Archive of Our Own ^beta

In preparation for the next race in Monaco, James was attempting a visualization technique he’d been told about by a fellow driver who’d found the technique working for him. He was walking around bare-footed on the workshop concrete, eyes closed.

“....almost straight along the Beau Rivage, some small turns. Long left into the Massenet corner, leading into the short right of Casino corner. Straight until the sharp right of Mirabeau, into sharp left of the Loews corner, mind the guard rails...”

Suddenly, he bumped into someone.

The racing driver quickly opened his eyes to see a drop-dead gorgeous woman in front of him with an endless pair of legs, beautiful curves and a gorgeous smile. “Oh, hello.”

The light blonde awkwardly waved at him. “Hi.”

“You’re not Bubbles.” Hunt said.

The woman shook her head. “No. He went to get Alexander, to tell him I was here. He said they’d be back shortly. I wanted to see his new pride and joy...” and she pointed at the car. “...rhymes with ‘toy’ if you ask me. And I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

The Alpha raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“It’s just so tiny! For something that costs so much...it’s so flimsy. There’s no comfort. No protection. Nothing.” the beauty stated.

The smile that had been plastered on the 26-year-old’s face faded immediately, but started to talk. “No. Just a little coffin, surrounded by high-octane fuel, being driven round at 170 miles per hour. To all intents and purposes a bomb. On wheels.”

“Why don’t they make it safer?” the model asked.

“No one wants it to be. It’s like saying why not make bullfighting safer? It’s a blood sport. The risk of death turns people on. Without it, I guess, it’d be half the fun. Which is fine for the voyeurs, fine for TV, fine for everyone… except us drivers.”

“And the people mad enough to love you.”

The atmosphere was turning more awkward than it had been.

“Right.”

The Beta looked the beach blonde up and down, spotting the bare feet. “You’re James, aren’t you?”

James nodded. “Yes.”

“Thought so. You fit the description.” the pair shook hands. “I’m Suzy. Old friend of Alex’s.”

“What was the description?” the racing driver asked, curious to what his employer had said.

“Mostly positive in terms of appearance. Negative only in terms of character.”

The Alpha chuckled. “How kind.”

“I’ve been told to avoid you.” Suzy stated.

“By whom?”

“Alexander. He says you’re a bad boy.” the light blonde replied.

The Brit from Surrey smirked and looked down at the concrete. “Was. Not anymore. New me is very professional. Very boring. Early to bed. Early to rise. All very monastic.”

The gorgeous woman gave him a look. “Really?”

“All I do now is work, practise and focus. All very tedious, but apparently the only way to vin against ze German... or should I say Austrian?”

“Is that what you were doing when you came in?”

The beach blonde sighed. “Visualisation techniques. Memorizing the circuit, in this case Monaco, which is next up. Eyes closed, know your way round in your sleep...” he stopped for a moment. “I know, I know...personally I’ve always been a great believer in getting there on the day, putting the old foot down and playing chicken with everyone else.”

The Beta laughed.

“But they don’t want me to do that anymore...they want my body like a temple. My mind like a computer.”

“And your soul? Your heart?” the woman asked.

James frowned. “What does that mean?”

“You can’t be so disciplined in all areas of your life, can you?”

The Alpha sighed and looked out the window of the workshop. “They want me to stop messing around,

get married and settle down with the next nice girl I meet. They think it would be good for me.”

“What do you think?” the model asked.

“If it’s the wrong person, it sounds bloody awful. But since they’re right about most things, they’re probably right about that, too.” the F1 driver said, shrugging.

The woman leaned close. “Well… my mother is also kind of pressuring me to marry. I mean… we could kill two birds with one stone?”

A young boy than ran into the workshop. “Daddy!”

“Max? What are you doing here? I thought you’d be with your mother.” the Hesketh driver whipped his head around to the doorway. “Where is your mum?”

“Outside.” Max replied before squealing as his dad picked him up.

“You have a son?” Suzy sounded incredibly stunned.

“Uh, yeah.” the 26-year-old replied. “He was a little bit of an accident, but my relationship with his mother is steady. We fought a lot during the pregnancy, arguing about literally every aspect of our future child’s life already. But we both wanted him, we fell in love with our son the moment he was born.”

“I can imagine.” the Beta said, looking a bit dejected. She then looked at her watch. “Where is Alexander? Is he really that far away from this dusty place?”

In all honesty, James was pretty glad his son had run in when he did.

He didn’t know how he would’ve told Suzy about his secret marriage, and his son.

Nobody knew he was married, not even his parents and siblings. Hell, nobody would believe it anyway.

He’d married Niki secretly at a courthouse in Vienna, the only witnesses of the ceremony being a Catholic priest from a nearby church, a courthouse reception desk worker, the man officiating the marriage, and 2 other courthouse clerks who’d been roped into it.

