This is Our Love - Part 3
Characters: Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Jenson Button, David Coulthard, Jessica Michibata,
Pairings: Alonso/Webber, Button/Michibata
Ratings: Blue Flag
Summary: The thing they never expected might just turn out to be the very thing they needed (Sequel to This Is Love)
Warning: MPreg
Disclaimer: Not real, didn't happen.
“Ah, so to what do I owe this pleasure?” Mark opened the door to a stony faced Jenson. “Or not. What’s up mate?” He wasn’t sure he was in the right mood to deal with a grump.
“Nothing.” Jenson grumbled.
“Come in then. I’m packing for China, so you’ll have to ignore the mess.” Mark was hoping for a rare bit of peace and quiet before he shipped out for China, once finished there it was straight to Australia so he had more to pack than usual.
“It’s fine.” Jenson mumbled as he closed the front door behind him. “Alright boys.” He petted Shadow and Simba before following Mark into the kitchen.
“What do you want to drink?” He was already opening a cupboard to get a couple of cups out.
“Beer, vodka, wine, all of the above?” He pouted childishly.
“Stop sulking and tell me what’s wrong, tea or coffee?” Mark didn’t feel like playing up to Jenson.
“Coffee.” He had driven for a while and needed a pick me up.
Mark set up the coffee machine and waited for the cups to fill before steaming the milk. “You’ve driven from Monaco to Spain, tell me what’s got your knickers in a twist.”
Jenson paced about for a few moments before taking the cup from Mark. “We had a fight.”
“I gathered that.” Mark leant against kitchen surface and sipped the steaming liquid carefully.
“It’ll sound pathetic…” Jenson shook his head and changed the angle of the subject. “Are you happy Mark?”
“That’s a bit heavy mate, but yeah I am.” He wondered what Jenson was trying to get at. “Come on, just tell me what’s wrong. Is it you and Jessy?” He nodded towards the sofa.
Jenson plonked himself down and concentrated on his coffee rather than the difficult question Mark had posed, but he was right on the money, he was right. “Yeah.”
“Emi?” He guessed they were having the same problems.
“Yeah.” Jenson admitted. He adored Emi with his heart and soul, but when she was screaming at the top of her lungs in the middle of the night and he hadn’t slept and Jessy was on another modelling job, love was hard to find.
“I get that.” They sat in silence together with the dogs milling about happily.
“Really?” Jenson was confused, they wouldn’t have the same problems as him and Jessica. She was back to modelling but he had barely had the chance to look at her body in real life, he had to make do with magazines.
“Babies are babies mate, no matter how they arrive.” Mark pointed out.
“True, bet you’ve had more sex anyway.” He reached forward and put the cup down on the low coffee table.
“Is that the issue, because from what I’ve heard that’s a common one.” Mark was being careful with his words as he didn’t want to instigate that conversation.
“Like you would know, bet nothing’s changed and you’re still shagging all hours.” Jenson huffed.
“I’m not joining your pity party.” Mark got up. “You should be talking to Jessy about this.”
“I tried, and we got into this huge row and she chucked me out. I went for a drive and kept going until I got here.”
“Good thing I was in then, I’ve really got to pack.” Mark took a few steps towards his room.
“I’ll help.” Jenson offered with a sunny chime to his voice.
“At least give her a call yeah?” Mark unzipped the suitcase on his bed and began placing the pile of neatly folded clothes into it, it wasn’t until he moved to Spain that he had to sort out his own stuff for travelling. The team thankfully sorted the visas and flights out, but whereas before he left all the organising to Ann he had to pick up the slack now. To begin with it left him having to buy lots of replacements at the airport and making annoyed phone calls to Fernando to see if he could find certain documents, but he’d found a knack which was more than useful since becoming a father.
“Come on then, tell me the details.” Jenson rested against the headboard.
“What?” Mark looked up from his decision between two jumpers.
“You and Fernando, I’m curious.”
“About what exactly?” He put them both in.
“How it all started, what he’s like to live with, what he’s like in…” He arched an eyebrow and patted the sheets he was lying on.
“Bed? You’ve just come for a gossip, haven’t you?”
“Oh kill me! Come off it mate, two of the most manly men I know are shacking up, I’m curious.” Jenson lay down on the bed and propped his head up with a hand. “Plus DC wouldn’t tell me anything, said I had to find out from you.”
“The pair of you are the worst gossips I know.”
“So…” He fluttered his eyelashes.
“Trying to be cute won’t work on me buddy.” Keeping his head down he had filled one suitcase. "You're not my type."
“I bet you’ve had no one to chat about him to, how he makes you feel, you must be sick of hearing me going on about Jessy’s absolutely perfect arse all these years. Spill it.”
Stopping what he was doing Mark put his hands on his hips and laughed at Jenson’s blatant attempt to wheedle the information out of him. “It was a slow burn thing.” He sat down on the edge of the bed with his back to Jenson. “Like DC said, all the touchy feely stuff did lead somewhere. But we didn’t do anything until we were both single. I didn’t cheat.”
The softness in Mark’s voice made Jenson feel uncomfortable about pushing it. “I knew you wouldn’t do that Mark.”
“The tipping point was in Brazil, when he got his third title. I could remember celebrating with him, spraying the champagne about and he just looked at me differently, or maybe I saw him in a new way, I don’t know. I also don’t know who dragged who into his motorhome, but we kissed.” He left out the rest of the night, not because he was embarrassed or ashamed, but because he wanted to keep it precious despite the torrid nature of the meeting.
Jenson couldn’t miss the smile creeping across his face.
“And it didn’t feel weird or wrong, christ I’m in my forties talking like a teenager.”
Jenson had to admit Mark did sound like a teenager, but in the best way possible, just that carefree tone giving him away. “It’s nice to hear mate.”
“You know we've always been friends, but it wasn’t until I left that I realised how much I missed seeing him, and thankfully he felt the same.” Mark fidgeted.
“Course he did, he was a mess at your last race.” Jenson commented.
“What do you mean?” Fernando had been fine in Brazil he’d thought, they’d hugged and promised to keep in touch. No tears. no fuss.
“Fernando was bawling his eyes out, I overheard Andrea telling Stefano he wasn’t in a fit state to speak to the media, Stefano asked why and Andrea just said your name and he nodded. I think he guessed before Andrea explained to be honest.” Jenson thought Mark knew, but looking at his bewildered face he swiftly realised this wasn’t the case.
“I...wow...I didn’t know.” He was pretty upset himself and felt low on the plane home from Brazil, but nothing like that.
“Shit, well don’t tell him you do.” Jenson rushed.
“Okay.” He was overwhelmed by the information. He just couldn’t imagine Fernando crying over him, and it made h feel a bit teary himself.
He could see the emotion etched into Mark's face and decided not to push it. "Come on juicy details, what’s he like in bed?” Jenson bounced on the mattress on his knees.
“How old are you?” Mark quipped.
“Sixteen, old enough.” He beamed.
Mark knew he wouldn’t let this go, but he really didn’t want to divulge the information to anyone. “Good.”
“Liar.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“Great.”
“Better, not good enough.”
“Fucking mindblowing.” Mark smirked.
“Stop pissing about.”
