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Oscar Piastri has never known who his soulmate is. By his age pretty much everyone knows who their soulmate is. I mean when you can finally see colour after living the world through black and white its not hard to decipher who your soulmate is. In Oscar's career though he meets multiple people on any given day and to make things worse he was burdened with seeing the world in colour from a young age - sounds terrible I know. From since he can remember Oscar has seen the world in colour, yet he has no clue who it was that he met that became his soulmate.

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AND LANDO NORRIS TAKES HOME THE CHEKERED FLAG, followed by Max Vertappen and Oscar Piastri in third. A great drive from the papaya team. That concludes the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix!

The team was happy, Lando was happy. Oscars wasn't. He should be, third was a good achievement and Landos win is very good in terms of the constructors championship. However, still, despite all that, Oscar isn't happy.

This Grand Prix is not the time to be happy. The grid heard of Daniels news, about how he is leaving VCARB and in turn effectively leaving F1. None of the fans knew, there have been speculations, of course, but nothing was confirmed. Oscar knew this news would shatter the fans hearts, similar to when he replaced Daniel at McLaren. Not only does Oscar know the fans will be disappointed but he will also be loosing his Aussie grid buddy. They both came from the land down under, creating a connection between the two, but honestly everyone on the grid loved Daniel. He was truly one of the greats, or at least he was in Oscars mind.

So no, Oscar wasn't really celebrating as hard as Lando and the rest of his team.

Celebrations continued after the end of the GP. All grid members and even some of the team principles and pit crew stayed to send Daniel off. It warmed Oscars' heart seeing Daniel getting the respect and goodbye he deserved. Perhaps Oscar could blame it on the moonlight or maybe it was the Singapore air but he was feeling extra emotional. He knew Daniel deserved this goodbye, and he should be focusing on being happy for Daniel and the team, but his mind went back to logans leave after the Dutch GP, how there was no goodbye party, no gathering of any sorts. Sure some of the grid - mainly Alex, Oscar and Daniel - posted 'farewells' and 'miss yous' on their insta but Logan deserved so much more.

Oscar understood, truly he did, how unforgiving formula one is. If you performed you were rewarded and if you didnt, well you got the boot. Everything that happened to Logan was anything but fair. Really, Oscar thought there was no way anyone could blame Logan or think he deserved what he got. He was driving a shit car, James Vowles prioritized upgrades for Alex's car but never Logans. Above all else, in a sport like this, mindset is key. Oscar came to learns that's how Daniel got close with Logan, that and their shared love for Texas BBQ.

After Daniels accident and even throughout this year, he's been struggling with his confidence, Logan did too. Confidence and mindset has a big impact on your racing. Look at Max Verstappen. He always goes into races with the mindset of a champion and well he is a champion. Oscar can only assume Daniel and Logan confided in each other and he was delighted Logan had someone to talk to about that issue, someone who understood a whole lot more than him. He isnt proud about it but Oscar has drifted apart from Logan since their days racing together in formula 3 for Prema.

"Mateeeee"

"Heyy Daniel"

"Honestly what are you doing out here, parties are back inside"

Oscar didn't even notice he'd stepped away for the moment, but now he realized he was basking in the dull comfort of the moonlight.

"Your not upset about me leaving are you"

Oscar looked at Daniel, "Of course I am, are you stupid"

"Oscar we both live in Australia. Just pull on your big boy pants and fly across the country and visit me in Perth"

Oscar made a face. Perth, really ugh

"Orrr I could come to Melbourne"

"Daniel you and I both know I will rarely have any free time"

"Well you better make some time, I will be forcing you to come to Perth"

"Whatever" Oscar sighed and looked up at the moon

"You should go see Lando, think he was asking where you were earlier"

"Yeah okay thanks. Ill go find him now" He smiled, waved Daniel goodbye and promised to give him a call later on

Oscar walked back through the VCARB garage to the paddock, where the celebrations were being held. He passed Max on his way to find Lando, they congratulated each other as normal. They had gotten pretty close over this year, you know what with the multiple podiums each of them got.

He eventually found Lando talking to Carlos and Charles. He walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Osccc!"

"Hey lando, congrats by the way on the win"

Lando smiled brightly at Oscar

Oscar knew how much winning this GP - or any GP really - meant to Lando, well not only Lando but his team as well. With how this GP went McLaren became ever so close to winning the constructors championship, and Lando became closer to beating Max in the World Drivers championship.

"Aww come on man, it was a team effort. You drove really well"

"Thanks. the win was all you though" Oscar pat Lando on the back

There was stage where Oscar thought maybe just maybe, he met Lando when he was a kid and didn't remember. Turning his world colorful, meaning lando was his soulmate. He realized this was not the case when Lando dropped the fact that he still did not have colored vision and still had to get issued his colored contacts for driving. Which Oscar found out were given to F1 drivers and so on who hadn't yet found their soulmates by the FIA because it was deemed dangerous to drive without color. Which Oscar couldn't agree with more. I mean how would you see break lights, or red flags. It shocked him thought that this was even possible, thinking how amazing it is that technology and human advancement has come this far. Funny story, before Oscar found this out, he was sure that Carlos and Lando (or carlando as the fans had been calling them) were together. Speaking of Carlos, it was him that pulled Oscar out of his thoughts.

"Yeah honestly good work Lando, you too Oscar"

"Yeahhh, sad day for Ferrari though, sorry mate" Oscar said

"Fred will get over it" Charles chimed in, rolling his eyes

They all laughed at that

The festivities continued well into the night, although Oscar did leave to go back to the hotel around 11pm. He was tired, sue him

His sadness from the night before resurfaced when he woke up to see a post confirming Daniel was leaving F1 - he did not look at the comments, he did not want to cry this early in the morning - as well as seeing a post saying Daniel stayed in the paddock until 2 am. He would make sure to call later.

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"Heyyy mate"

"Oscar Hi!" Daniel answered enthusiastically

"Yeah sorry, I was meant to call you on Monday, ..... and its now Wednesday. You know how it gets with the travelling after a GP"

"Yeah, yeah, all good mate"

"How are you feeling"

"Well you know what, I've never had so much free time" Daniels laugh filled up Oscars speakers

"Guess I really will have to come to Perth then"

"Honestly mate you need to! ill take you to this great BBQ place I know"

"Heh barbeque, Logan would love that"

There was a beat of silence

"Yeah, he would. You miss him?"

"I, well yeah, but everyone misses him. I dont know I guess I just feel kinda bad"

"Bad, what for"

"Weve grown apart, I mean we were super close in Prema F3 but I guess Formula one is so busy and so much more demanding, and if your not on the same team as someone, you dont often see them."

"I completely understand that. hey look mate, i have to go but why dont you give Logan a call, check in on him. Don't forget about me though because I will be forcing you to come to Perth"

Oscar could hear Daniels smile as they said their goodbye and hung up, somehow, his smile must be contagious even through phone because Oscar felt content and happy and you know what, he will call Logan. Just to check in on him, cause thats what mates do.

Okay well Oscar was kinda nervous, to be honest he hadn't spoken with Logan for a while. Passing 'congrats' and 'how ya goings' being spoken throughout the paddock on race weekends but they never talked about anything substantial anymore.

He dialed the number, the ringing was so loud Oscar thought he would freak out if no one picked up soon, scratch that, he knew he would freak. Just as it went to voicemail he heard a knock on his door.

