Chapter Text
Charles huffs as he gets out of the lift and stomps down the corridor to his room. Crashing out of the race was bad enough but having to see his teammate take the victory was like rubbing salt in the wounds. It shouldn’t really feel that way, the word teammate does imply they are a team and should be happy for each other. Except seeing Carlos collect the trophy was just confirmation that he really did have the machinery underneath him to win today. Unfortunately he hadn’t even made it past lap 12.
He’s too caught up scrolling through his phone to see Max wandering around the corridor. It’s only when he walks straight into the Dutchman’s broad frame and stumbles backwards that he realises the Red Bull driver is even there. He is seconds away from snapping at Max to watch where he is going for at least once in life when he notices that the Dutchman has actually come out of their second collision of the day worse off.
“Are you okay?” Charles reaches out a hand expecting Max to quickly gather himself up off the floor but to his surprise the Dutchman just curls in on himself and starts sobbing.
“Fuck, should I call someone?” Charles leans over Max and tries to work out what all the commotion is about, he really didn’t hit him with that much force. Or at least he didn’t think he had done. Max looks inconsolable though, the Dutchman wailing and clutching hold of his knees like he’s been mortally wounded. As Charles bends down to get a better look he gets the sinking feeling that all is not quite what it seems.
“Max” Charles tries to gently encourage the Dutchman to look up at him but Max’s eyes are still screwed shut. His cheeks are bright red and there’s tears racing down his face as his chest heaves up and down.
“Oh it’s okay” Charles coos softly as he realises what is going on, “I’m so clumsy. I’m sorry. Silly me”
“Fell over” Max squints his eyes open to look up at Charles. He looks distraught and Charles feels his heart clench at how much his bottom lip is trembling and how damp both his cheeks are.
“I’m sorry” Charles reaches out and tentatively rubs over Max’s knees, “Is that better?”
Max sniffs and wipes his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Do you think you can be a big boy and get to your feet for me?”
“Maxie be big again?” Max babbles as Charles lifts him to his feet. The wailing has softened to a few shaky exhales but Max still seems spacey, it looks like he is trying really hard to concentrate on something but it is just out of reach. Charles wonders if this is ‘big’ Max trying to push his way back through. It’s not the done thing to be in little headspace when you are out and about by yourself, Charles half wonders if he caused the drop by barging into the Dutchman when he was in a sensitive state.
However it happened Charles knows that despite any differences they may have had on track today he needs to get Max back to his room and to his caregiver as soon as possible because despite the Dutchman’s efforts he doesn’t look like he is going to return to his normal headspace any time soon.
“Do you know which room you are staying in?” Charles watches as Max looks up and down the corridor and wrinkles his nose up, “Which door is yours?”
“Hmmm” Max hums, the lines on his forehead deepening as he appears deep in thought, “Blue one”
“The blue one?” Charles smiles softly as he glances down the corridor at the row of blue doors, “Do you remember the number?”
Max looks back confused, “Blue”
“Okay” Charles nods, he’s not sure how young little Max is but he’s not currently the most verbal and he definitely doesn’t seem to recall the room number. The last thing Charles wants is to be going door to door trying to work it out. For one thing he isn’t sure if Max’s little headspace is common knowledge. He definitely wasn’t aware of it. He knows Max would kill him if he were to slip back into his normal headspace and find out Charles had been parading up and down the hotel.
“You want to come and see my room and I will call your caregiver?” Charles offers out his hand which Max tentatively takes, his fingers curling slowly around the Monegasque’s.
“You are being very brave you know” Charles praises as he leads Max the few steps to his doorway. The Dutchman’s grip tightens a little around his hand, “So brave, I bet you are such a good boy aren’t you”
Max doesn’t say anything but Charles notices the proud little grin on his face and the way his cheeks flush red.
“Here we go” Charles fishes his keycard out of his pocket and lets them in. His room is definitely not set up with littles in mind so he does a quick scan to makes sure there isn’t anything that is going to be an immediate danger to Max. It seems fine. Besides, Max is still clinging hold of his hand and looking down at the floor. He does not seem to be the most boisterous little. It’s funny really, if Charles had known Max was a little he most definitely would have had him down as being the loud mischievous type. He wonders if he is just shy.
“Do you want to sit on the couch and watch tv whilst I call someone?” Charles watches Max closely to see if he is understanding him, to his relief there is a flicker of recognition. Max might not be particularly chatty but he clearly understands most of what Charles is saying. The lack of words seems more of a nervous thing than an age thing, or at least that is the feeling that Charles is getting.
