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Lewis was still pouring over what seemed to be never-ending pages of data in the Mercedes garage when a flash of tell-tale orange – no, papaya – in his peripherals had him tensing his muscles and bracing for the eventual impact. Lando had a… tendency to just bodily throw himself at others, which was becoming increasingly more difficult to manage as the younger Brit grew and filled out.
When the expected impact never came, Lewis turned to properly look at the papaya-clad figure in the door, raising his brows at the sight of Lando’s trainer, Jon Malvern.
“Um, hello?” Lewis offered when Jon didn’t speak, still hovering nervously at the door.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, I just – ah – I didn’t know what else to do?” Jon explained awkwardly. “It’s just Lando, he keeps asking for you? And I have no idea what he’s done with his phone, his room looks like a tornado ripped through it, and I didn’t have your number either, which I should, really, because –”
Lewis was up and moving across the room towards Jon before he even realized what he was doing, laying a comforting hand on the trainer’s arm before he cut off his increasingly panicked tirade.
“Breathe, mate,” Lewis suggested. “I heard about the food poisoning, but he kept insisting that he was fine before he stopped answering texts. He said that missing media was just a precaution?”
“Just a precaution,” Jon snorted in exasperation. “He won’t stop puking, it’s awful, mate. Like, it’s been hours, he can’t keep anything down, and he stopped making sense ages ago, it’s been miserable.”
Lewis frowned at that, pushing down the worry that was bubbling up in his chest as he ran through his options. It was only Thursday, so he was just reviewing old data that wasn’t even entirely relevant, given all the changes to the car and set-ups. Everyone else had already gone back to the hotel, and curfew was rapidly approaching, so there really wasn’t any point in Lewis sticking around the garage any longer.
“Let me just power this stuff down, then I’ll head back with you, alright?” Lewis decided aloud.
Jon nodded and waited impatiently – shifting from foot to foot, fidgeting nervously – while Lewis shut down the computer he’d been using and gathered his things, shoving his phone into one pocket and his wallet into another.
“You guys are at the same hotel as us this weekend, yeah?” Lewis asked as he strode past Jon, making the (correct) assumption that the trainer would follow him without needing explicit instructions.
“We are,” Jon agreed.
“I’ve got to drive my car back anyways – unless you need a ride?” Lewis paused, glancing towards Jon to see the trainer shaking his head. “So, I’ll just head up to his room when I get there and we’ll see if there’s anything I can do to help.”
Jon nodded his agreement, and the pair walked the rest of the way to the small car park in relative silence, only pausing once they reached their parked vehicles, which were among some of the last remaining ones on-site.
It must have been later than Lewis had thought.
“Here,” Lewis offered, holding out his phone. “Put your number in there, and I’ll text you once I’ve got myself sorted at the hotel.”
Jon did that without complaint too, before passing Lewis’ phone back. Wordlessly, the two men parted ways. And, if Lewis drove a bit faster than strictly necessary on his way back to the hotel, that was his own business and his alone.
He hustled back up to his own room, quickly pulling off the clothes he’d worn to the Paddock in favour of some comfier sweatpants and a soft t-shirt, pausing to also grab an oversized hoodie after texting Jon that he was on his way to Lando’s room.
When he got there, the door was wrenched open after Lewis’ first tentative knock, a still frazzled Jon waiting on the other side.
“He’s still sleeping,” Jon murmured gently as Lewis stepped through the door. “Best not to wake him if we can avoid it.”
Lewis wrinkled his nose as he looked around the room. In fairness, it didn’t look all that different from Lando’s typical hotel rooms, with clothes strewn everywhere, open suitcase shoved in one corner, an unreasonable amount of shoes littering the floor – but it did smell particularly awful. Like sweat, sure, but there was also a definite undertone of vomit and general sickness.
“Let’s get it tidied up a bit,” Lewis suggested gently, and Jon looked immensely thankful for the suggestion.
Objectively, Lewis was well aware that Jon was good at his job. Lando adored him, and Lewis trusted him in the way he trusted all their trainers. But clearly – and not unreasonably – Jon was a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Lewis suspected that anyone – except perhaps Lando’s mum – would be feeling similarly after dealing with the younger man while he was unwell for several hours.
While Jon set about gathering and folding Lando’s clothes, Lewis made his way towards the windows and opened them as far as they would allow, hoping that some fresh air would help with the absolutely deathly smell permeating the room. He’d just finished neatly lining up the last of Lando’s shoes when the younger Brit suddenly bolted from the bed without warning, darting straight for the bathroom without bothering to close the door behind him.
