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They never meant to hurt him.
That was the first truth Ollie and Gabriel carried between them, unspoken but heavy.
It was something neither wanted to name, but both could feel every time they looked at Kimi.
From the moment they arrived in Formula 1, it was always the three of them.
Ollie and Gabriel together, and Kimi quietly trailing beside them, capturing moments the world would never see.
Kimi was constant.
He was the familiar sound of a shutter click behind them, the quiet laughter that slipped through the noise of the paddock, the calm in the middle of their fast and chaotic lives.
Ollie often found himself watching Kimi when he thought no one would notice.
There was something steady about him, something that grounded everything around him.
He still had the same gentle air from their Prema days, the same way of making people feel seen even without speaking much.
Sometimes Ollie would see him framed by sunlight, camera raised, hair slightly tousled, and his heart would tighten before he quickly looked away.
Gabriel noticed it all.
He saw the way Ollie’s gaze softened when Kimi was near, the way their conversations slowed when Kimi joined them. And he felt it too.
The fondness.
The pull.
Kimi had that effect on people; he never demanded space, yet somehow he filled it completely.
When the season began, they made sure Kimi was never left behind.
Every dinner, every drive, every late-night walk back to the hotel included him. He never had to ask.
Gabriel would call him first before deciding where to eat.
Ollie would keep a seat open beside him even when the table was full.
Kimi became part of everything so naturally that it almost felt wrong when he was not there.
Sometimes it felt like they were orbiting around him without realizing it.
They had talked once, quietly, about asking him out.
The conversation happened late one night after a race, when they were too tired to think straight but too restless to sleep.
Gabriel had said it first, voice low and hesitant, that maybe what they felt for Kimi was more than friendship.
Ollie had laughed, but it was a quiet, nervous kind of laugh. Because he knew it too.
He had known for a long time.
They joked about it, about how it would even work, the three of them tangled in feelings and uncertainty. But when they imagined saying it out loud, when they imagined the look on Kimi’s face, they hesitated.
He looked so content with the way things were, so peaceful beside them.
They were afraid of breaking that.
Afraid of changing something that already felt so fragile.
So they never said it.
They let their affection show in quieter ways.
Ollie would sneak Kimi’s favorite snacks into his bag before long flights.
Gabriel would offer him the front seat during car rides, pretending it was out of habit, not affection.
When they took photos, they always made sure Kimi was in the middle, between them, framed by their smiles.
It was their way of saying he belonged without ever saying the words.
But the problem with quiet love is that it often goes unnoticed.
There were nights when Ollie caught Kimi staring out of the window instead of joining in on their jokes.
There were dinners where Kimi smiled but said very little, his laughter faint and polite.
Gabriel saw it too, He started looking away more often, avoiding their eyes when they leaned close to whisper something to each other.
They told themselves it was nothing.
That Kimi was tired, or distracted, or just in one of his quiet moods.
They did not want to believe the truth, that the distance between them was growing and they were the reason for it.
Sometimes Gabriel would lie awake after a long day, thinking about the look on Kimi’s face when they teased each other in front of him.
It wasn’t jealousy, exactly. It was something deeper, something sadder.
Like watching a moment slip away and pretending it didn’t hurt.
Ollie would feel it too, the weight of Kimi’s silence beside him.
He remembered all those times Kimi had been his muse, all the laughter and sunlight they used to share, and how that had slowly turned into something quieter.
He wanted to reach out, to say something, to ask if Kimi was okay. But the words always stopped on his tongue.
In their effort to protect what they had, they were losing him piece by piece.
They loved him. That was the truth neither of them could say aloud. And in loving him quietly, they were the ones pushing him away.
Kimi had always been good at pretending.
It was something he learned without meaning to, a quiet kind of defense he built around himself.
Every time he smiled when Ollie called, or laughed when Gabriel teased him, it felt real enough to hide the truth.
He did not want them to know that sometimes being with them hurt.
He had been in love with Ollie since their days in Prema.
Back then, it was simple.
Ollie’s laughter was warm and easy, the kind that reached his eyes and stayed there.
