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1. Their relationship has changed, at least from the point of view of other drivers.
“Thanks for letting me come with you, I don’t know if I could've waited one more day” Charles is telling Max once they’re walking towards the car, they had flown back to Nice as soon as their duties in Abu Dhabi were done, neither of them willing to spend any extra amount of time there.
Charles is very grateful for being one of the few drivers who wouldn’t have to take part in the post-season testing, happy to leave that responsibility to his brother and Antonio as reserve drivers of Ferrari. And Max hasn’t bothered to do that for the last couple of seasons, so Charles knew he would be flying home as soon as he could, hence why he asked him on Thursday at the drivers’ dinner if he could go home with him.
The flight was peaceful, he slept through the first few hours of it and the second half was spent talking to Max while they attempted to watch a movie. Key word being attempted because Max had this terrible habit of pausing and talking about the movie every 5 minutes, only to go back because he had missed something.
If it were anybody else Charles would’ve been furious, but by now he’s used to Max being like this and he lets it go every time it happens. He just finds it so endearing the way Max can get so invested in anything and wanting to share it with whoever is with him.
“Ah don’t worry, I’m happy to help” Max answers while he opens the car’s door to let Charles get in first, “You better make the most out of these days before you have to go back to Maranello.”
And yes, he will only be in Monaco for a couple of days and then go to Maranello, because even if he’s not running the post season test, he is still needed to go over the data. He’s incredibly jealous of Max being able to do that from the comfort of his own home. Do Ferrari not remember how they did meetings during 2020?
“And then there’s the FIA Gala, don’t forget about that” It is now Charles' turn to remind Max of their responsibilities, “Season is not fully over yet, mate.”
Max groans and Charles just laughs at him, knowing how much Max hates these types of things. He’s never been a huge fan of the over the top events and the high exposure of the sport, and in the last few years it’s gotten worse. But he must be used to this after 4 world championships and mandatory appearances at this gala.
Charles says so to Max who just grumbles in response,
“Well, at least you’ll be there this year. Last year was awful boring without you”
“Aw, poor baby.” Charles mocks, “didn’t you have fun with your teammate and Lewis?”
“It was awful Charles”
Charles doesn’t say anything more, finding it funny the way he can hear Max’s pout in his words and happy to just relax until they reach Monaco.
Max must be feeling as tired as Charles is, because he slides from the window to the middle seat and rests his head on Charles’ shoulder, the monegasque sensing the exact moment he falls asleep because the weight on his shoulder gets heavier.
Charles wraps his arm around Max to keep him in place and turns towards the window to enjoy the moment. He doesn’t use this time to reflect on the season or wallow in thoughts of how close they were to the WCC and what ifs. In that moment he’s just content to exist with the man on his side.
“You’re late” was the way Lando greeted Charles once he was close enough to the group. Max had told him they were leaving at 2pm, therefore he should be by the tarmac twenty minutes before that, so Charles knew he was late when his phone showed 1:20 and he still had to get to the airport and go through security.
“Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Lando,” Max said before Charles could apologize, “now that we’re all here, we can leave” and with that he turned to Charles and took his bag from him, letting him go up the stairs and into the plane first.
That was the first time Charles was joining Max on his private jet, so not knowing exactly where to sit, he picked the first spot he saw and waited for everyone to do the same,Max choosing the seat across from him and Lando following on the seat beside Max.
Once they were all in place and getting ready for take off, Lando spoke again, “is that all Charles will get? I remember once getting here 5 minutes late and receiving a lesson on people’s personal time and the importance of respecting fixed schedules!” He moaned and Charles could only look at Max, expecting for him to give that same lecture to Charles, but instead he turned to Lando and stated nonchalantly
“Well, this wasn’t a fixed schedule, it’s my jet so I don’t have to follow someone else’s schedule, now let me sleep, I’m tired.” And before he turned in his seat to sleep, Charles caught the smile Max threw at him, small yet there and Charles only felt himself blush which Lando must have noticed because it opened up another opportunity to complain, this time to Charles,
“Oh my god now I’ll have to deal with both of you? When did this happen? Can you not go back to hating each other?”
And honestly, at that time, Charles didn’t know what had happened or when it had happened, it just did and he liked that.
From that day on, AirMax never left on time again, not even on the days when Max and Charles arrived together.
It is not long before they reach the end of their journey, the sun has come out during their drive, and as Monaco starts coming into view and there’s slow movement around the principality, he shakes Max to wake him up.
They reach Max’s apartment building and getting their bags out of the car is a struggle with Max still being half asleep and useless. Charles is soon helped by the doorman who carries their suitcases while Charles takes his and Max’s backpacks.
Max resembles a little kid who has just been woken up from a nap when they get into the elevator and Charles sees their reflection in the mirror. They both look tired and done, ready for a few more hours of sleep in a comfortable bed.
2. Their relationship has changed, at least from the point of view of Charles’ childhood friends.
This is routine now.
They’ve shared a lot of flights home since last season, and while other drivers and people who fly with Max usually go their separate ways once they reach Nice, Max and Charles have shared a car to Monaco for some time now.
Charles doesn’t even remember how it happened, but now he sees no point in driving separately to Monaco if they’re going to the same place.
When Charles first got Leo, Max was the one who recommended a pet sitter for when Charles wouldn’t be home, and as much as Charles insisted on bringing Leo with him to certain races, there were definitely times when that wasn’t possible.
The first time that situation presented itself, Charles didn’t even think about asking his mom to look after Leo, he just asked Max if he would like to bring the cats to his place so the pet sitter would only have to stay in one place instead of going between apartments during the time.
