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Max had been acting weird all weekend (again). Charles had watched back Lewis' post-race interview, and Max was examining a column. Which was fine, Max was Max and occasionally did strange things.
It stopped being fine when he dragged other people into it. Like George Russel. Since when was Max willingly talking to George? They didn't even like each other? If Max was going off the deep end, he should be taking to Charles, the Pack his Omega.
Charles had been absorbed in the usual post-podium madness in Suzuka, but now that the race was over, his main priority was tracking down Max.
Until he was leaving Ferrari and spotted Kimi, looking like a lost lamb.
Even if Kimi wasn't his pup, he was still a pup, and Charles couldn't help but worry. Besides, his relationship with George might become a bit strained now that he was leading the championship - and because Mercedes didn't put half as much effort into George's strategies as they did with Kimi.
He remembered him and Max had put significant effort into making sure both Lando and Oscar were looked after last year, especially when the championship tipped from Oscar to Lando, so of course he'd do the same for Kimi.
"Kimi, you drove brilliantly today! Coming to Ferrari to visit Lewis?" Charles asked by way of greeting, smiling, squeezing Kimi's shoulder gently. Kimi looked up, startled, reminding Charles of a baby deer and - God, he really needed to stop comparing Kimi to baby animals, it wasn't fair to the almost-not-a-pup. He was more like a teenaged deer, on the cusp of adulthood.
"Ah, no, Charles...I was looking for Max, and he wasn't at Red Bull, so I thought he might be here...?" Kimi asked, looking around hopefully, deflating slightly as he realised he couldn't smell Max on Charles at all, so the Pack Alpha probably wasn't here.
"Come, I'll help you find him, he might have gone down to McLaren to congratulate Lando and Oscar." Charles offered, rubbing Kimi's back reassuringly, and walking towards McLaren together. "To be honest, I have been looking for Max too, but he said earlier that he's very proud of your driving to the press." The omega said, smiling, gently rubbing his soft scent of wine and cherries on Kimi, though he did his best to make the cherries scent come out more.
Kimi had been drenched in more than enough wine for one day.
"Max said that?" The pup asked, brightening up, pressing himself against Charles' side now, though whether that was due to his calming scent or the fact that Charles always smelled a little bit like Max was unknown.
"Of course, Kimi. Even if Max and I - or George and Toto - don't say it after every race, we are very proud of your driving." Charles promised, feeling his heart melt in like a piece of chocolate left out in the sun too long (He should call Seb, Seb would know how to help).
Kimi smiled up at Charles, falling silent for a few seconds, but before he could voice whatever thought he had, Oscar appeared from behind a pillar - what was it with pillars holding surprises for Charles these days - saying, "Lando's missing." in place of any greeting.
"Oscar! Nice to see- what do you mean Lando's missing?" Charles asked, his train of thought (and Kimi's) interrupted by Oscar popping up like the world's weirdest Whack-a-Mole.
"Lando's missing. Hi Kimi." Oscar repeated, looking at the papaya McLaren buildings and then back at Charles and Kimi. "Oh...we thought Max would be here, with Lando." Kimi said, his disappointment evident, looking away.
Charles frowned, before smiling at both Kimi and Oscar, placing his hands on his hips. "We will find Max and Lando, both. I don't know about Max, but Lando might have gone to Carlos, and if we find Lando, we'll probably find Max." He reasoned, and internally preened when Oscar barely looked distraught at the idea of Lando going to find Carlos instead of him.
He knew Oscar sometimes felt bad about being a beta - that he couldn't be as 'good' as Carlos, but he'd been working very hard on getting over that (partially with Charles' help), and it seemed to be working.
"Let's go, I want to find Max." Kimi said, walking towards Williams very determinedly, so Charles let him lead, hanging back to talk to Oscar.
"Oscar, you know Lando loves you very much, right? And that won't change, even if he goes to Carlos instead of you sometimes, they are good friends, after all." Charles reminded quietly, keeping his voice low and soothing as he walked beside the beta.
Oscar huffed, looking away, before looking back at Charles. "Yes, dad, I know he still loves me. He doesn't need to go to Carlos just because I had a good race." The Aussie said, walking towards Williams. "Tell him that, Oscar, you know this. If you two talk to each other, you'll get through anything." Charles promised, squeezing Oscar's shoulder briefly, stopping as they reached Williams.
Kimi paused for several moments, before taking a deep breath and deciding to just...walk in, nodding at engineers and team personnel alike as he entered.
Charles had no clue where this hyper-confident Kimi came from (and after sharing a glance with Oscar, they both followed him inside). Though they had to occasionally steer Kimi in the right direction, towards Carlos' driver's room.