Kimi had spent years memorizing that look, thinking it meant something more. But when Gabriel entered Ollie’s life, everything began to change in ways Kimi could not stop.
At first, he told himself it was fine.
He told himself that Ollie deserved to be happy, that Gabriel was good for him.
He tried to be happy for them, because that was what friends were supposed to do. But as time went on, it became harder to ignore the ache that sat quietly in his chest.
They included him in everything. It was almost cruel how thoughtful they were.
Dinners, team hangouts, movie nights, post-race celebrations, Kimi was always there, standing beside them, smiling for photos.
To anyone watching, it looked like perfect friendship. But for Kimi, it was a kind of loneliness that words could not explain.
Sometimes, when they were out together, Ollie would lean into Gabriel, whisper something, and they would both laugh.
Kimi would smile too, because that was what he was supposed to do.
He would nod when they asked if he was okay, tell them he was tired, or that he was thinking about the next race. But in truth, he was thinking about how it felt to sit next to them and still feel miles away.
The little things began to hurt the most.
The way Ollie’s attention lingered on Gabriel when he spoke.
The way Gabriel’s hand would rest casually on Ollie’s arm.
The way they looked at each other as if the rest of the world disappeared.
Kimi noticed everything, every glance and every silence, and he wished he could stop noticing.
At night, when he was alone, he would replay the moments in his head.
He would think about how Gabriel looked at Ollie with quiet affection, and how Ollie smiled back with the same warmth Kimi used to imagine was meant for him.
It was a cruel kind of realization, one that made sleep harder to find.
He began to wonder if they even noticed how quiet he had become.
How his laughter now ended too soon, how his eyes drifted elsewhere when they teased each other.
He wondered if they ever realized that he was always the one walking a few steps behind when they went out together.
They never meant to make him feel like that.
He knew that.
They were kind.
They always invited him, always made sure he was part of their plans. But that was exactly what made it hurt.
He was not being left out, he was being included in something that was never his to belong to.
Kimi started spending more time with the other rookies.
It was easier to breathe when he was not surrounded by the reminder of what he could not have.
The laughter felt lighter with them, less forced.
He started to remember what it felt like to enjoy things without pretending.
Still, every time his phone buzzed with a message from Ollie or Gabriel, he felt the same pull in his chest. He always answered.
He always said yes.
It was habit, maybe hope, that kept him from fully walking away.
A small part of him believed that if he stayed long enough, something might change.
Maybe Ollie would see him differently, maybe Gabriel would notice how hard he tried to keep smiling. But deep down, he knew the truth.
Some people were meant to be loved quietly, from the edges of someone else’s story.
He stopped going with them as often.
When they noticed, he said he was busy.
When they asked if something was wrong, he said nothing.
He smiled as if everything was fine, as if he was not breaking a little each time he saw them together. But there were nights when it became too much.
Nights when he would sit in his room, thinking about Ollie’s laugh, the way Gabriel’s hand rested on Ollie’s shoulder, and how both of them would turn to him with easy smiles, unaware that his heart was quietly unraveling.
He wanted to move on, to stop feeling like the extra piece in a story that had already found its ending. So he started choosing himself more often, even if it meant being alone.
And yet, every time he saw them together, laughing, teasing, completely at ease.
A part of him still wished he could go back to when he did not know how it felt to be the one standing just outside their world.
Kimi did not notice when the change began.
It started small, with small choices that slowly built a new rhythm in his days.
He began joining the other rookies more often.
Sometimes they would grab lunch together, or spend hours talking about everything except racing.
The noise and energy of it all felt different, lighter.
For the first time in a while, he could laugh without forcing it.
George occasionally would accompany him.
He was observant in a quiet way, the kind of person who noticed when someone was too quiet or too tired.
He never asked Kimi directly what was wrong, but he had a way of keeping him included without making him feel watched.
Kimi appreciated that.
He did not need anyone to fix him.
He just needed to breathe again.
And slowly, he did.
He smiled more.
The laughter that had once felt heavy began to sound natural again.
He stopped thinking about Ollie and Gabriel every minute of the day.
They were still his friends, still kind and familiar, but no longer the center of his world.
He found new moments to look forward to, new people who made the world feel softer.