Max agreed, mentioning how he didn’t want the best pet-sitter to be stolen by Charles and Leo, and from that moment on they’ve taken turns on whose apartment the pets stay in when they’re gone, resulting in being the first place they go to first when they get to Monaco.
As soon as they make it through the door, Leo comes running to greet them, followed by Jimmy while Sassy just comes out of her hiding spot and remains sitting just outside the kitchen, watching the scene in front of her unfold.
“Oh my god I missed you so much!” Because if there is one thing that will get Max out of any mood no matter how tired or mad he is, are the pets. “Oh yes, I’m back, and I don’t plan on going anywhere now that I’m free from that awful season” Max is telling Leo as he picks him up and raises him in front of him, looking eye to eye at the pup.
It was a weekday, they were on break between races and Charles had used this time to finally go pick up the puppy he had just gotten. He decided to have some friends over so they could meet the tiny dachshund but also because it was a great excuse to invite Max over and have two sides of his world finally merging.
Anthoine was taking some pictures of the sleeping puppy when he heard the knock on the door.
Everyone who he had invited was already there, so he was certain it was Max and before he could go and open the door, he turned to his friends, and with a simple look reminded everyone of the talk he had had with them earlier: play nice. Don’t scare Max away.
However, he should’ve known better because as soon as Charles opened the door, Joris was right by his side,
“Max! Hello! Long time no see,” and went to give Max a hug which was returned with an awkward glance from Max to Charles over Joris’ shoulder. Sure, Joris and Max had met before given that he was an official member of his team, however they had never held a conversation that lasted longer than 10 sentences and consisted only on the weather conditions for the race they were in.
“Okay, let Max breathe, he didn’t come here for you to strangle him” Charles said and Joris only turned, grinned at both of them and went back into the leaving room, leaving Max and Charles alone.
“First of all I want to apologize for anything they say before they open their mouths. Please know that I was young when we met and didn’t know how to judge character, so now I’m stuck with them.” Charles stated and Max laughed at him, staying silent for a good 10 seconds with a glint on his eyes that Charles knew only was there when he was about to take a dig at him,
“You forget, Charlie,” Max started as he followed the direction Joris had gone in, Charles thinking that Max in his apartment was a view he could get used to, “that I knew you back then too.” Once he was in the living room, Charles having followed him as if he was the guest, and everyone could hear, he continued, “and if they were a menace, you were the same, and even worse.”
And how could Charles do anything else than laugh at that and stare back at Max, still with that look on his face, clearly making sure everyone remembered their history. Because even if the people who were in Charles’ apartment at that moment were those closest to him, Max had been in Charles’ life for longer than some of them.
And isn’t it beautiful how they’ve made it through all these years?
“Come on Charles, you tell us to play nice and he comes and brags about he’s known you for longer?” Anthoine took Charles out of his mind and, Max being Max, just answered
“Ah Anthoine, don’t worry I’m not here to steal Charles from you. What I’ll be doing though,” he reassured as he walked towards Charles’ friend and took the little ball of fur out his hands, “is become this puppy's favorite human.”
Max started rubbing the puppy’s belly as the most dreaded question of the afternoon came out of his mouth, “so, what’s his name?”
Everyone turned to look at Charles because no one knew, he had yet to make introductions.
And at that moment, with everyone looking promptly at him, he knew he fucked up.
He should have never merged these two sides of his world together.
“His name is Leo”
Because Charles will always remember Ricardo’s loud cackle that came after that and even more the image of Max holding a sleeping Leo with the softest smile on his face looking at Charles.
Charles finds it captivating the way Max basks in all the attention Leo is giving him and vice versa when the feel of something soft rubbing on him makes him look down to find Sassy has come to greet him.
It is funny to him how his dog has gone first to greet Max while Max’s cat is purring to get Charles attention. One would say they got the pets confused, but it has always been like this since they started coming home together. The cats greet Charles while Leo revels in all the love Max wants to give him.
Maybe it translates to Max needing to be extra cuddly after being so guarded during race weekends and Charles needing some peace and quiet to decompress after all the attention has been on him, that the animals know who to go to.
Maybe it is just that they’re always with their owner and now they want the other’s attention.
Whatever it is, Charles wouldn’t have it any other way, having turned into a cat and dog person himself through Max. Not that he would ever admit that to the dutchman, still too fond of the small facts Max throws at him every once in a while about why cats should get more credit as the superior animal between the two.
“Okay, enough of all this,” Charles says, both cats now back on the floor after they’re done with being held, “I’ll get our stuff to the laundry room while you make sure these beasts have enough food to let us rest, I’m still tired and need my sleep”
Max only mutters a grumble, just like a little kid would, but Charles ignores him and gets on with what he said he was gonna do. It is only after he’s put the backpacks on the entrance closet and secured both suitcases that Max actually gets up from the floor, and shaking Leo’s tiny hairs from him that he answers,
“Do you want me to pick a movie or will you just fall asleep as soon as it starts?”
Charles is already walking away, throwing over his shoulder,
“I’m not watching a movie, you can go to the couch and watch one, just let me sleep peacefully in a bed”
“Bed it is!” Max yells and Charles turns his focus to the task at hand. Doing laundry straight away after coming home after a long trip is just his perfect and preferred first step towards a relaxing time at home.
3. Their relationship has changed, at least from the point of view of Max’s family.
Charles doesn’t know when he got used to waking up like this.
Max is wrapped around him, Charles’ back pressed into Max and the grasp Charles has on Max’s hands is strong.
