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It was all a blur.
Watching Lewis win for the first time in Ferrari, was a blur. Nico had no idea how to react; he was happy, of course, this was Lewis, who was once his everything, the one person he loved more than anybody else (and maybe he still does, but quite often he questions himself on that. It's been a decade, and he felt as if Lewis was stuck in his heart, wanting to get out, although never succeeding). But at the same time, he was nostalgic in a way that made their good memories seem like a hundred years away.
Lewis' first win for Ferrari, coming in Spain, 10 years after their infamous crash. Nico wanted to laugh at how stupid, though poetic this felt. But he couldn't, not when Lewis looked so beautiful getting out of his car, the smile on his face making it clear this was an incredibly emotional moment for him.
Jenson, who fortunately was in Spain with him, shook his shoulder, snapping Nico's eyes away from the television screen. "Mate, you have to do the interviews."
His eyes widened, and he whipped around so fast he almost knocked Jenson over. There was panic written on his face, which made Jenson's smile grow. "What?! Are you insane? I can't do it! He'll think this was my choice and that I'm desperate for his attention or—"
But Jenson interrupted him with a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. His expression was more serious than before. "Nico, come on. It's been years, a whole decade. Do you seriously think he's still judging you for every little move?"
Nico shook his head, his blue eyes still wide. "Jens, I can't! He'll think I'm desperate! He'll think I still love him or something!"
Jens couldn't hide the small smile creeping on his face. "Well, don't you?"
Before Nico could snap at him, tell him off for being so invested in his love life, he heard a voice in his earphone. "Nico, you are called to the interviews."
His hands started trembling, and as he walked away, he mouthed a help me to Jenson, who just smiled encouragingly.
He's in so much trouble.
Lewis felt ecstatic as he got out of his car; nothing had ever felt like this before, not even winning any of his championships. This, he told himself, is the beginning of a new era. An era, that unfortunately wouldn't last long.
He had been thinking about this for a while, before he finally decided to just do it; when he finally wins a race with his new team, during the interviews, he will tell the world that he is retiring at the end of the year. It was a hard choice, letting go of one of the things he loves most, but his time had come and gone. It was time to rest, he thought.
He was just taking off his gloves when he saw who was walking towards him. Nico fucking Rosberg.
His head snapped in the other direction, as he desperately tried to find something to talk about with Max, who came in second place; he ended up asking him something about his race.
A few seconds later, he heard an oh so familiar voice calling his name in a microphone. "Lewis, you did it! You're a Ferrari race winner! After a difficult start last year, how does this one feel for you?"
Lewis waved to the crowd, trying to hide his nervousness. He promised himself he'd break the news to the world on the first ocassion; it felt much harder with Nico right in front of him, watching him, talking to him.
He had to try, though.
"Ah, man, this feels so, so good. Really proud of my team and I want to thank the people back at the factory for making this car. But, before, I continue further about my race, I want to use this opportunity to announce that I have decided to end my Formula One career. I've enjoyed every second of driving these incredible cars, but I think the time to hang up my helmet has come. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the years."
There, he'd finally done it.
The huge crowd let out a collective gasp; people around them had stopped talking and just stared with looks of pure shock. Beside him, Charles had his hand over his mouth, and Max was staring at him with a mix of emotions, only one of which was clear: surprise.
And, somewhere in the middle of it all, Nico's eyes were watery. They had been since halfway through Lewis' speech. When he'd said I have decided to end my Formula One career, he knew the as well went unsaid. It would have been too emotional, too intimate, to bring Nico's own retirement announcement into this. Fucking hell, even the wording of their speeches was almost the same.
Nico didn't speak for a second. He couldn't, and after a few more moments of complete silence, in the heat of the moment, he whispered, so quietly that Lewis barely caught it: "You didn't tell me."
Lewis, who was watching the hundreds of thousands of fans get shocked to their core, snapped his head towards Nico, lowering his microphone. There was something in his eyes, a mix of anger and hurt. Something he's felt so many times he had learnt how to conceal it perfectly, but just for this moment, it had shown.
"Did you seriously just say I didn't tell you? Who started this, huh? Who started the 'let's stop telling each other stuff, we're growing apart' thing, huh? Because it sure wasn't me, and maybe if you'd told me first, I would have done so too!"
Nico's eyes flashed with something dangerous, quickly finding his words to snap back at his ex-everything. "Oh, come on, don't be this shameless. If you were in my situation you would have done the exact same thing as me. We weren't speaking—"
"And we're not speaking now either, are we, Nico?"
His name out of Lewis' mouth made something hurt inside him, but he brushed it off quickly. "Well, it's more shouting than speaking, mind you! But if you want to do this this way, let's do it. Who was the first to say we're not friends? Who was the first to fake our 'friendship' to the media? Telling everyone we're fine, we're all good, there's nothing to worry about?"