Franco was one of them.
It happened almost by accident.
They started spending more time together during media days and paddock walks.
Franco was charming in the most effortless way, the kind of person who could make anyone feel like they belonged.
He had this way of talking to Kimi that made him feel seen, as if the rest of the world fell away when he spoke.
At first, Kimi thought it was just Franco being friendly.
He had a natural warmth that drew people in, a smile that could disarm anyone. But the more time they spent together, the more Kimi began to notice the little things.
The way Franco listened when he talked, not just nodding but really listening.
The way he would lean in slightly whenever Kimi laughed, as if that sound alone was worth his attention.
Franco never asked about the things Kimi tried to leave behind.
He did not ask about Ollie or Gabriel, or why Kimi sometimes looked away when someone mentioned their names.
He just made space for him, in the simplest and most genuine ways.
One afternoon after a race, they sat together in the paddock, sunlight falling in soft lines across the floor.
Kimi had been rambling about something meaningless, and when he stopped to apologize for talking too much, Franco just smiled.
“I like hearing you talk,” he said quietly, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The words settled deep in Kimi’s chest, warm and unfamiliar.
No one had said something like that to him before.
For a moment, he forgot how to reply.
He just looked at Franco, who looked back with that same gentle expression, and something in him began to ease.
He started seeking Franco out more often after that.
Sometimes it was just to talk about random things.
Sometimes it was for no reason at all.
Franco never made him feel like he needed to earn attention, never made him feel like an afterthought.
He had a way of making Kimi feel like he was the only person in the room, and Kimi had missed that feeling more than he wanted to admit.
The others began to notice too.
During race weekends, cameras often caught them laughing together, shoulders brushing, smiles brighter than usual.
There were whispers, questions, teasing comments, but Kimi did not care.
For once, he did not feel like he was standing on the outside looking in.
They were not a couple, not yet.
There were no labels, no promises. But there was something unspoken that connected them, a quiet understanding that neither of them rushed to name.
Kimi was still healing, still learning to trust the softness of this new beginning. But when Franco smiled at him, when his laughter made the world seem lighter, Kimi allowed himself to believe that maybe this time, he would not end up being the one watching from the sidelines.
It took them longer than it should have to notice.
At first, it was little things that seemed harmless.
Kimi missed dinner because of “team meetings.” Kimi said he was too tired for a late movie.
Kimi leaves a conversation halfway through, smiling as he goes.
It all sounded believable, and they never questioned it.
They trusted his smile.
They always had.
But the absences began to linger.
He laughed less when they were around, and spoke less too.
When he did join them, it felt different.
The air between them used to feel easy, filled with jokes and warmth, but lately it carried something thinner, quieter.
Gabriel was the first to say it aloud. It was late, after a long race weekend.
The two of them were sitting in the hospitality area long after everyone else had gone.
“He’s been different,” Gabriel said, eyes fixed on the empty seat across from them. “Kimi.”
Ollie looked up from his drink. “He’s just busy,” he said, though the words felt fragile even as he spoke them.
Gabriel shook his head. “No. It’s more than that.”
Ollie wanted to argue, to insist that Kimi was fine, that things were the same as always. But deep down, he knew they were not.
He had seen it too, the small distance in Kimi’s posture, the way his eyes drifted somewhere far away when they talked, the soft, polite smile that used to be real.
The next few weeks made it harder to pretend.
Kimi stopped showing up to their usual hangouts.
When he did, he was quieter, more distracted.
He seemed to belong better with the other rookies now, his laughter easier, his body language relaxed.
Ollie watched him once from a distance, surrounded by the others, smiling in a way he hadn’t seen in months.
It was beautiful and painful at the same time.
When Gabriel noticed it too, they both fell silent.
They did not know what to say. It felt like watching someone slowly slip out of their orbit.
Ollie thought about the countless times they had included Kimi, how they always made sure he was there with them, thinking it was enough.
He remembered the way Kimi used to look at them, how his smile lingered when they laughed together, how warm he used to be.
It hurt to realize how they had mistaken his quietness for comfort.
They thought they were giving him love by keeping him close, by including him in their happiness.
