Chapter Text
The first thing that comes to Max’s mind when someone mentions Charles is Angel.
In Max’s mind, that is the most accurate depiction of Charles. Breathtaking green eyes that shine almost a vibrant blue under the sun, a smile so potent it could make anyone fall to their knees. He was just as ferocious, bright and vibrant on the track—an Angel in red.
Charles was a man everyone adored. He had no shortage of people trying to charm him. Everyone around him loved him and seemed to gravitate towards him whenever he entered a room. And Max was in love with this man.
How could he not? Charles was perfect, he was everything right in Max’s world.
Max didn’t really know when exactly he started to catch feelings but he had come to a startling realization during the 2021 Silverstone Grand Prix. He had watched the race after his tragic DNF and watching Charles on the Podium made him feel a lot better. Charles being happy made him happy.
All the times he couldn’t help but stare at Charles as he gave his interviews, each time his heart pounded wildly when he and Charles fought on the track—it all made sense.
Love.
Max Verstappen was in love with Charles Leclerc, a tragic unrequited love. But it was ok, no one needed to know about his feelings for Charles. Max had long accepted that his love would remain nothing but unrequited. Charles had so many better options than him. Plus after 2019 there was no way he could expect anything more than friendship from the Ferrari driver.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t dream, hope of a life where Charles only directed those sunny smiles at him and winked at him with eyes that held untold confessions. A life where he and Charles would drive down the open roads late at night, fighting for the chance to get ahold of the steering. A life where they had to sneak kisses or show small gestures of love hidden from the bustling media.
Max sighed and rolled onto his back, the ceiling reflecting the lights of the bustling city outside. The hotel room was cold and miserable just like Max felt. He bit his slip to stifle a cry as he closed his eyes. The day he had, had been beyond embarrassing.
This morning Max had woken up to Checo’s call. The man had been knocking on Max’s hotel door for the past 5 minutes, crumbling with worry when Max didn’t respond. Murmuring a nonsensical response Max hung up the phone half asleep and hobbled over to open the door.
“Max” Checo sighed as he saw the sleepy Dutch man open the door.
“Checo” Max murmured squinting at Checo, “What happened?”
“What happened?” Checo raised an eyebrow, “We have media duty today Max, I came to pick you up.”
Oh.
Max looked down at his loose T-shirt and shorts and then back at Checo.
Checo sighed again and pushed past Max, grabbing the Dutch gently by the arm and dragged him back into the room. “Go freshen up” Checo gently pushed Max towards the bathroom, “I’ll get you your clothes.”
“Thanks Checo” Max murmured and entered the bathroom to freshen up. He looked at himself in the mirror, he looked abysmal. His hair stuck up in different directions, his face was puffy and his eyes were red.
“Seriously Max?” Checo called out from the bedroom, “So many nice shirts and you choose to wear the red bull polo all the time?”
“Let me be,” Max groaned and picked up his toothbrush. His arms felt like lead and he shivered as he put his hands under the cold water from the sink. He quickly brushed his teeth and hopped into the shower for a quick rinse.
Wrapped in the fluffy hotel towel he noticed his clothes neatly folded next to the sink. His normal pair of blue skinny jeans and T-shirt. Max snorted, Checo clearly wasn’t going to let him wear his Red Bull polo.
Reaching for the clothes, he froze his mind finally registering the colour of the T-shirt. It was a rich vibrant red.
Max felt his mouth dry up as Charles’s face came into his mind. What would Charles think if he saw Max wearing red? What would everyone think? He felt his cheeks heat up. He honestly didn’t even know he owned this T-shirt.
‘What if Charles likes it?’ A traitorous voice called out from the depths of his mind.
Max’s heart fluttered, him wearing red. Ferrari’s colour, Charles’s colour.
“Max?” Checo called out from the other side of the door, snapping Max out of his reverie.
“Coming!” Max quickly put on his clothes and rushed out, ignoring the way his body thrummed under the light weight of the red T-shirt.
“Took you long enough” Checo looked him up and down before smiling, “I think my eyes have been blessed seeing you in something other than a Red Bull polo.”
