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"Seebb?"
Sebastian couldn't help the grin as he heard Lance draw out his name and glanced up from his book to see the younger driver bouncing on his heels, a slightly nervous look hidden behind his easy smile. His media smile though, Seb noted, not Lance's true toothy grin which he'd only been privy to on a few occasions despite having been teammates for nearly two years now.
"Laannce," he drawled back, watching as the Canadians cheeks tinted red as he ducked his head. He saw the subtle shift of Lance's shoulders curling in and he softened, quickly slipping his bookmark into place and setting the book to the side so he was giving Lance his full attention.
"What's up?" he questioned as he fought the urge to tell Lance to stop biting his lip, something he would readily do to his own children.
Lance's eyes darted around, locking on Seb's for a millisecond before settling on a patch just above his shoulder and Lance took a deep breath in.
"Whatsyourfavouriteflower?" he blurted out.
"Huh," Sebastian blinked as he tried to decipher the words, Lance's accent combined with the speed in which he'd spoken making it all blur together.
"One more time Lance? I didn't quite get that."
Lance's cheeks went an even deeper shade of red and he took a step back.
"Uh don't ah, don't worry about it," he stammered, raking a hand through his hair, making some strands stick up in various directions.
"Lance…"
"No don't worry about it, it was dumb anyway," Lance muttered, shooting Sebastian something that couldn't even be classed as a smile, more a involuntary twitch of the lips before turning and practically running down the corridor.
Sebastian watched him go and let out a soft sigh. He'd tried so hard over the year and half to make Lance feel comfortable around him and just when he thought he'd made progress Lance would go back to his old self. There didn't seem to be a rhyme nor reason to it and Seb had learnt to just be patient. Sometimes it felt like having a fourth child but Lance was so different to his outspoken, confident girls that it felt like he was back at square one.
Quickly mulling it over, Seb slipped his book into his bag and pulled it onto his shoulder. A quick check of his watch told him he still had an hour or so until the next meeting - the last one before they left for Montreal - so mind made up he headed towards the main office space. He briefly mourned the loss of his reading time as he moved away from the small alcove he'd discovered on his first day at the factory and quickly claimed as his reading spot, but reasoned he'd have plenty of time to read on the way to Canada.
Even after all this time in F1 and all the travelling, he'd never been able to fall asleep on planes. At first it had been irritating and he'd tried sleeping pills but those had made him feel worse than when he was tired. Now he relished in the time, knowing on the longer flights he was guaranteed some peace and quiet. Well as peaceful and quiet as a plane could be.
Montreal, Seb mused, could that be why Lance was acting odd? It would be his first home race in a few years and that always added an extra layer of pressure, especially for a driver as polarising as Lance. Not that Seb has ever understood that, money and backing can only get drivers so far in motorsport. Eventually they had to have the talent to back them up. And Lance certainly had that.
Whenever Seb tried to talk to Lance about that, wanting to reassure him that those people didn't know what they were talking about and should be ignored, Lance had always brushed him off.
The younger driver would conveniently have a phone call or hear someone calling for him and Seb would always let him go, knowing there was no point pushing against a brick wall. Describing Lance like a brick wall didn't seem accurate though, didn't do him justice. A brick wall was one dimensional, cold and unfeeling. And Lance was none of those things. Well except for when he was being stubborn. In that case, brick wall was a relatively light description.
In the snippets of the true Lance he'd seen, he'd seen an endlessly caring individual, always willing to go the extra mile for people even when they didn't give him the respect he deserved. He still couldn't fathom how people could speak so cruelly about someone they'd never met but maybe that was his age showing as the younger drivers all seemed to brush it off with little concern.
But Seb saw more than they wanted him to see. He saw the way Charles' forehead would pinch as he scrolled through his phone, saw the way Mick flinched at every reference to his surname and saw the way Lando only relaxed when he was out of sight of the crowds and the media.
The world had changed since Seb was at his peak, when he was booed on the podium that was the end of it. Nowadays the booing followed them home in the form of anonymous voices flooding their inboxes, the growth of the sport making the drivers more and more accessible to the masses who always had their own opinions.
Redbull had questioned him once on whether he wanted his own social media but Seb had always been quick to dismiss them. For him, when he was finished at the race he wanted to be able to shut off from Formula 1, to go home and cook dinner for Hanna and watch his girls grow up without the distractions of the outside world.
