Chapter Text
I.
“Are you sure about this? What if we come back another time? We can still run away-“ Checo laughed at the nervousness of his fiancé.
But, to be fair, Max had every right to be scared as hell.
It had been around two months since they got engaged and since he had been able to be part of his daughter’s life, and now, they were finally visiting the dutchman’s family so they could meet Isa.
As always, Isabela was up for it and had the best attitude about the whole thing; meanwhile, Max wasn’t so sure about this happening.
After the video call were he told his mom that there was something very very important that she needed to know, Sophie had decided to invite them over along side Victoria and her family.
Now, they were standing at the door, were Max was becoming a nervous wreck.
Checo used his free hand to pull Max in for a short peck on the lips as he smiled kindly at him “Just take a deep breath, si?” The two of them inhaled profoundly and sighed softly, the mexican lowered his voice on a whisper just for them “we got this, okay? Is going to be amazing”
“Okay, I trust you…”
They turned to the door and pressed the doorbell, the sound bringing back memories of a beautiful yet bittersweet childhood for the blonde man.
A few steps were heard and then the door opened showing a young and beautiful girl whose smile widened when she saw her brother.
Victoria Verstappen, a sweet and a once in a lifetime kind soul who had made her life on the most traditional way, yet, she was always there supporting her older brother in absolutely everything.
“Maxie!” She hugged him and as soon as he could, Max reciprocated the action holding her close like he used to do with everyone that matters to him; she looked at the latin man and her face lightened up “Sergio! Long time, no see!” The blonde woman hugged him tightly and he corresponded the same way as he had missed her a lot as well. Victoria looked down and her bright blue eyes met with the icy ones from the little girl “and who’s this cutie pie?” Max immediately tensed up as he opened his mouth trying to say something but nothing seemed to come out.
Sergio noticed this and he grabbed Max’s hand while lifting Isa with the other giving Victoria a smile “Maybe we can talk about that inside? It’s really important” the young woman understood what Checo was trying to say, but still, she was confused as what was happening.
They got into the living room and sat down, Max’s leg immediately started shaking as he expected his mother to enter the room at any given moment; Checo put a hand on his tight in a very tender way to try and relax his fiancé, but the dutch was way far deep into his thoughts to even notice the sweet touch. The mexican leaned in close to his ear “Is okay amor, is going to be great”
“I feel that I should talk to her before she comes in” he looked at Sergio “I just don´t want to shock her like this, it´s like I owe her that ” the brown eyed man smiled softly at him as he put his hand on his cheek to caress it very delicately “is it okay with you?”
“Cosita, Of course is okay!” he chuckled “Whatever is best for you to go through it I´m up for it” Max gave him a short peck that made the older man giggle.
God, he was so in love with this man.
The dutchman took a deep breath and stood up making his way to the kitchen, in there, he found his mother cleaning her hands with a kitchen rag “Mum? are you busy?” the woman turned to her child and smiled widely.
“oh, don´t worry, I´m almost done” she approached her first born bringing him into a hug that he automatically reciprocated a bit tightly catching his mother´s attention “What is it, zoetheid?” she really knew him. Max separated and started to play with his hands as he was organizing the right words on his head, he sighed and looked at her hoping she could see how vulnerable he was being with her.
“There´s something I didn´t told you when we called you...Is something very important and is mostly the whole reason we are here so...I just want you to know that this was also a surprise for me and I didn´t knew until a couple of months ago so..yeah” Sophie frowned as her eyes glued to her son.
“whatever it is, I´m sure is going to be okay mijn kleine jongen” [my little boy]
“umm well...me and Checo...we ummm...we have a kid together” the woman´s eyes went wide as she put a hand on her chest, she seem to be processing what was told and Max felt his blood freezing on his veins, he took a shaky breath as clumsy words started to flow out of his mouth “I know is a lot to take in, and I probably should´ve had said something earlier instead of just dropping like this, so, I´m sorry, I just- I was scared and...I don´t know-” the blonde woman moved her head as she held his face, Max was to absorbed on his own rambling that he hadn´t noticed his mother was smiling at him with bright, teary eyes “mum?” she hugged him tightly as she caressed his hair softly. A very sudden feeling of relief washed all over Max as he sighed and hugged her back closing his eyes.
“this is amazing baby...I can´t believe it!” the two of them laughed as they broke the hug, Sophie holding Max´s hands in the most motherly way “so? where is it?”
“She´s on the living room with Sergio” he smiled “her name is Isabela, she´s two and a half” he lowered his voice a bit “Mum, she’s amazing…she’s the cutest most sweet girl that ever existed” his smile was as bright as a thousand suns and that brought an amazing amount of happiness to the woman.
