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“Ehe! Fastest lap ever baby! I’m so proud of you!”
Daniel caught Max and swung him around as he jumped onto him, giddy with excitement all over again as he got to finally see Daniel after qualifying and the media and the press conference that always took too long. Daniel squeezed him tight, listening to Max’s squeals of joy in between hard kisses. Someone clearing their throat made him look to the side though, Rupert standing there smiling at them.
“Sorry, but doping control would like to see him,” Rupert said, cringing a little bit.
“Oh, okay, no worries,” Daniel said, letting Max drop back down to his feet.
“I don’t need to pee though,” Max said, Daniel squeezing his elbow.
“We’ll have to give it a try, okay?” Daniel said, leading Max down the hall behind Rupert, following him to a side room.
“Hi Max, you can come take a seat for us,” a nurse said, smiling warmly at him, Daniel guiding him to the chair she was sitting beside. Max looked to the side as he heard the door shut, looking up at Daniel with a worried expression.
“It’s okay, you know what they’re going to do, you’ve done this lots of times,” Daniel said, rubbing his shoulder.
“I’m Ava, I’m just going to take a little blood from you and then have you take a little wee for me and then you can head out, okay? James and Henry are going to watch as well to make sure we do everything right,” Ava said, Max shying away and clinging onto Daniel.
“Sweetheart, it won’t take as long if you don’t fuss please,” Daniel said, “you can be a big boy for a little longer.”
Max rubbed his face on Daniel’s shirt before huffing and sitting up, putting his arm up on the armrest of the chair, giving Ava access to him.
“Thank you,” Daniel said, making sure to stand close enough that Max could lean his head against him, closing his eyes as his arm was cleaned and pricked with a needle. Daniel rubbed in between his shoulder blades as a vial filled up with Max’s blood, Ava very gentle as it finished and she slid the needle from his elbow.
“Good job, like a pro,” Daniel said, squeezing Max’s shoulder as he got a bandaid.
“I still don’t need to pee,” Max said, looking up at Daniel with worry.
“When did you go last?” Daniel asked.
“Right before quali,” Max said, exactly what Daniel didn’t want to hear.
“Oh, okay, no worries,” Daniel said, knowing that Max didn’t drink during qualifying, and that he had sweat right through his fireproofs and racesuit today. Daniel had been watching his onboard the whole time, he knew how many times Max had come in and wiped the sweat from his eyes, not to mention he could still feel the heat and sweat that Max was producing through his shirt.
“Can you still give it a try for me? Maybe there’s some in there and you can’t feel it very well,” Ava asked, holding out a little sample cup with an orange cap on top of it.
Daniel gave her a strained smile as he took the cup, “yeah, we’ll give it a try.”
“James will go with you, just for witnessing,” Ava said, smiling like any of this was normal, watching Daniel help Max stand up.
“Come on baby, let’s give it a go,” Daniel said, steering Max towards the clearly marked bathroom as James followed behind, closing the door and leaning against it.
“Okay, why don’t you try just going normally, and if you start going I’ll grab some in the cup, it’s usually hard to stop once you’re going, right?” Daniel said.
“I mean, I guess so,” Max said, shimmying his racesuit down followed by his fire proofs and underwear, his cheeks turning pink as his privates were exposed. He stood there awkwardly, all three of them waiting for him to start peeing. It felt a little too quiet in the room, Daniel able to hear his hand stick to the cup as he shifted it a little bit, Max standing there with nothing happening.
Max turned his head to his shoulder before looking up at Daniel, whispering to him, “I’m trying.”
“I know you are sweetie, you can’t feel any urge?” Daniel asked, Max shaking his head.
“I told you, I don’t need to go,” Max said, Daniel looking over at James.
“I think we’re going to have to wait a bit,” Daniel said.
“That’s okay, we just like to try first, sometimes there’s a surprise,” James said, waiting for Max to pull his pants back up before opening the door.
“Nothing?” Ava asked as they came back into the room, Daniel putting the empty cup back on her table.
“No, we’re going to have to wait a bit. Is it okay for him to drink? He just went through quali with no water and I don’t want him to get really dehydrated,” Daniel asked, Ava immediately nodding.
“Of course, that’s understandable. If you want to use the couch that’s fine, we can watch you and he’s the only one I have today so no one else will be waiting,” Ava said, Daniel sighing a little bit at knowing that Max was the only one who got flagged for this today.
“Okay, thanks,” Daniel said, taking the few steps to where Max had huddled himself near Rupert, clearly looking for some sympathy.
“We can’t go until they have a sample, but they said we can crash on the couch and he can drink to rehydrate,” Daniel said.
“That’s good, I have his trackside bags so we should have everything he needs to be comfortable for a bit,” Rupert said, Max perking up a little.
“Can I have a bottle? Please?” Max asked, Daniel smiling at him.