They never considered that they might have been showing him everything he could never have.
Gabriel replayed their moments too.
He remembered the late nights when Kimi sat between them on the couch, eyes on the screen but not really watching.
He remembered the quiet sighs that followed their laughter, the way Kimi’s hand would fidget with his sleeve when their shoulders brushed.
Every memory now felt heavy with things they had missed.
They had loved him in silence, thinking that was enough to keep him near.
They were wrong.
Silence had built a wall they never saw until it was too late.
The first time they saw Kimi with Franco, it hit harder than either of them expected.
It was after qualifying, cameras flashing, noise everywhere.
Kimi was talking to Franco near the paddock, laughing with a kind of ease they had not seen in a long time.
There was something different in his eyes, light, warmth, peace.
Ollie froze for a moment. Gabriel followed his gaze and stayed silent.
It was such a simple scene, but it said everything.
Kimi was happy.
Genuinely, freely happy.
They did not speak about it that night, but the image stayed with them.
It followed Ollie when he tried to sleep, when he scrolled through photos, when he passed Kimi in the paddock and received only a friendly wave instead of the old familiar grin.
It followed Gabriel too, in the quiet spaces between races, when he caught Kimi laughing softly beside someone else.
They both knew they had no one to blame but themselves.
Their silence, their hesitations, their belief that love could exist safely without words, it had all built the distance that now stood between them.
They had kept him close without ever holding him, and now he belonged somewhere else, to someone who made him feel like the center of the story.
It was a quiet kind of loss, the kind that does not break loudly but instead leaves a hollow space where something soft used to live.
They still saw Kimi often, still shared moments that felt familiar, but it was different now.
His laughter belonged elsewhere, and so did his heart.
And as Ollie watched him walk away one afternoon, sunlight catching in his hair as Franco called his name, he realized that this was the cost of their silence.
They had loved him too quietly.
And quiet love never survives long enough to be heard.
Ollie and Gabriel did not notice when the jealousy began.
It came quietly at first, disguised as concern, then grew into something sharper, harder to ignore.
Every time Kimi laughed with Franco, every time his eyes lit up at something Franco said, it stung in places they did not know could ache.
They told themselves it was because they missed him, that they were only trying to protect him. But deep down, they knew.
They were losing Kimi, and they were the ones who pushed him away.
The realization brought with it a kind of panic that neither wanted to name.
They tried to play it off, to act as if everything was fine, but jealousy was not something that could be disguised by polite smiles.
It lingered, heavy and cruel.
So they did what they thought might fix it.
They tried to sabotage Franco.
It started small.
Subtle remarks, harmless teasing that masked deeper intentions.
They would make jokes about how charming Franco seemed to everyone, how temporary crushes could feel like love.
They told themselves it was harmless. But it was not.
Franco never reacted with anger.
He only smiled, calm and patient, as if he could see right through them.
He did not try to fight for Kimi’s affection or prove himself.
He simply stayed.
That was what made everything worse.
No matter what Ollie and Gabriel did, Kimi only grew closer to Franco.
Their teasing only pushed the two closer together, and every failed attempt left Ollie and Gabriel more frustrated, more confused.
And then came the moment that shifted everything.
They had cornered Franco after a race weekend, their tone caught somewhere between accusation and confession.
They were tired of pretending.
They wanted to know why he was so calm, why he never seemed threatened. Franco only smiled, eyes soft, and said, “Because I do not want to take him away from you. I just want him to be happy. And if that happiness includes you, then so be it.”
It was disarming in its honesty.
No jealousy, no competition, only sincerity.
Ollie could not look away from him.
Gabriel could not find words.
The air was thick with something unspoken, and in that silence, both of them realized that the very person they had tried to push away was the one pulling them back together.
From that moment, something shifted.
The tension between them softened.
The bitterness faded.
Where there had been rivalry, there was now curiosity.
They started noticing things about Franco that they had ignored before, the way he listened when they spoke, the quiet confidence he carried, the warmth that never wavered.
Soon, their attempts at sabotage became invitations.
They started showing up at the same places Franco and Kimi went to, but this time not to interrupt.
They stayed.
