#lestappen being adorable

[celientjeee]

Kiss It Goodbye (Your Little Panic Attack) (Charles/Max, 5k, complete)

‘What- How did you do that?’ Charles asked, he still felt a bit shaken and hot, but the tingling had disappeared.

Max smiled at him and let his hands drop away from Charles’ cheeks.

‘I once read that holding your breath could stop a panic attack and when I kissed you, you held your breath.’

‘I did?’ Charles winced at how high his voice sounded.

OR: Charles gets a panic attack and Max helps him (more than once)

- READ HERE!

[thelostconsultant]

You got me worried

pairing: Max Verstappen x reader

summary: You get into a car accident when you're on the phone with Max, who immediately leaves to see you. Charles finds out what's wrong and offers to go with him. Those few days in the hospital change a few of his personal relationships.

warning: accident, serious injuries. (no death.)

note: My Lestappen heart wanted me to write this.

word count: almost 5.3k

“You’re stalling,” you said on the other end of the line, and Max could tell you had that adorable smirk on your face that he loved so much.

But he wasn’t stalling, at least not intentionally. He wanted to answer your question, but he honestly didn’t know what to say, so he decided to take his time to figure out what to tell you. Your mother wasn’t very fond of him, she believed that you made a mistake by dating someone whose job was so dangerous, and she always had this bad feeling about him. When he asked you what it meant, you just shrugged as said not to look for logic in this. So he put his own bad feelings aside and played nice every time they were together somewhere. 

And now? Now you wanted to take her on a trip to New Zealand and asked him to tag along if he didn’t have anything else to do. Well, it was clearly a trap. One, he had no official obligations around New Year’s Eve which you knew perfectly well, and two, he wanted to enter the new year on your side, he wanted to kiss you at midnight, so he had no choice but to follow wherever you were heading. 

Letting out a sigh as he leaned back on his bed in the driver’s room, Max decided to yield, something he was only willing to do because of you. “Fine, I’ll go with you,” he told you, trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice. “But why don’t we invite a friend of hers? This way she would be entertained while we spend some time alone. Come on, you owe me this much.”

It was your turn to remain silent, but it only lasted for a few seconds. “I mean, she’s dating this guy now–”

“Someone’s willing to date her?” Shit, this sentence wasn’t meant to slip out. Clearing his throat, he pinched the bridge of his nose and went, “Sorry, I mean, she didn’t seem like she was ready to date just yet.”

“I get what you mean. I don’t know much about him, maybe this could be the perfect chance to get to know him a little better. And you’re right, he could keep her company while we’re having fun on our own,” you said with a laugh. 

Despite the idea being presented for the first time a few minutes ago, Max was already thinking about this trip as the perfect chance to put his plan into motion. Because he’d been planning to take your relationship to the next level, to start a family with you. And what would be better than a proposal in another country and maybe his not so secret attempt to get you pregnant? It would be great, he knew you would be happy. 

But before he could say anything, he heard scream and a loud noise, one that sounded eerily like cars crashing and glass breaking. “What happened?” There was no answer, and he couldn’t help but sit up with his heart ready to jump out of his ribcage. “Baby, please, say something,” he begged, but there was still no response. 

Then he heard people buzzing in the background, talking loudly, screaming for help, telling someone to call the emergency number. One person who was probably close to your car told someone you weren’t moving, but they also said they couldn’t tell if you were dead. Dead. He wanted to shout, he wanted to cry, he felt like throwing up, but somehow he managed to keep his cool. Panicking wouldn’t solve anything, he had to listen for now. But your car’s multimedia system gave in and ended the call, leaving him there with his fears and thoughts. 

Max tried to call you, but no one answered, so he quickly made a few calls to ensure his jet was available the moment he got to the airport. Because the race was over, he only had one or two interviews left, but he couldn’t care less about those. After throwing his things into his backpack, he hurriedly left his room and looked for the press officer to tell her he was leaving right now. She tried to ask him what was wrong, but he just shook his head and waved goodbye, his eyes fixed on the screen as he typed in the address where your phone was at this moment. 

He found a few posts about a crash there, and one of them had a photo as well. It was your car, he knew that right away, but the sight made his heart clench. The other car t-boned yours on the left side, right where you were sitting, which made him afraid there was no way you could survive that crash. But then he found a post about the drivers being taken to the hospital, so maybe it wasn’t so bad, maybe it was just looking bad. 

Suddenly he bumped into someone, which finally made him look up from the screen of his phone. “Sorry,” he said automatically. 

Charles gave him an unimpressed look, motioning towards his phone. “What’s so interesting?”

“An accident,” he replied, having no idea why he answered the question instead of just leaving him there. This caught the other driver’s interest, because he quickly said goodbye to the person he’d been talking to and moved to his side to look at the screen of the device. “That’s my girlfriend’s car on the right.”

“This looks bad. How is she?” he asked, sounding genuinely worried despite only meeting you once. 

Max gulped and shrugged. “I don’t know. I–I was on the phone with her, then I heard a loud crash and a scream. The call ended and no one’s picking up her phone. I don’t know what’s going on, so I’ll just pack my suitcases and head to the airport to get home as soon as possible,” he said without stopping to take a breath. 

Yes, he was panicking, he was losing his cool, but that was the least of his problems right now. All he could think about was the worst case scenario, the possibility of the doctor not being able to save your life. What would he do then? How could he move on from losing you? How could he live his life without hearing your scream all the time? It was all too much, especially after a frustrating race like the one today.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Charles put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes with a serious expression on his face. “Okay, take a deep breath. Are you sure you can drive like this?” For the very first time, he actually considered what he was planning to do, and after a few seconds of thinking, he came to the conclusion that he was definitely not in the right state of mind to drive, so he shook his head. “All right,” the Monegasque began slowly, looking over his shoulder for a moment, “we’ll find someone who can take care of your car, then I’ll give you a ride to the airport. How does that sound?”

It was a long day, Charles had to fight his own battles during the race, mostly with his own team, but there he was, offering to chauffeur him around so he would stay safe. A small, thankful smile crept on his lips as he nodded eventually. Maybe this was for the best, the last thing he wanted was doing something stupid because he was distracted by his fears. 

“Okay. You should get someone to pick you up when you get to Monaco, you shouldn’t drive there either,” Charles told him as they headed back to the Red Bull motorhome.

A desperate laugh left him at this. “Well, she wasn’t there, she was visiting her family, so she’s in a country where the only ones I know are her relatives, and they’re in the hospital with her. But I’ll call a taxi, it’s not a problem,” he explained with a sigh. 

A thoughtful hum from Charles caught his attention as he looked over at him. “Well, in this case I’ll have to drive you around there too,” the other man declared with a kind smile. When Max opened his mouth to tell him it was unnecessary, he just raised his hand to stop him. “I don’t take no for an answer. She’s nice. Hell, it’s easy to tell she has a good influence on you. Now I want to make sure she’s okay too.”

Max could hardly wrap his head around why he offered to help. He surely had better things to do than traveling to a country other than his home, meeting strangers who were the closest to someone he only met once, and providing emotional support to someone he’d been battling with since they were kids. This was beyond him, but he was too afraid to ask for the reason. A little voice in the back of his mind said he was planning something, but then he looked into Charles’s bright eyes and realized he was just being nice. 

They were sitting in the car on the way to the airport when his phone began to ring, and the screen lit up with the name of your mother. Gulping, he swiped his finger and raised the device to his ear. “Hi, Laura, do you know anything about her? Ho–how is she?” he asked, eagerly waiting for the older woman’s reply. 

“I guess you know about the accident then. I’m at the hospital with her. She’s still in surgery and they said it will take a few more hours before they can take her to the ICU. Do you want to come here?”

Did she really ask him if he wanted to be there? After all that time they spent together, after everything they had gone through, she dared to ask him if he wanted to be by her side? Outrageous. “I’m already on my way to the airport, I just need to know which hospital she’s in,” he replied, forcing himself to stay relatively calm. He didn’t want a fight with her, not when they were both in a very fragile state of mind. 

The woman on the other end of the line remained silent for a few seconds, then he heard muffled voices, which was followed by the sound of her clearing her throat. “I’ll send you everything you need to know.”

“Thank you. And if you hear anything, call me. Please.”

“Of course. See you later, Max.”

Once the call ended, he glanced down at his phone and waited until it buzzed again, the notification of a new message showing up. He had a location, although funnily enough, it was sent by your cousin, not your mother. It was a smaller miracle that she called him herself, a part of him expected her to make someone else do this. But at least her dislike for him became obvious once again. 

Charles glanced over at him with a questioning look on his face. “How is she?” he asked, the tone of his voice making it clear that he was walking on eggshells around him.

Max leaned his head against the seat and looked out the window. “Still in surgery, and she will probably be in there for another few hours. Even though she's probably in good hands, I'm not… It's hard to stay positive,” he admitted with a gulp.

“Maybe it will take a while, but she's gonna get better. You need to believe this, otherwise you'll go insane,” the other driver tried, his voice quiet, but confident. 

He was trying to help, and he was right, but his mind was full of thoughts about the worst case scenarios. What if you end up in a coma you don't wake up from? What if there's serious brain damage? What if you can't live the same active life you used to? He knew you would be devastated, and it's not like he would leave you for that, he just didn't know how he could handle it emotionally.

So yeah, he was already going insane. 

“Why are you doing this?” Max asked, voicing the question that had been in the back of his mind for a while now. 

Charles responded with a questioning hum, and despite the pair of sunglasses he wore, it was easy to tell he was watching him with a raised eyebrow. “Why wouldn't I? Look, maybe we're not friends outside the track, but I can imagine how hard this situation must be for you. Just accept the help for once, okay?”

After taking a deep breath, Max nodded. “Thank you.” 

