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Of ourse, it had to be Lando who had sent Max and Charles some links that had pictures of folkloric tree depictions and long explanations about what a cypress tree signified for Turkish people.
"I saw a couple of girls joking on the social media about what planting and watering a cypress tree together symbolizes for the local people." He texted them both as an explanation for the links a few days after the Baku race week. "I had a good laugh 😈"
On the World Environment Day, Max and Charles had attended a little FIA ceremony held in the city park that was behind the paddock area of the circuit to raise environmental awareness by planting trees.
Charles had won the pole that day; so, he was the one who had planted a tree and Max had tended and watered it. Later on they posed for pictures in support of the Green Initiative that the two of them had been appointed to be a part of. But neither of them had put much thought to the process, let alone to the way the two of them had been chosen for the task. What other meaning could have been associated with planting trees together other than raising environmental awareness, right?
Not paying much attention, Max had tapped on one of the links and by God, it really was a long read. But he loved learning about the customs of the countries they raced at. So, he had actually bookmarked the links to turn back to them later on, planning to read the stuff Lando had sent him and understand why it amused his best friend enough to send him this nonsensical emoji chain with his message: 🤪🌲🤣👬🤣🌲😂💘🤪🤣💞🥳🤭🤫
Charles' reaction had been different, though. He had not even tapped on to the dubious links, deciding that Lando had to have stumbled upon something weird on the social media again and honestly, he had been a bit afraid of finding out what kind of "weird" it was this time.
If Lando had expected an immediate reply, he had to have been truly disappointed, because both Max and Charles had forgotten about it soon, one without meaning to, the other actively choosing to do so for his own well-being's sake.
Lando had not mentioned it again to either of them, but he had closely observed his friends. And even though many times he'd wanted to taunt the both of them about what he had learned, soon the knowledge and why it had entertained him that much had completely flown out of his mind, too.
Until when another weekend of Baku Grand Prix rolled in and he had seen some new posts on social media again about that tree and what it signified.
Really though... Max wasn't very active on social media anymore and left his stuff to be managed by some professionals, but Charles was everywhere almost in a compulsive manner. Lando couldn't believe how Charles had not seen those posts about him and Max yet. Or maybe Charles had actually seen them and that was why sometimes he was that awkward around Max.
Lately, observing the both of them acting like two bumbling idiots around each other had become Lando's favorite pastime activity. It took his mind off of his team's miserable state and he saw it as a learning opportunity to determine how to not look like a complete fool when in love.
Now, don't take him wrong, Lando couldn't declare himself as some connoisseur of love and romance and all that. It was Daniel's self proclaimed field of expertise. But even he was able to see how Max and Charles had been literally flirting with each other like two lovesick puppies for some time.
They both must have been thinking they were subtle about it. But for Lando, and possibly for many others, they were as subtle as a bull and a horse in a china shop. He wasn't above admitting that he took a sadistic kind of satisfaction out of watching them secretly yearning for each other. Soap opera level dramatics and forlorn expressions... He wondered who was going to snap first. Maybe they needed some help and who was Lando if not a benevolent and thoughtful matchmaker existing to serve.
Grinning to himself, Lando scrolled through the tweets that were tagged with the BakuGP hashtag and refined his search with Max and Charles' names.
Of course, nobody tagged the two love birds' accounts in their posts since this was some light hearted fan banter which surprisingly hit home so perfectly that the fans would have gone crazy over it had they known. But anyone who knew where to look could see the tweets and the Instagram posts that were just screenshots of the said tweets. Lando was perfectly aware of the origin of the first post, but it was irrelevant now. He just wanted to have more fun at his friends' expense.
Sending screenshots on WhatsApp was easier and safer.
In a few minutes, Charles was calling him.
"Lando, for the love of God, where the hell did you find those?" His voice sounded thick with scorn, but it didn't faze Lando. He could tell Charles was also mildly amused and quite interested.
"Congratulations, mate! I am quite late but whatever. You two are considered married according to some old Turkish custom. I think it is time to fess up for real, it has already been a year. Ah, how time flies by…"
"Fuck off, mate, really fuck off..." Charles was nervously laughing on the other end of the line.
"Why?" Lando was openly laughing. "You are back at your crime scene. And I am pretty sure you've already seen those posts, but chose to ignore them. Right?"
Charles sighed in an exasperated manner, but his voice still sounded good natured. "C'mon... This is just some fans having a bit of fun."
"Of course, it is..." Lando raised an eyebrow at the comment, smelling blood. "But it is quite sweet isn't it? You two accidentally completed a marriage ritual of a foreign culture and the evidence is still flourishing in the park behind the paddock club. If that's not romantic, I don't know what is..."
"Lando, please...."
"Have you read the articles I linked to you last year? Or did you find it out yourself?" Lando wasn't one to give up easily.
"Will you leave me alone if I tell you?" Charles no longer sounded like he was smiling.
"Yeah, maybe..." Lando urged.
"It was impossible to not see the posts, okay? Screenshot after screenshot... Everywhere..." Charles complained.
Lando pursed his lips at the no longer amused tone. "There is tons of shit about the two of you floating around in fan spaces. Don't tell me this completely innocent one disturbed you... But if so, I..."
"No, no, no, no...." Charles stopped him. And then he was silent for a moment as if he considered his words twice. "It is just... It... Whenever I look at Max, it comes to my mind and you know... It... It is so awkward, god damnit. When he looks at me, all I can think is that…"
Lando's playful attitude vanished, too. He couldn't tell if it was a negative sense of awkwardness or if Charles was just talking about his shyness around his love interest. He certainly didn't suspect his intuition about them already being in love and pining for each other for at least two years if not more. But he questioned if he should really continue making fun of them wasting each other's precious time with dawdling needlessly when they could have already been consummating their "marriage".
