Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

prologue

They were the same eyes. The same beautiful, endless blue like the depths of an untamed ocean. But now, there was no warmth in them – only a chilling coldness that sent a shiver down his spine. Daniel could only stand there, frozen in place, his breath caught in his throat. Those were the eyes that once looked at him as if he held the entire world. Eyes that burned with a warmth as fierce as a flame. But now, that fire had long since gone out, leaving only an icy, indifferent gaze. He stood in the corner of the sterile white hospital room, frozen, a forgotten shadow in the chaos of rushing nurses and beeping monitors. He couldn't move, couldn't speak – all he could do was watch as the man he loved lay battered and broken, his face pale and distant. A nurse, busy with a fresh roll of bandages, tried to focus on the patient before her but her gaze kept drifting back to the silent figure in the corner. There was something about him. Something fragile like he might crumble to dust with just a touch. He was a presence too delicate for this harsh, sterile place.

Yes, Daniel's world was falling apart. It was collapsing so completely that even its shape was becoming unrecognizable – shattering into pieces too small to ever be put back together again.

Chapter Text

It was a rainy day. Daniel landed at the airport much later than expected after a series of delayed flights, well into the early evening. Dressed in nothing but a thin T-shirt, he still looked like someone fresh off a summer vacation. It might have been perfect for the warm breeze of Perth. But in cold, rainy Monaco, it felt completely out of place. His perfect boyfriend had promised to come pick him up despite the gloomy weather. He promised to bring the car. So Daniel leaned back against his suitcase. That scene had the kind of calm that felt untouched by the rush around him. But that relaxed posture evaporated the moment his phone rang. His back straightened. A soft smile at the corners of his lips vanished from his face as he answered the call. He tried to stay calm and managed to wave down a taxi, direct it toward the hospital. But he couldn't control his spiraling mind and shaking hands. After a week-long holiday, the sight that greeted him was not his boyfriend with open arms and a wide, silly grin, ready to pull him into a warm embrace. But instead, Max lying completely still on a cold hospital bed. Daniel couldn’t even bring himself to step into the room. He stood frozen at the entrance, hands trembling, legs unwilling to move, his pulse roaring in his ears. The one to snap him back to reality was a doctor with vacant eyes. He approached with a clipboard in hand, rattling off Max’s surgery results and recovery status in a flat, professional tone. Suddenly he paused briefly. He glanced at Daniel’s pale face before adjusting his tone.

"So.. um- he might... not remember recent few years."

Daniel refused to believe it. Just before he boarded his flight to Australia, Max had kissed him at the airport, whispering words of love between hurried goodbyes. He held onto that memory believing the man he loved couldn’t possibly forget him so easily. But the merciless sky outside the hospital window seemed determined not to grant him that wish. They said Max’s car had slipped on the wet road. It crashed into the guardrail and flipped over. Right on the way to pick up Daniel. His physical recovery was promising, but the cruel twist of fate had robbed him of nearly five years’ worth of memories. Perhaps that’s why his eyes turned so cold when they finally landed on Daniel. Max’s first words, quiet yet sharp, cut right through the remnants of Daniel’s fragile hope.

"Um... do you know me?"

Daniel said nothing. How could he possibly explain who they were and what they meant to each other when the person he loved now looked at him with such unfamiliar eyes? How could he even begin to bridge the gap that had suddenly opened between them? When Christian Horner arrived- seemed that he clearly rushed to the hospital as soon as he heard that Max had regained consciousness- he pulled Daniel aside for a quiet word in the hallway.

"Daniel, I know it’s hard for you too, but.. please let’s not talk to him about your.. uh, relationship. He’s still fighting for a championship, you know? You shouldn’t be a bother to him."

The words struck Daniel like a blade. It felt like the crushing blow to the thin thread of hope he had been clinging to. It was the last confirmation that his place by Max’s side was no longer secure. He managed to nod. But he couldn't hide his watery voice.

"I... I understand."

Horner’s eyes lingered on him for a moment before turning away. Now Daniel left alone in a cold hallway. Daniel couldn’t sleep that night. He couldn’t even bring himself to step back into the hospital room. Instead, he curled up against the wall outside, head bowed, eyes dry but burning. It wasn’t just the guilt that gnawed at him—the knowledge that his boyfriend had been hurt while trying to pick him up. Or the unbearable sense of helplessness. It was the way Max had looked at him. Those cold, unfamiliar eyes haunted him, replaying over and over in his mind. With every rhythmic beep from the machines behind the closed door, Daniel felt his heart crack a little more. He closed his eyes, and he could still see Max’s face in the darkness behind his lids. That radiant smile he had once known so well, now just a painful echo. Max is a world champion. He’s the most dominant driver on the grid. But to Daniel, he has always been just a kid at heart. The one who grinned with unrestrained joy at the smallest of things. The one who whispered love against his skin, lips tracing lines across his shoulders. That was the Max he knew. The one who whispered love into his skin, lips pressing gentle promises along the curve of his shoulders. That was the Max he knew. The Max he loved. He was someone the world couldn’t help but admire. He was a presence too bright and beautiful to be held in just one pair of eyes. As for Daniel, he was just a simple guy. He run a small café in Monaco, living in a modest third-floor apartment on the corner of 16th Avenue. But his easy smiles, the carefree humming as he pulled espresso shots each morning, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed-had something that attracted people without them even realizing. Maybe that was why Max had first fallen for him. When Max took the cup of coffee and met his eyes over that big, silly smile, he couldn’t help but follow Daniel with his gaze. Even the faint trace of coffee lingering in the air as Daniel turned away etched itself deep into his mind. He couldn’t let go of even the brief brush of their fingers. Later when he recalled it, he realized he had already asked for Daniel’s number before he could even think about it. Daniel still remembers that dazed expression. The way Max’s slightly parted lips made him chuckle as he handed over his number. Now it sits in Max’s phone, saved with a little heart emoji.

Yeah, that was how it all began. Not a perfect, storybook romance. But one full of clumsy moments and awkward silences. And yet, even after all the ups and downs, Daniel had loved him. Even when he was pelted with eggs by max's angry fans. Because Max was worth it. He had always been worth it. Daniel rubbed at his tired, dry eyes, trying to shake off the memories. What mattered now was the man lying beyond the door, wrapped in layers of bandages. The man who had erased him completely from his life.