“Why do you want to know?” Mark sighed.
“Curious.” The smile on his face was beginning to ache around the edges.
“Fancy a go yourself?” Mark reached up the bed to poke Jenson’s leg.
“Who says I haven’t already?” Jenson pouted.
“Huh?!” Mark was struck dumb, he didn’t expect that response from his friend.
“You tell, I tell.” He challenged.
“You’re a pervert.” Mark joked, but Jenson had piqued his interest over who. “It’s not wildly different Jense, but, it’s good. It’s kind of amazing actually.” He breathed, giving too much away. “It just felt right from the start.”
“Decent shag then?” Jenson laughed.
“It’s not shagging Jenson, it really isn’t. It’s anything but.” He turned away from Jenson, with his face hot with embarrassment from his sharp tone and what he had revealed. “Come on then, spill.” Mark forced the focus back on Jenson.
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, it was clear Mark really didn’t want to talk about Fernando like that. “DC…”
“DC! Fucking hell Jense!” He threw himself backwards to lay down.
“Yeah, yeah. It was a leaving present, when I retired. You know that interview.”
“Don’t we all.” It was a hilarious piece between them where David essentially poured his heart out, albeit in a jokey manner. They took a moped ride around the streets of Monaco and had a ‘dinner date’ which just about killed Twitter and floored the paddock. The epitome of bromance.
“Yeah well after that race we were both at a loose end and we ended up in the McLaren motorhome, but we put a pin in it, then in Brazil we were in my room, and then we kissed and it went from there.”
“All the way?” He wasn’t exactly sure he wanted the know the answer.
“Uh not quite, we just jer…”
“Enough, enough!” He didn’t need to think about David and Jenson together.
“Alright, but I get the appeal.” Jenson winked.
---
“DC?”
“Yeah.”
“DC and Jenson?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he like it?”
“He said he saw the appeal.”
“I always thought Jenson was smart.”
---
“What a way to finish a career! Mark Webber takes the flag for the last time with Porsche, the last time as a professional driver and on home turf too. I can imagine there will be a few drinks shared around tonight in that garage!”
Fernando was trying to keep the headphones on Flynn’s head as they stood at the railings to watch Mark cross the line for the last time. He pointed out the track but Flynn was trying to bury his head in Fernando’s neck, the crowds of people shouting and jumping about were spooking him, but just in the nick of time he braved the strange surroundings to see his father drive past.
With the roar of the engines continuing he just shared a wide grin with Alan and Diane before walking back into the garage to avoid the inevitable melee. They followed closely behind but stayed in the garage to congratulate their son.
“How about that Flynn, your dada’s a double world champion and he won at home. That’s a big deal.” Sitting Flynn down on the small sofa he unpoppered the shoulder and tugged his Porsche shirt off to replace it with a surprise one. He had a matching one, and so did Mark’s parents and the rest of the team. It celebrated all of Mark’s achievements over the years, from his first win in karts to this one here, there were several versions but Fernando was glad he had pushed to include this win, Australia 2018. “Let’s go see dada on the podium.”
He wandered out of the motorhome with the last of the Porsche staff members, carrying the headphones with him just in case it got too much for Flynn, but with his grandparents close by he seemed okay with the situation. Fernando guessed the cameras would be on them, but between them they thought it would be worth breaking their rule about putting him in front of the worlds media for this.
“Dada.”
“Yes it is.” Diane agreed enthusiastically as Mark came onto the podium with his team.
“Papa.” Flynn looked up at Fernando.
Even above the noise of crowd he could hear the newest word. “Si, I am your papa.” He kissed his forehead and positioned him so he could see Mark soak up the atmosphere one last time, gazing up their eyes connected and just before he sprayed champagne over his teammates he pointed down to his family in recognition.
---
“Hey there Flynn.” Laura greeted her nephew properly for the first time from the doorway, he was crawling on the floor playing with a stuffed racing car but hearing her voice he sharply turned away and headed back to her brother.
“He’s been like that recently, not a fan of anyone apart from us at the moment.” Mark helped pick him up so he could stand up. He was getting closer to walking but needed the support of Mark or Fernando to stand up.
“They go through a stage of that. Won’t be long until he’s running about.” She walked over quietly and sat down on the floor to be down at his level. “You dropped this Flynn.” Laura picked his cuddly toy up and bopped it on his nose making an engine noise which got a very favourable response. “Mark, he’s gorgeous.” Dark hair and huge dark eyes were complemented by a beautiful smile and dimples.
“I have to agree.” His voice was warm.
“Did you see those photos of him and Fernando?” She took over from Mark and helped Flynn stand up, she had to get him used to her.
“Yeah.” They were stunning, he had contacted the photographer himself to ask for a set of decent prints. Both of them were looking up at the same point, him, wearing the same shirt and smiling. They had a wall at home covered in photos and the best one joined them, it was covered in the high points of their lives on and off track. “Going to hang one up at home.”
“You’re a clever boy.” Laura praised Flynn as he negotiated one of his toys unsteadily before scooping him up into her arms. “Oh you’re going to be a heartbreaker.”
“Hola Laura.” Fernando entered the room and greeted Mark’s sister with a kiss to the cheek.
“Alright Fernando. I’m in love with him already.” The moment he started squirming she put him down and he began crawling around again. “So when are you two off to Noosa?”
“Tomorrow morning, just need to get the place straightened out.” Mark replied.
“It’s done. I went down a couple of days ago, so yeah you owe me one. Another one.” She smiled triumphantly, she already knew the favour.
“Thanks.”
“So feel free to go whenever. You could get there in time for dinner tonight and that means you can go for a surf first thing. The forecast looks good for it." She knew Mark was desperate to get Fernando on his own, when they spoke on the phone she could hear the fear in his voice that things were going to gone seriously awry for them.
"You're just trying to get us out of here." Mark grinned at the attempt, he would be happy to go but he had a feeling Fernando was going to find it harder. He’d spent all of his time with Flynn, barely a night away.
"Caught me red handed, I want to spend some time with my favourite nephew." She let her gaze fall down to Flynn, she was so proud of Mark for doing this, he was such a natural with children and hers certainly benefitted from that. She would have been okay if it never happened, but she couldn’t deny she was going to relish her role as the fun aunt.
"Maybe tomorrow would be better..." Fernando mused aloud, of course he trusted Laura, but he'd never spent more than a single night away from Flynn and faced with the prospect of a weekend he didn't like it very much.
Laura sensed the discussion and excused herself to make a cup of tea, she could still remember the first time he left her kids with her parents. She had spent most of the night out at the restaurant thinking about them, Mark had asked for the weekend and between them they had negotiated the schedule. But Laura was excited, it had been a while since she'd had a baby around and she could already feel herself getting broody.
"Maybe just the day tomorrow?" Fernando suggested.
"We need the time together, and to be honest mate if you are serious about racing next year you need the practice." Mark felt he had a little bit too much.
"This I know." Truth be told he hadn't spent much time considering that aspect.
Mark suspected he hadn't given it as much thought as he perhaps should have, but that was fine. "It's hard, but it gets a easier when you know he's with someone you trust. And coming home to him is something pretty special too."
