😭😭💚💚

#this is very important to me

Are you frustrated you can't leave second kudos on AO3? or third kudos? or whatever-who's-counting kudos?

Well, have I got the html for you!

Plop any of these in a comment (by copy&pasting the code) to make an author's day and show your appreciation!

Second kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/tHMjbb6/second-kudos.png" alt="second kudos">

Third kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/52bggQH/third-kudos.png" alt="third kudos">

nth kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/6y7qGtC/nth-kudos.png" alt="nth kudos">

yet another kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/wKtcj0s/yet-another-kudos.png" alt="yet another kudos">

It will look something like this (and will be transparent with white outline on dark backgrounds):

Feel free to spread and use these as much as you like! (and if you have ideas for other variations, let me know ✌️)

F1 Fic Secret Santa - fic rec list

Merry Christmas or happy December 25th to you all - here are the amazing fics from our Secret Santa exchange (in no particular order, just the order they're in on ao3!).

We've got everything from Sewis fluff to Landoscar filth and all sorts in between (Strollonso fans are getting FED!) - if you're stuck at an awkward family Christmas may we recommend hiding and reading some prime F1 fanfiction on your phone...? the only thing i want this year - Lando/Oscar, 8.3k (by @oscarpiastriwdc)

“You can’t spend Christmas alone!" Lando cries in horror. "That’s too pathetic.” Oscar rolls his eyes. “Thanks, mate.” “Come spend Christmas with my family. There’s a million guest rooms and too much food." “Lando, I’m fine spending Christmas by myself. It’s just another day.” “Christmas is not just another day. Food! And presents! Hot chocolate! Pie! C’mon, Osc. You don’t have to be alone. Come with me.” Oscar gazes at Lando, wide eyed and tender. Lando grins, knowing he’s won.

a place to rest your arms - Lando/Oscar, 5.4k (by @vroombeams)

It feels like toeing a line, showing up at Lando’s door without an agenda to hook up.

In Your Warmth, I Forget - Fernando/Lance, 3.1k (by @chaoticnandovibes)

Sharing a room with the very same pilot he just spent hours couped up in an aircraft's cockpit with was definitely not on his list of things to do tonight, but that's where Fernando finds himself. I mean, it could've been worse...

walking to a wedding - Carlos/Max, 4.1k (by @nobrakesdown)

After disappointment over their mutual lack of a role in Lando's wedding, Carlos and Max hatch a brilliant idea - they'll attend it together.

you'll come back when they call you - Carlos/Lando, 9.6k (also by @nobrakesdown, who wrote TWO fics as a re-matcher!!! <;3)

It's been seven years since Lando Norris came back from the fantastical world he was transported to as a child. Now in his first year of college and in his first relationship, he embarks on a new quest - reconnecting with Alex, George, and Charles, the boys who shared his original adventure.

Saccharine Sweet - Fernando/Lance, 4.1k (by @amphibiangeorgerussel)

Working with Lance had been- Different, to what Fernando had been expecting. He’d preempted a lot less casual scenting and minor HR infringements, that’s for one. It’s not bad per se, just not what he’d prepared himself for. - Or, the trials and tribulations of having Lance Stroll as a teammate.

Cat got your tongue? - Fernando/Lance, 2.1k (by @lil-shiro)

Cat hybrid Lance loves to cuddle. That is, if he chooses you. Fernando wants to be chosen (and more, but one thing at a time).

snow angel - Seb/Lewis, 7.5k (by @imnotheretodie)

Lewis starts his 32nd birthday lost in some small town during a snowstorm. It ends with being snowed in inside of a library together with a charming stranger. There's wine, and cake, and dirty secrets, and a warm bed, and little bit of love in the air.

Two Omegas and A Significant Other Kind Of Love - Charles/Lando, 4.3k (by @fire-on-thirst)

Lando and Charles. Two Omegas. Two Omegas who are married. Secretly of course as there would be a uproar if they ever came out however Charles wants to. Charles wants to kiss his husband whenever he wants, hold hands out in the street. He wants that all but it's just Lando that he has to convince.

The Lion, The Brit and the Bed - George/Max, 1.6k (by @landoom)

He can’t believe it has happened like that. It would have made sense, after Baku, high on adrenaline and anger… Not like this. Nearly one month later. Not in Monaco after a night out when they weren’t even drunk. Not in Max’s apartment, with one of his cats looking at them, perched on the chest of drawers. George and Max fucks... Once, twice... Many more times. But what does that mean?

holding onto all those chandeliers of hope - Seb/Mark, 2.3k (by @hurricane-heatt)

Mark’s on his third mulled wine when he speaks to Sebastian for the first time in nearly three years. It’s almost midnight, and they’re stuck outside in the snow.