The sound of retching filled the room, and Lewis shot Jon a sympathetic look.
“I’ll go deal with that,” Lewis offered. “Why don’t you strip down the bed and see if reception can get us some fresh bedding?”
Jon nodded, a relieved look appearing on his face, before turning towards the bed.
Which left Lewis with nothing else to do but enter the bathroom, where he was greeted by the sight of an absolutely miserable looking Lando curled over the toilet, shoulders heaving as he retched.
“You’re okay, get it out,” Lewis soothed as he kneeled down to run a gentle hand down the younger man’s back. Lando whimpered at the contact before heaving again, even though at this point he had nothing left to give.
“Lewis?” Lando mumbled weakly. As he spoke, he shifted to rest his head against the cool porcelain of the toilet, tipping his head to the side so that he could squint up at the older driver.
“Hey, kid,” Lewis greeted with a small smile. “Heard you weren’t feeling so well?”
Lando groaned at that, eyes screwing shut as he turned back towards the bowl, heaving weakly – though it didn’t sound like he managed to bring anything up this time. In response, Lewis cooed gently, running a hand through Lando’s greasy, sweaty curls.
“Why don’t we get you in the shower?” Lewis suggested. “You’ll feel better once you’re cleaned up, I promise.
Lando agreed with a feeble nod of his head. Which, really, Lewis shouldn’t have been surprised when he basically had to undress the younger man, Lando’s limbs as uncooperative as the rest of him. Then, Lewis helped him into the tub, sitting him down before starting the water. Lewis was careful to set it to a lukewarm temperature, suspecting that the too-hot water the younger driver usually preferred wouldn’t help with Lando’s feverish state at the moment.
“I’m going to check on Jon,” Lewis decided. He was… relatively certain that Lando could manage sitting in the tub under the shower’s spray without somehow drowning himself.
Probably.
Lando hummed in agreement.
Back in the hotel room, Jon had successfully wrangled Lando’s bedding off the bed, dumping the sweat-soaked bundle near the door while he finished tidying the space.
“They said they’d send someone up with new bedding,” Jon explained when he caught sight of Lewis lingering in the bathroom doorway. “How’s he doing?”
Lewis shrugged, figuring that Jon knew exactly how Lando was doing.
“Got him in the shower,” Lewis offered when Jon kept staring at him. “Do you think there’s anything we can give him that he might be able to keep down?”
“He needs something to replace lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent his dehydration from getting any worse,” Jon fretted almost immediately. “Some Dioralyte would probably help, but he’d been struggling to keep even that down.”
“Maybe just water to start then,” Lewis mused aloud. “And some broth? I’m sure the hotel restaurant has some basic broth we could try.”
Jon nodded.
“I can go see what I can find, if you’re okay to keep an eye on him and an ear out for the new bedding?”
Lewis nodded his agreement, and Jon smiled wanly before darting back out of the room, leaving Lewis to check on Lando – who was still sitting, head tipped back and eyes closed, under the lukewarm shower water.
“Do you want help washing your hair?”
Lando’s eyes flickered open, looking up almost blearily at Lewis. He seemed to mull the option over for a moment before shaking his head.
“I can do it,” Lando decided. “Just – can you pass me the shampoo and conditioner?”
Lewis moved back into the bathroom to do as asked, setting Lando’s various hair care bottles well within his reach.
“I’m going to listen for the door – Jon called down for some new bedding for you,” Lewis explained. “Just yell if you need help with anything, okay? And do not try to get out of that tub by yourself, yeah?”
Lando muttered something unintelligible, but nodded meekly when Lewis fixed him with a look, which satisfied the older man enough to leave him feeling comfortable to leave Lando to his own devices while he listened for the hotel staff.
Thankfully, they did not keep him waiting long, and he had the bed remade with fresh blankets well before Lando called for his help, even if Jon still hadn’t made his reappearance.
Lewis turned the water off before he wrapped Lando up in a fluffy white hotel towel, politely averting his eyes until the younger man was covered up. He kept a hand on him as Lando wobbled out of the tub, the younger man leaning into the touch without reservation. The result was Lando leaning his full weight against Lewis, wet curls tucked under Lewis’ chin as he shivered almost imperceptibly. Lewis responded in kind, wrapping his arm more fully around the younger man as he guided him out of the bathroom.
“Let’s get you into some clean clothes,” Lewis suggested gently.