"And I have you." He then realised how hard it must have been for Mark to leave them both. "Okay."
"Good stuff. Ah, come here little man." Mark knelt on the floor to speak to Flynn. "Going to miss you, but we'll be back and you have Laura, nan and grandad looking after you. You're going to be spoilt rotten." He kissed his head.
Fernando said his goodbyes with Flynn in his arms and was reluctant to hand him to Laura. "It's tough isn't it?" Laura reassured but made no move to take over.
"Si, have not been away from him." He sighed quietly, panic creeping into his voice.
"There's no rush." She took a step back to give him the room.
Fernando could tell his change in mood was being transferred to Flynn, he was starting to get clingy, noticing this he handed him over to Laura and with her making a big fuss of him he began to giggle.
“Thanks so much for this Laura.” Mark thanked her seriously.
“No problem, just go.” She shooed them away in fun. “I’m only a phone call away. Say bye bye Flynn.” She waved her hand and Flynn copied her. “They’ll be back soon.”
---
“Can we just go to bed?” Fernando yawned, his eyes sore from crying over leaving Flynn, Mark did his best to soothe him but he had tears in his eyes too.
It was heart wrenching to see Fernando so upset. “Sure, let me show you around first though.” Mark had formed a plan to shape their time together and for it to work he had to at least show Fernando where the essentials were. “Here’s the kitchen and dining room, when it’s light you’ll get to see the view. The cups are in that cupboard there, and let’s see what’s in the fridge, knowing Laura it’ll be...yeah stocked up.” They had milk, water, juice, fruit, some chicken and a selection of vegetables. And knowing his sister there would be his favourite ice cream in the freezer.
“And this is clearly the living room.” He gestured at the large open plan space dominated by a comfy sofa. “And upstairs, here’s main bathroom but your room has an en suite.” He opened the door to the master bedroom to check everything was in order. Laura was a goddess.
The house was spectacular, open and airy but with a hint of cosiness, it was the perfect hideaway. “My room, where are you staying?” Fernando was confused.
“Down the hall. Just trust me, I’ll get you up in the morning.” Mark rubbed his arm and left without their customary kiss goodnight. “Goodnight Fernando.” No matter how bad things had gotten, if they were together they always kissed goodnight.
“Night.” Maybe Mark was sick of him, but before the thought consumed him he dragged himself free of clothes and fell into the huge bed he had for the night. Exhausted from travelling with an infant, celebrating Mark and dangling on the precipice of either an inspired decision or an unfixable mistake he slept heavily in between the fresh sheets.
He was sleeping until he heard a bell ringing in the background, it persisted right up to the point he discovered the source and opened the front door. And instead of being annoyed with Mark for abandoning him last night he felt nothing but butterflies in his stomach.
“Hi, I’ll be taking you surfing today.” He grinned at Fernando’s sleep scruffy hair and half opened eyes.
Mark was stood in the doorway dressed simply in tee shirt and shorts but the way he introduced himself made Fernando shiver a little, it was as if they were starting again, getting a chance at the firsts they were too desperate and impatient to wait for. Or too worried to do.
“Hi. Let me get ready.” He left Mark waiting patiently at the door as he swiftly showered, changed into some suitable clothes and packed a bag with some necessary supplies. It felt odd not having to tote Flynn’s things around with him too. “Let’s go.”
Mark drove them to the nearest beach with the radio on, singing along badly Fernando spent his time taking sneaky glances and stifling laughter. “I’m Fernando by the way.”
“Mark.” He shook the hand Fernando had offered, loving that he was playing along. “Have you surfed before?”
“Si, someone taught me pretty well.” That was a couple of weeks meeting Mark’s parents properly he wouldn’t forget in a hurry, especially the frantic disrobing afterwards where they took advantage of an empty carpark and a warm car.
“Let’s see how good then.” Mark pulled off the road and into the car park, being so excruciatingly early they were only joined by other surfers. They had surfed before but they had to be strictly friends last time, no lingering glances at drenched body parts whatsoever, this time he had a feeling it would be different. “I’ve got a wetsuit for you to change into.” Mark announced as he left the truck, they probably could have gotten away with boardies and a rash vest but the opportunity to coat Fernando in something skintight was too tempting to pass up.
Fernando followed and caught the black neoprene half thrown at him from the open boot. “Thanks.”
“I don’t bother wearing anything underneath just so you know.” Mark gave a nonchalant look and proceeded to strip off, keeping his back to Fernando he was careful not to try too hard and keep things balanced, today was all about a little gentle flirting. And Fernando loved to be flirted with.
“Me either.” They both shimmied into their respective suits, both of them doing well to keep their hands to themselves, but they weren’t good enough to avoid a different angle of their head to catch a glimpse of private flesh.
“Come on then, show me what you’ve got.” Mark challenged as he took Fernando’s board out of the back of the truck.
“Watch me.” Fernando retorted playfully.
“I don’t think I’ll have a problem doing that.” He let Fernando see his eyes roam momentarily before he carried his board towards the ocean. His body was so lean now, and his arse was so tight Mark found it hard to look away.
Fernando felt a trickle of warmth throughout his body at his words as he followed Mark onto the beach and into the water. Paddling out there were a handful of people already tackling the waves when they turned back to face the shore. Smiling at each other they readied themselves to use the swell to carry themselves in, Fernando knew what to do and when the moment was right he brought himself up onto the board and surfed towards the beach. They continued racing each other until the beach began to fill up, a mutual agreement for one more go resulted in them hanging at the back of the bay sat astride their boards.
“You’re not bad, you must have had a good teacher.”
"A very special one.” Fernando scratched at the top of the board with a thumbnail.
“How did I measure up?” Mark sat up a little straighter and puffed his chest out.
“You didn’t teach me anything.” Fernando reached across and gave Mark a playful shove, not hard enough to push him into the water but enough to send him off balance. He laughed and Mark joined him, splashing a little water over each other they simply enjoyed the moment and nothing more. “But I liked it.”
“Good to hear, shall we head back in?” Mark could quite happily spend the day out here.
Fernando paused, he would easily stay here all day if Mark asked. “Si.” They took the biggest wave of the day so far and coasted in, displaying the athleticism they’d spent decades honing. Breathing a touch heavier than normal they stood facing each other, and with no one taking much attention of them Fernando reached up on his toes and kissed Mark’s cheek. “Thank you.”
"You fancy getting some breakfast?" Mark asked as he unzipped his suit.
"Si, am starving." He patted his stomach.
Mark peeled himself out his suit under Fernando's watchful gaze, he tugged it down low on his hips just enough to show the thickening hair of his crotch. He watched Fernando worry his bottom lip with his teeth and felt a couple of small blows to his resolve, how much did he want to pull his lip free and kiss the rosy flesh with his own? But Fernando righted himself and began to take his own suit off, with his body turned slightly so he could avoid the distraction that was Mark’s body and hide his own. He could hear Mark chuckle and out of the corner he saw him hop on one foot as he struggled to pull himself free of the neoprene.
Smooth. Mark laughed at himself, he was trying to put his best foot forward and show himself off in the best light, but instead he was hopping about practically naked in a beach carpark. Finally free he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before handing Fernando one. “Here’s a towel.”