You've cat to be kitten me - Lando/Oscar, 9.1k (by @amarynas)

Sassy isn't just a regular cat, no. She is the cat, Queen Bee herself, ruling over her two bedroom, one bath kingdom. So she is more than offended when one day a new human moves in without being pre-approved by her.

stuck together - Fernando/Lance, 2.5k (by @abovecalamity)

He was still looking at their joined hands, straight up staring at them. Never before had he thought about how their hands looked together. About Fernando's hands, yes plenty, in numerous different scenarios, but together, never.

The Art of Saying Yes - Valtteri/Lewis, 3.6k (by @manykinsmen)

“So? You’re not obliged to join the cuddle puddle.” Valtteri’s pouting at him, the moustache emphasising the cartoonish downward curve of his mouth. It’s the expression that makes Lewis want to kiss him senseless, climb into his lap and coddle him, smother him with affection until he’s smiling again. Maybe if Valtteri was single he’d have done so, but Valtteri’s got plenty of people to do that for him. He doesn’t need Lewis, not the way Lewis needs him. “Yeah, but—” “Lewis.” Valtteri’s voice drops, his expression suddenly stern. It makes Lewis feel like a school boy caught doing something he shouldn’t have been. A crackle of static runs down his spine, makes him sit up straight, correct his posture. “You’re finding excuses again. Come visit. Next weekend.”

Strange Situation Procedure - Charles/Carlos, 7k (by @ro55ocorsa)

Charles hasn't been feeling right lately; ever since the last race his thoughts have been utterly jumbled, and it isn't getting any better. With the next grand prix on the horizon, he hopes to push aside his brain fog... and a few more curious feelings. Ones he isn't quite ready to address. Ones about his teammate. Unfortunately for him, he's going to have to face it all head on when he discovers just why he's feeling so strange.

Meet/Cute - Kimi/Seb & Lando/Oscar, 1k (by @wolfsbanesbite)

Seb and Kimi hatch a plan to get Lando and Oscar together.

champagne problems - Oscar/Mark, 7.5k (by @papayatifosi)

Mark was proud of Oscar. He’d been proud of the kid since he’d taken him under his wing before his F3 debut. He wouldn’t have taken him on if he hadn’t seen huge potential, and he wouldn’t have kept working with him if he didn’t live up to that potential. He’d won in F3, won in F2, fought with the bitch of a McLaren he’d had at the start of the season and clawed back tooth and nail when half the grid seemed to have a target aimed squarely at his forehead. 9th in his first season was incredible, given the car hadn’t even been competitive until halfway through, given that Carlos seemed to have a vendetta for Lando’s new teammate, given that the hand of God kept trying to strike him down whenever he was doing well. He was a Champion twice before - though not in F1. Mark was certain that more than two titles were in store for him in the future.

Musings in Vegas - Fernando/Lance, 2.4k (by @niemernuet)

Lance struggles with the fact that his best friend doesn't like his boyfriend.

i got some colour back - Valtteri/Lewis, 2.9k (by @eyes-likepilotlights)

“Tea?” Valtteri is holding the mug - Mercedes branded, steaming - gingerly in one hand.  “Tea?” Lewis repeats stupidly. Angela makes him tea, sometimes, peppermint or green. Val gives him a look.  “Yeah. Oat milk.”  He means real tea - the kind that makes him think of clutching styrofoam cups in frigid winter air at karting tracks. Lewis smiles before he can stop himself, watches it spread to Val’s face.  “I shouldn’t,” he says coolly, to balance it out. “It’s the tannins. Bad for you.” But he’s already reaching his hands upward to the mug, warming both palms against it.

Tap the Rhythm - Charles/Max, 4.7k (by @placna)

“To hell with it,” Charles mutters under his breath and dials Max’s number. If there’s one thing worse than being stuck in this hellhole for the holidays it’s being stuck here alone. Or the one where soulmates share a unique song only the two of them can hear.

you can't move on even though you try - Fernando/Lance, 3.2k (by @merenwenformulauno)

Lance is 19 the first time Fernando flees from his bed after the fact and 24 when he convinces him to stay. The inbetween years are more complicated than Lance thinks they need to be.

