Chapter Text
Charles went into the Qatar Grand Prix mainly with the goal to try to have fun; the season was almost over and he was definitely not going to make it as a champion, his seat for the upcoming season was guaranteed and the outcome of the race wasn’t going to change either of those things. So he could just try to enjoy the race and support Max, who was rapidly closing the gap in on the McLarens.
The sprint race went God-awful both for him and for Lewis – no points scored by either – and Charles was finding that their mutual frustration at the car was slowly making them bond. “I’m telling you, mate, the car’s just getting worse,” Lewis said, throwing his hands in the air.
“Yeah… I hope qualy goes better.”
“I’m P17, it literally can’t get worse!” Race qualifying came and went and Lewis finished P18. Charles approached him with pursed lips and Lewis pointed at him. “Don’t – don’t say anything.” Charles nodded and started going backwards quietly, but they shared a small smile.
Charles himself did better but barely; he was starting tenth. It was a disappointment for sure, and that was what he said to the interviewer when she asked his thoughts, but he still held on hope. Even a few points were welcome.
Later that evening, he dined with Max, Pierre and Yuki – a real double date, Pierre had said initially with a wink, which got Max blushing like a nun. Charles himself quickly changed the topic, afraid that someone could overhear. He wasn’t ashamed to be with Max, wasn’t ashamed to be… gay? Bisexual? Queer? But he knew in their line of work Fred had been right. Being in a homosexual relationship with someone from a rivaling team was going to most likely break the media and the internet and lose them many sponsors, and it had to be handled with care.
“I’m just waiting for the break now,” Yuki was saying and Charles wondered just how heartbreaking it had to be for him to participate in those last couple of races while knowing it was likely his last time racing for F1. Yuki was going to keep being a reserve driver, from what Max had told him, but giving up an F1 seat – to someone that still hadn't made a name of themselves, could still improve and be better – had to hurt. “I want to go home for a bit, it’s been so long since I properly hung out with my family.”
“Oh, did I tell you? I’ll visit Japan for a couple of weeks in January,” Pierre said and Charles blinked.
“That’s great! Are you – are you meeting the family?” he asked in a lower voice, looking around cautiously.
“I already met them back in April.” Ah, right. The Japanese Grand Prix.
“Though now more properly, yeah,” Yuki added and they shared a smile. Charles’ eyes involuntarily went to Max and he wondered how properly meeting his family would go. Talking to Jos again sounded like a challenge, having Jos accept their relationship was going to be a wild ride. But Charles did want to meet Max’ siblings and mother, so he was willing to put up with Jos. For Max, he’d do anything.
“Anyway, how’s the champion feeling for tomorrow?” Pierre asked and Max huffed.
“Pretty good. I’ve got a decent chance for winning, I’d say,” Max said and Charles pushed his foot against Max’ with a grin. He was being uncharacteristically modest; he was definitely going to win. Max was really feeling himself in the car lately and Charles knew that meant fight to the end.
“You know what else has a decent chance? Me finally scoring higher than you, Char,” Pierre boasted and Charles laughed. He was starting one place forward and he was never going to let Charles live it down!
Sunday, the nerves, the strategy, the rounds, the usual. Charles worked on his breathing as Lewis passed by him, heading for his car. “Good luck, mate,” he said with a nod and Charles smiled.
“You too!”
“Let’s hope the car don’t fuck us over again,” Lewis drawled with an eye roll and Charles froze.
That was – was that what Lewis had said yest– during the time loop? Charles racked his brain to remember exactly but found he couldn’t and that only increased the panic that was already settling in. His eyes found Lewis again in the familiar action of getting into his car. The engineers were talking to each other as they always did. There were people still doing final checks on his car – as always. Everything, everywhere he looked gave him the feeling of deja vu.
He wasn’t back in the loop was he? Charles took in a deep breath, starting to pull at his left glove. He’d woken up next to Max – right? He’d had a nice time with Pierre and Yuki the previous evening, right? A double date: something that would’ve been impossible back in May. Charles’ glove was finally on the floor and he worked on peeling his sleeve back.