Max rolled his eyes, “I happen to like the polo.”
“We can tell” Checo smirked, “Now come on we’re already late, Alice called me 4 times and I don’t want Gemma calling me next.”
As expected the paddock was crawling with people, engineers running around, celebrities roaming around and drivers making content for social media.
“Perez! Verstappen!” Alice caught up to them looking furious and frustrated. “The media team has been waiting for you” she scrolled through her ipad while leading the two drivers towards Red Bull’s motorhome, “We have to film some videos for social media before Max needs to go for a press conference—” she trailed off looking at Max’s T-shirt.
Max felt his cheeks heat up. Alice’s reaction to his new outfit change suddenly made him keenly aware that she wasn’t the only one who was gawking at him.
“Max! What happened to your Red Bull polo?” Christian patted his shoulder as he walked past, “plan on running to Ferrari?” he joked. The Red Bull staff around them broke into laughter and Max had to hold back an embarrassed squawk that threatened to burst out of his throat.
“Can’t Checo film the videos himself?” Max hurriedly asked Alice, trying to change the topic.
“No Max” Alice deadpanned, immediately snapping out of her stupor. “I know you hate it but please bear with it, for us?”
“Come on Max” Checo mockingly batted his eyes and leaned towards Max, “for us.”
“Oh fuck off man” Max nudged Checo away from him, both of them bursting out into laughter. Their laughter died off as Gemma walked up to them.
“Change of plans Max you’re needed for a press conference.”
“I know” Max furrowed his eyebrows, “after filming right—”
“No, now” Gemma sighed, “We were supposed to film some videos before the press conference but somebody decided to be late.”
Max opened his mouth to defend himself but dismissed it and shut his mouth with a click, “Now?”
“Now” Gemma nodded, “We’ll film the videos afterwards. Perez, let's get you started.”
Checo nodded and patted Max on the back, “all the best.”
Max rolled his eyes and walked away from the motorhome. He had been in a shitty mood this morning; he didn't need a bunch of journalists making his day any worse.
“Max! Aquí!” Fernando waved at him from his seat on the couch.
“Fernando” Max felt his lips twitch into a smile as he sat next to the Spaniard. Fernando always seemed to make Max feel better, no matter what. It had been this way since he joined F1. He liked to think they had an odd yet special type of friendship.
“How have you been? I see you’re trying out new styles eh” Fernando winked with a smug smile.
“Not my choice” Max laughed, “you can thank Checo for this” Max pointed at his T-shirt.
“That I will do,” Fernando leaned back onto the couch, “You could also ask me for advice, I’ll be more than happy to dress you up.”
“Oh I don’t doubt your fashion sense, just don’t put me in anything too crazy.”
“Ahh don’t tempt me” Fernando smirked, his eyes flitted towards something behind Max and his smirk widened.
Max felt something rustle behind him and followed Fernando’s gaze.
“Max” A smooth voice called out and Max’s heart stuttered.
Charles fucking Leclerc.
“Charles” Max smiled or attempted to, he wasn’t really sure what expression he was making. Charles smiled so warmly that Max had to fight the urge to let everything go and stare at the gorgeous man in front of him.
The Monegasque clasped their hands together in greeting and Max couldn’t help but suppress the shiver that threatened to take over his body as the man’s fingers wrapped around his hand. He mournfully let go as Charles sat beside him, swiftly greeting Fernando before training his eyes back to the Dutch driver.
Max’s throat felt dry as Charles continued to stare at him. He knew he should say something, he usually—always—started most of their conversations.
“Are you ready for the race?” Max winced as his voice cracked mid sentence.
“Hopefully” Charles thankfully ignored it, “You on the other hand must be excited, it’s a home race for you after all. I don’t think there has been a single person not carrying a Dutch flag.”
“Really? I didn’t notice” Max tried not to preen as Charles laughed.
“So…since when did you join Ferrari?” Charles raised an eyebrow and Max felt himself flush for what felt like the 1000th time. “If this is supposed to be a surprise for me I must say it’s a delightful one.” Charles smirked and tugged at the T-shirt’s sleeve, “You wearing Red for me.”