A Cold, Cold Christmas (Without You) - Seb/Lewis, 2.5k (by @phantomwritr)

He couldn’t remember when everything changed. When he had started perceiving him differently. He only knew, they weren’t friends anymore.

Carol of the Dreidels - Fernando/Lance, 2.7k (by @inejschumacher)

Lance and Fernando take a walk around Central Park during Christmas, then Lance takes Fernando to a Jewish choir

the waiting game - Seb/Mark, 4.7k (by @raviraaa)

Mark is almost in the mood to outright blame Seb for breaking the stupid thing and effectively locking them in here, but not even Sebastian Vettel is that calculating nor desperate for his company for that matter. (Except he is, but Mark doesn’t need to know that.) — snapshots of martian being trapped together over the years

La Paura Del Buio - Carlos & Max, 1.7k (by @jolandax13)

Max has a bad dream after the Russian Grand Prix in 2016, but luckily Carlos is there to hold him

i don't wanna miss you tonight - Charles/Max, 1.8k (by @liamlawsonlesbian)

Before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Fernando sends Max a tiktok compilation highlighting how comfortable Charles is touching Max. Max can't stop thinking about it.

Like a spark catching fire it don't happen all the time (But when it does it changes everything) - Charles/Lando, 21k! (by @racingorange)

He turned the corner to see George and Alex curled on the couch with a stranger settled in between them. The stranger’s eyes were closed but he didn’t look calm, chest still heaving slightly. He had Charles’ favourite nesting blanket, a thick and fuzzy grey one, wrapped around his legs. Seeing that raised his hackles and he desperately wanted to reach out and rip it out of his grasp. “What is going on here?” he hissed, mostly directing the question at his two flatmates. “This is Lando,” Alex introduced, innocent expression on his face as he stared up at Charles.

fluorescent (kid, adult and everything in between) - George/Alex, 10k (by @anitalianfrie)

When George is five, he falls while playing in the garden of his house. His mum finds him there, crying on the ground and hugging his scrapped left knee, his face red, ugly snot dripping down his nose, and his skin glowing. or George is in love with Alex. He also glows. He tries to cope with both.

Sweet like candy - Kimi/Seb, 1.9k (by @felixsaysstuff)

It was like his body was addicted to Kimi, unwilling to allow any other blood besides his. He used to wonder if it was a matter of blood type, or any other biological factor, or if Sebastian just hated the idea of drinking from anyone and anything else. - A tale of vampires, bad communication skills, and hey, how much you know about soulmates?

this tiktok is my roman empire

#the way he sprung #lmao

"Hello, maaate!" - Mexican GP Full Access

#oh my actual gosh #who say that? #THISISMADNESS #NO #THISISSPARTA MYSANITYISHERENOMORE

lewis hamilton during the national anthem before the race, monaco - may 25, 2025

“i know you too well” extended cut😵‍💫

[McLaren's IG stories]

- god you can rly see the size difference in them Oscar's legs look miles long

- Oscar looking at Lando before every answer EXCEPT the two they were both immediately agreed on

- Lando's jabby little thumb bc there is only one adventurous eater in that hallway at that moment lgfsaljfgsalf

- smth about how Oscar watches so carefully and repeats back Lando stating how he'd like his burger order !!! like if we didn't have countless examples of him doing this so that he can answer for Lando when need be or predict what he needs etc then I wouldn't think it was special but he genuinely is interested in Lando's little idiosyncrasies kill me

- their glowy proud little faces over both saying tortilla patatas at the same time ;__; and Oscar echoing Lando's wow!

- Lando rly cannot be taught anything he personally hasn't chosen to learn bc he has had the same number of people in his career getting him into golf as trying to teach him Spanish but while he's now teaching other ppl golf he's never graduated past soy lago

charlos completed fic recommendations

If any of the authors of the fics mentioned here or are tagged and don't want their fics to be here, please let me know and I'll remove it!

