Keke And Nico Rosberg Giving 0 Fucks - Helsinki, 1995

Pierre and Esteban

from

Life Centred Around You

by

Moon Bo Young

translated by

Hedgie Choie

“How strange it is, that after all that, we are strangers again.”

parallels during the 2019 season, esteban & pierre

Vievee Francis, The Shared World / Adonis, Song / Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin / Lucille Clifton, Climbing / Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games / Anais Nin, Mirages: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin, 1939-1947 / Carrie Fountain, Burn Lake / Rachel McKibbens, Blud / Gabriel García Márquez, Of Love and Other Demons / Franny Choi, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On / Louise Glück, The Triumph of Achilles / Willa Cather, The Basket / Sarah Rose Etter, The Book of X / Amy Hempel, Cloudland

inspired by @unabashedlycasualangel's elle me dit, specifically chapter 5, which made me remember what este & pierre were doing during 2019. go read the fic, it's amazing in all the great ways and it hits so hard.

Formula 1 Academy Testing in Le Castellet - Day One & Two April 18-19, 2023 - Le Castellet, France Source: Eric Alonso - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

pierresteban 48

pierre/esteban, 48 … out of habit

It’s Charles who books the room, naturally. Of course it is.

“The website said that it sleeps four,” Charles says, sheepish. He’s not quite meeting anyone’s eye.

“It does sleep four. In two beds,” Pierre says. He’s rarely ever visibly irritated with Charles but he is now, a scowl on his face that’s usually reserved for everyone else.

Esteban would almost entertain the possibility that Charles has done this on purpose. Devised a clever plot to end up with Carlos sharing his bed. It isn’t a plot, though—it’s just the type of thing that happens to Charles, while Charles himself looks on, blinking like a lost sheep at events outside of his control.

“It is not so bad, eh?" Carlos says, slinging an arm around Charles' shoulders. "I will keep you warm."

He waggles his eyebrows, jostling Charles with that same arm and earning himself a laugh that's one part nervous and one part delighted. He seems to have a very strong urge to shove whenever he's around Charles.

Esteban is deeply hoping that Pierre might be the one to say something. Suggest the obvious: that Pierre and Charles share a bed, and Esteban and Carlos share the other. Esteban and Charles, even. Carlos on the floor. Carlos on the roof. Any combination which avoids Pierre and Esteban in the same bed.

Instead, Pierre and Charles are engaged in some kind of silent conversation which can only end one way.

"Whatever," Pierre says, and the final spark of Esteban's hope dies. It's far too late to try and search for another place now; they almost missed late check-in as it is.

The rooms themselves are nice enough, if a little dated. There's a couch, but it isn't a pull-out, and there's absolutely no chance of Esteban sleeping on it and waking up the next morning with the ability to move his back. There is, however, a set of spare linens and a duvet in the closet. Esteban is in the middle of debating whether he'd be able to make a comfortable-enough nest on the floor when Pierre appears in the doorway like a dark cloud.

"I'm not taking the fucking floor," he says. Esteban fights the urge to hurl one of the pillows directly at his head.

"Okay? Neither am I," Esteban says, as if he hadn't been contemplating the idea of it about three seconds ago.

Pierre shoves past him, dragging his suitcase instead of using the wheels like a normal person.

Esteban collects his pyjamas and heads to the bathroom for a quick shower, because it seems like a better option than staying and watching Pierre rifle through his suitcase like every single item inside of it has personally done him wrong. By the time he gets out Pierre is already in bed, about as far over to the right as he can possibly be without falling out. His back is to Esteban and he's scrolling through his phone. He doesn't react to Esteban entering the room at all.

Esteban finds himself wishing it were hot enough to use the air conditioner, just so that they'd have the benefit of white noise. As it is, the only things he can hear are Charles and Carlos giggling softly through the wall and Pierre breathing steadily.

Pierre ignoring him is technically not a sound, but Esteban kind of thinks it should count.

"Can I turn off the lamp?" Esteban asks, once he's settled in under the sheets.

"I don't care," Pierre says, because everything in the entire fucking world has to be difficult.

