"Good job Kimi, good job." Y/n said as Kimi crossed the finish line of Abu Dhabi. She felt her eyes stinging, longing to cry as she knew this was his last formula one race. Kimi was her hero and arguably the reason she loved Formula One. She became an engineer and followed her passion, which led to her getting her dream job of being the engineer of her hero. Now she watched as he crossed the line, her face lit up, a mix of joy but an underlying feeling of sadness. She didn't want him to go, but she felt happy that she got the opportunity to work with him while she could.
Y/n tried to avoid Kimi. She feared that she would end up bawling her eyes out and he'd just stand looking at her. She adored the man that made her childhood memories complete. She remembered when her dad brought her to her very first race in Silverstone and she had begged to camp outside the paddock until she met Kimi. Hours and hours had passed and she managed to do it. She still had that photo of her and Kimi. She had it framed on her mantlepiece and a small copy of it in her wallet.
Y/n was helping pack up with the team after the race. She had just helped out the very last crate away and let out a sigh. She was officially finished work until January, when she'd be needed again to meet the new drivers. She was walking away she heard a voice behind her. Norman, a fellow Alfa Romeo engineer. "Y/n, can you go and lock the front of the garage please?" Norman asked. Y/n agreed and walked into the bare garage, only the light flickering to give the place light.
She stopped as she saw someone sitting on the ground outside the garage, looking out into the empty grandstands. She neared the figure, closer and closer until she could figure out who it was. "Kimi?" Kimi turned around to see his engineer with a smile on her face. "Y/n, why are you still here?" he asked. Y/n sat down next to him and looked up at the empty stands. "I couLd ask you the same thing." Kimi let out a sigh. "I'm going to miss it I think." He muttered. "Of course you're going to miss it mate. It's not going to be the same without you." Kimi swallowed the lump in his throat. "It will be fine. Everyone needs to leave eventually."
"You know, all the time I've worked here, this is the longest conversation I've held with you." Kimi chuckled. "I'm not very talkative." Y/n laughed along with him. "I've noticed." There was a confortable silence between them. "I think I'm going to miss this the most." Y/n said, breaking the silence. "What?" Kimi asked. "The silence. It's always so hectic but through all this chaos, you always manage to keep quiet." Kimi smiled a bit. "It's a skill everyone should learn. You still haven't changed." Y/n arched a brow. "How do you mean?" she asked.
"I remember I met you when you were little." Y/n was taken back. "You actually remember me?" Kimi nodded. "I remember I was walking into the paddock and I saw you and your dad sitting on the ground. It was still quite dark as well. I thought you were waiting for someone else because your head was still dropped a bit but then you looked up and began smiling." Y/n and Kimi looked back fondly on the moment. Y/n remembered the joy that moment brought her and Kimi remembered the hoy it brought her. "You took a photo and made me a promise. One that I will never forget."
"I'll be your engineer one day." Y/n whispered. Kimi nodded again. "You fulfilled your promise. I respect you for that." Y/n looked over to Kimi. "It was nice while it lasted." Kimi let out a sigh. "Some nice memories." Silence again. There wasn't much else to talk about. "The track is quite beautiful at night. I-"
"Y/n! Kimi! Come on! The track is closing now!" Their heads spun around to see an engineer standing in the empty garage. "I suppose we should get going." Kimi mumbled. Kimi stood up first and then helped the young engineer up. "Thank you Kimi." Y/n said once she was up. "Don't thank me. I just lifted you up from the ground-"
"No, no. I don't mean that." Kimi was confused. "Thank you for everything." Kimi understood then. She was giving him a final thank you. "You're welcome Y/n." He said. They shook hands, smiled and walked out of the garage together before going their seperate ways, and both leaving the track as new people;
The legend that retired
And the girl who kept her promise.
A/N: First off, I'm gonna hate when Kimi retires bc god knows how much I love him. He will be missed and hopefully we'll see him visiting the track from time to time.
Second, if you have been here since last year, you'll know that I did advent calendar style updates for Christmas and I'm happy to announce that I'm going to be doing the advent calendar Oneshots again! Each day will have a different formula one driver, as well as a select few formula 2 drivers.
And finally, Day 25 of the Christmas Oneshots will be my very last oneshot published for a while. I'm in my final year of school and I have so much exams to study for due to the uncertainty of the whole covid situation where I am. I'll be updating my books as much as possible but I won't be doing Oneshots until all of my books (including the few I have in my drafts) have been published. Dont worry, they won't take too long since I've already written most of all the books.
I'll see you all on December 1st!