"Do you think Max has seen this stuff, too?"
The question was tentative, hopeful for a negative answer and made Lando roll his eyes. "Would it actually matter if he did?"
"Don't tell me you've already sent him the same shit?" Charles was needlessly antsy about this.
"Of course, I didn't. And even if he knew, he would just laugh about it and immediately forget." He baited.
Charles was silent for a suspiciously long while. When he talked again, his voice was forlorn, almost sad. "Yeah… He'd definitely do that…"
"Mate, you almost sound like you want Max to know and care. I can certainly do something about it."
"Lando, please…" Charles' voice was so pitiful. Lando wondered why it urged him to torment his friend more instead of pitying him.
"He isn't using his accounts the way we do. I highly doubt he has seen anything at all." No need to tell Charles how he had already sent Max lots of links about their accidental pagan marriage ritual of last year. In all honesty, Max would have made a comment or two if he had actually read them. Which was a pity, in Lando's opinion. Maybe he should rectify it...
"Don't send those screenshots to Max, okay?"
Well, maybe he shouldn't...
But, c'mon... How long did they plan to drag this around? It was high time for something to give. "Sheesh… It is just a funny joke." He reminded. "You guys certainly aren't husbands and surely aren't legally married just because you accidentally partook in an old ritual of some country."
"Oh my God, Lando!" Charles had to be this close to uprooting his hair. "Not you also using that word, please!"
"Which word? Married? Husbands?" Lando was aware he shouldn't be having this much fun, but he just couldn't stop.
"I swear I will shunt your car to the Castle walls this Sunday if you don't stop with this."
Lando wondered why both his friends always threatened him with the same thing. So unoriginal… "Okay, I stop. I stop." He relented, barely keeping himself from breaking into peals of laughter.
Charles sounded calmer. "Thank you, Lando."
"Party pooper."
"Love you, too."
"You owe me one and I will think of something that'll bankrupt your stingy ass."
That made Charles laugh. "But of course..."
After hanging up, Lando seriously considered just going to the local park, finding the tree and taking pictures of it for his lando.jpeg account for the hell of it.
Alas, he was busy with his team work. Otherwise, he would have already been scheming. But being the little devil he was, he couldn't help approaching Max in the paddock later on and baiting him.
"Last time you planted a tree here, right?"
Max had a very good memory as usual. "No. It was Charles, I only watered it and stabilized the sapling with some sticks."
Lando nodded along as if he was actually interested in the tree's fortunes. "Wonder if it's still there." He tried to plant an idea. What he heard as a reply wasn't the one he was expecting.
"It is still there..." Max shrugged and nodded at the same time. "And it really got taller."
Lando's eyes were wide. "You saw it recently?"
Max's smile was shy. "While driving up to the paddock, we passed by the park..." He reasoned. "It can be seen from the road side."
"Ehh.... I am sure that's so..." Lando observed the taller youth with cynical eyes, not hiding the fact that he didn't believe the half assed explanation. If he knew Max even a bit, he was sure his friend had already seen the tree in person this weekend.
Of course, Max caught upon this. "What is it? You need to tell me something about it?"
"Oh, I have already told you what I must tell about it a year ago." Lando smiled good naturedly at Max's puzzled expression, his hands in his jeans pockets, a picture of nonchalance. "May the tree live long and germinate." He muttered, a bit disappointed, but still amused. He had really hoped Max would know more about it.
Max bit on his bottom lip nervously and observed him a bit, before he visibly reached some sort of silent decision in his mind about something. "I know why you are asking me about that tree. I read those articles, Lando." He blurted.
Lando certainly wasn't expecting to hear that. Well… Maybe he shouldn't have doubted Max's nerdiness when it came to matters of geography and trivia about countries, huh... Good, good... This was an opportunity. Time to taunt him full force, then. "Don't you think you should have visited the tree with your dear husband instead of going to the park alone?" He grinned sharply and earned a punch on to his arm which didn't hurt at all.
"You bastard! I knew I'd never hear the end of it from you." Max was laughing.
"So, you pretended you didn't know anything?"
"Let's say, one day I was bored and looked through my bookmarks and got enlightened."
"When exactly?"
Max shook his head and averted his eyes, his feet shuffling. Lando thought he looked cute when embarrassed. "Last year around the Dutch Grand Prix. But does it matter?" He sounded dismissive.
"Maybe... We should ask that to Charles." Lando offered, playful. But Max's answer was subdued.
"Well, I don't think he'd find this situation funny." Max's sunny smile was doused by the possibility. "He is a bit… Guarded around me, you know. Which I guess is understandable, since we aren't exactly best friends and he is the kind of person who prefers some distance, I think…" He was frowning and Lando didn't like seeing it. "Our taste in humor also differs." He shrugged and pursed his lips.
'Charles has the weirdest taste in humor and you can never know what makes that guy puke his lungs in laughter,' Lando wanted to say, but he desisted. Ugh, these two idiots… He finally realized what was going on. It was clear that to some extent, they both didn't take it as just some funny coincidence or a joke. He'd bet actual money that they had thought about being married to each other, being husbands… Even before dating. Hell, they haven't even confessed to each other and possibly believed that their affections were unrequited. These love sick fools…
"I don't think he'd mind that… at all…" He said to cover up the excitement of his revelation.
"But you can never be sure." Max argued and Lando looked at him in amazement at his resigned attitude.
How could a guy who was able to take a tight corner with walls on both sides at 200 kilometers per hour in the most efficient way be this wimpy in matters of heart? This made no freaking sense at all. Well, Charles was no different, either, but…
"Yeah… There is that." He pretended to agree, because he didn't want his friend to dwell on the subject more. Then after a beat, as if wanting to dissipate the suddenly heavy atmosphere, he changed the subject to Max's latest sim racing stream. At least that didn't make Lando want to scream some bloody sense into his friends' ears until they'd cry with the force of it.