“Shoes” Max huffs as he drops down on to the floor and tries to get his trainers off his feet.
“You want me to take your shoes off first?” Charles kneels down but receives a frown from Max
“I can do it” Max announces determinedly. The little tugs at his trainers until his face goes bright red but then finally manages to get both of his feet free.
“Wow” Charles beams, “See I knew you were such a good boy”
“Good boy” Max giggles as he climbs on to the couch and gets himself comfortable amongst the cushions. Charles is just thankful that Max looks to have recovered from his earlier fall. He really would hate to hand him back over to his caregiver still clutching his knees or sobbing hysterically. Clearly he was not injured anywhere near as much as he was making out.
“Lets see what is on tv shall we?” Charles flicks through the limited channel choice and manages to find some colourful cartoon to put on whilst he tries to work out who to call, “Do you have your phone?”
Max blinks up at Charles and shakes his head despite the fact that Charles can see the outline of a mobile in the Dutchman’s jeans.
“Remember what I said about you being such a brave good boy?” Charles isn’t about to scold Max for lying. It would be wrong for him to punish another person’s little, plus he doesn’t really think Max means any harm by it.
Max nods but bites down into the fleshy part of his lip. If Charles hadn’t already known he was lying he would be able to tell from the guilty look in his eyes.
“And big brave boys tell the truth don’t they?” Charles continues, “Do you think maybe you forgot you had your phone with you? “
Max hums loudly like he is trying work out what to do next. Charles can’t help but grin, it’s actually rather adorable. A bit more like the mischievous Max he was expecting.
“Shall we look for it together?” Charles offers and tries not to chuckle as he sees the edge of Max’s mobile phone peeking out of his pocket.
“Is it in your hands?” Charles takes Max’s hands and turns them over as if he is checking for something, “Hmm maybe … it’s hiding behind your ears?” Charles smiles as Max starts giggling loudly and shaking his head. “I don’t know where it could be then” Charles pauses before clapping his hands together like he has just hit on the most fascinating discovery, “Look Maxie, there it is?!” The Monegasque points to where the phone has been visible all along and Max makes a shocked little face. The Dutchman’s surprise is convincing enough that Charles wonders if he really had forgotten his phone was there after all.
Either way he’s happy to finally get the device in his hands. He’s not clued up on little rules in F1 but he knows that there is a mandate for all littles to have their caregiver contact details saved to their emergency ID screen on their phone. He’d never thought too much about why it was important but he guesses it has something to do with situations exactly like this one. A stray little wandering around is dangerous so the quicker they can be returned to whoever is meant to be looking after them the better.
The Monegasque scrolls to the contact details. The caregiver name is simply down as caregiver. It feels rather cold for what should be a loving caring relationship. It isn’t Charles’ place to judge though.
“Fell down like Maxie” Max giggles and points at the television where one of the characters is rolling around on the floor.
Charles chuckles and hits dial on the caregiver contact number only for it to go straight to voicemail. He wonders if Max’s caregiver even knows he is in little headspace right now. He fires off a quick text and goes to place Max’s phone on the side when he realises he has somehow text the Dutchman.
“Oh no” Max’s eyes widen as he stares at the tv screen. Charles gives a quick glance up to make sure what is happening is age appropriate and returns his attention back to the phone when he sees that Max is open mouthed at the sight of a cartoon dog shaking mud all over a bed.
The Monegasque fires off another text to the caregiver’s number and then sees it flash up on Max’s screen once more. It unfortunately confirms his initial suspicion that Max has just entered his own details in place of his caregiver’s. How he has gotten away with doing so is anyone’s guess but it leaves the Monegasque at a loss as to who to call.
“Maxie” Charles sits down on the spare side of the couch and is pleasantly surprised when Max scoots over a little closer to him, “there must be someone who is worried about you? Do you know the name of your caregiver?”
“Look after myself” Max murmurs before suddenly looking a bit nervous, “Don’t tell anyone” the Dutchman leans in and places a finger over Charles’ lips to shush him, “Secret”
*
Charles jumps at the knock on the door and goes to collect the food he has ordered. Much to his relief the concierge has also sent up the colouring books and crayons he asked for. It’s not exactly much but Charles hopes it will keep Max occupied for as long as his little headspace lasts.
“Maxie, we have food” Charles coos as he opens up the container with Max’s chicken and veggies in it, “Do you like to sit at the table when you eat?”
