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The bedroom is surrounded by silence, the waves crash against the rocks in the distance and the noisy seagulls of the pier are sleeping in their nests. The only light comes from out of the window, lighting guiltily the corner of the bed, just beneath the feet of the two occupants.
Above the sheets, two bodies lie side by side, not touching. The intense heat of the past few days is responsible of the physical distance between the two shirtless men and the decision to keep the windows open, hoping for a little draft during the night.
The sea breeze blows in through the open window and tickles the skin of Nico's bare back, as he turns over in bed for yet another time in the last ten minutes. Kevin opens one sleepy eye and watches the other driver make small adjustments of his head to find a better position. The Dane closes his eye and goes back to sleep before another movement from Nico makes him snort.
“Nico. Why don't you tell me what’s wrong?”
He doesn't even care about opening his eyes again: he knows perfectly well that the other will pretend to be asleep rather than face this conversation. The silence stretches between the two, and Kevin is about to fall asleep again when Nico finally answers.
"Nothing. Go ahead and sleep, Kevin."
At that, the Dane widens his eyes in annoyance and stares into the other's forehead.
"Oh, no no no! Now you open your fucking eyes and answer me, fucker! I didn't come all the way to Monaco for you to reserve me the silent treatment when it's obvious something's bothering you!"
Nico then opens his eyes, and Kevin carefully observes those two pools of crystalline water, so similar in colour to his own yet so completely different. The eyes that had captivated him a few years earlier, when their relationship as teammates took a completely different turn.
Nico exhales in resignation, and Kevin looks at him intently. The wrinkles around the eyes and the tired expression in the German's gaze make him look older than he actually is, or perhaps they're showing his true age for the first time, no longer hidden by the endless hours at the gym and behind the wheel of a Formula One car. A pang of nostalgia clings to the pit of Kevin's stomach as Nico fixes his blue eyes on him.
"I'm not so sure anymore, Kev."
Nico rubs his eyes with his palms, and unconsciously Kevin almost stops him, not wanting to break contact with his blue eyes. A soft sigh brings him back to the subject.
“I know it's only the beginning of June, but I'm already feeling tired. I feel like a hamster running around in a cage. Mine may be golden, but it's still a cage. And my wheel never seems to turn fine.”
Kevin takes one of Nico's hands and brings it to his mouth, before kissing it tenderly.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before, you bighead? You know I care about how. I care a lot about you.”
Nico smiles and Kevin feels a little better.
“Sorry, Kev, I should have told you about this before. It’s just that the comparison with the youngsters is getting more and more intense… Kimi is leading the championship, Gabi has scored all the points Audi has made so far, and also the others are doing great. Not to mention all the ones who still don’t have a seat because there are too few.”
“Bullshits! You deserve to be there. A team needs experienced drivers too, honey. Do you think Gabriel could handle all of this without a more experienced driver by his side?”
Nico doesn’t respond, and Kevin places the other driver’s hand on his chest, just above his heart, to calm him with the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
“I know you were expecting a completely different start with Audi, älskling. I'm sorry that nothing's going in the right direction right now. And I'm also sorry that we have to spend so much time apart because of me.”
“Don't be silly, liebling, it's nobody's fault. And it's not fair that you're giving up your career to follow my races like any other WAG that crowds the paddock every weekend.”
Nico moves his hand over Kevin's bare chest, tickling his short blond hairs as he traces the lines of his sculpted pectorals with his fingers.
“Well, I would be the best WAG.”
“With a huge lead over the second best, Mrs. Hulkenberg,” Nico whispers as he approaches the other driver.
Kevin smiles, and Nico wastes no time in sealing that victory grin with a kiss.
“So, are you feeling a bit better now that we’ve talked about this, skat?” Kevin asks, watching Nico’s magnetic eyes stare at him from his chest.
Nico nods, then leans his head to the side, closing his eyes to listen to Kevin’s heartbeat.
Kevin tenderly caresses Nico's cheek before moving to his hair, running his fingers delicately through the blond strands.
"I don't want to put any pressure on you for tomorrow, but you know that if there's one track where experience matters more than anything else, it's Monte Carlo, right?"
"Ouch. No pressure at all, huh?" Nico replies without opening his eyes, snuggling even closer to Kevin's chest instead.
"Don't be ridiculous, älskling. You sure must know how to handle this little bit of pressure with all the years of racing you've done!"
Nico opens one eye and sticks his tongue out at him.
"I was kidding."
Kevin then pushes him away, but shortly after takes the other’s face in his hands and leans in again for a brief kiss. Nico protests, but Kevin is adamant.
"No, it's time to sleep. You have to drive tomorrow, and you need to be focused to stay away from all those tight walls. And besides, I'm sleepy."
Kevin fakes a yawn to reinforce his argument, but Nico doesn't fall for it. Nonetheless, he lies down on the bed again, this time closer to the other. He takes Kevin's arms and wraps them around his chest, securing them with his own. Then he takes a deep breath to absorb all the peace from Kevin's body.
Kevin smiles at Nico's tender gesture and plants a kiss on his head to wish him goodnight.
After a few seconds, Nico adds.
“Too bad, we could have had some fun.”
As he rubs his back against Kevin’s chest, an exasperated snort tickles the back of his neck.
“What don’t you understand about ‘you need to sleep because you have to be really focused tomorrow’? You’re impossible.”
“You love me for that.”
“I’m starting to doubt it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Kevin smiles. Who is he kidding?
“Anyway, no sex tonight. I can’t afford to walk around the paddock all sore: I have to be in perfect shape tomorrow. After all, I’m the best WAG.”