More and more it seemed Lance was drifting that way as well, letting Joanne take control of his accounts during a race weekend and occasionally not bothering to take them back in between
Seb had encouraged that behaviour when he'd cottoned on, telling Lance that constructive criticism was one thing and the thousands of hate messages were only detrimental to his well being. It seemed like it was working, this season Lance seemed more relaxed around the team and Sebastian, even though the car might not be where it should be. And if Seb left this year with nothing else, he'd be happy to have left Lance having a better balance than before.
But none of that seemed to be the explanation for Lance's strange behaviour, Sebt thought, as he poked his head around one of the conference room doors as he continued his hunt for Lance. He'd seemed nervous, which wasn't something he showed very often. Which meant it was a serious question, even if Lance had tried to play it off, he obviously cared about the answer.
"Hey Mike," he called out, catching the attention of their team principal, "you haven't seen Lance have you?" he continued when the other man raised a hand in greeting.
"Just saw him heading outside, maybe he wants to make the most of the sunshine."
"Ha it'll be gone by tomorrow and then the summer will be over," Seb joked, briefly clapping Mike's shoulder as he walked past, making a beeline for the side door that led to the small garden area. Sure enough Seb was quickly able to spot Lance on one of the benches, he was facing the other way but Seb could see the tension in his shoulders.
He pursed his lips and then threw caution to the wind, walking over and flopping down next to Lance.
"Ahh!"
Lance let out a short scream, staring wide eyed at his teammate.
"Sorry," Seb grinned, "didn't mean to scare you."
Lance raised an eyebrow, "you didn't."
"Uh huh," Seb teased, knocking their shoulders together, feeling strangely happy when Lance giggled.
"Soooo, what did you want to ask me earlier?" he questioned after a few seconds of silence.
"It's really nothing," Lance dismissed, "nothing serious anyway."
"Well it seemed important and now you've intrigued me and I want to know."
"Really Seb, it's not important."
"But I wanna know," Seb poked Lance's side, watching as he yelped and shuffled down the bench.
Seb followed him, repeatedly poking and tickling Lance with a grin until the younger one threw his hands up in defeat.
"Fine fine fine, I'll tell you, just stop," he cried out, voice breathless and chest heaving.
Seb gave him a minute to recover, wriggling his fingers at Lance's face as a warning when he stayed silent.
"I uh, I just wanted to know what your favourite flower is?" Lance murmured.
"My favourite flower?"
"I know it's dumb, you uh don't have to actually answer or anything-"
"Sunflowers," Seb replied gently, "I love sunflowers."
Lance's smile was back, but this time it was the real deal.
"Somehow that suits you, it's like happy and…" Lance trailed off with a blush.
Seb tipped his head back, enjoying the feel of the sun on his face, "What's yours?"
"Hmm?"
"Your favourite flower Lance?"
"Oh uh, I guess I never thought about it."
Seb rolled his head towards Lance, looking at him with a lazy expression, "so why did you ask mine?"
"Oh I uh erm, that they might do a Mr and Mrs challenge for grill the grid."
"And you thought they might ask what our favourite flowers are?"
"Well you never know, they can be tricky."
"You're still just upset they said Max was taller than you."
"He claims he's taller! That's not an official measurement."
Sebastian laughed at the petulant look on Lance's face, fighting the urge to ruffle his hair. He was continuously fighting the urge to father Lance, logically knowing that despite the age gap Lance was an adult who could look after himself. But there was something innocent about his outlook on life, even after everything, that made Seb want to protect him. Even if he'd been so sheltered that sometimes his lack of common sense was astonishing and made him question how Lance hadn't accidentally died yet. He could be worse than Charles at times and Seb had never thought anyone could be worse than Charles.
"So come on, you must have a favourite flower or at least we have to agree on one just in case," Seb stated.
"Oh um," Lance scratched his head, looking wide eyed at his teammate, "I guess lavender?"
At Seb's surprised look he continued, rambling slightly as he tried to explain himself, "well uh it's nice, uh relaxing? It smells nice in a candle and attracts bees which is good and uh it sometimes gets overlooked because maybe it isn't the most pretty but shouldn't be underestimated."
"A bit like you then I think."
"Um, I attract bees?"
"No," Seb laughed at the genuinely bewildered look on Lance's face, "no, sometimes overlooked but shouldn't be underestimated."
"Oh," the blush was back in full force, "Thank you."
