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When Jordan woke up from her daily nap, she felt much more excited than she usually would have - which wasn’t at all hard to achieve, since she tended to be very grumpy and irritated whenever she woke up, didn't matter if she’d slept for ten hours or ten minutes.
But today, Max had promised her that Charles would be back by the time her nap was over and Jordan had really been looking forward to having her second dad back.
They went to almost every race with Charles - neither Jordan nor Max being able to stand being away from him for more than a couple of hours - but this time they’d skipped a weekend. Max had argued it was because it was the first of a triple header and they’d be traveling enough, but what he’d kept from his daughter was that the country the race took place in wasn’t really that far with the human rights development yet. Having their whole family there wouldn't exactly have been a welcome sight.
So Charles had gone by himself, calling with them every night, but it just wasn’t the same.
Jordan happily skipped down the stairs, stuffed lion tucked under her arm and as soon as she heard Charles’ laugh form the living room, she jumped the last two steps, running the last couple feet as she hit the ground. The door was open, allowing her to take a peek inside first.
Thank fuck! Because instead of her two dads sitting there, talking and drinking a glass of wine, like they normally would, Jordan found Charles opposite of Oscar and Ollie, the three of them wrapped up in some nonsense conversation.
Frowning Jordan took a step back, making it impossible for anyone in the living room to spot her, but still letting her watch the men. It gave her a moment to sort out her feelings - plenty of those swirling around inside her.
The most prominent emotion was a stinging irritation, making her clutch her hands into fists, hanging down at her sides. It just didn’t make sense.
She liked Oscar and Ollie, always happy when she saw them in the paddock. Oscar was calm, never one to stress her out and always willing to help her out if she needed anything and Ollie was fun and gentle, but also up for a bit of mischief if Jordan felt like it. Somehow, however, having them sit here, in her home, on her couch, getting all her dads attention didn’t feel so good.
Her chest tightened when Charles laid an arm around Ollie, tousling his dark hair.
That should have been her, sitting there next to Charles, asking him how his weekend had been, pretending to be patient as she waited for the established gift she got from him whenever he went traveling without her.
That nasty sting completely suffocated all of the initial excitement and Jordan found herself opting for the kitchen, head hanging low as she passed over the doorstep.
Max was standing with his back turned to her, cutting up some fruit as a snack, but he didn’t even flinch when there was sudden noise to his right, caused by his daughter climbing up the drawers to take a seat on the counter. It was a little tradition of theirs; Jordan would nap, Max would spend that time doing whatever and some time around three, they’d meet back up in the kitchen.
It was awfully domestic of them and definitely something Max wouldn’t have been able to imagine doing before he headed into retirement last season. Today however, the lack of a break in their pattern surprised him, the usual scowl on Jordan’s face even more so.
“You forgot Papa is home now?” Max asked carefully, not looking up from the strawberry he was currently slicing into little cubes. It was selfdefense.
Grumpy Jordan could be set off by anything, even a well meant smile and yes, Max was currently holding the knife, but he didn’t want to test his luck.
Jordan shook her head wordlessly, resting her chin on the stuffed lion pressed against her chest. Her gaze was distant, narrow as it fixated the wall with scrutinizing annoyance.
“Did you go say hello already?” Max dared another attempt at getting her to talk.
Because whatever it was that upset her, it was much more than the basic task of waking up. He tried not to show his worry, cringing at himself for how overprotective it was of him. But for some part it also felt justified.
Jordan was a simple kid, her emotional range always easy to predict, following some sort of code as it seemed. She was mad when she woke up or hadn’t been outside for too long, irritated when tired, happy when outside or with her dads, excited when doing any of her many interests, genuinely curious and more often than not quiet and withdrawn - but in a non worrying way, it was just her introverted personality.
Any deviations from said pattern was easily noticeable and Max took them very seriously, because often there was a good reason behind them.
“No.”
“Why not?” Max asked just as he finished preparing the fruits. He opened a cabinet next to Jordan's head to retrieve some bowls, smiling at his daughter, but she wasn’t even looking at him, just kept staring at the wall. “Didn’t you miss him?”