“Then let’s not make ‘em wait any longer!” The long haired woman squeezed her son’s hands and just like when he was a little kid, they walked holding hands to the living room.
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If someone ever decides to ask Max what was his favorite moment of his life he would definitely go with this one.
Once they were on the living room, both Max and Checo had introduced Isa to Sophie, Victoria and the girl’s family; the dark haired girl had shy away at first, her cheeks flushed red as she hid a bit behind her dads.
Of course it was just momentarily, as soon as she got comfortable, her confidence skyrocketed and she had the best time getting to know her grandmother, aunt and uncle.
Now, she was joyfully playing with her cousins as her new uncle watched over them; sitting on the dining table, Sophie looked at the couple “She’s incredible! She has so much of you two!” Both drivers smiled as they chuckled, the woman looked at the mexican, expression slightly changing to a curious one “but I don’t quite understand why you kept it…wasn’t it hard to go through all of it alone?” Checo tensed up a little, but Max’s hand holding his really eased the tension on his chest. He looked at the dutchman before sighing and looking if the kids weren’t around.
“Well…we had just broken up and…I didn’t wanted him to feel pressured to be with me just because I was pregnant” he sighed heavily laying a bit on Max’s shoulder “but then the months went by and I felt guilty for not telling him and to my luck he called me to try and fix things but theeen-“ the blonde man frowned as he looked at his sister and took over the conversation.
“Then good ol’ dad decided for me and threatened Checo to stay away from me and not tell me anything about the baby” Victoria’s eyes went wide just like Sophie’s; the man looked at his fiancé “I still can’t believe he dared to do that to you..”
“I’m going to kill him, oh my god I’m so going to destroy your father for this!” The older woman’s words made the two drivers chuckle as Max put a hand on top of her mother’s hand.
“As much as I would love you to do that” he smiled “I already left things very clear with him…he hasn’t even show his face since then so…don’t worry”
“Still! I can’t believe he did that! Gosh…”
“Weeeell- you know dad” Victoria’s comment made Max laugh a bit louder, she smiled at the two Red Bulls “I’m so happy for you two, you’re already a cute little family, I love it!” Her smile became bigger and brighter “and GOD I love having a niece! I’m going to spoil her SO much! I know I have competition with Paola but I’ll make up really quick, you’ll see!”
The rest of the evening was just a lovely beautiful moment that will stay with Max forever.
And suddenly, his childhood house started to feel like a home again.
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II.
The sound of very insistent, very quick knocking filled the ears of the mexican man, he was siting on his driver´s room when he heard the little commotion behind his door, he yelled ‘come in!’ to whoever was behind the door and there´s when Max barged in with Isa on his back; the girl looked like she had been crying while the dutchman looked absolutely gutted and worried.
“What happened?” Max sat Isabella on the massage table as he looked for something, he moved towards the first aid kit that was on the wall, picked it and gave it to Sergio “What?”
“I fell” the black haired girl whimpered a little as her big blue eyes filled with tears again “We were walking and I ran and fell” she rubbed her eye with her little fist as she pointed the scratch on her knees “Dad picked me up and we came here” Max sighed heavily as he opened the white box and took a small chair to sit in front of his daughter and tend to her injury. Checo pouted a bit as he came close to the kid and cupped her face ”dolió mucho papi” [it hurt so much daddy]
”yo se mi niña, no pasa nada, ¿okay?; tu papá ya se está encargando de eso, ¿vez?” [I know my baby, don’t worry, okay?; your dad is already taking care of it, see?] Isa nodded with her head and moved her gaze to her other father.
Max on his side was one thousand percent concentrated on his task, finishing by putting the red and blue band aides on his daughter’s knees “There, is it okay? Is not uncomfortable?” The girl denied moving her head frenetically “good, then you’re all set baby girl”
“You’re not going to kiss it better?” The little girl’s lower lip started to tremble a bit as her eyes got wet again.
Max was oh god so confused.
Thanks to the havens that his fiancé was there to the rescue.
“Of course he’s going to mija! He just forgot for a bit because he was so worried!” Checo pulled another chair and sat at Max’s side to whisper on his ear “you have to kiss her knees so they can get better, she feels better when you do that” the blonde blinked a couple of times before looking at his kid again and proceeding with the action on a very soft way so it wouldn’t hurt her “see? All better! Right Bella?” The girl smiled nodding.
Isa’s mood change quickly and suddenly there were no more tears and she had gone back to normal completely.