“Charles, you okay?” Bryan asked behind him but Charles didn’t answer. It wouldn’t matter in a few minutes if his fears proved correct.
The lion. It was there. Charles closed his eyes for a second, letting out a deep breath, but then he opened them in panic once again as he realized he could be stuck in a time loop again – just, a different one. Damn it Max! Charles had been right to worry about the meaning of it all. If he’d learned his lesson, if he’d figured out why and how he got out last time then maybe now –
“Charles, hello?”
“You good, mate?” That was Lewis too and Charles took a step back, running a hand over his face. “Hey, what’s that?” Charles pulled his arm away from Lewis’ eyes and cleared his throat.
“I’m good, we should – we should strap in.” He redid his suit and entered the car with shaking hands. What if it was happening again?
The race went poorly and Charles’ head wasn’t in the game. He went on autopilot, taking turns and overtaking where possible purely on muscle memory. His mind was a mess as he sped through the track and didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to walk out of the car and have time pass and – let it be evening and then – and then –
“P8, not bad. Good job, Charles!” Bryan said into the radio as Charles passed the finish line and that was obviously a lie.
“Yeah, good job to all.” He could lie as well. And that was the safer option than saying what he really felt which was – he was scared. Petrified. That he’d have to go through that hell of a year again. That all the progress – with Max and with himself – was going to be undone.
That evening, Charles skipped on the party and closed himself in his hotel room, curling up on the bed. Max won, as he’d expected, Max never disappointed. Charles was happy for him – he was second for the title now and so, so likely to get it. But this did also mean that Max had to be at the party and Charles was finding his absence hard. Especially in this moment.
Fifteen minutes to midnight, Charles found himself nursing his second bottle of wine and watching the clock on his phone closely. A knock interrupted his thoughts but he didn’t get up from the bed. “Charles?” The door opened and Max’ head poked in. “Charlie, you good?” He entered in a hurry once he took one look at Charles and Charles had to laugh.
“I don’t know,” he said and took a small sip, eyes not leaving the screen.
“Charles, did something happen?” Max asked and came to sit on the bed, one hand on Charles’ leg. “Talk to me, schatje. I’m sorry for not coming earlier –”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything, you’d just stare at the clock with me,” Charles said and Max looked at the screen, taking note of the time.
“What…” Max blinked, eyebrows furrowed. “Are you – are you waiting for midnight?” Then it clicked in his head and he sighed quietly, before moving higher up on the bed and coming to stand behind Charles. “Charlie, you’re not back in the loop,” he said gently and Charles shook his head.
“It might be a new one,” he insisted and tapped the phone again when the light started dimming. The picture on his lock screen was a little blurry but captured the only time so far Sassy and Leo had sat down next to each other perfectly friendly. Max smiled at that and leaned in to place a kiss at the back of Charles’ head.
“Alright, then let’s wait and see. No matter what happens, I’m here with you, Charlie.”
“And if you don’t remember?” Charles whispered and Max reached out to lace their fingers together.
“I’ll believe what you tell me. Always.” Charles turned his head around and their eyes met for a brief second before he leaned in for a quick kiss and then settled closer into Max’ chest. Max put his face in the crook of Charles’ neck and watched the phone as it got closer to midnight.
23:58. Then 23:59. Charles tensed up when it got to 00:00 and then – it was 00:01.
“See, everything is fine. You’re fine.” Charles let out a shuddered breath and let the phone fall out of his fingers onto the bed. He raised the bottle but Max caught it before it made it to his mouth. He moved to put the wine on the bedside table and busied Charles’ lips with his own. Charles seemed sufficiently distracted, hands wrapping around Max’ neck and pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. Max pulled away after a couple of minutes and smiled down at him. “You okay?”
“I guess, now yeah… Sorry, that was stupid. I don’t – I don’t even know why I…” Charles sighed and Max laid back down next to him, perching his head on his hand.