-
The race was won by Max.
Charles fought him for the lead as hard as he could twice after their pit stops, but Max was faster. Even then, Charles was happy, because he had just broken a podium draught and had very good fun racing Max after such a long time.
They shared the podium together, giddy with smiles, drowned each other in champagne and completely ignored the guy at P3 without meaning to. Well, Charles couldn't help it when Max did everything to catch his attention, not that he actually needed to do that. It was just so hard to focus on someone or something else when they were together.
They talked about a race incident while they waited for the interviews and the ceremony, lost in their own little world as usual. And during the conference, Max heaped such praise upon Charles that Charles found it hard to keep his expression relatively neutral and not break into a huge flustered grin every now and then. He returned the compliments in equal fervor and took a glance at Max just as he ducked his head down to hide his face under his cap's brim in shyness. Seeing that made Charles' heart flutter with love until he recalled the posts Lando had sent to him about their… No, no… He shouldn't think about it, he shouldn't even consider it. It was no use other than making him curse his cowardly heart which was afraid but also still yearned madly.
After the media duties, the Red Bull garage had their little trackside celebration. So, Charles left for the Ferrari hospitality to get a shower and a change of clothes. He packed his meager belongings and considered whether he should eat at the hotel and sleep early or look for some local food and company.
Lando came to the rescue.
"We are at a popular steakhouse." The background noise coming from the phone's speaker was proof enough for the establishment's reputation. "The kebabs are legendary. Want to join us?"
Charles loved steak, he couldn't deny it. If they also served that cloudy white alcoholic drink on the side, too, he was game. But before that; "Us? Who are us?"
"Half the paddock, mate. Other guys, mechanics… A few teams had booked the entire establishment. Come on, it is close to the track, too."
Some teams did this type of stuff almost after every race for their personnel; so, Charles shrugged in agreement. "Send me the location, then."
In about ten minutes, Charles was at the steakhouse, looking for Lando. Instead, he saw Max first. His heart picking up speed upon the sight of him, for a second, he didn't know what to do and just stood there.
Of course, he caught the attention of the Red Bull mechanics from Max's side of the garage immediately. Max looked at his way, too, and smiled at him sunnily. Now, he had to approach and shake hands.
The guys were a bit rowdy, but they were all sincere and congratulated him genuinely.
Max stood up from his seat and gave him a half hug when he approached his side. "Would you like to sit with us?" He asked, not hiding his hopefulness, but Charles wasn't sure.
"I don't want to disturb your team bonding." He gave a lame excuse. "Actually, Lando called me here, saying I'd enjoy the menu here."
Max nodded with a tight smile, understanding. A championship contender eating and having a night out with the garage of his main rival would cause so much unwanted attention on them. "He was around here just a moment ago." He looked around and there he was, coming up to them with a sheepish grin.
"Hey, Charlie!" Lando greeted him and they shook hands. "Bet sitting and eating with a losing team wouldn't run the gossip mill that hard." He pointed at a huge table teeming with McLaren personnel. "You are eating with us back there."
Winking at Max, Lando tugged at Charles' wrist and directed him to the other side of the huge establishment.
"The Gold Beef Tenderloin is very good." Max added as if an afterthought and made Charles look back at him.
Charles gave a nod and a smile even as he walked away after Lando. He really just wanted to sit beside Max, but… There were too many people around he didn't know and thus didn't trust.
Shaking hands with the McLaren guys, he sat in front of his friend in a bit of a disappointed slouch. "If I knew Red Bull was here, I wouldn't have come." He muttered only for Lando's ears.
Lando gave him the side eye. "And miss on good fucking food just because you can't bear the thought of sitting under the same roof with your hus-…." He caught himself just in time. "With Max." He stuffed his face with a huge piece of burger.
Charles subtly showed him his knife. "Never use that word again." He threatened and it was as scary as a miserable kitten hissing and showing his wet paws.
"I didn't." Lando raised both hands to show his innocence and talked around his morsel like a hamster. "Don't pretend to be inconvenienced, though. You'll both get to feast your stomach and eyes." He raised a sleazy eyebrow at Charles' way. "Food is on me this time and you can watch and yearn for Max however much you desire from the vantage point I carefully reserved for you at this table."
Charles immediately flushed and coughed a bit to hide it, looking at others to see if anyone else heard what Lando had said. Thankfully, everyone else was eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing. Nobody was paying them any attention. He considered refuting Lando's insinuations, but this was not the place to do that. "You are such a bad bad friend…" He berated just as the waiter placed a huge plate of beef tenderloin in front of him, mouthwatering and done just as he liked them.
"See… I placed your order right after we needed the call so you wouldn't have to wait on an empty stomach, estranged from your hus-..." Lando stopped himself in time again and raised a finger to silence Charles before he'd even start complaining. "No bad bad friend does this kind of stuff." He bragged, biting onto his burger again to stop himself from laughing.
Charles eyed him murderously for a moment. Then, gave up and dug into his late dinner.
Lando poured him a glass of that local tangy alcoholic drink and let him eat in peace, no longer having fun at his expense.
The food was as good as Lando and Max had said and he was getting nicely tipsy with the alcohol, paying attention to not get completely wasted and lose himself.
Whole night, he gazed at Max. Trying to be subtle about it was easy, because Max was seated in a way that didn't let him look at his way directly unless he'd turn his head. So, Lando had actually let him watch the other young man to his heart's desire and if his friend had realized how frequently he sighed when his eyes inevitably found Max's profile, Lando didn't make any comments.