The Monegasque had a smirk on his face when he returned his attention to the road. According to the sat nav, the airport was only five minutes away, so Max unlocked his phone and saw a message from Lando that told him to check X’s trending topics. When he opened the app, he saw his name at the front, and the posts were about some anonymous source leaking information about you being in the hospital. 

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath as he scrolled through the flood of posts. 

“What?”

Looking over at him, Max let out an annoyed groan. “Her accident made it to social media. From what I’ve seen so far was based on a post from someone who either works at the hospital or is a first responder. And someone kept digging until they put the pieces together, so now there’s a photo of the car wreck circling around,” he explained. 

“It’s not that bad. Unless they’re celebrating. Please, tell me they’re not celebrating.”

Max shook his head. “No, it’s not that, but whoever wrote the original post made it clear her life is hanging on a thread. So people are now getting ready for the worst case scenario.”

“Her not surviving this?” Charles guessed as he glanced over at him. When there was a quiet nod in response, he gulped and looked back at the road. “She won’t die. Don’t even think about it. She’s young and strong, and I’m sure she’s a fighter. Okay, we’re here.”

For the first time in a while Max looked up and noticed they had indeed arrived. After getting their suitcases, they got on the jet and sat down to wait for the takeoff. During the flight Charles tried to avert his thoughts by talking about the race and bringing up old memories from their carting days, and Max realized that he had absolutely no idea how he would say thank you for his help. 

For years he assumed their long history of rivalry meant they could never be friends, and their conversations would be nothing but casual chats based on mutual respect. But now he was here, providing the kind of emotional support he so desperately needed. 

Two hours later they entered the hospital building through a big crowd of paparazzi, reporters and fans, trying to navigate through the maze to find where your family was waiting. It took some time, but eventually they found them. Your cousin was the only one who jumped up and ran over to him, her arms sneaking around his body to pull him into a hug as she cried. The poor girl was only sixteen, and despite the age difference you two were the closest, as if you were siblings. His eyes fell on your mother, but she was simply staring ahead with a neutral look in her eyes. 

Charles decided to sit down not far from them, sending a message to his girlfriend so she would know where he was, but Max knew he was paying attention. “Any news?” he asked Sophie, your cousin.

“Yeah, she’s in the ICU, just until they know she’s really stable. She has a badly broken leg, a few broken ribs, one even punctured her lung, and… Yeah, severe concussion, and I think there’s a fracture in her cheek.”

Max gulped as his fingers ran through his hair. “That’s a lot,” he noted, earning a nod. “But she’s relatively okay, right?”

“You can say that,” your mother suddenly spoke up, finally acknowledging him. 

For a few moments they were just staring at each other, and Max was beginning to think she would start blaming him for the accident. Even if she didn’t know about the call they were in at the time, she would sure as hell find a reason to put the blame on him. She always did, whenever you had a bad day, it was surely his fault, even when you weren’t even in the same country.

But to his surprise, that’s not what happened, because she suddenly walked over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. He didn’t even know what to do at first, his eyes were moving back and forth between Sophie and Charles, but they both shrugged to tell him they had no clue what he should do. So he wrapped his arms around her too, soon hearing her crying into his shoulder. 

“I’m glad you’re here, Max,” she said when she took a step back and looked up at him. “I had my doubts, but… Knowing you rushed here after finding out what happened means a lot to me.”

With a sad smile, he nodded. “Where else would I be? I–I don’t know if you knew, but I was on the phone with her when the accident happened. She told me about the trip to New Zealand you’re planning, she was trying to convince me to go with you, and… Would you mind if I tagged along?” he asked, as if he needed her permission. 

But maybe he did. Maybe this hug was the olive branch he’d been hoping to receive one day, the least he could do was make sure she was okay with the plan. And maybe him going with you wasn’t the only thing he should talk to her about, maybe he should mention the most obvious decision he had made during that call. When she said she wouldn’t mind if she joined them, Max took a deep breath, then cleared his throat. 

“There’s something else. I’m planning to propose on New Year’s Eve. A few hours ago I thought your opinion was irrelevant and it’s her decision, but… now I’d like to hear what you have to say. Would you be okay with it?” he asked hesitantly, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to another.

Your mother’s lips curled into a smile all of a sudden, then he reached out to take his hand in hers. “I’m sure that would make her really happy. And if she’s happy, I’m happy. You know what? My idiotic ex-husband used our family heirloom, a beautiful engagement ring, to propose. How about giving that to her?”

“Are you sure?” She nodded without hesitation. “Thank you, that would be great.”

Since the doctor said they would tell them when they could go and see you, Max sat down next to Charles and waited there in silence. The other driver glanced up from his phone every now and then, but eventually he had enough of the silence and decided to pay full attention to him. 

“You okay?” 

He honestly didn’t know the answer to this simple question. You were alive, your mother gave him her blessing, what else would he need? Still, he couldn’t get himself to say yes. “I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. 

Charles nodded as he supportively patted his back. “I’m sure you’ll be better once you see her,” he noted with a small smile. “You heard her mother, the worst part is over, now all she needs is time to recover.”

And that was a problem he had to solve. He knew your mother would be more than happy to help you, he could hire a live-in nurse to take care of you, he could send you to the best rehabilitation facility in Europe, but nothing would make him feel good enough if he couldn’t be there by your side. Because he still had half a season left, he was expected to travel around the world, away from you, and the thought was killing him. 

“Without me,” he eventually said, so quietly that he hoped Charles didn’t catch it.

But he did, and he clearly understood what was bothering him. “I know it’s hard, but she will understand that you can’t be by her side all the time. Once the season’s over, she won’t get rid of you,” he said with a laugh, nudging his side with his elbow. “Come on, let’s get some coffee. We could all use it.”

Max nodded, and as Charles took the orders, he asked Sophie if she would like to come help them. He knew she was a traitor who supported his rival, but she was young and nice, so he chalked it up to teenage stupidity for now. While they waited for the coffees, Charles and Sophie got lost in a conversation that was conveniently in French ���so she could practice.” They seemed to get along, and he was glad your cousin had a reason to smile for a while.

This is why he spent this time checking his phone and found a bunch of messages from friends and family, all telling him that they were there if he needed help. Knowing so many people cared about them warmed his heart. It was mostly you, he knew that, your charming personality had everyone wrapped around your finger. This gave him the idea to send a message to his mother and sister, telling them he would propose the moment you were feeling well enough to make a decision. 

A few hours later Charles said goodbye and promised to be back the next day, and soon your family left as well. Your mother wanted to stay, but Max promised to call her if there was anything to know. So he slept on the couch in the waiting room, ignoring the weird look some people gave him the whole evening. A nurse was nice enough to bring him a pillow that made it a bit more bearable, but he wished you could be transferred to a regular room where he could ask for a bed to sleep in next to you. 

In the morning a doctor gently squeezed his shoulder to wake him up, and he groggily rubbed his eyes as he sat up. “Morning, Doctor,” he said, trying hard to fight back a yawn. “Did something happen?”

The man sat down next to him and turned to him with a small smile. “She’s ready to be taken to a normal hospital room. You mentioned to our staff yesterday that you want her to be placed in the VIP section, preferably with an extra bed for you, so we took care of everything. I can walk you there if you’d like,” he offered. 

“Sure, sure, thank you. How is she?”

“A little better. She’s strong, she’s breathing on her own, so I’m confident she’ll pull through. Just be patient,” the doctor replied. 

Once he was in the new room you were being taken to, he sent a text to everyone about your new location, then impatiently waited for your bed to be wheeled in. His foot was tapping fast on the linoleum floor, not stopping until the door opened and a young man stood there with a shocked look on his face. Max raised his hand to say hi, to which the poor man only reacted by going out to continue his work to get you inside. 

A nurse walked in behind him with a kind smile on her lips, then moved her attention back to you as she got you settled in the room. He wanted to go there and take your hand, but he knew he had to wait. He would have time, there was no need to rush, they had to do their job first. You were hooked on machines, your body bandaged all over, and the sight brought tears to his eyes. If he didn’t know you were through the worst part, he would assume you were still between life and death. 

Soon everybody left and he sat on a chair next to your bed, gently taking your hand in his. He had no idea if you could hear him, but he talked to you nonetheless, telling you about him making peace with your mother, about Charles being here with him, about your whole family being here, and about how much he loved you. He even begged you to wake up, to come back to him. 

“Good morning,” came Charles’ voice about an hour later as he walked inside with two cups of coffee, from which he handed one over. “Here, I guess you could use it.”

With a thankful smile, Max took it, then leaned back in the chair and watched as the other man looked down at you with a sigh. “The doctor said she’ll pull through, she just needs to rest,” he told him.

The fellow driver looked up with a smile. “See? I told you.” He sat down on the edge of the other bed and took a sip of his coffee. “Your suitcase is in the back of the car. I didn’t know which hotel you wanted to stay in,” he added.

“Neither. I’m staying with her,” Max was quick to clarify. 

“Yeah, but you need to take a shower, you need to sleep.”

“There’s a bathroom and you’re sitting on my bed. I’ll be fine.”

Charles followed his gaze and let out a tired groan. “She wouldn’t mind if you left for a few hours. Look, why don’t you talk to her mother to take shifts by her side? I’m sure she would understand that you need proper sleep,” he explained, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. 

Silence followed his words, mostly because Max didn’t feel like arguing about this. He was here to stay, by your side, right until he had no choice but to leave for the next race. “If it was Alex, would you leave her side?” he eventually asked. 

“No,” came the response right away. “I probably wouldn’t.” After sipping their drinks in silence, the Monegasque stood up at one point and threw his now empty cup into the trash can, and turned to him. “Okay, I’ll go get your suitcase so you can freshen up before her family arrives. And Laura is bringing us breakfast, so you’d better look presentable by the time she gets here.”

“Laura? Since when are you on first name terms with her?”

The other man laughed and shrugged. “Since I took the time to have a chat with her yesterday. All right, let’s get you cleaned up.”

