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Chapter Text

The buzz of the plane combined with the rushing of his ears made him feel as though he was underwater. All other background noise muffled and received at a delay. With each passing moment he felt as though the temperature was steadily climbing. Making him feel as though he was boiling alive. Max shifted restlessly in his seat, stretching him feet out to lay on the seat in front of him while he stared out the window begging the nausea to stay at bay. Max briefly thought about asking the temperature to be lowered a third time but didn't want to seem rude. He just wanted everything to stop. He wanted to be curled up in his bed with cats not headed for singapore.

He was brought out of his misery when he felt his feet being pushed to the side and someone drop down into the seat. He didn't turn towards his new companion but went to pull his feet down so that they could be comfortable. Surprise had him turning to whoever joined him when they caught his feet from falling and pulled them into their lap. He met the soft smile of his trainer.

"Hey" Rupert whispered to him, face gentle.

"Hi" Max croaked back, wincing at how bad he sounded.

"So you gonna finally tell me what's the matter? Or are we gonna still pretend that everything is dandy" Never in his life has Max been less grateful for Rupert's ability to pick up on his tells.

"Nothing, it's just really hot in here today" he replied. Rupert couldn't help but raise his eyebrow in disbelief.

"Max, darling it's is absolutely bloody freezing in here" Rupert said as he dropped his hands to begin massaging Max's calves. It was only then did he notice the sweatshirt that Rupert was wearing. Max couldn't help the sigh he let out. It felt amazing, his aching muscles have been screaming for relief for days now. He didn't know what to say. If he admitted to being sick Rupert won't want him to race but he absolutely hated lying to anyone close to him.

"I..." Max started "I just haven't been feeling well" He was hit with instant regret when Rupert's soft eyes went sharp and calculating, roving over him.

"How long" Rupert's voice was still soft but there was a sharpness that wasn't there before. It caused Max to tense up. He never liked being the subject of scrutiny especially when he couldn't understand if someone was mad at him. It made him anxious. Rupert must have noticed because he started kneading harder at his muscles "Its okay I just need to know what I'm working with here." Voice back to being soft and gentle.

"On the way back from Baku, I started to get nauseous. I thought it would pass" Max glanced up before dropping his gaze again.

"Did it get better?"

"A little"

"Okay..." Rupert blew out a breath. Max snuck a quick glance at him where he seemed to be nodding to himself "What else is bothering you? Other than being

hot" The urge to make a joke was strong but Max was just too tired and he wanted to spill to Rupert about how horrible he was feeling so that he could make it better but he couldn't risk the chance of not racing.

"I'm driving this Sunday" Max ground out attempting to pull his legs away from his hands but Rupert was having none of it. Instead he simply tightened his grip until Max gave up and then continued with his message, working his way up the leg.

"I never said you weren't, all I asked was what else is bothering you? This is Singapore, one of the most physically demanding races of the season. We have to be prepared"

"I just..." Max paused to finally look up again "I feel run down. My muscles ache like hell. I still feel nauseous and nothing is helping. I'm so hot just sitting here. I have a headache that won't go away" By the end Max could tell that he was whining but he didn't give a damn.  He did have enough awareness to hold back the dizzy and faint feelings he had been experiencing.

"Oh Maxy" Rupert had gone back to being completely soft. The message fading to him simply rubbing up and down Max's legs trying to bring whatever comfort he could. "It's gonna be okay. We are going to figure this out. Why don't you sleep for the rest of the flight? We got 4 hours left. We will deal with the rest when we land" Max could only nod at that too tired to do much else. Max easily gave into the exhaustion quickly drifting off.

Rupert watched as Max slept, worry rooting in his heart. Max looked horrible. His under eyes were so dark they looked bruised. He knew he should have said something earlier but he knew that if he confronted Max before he was ready it wouldn't end well. Max would become agitated and withdraw onto himself. He was skittish like that. Max would wait until he was half dead or sobbing in pain before he ever alerted anyone for help. It broke Rupert's heart to know why and to watch him put himself through that.

When Max started shivering, Rupert gently shifted his legs off of him and back down to the seats so that he could grab a blanket. His heart clenched at the whine Max let out at the loss of contact.

Moving quickly Rupert alerted on the crew members to turn up the heat and grabbed the thickest blanket there was to wrap around Max. He was so out of it, he didn't even stir when Rupert moved him except to lean into the touch. Once Rupert felt as though Max was adequately covered and could feel the plane warming up finally, he settled back into his seat to text GP.

He finally admitted to not feeling well.

Oh? By himself?

Rupert cringed a little at that because GP was the one to caution him against directly comforting him.

No but he kept asking for the temperature to lowered. The plane was freezing and he looked like death. He only snapped a little.

?

Just saying that I couldn't stop him from racing on Sunday. He calmed down when I said I wasn't trying

to stop him. He admitted to feeling nauseous, feeling like he was burning up (he's shivering now), a headache, and achy muscles.

So we know there are at least 3 more things that he isn't telling us.

Also did you give him a blanket?

Yes of course I did.

He sleeping now. And yeah he's definitely holding something back.

Ok I'll warn the mechanics to keep an eye out and I'll meet you at the hotel.

Rupert hearted the message before pocketing his phone and relaxing back into his seat. He figured he might as get some rest before they landed in Singapore and he was busy for the rest of the weekend making sure Max didn't work himself into an early grave.

Chapter Text

"Max...max..."

He could hear someone calling his name faintly, he was just too damn tired to care. Frustration clawed at him pulling him further from his blissful sleep when a hand landed on his shoulder and lightly started shaking

him. The closer he got to wakefulness he realized how frozen he felt. Max tired to burrow into the side of the plane in attempt to get away. When the hand didn't let up the irritation that had steady been building in his chest overwhelmed him.

"WHAT! My God what do you want" Max snapped. Startled Rupert jerked back.

"Shit sorry" Rupert said holding his hands in front of himself in surrender "Its just we've landed. I've been trying to wake you up for like ten minutes"

"Oh" Realization dawned on Max causing him to flush with embarrassment and shame. He snapped at Rupert who was only trying to help him and who has been nothing but kind to him "I'm sorry. I just..." His voice cracked. To be honest him didn't know what to say, there no way to excuse himself and his head was spinning to much to even think straight.

"Hey, it's okay. Let's just get you to the hotel" Rupert's soft voice only made Max feel worse and all he could do was nod in shame. Shakily he got to his feet, proud when only stumbled a little bit. He looked around for his bag but couldn't locate it.

"I gotta grab..." he mumbled too tired to finish his sentence as he kept glancing around hoping Rupert understood what he meant.

"I got your bag here mate" Rupert said lifting the strap of his shoulder to emphasize his point "Come on let's go" Gently Rupert rested his hand his shoulder once more and guided him in front and off the plane.

Every step was hell for Max. His head pounded and his vision was blurry. He relied solely on Rupert's hand to guide him. The trip was simultaneously the longest walk he had ever taken but also seemed to pass in a blur. When he finally settled into the car with Rupert next to him he couldn't help the sigh of relief.

"I hate to break it to you but we are headed straight to a fan engagement event. And I do believe that it is probably too late to cancel" Rupert told him apologetically.

"Rup..." Max turned his head slowly to look at his trainer, his head and neck screaming at the movement "I need you get a gun and shoot me in the fucking head"

That startled a laugh out of him.

"I take it you still feel sick" Rupert questioned.

"I'm not sick. I merely...just don't feel well" He wasn't sure Rupert even slightly believed him based on his raised eyebrows. "Whatever" he mumbled before closing his eyes and laying his head back again.

Max startled when he felt a cold a hand on his forehead.

"Sorry" Rupert muttered as he pulled his hand back. Max let out a choked whine, the cold had felt good against his overheated skin.

"Max, you have a fever" Rupert said.

"I'm fine" Max ground out in return.

"Okay Okay, I'm not trying to upset you. I'm just worried about you" Rupert tried to soothe and his hand returned to Max's head to pull it down to rest on his shoulder. For a moment Max rested against him and soaked in the comfort. The cold hand resting against the back of head and ear felt heavenly.

"What did you tell GP?" Max mumbled into his shoulder.

"Hmm? " Rupert questioned back.

"I know you texted him on the plane"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Rupert replied "Anyways I think he's meeting us in the hotel after the event" Max couldn't help but to laugh at that.

Max spent the rest of the drive resting against Rupert. Any normal day, Max would have been beyond mortified to be seen so needy but he just couldn't give a damn. The hand that Rupert had begun to run through his hair was soothing any anxiety he had away.    Pulling up to the venu had Max wishing that Rupert actually had a gun to put him of his misery. Max barely held back the whine when Rupert started shifting to get  out the car.

"Come on mate" Rupert said as he went to get out of the car.

"You're coming with? You're staying?" Max couldn't help the surprise color his voice. Why would anyone willing put themselves through a fan event? He loved his fans and the people that supported him but the idea of putting on a show for people, trying to be the version that people liked, was exhausting.

"I mean yeah...I figured why not. I don't have anywhere else to be" Rupert paused getting out the car looking at Max "Unless...of course you don't want me to?"

"No no...I mean of course...you can stay if...you want or go. Whatever is fine" Embarrassment caused Max to stammer through his response. He glanced back at Rupert who was waiting for him just outside the car.  He had this look on his face that he sometimes got around Max.

"I do want...to stay" Rupert answered slowly, as if scared to spoke Max.

"Okay" Max said as he slowly climbed out the car, refusing to make eye contact.

"Besides someone has to make sure you don't pass out or throw up on somebody" Rupert whispered.

Max tried to say something back but was interrupted by the event staff ushering him away from Rupert and into a roped off back area where Checo was already waiting. For a moment Max felt a shot of panic in his chest at being separated from Rupert. When he turned to say something Rupert quickly flashed him a smile before following another worker. As soon as he settled in the back, one of the workers immediately launched into the breakdown of the night. It was hard to focus on the person talking, he just hoped he didn't look as bad as he felt. Judging by the looks Checo kept shooting him, he must have looked pretty bad. Before he knew it, they were ushered out on to a makeshift stage to begin the formal interview portion. Scanning the room, he smiled at all the fans he got looking at him. Distantly he heard the moderator begin introducing them and explaining the format for the night. Finally his eyes settled on familiar sweatshirt and blonde hair leaning by the back exit. He was looking down at his phone and texting, probably GP. Max was surprised that he actually stayed. Rupert must of felt him looking because  he glanced up and caught Max's eye and smiled. Quickly Rupert slipped his phone into his pocket and gave him two thumbs up before he settled into listen. Max thinks he smiled back but he doesn't really know. Something about Rupert always caught him off guard. He was just always so kind to Max, never got frustrated or mad at him. Took all of his quirks in stride. Smoothly taking over from Brad. Max loved Brad but even then it took a good year for them to establish their relationship and routine.

Max didn't really have time to dwell on it before the interviewer started directing questions to him about the weekend and the championship battle. He tired to give thoughtful answers to each question but the spinning in his head made it hard to form full sentences, let alone coherent thoughts. Between his turn answering the questions and Checo’s turn, he continued to sneak glances at Rupert to make sure that he was still there. Sneak might be a strong word because every time he looked he was met with a smile, raised eyebrows, or a thumbs up. It was disarming. Rupert’s attention stayed solely on the engagement in front of him, not just playing on his phone and occasionally glancing up. He didn’t have time to ruminate on it before his attention was dragged back into the conversation about his opinions on steward regulations and the need for more consistently in rules.

It turned into a lively conversation that involved everyone from the audience, Checo, the moderator, and even the event workers having strong opinions. Max was even proud of himself with his contributions, they actually made sense and were thoughtful. As the moderator was trying to calm the crowd down and bring back order to the event when Max looked to the familiar back corner. The spot where Rupert was supposed to be is empty. Max started scanning the crowd looking his hair or his familiar sweatshirt but he can’t find it anywhere.

The rushing in his ears got louder. He left. Max felt stupid, of course he would leave. Of course he would get bored and leave. Max just couldn’t understand why he felt so crushed about this. He must have spaced out staring at the empty corner because the next thing he knew he heard the moderator calling his name.

“Yes, sorry” Max answered sheepishly.

“Zone out there?” They joked back.

“Yeah..yeah just thinking about how I might piss off the FIA this weekend” Max joked earning a loud laugh from everyone. For the rest of the interview Max made sure to keep his attention on the questions and the audience, trying so desperately to ignore the empty space and sadness in his heart. Bitterness coated his tongue. Finally the last question was asked: where are they planning on spending their breaks after the race?