He set Lando down on the edge of the bed, still clad in only a towel, before turning to rifle through the disaster that was Lando’s suitcase for a clean pair of underwear, sweatpants, and a plain, but soft, t-shirt. Satisfied, he offered the pile of clean clothes to Lando before politely turning his back, leaving the younger man to wrestle his way into his clothes.
“Thank-you,” Lando murmured softly, prompting Lewis to turn back around.
Lando was still pale – the pallor of his clearly sickly – and his eyes were still glassy, but he seemed more aware than he had been before his shower.
“Are you feeling a little bit better?”
Lando shrugged, “Cleaner, at least.”
Lewis hummed, the small smile he’d been sporting turning down into a frown at the sight of Lando still shivering, which reminded him –
“Here,” Lewis offered, holding out his own sweater, which he’d grabbed earlier with this exact thing in mind. Everyone knew that Lando loved wearing his hoodies, but fewer people knew how much he absolutely reveled in stealing everyone else’s hoodies.
As expected, Lando immediately made grabby hands, snatching the hoodie and tugging it on without hesitation the moment Lewis was within range – before also pulling Lewis in for another snuggle, forehead pressed firmly against Lewis’ chest as he snuggled in as close as possible.
Lewis just held him close, happy to offer whatever comfort he could – until Jon finally burst back into the room, arms laden with supplies. Even then, Lewis didn’t really move away from Lando, just pulled back enough to look at Jon over his shoulder.
“I got some Dioralyte, and some broth too,” Jon shared as he unloaded his parcels on the small table. “Saltines too, just in case he feels like he can stomach those.”
“He’s right here,” Lando mumbled petulantly against Lewis’ chest.
“And what would he like to try?” Lewis asked with mild amusement, turning his attention back to the boy in his arms.
“I just want to sleep,” Lando responded almost immediately.
Lewis sighed as he shifted, kneeling down despite the way his knees objected, so that he could look Lando in the eyes more easily.
“Lando, you need to drink something – even if it’s just water – before you sleep, yeah?” Lewis encouraged. “Jon’s worried you’re dehydrated, and we can’t have that.”
Lando whined audibly, burrowing back into Lewis’ shoulder, so Lewis just waited him out, running soothing hands up and down his back and along his shoulders until Lando mumbled again, nearly too quiet to hear.
“Just the Dioralyte for now,” the younger man decided.
Jon was practically beaming as he passed the drink over, clearly thrilled that they’d managed to convince Lando to have something, even if it was just an electrolyte drink. For his part, Lando drank slowly – almost hesitantly – taking small, measured sips in silence for a few minutes. When he passed the bottle back to Jon, it was nearly half empty, which his trainer seemed satisfied with, capping the bottle before setting it on the bedside table.
“I’ll put the broth in your mini fridge for now, in case you want to reheat it later,” Jon decided aloud. “Do you want me to stay?”
Lando shook his head before burrowing back into the crook of Lewis’ neck.
“Just Lewis, if he wants to stay,” Lando mumbled, earning a soft smile from his trainer and a gentle squeeze from the older driver.
“Of course,” Lewis responded without hesitation. “Let’s let Jon get some sleep, yeah?”
Jon looked grateful – and he must have truly been relieved, because he didn’t even protest his banishment, simply moved to put the broth away before ruffling Lando’s damp, unruly curls where the younger driver was already dozing off against Lewis’ shoulder.
“Call me if you need anything,” Jon said, looking between Lewis and Lando as he spoke. “Lando’s calls will ring through, even if my phone is on silent.”
Lewis nodded his thanks while Lando murmured the same, and then Jon was gone, the door clicking shut behind him.
“Come on, let’s get you into bed,” Lewis suggested gently, standing slowly as he gently tipped a drowsy Lando back against the pillows. It took some work to get him under the blankets – Lando was entirely unhelpful – but once he had him settled, Lewis turned to investigate the couch.
Lando’s hand snaked out and wrapped around his wrist.
“Stay,” Lando pleaded. “There’s plenty of room.”
And there was, really, so –
“Yeah, alright, kid,” Lewis agreed, making his way around the bed to settle in next to Lando.
Predictably, Lando snuggled in right against Lewis’ side without any hesitation. Lewis couldn’t help the smile that erupted on his face at the action, his own arm snaking out to wrap Lando up in a proper cuddle. He probably couldn’t sleep like this – he’d have to worm his way back onto his own side eventually – but if it got Lando to sleep he’d happily cuddle the younger man for as long as he needed.
And, perhaps, he’d underestimated how tired he was.
Because Lewis Hamilton fell asleep happily wrapped up in a cuddle with Lando Norris, despite his own beliefs to the contrary.