Work Text:
With a sigh Lewis finally closed the laptop after an almost three hour long video conference.
There was a slight pounding behind his eyes after having spent so much time in front of the display but it was quickly pushed aside when he eyed the small stack of papers next to his MacBook.
Ferrari had sent him the terms of his new contract and even though they had went through the most important parts during the conference he would have to go through them again before he'd officially sign the contract next week. Unofficially, everything was already set in stone and he couldn't wait for the news to hit the public.
Surely there'll be the usual three groups of people approving, disapproving and not caring at all. The media would probably hunt him down but he'd deal with that when it's time. As of now the only thing he could say for sure was that his change of heart didn't happen from one day to the other.
Were it the last two miserable seasons he had at Mercedes? Or the tension between him and the team which was again and again pushed to a certain breaking point in some situations and where even the public noticed? Or maybe it was just his inner selfishness telling him he had to do one last new thing in this sport before he retired. Something which he had dreamt of since he had been a little boy and had found his passion for motorsports.
Or maybe it was a combination of all these things and even more he couldn't think of.
In the end it didn't matter all that much. He was happy with himself and his decision and that's everything he needed.
Talking about what he needed, something else suddenly sprung to his mind so he got up from his chair to leave his study.
The sun was already setting, plunging the majority of the apartment into various shades of gold. It made him feel bad his meeting had taken up so much time but in the end it was for a good reason.
He crossed the living room, rubbing one of his eyes and barely suppressing a yawn when he continued down the floor until he came to a stop in front of a closed door. A small smile appeared on his face when he could make out someone shouting profanities from inside the room, the voice muffled but not less familiar to Lewis.
He knocked twice on the door and then openend it only for his eyes to fall on a figure sitting in front of multiple monitors with a controller in hand.
"Shut the fuck up, Lando. I would drive better if your cousin wouldn't distract me under my table here." Max snapped back into his headset, unblinking gaze fixed on the main display showing the game which Lewis quickly identified as Mario Kart.
He raised an eyebrow at the Dutch's small outburst, his lips quirking up on one side in amusement. Just when he decided to leave Max to his game though the younger must've noticed his silent entrance probably due to the light streaming in from the floor.
Max's head snapped to the side in surprise, his blue eyes finding Lewis immediately who froze in the doorframe.
The Dutch perked up in his seat, controller still in hand while the character in the game had driven off a cliff, "You're done?"
Lewis nodded, "A few minutes ago." then he nodded at the screen where the game was still going on, "You might wanna finish that."
Max's eyes widened and his attention snapped back to the game as he swiveled around in his chair. He looked at it for two seconds before slumping into his seat and putting the controller on the table, not too softly.
"Fuck it. It's shit anyway." he sighed and Lewis had to bite back a small laugh at the younger's oh so childish attitude.
"Fuck you, Lando. Are you blind or stupid? Our team has been shit the very first race and it was fucking 'cheep cheep bay'!" Max bit back, clearly speaking into his headset, "Dude even George knew the way of that track, not my problem you can't follow the signs. There's a minimap for a reason."
Lewis choked on a giggle and promptly received a glare.
"Well, obviously no one uses it but you can be the first person who will. At least something where you can be first." he sniped and both of Lewis's eyebrows shot up as he watched Max taking off the headset and turning off the computer.
Then Max leaned back into his gamer seat and put both arms up, giving his body a seemingly long overdue stretch and Lewis licked his lips. Automatically, his eyes began to roam over the younger's body, starting at the pushed out chest, down the torso before zeroing in on a little sliver of pale skin near the younger's hip right above the seam of his sweatpants. The dark hoodie Max was wearing had ridden up a bit and Lewis had the suspicion the Dutch was doing this on purpose.
"You pervert."
The words made Lewis's gaze snap up to lock with Max's blue eyes. The small smirk on the younger's face confirmed his previous suspicions and Lewis gulped. Yep, definitely on purpose.
"Only when it's you." he replied, quickly recovering and lips widening confidently into a smirk.
Max laughed lightly, "It better be." he chuckled and got up from his chair to approach Lewis lazily.