As soon as they were released Checo booked it to the back entrance, he must of had a car waiting for him. Max made his way more gracefully to the back room he was first brought into. He didn’t know if he had a ride to the hotel or not. If Rupert took it and sent it back or not. In that moment Max felt acutely pathetic. When he rounded the corner he saw a familiar figure hunched over typing on his phone.

“You’re here” Max said stupidly.

“Yes of course I’m here” Rupert replied as he stood up and grabbed a bag that was sitting at his feet “Are you ready? Do you have everything?” Max felt frozen. He was here. Did he just miss him the crowd? Was he here in the back the whole time?

“Max, you okay” Rupert prompted when Max continued to say nothing.

“I thought you left” Max immediately cringed after he said that. He couldn’t believe that he sounded so needy. Was he really that pathetic?

“Oh” Understanding seemed to flood Rupert’s face “No I just ran to the pharmacy across the street. I got you so much more pain meds and something for your fever…that you definitely don’t have. I also may have got you some Kinder chocolates” He lifted the bag to back him up “I stepped out during the conversation about the stewards. By the time I got back they told me it’s better to wait here because they were about to wrap things up and didn’t want me to cause a commotion by coming in.”

“Oh” Max wasn’t sure what to say.

“C’mon mate” Rupert saved him from having to answer by gently pulling him by the arm “The car is outside. GP is expecting us.” All Max could was nod. He was pretty sure that if he started talking he could start crying. Quickly Rupert guided him to the car waiting outside. Max had déjà vu to walking off the airplane earlier in the night. It must have only been two hours ago at most but it felt like a lifetime ago with the whiplash of emotions that he has gone through. Luckily they were able to get to settle into the car without any fan interactions that couldn’t be sated with a wave and a smile.

Immediately Max resumed his position of resting against Rupert’s shoulder. The shame at his neediness was drowned out by his desperation for comfort. He didn’t even complain when Rupert rested a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. No doubt even worse from earlier based on how shitty he felt and the distressed noise Rupert let out. Max had the brief thought to complain about not being sick but he quickly dismissed it when he felt Rupert rest his arm around his shoulders.

“How long to the hotel?” Max managed to croak out.

“Fifteen minutes but with this traffic maybe thirty” Rupert replied while angling his phone away from Max’s eye sight.

“How’s GP” Max said as he angled his head to be able to look Rupert in the eye. He was immediately met with a rueful smile from his trainer.

“He’s worried and don’t even start with the your not sick and I shouldn’t have said anything. We both noticed you were off in Baku, we were just waiting for you to come to one of us. He loves you of course I had to fill him in” Rupert paused to give Max a stern look “besides be grateful I kept him updated he is currently sorting your dinner out”

“Tomato soup” Max hopefully

“Of course, we are not new at this. Soup with a side of medicine but both after you take a shower” Max couldn’t help but pout at the mention of both the medicine and shower.

“I don’t smell bad”Max whined as he tucked his face back down trying to unsuspiciously smell himself.

“No, but you do have the stale sick smell…now settled down we will be there soon” Rupert finished the discussion by burying his hand in Max’s hair gently scratching at his scalp. Max instantly melted into his side.

Chapter Text

Pulling Max out of the car was a chore in itself. He was half asleep and very reluctant to let Rupert go. It left Rupert in charge of manhandling him out of the car while at the same time attempting to maintain Max’s dignity in case of any lingering fans or secretive photographers around. Max was so out of it that he could barely walk, he lent so heavily against Rupert that he might have just carried Max to the room. He was just so glad that GP was able to check Max in already and was waiting in the room and had already sorted dinner out. Once Rupert got him and Max into the elevator, he lent against the wall with a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry I’m like this” Max said as he attempted to pull away and stand on his own.

“Hey hey it’s okay” Rupert said as he pulled as Max closer. He wasn’t convinced that Max would be able to stand on his own “Everything is okay. We are so close to your room. GP is waiting for”

“Are you gonna stay? Can you please stay” Rupert’s breath caught for a moment. Right before his answered the doors opened.

“Come on” Rupert said as he pulled Max along to his door “of course I will stay”

For a moment Max was silent before he very quietly whispered thank you. It was so quiet that Rupert almost missed it. He decided to not reply, nervous of pushing Max too far. Him just asking for Rupert to stay was already a huge step out Max’s comfort zone. Instead, he just tightened his grip on his waist. He barely knocked on the door before GP opened it and ushered them in. As soon as the door was closed Max was stumbling towards GP. He was immediately met with open arms.

“Oh Maxy” GP sighed into Max’s hair trying to pull him closer. The hug looked so intimate that Rupert felt like he was intruding by looking so he went to put Max’s bag on the bed.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner” he heard GP ask but he was too far away to hear what was said in response. After a couple of minutes they both joined Rupert in the main room. Max seemed a lot steadier on his feet than he was a minute ago.

“I need to shower, Rupert said I smelled bad” Max said. GP turned towards Rupert with an exasperated look.

“You said he smelled bad” GP asked.

“No, I said he smelled stale like he was sick” Rupert defended himself.

“Oh” GP turned back to Max “He’s kind of right” Max let out an offended squeak “Why don’t you go shower. By the time you’re done, your bags should be here and I’ll bring your clothes in. I have tomato soup on the way” At no point was Max really given an option on the manner because GP led him by his shoulders towards the bathroom and gently pushed him and shut the door. He stood there listening for what Rupert assumed was the shower starting before he left the door and rejoined Rupert.

“Dinner should be here any minute. I got Max his tomato soup and I got you some Alfredo”  Rupert was so grateful for GP, he was so focused on Max that he didn’t even focus on himself and what he was gonna eat.

“Thank you”

“Of course, how is he? How was the event” GP asked as he lounged on the bed.

“He’s…he’s sick. I can’t tell how bad the sickness is but I know he is feeling horrible at least. Waking him up after the plane was a challenge and he was very unsteady on his feet, he was like that on the way up here as well. He definitely has a fever, it’s gotten worse since I first felt it on the way to the event. He has been very…needy” at the word he got a sharp glance from GP, a warning, so Rupert hurried on in his explanation “I do not mean to it sound bad I just don’t know another word for it. Both on the way there and on the way here he laid against and got upset when I took my hand away from his head. He has never willingly rested against me like that. You know how he is. There  might have been a little incident at the event” At that he got another look from GP that really showed his protective side coming out “For most of the conversation I was in the back of the room while he was on stage. At one point during a very lively conversation about the stewards I left to get some paracetamol from the pharmacy across the street. By the time I got back some of the event runners had me just go to the back room to wait because they were wrapping up soon. When he came back he seemed surprised that I was still there. Apparently when he didn’t see me anymore he thought I left him. He…looked like he was about to start crying. In the elevator up he asked me to stay to not leave”

Right as he finished his update a knock came to the door. They finally brought up the suitcases and the dinner. As Rupert sorted out the dinner, GP ran clean clothes for Max into the bathroom.

“He is coming out in a couple of minutes” GP said as he settled back in “He was just standing under the water…I think we have our work cut out for us this weekend” All Rupert could was nod. Singapore was the worst place to get sick, the racing conditions were tough enough add in a fever they were fucked.

GP went to say something else but Max shuffled out of the bathroom. He was hunched over and every step seemed painful for Max. He slowly made his way to the end of the bed and lowered himself to the floor. He cuddled up against GP’s legs. GP’s hand immediately rested in Max’s hair and started running through the wet strands.

“Soup?” Max asked softly looking up at GP. Immediately Rupert handed Max the container and the side of bread, along with two paracetamol which Max surprisingly swallowed without any fight. Once Max settled into eating, GP lowered himself on to the floor next to Max to eat the pasta he got for himself. Max had a huge hatred of eating on the bed. He considered it dirty and would obsess over the possibility of crumbs until he could change the sheets. GP was always highly considerate about what made Max uncomfortable, never questioned because he knew where it came from. Max immediately pressed himself against his side. Refusing to break any contact. They all ate in silence.

It wasn’t until they were all finished eating and Rupert started cleaning up that broke the silence.

“You’re excused from all media duties tomorrow” GP said. Max immediately jerked back, anger twisting his face.

“I am racing this Sunday. I am not sick, I’m fine”Max shouted.

“Hey, calm down” GP replied softy refusing to match Max’s tone “I did not mention anything about Sunday. We are just talking about tomorrow” GP gently cradled Max’s face in his hands forcing him to look GP in the eyes “You are sick. I know it, Rupert knows it, and you know it. We are just gonna take tomorrow as a rest day. Okay? You will be there for qualifying and the race. We will see how tomorrow goes and we will talk about Friday. How does that sound?”

“Fine, I guess” Max mumbled.

“Good, now why don’t we put something on and lie down and rest” GP suggested as he stood up and pulled Max up with him.

“You’re staying?” Max asked. He sounded so hopeful and scared.

“Of course I am. I was thinking we could have a cuddle” GP tried to keep his tone light but a note of sincerity snuck in there. Max shyly nodded. It was another moment that Rupert felt like he was intruding by witnessing it. Before GP got him fully into the bed, Max whipped around throwing GP off balance briefly.

“You’re not leaving right?” Max directed the question towards Rupert now, fear back in voice.

“No of course not. I’ve already claimed the couch” Rupert replied.

“You can’t do that” Max cried “You can….” he looked around the room helplessly, growing increasingly upset when he couldn’t see a better option.

“Maxy, it’s okay. I promise. This couch is probably more comfortable than my bed at home” It definitely was. The hotel was five stars and they gave their best room to Max, of course the furniture was gonna be top tier. Max must have been too tired to argue because he just gave a single nod and allowed GP to finish pulling him into bed. Rupert immediately began making himself comfortable and turning out the lights. He wanted to them privacy so that Max wouldn’t get self conscious. At some point GP had turned on the TV and found some reruns of Friends and Rupert could hear him quietly explaining the plot to Max. Rupert had been so focused and worried about Max that he didn’t even realize how he exhausted he was, he hadn’t been able to fully rest on the plane because he kept waking up to check on Max. Between one blink and the next he was completely out.

Chapter Text

GP jerked awake to Max lurching upright and gagging over his lap. GP was moving and pulling Max with him to the bathroom before his brain caught up with what was happening. As soon as he got them there with Max on his knees in front of the toilet, Max was immediately throwing up. GP couldn’t help the grimace at the retching sound. It sounded painful. He tried caressing Max’s back in hopes to bring some comfort. He was so focused on helping Max that he didn’t even notice Rupert enter the bathroom until he was gently pressing a cold cloth into his hand and urging him hold it against Max’s forehead before he settled on the other side of Max.

It was silent between the three of them, except for the retching sound. It was heartbreaking to watch Max go through this and knowing there was nothing GP could truly do to make it better. He looked awful, pale clammy skin with bruised dark under eyes and fever blush cheeks. It took around half an hour before Max’s full on throwing up to turn to just gagging. They stayed on the floor at the toilet for a good five minutes to be safe.

When GP was sure that Max was done, he helped Max to his feet and propped him up against the sink. When Rupert came in he must have brought in Max’s toiletries because his toothbrush was laid out along with toothpaste and mouthwash. Before GP could figure out how to holdup a partially limp Max and get his brush ready, Rupert quietly stepped up and got the toothbrush ready and in Max’s hand. GP has never been more grateful for Rupert in that moment.

“I’m sorry” Max mumbled “I’m sorry to be this much trouble” In that moment GP wished he could punch Jos in the face.

“Nonsense darling” GP said softly. There was so much he wanted to say but now was not the time. Max was too out of it for any comfort to mean anything to him, and would probably upset him even more. Rupert caught his eye as he left a cup of mouthwash ready for Max before slipping out of the bathroom. Rupert has been very good at reading Max and the moments, specifically between Max and GP, and knowing to make himself scarce. It took a few minutes of brushing and then another few minutes of gargling before Max deemed his mouth clean.

As soon as Max was done, GP immediately maneuvered him back to the bed. Getting him settled was this time was a little more challenging because before they even settled on the bed Max plastered himself on to GP and would not budge. It took a lot of shuffling before GP got them comfortable with him flat on his back and Max curled up on his chest. GP couldn’t help the sigh of relief once all was settled. He glanced over at the couch to see if Rupert was okay and was immediately met with him sitting up and smirking at him due to the struggle. When Rupert caught him looking he gave a thumbs up before laid back down still facing the pair of them. GP gave him the finger and mouthed fuck off before he looked away. He heard Rupert’s muffled laugh before he drifted off.