Will update this list periodically

❤️ = favorite

⭐️ = I love fics by this author in general

❌ = triggering themes

🔥 = explicit

punctuated all wrong - 7k - ❤️ ⭐️

Prompt: "I don’t know if someone else agrees with me but I’m a sucker for the whole person A falls in love with person B but they think they don’t deserve person B’s love trope and I’d love to see how it would play out with charlos (not saying who’s person A and who person B, even though that should be pretty obvious)"

head over heels - 44k - ❤️ 🔥

“Oh, really, you think that you, Carlos Sainz, somehow have a kink so fucked up that I wouldn’t be able to handle it, do tell me what it is”, he says, “is it spanking maybe, I’m sure you think that’s beyond taboo, you want to drape me over your lap, punish me for being a bad boy?”, Carlos shakes his head, a small glint in his eye, “Bondage then? Do you want to tie me up?”, another shake of the head, “Whips? Paddles? Feathers?”, Carlos continues shaking his head and so Charles leans in further, his voice dipping lower as he continues. “Maybe you’re into age play then”, he pushes closer, so their faces are only inches apart, “do you want me to call you daddy?”, the air between them feels like it’s on fire as Carlos breathes out a hot laugh, giving another miniscule shake off the head. “Then tell me”, Charles demands and waits as Carlos seems to consider him for a moment, before leaning forwards so his lips are next to his ear, his breath hot against his skin, sending shivers cascading down his body. “Love”.

i feel so much, i feel so numb - 23k - ❤️ ⭐️ 🔥

As long as he’s known what a soulmate is, he’s known his soulmate’s name. Carlos. Scrawled along the delicate skin of his right wrist.

can't sleep 'til i feel your touch - 8k - ⭐️ 🔥

“I could...” Carlos trails off, and Charles drops his hands from his temples, looking at him curiously. “You could, what?” “...give you a hand.” He says it so casually that it takes Charles a minute to even attempt at understanding what he means. ~ ~ OR: Charles develops insomnia, and the only thing that helps is...Carlos?

the trials of 2022 - 33k - ❤️ ⭐️ 🔥

A partial summary of the 2022 season, as told by Charles or Carlos, following each race.

dice che ti ama (ma lo sai che mente) - 2k - ⭐️ 🔥

But Charles smiled, dimples out and about, back against the wall of Carlos’ driver’s room. Like he knew he wasn’t in danger. Like he hadn’t entered a lions’ den looking like a three course meal. (Like he knew Carlos was all bark and no bite, and toying with the metaphorical rubber band —stretch, stretch, stretching— wouldn’t ever make it snap into his straight nose.)

Almost Total Wreck - 2k - 🔥 - also has Pierre/Charles

He imagines telling Pierre about it: he spat right in my face and I came like that it was so good, and he’s already replacing the man’s orgasm with his own, making his wounded sounds as he drags it out kicking and screaming, so that by the time he’s done his stomach hurts with it, his head pounds like a fever, more ache than pleasure but that’s what pleasure is, isn’t it?

worthy is the lamb (thank you for the price you paid) - 12k - ⭐️ ❌ 🔥

Predestined (adjective): [ˌpriːˈdes.tɪnd] If you say that something was predestined, you mean that it could not have been prevented or changed because it had already been decided by a power such as God or fate.

my blood is singing with your voice (the saints can't help me now) - 13k - ⭐️ 🔥

He was there. (God was also there.) Carlos walked towards the altarpiece (and the back with the white t-shirt) breathing through his nose like a bull. The cross on his chest wasn’t warm because it got a little chilly at night. He turned. “Carlos.” “Hey, Charles.” “You say my name weird.” Carlos swallowed. “Oh—” “I like it.”

all the king's horses, all the king's men - 38k - ❤️ ⭐️ 🔥

Carlos Sainz was eight years old when he fell in love. (For the first time.) It was at a race track. (It wouldn’t be the last time.)

little of your love - 5k - ⭐️ 🔥

in which Charles gets accidentally knocked up by Pierre, and he’s determined to raise the baby himself. Carlos is having none of that.

I Fell for Your Magic - 10k - 🔥

Charles had been the one to decide the sun rose and set with Carlos Sainz Jr. And it was Charles who had unexpectedly fallen in love with his teammate over the last couple years.

last night - 24k - ⭐️ 🔥

Rule #1: When you go to America, don't lose your virginity to your best friend's roommate. Charles fails Rule #1.

internal mechanics - 15k - ⭐️ 🔥

"Charles was with someone at the gym," Carlos hisses into the phone.

are we out of the woods yet? - 10k

Charles takes a few moments to consider it. It doesn’t sound like him at all. “So I really wanted it.” “Yes,” Carlos repeats, and then frowns. “Do you think–” His voice hardens just the slightest bit, leaning into… something that Charles can’t really place. “I didn’t make you do it.” Charles shifts away from him, staring at the other wall instead. “Of course. But anyway, I don’t know. I don’t remember it anyway.”