“What happened? What triggered it?”
Charles grimaced. “Lewis said something and it reminded me of the loop and – yeah.” Thinking back on it, he’d reacted stupidly. Overreacted, really. Nothing big had happened! Nothing had happened! And he’d already started panicking, isolating himself, running away from Max’ celebrations. Charles groaned and ran a hand over his face. “I’m sorry, that was so stupid. I don’t know why I did this. Congratulations on the win, you’re –”
“Don’t change the subject yet,” Max scolded and pulled his hand away from his face. “I guess it’s normal. You did go through – a traumatic event a few months ago. And it lasted a long time. It makes sense that it’s left some… side-effects.”
“Yes but – it’s been months! I thought I’m back to normal now!?” It had been a while since the last time he mistrusted reality. He’d genuinely believed he’d been healed!
“I think those things take some time,” Max soothed and Charles sighed unhappily, but pulled him closer into a hug. Max wrapped around him and Charles hid his face into Max’ neck, the light overhead starting to bother his drunken eyes. “I’ve got you.”
He did. “Do you want to join my family dinner for Christmas?” Charles blurted out and Max froze in his grip.
“Uh… what?”
“You don’t have to, I mean – I know this is all new and – and yeah. But…” Charles bit his lip and Max pulled away a little so they were lying down with enough space to look at each other. “I’d like you to join, if you also want to. You’re – you’re really important to me, I want to introduce you to them properly.” Max had been the only thing keeping Charles afloat in the past half a year. The only reason he kept going. Even before that, for years now, he’d been an integral part of Charles’ life, challenging him to push himself and improve. Max was everything and Charles wanted him to be part of everything, his family included.
“It’s been – what, three weeks and I’m already meeting the in-laws?”
“The in-laws?” Charles repeated and grinned. “Max, it’s been only three weeks!” Max laughed loudly and Charles watched him with a small smile. Yes, he loved Max with all his heart.
“You know, for me it’s been… I don’t know, maybe ten, fifteen years?” Charles’ eyes widened, his mouth falling open.
“Do you mean – you’ve had a crush for fifteen years? Fifteen!?” Max nodded, his cheeks all red, and Charles chuckled. “That’s just embarrassing, mon cheri. Did you actually like the inchident kid?” Max’ face was only getting darker and he turned to hide it in the pillow, but Charles grabbed it to pull him back upright. “No, no, none of that. It’s sweet. I’m just – surprised.”
“I told you before; the inchident kid put the fear of God in me. And made me feel things which were also scary. Hasn’t stopped scaring me since.” Charles watched his face and could only read honesty. “He’s scary but he’s also the only competent driver out there that makes my job fun and challenging, –” Charles snorted but he was blushing too, “–and he’s the only one that really understands me, and –”
Charles leaned in to capture the plump lips with the freckle into a kiss. He didn’t need to know more, he felt all of himself too.
—
Abu Dabi. The final race that was going to decide who walked out as a champion with three whole people still fighting for it. Charles felt like he was in the making of history. And even if he wasn’t involved in the battle, he was going to involve himself. Charles raced and didn’t slow down ever – maybe he wasn’t going to win the championship, but he was going to score some good points.
Free practice arrived and Charles entered the Ferrari garage with a smile, looking around with expectation. Instead of Lewis’ familiar braids, he saw the back of a blond head and Charles’ smile widened as he bee-lined straight for his brother. “Arthur, bonjour!”
“Charles!” Arthur came closer and clasped a hand on his back. “Driving together again, huh?” Charles nodded and squeezed his brother’s shoulder.
“Can’t imagine Abu Dabi without you anymore,” he said and Arthur nodded, his eyes narrowing a little.
“Did you pull some strings to get me this session again?” he asked, now more quietly, and Charles licked his lips, looking around. There were too many people for this private conversation but Charles had something to say. He pulled Arthur to the quietest corner.
