The Right Time (Lestappen)

A picture is worth a thousand words (part one)

Seen as the start of the race is delayed I decided to post the next chapter.....

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Max had never been so happy to step in the car for Free Practice. Being back behind the wheel felt like the most natural thing in the whole world, it was what he was born to do. He hadn't realised quite how much he had taken his career for granted. Having entered F1 at such a young age it never occurred to him that it could all be ripped away so easily. As the session came to a close he barely wanted to climb out of the cockpit but he hoped that this would be the last race he would have to sit out.

The race itself had not played out how he was hoping it would. Lewis had picked up another vital victory whilst Charles had only managed fifth. Max still had a small championship lead but that might not matter if he couldn't get back in the car. As the chequered flag was waved he tried his best to hide his frustration but it was written across his face. He sat silently throughout most of the team debrief and looked so miserable that Christian finally decided to take pity on him. As the Dutchman was about to leave for the day his team principle took him aside and let him know that it looked almost certain that they would get the necessary sign off to get him back in the car for the race in Brazil. As soon as the words had left Christian's mouth Max had thrown his arms around him, hugging him tightly. In fact he had hugged almost everyone in the garage despite the fact that he couldn't tell them what he was so happy about. He had promised Christian he would keep the news secret until it was official.

Still, Christian had given him permission to tell one person and that person was of course Charles. Max had hung around waiting for the Ferrari driver to finish his own debrief, something that seemed to be taking a lifetime. Max wasn't surprised though, there had been some questionable decisions made on the pit wall and discussions definitely needed to be had. After waiting around for a further hour he decided to head back to the hotel to wait. As he jumped in the warm shower and started lathering up his body he heard the click of the bathroom door and saw Charles peering his head around.

"Come join me Charlie" In his eagerness Max reached out and tried to pull Charles into the shower fully clothed.

"Max, at least let me get my clothes off' Charles laughed as he threw his t-shirt over his head and slipped off the rest of his clothes, pressing his lips firmly up against Max's as he joined him under the water.

"I think they're going to let me race again, almost certain" Max said in between planting kisses on Charles' lips.

"That's amazing" Charles groaned as Max starting sucking and kissing his neck.

After spending far longer in the shower than he had originally intended Max stepped out and dried himself and Charles off, planting a small kiss on his boyfriends lips before making his way through to the bedroom and throwing himself down on the bed.

"I can't believe you have plans that don't involve me" the Dutchman teased as he grabbed for the remote control. Charles looked over at his boyfriend who was laid back on the bed wearing nothing but a pair of low slung joggers, it was almost enough for him to cancel his evening plans. Almost enough but not quite because Pierre had sounded really excited about some photography exhibition and Charles didn't want to let his friend down, even if he could happily jump into bed next to Max right now.

"I guess I will have to celebrate all by myself" Max joked.

"Well don't celebrate too hard by yourself, I promise I won't be back late and then I will make up for leaving you on your own" Charles leaned over and gave Max a quick kiss before getting changed for the evening.

Charles' promise of getting back early seemed to be slipping out of his control as he sat in Pierre's hotel room watching the Frenchman try on almost every item he had in his suitcase. Charles had been treated to a full fashion show as Pierre tried to work out what to wear. For someone who was usually pretty confident when it came to fashion he seemed to be taking a lifetime to get ready. It barely seemed important, Pierre looked good in anything. Eventually the Alpha Tauri driver decided to wear the very first outfit he had tried on much to Charles' amusement and annoyance.

As Pierre parked up the two men made their way over to the small art gallery that Pierre had been raving about. If he hadn't sounded so excited Charles might have suggested they skip it all together and head out to eat. As they reached the door Pierre suddenly froze.

"I forgot my phone" the Frenchman exclaim in a rather alarming fashion, almost like he had lost a limb or something, "I'll meet you inside" he shouted as he sprinted off back to the car like his life depended on it. Charles really did think he needed to have a word with his friend about phone addiction. It was actually a serious medical condition, rather ironically Charles had read an article about it on his phone. As he headed inside he was greeted by an older lady who was sat at reception, she gladly got to her feet and guided him to the room at the back.

"Just through there sweetheart" she beamed.

As soon as Charles walked through the door he felt his heart skip. The room was dimly lit with the odd candle flicking and the floor was covered in rose petals As promised there were photographs lining the walls but they were pictures he already recognised. Pictures of him and Max. As he moved closer he could see the first photo was from back in their karting days. They weren't exactly the best of friends at the time but looking back it made him smile to think of all the on track battles they had shared. As he made his way along the wall, he saw photographs taken at various points over the years reminding him just how long he and Max had been in each other's lives in one way or another. With each step the photographs became more recent. Photos from podiums they had shared, from nights out they had been on, to selfies they had taken when messing around at home. It was like a snapshot of their lives together. Charles couldn't stop the happy tears from falling from his eyes as he looked at the picture they had taken together in the cottage in the south of France. Charles was looking right down the camera lens with a huge smile on his face as Max kissed him on the cheek. The final frame was empty apart from the small inscription 'Here is to making many more happy memories together".

Before Charles had even had time to process what was happening the door opened and Max stepped out. Charles tried to wipe away the tears that were falling from his eyes but his heart almost stopped as he saw Max getting down on one knee. 

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As I always say, thank you so much to all of you lovely people for reading, commenting and voting. Part two will be posted either Tuesday or Wednesday <3 <3