The older loosened his arms which were until now crossed in front of his chest to readily grab Max's waist but the younger surprised him by grabbing one of his hands, halting it in its greedy approach.
"Later." he mumbled before raising a hand to cover his mouth when he had to yawn, "I'm starving." he sighed and went past the Brit who raised an eyebrow but let himself be pulled along into the direction of the kitchen.
"It's not like you to end a game just like that." Lewis said as he watched Max scanning the insides of their fridge.
"It's no fun when you're losing." Max shrugged, "Also I hadn't exactly planned to play today, much less online with the guys." reaching into the fridge the Dutch got out a RedBull and turned to Lewis who was leaning against the kitchen island, "Just so you know it's your fault."
"Ah there it is." Lewis tilted his head as he regarded Max amused, "The bad conscience card."
Max snorted, "Asshole. You damn well deserve it. We had stuff planned for today and then you come up to me yesterday and tell me you have an impromptu meeting."
Lewis's shoulders slumped at Max's snappy words, "I already told you I'm sorry."
Max raised both eyebrows, "Yeah, because that makes it so much better." he opened his can, an ensuing hiss filling the short pause.
"Max, don't be sulky."
"Excuse me?" Max halted short before taking a sip to regard Lewis as if he hadn't heard Lewis correctly.
"Don't be sulky." Lewis repeated gently, chin slightly raised, "You're the only thing on my mind the whole time."
Max just stared at him for a whole minute before taking a hasty sip of his RedBull, "I'm not fucking sulky." he grumbled afterwards, cheeks a bit redder than a minute before, "And don't be so cheesy."
"Just telling the truth, darling." Lewis shrugged helplessly, not sorry at all.
He actually was bursting with anticipation about letting Max know the content of this important impromptu meeting. He wasn't sure about the younger's reaction but he also knew that Max wouldn't make a big deal out of it whether he'd approve of it or not. The Dutch was just that uncomplicated.
"Yeah sure." Max took another sip, "You're still an ass though."
"Alright, okay. I accept that with a heavy heart but I swear to you it was a very important meeting."
This time Max stayed silent and just kept looking at Lewis, waiting for him to continue.
Usually they didn't talk about work at home und even less so during the breaks. It's just an unspoken rule between them to protect and maintain their relationship.
What happens on the tracks stays on the tracks.
It's as simple as that and did wonders for them.
So usually the topic 'work' was close to non-existent in their private lives. Lately though it had found its way further and further into that sacred part of their lives due to Lewis's difficult situation at Mercedes.
Lewis prided himself on having a strong mentality. On the outside he seemed untouchable, downright unshakeable to the spectators. Like someone who could handle anything and everything, from violent threats over racist insults to disastrous races with thousands of disappointed people.
The problem was that he just 'seemed' like it. He wanted to make it seem like it when in reality he wasn't all that. Not untouchable nor unshakeable.
One might think that he had learned how to cope with these kinds of things, considering he's been in this bussiness for 14 years now and even further, adding his karting years. Others were also confronted with similar situations, weren't they? It actually shouldn't be such a problem for him, right?
So normally he tried to ignore all those things. If others could deal with such an onslaugt of negativity he could, too. Sure he could. No problem.
But the sad truth was that he couldn't.
He also had his limits. He could suffer breakdowns, too. He could hurt, too.
'You're sensitive, Lewis.' Max had murmured with a raspy voice into the silence of their dark bedroom. It had been a gloomy day with rain softly pattering against the tall windows of the apartment in a steady staccato while they cuddled on the bed, Max curled around him.
'There's nothing wrong with you.' the younger had whispered, his hand going through Lewis's wild hair while the Brit burrowed further into their embrace, pressing his face against Max's middle.
He had felt horrible for subjecting Max to his inner self-conflicts. The younger surely hadn't signed up for that when they had started their relationship. At least that's what Lewis had thougt until he had told Max as much, apologizing to the Dutch for making him go through this just because he couldn't keep his shit together.
The response was a flabbergasted 'the fuck, Lewis?' from a promptly very angry Max.