mind over matter is magic - 6k - ⭐️ 🔥

Carlos leaned on the side of the pool that overlooked Singapore at night. Arms crossed over the ledge — Carlos almost wanted to look down below. Feel the swoop in his stomach at the realization of how high up they were, relish on it. But, he rationalized, looking at Charles Leclerc usually had the same effect.

the hours i lost - 3k

Charles thinks he was foolish to be afraid of this, of Carlos. He thinks he was foolish to let himself get this far. He thinks he should have given in years ago. He thinks he’ll regret everything once he’s sober.

all the same old places - 13k - ⭐️

Charles stares at Carlos, then. Right at him. His eyes haven't changed, either. They're still the same shade of green - almost blue, even more so in the warm light of the sun. For reasons unknown, Carlos feels like smiling.

Pouring - 10k

At the age of ten, it's easy to talk about how his soulmate will be someone tall and certainly a brunette, because no one really knows what to expect until the moment they actually meet them.

Ballad of a Thin Place - 39k - ⭐️ 🔥

Thrust into the aristocracy after marrying a baronet's daughter, Charles, now a lord, struggles to adapt to the quiet life of an estate in the English countryside. Desperate for the connection and compassion that is lacking from his wife, he pursues a torrid affair with the handsome gamekeeper on their estate, a man who has a past he's trying to escape...

you bring me back to life - 1.8k

Charles said nothing, instead opting to ask him how he had been doing in his racing career. Arthur excitedly relayed everything that he could remember, from paddock gossip to results from race to race. It felt good to be surrounded by family. Not for the first time, he wished that he would have stayed. It is too late anyway. If he dwells on the past he’ll lose his present.

went truly unhinged and wrote an entire fic summary of mafia!carcar @__@ special thanks to the good ppl over at the carcar discord <3

as usual I worked google's p*ssy tired to put together the details so pls ignore/handwave anything erroneous

Okay, so for regional specifications let’s say that Carlos has worked for years to be vouched for in the mafia. He’s actually a spy and in an extremely dangerous position - he was plucked from law school in Spain to be trained up in the intelligence agency and was assigned to Sicily due to his fluency in Italian. So even though he’s only 26, he’s already highly skilled and has been living and working full-time as a secret agent and translator - as well as liaison for the mafia - in Sicily for years already.

Oscar is fresh off his A-levels and touring Italy with lofty dreams of becoming a race engineer for Ferrari but assuming he’ll end up back in the UK in some bland office where he’ll hope to make enough money to go to F1 races - and maybe one day take his rightful place on that pit wall.

Palermo is at the very end of his trip before he flies back to London and he books a tour of the Norman Palace. He’s enjoying the fusion of cultures in the art and architecture, totally unaware that his name had been noticed by one of the palace’s administration when he’d bought the ticket a week before. An untraceable number of emails and messages had brought his existence to the attention of mafiosi who had until that moment assumed that particular royal line had died out. 

They immediately scour what little exists of Oscar in the public domain and the even less available through government authorities (the boy is barely out of childhood and has done nothing of note except leaving his homeland to attend school in the UK and hasn’t even gotten so much as a speeding ticket). His social media however reveals a hunch that young Oscar is not unaffected by handsome men, possibly with a penchant for Spanish men in particular, and that he is an ardent Ferrari fanboy. A hastily put-together plot to snare the boy into the mafia by establishing him in his rightful royal position has all the promise of strengthening the mafia control of the region. 

Meanwhile, many consiglieri have long been suspicious of Carlos and see this as an opportunity for him to commit his oath for good - or to see him and the Oscar boy easily disposed of if the Spaniard was discovered to be a rat. They will install Carlos as a translator for Ferrari and he will then claim that he is also on holiday in Palermo when he “bumps into” Oscar at the palace. As they are marveling at the Palatine Chapel’s interior and Carlos is using Ferrari and himself to work every charm at his disposal, a royal scholar with ties to the mafia will approach and inform them of his suspicion that Oscar is of royal descent. He will then ask them back to the University of Palermo to confirm his suspicions (which had of course already been confirmed). By that point, Oscar will have been successfully wooed by both Carlos and the promise of taking his rightful place as a prince, so that the mafia can insinuate themselves into his life and eventually his reign.

