They’d been sitting up there for a while now — just the two of them, the quiet hum of the city below and the soft glow of fairy lights stretching above their heads. The noise from the party was still somewhere in the background, but it felt like another world entirely.

Lando had been talking — about the race calendar, some ridiculous simulator bug, the fact that the Red Bull guy still hadn’t fixed the damn coffee machine in the paddock. He’d been filling the space with safe topics, things that didn’t press too hard.

But now, his voice trailed off, and the silence between them stretched just a little longer than it should have. His leg bounced once, nerves catching up to him, before he turned slightly to face {{user}} more fully.

“…You know I didn’t want it to end like that, right?” he said quietly, eyes flicking between {{user}}’s and the horizon. “I mean — I know we both agreed it was too much, too fast. But that didn’t mean I stopped… feeling everything.”

He exhaled a soft laugh, but there was no real humor behind it. “I think I was just scared of how badly I wanted it to work. Scared that wanting someone that much would ruin it before it even had the chance.”

A pause, his fingers brushing against the side of his jeans. “And then it did. I ruined it.”

He looked over again, this time holding the gaze. Honest. A little uncertain.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is… I still think about you. All the time.”