stop to smell the flowers ❀ - oscar piastri

stop to smell the flowers ❀ - op81

"Baby?" A soft echo of his voice vibrated through the eerily quiet apartment, not a single noise besides his shoes scuffling against the carpet. Oscar set down his bag on the kitchen counter, toeing his shoes off and kicking them to the side.

He waited again for a response from his girlfriend- but to no avail. He raised his voice slightly higher this time, moving closer towards the shut door of their bedroom. Keeping his noise down, Oscar pressed down on the handle of the door, attempting to keep the screeching creak to a minimum so as to disturb her, or wake her if she was currently sleeping.

To his unsurprise, his girlfriend was curled up in bed, her head resting at the very bottom of her pillow. Her bottom lip was puffed out over the top one, lashes sweeping over the tops of her cheeks. The quiet whistle of breathing filled the room, cutting through the silence from a lack of a fan going in the background.

She had her arms wrapped around a teddy bear, pressed into her chest. It was a small fluffy koala, adorned in a custom made McLaren jersey, a black 81 printed on the back. She'd named it Oscar, the teddy she held close to her each night when he was away.

The real Oscar was returning home to Australia and home to his girlfriend after the Miami grand prix, almost a whole month passing since he'd seen her last on the night after the Japanese grand prix, when he'd brought her to the airport to go back to Melbourne, then flying off to China himself.

Due to her being in her last year of university, her availability to go to every race- or even just most- was limited. She came when she could, but it was more often than not that she was at home, cheering him on from the comfort of her own bed or the couch. They'd gotten semi used to the unfortunately forced long distance relationship they now had, but it didn't make it any bit easier each time they had to part. At times, it felt as if each time he had to leave was just more difficult then the last.

She wasn't expecting him to come back so soon, and nor did he. He fully thought his flight would be the following day and he got comfortable with the idea of a cosy night at the hotel- maybe a call to her and a movie. It wasn't until Mark had offered the option for him to fly home just a mere four hours after the race ended- he didn't waste a minute packing his suitcase back up and boarding the flight.

Oscar peeled back the covers on his side of the bed, making sure as to not disturb her in the process. He slid his shirt off over his head, opening up the closet door to find his favourite shirt. Even after a few minutes of searching both the hangers and the drawers without a sight of it, he looked over at his shoulder, smirking when he saw that it was the shirt his girlfriend had chosen for bed today.

Oscar settled for just a plain white top, his 'OP' logo imprinted over the left breast. He unbuttoned his blue jeans, allowing them to pool around his ankles until he stepped out, tossing them into the laundry basket. Now dressed in only his boxers and a far more comfortable shirt then the previous ever so itchy team polo shirt, he climbed into bed.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder as he breathed in the sweet, floral shampoo that filled his senses. It was his favourite smell- it smelt of home. He nuzzled further into her neck, pressing a few chaste, open mouth kisses to her soft skin.

Holding back from any serious marking, Oscar mouthed at her shoulder, dragging his tongue gently over the fabric on her shoulder, letting his teeth rub against it. "I missed you, beautiful," He whispered, kissing up along her neck.

She whined, unconsciously twisting around in the bed to be facing toward him. He took the opportunity to press a few consecutive kisses to her lips, enough to settle the desperation for contact that bubbled hot in his stomach.

Her eyes fluttered, looking as if they would open. "Hi princess," He tucked some of her hair back behind her ear, nuzzling back into said spot to re-immerse himself in the flowery scent.

"Osccc," Her voice was thick and groggy with sleep, her eyes open by mere slits in order to block out as much light as possible. "You're back!" She mumbled with as much enthusiasm as possible while still being mostly asleep.

"Mhmm," A grin splayed across his mouth, burying his face further into the crook of her neck. "You smell so good," He kissed the junction of her shoulder, leaving his lips there for a few more seconds.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd be back so soon? I would've stayed up," She cupped his face in her hands, her fingers temperate against his chilly and rosy cheeks. Oscar gave a weak shrug, ignoring the question in lieu for kissing her more to warm himself up.

"It's okay- I like this," Oscar mumbled against her bottom lip, kissing her again and again until his jaw physically ached. "I got you a present,"

She tilted her head back, her left hand still positioned on his jaw- her thumb rubbing over his cheek. "Oh really?" She whispered, giggling as he met her question with a dopey grin.

"In the kitchen," He rolled away from her, stumbling awkwardly back out of the bed. "C'mon, I promise it's worth getting out of bed for," He reassured her when he saw the displeased and unconvinced look on her face.

Begrudgingly, she followed suit- stumbling out of the bedroom door while wiping sleep from her eyes. She clung to Oscar, wrapping both of her arms around one of his, as the bottom of her sweatpants dragged along the wooden floorboard.

"It's like a welcome home present, but for you- not me," He handed her a bouquet of an assortment of orange flowers- begonias, marigolds, tulips, poppies. Anything that matched the same papaya colour that she wore across her torso.

Her heart pounded at the gesture, looking up at Oscar with the most fond expression. "Thank you, Oz," She wrapped one of her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly as her other hand worked on holding the bundle of flowers. "Thank you so much, I love them," She couldn't help the smile that stretched from one ear to the other on her face, her body alight with elation.

"Of course, baby," He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, rubbing her back with the hand that held her just as tight as she was holding him. "I think you deserved it with how you've been working,"

She scoffed slightly, looking up at him with an incredulous expression. "Me working hard? What about you, Mr 'Four Podiums in Only Your Second Year in Formula one?', "

Oscar gave another mindless shrug, laughing at her comment, "What, like it's hard?" He teased.