"I am leaving with Air Max tomorrow." Lando grinned. "So, I have to drive him back to the hotel as the token sober guy. Did you come with the rented car?"
Charles shook his head. "Taxi…" He explained. "I can go back to the hotel by myself, don't worry."
Lando considered. Charles didn't look that drunk, but he certainly wasn't sober either. There was a stupidly cute smile on his slightly flushed face and his eyes didn't look that alert. True, he didn't have any of his expensive jewelry or watches on. But Lando also didn't want to risk his friend becoming a potential target either. "Come with us. I'll drop you first."
Charles refused immediately. "With Max? No no no no… That's not a good idea."
"Why? Don't worry. I bet he is already drunk. Worse than your lightweight ass." Lando knew his best friend too well. "Let's hope he actually won't fall asleep on me. I hate dragging his dead weight up to his room and tucking him in."
"He… People might see…" Charles weakly reasoned.
"So what? People always see us together. Just hop in on the back seat."
Reluctance warred with caution and caution won. "Okay…" Charles relented. "I don't want to fall asleep in a taxi."
"Let me arrange a few things, then." Lando got up and left him with his half finished third glass.
He looked around and searched for Max among the many people who were getting ready to leave, but he wasn't able to see him. Downing that third glass sounded like a good pastime, so he did just that. Then, as if teleported there, Lando was beside him and they were already leaving for the car park together.
The city lights were certainly brighter and the air was colder than he remembered. He started trembling slightly on the short way that they walked towards Lando's rental. Lando tucked him safely to the back seat and then reappeared on the driver side.
When the warm gust from the air conditioning hit and Charles heard the gentle hum of the engine, he relaxed, knowing that he was in the safest possible hands for the ride. The idea of dozing off a bit sounded irresistible. His eyes felt heavier by the second and just as he was about to lose himself in that sweet state of being that he lovingly called "like a puddle of goo", he jumped on his seat due to the loud music that blared through the car speakers without a warning.
"Ugh, stop playing with the radio volume, Max." Lando berated like a father and Charles heard Max's giggle.
"I need some music or I'll fall asleep. You wouldn't want that now, would you?"
Charles blinked like a drowning kitten and looked at Max, who had apparently been sitting in the passenger seat in front of him all this while, realizing he had completely forgotten about how Max also was supposed to be in the same car with them for the ride back.
He was about to tell him to please turn the fucking volume down a bit, that it was hurting his ear drums, but Max seemed like he was completely unaware of Charles' presence. Maybe shutting up and waiting for the ride to be over was a better idea.
"Do you think Charles likes this kind of music?" Max's question was so out of the blue that Lando took a double take at him. Max was gently jamming at a local song that none of them understood a word of, his eyes on the city lights.
"Why don't you ask him that yourself?" Lando offered unhelpfully as he tried to follow the GPS' directions.
"I don't think he'd give a rat's ass about this type of music. He has his piano."
After a beat, Lando took a glance first at Max and then at Charles, which Charles was aware of, but Max wasn't. "You think he is above the stuff you enjoy." He asked as if testing something.
Max shrugged and then relaxed against the passenger seat, his head lolling a bit to the side, body slouched. "I don't know… He never seems that interested in anything I might ever tell him. So…"
Those words literally sobered up Charles some. He was sitting right behind the passenger seat of the car; so, he tried to lean to the side and tell Max how wrong he was, but Lando gave him a short look and he reconsidered.
"Well, I think it is the opposite of that." Lando set the scene, secretly grinning. Well, well, well… Wasn't this a priceless chance? Something that would happen once in a million years. He wasn't about to waste it. "The idiot doesn't even know what to do with himself when you approach him, you know."
Charles' eyes were the size of saucers in indignation as he listened.
"He couldn't take his eyes off of you tonight, for example. He was dying to eat with you… Or eat you …"
Max laughed at Lando's innuendo without any mirth, rubbing at his face and then sighing in exhaustion. "You always say stuff like this, but he just… He just keeps this distance that I can't close…"
His heart in his throat, Charles was hanging upon every word that was coming out of Max's mouth.
"That's because he is a confused fool who is afraid of crossing this "rivals" boundary he has created in his head and is forcing himself to stay within his self imposed lines."
Lando was mercilessly blunt and Charles couldn't even move or dare to take a breath in fear of being found out by Max.
"But it is understandable…" Max defended Charles just like he always did. "I mean I understand him. Where he is coming from with trying to maintain that distance… He… He thinks he has more to lose compared to me." Max sighed again, but this time with exasperation. He sounded so resigned. "But I… I wish he could see I am not someone that people need to guard themselves from."
Well, that certainly hit a very tender spot. Charles was biting onto his lower lip enough to hurt himself. He had never thought about how Max might be feeling about being treated like a threat, like something dangerous, destructive. That… that must have hurt a lot. And Charles had been keeping up with this wary but also eager dance for quite some time, giving mixed signals, when all Max possibly sought for was some camaraderie and willingness to understand.
Lando took another glance at him and he couldn't hold his 'i told you so' gaze.
"Eh… We are a bit lost." Lando confessed even though he had driven them back to the circuit area on purpose.
"Aren't we… This is the park behind the paddock. Where that cypress tree is…" Max was suddenly alert and sitting up straighter. Charles visibly tensed, too. "Maybe we can pay a little visit to it at the park?"
"Right on it, mate..."
Unable to believe that Max still remembered about the tree and wanted to see it, Charles' hands went completely cold and his head started to hurt at the implications. Did Max know about the posts concerning this tree? Was that why he wanted to visit it before leaving the country tomorrow?