For the next few days, this is how things went. Charles was always the first to arrive, then he left to get lunch, and stayed until four or five in the afternoon. Max had told him to go home, that he would be fine now, but he didn’t care about this. He said he wanted to be there, at least until you finally woke up so he could tell you that almost dying just to get an emotional reaction out of your boyfriend was an overkill. And maybe he mentioned one day that Alex would stop talking to him for a few days if he left him alone, so he decided to be a good boy. 

One night he was woken by a strange sound coming from you, as if you were trying to speak up. Ever since you were brought in, he became a light sleeper, so he immediately picked up on the change in the atmosphere of the room. He turned on the light above his bed and moved over to you, his hand falling on your face right away, thumb gently brushing your cheek.

“Hey, baby,” he said as he leaned down to kiss your forehead. “I’m here. What do you need?”

Your eyes turned to him, immediately locking with his blue ones, as you registered that it was truly him. Your fingers squeezed his hand, the feeling of you being awake making him smile. “Can I… get some… water?” you asked hoarsely. 

He immediately reached out for the glass and filled it from the bottle next to it. He helped to put the end of the straw in your mouth and held the glass for you. “I’m so glad you’re finally awake. You almost got me worried,” he explained. 

“How long…?”

“Five days. How are you? Does anything hurt? Should I get a doctor? I should get a doctor, right? Yeah, you just–” 

He only stopped talking because you gave him a tired look and laced your fingers with his. “Max, relax... It’s fine,” you said weakly. “I need a minute… before you call them.”

You didn’t want to talk, you just wanted to be there with him, holding hands while your brain caught up. But eventually he apologized and left to find a nurse, because he was too afraid that something would go wrong if he waited too long. He needed confirmation that you were okay, that it was safe to let you talk, to touch you, to kiss you. He wanted to know when and what you could eat, when he could bring you your favorite coffee. His brain was in overdrive, but he didn’t mind. 

Not when he finally had you back. 

The next morning he was sitting by your side, having a conversation with you about something trivial. Speaking went well now, the soreness in your throat quickly faded with practice. Sure, you still weren’t a hundred percent, but it was much better than what he heard in the middle of the night. He told you what happened, he told you everything he had mentioned while you were unconscious, and your conversation went so well that he didn’t even notice Charles coming in. 

“You’re awake!” the Monegasque said with a bright smile as he handed the usual cup to Max. “How are you feeling?”

You returned his smile, but when you tried to take a deep breath, you couldn’t help but wince. “My ribs hurt like hell when I breathe or talk too much,” you replied. “Thank you for staying with him.”

Charles looked over at Max, then his eyes returned to you. “I’m staying by his side because I don’t want my girlfriend to kick me out.”

After all those days it was hard to tell if he was serious, or if he was just saying this to hide the fact their relationship did change lately. Max surprised himself, because he wanted to believe it was the latter. His gaze returned to you, choosing to stay out of your conversation for now. 

“Still,” you began, but fell silent when you looked over at your boyfriend. “Why can’t you be like Charles?” He gave you a confused look, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed the other driver’s evergrowing smile. “He gets proper sleep. He shaves. He doesn’t live in a hospital room,” you added with a stern look. 

Shaking his head, Max placed a kiss on your temple. “I’m not leaving you. Don’t even think about it.”

“But she’s right,” Charles told him with a shit-eating grin. 

“Go to hell,” Max told him with a roll of his eyes.

[embrosegraves]

𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕗𝕥 ℍ𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕤

Oscar Piastri x Horner!Reader Miami and Imola bring new challenges to the grid. Challenges such as finally initiating the romance part of your potential relationship- oh and being on the podium with your ex-teammate too.

Warnings: swearing ig? idk my usual warnings apply (ALSO REALLY BAD TEXT MESSAGE EDITING LMAOOO)

you're crazy if you can see dates on the tweets (/hj)

series masterlist | previous part | next part

MiamiGP

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redbullracing #MiamiGP the RBR Admin is in love with you 😍

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gerihalliwellhorner I'm convinced that Miami loves you too, Darling 🥰🥰 -> redbullracing please don't embarrass me while i'm working, Mum!! -> gerihalliwellhorner Oh you do that well enough on your own

user4599 Thank you for feeding us with all the #OP81 content we could need 🫡🫡 -> redbullracing ofc! I have to use my power for something right??

maxverstappen1 This is Max Verstappen erasure 😒😒 -> redbullracing anyone ever tell you you're a massive baby?? -> maxverstappen1 not to my face, why? did you hear something? -> redbullracing only thing I can hear is you whining

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redbullracing Here's Max ig 😒 (shoutout to victoriaverstappen for giving permission for me to post Luka. u a real one fr)

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victoriaverstappen Always happy to give you posting privilege 🫶 -> redbullracing Admin is in love with you 😳🫶

maxverstappen1 thanks 😑 -> redbullracing yw 🥰😊

oscarpiastri Luka is clearly the best Verstappen out there -> redbullracing right?! the only one that comes close is his mother fr -> victoriaverstappen what a coincidence haha, Luka says you're his favourite rb driver 🤭 -> maxverstappen1 I'm still his favourite uncle tho right?? -> victoriaverstappen welllllll....... -> victoriaverstappen "Who's your favourite uncle, Luka?" "UNCLE OSCAR!!" -> maxverstappen1 ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

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3 days later

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yn.horner Everybody welcome the newest #PaddockPet ✨ Honey-Lemon 🍯🍋 (go follow her account misshoney.lemon 🤭)

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oscarpiastri was gonna say something clever, but Honey-Lemon is just too cute for me to think -> yn.horner she has that effect on cute boys -> oscarpiastri does said cute boy have an effect on Honey's cute mum? -> yn.horner maybe 🤭 -> user3216 chat is this real? -> user8569 1st of all: excuse me? 2nd of all: EXCUSE ME?! -> user 4568 ooooo i am SO HERE FOR THIS

user5421 OH MY GOD SHE'S ADORABLE

user2268 following Honey-Lemon's acc RIGHT NOW -> misshoney.lemon You're a 🍬🫀 (get it? sweet-heart??) -> user4568 we've only had Honey-Lemon for 10mins but if anything happened to her I would k-ll everyone and then myself

ImolaGP

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redbullracing In honour of #Lestappen + Oscar on the podium (again), here are some pictures of Admin's favourite F1 drivers past and present :D tagged: maxverstappen1, oscarpiastri, charles_leclerc, nicorosberg, kimimatiasraikkonen, sebastianvettel

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user6548 Admin must have a thing for cunty drivers ->redbullracing 👁️🫦👁️💅💅 -> user6548 you and me are the same

nicorosberg I'm flattered 🤭 -> redbullracing Love you King 🫶🫶

oscarpiastri Why couldn't you pick a cunty pic of me too? -> redbullracing listen man, sometimes the fans don't deserve the fan service y'know?? -> user5589 DOES THIS MEAN ADMIN HAS CUNTY OSCAR PICS???!!?!? -> redbullracing ADMIN HAS THEM AND IS HOLDING THEM HOSTAGE

sebastianvettel I'll reply for both Kimi and myself. -> sebastianvettel I'm honoured to be considered one of your favourites :) -> redbullracing ok that was you, what's kimi's reply?? -> sebastianvettel 👍👍 -> redbullracing idk why i expected any different

imessage

Here we go, as promised!

(not even joking, planning this and having people ask abt writing for others in f1 has given me so much motivation, this is great)

[valyrfia]

h-tt-p-s://twitter.com/mireia19980721/status/1783196373124591716?t=6tEIopIWffDtc0RR-Qjm2A&s=19

h-tt-p-s://twitter.com/maranellosaint/status/1783206647160017282?t=q4f0uw_KVISHcApVm6HGJQ&s=19

Well well well

Lestappen being compared to a cosmic marriage? Nothing new, really.

I do adore the symbolism of Max being the dragon though (majesty/water associated/blue) and Charles being the phoenix (rebirth/fire associated/red). The parallels keep coming, more proof of the universe being just a tiny bit weird with them.

[vivwritesfics]

hey! i love your pet series, and we've seen a lot so far. from moon to fernando jr there were a lot of absolutely adorable one shots!

and i wanted to request maybe a pet cow (mini or otherwise, i love cows they're just so cute) with danny ric? i mean, we all know that he loves texas, farmlife, etc. so I think that would be really fitting for him!

thank you in advance, even if you decide not to do it:)

texas_ric

liked by y/nl/n, and 75 others

texas_ric did you guys know that daniel ricciardo has a cow? that's such a danny ric thing to do

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username1 omg that's so pure of him

username2 obsessed

username3 the cow is so cute holy shit

y/nl/n Danny and i actually have several cows! we went to an auction in Texas and we couldn't stop ourselves

y/nl/n

liked by danielricciardo, and 201,293 others

y/nl/n the ricciardo gang

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maxverstappen1 petition for you to name the next one after me

charles_leclerc petition for you to get another two and name them max and charles

username4 lestappen omg

danielricciardo our army

y/nl/n i think the most common term for it is family, danny

username5 what are their cows called, does anybody know?

username6 the friesian calf is niki, the brown calf is senna, the big cows are schumacher and prost but i don't know which way round it is

y/nl/n

liked by landonorris, and 293,012 others

y/nl/n senna is so pretty 🥰🥰

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danielricciardo my favourite son ❤❤

y/nl/n danny! you can't say that!

username7 omg the ricciardo's are so cute

username8 you could rescue instead of being selfish and getting a calf

username9 real fans know that they rescued a pregnant heifer and that's how they got senna

username10 pls bring senna or niki to a grand prix

username11 pls let moon ride senna

landonorris which team does senna support?

y/nl/n definitely not McLaren username12 omg the shade

danielricciardo

liked by y/nl/n, and 304,583 others

danielricciardo one step closer to becoming a cowboy

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y/nl/n my cowboy

danielricciardo *cow man

username13 what's the next steps for cowboy danny?

y/nl/n need to convince him to get horses

username14 omg baby niki

username15 i hope they get more farm animals

username16 i hope they take at least one of the cows to gps

username17 omg niki in a red bull hat would be so cute

y/nl/n

liked by danielricciardo, and 249,438

y/nl/n so... we did something

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maxverstappen1 please tell me their names (and that one of them is named after me)

y/nl/n okok we've got charles, yuki, alex, pierre and max

username18 omg they've named them after the rb drivers + charles

danielricciardo what're we getting next?

y/nl/n a baby

username19 SHE DID NOT JUST DROP THAT SHE'S PREGNANT

charles_leclerc charles is the cutest sheep

danielricciardo you don't even know which one charles is

username20 how aren't more people talking about the fact that she's pregnant

username21 congratulations to my grid parents

[additiva]

can u rec some lestappen fanfics pleaseee i feel like i’ve read everything and ur an amazing writer so i trust ur taste (even ones you haven’t read and want to read will do) tyy

Ooh I love this. Also that's so lovely thank you 🤍❤️

Lestappen Fic Rec List

Below the cut.