Only Carlos’ training can prevent his dismay from being revealed to his bosses as the plan is described to him, but he’s horrified at dragging some poor, unwitting kid into all the danger and ruthlessness of organized crime. He decides to defy his bosses back at the intelligence agency and play the long game of making Oscar his husband and strategizing at every turn to keep the boy alive and hopefully at some point extricate him back to his normal life - or at least into a witness protection program. Anything else would certainly risk Oscar’s life and even if Carlos hadn’t become fond of the kid from a distance, he still wouldn’t sacrifice him for a shorter route to cutting off an entire arm of organized crime.

The plan proceeds as expected, with Oscar dazzled and blushing over Carlos’ attentions and the royal scholar having approached them. It all suddenly goes awry when an overzealous nephew of a mafiosi - fresh off a 12-hour drug bender - infiltrates operations, taking Oscar hostage in the chapel and insisting that the government immediately recognize Oscar as royalty and that the church marry them there in the chapel. He then turns the gun to dispatch an unarmed Carlos, only to be knocked unconscious by Oscar wielding an antique censer. 

The royal scholar - Andrea Stella - is a good man who now speaks urgently to Carlos in a peculiar coded language (they both have on wires) informing him that he knows of the mafia’s plans and that he too wants to see Oscar kept safe. Oscar surprises them by not only understanding the code but speaking it back - albeit brokenly - to them. The code is known only within the Ferrari elite and sounds identical to everyday Italian but with a sequenced pattern that carries a second meaning to every other word, something that amateur cryptography genius Oscar picks up on remarkably quickly.

Which is how Oscar learns that his claim to royal status is fully valid, his entanglement with the mafia is very real, but worst of all is that Carlos’ romantic interest in him was all a lie (or so he assumes).

The police and media attention that the hostage situation attracts results in the mafia’s plans proceeding as expected, except for all three men pivotal to their machinations being in cahoots to foil them. Oscar is granted status as a prince but without anointing or coronation by the church due to him taking Carlos for a husband. They are installed in a part of the palace now closed off to the public and begin their work ingratiating Oscar with said public and even winning them over to the idea of him being married to another man (Carlos not being Italian ends up being the biggest hurdle for them to get over). Oscar’s youth, beauty, shyness and sweet giggle work unexpected wonders, as does the promise of a return to all the regal romance of a pre-unified Italy while not actually returning to those times politically. 

Carlos and Oscar have a tense private relationship because Oscar is nursing a wounded heart as well as a stubborn attraction and love for Carlos - while Carlos feels ashamed of having tried to seduce Oscar for duplicitous purposes and is also struggling with an intense attraction and growing affection for him. Andrea is the architect of their whole counter-strategy and is both the heart and the brains: the brains because he has lain in wait for decades for the right opportunity to destroy the mafia’s power, but also the heart because he sees Oscar as a son and can also see the misunderstandings going on between Oscar and Carlos.

Oscar is a complete surprise package in having an iron-clad poker face and an uncanny ability to remain calm even as his life is turned upside down that rivals seasoned operatives. He even manages to dupe his own family when they visit for the wedding. When Carlos asks how he can so easily lie to them about it all, Oscar levels him with “I could do anything just to keep them safe.” To which Carlos replies that he knows what Oscar means and raises Oscar’s hand to kiss over the ring he now wears as prince. Then he kisses Oscar at one of the highest points of the palace with Mount Etna visible in the distance.

They begin an all-consuming sexual affair that they both privately claim is beneficial to confirming their relationship to the mafia while conveniently remaining in denial of their real feelings. Carlos pours all of his into kissing every inch of Oscar’s pale skin until he’s pink all over, and Oscar puts all his aching heart into taking Carlos down his throat just out of view of the public or forcing Carlos to handle meetings while Oscar is crouched between his ankles. A few lowly messengers of the mafiosi bring back stories of hearing the prince’s cries punctuated with the banging of furniture against palace walls. Carlos can’t keep his hands off his pretty husband either in public or private conclave with “officials” who are really mafiosi under different titles. 

Meanwhile, Oscar is still presumed by the mafia to be none the wiser about the criminal element of his reign and does such sleek work with his angelic face and adorably unassuming attitude that any lingering discussion of dispatching him is immediately shut down.

Which makes it all the more shocking four years later when a sudden mass assassination frames half the criminal element for the death of the other half and throws the whole of the syndicate in chaos that dissolves their control entirely. The ensuing months see Oscar, Carlos and Andrea sequestered - along with their court - inside the palace which is shut to the public amid fears of another hostage situation, while arrests and investigations take place. 