"So now we know each other's favourite flowers, anything else we should cover? Favourite food maybe, who's the most organised or the loudest?"
"Well most organised is definitely you."
"And loudest is definitely you," Seb shot back and Lance shrugged his shoulders with a smile.
"I think we'd do well in a teammate challenge, better than some anyway."
"As long as it's nothing to do with bouncing balls into a cube," Lance complained.
"Maybe you'll get lucky with the next challenge."
"Humpf, I doubt it, I'm rubbish at them."
"You just need a little faith, good things always come to those who wait."
"God Seb, if you ever eventually retire, I'm hiring you as a motivational speaker."
"Eventually? You're making me sound like an old man Lance."
"No I uh, no I wasn't saying that, uh ah um…" Lance stammered, relief flooding his face as Seb let the mock annoyance slip from his expression, letting out a loud laugh.
"Oh sometimes it's too easy Lance," Seb managed in between laughs.
"You're evil, you make out you're all nice and innocent but deep down you're evil."
"Gotta make my own entertainment sometimes, it's more fun."
"I'll take your word on it."
"Maybe one day you'll join me?"
"Join him doing what?" Britta called out from behind them, making both drivers jump.
"Uh nothing," Seb lied, flashing Britta a bright smile but she rolled her eyes.
"You're a bad liar Sebastian. Lance, don't listen to him, whatever it was," she stated sternly and Lance quickly nodded his head.
"I'm keeping a close eye on the two of you, unless it's racing related you shouldn't listen to anything Seb says."
"You make me sound so bad."
"I've been your friend for a long time Sebastian, I can see past the act."
Seb shrugged, interlocking his hands behind his head and looking innocently up at his press officer, "I don't know what you're referring to."
Britta rolled her eyes again and gestured at the two drivers. "Come on meeting time, let's go."
Both drivers groaned but obediently hauled themselves to their feet and started to follow Britta back inside the factory. Lance trailed his fingers through some of the wild flowers as he did, leaving a trail of petals behind him. The sight made Sebastian chuckle once again and he reached out to pluck a flower, popped in front of Lance and placed it behind his ear before jogging away.
He heard Lance spluttering and Britta laughing and couldn't resist turning around and pulling his phone out, quickly taking a picture of the scene.
"Hey!"
"Well at least you don't need to worry about me posting it," Seb called back, darting away as Lance made a half hearted lunge at him.
Britta shook her head as Lance chased after Seb, wondering if Lance was aware he'd basically been adopted by Seb - along with most of the young drivers on the grid. Seb would deny it of course but she knew he was well aware of the way they all looked up to him and flourished under his guidance. As long as he didn't corrupt them. Because the world didn't need more Sebastian Vettels.
……………………………..
"Happy birthday Seb!"
"Happy birthday man!"
"Ahh 33 years young! Have a great day."
"Hope you get some points today Seb, that'll be the best present."
Seb grinned as he walked through the paddock, taking each birthday wish with an easy smile and a wave. Maybe it was narcissistic but he enjoyed the attention, that had always been his favourite part of winning. The rush and adrenaline fading away, morphing into the screaming crowds and cheering.
Of course, the cheers didn't last forever but that was a different time.
He knew Aston Martin were planning something, Lance trying to weasel out more details like his favourite cake and trying to be secretive but Lance would never be a good spy. He also knew it was going to be extra crazy because his birthday was at Silverstone and it was the team's home race.
But no matter what craziness he expected, he didn't expect to open his driver's room door and be greeted with a large bunch of sunflowers.
The flowers were thrust in his face, immediately tickling his nose and making him sneeze.
"Oh shoot sorry," came the voice behind the flowers and they vanished, leaving a very sheepish Lance in their place.
"Uh happy birthday?" the younger man murmured, eyes looking anywhere but at Seb's face as a familiar red grew across his cheeks.
"Thank Lance," Seb said warmly, reaching out to take hold of the bunch. "These are lovely."
"I uh wanted to do something different for your birthday," Lance commented as Seb ushered him into the room before carefully laying the flowers down in the small sink.
"Well I haven't received flowers in… actually don't think I've ever been given flowers."