“Sure, but you need to stay up enough that you can tell me when you need to go to the bathroom, okay? No peeing on the couch mister,” Daniel said, grabbing Max and squishing him in his arms.
“I won’t, I’ll tell you,” Max said, giggling as Daniel kissed his face all over.
“Do you wanna hold your bottle or me?” Daniel asked, seeing Rupert pouring Max’s electrolytes into one of his spare baby bottles that they kept in his trackside suitcase.
“You, please,” Max said, leaning his head on Daniel’s shoulder.
“Okay, let’s get settled then,” Daniel said, moving to the couch with Max in tow. Daniel sat down and Max put his knee down beside him, Rupert coming to the rescue and helping the uncoordinated little lay down on Daniel, smiling as he rested in Daniel’s arms happily.
“Here’s your bottle,” Rupert said, passing the glass bottle to Daniel, who immediately stuck the rubber nipple in Max’s mouth to placate him. Max started sucking on it right away, relaxing in Daniel’s hold and snuggling into his chest.
“I’m going to take your shoes and racesuit off, okay? It’ll help you cool down,” Rupert said, rubbing Max’s arm to make sure he heard what he was saying. Max blinked softly in response, laying still as Rupert moved and started tugging at the velcro on Max’s race boots.
“And you say you’re not a caregiver,” Daniel teased Rupert, making him smile as he held Max’s boots in his hands.
“Nope, never tested as one and haven’t had my own little, so, I’ll probably stick to being a helper,” Rupert said as he tucked Max’s boots into the suitcase, “suit next, Max. I’m going to lift your hips.”
Max grumbled a little bit at getting moved, but settled as the thick, fuzzy material of his racesuit was removed from his body, leaving him in his fireproofs and socks, but allowing the air conditioning of the room to get to him better. Rupert folded it up and dropped it in his bag as well, before picking up Max’s feet so he could sit down, patting Max’s thigh as he rested his legs over his lap.
“Did you know when you were young? That you were going to be a caregiver?” Rupert asked, Daniel looking over at him.
“Not really, it wasn’t until I was sixteen or seventeen that I started to wonder. I went for testing when I was eighteen after I helped a lost little find their caregiver in a grocery store. They had just gotten separated by a few aisles, but I thought about it so much afterwards that Redbull sent my bloodwork out and it came back that I had caregiver hormones,” Daniel said, looking back down at Max, “I’m very grateful that they did that for me.”
“You knew? That he was a little as soon as you met him?” Rupert asked.
“I was told. There was a meeting when he was moved up, and I was kind of a fly on the wall and they were talking about it and Christian asked me to help him be comfortable. I don’t think he was necessarily asking me to be a caregiver to him, but it became clear that he was going to need someone pretty quickly. I mean, he was eighteen, he was in all sorts of new environments and he was dealing with a whole host of new hormones. And the people around him were, well, not handling it too well,” Daniel said, smoothing the hem of Max’s shirt a little, “I think Christian was worried and just wanted him to have a friend.”
“Well he got a lot more than that, didn’t he?” Max giggling as Rupert reached over and tickled his tummy a little, “I’m glad everything worked out in the end, you guys are great together.”
“Thanks, I have a very good baby,” Daniel cooed, smiling down at Max, stroking his cheek with his finger as he continued to suck on his bottle. Max let his eyes droop at the touch, his body going a little more slack against Daniel and Rupert. They stayed quiet for him, mildly enjoying the quiet moment that was happening right in the middle of a race weekend. It wasn’t total privacy, with three other adults watching them intently, but it was nice that it wasn’t one big rush at the moment.
Max was good about keeping his eyes open as he drank his bottle, despite the adrenaline of qualifying wearing off, leaving him ready for a nap. Each time someone moved or said something he would perk up, his hand scrunching against Daniel’s chest. He blinked up at Daniel when he finished his bottle, licking his lips of the last bit of it.
“Would you like another bottle?” Rupert asked.
“No, thanks,” Max said before turning into Daniel’s stomach, trying to squish himself into him as much as possible.
“Okay, okay sweetheart,” Daniel said, Rupert taking the bottle from him so that Daniel could grab Max and pull him onto his lap better, settling him up on his shoulder. Max slid his leg across Daniel’s lap so he was on his knees either side of Daniel’s hips, his butt sitting down on Daniel’s thighs.
“No need for the bathroom yet?” Daniel asked, Max groaning and shaking his head against Daniel’s shoulder, “okay, we’ll wait baby.”
“I don’t know Maxie, we might need to have some more water, you’re still all sweaty on your back,” Rupert said as he fussed around, grabbing a towel and lifting up the back of Max’s shirt, toweling off all of the sweat on his skin.
“No,” Max said, squirming as Rupert tucked the towel under his shirt to wipe at his under arms.
“Hey now, don’t say ‘no’ to Rupert. He’s helping you very nicely,” Daniel said, “if you need to drink more you’ll have another bottle.”