Still, Max looked tense as if he was still worrying about what had happened; Checo noticed this and he grabbed the little kid quickly ”¿quieres ir con tus tíos Esteban y Pierre?” [Want to go with your uncles Esteban and Pierre?] Isa nodded eagerly with a smile. The mexican called Alice so she could take the little girl to the Alpine garage and he could have a private conversation with his soon-to-be-husband “What is it?”
And it was as if Sergio had read Max´s mind because the younger one just moved to the sofa covering his face; the black haired man sat at his side on the little couch as he sighed with a small smile “amor...”
“She got hurt because I wasn´t careful enough” he lifted his face looking at Checo with deep sadness on his eyes “What if she had fallen worst? or if she had twisted her ankle?” he groaned before covering his face again “Jesus, I´m a terrible father”
“Ay Max, it was an accident!” Checo grabbed his hands and squeezed them softly “Cariño, she´s a kid, kids are meant to fall and scratch their knees and arms, they are meant to run around so they can know what surrounds them and learn from it” he smiled warmly holding the blonde´s face “There´s nothing to worry about”
“But-” Sergio shushed him and kissed him earning a small lip pout from the dutchman alongside a whine “Sergio, please”
“Max, baby, I promise you; Isa tripping and scraping her knee doesn’t make you a bad parent, okay?” The mexican pointed at a small scar close to his eyebrow “see this? I got it as kid when I was playing around with my brother and sister and did a face plant after I tripped with Toño´s foot” Max´s eyes wet wide in shock making Checo laugh a little.
“are you for real?!” He nodded and squished the younger man’s cheeks softly “so…I’m not a bad father?”
“Mi amor, you brought her here, cured her injury and cheered her up all by yourself” Sergio´s eyes lit up, his whole face showing up a unique adoration that Max knew it was only meant for him to see, the older man moved his hands from his face to the back of his neck bringing them closer to one another “That shows just how much of a great and caring dad you are”
“Gosh, how dare you be this cute?” Checo scrunched his nose adorably as he kissed his lips once again, this time with a sweet taste to it; more soft and intimate than before, the blonde separated and raised an eyebrow with a cheeky smile “well, what was that?” The brown eyed man just shrugged slightly with a mesmerized face, playing with his boyfriend’s hair.
“Oh nothing…I just really like it when you get all fatherly and protective of us…makes me feel safe” Max kissed his nose, one hand holding his waist and the other one caressing his face.
“I will do anything for you two, trust me on that” Sergio smiled in the sweet way he usually does.
“I know” the older one stood up after giving his boyfriend one last peck and made his way to the door “been thinking…” his voice went on a playful and kinda mischievous making the other fix his posture in sign of listening “maybe after we get married, we can try and give Isa a little sibling~” that said, the mexican man gave him a wink and left the room.
Max had to stay a bit longer after that.
_____________________________________________
III.
“Why do I have the feeling that your brother hates me?” Max sat down on the bed at their hotel room in Spain as he took off his shoes and moved to be closer to the other man.
It was the Spanish Grand Prix weekend and their families had made their way to the event given the fact that that weekend was also going to be Isabela’s birthday.
But as soon as Sergio’s family arrived, Max quickly noticed how the eldest of the Pérez’s siblings was ice cold towards him, he barely acknowledged him and he had been giving him poison-like looks all evening. Max knew it was probably (definitely) because of the obvious ‘got his little brother pregnant and left him with a baby by himself’ fiasco. He had to find a way to fix that as soon as possible if they were going to become in-laws.
Sergio laid down at his side, resting his head on the young man’s shoulder, intertwining their hands together “Toño doesn’t like anyone, so you wouldn’t be the first” he joked, but his fiancé’s face showed how this didn’t amused him very much “okay, tough crowd”
“Sorry…I just- I don’t want him to hate me” the blonde played with his hand “if we’re becoming in-laws, last thing I want is for him to give me ‘gun’ eyes every time we’re together- plus! I know it’s because of the whole ‘me leaving you alone with the baby’ thing and I just don’t like that”
One thing Sergio always liked about Max was how he would always express how he feels about certain situations, specially when it was an issue that annoyed him or made him uncomfortable or angry, not much when it came to his more emotional feelings; still, Checo never had to work too hard to make him express his feelings with him.
The mexican sighed as he fixed himself on his place, pulling himself up to sit on the blonde’s lap, putting his hands on his back and softly caressing it “look…I know it worries you, and I know you want it fix as soon as possible” Checo rolled his eyes as he huffed “but he’s a stubborn man who thinks that I’m a dumb kid, so, don’t expect much from him; if he doesn’t like this or doesn’t feel comfortable with it, then he will have to make up his mind about it because this is my decision and he should be supportive and not an ass with my fiancé” the dutchman chuckled slightly as he held the man’s waist pulling him in a bit closer so he could kiss his face.