It’s not that neither of them wanted the world to know, but they didn’t want rumours of any scandals.

The two of them were competitors, rivals on track, 2 men driving for different teams. If they ever would fight over a championship together, they didn’t want the press to make up any stories of one of them potentially losing on purpose to give the championship to their spouse.

The Alpha also had a playboy reputation, and his sudden marriage to an Omega who was literally nicknamed ‘The Computer’ would certainly raise many eyebrows and attract gossip news tabloids. He didn’t want his son Maximilian to be caught in the middle of all that shit.

Little Maxi was also a secret they both kept.

Single mothers faced a lot of stigma, way too much if you’d asked the Brit. He’d personally never seen the issue, neither did his wife, but they both understood that society was generally a bit overly traditional when it came to family dynamics.

According to their logic, every family had to be a married couple who could procreate together with their biological and/or adopted children. Couples who couldn’t biologically procreate weren’t allowed to exist.

Maxi would be turning 4 at the end of the year. He’d been conceived in early 1970 after a chance meeting in London while his father was driving in Formula Three and his mother in the World Sportscar Championship. He’d been born at the end of November that same year after it was confirmed his mother would drive in Formula 2 the next year for March Engineering.

James hadn’t really been informed about the fact he was going to be a father until Niki called him after the incident with Dave Morgan on October 3^rd at the Chrystal Palace circuit south of London. Despite being extremely angry with the Omega for not telling him sooner and yelling at him over the phone, he still wanted to meet the child he’d accidentally sired all those months ago.

The Austrian moved in with the father of his child in 1971, primarily to save money but also in preparation for a future drive in the British Formula Two series.

Recently, the couple had moved to Spain primarily for the tax purposes, but James still owned property in Great Britain and Niki had an apartment in Vienna. They still had those properties to meet up with their family members, as none of them knew they were married.

Their residence in Spain, in Valencia, was nearby the city’s harbour and pretty private.

The choice of location had primarily been on Niki, as the Omega preferred their family life to stay out of the press. Nosy neighbours would certainly not keep their mouth shut to the media.

The Brit had just agreed and planned the move while Niki handled the contract and everything as his wife was so much more knowledgeable about all that stuff, a perk of his family being in the banking sector.

Right now, the couple resided in Spain where they would celebrate the holiday season prior to going back to work for the 1975 season.

Niki would be driving his 2^nd season at Ferrari, a seat he’d gotten after Clay Regazzoni had told the Ferrari management about how the Austrian could make a car go 2 seconds faster.

The blonde was chilling at the house outside on the balcony, taking in the rays of sun beaming down on his skin while he held his 2-month-old daughter Rosanna Louise while his son was playing in the sandbox. His wife was out buying groceries in preparation for their son’s 5^th birthday and the holiday season.

When he heard a knock on the door, he frowned.

Niki had a key, and they didn’t really have neighbours who’d want to visit.

The Hesketh driver put his baby girl in her crib inside before putting on a thin dressing robe. Only then did he slightly open the door.

“James!”

It was his mother.

Sue Hunt pushed open the door and embraced her oldest son. “It’s so good to see you! Man, this place was very hard to find. Could you really move into a house even more secluded?” she’d walked into the house, but stopped in her tracks the second she saw the baby crib.

“Mom... I can explain.” the 28-year-old said.

“Explain? You just slept with someone and had your child? Why didn’t you inform me I was a grandmother?” the Beta woman asked.

“Daddy? What’s going on?” the 4-year-old stood in the doorway of the balcony, with a dirty sea-star shaped plastic piece in his hand.

Sue turned to her son. “I have a grandson?”

The racing driver grinned sheepishly before turning towards his son. “Nothing to worry about sweetie, just someone daddy knows. You go bake your sand cakes on the balcony, or clean your feet when you want to come back in. Mommy’s not going to be happy if there’s sand inside.”

The little boy went back to the sandbox, and James turned back to his mother.

The mom of 5 raised an eyebrow. “James.”

“I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but Niki and I didn’t want to risk anything leaking into the media.”

“Niki? As in… Niki Lauda? The Austrian driver the media says you hate so much?” Mrs. Wallis Hunt asked, sounding bewildered. “You have… a toddler son and a second baby together?”

“Max was conceived during a one-nightstand back in the early months of nineteen-seventy. We were both drunk out of our minds when I accidentally knocked him up in that hotel in Soho. I wasn’t aware I was going to have a child until about two months prior to the birth.” the Alpha replied. “Our daughter Rosanna wasn’t planned either. Hell, Niki didn’t even know he’d been pregnant until his waters broke.”