"Hey Oscar, oh mate are you alright" Lando peeked his head through the doorway

"Uhm yeah sorry, I just, Uhm yeah im all good" Jeez why couldn't Oscar speak, its not a big deal. He a friend of Logan's called to check in on him, Logan didnt answer which is fine because you know people have lives to live. No need at all to feel what Oscar was feeling.

"Oooo - kay, well we gotta go speak to some people about Singapore"

"What about Singapore?"

"I dont know, something about Daniels leave I think, journalists are getting details from anyone and everyone" Lando made a motion with his hand singling Oscar to hurry up

"Ugh Okay, cant get a moment of peace, even when we are supposed to be starting our break"

"No peace in this sport mate, you should know that by now" Lando smiled

"anyways hurry up, I was already late getting you, so now we are extra late"

"Lando!!"

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The press conference/Q&A/talk show - Oscar really had no clue what it actually was - went well. Most of the drivers assumed that the media and the world were shocked and devastated to hear Daniels leave from F1 and wanted to get as much content about Daniel before all he became was a happy memory. They all slowly trudged out of the room single file, saying goodbyes since they all had a break for around a month. Well depends on if you could call it a break, Oscar wouldn't. Not including travel days, he'd probably have a week and a half before he had to get back into a strict training routine and start dealing with press. He went back to the hotel to finish packing for his flight back to Melbourne, checking his phone in the Uber and realizing he had a missed call from the one and only Logan Sargeant. Shit. He waited till he was back in the confines of his hotel room to call him back

It rung once, then twice, then three times and

"Hi, sorry hello"

"Logan, hey, thanks for answering" Thanks for answering what the actual fuck was he saying right now

"Uhm, all good. Whats up, long time no talk" There was a miniscule chuckle on the other end of the line

"I - I just wanted to check in on you, you know how's life going"

"Life is, life good actually. I know how much you love F1 and I do to but I'm so happy to be out of that hell hole"

"aha yeah it can be pretty tough at times. Got any interesting news to share?" Oscar asked nervously

"Actually, Yeah......."

Logan went on to talk about his test drive he has with Indycar next week, and how he's been hanging out with his mate Kyle Kirkwood - Oscar was pretty sure he heard Logan mention him before, he was happy Logan was with good people - and overall enjoying his time back home in America. He zoned out, contently listening to Logan talk about what's been going on in America.

"Oscar, Oscar!"

"Yeah im listening"

"Well I asked if you wanted to hear a interesting fact but you didn't answer so"

"Id love to Logan"

"Did you know, people who haven't met their soulmates and who race in MotorSports get issued color correcting contact lenses"

"Heh yeah, Lando gets them, he was telling me about it a couple weeks back. Hold on, wait, you didn't already know that, does that mean you've met your soulmate!"

"Well I mean I guess so"

"What do you mean you guess so, you can see color right" really Oscar should know you can see color and not know who your soulmate was, he'd be a hypocrite if he didn't, but he got too caught up in who Logans soulmate was and why him possibly dating said soulmate sat heavily in his stomach.

"Ive been able to see color since I was young, think it started back in my go karting days"

"Hey im the same, I mean I have no clue who my soulmate is. In karting and Formula, 1 you meet so many people I really just can't guess who would be the one that gave me color"

"Literally!" Logan nearly yelled through the phone

The conversation flowed on nicely, Oscar talked about how F1 has been, how Alex is doing and a couple others on the grid Logan asked about. Of course they talked about Daniel. It was just really nice. Even when it came time to hang up Oscar wasn't awkward and clunky about it like usual. He will make sure to thank Daniel for suggesting he call Logan cause honestly, he feels so much better.

After the call with Logan, Oscar actually did finish packing his bags and got ready to leave for his flight. Unlike some of the other drivers on the grid, Oscar has adapted pretty well to the constant travelling and jet lag - although, he sometimes wonders how nice it must be for Logan and Daniel that they just get to chill out. His flight home was smooth, and he was thankful for that. It felt nice to be back in Australia. He loved travelling, don't get him wrong. It was just nice to be able to settle down in a place he called home - Even if it was only for a week or two. A lot of the drivers live in Monaco for many different reasons, maybe it's the fact there isn't any personal income or capital gain tax for residents, maybe its the scenic views either way, Oscar prefers to stay in Australia. I mean eventually he might move to Monaco; seems all the drivers end up there one way or another but for now Oscar is content with where he is.

Scratch that, maybe he will move because the Australian heat waves are too much. With Melbourne going through a heatwave the temperature is up to 34 degrees.

Dying in the heat, Oscar did eventually make it to his apartment. Immediately he went to take a shower, so he didn't smell like sweat. As a formula one driver you don't get much time in a single place, moving from country to country, hotel room to hotel room. So, Oscar didn't see his family often, which he understood was a sacrifice he had to make, yet he cherished the moments where he got to come home and visit. Talking about family, he did have a dinner reservation with them tonight and he still had so much unpacking and general stuff to do. So once dressed he got to unpacking and then went to get some groceries, because he seriously had no food. when your gone for most of the year you can't really keep food in your fridge.

Around 6 he headed to one of the many Italian restaurants in the city that his family made reservations at. He saw them sitting down in a booth in the back corner of the restaurant - he appreciated that they choose a table that was slightly out of the way. Oscar loved when fans recognized him, but he just wanted to have a nice evening with his family without people asking for photos 24/7. Smile on his face he went over and greeted them. It was a nice evening, they talked about life updates, career updates and general family matters. Once home he was knackered and promptly faceplanted onto his bed and fell asleep.

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The next couple days were pretty straight forward for Oscar, caught up with more family some old friends, called Lando a couple times. While some drivers did more elaborate stuff during breaks Oscar wanted to take this break to relax, it wasn't one of the big breaks like the mid-season one so he would relax now, and he can do some cool ass stuff next time. On Tuesday he got a call from Mark Webber.

Oscar enjoyed talking to Mark, but because he was his manager, Oscar has a suspecting feeling this would be a work-related call and he really didn't want to have to start thinking about that again - he was enjoying his relaxation time. He answered anyway, his mumma raised him with manners after all.

"Hey, Mark. Whats up" He started

"Just checking in, your on break right"

"Yeah"

"Cool, whats been happening"

"Why are you asking"

Mark sighed

"Well I have to make sure you're sticking to your diet even though you are on break. And I don't want to sound like a dickhead by blatantly asking you what you were eating or if you have been exercising"

"Yes, I've been sticking to my diet and I mean not as much exercising as usual but I'm on break cut me some slack"

"Yeah I figured, I just have to check you know. Oh and also there is another reason I called"

"What's the reason?" Oscar asked

"It's a bit funny, but take me seriously okay"

"Okay?"

"So uhm you know how Redbull put out those cans with max's face on them"

"Yeah" Oscar laughed, he remembered talking about it with Checo and Max, Checo saying he brought out the whole stock one time. Oscar couldn't tell if he was joking.