Max didn’t end up watching a movie on the couch, rather he went to bed too and put Harry Potter on the tv there, sound turned off so that it wouldn’t bother Charles who was out like a light in less than 5 minutes.
Charles stays where he is and tries to guess what time it is. They went to bed around 7:30am, his suspicion is that they must have been asleep longer than a couple hours judging by how the tv is now showing the second movie of Harry Potter.
He’s not well rested but he’s also not as tired as he was before, so he just basks in the warmth Max is providing and tries to fall back asleep, however his plans are interrupted by his phone going off with a string of messages.
Maman 11:07am
Bonjour, mon petit
I suppose you’re home now
Are you and Max coming to dinner later?
Charles disentangles himself from Max and gets up, leaving the room so he can call his mother without waking the other man up,
“Charles, hi honey,” she greets him, “I didn’t know if you were still resting, how was the flight back home?”
“Hi mom, I just woke up, Max is still sleeping,” Charles says while walking through the apartment, going straight to the balcony and opening the door to let some fresh air in. Jimmy takes the opportunity and makes a run for the window, settling on one of the lounge chairs while Charles sits beside him in the other one, “it was good, we left as soon as we could.”
“I’m glad to hear that, you boys only have a few days left of responsibilities and then you’ll be able to rest more, you both need it. So, will I see you later?” She insists, and as much as Charles would love to just stay home and do nothing for the rest of the day, he also knows his mom has missed him these past three weeks, so he assures her he’ll be there and that he’ll ask Max about it, not knowing if he would rather to actually stay and rest.
Pascale is asking about Arthur when Charles hears Jimmy’s soft meow at being picked up and soon after Max is sitting in the chair, putting Jimmy on his lap who just curls and goes back to sleep.
Charles can’t stop the smile that forms as Max mouths a “good morning” and rests his hand on Charle’s knee.
“Yes maman, je t’aime aussi, bye.” Charles finishes up his call and Max is quick to ask what Pascale had called for,
“She wants us to go get dinner at her place, you don’t have to go. I can understand if you’d rather stay here and just sleep, that’s what I want to do. I’ll bring Leo and maybe go back to my place.” Charles says, offering Max an out from this dinner, but all he receives is a scoff from Max,
“As if,” he starts rubbing circles on Charles’ leg, “I know Pascale will make our favorite dishes for dinner if she knows we’re coming, and I’m not passing up the opportunity to spend some time with her at home, I missed her.” And with that gives Charles’ leg a final pat and gets up.
“Let’s get ready, we can pick up some flowers for her on our way there.”
And Max disappears through the doors, going surely to take a shower and start getting ready to have dinner at Charles’ childhood home.
And that’s the thing.
Once Max and Charles started getting closer, no one questioned it. Everyone just moved along to whatever they were doing, navigating the confusing relationship they had and adapting to whatever stage they were in at the moment.
From drivers, to their childhood friends, until it reached their families.
Pascale now asks about Max and celebrates his victories as much as she does with Charles’, she’s always making sure both of them visit her before triple headers so she can cut their hair and welcomes Max with open arms whenever they’re in Monaco and Charles is invited to have dinner at her place with his brothers.
And it goes both ways.
Sophie has welcomed both of them at her house before the Dutch GP twice, whenever she calls Max on FaceTime she asks him to put Charles on so he can show Leo to her and talk about dog stuff, Charles was even one of the first people who knew about Victoria’s last pregnancy and also one of the firsts to meet baby Hailey back in June.
To say he was nervous would be an understatement.
Charles had known for weeks he was gonna be there, however he never pictured what an event it was, after all Max had also been one of the first people to meet Leo.
But maybe comparing a dog to Max’s niece wasn’t Charles’ brightest idea to try and calm his nerves.
The thing had been that Max had been talking about his new niece for so long and with so much love that Charles already felt an urge to know her. So when Max mentioned he was visiting his family during summer break and Charles threatened him in exchange of photos of baby Hailey, Max only looked up from his phone and said,
“Well you could always come with me and meet her.”
And then, just like that, there was Charles.
About to get out of the car and being so fucking close to having a panic attack because what right did he have to be meeting Max’s niece for the same time at the same time as him?
Max must have felt the tension coming off of Charles because he wasn’t getting out of the car either, and that was something because the day was hot and they had been traveling for hours and Max must have wanted to get inside and meet Hailey as soon as they got on the driveway.
But he was still there,
“Charlie,” Max’s hand was on Charles’ knee in an instant, making him jump but not being able to move it from where it rested, “are you okay?”
And the look of worry Max was giving Charles was enough to make him blurt out what was on his mind,
“Why am I here? Max, why didn’t you stop me? This is ridiculous!” Charles started rambling. And sure, trying to put the blame on Max wasn’t the nice thing to do, it’s not as if he had forced Charles to go from Monaco to Nice, to then get on an airplane, and get in the car from the airport to that point.
Whatever, Charles was panicking.
“You don’t want to be here?” Max chose to say instead of acknowledging what Charles asked.
“I want to be here, Max, but I don’t know if I should.” He responded honestly.
“And why shouldn’t you be here? I invited you, no?” Max turned fully on his seat and was facing Charles, so he did the same, finally bringing himself to look from his hands to Max.
“Yes, I know. But this is important. You’re meeting Hailey and this is something you should cherish with your family, I’m here just because I practically made you invite me! I’m terrible!” And he was right back to panicking.
“Charlie, breathe.” Was Max’s instruction, and he did.