“Seems like nothing in your life is actually and truly planned.” Sue stated.

The 28-year-old shook his head. “No… it seems that my life is constantly full of twists and turns and loops.”

“But… Max and Rosanna?”

“We call Rosanna Rose and Max’s official name is Maximillian, but yes, they’re my children with Niki.”

“How old are they?” the mom of 5 asked.

“Max is nearly five, Rose only two months.”

“I’ve had a grandchild for nearly five years, and you never told us? Anyway, are you planning on marrying the mother of your children?”

The beach blonde took a deep breath. “Mom… we’re already married.”

“What?” Mrs. Wallis hunt was absolutely shocked.

“We don’t want a media circus, mom.” the father of 2 told. “If it’s any consolation, Niki’s parents are just as much in the dark as you were before you came in and saw my daughter’s crib.”

“But you being married is a bigger deal than your kids.” the Beta woman stated. “The kids being products of one-nightstands is believable with the huge number of people you’ve slept with. But a marriage?”

James sighed. “Mom… this is also about our racing careers. You and everybody in the world knows that Niki and I have such different reputations. I’m the playboy, I sleep around with anything that’s got a pulse, I smoke, I’m mostly undressed prior to getting into the car, I’m F-One’s bad boy. Niki… he’s mister goody-two-shoes, he doesn’t drink more than one beer every week, doesn’t smoke… he is my opposite. You know just as much as I do that the press can spin any narrative which could soil both our careers.”

Sue smiled. “I knew opposites attract. It’s not just in the movies.”

“It’s perhaps even more cliché than the jock and the cheerleader.”

When Niki returned to the apartment with the groceries, he was surprised to find his mother-in-law sitting on the couch holding a sleeping Rose.

“She came by unexpectedly.” the Alpha told his wife when the older woman had gone to the toilet.

“I suppose we’ll soon have to deal with this mess.” the Austrian stated before looking at his daughter. He was a Ferrari driver, representing a large well-known brand in motorsport. His private life was an interest for the gossip papers, especially if he was going to become a World Champion in the next 2 years.

At least, that was the goal.

“I know we can’t hide it from our families forever, but we should release it on our terms.” the blonde said.

The younger man nodded. “Yes. Perhaps we should carefully craft a statement, one in our own words, and release it to a reliable news source. We can write one together in English before I translate it to German, French and Italian.”

“That would perhaps be a good move. Perhaps it’s a good idea to release the statement in February, just a week after the round in Brazil but way ahead of the South African round. The media storm should’ve died down slightly at that point.” the beach blonde told.

The Ferrari driver smiled at his husband. “I knew you were smarter than what people give you credit for.” and he leaned forward to kiss the man he’d married last year’s summer ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.

James accepted the kiss greedily. Not that he would ever refuse his wife.

The brunet pulled back slightly. “I guess I’ll make a start with that announcement. But it might be a good idea to inform our immediate family members before we’re sending the statement out.”

“I agree. Sally won’t let me live that one down if she hears it through the newspapers.”

Secret Formula One Family?!?

Daily Mail – Susanna Taylor – February 5^th, 1975 – morning edition

“It is time that I, James Simon Wallis Hunt, declare that I am no longer an eligible bachelor. I have been married to an Omega male since the 12^th of August 1973. My wife and I fell in love while we were raising our son Maximillian Joseph Florian Hunt, a child we conceived accidentally during a one-nightstand. We fell in love when we were sharing the responsibilities, and it was during this time that I found new appreciation for my partner’s dedication. I have always been in love with motorsport since I went to my first Mini race when I was eighteen, but I never took it as serious as my wife. I am still stunned to say that, to address my rival Niki Lauda as my wife. But we have been making our relationship work out of the public eye. We acknowledge that our family life is unlikely to stay out of the limelight as my wife is preparing to fight for a World Championship this year while I am trying to win for the Hesketh team. And that is why we are announcing our relationship now, on our own terms before the media spins a narrative which is untrue. Niki and I love each other, despite our contrasting personalities, and we are not trying to take each other down. We are not toxic people, we love each other too much to ever do such a thing to each other, nor are we just together for Max, as we wouldn’t have had our daughter Rosanna Louise Hunt last September. We are so much stronger together then when we are apart, not even death can separate us permanently.”

This statement written by mister James Hunt, a Formula One racing driver for Hesketh Racing, was posted to our newspaper two nights ago with a note attached that the same statement will also appear in other news outlets around the world.

It can be said that no one expected James Hunt, a man known to be an eccentric playboy with a serious appetite for the female form, to settle down with someone that only isn’t female but also his complete opposite, a fact also stated in the statement above.