Chapter Text

The early sunlight filtering through the shades over the window was just annoying enough to pull GP from his sleep. On the edge of consciousness, he took stock of his surroundings. The bed he laid on felt like a cloud and he could hear the faint sound of a laugh track coming from the tv. Last night came slowly back to him. Opening his eyes, he saw Max curled up facing away from him with his back pressed up against him. When GP moved to get out of bed, Max immediately whined and tried to push back against him, seeking the warmth he left behind. GP frowned when he felt the waves of heat pouring off Max. Laying his hand against  his forehead he found it scolding. Quickly running to the bathroom he dealt with his morning business before making his way over to Rupert. 

GP found Rupert with his face pressed to the back of the couch as if trying to block out the sun that woke GP up. He almost felt bad waking him up. He saw how exhausted Rupert was when they first came into the hotel and he can't imagine how he must have felt after last night. Three different times, GP was roused from his sleep when he felt someone near the bed. Each time it was Rupert coming to check on Max and his fever and give him more paracetamol. He was so focused on his task that he didn't notice when GP would crack open an eye to figure out what was going on.

"Hey" GP said as he gently shook his shoulder. Rupert just hummed burying his face deeper into the couch. "Hey wake up...Rupert" It took a couple of minutes of shaking before Rupert jerked awake.

"Is Max okay?" were the first words out of his mouth.

"Shhh, he's still sleeping. His fever is getting higher. Where's the paracetamol? I didn't want to go through your stuff" It took a couple of minutes for that to register, knowing that Max was okay caused the panic to recede and exhaustion take back over. 

"Umm it's the front of my backpack" Rupert said as he tried to get up but was gently pushed back down by GP.  

"I got this. You go back to sleep, it's early. I'm just gonna wake him just enough to take these and then also put him back to sleep" GP assured. Before Rupert could protest again, GP forced him to lie back, facing Max again, and pulled up Rupert's covers higher on his shoulders. He blearily watched on as GP dug around the front pocket before he found the blister pack of pills. 

"You should get a cold cloth for his head to help bring the fever down" Rupert mumbled as he watched GP close up his bag. 

"I will" GP agreed "After he goes back to sleep though so that it doesn't agitate him. Go back to sleep, you're exhausted. I got him this morning. I will wake up both of you when I send for breakfast in a couple of hours" 

Rupert nodded but kept his eyes open watching GP as he made his way back to Max. GP couldn't help but silently laugh. Rupert's protectiveness over Max rivaled only him.

All of his amusement washed away when he got to the bed. Max was burning up, his skin blotchy red and slightly sweaty from his fever. Despite that and last night's adventure with throwing up, Max looked like he was actually sleeping peacefully. GP hates that he was putting that peace in jeopardy. 

"Max...Maxy" GP said softly as he ran his hands through Max's hair, grimacing at the sweat. Max leaned into the touch but otherwise remained asleep. A little more forcefully GP shakes his shoulder trying not to startle him. After a couple of minutes of gently shaking him, Max finally woke a little.

"Hey buddy" GP said as he coerced him into sitting up a little.

"Wha-" Max mumbled as he looked around confused.

"Can you take this?" GP handed him the pills and a glass of water before Max could fully wake up. For a moment Max sat there motionless before GP urged his hands up before Max was able to take the meds. 

"I don't feel good" Max whined. 

"I know darling. Why don't you lay back down for a while" GP said as he helped Max settle back in, pulling the thin sheet up; knowing Max can't sleep without a cover but didn't want to overheat him. Max's head didn't even hit the pillow before his eyes slid close again. Once GP was certain that Max was truly resettled, he left to go grab a wet cloth. 

Once in the bathroom, GP took a moment to breathe. His worry threatened to overwhelm him. He knew when Max for sick it never ended well. It happened so infrequently that when it did it was like his body wanted to take revenge. The last time Max got sick was 3 years ago and they both spent sa week in the hospital with an infection in Max’s lungs. He took another deep breath reminding himself to focus on the present and not the past. At least this time he had help from Rupert. After he wrung out the cloth he made his way back to Max’s sleeping form. He could still feel Rupert watching him. Settling back beside Max, he rested the cloth on his forehead wincing when Max immediately whinned and tried to pull away. After a couple of seconds, Max relaxed and stopped fighting. 

“Go back to sleep” GP said as he finally looked up at Rupert “This isn’t my first time handling a sick Max. You look exhausted” 

“I just want to make sure he’s okay” Rupert replied. 

“And he is. In 4 hours I will give him more meds and make sure your up and we can have something to eat. There is no point in both of us being awake if he is sleeping” 

“Okay…just wake me if his fever gets worse” 

“I will. Now go to sleep” For a moment they both just looked at each other before Rupert gave in with a rueful grin. Like Max, Rupert was out almost immediately. His face still angled towards Max as if he could watch him in his sleep. For a moment GP thought that wasn’t good for his neck and if he should do something about it but figured it was fine. 

Chapter Text

The morning went by pretty smoothly. There a was a couple of close calls with Max waking up, when GP changed out the cold cloths. GP was relieved when the fever slowly started to recede. He split his attention between Max sprawled against him and the episode of White Lotus he had been trying to get into. Occasionally he would glance at Rupert to make sure everything was okay over there. At one point Rupert had rolled over to shove his face back in the back of the couch. GP had to double check to make sure the curtains were closed.

Around 10 am, Rupert seemed to wake up for good. For a moment he seemed to be confused about where he was before he remember and whipped around to check on Max. GP watched on amusedly.

"He's okay" GP called quietly. It seemed to take a moment for it process before Rupert nodded.

"I'm gonna shower" He mumbled before he grabbed his bag and walked to the bathroom. GP silently shot him a thumbs up before turning his attention back to the episode.

For the most part, GP and Rupert never really spent any extended together. He was always melting away when GP and Max were together. In all honesty GP was a little surprised and confused that Max wanted Rupert as his trainer when Brad announced he was leaving. He knew Rupert had a reputation of being a really nice guy around the paddock but that was about it, nothing that would point to why Max wanted him. He was even more surprised that Rupert had agreed. After 8 years with Carlos, GP was shocked the he decided to join Max. The meeting was behind closed doors with only Max and Rupert in attendance, not even Brad was allowed in. No matter how many times GP asked Max always just said 'He gets it. I trust him'. It wasn't like Max to keep something from him and usually GP was the first person to know anything from Max. Hell, GP used to get detailed rating about Max's hooks up, often with blurry photos attached (before GP begged for no more photos). Still, it bothered GP that why Max was so insistent on Rupert and why did he agree. Especially because Max always seemed so startled and confused by Rupert sometimes.

GP was pulled from his musings when the bathroom door opened with a cloud of steam. Rupert ambled out still looking slightly exhausted but more refreshed. After throwing his bag on the couch, he makes his way back over to the bed.

"How is he?"

"Calm...his fever has gone down slightly. He's no longer scolding so thats good" GP softly added as he watched Rupert study Max. After a moment Rupert turned his attention back to Gp.

"And you? How are you?" For a moment GP was taken aback. He wasn't the one who was burning up with a fever, sick with gods know what else, and about to race  one of the most physically demanding races of the season.

"I'm good...tired but good" GP slowly replied. It was his turn to be studied. After a moment Rupert layered down at the foot of the bed on his stomach. Almost immediately Max shifted so one of his feet was shoved between Rupert's stomach and mattress unconsciously seeking contact. Rupert took it stride instead turning his head to look at the TV.

"White Lotus?" He asked. GP getting whiplash from the change in subject.

"Yeah Max wanted me to watch it"

"Same, I think Lando made him watch it. I'm on episode 4 of the first season"

"This is the third. Does it get better?" GP asked.

"No not really but it makes sense that Max would like it" After that they both turned their attention to the screen.

They got through another episode before they woke up Max and forced him to eat 2 more pills and a berries yoghurt bowl. The rest of the day passed in the same manor as the morning. All of them lounging on the bed with white lotus on in the background. The binge watch was only paused when Max put on the press conference. Otherwise he spent the day in and out of sleep.

Friday was a little more rough. The morning started well enough but quickly declined when Max's fever kept spiking out of nowhere. He wasn't able to keep anything down. Immediately throwing up all the fruit he ate for breakfast and lunch. Even water was caused him to throw up down the front of Rupert, immediately apologizing over and over for what he done. He only calmed down when he passed out from exhaustion. The fever making him more emotional and clingier than usual. The day was stuck in a cycle of Max's fever spiking, him throwing up, falling asleep waking up from a nightmare of Liam ruining his car during free practice and feeling guilty for letting his team down.

It wasn't until around 9pm that they were finally able to get Max's fever down. Both GP and Rupert were exhausted. They had been taking turns lying with Max and keeping him calm when he jolted awake. Steadying  him when he tried to walk to the bathroom. Anytime they so much as mentioned the fact that he needed to take it easy and rest, Max would get mad and insist on the fact that he will be racing. By 11pm they were all asleep in the bed. Max fell asleep across GP's chest and Rupert sprawled out their feet, his hand holding Max's ankle of the toes that once again found its way under his chest. He hadn't meant to sleep there, he had planned on returning to couch like the two night before, but GP and Rupert had gotten caught up in a true crime episode. When GP had noticed that Rupert had fallen asleep instead of kicking him out of the bed he threw the heavier blanket Max couldn't use because of the fever over him. During the stretches of Max's naps, GP and Rupert had more time to have actual real conversations. That didn't revolve around Max.

GP had stayed up a little longer watching over Max making sure he was calm before he allowed himself to nod off.

Chapter Text

Time felt syrupy and thick. Resting in the back of car on the way to the track, Max felt every turn and bump in the car. Nausea building till he started to wonder if he was gonna throw up on Rupert for the second time this weekend.

"You know it won't be the end of the world if you miss this race" Rupert's soft voice cut through his concentration.

"No" Max wanted to say more but if he continued he would risk throwing up and then there is no way he would be allowed to race. Besides he was tired of going in circles with this conversation. Once in the morning with GP, again before they left, and now.

He could hear the sigh that Rupert let out and curled up a little tighter in the back seat. He wanted to peak his eyes open to see if this was finally the moment Rupert called it quits with him. Instead he just squeezed his eyes tighter. It was quiet between them for a couple of minutes. Max jumped when he felt a hand land on his knee.

"Max look at me" Rupert paused waiting for Max to open his eyes "you have to be honest with me this weekend" For a moment they both studied each other. Each looking for something different. Rupert was looking for understanding and Max for anger. When Max found none he slowly nodded.

Rupert seemed to know not to push it because he leaned back without losing contact. The rest of the ride passed in silence. Max could hear Rupert texting, probably GP.

Getting into paddock was slow moving. Max was immediately assaulted by the flash of cameras and questions shouted from the media. The attention was making his skin crawl and felt overwhelming. His body ached with each step he took. The humidity made it hard to breathe. It wasn't until he got to his garage surrounded by his mechanics that he felt he felt settled, calm.

"FP3 has just wrapped up. You are gonna have a meeting to go over the data in 20. I'm gonna set up the ice bath for you, ok? You need to eat this watermelon, you hadn't eaten all day" Rupert said as he handed him a bowl of seedless watermelon and a fork "Now go check in with the garage. They have been texting the group chat non stop asking about you"

The idea of the guys asking about him, being worried about him, made something in his chest warm and his cheeks heat up. At least he could blame him blushing on his fever. He slowly made to the main garage feeling irrationally shy. As soon as he came into view the mechanics immediately stopped what they were doing to surround him. A million questions were fired at him. It was overwhelming but not exactly unwelcomed, like it was earlier from the media.

"How are you feeling?"

"Are you okay?"

"Do you need anything?"

"You missed Tom completely wipe out earlier"

"Is it safe for you to drive?"

"And I didn't wipe out I merely tripped"

"How did you get GP to leave your side? Every time his phone buzzed he jumped"

All their voices overlapped each other. They asked him so many questions but didn't give room for to answer. All the sudden he felt an arm drap over his shoulders and a voice cut through the many questions being thrown at him.

"Don't overwhelm the kid and for the love of God please back up, give him room" Jonathan said as the mass took one single step back "Now give a second to answer the questions"

"I'm okay" Max said cringing a little with how weak his voice sounded and shoved a piece of watermelon in to his mouth. When no more followed he felt Johnathan huff a laugh where he had rested his head to Jonathan's shoulder.

"Thank you Max, very informative. Now for the rest of you" He turned his attention to the garage that had all reclaimed the step back they took earlier "We have a meeting in a couple of minutes to go over data and we have to get ready for qualifying. So..." Jonathan made a shooing motion with his hands and everyone reluctantly got back to work.