“Okay, okay, no need to get feisty mijn knappe man” [my handsome man] Sergio smiled mischievously as he moved his hands up to the back of Max’s neck as he joined their lips on a velvety and passionate kiss that made the young man tight his grip on the other man’s waist to bring him as close as he could, suddenly feeling better about the whole ‘in-laws’ situation and just filling his head with how much he loved to feel the older man close to his body; they broke the kiss in need of air but didn’t moved away.
”Ik laat niemand zo tegen mijn man praten” [I won’t let anyone talk to my husband like that] Max’s icy blues became dark as he moved his hands up and down the mexican’s body, suddenly feeling warmer than before.
“Fuck, you’re so fucking unreal” Sergio smiled at the praise and began to kiss his boyfriend again.
At the end of the day, they had to take advantage of their kid staying at her aunt’s room on a sleep over with her cousins.
_________
It was Sunday and the race had just ended on magnificent results.
Checo had managed to score a P1 on an Aston Martin while Max hit a P2 very close to the mexican’s time.
And to top it all, it was their daughter’s birthday so they got to share that with her.
Max wished with all his heart that he could’ve hold her on the podium with them, the three of them up there as a family, to show everyone in the world this amazing people that belonged to him and just him.
Once down and on the media pen, Max was able to see how Sergio was pulled aside by his brother, the two mexicans seemed like they were having an argument and as soon as the blonde saw him turn around, grab Isa from Paola’s arms and leave is when he noticed that his fiancé had tears on his eyes and a pissed expression on his face.
That REALLY punched a nerve on the dutchman’s system, suddenly not caring about his duties at all.
He excused himself and walked towards were Sergio’s siblings were, immediately facing the older man who was also ready to jump just like him “look, If you have a problem with me, that’s fine, I don’t care, but you’re not going to make Checo feel bad about anything, less of all days today in our kid’s birthday” Antonio seemed completely annoyed by his presence, almost like he was ready to punch him in the face.
Max was just as ready.
“Whatever I discuss with my brother is non of your business” he crossed his arms in a completely defensive position “don’t try to play hero here, I don’t know what the fuck is going on in Sergio’s head, but I know he’s making the biggest mistake of his life by going back to you-“ the blonde woman pushed him gaining his attention with a frown “¡¿Que te pasa, Paola?!” [What’s with you, Paola?!] the woman seemed even more pissed than the dutchman.
“It’s Checo’s life, you don’t get to call the shots” she stood by Max’s side “If you’re too stubborn to respect his decisions, then I don’t know what you’re doing here, but from my side, I don’t want your super nasty vibe around the kids or our families” she grabbed Max’s arm firmly “so when you’re ready to mature, maybe you can join us” and that said, she pulled Max with her and left the older man thinking by himself.
The dutchman was basically speechless as he was trying to put an order to his mind when Paola spoke again stopping on their tracks “listen, I’m not so happy about you either, but Antonio was totally out of line, plus, I will always want was best for my little brother, so if he chooses you, then I’m happy and okay with it” she sighed “I know whatever was the reason for you to not be around is believable but-“ Max took a deep breath before interrupting the woman’s word vomit.
“I didn’t knew about it!” He shouted on a whisper, moving to a more private room so the press wouldn’t catch them “look, I’m not going to try and defend myself but- the truth is that I didn’t knew about the baby!” The man rubbed his hands on his face trying to look for patience “Checo didn’t told me, it was a few months ago that I found out by accident and that we got back together and stuff…but- it doesn’t matter because now I’m here and trust me, I won’t go” he huffed fixing his posture “so, now, I’m so sorry to interrupt you but I want to find my husband and my kid and enjoy the day with them before Isa’s party, okay?” The mexican woman seemed incredibly surprised; she nodded as she sighed a bit heavily.
“Okay…yeah, sure, go with him, I’ll deal with Toño for now, ¿sí?” She smiled giving the man a little squeeze on the arm “I’m happy to know that by the way…” Max nodded with a small smile and left to look for his dear boyfriend.
Moments later, he found him on his driver’s room, Isa drawing peacefully on the floor while the mexican seemed totally submerged on his mind as his eyes still looked kinda glossy and his nose a little red. Max walked in catching the attention of the two mexicans (at the end of the day, his daughter had been born in Mexico as well); Isa’s eyes brightening up as she stood up to hug her dad “Pappa!”
The dutch lifted her up in the sky before holding her close in a hug with a big smile on his face as the little one giggled loudly “Hello peanut!” He kissed her face numerous times only making her laugh grow louder “How’s my beautiful birthday girl? Are you excited about your party?” Isa nodded enthusiastically.
