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With the massive variety of different animals on our planet, you'd think in an exclusive sport such as Formula, each driver would be something unique, maybe belonging to the same family of canines, felines, equines, reptiles or whatever else you could think of, but still being different species.
Ever since Max entered the sport, he was the only lion around, he liked it that way. Top of the food chain, top of the sport, it suited him. It also meant the other cat hybrids formed a pseudo-pride with him. While you would expect cat hybrids to like being solitary creatures, Max somehow drew all of them together, along with anyone he deemed one of his rookie cubs, to form a rather tight knit social group. You could often find them hanging out together, lounging in the sun or terrorizing the other animals. Or rather the rookies and Charles terrorized everyone, while Max stood by and looked at them disapprovingly, yet notably didn't do anything to stop them.
This was their dynamic, they liked it, and they didn't like it being shaken up. Max often brought in new members but as long as they were prepared and aware of it, it usually went smoothly, even if the other kitties were a little feisty to the new member until they all got settled.
All of this changed when a certain new driver arrived. Another lion hybrid was on the grid.
Max, of course, didn't view the young Nikola as a threat, seeing him more like his cub than anything, but seeing as the Bulgarian sought him out, it looked like the other driver had differing ideas. What Max thought was just a driver coming to introduce himself turned into both of them growling and swatting at each other, a faux show of dominance (Max wouldn't actually attempt to do anything to hurt the younger lion, he was just playing along for the sake of playing along, plus he would never surrender to anyone, so he needed to make that plenty clear too). He let Nikola carry on, treating this as just a training session for him, a way to get out his energy. Surely when he was tuckered out he would admit that yes, this was stupid and that Max was obviously the dominant male lion in this pride. It's not like males couldn't work together, but the younger driver was still (in Max's opinion) just a cub, so that's not how this would work.
Unfortunately for both of them, they were interrupted.
Charles was making his way to Red Bull for his, by now, routine debrief and kitty nap session with Max. It wasn't uncommon to find the two of them tangled together laying in the sun, the other felines poking fun at them when they woke up. Both of them aggressively denying they were cuddling for any other reason other than “there was such limited sun shining through, this was the only way both of us could lay in it”, as if anyone actually believed that.
He ended up running into the younger VCARB driver, Eli, who joined him on the journey to Max's room. It wasn't uncommon to find the lynx sleeping nearby while Max and Charles were talking about something, him claiming the idle chatter helped him nap. If that was true or if he just liked to eavesdrop and gather blackmail material, no one really knew, but he did usually end up asleep so no one really questioned the reasoning either.
When the two opened Max's driver's room, they were unpleasantly surprised to find one more lion than there should be.
It's not like they weren't aware of the other big kitty on the grid, they just didn't expect him to be in their space growling at their packmate. Neither took this too well, them being unable to tell this was mostly playful from Max's side, so to say they were freaked out was an understatement.
Charles had it worse, his instincts screaming at him to fuck off from all of the bigger cats, them only being slightly soothed with the fact Eli jumped in front, growling and hissing at the others, protecting the smaller feline. Even though he was shorter than everyone else in the room, it was still a nice statement. Teeth bared, he didn't back down, no matter how much he knew this was a losing fight if either of the two lions decided the other two cats were dangerous.
This snapped Max and Nikola out of their “game” (read: Max finding this fun, Nikola being unable to read the room, even if he didn't have bad intentions) and made them realize that this was maybe a little ridiculous and not safe to outsiders. Max was the first to move, slowly lowering himself down until he was laying on his back, belly exposed to everyone else. It took a minute, but eventually Nikola’s brain caught up with why exactly Max was doing that, and he mirrored the motion.
“Charlie, you're safe, we won't hurt you,” Max spoke, only addressing the Monegasque. (Eli would be offended by this if he wasn't still in a state of fight or flight.)
The lynx stood his ground, even as the serval cautiously peeked over his shoulder. Then, against everything Eli could rationalize, he watched Charles slowly make his way to the lions.
“What are you doing?!” He snapped, still not being convinced of all of this. His lynx instincts made him very territorial, even if by default that shouldn't include other creatures. (They somehow made an exception for this pride, even he wasn't quite sure how.)
Charles didn't respond, instead continuing to approach the two larger felines. Finally, he stopped in front of the two drivers, before gently lowering himself down next to Max. The Dutchman took this as an invitation and wrapped himself around Charles, a deep and content rumble escaping from him before he had a chance to stop it.
The serval relaxed in the embrace, instincts calming down, letting him just enjoy the moment. Or rather he would be able to enjoy it if it wasn't for someone still hissing at the opposite end of the room.
“Elijah, stop being a baby, it is fine,” he angrily said to the lynx.
“You don't know that! He isn't meant to be here!”