Lando must have read his mind just then, because he asked, "Are we here because…"
"Because I think that custom is sweet and… I read that one should pay their respects…"
Oh God…
"Alright… Let's go, then." Lando parked the car and turned slightly around to glance meaningfully at him once more before getting out and going after Max.
Charles could only look on. He felt both boneless and as if made of glass shards at the same time. His heart hammered against his ribcage so painfully that sitting inside the car turned into a torture. So, he threw himself out, too.
The sharp chill of the night was a slap across the face, taking away all the nice buzz of the drinks and leaving him with only the queasiness in his stomach.
His feet wanted to run after the other two, but his mind was still hesitating. Yet Max never forgot. He knew about that old custom, he knew what that damn tree signified. It was utterly ridiculous... Just a joke some fans amused themselves with. Him and Max should have both shrugged it off and forgotten about it long ago as one of the many "bromance" stuff the fans liked to come up with about them. But this one… They had literally both partaken in an old ritual that supposedly celebrated their "bond" and why the hell the idea of it was making his heart race for Max faster than the cars he drove? This was idiotic. He was an idiot, yes… For finding a sense of comfort and belonging in this ridiculous custom that was possibly long forgotten. But it was enough to make him take a step forward. Another step and then another and another…
Until he found that tree… And Max…
Lando saw him catching up and threw him a solemn look that spoke volumes about how he wouldn't let it slide if he'd dared to hurt Max. Then, he slowly backed off, leaving them alone.
Well, he had no intention to hurt Max. He had never had… And now that he had heard his words, he could never do that. "Hello, Max…" He softly greeted the other man, approaching him, full of nerves.
Max flinched a bit at first, but when he turned around, he had a beautiful smile on. "Ah so you are here, too…"
Max blinked at him as if in puzzlement and Charles thought that he was possibly trying to understand how and when Charles had come here. "I needed some air after that heavy dinner." He awkwardly explained and came closer.
"Such a chilly night, right?" Max was playing with a piece of cloth in his hands, trying to make small talk.
Charles nervously smiled, too. "It sobered me up. I guess I drank a bit too much."
"Me too… Hope you enjoyed it? I recommended Lando to invite you, too… Since you like good steak…"
Thrown off yet once again at the way Max had kept him in his thoughts, Charles felt his cheeks flush, but he didn't fight it. "Th- thanks for thinking of me, too…" Way to stutter, Charles…
Max shrugged bashfully, inspecting the piece of cloth in his hands because he didn't know what to do with himself. And maybe because his mind was at a loss of a smart yet safe thing to say, he muttered easily. "I always think of you…"
Eyes going wide, Charles gasped at the admission and realized he had been holding his breath. Suddenly, the oxygen wasn't enough.
But then, Max realized what he had just uttered, eyes wide in alarm, and quickly turned around towards the tree. "I…Sorry, sorry… I am a bit drunk… I am speaking nonsense. Forget about it." His smile was so pale and tense that it was painful to watch.
"No, I don't want to forget about it!" Charles blurted and took another step towards Max. When he saw the other man's forlorn expression, he realized he had to figuratively step up too. "It is the best thing I heard in a while." He confessed. "Actually, in a long while… So, I want to remember it." He smiled tentatively and waited for a positive reaction.
Max looked around and blinked a few times as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He was compulsively wrapping and unwrapping the long cloth around his fingers and racking his brain for something smart to say. Frustrated with his inability to come up with something even though he was aware that normally he could never shut up around Charles, he sighed in defeat and glanced at the other man with a small apologetic smile. "I'm glad you aren't weirded out hearing that."
Charles immediately shook his head. "I could never… Because I feel the same way about you." His heart in his throat, knees weak, Charles literally confessed.
God, Max's surprise and flush was so beautiful to witness.
"Really?" His voice barely audible, Max could finally look at Charles and hold his gaze.
"Really…" Charles told him with conviction. "It has been like that for quite some time actually." Was he even properly breathing? His chest hurt so much with the sweetest kind of pain he had never tasted before.
When Max choked on his joy with a sob and tried to cover it with a giggle, his fragile hope and innocent love was wet dark blue and it took Charles' breath away. Without thinking twice, he opened his arms and closed the gap between them, hugging Max as tightly as he could.
Their bodies fitted together so naturally and easily. Why the hell did they wait so long to have this when it was this perfect? Long strong arms held onto each other's trembling backs, faces burrowed into the crook of the other's neck, breathing in each other's scent mixed with the crispness of the chilly spring night…
Charles heard Max sob once more and tightened his embrace as much as humanly possible. "I am sorry for not doing this earlier." He apologized, knowing that the fault mostly lay on his shoulders for the lost time. "I was afraid. I still am…"
Max nodded against his side and rubbed his hands on the curve of his back, trying to warm Charles up and stop his shivering. "I know… I know… I am afraid of that , too."
Max was talking about Charles' fears, not his own. He was afraid Charles' fear would never let him take a chance at this, at them. Charles was aware Max had always been the braver one. He wasn't a lion just in name. So, maybe… Just this once, could some of Max's bravery rub off on him, too? Charles never wished for something more. "I will figure it out…" His voice was shaky, but his conviction was iron cast. "I will make this work." It was a huge promise, he was sorely aware of it, but his heart swelled in equal measure with the liberation that his decision brought in.
Upon hearing that, Max shifted in their embrace, leaning his forehead against Charles' shoulder, heavy yet warm. "Thank you, Charles." He whispered and explained before Charles would ask him the reason for his gratitude. "For trusting this…" He finally leaned a bit back and met the wide green eyes observing him with all the wonder in the world.
