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Weird things happening around the paddock wasn't unusual, animal traits making certain drivers a little erratic. The predators being unreasonably nasty, the felines refusing to do anything else other than lay in the sun, the canines being way too clingy for anyone's taste, the chaos was a form of normalcy.
What wasn't normal was the big bad Dutch lion Max Verstappen being one of the people that acts out. Out of everyone, he has the most control over his animal instincts, honed over the years. If he didn't have the ears, tail, sharp teeth and retractable claws, you wouldn't even be able to tell what animal he was.
Recently though, all of that control seemed to have gone out the window. He was growling at other predators, being incredibly territorial and in general being more of a pain in the ass than he's ever been.
Charles wasn't the only driver to take note of this, of course, but he was the one to make it his mission to find out what the other man's deal was. The two have become good friends, everything considered, so he figured if anyone was to get to the bottom of this, it would be him.
Walking into the Red Bull hospitality was strange, he stuck out like a sore thumb, rosso corsa in a sea of deep navy blue. No one seemed to pay too much attention to him, he thought, until he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Turning around, the person who wanted his attention was none other than GP. The other man will definitely tell him off and kick him out.
“Are you here to check on Max?”
Or maybe not. It seems everyone found Max's behavior strange.
“Yes. The way he's been recently is…worrying.”
“His driver's room is that way.”
“You…are not mad at me for being here?”
“The two of you are close and if we can't figure out what's happening, you're our next best bet. He talks about you a lot, he respects you, he should hopefully listen to you.”
Max talked about him a lot? To his own team? That was interesting information that he safely filed away for later. When he gets back to his usual self, Charles will tease him endlessly about that. But that is actually for later. Right now he had a grumpy kitty to deal with.
Finding Max's driver's room was easy enough after GP pointed him the right way. He knocked, out of courtesy, before entering without even waiting for Max's response. He didn't expect to get one that wasn't a hiss or a growl anyways.
Opening the door, he found the Dutchman sunbathing. His first, rather unhelpful, thought was that this was very cute. His second thought was that something is definitely wrong with Max. The Monegasques’ instincts weren't exactly happy with him being so reckless, knowing the lion was much higher up in the food chain compared to him, even though they were both feline predators.
Getting closer to the other driver he realized that…Max was napping. The big mean kitty was napping in the sun. (And he also noted that he picked a wonderful sunny spot for that nap.) He found it hard to imagine this was the same man that was snapping at others in the paddock just a couple hours earlier. He seemed…peaceful, like this. Gorgeous. (Charles realized thinking about Max like this was not exactly going to help him here, but he's been long aware of his interest in the Dutchman, having years to process those feelings.)
“Maxie?” The serval got down to the lions level, sitting on the floor next to him. He wanted to nudge him, but was wary that if he decides the smaller feline is a threat, he might get bitten. While he wasn't exactly opposed to that, this wasn't the situation for it.
“Maxie, wake up.”
Gentle grumbling came from the other man, clearly unhappy about being so unceremoniously woken up mid cat-nap (Charles could relate.)
“What are you doing here, Leclerc?”
A low sound came from the man, almost like a warning. Everything in Charles body was telling him to back up and fuck off, but this wasn't the time to listen to his instincts.
“Max, we need to have a talk.”
“About?” Max growled.
“Exactly that, Maxie. You have been snapping at everyone around you, what's going on?”
The lion seemed almost shocked? Did he really not realize what he was doing?
“I have?”
“Yes Max, god you growled at the rookies! The rookies!”
Max really didn't realize what he was doing huh. At least it's comforting to know he wasn't doing this on purpose? It would be incredibly rude of him to do so and would make Charles rethink everything he thought he knew about the man.
“Fuck.”
“Fuck indeed, Max. Now, tell me, what is bothering you.”
There was a bit of silence, Max seemingly weighing his options about what he could do.
“If I tell you, this stays between us, yes?”
“Yes.”
Max swallowed anxiously. This was very much unlike his usual cool and calm exterior, Charles can't remember a time when he saw the man this worried about something.
“Canyoupetmeplease.”
“What was that, Max?”
“I said…can you pet me…please.”
It was Charles' turn to look shocked. Max? Asking for pets? That was not how he expected this day to go. He tentatively reaches a hand out, hovering near Max's lion ears and his hair. The Dutchman instinctively nudges his head to meet Charles halfway.
And Charles…his heart could explode right then and there. He gets braver, letting his hand wander through the blonde strands of Max's hair, gently scratching behind his ears. Then, a certain sound slowed his movement. Purring. Max was purring. Oh this was the best day of Charles’ life.
The purrs faded as Charles' movements stopped, leaving Max to look up at him with pleading eyes. Eyes that the Monegasque would never be strong enough to say no to. But instead of returning to gently petting him, he patted his lap.
“Lay down here, Maxie, it'll be more comfortable for you.”
The bigger feline blinked, before accepting the offer, laying his head in the servals lap. Charles' hands returned to the little lion in his lap, gently massaging his scalp, playing with his ears, even gently cupping the other man's cheek. That touch is something Max leans into, making Charles smile.
This continued on for a while, before one of them decided to speak up.
“How exactly does this help you, Maxie?”
Blue eyes looked up at him, thinking.
“This is going to be rather embarrassing but…this helps me relax. I think I have been snapping at others because I have been stressed. It's not something I realize…and when I visit my family, it's hard to get their hands off of me…but I guess it has been a while since I visited them.”
“So you are saying…you are touch starved?”
“In a way…yes.”
“Oh mon petit lion…” Charles said, stroking his hair. “I do not mind helping you with this anytime you need… if you'll let me.
Max considered the offer for a while before finally responding.
“I think I would like that.”
“In that case, we will be here for a while. Do you want to lay in the sun together?”
Max moved off of his lap, waiting for what the other man would do. Charles laid down and tugged the Dutchman into his chest, resuming the lion petting session. The content purr of both felines filled the room. Max nudged his head into Charles' neck, evidently finding that to be the most comfortable place for him, which the Monegasque wouldn't complain about.
Tangled up in each other's limbs, the pair slowly began slowly drifting off to sleep. While this didn't help Charles' and his whole I am crushing on my childhood rival situation, it gave him some hope that maybe his feelings weren't as one sided as he initially thought.
The last thing Charles heard was a gentle whisper from Max.
“Thank you for this, schat.”