"Well with you being back in Australia for the short break" Mark honest to God chuckled and continued "Well Tim Tams wanted to do a similar thing, sponsorship type thing"

"Tims Tams wants to put my face on their packaging"

"Well something like that"

"I-"

"It would be really good for PR, and it would also be hilarious, and I would laugh about it 24/7"

Oscar rolled his eyes

"What are the details"

"aha I'll send them all over to you soon as I can"

"Thanks Mark"

"All good. No, but seriously, how's it going"

They chatted for a while. Mark made a joke about how Oscar didn't know what a face card was but now everyone thinks his face card is so good that even Tim tams want it on their products. Oscar couldn't stop laughing for a hot minute. It wasn't until later that evening when Mark sent through an email - and a message telling Oscar he sent him an email - about the details behind this sponsorship/brand deal type thing. They wanted to release a limited-edition Tim Tam packaging that would be used in store worldwide on the Australian GP to kickstart the 2025 season. They wanted Oscar's car and face to be on the packaging since he is Australian and all. Specifically, they wanted Oscar doing some type of pose which they didn't specify, but that would mean he would have to go in and get a photoshoot done for the Tim Tam team. Which was fine, and Oscar didn't mind photoshoots, but it just meant it took more time out of his break. He added it in his calendar - Monday, October 7th, Tim Tam photoshoot brand deal. He also sent a reply saying thanks to Mark.

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His alarm startled him, after sleeping in everyday for the week, hearing his alarm immediately dampened his mood. It was Monday, the day for his photoshoot. He had to be in the city by 12 for a 1pm start, meaning he was now eating a late breakfast. Thanks to the alarm he didn't have to rush through breakfast, nor did he have to rush getting ready. Oscar was grateful he did not somehow inherit Lando's time management skills over the past year and a bit they have been teammates. Lando is fast on track, in real life though, not so much. He packed a bag with his McLaren shirt in it - not wanting to wear it out and about and attract unwanted attention. He would change when he got to the studio. It didn't take him long to get ready. He had been in enough photoshoots to know that its best to not really do anything with your hair or face as the makeup and hair department specifically had ideas already planned out on what they would do. He left his apartment and waited outside for an uber. It would be about a 40-minute ride - and that's if the traffic wasn't bad.

He picked up the habit of watching TikTok's whenever he had a spare moment. so once situated in the uber he put his headphones in and started scrolling. He found an edit of logan, a sad one. The song playing on it was 'Your Gonna Go Far' - Noah Kahan. Oscar thought it was sweet really. He despised the way Logan being dropped was handle, and man did he despise James Vowles, I mean all drivers did but Oscar felt no one else got as mad as him, he didn't understand why. Maybe its just because him and Logan were friends since childhood, they had a special connection. He nearly cried reading the comments, so many people supporting Logan, so many people saying how unfair his treatment was. Oscar saved the TikTok and screenshotted some of the comments. He clicked on Logans contact number in his phone. Without a second thought he clicked send, he hoped logan realized how many people cared about him. Secretly he thought, he hoped Logan remembered that he still cared about him.

Before he could get too sentimental, he continued doom scrolling, watching funny animal videos or other people show their love for F1. Soon his trip was over, and he was getting out of the car.

Walking up to the photoshoot studio he laughed internally about how silly this was, his face on Tim Tams. The grid - especially Lando and probably Daniel - would make so much fun of him for this. It went smoothly though, nothing Oscar could complain about and before he knew it he was back in his apartment. He checked his messages, one reply from Logan Sargeant. Oscars heart got caught in his throat, right the tiktok he sent. Slowly he clicked on the message. It was a love heart, just singular one, a blue one, but a love heart nonetheless. Oscar felt, he, he didn't know what he felt. Friends send each other love hearts right. Well probably not all friends, but Oscar and Logan had known each other since they were children, so they definitely had a deeper connection than some, so yeah maybe they sent each other love hearts. Oscar ignored the butterflies in his stomach.

His break went by pretty fast, he didn't get up too much, played some paddle, did some surfing, kept in touch with the other drivers. It was good, He felt rested and ready for the next races.

Near the end of his break, about a week before the USA race, he got another call from Daniel.

"Mate you have to come to Perth right now"

"Im literally busy, USA is next week remember"

"Look, what if you start your trip a little early. Come to Perth for a couple days and then you can fly straight from Perth to Murica"

"I, I dont know Daniel"

"You do know, your coming, I'm locking it in, if you don't book your flights right now ill die"

Oscar thought about it, the plan did work nicely, visit Daniel and then fly out of Perth. He did also want to catch up with Daniel and he wouldn't get another chance to till after Abu Dhabi.

"Pleaseee"

"Alright" Oscar smiled

"Yes, perfect, it'll be great, I'll make you love Perth"

"I don't think so"

"I will"

They both laughed

His flight was booked for Sunday he would spend 2 days with Daniel before he had to be over in America for the USA Grand Prix. He started packing again.

While he was excited to visit Daniel it did mean he had to wake up at an ungodly hour for his flight. Daniel met him at the airport and immediately started talking about how much better Perth was than Melbourne, which rude, but Oscar just laughed. Daniel had planned a full itinerary, which meant Oscar was dragged from one thing to another, but he had fun, he missed Daniel it was good to catch up. Luckily the next day was chill, the only thing planned was dinner at the Texas BBQ place Daniel mentioned all those weeks ago. He couldn't deny, the food was great as well as the vibes, he made sure to take lots of photos. Before bed, he complied his fav photos from the break together in a Instagram post, putting one of him and Daniel at the BBQ place first. Once posted he added a comment, it read

@Logansargeant you HAVE to try the Texas BBQ joint in the first photo, @Danielriccardo thanks for the recommendation

Logan responded

@Oscarpiastri damn you know how much I love a good BBQ, gotta go there together sometime ;)

Oscar stared at the reply, he liked it.

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"Shit, tough race hey Osc" Lando patted Oscar on the back

It indeed was a tough one, Lando and Oscar placed 4th and 5th respectively. Ferrari locking out the front row with 1st and 2nd. 4th and 5th weren't all that bad, but with Max ahead of them in 3rd it didn't help in terms of winning both the driver and constructors' championships. Oscar was just happy it was over, they could focus on the next race, hopefully fix their mistakes. McLaren knew what needed improving but as much as the sport is about strategy and strength, it doesn't hurt to have luck on your side. Unfortunately, all the luck was with Ferrari right now.

Charles and Carlos invited the grid out for lunch the next day to celebrate their win and podium. Not everyone came - some having caught early flights to Mexico - but most of the grid was there. They weren't out anywhere fancy, just a nice burger joint in downtown Austin. They had a good time sharing funny story, talking about how stupid the FIA. Somehow they got onto the topic of Max's face on Redbull cans, which prompted Lando to tell everyone about Oscars own face being on Tim Tam packets next year. Oscar told that to Lando in secret but oh well. Everything was going great. Then Oscars colored vision started to fade away. It would fade away, then jolt back, then disappear and reappear. It did that for a while, panic hit Oscar. What the hell was happening.

Max who was sitting across for Oscar noticed his terrified look.

"Oscar, are you okay"

Lando turned to look at him then, followed by Esteban, Alex, Carlos and Charles. Luckily everyone else was either out of earshot or too focused on their own conversations

"Yeah mate, do you need water or something" Lando asked gently

"No, no thanks. I don't know what's happening, my vision- my color, its like glitching out"

"Glitching out?" Charles questioned

"It's not stopping, I don't know what's going, this has never happened before" Oscars breathing sped up

He rubbed his eyes, shook his head in that cartoon way, tried anything trying to get the glitching to stop. The glitching slowed down, now it was as if, as if his vision was mimicking a heartbeat. Slowly fading away, then jolting back, only to fade away again. The rest of the drivers noticed Oscars panic and were now listening

"I, its like its mimicking a heartbeat, the color will slowly fade away, then jolt back in, only to slowly fade away again. This is like really freaking me out man"

"I quickly googled your symptoms it seems to be something related to your soulmate" George read aloud "If a critical injury were to occur to your soulmate or if your soulmate were on their deathbed, your the color in your vision will imitate your soulmates heartbeat"

"OH my god" Alex half yelled, he was staring at his phone

"Wait so my soulmate is dying!!?"

