My Book of Fics

Forgiveness - Pierre Gasly

Your's and Pierre's relationship started out great, all the shared kisses, the smiles and laughs, the trips between races and nothing but a bright future ahead for the both you. Then came the lows, the petty arguments that were about nothing important, the tears that were shed way too often and the accusations coming from either side that you both knew deep down were the furthest thing from the truth.

The happy memories soon were overshadowed by the sad ones which ultimately drew you apart, showing the world that not all that is flaunted on social media is as it seems in the real world. Breaking up turned out to be the solution that the two of you needed after a year of crazy highs and rock bottom lows. You went back to Italy and Pierre went back to France, the two of you becoming strangers again like before you even knew of one another.

••••

A couple of years pass, after a lot of hard work you're now working as one of the site managers of the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. Memories of the past faded but not completely forgotten with your newest position having frequent ties to the sport that brought the two of you together.

When the global pandemic hit Italy fiercely you were forced to shelter in place in your Monza apartment. Being forced to work from home and adapting to the new normal meant a lot of self reflection about the past taking you right back to the moments that made you feel ashamed.

Your position at the Autodromo changed as events got postponed or cancelled. The one hat you were used to wearing at work changed to a multipurpose one due to the layoffs and requests by higher management to work together to plan for the future. Countless nights are spent triple checking documents and zoom conferencing with co-workers and the executives at Formula 1 in the hopes of salvaging the Italian Grand Prix at the venue. When work matters get put on the back burner during the weekends you stay put in your apartment, watching movies with friends through Netflix parties, talking to your family on zoom and baking anything from cupcakes to tiered cakes just for the fun of it. While you more or less stay occupied, the loneliness hits on occasion reminding you that being single during unprecedented times is hard and not ideal. The empty bed at the end of every night make your thoughts go to Pierre, thinking about the what if's as you try to fall asleep.

••••

At the end of August things at work are hectic as preparations for the Italian Grand Prix wrap up. You find yourself leading employees while also making sure everything at the venue is distanced and up to code for the pandemic protocols. You have settled into your multi tasking roles smoothly, your doubts having diminished months earlier as you run around the empty offices to keep everything in order before race weekend arrives knowing that this year will be a different monster to battle.

Race weekend gets underway on September fourth the Friday. You're at the track early in the morning doing last minute checks for when teams and drivers start showing up for practice laps. You smile under your mask as you lookout over the track from the seats that are usually reserved for VIPs, "never gets old huh?" you peer over your shoulder to see the other site manager Antonio approaching, "that's for sure" you reply as he also looks out at the track, "this is going to be such a weird Grand Prix with no fans" you nod hugging the clipboard you've been carrying closer to your chest, "I kind of think that I'll like the change, lest chaos to deal with" he laughs, "you've got a good point there" you nod and he leaves you alone to keep enjoying the silence of the empty venue. After a few more minutes you sigh and step away from the railing to make your way back down to track level to complete preparations.

You see it as a win when you don't come across Pierre the whole day of practices. At the end of the day you grab your trusty clipboard ready to do one last check before leaving the venue. The pit lane is empty of any remnants from earlier's action. You check off another item on your end of day list smiling as you look back up, which is when you notice that AlphaTauri's garage is open. Your brow furrows in confusion the smile slipping of your face as you approach the team's area. "Hello?" You ask when you get close enough, a clatter makes you jump slightly, a blonde head appearing making your eyes widen. "Sorry I forgot my wallet" the man says a French accent ringing through while holding up the forgotten item, you nod and he comes your way, "it's okay, I just need to finish up my checks didn't think anyone was still here" you reply as he shuts off the light in the garage and rolls down the door, easily locking it. When he turns your way you see his face better even if a mask covers the lower half of it, "I'll get out of here so that you can get home" he says and finally looks at you head on. "Pierre" you breath out recognizing his eyes almost instantly, those familiar eyes widen as he looks at you longer, "y/n?" you nod and he steps closer but still keeps his distance. "what are you doing here?" the French man asks while sticking his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, "I'm the site manager here, decided to stay close to family" you reply hugging the clipboard to your chest, "wow you've done good" he says and you see the crinkles around his eyes telling you that he's smiling under his mask, "yeah, you're doing good out there too though" you exclaim, he shrugs, "I guess, still no win though" you bite your lip glad that he can't see the gesture, "I'm hoping this weekend will be the one, it would be amazing to win here" you release your lip smiling, "you'll get a win, I know it" Pierre nods before looking down, "okay but for real I need to finish this so you gotta go" he looks up letting out a laugh, "I'm going, it was nice to see you y/n I hope I see you again this weekend" you smile at the French race car driver, "it was good to see you too Pierre, good luck on Sunday and don't forget your wallet again" he rolls his eyes but waves at you before leaving you standing there alone your emotions a complete mess after the brief interaction. After a few seconds you shake your head to focus on your task completing the check twenty minutes later ready to go back to your apartment to get some sleep.