“Gracias.” He took it gladly and scrubbed his chest dry, his own wetsuit was low on his body on purpose to get Mark to look and when his eyes locked onto the line of hair below his navel he felt validated. He knew the scar was fading every day but he was still a little self conscious about it, it was always going to be a reminder.
---
Mark scrubbed his face and thought about the day so far, it had worked out perfectly, Fernando was relaxed and clearly enjoying the flirting. Each little compliment about how he surfed, or what he had chosen to wear or how handsome he looked was taken with a cute smile and a faint blush.
They had never had the chance to do this, after the realisation in Brazil they fumbled along unsure about how they felt or what they were doing, there was no fleeting looks or making up excuses to accidently bump into each other. Mark and Fernando just sought the pleasure they felt in the motorhome and eventually, months down the line, feelings other than lust and desperation came into play.
Finishing up with his shower he stepped out and towelled himself dry, what he would do to be doing the same to Fernando. He missed the little things like drying him off and running his fingers through his damp hair.
---
Fernando was stressing over what to wear, Mark had scribbled a time on a scrap of paper with a comment of don’t be late underneath, there was a phone number of the taxi company to use, but when he called they just thanked him for the confirmation. He liked to be looked after, and Mark knew how to give him what he wanted without having to run around after him, but Mark also wasn’t afraid to tell him to where to shove it if he was pushing too hard. He was his counterweight keeping him in balance.
As he put some cologne on, the one that Mark always took an extra breath of, he looked at himself in the mirror, he could see the lack of sleep still etched around his eyes or was that his age? And glancing down to the scar he ran his finger across it, tracing the place where Flynn came to life, it would always serve as a reminder but for the first time he wasn’t feeling so ashamed about its existence.
---
“You look amazing.” Fernando always did, but tonight he took it up another level with a black fitted shirt undone just enough and a slim pair of trousers, and when he entered the restaurant Mark was glad he asked him to dress up.
Mark’s gentle voice brought Fernando out of his daydream, their hands were barely an inch apart on the table and bringing them together he laced their fingers together. “I could say the same about you.” The combination of a thin jumper and trousers never failed to make Mark look like a model, an opinion Mark hated.
“How about a dangerous red to start the night off?”
“Please.” Fernando wanted something to knock the nerves away.
Mark poured for them both and Fernando had to agree about the dangerous part after his first mouthful, he could remember many bottles like this that they shared holed up in hotel rooms around the world. It felt good to finally do things more publically.
“Mark…”
“Yes?” He put his knife and fork down at the seriousness of Fernando’s tone.
“Thank you for doing all of this.” He played with a piece of chicken on his plate before relinquishing his grip on his cutlery.
Mark’s mouth quirked upwards. “I just thought we hadn’t had the chance to take it slow, we sort of dived head first into it all and I know how you like more...romantic things.” He fiddled with his napkin.
Fernando sat back into his chair and flashed Mark a huge smile. “I know you don’t like it, but I appreciate it.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it, I’m just not very good at it.” He always felt awkward when he tried to use his softer side, he felt awkward and clumsy when he tried to be romantic. He spent hours circling a florist once trying to work up the courage to buy roses, but chickened out. Another time he almost burnt the house down because of the number of candles he put in their bedroom verged on a bonfire because he wasn’t sure when to stop.
“Is not the case, you do things in a different way, is not all about flowers and candles.” Fernando reassured. Conventional romance was easy, it could be bought or copied, Mark’s version was something very different, it was extremely personal to them. Like a hand drawn Brazilian flag slipped into his wallet, or waking up in the middle of his night to call him to say good morning.
“Yeah?” Mark felt hopeful his attempts weren’t secretly laughed over.
“Of course, I like it when you look after me.” He bit his lip to stop himself from embarrassing himself further.
Mark grinned. “I like making things right.”
“You do it very well.” He picked up the last piece of chicken and devoured it. “You’re so handsome.”
“Is that all you’re after, my looks?” He made a joke but liked the way Fernando looked at him when he said it, not with blind lust but with a gentle want.
“Uh huh.” Fernando nodded with a wicked smile. “We don’t need to have dessert here do we?”
They were always on the same page. “No, not at all.” After an evening of being dressed well, fed better and Fernando initiating an increasingly flirty game of footsie he was more than ready to leave. “Do you want to go?”
Fernando nodded, trying to reign in the enthusiasm strumming through his body.
“Excuse me, can I have the bill please.” Mark flagged a passing waiter down swiftly.
“Of course, sir.” He returned quickly with the bill.
“I’ll pay.” Fernando stood up a little to reach across for the slip of paper.
“No arguments Fer, I’m paying.” Mark strengthened his voice a little, just enough to make Fernando raise an eyebrow. “I want to, I asked you out on the date.”
“This is a date?”
“Yes” Mark squirmed in his chair. They had never officially gone on a date and for them to have a child and to have missed the milestone was regrettable. But not unfixable.
“Is our first date.” Fernando breathed. “I like that.”
Once they were paid up Fernando let Mark fetch his jacket and for once welcomed the stares when he helped put it on, it felt old fashioned, like a proper date. And Mark said he wasn’t romantic, this was about as romantic as Fernando would want. This was the sort of romance anyone would want. And he was doing it for him, in public no less.
He stood in the warm summer air and waited for Mark to finish ordering the taxi, but the draw of the sea was too much to resist, the restaurant was facing out onto the beach and with the audience sat beside the large open windows enjoying their food behind him, he crossed the small path to lean on the railing. And not too much later Mark joined him, his arm a couple of inches away.
“Won’t be too long.”
“Okay.” He felt Mark move closer to him, enough so their arms were now touching and sharing body heat. Fernando leant in closer so his head was resting lightly on Mark’s shoulder. The faint ebb and flow of the sea against the beach was only broken by the sound of Mark's breathing and the clatter of the restaurant still in full flow.
Mark could pick up the scent of his favourite cologne on Fernando and breathed it in deeply, letting his nose remind him of all the other times his senses had picked it up. In press conferences, passing by him in the paddock, waking up next to him in the morning…
He went to take another breath but Fernando was moving his head up and so his chin connected sharply. “Oof, sorry.” Mark rubbed it swiftly. Trying again they both got the angle wrong.
“Just kiss him for fucks sake.”
Their heads whipped around to see the contents of the restaurant gleefully agreeing.
“Kiss him!”
Mark peered down into Fernando’s deep coffee eyes and paused for a beat before giving their audience what they wanted. It was soft and teasing, with a hint of heat and promise for more. Mark cradled the back of Fernando’s head and Fernando melted into his body with his arms around his waist to truly relax for the first time in a long time.
With wolf whistles bringing them around they rested their foreheads together and smiled broadly. “Didn’t realise we were going to have an audience.” Fernando whispered with a chuckle.
“Does it matter?” Mark asked, unsure about how Fernando would react to the attention.
Fernando simply shook his head, he couldn’t care less about who was watching. “No.”
A car pulled up outside the restaurant and as Mark brushed Fernando’s still growing hair behind an ear the taxi driver called out. “Taxi for Webber.”
“Come on, still up for dessert?”