Max’s brain screeched to a halt. Was Charles flirting with him?
No.
No.
Max was not allowed to entertain such delusional thoughts. He couldn’t afford to. Even so, his fingers twitched, fighting the urge to pinch his thigh to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Charles’s smirk seemed to widen the more Max seemed to internally malfunction, unbeknownst to the latter.
“Who said it’s for you?” Max’s mouth worked before his brain could catch up. “I could be wearing it for Haas.”
“Guys shall we begin the conference?” A random FIA official asked and Max never felt more relieved in his life as he immediately poured all his focus on the official. Even though he really, really wanted to see Charles’s reaction, he forced himself to keep his head straight. He could practically feel Charles’s eyes boring into the side of his head.
The feeling persisted during the entire conference and Max had to fight tooth and nail to curb the urge to look back, make eye contact and face Charles.
And if he noticed that he and Charles were sitting closer together than with the other drivers… he didn’t.
“Where were you?” Rico Verhoeven slung his arm around Max’s shoulders, dragging the latter deeper into the sea of bodies.
“Getting ready” Max shouted over the club’s booming music, “should I have just showed up in my racing suit?”
“You could’ve” Rico grinned, pulling Max towards a table towards the back of the club. The club was pretty packed tonight, although it wasn’t really surprising. Max snorted as he saw a member of the Mercedes team barely balancing drinks in his hand while walking towards the table their team must have taken. So the Mercs were here too. Max peeled his eyes off the Merc’s tables and watched as they reached their own table, where most of the Red Bull staff were already drinking and laughing.
“Here comes the man of honour!” GP cheered, raising his glass, the rest following suit with loud cheers and whistles.
“P1 Baby!” Rico cheered and handed Max a glass of gin and tonic.
“To getting points for the team!” Max raised his glass, clinking it with Checo as everyone broke into loud cheering once again. Max downed his drink in one gulp, laughing as another one was pushed towards him.
As time went on everyone scattered, some moving to the dance floor, some huddling near the bar. GP had retired earlier into the night blaming his ‘old bones’. Checo disappeared into the sea of bodies muttering something about ‘fresh air’ and showed no signs of returning.
Max sat in one of the booths nursing his 5th? Gin and tonic. He couldn’t really tell, nor did he care. He sipped his drink slowly, trying to savour it as his eyes lazily trailed over the club. Nothing remarkable caught his eye, just a bunch of drunk people dishing it out on the floor and Charles-
Max straightened up, almost dropping his drink. He rubbed his eyes and checked again and yes, Charles was there standing by the bar. He was talking to a group Max didn’t really recognise and oh, he looked amazing. Black shirt with matching trousers, his hair immaculately styled—he looked like a painting come to life. A very beautiful painting. In fact everyone in the group gave off an air of luxury, something you’d find at a gala or a fancy dinner not in a club.
Max’s heart lurched as he watched a girl whisper something into Charles’s ear making the man toss his head back in laughter. His fingers thrummed around his glass as he watched their interaction. Oh how he wished he could be part of that group, talking to Charles, making Charles laugh. But he wouldn’t fit in would he? He frowned as he started to feel self conscious about his outfit which was just his normal skinny jeans and a navy T-shirt.
“Max? Max!”
Max jumped as a heavy hand landed onto his shoulders and looked up to see Rico looking down at him with concern in his eyes.
“Gaat het goed met je?"
“Ja” Max mumbled, shifting slightly to make space for his friend. His eyes shifted back to Charles who was now talking to some man, someone Max didn’t recognise.
“Charles Leclerc” Rico hummed, causing Max to flinch and look at him, “You like him?”
Max felt his mouth go slack, “What?! No! No. Why would you think that?” Max shook his head vehemently.
“Max” Rico said softly, “Je kunt het me vertellen. I’m your friend. I’m here for you.”
Max pursed his lips and stared at his drink. Rico was his friend and he did trust him. Maybe telling someone wouldn’t hurt. It would be on his terms, he could explain exactly how he felt and Rico wouldn’t have to figure everything out on his own and jump to conclusions like certain two drivers did.