She didn’t answer immediately, but at least turned her head into her dads direction, her eyes now wide, displaying all of the emotional turmoil in her eyes. Agitation, disappointment and confusion all fused into a tempest of grey, reminding Max of a cloudy sky before a thunderstorm.
Gruffly Jordan nodded towards the the living room, her brows drawn into a tight frown as she asked, “What are they doing here?”
Max didn’t need to ask for elaboration, knowing exactly who ‘they’ were. Within a split second he was now able to identify what that mix of emotion on his daughter's face added up to, the realization drawing a small, relieved sigh from him.
Jealousy.
To hide the forming smile on his face, Max turned away from Jordan, pretending the change of position was necessary to fill the cut-up fruits into the bowls. It was a first - Jordan had never shown any sign of possessiveness over either of her fathers - so he wasn’t sure how to deal with it or how seriously he even had to take it.
“Well, Jordi, Papa has a habit of adopting too many kids.”
The comment was made thoughtlessly, which was proven a second later when Jordan huffed and in her most insulted voice said, “Thank you very much.”
“Not you! Sorry!” Max rubbed a hand across his face, shooting an apologetic smile to Jordan, but she didn’t seem too impressed, the raised eyebrow staying right where it was. “I mean, he has a habit of ‘adopting’ fully grown men that do not need to be adopted because, as previously mentioned, they are fully grown men.”
A hint of impatience shone through Max’s voice. He didn’t want to admit it, especially not to Jordan - because some would have considered one parent complaining about the other to the child bad parenting -, but in all honesty, he wasn’t too thrilled about the visitors either. Much like for Jordan, it wasn’t because he disliked either of them, nothing like that, but more because of how impromptu it had been.
Charles hadn’t given his husband much of a warning, just a text saying he’d be bringing guests an hour before their arrival. And Max was used to spontaneity, but that was a bit much, even for him.
“How long are they staying?”
“Papa said he invited them to stay with us until we leave for the next race…”
Okay, that might’ve come out with a bit too much strained positivity. Even Jordan had noticed, her brow arching up even further.
“Scheisse-”
“Jordan!” Max gasped, shaking his head in disapproval. “In English, please! You know we made a deal. Every other day, we only speak English, okay?”
Rolling her eyes, because she really didn’t like it when Max played the strict parent, Jordan corrected herself, pronouncing the word much harder than necessary, “Shit!”
“Thank you very much.” Max sighed and straightened out his shoulders.
He’d finished preparing the snacks, meaning, as a responsible adult, he’d now have to go deliver them to the guests. And as a responsible parent and loving father, he should really convince Jordan to come with him and make her look a little less miserable before doing so.
Thing was, Max wasn’t and had never been the type of guy to over exaggerate and beautify any situation. Not even with his kid.
“Alright, time to get out there. You ready if we do it together?” This time he allowed himself a bit of the tightness in his voice to show through, forming a kind of alliance between them. He offered Jordan a hand to help her get off the counter. “You still want to see Papa, right?”
“Fine… But can you carry me?” Jordan knew exactly what she was doing when she tilted her head to the side, bringing out the puppy eyes.
Letting out a snort Max shook his head, but he already balanced the tray so he could hold it with one hand, sliding his other arm around Jordan. A little happier, the girl squealed, wrapping her legs around Max’s hip so she wouldn’t slide off.
Together they entered the living room, immediately drawing everyone's attention to them.
Charles’ face lit up when he saw Jordan, the already existing smile on his lips widening until it reached from ear to ear. He was about to get up to steal her from May when he noticed the disappointed look on her face and the way her tiny hands were fisted into Max‘s oversized shirt.
He didn’t let himself get discouraged yet, blaming the nap on her moody appearance.
„Hello, mon étoile! How did you sleep?”
Oscar and Ollie both greeted her as well, the young Brit barely able to hide his excitement. All the way back to Monaco he hadn’t been able to stop talking about her, asking Charles all sorts of questions.
What did she like to do? Could he take her on a walk (since she loved to go outside)? What movies did she like to watch?