“Definitely.” He took Mark’s hand and dragged him into the car.
Pairings: Alonso/Webber, Button/Michibata
Ratings: Blue Flag
Summary: The thing they never expected might just turn out to be the very thing they needed (Sequel to This Is Love)
Warning: MPreg
Disclaimer: Not real, didn't happen.
“Ah, so to what do I owe this pleasure?” Mark opened the door to a stony faced Jenson. “Or not. What’s up mate?” He wasn’t sure he was in the right mood to deal with a grump.
“Nothing.” Jenson grumbled.
“Come in then. I’m packing for China, so you’ll have to ignore the mess.” Mark was hoping for a rare bit of peace and quiet before he shipped out for China, once finished there it was straight to Australia so he had more to pack than usual.
“It’s fine.” Jenson mumbled as he closed the front door behind him. “Alright boys.” He petted Shadow and Simba before following Mark into the kitchen.
“What do you want to drink?” He was already opening a cupboard to get a couple of cups out.
“Beer, vodka, wine, all of the above?” He pouted childishly.
“Stop sulking and tell me what’s wrong, tea or coffee?” Mark didn’t feel like playing up to Jenson.
“Coffee.” He had driven for a while and needed a pick me up.
Mark set up the coffee machine and waited for the cups to fill before steaming the milk. “You’ve driven from Monaco to Spain, tell me what’s got your knickers in a twist.”
Jenson paced about for a few moments before taking the cup from Mark. “We had a fight.”
“I gathered that.” Mark leant against kitchen surface and sipped the steaming liquid carefully.
“It’ll sound pathetic…” Jenson shook his head and changed the angle of the subject. “Are you happy Mark?”
“That’s a bit heavy mate, but yeah I am.” He wondered what Jenson was trying to get at. “Come on, just tell me what’s wrong. Is it you and Jessy?” He nodded towards the sofa.
Jenson plonked himself down and concentrated on his coffee rather than the difficult question Mark had posed, but he was right on the money, he was right. “Yeah.”
“Emi?” He guessed they were having the same problems.
“Yeah.” Jenson admitted. He adored Emi with his heart and soul, but when she was screaming at the top of her lungs in the middle of the night and he hadn’t slept and Jessy was on another modelling job, love was hard to find.
“I get that.” They sat in silence together with the dogs milling about happily.
“Really?” Jenson was confused, they wouldn’t have the same problems as him and Jessica. She was back to modelling but he had barely had the chance to look at her body in real life, he had to make do with magazines.
“Babies are babies mate, no matter how they arrive.” Mark pointed out.
“True, bet you’ve had more sex anyway.” He reached forward and put the cup down on the low coffee table.
“Is that the issue, because from what I’ve heard that’s a common one.” Mark was being careful with his words as he didn’t want to instigate that conversation.
“Like you would know, bet nothing’s changed and you’re still shagging all hours.” Jenson huffed.
“I’m not joining your pity party.” Mark got up. “You should be talking to Jessy about this.”
“I tried, and we got into this huge row and she chucked me out. I went for a drive and kept going until I got here.”
“Good thing I was in then, I’ve really got to pack.” Mark took a few steps towards his room.
“I’ll help.” Jenson offered with a sunny chime to his voice.
“At least give her a call yeah?” Mark unzipped the suitcase on his bed and began placing the pile of neatly folded clothes into it, it wasn’t until he moved to Spain that he had to sort out his own stuff for travelling. The team thankfully sorted the visas and flights out, but whereas before he left all the organising to Ann he had to pick up the slack now. To begin with it left him having to buy lots of replacements at the airport and making annoyed phone calls to Fernando to see if he could find certain documents, but he’d found a knack which was more than useful since becoming a father.
“Come on then, tell me the details.” Jenson rested against the headboard.
“What?” Mark looked up from his decision between two jumpers.
“You and Fernando, I’m curious.”
“About what exactly?” He put them both in.
“How it all started, what he’s like to live with, what he’s like in…” He arched an eyebrow and patted the sheets he was lying on.
“Bed? You’ve just come for a gossip, haven’t you?”
“Oh kill me! Come off it mate, two of the most manly men I know are shacking up, I’m curious.” Jenson lay down on the bed and propped his head up with a hand. “Plus DC wouldn’t tell me anything, said I had to find out from you.”
“The pair of you are the worst gossips I know.”
“So…” He fluttered his eyelashes.
“Trying to be cute won’t work on me buddy.” Keeping his head down he had filled one suitcase. "You're not my type."
“I bet you’ve had no one to chat about him to, how he makes you feel, you must be sick of hearing me going on about Jessy’s absolutely perfect arse all these years. Spill it.”
Stopping what he was doing Mark put his hands on his hips and laughed at Jenson’s blatant attempt to wheedle the information out of him. “It was a slow burn thing.” He sat down on the edge of the bed with his back to Jenson. “Like DC said, all the touchy feely stuff did lead somewhere. But we didn’t do anything until we were both single. I didn’t cheat.”
The softness in Mark’s voice made Jenson feel uncomfortable about pushing it. “I knew you wouldn’t do that Mark.”
“The tipping point was in Brazil, when he got his third title. I could remember celebrating with him, spraying the champagne about and he just looked at me differently, or maybe I saw him in a new way, I don’t know. I also don’t know who dragged who into his motorhome, but we kissed.” He left out the rest of the night, not because he was embarrassed or ashamed, but because he wanted to keep it precious despite the torrid nature of the meeting.
Jenson couldn’t miss the smile creeping across his face.
“And it didn’t feel weird or wrong, christ I’m in my forties talking like a teenager.”
Jenson had to admit Mark did sound like a teenager, but in the best way possible, just that carefree tone giving him away. “It’s nice to hear mate.”
“You know we've always been friends, but it wasn’t until I left that I realised how much I missed seeing him, and thankfully he felt the same.” Mark fidgeted.
“Course he did, he was a mess at your last race.” Jenson commented.
“What do you mean?” Fernando had been fine in Brazil he’d thought, they’d hugged and promised to keep in touch. No tears. no fuss.
“Fernando was bawling his eyes out, I overheard Andrea telling Stefano he wasn’t in a fit state to speak to the media, Stefano asked why and Andrea just said your name and he nodded. I think he guessed before Andrea explained to be honest.” Jenson thought Mark knew, but looking at his bewildered face he swiftly realised this wasn’t the case.
“I...wow...I didn’t know.” He was pretty upset himself and felt low on the plane home from Brazil, but nothing like that.
“Shit, well don’t tell him you do.” Jenson rushed.
“Okay.” He was overwhelmed by the information. He just couldn’t imagine Fernando crying over him, and it made h feel a bit teary himself.
He could see the emotion etched into Mark's face and decided not to push it. "Come on juicy details, what’s he like in bed?” Jenson bounced on the mattress on his knees.
“How old are you?” Mark quipped.
“Sixteen, old enough.” He beamed.
Mark knew he wouldn’t let this go, but he really didn’t want to divulge the information to anyone. “Good.”
“Liar.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“Great.”
“Better, not good enough.”
“Fucking mindblowing.” Mark smirked.
“Stop pissing about.”
“Why do you want to know?” Mark sighed.
