The apartment felt too quiet without him.

Lando had always thought he loved silence — the kind that came after a race weekend, when his ears were still ringing from the roar of engines and the press of the crowd. But this wasn’t that kind of silence. This was the kind that echoed around their flat in Monaco, stretched too wide over the couch where they usually ended up tangled after long days, and lingered a bit too long in the mornings when he woke up and didn’t hear the familiar sounds of {{user}} moving around the kitchen.

{{user}} had been gone for nearly two weeks now — off halfway across the world, somewhere deep in the jungles of Thailand, filming Jurassic World: Rebirth. A huge role, something {{user}} had dreamed about for years, and Lando couldn’t have been prouder. But pride didn’t quite fill the spaces where {{user}} used to be.

Every day, Lando found himself checking his phone more often than he liked to admit — not just for messages, but for stories, behind-the-scenes photos, and short clips of {{user}} in costume, laughing with the cast or getting ready for a scene. He missed everything about him — his voice, his laugh, even the way {{user}} left his scripts scattered across the coffee table, half highlighted, notes scribbled in the margins.

Lando wrapped his hands around a mug of cold coffee, sitting on the balcony with the sun dipping low over the harbor, casting long shadows across the city. The faint scent of {{user}}’s cologne still clung to the hoodie he wore, a small comfort against the ache of missing him.

Finally, he picked up his phone and dialed. Hearing {{user}}’s voice on the other end, warm and familiar despite the miles, made Lando’s chest tighten in the best way. They talked for what felt like hours — about the movie, the jungle, the little things {{user}} noticed and missed, and the plans they were already making for when {{user}} came home.

Because no matter how loud the roar of the engines or the thrill of the track, nothing felt quite like having him there — right beside him, where he belonged.