After a few more minutes of contemplation he sighed and looked up at Rico, “Yes” he hissed out, “I’m in love with Charles…tell me, am I really that obvious?”
Rico gave a pitying smile in return, making Max drop his head onto the table.
“I’m stupid aren’t I?” Max started, his brain ceasing to work and his mouth taking all control. “Falling in love with someone like Charles. Someone like me falling in love with someone like him.”
“You’re not stupid Max” Rico said sternly, “and what’s wrong with you? You’re a formula 1 world champion. You are literally one of—if not the best— driver I’ve ever seen! You are strong, personable—”
“I think you mean pugnacious” Max mumbled, his voice muffled against the table.
“That’s the bullshit the media says and since when did you believe in any of the stupid articles they write about you?” Rico looked distressed, “Stop undermining yourself, this is not like you at all! You’re…you’re not thinking straight!”
“Of course I’m not thinking straight! I’m fucking gay for a guy I can never have” Max’s voice broke towards the end.
“That’s not—”
“And I’m drunk!” Max slurred, “so fucking drunk! And I’m tired and I want Charles to like me and not in a platonic way.” Max lifted his head from the table, “I wish…I wish Charles would look at me the way I look at him. I wish his eyes would search the room for me. I wish I could brighten his life like he does mine, not that he needs any more brightening, he’s like the sun.”
“That’s it!” Rico stood up and grabbed Max by the arm pulling him up from his seat, “You and I are hitting the dance floor.”
“What are you doing?” Max looked at Rico incredulously as the latter cupped his face and leaned down, eyes filled with barely concealed anger.
“Listen to me, if Charles is the sun, you are Lightning. Always decorating the sky with your bright light. You are electrifying, constantly zipping across the sky because you cannot be contained. You are unstoppable. You are Max Verstappen.”
Max gaped at Rico, his words registering in mind a second too slow because of the alcohol.
“So stop moping around and show everyone who you are. A formula 1 world champion.”
“Oh my god Rico” Max held onto Rico’s arms, his mind running a million miles a minute. Rico was right, he’d just won the Dutch Grand Prix, he should be drunk celebrating not drunk crying. He looked up at the Kickboxer, a huge grin making its way onto his face, “Let’s light this place up.”
“That’s what I like to hear” Rico laughed and dragged Max into the sea of bodies. Max laughed, pushing through the crowd until they reached the middle. All the alcohol that made him so mopey now seemed to fill him with intoxicated adrenaline.
The music seemed to get louder and Max closed his eyes and let loose. It was exhilarating, he felt like he was on top of the world as he danced for what felt like forever. At some point he might've been on someone’s shoulders screaming at the ceiling, a new drink in his hand.
His body started to heat up, the excessive alcohol he kept getting handed turning into fire in his veins. He giggled uncontrollably as he stumbled towards the bar and stole another shot from the counter.
“Max?”
Max turned around only to come face to face with Charles.
“Charles” Max smiled stupidly as he took another shot, right…Charles had been standing by the bar before hadn’t he?
“How much alcohol have you had?” Charles furrowed his eyebrows as he studied Max’s face.
“Don’t know” Max shrugged and sluggishly leaned back onto the counter signalling the bartender for another shot, “lost count.”
“Right” Charles joined Max and leaned against the bar, “of course you did.”
“What does that mean?” Max pouted and then whined as Charles snatched the shot out of his hand.
“Max, you are going to regret this tomorrow.”
“That’s future me’s problem” Max huffed and Charles let out a huge sigh.
“Are you alone Max? Where is your friend?” Charles’s voice deepened but Max was too wasted to pay attention.
“Huh? Oh you mean Rico? He was right…” Max trailed off as he realised he had no idea where his friend was.
“What am I going to do with you?” Charles shook his head disappointedly but a small traitorous smile made its way onto his face. “Come I’ll take you back to your hotel.”
“Nooo” Max whined, “I can do it myself. I’m an adult.”
“Oh yes, a very responsible one” Charles chuckled, “come on cher.”
Max shook his head vehemently, “My hotel is too far away, you’ll waste a lot of time.”