After one deep breath Charles was looking at Max again, so he continued,
“I invited you because I wanted you to be here, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. You know me, and you know I value my family higher than anything else in my life. Of course I know this moment is important. It was important when I met Luka and it was important when I met Lio. And because I know how important it is, I asked you to come with me.”
Charles could do nothing else than softly whisper Max’s name.
“Charlie, you have nothing to worry about. No one thinks you’re intruding if that is what’s worrying you.” Max brought his other hand to cup Charles’ face, “you know, when I told mom and Vic you were coming with me, they got more excited than they had been seconds earlier when I told them I was coming. They know you. They admire and respect you.You’re not a stranger to them, you’ve never been.”
“So they will not think I’m here to try to sabotage you in some way so I can win the Championship?”
“No, you idiot.” Max rolled his eyes, “they don’t actually think you’re using me and for the record, I don’t think that either. So stop worrying.”
“And you’re not using me?” Charles asked and it was just to keep the joke going but there was nothing left of the joke on Max’s face,
“I would never” He simply answered.
“Me neither” Charles couldn’t not emphasize it again.
“I know, schat. And now that we’ve cleared up that no one is using anyone now nor in the future, can we go inside? I’m dying to meet Hailey now.”
Charles laughed and opened his door, turning to Max with a daring look, “well you’re the one still sitting there, I’m going inside” and with that he ran to the door and knocked.
The door opened just as Max caught up to him and at the same time a loud scream made them both turn to the door,
“You’re Charles! Charles Leclerc! Mama, a Ferrari driver is here!” Little Luka yelled just as Victoria reached the door, Sophie a few steps behind her daughter with Hailey in her arms.
“Luka, don’t open the door without me next time.”
And while Luka had done an amazingly good job at taking Charles’ mind off his intrusive thoughts, when Victoria looked at him all those feelings and doubts came back, only to be gone again when Sophie exclaimed from behind “Oh Charles, what a pleasure having you here! You haven’t changed a bit, you look exactly like the boy I knew”
“Mama, if he hadn’t changed, he wouldn’t be here with this weirdo right now.” Victoria said and Max scoffed, feigning offense but squeezing Charles hand. “Seriously Max, you need to tell us how you tricked Charles into liking you, he’s too sweet for you.”
And honestly, Charles never saw it coming, but coming to Max’s defense was going to become a completely normal thing for him to do. However, that first time came as a surprise. If not for everyone (because Sophie and Victoria just brushed it off), then at least for him and Max who just short-circuited when he said,
“He has his moments too, being my biggest cheerleader this season makes up for his terrible sense of humor.”
A couple hours later they’re at his mom’s place, Max is hugging her while Charles goes to look for a vase to put the flowers Max insisted on buying in.
While he’s in the kitchen, he sees that his mother has indeed made both of their favorite meals and if he’s not wrong, there will also be tiramisu in the fridge waiting for them. He’s so glad to be here, in one of the places he feels most safe and loved in, with his favorite people.
He hears the soft voices of Max and his mom move from the entrance to the living room, where they keep talking while the front door opens once again.
Charles didn’t know Lorenzo and Charlotte would be here as well and he’s relieved. He loves his mom but he doesn’t think he can keep a conversation going at the moment and he knows with more people there, he will be able to fade in the back more easily.
There are a lot of greetings and hugs being given around him and once they bring the food out and start settling down on their seats, Max sitting beside Charles as he always does, he feels Max squeezing his knee, a silent question wondering how he’s feeling.
Charles gives him a reassuring smile and a single nod, letting Max know that while he might be tired, he is happy they’re here, that he’s here.
Max takes that as sign enough to be able to say what comes next,
“I think we should start by making a toast to Charlie’s awesome drive from p19 to p3,” he says as he raises his glass and Charles can feel his face getting warmer.
It’s one thing to have the media talking about your driving and saying how impressive it was, but it is another thing having a 4th time world champion praising you in front of your closest people at a simple dinner.
Charles shrugs it off with a roll of his eyes, but still he raises his glass as well as everyone else,
“To Charles!” His mom, Lorenzo and Charlotte say in unison and clink their glasses, the smile Max gives him warms his heart for a whole lot other reasons than being embarrassed.
4. Their relationship has changed, at least from the point of view of outsiders.
Home is always the best idea.
Once they’re done with dinner and dessert and his mom urges them all to the couch to take some pictures, Charles and Max cut their night short and start saying their goodbyes, both too tired to stay out late even if it's just in Pascale’s place.
They drove here in Charles' car, having left it at Max’s place when he got Leo to his place, and once they get to where he parked, Max goes straight to the driver's side, knowing too well how much Charles hates driving after eating too much.
And they had just done that, finally, thanks to the delicious dinner prepared by his mom.
“Do you need to get something from your place? We can make a quick stop before heading back home.” Max offers and Charles thinks nothing of the phrasing or how Max referred to his apartment as home, instead going through his mind to think about anything he might need. He has a feeling he’ll spend this couple days at Max’s before flying to Maranello.
“Oh yes,” Charles remembers, “I promised the guys back at the factory I’d bring them some clothes from the clothing line so they could see it. It’s already all packed so I just need to grab the box.” And Max starts driving towards the direction of Charles’ building.
“Don’t you want to pack your things before going to Maranello? Aren’t you flying straight from there to the gala?” Max asks and Charles hadn’t even thought about that, figuring he has a lot of his clothes over at Max’s place just like Max has some of his at his place. Also sure that Ferrari will give him the suit he’ll be using at the gala.