They joined the laughter, the small moments.
And slowly, they began to feel it too.
At first, it was simple admiration, then came affection, and finally, the same pull they had once mocked Kimi for feeling.
Franco’s presence became something they looked forward to, something grounding.
They began to court openly.
It was Ollie who broke the silence first, half nervous, half defiant. “We like you. Both of you.”
Franco looked at him in surprise, then at Gabriel, who only nodded in quiet agreement.
Kimi froze, eyes wide, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
The air hung heavy with truth, but none of it felt wrong.
It was not a confession meant to complicate, but one that finally made sense of everything they had been running from.
For the first time, Ollie and Gabriel were not loving in silence.
They were choosing openly.
From then on, things changed.
Their affection was no longer hidden behind careful distance.
They began to show it, not in grand displays, but in quiet gestures that carried weight, a hand brushing against Kimi’s when no one was looking, a smile shared with Franco across a table.
People started to notice.
The way Ollie and Gabriel leaned close to Franco during press conferences.
The way Kimi’s laughter came easier when the three were near.
The way Franco looked at all of them like they were something worth protecting.
It was not perfect.
It was complicated and fragile and sometimes confusing. But it was real.
They had spent so long trying to deny what they felt, trying to fit love into the quiet spaces they thought were safe. But now, for the first time, it was loud and unapologetic.
Kimi, Franco, Ollie, and Gabriel, four people bound not by convenience but by choice.
Their love did not look like what others understood, but it did not need to.
It was theirs. And that, finally, was enough.
Kimi’s POV
Kimi never thought it would end like this, not the hurt, not the longing, not the endless ache of wanting something that always seemed just out of reach.
He remembered what it felt like to stand behind Ollie and Gabriel, always one step too far, smiling even when it hurt.
He used to tell himself it was enough, just being near them, just being included.
He had learned how to hide in plain sight, how to laugh while his heart cracked quietly underneath. But now, things are different.
He did not feel small anymore.
He did not feel like the extra piece in someone else’s story.
The world around him had softened.
The weight that once pressed on his chest was gone, replaced by something lighter, steadier.
He looked beside him and saw them, Franco sitting with Gabriel, their shoulders touching, laughter echoing softly.
Ollie was leaning against the balcony rail, watching them with the same fond look he used to give Kimi years ago, only now it was shared.
When Ollie noticed Kimi watching, he smiled and reached out a hand.
It was such a simple gesture, but it carried everything they had been through.
The hesitation was gone.
The quiet pain had turned into something gentle and warm.
Kimi took his hand and joined them.
Franco immediately leaned closer, his hand brushing against Kimi’s knee in that casual way that always made him feel grounded.
Gabriel handed him a drink, his grin easy and familiar.
They were all here.
Together.
The world outside might never understand, but Kimi did not care anymore.
This was enough.
The laughter, the warmth, the way their love no longer needed to hide behind half-smiles and quiet restraint.
Franco glanced at him then, eyes soft, and Kimi felt the same rush of affection he had felt the first time Franco called him beautiful without hesitation.
Ollie leaned against his shoulder, mumbling something about missing the old days, and Gabriel only chuckled, saying the present was better.
Kimi looked at all of them, really looked, and realized he finally belonged.
There were no lines between them anymore.
No jealousy, no distance, no silent ache.
Just connection.
Just love, honest and shared, unafraid to exist.
He thought about how strange it was that love could begin with heartbreak, how something so painful could grow into something so whole.
He had spent so long believing that love meant waiting, that he had to be quiet to be loved back. But now he knew better.
Love was not quiet at all.
It was laughter spilling over tired nights, arms that stayed when the world became too heavy, hearts that learned how to beat in time with one another.
Franco’s hand found his again.
Ollie’s head rested against his shoulder.
Gabriel’s voice filled the space between them with soft words that made him smile.
For once, Kimi did not feel like he was watching from the outside.
He was part of it, the warmth, the joy, the love that had taken so long to find.
And as the night deepened, filled with soft music and familiar voices, Kimi closed his eyes and let himself breathe.
He did not need to capture this moment or hold on to it too tightly.
It was already his.
This was home.