Ok not an exhaustive list, but here are the ones I remember LOVING.

Some are well known, some less so.

I can't rec any I haven't read yet sorry I'm super picky about the writing style, which you don't know until you get into the fic.

I've tagged some authors, some I couldn't remember their Tumblr names even though I follow them. I'll try to remember to tag them later, but also feel free to do so, if you know them.

Please leave kudos and comment on these fic if you check them out 🤍

I'll try to remember to update the list in future if I can.

Every Other Sunday by Anney

Obviously

Home (is wherever I'm with you) by actparci

Charles leaves Ferrari. There's a million of these, and this is my favourite.

Grapefruit Mignonette by slapshots

Restaurant au. The best of the trope in my opinion though the others are also good.

Set My Midnight Sorrow Free by PrincessElectra

-LOVE this series. Ugh. NOT an au.

Violent delights by grandprix

-ABO. Adore this series esp the second one.

Straight Lines by @alphatinies

Yes. Can't describe just read.

Blood Soaked Gown by sixteenthirtythree

ABO. Friends w benefits. Max is retiring and wants Charles to take his Red Bull seat. Adore it.

Canine teeth in the side of my neck by mintchocolatechip97

Silly! Biting. Don't look directly at me.

If I had words by @formula-fun

ABO. Charles has a miscarriage. Don't let the pregnancy themes scare you, it's perfect. The dynamics are 🫠 I adore this Max 😖

Called to the devil and the devil said hey by @creabirds

Yes. Sticks in my brain like glue.

A life in your shape by weiwuxian

- Max is Batman. This bit, I'll never forget:

But it was what made it fun — being taunted and kissed in the same breath. To fight and fuck and feel worshiped the whole time.

Top of the world (looking down on creation) by eaurouge-sangnoir

Sex worker Charles, virgin Max. 😖

Breathe You In (Like a Vapour) by @fabbyf1

🌶️🌶️❤️❤️

I'll Be Right Beside You by @fabbyf1

Max has amnesia. Charles is perfect.

Curious by LaurawritingF1

Charles is bicurious. Max is happy to help.

Heart Out series by @drivestraight

Girl!Max. Charles is bad at sex, but for some reason Max keeps doing it with him. Underrated. One of my fave series ever. Charles is a simp. He cannot handle Max, but he tries anyway, and I LOVE him.

Panem et circenses by Anney

SO underrated wow. Dystopian future of F1 fic, and like. Wow. Perfect. Wow.

Dirtbag, baby by mondaycore

All of their lestappen. Again, don't look directly at me. Look at the fic instead.

The Skirt by Anonymous

Silly! And short. But I love it.

Says he's going to teach me what fast is by @foggystars

Their lestappen are great but actually this Charlos one is my fave 🤌

And these are not Lestappen. They're Maxiel primarily, which I don't seek out in my life but they're SO perfect it makes me sick. I think anyone would enjoy them. The writing is just perfect.

To the Victor Belong The Spoils by @powerful-owl

Hunger Games AU. Wow the writing. The characterisations. Wow. It's all perfect. Wow. Please read it. You'll love it.

Steal the air out of my lungs by nahco3

Resident doctor au. Both accurate and compelling. Max is so dear to me. And Lewis. Love of my life, ugh.

Leave this blue neighbourhood series by tiredtiredsharl

This whole series I must've read 20 times. Multi-ship, though not Lestappen. Found family. It heals me with every word, it's just 😖😖❤️❤️.

Okay that's it for now. Lmk what you think.

[theemporium]

🐈‍⬛ lestappen werewolves where sometimes the animal instinct takes over and they feel the need to provide for you…like bringing a bunny to the back porch

basically we need to see them in wolf form being adorable

thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

.

“Is that…is that a bunny?”

Your eyes widened from you spot in the kitchen as you quickly grabbed the drinks from the fridge before rushing back out to the living room where Alex was currently standing. He was by the window, staring wide-eyed and shocked at the dead bunny lying on the small porch that led outside to your garden.

“Uh yeah,” you said as you handed him his drink, trying to stay as calm and casual as you could. “Poor guy must’ve had a bad run in with a fox.”

Alex frowned sadly. “Poor guy indeed. Are you gonna…dispose of him?”

“Are you asking me what I’m gonna do with the dead bunny on my porch?” You deadpanned, watching as the Brit grew sheepish.

“Well you haven’t moved it yet so,” he trailed off before shrugging his shoulders. His expression became a lot more teasing as he grinned at you. “Why do you not get one of your little boy toys to move it?”

You rolled your eyes, smiling. “They aren’t here right now, they are—”

Alex frowned at the way you quickly cut yourself off. “They are what?”

“Camping,” you said suddenly, frowning a little at your own excuse but you had already dug your grave, you may as well lie in it. “They, uh, wanted to get outdoors for a few days.”

“And you didn’t go with?” Alex asked.

“Pfft,” you let out a small laugh. “Nah, I don’t do the outdoors. That’s their thing.”

And that much was true, so very true in a way that you could never disclose to your best friend or anyone else for that matter. Your relationship with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc was already constantly under question and scrutiny, the last thing they needed was another thing to obsess over.

And you knew they would love to find out you were practically dating two massive puppies.

“You can’t keep doing this,” you said with a sigh as you stood on the porch, a blanket tightly drawn around your shoulders to battle the evening chill as you watched the two wolves pad towards the house. “I can’t keep explaining the dead bunnies.”

Max approached you first, slightly larger than the two of them with light brown fur and narrow eyes that reminded you of a predator. Charles had darker fur, slightly leaner and smaller of the two.

The lighter wolf padded forward, dropping the small animal at your feet before looking up at you expectantly.

You huff out a small laugh, shaking your head. “I appreciate it, baby, but I don’t know how many more I can handle burying.”

The darker wolf let out a whimper, his head tilted to the side. It took everything in you to not roll your eyes as you leaned over, softly scratching behind his ears as he nosed at your legs.

It was rare for them to get like this, to crave their animal form. But it happened. Not very often, and honestly you hadn’t even seen it many times in the time you had been dating. It was just these deep, primal urges that made them crave the wolf side of themselves, that made them parade around the woods behind your house for days in their animal form until they were ready to come back home.

But even in these moods, your boys had an overpowering sense of caring for you. And unfortunately in wolf form, that meant hunting innocent bunnies as a small present (and probably dinner) in their eyes.

“I forget how cute you two are like this,” you murmured as you sat on the steps of the porch, both wolves curling up by your feet as they preened and flourished under your attention. “My lil’ puppies, hm?”

Max lifted his head up to glare.

“Oh hush, you’re the biggest puppy,” you smiled as you leaned down to softly pat his head. A smile that widened when he whined after you pulled away.

“But I seriously mean it, no more bunnies or you’re both staying in the dog house.”

.

[lxndonorris]

F1/F2/FE/Indycar masterlist #1

Masterlist part two x

Arthur Leclerc:

keep you warm (F)

Callum Ilott:

racy in red (S)

Charles Leclerc:

good luck kiss (S)

sleep talking (S)

lucky charm (S)

buttons (S)

adoration (S)

dirty talk (S)

suit fitting (S)

special kind of piano (S)

back in the saddle (S)

cool down (S)

one last time (S)

wearing his clothes (S)

new season, new suit (S) SFS24

chocolate (S)

lick love LEC (F)

a trip down nostalgia lane (S)

Dan Ticktum:

heated times (S)

bad bitch (S)

Daniel Ricciardo:

touchy badger (S)

thirsty badger (S)

isn’t it lovely? (F)

step by step (S)

skinny jeans stay on (S)

birthday boy (S)

suit fitting the honey badger (S)

badger work out (S)

the racing bull (S) SFS24

Felipe Drugovich:

sunday flex (S)

seized moments (S)

Max Verstappen:

releasing some steam (S)

midnight tease (S)

breathe out sorrow (A)

lederhosen (S)

bull ride (S)

pluisje (F)

nothing’s like being first (S)

competition (S)

streamer max (S)

back inside the cockpit (S) SFS24

sleeping naked (S)

such a tease (S)

Pierre Gasly:

hold me close (S)

cravings in bed (S)

those damn fireproofs (S)

kinky pear (S)

his shirt (S)

comfort (F)

Ships:

Charlos:

moments like these (M)

Dando:

Enchanté (S)

tender touch (S)

Maxiel:

love is weird (F)

blindfolded (S)

Lestappen:

hard tires (S)

medium tires (S)

that smirk (S)

racing hearts (S)

for comfort (S)

Piarles:

all dressed up (S)

[laura1633]

Prompt 12 Lestappen

omega Max preferably

After a bit of a break I am back to writing a few very short stories from the Omegaverse Prompt game. I have had a few requests for number 12 so it might pop up again with a slightly different angle <3

This is actually part two to the previous prompt I filled (here is part one). All you really need to know is that Max gets really ill in his heats.

