No way back
Words: contract; energy; assessment
Fandom: F1
Lewis trudged through the pit lane, swirling up the dust that lay thick on the tracks. Another year, another race in the hot sweltering heat of Abu Dhabi. The last race before the half way point in the season was drawing closer as the clock ticked. Two more days and then the summer holiday. Practice, then qualifying and then the race. After that the assessment of the car and the data that they had collected before he would finally be free to spend the summer away. Away from all the drama on track, away from racing and away... away from Nico.
Summer break between the first part of the season and the later part was always an interesting period. Most drivers left the country and spent time with their families, to recharge their energy before the season continued. Others spent their days nervous about their futures, the lack of a contract for the next season evident in their actions, their Instagram stories, the fact that they talked to every team principle possible.
Usually, Lewis would count down every day to get back on the track, fingers itching to feel the steering wheel and to feel the exhilarating release of racing at a speed most people would never dream of going. But this year... Lewis sighed, kicking a stone and watching it roll towards the garage. The events of this season weighed heavily on his shoulders. Every word, every glance, every fight they had had. And he knew deep down that the later part would be just as bad, if not worse.
The bond that had tied them together for the past ten years, since the day they had met during carting, was unraveling rapidly and no matter how hard Lewis tried to hold on, it was slowly ripping apart uncontrollably. He had thought that he knew Nico better than anyone else, thought that Nico understood that for him, racing was and would always be the most important thing in his life. That winning was what he did, what he was good at. But lately...
Lately, when he looked at the other during the meetings, he found that he could not recognize Nico anymore. Could not recognize the man that stood in front of him, the man that had celebrated the championship with champagne in the hotel room with him.
They were heading towards a cliff that neither one of them could survive.