Charles reached up and gently dried Max's tears, cupping his cheeks in his palms lovingly. He candidly watched how his actions brought a beautiful smile upon Max's face like a suffering man would quench his thirst. "Actually at times, I might be trusting you more than I trust myself." He smiled sheepishly, relaxing into Max's loose but calming embrace. "I trust you know better than me when it comes to this." He rested one of his hands on Max's chest and got filled with awe at how hard and fast his heart was beating. Just like his own…
Max giggled and Charles leaned in a bit more, their noses touching. Just then, the hands resting on his waist pulled him in closer and that was all the permission Charles needed for catching Max's plush lips into their first kiss.
God, how soft and slow was that… How smooth and gentle… Charles immediately parted his lips and Max reciprocated just as quickly. Until they both needed to take proper breaths, they kissed as if they had the whole time in the world. Languid, sweet with an urgency to taste more, but also with the relaxed comfort of knowing that they finally had this for the rest of the time… And it was theirs to stay.
When they rested their foreheads against each other and sighed in want and relief, Charles looked a bit up and saw Max's long eyelashes still resting against his cheeks and his shapely nose a bit red on the tip, lips glistening with their passion and red like some delicious fruit. He bit on his lower lip and exhaled a wow in amazement. At that, Max leaned a bit back and looked at him, too. Smiling.
"Wow, indeed…"
The kiss had turned his knees into jelly, yes, but Charles meant how pretty Max looked then and he wanted to tell him just that, but they were going to have lots of time for that later on. Now, Charles was wondering something. Very much so…
He held and brought up Max's hand which had that strip of cloth wounded around its fingers. "This is about the tree, right?" He asked, because he could faintly recall something about it.
It was a red ribbon.
Max nodded and unwound the long cord and then pointed at the tree. "For these people, cypress symbolizes immortality, prosperity, abundance and hope for the future…" He explained. And then held Charles' eyes in soft wonder. "And you know… Marriage…"
How could Charles not know… It had been the bane of his torment and also the wistful wishes for the duration of the last year. "I know…" He nodded, cheeks flushing anew. "And what's the ribbon for?"
Max reached into his leather jacket's pocket and took out several white and red ribbons, his lips thinned with apprehension. "They decorate the tree with fruits and colorful strips of cloth that symbolize stuff." Max began to explain as Charles took a few of them from him. He turned towards their tree and Charles saw that Max had already tied a few of the ribbons upon the branches. "White symbolizes the sky… Unity in purity, valor and eternal glory…" And he tied one white ribbon upon the nearest branch. "Red stands for power, respect, safety, home." The red ribbon in his hands found its branch, too. "And faithful love…"
Max stepped back and not knowing what else to do with himself, he observed his handiwork. It wasn't very well done because he didn't want to hinder the tree's growth with too many decorations, but it looked good. "This ritual symbolizes the couple's commitment to each other and their prayer for a long life and good fortune together as newlyweds." He blurted in a rush.
Awkwardly scratching at his nape, he tightly smiled. Well, that last bit might have been too much for Charles. He panicked with the idea that he finally overstepped. "I am… I just wanted to come here and see it once before leaving, okay?…" He started to talk rapidly, mostly avoiding eye contact, his expression tense and closed off like he used when he had to explain himself to the media. When he felt misunderstood... "I read a lot about this custom time and time again whenever we shared a podium or quali session or stumbled upon each other wherever and I know you are possibly thinking I am weird, but I can be superstitious at times, too… Well, that really sounded like I'm weird; but that's besides the point." His eyebrows were raised in that resigned yet guarded way of his, lips pursed. "So, I wanted to come here and complete the ritual even though it is ridiculous, yeah… Yeah, fuck it sounds creepy, fuck it…" He swore with a cracking voice, shaking his head at himself in self-deprecation.
"Max, hey…" Charles tried to stop him, catching the exact moment Max began to spiral. But Max was driven with this need to express himself, to be understood, so he didn't stop.
"I am sorry if it… It sounds like I entertained the thought of us actually being married in the eyes of some old pagan gods, which is obviously quite over the top and yeah, well… Well, I might have done that, yes." He raised a finger to stop Charles from intervening. "Not a deep thought, nothing that deep… Just some fleeting wonder, and I am sorry if it creeped you out just after finding out I have been in love with you, I don't know, since possibly forever without actually realizing what the fuck I was feeling, but yeah… I asked for these ribbons from Gemma and wanted to complete the ritual and make a wish upon the tree… Yeah…" He cringed visibly and covered his face with his hands for a moment. "Fuck it, fuck, shut up Max, shut up… Oh God…" He muttered and fell silent. He rubbed both hands harshly at his face and then just gave up, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "I won't hold it against you if you say you don't remember all this tomorrow because you were drunk." He turned towards the tree again, no longer able to face Charles, still muttering in Dutch, possibly cursing himself for ruining it all up in one swell foop.
Charles could only look at Max's broad back in pure wonder, amusement and awe, his heart bursting in his chest with love for this awkward but beautiful man standing in dejected silence in front of him. He stepped up again and tied the ribbons carefully upon the branches on his side, completely aware of what doing so meant. "White for unity and red for love, right?" He asked, drawing Max's attention.
Max was watching him with wet eyes.
"Then we are both weird, Max. Because I could never stop thinking about this tree, either. About the… About the marriage…" There, he said that. "Yes, it is ridiculous, I agree, yes…" He laughed a bit at their shared idiocy. "But I also entertained the idea and it always put a smile on my face no matter how down I was feeling." Confessing that took a huge weight off his chest and was apparently the right thing to do, because Max was finally smiling again. "And no… I will never forget tonight no matter how fast and how much you talk nonsense."
Max cringed again, but this time it was mostly for show. "Was it really all nonsense?"
Charles came closer and pressed a little kiss upon his lips before he hugged him loosely. "All but just one thing… Nothing can make me forget you told me that one thing." He gazed into Max's eyes expectantly, wanting to hear it again.