Charles knows that there is something wrong the instant he lets himself into Max’s apartment. There is a slight bitterness to the usually sweet scent that fills the place and it’s eerily quiet. Normally by now he’d have Max jumping into his arms and crashing their lips together but instead he’s left alone to deposit the groceries he’s brought into the kitchen. It’s not completely unexpected, Max’s heat was due to start tomorrow so Charles can only guess that it’s started a little earlier than expected. 

“Max?” Charles pokes his head around the door to the bedroom expecting to see the omega curled up in a nest, instead the bed is empty. Completely empty. The pillows and cushions and bedding are all strewn across the floor and the stuffed toys that Max sometimes uses to make the nest brighter are all piled up high on the side. 

“Max sweetie, where are you?!” Charles freezes so he can listen out for the omega. He doesn’t get a response but is able to follow the whimpering sound he hears coming from the bathroom where he finds Max curled up on the floor with a blanket wrapped around himself. 

“Baby, what are you doing in here?” Charles crouches down and tentatively reaches out to stroke his hand through Max’s hair. The omega normally craves physical touch but he looks rather distressed right now so Charles is a little reluctant to do anything that may shock him further. 

“Sorry” Max looks out from where he has wrapped himself up in a blanket and blinks back a few tears, “I was trying to make the nest nice but I got sick.” The last few words tremble out slowly. 

“That’s okay” Charles coos as reassuringly as he can, “I can finish it off.” 

Max makes a whining sound as his brow furrows together. Charles knows it is not ideal, Max makes the cosiest nests and Charles is not particularly skilled in the area. More importantly though, Max loves to make the nests for the two of them. The omega might not make a huge fuss about the effort he puts in but Charles always catches how excited Max gets when he is waiting to see if Charles has noticed the additional special touches that have been added . Building a loving warm nest for his alpha is mostly definitely part of Max’s love language and Charles has never met an omega more loving than Max. 

“My head hurts” Max mumbles delicately, “Do I look bad? I was going to make an effort but - ”

“You look beautiful” Charles settles himself down on the bathroom floor and pulls Max into his lap, “I assume your heat has started?”

The omega nods against where he has buried his face into the crook of Charles’ neck.

“Do you want me to make a nest on the bed or the couch?” Charles slides his hands up the inside of Max’s top and feels the damp sweat that has been clinging to the fabric. Max may not experience all the normal tell tale signs of a heat but he’s definitely warm to the touch. 

“Couch please.” 

“Lets get you on the couch then” Charles shifts about and curls his arms under Max so that he can scoop the omega up in his arms. Max clings around his alpha’s neck and melts against his body. It’s adorable but it is also another sign that Max isn’t feeling himself, the omega normally protests about being carried, mostly because he doesn’t think Charles can lift him despite Charles quite comfortably and happily carrying Max around time and time again. 

“I’ll go get the bedding and some cushions” Charles places Max on the couch and leans down to press a kiss against the tip of the omega’s nose before hurrying off to get enough materials to build some sort of nest. 

Max’s bedroom is absolutely covered in blankets, pillows and cushions so Charles gathers up as much as he possible can before staggering back over to the couch. Max is curled back up in a ball, he looks unbearably sad as he tries to cover his body with the small blanket he had clutched to him in the bathroom. 

“We will get this all nice for you” Charles hums as he gets to work on padding the cushions and blankets around Max’s body. It’s not the most sophisticated nest but Max looks cosier by the second and there are tiny little sounds of contentment coming from the omega despite the obvious discomfort he is in. 

“Do you want me to leave you alone?” Charles fusses about putting the finishes touches to the nest, “Or do you want me with you?”

“Whatever you prefer” Max mumbles despite shifting across to make room for Charles to slip in beside him. The omega looks paler than usual, that is apart from the apples of his cheeks which are flushed red. There is definitely a warmth radiating off of him but other than that his heat is unlike any heat Charles has ever witnessed before.

The alpha slips into the nest without asking again, it’s clear from the way Max is looking up at him that he doesn’t want to be left alone. The second Charles has climbed in he has a rather poorly looking omega cuddled right up next to him. 

“Just get some rest for me” Charles hums as he gets himself comfortable, “and then if you are feeling up to it I can make you some food later. Would you like that?”

Max nods and smiles as his eyelids drop closed and his whole body slumps against Charles’. He looks exhausted so it’s no real surprise when he drifts off to sleep a few brief moments later. 

Charles had frankly been expecting the worst. Max had described how bad his heats can get. Unlike other omegas, ‘bad’ didn’t mean wet or desperate, it meant cramps and headaches and full body exhaustion. As Charles closes his eyes to get some rest he tries his best not to think about the fact that Max has been dealing with his heats alone all this time, instead he concentrates on rumbling softly against the omega hoping it will soothe him in his sleep.

****

“You made me soup” Max’s eyes light up as Charles carefully sets a tray down in front of him. 

“Tomato soup” Charles declares proudly. It’s good soup too, or at least Charles thinks it’s pretty decent. It should be, he’s been living off sub standard batches of tomato soup for weeks now trying to perfect the recipe. The batch he made yesterday was the best yet and he doubts heating it through today will have dulled the flavour much. 

“Thank you” Max’s eyes crinkle up as he smiles appreciatively. He looks a little brighter compared to this morning but he’s been in out of sleep all morning and waking only to take his painkillers or top up on fluid. 

“You can tell me if you don’t like it” Charles tries not to sounds too stressed but if it tastes bad he thinks he’s probably going to cry. He definitely doesn’t consider himself a chef but he’s worked hard at this. Still, he’s not going to force Max to eat it, the omega is going through enough with his heat sickness. 

“It’s good” Max purrs quietly as he blows on a spoonful of soup before taking another mouthful, “It tastes like how my mum used to make it.” 

“She may have given me the recipe” Charles smiles at the way Max looks up at him in shock, “I said I wanted to make it for you.” 

“She must really like you” Max purrs again, the sound vibrating out of him louder this time, “That recipe is a family secret.”

“Maybe she knows I will be family one day” Charles coos gently. There is no ‘maybe’ about it, Sophie was very clear that she was handing it over because she considers Charles family already. Charles had thought it a rather bold statement given he has only been dating Max for a few months but apparently Max has been referring to Charles as his alpha for as long as Sophie can remember. The knowledge of which makes Charles’ heart flutter every time he thinks about it. 

“Maybe” Max turns his attention back to his soup, his cheeks getting a little more flushed except this time it appears to be the embarrassment that is making him red, “It’s really good. Thank you.” 

****

Charles closes his eyes and tries not to cry as he sits himself down on Max’s mattress. The omega is fast asleep on the couch giving Charles some time to sort the bed out ready for tonight. Except he’s too busy blubbering to finish the job. 

It’s so ridiculous. Charles isn’t even sure if he is crying because he is happy or sad. The alpha glances back down at the gift he spotted tucked away beside one of the bedside cabinets. It’s gift wrapped so he has no idea what is in it but that doesn’t matter, it’s the card that is making him feel like an emotional wreck. 

The gift is to him, which is not completely unusual. Traditionally alphas tend to buy the courting gifts for the omegas but Max has always loved to reciprocate in that department so Charles has plenty of gifts from his omega at home. It’s not the gift itself that is setting he alpha off, it’s the reason for the gift.

Charles peels open the gift tag again and re-reads Max’s message apologising for not having a normal heat and thanking Charles for helping him through it.  

The alpha takes a few long deep breaths to gather himself together and then tucks the gift back where he found it. He doubts he will need to put on an act when Max hands it over, he’s going to get surprised and overwhelmed all over again, he just knows it. 

****

“You want to go to bed now?” Charles strokes his fingers lovingly through Max’s hair as the omega lays with his head resting in his alpha’s lap. The last two hours have been the longest Max has managed to stay awake for all day but the omega is clearly starting to drift off again now.

Max makes a disgruntled sound before starting to move but winces and clutches his stomach as he tries to get himself up into a seated position. 

“I’m going to carry you again” Charles doesn’t wait for Max to argue, he doubts the omega has the energy to put up a protest anyway. As the alpha makes his way through to the bedroom he’s just glad he had the foresight to make the bed up earlier in the day because he’s rather exhausted and can’t wait to flop against the mattress. 

“I know it hurts but you did so well for me all day today” Charles praises softly against Max’s ear as he sets him down into the bed, “I am so glad you let me take care of you.”

Charles may not be able to fall back on a lot of the techniques he has developed over the years when it comes to helping omegas through heats. He certainly can’t have sex or knot Max to ease away the tension. What he can do though is praise.

“Thank you”Max hums as he lets Charles hold a glass of water to his lips so he can take another couple of painkillers, “It has been better with you here.”

“I’m going to be here every single time now” Charles promises as he tucks Max into bed and then undresses himself so he can get in alongside the omega, “and I’m going to learn to cook all your favourite meals so you will always have something to look forward to.”

Max smiles lazily but it’s enough to make his whole face squish up, “I love you” 

“I love you too” Charles cups Max’s cheeks so he can give him a delicate kiss on the lips. 

“This has not put you off? Max mumbles quietly as he squishes himself up tight against Charles’ body, “I would understand. I wish I had real heats too.”

“This is a real heat” Charles smiles sympathetically, “It is just different.”

“I mean I wish I had the type of heats that alpha’s liked”  Max sighs.

“I wish you didn’t have to get sick but that’s not because I want you to have a certain type of heat for me” Charles wraps his arm around the omega and kisses the top of his head.

“I guess it’s not just for you” Max’s lips curl forming a rather embarrassed smile as he looks up at Charles, “For me I mean, I would like that also.”

“I know this mustn’t be nice for you” Charles coos as he stokes his hand up and down Max’s arm trying his best to comfort him. 