Once it was just the two of them, Jonathan focused turned laser sharp on him.

"How are you really kid?" Normally being called kid would annoy him, Jonathan and GP being the only ones to get away with it, but today it soothed a part of him that he couldn't name.

"I'm good to drive" Max was proud that his voice sounded stronger this time around.

"That's not what I asked" Jonathan said. Max just avoided eye contact with him and ate another piece of watermelon "Okay, meeting is in fifteen" briefly pulling him in a side hug before walking off. Just for a second Max allowed himself to mourn the lack of contact. The calm he felt at being held.

When he finally looked up he found GP watching him from across the garage and he immediately beelined for him. Max didn't give GP any time to react before throwing himself on to GP.

Max allowed himself this because him hanging off of GP was not a new behavior. It wasn't a sick behavior. It was extremely common for him to be found wrapped around GP from behind studying data in the pit lane, using GP as a pillow during delays, and somehow always ending up latched on to a part of GP. Jake used to say Max was touch starved.

"Did Tom really wipe out?" Max asked hoping to distract GP from asking the same thing that he has been texting him since he left this afternoon. For a second GP gave him a flat look, knowing exactly what Max was doing.

"Yeah, a little. Right before FP3. He tripped over the front wing and went face first to the ground. He's okay just a little upset that the first thing James was concerned about was the wing" GP said "Are you -"

"I'm good" Max interrupted. Max could tell GP wanted to say something more but simply nodded.

Max spent waiting for the meeting in a haze. It felt like he was looking at everything through a fog and noises came at delay.  He could feel the worried looks GP kept giving him.

The meeting was even worse. Max became hyper aware of the sweat on the back of his neck and the concerned glances from the team, while they meant well, felt suffocating. So much information was being thrown around Max but he wasn't able to make sense of the words. They came across as garbled and muffled. The only thing Max could focus on, to keep the nausea at bay, was playing with GP's watch. He had rested his hand on Max's when the meeting began to stop Max from tearing at his cuticles. Max has subsequently spent the meeting latching and unlatching it. GP seemed content to leave him to it.

Time had started to take on a slippery quality, moving too fast for Max to keep up. Leaving the meeting and getting in the ice bath slipped by in a second. Getting out and dressed in his race suit happened in a blink. The glances he was getting grew increasingly worried. Max couldn't bring himself to care, he felt separated from his body.

It wasn't until he climbed into the for Q1 that he slammed back into his body.

"Max" GP said as he twisted so his face was in line with his under the halo "You know when you're in the car you have to be honest with me. If you need to stop or get out tell me"

Max gave a quick jerk of his helmet to show his assent.

"No" GP said as he reached under the halo to grab the bottom of the helmet to stop him doing it again "I need eye contact and verbal communication" Max hadn't even realized he looked away.

"Yes we're good" Max forced out both of them wincing at how gravely his voice sounded.

"Okay. We are gonna let Williams, Alpine, and Mclaren get their laps in before we send you out"

"Sounds good" With that GP gave to two taps on the top of his helmet before he walked to the pit wall. Two taps meant everything is okay and they got each other. The only time GP ever forgot the to tap his helmet before a session was Hungary and that was a shit show.

Waiting felt like torture. His muscles tensing and his hands flexing against the wheel. When he was finally given the signal to head out it felt like relief. Max could feel himself falling away from his body again,instead of feeling himself floating away, he was connecting with the car. The laps felt smooth and easy. It was only Q1 one so it wasn't about pushing himself or the car. Max just had to stay in the top 10 and get data on turns. The session went smooth enough when he pitted he was in p8.

"How was that for you" GP said over the radio, Max could see him turn to look at him in the garage, knowing Max preferred to stay in the car between sessions.

"Good" Max said "Where are losing time"

"Turn 7 in to turn 8 seems to be where your losing speed"

Q2 went the same as Q1. Max having figured out how to maximize his time in turn 7 and 8, he pulled in the pits in p6.

It was waiting for Q3 to start when his stomach started twisting. A tiny part of him wanted to say something. To just call it quits with quali, p10 wouldn't be the worst place to start. GP would take on Helmut and Christian for him. The bigger part of him, the part that feared letting people down, kept him mute. Halfway through the session he was sitting at p2. Max ran a couple more laps but wasn't able to improve. He could feel the heat starting to press in. The neon lights in contrast to night sky was making him dizzy. His breaths were coming in gasps. Three laps later his p2 spot was taken and then so was his p3.

"Max" GP's voice crackled to life in his ear "We have time for two more laps. It's turn 4 that's slowing you down now. Can we do two more laps?"

Max struggled for breath and a darkness started in creeping in on the edges of his vision.

"N..No" Max gasped out. It was silent for a moment over the radio.

"Okay...it's okay. Just bring yourself home" GP said with his voice tight with worry.

Max wasn't sure if he responded back or not. As he steered his was back to his garage he could feel his arms start to shake. Pulling in front of his team he was instantly swarmed as they pulled the car inside. Desperately Max began clawing at his belts trying to loosen them, his hands felt clumsy and weak. One of the mechanics reached in and knocked his hands away to undo the belts himself and two more mechanic grabbed him to help pull him out of the car. Max knew his breaths were coming too fast as darkness creeped in. Vomit crawled up his throat, for the first time in his career he was gonna throw up in his helmet.

Max was sure he blacked out for a minute because next thing he knew was being pushed into a chair at the back of the garage. A mechanic supporting his shoulders on each side. Someone else was working on pulling off his helmet and baklava. He only had a second to see Rupert, before a bucket was being shoved under his chin and he emptied his stomach into it.

He could feel Rupert running his hands through his hair trying to calm him down. Eventually the two mechanics that were holding him steady left and a new hand joined in Rupert's attempt to calm him down and a soft accent.

"It's okay, let it out" GP whispered. Max's breath was turning ragged.

Eventually he ran out of stomach acid to throw up. When it was deemed safe a mechanic snatched the bucket away to empty.

"I'm sorry" Max mumbled voice raw.

"You're okay" GP and Rupert said simultaneously.

"Let's cool you down" Rupert said as he pulled Max up, GP supporting him from behind. Max was gently bullied into stripping and climbing into an ice bath.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more laps" Max mumbled as he dried off and redressed, leaning heavily on Rupert for support and balance.

"Max that's the least of our concerns" GP said "I'm so so proud of you for being honest with me"

Max wasn’t sure he believed him. He gave up, he should have stayed and pushed himself. If he cut the inside on turn 4 he could have made up the time. He could’ve kept his p2 or even gotten pole. He let the team down. The championship was slipping away. All the could haves and should haves began to feel suffocating. It was hard to catch his breath. He felt a hand on his cheek and instinctively flinched away. This time the hands grabbed his face firmer but still gentle.

“Hey look at me” GP’s voice was soft but firm. Max was terrified of what he would see. Disappointment. Anger. “Max look at me, look at me Maxie”

Max forced himself to meet GP’s eyes. He was surprised to see nothing but worry in his eyes and a soft smile. No anger. No disappointment.

“There you are” GP whispered “You did great out there. The team is proud of you. I am proud of you. No one is upset with where you qualified. The only thing they are is worried. You scared us getting out of the car today”

“Sorry” Max gasped out, still trying to catch his breath. GP gently shook his head.

“Don’t be” GP pulled his hand so that it rested on his chest “let’s calm down” GP took exaggerated breaths and Max tried to match them. Max could feel Rupert match his breathing where he was pressed against his back. It took a couple of minutes but eventually he was able to calm down.

“Good. Now you need to rest. Rupert is going to take you back to the hotel. I need to stay to go over data” Max’s hand tightened on GP’s polo. He wanted to beg for GP to stay with him. Not to leave him. To please just stay. GP must have seen the desperation on his face because he immediately pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"I promise I will come as soon as I am done" GP said into his ear. Max could hear Rupert shuffling around, probably packing up his stuff. Usually Max would have called him off, insisting that he could do it himself, but Max was content to stay sheltered in the hug. GP had a thing where he was never the first one to let go of a hug, always letting Max decide when he was done.

Maybe if he never let go GP would be too late to go the meeting and just come to the hotel. But then Max would be inconveniencing the team even more. Reluctantly, Max pulled back.

"I'll see you later" Max had meant it as a goodbye but it came out as a question.

"Yes of course. I'll be there as soon as I can. Rupert's got you" GP said before firmly passing him off to Rupert.

"C'mon, we have a car waiting for us" Rupert's voice gentle as he gently guided Max out the door. Max had a weird sense of deja vu back to walking out the plane. Relying on Rupert to guide him and keep him steady.

The hallways were surprisingly empty. Occasionally they would pass a red bull mechanic who called out well wishes and watched them with worried eyes. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw flashes of cameras going off. He couldn't bring himself to care, Christian could deal with that.

Max practically melted into the seat and against Rupert. His muscles ached and were shaking. A headache was steadily building at the base of his skull. He felt too hot and the humidity made it hard to breathe. All he wanted to do was curl up and cry. The only relief he had was that he nothing left to throw up.

Max was practically manhandled to lay with his head in Rupert's lap. After a moment he felt Rupert dig his thumbs into the base of his skull where the headache was forming. A hot wave of pain flashed behind his eyes. Involuntarily a whine slipped out.

"I know, I'm sorry just give it a second" Rupert muttered as continued the head massage. Gradually relief replaced the hot pain. It was so soothing it made it hard to keep his eyes open.

Max spent the car ride in an in between state of sleep and awake. Once Rupert noticed his state, he let up on the massage and just started running his hands through Max's hair. Max could hear him gently humming.

Max wasn't really sure how he got to the hotel room. All he has is flashes of an arm that feels like steel around his waist keeping his up, the dizzying sensation of the elevator going up, a door slam, and cold sheets before sleep claimed him for good.

Chapter Text

Max's body was heavy and warm, too warm, against him. Rupert could feel the slight tremors where Max was pressed up against his side. Gracelessly, he pulled Max down to rest his head in his lap. It felt like moving a rag doll, all floppy limbs and no resistance. He dug his fingers into the base of skull to try and relive the pressure that he knew was building. The choked off whine broke Rupert's heart a little bit. He tried to whisper reassurances but he wasn't sure if any of them were reaching through the haze Max was in.

The car ride felt endless, especially once Rupert felt Max go limp. He immediately switched from the message to running his hands through Max's sweaty hair. Occasionally tugging on the longer strands, being met with a pleased hum each time.

Pulling up to the back of the hotel, to avoid the media posted out front, Rupert tried to bring Max back to awareness. He was sure Max wasn't actually asleep, his back was too tense, but he was defiantly wasn't mental present.

"Max" Rupert said gently. All he got was a frown in response. Rupert couldn't help but huff a laugh.

Wrapping an arm around Max's waist and quite literally dragged him out of car. He was surprised when Max actually managed to stay standing. Slowing he guided Max to the freight elevator in the back.

"Sixteen floors to go" Rupert whispered gently when the doors began to close "ten more...five....two more...and were are here. Now we just got to go down the hallway" He wasn't sure why was narrating the journey but it seemed to keep Max calm. Getting in the door was a lot harder, trying to hold Max up while pushing open the heavy door felt almost impossible. Finally Rupert was able to stumble in without dropping Max. The sound of the door slamming behind them made both of them wince.

Dragging him to bed, Rupert dropped Max there where he laid with his limbs splayed a satisfied hum leaving him. Rupert could see the exact moment Max fell asleep for real. His whole body relaxed and he looked more at peace.

Rupert took a moment to catch his breath. It wasn't that dragging Max was particularly hard work by itself but combined with the thick humidity it made it hard to do anything. He wasn't sure the how the drivers were able to do it in these conditions. Max was driving in this while having a fever seemed impossible. A heavy rock of worry settled in Rupert's stomach.

He distracted himself by stripping Max to help him cool down and be more comfortable. He kind of felt like a creep peeling off the skin tight jeans that Max insisted on. Rupert wasn't quite sure how they got them back on after the ice bath. Once Max was stripped down to his underwear with a thin blanket and the aircon on full blast was Rupert able to relax. Settling on the bed next to Max, who immediately pressed up against his leg, he began to check his phone answering all the messages.

Christian (3):

GP let me know what happened.

Let me know when you get the hotel.

Do you need anything?

Red Bull United ⚒️🏎️ (34):

Tom: Is Max okay?

James: How is doing?

Cam: Do you guys need anything?