“Nonsense Mon cher, it’s only a 6 minute drive away.”
“Charlie no!” Max placed his hands on Charles’s chest in an attempt to push him away but just let them rest there. His alcohol riddled brain not understanding the implications of what he was doing.
“Max!” Rico ran up towards the two drivers, “is everything alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine” Max stepped away from Charles and stumbled towards Rico, “Charles thinks I should go back to my hotel.”
“Max you are wasted” Charles sighed exasperatedly.
“I’ll drop you back” Rico held onto Max gently, he looked at Charles and nodded begrudgingly.
“Ok!” Max smiled happily, “Bye Charlie!” he waved enthusiastically.
“Bye Max” Charles smiled softly.
“Max, where is your hotel?” Rico asked as he and Max made their way out of the club.
“I don’t know” Max yawned and rested his head on Rico’s arm.
“What do you mean? I—should I call your team’s staff or anyone who knows where you’re staying?” Rico gently shook Max, trying to keep the driver awake.
“No use, I’m not staying with the team” Max muttered, “Different hotel, I think I have the card in one of my pockets.” Max watched Rico through bleary eyes as he searched through his pockets and pulled out a hotel card from the left one. Max attempted to peer into Rico’s phone as the latter typed the hotel’s address into the navigation app.
It was a 6 minute drive away.
It had been a day after the Japanese Grand Prix. A day after Max had been announced the 2022 season’s World Champion.
He had held back on the partying because he had to catch an early flight to Monaco. He thought he’d get an early night so he could wake up with enough time to comfortably get ready for his carefully decided departure time which he curated to his comfort and urge to see his precious cats.
7:04 am.
He should’ve been leisurely getting ready and doing final checks around his hotel room, not watching as Daniel and Lando giggled to each other as they hid something not so discreetly behind their backs.
“Tadaaa!” Daniel and Lando jumped to the sides.
“What am I supposed to be looking at?” Max narrowed his eyes as he looked at the two McLaren drivers.
“A gift” Daniel smiled brightly, holding one end of the poster.
“A gift we worked hard on,” Lando nodded while holding the other end of the poster.
“A poster you guys worked hard on, you guys?” Max raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Lando nodded, “Very hard.”
“I can see the price tag from here.”
“What are you talking about?” Daniel shifted to cover the tag, “we made this with our blood sweat and tears. See—” Daniel pointed at the poster, ご懐妊おめでとうございます. “Congratulations on your second title!”
“Thank you guys, I really appreciate it” Max rolled his eyes with a smile and moved in to hug Daniel.
“Anything for you Maxie” Daniel patted his back and made way for Lando to get his hug.
“So did Charles congratulate you yet?” Daniel winked.
“What?” Max flushed, “What was that tone? What was that wink?”
“You know what I mean” Daniel nudged Max, “you and Charles were on the podium together, and after, you guys were inseparable.”
“Yes, we did talk a lot and yes, he did congratulate me. What’s wrong with that?”
“My dear Maxie” Daniel hugged Max and patted his head gently, “So naive and innocent.”
“Wh—Daniel! What are you talking about?”
Lando snickered, “I think Daniel meant if Charles congratulated you.”
Max’s face went completely red, “Excuse me?! Shut up! Both of you!” Max hid his face between his hands while the two McLaren drivers burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“You make it too easy Maxie” Daniel guffawed, one hand on his stomach and the other one planted firmly against the pavement as he sunk onto one knee.
Max had also crouched down in sheer embarrassment. His face got hotter with each passing second as traitorous thoughts infiltrated his mind. Thoughts of Charles kissing him and whispering just how good he drove this season.
“I think we broke him Daniel” Lando poked the back of Max’s head.
“Lando I’m going to toss you into my plane’s engine” Max threatened as he dropped his hands from his face and stared at the pavement.
“Before you do that I need a picture of us three with the sign” Daniel said as he pulled out his phone, “I’ve been trying to keep track of all my beautiful memories.”
“This is slowly becoming a memory I want to forget” Max muttered as he begrudgingly stood up and walked over to Daniel’s outstretched arm.