"Not necessarily, just injured" George tried to calm Oscar down

"omg" Alex said once again

"Would you stop saying 'omg' and actually tell us what's going on Alex" Esteban rolled his eyes

"Logans just been in a massive crash"

"What like a car crash"

"Yeah, lance, he was doing a test drive for IndyCar"

"Omg, he told me about that, he seemed so excited. Is he okay" Oscar asked

"I dont know, it looks really bad. Report says whoever inspected the car before the test drive did a shit job, there was an engine failure and it blew up, setting fire to the car and causing logan to crash"

There was a moment of silence

"the time between my color fading away and jolting back in is getting slower"

"Wait Oscar, who is your soulmate" Carlos chimed in

"I, I actually don't know"

"I've never known, but I've been able to see color since my karting days" Tears were welling up in Oscars eyes. He doesn't even know who his soulmate is and there is a possibility they could die right now. Theres nothing he can even do to help. Most people think of seeing vision when you meet your soulmate as a blessing, maybe it is. Oscar knows its helped many. Hes seen it happen right in front of him. Why was he the one person that got cursed. It would honestly better if he hadn't met his soulmate yet, its devastating knowing you've met your soulmate but still have no clue who it is.

"You really dont know" Charles asked solemnly

"no" silent tears slid down his cheek

It was embarrassing, more than half the grid seeing him in this state, he doesn't think anyone, but his family has seen him cry. He tried to stop, he wiped at his eyes but it was out of his control, his mind wanted to cry therefore it did. Lando laid his head on Oscar's shoulder and pulled him into a sort of side hug. No one spoke. He sat tears falling down his face in front of people he admired and considered friends. He loved every one of them truly, and yet the one person who was meant for him, his soulmate, was off dying somewhere and Oscar didn't even know who it was. He couldn't put a face to the dying body his mind conjured up. The heartbeat was keeping steady at least, his soulmate hadn't died yet, that was something to be grateful for right

Alex kept staring at his phone. With wide eyes he whispered something to George who was sat next to him. George looked surprised but also had a look on his face that conveyed 'why didn't I realize this sooner'

George broke the silence that had fallen over the table

"Hey, Oscar, you said youve been able to see color since you started karting"

"Y-yeah, but I met so many people back then and I was a kid so I didn't even fully know what seeing color meant"

"You can Logan used to do karting together right"

"I- yeah, whats this got to do with anything though"

Carlos caught on and had a look on his face somewhat akin him saying 'you poor oblivious boy'

"Maybe, just maybe, do you think Logan could be your soulmate" Alex asked tentatively

Memories came flashing back to Oscar suddenly. When he was younger, and he travelled to the UK - an unfamiliar place - to start his journey. He remembered meeting so many other people there. As if his mind was willing him to remember the crowds of people fell away and standing there as little boy was Logan. Oscar's world burst into color. He too was scared and in an unfamiliar place and for some reason, Oscar went up to him and started telling him how he came all the way from Australia, which in turn made Logan tell Oscar how he came from America. The stress of being young in a new environment and with so many new people disappeared. It was just Oscar and Logan against the world, that's when their friendship started. Their friendship......

The next memory came in and it was during Oscar time racing with Logan in F3. All the times they laughed, congratulated each other, held each other in their arms after a particularly bad race. They were both still young and naive - well Oscar was. He remembered back to the weeks before hand, sending Logan that tiktok edit with all the comments. Thinking about how he wanted Logan to know how much he cared about him even though they drifted apart. His mind was drawn back to the time when Logan mentioned he could see color and Oscar felt sick knowing Logan was probably dating someone else, someone that wasn't him.

"omg" Oscar quietly stated

"L-logans dying"

The tears came back. The crash, it made sense, as soon as it happened Oscar lost color. Now, now his color was fading in like a heartbeat, a dying one. What was he supposed to do, call Logan up and be like, 'hey actually maybe don't die, cause I just found out your my soulmate and I need you'. no. There was nothing Oscar could do to save Logan now, he could only pray that the doctors worked their magic.

"Hey!! Guys, so I got the......."

Everyone's heads snapped up to the waitress. right lunch, burgers. The food came out staggered, no one started eating though. The table was tense.

"Uhm, is there any new news about Logans crash" Lando asked, his head still close to Oscar's

Alex began searching, scrolling through Indycars social medias, searching stuff up on google, seeing if he could spot anything that said Logan was in good care.

"No- Nothing new yet, but maybe thats a good sign. There focusing on prioritizing Logans health and safety rather than sharing stuff on social media"

Oscar tried to smile, but it didn't work and he just gave a small nod instead

"Thanks Alex" Lando voiced for Oscar

"You can still see color though, right Oscar" Fernando spoke up suddenly

"Yeah"

"Well, he isn't dead yet, so let's be happy about that"

Everyone around the table agreed. Eventually they started eating. But unlike moments before when the mood was jovial and everyone joking and chatting. No one really spoke. There weren't any smiles around the time, nor laughter.

It wasn't until after lunch that the thought occurred to him. Kyle Kirkwood, Logans friend surely would have some news. For the first time luck was on Oscars side, he already was following Kyle so there was no need to wait for a response. Should he be disturbing Kyle when one of his good friends was seriously injured, no but he needed answers so. He excused himself from the table. He pressed the phone button on their insta chat. It called a couple times before - miraculously - Kyle picked up.

"Uh, Hello?"

"Hi, uh, Kyle right. Im Oscar"

"Yeah, I do know who you are, but why are you calling me"

"I, I'm a ... a friend of Logans, I saw his crash. I- I was just wondering if you had any news"

"Oh, right. Yeah it was pretty bad. Look I don't know too much, and either way I shouldn't really be telling you. But pretty sure they flew him to the hospital, heard he's in critical condition but they set put him into a medical induced coma, taking him to surgery pretty sure"

"Fuckkk, that's.... that's"

"Yeah, it isn't good. Look ill, I can try and keep you updated. Logan talks about you a lot. so you must be close"

"Thank you, I really appreciate it, hope everything is okay on your end"

"Yeah, yeah, okay I gotta go"

"Right, sorry, thanks, bye" Oscar hung up quickly and headed back inside to the table

"Everything alright Osc" Lando asked once he sat back down

"Uh, well no. I got some information about Logan"

The table was silent once again, prompting Oscar to continue speaking

"Uhm, his friend at Indycar, Kyle, said he's in really bad condition, they've put him into a medical induced coma. Taking him into surgery right now. I guess that explains my color"

Alex sniffled a little, Oscar assumed they had gotten close over the year. He remembered how upset Alex was about the whole dropping logan from William situation.

They took that as a sign to leave, everyone going back to the hotels. Oscar tried to use packing to help take his mind off the situation, but it was getting annoying with the color in his vision fading away and then coming back. Once Lando finished packing, he came to sit with Oscar and help him pack. Which was funny since Oscar usually was the one that finished packing first - he would laugh about it later.