“Oh yeah, sure. I’ll grab some stuff for that as well.” Charles agrees and turns up the music, some instrumental they always put on their drives to either be relaxed in a comfortable silence together or having as background sound when they’re having a conversation. Right now, it is the former.
They make it to Charles' apartment in less than 15 minutes, Max parking effortlessly in one of the many spots Charles has in the building for his multiple cars and waiting for Charles to reach him at the elevator.
They’re quick on what they need to do, Charles instructing Max what to get for him and Max throwing it all in a duffel bag that is actually his and left sometime he was over with the cats.
Charles finds the box with the clothes and after one quick inspection -from Max’s part- of the plants in Charles apartment, they’re back in the car, this time going to Max’s place.
Max parks in front of the building, giving the keys to the valet so he can take out the box full of clothes and before he can get to the entrance, Eric comes out and takes the box off Max’s hands,
“Here boy, let me help you.” He says and starts walking inside and now that Max is not carrying anything, he takes the duffel bag from Charles without saying a word and follows Eric inside.
“Ah Max, I have a couple of packages for you that were left during the week, do you want me to bring them up with this one as well?” Eric asks,
“I didn’t order anything?” Max asks, confused, “but sure, bring them up. Do you know who they’re from?”
“Oh they were both addressed to Mr. Leclerc actually,” Eric says and goes into a small room just beside the front desk, coming out with two big boxes, “I assumed I could keep them here and not send the delivery guy back with them”.
Max turns to Charles who has been feigning innocence since Eric mentioned the packages, his plan to come get them from the doorman later now clearly ruined. Max doesn’t need to know that what Eric is holding are two of the Christmas gifts Charles has bought for him.
“Oh, you’re now filling up my apartment with delivery boxes? You know that I will actually make you bring them down so we can throw them away? I’m not letting you fill my place with those boxes with the promise that we will use them some day.” Max is saying once the three of them start walking towards the elevator.
Eric laughs, coming to Charles’ defense,
“Don’t worry Charles, just leave them outside the door and I’ll come pick them and throw them out” And winks at Charles, who just laughs and smiles at the doorman while Max rolls his eyes at how obvious it is the adoration Eric feels towards Charles.
Charles had been on the hunt for a new piano for months.
Granted, he had one at home and he loved it, but now he wanted one for his place in Maranello. Not as pretty and expensive as the Steinway he already had, but something that feels just as classic as that one and which would do the job of letting him get lost in the music whenever he needed it.
That’s why he ended up going to the same place to look at what options they had, this time with some company.
A couple days before Max had insisted Charles needed someone to hold him back from getting a piano that would be too expensive and cause too much trouble to get to Italy, not fully understanding why Charles needed another piano there, when he was in Maranello even less time than he was in Monaco.
So they had reached some middle ground with Max coming with Charles to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid and Max could not complain about how long they took in the store.
Once they entered the store, the same seller who had received Charles that first time greeted him. He had called earlier asking if they had time to show him some of their most simple pianos and asked specifically for her.
“Mr. Leclerc,” She approached them with a bright smile, her eyes making a double take at Max but keeping her professional composure the next second, “we’re so glad to have you back, I see you brought someone with you”
Max shuffled a bit on his feet, trying to mask the anxiety he must be feeling at being openly acknowledged.
“Hello Anna, yes, he said I needed a restraint,” Charles offered, “but maybe I also brought him so he can buy it for me.” The joke made Max chuckle and that was the thing he was aiming for, making sure Max felt comfortable with being there.
After that Anna proceeded to show them some pianos that could easily be sent to Italy without much of a hassle and Charles even played a couple of them.
During all the time Max didn’t complain once as he said he would if they were there for more than an hour. They had been there for almost three hours by the time Charles selected the one he wanted and paid for it, making sure both Anna and Max knew he never expected for Max to pay when the Dutchman brought back the joke.
Once they were all done with the details for the delivery, Anna stopped them before they could leave,
“Excuse me, my son is a really huge fan of both of you,” she started, “honestly I can’t listen to one of your names without the other following in the next sentence” that statement made Charles feel some kind of way.
When he turned to look at Max, he could see the fond expression he had too, listening intently to what Anna was saying, “and he will kill me if he sees you were both here and I didn’t take the chance to get your autographs for him.”
“Oh sure, we would love to sign something for him,” Max answered, and while Anna went to retrieve some paper and pen for them, he turned to Charles, “who do you think her son roots for more, me or you?” Because of course Max had to make everything a competition.
Charles scoffed, “me, of course. If he’s a real monegasque he knows the better driver.” he assured Max.
Once Anna was back, she handed the piece of paper to Charles first, who signed it with a messy:
To Samuel, thanks for your constant support! keep being a nice kid to your mom and do as she says, remember, she always knows best! ;) - Charles Lec.
After finishing , he passed the paper to Max, who turned to the counter to write. He took a little longer and returned the paper to Anna, who after reading it turned to Max and said “Oh you’ve given this kid a reason to never shut up, Max! I’m really happy he has you two to look up to”
And that picked up Charles' curiosity, he wanted to see what Max wrote. Anna, seeing right through him, passed the paper to Charles and in Max’s neat handwriting it said:
Samuel, Charles and I value your support so much. You chose a great duo to support because if I’m not winning it, I want Charles to win it too. We’ll be happy to have you and your mom at some race with us! (think which garage you’d like to visit) - Max V
Charles couldn’t contain the grin that took up his entire face, feeling his heart warm at Max’s words and the freedom and ease with which he wrote them. He turned to him and saw the blush that was forming on the Dutchman's face, he looked so cute. But Charles couldn’t comment on it, knowing it would only make Max aware of how much he was giving of himself and making him close off.