But Jordan wasn’t impressed in the slightest, her eyes drawing into tight slits as she passed out pointed looks to all three of them. Then she turned to Max and asked, loud enough for everyone to hear, „I thought we‘re supposed to only speak English?“
Never having heard her complain about his French nicknames for her - no matter what day of the week it was - Charles opened his mouth. Nothing would come out though, the words stuck at the tip of his tongue. Helplessly he looked at Max, hoping he could provide some explanation for their daughter's strange behaviour.
There was something hard in the way Max stared back at him, a resistance that crumbled under the pleading gaze and he softened.
„Someone’s feeling a little jealous.“ Max groaned as he set the tray of snacks down on the coffee table, bent at an unnatural angle while balancing Jordan on his hip.
Charles’ forehead creased, the confusion visible on his face as he had no idea what in the world Jordan could be jealous over… Then he heard a snicker from his right, Oscar quickly pressing a hand over his mouth to muffle it, and a quiet ‘oh’ from his left, Ollie looking kind of uncomfortable as his eyes switched from Jordan to Charles and back.
Oh, indeed…
“Hey, don’t tell him that!” Jordan protested, wiggling her way out of Max’s grip and sliding down his side so she could stand on her own. With the utmost betrayed look she stared up at her one father, then to her other.
“Jordie?” Charles asked for her attention, arms reaching out for her - whether it was an attempt to lure her closer or make a peace offering wasn’t clear. “Are you not happy Oscar and Ollie are here? I thought you liked them, non?”
“I do…” Jordan kicked her feet, suddenly very aware of the four pairs of eyes on her.
It made her feel stupid, that she made such a fuss about… her feelings that she herself didn’t even understand properly. And she did like them…
The way Oscar and Ollie were looking at her with their soft brown eyes, the relief on their faces when she’d admitted that she did like them, made her warm up a little. Wringing her RedBull hoodie between her hands, she glanced up at them, an embarrassed flush spreading over her face.
“I just… wanted to spend some time with you alone and I-” She took a deep breath as her consciousness kicked in, making her realize how selfish she was about to sound. “I don’t really want to share your attention with them…”
“Oh…” Charles echoed, absolutely clueless as to what he had to say next.
There had to be a correct answer, one that any normal parent would have programmed right into them, but somehow Charles lacked it. There wasn’t much of a choice though. He’d already promised Ollie and Oscar that they could stay at his place, take the private plane with his family to head off to the next race in a few days. Asking them to leave now would be incredibly rude and since neither of them lived in Monaco, they would have to get hotels - making them do that would cement him as the worst host in the history of hosts.
And honestly… He had really been looking forward to spending some time with them outside the chaos that was their professional lives. Charles just hadn’t factored in that his daughter might want the same privilege granted to her.
He really was the worst father ever-
What Charles also hadn’t factored in: Oscar and Ollie having younger sister(s) and that they knew exactly what to say and do in a situation like this.
Oscar was the first to react, bending forward, elbows propped up on his knees so he was on eye-level with Jordan. His face softened into an unusually sweet smile as he said, “I think it will be Charles who’ll have to share your attention with us, right?”
Ollie joined his lead, not having to change a single thing as he always looked like a huge teddy bear, ready to hand out hugs left and right. He even went as far as to slide off the couch, going criss-cross on the carpet.
“Yeah, we came here for you! We missed you so much at the race this weekend, we just had to come see you.”
“Hmm…” Jordan fixated them for a moment, putting all the control a child under the age of five could bring up into not smiling, before turning to look at Max, clearly searching for his approval.
All Max did was shrug. There was this sneaking suspicion that if Jordan turned things around and actually was happy about the visitors, this would be how most of his future in between race time-off would look like. But then he saw the way the corners of Jordan’s mouth twitched, so desperately trying to break into a smile and… he nodded.
“Okay!” Jordan’s demeanour changed in a heartbeat, from grim to bright, as she spun to the three men by the couch.
For a moment she hovered, not sure which one she should run too first, but apparently months of taking care of her and adopting her had somehow worked as Jordan did jump into Charles’ lap fist. Her head nuzzling against his chin the way a cat would, she wrapped her arms around him and declared that she had, in fact, missed him and was happy to see him.
Charles barely got the chance to respond as Jordan was off him again mere moments later to greet Oscar and then Ollie - who told himself that this was just a coincidence and had nothing to do with Jordan liking him the least.