"You going to be alright for Mexico?"

"Yeah, I - Ill be fine"

"We can always talk to Zac and Andrea, say your really sick"

"No, no I want to drive, for the team, for you"

"You sure"

"Yup"

Lando smiled at him, they chatted about other things for a while. It helped Oscar to divert his mind.

It wasn't until the next day in the afternoon that anything changed Oscars vision. He was getting situated in Mexico when it happened. Suddenly his full vision was back, the heartbeat was gone and his color was back, slightly faded but back. He immediately texted Logan assuming this meant he was brought out of his coma.

'Heyy, the grid heard about your crash. All praying you get better. Miss you. <3 Oscar'

He clicked send and immediately threw his phone across the room, onto the bed.

--------------------------------

HERE WERE ARE AT THE MEXICO GRAND PRIX!! Its going to be an exciting race today, Ferrari locked out the front row in Austin last week, lets see what they can do today. All the drivers are lined up. AND ITS LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

The whole race was a blur for Oscar, he didn't know where he was or who was near him. He knew Lando was ahead of him, that was good for him. He tried his hardest to focus, to get the best result he possibly could, but when the checkered flag was waved, he was only 8th. So not a great accomplishment. He felt sick the whole weekend - in retrospect he probably should have talked to Zac and Andrea like Lando said, but its too late now. There had been no message from Logan since Tuesday when he arrived in Mexico, there also hadn't been any news updates. His world was still colorful though, that gave Oscar a little hope. He talked a lot more with Alex this weekend, updating him or consoling him. Alex didn't complete the race, Oscar assumed that was partly because of the same reason he was in 8th. It had been a stressful week to say the least. He should of congratulated Lando more enthusiastically, but he couldn't muster up any more energy. All he wanted to do was to lie in bed. Yet he still had to be weighed, and the podium ceremony had to happen, as well as interviews and probably a post-race press conference. It was - it was way too much for Oscar to handle right now.

He excused himself from a conversation with Lando and went to find a corner in the garage that was less crowded, he just needed a minute, then he would be fine. In the state he was in, breathing was hard, but he managed, calming himself down enough that the possibility of him screaming at someone, or crying or both drifted away. It was such a long day, Oscar just wanted to collapse, Lando noticed it, some others as well and he was sure Alex felt the exact same way. You know what as soon as he got back to the hotel room, that's exactly what he did, collapsed. Lando didn't even come in once like usual to annoy him or tell him that the media has come up with more rumors about him or Lando. Oscar sighed, getting up to have a shower, a nice steaming hot one. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he didn't care. With his hair dripping wet and a towel wrapped around his torso he stepped out of the shower and walked over to his suitcase to find clothes, picking up his phone on the way. He unlocked it and looked down and his stomach sunk, his breathing labored and there was pounding in Oscar's head. A notification read

Logan Sargeant 1 missed call.

Did this mean Logan was recovered, or was it bad news, someone calling to say they had to put him in a coma again. Oscar was freaking out, sitting down on one of the chairs in the room he slowly, carefully dialed the number

"*cough cough* H-hello"

"L-logan?"

"Heyyyy Oscar"

"How are you, omg"

"Could be better"

Oscar laughed but it got caught in his throat and instead came out as a strangled sound

"Are you still in hospital"

"Yeah, but I'm recovering well. sorry I didn't reply to your message"

"Mate all good, You were half dead I think I can forgive you"

"hah. I'm yeah, good. On a lot of meds right now, and I'm pissed at that dude that inspected the car. Honestly though, racing under James hurt more though" Logan tried to laugh but it was forced and not all that joyful.

"Im so sorry Logan"

"What for, you didn't inspect the car"

"No, but"

What should Oscar say, should he tell Logan about what happened at that lunch, should he tell Logan that he was like sure that they were soulmates. So many things were going through Oscar's head, but no he couldn't. Logan was in pain. He would tell him when he was more recovered.

"No, but. We drifted apart this year, and your crash made me realize, even with all the safety measures, people still die in motorsports. I couldn't help but think that you were going to die, and I never would of spoke to you ever again. I just want you to know, I still cherish your friendship, and I hope were still close enough that you would want to catch up sometime"

"Oscar, of course I would and honestly I'm fine. I mean I wasn't before; I really wasn't. But I'm fine now, and improving everyday"

"Thats good"

It was silent for a long time or a short time, Oscar didn't know.

"I have to go, time to take my meds but thanks for calling me back"

"Of course"

"Oh and Oscar"

Oscar hummed in response

"I love you too"

The call disconnected then. Oscar sat there, staring at his phone. The words 'I love you too' reverberating in his skull. He wanted to hear those words again. How could he tell Logan his childhood best friend that they were soulmates. What exactly would Logan say. I mean they didn't even live in the same country, even if they did, Oscar wouldn't be in the country for more than like a month and bit at a time. He didn't know how Lewis and Nico did it. Well, I guess Nico does often commentate on F1 races, so they see each other then. And they both live in Monaco. Still he didn't know how any F1 drivers held down a relationship and still raced. Maybe it would be better if he doesn't tell Logan, and they just live in this little world. Knowing that their probably each other's soulmates and doing nothing about it. But those words, those 3 words 'I love you' what Oscar would give to hear them again. He spent his whole life not knowing who his soulmate was and now he was 99% sure it was Logan. He didn't want to go back and pretend he didn't know any more.

He couldn't, and so his decision was made. He needed to talk to Logan. He wanted to in person though - not over the phone. Oscar formulated a plan. After Brazil, they had another short break. He would fly to America and see Logan. What was he going to say, well he wasn't sure, he hoped that the right words would come to him at the time.

The next week was a blur, he updated Alex about Logans condition often, and talked to Lando about his plan. The Brazil Grand Prix came and went. And way too soon, it became the day he planned with Logan to fly to America. Thankfully, Logan had recovered enough to be let out of hospital, so he picked Oscar up at the airport and after dropping off his bags they went to lunch. It was awkward at first, but then they realized they were friends, nothing to be awkward about.....

Oscar thought Logan looked amazing, especially for a dude who had just been in severe crash. He let Logan know that, he said thanks and a blush crept onto his cheeks. Oscar thought it was cute. Well their food had come, and they ate it, which meant now was the time for Oscar to bring up the soulmate situation

"Uhm, Logan"

"Yeah"

"Have you ever given some thought to who your soulmate is"

Logan laughed

"Of course I have"

"Oh yeah"

"You didnt?"

"I don't know, I guess not. but, but something happened the other day and Im pretty sure I know who it is"

"Oh....well w-who do you think it is than"

Oscar looked up, making eye contact with Logan, eyes shining

"Me?"

"Y-yeah, I -"

"Ive been thinking you were mine for a while now"

Oscars eyes widened

"You have"

"Yeah, but you were oblivious and as you said, we drifted apart, I didn't know how to bring it up. I swear no one else seemed to have this much trouble knowing and talking to their soulmate"

"Yeah I agree, why is this so much of a hassle"

Logan laughed and just sighed

"What made you realize it was me"

"Oh, well when you had your crash, the color in my vision faded away and turned into a heartbeat. Like it would fade away then jolt back in and slowly fade away again"

"Oh, thats...."