Rather, he took out his phone and took a picture of the note still in his hands, “for future reference,” he joked and Anna laughed along with him.
“It’s so nice seeing you be so close off track and clean rivals on track. Have a nice day”
And with that Max made sure to get Anna’s contact information so someone on the team could contact them and have both, Samuel and her over for a race.
They said their goodbyes and turned to the exit, Charles not missing his chance to send the photo to the group chat they have with their trainers for shared workout sessions
Charles Lec 1:03pm
<<photo attachment>>
you read it here first
Andrea F 1:05pm
Are these breaking news to you???
Rupert M 1:07pm
Oh, do we have to act like we didn’t know?
What a surprise Charles!
Max, who had been reading the texts over his shoulder as they arrived, shaked his head and rolled his eyes fondly at Charles, then added to what both men had just said,
“Honestly Charlie, as if you needed more evidence of how I think”
Once Charles has convinced Max he doesn’t feel like opening his packages right now, they settle on continuing watching the series they started at the beginning of the triple header.
While Max heads off to the kitchen to grab some snacks for them, Charles goes looking for Leo or a cat, knowing he wants someone to cuddle with while they watch TV.
Soon he’s back in the living room, he was able to trick Sassy out of her cozy bed with some treats and has taken her with him, changing his clothes as well in the process, Max pointing out the obvious,
“At this point it won’t surprise me when you walk out of my room wearing a Red Bull hoodie, you know?” Charles shrugs him off, knowing he can’t fight against that because if a Red Bull hoodie has been worn by Max and has his scent all over it, then Charles will wear it. And Max knows this as well, no point in making a huge deal out of it.
Max just laughs and lifts up the blanket that’s on his lap so Charles can sit beside him. He goes and settles as close as he can to Max, making sure Sassy is also comfortable in his lap.
Max drops the blanket over them and covers Sassy up, knowing the cat loves snuggling under blankets and sweaters, and then proceeds to start the tv show, putting the bowl of popcorn on his lap and wrapping his arm around Charles.
5. Their relationship has changed, at least from the point of view of social media.
They’re three episodes in by the time the pets start meowing and barking asking for food, so Max gets up and goes to feed all of them. Charles takes the opportunity to stand up as well, realizing just now how long they’ve been sitting on the couch.
“Gianni just texted me asking if we wanted to play something, are you up for it?” Max comes back from the room where they usually feed the pets, texting what Charles assumes is a reply to Gianni.
During summer break, when Charles spent a full week holed up in Max’s apartment because he got sick and Max insisted on taking care of him, it became normal for him to join in on the gaming with Max and his friends.
Never when Team Redline was streaming but often when they connected to play something just for fun, Max and Charles setting up a second desk for Charles to be able to play comfortably while being there.
“Hmm, I’m up for watching you play, but not really playing myself.” He says and with that picks up the blanket they were using and moves to the sim room, knowing there is a comfy chair where he’ll be able to sit while Max plays.
He brings his laptop with him to go over some photos Anthoine sent him from the triple header so he can decide what to post tonight. Yesterday Anthoine had posted the official race week dump he usually does, but the personal dumps are his favorite thing to do and he enjoys choosing the photos and the caption that will go on his feed, his Instagram perfectly curated of the person Charles lets everyone see.
Every once in a while he asks Max what he thinks about certain photos and one time he makes Max lose focus of the game making him and Chris lose.
“Come on mate, focus.” Charles hears Chris say and because Max has no headphones on, knows they are able to hear Charles too and offers up an apology,
“Sorry Chris, that was me, he’s helping me go through some photos for instagram”
“Charles, you’ve been there the whole time? Is Maxy going to make you into your official dump? Are guys finally following each other?” That is Gianni trying to stir things up between Max and Charles, but they’ve both had this discussion enough times to know each other’s answer and they don’t disappoint this time,
“I’m gonna follow Max once he follows me”
“And I’m gonna follow Charlie here once he admits his account has gotten more followers since he posted the first dump with me on it”
Charles turns back to his laptop, not dignifying what Max said with a response and instead going on Instagram to look at the picture Max is just talking about.
Charles had asked Max to pick him up because he knew he would be too tired to drive, and also because whenever Max knew Charles had an extra exhausting day, he would greet the monegasque with his favorite meal from his preferred Italian restaurant.
However, Charles didn’t know they would take longer than planned, and so when Max texted him that he was already outside of the studio the photoshoot was taking place, Charles asked him to come inside and wait for him there.
To give it to him, Max did try to enter the place without making any noise, but he’s Max Verstappen and anywhere he goes, people are gonna look at him, so while Charles was in the middle of following the instructions of the photographer, all heads turned towards the door to watch Max’s entrance.
“Charles, you can take a break and then we’ll go with the last outfit and we’re done,” the director instructed, “everyone take 5.”
He went to Max to apologize for making him wait, which Max only dismissed, giving him an awkward side hug.
It had been long since they shared their first proper hug after a race and Charles had gotten so used to receiving them lately. But those were always reserved for when they’re alone, in the quiet of their apartments or a hotel room after not seeing the other during a long day.
In public they’re still awkward colleagues trying to walk around the other, and Charles wouldn’t have it any other way if he still got to cuddle Max during a late night watching movies.
Charles went to change for the next shoot and once they were finally done, he went back to where his clothes and the rest of his stuff was.
Max had followed him and having known Charles wouldn’t have brought anything to cover up this late, he offered the jacket he had been wearing and Charles basked on the scent of Max surrounding him, ready to finally go home.