“¡Sí sí!, plus, you and daddy won! We get big trophies?” Max chuckled as he walked close to were Checo was, the mexican now sitting up more lose and with a small smile adorning his face, the blonde man leaned over to give him a peck on the lips and sitting on the arm of the couch “are you going to win the next one too? We get more trophies?”
“And that’s how I know she’s yours” Max rolled his eyes at the joke as the two of them laughed, before anyone else could talk, a few knocks on the door called their attention, the door opening to show Carlos and Lando.
The girl clapped as she moved off her father’s arms and ran towards them “Tío Carlos! Uncle Lando! You came, you came!” She was lifted now by the Spaniard while Lando said hi to both Max and Checo.
“¿Cómo esta mi cumpleañera favorita?¿cuantos dices que cumples?” [how’s my favorite birthday girl doing? How old are you turning?] Isa started to play with Carlos’ hair as she happily answered his questions in spanish, slowly turning the conversation in english because of Lando’s request.
Max took advantage of them being distracted to hold onto Sergio’s hand catching his attention “Are you okay dear? I saw what happened earlier with your brother…” the latin man seemed to tense a bit but decided to just sigh and speak with the truth.
“I just…sometimes I feel like Antonio thinks that I’m an idiot…” he let go of the Dutchman’s hand as he crossed his arms and looked at where Isabela was “he’s always been like this and is SO annoying, like- back when I was six and I wanted to race but he would always beat me and made me feel like I wasn’t good enough, I felt exactly like back then when I told him about us getting together and…I just don’t understand why can’t he just keep his mouth shut and leave me alone” Sergio sighed as he closed his eyes for a bit and opened them to look at Max “you probably think I finally lost my shit, don’t you?” The blonde laughed a bit as he moved to hold him from behind, putting his arms around his shoulders and kissing his temple.
“Nah, it actually makes me feel more close to you, I’m usually the one losing my shit” they both laughed as the saw their daughter pointing at her drawings, explaining them to Lando while Carlos picked them up so she could give them to the brit, whose, by the way, looked at the man and kid with star shining eyes, Max smiled whispering in Checo’s ear “is it me or it looks like Lando is about to ask Carlos for a kid?”
“Wouldn’t be surprised if soon we hear that one of them is taking a season off” Max snorted hiding his face on Checo’s hair when they saw the other two man looking at them.
The four of them talked a bit before they were free to go, the paddock was almost empty when they were making their way out, so the two man decided to walk together holding their daughter’s hands as she balanced herself every now on then playfully, talking and talking about everything they were going to do before her party; they were going karting (a request from Isabela herself), they were going to go and get some ice cream afterwards and then they will stop by an amusement park Carlos had recommended them.
Later that day, after a quick stop at the hotel to get change and ready, they went to the little event room that the hotel had were everything was set and ready for the little girl’s three year birthday party.
Both Checo’s and Max’s family were there, a few of the drivers such as Esteban, Pierre, Fernando, Lando, Carlos, Oscar, Charles, Lewis, Yuki, Daniel, etcetera, even Magnussen and Nico’s daughters were present becoming quickly friends with the black haired girl.
Everything was so perfect it almost felt like a dream. A dream that both Sergio and Max wanted to keep forever.
Checo spotted his brother from afar just as Max saw his father entering the room.
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Checo whispered close to Max who looked like he was ready to jump like a lion on his prey, the mexican took a deep breath and calmed himself down as he held his fiancé’s face “Hey, ‘cuchame una cosa, we’re not gonna let anyone ruin our girl’s day, so, you deal with your father peacefully and I’ll try to do the same with my brother, okay? But let’s do it like the mature adults we are, got it?” Max nodded, both looking determined like when they would plan their moves on track.
They both took deep breaths and went to confront their familiars.
First, Checo with Toño.