"It was kinda scary, but then Alex made the connection that my colored vision left at the same time as you had your crash"

"Well"

They stared at each other for a little, just taking in the other in the moonlight

"So soulmates"

They both laughed, It was good that they were both 100% certain they were each other's soulmates but what was to come next. Oscar didn't know how they could make dating work with him being an F1 driver and all. They would worry about that later, they made a plan to talk more after Abu Dhabi - letting Oscar focus solely on aiding his team in winning the WCC. Overall it was a good night.

----------------------------------------------

Oscar was nervous to say the least. He tried to dress up nicely - wearing a white button up tucked into black slacks and a orange tie - for dinner. It had been about two weeks after Abu Dhabi. Oscar is so proud to say that McLaren won in the World Constructors Championship, - Him, Lando and the team partied so hard - sadly Lando didn't win the drivers' championship, Max winning by literally just 20 points which is absolutely insane in Oscars eyes. While he was excited for his team, he could not wait for everything to be over and done with, he had special plans. He was about to go through with these plans right now. Everything got tied up in F1 and the drivers were allowed to start their long end of season break.

He sat in the Texas BBQ restaurant in Perth - many thanks to Daniel for introducing him to this - waiting for Logan. Throughout the last couple races, Logan and Oscar talked every day. They planned to meet up for an 'official' date during Oscar's break. It made perfect sense for both Logan and Oscar to fly to Perth, mainly because Oscar really wanted to take Logan to the BBQ restaurant, but it also meant they were able to catch up with Daniel while there. It wasn't more than 10 minutes until Oscar saw him. Logan walked in, wearing a flowy white button up, grey chinos and his hair looked windswept, but it worked and framed his face nicely. Oscars first thought was 'dammmmmnnnn' and then his second thought was jealously - Oscar's hair never looked that good.

"Hi"

"Hey, you look good"

Logans adorable blush came creeping up his neck, making Oscar smile. He found it cute how easily he made Logan blush

"You too"

Looking around Logan said

"Sooooo, this is the infamous place you've talked so much about"

"Its so good Logan, honestly. I mean we could have gone somewhere nice in Melbourne but instead I brought you here"

"Okay well lets see how it compares to true American Texas BBQ"

They laughed, they talked, they ate. Sparing each other suggesting glances every now and again. It was a great evening. Oscar couldn't complain. Logan even said the food was genuinely really good. Obviously not the best, but good. He said he'd take Oscar to Texas for an authentic meal. Oscar would be lying if he said he wasn't excited. It was still early so they went for a walk along a lit up pathway. It was beautiful, the moon was out, there was a nice calming sound of the hustle and bustle of the city. Logan carefully slipped his hand into Oscars, it warmed Oscars heart, and they stayed like that for a while, just taking in the sights around them. They ended walking so far, they made it into this beautiful garden. Full or roses, tulips, marigolds, zinnias and begonias and probably many more Oscar did not know the names of (he wasn't a botanist jeez).

"Its so beautiful here" Oscar said in awe

"Yeah, there's never anything like this in American cities. Or maybe there is and I just haven't been looking"

"Definitely isn't anything like this in Melbourne"

"Tonight, couldn't have gone any better"

Oscar agreed, it had been a perfect night

"I cant believe it took me so long to realize it was you all along"

Logan laughed

"Yeah you oblivious idiot"

With his free hand, Logan cupped Oscars cheek, pulling him gently into a kiss. Nothing special, but it meant everything to Oscar. It was slow and steady but yet didn't lack passion. It was everything Oscar could have hoped for. He finally found his soulmate and it was Logan, of course it was Logan. It was them against the world. He didn't know what was in store for them next, living across the world from each other would pose difficulties as would Oscars schedule, but others made it work. Why couldn't they. Oscar thought back to when they met as little kids, both scared and alone and together they found friendship in each other. There was a dark part of Oscar that thought he may never find his soulmate but be doomed to know they had met and there was nothing he could do to find out who it was. But with time, he found love. He found love in Logans arms.

Chapter Text

Logan immediately dialed Daniels number

"Logan? Hi what's up buddy"

"Dude, I think Oscars my soulmate"

Logan just ended the phone call with Oscar. They had a good chat, updating each other about life, they started to drift apart since Logan got dropped from Williams. Well really the drifting apart started after the arrival in F1. But Logan understood, with Oscar driving for McLaren he had high stakes and had to focus a lot more on his driving. Not that Logan didn't focus on his, but it wasn't like Williams was in contention for winning the Constructors championship.

He found out some revealing information in this friendly phone call, that being that Oscar had also gained colored vision during his karting days in the UK. That was the same time that Logans vision became colored. So, they had both met their soulmates at the same time and in the same place. Logan putting two and two together assumed they were soulmates. He didn't know 100% if that was true, but he wouldn't be surprised. Being friends since childhood meant that him and Oscar went through a lot together, they both shared the dream of getting into Formula one and even though Logans dream was cut short, he still was incredibly proud of what the young Aussie had achieved.

"What makes you think this?" Daniel questioned

"Well I was just on a call with him, we found out we both gained colored vision at the same time and in the same place so you know I put two and two together and well, it would make sense, us being soulmates"

"Yeah, I was just on call with him too, he does have a certain fondness when he speaks about you, that and he was probably the most pissed off about the whole situation at Williams. Well him and Alex were most pissed off"

"Yeah, so you think he might be my soulmate too" Logan asked curiously

"Well I don't know mate, but same as you. I wouldn't be surprised if you guys were"

"What should I do"

"You need to talk to him mate" Daniel laughed

"Yeah yeah, okay"

"Anyways I got something to do, so I have to go. Keep me updated though"

"Yeah Of course Daniel"

"See ya Logan"

"Bye"

The line cut off. So, he had found his soulmate after all. Logan usually tried to keep an open mind and positive thoughts when thinking about his vision and his soulmate. But when everyone around him was in a relationship and always saying how easy it had been to find their true love, Logan couldn't help but feel depressed. He had been able to see color from a young age and he never knew who his soulmate was - up until now.

--------------------------------

Logan was meant to talk to Oscar, and he was going to - no lie - but life caught up to him and he didn't exactly have a good slot of time to talk about something that heavy. So it came as shock to him when he saw Oscar had sent him a message. No words, but a Tiktok and screenshots of comments. A Tiktok of him, an edit and the comments were all talking about how unfair Logans treatment was and how they didn't blame him, and they hoped he was doing okay. Logan could cry, he never realized he has THIS much support from random fans. Of course, he knew there were a few Williams fans out there, but he assumed most people rooted for Redbull, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren - ya know, the top four - and even if he did see Williams fans it was mainly for Alex. Which Logan was never jealous about, Alex deserved the support, he was a great driver and he gave it his all every race. Logan wished he could have said the same about himself but... His heart sored with adoration for these fans, and his heart sored with adoration for Oscar. Remembering he did have to reply he sent a singular blue heart (Heh Williams color). He locked his phone, maybe he didn't need to talk to Oscar. Maybe Oscar realized they were soulmates to - maybe that's why he was sending the tiktok - and was just waiting for free time to I don't know ask Logan on a date or something. So, Logan didn't have a conversation with Oscar - but he really should have.

The next incident occurred a few days later, right before the Austin Grand Prix.