Once they got to Max’s apartment and while Max got everything ready for dinner, Charles went to the living room to say hello to whichever pet was there, and once he settled on the couch with Jimmy on his lap, he started scrolling on his phone.
The first thing he saw was that his name was trending, which didn’t surprise anymore, but the second thing he saw was trending was the so called lestappen tag, so he clicked on it like he did every time he saw it.
And of course.
While doing the shoot they had asked if they could post a story that had both him and Max on it, and they both agreed, thinking there would be no damage done. But how wrong had they been, because he could already hear Silvia’s words about how he could bring back all those rumors of him going to Red Bull, (which to be fair were stupid because anyone who knew him, knows he would never leave Ferrari.)
Most of the tweets were reposts of the same video where Charles was standing side by side with the photographer looking through some of the photos they had just taken, they were huddled close looking at the computer. But once the angle of the video changed, you could see Max was standing right behind Charles. In that moment, Charles turned to him and while you couldn’t hear what Charles said, it was obvious how Max agreed to something and it made Charles giggle, and once he turned back to the computer, if you looked close enough, (which some fans absolutely did) there was a slight blush on Charles face.
Charles always had a great time going through tweets and speculations that fans made, sue him for wanting to know what people thought about his relationship with Max.
Charles & Max Updates @leclerc_verstappen1633 2h
Max was filmed in the studio where Charles was having a photoshoot today. The brand has worked with Charles in the past but never with Max.
Are we witnessing a brand deal with both drivers being the face of the brand?
[video attachment]
79 Replies | 137 Retweets | 513 Likes
|
Lena needs the wdc @Lenaaaa33 2h
I’m sorry to break it to you but Max would never have a brand deal where he is asked to do as many photoshoots as Charles has done with them. He didn’t go there willingly.
5 Replies | 32 Retweets | 21 Likes
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Addie Loves Charles @Adeleine_lo16 1h
Okay, but are we gonna act like Charles invites every driver to photoshoots with him????
33 Replies | 52 Retweets | 136 Likes
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Sophie (Taylor’s Version) @fearlessx1989 1h
Actually, Taylor Swift has a song about this,
And we kept everything professional
But something's changed.
19 Replies | 27 Retweets | 89 Likes
Charles decided to have a little bit of fun, give them something else, so once they were done with dinner, he passed his phone to Max who was used to going over Charles’ dumps before he posted them, but this time it had already been posted.
charles_leclerc
[Photo Carousel: Photo 1: Charles having his makeup done before the shooting starts, he’s laughing and the person who is doing his make up is also laughing. Photo 2: It is a photo of the camera that is pointed at Charles who is blurry in the background. Photo 3: Charles in the middle of changing his outfit, he’s shirtless and buttoning his pants, he has just one sock on. Photo 4: Charles is back in his normal outfit, sweatpants on and a white shirt, Max is holding up a jacket, helping Charles put it on.]
Liked by pierregasly and others
charles_leclerc It was bring your friend to work day
view all 2,316 comments
joris__trouche wow, I’ve been replaced
andferrari007 and aren’t you glad?
4everlestappen3316 did you say friends??
max_charles_f1world @4everlestappen3316 like sure honey, let’s pretend this is not a hard launch of your bf 🤨
f1 rivals on track 🤝 friends off track. We love to see it 🏎
inchident1633 THE JACKET??? ISN’T THAT THE ONE MAX HAD ON THE VIDEO???
For being one of his least curated dumps it gets plenty of likes.
“Okay, we’re done, ready to go to sleep or are you not tired now?” Max asks, already having turned off his computer and looking at Charles expectantly.
They get up and start getting ready for bed, Charles following his 14 step skin care routine and Max brushing his teeth and following the routine Charles has given him which only consists of four steps. Charles has been thinking lately he can add two more products to it without Max noticing.
While Charles is still applying some serum, Max asks about his instagram post, and Charles passes him his phone so Max can go over the post which already has thousands of likes and comments on it
“Oh look, I made it here!” Max turns the phone to show to Charles as if he wasn’t the one who put the photo in there, “You could’ve posted one in which I was looking at the camera you know.” Charles says nothing, knowing Max just saw the first one and hasn’t reached the last picture of the dump.
Max keeps commenting on every photo and then he stays quiet for a few seconds before double tapping on Charles' screen and setting his phone back where it was charging.
“If I were following you, I would’ve liked that post, you know? maybe also add something to go along with the caption” and then proceeds to leave a kiss on Charles forehead and exit the bathroom, leaving a confused Charles staring back at him in the reflection.
charles_leclerc
[Photo Carousel: Photo 1: Charles is doing his seat test for the last race, there’s a plushie of a cat on the halo of the car. Photo 2: Charles and Pierre sitting at the dinner table, Charles is showing something on his phone to Pierre and the Frenchman is laughing at whatever is on the screen. Photo 3: Charles and Andrea are turning away from the camera, watching Max and Rupert in an intense reaction exercise with tennis balls. Photo 4: Charles pre-race, focused gaze and listening intently to what Bryan is telling him. Photo 5: Charles after the podium, holding his 3rd place trophy with Arthur on his side, both Leclercs have huge grins on their faces. Photo 6: A shot of the sky, taken from the window seat of the plane, the city below illuminated by the street lights in an otherwise night sky. Photo 7: It is a photo in Pascale’s living room, sitting on the couch are Charlotte, Lorenzo, Max and Charles. Lorenzo is holding up a picture frame with a photo of Arthur on it. Photo 8: A selfie of Max and Charles, sitting on the same couch, Charles is grinning so much while Max has a soft smile on his face.]