The black haired man made its way towards his older brother, arms crossed as he stood in front of him ”Hola Antonio…que bueno que estes acá” [Hi Antonio…good to see you here]
The older one sighed rolling hid eyes a bit ”directo al punto, sobre lo que paso en la mañana, perdón por haberte hablado así, pero no me disculpo por lo que dije” [straight to the point, about what happened in the morning, I’m sorry for talking to you that way, but I don’t apologize for what I said] Checo rolled his eyes scoffing like he wasn’t even surprised about his brother’s attitude ”Checo piensa…ese es el tipo que te dejo embarazado y a tu suerte y después no estuvo para la niña los dos primeros años, ¿ahora resulta que es el padre del mes? No chingues” [Checo think…that’s the guy that knocked you up and left you and who also was not there for the baby’s first two years, and now he’s the father of the month? Don’t fuck with me] Now Sergio was officially angry and offended that his face turned slightly red, Antonio scoffed at the obvious annoyed expression on his brother’s face ”No me mires así, sabes que tengo razón” [Don’t look at me like that, you know I’m right]
”No, Antonio, no la tines!” [No, Antonio, you’re not!] he whispered aggressively as he stood his ground ”Mira, a mi me da igual si esto te gusta o no, es mi vida y puedo hacer lo que se me de la gana, pero no vas a estar hablando así de Max ¿oíste?” [look, I don’t care if you like this or not, it’s my life and I can do as I wish, but you’re not going to be talking about Max like that, you hear me?] The young one of them was finally fed up with Toño’s attitude, and it was time for him to under that ”Max no sabía de la bebé, nunca le dije porque justo habíamos terminado y no quería que se sintiera forzado a estar conmigo, ya lo hablamos y claramente fue una estupidez mía el no haberle dicho desde un inicio, ahora el está aquí y haciendo todo lo posible por ser un buen padre presente para Isabela, que por cierto, lo adora un montón y esta feliz de tenerlo en su vida” [Max didn’t knew about the baby, I never told him because we had just split up and I didn’t wanted to force him to be with me, we talked it through and it was clear an stupidity from my part to have not told him since the very beginning, now he’s here and he’s trying his best to be a good present father for Isabela, who, by the way, adores him a lot and is happy to have him in her life] Sergio sighed, kinda done with this whole argument, Antonio looking at him completely stoic but in shock, with a bit of saddened eyes, Checo dropped his arms and put one on his eldest brother’s shoulder ”Por primera vez en mucho tiempo soy feliz…¿porque no puedes estarlo por mi?, eres mi hermano, deberías apoyarme no hundirme más…” [for once in a long time I’m happy…why can’t you be happy for me?, you’re my brother, you should support me not bring me further down…] He removed his hand and kinda hugged himself.
He was turning around when he was stopped.
”Checo, espera…” [Checo wait…] Antonio moved again closer to the younger one, mouthing a bit before huffing ”no sabía eso…es solo que…me cuesta aceptar que estas haciendo todo esto solo, ¿si?” [I didn’t knew that…it’s just…it’s hard for me to accept that you’re doing all of this by yourself, okay?] Checo had a completely confused expression that made the other mexican continue ”Te fuiste de la casa siendo un niño, empezaste tu vida lejos desde muy temprano, cuando volviste y nos diste la noticia, sentí que al menos ahora nos ibas a necesitar y te ibas a quedar más…verte hacer tu vida no es fácil, sobretodo porque no fui parte de ella en los momentos más importantes” [You left home as a kid, you started your life away since very early, when you came back and gave us the news I felt that at least now you were going to need us and stay for long…watching you doing your life is not easy, specially because I wasn’t there for you on the important moments]
That was the moment when Checo connected the dots of everything.
Yeah, maybe his brother was being an ass, but it had a reason to be. He missed him.
Antonio wanted to have him around for longer than a few hours, he wanted to make up for the lost time.
Sergio never really thought about how his siblings felt when he left at age fourteen, he never really thought about how anyone else felt about it.
He sighed heavily as he got close to give him a hug.
They hugged for a bit before he spoke again ”No es como que me voy a ir por siempre…siempre voy a volver no importa que…” [It’s not like I’m going away forever…I’ll always come back no matter what…] Toño chuckle slightly before letting him go nodding at his words, Checo smiled and playfully pushed him ”Aww, si te importo~” [Aww, you care about me~] the older one rolled his eyes laughing as he pushed him back.
They were going to be fine.
________
Now, it was time for Max to deal with Jos.
The young man made his way right to the door, grabbing the adult from the arm close to him “What are you doing here?” He whispered aggressively as he moved him to the side.
“Good to see you too kid” Max rolled his eyes as his eyes went to his little sister standing behind their father, it made Max calm a bit down “She wanted to come to see the kid”
“Sure! Yeah!” The blonde took a deep breath as he greeted his little sister and told her were Isa was; once Jaye was on her way to meet with her niece, Max turned to face Jos again “well, you can leave now, I’ll bring her by tomorrow before leaving”
Jos seemed to think twice before speaking, it was rare to see him do that.
“I was…kinda hoping to stay around just a bit” Max frown just deepened making the adult man raise his hands in sign of peace “I just want to say that I’m sorry, okay?”
And that was the very first moment Max Verstappen thought he had died and was hallucinating.
From all the possible scenarios he could had imagined, he never expected to live long enough to see this one happening.
“Say what now?” It was the first words leaving his mouth in a bit “what?”