Max disappeared back into the kitchen after watching the heart-warming scene. That was around the time Charles noticed that he’d completely failed to properly greet his husband.
He cleared his throat and got up, a tight smile on his lips.
“I think someone else might be a bit jealous too…”
“Oh, definitely.” Jordan nodded, unaware of the already pained look on Charles’ face increasing drastically at the gesture. “He woke me up all four nights you were gone to ask me if I could come sleep in your bed, because he couldn’t fall asleep himself.”
“Yeah, uhm… I’ll be back.” Charles excused himself before sliding out the door.
For a moment the room was silent, the lingering feeling of marital issues hanging in the air, but it didn’t last very long.
Jordan was too young to really understand what it meant and Ollie and Oscar were too far removed from the topic to care all that much. So while there was a little discussion going on in the kitchen, the three of them got to watch TV - no parent there to tell them that they should rather play a board game or whatever recent studies proved to be the most nurturing activity for a child to do.
Netflix was full of good kids movies, a lot neither Oscar nor Ollie had seen, since some time had passed since this was their preferred genre, but Jordan opted for one that had been out for decades and watched on repeat in both the Bearman and the Piastri households.
“Cars!”
“Really?” Ollie and Oscar sighed at the exact same time and in the exact same tone.
“Yes!” Jordan stayed firm, index finger pointing at the screen like a laser pointer. “Cars!”
“But… What about all the other nice movies?” Oscar tried to argue, but the rigid stare of the grey eyes boring into him made it clear that he didn’t stand a chance.
Ollie on the other hand opted for whining - a method proven even less effective immediately.
“But we’ve both seen the movie so many times…”
Having had enough of the two (Seriously, what were they thinking? Coming into her house without her knowledge, harbouring her Papa for all of five minutes and then they seriously expected to get a say in the movie choice? Nu-uh, not on Jordan’s watch.), Jordan grabbed the remote from Oscars grip with surprising strength and pressed the button herself.
Defeated, the two leaned back into the cushions, barely able to believe the girl's audacity when she turned to each of them and with the nonchalance of a lifetime said, “Ka-Chow.”
They did have a better time than expected though. Neither of them had watched ‘Cars’ in a while and reliving what they’d believed to be the peak of cinema when they’d been Jordans age was actually quite enjoyable. Especially when Jordan began quoting the whole thing by heart and the next hour was basically just the three of them speaking over the movie, all slipping into assigned roles.
“I want to do that too someday.” Jordan said quietly as she nodded to the screen, which currently played a heated racing scene.
Oscar still asked, just to make sure, “Racing?”
“Yes. It looks so…” She lacked the proper word to describe what she was feeling, but the admiring glaze in her eyes gave them a pretty good idea of it too.
“Really?” Ollie frowned. “But… didn’t your mom die in a car crash? That you were in as well?”
The realization, that this might not be the smartest thing to say to a child that had suffered a tragic loss only months ago and was probably still working through the trauma of that, dawned on him when Oscar bent forwards so he could stare right at Ollie with the biggest ‘What the actual fuck did you just say?’ look.
Ollie quickly pulled back, ducking his head as he was half expecting a punch to follow that kind of glare. Jordan however hadn’t noticed their exchange, innocently shrugging.
“What does that have to do with it?”
“Well…” Ollie continued carefully, still feeling Oscar's eyes lingering on him as he focused back on Jordan. “I just thought something like that might make you not want to be anywhere near… dangerous, high speed cars ever again.”
This time Oscar couldn't stop himself from slapping a hand over his face and mouthing the words ‘her dad is literally a Formula 1 driver, you idiot’. Jordan briefly turned around, frowning at Oscar and then giving her attention back to Ollie as she didn’t really get what the Aussie was on about.
“I thought so too at first, but my therapist explained that the crash Mama and I were in was nothing we could have done anything about. It was a drunk driver that hit us, driving the wrong direction… That doesn’t happen in racing.” It was a very educated answer, brought across with such sterile factuality, that it managed to freak Ollie into silence.
That and the way Oscar bounced his leg, looking about ready to jump him should he open his mouth again.
Again, Jordan didn’t seem to notice the shift of energy, her eyes back on the screen. The smile dancing across her face as McQueen crossed the line was actually adorable.