“You’re a damn good driver and people should see that,” Charles said firmly, eyes not leaving Arthur’s. The previous year Ferrari themselves had initiated, loving the idea of brothers Leclerc driving side by side – and also acknowledging Arthur’s skill. This year they’d been looking at a couple of F2 kids but Charles had asked a favour. “Look, I know you hate me and you think this is all unfair b–”
“Why do you think I hate you?” Arthur interrupted, looking genuinely confused and offput, and Charles couldn’t just say he had a conversation with an alternative Arthur that just about confirmed it now, could he? Charles opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times. Then he sighed.
“You know why – Just… I had the opportunity to go into F1, I’m – you could’ve had it too if not for me. You could’ve been driving for Ferrari, period, if not for me. And I’m – I’m having one of the worst seasons I could be having. You would’ve done better – obviously, you think it’s unfair and –”
“Stop, stop. Are you trying to get me to say it’s unfair?” Charles opened his mouth but his brother continued, “Well, I won’t. I’m proud of you and you’re one of the best drivers out there and that spot in Ferrari is yours, fair and square.” Arthur chuckled then. “Hey, I have my own career. I’m doing good, too! I’m happy where I am. Are you?”
Charles grabbed onto him tightly and hid his watering eyes in his shoulder. The words were – they were like balm to his ears. He wondered, if he’d let the alternative Arthur in that time loop speak longer, whether he would have said that back then too. Arthur hugged back and Charles felt relief, felt like they could go back to their normal sibling relationship.
“I am. I love you, Art.” Arthur laughed and pulled away.
“You’re getting sentimental in your old age!” He ran off, still laughing, and Charles wiped his cheeks discreetly and followed him to the cars. Maybe he was, or maybe he just learned to appreciate what he had more.
“Let the old man show you how it’s done then,” he challenged and then proceeded to spin out into donuts on the track while his brother handled the car and the asphalt better. Arthur laughed at him when they came out and Charles had to laugh too.
Qualifying went better than that and Charles managed to score a P5. “What do you think about your starting position?” the interviewer asked and Charles shrugged.
“I’m not sure it’s a good position to be in… I don’t want to be involved in a massive scandal with a title on the end,” he said with a small laugh. He definitely didn’t want half of the internet going after him purely based on circumstance. But he was starting P5, right behind the three contenders for the championship, and he wasn’t going to lie down and let everyone walk over him. He had a realistic chance for a podium and he was going to go for it.
“So are you going to keep away from the champion fight?” she asked next, almost as if reading his thoughts, and Charles tried to contain a grin.
“I think – whatever small opportunity there is to make the life of the guys in front more difficult and the risk I need to take to try and win, I will take it.” He looked to the side at where Max was giving his interview. And he knew his lover was going to do the same.
The morning of the race, Charles woke up with his stomach in knots as if he was the one racing for the championship. “You okay, schat?”
“How are you not nervous?” Charles complained and buried his face in Max’ neck. Max chuckled.
“I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ll do my all and we’ll see what happens. I just want a fun race, you know?” Charles nodded and kissed his shoulder petulantly.
They went to the garage. Charles and his team covered the strategy, he made his rounds about the garages, and then he strapped in. No matter what happened, the race was going to be intense and high-stakes, so he was going to make the most of it. Enjoy it to the fullest.
“Good luck, mate,” Lewis said and offered his fist. Charles bumped his fingers into Lewis’ and nodded.
“You too!”
The race began and Charles hit the pedal. George had a poor start and Charles immediately took advantage of that, overtaking and bringing himself right behind Lando. If Lando ended up with a podium, he was winning the championship, and Charles – he couldn’t allow that. He pitted in lap 16 and Bryan immediately called him in as well.
With the new tires, Charles found himself behind Lando – again – and grit his teeth, going as fast as possible. He was going to get that podium, damn it! Suddenly, a few laps later, Lando overtook the car in front and Charles ended up behind a Red Bull. Yuki. “Tsunoda under investigation for more than one change of direction, and Norris for going off track to gain advantage,” Bryan said into his ear and Charles laughed out loud.