“I want what they have” Max sighs sadly, “for both of us”

Charles wishes there was something he could say to make it all better but he can’t. Max’s heats are painful and not at all sexual and all Charles can really do is ease Max through them as best he can. 

“Some omegas say they have an out of body experience when they spend their heat with an alpha” Max mumbles, “Is that true?”

Charles considers lying, considers saying that it’s all an exaggeration, but Max is an adult and Charles doesn’t think lying is particularly helpful, “It can be like that for some omegas, yes” 

“Thought so” Max whimpers, “I told my friends that I get like that too.  Floaty and happy. It is not true though”

“I know sweetie” Charles presses another couple of kisses against the top of Max’s head and pulls the blankets tighter around the two of them. 

“We could give you that experience maybe?” Charles says cautiously, “We could pick a couple days each month for your special heat?”

“Special heat?” Max’s voice cracks. 

“I’ll bring snacks and we’ll lock ourselves away just like I would if you were in heat.  I’d be all yours. I think I could give you that nice floaty feeling they talk about. If you trust me?”

“I trust you” Max’s voice sounds more jovially that it has done all day, “You would do that for me?”

“I would do anything for you” Charles hums, “It is also not a chore to be locked away in bed with a beautiful omega” 

Charles can tell that Max is blushing at the word beautiful because the tips of the omega’s ears turn red as he starts to purr to himself. 

“First lets get you feeling better okay?” Charles tries to calm himself down because the thought of getting Max to come so many times he goes all floaty and drops into subspace is making Charles excited which is less than ideal because Max is no place to be having sex right now, the omega still looks like he’s barely keeping his eyes open.

“Okay” Max hums as he as he nuzzles right into Charles’ neck and rests his nose up against the alpha’s scent gland for comfort, “I mean it, I do feel better when you are here” 

“And I feel better being here with you ” Charles coos, “You did so well today for me. I know you are going to do so well with your special heat too.”

“Thank you” Max giggles quietly as he takes a deep inhale of Charles’ scent before purring himself to sleep.

[charlie-lec-stories]

The Socca Fiasco // CL16 & MV1

Pairing: Charles Leclerc / Original Female Character / Max Verstappen

Summary: Charles feels like he doesn't do enough compared to his partners so he decides to make a traditional Monaco dish for them. What could go wrong?

Warnings: None, just Charles being adorable and two curse words.

Author’s Note: This is a story that it's actually part of a sort of series. Little story time: A few years ago a friend of mine got into a polyamorous relationship with a girl and a boy. He motivated me to add this relationship concept to a longer story I wrote. Since I've never been in one, I decided to write short stories with a domestic vibe to practice and get more comfortable with how to write the dynamics of such relationships as accurately as I can. This is where this comes from. All of the Charles x Max x Y/N stories are part of the same universe, you could say, like they are all stories about different situations the three of them go through. I hope you all like some domestic Lestappen x Y/N. Rate: PG

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It was a tradition for them to have Max make Stroopwafel for breakfast, it was the dutch's way of showing affection, since he wasn't exactly expressive with words or romantic gestures on a daily basis. He would usually wake up earlier than Charles and Y/N, having been always a morning person, and take command of the kitchen to make sure his parters had a good breakfast. "It's the most important meal of the day", he always said whenever the other two refused to eat in the morning. Charles was the worst when it came to food, he would always complain that eating so early made his stomach feel funny and that he needed some time before he could actually eat something. Max came up with a plan, to make sure Charles would eat, he would make something Charles liked for breakfast, that way the monegasque would never refuse to eat in the morning ever again. His plan worked, and with the addition of the Stroopwafel to their breakfast menu, Charles started to eat every morning without making a single complain. That's how the tradition started and Max loved it, he felt like he could tell his partners he loved them, without having to actually say it, something that made him feel kind of awkward.

To the breakfast tradition a new ritual was added when Y/N started to cook a traditional dish from her country every Sunday. She had traveled back to her parents house for a few days and noticed that she actually missed those Sunday family gatherings that used to occur every week when she was younger. Her family would spent the whole day together, playing board games, watching movies and listening to music. The point of Family Sunday was to create wonderful moments together to remember forever. And she remembered them all with love. With that nostalgia settled in her heart, she decided that she wanted to keep that tradition alive with her new family. Every weekend she would buy everything she needed to make the meal and dedicate the Sunday morning to cooking. Charles and Max had their own roles, Charles taking care of the getting all the board games they had in the house and setting up the table, while Max was the one that prepared the brewages and picked the movie or vinyl that would play in the background. Family Sundays were their favorites because they could manage to celebrate them anywhere in the world, all they needed was a grill for the food, some board game and music. If it was race weekend, they had dinner and if it was a free weekend, they had lunch. They spent some Family Sundays in hotel rooms, simply cooking their meal in the hospitality of Red Bull or Ferrari and then taking it to the room to eat it together. Y/N really liked those moments, it made her feel like they were officially family.

Charles, at some point, started to feel like he wasn't doing enough. Max made breakfast, Y/N made Family Sunday meal and he was always enjoying what they made instead of doing something for them. He wanted to do something, he wanted to give them as much as they gave him. He wanted them to know that he loves them. With this idea in mind, he tried to cook pasta a few times, but it didn't end up well. Max had ended up banning him from the kitchen because he was sure that Charles would burn the apartment down. Pasta was off the table and it was the only thing that Charles knew how to cook, even if he didn't do it well. He expressed this concern to his brothers, who instead of giving him some cooking ideas, suggested him to just simply express his affection with other actions. Charles refused, he wanted to make something and he was going to do it.

"I'm just so bad at this, Maman". He complained to his mother on the phone. "I mean, Y/N isn't that good, but at least she can pull something off! I'm not asking to cook as good as Max, I just want to do something right". His mother could hear the stress in his voice. She actually believed that Charles didn't need to cook anything for his partners, they already knew that he loves them and that he shows that love through different methods. Still, she decided to please her son's wishes.

"Okay Charles, I'll send you a recipe for Socca. It's an easy dish and you'll have no problem making it". Charles' spirits lifted quickly. "It's beginners level of complexity. You'll be fine"

"Thank you, Maman! You're the best. I love you!".

It was summer break and Charles had been practicing the recipe for three months. He did it at the Ferrari hospitality every week and it was his most sacred secret. He wanted it to be a surprise so Y/N and Max couldn't know about it. It took Charles a lot of effort to hide his cooking practices, but he was finally ready to cook Socca at home. His skill with the dish had improved a lot, he had to admit that the first ones he made were so bad he couldn't even eat them. His younger brother, Arthur, even gagged when he tried a piece once.

"Charles, if you feed them this, you'll end up single". The younger Leclerc said as he spit the food in the bin.

"Oh Lord. 'How to loose not one but two lovers in one go'. I can see that Buzzfeed article". Charles glared at Lorenzo, his older brother, who was laughing at Charles poor attempt of Socca while he threw that comment.

But, his Socca upgraded since then and while Max and Y/N were out for a jog, Charles told them that he wasn't feeling like running and stayed home. He had an hour until they were back, more than enough time to cook and surprise them. Only four ingredients were needed: Chickpea flour, water, extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt. Once he had everything on top of the kitchen island, he started to mix everything in a bowl. He whisked until there were no lumps in the mix and then set a timer to let the batter soak for thirty minutes. The oven at home was nothing like the one he used to practice with so he had a few set backs when trying to turn it on, but he finally did it and then placed the pan inside to make sure it'll preheated before pouring the batter on it. In the meantime, his mother called to know what plans they had for that weekend. Charles loved talking to his mother so he sat comfortably on the couch and proceeded to tell her all of his summer break plans while he waited for the batter to soak. After a few minutes, he went to the kitchen for a glass of water and when he looked at the kitchen counter he noticed that the timer wasn't working. Slightly panicked, he took the phone away from his ear and check the time of the call. He had been talking to his mother for twenty minutes and before that he had trouble with the oven, but how long did that took him? He didn't know. It was quite a struggle, maybe it actually took him another ten minutes. With a rushed apology and a promise to call later, he hung up and decided to concentrate on his task.

"Well, I'm sure that has to be ready". He said to himself. Sighing, he opened the oven to take the pan out, he forgot to grab a kitchen towel and ended up burning his right hand. An instant hiss left his lips and he dropped the pan. "Putain!". Charles cursed under his breath, he grabbed the kitchen towel and picked up the pan again. A lot more stressed than he expected to be when he started cooking, he poured the batter on the pan, put it inside the oven and closed it. Twenty minutes later, Max frowned the moment he set a foot inside the apartment, turning towards Y/N who was looking at him with the same expression. There was a funny smell coming from the kitchen and he knew that it wasn't good sign. Keeping Y/N behind him he walked into the living room area, Charles was nowhere to be seen, but his singing was in the air, clearly coming from the bedroom. Max went straight to the kitchen while Y/N went to the bedroom to look for Charles. She was about to turn on the light of the hallway when Max yelled from the kitchen.

"Schat, don't touch anything!". Charles peaked his head through the bedroom door and his eyes met with Y/N's, they smiled lovingly at each other, but Max's dutch curse words quickly caught their attention. Charles jogged to her side and pecked her lips as a silent greeting while the two walked to the kitchen.

"Max, what's wrong?". Y/N asked while the dutchman opened the kitchen window as wide as he could. "Did you find the source of that smell?"

"It's the oven, it was leaking gas". He looked at Charles. "Charlie, you turned on the gas but never lit it up".

"No! I did, I swear!". Max shook his head.

"Don't turn on any light, let's just open all the windows and let the wind from outside renovate the air". Charles went to the living room and sat on the couch, huffing and with a frown on his face.

"I don't get it!". Y/N sat next to him and grabbed his hand. "I lit it up".

