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“Is Max avoiding me?” Kimi heard himself asking. Had to stare at the sky for a couple of seconds because, once he realized it, he wondered, did I spend too much time with George to start sounding like him? And yet, he couldn’t help but ask.
George, who obviously heard him, shot him a weird look. “What? What made you think so?”
Well, first, maybe because he genuinely was avoiding him.
“I don’t know, he’s been hanging out with the others but me.” Kimi shifted his gaze and nodded subtly toward a group gathered fifty feet away, near the Red Bull hospitality unit. Max was right in the middle, showing something on his phone to Isack and Gabi, who looked like they were in a serious conversation.
Don’t get him wrong, he was nowhere near being petty over something like this. Max had the right to hang out with anyone; he wasn't just there as Kimi’s personal adviser. He was Max Verstappen for crying out loud, and he was always popular amongst other drivers, especially the younger ones eager to learn from him.
But that day, aside from visiting the Mercedes garage, he dropped a quick kiss on George’s hair. After a cup of green smoothie shoved to him from the Brit (Kimi got one too, which was disgusting), he just flicked Kimi’s cap with a lazy “Wassup, kid,” and vanished. Even when Kimi had personally gone to him to talk, Max made an immediate excuse to go talk to Yuki in his garage.
Max was acting like he wasn’t the same person who had terrorized Kimi with contract talks during his summer holiday and had avoided him the next time they met. Kimi swore he wasn’t being dramatic, but it did feel like a betrayal.
George cleared his throat nervously, glancing at the group before looking back at Kimi. “I didn’t think you’d be the type to get jealous, lad. Come on, let’s just grab some water.”
Kimi rolled his eyes. He had no power to give his reasoning. The race week hasn’t even started yet, he wasn’t about to waste energy on something as futile as this. So he just shrugged, “Not jealous, George.”
George quickly slung an arm around his shoulders, steering him slightly away from the group. “You know, it’s just in him to take care of the youngsters, Kimi. He isn’t going to replace you or anything.” George’s eyes, as he looked toward the group, showed nothing but pure, serene adoration. There was a tinge of absolute sureness in his voice.
Kimi just shrugged; that wasn’t even Kimi’s concern in the first place. But somehow thinking of it also drove something sour in him.
______________
The day finally came to an end, and Kimi wasn’t even sure why the grid had to make an appearance just for some formality and politics before the second half of the season started. He should’ve just spent his last day of peace in his hotel room, playing some games or just acting like a sloth on his bed.
When Kimi was about to get out of the paddock area, he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. With a sigh, he opened it.
George
> Motorhome now
> Two minutes, I swear.
With another exasperated sigh, his body turned back towards his motorhome.
“—he said that? Fuck, I feel bad now. You were supposed to distract him, George.” Kimi stopped his steps when he heard hushes from George’s motorhome.
“He looked miserable! What was I supposed to do?!”
“You think he’ll still like it, though?”
“He will. Stop worrying!” George answered, though with uncertainty in his voice. “But how could you even confuse a whole human character with—a dog?”
“Apparently, Yuki said it’s a reindeer,” Max explained defensively. “I thought he was the main character. God knows anime has a thing with making animals that look like humans as the main characters.”
“You didn’t even bother googling it before purchasing? Geez, what a dependable man you are, Verstappen,” George's voice dripped with sarcasm.
“In my defence, it was on the hot sale list. Could've gone in any minute and he was the cutest. I figured the creator loved him most.”
“Yeah, a pirate group led by a reindeer with a hat, that makes sense.”
“It also talks, if you care much about reality.”
The hell are these two even up to now?
With a light knock, Kimi made his way into the room.
They both froze, George mid-eye-roll, Max holding what looked suspiciously like a box with a brown figure inside.
Max sighed like a man accepting his fate. “Ah, geez, this is really a failed mission.”
“I told you to just go ask him what he wanted instead of going around acting like a secret santa and ignoring him!”
“What is the surprise in that then?!” Max countered, entirely serious. “And I had to make a quick order so they'd ship it today!”