Lee: How is our Max doing?

Jack: Guys I think we need to give them a minute before they answer.

Tom: No.

Tom: Is Max okay?

Cam: Did anyone see Charles walking back and forth outside our garage?

Kent: I think he was looking for Max.

James: And my jaw stays in place.

Paul: Any news on Max?

Tom: You think between the two of them at least one will be able to answer.

Alex: News?

Andrew: Just saw Rupert dragging Max out.

Wheatley: Dragging?

Andrew: Well...Max definitely couldn't stand on his own.

Wheatley: @Rupert @Gianpiero

Alex: Damn he used GP's real name.

Alex: Also who let Wheatley in the chat? We said no higher ups.

James: It's from when we were planning the party.

Wheatley: If I didn't snitch when you all went to the weed shop what makes you think I would snitch now?

Alex: 😳

Tom: 😅

Jax: 🥲

James: 😶

Andrew: 😨

Cam: You were in the chat that long??

Paul: 😳

Paul: To be fair...it was Max's idea and we have never been able to say no to him.

Wheatley: Still didn't snitch.

Tom: I guess you can stay.

32 Likes

Tom: How's Max?

GP: He's okay and Rupert is taking him back to the hotel.

36 Likes

James: @Rupert are y'all back yet? How is he?

First Rupert responded to Christian saying they made it back safely and that they had everything they needed. To the bigger chat, he sent a photo of Max pressed up against his thigh. All you can see is a cloud of Max's hair and bit of a flushed check peaking out from the blanket.

Rupert: *Photo*

Rupert: We made it back and he's resting.

Immediately Rupert's phone blew up with the garage liking the photo.

GP: How was it?

Rupert: It was fine. I had to drag him up stairs but he's resting now.

GP: Good. I should be there soon. Meeting starts in 20.

Rupert: No rush. We are just resting right now.

Rupert: How's the garage?

GP: Freaking out. You saw the chat. Him fainting shook them.

GP: They loved the photo though.

Rupert: 👍

Rupert: Don't stress. See you soon.

GP: See you soon.

Chapter Text

Exhaustion made his feet like cinder blocks as he made his way down the hotel hallway. The exhaustion slammed into GP about halfway through the meeting and hasn't let up since. Between shifting through data, fielding questions about Max, and the constant buzzing of his phone it was too much. He wanted to be in bed. He wanted this weekend to be over, laid out on the couch with Max watching some shitty reality show.

He wanted to be anywhere but here.

Every 25 seconds, the average time it took for a mechanic to sneak their phone out, type, and send a text, his phone buzzed. Christian had sent him questioning looks at first and then slightly jealous ones when he realized who was blowing up the phone. GP had to resist checking the ultra secret (Christian definitely knew about it) group chat. Message after message poured in, all asking about Max. Absolutely no higher ups were allowed in, except Wheatley, GP was only allowed in (something Christian was fiercely jealous of) in because the garage saw his as an extension of Max and has often helped whatever idea Max came up with instead of snitching (ie that trip to the weed shop).

The drive from the track to the hotel gave his mind too much time to roam. His chest tightening with the thoughts of what ifs. What if he didn't pit and passed out while driving? What if he didn't wake up? What if they couldn't get the fever down? He knew he just needed to see Max for this panic to leave.

For some reason, GP hesitated at the door. Too afraid to open it. Logically, he knew Max had to be okay since Rupert didn't call but he was still terrified of walking into the worse case scenario. Shoving that thought aside he quickly pushed the door open as quietly as possible, figuring Max was probably asleep.

He was not prepared for the sight that greeted him at the bed however. Rupert laid half reclined against the headboard with Max curled up on his chest, both fast asleep. The glow for the tv lit them in blue light which caused the bright red flush on Max's cheeks stand out starkly. At Rupert's side laid some abandoned ice packs, giving GP a clue to how the evening went.

Walking to the bed as softly as possible he laid his hand against Max's forehead surprised that his fever has almost vanished. He was so focused on Max that he didn't even notice when Rupert had opened his eyes.

"I got the fever down about an hour ago or so" his voice was rough with sleep. It cussed GP to startle so bad that he flinched back. His fight or flight had been on high alert since they pulled a limp Max from the car.

"Sorry" Rupert said, not sounding sorry at all, as he smothered a laugh. GP shot him a glare.

"How was tonight?" GP asked.

"It was...we got through it. His fever spiked not long after we got back. We took a very cold shower to bring it down"

"We?"

"He wasn't there" Rupert said as he gestured to his own head "I had to hold him but it's not like he was gonna let me go. Once that came down enough that I was sure his brain wasn't boiling we just spent the rest of time in and out of sleep. I got him to eat some chicken and has kept it down so far. The fever did rise a bit, hence the ice packs but, not to jinx it, it seems to have broken for now" GP took in all the information as he stroked his hand through Max's hair.

"That's good" He finally said "Everyone is very worried about him, pulling him from the car shook everyone"

"mmh, but Christian is still gonna let him race" Rupert said looking down at Max who was still oblivious to the conversation happening around him. GP wasn't sure what to say to that. Rupert was right, Christian could make the call to not let Max race but wouldn't because the could mess with both championships. Quiet settled between for a moment before Rupert spoke up again.

"I promised to wake him up when you got here, he was very insistent" He said around a yawn.

"Let's do it when I get into bed so we get right back to bed" GP said as he gently climbed off the bed trying to not jostle him.

Quickly GP rushed through his shower trying to escape the sweaty feeling that has been clinging him to the entire day. He felt rushed as he finished his routine drying off, getting dressed, and brushing his teeth. Leaving the bathroom he his heart clenched at the sight of Max curled up on Rupert.

He kept one eye on them as walked around making sure that all the blinds were shut tight so it doesn't disturb them. The perk of it being a night race was they got to sleep in more. After GP was sure everything was in order he climbed in the order side of the bed.

"I'll slip out when you're talking to him so he doesn't focus on it" Rupert said.

"What?" GP asked in disbelief.

"So he doesn't get anxious" Rupert tried to explain, confused as to why GP seemed confused.

"Just sleep there. You have these past two nights"

"Yeah cause I fell asleep I didn't plan it and it was at the end of the bed. I don't want it to get crowded"

GP looked around at the california king bed.

"Mate, it's not get crowded. Besides he's gonna just sleep on top of one of us, this just gives him options"

"If you're sure" Rupert said agreeing "Are you ready"

GP nodded softly as he watched Rupert gently wake Max. It took a couple of tries but eventually Max woke a little disoriented.

"What" he mumbled.

"Looks who's here" Rupert whispered as he gently turned Max to look at GP. Immediately Max's eyes widened and he lurched himself towards GP. He caught Max with a soft laugh.

"Hey Maxie" GP said as he pulled him close.

"You came" Max sighed into his shoulder. It felt like a punch to the gut. He caught Rupert looking away over Max's shoulder. It killed him the Max was always expecting to be left behind and abandoned.

"Of course I did. I'll always come for you" GP could feel Max going lax against him. When he looked down, Max was passed out against his shoulder. He was surprised Max didn't fight to stay awake longer. He hoped it wasn't foreshadowing for how Max was really feeling. Slowly he shuffled them down to a comfortable laying position while Rupert turned out the light. Looking over GP found Rupert on his side watching them.

"Night" Rupert whispered when he caught GP's eyes.

"Night" GP replied.

Chapter Text

This is what lobsters probably felt like when they were being boiled alive. Max couldn't help but laugh to himself as took turn 4. He felt slightly hysterical. Max was absolutely drenched in sweat, it felt like he was sitting in a puddle. That couldn't be good, Max thought to himself. Maybe he should ask Rupert if humans could run out of water. He'd probably have a heart attack just from the question and shove more gatorade at him. Just this morning he had two before he was even allowed to leave the hotel.  

The radio crackled to life pulling him from his thoughts. 

"1.2 to Gasly ahead" GP said. Thank god it wasn't something he had to respond to. Words weren't the easiest thing right now. 

His entire vision was one mass of blurred lights. He wasn't sure if that was because he was currently boiling alive or from his vision problems that always love to return during night races. Either way, he was sure that he was not doing good anymore. 

Overtaking Gasly, then Hamilton, then Leclerc, Piastri, and then Norris didn't feel real. He was barely aware that he did it.

"P1 now mate, good job. Only 10 more laps" GP's voice crackled back to life. 

"Okay" Max croaked out, immediately cringing. He could feel GP's red flags going off from here. He should have said more. 

"How we doing," GP asked.

"The tires are good, I think we will make it" Max said, fighting to string the words together. Max wondered if his normal lisp would be blamed for the slur in his words. 

"Max" This time the tone held a warning. One anyone would be able to pick up on. He knew he would see a few posts on social media about this radio exchange. Max always saw the wildest theories about how him and GP talk to each other.  He would send the funniest ones to GP.

"I'm good. Just....hot" he replied praying it would be enough to calm GP down so he wouldn’t order Max to pit.

"Okay just watch those tires and eek out that gap" GP's voice crackled back "and remember you are more important than the race" 

Something about the words made tears prickle behind his lids. To hear someone say that his safety was worth more than a race result still caught him off guard. He was raised to risk his safety for the result, that was beaten into him. 

GP didn't even want him to race today, basically begged him not to this morning. He and Rupert laid out every reason Max shouldn’t get in the car today. They pleaded with him but it fell on deaf ears. For the most part, Max felt...fine this morning. His fever was low and the dizziness was gone. The nausea was definitely still there, he discovered right after forcing some menial breakfast down. It was the best he had felt all week. The exhaustion was heavy and he fell asleep on the way to the track. He did have to stop every few feet to catch his breath when he was walking through the paddock. Waiting in the garage he had to lean up against a couple of mechanics to keep himself standing. They gladly pulled him into their arms until he was ready to stand on his own, throwing worried glances at each other over Max’s head. Max was good though, he was fine. 

Lap 58, it started to feel like something was sitting on his chest. Every breath came with a fight. By lap 60 bile started climbing up his throat and darkness started closing in from the edge of vision. A tiny part screamed at him to pit, to stop the car. The majority screamed at him to keep going. 

the relief of crossing the checkered flag in first was orgasmic. He did it. The race was finally over. He won. He could get out of this fucking car that was trying to kill him. He could hear GP and Christian congratulating him over the radio. 

"Yessss, great race. Thanks team" he called back over the radio. There was more that he wanted to say, he wanted to scream his pleasure over the radio, but it got tangled in his throat. A mixture of more excitement and pleas for help. 

Pulling into Perc Ferme Max immediately began clawing at the belt strapping him in. His fingers were clumsy and his arms moved at delay. Pulling himself from his seat onto the top of the car was a feat of Herculean effort, the roar of his team egging him on. He barely waited for the camera to capture him in his glory, hands raised in victory before he was sprinting into the team's arms. He didn’t even think before he leaped, his had never been dropped him before. Their arms wrapped around him keeping him up and others came up to the rub at any piece that they could get to. They were being gentler than usual. They had been all day. They were constantly catching him in hugs, speaking in lower voices, passing him little snacks, and looking like they were ready to drop everything to catch him if need be. 

Briefly, Max felt bad at the idea of them being forced to touch his wet race suit but he was so happy to be in their arms that he didn’t care. Gently lowering him to the ground, Max was genuinely shocked his legs didn’t give out immediately beneath him. A sharp whistle cut through the shouted congrats. Turning his body towards the end of the fence he found GP standing there with a wicked grin. He usually never came, he just stayed at the pit wall until the podium. 

“Come here Maxie” GP said. Max was moving towards him before his brain caught up with the fact that GP called him Maxie in front of the media, no wonder he was grinning like that. He was barely in front of him before GP was reaching out and dragging him into a bone-crushing hug. Max immediately sank into his arms. He could hear and see the flashes of thousands of cameras. 

“You gotta let go Maxie” GP said softly. Max barely heard him over the roar of the crowd. He didn’t want to let go but he forced himself to. GP immediately reached to undo the strap of his helmet before he pulled it off and his baklava.  

“Hey” Max croaked out. 

“Hey” GP’s smile was gentle “Great race” 

“Could never do it without you” 

“How are you?” 

“I’m good” Max immediately replied. 

“Darling…your shaking”

Was he? Max looked down at his hands confused. They seemed to be unable to stay still. Now that GP pointed it out he could feel the tremors wracking his body. Max tried to tense his muscles in order to get them to stop but that just caused a sharp pain to flash through him. 

“Oh” Max wasn’t sure what to say. 