"Sometimes closing the door to harsh or an object hitting the oven can kill the pilot light". She explained. Charles remembered the pan he dropped.

"I am stupid!". He said, his accent thick. "I dropped the pan when I burned my hand. That must have done it".

"You burned your hand!?". Max and Y/N asked worried, Max running to stand in front of him and checking on his hands.

"It's nothing". Charles assured them, embarrassment filling his chest. Max kept looking at his hands anyways. There was a small red mark on his right palm. Y/N went to the bathroom and grabbed a lotion for burns from the first aid kit. She gently ran in over Charles' palm, him letting out a sigh of content at the cool sensation against his burned skin. "I am stupid".

"You're not stupid, don't say that". Max looked at him sternly, he hated when Charles called himself that.

"But I am! It took me three months to learn how to do the easiest dish in Monaco, which already proves how useless I am, just for me to fuck it up when I finally try to do it for you!". He was pissed so the other two left him get it all out. "You always cook for me and I can't even make a fucking Socca for you, I just wanted you guys to feel like I love you... I suck".

"We do feel like you love us, Charlie". Y/N said as she caressed his arm. "We know that you love us".

"But I never do anything for you". Charles said looking at his lap.

"That's not true". Max sat criss-crossed on the floor in front of Charles. "You always try to cheer us up when we have a bad day, and you always know what we need without having to say it. I think that's something important to add to a relationship".

"That's right". Y/N agreed. "Who cares if you can't cook? You still took the time to learn how to do it just for us. You spent three months learning something that it's hard for you all to make us happy". She ran her hands through Charles' hair and he looked at her. "That makes me feel really loved".

"You mean it?". Charles asked looking between the other two. They nodded eagerly.

"We do". Max's voice assured him quietly. Charles smiled.

Maybe Charles was doing more than he thought.

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Well, I hope you like this one!

[mercyreg]

Charlos Headcanons

Once again. These are more loosely based for a Discord Server. Sharing is caring so I shared!

Requests are happily accepted !!

Charlos HC

Charles is extremely shy and reclusive unless he knows the people well but that doesn’t stop him from being nice and “charming”

Charles had a Natural bond with Carlos immediately upon meeting him

Charles started movie marathons every chance he got with Carlos

Carlos is very big on Physical touch/Affection after Charles told him that he enjoys it

He purposefully pronounces Carlos’ name as “Cah-los”

Carlos has a bad habit of giving Charles “Those eyes”

Charles has on multiple occasions fallen asleep on Carlos. Whether it be on flights, bus rides, just sitting next to each other

Carlos always tries to have some physical contact with Charles

Charles wears bracelets and rings every chance he’s given because Carlos likes to mess with them

Charles adores it when Carlos speaks Spanish, even small phrases.

Charles is fully aware of the “ships” of him and the f1 grid. 

Again Charles only really acknowledges Charlos and Lestappen

They have taken showers together before

Carlos drags Charles’ to parties frequently 

They both have slept together, both were drunk. 

Carlos was sober enough to rememberer every detail due to him deliberately staying awake and chugging water TO sober up.

Charles was blackout drunk and barely remembered snippets let alone who it was.

Charles woke up in Carlos’ Ferrari polo but didn’t realize it until the end of the day when he took it off and saw “Sainz” and “55” On the back.

Carlos had completely mapped out everything about Charles sexually that night.

Carlos didn’t tell Charles because he thought he remembered and was staying quiet

Charles figured he slept with someone but never could put together who.

Charles will listen to any song Carlos tells him to, Even if he dislikes the singer, band, genre, etc.

They are a active duo in the club or at parties. You won’t find one without the other.

They sync their mic’s in their helmets during Practice races and talk to each other.

Both of their phones are filled with pictures of each other.

Charles enjoys holding or messing with Carlos’ hand or fingers when he’s bored

[lestappenforever]

ice cream shop lestappen paralleling irl lestappen by charles making max suddenly much more liked by the public because before everybody just saw him as this mad max figure that never loses and drives to the limits but then he started seeing charles and you get this driver that leads the championship absolutely gone for this random guy in his garage and whenever he gets to talk about charles in any interviews, he cannot stop smiling and suddenly everyone adores him because you can tell that man is in LOVE

Yes, anon!

And before you know it, Charles stops being known as Max Verstappen's boyfriend and Max starts being known as "that adorable ice cream guy Charles Leclerc's boyfriend". Which Max is totally okay with.

[fullsundiall]

ranking my fave f1 ships after 2 months in the fandom

1. lestappen

i mean come on. being very very good and also very very weird with each other, it’s just the pefect storm.

2. nortrell

somehow i have become the biggest max f fan and you know what? i’m not even mad about it. their friendship is just adorable and their fics are delicious. oh my gosh.

3. brocedes

yeah, i think i love nico rosberg. the storylines, the history, everything about this couple is perfect (ship-wise). i’ve sobbed at edits of these two too much for it not to be in my top three.

4. loscar

to be honest, i don’t know what these two are called. is it logscer? but they are cute together and oscar on the latest episode of tourque is perfect. it’s their prema era videos together that really get me.

5. alex and george

whatever their ship name is, this is just classic cute childhood besties AND I LOVE!

[onboardsorasora]

For de aged Daniel, max has a stream with red line that he can’t get out of so he sets Daniel up with a coloring station and Daniel draws the two of them racing or on the podium. So obvs he has to show max and he does so during the stream which is how the Max Verstappen secret kid rumors start

And since the kid is wearing so much Ferrari people assume that it’s a secret Lestappen baby which max hates because he loves Daniel and Charles is just laughing at all of the tweets/chaotically liking them to add to the rumors

De-Aged Daniel | De-Aged Daniel Pt2 | De-Aged Daniel Pt3 | De-Aged Daniel Pt 4 | De- Aged Daniel Pt 5 | De-Aged Daniel Part 6 | De-Aged Daniel Part 7 | De-Aged Daniel Part 8 | De-Aged Daniel Part 9

“Mate, when are you gonna be able to get here?” Max asked over the phone, keeping an eye at the coffee table where Little Daniel was colouring with his tongue sticking out adorably while he concentrated.

“Mate, I told you I'm gonna be late. I am helping maman with something, then I will be there.” Charles' voice was distant on the phone and Max sighed explosively.

“Ok, the door code is the same. I have to jump on.”

“It will be fine, Max.” Charles tried to soothe before they hung up. Max looked towards Little Daniel. “Daniel, Charles will be here soon. Are you ok out here while I go into a meeting?”

“Shaarrllll.” Little Daniel drawled, not looking up from choosing his next colour.

“Daniel? Did you hear me?” Max asked again softly.

“Yeah Maxy. I'll shtay here.” Little Daniel nodded up at Max, brown eyes bright.

“Pinky promise?” Max asked sticking out his finger.

Little Daniel looked at him consideringly before hooking his pinky with a grin. “I'm gonna draw you a picture Maxy!” He declared.

“I'd love one thank you, Daniel.” 

Max went into his sim room after taking a long look at Little Daniel who took a new sheet of paper and started colouring again. He settled himself in his rig and joined the stream, apologizing for being late.

“Everything ok, Mate?” Crane asked. Max glanced up at the camera and waved before straightening his shirt across his chest while he watched them play a round.

“Yeah, I just had to deal with something. Of course, I would never miss staring into your eyes Crane.” Max laughed when his friends snorted.

They set up for iRacing, Max letting the chatter wash over him while he slowly tried to relax and stop listening out for Little Daniel in the other room. Little Daniel had snacks, he had his crayons, paper and a colouring book. The TV was also on, playing another race, and Jimmy and Sassy were around to distract him. He only needed to last at most a half an hour before Charles came.

After the first race– that Max won, he begged off a minute and turned off his camera. He got up and peaked out of the room to see Little Daniel where he left him, looking up at the TV attentively and nibbling his finger.

Max sighed and relaxed further before climbing back in the rig. He came back to chaos as Bennett and Gianni were arguing about whether iguanas truly fell asleep if it got too cold. Max joined in, stating a few animal facts he learned while looking up information for Little Daniel.

They're going through qualifying again when the door to the sim room busts open. It wasn't fully closed in the first place so Little Daniel met little resistance when he barrelled in like the koolaid man.

“Maxy! I finished it!” He's waving his drawing around like a flag. Max's eyes widen and he lunged for his camera, fumbling to turn it off. 

“Fu–sorry mate! He's really fast.” Charles charged in and scooped up Little Daniel in his arms. Max yanked off his headphones and turned to look at Little Daniel who is smiling broadly at him before frowning at Charles. 

“Shaarrllll I wanna show Maxy!” Little Daniel whined, his body going toddler tantrum tense.

“How about we make him another one then put it on the fridge so he'll see it as soon as he's finished his meeting?” Charles tried to bargain, walking out of the room. Max heard the first sounds of Daniel's unhappy cries and followed them out of the room.

Little Daniel looked up at Max with wide, wet, unhappy eyes and Max reached for him. He pressed his face in Max's neck unhappily and Max rubbed his little back, underneath his red Ferrari shirt.

Max took the crumpled picture that Little Daniel still clutched and looked at it while small hands squeezed around his neck. It was a picture of Max and Little Daniel in their race suits in front of a race car. 

“Thank you for the drawing Daniel. It is lovely.” Max said softly, soothingly. Little Daniel sniffed loudly and scrubbed at his eyes 

“You like it?” He sniffled.

“I do! Can you and Charles make me another one?”

Little Daniel nodded against Max's neck and Max thought he must have been very upset to forgo his usual “Sharl” vocal stim.

Max looked over to see Charles watching him with an unreadable expression. Max ignored him and put Little Daniel safely in his arms.

“I'm going to beg off the rest of the stream. I'll be back in five I think.”

“Of course. Sorry.” Charles looked contrite but Max waved it off. 

He got back in his rig and put on his headphones, listening in as the guys gained control over the stream again after his very abrupt departure. The chat was going wild based on what Max could see. He turned on his camera and Crane visibly relaxed.