“So he’s defending for Max, too?” Bryan didn't answer but also he didn't have to.
Charles could take Yuki, he absolutely could. And within just a couple of laps, he was overtaking the Red Bull which – didn’t even put up a fight. Charles grinned; Max really was getting all the help he could get. And he needed it: he was first in the line, absolutely about to finish first too, but as long as Lando stepped on the podium, his excellent driving wasn’t going to matter.
Biting his lip, Charles itched closer to Lando but realized he wasn’t going to make it past him, at least not on these tires. “Pit me, I need hards,” Charles said into the radio and Bryan, for once, it was a real miracle that the dozers decided to wake up for this once, just agreed.
“Box, box!”
Lando got pitted seconds after and Charles was grinning like a madman the whole time. That was definitely something the McLarens hadn’t expected. And so the race truly began.
Charles, right behind Lando, pushed hard to close the gap. Five seconds became four and a half, four and a quarter, four. He pushed and pushed but even then his car felt short to the superior McLaren. He failed to get within two seconds behind him and hit the wheel in frustration when he finished fourth, right behind Lando.
He was frustrated, but he was also oddly exhilarated – he almost got him! He itched to continue the race, to continue trying and pushing. Charles laughed despite himself as the car finally came to a stop. His whole body was buzzing, his brain still replaying the race and he wished he could go back to it. The next few months without this rush were going to be hard but he was already looking forward to sitting behind the wheel.
Jumping out, Charles found Max’ eyes in the crowd and moved closer, hand up to grab Max’. Max pulled him into a hug and Charles laughed. “Man, what a race, you were great!” he said and Max pulled away to look at his eyes.
“Mate, you hit that insane pace with your dozer!? You were the star of the show!” Charles preened, feeling like he’d accomplished a lot indeed, despite not achieving his final goal. “Thank you,” he said more quietly and Charles winked before patting his back and nodding for Max to move on. They had a long day ahead.
Charles watched as Max went into the media pen with a soft smile that was thankfully hidden from the cameras. Kimi ran in next and Charles’ smile widened at the boy’s closeness with his mentor. Alright, he was finally cooling off. But fuck, he was going to remember this race forever!
Max’ interview was on the screen as Charles got changed and he listened intently. “At some point, you asked GP about Charles – he was your only chance for a win in this race, right? What do you think of his race?”
“I think Charles drove his heart out today, to try and get onto that podium. So that was so impressive to see.” Charles grinned wider and the smile didn’t go off his face for the rest of the night.
The party was great, it always was when it came to closing off the year. Charles got tipsy, but only pleasantly so and not over the top, and so did Max. They managed to sneak off while nobody was watching and stumble into Max’ hotel room for one last time that season.
“It was a good fucking race, huh?” Max asked as he closed the door behind them and Charles bit his lip.
“The best.” He pushed Max against the wall and kissed him deeply, his tongue making its way into Max’ mouth immediately. Max moaned and pulled him closer by the hips, one hand kneading into Charles’ ass and bringing their crotches closer. Charles gripped his jaw, moving his body against Max, wishing there were no barriers between them. “You did so well, mon cheri,” Charles rasped out against his lips after pulling away. “So hot…”
“Next time I'm taking the championship to give you a reason to think that,” Max promised and Charles chuckled, his hips stuttering against Max'.
“Only if you beat me,” he whispered and went to kiss lower at Max' strong shoulder.
“Oh, bring it on, Charlie.” Max squeezed his ass through the pants and Charles sank his teeth into his shoulder. “Godver – ah!” Charles licked over it and lifted his head to ask if it was alright but – Within seconds, Max grabbed him by the thighs and lifted him up, quickly going to the bed. “I'm giving you one back, schat. When you least expect it.” It was a threat and a promise and Charles couldn't wait.