‘One photo and I’ll be able to go back to my peaceful home’
“I’m back” Max whispered as he entered his apartment in Monaco, trying not to wake up his cats who were no doubt sleeping. But to his surprise Jimmy was already waiting by his room’s entrance, giving a soft meow after seeing Max.
“Jimmy, I missed you so much!” Max cooed, picking the cat up in one arm with no resistance from the feline and dropping his luggage with the other. “Where is Sassy?” he asked as he checked the living room. He checked the makeshift cat beds he had made for his cats before leaving but it was empty.
“Where is your brother?” Max asked Jimmy, only to receive a deep purr in response. He slowly made his way to his room and switched on the lights just to see that Sassy had taken over his bed. Jimmy jumped out of Max’s arm and joined his brother onto the bed.
“If you both take the bed where am I going to sleep?” Max huffed with a smile and chuckled as Jimmy responded with a loud meow and rolled over to cuddle next to Sassy.
Walking into the joint bathroom he started getting ready for bed. It was very late and he was very tired from the journey, he barely got any sleep on the plane.
He threw on a loose T-shirt and shorts and gently climbed into bed, trying not to disturb his two cats. He scrolled through his phone for a few minutes, checking his messages until he scrolled to Daniel’s chat. It was the picture they had taken at Suzuka. Max clicked on the picture, the poster had been a sweet gesture and Max felt genuinely grateful for having Daniel and Lando as his friends.
Opening his instagram after a minute of hesitation he posted the picture with the caption:
→ Thank you guys, incredibly grateful 😎
Was posting on instagram without a green flag from his social media handlers a bad idea? Probably, but this photo was harmless. What could they even find wrong in this photo? The color of his pants? Or maybe the font the poster was made in was too unaesthetic.
Max snorted and set his phone to the side and snuggled into the warm blankets. Sleep came swiftly as exhaustion took over his body.
Just as quickly as sleep came to him, so did his dreams. He found himself standing in the garage in his race suit, helmet tucked under one arm. He was overlooking the pitlane, the sun was setting, coloring the track in a beautiful orange hue.
Austin, he was in Austin, he recognised the track.
The air was slightly cool, the track was completely silent and he could distantly hear birds chirping. He took a deep breath in, the air was fresh with a hint of a grassy smell.
BANG
Max flinched, heart in his throat and his ears ringing.
BANG
A rhythmic banging rang through the air, happening every three or so seconds. Max felt rooted to the spot, unable to move a single muscle in his body. He couldn’t even pinpoint where the sound was coming from, it seemed to come from everywhere.
After what felt like hours he regained some sort of control over his legs and immediately turned around only to come face to face with a mechanic—a faceless mechanic.
He felt his joints freeze up again, body rooted to the spot against the wishes of his brain which was screaming at him to wake up. His head began to hurt between the loud continuous banging and the voice in his head screaming at him to wake up, get out, do something!
His eyes widened in horror as the mechanic’s plain face started to bubble and contort as a makeshift gaping hole appeared as a mocking substitute of a mouth. The noise that came out of its mouth nearly stopped his heart. It was a loud, almost shrill yowl, like one of a distressed animal and it didn’t stop.
Max grabbed his head as the combination of all the noises pounded against his head.
Wake up
Wake up
WAKE UP
Max woke up with a gasp, sitting up with his head throbbing and chest pounding. He took a deep breath in and out, trying to calm himself down but the noise, the noises wouldn’t stop.
His eyes snapped up towards the hallway where both the banging and yowling were coming from.
Jimmy. Sassy.
He jumped out of bed, nearly tripping as his feet tangled up in the blankets. Panicked and horrified he ran out to the living room to see his cats prowling near the door, distressed. Max ran to the door, the reason behind the banging and opened it up with a slam, whoever it was on the other side better have a good reason for scaring him and his cats.
“What the fu—” the curse died on his lips as he saw Charles standing in front of him looking equally if not even more dishevelled than him.
“Charles?” his voice came out hoarse, anger and panic turning into confusion.
“Max” Charles breathed out, eyes wide and hands shaking as he placed them onto the Dutch’s shoulders. “Max what the hell?”