Tensions across the city are high in the wake of the ensuing widely publicized trials and Oscar insists that a public appearance from him outside the palace would reassure and distract the public - and that it would solidify his position as more than seemingly ceremonial. The palace officials agree to the plan but as they are deciding on the security detail, Carlos realizes his presence alongside Oscar has not been mentioned. 

Later that night in their bedchamber, Carlos raises his concern and states that he will be accompanying his husband during his appearance. Oscar attempts to shut him down by stating that Carlos would only represent a greater threat by seeming to taunt the mafia and encourage retribution. 

They argue until Oscar calmly pulls rank, to which Carlos responds by kissing him fiercely and forcing him onto the bed. They desperately make love and fall asleep in each other’s arms. 

The next morning, Carlos awakens in their room alone and with the sun at a suspicious slant through the windows. He realizes Oscar has stolen Carlos’ phone from its usual place by the bed to ensure that he slept in - clearly hoping Carlos would sleep through Oscar’s public appearance entirely. He realizes the little beast had baited him into fucking him so thoroughly that Carlos was exhausted and woke late.

He pulls on clothes and tears down the stairs to the courtyard with just enough time to compose himself and stand beside one of the guards. Oscar stood out in front with the selected media in a semi-circle and an enormous crowd at barriers set further out, many of whom were calling out affection and support for their prince. He does not see that Carlos has joined them and proceeds with his speech.

Carlos spots the gun at the same time as the guard next to him, but it is aimed at Oscar and not himself. 

As Etna smokes and rumbles what will be called a mild yet deadly eruption in the distance, two shots are fired after Carlos and the guard wrap their bodies around Oscar and force him to safety. The remaining guards - and a few members of the public - detain the gunman (none too gently) and Carlos and Oscar are bundled back to their rooms and the guards take up position outside.

Inside their bedchamber, Oscar frantically paws at Carlos, wildly suspecting that he’s been shot and doesn’t realize it. He tugs Carlos’ jacket and shirt off and gives a heartbreaking cry of relief when he doesn’t see a single mark on his husband’s body.

Oscar breaks down at last, releasing four years of stress and anxiety in a gust of tears and collapsing in Carlos’ arms. He pours out how he had contrived the mass assassination plan mere months after his life was altered forever in the Palatine Chapel - how he brought Andrea into it to help him with things like the details and movements of mafia members, members who would be willing to work against the family and the risk to innocents, even down to developing a seemingly arbitrary fascination with volcanology so that he could be made aware of Etna’s activity far enough in advance to take the admittedly wild final gambit of disposing the remaining members by having them conveniently perish in Etna’s next eruption. He realized that while conspiring half the local mafia against the larger organization would result in a certain amount of mutually assured destruction, as well as concealing forever Oscar’s role in it, he would have some stragglers to deal with who could regroup in retribution. A suggestion was therefore sent down via Oscar’s court officials to the police loyal to the palace, and then to remaining criminals-at-large (also those with the bloodiest histories in the mafia) of escaping arrest by scaling the crater during a period of high activity and therefore remaining undetected by officials, guides and the public. Their treacherous expedition was promised to take them to the other side of the volcano and then to the coast where boats and new identities would take them from their troubles. 

Oscar had reasoned that if Etna hadn’t taken them then their desire for escaping arrest would scatter them and effectively extinguish their power hopefully forever. Andrea had marveled at Oscar’s command over strategizing the whole plan mostly by himself and said that Ferrari would mourn missing out on hiring him if they knew what he was capable of.

Carlos cradles Oscar on the carpet, kissing his sweat-cold brow and begging to know why Oscar didn’t include Carlos in the plan? Does he still not trust him after all this time? Because if so then he wishes the bullet had found him and put an end to playing husband to the man he loves but who will never love him in return.

Oscar looks up into his eyes with a face full of wonder and brings a hand up to lovingly stroke Carlos’ cheek. Because he kept Carlos out of it precisely so that he wouldn’t do anything stupid like sacrifice himself and ruin Oscar’s hopes that when his plan was finished, perhaps they could start over and he could make Carlos love him the way he loves Carlos.

For the first time, they kiss knowing their love is mutual. And while they realize their positions will always involve some element of danger and their lives will never be “normal”, they admit that they’d never choose any other life if it meant not being together.

ENDITO!