“Rude,” Nikola said, rolling his eyes, even though he wasn't even sure the other could see.
“What if he hurts you, what if they start fighting again what if-”
“Verdomme Eli, you know I wouldn't hurt Charles nor would I let someone hurt him,” even Max was starting to get impatient, never a good sign.
“But-”
“No more buts from you, mon petit lynx, instead you will behave like a civilized cat and come here, yes?” Charles phrased it as a question, but his tone made it very clear it was more of a command than anything.
Eli responded with a hiss aimed directly at Charles, but complied nonetheless.
He still wasn't fully comfortable, but he laid down next to Charles, as far away from the lions as possible while still in theory being with the pack, cheating the system and all. He would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for Max letting go of Charles (not something he ever expected to see the Dutchman do) and tossing him right in the middle of the two lions. Tossing was a bit of an overstatement, he was more like gently airlifted while being scuffed by his shirt, but he would still treat it as a war crime.
“You are not making this any easier, Verstappen,” he said the name with a growl, knowing while he couldn't actually hurt Max, he could at least make it known he wasn't happy about this.
“Too bad, get used to it.”
Eli let out a humph, not pleased by being turned into a lion sandwich.
And then, as if on command to make his day even worse, a wonderful sun ray made its way into the floor. Now this would always be a good thing for the kitties, however it wasn't exactly big enough for all of them, maybe two at best.
Max and Charles already had it figured out, the two stacked on top of each other in a way where both got an ample amount of sunshine, Charles letting out a quiet purr, clearly content.
That just left Nikola and Elijah to fight for the last spot. Elijah decided he would make it his personal mission to make sure the smaller lion didn't get any inch of sun to himself. Surely messing with someone a lot stronger than him won't backfire, right? He wasn't smart enough to think that far ahead.
With ease, Nikola grabbed him, placed him on top of him, and held him in a way where he couldn't move his arms no matter how he tried. And by fuck, did he try.
“Stop wiggling!”
“Let go of me!”
“You'll just try to fight me again!”
“I want the sun!”
“You're getting the sun this way?”
“Well…yes but-”
“And it's comfortable, yes?”
“Not when I can barely move!”
“I can't trust you not to instantly claw my eyes out if I let you go.”
“So you'd rather hold me hostage like this?”
“Yes, now stay quiet for once.”
“Or what?”
A warning growl was heard from Max. Okay, maybe he really shouldn't mess with either of the lions if they seemingly had each other's backs. That just led him to wonder what everything earlier was about though? Weird.
Nonetheless, he realized it would be in his best interest to actually listen, so he reluctantly stopped arguing, and tried his best to enjoy the sun. He was still mad at the lion holding him like he was a teddy bear in a straight jacket, but the anger melted away into sleep soon enough.
He was the first one up, unsurprisingly, it was not usual for him to sneak away while everyone was still asleep. Yet when he tried to this time, there was something stopping him. Somehow during the nap Nikola went from holding him hostage to spooning him. It was a weird feeling for the lynx that wasn't usually one for this much physical contact. Cuddle puddles are fine, as long as he conveniently avoids the cuddle part. Too bad he didn't manage to do so this time. He tried to move away again, but the lion's grip only tightened, pulling him closer. He almost let out a whine at the sensation, almost. It was…almost comfortable. Almost. The more he wiggled the tighter the smaller lion's grip got, eventually even getting a sleepy grumble from him. That is when he realized there was no getting out of this without waking at least one person and he really wasn't about to do that. He already got scolded by everyone in the room, he really didn't need a round two.
He stopped struggling against the bigger feline holding him, a pleased sound escaping the Bulgarian even in his sleep. He felt the other tug him closer still, even though he wasn't trying to escape anymore, which he found kind of odd. That feeling only intensified when he felt himself being tucked under his chin. At this point whatever was going on couldn't be considered anything else but cuddling, even though it was mostly one sided. Elijah could pretend to be mad all day about this, and he would when everyone woke up, but for now, he let himself enjoy this. Would he ever admit that to anyone? Nope, he wouldn't even admit it to himself. His body betrayed him though, a low purr escaping that he oh so desperately tried to stifle, albeit unsuccessfully. He mentally sighed and just let his body do what it wanted, it's not like he could control this part of him, apparently. With him reaching the phase of acceptance, he finally let himself be lulled back to sleep again, and it came way easier than he would ever like to let on. The soothing warmth from another body behind him, the way he was being held onto tightly, but not tight enough so it was uncomfortable, it was all a perfect recipe for rest that he didn't know he needed.
Usually his naps only lasted about an hour, this time though, he knew he wouldn't need to deal with waking up so soon. He was nice and safe and comfortable. The perfect place for a proper cat nap.