“It’s okay, everything is gonna be okay. You just have to get through the podium, we are trying to get you out of media. Rupert is waiting for you in the cool-down room” To be honest most of what GP was saying was complete gibberish. GP never steered him wrong before though. Max just nodded. He was handed his helmet and gently pushed towards the placement stands. He moved in a daze. At his placement stand he could he watch waiting for, which he put on through instinct, and ice water. It felt like heaven. 

“Max” suddenly his field of vision up entirely by an overly enthusiastic, for this heat, Monegasque. Max’s heart picked up in a way that had nothing to do with the heat.

“Charlie” Max called back. 

“Great race, I was sure I had you on the last lap. I figured with you being sick this week I would have the upper hand but I guess I should never count you out” Charles’s words were rapid. Max tried to pay attention, he really did, but Charles post race was really something else. His eyes were radiate with happiness at making the podium. His hair a sweaty mess that of course looked beautiful on him.

“You know?” Charlie’s words cut through his admiration. He had no idea what to say. 

“Yeah” Max tired. Immediately Charlie frowned, Max hated when he did that. 

“It’s a hot one yeah? You doing good?” Not Charles too. 

“I’m managing” Max pushed back. 

He looked like he wanted to say more but they were being ushered into their post-race interviews. Max wasn’t sure what he said in his, he just hoped that he remembered to thank the team. He was sure he looked awful over the broadcast and wondered if his shaking was visible. At some point, Carlos, P3 for today, had wandered over. He looked awful as well. His hair was soaked in sweat. Once interviews were wrapped they were hurdled towards the cool-down room, Charlie keeping up a steady stream of chatter the whole way there, the only one who didn’t seem destroyed by the heat. All of their trainers were waiting for them and as soon as they entered they had sprung into action. 

The FIA must have realized how bad the heat was to allow them to be here for them. Rupert pushed him into the nearest chair and shoved some water into his hand and urged him to drink. While he gulped down the water Rupert pressed a cold towel to his face and laid an ice back of his neck. The tremors finally started to calm. Rupert was surprisingly silent. Max had expected him to have begun to tell him off or ask him the dreaded question ‘How are you’ but he didn’t. Just stayed silently stressed. When the replay started the trainers were kicked out of the room. 

For once in his career Max actually paid attention to the highlights. Carlos and Charlie were making comments but Max was too focused to join the conversation. After he watched himself overtake Hamilton he felt a pulse of fear, he didn’t remember doing that. He didn’t remember anything from this race. The fear left him breathless. He was driving but he wasn’t there. He wanted to cry when the highlight reel ended. He needed to know what happened during the race, why couldn’t he remember? 

Waiting to get announced for the podium the fear in his stomach grew. Something was wrong but he didn’t know what. Climbing onto the platform felt like climbing a mountain. Getting into position he looked in the crowd to see his garage front and center waving up at him. He shot them a smile and wave. A couple of them pointed to the side where at the edge of the crowd GP stood with Rupert and Christian in what looked like a tense conversation. As soon as GP caught him looking over, GP blew him a kiss while Rupert waved. 

He straightened up once he heard the Dutch anthem begin. Pride radiates through him. About halfway through the long anthem, he looked down to see red drops by feet. He felt something drip from his nose and brought his fingers to his lip to find a thick liquid there. When he pulled his fingers away they were bright red. 

Oh. 

Chapter Text

Something was wrong with Max. Charles knew he had been sick according to the rumors of the paddock. Something had happened yesterday after qualifying though. He saw the wall the Red Bull crew formed, they only did that when something was seriously wrong and Max had been excused from media duties. As soon as he was done with his own duties, Charles had walked back and forth in front of the garage hoping to get a glimpse of Max, just to make sure that he was okay. He got amused looks from the crew and they probably thought he was spying. He wasn’t. Charles was too focused on trying to see Max or GP or even Rupert to care much of what they were saying. Eventually one of the Mechanics (Matt? Kent? James?) took pity on him and informed him that Max had left already before gently shoving him back to his own garage. 

Even in the cool down room, Charles could tell there was something wrong. Max was silent, eyes glued to the screen. Max has never been quiet in that room before. Ever since they were kids Max has been obsessed with dissecting everything about a race with anyone he could. That was Charles’s favorite consolation prize for making the podium but not winning was being able to talk about the race with Max. Today he was dazed and confused. Silent. 

Movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to turn his attention to Max. Max looking down with his hand on his face. When he pulled it away Charles see that it red. Charles’s blood ran cold from fear. The movement must have caught Carlos’s attention because he to turned towards Max. Charles met his eyes with a look of horror reflected at him. Before they could do anything Max went limp, body tilting forward as it fell. Both Carlos and him lunged to catch Max before he went head first towards the floor of the platform. Carlos had just managed to snag his arm around Max’s waist to slow his descent. Carlos had barley lowered Max to a laying position before Charles was on him. Vaguely he could hear shouts from the crowd below. 

“Max” Charles shouted over the noise as he tapped his cheek trying to get Max to respond. He looked up helplessly at Carlos when Max didn’t respond. He seemed just as lost as he did. They could feel the waves of heat coming off of Max’s body. 

All of a sudden Max’s body started to twist and jerk. Body arching in unnatural movements. A seizure, his brain supplied. Charles felt frozen. He didn’t know what to do. Carlos immediately grabbed Max’s head to stop it from banging on the metal platform. Over his shoulder he could hear the Singaporean officials scrambling around. Where was help? How long has it been? Suddenly Max’s body fell limp was again. He was so pale and blood from his nose that hadn’t stopped bleeding was smeared over his face. Just as suddenly as it stopped the seizure started once again.

Charles had never felt so helpless before. All he could do was watch as Max arched and shook violently, Carlos doing everything in his power to keep his head still. Suddenly somebody was next to him. 

“Rupert” Carlos gasped out when he noticed the new arrival. 

“Is this his second?” He asked immediately, hands hovering Max’s body flinching when he felt the heat. 

“Yes” Charles answered voice weak “He needs help” 

“They’re waiting at the bottom and an ambulance is on the way. GP is with them” 

“Why aren’t they here” Charles snapped at Rupert. He immediately felt bad it wasn’t Rupert’s fault.

“There is no room for them to help up here, I’m gonna take him down” 

Charles wanted to shake and scream at him. How could he be so calm? Max was seizing in front of them. As soon as Max stopped jerking violently Rupert had quite literally scooped him up in his arms and took off towards the stairs down. Charles followed before his brain caught up with his actions. He was just able to see Max laid out on a stretcher before medical personnel surrounded him blocking Charles’s view. Everything happened in a blur and soon enough Max was disappearing into an ambulance with Rupert and GP following behind. 

Chapter Text

The sharp beeping of the machines had GP on edge. There were too many machines, too many noises. 

“Somethings wrong” Rupert said as he joined GP and Christian at the edge of the crowd for the podium. The edge in his voice had GP’s muscles going taunt, his fight or flight kicking in. 

“What do you mean? Is his fever back?” Christian asked quite aware of the media they were surrounded by. 

“Oh definitely but its the fact that he wouldn’t answer me is what’s worrying me. I asked him a couple of questions but he didn’t even acknowledge me. It’s like he didn’t even hear me” 

The chair he was sitting in was hard against his back and no matter how GP sat it felt like the edges were cutting into his legs. 

The moment Max stepped onto the podium, GP knew they were fucked. Max looked awful. Ghostly white, except for his cheeks which were fluorescent red from the heat. GP could see that he was shaking from here. He seemed lost, like it was his first time ever on the podium. GP was filled with false hope when Max woke from the revere that he seemed stuck in when he saw the guys from the garage. They must of pointed GP, Rupert, and Christian out because suddenly Max turned to look at them directly. Without thinking GP blew him a kiss, hoping to get a smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rupert waving. As soon as the anthem started Max stepped back into that dreamlike state, no longer fully present.

Cold air slid over GP’s skin and it felt like being sliced with knives. Going from the heavy humidity outside to the dry freezing air here gave him whiplash. 

The blood was stark when Max looked up due to how pale his face had become, not even his fever-bright cheeks had color anymore. 

Everything was white and too fucking bright. 

Max’s body going limp. 

The screaming of the crowd. 

Rupert running up the podium stairs. 

Christian yelling for medical.

Max’s body moving uncontrollably. 

Max limp in Rupert's arms. 

The wail of the ambulance. 

Questions being — 

GP jerked forward trying to catch his breath. The images flooding his brain were too much. Scenes from the podium that felt like it was a lifetime ago. His chest tightened even more every time he remembered how limp Max was in Rupert’s arms. He looked ——. Vaguely GP could feel a hand on his back. To warm to belong in this freezing room. 

“Take a deep breath….It’s okay….breathe….come on….he’s okay….you’re okay” Through his panic he could hear a voice filtering in, Rupert. “Come on…in and out….everything is okay….focus on me” Slowly but surely GP came back to himself. Focusing on Rupert’s hand on his back and his voice, he was able to calm down. 

“Thanks” GP managed to get out when he had properly caught his breath.

“No need to thank me” Rupert said from his seat on the floor in front of GP “It’s okay. He’s okay”  

GP turned his attention to Max on the hospital bed in front of him. He was so still and deathly pale. There were too many machines, they made Max seem tiny. One to monitor his heart, one for an IV, one to watch his oxygen, one to give him oxygen, and one to keep track of his temperature. He looked lifeless. That wasn’t his little lion. Despite it all, he was okay. That’s what the doctor told them ‘Max was gonna be okay’ after physically holding him down so he wouldn’t hurt himself from another seizure, after forcing him into two different ice baths, and after turning him onto his side in the ambulance so he wouldn’t choke on his own vomit. Despite everything he was okay. Heat stroke and the flu. No big deal just dramatic, the doctors assured them both. GP wanted to laugh himself sick when he heard that. No big deal just dramatic. 

GP swore he aged 20 years in the last three hours. Watching Max try to claw out of the ice bath and fight Rupert who held him while he was unconscious accounted for at least ten of those years. All he wanted to do was hold Max and keep him safe. Not let anyone touch. Tuck him away from the doctors who were too harsh with how they moved him and held him down. No big deal just dramatic.  

“The guys are on their way” Rupert said as he broke the silence once again. 

“Okay” GP hadn’t thought about how the garage would have reacted to Max fainting. He was their Lion. Most of them had known him since he was 17 and nervous to exist. 

“Everything is gonna be okay” This time it sounded like Rupert was saying it more to himself than to GP as he turned around on the ground to lean up against GP’s legs. The warmth and pressure doing wonders to keep GP grounded and present. Automatically GP’s hand rested on Rupert’s head where it came to lay on his knee. As much as GP was traumatized by this whole event so was Rupert, he was the one who had to get Max from the podium and the one to hold him down in the ice baths. Honestly, GP was shocked at how well Rupert was holding it together. 

Chapter Text

Time crawled forward. Sitting in that hospital room it felt like time had stopped. Nothing had changed. Max hadn’t woken up yet. There was no windows to see outside to look at the rising sun. The beeping of the machines was constant. GP briefly had wondered if he was going insane. He tried to focus on the warm weight of Rupert against his legs and his hair underneath GP’s hand. If GP stretched a little he could reach Max with his left hand but the idea of touching him terrified GP. What if he crumbled to dust at the touch? What if he set something off? What if he hurt Max? 

The silence was oppressive. 

Before GP could spiral again, the door opened again startling him. Turning to look over his shoulder he saw Genty poke his head in. 

“Can we come in?” He asked when he and GP made eye contact. For a second GP wanted to laugh. Over Genty’s shoulder he could see several of the mechanics attempting to see into the room, basically crawling over each other. 

“Of course” GP answered. Immediately Genty was shoved forward as the mechanics of Garage 1 entered the room, instinctively lining themselves up along the edges of the room, as if they were still in the pitlane and needed to make room for the car. All their attention focused solely on Max’s figure in the bed. 

“How is he? Has he woke up yet?” Matt asked. 

The question left GP choked up for a second. It was one thing to witness everything, to be be told by the doctor ‘the reason Max experienced a series of seizures  was most likely due to the combination of heat stroke and the flu’ and that he fever was so bad that Rupert had to forcibly hold Max down in two different ice baths as he clawed to get out. To have to explain it to a room full of people who loved Max like their own was a completely different matter. GP felt guilty. He didn’t catch this early enough. He should have stop Max from racing. He should have done more to stop the doctors from being so harsh with Max when they were turning and holding down his body, instead he left that to Rupert. 