“Curious.” The smile on his face was beginning to ache around the edges.
“Fancy a go yourself?” Mark reached up the bed to poke Jenson’s leg.
“Who says I haven’t already?” Jenson pouted.
“Huh?!” Mark was struck dumb, he didn’t expect that response from his friend.
“You tell, I tell.” He challenged.
“You’re a pervert.” Mark joked, but Jenson had piqued his interest over who. “It’s not wildly different Jense, but, it’s good. It’s kind of amazing actually.” He breathed, giving too much away. “It just felt right from the start.”
“Decent shag then?” Jenson laughed.
“It’s not shagging Jenson, it really isn’t. It’s anything but.” He turned away from Jenson, with his face hot with embarrassment from his sharp tone and what he had revealed. “Come on then, spill.” Mark forced the focus back on Jenson.
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, it was clear Mark really didn’t want to talk about Fernando like that. “DC…”
“DC! Fucking hell Jense!” He threw himself backwards to lay down.
“Yeah, yeah. It was a leaving present, when I retired. You know that interview.”
“Don’t we all.” It was a hilarious piece between them where David essentially poured his heart out, albeit in a jokey manner. They took a moped ride around the streets of Monaco and had a ‘dinner date’ which just about killed Twitter and floored the paddock. The epitome of bromance.
“Yeah well after that race we were both at a loose end and we ended up in the McLaren motorhome, but we put a pin in it, then in Brazil we were in my room, and then we kissed and it went from there.”
“All the way?” He wasn’t exactly sure he wanted the know the answer.
“Uh not quite, we just jer…”
“Enough, enough!” He didn’t need to think about David and Jenson together.
“Alright, but I get the appeal.” Jenson winked.
---
“DC?”
“Yeah.”
“DC and Jenson?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he like it?”
“He said he saw the appeal.”
“I always thought Jenson was smart.”
---
“What a way to finish a career! Mark Webber takes the flag for the last time with Porsche, the last time as a professional driver and on home turf too. I can imagine there will be a few drinks shared around tonight in that garage!”
Fernando was trying to keep the headphones on Flynn’s head as they stood at the railings to watch Mark cross the line for the last time. He pointed out the track but Flynn was trying to bury his head in Fernando’s neck, the crowds of people shouting and jumping about were spooking him, but just in the nick of time he braved the strange surroundings to see his father drive past.
With the roar of the engines continuing he just shared a wide grin with Alan and Diane before walking back into the garage to avoid the inevitable melee. They followed closely behind but stayed in the garage to congratulate their son.
“How about that Flynn, your dada’s a double world champion and he won at home. That’s a big deal.” Sitting Flynn down on the small sofa he unpoppered the shoulder and tugged his Porsche shirt off to replace it with a surprise one. He had a matching one, and so did Mark’s parents and the rest of the team. It celebrated all of Mark’s achievements over the years, from his first win in karts to this one here, there were several versions but Fernando was glad he had pushed to include this win, Australia 2018. “Let’s go see dada on the podium.”
He wandered out of the motorhome with the last of the Porsche staff members, carrying the headphones with him just in case it got too much for Flynn, but with his grandparents close by he seemed okay with the situation. Fernando guessed the cameras would be on them, but between them they thought it would be worth breaking their rule about putting him in front of the worlds media for this.
“Dada.”
“Yes it is.” Diane agreed enthusiastically as Mark came onto the podium with his team.
“Papa.” Flynn looked up at Fernando.
Even above the noise of crowd he could hear the newest word. “Si, I am your papa.” He kissed his forehead and positioned him so he could see Mark soak up the atmosphere one last time, gazing up their eyes connected and just before he sprayed champagne over his teammates he pointed down to his family in recognition.
---
“Hey there Flynn.” Laura greeted her nephew properly for the first time from the doorway, he was crawling on the floor playing with a stuffed racing car but hearing her voice he sharply turned away and headed back to her brother.
“He’s been like that recently, not a fan of anyone apart from us at the moment.” Mark helped pick him up so he could stand up. He was getting closer to walking but needed the support of Mark or Fernando to stand up.
“They go through a stage of that. Won’t be long until he’s running about.” She walked over quietly and sat down on the floor to be down at his level. “You dropped this Flynn.” Laura picked his cuddly toy up and bopped it on his nose making an engine noise which got a very favourable response. “Mark, he’s gorgeous.” Dark hair and huge dark eyes were complemented by a beautiful smile and dimples.
“I have to agree.” His voice was warm.
“Did you see those photos of him and Fernando?” She took over from Mark and helped Flynn stand up, she had to get him used to her.
“Yeah.” They were stunning, he had contacted the photographer himself to ask for a set of decent prints. Both of them were looking up at the same point, him, wearing the same shirt and smiling. They had a wall at home covered in photos and the best one joined them, it was covered in the high points of their lives on and off track. “Going to hang one up at home.”
“You’re a clever boy.” Laura praised Flynn as he negotiated one of his toys unsteadily before scooping him up into her arms. “Oh you’re going to be a heartbreaker.”
“Hola Laura.” Fernando entered the room and greeted Mark’s sister with a kiss to the cheek.
“Alright Fernando. I’m in love with him already.” The moment he started squirming she put him down and he began crawling around again. “So when are you two off to Noosa?”
“Tomorrow morning, just need to get the place straightened out.” Mark replied.
“It’s done. I went down a couple of days ago, so yeah you owe me one. Another one.” She smiled triumphantly, she already knew the favour.
“Thanks.”
“So feel free to go whenever. You could get there in time for dinner tonight and that means you can go for a surf first thing. The forecast looks good for it." She knew Mark was desperate to get Fernando on his own, when they spoke on the phone she could hear the fear in his voice that things were going to gone seriously awry for them.
"You're just trying to get us out of here." Mark grinned at the attempt, he would be happy to go but he had a feeling Fernando was going to find it harder. He’d spent all of his time with Flynn, barely a night away.
"Caught me red handed, I want to spend some time with my favourite nephew." She let her gaze fall down to Flynn, she was so proud of Mark for doing this, he was such a natural with children and hers certainly benefitted from that. She would have been okay if it never happened, but she couldn’t deny she was going to relish her role as the fun aunt.
"Maybe tomorrow would be better..." Fernando mused aloud, of course he trusted Laura, but he'd never spent more than a single night away from Flynn and faced with the prospect of a weekend he didn't like it very much.
Laura sensed the discussion and excused herself to make a cup of tea, she could still remember the first time he left her kids with her parents. She had spent most of the night out at the restaurant thinking about them, Mark had asked for the weekend and between them they had negotiated the schedule. But Laura was excited, it had been a while since she'd had a baby around and she could already feel herself getting broody.
"Maybe just the day tomorrow?" Fernando suggested.
"We need the time together, and to be honest mate if you are serious about racing next year you need the practice." Mark felt he had a little bit too much.
"This I know." Truth be told he hadn't spent much time considering that aspect.
Mark suspected he hadn't given it as much thought as he perhaps should have, but that was fine. "It's hard, but it gets a easier when you know he's with someone you trust. And coming home to him is something pretty special too."
"And I have you." He then realised how hard it must have been for Mark to leave them both. "Okay."
