Vettel One Shots

In the still of the night

I haven't got long until he gets in and so I quell my emotions, dry my eyes and settle myself down in our bed, shoving my tissue under the pillow. He's on his way back from Zürich airport, having flown in from Hungary and he's landed to the news that he's been disqualified from his hard earned second place finish in the race. That's why I've been up here, sitting up in bed, getting rid of my emotion so that he doesn't have to see me crying when he gets in. I feel despondent; he'd been hauled in to see the stewards for wearing his rainbow (pride) t-shirt on the line up for the national anthem, for standing up for what he believes in and supports and then he's disqualified from the race through no fault of his own after he's left the circuit to come home. The scrutineers couldn't get enough fuel from the car for their post race sample (even though they'd been able to on every single other car) and now seventy laps of fucking hard work has been cruelly dismissed. This isn't first time he's been unfairly punished and I honestly feel like he's being bullied by the FIA and it's breaking my heart.

Having sent him a quick text to let him know that I'll be in bed when he gets in, I lay in the near blackness of the night and wait for him. I wait to see his car headlights shine through the curtains as he comes down the drive and I wait to hear his car pull up on the gravel below our bedroom window. I can't wait to have him home for summer break, to have him back all to myself and to spend tonight with us just holding each other while we sleep. He's safe here; safe from his critics, his haters and the FIA. He's all mine.

It isn't long before I see the curtains light up with a white glow and my sadness evaporates, now I'm smiling like an idiot in the darkness because I knows he here and in a few minutes I'll be holding him close. I lay still, listening to the stones outside crunching as the car slows to a stop. The lights go off and the room goes dark once again, my heart is starting to beat faster in anticipation of being reunited with the man I love. I hear the car door shut and then a few seconds later, the boot lid. Then there's a brief flash of amber as he locks the DBX, I listen for the sound of the front door downstairs to open and close and it isn't long before I hear it, then I hear his footsteps as he comes up the stairs. My eyes are already glued to the door, my heart beating fast and my stomach full of butterflies, desperate to see his form in the darkness.

I get my wish as the bedroom door opens and softly closes. I know he'll have dumped his case and rucksack downstairs near the front door but I don't care, having him back home means the world.

Neither of us says a word as he undresses next to his side of the bed, I hear his clothes dropping to the floor one by one and feel the bed move as he leans on the mattress to remove his socks. The mattress dips as he wearily climbs in beside me and he lets out a heavy sigh as he settles down next to me. I don't wait another second to roll onto my side and scoot over to be close to him; his arms go around me instantly like it's second nature for them to do so and I fidget to get comfortable.

With my head up close to his shoulder, I place my hand on his bare chest to feel his heart beating against my palm. Coupled with the sounds of his breaths, it's wonderfully calming and soothing and I know he's taking comfort from me by the way his fingers start to idly stroke up and down my arm. I close my eyes and just take in his fresh scent, the heat radiating from his body (he's like a human hot water bottle in bed!), the feel of his skin against mine and the kisses I can feel him placing on the top of my head.

He lets out another sigh, a clear sign that he's returned home feeling a bit depressed but I can feel his body gradually starting to relax against me, it's like he's dumping all the tension outside of our bedroom door.

Still, neither of us have spoken to each other and to be honest we don't need to. We've been together a long time and there are times when we just communicate by looking at each other or by strokes and loving touches. Now is one of those times. We're saying all we need to just by physically communicating and not verbally and I know it's something that he really appreciates at times like this - when the FIA race stewards have been working their bullshit magic. He doesn't want me spouting off how much I hate those stewards and moaning about how unfair I think their decisions are and he doesn't want me to be an emotional wreck when he returns home either. Of course, there are times when his anger comes out either by a foul mouthed rant in English or German (or sometimes both together) or by some hot, rough anger filled sex but equally there are times like this, when he just wants to cuddle in quiet and drift off to sleep, saving the talking for the morning.

I lay there, in his arms, thinking about it all; the rainbow touches on his shoes, his helmet, his mask and of course his t-shirt - all of it a show of support to the LGBTQ+ community in a country that has suppressed people's rights. I thought about his second place finish, his little comment in a post race interview about how the FIA could disqualify him and how he wouldn't care and would do it all over again when it had been pointed out to him how he had to report to the stewards because he'd not removed the t-shirt for the national anthem. Now it seemed like the FIA were hell bent on disqualifying him after all and were using a fuel technicality to do it. My beautiful, passionate man; he's far too good and too precious for this world.

We lay together in serene silence with me awake for ages. My human hot water bottle has now drifted off into a peaceful slumber and I start to concentrate on how perfect it feels to be in his arms, listening to his slow, deep breaths while feeling the occasional muscle twitch as his body completely relaxes. My gorgeous Sebastian, you're safe and truly loved here; no one can say anything cruel or hateful about you, no one can criticise you and no one can penalise you. You earned that second place just like you earned that win in Canada in 2019. Those are YOUR achievements and nobody can say otherwise. You're my winner, my champion and my king.

I shift gently so that my face is now nuzzled up to the side of his neck. Snuggled up to him in the still and the darkness of the night I finally allow myself to speak, keeping my voice to a hushed whisper so as not to wake him, "you are loved by and are special to so many people, always remember that. You're always supported and always believed in and that starts right here, with me. I love you."

"Danke, ich liebe dich auch ." He mumbles slowly, his voice deep and croaky in a half awake state, taking me by surprise as I was certain that he was fast asleep.

As he lets out a more contented sigh, I do too. He's here, he's home, he's my other half and now I feel complete again. Now our summer break together can begin.