"I did what I had to do! But you, you didn't even think for a second to tell me you're retiring, you just went ahead and made a decision without bothering to tell your fucking teammate! Seriously, man, that was a stupid thing to say! 'You didn't tell me.' Well, of course I didn't! We haven't had a proper conversation in ages!"
Charles leaned in slightly to Max, whispering to him, "Were they always like this?"
Max, barely able to contain his laughter at the question, said "Yes. But this is, like, a conversation they probably should've had a long time ago."
"—with everything being so hard between us back then!" Nico continued, completely ignoring all the people who were now staring. "And you want to know why we haven't spoken for so long? Because even if we'd try, we'd just make a mess of everything! I can't get you out of my head, Lewis. Every time my name is mentioned, yours has to be too. Every time I tell my story, you're a part of it, and that's never going away. I can never erase all that happened between us, and my name will always be associated with yours, as much as I wish it wouldn't, it is. And I hate that so much because—" He sniffled slightly, tears now swimming in his eyes. "Because I'm still in love with you, Lewis. After 10 years since I last stepped in a Formula One car, I'm still in love with you, and I can't seem to do a single thing about it. After almost 30 years of knowing each other, I still want you in my life, still need you with me, still—"
As Nico rambled on, Lewis' eyes were wide once again, listening to his never-ending string of words, sounding like they were ripped straight from his heart. So he feels the same. The exact same way Lewis has felt all these years. Like racing was pointless without him being his teammate, like the only way to prove himself as worthy was winning as many world championships as he could.
Tears were now freely streaming down Nico's face as he spoke. "—just because I wanted to beat you! I was so, so stressed about being the best, about not being in your shadow for the thousandth time in a row, that I made myself do crazy things. All just to—"
That was all the confirmation he needed.
Before he could finish, Lewis lunged forward, dropping his microphone in the process, and in one move, he placed a hand on Nico's shoulder, the other on his arm, and did something he'd never think he'd be able to.
After many painful years of waiting, Lewis finally kissed Nico on the lips.
Nico's eyes shot open, but before he knew what he was doing, he melted into the kiss, one hand going into Lewis' messy curls, the other mimicking him, putting it on his arm. God, his lips were soft, and they had a rhythm that felt so, so good.
When they pulled apart after what felt like forever, Lewis looked into Nico's eyes, staring at him like he'd been waiting to do this for decades.
Which, he had.
Everyone around them exploded into cheers, clapping at them like they'd just experienced the most entertaining show of their lives. Max had his arm around Charles' shoulders, staring at them with a look that said fucking finally.
Toto Wolff, who had wanted to congratulate Lewis on his win but ended up watching their whole scene, put his hands on either of their shoulders with a proud expression. "It took you guys so long. Please tell me this is your sign of making up. Also, congratulations Lewis, you've finally done it! I'm just a little jealous, but, you've won way more races for me anyway. All the best after your retirement, too."
Lewis could only nod, but he wasn't looking at Toto. His eyes were fixed on Nico, a huge smile on his face.
[picture of Lewis and Nico kissing, shot by a nearby photographer]
lewishamilton Some things take time; this wait was worth it. ❤️
2.7M likes, 980K reposts, 1M comments
nicorosberg 💙💙 (liked by lewishamilton)
totowolff A very, very long wait.
maxverstappen Congrats!!
sebastianvettel Finally they got together
danielricciardo Congrats guys, Nico you're still welcome to drink from my shoe
jensonbutton @nicorosberg I told you to go for it
charlesleclerc Congratulations!!
[picture of Lewis smiling in a Ferrari jacket]
f1 BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton to retire from Formula One at the end of the 2026 season
1.9M likes, 547K reposts, 781K comments
georgerussell It was a pleasure being your teammate, Lewis.
valtteribottas Wishing best after retirement!!
fernandoalonso Couldn't outrun me, haha
maxverstappen Racing against you felt amazing
landonorris Legend!!
charlesleclerc Happy retirement, Lewis!
[same picture Lewis posted]
f1spill Lewis Hamilton coming out as the first gay driver in Formula One's history, done so by kissing ex-teammate Nico Rosberg.
603K likes, 145K reposts, 194K comments
user1 Wow, very proud of him for coming out like that! Very Lewis Hamiltom style
user2 The F1 community has needed a gay driver for ages, and they finally got him.
user3 So happy for them!
"Oh my god, that comment from Fernando is actually shameless," Nico states, laughing.
Lewis cracks a smile too. "He's just old, let him have his way." Then he turns his head and kisses Nico's cheek, just because he can.
It had been a week since the Spanish Grand Prix. Lewis was still riding the high, not just from winning the race, but also from getting Nico back. His lover.
They were together at Nico's apartment, going through comments about the bombshells they dropped after the race. Most of them were positive, and they just skipped all the negative ones. They didn't need anyone killing their joy, especially after they'd waited over ten years for this.
"Do you want to get dinner with me later?" Nico asked with a hopeful glint in his eyes.
Lewis just smiled; he didn't even think twice.
"Of course, my love."