He was dumped on the bed unceremoniously and Max took off his shirt in one quick motion before leaning over him and capturing his lips again. Charles moaned, his hands spreading over Max' stomach and the happy trail he found there. Max' hands were working on unbuttoning Charles' jeans and Charles broke the kiss to remove his top as well. The quicker they got full body contact without additional layers between them, the better.
“Merde!” He gasped as Max bit lightly on his nipple and looked down to glare at the man.
“That wasn't it,” Max said with a cheeky grin and kissed him quickly before pushing down his boxers. His cock sprang free and Charles' eyes fell down to it immediately. Not for the first time he felt the innate desire to –
“I want you to fuck me tonight,” he blurted out and reached out to grab Max' dick, but a hand stopped his.
“Are you sure, schat?” Charles met his eyes and nodded firmly.
“You should fuck me, or I mean – I can find someone else to fuck me…” Max was on him and pulling at his boxers within seconds. Charles laughed as they were pulled below his ass and a mouth enveloped his dick. “Oh my god!” He moaned long and hard and looked down to watch Max' face and the way his lips stretched around his cock. “Fuck, fuck. So – so hot.”
Max sucked and pulled at his dick as his hands moved to squeeze his ass and thighs. Charles whined, head falling backwards and legs opening wider. One of his hands made it to the ruffled brunette hair and he pulled on it, making Max fully get off his dick. Charles' eyes snapped open and he glanced at his lover with open mouth just as two fingers made it in. “Make them sufficiently wet, Charlie.” He went back to sucking Charles' life out of his body and Charles could only comply, closing his mouth around the two fingers and depositing as much saliva on them as he could.
There was a thrill of excitement as Max continued working his throbbing cock, one hand pumping and mouth on the sensitive head, and the other reached behind – low, where Charles' own fingers only had been before. And – and F – only Charles'. And now Max'. Because Max wanted to make him feel good as much as Charles did.
A finger touched his rim and put pressure and every thought in Charles' head vanished. He gasped and moaned and Max twirled his tongue around and pushed harder in until his finger was inside Charles – and Charles – he was high on the moment. He gasped and hunched forward, both hands twisting in Max' hair. He moaned and felt his dick pulsate as it emptied down Max' throat. “Merde…” he groaned and opened his eyes into thin slits to watch as Max took it, breathing hard and watching up at him with blown-out pupils. Somehow, despite being the one sucked off, Charles felt like he was in the grasp of a predator. He closed his eyes again as another wave of pleasure ran through him.
Max eased off and Charles shuddered as his spent dick hit the cold air of the room. Max leaned closer and kissed him deeply and then the two of them moaned together as Charles realized his cum was being pushed into his mouth. They kissed around it and then both swallowed without breaking their connection.
“Shall we continue or was that enough for you?” Max asked after a few seconds, pulling away to breathe in his face. Charles moved his knee to nudge his dick.
“I want this,” he said breathily and then Max moved lower again and pointed to the drawer by the bed.
“Hand me the lube,” he almost ordered and Charles complied with some surprise.
“You came prepared?” Charles asked with a grin and opened the container for Max to scoop some. “Hoping for a celebratory fuck?” Max gave him a flat look and shoved a finger in. Charles groaned, his eyes falling shut as the finger went directly to his prostate.
“Hoping to make my boyfriend feel good, but sure, belittle it.” Charles leaned forward and pulled on Max' head to bring him into a kiss then smiled.
“You make me feel better than ever, always. Now put more fingers in!” Max chuckled and kisses him again while squeezing another finger in. Charles moaned against his lips and had to pull away to focus only on the feeling in his bottom. Fuck!
“This good, schat?” Max asked, teased really, as he pumped his fingers in and out slowly. Charles whined and nodded.
“More, I want more!”
“So demanding!”
“Why, too much for you? Should we take it easier?” Max put a third one in and Charles gasped.