“He’s umm…he’s gonna be okay” GP started “He has…had…heat stroke. That in combination with the flu he had been dealing with all week it wasn’t a good combination. The two of them together caused the seizures. His umm..fever was really high for a while so he went through two different ice baths but they got it back down. He’s resting right now. He is going to okay” It was technically good news, Max was okay, but it didn’t feel like he giving good news. It felt like he was just reporting on the consequences of his own failures to keep Max safe. The mechanics all looked solemn from the news. 

“And how are you” Genty pressed. 

“I’m…” Losing my mind “as good as to be expected” GP said. If started to look to deep into his feeling GP feared he would start screaming and never stop. 

“And Rupert?” 

Up till this point he hadn’t realized how quiet Rupert had been. He hadn’t greeted anyone when they had come in and hasn’t said anything since. Looking down in surprising GP realized that he had gone limp against his legs. He had fallen asleep. 

“He’s doing surprisingly well. Holding it together better than me. He was the one who had to hold Max down in the ice bath, it was….bad....traumatizing” GP said as he unconsciously ran his fingers through Rupert’s hair. 

“We can imagine, and he brought Max down after his…” Matt trailing off before he forced himself to say the word, not wanting to admit the reality out loud. 

“Anyway” Jon cleared his throat “We brought some clothes and snacks. The hospital gave us permission to stay tonight at least, if that is okay with you. We don’t want to overwhelm you with everything” 

GP looked around at the mechanics along the wall, all of them looked anxious at the idea of being turned away. Of not being able to be some sort of comfort to Max when he woke up. He was theirs. Their boy. Their Lion. 

“Of course you can stay” GP answered. The tension in the room eased marginally. A breath of relief went around the room. Immediately the guys began to make themselves comfortable around the room. Sliding to the floor and leaning against each other. Soft conversations began to flow around GP. Snippets of gossip from the weekend. Finally the silence was chased out of the room. 

The whole team for the most part was close. This garage though? That was Max’s family. They were GP’s family. Suddenly the whiteness of the room wasn’t so bright anymore. The cold not as biting. Suddenly Genty was next to him settling a bag by his side. 

“We brought you some clothes and food” He said “I’ll go see if I can find a blanket for Roo” GP softly nodded in thanks. Looking around he saw different groups of mechanics all lounged on the floor talking softly and laughing. They had managed to change into sweats and t-shirts. Something about it made GP want to hysterically laugh. Its like a sleepover, GP thought to himself. Yep, he was definitely losing his mind but everything was gonna be okay. Occasionally, GP would catch one of the guys glancing over at Max still asleep on the bed and would see them lose all their humor before they would be gently dragged back into conversation. It was a cycle that was repeated with all of them. 

Eventually, Genty reappeared with an arm full of blankets and passed them out to the different huddles before coming back up to GP. 

“Here” Genty said as he leaned down and tucked the blanket around Rupert's tucked up form. Both GP and Gently paused when he shifted but he simply turned to press his face in closer to GP’s thigh and let out a sigh of relief at finally being warm. GP simply just opened his legs more so that Rupert had more space to took himself into. 

“Christian said he would stop by later once he got things wrapped up at the track” Genty said as he settled into the chair on the other side of the bed. All GP could do was nod. He knew he should ask about what was happening back at track but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, GP was so tired. 

GP allowed himself to settle back and unclench his muscles. The background conversations washed over him and he allowed himself to slip into half asleep state, it was only briefly broken when Christian entered. GP did not have it in himself to fully wake up when he heard Christian softly talking to Genty. GP wasn’t sure when that half asleep state went to him being completely dead to the world. All he knew was that one minute the cold of the room was making his fingers ache and he could just make out Alex, Tom, and Jax talking about the rumor of Danika Patrick and Jenson Button hooking up to nothing. 

Startling awake, the first thing he noticed was that Rupert’s weight from his legs was gone. Looking around the room GP realized that all the lights were out. He could see piles of the mechanics sleeping on each other using random limbs as a pillow and trying to share the parse few blankets. On the other side of bed he saw Genty reclined in such a position that GP knew would be killing his neck come morning. The sight of the door opening out of the corner of eye caught his attention. 

Rupert was stepping out and trying to tiptoe around the pile of James, Paul, Kent, and Cam. He had changed into the clothes that the team had brought for them, an oversized black hoodie and grey joggers. GP watched him walk to the foot of Max’s bed. He just stood there staring at him and then at the machines, as if trying to make himself believe that Max is still here. Slowly Rupert creeped to the side the bed were GP was and gently grabbed Max’s wrist. Rupert immediately started counting Max’s pulse with his watch and then compared it to the machines monitoring his vitals. Once he was satisfied he turned back around and jumped once he saw GP was awake. 

“Fuck” Rupert whispered “Warn a guy” Even in the dim light GP could Rupert’s cheeks redden with embarrassment. 

“All good” GP asked nodding to Max, fighting and failing to hide his smile at Rupert. 

“Yeah…just double checking. Anyway those are your clothes and some food” Rupert steamed rolled before GP could make another joke at his expense. 

There was more GP wanted to say but decided taking a piss and changing out of his jeans was priority. Grabbing the bag he took the same treacherous route he just watched Rupert do. Honestly GP couldn’t imagine Mercedes or McLaren’s mechanics cuddling on the floor of the hospital room. Maybe Ferrari, but that would be because of their trauma bond. 

GP managed to avoid his reflection the whole time he went and got changed, they must of sent someone to the hotel to get the clothes because he had his sleep pants and his grey hoodie, he even was lucky enough to get some thick socks. He wasn’t successful until he was washing his hands that it became inevitable. He looked like shit. His underlies were so dark they looked bruised. Scruff had grown in. He was sure that if he had hair it would have turned grey. Max once had asked him, when he was blackout drunk, if his forehead wrinkles would go all the way up his head. GP had gotten his revenge the next morning by making a smoothie bright and early as Max puked his guts out. GP didn’t even drink smoothies. 

Reentering the room, GP made the journey back towards his chair, nearly stepping on Cam’s fingers where he had flung his arm out in his sleep. At his chair he found Rupert sitting on the floor criss crossed eating a bag of Doritos. His sweatshirt swallowed him, he looked like a little kid. Next to him there was a Kit Kat wrapper. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be a trainer” GP asked as he resettled. 

“There is nothing wrong with a little moderation” Rupert said as brought the bag up to pour the crumbs into mouth. GP couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow in disbelief. It was no secret that Rupert indulged Max’s little Kinder chocolate addiction. 

“No wonder Max stole you as his trainer. I don’t think Brad was ever as forgiving with his diet” Rupert smiled at that one. It was a topic that they always danced around, especially these last couple days. 

“What did he tell you about him asking me to take over when Brad was leaving” Rupert asked studied Max. 

“He just said that you got it but never explained what ‘it’ was” GP replied. He watched Rupert nod to himself as if he was making a decision before looking around. 

“Do you remember when Max first joined F1” Rupert started. 

“Yeah” GP answered. 

“Do you remember how they treated him? The other drivers?”

GP did. Even before he was Max’s engineer, there were rumors. The drivers hated Max, each and everyone of them. They made sure Max knew it too. Going as for as to break into his room and rip up his clothes so that he only had his team kit. Making fun of him for his interest in virtual racing, not understanding the appeal when he was actually in F1. Max told him stories of being invited to dinner but having no one show up, or the others going out to a different place than what they texted him. Purposely getting left places. Never allowing him in the chats. Daniel even went so far to taking pictures of Max changing to make fun of his body.

Max used to be so stressed out and sad back then. Always on the verge of a panic attack especially when he was left alone with the other drivers. GP didn’t know how Max could ever forgive those drivers. 

“I do” GP said solemnly. 

“I found him once, after his transition to Red Bull. It was really late. He was in this little alleyway on the side of the hotel. I think it was Malaysia. He was having a panic attack. I don’t know how long he had been out there but it was bad. It was so cold that night. Do you remember how everyone saying that it was uncharacteristically cold that year? It took so long to calm him down. He was so stressed and exhausted. And just…..afraid. Of everything. He kept saying that he couldn’t go back to his room, he never told me why though. I invited him to mine, I just wanted him to get out of the cold. 

The next morning when I woke up there was note thanking me but he was gone. I started checking the hotels after that making sure I didn’t find him outside, alone and afraid, again. Even when Carlos switched teams and we were in different hotels I would come check just to make sure. If I found I would stay in his room and just leave really early in the morning. We kept in touch after that. When Brad was leaving he asked me because I already knew about his issues with food, his body, and how stress effected him” 

When Rupert was done explaining GP sat there stunned. He never knew about that. 

“Thank you for being there for him” GP said, voice rough with emotion. 

“He didn’t deserve that. No one did but definitely not Max. He was just a kid. They were awful to him When he was so kind and gentle. They made ‘Mad Max’” Rupert’s attention trained on Max. 

“He’s gonna be okay” GP said mirroring Rupert from earlier in the night. Rupert seemed to know what he was doing as he smiled and scooted closer retesting his head on GP’s thighs. Once again GP’s hand found its way into his hair “Everything is gonna be okay” 

Chapter Text

Max wasn’t sure when he became aware of his surroundings. One moment there was nothing. He was nothing. Then suddenly he felt everything at once. His body felt heavy. Each limb weighed a thousand pounds and felt tacky with sweat. His mouth feeling like it was stuffed with cotton. Max was confused where he was. He could hear beeping off to his side. He was laying on the worlds most uncomfortable mattress. Max didn’t even remember going to bed last night. Cracking his eyes open all he saw was a white walls. A hospital? 

He could hear soft voices around him but couldn’t understand anythings being said, the word. Max kept his eyes closed giving himself time to become more present in himself. Slowly Max became more anchored in his body. The buzzing in his limbs lessened and his breaths came in easier. Max could feel a warm pressure on his hand. When he felt ready Max turned his head, wincing at the tightness in his neck, towards the source of warmth and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was GP’s hand resting on his own. Following the sight of the hand up the arm to the rest of GP’s body, he found him sitting in a chair at the side of the bed. GP was surrounded by what looked like to be his garage and Rupert. They were all either kneeling or standing around GP looking down at his phone, laughing at something. 

“What’s funny” Max rasped, wincing at the way his voice tore through his throat. Immediately GP’s head whipped towards him. 

“Max” GP gasped “How are you feeling?” GP was immediately getting up and stepping closer to the bed. The rest of the mechanics fanned out to surround the bed. Max had the bizarre thought that this is what alien abduction victims must feel like. They were all staring down at him. 

Suddenly Max felt shy from the attention. Looking down he just shrugged. He didn't want to worry them by saying that it hurt to move. Max felt GP tighten his grip on his hand. 

"How was the race?" Max asked focusing on GP's hand. It must have been the wrong thing to say because he felt the room freeze, tension rising. 

"Do you...do you not remember the race?" GP asked gently. 

Once again Max found himself too anxious to answer out loud so he just shook his head. He briefly glanced up to see all the mechanics looking at each other. He could hear Genty say something about getting a doctor before he slipped out of the room. 

Max felt anxiety settle heavy in his chest. He didn’t know what to say. They were all looking down at him, waiting. Why couldn’t he remember anything? He wasn’t that sick. 

GP must have seen him struggling because he broke the oppressive silence. Clearing his voice he paused before he spoke. 

“You…you collapsed on the podium and had a seizure” 

Horror gripped Max. There was no way that he collapsed on the podium. His first thought was to accuse GP lying to him but the way he said it, like the words pained GP gave him pause. 

“W-what” Max stuttered out.

“A combination of the flu and heatstroke” 

GP looked…scared. Exhaustion lined his face. His eyes wide as if he couldn’t believe that Max was sitting here talking to him. GP looked like this after Silverstone ’21. Inexplicably Max wanted to make it better, as if GP was the one in the hospital bed. To make GP not look so scared anymore. Max didn’t know how to make this better. 

“Who won” Max whispered in the silence. Somewhere in the back of the group he heard a choking laugh before some of the other mechanics broke into laughs. Max wasn’t sure what was so funny. 

“You did darling” GP said gently. Oh. GP only called him darling when it was bad. The first time he ever did was when at 19 years old Max showed up to GP’s hotel room in the middle of the night, panic gripping him tight, wondering why he couldn’t win again. Why wasn’t he good enough? GP had simply wrapped him in a blanket, handed him a warm tea, and went over telemetry data for hours showing that each race Max was getting better. Max had fallen asleep mid data sheet against GP’s shoulder. The last thing he heard that night was GP saying ‘It’s okay darling’ as he pulled the blanket tighter around Max. Darling was used in their most serious and world-rocking moments. The first time GP saw Jos hit Max in the garage. GP finding out about how the drivers treated him. Silverstone. When Max broke down in a club bathroom after too many vodka shots crying into GP’s shoulder confessing that he was attracted to men and to not hate him. Winning that first title. Now. 

