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Max felt his cheeks heat up when he spotted the photo of Dan on his Twitter feed. Dan was trying his best to climb between 2 rocks on the wall, his muscles bulging slightly as he kept a tight grip. Max bit his lip, the Aussie had never looked better.
He couldn’t resist sending Dan a text, the photo leaving him more flustered than he’d like to admit.
“Just seen this. Can you please stop teasing me like this, it's making me super hard… Can’t wait to have you in my bed tonight <3 “
He grinned, really wanting to see Dan’s reaction to the message. Unfortunately, Daniel was still at the climbing studio, Red Bull wanting more footage of him.
He did see the message, and had to suppress a grin as the crew was still around him, if they saw what Max had texted him, he could lose his job, he didn't know how approving of the relationship the team would be.
Still, he wanted to answer. Trying to text under the table, away from the crew’s sight, he composed a reply.
“Hoped you would see this picture, and I’ll show you some more of my muscles tonight ;) & maybe if you’re lucky Maxy, you'll get more than just my muscles ;)” he hit send and quickly dropped his phone as someone glanced over at him, worried they'd see the conversation.
“Right, shoot’s done, you’re all free to go!” the director announced, Daniel quickly sneaking out the back to the car park, finding his Aston Martin and driving out soon after. During his drive back to the hotel, he heard his phone buzz like crazy, but didn’t check it.
It was only when he was in the hotel, and face to face with Max, that he knew something was wrong.
“What's happened, why are you so worried?” Dan asked as soon as he walked in the hotel room, noticing the worry on Max's face, and what seemed to be tear tracks on his cheeks, suggesting Max had recently been crying. Max wordlessly showed him his phone, and the tweet he had apparently sent out earlier.
“I… oh god. I thought that was a text. I'm so sorry, I can't believe this is happening, oh my god.” Daniel rambled. Max put away his phone.
“Everyone knows now… that's our careers over Dan. Nobody will want to support the driver who fell in love with their teammate.” Max told him, tears coming to his eyes again. Daniel shook his head and reached out for Max, but the Dutchman shied away from his touch.
“I’m so sorry…” Dan could only say, voice shaky from his nervousness.
“It's too late to take anything back, we’ve lost our careers Dan, we can't go back, the team won't take us back.” Max said, trembling. Daniel shook his head.
“Have you spoken to them yet? Cause you don't know if they'll kick us out until you've spoken to them.” Dan asked, looking at Max with a bit of hope in his eyes.
“Where's the point, when you know what they're gonna say.” Max whimpered.
At that moment, Dan’s phone rang, the sharp ringtone interrupting the conversation. Looking to the screen, Daniel saw the name straight away, wincing slightly when he realised who it was.
“It's Christian, I've got to take the call.” Dan announced, worrying slightly as he answered.
“Daniel?” Christian said. “Is Max there with you?”
“Y-yeah he is.” Daniel answered.
“Put me on speaker then.” Christian immediately said. Max’s eyes had widened even more but he came closer, pressing against Daniel’s side.
“So, I think you know why I'm calling?” Christian asked.
“It's because of my tweet, right?” Daniel answered shakily. He kept trying to make eye contact with Max to check if he was okay, but the Dutchman was still refusing to meet his eye, although the way he was curled against Daniel’s side for comfort was a step in the right direction.
“Yes, it’s about that Tweet.” Christian said. “Did you really think that was the best way to announce your relationship? And also without telling the team?” Their team principal sounded more exasperated than angry, which was somewhat of a comfort.
“I...It was an accident. It was supposed to be a text to Max, not a tweet. I'm aware the whole world's seen this, and I can't express just how much I regret this.” Daniel explained, voice shaking.
Christian stayed silent for a moment, making Daniel nervously glance at Max, who was finally looking back at him, smiling a little shakily. At last, Christian spoke.
“Well, this is not ideal, but we can make this work. You might have to do some extra press work, but apart from that, things should go as normal. Oh and you will most likely have to talk about your relationship in public, now people know.” Christian summarised for them. Daniel sighed in relief, but Max only tensed.
“My father, he didn't know. He’s gonna be there at Silverstone, that might be a problem.” he stuttered. Daniel frowned in concern and pulled him closer, kissing his temple.
“I’m so sorry Maxy.”
“Yeah, we can only apologise about this. Would you like us to remove his red bull access pass?” Christian added.