Max had certainly blabbered too much there, but he knew what he had told Charles. He had waited too long to say that to him face to face. "I love you, Charles." He proudly repeated and made Charles flush to the roots of his hair.
"Come here, then…" Charles tightened his embrace and kissed Max with all the passion that bubbled up in his chest. And when they parted for a moment to breathe, Charles answered in joy and elation. "I love you, too, Max."
Aware that he had been completely and absolutely forgotten long ago, Lando watched the two of them make out some more, guarding the two of them in case anyone might approach and see them snogging each other's faces off. Thankfully, the park was mostly silent due to the cold weather and the late hour of the night.
Feeling an unadulterated sense of accomplishment with his matchmaking skills, he thought it was time to leave. He pocketed his phone and stood up, clapping once. "Alright, alright, love birds, time to break it up. No public indecency in a foreign country."
The way his friends flinched and broke away from each other in blissed out stupor was hilarious to watch. But then he stalled in mock disgust. "Ewww, you are both…" He waved a vague hand at the general direction of their slightly tented up crotches and grimaced, secretly entertaining himself more at the way the other two men groaned and corrected their attire in embarrassment. "I will call the police on you both for subjecting me to this debauchery…" He berated and then turned serious. "Now was that enough to kill your boners or do I have to, I don't know, address you guys as husband and husband?"
"God, shut up, Lando!"
"Lando, for fuck's sake!"
Lando nodded at their amused and half hearted complaining in approval and puffed hot air on his ice cold fingers. "Yeah yeah...Fucking finally, nerds. Let's go." With that, he turned around, walking towards their car, without waiting for them. "You airheads literally forgot I even existed. So you think I will let you live it down? Not in a million years! Which reminds me… This took you how many years? Do you even know how long you two have been pining for each other exactly?" He was pestering them on purpose, enjoying the opportunity to act like a dramatic actor in a play. "I can't believe it took a freaking tree and a viral social media post for you two to finally find the necessary balls to confess. I was getting old there, waiting, about to germinate like a tree in spring…"
Charles and Max were laughing at his antics and following after him, their arms around each other, glowing in happiness.
"A romance for the ages! In love since the times they were shitting their diapers… And shall remain so, by the decree of a holy tree in a random remote country."
"I didn't know you were such a poet." Charles jokingly admired, burrowing deeper into Max's side when they got in the car.
"Certainly an improvement from being unable to differentiate between punctual and pronunciation…" Max tucked Charles to his side securely as if he had always been doing that.
"Look at these ungrateful snarky bastards!" Lando acted scandalized. "Getting your ass frozen in the middle of the night while watching your besties starring in their self directed little romantic comedy movie brings out the poet in you, yeah?" He drove expertly, now finding his way around the city as if he was a local. His laughing and bantering friends were none the wiser about how he was suddenly able to find his way perfectly well.
He couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched his tipsy passengers flirting. The besotted glances that they shared, the way they were literally stuck to each other's side... Hands clasped firmly, the relaxed, relieved and homey feeling surrounding them… Lando was glad to finally be a witness to them all. When he saw them leaning their foreheads together and closing their eyes with soft contentment, Lando couldn't help but mutter an 'Awwww.. How disgustingly sweet…' and making Max and Charles giggle and tell him to shut it.
"I am driving you to your hotel, Charlie. We are almost there." He dropped the bomb and Charles immediately tried to protest. "No buts. You know why."
Max looked back at Charles in question.
"I have to fly to Miami with my team first thing tomorrow morning." Charles explained with disappointment.
"And Max and I have to drop by Britain first." Lando shrugged. "No worries. You two will have more time to get nasty in Miami."
Both men laughed and groaned at his bluntness at the same time, Max booing him and Charles hitting the backside of the driver seat in protest. But Lando knew that was what had actually been on their minds as the bedtime activity for tonight. The accumulation of feelings and other things for all those years had be certainly foreboding a wild night, eh? No, no, no, no, perish the thought.
When they dropped Charles back to his hotel, Max couldn't give him a parting kiss in fear of someone seeing and recognizing them. But he hoped his eyes had conveyed all his longing and love.
Lando was silent now, letting him digest it all and glancing at him in the rearview mirror as Max grinned and giggled to himself like the besotted idiot he was. Ahh, Lando liked this a lot. No more drama, no more yearning from afar, no more mating dances around each other. Love and peace on to the fucking world! It felt like he endured this for eighty four damned years and he was finally free. Thank you, cypress tree… Thank you random internet people for pointing out that old custom. And well done Baku, indeed.
"How did Charles find us so quickly?" Max asked just then, now uncannily sober.
They were lucky Lando didn't go on to the brake pedal like the protagonists in those romantic comedies did for some dramatic effect when they were shocked.
"Who knows, mate..." His voice came out as a squeak. "Must be a great coincidence, right?
Seeing him nod at his silly guess with that solid conviction must have been persuasive enough, because Max was nodding along, too.
"I owe one to the old gods." Max declared as Lando pulled up to a valet waiting close to the parking entrance of the hotel.
"You certainly do." Lando agreed, giving a mental pat on his own back. He really was a great friend, wasn't he?
-
Yes, Lando was actually the greatest friend they could ask for, because he gave them the greatest present Max and Charles could possibly dream of:
He had filmed the moment of their confession in that deserted park and waited a whole freaking year to send the video to them on their first anniversary.
Their phones went off at the same time the first thing in the morning. Attached to the video came a message. "Enjoy this short movie that I was the sole audience of on a freezing Baku night starring two drunk idiots."