"Oh well, I think it's nice," Lance mumbled, blush growing darker, "I know Sara liked it when I'd buy her flowers randomly and so does Chloe but it's nicer when they mean something? Like not that you need an occasion or anything but like when the flowers mean something. So like roses for love and uh you said sunflowers were your favourite and they're fitting," Lance continued, gaining confidence the longer he spoke. "You uh brighten up my day a lot so I wanted to give you something that brightened up yours. Obviously I have more, and the team has a whole thing planned but I wanted to say thank you for everything."
"Lance-"
"No, you have. You're always nice to me even when we'd clashed on track and I mean to my knowledge you've never said something bad about me, not that I'd judge you for it, I mean I deserve it sometimes but uh the garage is just so much more positive with you around and it's nice. Nice to have someone else in my corner." He bit his lip as he finished, running a hand through his hair as he shifted uncomfortably.
"Lance," Seb tried again, "thank you honestly. It's a lovely present and very thoughtful."
"It's not weird is it? Because now I'm thinking it's a little weird?"
Seb grinned, holding back his laughter because he didn't want it to seem like he was laughing at Lance.
"Not weird at all. In fact I wish more teammates would give me flowers and I'm honoured to know you think so highly of me."
"How can I not? You're Sebastian Vettel. One of the greats, I never imagined having a teammate as amazing as you and to be able to learn from you, it's just.. Incredible. You make me a better driver."
"You give me too much credit, you're a fantastic driver on your own Lance. But thank you, for stroking an old man's ego."
"Old!" Lance exclaimed, "You're not old, Fernando is the old one."
This time Seb did laugh, "I dare you to say that to his face."
"I don't have too, Esteban does that all the time."
"Now that's something I would pay to see." "I think he's been talking to Jenson a lot, getting tips on how to annoy him."
"Ahh now that's dangerous territory," Seb shook his head, "But Fernando always did have a soft spot for Jenson."
"Like you have a soft spot for Mick and Charles?"
Sebastian hummed, "I guess so, but don't forget your own name in there."
Lance looked shocked, "wait really?"
"Really Lance, and right now you're winning the grid kids competition. You're the only one who's given me a birthday present so far."
"Grid kids? You've heard about that?"
"I may not have social media but Hanna does, and Britta. They think it's funny. In fact that reminds me, over the break Hanna wants you to come to dinner."
"Really? I uh, of course, I'd love to. Don't really have a lot planned at the moment."
"We'll sort something out, no need to set anything in stone just yet."
Lance nodded, forehead drawing together for a second before he took a breath. "What's her favourite flower?"
Seb giggled, a snort breaking free which made Lance grin as well, lips curling up and creasing his eyes. A true Lance smile.
"Yeah, you'll definitely be her favourite."
Lance looked unsure but decided not to comment, the silence in the room broken by the vibration of Lance's phone.
"Oh the team wants to see us downstairs."
Seb groaned lightly, "They're going to sing to be aren't they."
"I can neither confirm nor deny," was the tactical response but the glint in Lance's eye told him all he needed to know.
"Alright then, let's get this over with," Seb groaned again, pushing himself to his feet.
"Hey Seb?"
"Hmm?"
"Happy birthday, I hope you have a good race today, you deserve it."
"Thank you Lance and I hope you do as well. A double points finish would be a great present."
"Might be a little out of reach."
"Hmm maybe but maybe not, you never know what's going to happen. I have faith." He carefully picked the sunflowers up again, smoothing down some of the leaves and gently sniffing them, being mindful of the pollen.
"Oh you're taking them down?"
"Of course, they're my favourite flower, given to me by one of my favourite people, they deserve to be shown off."
Lance grinned shyly, "thank you Sebastian."
"Don't worry, but just know I'll be expecting flowers for no occasion now."
"So demanding," Lance teased, "You're worse than girls."
"Well I am a four time world champion as everyone keeps reminding me. Maybe I should be a little more demanding," Seb stated, flicking his hair over his shoulder with his free hand and flouncing towards the stairs, Lance's laughter echoing in his ears as he descended.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEB!" The team screamed as he reached the garage, confetti and streamers flying everywhere as Joanne pulled him front and centre, placing him in front of the cake table before leading the team in song.
As he glanced around the room he locked eyes with Lance, the other driver sandwiched in between Jess and Nico, the trio singing along loudly. Seb grinned back and repositioned the flowers so that the camera would have a better view.
Putting his jokes with Lance aside, he was truly touched by the gesture and he made a note to speak to Lance later and make sure he knew how valued he was in the team. But first he was going to enjoy being fussed over.
After all, he was a four time world champion.