Max nods his head exaggeratedly as he gets himself up on to a chair whilst craning his neck to see what Charles is plating up for him.
“Hmmm this looks good doesn’t it” Charles cuts up Max’s food into tiny little portions and then plates up the same larger dish for himself, “Do you normally feed yourself?” Charles asks and then realises it is probably an unnecessary question. If Max doesn’t have a caregiver then he must surely feed himself. Charles doesn’t want to linger on the practicalities of that for too long, it doesn’t feel right though.
Max makes grabby hands at the little plastic fork that has been sent up with the children’s meal and Charles reluctantly hands it over. As Max starts stabbing at the chicken and popping it in his mouth the Monegasque tucks the little plastic knife away out of sight.
“Will be big and strong” Max mumbles as he pushes his fork into a little piece of broccoli and navigates it shakily to his lips.
“That’s right” Charles smiles as he starts tucking into his own food.
As Max finally manages to clear his plate he looks so incredibly happy with himself. Charles estimates that a quarter of the food has spilled on to the floor but it doesn’t stop him praising the little for being such a good boy and eating his food all up.
“I think you deserve a treat” Charles grabs a napkin and wipes around Max’s lips before going to grab the colouring books that were sent up earlier. It’s not exactly the most thrilling treat in the world, he suspects that given Max’s wealth the Dutchman has a whole range of exciting toys at home but if he has learnt one thing from being around littles it is that excitement really is infectious.
His theory proves to be true because Max’s eyes light up the second he sees the crayons.
“You want to go do some colouring in?” Charles’ grin broadens as Max smiles so hard his eyes scrunch up. The Monegasque takes hold of the little’s hand and leads him back into the tiny little sofa area in the corner of his hotel suite. The Dutchman plonks himself down on the floor in front of the coffee table and eagerly gets to work the second the colouring books are placed in front of him.
Charles has always had caregiver instincts. He’s not immune to the sound of a little’s laughter or the way they can get so excited at even the simplest thing. He’s just never really felt the time is right to pair up with a little of his own. It’s a huge commitment for one thing and he’s away so often it has always felt unfair. It’s not like a little can be left for weeks at a time without having their caregiver to see them through a headspace drop. As he watches Max’s tongue press out the side of his mouth as he concentrates on trying to stay within he lines he feels his heart skip happily. A little with his same schedule would be a perfect pairing, he’s not entirely sure Max would go for it though.
“For you” Max manages to clumsily rip a page out of his colouring book and comes bounding over to where Charles is sat out on the couch. As his arms outstretch he hands over a colouring of a car. Despite his best efforts a lot of the crayon has found itself all over the page, in fact there is more colour around the car than on it. It’s still perfect though.
“This is for me?” Charles delicately takes the colouring out of Max’s hand and gives it a proper look, “Wow, it’s so good”
Max bounces around on his toes excitedly.
“I am going to put this up at home so I can see it all the time” Charles smiles as he thinks about where he can hang this when he gets back to Monaco, “Thank you so much Max, it’s perfect and it’s a car too”
“Because you like cars” Max grins rather proud at himself for picking out the best picture for Charles.
“I love cars” Charles nods his head, “And I love this too”
Max makes a happy little squealing sound as he clambers up on to the couch and the next thing Charles knows he has a lap full of the Dutchman.
“Thank you”
“You are welcome Max” Charles hums, “Your colouring in is so good”
Max buries his head into the crook of Charles’ neck and wraps his arms around him as he tries to cuddle in as close as possible.
“You are also very good at cuddling aren’t you?” Charles coos as the little curls around him.
The Monegasque briefly wonders what Max will feel about all this when he returns to his normal everyday headspace. He hopes the Dutchman won’t think he has overstepped the mark, it’s not like he can just leave a little to fend for himself though. And little Max suddenly seems so desperate for cuddles that Charles can’t help but wrap his arms around him and hold him close.
*
Charles tries to remain as still as possible as Max’s head rests in his lap, the little having eventually drifted off for a nap around an hour ago. The Monegasque still isn’t sure what to do if Max doesn’t return to his normal headspace by the time they are due to leave tomorrow. He briefly considers calling Christian but thinks better of it, he isn’t sure who know about Max’s little status and who doesn’t. Whilst he suspects that Christian must be in the loop he can’t risk it. He’s still running through all the possible scenarios when Max starts shuffling around next to him and slowly opening his eyes.