Logan was relaxing he had his test drive for IndyCar in a few days and he was buzzing with excitement. Just because he had a rough situation with Williams did not mean his love for racing was gone and it was luck of fate when Logan's mate Kyle called him up asking about a potential job offer with IndyCar. He was scrolling through Tiktok - the tiktok Oscar sent encouraged him to download the app, and now he was addicted - when he got a nonfiction on Instagram. Oscar had tagged him in a comment on his recent post. It read

@Logansargeant you HAVE to try the Texas BBQ joint in the first photo, @Danielriccardo thanks for the recommendation

Logan responded

@Oscarpiastri damn you know how much I love a good BBQ, gotta go there together sometime ;)

Logan did mean it in date setting. He hoped that conveyed across to Oscar. (Spoiler it did not)

------------------------------------

Today was the day .... it happened

And by IT he meant his crash. Jeez Logan could not catch a fucking break, from driving the Williams chassis into walls and barriers and now this, maybe he wasn't cut out for motorsports at all, he had a good run in F3 and F2 but he just wasn't made to be a top driver. But no Logan HAD to remind himself this was not his fault. Infact he was actually doing quite well, before his engine went kablam!

The sound is what freaked Logan out first, shocking him and he accidentally sent his car flying into a track barrier, where it bounced off and eventually skidded to a halt later down the track. Logan was in shock from the sound and the impact he hadn't even noticed the flames engulfing his car. Medics ran to his aid, and he was frozen. They had to drag him out of the car. from there, everything was a blur, but it felt like a nightmare. He could distinctly remember hearing the faint sounds of sirens, or maybe they were so loud they sounded far away.

He awoke a days later in a hospital bed

"What the....."

"Your awake!"

"Where am I"

"Your in the hospital Logan, my names Dr Rambo. You were in critical condition after your crash, we had to put you into a medical induced coma and rush you into surgery. Its been a couple days"

"Days.. what.... I need"

His head was pounding and his brain felt foggy, and his body hurt immensely

"Relax Mr Sargeant. Your immediate family was notified of your condition, I can call them later and tell them your awake. For now I would like you to keep resting, try not to move to much"

"Ca- Can I get my phone, I want to make a call"

"I-ah of course, I can get that for you, but I do suggest you don't use it too much. The best thing you need right now, is rest and fluids, not social media and people calling you non-stop"

"I understand, please, I just need to tell a few people I'm alright"

Dr Rambo nodded and walked off to wherever Logans phone was, he didn't know, Maybe Kyle or a family member brought it to the hospital after his surgery for when he woke up.

As he suspected he had soooo many missed calls, he had to prioritize people. He called his family first, reassuring them he was okay and not going to die, then he moved on and sent a message to Kyle, saying he was in recovery. Next was Alex, Alex had called him like a bijilion fucking times, it was sweet, if Logan wasn't in so much pain he'd laugh. He sent a vague message just saying he was fine, and they'd talk later, he did the same with Daniel. Finally at the bottom, he saw a single message. From Oscar

'Heyy, the grid heard about your crash. All praying you get better. Miss you. <3 Oscar'

Love Oscar. Miss you, love Oscar

His brain must of short circuited right then and there because he had no idea how to respond to that, he should of sent a message just saying he was fine. But he didn't want to do that to Oscar. If he was going to call or message Oscar he had to have the full story and he had to truly be fine to be able to say that. He couldn't lie to the man that was most likely his soulmate. So he left him on read.

Shitty move but you know what Logan reckoned being on his death bed was a fine excuse.

------------------------------------------

It was just after the Mexico Grand Prix when Logan finally called Oscar. He knew Oscar would be in interviews and conferences all afternoon and maybe that's why he called then. Knowing Oscar wouldn't answer meant he could lie to himself and say 'oh well you called and that's what matters' as well as not actually have to talk to Oscar. Of course, later that evening he received a call back from a very worried Oscar, and then Logan felt bad.

"*cough cough* H-hello"

"L-logan?"

"Heyyyy Oscar"

"How are you, omg"

"Could be better"

Oscar laughed but it got caught in his throat and instead came out as a strangled sound

"Are you still in hospital"

"Yeah, but I'm recovering well. sorry I didn't reply to your message"

"Mate all good, You were half dead I think I can forgive you"

"hah. I'm yeah, good. On a lot of meds right now, and I'm pissed at that dude that inspected the car. Honestly though, racing under James hurt more though" Logan tried to laugh but it was forced and not all that joyful.

"Im so sorry Logan"

"What for, you didn't inspect the car"

"No, but. We drifted apart this year, and your crash made me realize, even with all the safety measures, people still die in motorsports. I couldn't help but think that you were going to die, and I never would of spoke to you ever again. I just want you to know, I still cherish your friendship, and I hope were still close enough that you would want to catch up sometime"

"Oscar, of course I would and honestly I'm fine. I mean I wasn't before; I really wasn't. But I'm fine now, and improving everyday"

"Thats good"

"I have to go, time to take my meds but thanks for calling me back"

"Of course"

"Oh and Oscar"

Logan paused briefly, he heard Oscar hum in response

"I love you too"

He immediately hung up, freaking out internally. I mean it wasn't a big deal, Oscar had sent a love you message to, although that was with a heart and in a text message this was so much different. No time to dwell on it though because not a minute later the nurse came him with his dose of medications

Over the week, him and Oscar messaged daily. Finally, Logan was released from hospital, he was told to stay on bedrest, but he had made great recovery progress so far. The nurses gave him a few more rounds of medications he had to take daily for a few more days, as well as some strong painkillers if he needed them, but otherwise Logan genuinely felt great. He was upset he couldn't go back to driving a car - any type of car - soon. The doctor did set him up with a therapist. Shittest thing about this whole situation wasn't even the physically injuries caused, but now Logan had PTSD. He knew if he was to get into a car he would be fine, well as fine as you could be driving a race car. Engine issues were very rare these days and there were so many safety measures taken by all staff to prevent an accident. It was a freak accident what happened to Logan, and if he's being honest he was pissed for whoever inspected his car but its fine. Now though he had to see a therapist weekly.

Between him seeing a shrink and going to physical therapy sessions he lost a bit of free time, and when he did have free time, he was strictly on bed rest anyway, which seriously sucked. He took up watching the Netflix drive survive series, he found the first seasons very interesting, he loved learning about the sport he used to do (used to past tense :(( ). The more recent seasons were just funny, the whole show was a joke really, but it entertained him.

He had called Oscar during this time to, both decided they needed to talk, Oscar wanted to talk in person though. They planned that Oscar would fly to the USA during the break between the Sau Paulo GP and the Las Vegas one. Logan was excited to see Oscar he really was, slightly nervous but excited. An issue though had presented itself. Logan said he would come to the airport to pick up Oscar - since Oscar did not in fact know his way around Logans hometown and logan did. Logan was freaking out though, he had been steadily going to his physical therapy sessions, and he was given the all clear to go back to normal day to day activities (but you know was also told not to go sky diving and start doing any extreme sports) but that wasn't was he was worried about. It had been forever, or it had felt like forever, since he had been in a car (normal or racing). He would be lying if he was scared to drive, what if the exact same thing happened.

It was a stupid thought, his car engine was not going to explode, especially not his run of the mill Toyota. But I guess that's how a mental illness works, it takes over your brain, makes you think unreasonably. He promised he would pick Oscar up though and he wanted to, HE wanted to pick Oscar up, to introduce him to Florida, not some stupid Uber driver.

