Chapter Text
Well this seemed a bit out of place. Mark Webber holding a newborn in a hospital bed. His newborn. But he has learnt to accept that he was a bit different from other guys.
He was anxiously waiting for someone to show up. Sebastian, the father of the newborn boy. Technically Mark was also the father, because he was still a man, but he was also the childbearing one. He cradled his crying son, trying to soothe him, as the nurses around him continue to hurriedly do their job, everyone was moving so fast, but none of that mattered to Mark, he just wanted his boyfriend to see their beautiful little child. Yet the German was nowhere to be seen. "shush, Oscar, daddy's got you" he whispered to the infant, who just continued crying relentlessly. I mean, to be fair he was born barely 20 minutes ago, so he's not to blame. After several failed attempts to feed Oscar with a bottle, since he could not provide breastmilk, Mark let the nurses take over. He felt like he might have collapsed if he hadn't been in a hospital bed already, he was exhausted from chilbirth, but his partner just wouldn't show up.
So when the Australian felt enough strength, he called him. "Hey, Seb.." his tired voice greeted. "Hey, uhm sorry I couldn't make it. Work emergency.." The German replied and normally he would have left it at that. Yet another voice was heard in the background, along with the rustling of bedsheets "Seb, mit wem redest du" The line suddenly disconnected, leaving Mark with more questions than answers. That sounded strangely like Michael. Though he couldn't tell what he said, even if he could have understood the German line, he'd be too confused to know what to do with it. Sure Michael was an F1 driver just like Seb, so the pure thought of both of them talking seemed like a normal thing. That is if they really were at work. But then the sound of bedsheets Didn't fit in. What time was it anyway? 5 am... Wait five? In the morning? Surely there had to be an explanation to where Sebastian really was. But not now, now Mark just wanted to sleep, because everything ached.
"Mister Webber, you have a visitor" a nurse spoke, waking the Australian from his sleep. "Five more minutes..." he whined. "Mark." Sebastian's voice pierced through the silence, giving the Australian just a glimpse of hope. Yet he couldn't resist immediately questioning the other: "Where were you?" The German stopped, hesitated, searching for words. An explanation, some way to let him know without it hurting, but then again, it was Sebastian's own fault that he did what he did. "I was with Michael" he admitted, ashamed. "At 5 in the morning?" the older man pushed further, only getting a nod out of the younger. "Mark, uhm.. I'm not fit to be a dad yet" in that moment, Sebastian seemed so genuine and innocent but Mark didn't believe that was all of it. Sure, Michael was a father and maybe the young German just wanted some support without the fear of judgement, but at 5 am? Not necessary. "That doesn't explain why you were with Michael" Mark's words were met with silence for a while. "It was a mistake.. I shouldn't have" the guilt in Sebastian's voice would have almost made the other feel sorry, if he wasn't all too painfully aware of the implications of those phrases. And sure, not ready for being a father is one thing, but betrayal instead of communication is quite frankly not the way to go.
"Oh, so that's how it is? I carry your child for 9 months and deliver a healthy baby boy just for you to tell me like this?" He snapped, he was so done "Sure, go on! Sleep with the married man all you want, just don't come crying to me when it doesn't work out!" He yelled that part. "I knew getting involved with my soon to be teammate was a stupid idea, but you convinced me that it was ok. Is that how you pulled him in, too? Puppy eyes and a 'I won't tell anyone'? The sweet young boy, so hard to say no to" Mark sighed, exhausted "You've always been just a tad too interested in the man. I'm not even surprised" His mouth felt dry, as Seb looked at him. "You're... Not?" He questioned, the surprise in his voice evident. "No" Mark answered in one word, he wasn't surprised. Sebastian's utter fascination with Michael was bound to get out of hand, but that the older German would actually agree to such things, that was a new one to Mark. He was hurt. Of course he was, who wouldn't be? The other man eventually, slowly backed away, out of the room. Leaving Mark there, alone, well not fully alone, Oscar was still there, in the baby dish newborns are put in after birth, peacefully sleeping. The Australian parent had to take a moment for himself to try and collect his thoughts after all of that, he had a baby now and what about his job, he'll have to race on the weekend. Do they provide parental leave for F1 drivers or do you just get fired? No idea. Regardless, Mark would figure something out, for now, he just wanted to rest.
Well... He couldn't rest for too long, because the next grand prix was soon.
He was back, back at the track, not to race though, obviously. Official claims state "inability to participate, due to work-unrelated reasons" translated it means you can't physically race just days after giving birth. To his luck, his belly was relatively small and well hidden with his red bull jacket. During the race he roamed around, since he wasn't in the mood to watch Sebastian doing better than him. Not after... Well all of what happened. That begs the question, why he showed up in the first place. The answer to that is a simple one, stubbornness, he arrived at the trackside on Thursday, full confidence that he was fit again, even if he doubted it a couple of days ago, but he chalked that up to post birth hormones. Turns out he wasn't fit enough since he was incredibly nauseous upon arrival, so much so that he could drive at all.
Christian Klien was there, though "Hey" he greeted, Mark replied "Hi" before they sat down together "How's everything with Seb?" Christian asked, fatal mistake, which earned him a glare, obviously it wasn't personal, but it was still fresh and not what he wanted to talk about at the moment. The other man got the hint, though and let out an "Oh". Oh indeed. "I thought you were with child" I mean it was reasonable to ask about his kid, because they talked, since they were... something once, not quite lovers, but not just friends either. And they talked still, even after they parted ways as teammates. But they couldn't talk about his kid here, especially since only a handful of people knew that the Australian could even give birth in the first place.
Mark sighed, grabbed Christian's hand and led him to his driver's room, where the man pointed towards the table. Or rather say below it. There in the corner was a baby wrapped in a blanket, with ear protection way too big for his face "Oscar" Mark stated. Of course, he was aware that it wasn't exactly the safest place to leave a newborn, actually he should not have left him alone in the first place, but the father had to feed him eventually and since breastfeeding still wasn't an option, he went out looking for milk. He kind of failed his objective of getting food though. "He's cute" Christian stated, as the Australian got the baby out from under the table. There was still this level of trust that he let Christian hold little Oscar, who giggled as he held him. It seemed Oscar trusted him too and honestly, it would be a problem if the baby was doing anything other than smiling as of now. Because how do you explain to your boss that you are in fact the bearer of this kid and you had no one else to watch him so you brought him with you here? There was probably not a way to do it without sounding crazy. "So you're on your own with the little one?" The Austrian asked as he cradled the baby.
Mark nodded, but before he could say anything Christian spoke again "I don't think it's a good idea to leave him here unattended" So much was obvious, furthermore, though, the thing the shorter one said next was the real surprise "I can try to help" it was quite a big offer, considering it wasn't Christian's child, so the Australian was hesitant to accept it. "I'm a reserve driver, I have time during race, mostly" the shorter explained like it wasn't clear to the other. "You'd do that for me?" His voice bordered a tone of pleading and he expected a spontaneous no, but that never came. "Yes, I would" the Austrian promised and they hugged. The offer would obviously only be for the time when Mark was fit to race again, that's what he insisted on, since he didn't want to bother Christian too much, even though they'd probably end up caring for him together eventually. But for now he was glad there was a solution, someone he trusted, to watch his child.