“Everything ok over there Maxy Max?”

“Yeah mate. But I've got to go, something's come up.”

“Would that something happen to be toddler shaped?” Gianni asked

“Was that Charles??” Bennett jumped in.

“I'll talk to you guys later. Bye!” Max turned off his camera and mic quickly, before shutting everything down and quitting the room. He found Charles and Little Daniel exactly where he left them and Little Daniel raised his hands immediately when he saw Max, wanting to be lifted. Max obliged without hesitation. 

Both Max and Charles’ phone went off at the same time– denoting a group chat message. Max watched curiously as Charles' eyes widened.

“Oh no.” 

“What's happened?”

“Apparently we have a love child.” Charles raised his phone to show the looping gif of Little Daniel running up to Max and Charles coming to scoop him up before Max turns off his camera.

“Well, crap.” Max muttered.

“Shaarrllll….crap.” Little Daniel mumbled tiredly against Max's skin.

“No, Daniel we don’t need to repeat that.” Max mumbled, narrowing his eyes at Charles who was giggling at his phone. “What are you doing?”

“Mate, the internet works so fast, theres already theories about which one of us got pregnant.” Charles snickered into his palm and Max rolled his eyes, knowing he was on twitter liking tweets. Well there went his hope that this would blow over quickly.

“Why would I even want to have a baby with you?” Max groused, not wanting Daniel to be seen as he and Charles’ anything. 

“I would be a good mommy, no?” Charles rubbed his belly before giggling again. “I am going to call Lando to sort this all out.”

“You do that, Daniel and I are going to order pizza.” He rolled his eye before looking down at Little Daniel who seemed to perk up a little. “Would you like to choose the pizza?” 

Little Daniel nodded against his chest before covering his face. Max frowned. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m schowy.” He mumbled while biting his palm.

“What for?”

“I-” Little Daniel frowned and looked at the floor sadly.

“Daniel?”

“I broke the pinky pwomise.” He whispered morosely. “‘Shell says it's bad. I didn’t mean to Maxy.”

Max felt that cuteness aggression that he’d become very accustomed to feeling. He stopped himself from squeezing Daniel’s little body to his chest and stroked his hair instead.

“It's ok bud, you didn’t mean to. You were just excited.”

“I won’t do it again. Pwomise!” Little Daniel vowed.

“I believe you, let's get some juice. Do you want juice?” Little Daniel nodded and Max walked them into the kitchen, ignoring Charles’ heart eyes and the phone trained in their direction.

[starrwrrld]

rec five fics with titles you particularly enjoy!

tagged by my beautiful @f1-giuki!! I had sm fun going through my brain (bc i don't bookmark for some reason) for these fics! I adore them (and the genius writers behind them) so so much <3

Homeward Bound by @f1-giuki: this fic is just home to me. i've gushed to gi enough times about this for them to get tired of me, but it will never stop me cause oh god this fic has my entire heart. i've cried with it, laughed with it and cursed it (sorry gi) but i won't ever ever get tired of it. every time i think of this fic, i wanna hold it close to my chest and sob bc it genuinely moved something in me (i want to marry it)

Frechheit by @additiva: this title is just so... cheeky (so original i know). the fic is so perfect and frechheit lestappen (and charles and max individually) are so so beloved to me.

I'll Be Right Beside You by @fabbyf1 : this fic is just... oh god. One of the very few fics I've read enough times to quote lines from it and still not get tired of it. my heart comes up to my throat every time i read it and it's a love letter to so many things, its beyond fucking beautiful. i also ADORE the song "Beside You" by Marianas Trench despite it being so different from what i usually listen to so <3 (I um opened the fic to link it to this post and i uh started reading it again).

La Rentree by @toppamplemousse: funny story bc the only french words i know are the words frequented by charles in the fics i read so i read 'la rentree' and thought it meant some sophisticated shit, but then i read it, laughed for five minutes, melted into a puddle for another five, hosted a pity-party for logan (oops spoilers but not really) and then googled what the title means and then laughed at MYSELF for another five minutes (im my biggest bully) so yeah... love this to smithereens.

Your Heart, Love (Has Such Darkness) by @creabirds: this fic is in a league of its own and is the holy grail of fics with morally ambiguous mcs to me. i cried and laughed with this fic and just… wow. it's so out of this world and put me through SO much and just... mended me in the end and- yeah. wanna hold it gently in my hands forever.

(rip to all the other bangers out there that i've failed to mentioned😔✊)

tagging further (no pressure tho as always) : @bumblewyn, @saamaton, @blueberry-obsessed, @honeyandthunderstorms, @maxcuntstappen, @saviour-of-lord

[shootingstar-scuderia]

gotta be the last to know

lestappen | max verstappen x charles leclerc

like a serpent fated to eat it's own tail max chases championships over and over again, he can't help but wonder who exactly is driving the car

a/n: this started as an offshoot of my lestappen fic and then very quickly tumbled into a max character study. don't ask me what happened, i have no idea. a big thank you to my beta reader to the stars K who looked this over in the midst of moving apartments, i adore you greatly.

masterlist

“Do you think we are written in the stars?”

Charles asks him that one night. When they’re cocooned in the warmth of their home, the lights dimmed and curtains drawn. And Max doesn't know, doesn’t have an answer. Because, truthfully, he’s never thought much about it, about fate, about destiny. 

Charles seemingly has though and Max supposed it comes with the territory, comes with being known as Il Prediestanio. The predestined one. As if there was never a question as to whether Charles’ passion and determination would take him to Ferrari. That it was his history, his father, Jules that drove Charles to a legacy. To championships. To Max.

So maybe, in some ways, they are written in the stars. That just as many did before them Il Prediestanio Charles Leclerc has written himself in the stars in slow swooping letters and has dragged Max up there with him. The two of them joined together by their shared legacy. 

He tells that thought to Charles, feeds it to him to watch him beam, bright and burning, satisfied by the pretty words. 

And Max leaves the conversation at that. He doesn’t bring it up again and he doesn’t think Charles gives it much thought after that night. But Max can’t seem to stop thinking about it. 

Because, maybe it’s the same for him too. Destiny. The thought of it worms its way through his brain, wrapping itself around his body until it constricts him, narrows his field of vision into that one single point. Is he written in the stars?

His father wanted a champion and he got one. Moulding Max into being until he was exactly what his dad wanted, until Max could feel the pull of a vast legacy charted out in front of him. His father shaped him into being, into an inevitability. 

Max remembers the first time he heard someone call him that, an inevitability. Remembers how the feeling of it sat funny in his chest, the idea that he was a certainty. Remembers how he wanted to be seen as a choice and not a given.

It had felt almost inevitable to win his first championship the way he did and it had felt right to keep on winning them. It also had felt inevitable when he started losing them.

Championships come in cycles, in an ebb and flow. It’s a pattern Max had seen when he was young, one he had seen in Lewis, in Seb. And to be able to notice it before following in the worn tread footsteps of those before him feels like the beginning of an ending he should have recognized.

So, if Charles has been written in the stars Max thinks he has been stamped into the ink of the sky by a printing press. Mechanically and methodically, put into place and pressed into being by others. He just hopes the ink is still fresh enough to be smudged and written back into a legacy. 

It turns out another championship is in the cards for him after all. A sixth one for his collection.

Only, when he crosses the finish line it doesn’t feel the same. In fairness none of them did, each of them coming to him differently. But the pleasant thrill of shock was always the same. The way the rush of adrenaline sharpened him until all he can feel is the roar of the crowd in his blood and all he can think about is the power of the car under him was always there. 

This time Max can’t help but let a feeling of unease bloom in his stomach. The feeling that he’s just fulfilling his duty, hitting his marks. The feeling that by wanting this and by achieving it he’s just following in the footsteps of something that had been set in motion long before him.

It eats at him, an acute pain in his ribs, and Max can’t help but wonder if this whole time each of his wins have been cored out from his center. A biting acid that has hollowed him into a vessel made to be filled by a purpose set forth by others.

And when Max goes through the press cycle the interviewers all crow, “a sixth, the drought has ended!” Grating and brash they praise him, “was there ever any doubt?” At night Charles wraps him in his arms. “A sixth,” he whispers into his ear, voice feverish. “I am so proud of you.”

A sixth. It sits funny in his mouth and he stumbles over the words as he tells them all how it’s been a long time coming, how he knew that it was always going to be a matter of when and not if. He thanks the team for it, thanks the fans, thanks Charles. 

It’s the same speech every time, he parrots the words out from where they sit in his brain, mechanically laying them down one after another. A printed out copy of him pressed into his brain by the media team.

He doesn’t answer them when they ask if he’s hungry for a seventh though. Doesn’t answer when they ask if he thinks another is on the horizon. 

He never does. It’s a deliberate choice, one that feels like digging his heels in. A pushback at being the winner that he’s been moulded into, a quiet betrayal towards those who shaped him.

But as the interviews go on and they ask, and ask, and ask, and Max continues to not answer, and not answer, and not answer, it begins to feel like something else. Another cycle, another prophecy that he’s set forth for himself, one that he’s fulfilling dutifully.

Max’s sixth trophy sits in the living room next to Charles’ first and third. “These ones are special, no?” Charles has said as he cleared the space on the shelf. “We need to give them the respect they deserve.”

To Max there’s no need. There’s no need to worship something that lingers at the edge of Max’s vision like a ghost, the shine of it as it catches the light haunts him. He can’t escape it, even in the night, when he creeps into the kitchen, careful to avoid the sight on it though the entryway of the living room.

It glows like a beacon in the silver of the moon. A glittering lure he hooks himself on time and time again. The shine of it whispers to him like a Greek chorus. A sixth, another one for our legacy. Our champion is back, are you going to win us a seventh?

And Max doesn’t think he has a choice.