“Yeah… I want to do that when I grow up.”
Max and Charles returned to the living room just at the end of the last race, both looking a lot more content. That changed when they got to hear their daughter say that McQueen helping the broken car over the line was stupid because it ruined his win.
“What?” Ollie cried out, his grip around the pillow he’d been hugging for the entire scene tightening drastically.
“I mean, she’s right.” Oscar agreed. He had an arm laid around Jordan, the both of them sharing the last of the strawberries from the bowl the girl had in her lap.
“Yes, but… but it’s such a beautiful scene!” Ollie retorted, trying to inconspicuously wipe across his face, but his eyes stayed just as glassy as they’d been before.
Max and Charles exchanged glances, unsure if they should be worried about this as Jordan’s response could be seen as a lack of empathy or proud as it could also be looked at as good strategic thinking.
“I’m not saying it isn’t!” Jordan said, the calmness in her voice sounding an awful lot like Oscars - a little detail the Aussie commented on with a smug grin. “But I’ve never seen any of you do it or Papa and there are plenty of crashes in your races as well-”
“Okay!” Max stepped into the room, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Enough race talk, we’ll be on a plane to go to one in two days and I think we can all use some time off until then.”
Charles joined him, eyes viewing the TV with a certain disdain in it.
“And I think he should do something that does not involve a screen. Let’s play a game or something.” Oscar, Ollie and Jordan all exchanged knowing glances as they reluctantly moved to get off the couch.
Parents.
*
They did get to watch another movie the next night, but only after spending almost all day outside and being productive.
The morning started with a walk to the nearest bakery where everyone got to pick their own breakfast - Ollie and Oscar overdoing it a little after finding out Charles would be paying for them as well.
On the way back home the two got the full Jordan experience, which meant they had to watch and try not to have a heart attack as the girl climbed up any and everything in their vicinity - ledges, brick fences, small trees, rocks, one statue of some important old person, more fences - whatever was in her reach she’d hang off, jump on and so on. Max and Charles really hadn’t been overexaggerating about this.
“Are you sure you want to go into racing and not become a world champion in climbing?” Ollie called out to Jordan, currently balancing over a very thin ledge between the street and someone’s garden.
Max, who’d just been deep in conversation with Charles, whipped his head around, eyes wide in panic as he hissed, “She wants to do what?!”
Charles instinctively took his husband’s hand, rubbing calming circles into the back of it as Oscar brought both his hands up, head tilted back to far he was looking at the sky as if he had now resorted to consulting with god as to why Ollie couldn’t just keep with mouth shut.
Ollie was about to do the same, a nervous heat spreading across his face, which was surely bright red by now. He quickly tried to erase his mistake by waving his hands around.
“I- That was a joke! Completely stupid. Jordan has never said a word about wanting to race or even drive a car- Actually, yesterday she told me she’d never - and I mean never - want to get a drivers licence!”
Nice save, Ollie.
Max didn’t relax yet, but his shoulders at least didn’t seem as tense anymore, his chest rising and sinking heavily as he took a deep breath, simply choosing to believe Ollie’s words, because he couldn’t handle facing that Pandora’s box right now.
“What?” Jordan had overheard them and frowned. “That’s not ri-”
In three quick steps Ollie was over by the ledge, snatching Jordan off it in one swift movement and swinging her over his shoulders. The sudden change of scenery confused the girl enough for her not to continue what she’d just wanted to say and laugh instead. Not enough for Ollie though.
He took off sprinting, yelling something about “Whoever’s home first!”.
Oscar, closing his eyes for a moment, really wondering how the fuck he’d gotten himself into this, bolted after them.
Charles looked after the three, shaking his head, while Max still struggled to get out of his shock state. A squeeze on his hand made him look over, the soft smile on Charles’ face enough to put on a small one of his own.
“She’s just a kid… We don’t have to worry about that stuff yet, right?” Max asked, his voice unnaturally small, showing just a fraction of the turmoil and fear raging inside him.
And Charles, knowing his husband well enough to predict exactly that, let go of his hand and put his arm around his waist, pulling him against his side. Max’s head slumped against his shoulder, the warm air of his breath hitting the side of Charles’ neck when he let out a quiet sigh.