"Good stuff. Ah, come here little man." Mark knelt on the floor to speak to Flynn. "Going to miss you, but we'll be back and you have Laura, nan and grandad looking after you. You're going to be spoilt rotten." He kissed his head.
Fernando said his goodbyes with Flynn in his arms and was reluctant to hand him to Laura. "It's tough isn't it?" Laura reassured but made no move to take over.
"Si, have not been away from him." He sighed quietly, panic creeping into his voice.
"There's no rush." She took a step back to give him the room.
Fernando could tell his change in mood was being transferred to Flynn, he was starting to get clingy, noticing this he handed him over to Laura and with her making a big fuss of him he began to giggle.
“Thanks so much for this Laura.” Mark thanked her seriously.
“No problem, just go.” She shooed them away in fun. “I’m only a phone call away. Say bye bye Flynn.” She waved her hand and Flynn copied her. “They’ll be back soon.”
---
“Can we just go to bed?” Fernando yawned, his eyes sore from crying over leaving Flynn, Mark did his best to soothe him but he had tears in his eyes too.
It was heart wrenching to see Fernando so upset. “Sure, let me show you around first though.” Mark had formed a plan to shape their time together and for it to work he had to at least show Fernando where the essentials were. “Here’s the kitchen and dining room, when it’s light you’ll get to see the view. The cups are in that cupboard there, and let’s see what’s in the fridge, knowing Laura it’ll be...yeah stocked up.” They had milk, water, juice, fruit, some chicken and a selection of vegetables. And knowing his sister there would be his favourite ice cream in the freezer.
“And this is clearly the living room.” He gestured at the large open plan space dominated by a comfy sofa. “And upstairs, here’s main bathroom but your room has an en suite.” He opened the door to the master bedroom to check everything was in order. Laura was a goddess.
The house was spectacular, open and airy but with a hint of cosiness, it was the perfect hideaway. “My room, where are you staying?” Fernando was confused.
“Down the hall. Just trust me, I’ll get you up in the morning.” Mark rubbed his arm and left without their customary kiss goodnight. “Goodnight Fernando.” No matter how bad things had gotten, if they were together they always kissed goodnight.
“Night.” Maybe Mark was sick of him, but before the thought consumed him he dragged himself free of clothes and fell into the huge bed he had for the night. Exhausted from travelling with an infant, celebrating Mark and dangling on the precipice of either an inspired decision or an unfixable mistake he slept heavily in between the fresh sheets.
He was sleeping until he heard a bell ringing in the background, it persisted right up to the point he discovered the source and opened the front door. And instead of being annoyed with Mark for abandoning him last night he felt nothing but butterflies in his stomach.
“Hi, I’ll be taking you surfing today.” He grinned at Fernando’s sleep scruffy hair and half opened eyes.
Mark was stood in the doorway dressed simply in tee shirt and shorts but the way he introduced himself made Fernando shiver a little, it was as if they were starting again, getting a chance at the firsts they were too desperate and impatient to wait for. Or too worried to do.
“Hi. Let me get ready.” He left Mark waiting patiently at the door as he swiftly showered, changed into some suitable clothes and packed a bag with some necessary supplies. It felt odd not having to tote Flynn’s things around with him too. “Let’s go.”
Mark drove them to the nearest beach with the radio on, singing along badly Fernando spent his time taking sneaky glances and stifling laughter. “I’m Fernando by the way.”
“Mark.” He shook the hand Fernando had offered, loving that he was playing along. “Have you surfed before?”
“Si, someone taught me pretty well.” That was a couple of weeks meeting Mark’s parents properly he wouldn’t forget in a hurry, especially the frantic disrobing afterwards where they took advantage of an empty carpark and a warm car.
“Let’s see how good then.” Mark pulled off the road and into the car park, being so excruciatingly early they were only joined by other surfers. They had surfed before but they had to be strictly friends last time, no lingering glances at drenched body parts whatsoever, this time he had a feeling it would be different. “I’ve got a wetsuit for you to change into.” Mark announced as he left the truck, they probably could have gotten away with boardies and a rash vest but the opportunity to coat Fernando in something skintight was too tempting to pass up.
Fernando followed and caught the black neoprene half thrown at him from the open boot. “Thanks.”
“I don’t bother wearing anything underneath just so you know.” Mark gave a nonchalant look and proceeded to strip off, keeping his back to Fernando he was careful not to try too hard and keep things balanced, today was all about a little gentle flirting. And Fernando loved to be flirted with.
“Me either.” They both shimmied into their respective suits, both of them doing well to keep their hands to themselves, but they weren’t good enough to avoid a different angle of their head to catch a glimpse of private flesh.
“Come on then, show me what you’ve got.” Mark challenged as he took Fernando’s board out of the back of the truck.
“Watch me.” Fernando retorted playfully.
“I don’t think I’ll have a problem doing that.” He let Fernando see his eyes roam momentarily before he carried his board towards the ocean. His body was so lean now, and his arse was so tight Mark found it hard to look away.
Fernando felt a trickle of warmth throughout his body at his words as he followed Mark onto the beach and into the water. Paddling out there were a handful of people already tackling the waves when they turned back to face the shore. Smiling at each other they readied themselves to use the swell to carry themselves in, Fernando knew what to do and when the moment was right he brought himself up onto the board and surfed towards the beach. They continued racing each other until the beach began to fill up, a mutual agreement for one more go resulted in them hanging at the back of the bay sat astride their boards.
“You’re not bad, you must have had a good teacher.”
"A very special one.” Fernando scratched at the top of the board with a thumbnail.
“How did I measure up?” Mark sat up a little straighter and puffed his chest out.
“You didn’t teach me anything.” Fernando reached across and gave Mark a playful shove, not hard enough to push him into the water but enough to send him off balance. He laughed and Mark joined him, splashing a little water over each other they simply enjoyed the moment and nothing more. “But I liked it.”
“Good to hear, shall we head back in?” Mark could quite happily spend the day out here.
Fernando paused, he would easily stay here all day if Mark asked. “Si.” They took the biggest wave of the day so far and coasted in, displaying the athleticism they’d spent decades honing. Breathing a touch heavier than normal they stood facing each other, and with no one taking much attention of them Fernando reached up on his toes and kissed Mark’s cheek. “Thank you.”
"You fancy getting some breakfast?" Mark asked as he unzipped his suit.
"Si, am starving." He patted his stomach.
Mark peeled himself out his suit under Fernando's watchful gaze, he tugged it down low on his hips just enough to show the thickening hair of his crotch. He watched Fernando worry his bottom lip with his teeth and felt a couple of small blows to his resolve, how much did he want to pull his lip free and kiss the rosy flesh with his own? But Fernando righted himself and began to take his own suit off, with his body turned slightly so he could avoid the distraction that was Mark’s body and hide his own. He could hear Mark chuckle and out of the corner he saw him hop on one foot as he struggled to pull himself free of the neoprene.
Smooth. Mark laughed at himself, he was trying to put his best foot forward and show himself off in the best light, but instead he was hopping about practically naked in a beach carpark. Finally free he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before handing Fernando one. “Here’s a towel.”
