as it was | maxiel

singapore 2022

just some comfort to cope with today's quali

—

Max really couldn't believe this. This was supposed to be the weekend, they had to be on top to have the chance of winning the championship this weekend. As soon as he could he left the paddock, skipping the debrief with the team.

He wasn't in the mood to even speak to them right now. How could they make a mistake like this? Such a small mistake that ruined his chances on pole.

He said goodbye to Bradley before he went to the hotel room he shared with Daniel. Max quickly showered and got into bed, wearing one of his favorite pieces of Daniel's merch.

The weekend already started bad when his team is being blamed of having breached the budget cap last year and now this. Max wasn't even optimistic about the race.

Usually he would be very positive about driving back to the front, but this weekend just wasn't it. He didn't even got the time to properly celebrate his birthday with Daniel, because when he returned to the room Daniel was already in bed, close to falling asleep.

Today that was the case with Max. Daniel came into the room to find Max laying in bed, scrolling through something on his phone.

"Hey." Daniel whispered. He had watched the last lap from Max along with George, he saw how the pole vanished because of the team their mistake.

Max looked up, a smile back on his face immediately. "Hi."

Daniel dropped his backpack on the floor and kicked off his shoes before sitting down next to Max on the bed. "You alright?"

Max shrugged. "I guess." He mumbled. "We could have done it tomorrow, but that seems very unlikely to happen now." He explained, looking down at the white sheets of the bed.

Daniel smiled sadly at him. "You will become the champ babe, maybe not this weekend, maybe not next weekend, but who cares. It'll happen Max."

"Are you sure?" Max asked.

"Of course I am, have you seen the gap between you and Charles?." Daniel tried to joke.

It made Max laugh a little, but he shrugged after. "Yeah..." He breathed out. "It's just I want to finish the job as soon as possible now."

Daniel grinned. "Well, can't say that I know what you mean but-."

Max looked at him with wide eyes. "Shit I- I'm sorry Dan, I totally forgot about you're P17." Max bit his lip in embarrassment.

Daniel sighed. "It's alright, no worries. I'm used to being down there."

Max swallowed, hearing Daniel say that hurts him. He's worth way more than that orange car.

"I'm gonna get ready for bed, okay?" Daniel broke the silence, getting up from the bed.

Max nodded and watched Daniel grab some clothes and move into the bathroom.

They both made sure to hold each other a little tighter than usual.