The Right Time (Lestappen)

In S(pain)

Max was used to getting online abuse. He was sure Lewis was used to it too, not that that made it alright. But in the last couple weeks since the picture of the two of them had come out the abuse seemed to be even more personal, even more vitriolic. It seemed to be coming from all angles and Max had spent far too long reading comments on social media from both Mercedes and Red Bull 'fans', if you could even really call them fans.

The Red Bull 'fans' seemed to be worried he would be giving team secrets away in exchange for sex. Max had tried to ignore the most derogatory sexual remarks, although it had been difficult. The Mercedes 'fans' also seemed to be concerned that team secrets were being exchanged, some going as far as to suggest that Max was pushing his sexuality on to Lewis as some way of distracting him from the championship. It was a ridiculous suggestion. Then there were the endless comments from people that just couldn't believe someone like Lewis would go near anything quite as 'ugly or disgusting' as Max. Those comments really hurt no matter how much he tried to ignore them. 

Max knew he should have stopped reading the comments long ago, in fact he wished he had listened to Charles and never started reading them to begin with. The thing that worried him most was that Lewis was also receiving the same messages and that meant the exact same thing may happen to Charles if people found out about them.

Charles hadn't voiced his concerns out loud but he was also scared at the level of hatred that was out there. He couldn't help but think that him and Max were getting a glimpse of what was to come when everyone found out about them. Charles would face it all if he had to, but it still terrified him. He had also had to deal with the guilt he felt at having to take a second look at that stupid picture, to make sure they weren't really kissing. He knew that he should have trusted Max when he had assured him it was a goodbye hug yet even now he kept thinking about it. No matter how much he told himself it was only a friendly hug he still worried there was something more. He tried to remain calm about it, he didn't want to argue. So he kept his feelings hidden believing that time would tell if this was something he should be concerned about. 

The rumours had complicated things in other ways too. Both Lewis and Max had denied the story but that hadn't really satisfied the gossipers. Max was sure people were now watching him a little more closely. It made sneaking into Charles hotel room each night more difficult, but the two were still determined to try. They were currently in Spain and Max had made absolute sure he wasn't being watched before slipping into Charles room on Saturday night. It may have been risky but he didn't want to sleep alone. He always slept better next to Charles. It was difficult to feel stressed when he was in Charles' arms and he had drifted off to sleep feeling happy and relaxed.

Unfortunately that feeling didn't last through to Sunday. He was sure the universe had it out for him because it was two thirds through the race and he had just been hit. He had been hit by none other than Lewis Hamilton. He was nothing but a passenger as his car spun and slammed into the barrier.

"Is Max okay? And Lewis? Are they okay?" Charles had asked panicked.

"Yes, yes they are fine Charles. Both out of the cars" came his race engineers response and Charles had exhaled a deep breath he didn't even realise he was holding.

Max had kept his race helmet on as he made his way back to the garage but it didn't drown out the jeers from the crows. For the first time at any race he could also hear jokes and abuse directed at his sexuality. It hurt, it hurt a lot.

In the press pen later he had tried to keep things as brief as possible repeating that Lewis had hit him, he couldn't do anything about it. For the most part the reporters had been respectful but there were still a few that had hinted at a lovers argument and Max could feel himself getting angry. One of the journalist's had even asked if he thought the FIA should update the regulations to ensure that the drivers did not engage with sexual activity or romantic relations with anyone. That had been the final straw and Max had run back off to his drivers room.

He slammed the door behind him and started to cry out of frustration. The past two weeks had been worse than when he had come out.It seemed people were okay with him being gay until they realised that that meant dating other men, or maybe they just didn't like the idea of two drivers together. Max didn't want to have to go through this with Charles, he considered whether they could keep it quiet until they both retired, he knew it was almost impossible.

He was still crying when Christian Horner came in to check on him. He tried to wipe the tears away on the back of his sleeve, he didn't think it was right to be crying in front of his boss but Christian gave him a sympathetic look and sat down next to him.

"Everybody hates me" Max tried to keep his voice from shaking.

"That's when you know you are doing well. You're leading the championship, they always hate you when you are winning." Christian tried to reassure him, although he knew the abuse Max had been receiving online recently had been particularly horrific.

"Would it be so bad, if I was dating another driver?" Max asked and then immediately wanted to take the words back realising what he had said.

"Would it affect your performance on track do you think?" Christian asked.

Max thought about it briefly. He couldn't imagine letting Charles win if that was what Christian meant. He never even let him win at FIFA, no matter how much Charles whined, and that was nowhere near as important as the drivers championship.

"No, no it wouldn't affect it at all" he answered confidently.

"Then I don't suppose it would matter to the team too much. So the story about Lewis, is it true then?"

"No, not it's not. It was just a hypothetical question"

"Shame, Toto seemed very concerned about the two of you being together and you know I love anything that I can tease Toto about" Christian tried to lighten the mood a little.

"Sorry to disappoint you then" Max joked back.

Christian smiled and placed a reassuring hand on Max's shoulder. He couldn't help but feel protective over his driver. Max had been with the team since he was a teenager and he had watched him grow up to be a well-mannered, kind young man, very different from the image the press had portrayed of him.

Christian knew that the past few months had been difficult and he was sure that Max missed having his dad's support at races. He had previously been at almost every race and was now nowhere to be seen. Christian had tried to call him, unbeknown to Max, and had tried to talk some sense into him but Jos didn't want to listen. Christian knew it would break Max's heart if he were to tell him that Jos had said he didn't have time for Max now, he had other children, children who could still make him proud. Christian just hoped that Max could find someone who could look out for him the way he deserved.

"I'm here if you need anything" Christian patted Max's shoulder before making his way out.

As soon as he had gone, Charles slipped into the room. He made sure to lock the door to avoid any unwanted interruptions and then ran over to Max and threw his arms around him.

"I was so worried about you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, especially now, I'm always ok when I'm with you" came Max's response.

Charles felt his heart melt a little. Max was far more sweet and romantic than Charles had ever imagined he would be. 

"It's been a tough couple weeks" Charles observed playfully stroking his hand through Max's hair.

"We are going to be alright aren't we? Me and You. This thing, it hasn't scare you off." Max asked tentatively.

"Of course we are going to be okay Max" Charles wrapped his arms tighter around Max and pressed his lips up against his softly, reassuring him. He just wished that the picture of Lewis and Max wasn't replaying in the back of his mind, causing doubt. He wished he could just forget about it but he couldn't.

"Good because - " Max hesitated briefly. This wasn't the way he had planned to tell Charles, in the middle of his drivers room, tear stained eyes, after an awful race, an awful week. He also knew it was pretty soon to admit it, much faster than he had ever anticipated but he knew he meant it because he had never felt like this about anybody before, "- I love you"

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Thanks to everyone who has been reading and voting, I've really loved reading your comments and some of them are so funny <3 <3