Max grumbled under his breath but didn’t protest, cuddling up to Daniel’s chest instead, even though he could hear Rupert pouring more water into his bottle.
“You gotta sit up love,” Daniel coaxed, Max looking so annoyed, “I know, you can’t fall asleep quite yet.”
“Just a little more,” Rupert said, putting a hand on Max’s back and lifting his bottle up to him. Max turned his head away though, Daniel holding onto his arms as he shifted.
“Max, no naughties please,” Daniel said, “please drink a little more for Rupert.”
Max kept his head turned but let Rupert slip the bottle into his mouth when he tried again, squishing his tongue against the nipple while he looked around, Rupert and Daniel a little exasperated with him.
“Max, can you look at me please?” Daniel asked, Max lazily turning his eyes towards him.
“The faster you pee the faster you can leave, can we do that please? I think we would all like to go back to your room, right?” Daniel said, Max blinking at him like he didn’t understand.
“The water will make you pee,” Daniel said, tapping Max’s bottle, “then we can go to your room and do fun things.”
Max stared at him for a moment before seeming to click on, beginning to suck on the bottle. Daniel praised him and smiled, brushing his hair back behind his ear. Rupert held the bottle steady as Max shifted a few times, starting to breathe heavily as he got more tired, the sound of his sucks starting to slow down. He kept trying though, Daniel watching his eyes cross before he jerked himself awake, pulling in another gulp of water.
“Think we should give the bathroom a try? Just to see?” Daniel asked as Rupert carefully removed the bottle from Max’s mouth. Max shifted on Daniel’s lap and promptly got a shiver, making Daniel raise his eyebrows.
“Yeah, bathroom for sure sweetie, let’s go,” Daniel said, hoisting Max up onto his hip and standing up.
“Here’s your cup,” Ava said as they walked by, holding out the little plastic cup from before. The same man followed them to the bathroom, closing the door behind them.
“Daddy,” Max whispered as Daniel put his toes on the ground and turned him around, facing the toilet.
“Yeah baby?” Daniel asked as he took the lid off of the cup and wiggled Max’s fire proofs and underwear down to his thighs.
“There’s a man,” Max said as he swayed a little, Daniel holding onto him around his waist.
“I know, he has to make sure you pee in this cup,” Daniel said, “do you need to pee sweetie?”
“Mhmm,” Max said, poking at Daniel’s arm slightly.
“You can go pee then baby, in the toilet like when you’re a big boy,” Daniel coaxed.
“It doesn’t want to,” Max said, “there’s man.”
Daniel looked over to James, smiling at the annoyed looking man who was watching them, cringing as he didn’t seem interested in changing his stance any time soon either.
“Just pretend he isn’t there, like when you play with your toys. You’re just going pee like normal, no one is watching,” Daniel said, Max laying his head back on his shoulder with a whine.
“It’s shy daddy,” Max said, seeming to be getting distressed himself, his fingers worrying on Daniel’s arm.
“It’s okay, it’s no big deal that it’s being shy, there’s no rush and it’ll be easier if we just stay chill,” Daniel said, “nice big breaths for me baby.”
Max pouted but tried to breathe with Daniel, looking down with a little sniffle as his body started to let go, dripping before he finally started to pee, Daniel catching some of it in the cup even though it made Max start crying with anxiety.
“It’s okay, it’s alright baby, you’re okay, everything’s all over now,” Daniel tried to tell Max as he put the cup down on the counter and helped Max finish up, “yeah, we can have a little cry over all of that.”
Daniel wiped Max before pulling his pants back up and putting the lid on his cup, coaxing his distraught little to the sink so he could wash his hands and the cup off before picking Max back up. James was finally helpful by opening the door, letting Daniel give Ava the cup with a curt smile, getting told that they were free to go as a reward.
Daniel was thankful that Rupert had gotten a diaper ready for Max on the couch, Daniel laying him down and trying to soothe him before going to change him. Rupert was already there though, smiling as he pulled Max’s pants and socks off.
“Stay with him, I’ve got it,” Rupert said, Daniel so thankful that he could kneel down beside Max and comfort him, brushing his hair back as he helped Max breathe and calm down.
“All done,” Rupert said not long after, Max diapered and dressed in soft pants and slippers, just remnants of his tears left.
“Yay! You’re all done sweetheart!” Daniel said, picking Max up from the couch, getting a happy cuddle from him immediately, “I should probably tell your team that you’re little right now, huh?”
Max gurgled at Daniel as he headed for the door, holding it open for Rupert with Max’s suitcase in tow, “I already texted Laurent, he said that they can debrief in the morning. I think most of the team is too busy having some fun anyways.”
“Oh, good, we can just head back and crash then,” Daniel said, “thanks for helping us.”
“Anytime, let me know when he’s done napping, I’ll come over to stretch him out and have dinner,” Rupert said, smiling as Max yawned and snuggled into Daniel, ready for a solid nap.