••••

Race day arrives and you're in ten places at once constantly to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. You find yourself occasionally peering over at the AlphaTauri garages pretending that you aren't looking for a certain French man. When the drivers lineup in their grid positions on the track you bite your lip nervously, you're clipboard tucked under your arm as you take a few minutes to watch them start the race.

"Guys are you seeing Gasly dominate?" Antonio says over the headset, you look up from what you were doing at his statement. You stand up from where you were sitting in the VIP seating walking over to the railing overlooking the track. "He's gonna win his first race" Paulo exclaims in the headset as your eyes spot Pierre's car approaching the checkered flag. Something in you clicks as the race car driver from France crosses the finish line throwing his arm up as he slows down for a victory lap. You jump up your arms in the air the clipboard you were holding dropping to the ground with a clatter. "Okay let's prepare for the podium guys, Y/N you got it under control?" Antonio's voice makes you lower your arms bringing the mic closer to your mouth, "I got it don't worry" you reply and leave the seating area, picking up the dropped clipboard on your way to the podium set up.

"Ladies and gentleman here's your Italian Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly" the announcement makes you grin under your mask, you watch him walk over to the tallest platform his arms up a first place hat on his head. When he lifts the trophy confetti showers the drivers as they spray champagne onto each other. The French driver spots me his eyes finding mine, I give him a thumbs up with it being the best I can do without taking my mask off, he nods and turns back to the two other drivers still celebrating. I walk away to get a move on organizing the cleanup of the podium and the pit lane below that has confetti scattered everywhere.

Twenty minutes later Antonio asks about Pierre's whereabouts telling us that his team can find him. "I'll handle it" you reply putting down your clipboard before making your way to where you think the French man is. You find Pierre sitting on the podium, the trophy next to him his fingers at his eyes, "found him" you say into your headset before pulling it down around your neck slowly approaching the driver. Pierre must hear you talk because he looks up, you smile coming to a stop a few feet away from him, "hey your team is looking for you" you say, "yeah I know, I just needed a minute to take it in" he replies, his mask in his hand, which lets you see his smile, "you called it Pierre, this whole moment is yours now" he shrugs the smile dimming on his face, "I wish I had someone to share it with" you suck in a breath when he looks at you while speaking. "Pierre..." he shakes his head, "s'il vous plait viens ici y/n" you hesitate but he holds a hand out to you, "what if..." you start doubtfully, "no what ifs right now, you're the one that I want here with me ma chérie" you look into his eyes, the ones that you trusted with your whole heart once upon a time. The adoration in his expression gets you to walk over, your hand slipping into his gently, the familiarity making you smile under your mask as the driver pulls you to sit next to him. "I'm sorry about what happened between us, it was too intense for how young we were, I wish that we would've met when we were older" you tell Pierre, "can I?" he asks bringing a hand up towards your ear, you nod while looking into his eyes, his finger latches onto the mask loop gently pulling it from behind your ear bringing it away from your face, "I'm sorry too y/n, but I don't regret meeting you then, we just handled everything so horribly and let outside factors affect our relationship" you smile sadly and he brings his hand up to your cheek stroking your skin, "I missed you during lockdown" he squeezes your hand his eyes flicking between your eyes and your now exposed lips, "je vous ai manqué aussi ma chérie" you tilt your head towards his as he lowers his towards you. "Je n'ai jamais cessé de t'aimer" you mumble before he closes the distance between the two of you, your eyes fluttering closed as he pulls you into him.

Sitting there on the podium in Monza with Pierre made the empty part of you feel complete again. All of your anxieties disappearing when your lips touched for the first time in three years. His success translating to you for that one moment before reality kicks in bringing you back to earth to complete the race weekend tasks and the promise of a future with Pierre. The determination to make your relationship work this time around not letting the haters get between you two.