He sat in the driver's seat, after looking at his engine, making sure there was nothing wrong (His therapist said it would help, it didn't). He tried to regulate his breathing, which I guess sort of worked, he felt less likely to have a panic attack, but he still couldn't turn the car on

Tears were welling in his eyes; he didn't want to be late picking up Oscar. It was a spur of the moment idea, but he decided to call someone.

"Hey Logan"

"Hey A-alex" Logan responded with a shaky breath

"Hey are you okay, you sound stressed"

"I- i cant explain, very well right now, but I need help"

"Help with what Logan, I'm here" Alex's comforting voice was helping calm Logans rising nerves

"I - See so, uhm" He took stabilizing breath and continued

"After my uhm my accident, I developed PTSD for driving, it scares me, getting into a car, turning a car on. I'm worried ill crash again, or something even worse will happen. But you see, so me and Oscar have been talking, we think we are each other's soulmates. We planned to meet up, I'm picking him up from the airport because I want to be a gentleman and all, he's my friend, possibly my soulmate, I didn't want to leave him to book an uber. But I'm scared Alex, I can't turn my car on" Logan finished his ramble

"Logan, its okay, take a deep breath for me okay. Ready and breathe in 1,2,3,4 hold it 1,2,3,4 breathe out 1,2,3,4. Do that a couple more times with me, yeah okay logs, ready and"

Logan followed Alex's words, breathing in for 4, holding for 4, breathing out for 4. He did this a few more times, he felt a bit better

"Okay so, you know what, want to hear a funny story" Alex asked

"Uhm I guess so, but I'm already running late and - and"

"Logan, relax, breathe some more"

Logan did so, following the same 4x4 pattern

"I want to tell you a funny story, but at the same time, can you turn your car on. Thats all, just turn the car on"

"Okay"

"Great, so you turn the car on, and hears the story, so we were out at lunch right and there was this whole drama that happened with Oscar, I'm sure he will tell you about it, but as this was unfolding, I saw that you had your incident, and evidently we were all freaking out right. Most of the grid that is, a few of us were out to lunch when it happened, then after everything passed, I whispered to George, 'hey do you think that Logan and Oscar might be soulmates' and George just looked at me and was like 'why didn't I realize that'. So we explained to Oscar why we thought he was your soulmate and he was so shocked. He is such an oblivious idiot" Alex laughed on the other end of the line

"Are serious, I thought he knew we were soulmates way before that" Logan smiled

"Oblivious Idiot I'm telling you Logan"

"I turned the car on"

"Awesome, now, it's going to be scary I know, but I want you to drive to the airport okay. I'll stay on the phone with you the whole way yeah, I can even stay on the phone when Oscar jumps in the car okay. I won't be obvious why okay if you do want him to know. But I need you to start driving okay"

And Alex kept his word, and Logan made it to the airport (!) He did say that he should be fine driving home, and said he'd call Alex again if needed.

"Thanks Alex, you really helped, I-i appreciate it"

"Its all good Logan, now go enjoy your date with Oscar" Alex said with a mischievous tone

"It-its not a date, you know where just talking, having lunch"

"Sure sure" Logan heard yelling in the background

"Who was that"

"Lily, she said to tell you she says hi and misses you"

"Tell her I miss her to. We have to catch up sometime"

"Yes!!! We could even invite Oscar, could be a double date" The tone was back

"Omg Alex, Im hanging up now. Thanks for all your help"

"Byyyeeee Logan. Make sure to wear protection if you guys you know do the do"

"ALEX"

"BYE"

that was the end of their call. Jeez Logan called always rely on Alex for literally anything. Moving on he shot a quick message to Oscar letting him know where he was parked and how to get there. Oscar responded with a thumbs up. Logan chuckled. You can rely on Oscar to be precise and to the point.

Logan drove them to lunch, he had a minor freak out, but he felt okay with Oscar in the car, and he did get to lunch alright so. Oscar commented on how good Logan looked, he blushed. Ducked his head and he said the same back to Oscar.

"Uhm, Logan"

"Yeah"

"Have you ever given some thought to who your soulmate is"

Logan laughed

"Of course I have"

"Oh yeah"

"You didnt?"

Maybe Oscar didnt think that Logan was his soulmate, Logan was starting to get cold feet about this whole situation

"I don't know, I guess not. but but something happened the other day and Im pretty sure I know who it is"

"Oh....well w-who do you think it is than"

Not him he thought, until he saw Oscar looking him in the eye, like he hung the moon and the stars

"Me?"

"Y-yeah, I -"

"Ive been thinking you were mine for a while now"

"Y-You have!?"

"Yeah, but you were oblivious and as you said, we drifted apart, I didn't know how to bring it up. I swear no one else seemed to have this much trouble knowing and talking to their soulmate"

"Yeah I agree, why is this so much of a hassle"

Logan laughed and just sighed

"What made you realize it was me"

"Oh, well when you had your crash, the color in my vision faded away and turned into a heartbeat. Like it would fade away then jolt back in and slowly fade away again"

"Oh, thats...."

That must of been what Alex was talking about, he felt so bad for Oscar

"It was kind of scary, but then Alex made the connection that my colored vision left at the same time as you had your crash"

"Well"

They stared at each other for a little, just taking in the other in the moonlight

"So soulmates"

------------------------------

"Its so beautiful here" Oscar said in awe

"Yeah, there's never anything like this in American cities. Or maybe there is and I just haven't been looking"

"Definitely isn't anything like this in Melbourne"

"Tonight, couldn't have gone any better"

Logan stared at Oscar, the lights casting his face in a dull glow which somehow just made him even more attractive

"I cant believe it took me so long to realize it was you all along"

Logan laughed

"Yeah you oblivious idiot"

Oblivious Idiot indeed

With his free hand, Logan cupped Oscar's cheek, pulling him gently into a kiss. Nothing special, but it meant everything to Logan. It was slow and steady but yet didn't lack passion. All this time, he thought Oscar had realized they were soulmates and was just waiting until they could act on it. Yet the lovable idiot didn't even know. If only Logan had made the call like he was originally going too. All this time, he was just waiting, waiting for Oscar to say something, waiting for the right time for him to say something. He put it off for so long. He wishes he didn't, because if he knew their love for each other was always right around the corner, he would have acted much sooner.

-------------------------------------

A Year and a Half Later

Logan called Oscar almost immediately. He was in baby!!! After a tough year, after all his therapy sessions, after revealing his PTSD to Oscar and Oscar helping him overcome his illness even more. He finally has his seat in IndyCar, he just got the call, it was confirmed, he would be racing in IndyCar for the 2027 season. Logan was a changed man, and he had proven to himself and others that he was capable of overcoming his fears, overcoming his mental illness. He would be able to race for IndyCar and he would do it well.

Oscar promised to take him out somewhere nice when they saw each other again, and hopefully after going out somewhere nice they would be able to come back to Oscar apartment and relax........ ;)

Luckily for Logan, Oscar eventually did move to Monaco, so he wouldn't have to travel literally all the way across the world. He was excited to see what his future will bring. They had been talking about moving in together - him and Oscar that is - in Oscar's apartment in Monaco. But now that Logan had gotten his seat in IndyCar he was staying in America. They had been doing the long-distance thing for a while now and they made it work. Who knew, maybe when they both retired, they would live in Monaco together, sipping on cocktails, and maybe Logan hoped they would have time for ... other activities ....

But for now, they were both happy where they were, they made time for each other in their busy schedules. They both loved each other dearly. In the end Oscar was right when he had said it was them against the world.