There were rumours flying around about him being involved with famous models such as Ann Turkel, Jean Shrimpton, Twiggy (Lesley Hornby), Susan Miller, and Judi Bowker. But it seems that these rumours have aged, as ‘Hunt the Shunt’ is no longer available on the market as a potential partner.

A pregnancy and the care for a child caused James Hunt to fall in love with the mother of his child, Vienna native Andreas Nikolaus Lauda who is better known as simply Niki Lauda, an Omega male descending from a wealthy Austrian family mostly known for their ruthless business approaches and their intelligence.

It has become clear in the last couple years that Niki Lauda inherited that intelligence, applying it to his race craft and the ways he sets up his car for races and qualifying. It has been rumoured that Lauda can literally deduce an issue with a car from simply listening to the car itself. It is said that this talent has helped him perform at hights the car shouldn’t have performed at.

Niki managed to win the 1975 World Championship at the penultimate round of the season, leaving Fittipaldi far behind on points. He won the championship in front of Ferrari’s home crowd at the Monza circuit, and the celebrations would continue for days.

It was between the Italian round and the round in the States that James managed to knock up his wife for a 3^rd time… though not surprising considering they made love for nearly a week straight, only stopping the sexual activities for nourishment, sleep, and a bath.

During that week, Max and Rose were with Niki’s younger brother Florian who had agreed to babysit.

Their 3^rd child would be born on the 10^th of May the next year, between the Spanish Grand Prix on the 2^nd of May and the Belgian Grand Prix on the 16^th of May. The little boy would be named Lukas Frederick Matthias Hunt after his birth in the University hospital of Barcelona.

The couple’s happiness couldn’t be broken, until Lauda’s horrific accident at the Nürburgring on a semi-wet circuit which occurred after a butchered pitstop by Ferrari as the rear suspension gave up.

For a long time, James feared he would become a single father of 3 young children. The days Niki was in the hospital gave him heartache, and felt like the longest months in his life as he barely slept and ate. He’d withdrawn himself from the Austrian and Dutch rounds to be with his wife as skin-graft procedures were performed as well as pumping fluid out of his lungs.

But the Brit didn’t leave his partner’s side, not even after seeing his wife’s bloody face as nurses had to clean the burns and redress the wounds. He simply held his wife’s hand through those procedures.

He’d vowed to be with Niki forever, and he wasn’t about to break those vows.

They would get through this together, and come out stronger than ever.

Remarkable Recovery

Daily Mail – Dennis Peterson – December 4^th, 1977 – morning edition

The famous 1976 Nürburgring fireball which scarred Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda forever is not easily forgotten, nor his remarkable recovery in the month of August before reappearing in public for the first time since his accident at the Italian Grand Prix where he battled blurry vision during the race.

The Austrian Omega immediately bounced back that race, taking a 4^th place after fighting back as he’d dropped like a stone through the field to the back of the grid due to vision issues. Despite a heavy change in appearance, looking like a burned and malformed crisp instead of the rodent he’d resembled prior to his fireball accident, his husband didn’t leave him.

It was a bit of a surprise to hear about the marriage between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, primarily because Hunt is known to enjoy the company of beautiful creatures, but it seems that their bond is made of steel.

The couple even welcomed another daughter last August, just over a year since the accident.

The little girl was appropriately named Elizabeth Hope Margaret Hunt.

Hunt and Lauda have stated that their family is now officially complete, though several celebrity experts expect another kid or two to pop up in the upcoming five years as Lauda will celebrate his 30^th birthday in one year and two months.

Niki was pretty content with his life as he hit 30.

He was a triple World Champion for Ferrari, he had a lovely husband, he owned his own airline, and he had 4 children he treasured like a Caribbean pirate of the olden days treasured his gold.

Both he and James were still driving, but both had plans to retire from Formula One as they wanted to shift their focus onto their children.

He hadn’t expected James to stay with him after that crash at the Green Hell. He’d never been good-looking in the first place, hence why he never understood how James ended up in his bed instead of with some beautiful model who had been at the same party as the two of them that very night.

It had been the Austrian who’d left early in the morning, embarrassed as he walked the walk of shame back to his own room in that same hotel which had been on another floor.

That one night had changed his life, as he’d fallen pregnant with Max after only a few rounds of sex.

He hadn’t wanted to tell James, as he’d planned on giving the baby up for adoption. But it hadn’t felt right to do that, as he didn’t want James to have a confrontation with a young adult in the future claiming to be his child. So, he’d told James one and a half months before his due date.

It was in the time leading up to the birth that the Brit said he would take the responsibility if the brunet decided to keep the baby in the end.

And it was exactly that what happened.

The Omega fell in love with the baby the second the boy was placed on his chest, and his thoughts about giving it up were history. He didn’t know what the future held, but it would include James and their babies.