“What the hell?” Max echoed, confusion turning into simmering anger, “What do you mean ‘what the hell?’”
“I mean what the hell Max!” Charles shouted before wincing and taking a deep breath in as he retracted his hands, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Max had never seen Charles so undone before, it unnerved him. He cleared his throat and stepped towards the side, “Come in, let’s talk inside.”
“Thank you” Charles said softly and stepped into the apartment, making a beeline for the couch.
Max closed the door and picked up his cats and took them to his room where they seemed to calm down. He closed the door, leaving it just slightly ajar and walked over to Charles who was staring at the floor like it had personally offended him.
“Ok so why were you banging on my door like a maniac?” Max crossed his arms and propped his hip against the wall as he stared down at Charles.
“Max, you posted a picture on instagram last night didn’t you” Charles started slowly and Max nodded in confirmation. “You, Daniel and Lando with a poster to which you captioned it with—”
“My thanks and that I’m grateful. Yes, I know I did that all literally last night” Max huffed, “What about that made you panic? That I showed gratitude? Is that what this is about?”
“No, Max” Charles furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.
“Then?” Max felt his own frustration rise.
“Are you pregnant?”
Max felt his jaw drop as he stared at Charles who looked completely serious. “Excuse me?”
“Answer me Max.”
“No! Of course not!” Max pushed himself off the wall, “I’m a man, I can’t get pregnant! And-and why would I be pregnant?”
Charles cocked his head to the side, studying Max intently, “Isn’t that what the poster was for?”
“Poster?” Max looked utterly dumbfounded, “Wait do you mean the poster Daniel and Lando were holding? The one that says, Congratulations on your second title?!”
Charles’s eyes widened, the corners of his lips twitched and he put a hand to his mouth as he shifted his gaze towards the kitchen.
“What does that poster have to do with me and pregnancy?!” Max despaired at Charles’s silence.
“Max” Charles drawled, finally looking back at Max with a schooled expression, “You might want to translate the words on that poster.”
Worry began to settle into Max’s chest as he scrambled back to his bedroom to retrieve his phone. He switched it on to see a hundred notifications from his instagram and a few more messages from Daniel and Lando.
‘What the hell?’
Max immediately took a screenshot of the poster and put it into a translator.
ご懐妊おめでとうございます → Congratulations on your pregnancy.
Max stared at the screen, re-reading the sentence in his head.
‘What the fuck?’
“I’m guessing you finally translated the poster.” Max jumped as Charles's voice came from behind him and nodded as he felt his cheeks heat up.
“This is a misunderstanding” Max paced his room nervously, “I’m not—neither have I gotten anyone—”
“Max” Charles’s voice seemed to settle something in him and he stopped pacing and looked at Charles.
“You don’t need to worry about this, everyone thinks it’s a joke—well according to the comments and articles I read” Charles shrugged.
“Really?” Max asked, hope blossoming in his chest.
“Yes, I’m sure your PR team must be working on it right now.” Charles took a step forward, “Also I’m sorry for barging into your house” Charles scratched his neck sheepishly, “I—I got scared and…I guess I acted without thinking.”
“It’s ok” Max couldn’t really stay mad at him, “You were just concerned, thank you.”
Charles gave a charming smile in return, “you are too kind.”
Max bit his tongue so he wouldn’t say anything stupid in return and just reciprocated with a smile.
“I should get going,” Charles cleared his throat, “I’ve intruded enough.”
“I said it’s ok Charles” Max followed Charles back to the front door and opened it for him, “again, you were just concerned.”
“Take care of yourself Max and don’t let Daniel and Lando give you anything in another language without cross checking it, ok?”
Max laughed and nodded, giving a thumbs up.
“Until next time” Charles waved and walked out the door.
“Charles!” Max suddenly yelled, making the man turn around and quirk an eyebrow. “Uh nothing” Max shook his head, “sorry, bye! Until next time.”
“Bye Max” Charles chuckled and walked away.
Max closed the door and placed his forehead against the cool wood as he leaned against the flat surface.
‘How did you know where my apartment was?’