While the message was typical Lando bluntness that they both adored, the prospect of being able to watch their grand moment excited the both of them into giddy wakefulness. Huddled together on the bed, Max and Charles tapped on the play icon, all their attention on the small screen.
It started with a quick shot of Lando's face, looking into the camera grimly. "Don't blow this one off, Charles. I am going to film this to use it against you if you make Max cry." He threatened and then made that 'i have my eyes on you' gesture before turning the camera.
The focus zeroed in on them and Lando must have tried his best to keep his hands steady while filming. Even then, the picture was a bit shaky, but it was enough to make Max tear up with emotion and Charles to gather him in his arms as best as he could while also trying to watch the recording.
"Go for it, mate… Go for it…" Lando was whispering, his voice very clear over the distant voices of the one year younger Charles and Max's as the Charles in the video was telling Max how he was always thinking of him, too. "Yes… Yes, yes… Because you feel the same. Tell him everything you have been wearing my ear off with, Charlie…"
Max glanced at Charles in amazed wonder even though by now he was aware how much they had both tormented Lando with their pining. Charles was blushing.
"Woah, that's sweet… Oh my god… You did it. You really did it! Are you watching Charles?" Lando was laughing as silently as he could while the video Max and Charles embraced. "Now, that's romantic… I want a hug too." Lando turned the camera at himself and wiggled his eyebrows sleazily, making his friends laugh a year later.
The apology came… The talk about being afraid…
"Kiss it better… You must kiss it better. Come on, come on, come on…" Lando's live commentary was so natural and honest that when the first kiss finally happened in the video, both Charles and Max cheered together with their enabler.
"This part is PG-13 guys, you may look aside." A very pleased giggle. "Well, it certainly lasted for some time. Thirsty much? Hope nobody comes around to see you being sopping gays for each other in a deserted park in the middle of the night."
They watched on as the video showed them talking about the ribbons and the tree and Max spiraling a bit there in worry. "A ha, here comes the Maxplaining." Lando was silent from then on apart from uttering an occasional wow at the way Max had talked and Charles had assured him. "Max, you love him so much it gave me a mini heart attack here, mate." He whispered and the awe in Lando's voice was palpable. "Never lose that, Charles." Lando advised solemnly.
"I don't plan to…" Charles kissed his boyfriend on top of his head as if sealing a promise.
Lando was still talking while Charles was tying the ribbons onto the tree. "You guys actually went ahead and completed an old wedding ritual here. Are you watching? Are you seeing this?"
"We certainly did." Max agreed rather proudly.
"Ohh, the L word… It is finally happening for real, huh? I feel like an old soap opera junkie finally getting to watch the protags exchanging the L word, aha ha ha."
"You are a true menace, Lando…" Max giggled.
"And that's why we love him." Charles agreed.
"Guys, guys, this is turning R-18 pretty quickly. Close your eyes and ears." Lando was faking alarm and disapproval at the rather passionate way that they were making out in the video. "Eww, getting nasty on each other out in the open. Sorry, but I have to cockblock, don't wanna end up at a police station for public indecency."
Lando turned the camera back to himself and smiled softly. "You two owe me a Ferrari for all my troubles, know that." He smirked devilishly before his expression turned honest and open. "Glad to have witnessed this fnally… Happy anniversary! Hold it close and dear." And the recording ended there.
Silence blanketed the morning. Max and Charles stayed like that for a while, both thinking.
Under his ear, Max listened to Charles' heartbeat gradually return to normal, the emotional whirlwind calming down. He, too, relaxed more, thinking about Lando's words. "He was so sure we'd be together to watch this on our anniversary. That we'd have an anniversary…" He was impressed.
"Yeah, he had more faith in us than we had in ourselves, huh..." Charles sighed in dejection mostly at himself when Max raised his head a bit and pointedly looked at him in amusement. "Okay, okay... I should have excluded you. You have always been the braver one." His fingers were playing with Max's hair and Max was tracing nonsense upon his bicep.
"We really owe him a lot, though." Max hummed in delight at the scalp massage he was getting.
Charles reminded him; "Gifting him a Ferrari a lot? Or…"
"Don't be a cheapskate, Charlie." Max joked, laughing.
"When have you ever seen me being a cheapskate?" Charles protested, but he was giggling, too.
"Like you gifting me the freebies from the brands you were modeling for when we first started dating?"
"Oh my God! You'll never let me live it down, will you?" Charles covered his flushed face with his hands, both embarrassed and unable to also stop smiling because Max's mirth was contagious. "I wanted to gift you stuff without looking like I was gifting you stuff."
"I know, I know… I just love teasing you about it." Straightened up from his position, Max tried to take away Charles' hands from his face to see him. "Don't hide from me…" He demanded playfully. "I want to celebrate our anniversary."
When Charles relented and let Max capture his wrist, he opened his eyes to Max's naughty grin. Well, he could be equally naughty, too, if not more. "What do you have in mind as a celebration, then?" He asked, shifting a bit on the bed so that he gave Max enough room to move closer and press his wrists above his head, properly trapping him.
"I prefer to talk through my actions instead of using words." Max bragged and made Charles laugh.
"You… Not preferring words? What a liar!"
Max raised an eyebrow at him in fake annoyance. "Perceval…"
"Yes, Emilian?"
"Shut up, husband."
"Then, make me, husband …"
For them, nothing was more amazing than the giggling kisses they shared after jokingly calling each other husband, a silly but beloved reminder of how they'd gotten together last year.
Though as Charles melted into Max's slow and gentle love making, he couldn't help but wish that some day they'd actually call each other that not just jokingly but for real. Until then, they certainly had their matrimonial tree growing and flourishing root by root and branch by branch in that city park with their sole witness still rightfully asking for a Ferrari for all his troubles.
-
Fin.