“Look, I know that last time we talked it was not a good talk, and you have every right to not wanting to see me or hear from me” he fix his posture, as stoic and cold as always. It made Max wonder how many times he had looked the exact same “but…I still want to be part of your life, you’re my only son and I want to be there for you, if you allow me”
Max could swear to God he was having an aneurysm right there.
He was speechless, what was he supposed to say now? To him? To the man that had took half of his life decisions to benefit himself?
Max wanted to tell him to fuck off, to screw himself up and leave him alone.
What happened next was a surprise even for God itself.
“I forgive you” Jos’ face was absolutely spectacular, he was so shocked it was almost believable; the blonde took a deep breath before slowly sighing “I don’t forgive you right away, we still have A LOT to talk about and discuss about…but for now I guess you can stay, at the end of the day Isa is your granddaughter and I won’t prevent her from having her full family”
Jos didn’t say anything else, he nodded as he fix his posture once again, giving Max a little box that had the girl’s birthday gift, he took it and started to walk indicating his father where everything was before stopping and turning to him quickly “oh! By the way, I’m not responsible for whatever mom does or say to you, okay? If she kills you it’s on her” the grown man laughed a bit nervous.
“Well, it’s better if I hide from her now” Max nodded as he chuckled a bit.
At least it was a start.
He still had to fix a lot of things before having full forgiveness.
____________________________________________
IV.
“When will I have a little brother or sister?” Max almost dropped his phone while Checo choked on his water.
They were having a peaceful time at their home in Monaco during the summer break when Isabela had decided to pop that question.
Max looked at Sergio in panic as the mexican seemed to be thinking all the possible answers, he stood up to sit at the sofa where their daughter was “Wha-Why the question darling?” Was the only thing Checo could bring himself to ask.
“A bunch of my friends at school have sisters and brothers, and you and dad also have siblings, when will I get one?” she kept coloring on her book with full focus like it was the most important task “I want a little brother and two sisters! So we can play with him but I will still get to have girl time!” She finally lifted her face and her expression turned into a confused one “daddy? Why is your face so red?”
Checo could swear to God he was going to pass out to a better life because of the shock he was going through; Max sat down at Isa’s side and took her on his arms before speaking “Ummm well princess, it’s not that easy…”
“Why?” The dutch looked at Sergio as he seemed to be recovering but still too lost on his head.
“W-well because…daddy and I are sooo busy all the time, you know that, right?” She nodded “plus, we have you! Our perfect daughter!” The girl smiled with a laugh “you would have to share us, remember? You want that?” Isabela seemed to think a bit before sighing dramatically.
“I don’t want to but I would do it!” She pouted adorably but Max knew it was her most manipulative move.
She totally got that from Checo.
“Still baby, a new kid is a lot of responsibility, and right now your daddy and I have a lot of things to do, we want to be more present in your life before deciding anything else”
Sergio looked at Max with sweet eyes, how he lived when Max would be so calm and tender.
“What your dad tries to say…” the two pairs of blue eyes centered on him “…maybe one day you’ll have a little sibling, but for now, we want to just enjoy the time we have with you!”
The girl huffed in defeat “fiiiine!” She jumped from her dad’s lap and grabbed her coloring book and crayons with her “But don’t take too long! I want to be a big sister!” She yelled as she walked to her room.
Once alone on the living room, the two man looked at each other and started to laugh in disbelief of what had just happened.
Max pulled Sergio on his arms so he could lay his head on his shoulder as he hugged him close “Oh my god, I thought I was going to pass out”
“Are you kidding!? I felt my pressure drop!” Sergio denied covering his face a little before looking at Max “she wants me to have three kids, what in havens name goes through that kid’s mind?” The dutchman laughed as he kissed his boyfriend’s temple.
“I wouldn’t mind four kids” Sergio pushed him making him laugh for the hundred time “what?!”
”Te me vas borrando esa idea de la cabeza, Max Verstappen! [you better erase that idea from your head, Max Verstappen!] the mexican huffed on disbelief of his fiancé’s words “you’re crazy if you think I’ll be popping kids every year!” The blonde couldn’t help but laugh and kiss his boyfriend.
“Why not?! We can make our own racing team!” He joked earning another push from the older man.
“Have you lost your mind?! Do you have any idea how stressful is the whole process?! And I’m not even telling how much of a nightmare giving birth was, that kid of yours took me thirty six hours of labor before she made her big entrance to this world”
Max suddenly felt very curious about the whole thing. He fixed himself on the seat and put his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders as he held his hand “I never asked you…How was that for you? You weren’t alone right?” Checo moved a bit on his place with a ‘humm’ sound that made Max frown “were you?”