“What even is going on, guys?” Kimi asked, looking between the two flustered drivers and the box in Max’s hand.
Max sighed again before saying, “Happy birthday, lad. A few days late, but we tried our best.”
“Don’t you get all shady with me, Verstappen, I thought you had a better plan,” George warned. “But, yeah, happy birthday, Kimi. Sorry, we could’ve had a nicer surprise but Mr. Verstappen here had his own surprise and anime logic despite never watching one.”
Max again sighed. “Here. We didn't know how worthy it’d be for you but I hoped a reindeer figure would make up for me being a complete ass today." He shoved the box into Kimi's chest.
Inside was a Chopper from One Piece figure—one he hadn’t even seen before. Kimi did collect these a bit; you couldn’t truly escape the impulsive buying when you’re an avid watcher of the show. He hadn’t even realized there was a new variant of it.
“What?” That was all Kimi could’ve said.
Max slumped on George’s motorhome bed. “Of course you don’t like it. Should’ve made sure it was the stretchy guy who is the protagonist, not this dog.”
“Reindeer,” George corrected, walking over to inspect the box along with Kimi.
“Who cares,” Max muttered into the pillow, pulling the covers over his head.
Kimi looked at the box, then at George, then at the lump on the bed. The sour feeling of betrayal was gone, replaced by a profound, confusing affection. “It’s—It’s cool.”
George looked relieved. “See, Max? It’s cool. He likes the reindeer, you worrywart.”
Max sat up, unraveling himself from the pillow. “Really? Wouldn’t you prefer the stretchy guy instead of this?”
Kimi shook his head, still focused on the box. “Chopper is cool too, he’s cute. And I already have three versions of the stretchy guy. I didn’t have this one.” He pulled the figure out of the box to examine the fine details of the paint.
Max sighed in relief. “Fuck, that’s good then. All I knew was that you like that one anime, and I know Yuki and Isack are kind of a nerd so I asked them what could be a good present for you and how to get one fast. I couldn't for the love of god track down the names of each character they listed down. So I just pressed purchase on this one since it was selling out.”
So that whole talk Max had today was to make sure the present he was getting fit his niche. The grand champion, Max Verstappen, had spent his precious downtime before the race weekend not on sim racing or sponsor calls, but desperately consulting junior drivers to buy the correct tiny plastic of an anime character.
The realization washed down the sour taste he had earlier. He could hear Max complaining about how they should’ve made a cat-like character next and how ridiculous it sounded to George. Yet all Kimi could care about was the little figure in his hand and the fact that these two made a hassle out of their day just for him.
When do you get to see some of the best active F1 drivers wasting their time to learn about anime characters they have never even bothered watching? Kimi didn’t even notice there was a smile tugging on his face.
“Kimi? Mate?” George’s voice brought Kimi back to the ground.
“Yeah?”
“We were wondering, do you want to join us to grab some meals for dinner later?” George asked. Max looked at him, waiting for an answer, lying on the bed with his head on George’s lap, his hair messy from when George had tousled it earlier during their banter.
And as much as Kimi had come to terms that being stuck with these two might not be the worst thing ever, he felt like he had enough social interaction that day. He needed some 'Kimi time' before the season properly started again. And he was also sure these two wanted some alone time as well; he wasn't about to ruin it. “I guess I’m good, guys.”
Both nodded in understatement. Before he left the room, Kimi put the figure back inside the box and stared at both of them. “Thanks, guys. I didn’t expect you two to pull something like this.”
Max laughed; his head was still on George’s lap. “Don’t mind it, just a simple present. Pay us back with a good fight on track.”
Kimi then left the room for both of them. Before he could step further away, he heard Max say. “Geez, he did inherit a little of your dramatic flair, didn’t he?”
George gasped in full offence. “And him slowly putting on skinny jeans and picking up your fashion taste isn’t the horror here?”
“Don’t know what you’re saying, he looked cool.”
Kimi, nineteen now, might have matured more than he realized and understood more than he did before. But he wouldn’t mind getting trapped with them some more. Not today though, he needed to dip in a warm bath and stare at his newly figure of his favorite show.