After knocking, Charles stood outside Carlos' door, Kimi poking his head from behind the omega inquisitively, compared to Oscar, who seemed as blank as ever.
"Carlito, have you seen Max or Lando?" Charles asked, when the Alpha poked his head out, smiling at the sight of his friend. "No, I haven't, but-"
His words were cut off by Alex, whose voice could be heard echoing from somewhere nearby, "Where is George, oh my god?!"
"Today seems like the day everyone's going missing." Carlos said, rolling his eyes, before smiling apologetically at Charles, Oscar and Kimi. "I have been showering." The Alpha explained, stepping out of his room, smelling like his soap, most of his natural scent that builds up on skin washed away by the shower.
"You can join us, you're probably worried about Lando too." Oscar offered, a little pleased that Lando wasn't with Carlos, but mostly just extremely worried about where the other beta was.
"Let's go talk to Alex, he might've found Max or Lando when looking for George!" Kimi said, charging off in the direction he heard Alex's voice, and when they found the beta, he was pacing back and forth, wracking his brains.
"Oh, Kimi! Have you seen George? I can't find him anywhere, and I've checked...literally everywhere!" Alex asked, grasping Kimi's shoulders immediately, causing the pup to laugh nervously, pulling himself away.
"Ah, no...have you seen Max or Lando?" Kimi asked, receiving a shake of the head from Alex.
By now, they'd amassed a little group - Kimi, Charles, Oscar, Carlos and now Alex, all looking for their friends. Charles was quiet for a few moments, leaning against a wall, before he smacked his forehead.
"Ollie. Max is probably with Ollie." He whispered, embarrassed that he hadn't gone to Ollie beyond visiting the medical center and making sure the omega was alright. "we should go to Haas." All the others looked at each other, Kimi making a wounded noise as he realised he hadn't been able to see Ollie with how busy the podium was.
The walk to Haas was quiet, but passed rather quickly.
When they arrived at Ollie's room, Charles gently knocked on it, a soft, British voice letting out a 'come in', and their little group entered the driver's room.
There, Ollie had made a big nest, laying in the center of it, tucked against Max's side. On Ollie's other side were Esteban and Pierre (surprisingly getting along), Franco nestled against Pierre. Checo and Valtteri had found themselves beside Max, with Lewis having drawn Max into his arms.
Gabi was laying on Ollie's legs, and Nico was sitting beside Gabi, rubbing his back. Most surprisingly, George and Lando each had their heads in Max's lap, and Max was alternating between running his hands through each of their hair.
Isack, Liam and Arvid were all sitting together, on Gabi's other side. Lastly, Lance was sitting in Esteban's lap and Fernando was sitting beside him, one hand on Lance's knee.
And now, with Charles, Kimi, Oscar, Carlos and Alex, everyone was here. "Ollie, how are you feeling?" Charles asked gently, kneeling beside the nest, before Ollie waved them all in, all of the grid becoming one massive, cuddling pile. "'m okay, just...was a lot." He said, pressing into Max's side.
Charles climbed up, onto Max's lap, while Kimi curled up between Ollie and George. Alex rested on George's other side, with Carlos next to him, after which was Lando, with Lando's head in Oscar's lap.
It was a mess, and cramped, but at least they were all together. Charles was about to suggest shifting to the nest in the pack's grid room, but Max shook his head, placing his hand on Charles' mouth. "Ollie's falling back asleep, we don't want to wake him. He'll be happier in a nest he made." The Pack Alpha reminded, his lips against Charles' ear, causing the Pack omega to shiver slightly, tucking himself against Max's chest.
Lewis, who was sitting behind Max, reached in front enough so that he could pull Charles closer (inadvertently pushing him further into Max), and Max found himself in a position that was becoming all too familiar - Lewis at his back, Charles against his front, sandwiched in a sea of red.
Max had always loved the Red Sea, so he didn't mind too much. Lewis behind him and Charles in front of him were steady pressures, grounding him to the here and now, with Ollie curled into his side like a little pup, even though the Omega had presented before coming on the grid.
Max had been so worried about Ollie, so after losing his mind a little with George, he gathered up some of the people closest to Ollie - Esteban, Gabi, Isack and Liam as well as anyone those four wanted to bring along - and, of course, Lewis, he went to Ollie's room and cuddle him there, with the rest of the grid slowly filtering in.
He didn't really mind how long they took, since they all had their things going on, but was happy everyone was there, in the end.
Even if the nest was too small, he knew everything would be fine, because since they could come together for Ollie, they'd be fine.