“N-no, I don’t… He would have found out eventually, I can handle this.” Max said. Daniel frowned.
“Are you sure?” he asked. Max only nodded in return.
“I can avoid him for the weekend if he doesn't approve of us, it’ll be alright. And I've got everyone on the team on my side so I'm sure something could be done if things go wrong.” Max said decisively. Daniel grinned and leaned in, placing a quick kiss on Max’s lips.
“Okay, that's sorted, we’ll keep his passes intact. You’re set to do the fans forum on Saturday, are you still okay for this?” Christian continued.
“Yeah, that’s fine. We’ll manage.” Daniel said.
“Okay, well that’s settled then. Just so you both know, the team and I support you, we’ll do whatever it takes to help you combine the racing with being together, okay?” Christian said gently. Daniel smiled, squeezing Max closer to him.
“Thank you, that means a lot.” Daniel answered.
“It's what anyone would do.” Christian replied. “Anyway, that's all I really needed to say, so I guess I'll see you two at Silverstone?”
~~
The next time they saw Christian was indeed in Silverstone. It was just after all the press commitments, Max and Daniel were exhausted from answering all the questions about their private lives. Christian could see this, and instead of asking his drivers into his office, he took a seat on the sofa opposite the one Max and Daniel were currently cuddled up on. Christian gave them a gentle smile.
“You guys are handling this really well, so far. I know this won’t be easy for you two, but the hype about this will calm down eventually, I promise.” he said gently. Daniel smiled gently, turning towards Max for a moment.
“Yeah, they’re asking the same questions over and over again, but I suppose it’s understandable.” he said, followed by a soft sigh.
“I guess it’ll pass before Germany, right?” Max asked, seeming a little too eager for a positive answer from his boss.
“At this point, I’m not sure, but I should hope so.” Christian answered. Max’s shoulders sagged a little, but a hesitant smile came to his lips as Daniel pressed a kiss to his temple.
At that moment, Jos walked by their sofa, a glare on his face as he looked at the way Max was cuddled against Daniel’s side. Max quickly averted his eyes, but Daniel held his stare, giving Jos an even more intense glare in return. Christian seemed a little confused, but when he turned to see Max’s father there, his face hardened.
“Oh Jos, nice to see you here. We’re having a meeting at the moment though, so if you’d like to make your way out, that would be appreciated.” he said, voice dangerously low. Jos looked as if he wanted to object, but another stern look from Christian seemed to change his mind. He turned on his heel and left, Max letting out a relieved sigh when he saw his father exit the room.
“Anyways, race strategy…” Christian said as he turned back. The two drivers sighed, more than happy with this change of subject.
~
The Silverstone was taking it’s toll on the drivers, as the drivers parade truck crept its way around the circuit. Daniel waved and smiled at the crowds in the grandstands as the truck drove through luffield, spotting a couple of Australian flags amongst the many British ones. The sun burned down on them, and Daniel was glad he hadn’t forgotten his cap and sunglasses.
He took in a sharp breath in surprise when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Max with a slightly nervous smile on his face.
“Hi.” Daniel greeted softly as Max leaned against the barrier beside him.
“I’m fucking burning, mate.” Max grumbled in return. Daniel chuckled, poking Max’s neck to see if it was really sunburned.
“I’m sure you’ll live.” he teased in return.
The fans had meanwhile not missed the two Red Bull drivers were standing together, and their cheering intensified. Dan’s cheeks started to heat up a little, and it wasn’t due to the sun burning down on them. He glanced at Max from the corner of his eyes, and he saw a similar blush on the Dutchman’s cheeks. Max felt him looking and smiled.
“At least they’re supporting us.” he said with a shrug.
“I’m glad.” Daniel simply answered, instinctively leaning closer to his boyfriend. Max smiled, momentarily forgetting where they were, and closed the gap between them.
The loud applause of the fans brought them back to reality, and they parted again with startled looks on their faces. Daniel was the first to snap out of it, smiling as he hugged Max close.
“Oops.” he murmured in Max’s ear. Max let out a breathless laugh, before leaning back into Daniel’s hold.
“We don’t have to hide anymore, give them what they want most!” he teased. Daniel grinned.
“Very well then.” he murmured, before leaning in to kiss Max a second time, the Dutchman smiling into the kiss. They both knew the cameras were rolling, but at that moment, it didn’t matter. They finally didn’t have to hide their love for each other anyone, and the supportive cheers from the fans made that even sweeter.