“Right.” Charles reassured him, placing a soft hiss on the crown of Max’s head. “She might want to be a racing driver now, but I can guarantee you, in a week she’ll want to be an astronaut and then a pilot and then a teacher and so on… She’s way too young to make up her mind about something like this already.”
They silently chose to believe those words, both well aware of the fact that when they’d been Jordans age, they’d already gone karting and just like her now, they’d known what they’d want to be when they grew up. And as time had shown, they’d stayed true to that…
I just don’t want to screw her up… Max thought as he let Charles lead their way home.
He still didn’t feel a hundred percent comfortable as he watched Jordan drive her mini replica of a Ferrari around their driveway later in the afternoon, silently damning Charles for getting her that thing in the first place.
Everyone else was having a blast though.
Oscar and Ollie had spent half an hour drawing an actual race track into the pavement with coloured chalk - start, finish and pitlane. It was all there.
Ollie was the one to pretend like he was a mechanic, simulating the stops, while Oscar sat leaning against the garage door giving out fake radio messages, covering his mouth to make them sound more believable.
The loud laughter of Jordan and everyone else made things a bit more enjoyable for Max, but he still sat at a safe distance. He watched carefully, eyes trained on Jordan’s face, glowing and absolutely ecstatic as she enjoyed every second of her drive. It healed a piece of clearly broken something in him.
Max wasn’t able to remember a time in his childhood where he’d looked that happy over anything involving a vehicle. At first maybe, but he’d begun karting so early he didn’t have any memories of it. All that was left were the ones with his father screaming at him to keep going, the bang of a fist against his helmet when he didn’t perform the way he was supposed to, the burning cold creeping into his bones when he’d been forced to drive in the most horrendous conditions Holland had to offer…
Eventually he dared to inch closer, when half an hour had passed and the urge to discipline his daughter for taking corners too wide or driving over some lines was still absent. He took a seat next to Charles, who’d been smart enough to bring out two of their folding chairs instead of just one for himself.
It was a sunny day, so after Jordan's car had run out of battery, they decided to move to the backyard and have dinner there. As three of them were on strict diets - which had already been ignored for breakfast - to keep up their physique and weight, Max just prepared something quick and easy for him and Jordan.
When they were gathered on the couch later, ready to watch the movie Charles had promised them earlier, Jordan once again took up the mantle of choosing what they’d be seeing.
Oscar bent over to Charles, who was sitting next to him.
“Do you always let her do that?” He whispered into Monegasque's ear.
Charles nodded towards Jordan, the calm smile on her face as the intro played and couldn’t help but smile to himself, “I mean… try saying no to that cute face.”
“Fair enough…”
It had been a long day and while they hadn’t done as much as any of them were cut out for, they were still strangely exhausted.
Ollie was the first to nod off, being covered with a blanket by Jordan, who took her job very seriously, making sure the young Brit was tucked in on all sides.
She followed soon after, snuggled into Max’s side, but one hand lay in Ollies, who’d tightened his hold around her in his sleep. She was warm, her hair soft and when Max leaned his head against hers, he couldn't help but close his eyes and drift off as well.
Charles was the one to spread another blanket over them before wrapping his arm around both of them, ending up in a similar position as Max had before. Unfortunately he hadn’t learned from his husband's mistake and soon was fast asleep like them.
“Seriously?” Oscar muttered when the credits rolled up and he discovered the scene to his left.
He shook his head, considering if it would be possible for him to carry each of them up to their rooms without waking anyone up in the process… It seemed impossible and kind of unnecessary.
The couch was big enough for them all and if any of them woke up during the night, they could go up to their room themselves… Like he would now.
Just as Oscar was about to get up, feet already planted on the carpet, his gaze wandered over the four sleeping bodies again. It looked so comfortable… All connected somehow, chests rising and sinking almost in sync…
Not knowing exactly why, Oscar grabbed the last remaining blanket from the basket underneath the coffee table and laid it over himself and he himself curled up. He could feel something warm brush against his ankle, calloused fingers closing around it.
He smiled, the serene sound of slow breaths helping him doze off too…