“What the fuck?” Max blinks a few times and rubs at his eyes. His gaze darts around the room and then back at Charles. He’s clearly confused. Confused and back in normal headspace.
“Don’t panic!” Charles holds up his hands as some kind of peace offering, Max looks so shocked he’s not sure what the Dutchman is about to do next, “You fell over and started crying and … “
Max looks over at the colouring book on the table and Charles sees the moment he connects the dots. The Dutchman’s face goes white.
“It’s okay” Charles tries to calm, “You were little, I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry. I panicked and I couldn’t get hold of anyone because your caregiver details are your own”
“Fuck” Max jumps up off the couch and runs his palm up and down his neck. He looks like he’s panicking, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Its okay I won’t tell anyone if that is what you’re worried about ” Charles gets to his feet.
“Did I do anything embarrassing?’ Max looks just as distraught as he had done when Charles knocked him over hours earlier.
“No not at all” Charles assures, “You were really well behaved. We ate, watched cartoons, you did some colouring”
“Oh god” Max’s face scrunches up, he looks like he is close to bursting into tears, “I should go”
”Wait!” Charles knows full well that it would be easier to just let Max leave. The Dutchman is back in his normal headspace and fully capable of looking after himself right now. He also doesn’t look particular happy about having dropped into headspace in public. Except when Charles looks down at the colouring Max did for him he really can't just let it go. Little Max was so sweet and cuddly and Charles is almost certain he doesn’t have a caregiver to share that with and it quite honestly breaks his heart.
“No I..” Max takes a deep breath as he tries to calm himself, “Look thank you, for making sure I was safe. I do not normally go into headspace so .., I don’t know what happened but, yeah, thanks.”
“It really wasn’t any trouble” Charles explains, “In fact it really helped me so I should be thanking you”
Max looks back suspiciously and Charles surpasses a laugh. Max is clearly worried about his little headspace being trouble but in truth Charles doesn’t think that little Max is any trouble compared to normal big Max.
“No shit sorry I shouldn’t have said anything” Charles trails off but smiles internally as he sees he has caught Max’s attention.
“What is is?” Max’s eye brows knit together and he looks like he is trying to weigh up whether Charles is lying to him or not.
“It’s embarrassing” Charles says, “It is just.. with travelling and everything.. I do not get spend time with a little and .. and well I get caregiver urges you know?”
“You do?”
“Yeah, it can make me feel stressed to not be around littles” Charles thinks there might be some truth to that even though he is laying it on a bit thick for Max’s benefit, “So those few hours, it really did help me”
“Oh” Max blinks, “I never thought of it like that before”
“I mean I know you said you don’t drop into that headspace” Charles continues, he is pretty sure he is reeling Max in now, it’s for the Dutchman’s benefit though, “But if you ever did… well if you ever did then it would help me a lot if I could spend time with you.”
Charles knows he shouldn’t get ahead of himself but it’s too late he is already imagining getting Max cosy in some cutesy little pyjamas and tucking him up in bed to read a bedtime story or getting to see his excitable little face when he buys him gifts. Even the thought of helping him brush his teeth or get dressed in the morning is making Charles feels content. The more he thinks about it the more he realises that he isn’t actually lying, getting to spend time with a little really would help settle some of his unfulfilled caregiver tendencies.
“It would really help you?” Max seems to be slowly coming around to the idea. The fact he isn’t putting up too much of a fight tells Charles that the Dutchman is not entirely happy with whatever arrangement he currently has.
“I don’t want to pressure you into it though’ Charles says cautiously, “Its your headspace. Just… “
“I could do it if you want” Max interjects , “As a thank you for looking after me. If it would help you then I could go into headspace”
Charles can see the way the lines on Max’s forehead soften and his shoulders relax a little. Max definitely wants this. Most likely needs this.
“That would be amazing if you could do that for me” Charles smiles, Max didn’t take as much coaxing as he thought he would.
The Monegasque leans in to give Max a hug. It’s a little more stilted than the hug he shared will little Max earlier but then again the little had been clambering all over him and trying to get as close as possible.
“Thank you Charles” Max whispers against Charles’ ear. Charles knows that Max is smart enough to realise what is going on. This is not purely for Charles’ benefit and they both know it but Charles is more than happy to keep up the pretence. Besides, Charles is actually rather excited about all the wonderful playdates he can set up for himself and Max.
Max is going to be the happiest little in the whole paddock, Charles is going to make absolute sure of that.