“Don’t insult me.” He picked up the pace and his fingers made awful, disgusting, squelching noises which also – fuck, it felt so good, so obscene, so heavenly. Charles moaned long and deep. His experimentation with his fingers never reached so far in, never felt so undoing. Fuck, Max was for sure working some magic down there.
Before Charles could open his mouth again, Max pushed a fourth one in and Charles' eyes snapped open at the stretch. His dick was filling up again. Oh, god.
“It's – I'm ready, please – mon cheri, I want you in me!” Charles rasped out and Max took his fingers out, leaving him feeling like a gaping empty hole of nothing. Charles whined and opened his eyes to watch as Max reached over to the drawer for a condom. Charles’ hand wrapped around Max' still hard and steadily leaking dick and pumped it twice while Max opened the package.
“Ah, fuck, schat, don't do that, I'll –” Max didn't finish, just pushed his hand away and squeezed his base. He looked at Charles with a raised eyebrow and Charles grinned.
“You're awfully slow for a –”
“That's it!” Max interrupted and rolled the condom over himself quickly before pushing Charles' legs against his stomach and baring his hole. Their eyes met and it seemed like Max was hesitating for a second but Charles smiled and pulled him closer by the neck.
“Fuck me, Maxie.” Max leaned to kiss him and at the same time his dick was guided into Charles hole.
They broke apart from the kiss simultaneously to groan, eyes meeting. Max went in deeper and Charles could see the pleasure painted on his face and that only went to his dick. He felt so full. So good. In pleasure. Surrounded by the scent and body of Max, in the best position he could be in. Charles’s head lolled backwards and his eyes rolled back too when Max made a slow shallow thrust into him and grazed his prostate again. His dick twitched by command.
“You feel so good, schatje,” Max said roughly into his neck and leaned to lick and kiss his collarbones.
“You – please, faster,” Charles pleaded and Max listened, immediately speeding up his thrusts. Their naked bodies slapped against each other, but the sounds were almost drawn out by their collective groans. Charles could feel his sweat pooling on his stomach, dripping down the side of his face as Max impaled him again and again and his body tensed up with every punishing hit to his prostate.
Fuck, it felt good. It felt like nothing ever before. Charles didn't want it to end and at the same time – he was chasing a high. Max was keeping him bent in half, one hand stable on the bed, the other holding onto Charles' hip with enough force to leave bruises. Good. Charles hoped there were reminders of the night. He was fully sobered up at that point, the first orgasm took care of that, but even if he wasn't, he wouldn't have been able to forget this experience.
“Touch yourself, schatje,” Max rasped out into his ear and Charles moaned at the command, one hand sneaking in between his legs as much as he could get it to fit. I'm graced along his dick nicely and he squeezed down on the cock inside him. Max groaned with a curse under his nose. “Fucking – this is – godverdomme!”
Charles would've laughed another time at how he left the maxplainer at a loss for words but he couldn't do that now. Not when Max was going faster, setting in a punishing pace, and the whole bed shook and the room was filled with their moans and his legs and hand provides friction to his dick and Max' mouth was on his neck again and –
He could feel Max' dick pulsate inside him and then Max' teeth were clasping into his flesh where his neck met his shoulder and his hips were pistoning in and out and –
Charles’ whole body coiled up and his eyes rolled backwards as he clenched down harder and finished himself, almost untouched.
The two of them moaned together and Charles pulled Max closer by the shoulders, feeling like an exposed nerve. Feeling stimulated and overstimulated. Feeling like he transcended into another realm. He wheezed out a breath and fell backwards when Max' mouth released him. His neck stung and his ass stretched impossibly and his head was empty and he was just happy. Satisfied.
With a smile, Charles flopped down onto the mattress and let out a sigh. Max withdrew from inside him and Charles felt movement around the room and then the bed dipped again. A gentle shaking finger brushed his cheek and Charles realized a couple of tears had slipped off.
“Everything okay, Charlie?”