“Gracias.” He took it gladly and scrubbed his chest dry, his own wetsuit was low on his body on purpose to get Mark to look and when his eyes locked onto the line of hair below his navel he felt validated. He knew the scar was fading every day but he was still a little self conscious about it, it was always going to be a reminder.
---
Mark scrubbed his face and thought about the day so far, it had worked out perfectly, Fernando was relaxed and clearly enjoying the flirting. Each little compliment about how he surfed, or what he had chosen to wear or how handsome he looked was taken with a cute smile and a faint blush.
They had never had the chance to do this, after the realisation in Brazil they fumbled along unsure about how they felt or what they were doing, there was no fleeting looks or making up excuses to accidently bump into each other. Mark and Fernando just sought the pleasure they felt in the motorhome and eventually, months down the line, feelings other than lust and desperation came into play.
Finishing up with his shower he stepped out and towelled himself dry, what he would do to be doing the same to Fernando. He missed the little things like drying him off and running his fingers through his damp hair.
---
Fernando was stressing over what to wear, Mark had scribbled a time on a scrap of paper with a comment of don’t be late underneath, there was a phone number of the taxi company to use, but when he called they just thanked him for the confirmation. He liked to be looked after, and Mark knew how to give him what he wanted without having to run around after him, but Mark also wasn’t afraid to tell him to where to shove it if he was pushing too hard. He was his counterweight keeping him in balance.
As he put some cologne on, the one that Mark always took an extra breath of, he looked at himself in the mirror, he could see the lack of sleep still etched around his eyes or was that his age? And glancing down to the scar he ran his finger across it, tracing the place where Flynn came to life, it would always serve as a reminder but for the first time he wasn’t feeling so ashamed about its existence.
---
“You look amazing.” Fernando always did, but tonight he took it up another level with a black fitted shirt undone just enough and a slim pair of trousers, and when he entered the restaurant Mark was glad he asked him to dress up.
Mark’s gentle voice brought Fernando out of his daydream, their hands were barely an inch apart on the table and bringing them together he laced their fingers together. “I could say the same about you.” The combination of a thin jumper and trousers never failed to make Mark look like a model, an opinion Mark hated.
“How about a dangerous red to start the night off?”
“Please.” Fernando wanted something to knock the nerves away.
Mark poured for them both and Fernando had to agree about the dangerous part after his first mouthful, he could remember many bottles like this that they shared holed up in hotel rooms around the world. It felt good to finally do things more publically.
“Mark…”
“Yes?” He put his knife and fork down at the seriousness of Fernando’s tone.
“Thank you for doing all of this.” He played with a piece of chicken on his plate before relinquishing his grip on his cutlery.
Mark’s mouth quirked upwards. “I just thought we hadn’t had the chance to take it slow, we sort of dived head first into it all and I know how you like more...romantic things.” He fiddled with his napkin.
Fernando sat back into his chair and flashed Mark a huge smile. “I know you don’t like it, but I appreciate it.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it, I’m just not very good at it.” He always felt awkward when he tried to use his softer side, he felt awkward and clumsy when he tried to be romantic. He spent hours circling a florist once trying to work up the courage to buy roses, but chickened out. Another time he almost burnt the house down because of the number of candles he put in their bedroom verged on a bonfire because he wasn’t sure when to stop.
“Is not the case, you do things in a different way, is not all about flowers and candles.” Fernando reassured. Conventional romance was easy, it could be bought or copied, Mark’s version was something very different, it was extremely personal to them. Like a hand drawn Brazilian flag slipped into his wallet, or waking up in the middle of his night to call him to say good morning.
“Yeah?” Mark felt hopeful his attempts weren’t secretly laughed over.
“Of course, I like it when you look after me.” He bit his lip to stop himself from embarrassing himself further.
Mark grinned. “I like making things right.”
“You do it very well.” He picked up the last piece of chicken and devoured it. “You’re so handsome.”
“Is that all you’re after, my looks?” He made a joke but liked the way Fernando looked at him when he said it, not with blind lust but with a gentle want.
“Uh huh.” Fernando nodded with a wicked smile. “We don’t need to have dessert here do we?”
They were always on the same page. “No, not at all.” After an evening of being dressed well, fed better and Fernando initiating an increasingly flirty game of footsie he was more than ready to leave. “Do you want to go?”
Fernando nodded, trying to reign in the enthusiasm strumming through his body.
“Excuse me, can I have the bill please.” Mark flagged a passing waiter down swiftly.
“Of course, sir.” He returned quickly with the bill.
“I’ll pay.” Fernando stood up a little to reach across for the slip of paper.
“No arguments Fer, I’m paying.” Mark strengthened his voice a little, just enough to make Fernando raise an eyebrow. “I want to, I asked you out on the date.”
“This is a date?”
“Yes” Mark squirmed in his chair. They had never officially gone on a date and for them to have a child and to have missed the milestone was regrettable. But not unfixable.
“Is our first date.” Fernando breathed. “I like that.”
Once they were paid up Fernando let Mark fetch his jacket and for once welcomed the stares when he helped put it on, it felt old fashioned, like a proper date. And Mark said he wasn’t romantic, this was about as romantic as Fernando would want. This was the sort of romance anyone would want. And he was doing it for him, in public no less.
He stood in the warm summer air and waited for Mark to finish ordering the taxi, but the draw of the sea was too much to resist, the restaurant was facing out onto the beach and with the audience sat beside the large open windows enjoying their food behind him, he crossed the small path to lean on the railing. And not too much later Mark joined him, his arm a couple of inches away.
“Won’t be too long.”
“Okay.” He felt Mark move closer to him, enough so their arms were now touching and sharing body heat. Fernando leant in closer so his head was resting lightly on Mark’s shoulder. The faint ebb and flow of the sea against the beach was only broken by the sound of Mark's breathing and the clatter of the restaurant still in full flow.
Mark could pick up the scent of his favourite cologne on Fernando and breathed it in deeply, letting his nose remind him of all the other times his senses had picked it up. In press conferences, passing by him in the paddock, waking up next to him in the morning…
He went to take another breath but Fernando was moving his head up and so his chin connected sharply. “Oof, sorry.” Mark rubbed it swiftly. Trying again they both got the angle wrong.
“Just kiss him for fucks sake.”
Their heads whipped around to see the contents of the restaurant gleefully agreeing.
“Kiss him!”
Mark peered down into Fernando’s deep coffee eyes and paused for a beat before giving their audience what they wanted. It was soft and teasing, with a hint of heat and promise for more. Mark cradled the back of Fernando’s head and Fernando melted into his body with his arms around his waist to truly relax for the first time in a long time.
With wolf whistles bringing them around they rested their foreheads together and smiled broadly. “Didn’t realise we were going to have an audience.” Fernando whispered with a chuckle.
“Does it matter?” Mark asked, unsure about how Fernando would react to the attention.
Fernando simply shook his head, he couldn’t care less about who was watching. “No.”
A car pulled up outside the restaurant and as Mark brushed Fernando’s still growing hair behind an ear the taxi driver called out. “Taxi for Webber.”
“Come on, still up for dessert?”
“Definitely.” He took Mark’s hand and dragged him into the car.