Liked by francolapinto and others
charles_leclerc Signing off this season on a high with my favorite people but eager to be back home with my family.
view all 1,631 comments
oscarpiastri @arthur_leclerc honestly I would’ve taken the opportunity to not have you in that picture at all
arthur_leclerc @oscarpiastri 🖕🖕🖕
pierregasly proud of you calamar, that was an awesome season. now on to relax a little!!
max_charles_f1world oh to be Max Verstappen and have Charles look that happy when he’s with you
4everlestappen3316 @max_charles_f1world well, at least he’s been promoted to family instead of just friend 🧐
+1 Their relationship won't ever change.
Charles wakes up just like the day before, with Max wrapped around him and their hands somehow still intertwined where Charles held them yesterday when they were talking before falling asleep.
He realizes it’s still early by the soft light that is entering through the curtains and decides to try and make the most of this last whole day of freedom before he goes to Maranello. That thought makes him get up and go to the kitchen in search of something to cook for breakfast.
He’s sipping on his coffee when he feels an arm around his waist, Max bringing him closer to him and holding him there for a few seconds. He is still warm from the covers he had around him just a couple of minutes ago and then suddenly, as soon as it came, the touch is gone and Charles is left needing more.
“Morning Charlie,” Max greets through a yawn and goes over to the fridge to get himself a glass of orange juice. Charles is still grateful for the coffee machine Max decided to get once Charles started being a constant visit at his place even when he himself doesn’t drink any. “Why are we up so early?”
“Well, I’m up because I was planning on bringing you breakfast to bed, but now that you’ve ruined it you must be up to feed your children.” And as if he understood what Charles said, Leo starts jumping, asking Max to pick him up, which he does.
“Okay, come on you little demon, you heard dad, breakfast time”
As Max leaves with Leo to feed them all he is thinking how a fourth pet would make no difference. Max has been talking about wanting to get a third cat, and while Charles is in no position to either grant or deny him permission to do so, Max has asked what he thinks for a few times now. He just can’t wait to see Max’s face as he opens his Christmas present, everything is set for the 25th to go pick up the new member of Max’s family.
-
“You know maman will expect you to be there on Christmas Eve, right? She’s still mad at me for not bringing you last year” Charles says as they’re eating their breakfast. Charles decided to make them some eggs and spoil them with waffles and all kinds of toppings he could find in Max’s kitchen.
“Yes I know,” Max answers while trying to decide what to put on his first waffle, “She asked me yesterday about it. Told her I had yet to receive an invitation.”
“Maaaax,” Charles whines, because now he is sure his mom won’t let it go that he didn’t invite Max earlier, “you’ve known about that dinner for months, you even planned to be here rather than at your mom’s”
“Who said I was staying in Monaco for you? I could just want to stay here with the cats because I still have no plans for that day.”
“But you won’t be staying here, you’re coming with me, with us” Charles prompts,
“If you want me there, I will be there. But you still haven’t asked me, Charlie.” Max laughs and why is he making it so difficult for him?
“Max, do you want to come spend Christmas Eve with me and my family?” He gives in because he won’t risk Max not being there just because he couldn’t ask a direct question.
“I would love to,”
“And Christmas day also, but that would just be us.” Charles hurries to say before Max can say anything else, “would you also like to do that?”
Max looks at him with a question in his eyes, and for a moment Charles thinks he will say he already has plans or how he doesn’t want to intrude in Charles’ plans anymore. As if he was a bother at all.
But instead he answers
“I would love nothing more. I was gonna ask anyway, kinda have to make a drive to pick up your Christmas present.”
And that makes Charles’ heart stop. Because why would they need to drive to get Charles’ gift?
Max wouldn’t be thinking about gifting the same thing to Charles, right?
Right????
-
They finish eating and they get up, cleaning the table and taking the plates back to the kitchen, where they start with the little routine they have built over the months. Charles goes to the sink and starts doing the dishes while Max cleans the counters and gets things back into the fridge, cleaning away what’s expired and just organizing stuff that’s left out.
And here, right now, Charles can sense it too.
A change everyone has been talking and asking him about. Because the first thing he needed once he got out of the car in Abu Dhabi was to be with Max. To have him close, breathe his scent in and hear his voice.
He just wanted Max.
Charles knows that as much as people say their relationship has changed through the years and maybe a bit more in the last couple of years, there has always been one constant.
And so he throws any doubt out the window and says what’s on his mind, on his heart.
“Thank you, Max, for always being here. I love you."
And it’s just like that, amid all those changes and the calm, a Tuesday morning while doing the dishes in Max’s kitchen, he realizes he’s always loved Max Verstappen. It’s not the biggest and craziest revelation he’s had.
Because that love has always been there, it has just manifested in different ways throughout the years, but it has never not existed.
It was present as care and worry for the Dutch boy who always seemed lonely at the track.
Charles felt it on that phone call he received a week after the hardest day of his life.
It was there when Charles unfollowed Max on social media to try and get him out of his mind.
It never left when they finally got the chance to race wheel to wheel in 2022.
It started changing once again after one late night call after a particularly hard race for Charles, and honestly, the rest is history in the making.
Charles feels Max’s presence behind him before he’s wrapping his arms around him, same as when he first came into the kitchen earlier, but this time his hold is stronger and Max nuzzles his head in Charles’ neck.
“I’m always going to be here, Charlie” Max says, grip still tight on Charles’ waist as he kisses his neck, “and I love you.”