“Kinda?” He sighed “I mean, the hospital personnel were very nice and took really good care of me”
“Weren’t you in Guadalajara? What about your family?”
“My water broke when I was alone at home, Paola was in Madrid, Toño had a karting thing with the kids and my father and my mother was at an event, what was I supposed to do?” He caressed his hand delicately “so I did the logical thing and called an ambulance to take me to the hospital and there I called my family, but it was after having the baby that I saw them because they arrived when I was already on the delivery room soo…yeah, I kinda did it alone, but it was fine”
Max felt his chest tighten a little when he heard all of that.
And it was as if like Checo could read his mind because he gave him a kiss on the cheek making him look at him “It’s okay, I know you would’ve been there if I had called…I’m sorry I took that away from you amor…”
“I just wish I had been there…” the blonde gave him another kiss and a little nose bump that made the mexican laugh “so, you have to have another kid, it’s only fair so I can be there, you owe me” Max joked making Checo laugh and shutting him up with a peck.
“We’ll see mi vida, we’ll see; for now, you’re in charge of making your daughter take a bath because she was playing on the beach all evening and I bet her hair is full of sand” Max groaned as Sergio gave him another kiss and stood up to pick the girl’s toys.
“You’re mean, you know that?” Checo rolled his eyes with a smile before walking pass him, seductively caressing his arm and shoulder as he passed.
“The sooner you do that, the sooner I’ll think about ways to repay you~” if the mexican was good at something was getting Max going, and those words were a clear example of it.
Because as soon as lightning, Max stood up and went to his daughter’s room “Isa! It’s bath time!”
Sergio chuckled as he kept picking up the leftover toys from the table.
____________________________________________
V.
After a beautiful wedding and a long and romantic honeymoon; the two lovebirds had finally came back home and returned to their jobs.
Having one of the best seasons ever; Max and Checo had been sign as teammates once again for Red Bull Racing.
They had also made their relationship public, receiving a big response from the world, some positive some negative but at least they had their team’s support in everything.
Their season was two months away from finishing and they had just scored another 1-2 for the team on the championship, this time being Sergio their world champion, making history as the first mexican to win the title ever.
It was like the universe had divined this perfectly.
That until a big plot twist happened.
“Max!” The aforementioned lift his face from his phone “Max, come here!” The alarm system inside the dutchman activated as soon as he heard that second scream coming from the bathroom.
Max appeared almost instantly “Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?”
Sergio lift his face from his hands, tears flooding his eyes as a little smile decorated his face. Max was completely confused until he saw what the brown eyed was holding.
Max eyes seemed to shine like a million stars “Is that…?” Checo nodded firmly as he sobbed with a laugh “are you?!”
“Yeah!” The two of them laughed nervously as the dutch held his hands softly, looking at the test and then at his husband “guess we’re having another baby sooner than what we expected…”
“Oh my god!” Max pulled him into a hug and they just held each other for a few minutes, both crying silently in utter shock and excitement.
This was just the most perfect news.
They separated and Max held Checo’s face kissing his lips and face, wiping his tears away “I can’t believe this…we’re going to be dads again?!”
“Yes! God I can’t believe it!” Sergio smile was big and bright full of excitement.
But looking at Max’s face was priceless.
It made the mexican’s heart swell with emotion.
He felt the biggest deja vu of his life in that moment.
Four years ago he was helplessly crying about his unexpected pregnancy on the bathroom floor of some hotel in Texas.
Now, he was looking at the man he most loved in the world, holding him tightly with the most beautiful smile and a big emotion to know that he was pregnant; in the bathroom of some hotel in Brazil.
It made him wonder how things would’ve been if he had told him the first time as well.
Max sniffed a little before kissing his forehead and caressing his cheeks “I’m so happy mijn lieve liefde” [my sweet love]
“You are?” The blonde nodded, Checo kissed his lips softly and passionately “I’m so very glad to hear that…I can’t wait to see this one” the two of them smiled “hopefully a boy this time?”
Max chuckled, still holding his husband close “I wouldn’t mind another girl…but at the end I just care that they are healthy and here…”
“God, the season is almost over but I’m going to have to hide this for two months-“
“You’re crazy if you’re thinking of keep driving pregnant” Max denied “nope, last month you will let the reserves to take over, I won’t risk it” Checo laughed as he caressed his lover’s waist “I’m serious!”
“Fine! Fine! No need to get so grumpy” they looked at each other before their smiles became wider once more “we’re having a baby”
“We sure are!” Max thought for a bit “but this time, I pick the godfather”
This was going to be definitely a whole new adventure.
But at least it was together this time.