm but firm voice, as if trying to keep the conversation flowing without breaking:
"This is what we needed. We're not here to sugarcoat what happened. We're here to say it plainly, so you understand what we're feeling and so we can let it go."
Gabriel cleared his throat, breaking the rigidity of the moment a little.
"We're here to listen to each other." His eyes searched the others in the pack, then returned to the six. "We can't promise things will change overnight. But we can promise we'll be honest."
The atmosphere was charged, as if every word spoken had stirred the air and left scars floating between them. For a few seconds, no one spoke; only the murmur of the air conditioning and the occasional nervous rustle of clothing could be heard. Then Logan straightened.
"We're not going to solve everything today," he said calmly. "Not even in a week. But what we can do is make one thing clear: we don't want war, or resentments that keep accumulating. We want to... try."
Esteban nodded immediately, almost with relief.
"That's all we need. We know it hurts, we know it won't be easy. But if you'll let us, we want to be here, even if it's just to show with actions that we do care about you."
Liam crossed his arms, tilting his head, thoughtful.
“No one is telling you it’s impossible. But don’t think it’s a done deal with a couple of apologies.” His tone was honest, without cruelty. “If you want us to trust you again, you’ll have to prove it. Little by little.”
Yuki, with a serious expression, lowered her head.
“We will. We’re not asking for immediate trust. Just the opportunity to build it.”
“This doesn’t mean we’ll go back to what we were. But we can try to be… something. Whatever that ‘something’ is,” Kimi explained.
Lance nodded. “That’s already a lot more than we thought we’d get. Thank you.”
There was a positive murmur, and while the tension didn’t completely disappear, it did ease. There were no broad smiles, but there was a tacit understanding: they were opening a door, even if it was slow, even if it was hard to look straight ahead.
And with that, the conversation closed. Not with a perfect closure, but with a fragile truce, an implicit agreement to walk slowly forward, with the understanding that lost trust can only be restored with time, patience, and action.