Before he could say anything Genty returned with doctor. 

“Good Evening, I think its best that I have a bit of privacy with Max. You are all welcomed to wait in the hallway and can come back in when we are done” The doctor was soft spoken but commanding leaving no room for argument. The mechanics seemed hesitant to leave Max but reluctantly shuffled out of the room. Panic gripped Max when saw GP go to move. Immediately Max gripped GP’s hand with both hands, trapping him. 

“Is it okay if he stays” Max blurted out, sounding desperate to his own ears. 

“Of course” the doctor gently replied as he pulled a chair closer to the bed and took a seat facing them “I’m Doctor David Tan and it is very nice to meet you awake Max” Out of the corner of Max’s eyes he saw GP wince at that statement. 

If Max was being honest he didn’t hear anything the doctor said. After he heard the doctor say three seizures he kind of checked out, a ringing noise in his ear. He hoped that GP was listening and actually taking in whatever the information they needed to know. He was pulled back into present when the doctor got up. 

“I’ll give you a moment to discuss everything. I’ll tell the gentlemen outside that you will come get them when you’re ready” With that the doctor took his leave. Max felt dazed. 

“Did you listen to a word he said?” GP asked gently. All Max could was gently shake his head no, he felt choked up for some reason. 

“Oh darling” Suddenly Max was wrapped in GP’s arms. Max immediately melted. GP was his safe space he knew everything was going to be okay in the lavender scented arms. Max hadn’t even realized he started crying until he heard GP whisper ‘Darling its okay let it out’ against his ear. Max didn’t know why he was so shaken up by this. He wasn’t sure how long he sobbed into GP’s shoulder but by the end he felt empty, scrapped out, and just exhausted. Max laid limply against the shoulder, trying to to catch his breath. 

“You’re okay. The doctor expects a full recovery, after a bit of rest of course” Max let out a breathless laugh at the stress on the mention of rest “I asked about the lack of memory and he said that it is common for heat stroke to cause a bit of memory loss. It might come back in bits and pieces” 

“Can I go home?” Max asked. He wanted to be in his bed. With his cats. He had the same thoughts when he was on the plane arriving here in Singapore, he wish he listened to himself then and just went home. 

“Soon, he wants to do another bag of fluids before he lets you go and then we can go right to the airport” Max wanted to fight throw a fit and demand to leave right now, whine until he got what he wanted. He was just too exhausted and something about GP seemed fragile. 

“Will you come to Monaco with me? Spend a couple of days there then you can take my jet home” Max knew he was selfish to ask. It was break and GP deserved time off to but he wanted GP there with him.

“I would love to darling” 

For a moment they just sat together huddled on the bed just resting. GP eased back after a minute. 

“Max…you have to understand this can’t happen again” Max wanted to interrupt and try to explain himself but GP bulldozed on “I knew you weren’t being completely honest with me and Rupert. You have to be more careful. You collapsed on the podium. Rupert had to carry you down and then when we got to the hospital he had to hold you down in ice baths while you fought him. You fought him while you were unconscious. How do you think he felt? How we felt watching you fall? Please don’t do this again” 

Max wasn’t sure what to say so he just nodded. He didn’t mean to scare them like that. GP seemed deflated after the speech but appeased that Max didn’t argue back. 

Chapter Text

The room was filled with a canopy of voices of overlapping each other, some laughing too hard to finish their sentences. Max laid in the center of it all, gazing swiveling from person to person with each new interruption. Some how going over the paddock gossip from the weekend, a tradition usually reserved for late nights in hotel room (usually when they were very tipsy and exhausted), has turned into a full blown “argument” over if Tom and Alex hooked up with in the same girl from the bar in Monza. Everyone from the garage had begun to fill in details that they were too drunk to remember and it was looking more and more like that they were with the same person and had begun to try and figure out the timeline of the night.

Max felt warm from his spot in the center of it all. Not the heat that he had been baking in from his fever all week. This warmth came from the center of chest. Just complete love and fondness for the idiots he was surrounded by. He was currently lounging agianst GP’s chest on the bed trying to keep up with up with all the overlapping voices. It was overwhelming in a good way. The laughter drowned out the beeping on the machines. GP’s arms were wrapped around his shoulders keeping him grounded. It was a lot when the guys were first brought back into the room, all of them worried, but GP kept him anchored. They kept asking questions that Max couldn't answer which just made them more worried. They went in circles with them asking questions that Max was forced him say that he didn't know before GP finally cut in.

Suddenly all the attention was at the foot of Max’s bed, where Rupert sat criss cross on top of Max’s blankets. They were waiting to see too if he could confirm or deny that he saw Tom head into the backroom with the girl before Alex had left with her for the evening.

Instead of giving them the answer they wanted he just shrugged and gave a rueful smile claiming that he was to occupied to pay attention what Tom was doing which just led to an outraged outcry from Tom and many dirty jokes from Andrew, James, and Paul.

"We made eye contact" Tommy cried out which caused Rupert to double over in laughter.

"Mate I have no idea what you are talking about" Rupert replied between gasps of laughter. He looked a thousand times more at ease than when he had first re-entered the room. Before he was so tense with stress, that he was slightly shaking. GP's words had kept running through his mind. Rupert carried him down. He held down in ice baths.

Max had kept glancing at him, guilt eating at him for the state Rupert was in. He kept looking at Rupert trying to figure out if the man was mad at him, if this was the final straw. Every time Rupert caught his eye Max would quickly turn away. The game of eye tag went on for a while until Rupert had enough and mid conversation with GP had climbed on to the empty space at the foot of his bed.

"We did" Tom protest with a whine in voice.

"I think we can conclude you both slept with her. It doesn't matter who did it first, did you guys have fun?" Genty cut in and we he was met with nods from them both continued on with "good. You are both whores"

Once that matter was settled the conversation quickly shifted to speculation around Lewis's move to Ferrari. When it was clear that Rupert was no longer under scrutiny by Tom, he lean closer to Max and GP at the top of the bed.

"I did see Tom head to the back with her but he stole two of my drinks that night and I had to close his tab for him when he got to drunk so I wasn't going to back him up" Rupert whispered to the two of them.

Both GP and Max laughed at that. Bringing the room's attention back to them.

"You did see me" Tom gasped.

"No I didn't" Rupert insisted.

"Then why are they laughing?"

Rupert just smiled and shrugged. Immediately Tom and Alex were back to arguing with each other as if the peace that Genty had forced had never happened.

Chapter Text

The buzz of the plane was soothing. It provided white noise to the relax into. All the lights were off on the plane expect the one over the bathroom. It created a soft glow. The atmosphere was warm and cozy. The blanket GP had wrapped around him added to the atmosphere.

Both Rupert and GP had fallen asleep a bit ago. Max tried to follow their example but he felt to restless. As soon as he was released from the hospital Max had headed straight the airport, Christian had packed all his stuff up for him and brought it to the hospital when he found that Max was awake. He should be tired, he should be exhausted.

He felt the need to do something. To run. His muscles were tense like he was preparing for a fight. He was getting more and more agitated the more he just sat there. Forcing himself to take three deep breathing, holding it in on the third before slowing letting it out, just like Rupert taught him to do. He did this until he felt he heart rate decrease.

Pulling his phone out he clicked on the one app he promised GP he would absolutely not look at - Twitter. He sent a silent apology to GP’s unconscious form a head of him. He had to know what happened.

Scrolling through his timeline he saw his usual posts about Martijn, Virgil, and Rico. A couple posts that were pushed to him about cats being clumsy and stupid. Nothing about him. Which was unusual. There was usually a couple of hate posts towards him. Nothing.

Making his way his way to the search page he was surprised to see that he wasn’t a trending top. His relief was short lived. As soon as he typed his first name into the bar a bunch of suggestions popped up.

Max Verstappen Collapsed

Max Verstappen Drugs

Max Verstappen Dead?

Max Verstappen Fall

He winced at all the click bait titles as he scrolled through the posts. He clicked on a couple of the articles, they all talked about him fainting on the podium but there was no video. Skimming through some of the articles he was subjected to pages of speculation about what happened (drugs and cheating) but there seemed to be no concern about his safety.

Scrolling further down he finally found someone who posted the video. Thanks to @KittenDaddy who apparently was at the track when it happened. The video was shaky but it would do.

Max watched himself walk out on the podium. Even for the first couple of minutes he could tell something was off. It looked like he was lost, not fully there. Clumsy in his movements. It was surreal to watch himself like this.  He saw himself notice the team below. Vaguely he recalled this more flashes of the memory than a fully formed thought. He thinks GP blew a kiss maybe? The bloody nose startled him he didn't remember that. Watching himself fall felt wrong. It was like his strings were cut. The impact only softened by Carlos lunging forward to try and protect him. Max had expected the video to cut off there but it kept going. He watched as his body jerked unnaturally going still for a second before continuing again. The camera panned to where his team stood looking shocked and scared. After a second you could see both GP and Rupert run past them. The camera panned back up and a second later Rupert was on the podium holding his body still. He could see Rupert, Charles, and Carlos talking and he desperately wanted to know what they were saying over his twisting form. The video cut off as soon Rupert pulled him into his arms and moved to leave the podium.

Max didn't know what to feel. It didn't feel real. It didn't feel like he was looking at himself. He found himself replaying the moment he fainted over and over, trying desperately to find anything in his memory about what happened. Obsessively he kept rewinding the video only interrupted when a hand covered his screen. Looking up startled he found Rupert sitting next to him in the seat, leaning over to grip his phone. He smiled when he met Max's eyes.

"I've seen you found a video" Rupert's voice was low. For some reason Max felt guilty about being caught watching the video.

"Yeah" Max whispered. He could feel Rupert gently tugging on his phone trying to get him to let go, Max didn't even put up a fight and allowed him to take it. Rupert immediately exited out of the app and locked Max's phone.

"How are you feeling" Rupert asked.

"Tired, restless, achey" Confused and scared. Honestly Max wanted to curl up in a ball. Just scream and cry until he felt empty.

"You're still recovering you're gonna be tired for a bit. You put your body through a lot this weekend" Rupert said.

Max felt a tension between them. Almost as though there was a glass wall between them. That has never happened before. From the moment Rupert pulled him out of the alley way, they clicked. Sometimes Max was weary of Rupert's kindness, scared that he didn't deserve it. That one day Rupert would grow tired of him and his problem.

"Are you mad at me" Max blurted out. It was Rupert's turn to be startled.

"No! Why would you think that" Rupert seemed genuinely shocked by the question.

"I lied to you and GP. I knew I was sick and I still drove. You had to carry me down and GP said you had to give me ice baths in the hospital. You barely got any sleep this weekend because of me" Max could feel himself getting worked up, breath picking up "I was such a mess this weekend and a problem. I know that I can be challenging -"

"Take a deep breath Max" Rupert cut him off as he grabbed Max's hands. Max forced himself to follow Rupert's direction focusing on the image of his hands being held, grounding him.

"I can't even apologize properly" Max mumbled "I'm so sorry"

"Max..." Rupert looked lost for a moment before he visibly steeled himself "Max you have nothing to be sorry for. Did you know that you would collapse into a seizure?" He waited for Max to shake to his head no before he continued on "It was the worst case scenario. Do I love that you drove sick? No. But that does unfortunately come with being an F1 driver. Pushing yourself when you should be resting . To be honest I feel like I should be apologizing to you. I feel guilty that I didn't do more to prevent you from getting hurt and I'm sorry Max. I feel guilty for not doing more. I just want you to be okay Max" Rupert barely finished his sentence before Max forcibly pulled him into a hug. Basically melting into his chest.

"It's not your fault" Max said into his shoulder.

"It's not yours either" Rupert replied squeezing Max tighter.

"Let's...let's just forget this weekend ever happened" Max tentatively suggested.

"Works for me"

Suddenly a wave of exhaustion slammed into Max. His eyelids too heavy to keep open. All the sleep evading him earlier coming back with a vengeance. Rupert could feel Max going slack against him and gently manhandled him into laying against him in a more comfortable position.

"Let's sleep ok?" Rupert didn't get a verbal answer instead Max pulled his legs up and curled against him more fully before nodding off. Rupert couldn't judge him because within seconds he followed him into dreamland.