Charles laughed happily and finally opened his eyes to meet Max'. “Perfect.” Max grinned too, with the disheveled hair and the red cheeks and the freckle and Charles pulled him down into a kiss. It was perfect, everything that night had been. Charles hadn’t doubted that, had known he could trust Max with his body but with the waves of pleasure still spreading over his body after the first penetrative sex that he enjoyed, he felt overwhelmingly emotional. “Thank you,” he whispered once the kiss was over. Max was looking down at him with affection.
“Thank you,” he said quietly too and then nodded at Charles' stomach which was a mess. “Shower?”
They shared the shower and Charles enjoyed the domesticity of it. His legs barely held him up, so he leaned against the tiles while Max took care of the cleaning. Then he was carried to bed like a princess – he was a man, a pro in his sport, not a girl… But it felt good nonetheless so he was going to let it slide this time. Just because it was Max. Then he was pulled into Max' chest, their legs naturally tangling together and despite the full ache between his legs, he felt more secure and hopeful for the future than he had in a while.
—
His mother had flown to Abu Dabi, too, so on Monday morning, the three of them had a family breakfast – her, Charles and Arthur.
“And do you have any plans for the break?” his mom asked after watching quietly as Charles and Arthur went over the race. She understood a lot about it, having been around the races most of her life, but she always let them discuss among each other while she just listened with fond eyes.
“I think… I think a lot of sim racing. A lot of getting used to the new car, the new rules –”
“I meant anything besides racing, baby,” she interrupted with a grin and Charles smiled.
“I’ll for sure try to visit more!” he promised as he always did this time of the year, and his mom nodded approvingly as usual.
“Me too,” Arthur piped in and their mother sighed.
“You still live with me most of the time. Maybe you should start going out more for a change.” Charles burst out laughing and Arthur’s jaw fell. “You should visit Lorenzo more, too,” his mom continued, looking directly at Charles. He bit his lip.
They’d talked the previous day, Lorenzo had called to congratulate him on the good race and to apologize for not being there for him. Charles had apologized too, for how rarely he visited and – he’d been on the verge to apologize for Jules, too, but then he’d looked at the smudged lion on his arm and he’d held his tongue. Whether he’d had an influence on Jules’ death was debatable, with Max strongly arguing against, but even if Charles did have something to do with it, some truths were better to remain buried. He knew the kind of pain he was going to inflict on his brother for mentioning it, and he wanted to avoid it.
“Jules would’ve been proud,” his brother had said into the silence and they’d spent the next few minutes silently crying into the phone. Charles had promised to visit as soon as possible and Lorenzo had been happy to hear.
“I will,” he told his mother confidently and then cleared his throat, trying not to get emotional again. “Anyway, I was thinking, I wanted to ask – uh, for the Christmas family dinner. Can I maybe bring – can I bring my, uh, partner?” Charles cringed as he got the words out of his mouth. The gendered word revealed it was a man, but it felt overly official for their relationship of barely a month. Boyfriend sounded prepubescent even though that was what they were. Lover was overly sexual and intimate and he wasn’t going to spring that upon his mother.
“Oh! Oh! I was right, there is someone in your life!” his mother exclaimed and Arthur leaned back in his seat.
“It’s Verstappen, isn’t it?” Charles blinked, surprised, and Arthur clapped his hands. “I knew it! Wow, a single day in the garages around you two and I could already tell. You’re like married. How long have you been together!?”
“Max Verstappen? Oh, he’s such a nice kid,” his mom chimed in with a smile. “Always used to try to sit next to you during karting, I remember that.” Because he’d been crushing hard, Charles realized with a blush and grinned. “Of course, yes, he can join!”
“You’re no longer going to be the best driver at the table,” Arthur teased and Charles reached out to hit his shoulder, but his little brother dodged.
“He’s here now, isn’t he? You should call him down for breakfast too!” his mother urged and Charles nodded before pulling out his phone.
Do you want to come down and meet the in-laws? he sent with a grin as his family continued talking in the background.
thought it was too early to call them that? Charles rolled his eyes but a second later a new message arrived: lemme put on a shirt.