The ensuing conversation had been difficult but eye-opening because Max had been right. They were in a relationship now and Lewis had learned that he could confide in Max when he wasn't feeling good.
That didn't mean though that he was doing it readily. He still had his inhibitions about it but it was good to know that someone was there at his side.
"More important than our time together?" Max asked and Lewis bit his lip, barely containing his grin.
"That's not fair. You know there's nothing more important than that... but today was an exception." he admitted after a short pause as if it was actually difficult for him.
Max's eyebrows shoot up again, "Really? Alright, now you gotta spit." he nodded at Lewis with a glint in his eyes, "What important stuff did your idiot club have to say?"
"Hey I'm still part of that idiot club." Lewis pouted childishly but immediately froze.
Max narrowed his eyes, "Still?" he asked and after another second he placed the RB can on the counter, "Lewis, what do you mean 'still'? What did you do?"
"Me?" Lewis gestured at himself surprised at Max's accusative tone, "I didn't do anything." he defended himself automatically before correcting himself, "Well, I did do something- nothing bad!" he promptly added.
"This doesn't really reassure me." Max replied skeptically and crossed his arms, heavily assessing Lewis as if they were talking about something serious.
Well, it was something serious but something seriously good!
"Alright, so I had a meeting with Toto."
Max hummed, "I hope you told him I'm sending my best fucking regards." he sneered before clearing his throat at Lewis's chastising gaze, "Sorry but not sorry." Max said with a shrug.
"Yeah, I'm definitely not living in a world where you're ever sorry."
Max smiled too brightly to be anything but artificial and tilted his head endearingly, "Ah you know me just too well, Lu."
"Mhm and you're as charming as ever." Lewis sighed, "Anyway, I had a talk with Toto and Vasseur."
Being a sucker for the dramatics left the words hang in the air, letting Max soak them up, process them. Meanwhile he observed Max curiously, waiting for any kind of hcange on the Dutch's face which was marred with a frown.
"Ferrari? What do you want with them?"
Lewis raised an eyebrow, "Seriously Max? Usually you're not that slow." he chuckled, "But I guess it's kind of unexpected."
Then suddenly Max's face fell lax with shock.
"No." he breathed with wide eyes, "You did not."
Lewis couldn't hold back a genuine giddy smile now, his heart beating up to his throat, "I did not what?"
"You did not!" Max exclaimed and gave Lewis's shoulder a push, "Are you kidding me?"
Lewis laughed and finally latched onto Max's waist, pulling the Dutch in before he could step away again, "Well, depends on if we're talking about the same thing here."
"You got a contract with Ferrari."
"I so got a contract with Ferrari."
Before Lewis knew it Max was on him, cupping Lewis's face to bring their lips together for a chaste kiss. He felt a trace of gossbumps running down the back of his neck at the intimate touch. Locking his hands behind the small of Max's back he pulled the Dutch closer until their fronts were pressed against each other, craving the other's body heat.
"Oh my fuck..." Max sighed against his lips before moving down, giving Lewis's jaw a small peck before hugging the older firmly, "Finally."
"Finally? I thought I did a good job with keeping it a secret." Lewis mused with a smile.
"I'm not talking about that, idiot." Max replied and Lewis could imagine the younger rolling his eyes, "I meant that you're finally rid of those assholes."
"Don't be like that, Max. I had some of my best years with them."
Max pulled away to meet Lewis's eyes with a disapproving sneer, "Doesn't excuse them treating you like they did. Remember Singapore? Remember Qatar? When I wanted to punch George?"
"I'm glad you didn't."
Max snorted, "Would've deserved it then."
"Hey, let's not talk about that anymore."
"You're right." Max nodded and cuddled back into the embrace, burying his face in Lewis's neck, "So when can I see you in red?"
"Mmm, next year."
Max groaned, tightened his arms around him shortly, "Fuck yes."
Lewis laughed, letting his hands skim over the small of Max's back, "So, does that mean I'm forgiven for my sudden rain-check?"
Max scoffed against his skin, "You wish.”