Esteban is pretty convinced the discomfort is going to have him up half the night but it doesn't, in the end. He must fall asleep within minutes. He wakes up on his back, a slice of sunlight pouring in through the crack of the curtains and hitting him directly in the face. There's a little weight on his chest, and it takes Esteban a few seconds to recognise that it's Pierre's hand, his palm facing upwards and his fingers curled inwards. It's Pierre beside him, also, on his side and fast asleep.

It should feel strange. But the only thing Esteban can think about is how familiar it feels, instead. He always did used to wake up first, Pierre taking far longer to respond to the alarm.

Pierre must have migrated over the course of the night. He's now more or less in the centre of the bed, his head almost entirely off his pillow, and he looks the way he always does in sleep.

It's far too early in the morning for Esteban to be embarrassed by wanting, so he lets himself look.

Pierre makes a sleepy little whuff noise, so close that Esteban can feel it on his cheek, and then he's awake.

"Hm?" he says. Grunts, really. He scrubs a hand over his face, blinking at Esteban. "Oh. Hey," he says, and then Pierre is leaning in to kiss him.

It's too fast—or maybe Esteban is just too slow to react, but he lets it happen either way. It's a soft press, closed mouths. A good morning kiss.

Pierre pulls away. His eyes clear about a half second after that.

"Fuck," he says. Horror dawns. "Shit."

He turns so fast it yanks the duvet directly off Esteban, gathering around Pierre's hips as he sits up at the edge of the bed. His back is incredibly stiff, arms pulled into his body defensively.

There's a part of Esteban that's still half-asleep, kind of convinced he's still in a dream, and there's another part of Esteban that feels remarkably like he's been electrocuted.

"Uh," Esteban says.

He isn't sure what's going to come out next—a joke, an assurance that it's fine—but it turns out not to matter. Pierre doesn't wait for it. He gets up without another word, stalking into the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him.

#happy April

Some of Rafa's Q&A answers over the years, 2007-2012

It’s Oconzinho time! Forçaaaaaa

please give tips on how to grow thicker skin as a(n alleged) villain fucker... saw something the other day going "so-and-so and their [insert insulting string of words i've genuinely blocked out of my head ha ha] fans are [redacted]" and i've just been going back to it in my head like damn.... i genuinely just found this man hot.... i'm sorry if that has any bearing on my moral leanings.... this is the interwebs and even worse the Hell Site. please help i've seen you're one of the more steadfast people here on Liking Villain(ised) Characters (because lbr those are all characters of the drivers/etc framed by media)

first of all don't go on f1 twitter. the hivemind is amplified and everyone follows and repeats and regurgitates popular opinion and therefore if you like X it means you're evil and reflects your morality as a person 😶

curate your spaceeee. you don't need to participate in wider fandom if they make you feel bad or just aren't to your interests. fandom can be you and 3 friends. i do understand the pressure to fit in esp in a fandom as large as f1, but always put your own peace of mind first. unfollow/mute/filter tag/block LIBERALLY. hate your blorbo? blocked. annoying opinion blocked. fandom is supposed to be Fun, if it sucks hit da bricks!!!

i promise there's someone for everyone. maybe ted kravitz' dad bod gets you 😮‍💨😮‍💨 pfft there's like 5 of those on my dash at any given moment. my wife is universally cancelled and yet we're 6 whole nicologists strong here ✊✊

don't try to argue or fight even to defend your blorbo, don't look up what others are saying about him cause it'll inevitably make you feel bad. it's digital self harm ☹️ instead remember most people are neutral ab any given driver/f1 person and it's only the loudest people you're seeing. instead be unapologetic about enjoying your blorbo, don't be embarazzed. soooo many people have told me they hated max/nico but came to enjoy/be neutral about them bc I'm so enthusiastic about it. how can we lose when we're so sincere!!!

don't feel bad about being sensitive. I've been told I have the skin of a rhino, and I feel bad all the time!!! but ultimately, fandom is a space to have fun and you get to choose what you're expending your energy over. important to also accept that it's a sport, haterism is integral! I'M a hater! someone's gonna hate your blorbo/look down at you for it, but you can't worry about what an imaginary person is thinking about you.

and finally, this is a sport for money laundering and sponsoring shady ass corporations and greenwashing the biggest polluters on the planet (hi shell...), there is NO morally perfect person, and even the best of them are self admitted hypocrites and tax evaders. we're ALL rooting for the villains here.