Multi Fandom Scenarios

somewhere in the netherlands

summary: Max realises his retirement from F1 is all worth it.

pairing: dad!max verstappen x mom!reader

warnings: pregnancy, mentions of weight gain and insecurity

word count: 1.5k

a/n: DAD!MAX DAD!MAX WE ALL CHANT IN UNISON

Max quietly groaned as he woke up, the ache in his bones from a hard season of racing had taken its toll on him, the ache settled deep in his bones, but he was hoping that this would be it. He had announced his retirement following his 4th championship, citing that he wanted to retire on a high and be able to spend time with you and your children.

Children.

Your son, Ruben, had recently turned 3, and in a few short months, your family would be growing in size with the addition of your little girl. He turned on his side to face you, he found that the space between you in the morning grew bit by bit every morning as your little girl grew. He smiled, placing his hand on your swollen middle, feeling the kicks of your daughter through your RedBull Racing shirt - It was one of Max's champion t-shirts, but these days, you found Max's t-shirts were all that could fit over your ever growing stomach.

"Max, she was sleeping," You sleepily groaned, rubbing a hand over your stomach to try and soothe the child kicking at your ribs. Max chuckled, leaning over to place a kiss on your lips.

"Sorry, schatje, just wanted to make sure that she knows I'm here now," He said quietly, as if his hushed tone would somehow send your daughter back to sleep. You giggled, trying your hardest to shuffle closer to your husband.

"I think that you being here is what's causing her to kick, my love," You joked, placing your hand on Max's cheek, rubbing it with your thumb. These mornings made Max realise how lucky he was, he knew that he had turned it around from how his father treated him - He made it clear to you that if Ruben didn't want to drive go-karts, then that would be perfectly fine. Your son had taken an interest in football, and even though Max fell short of the skills in that, he always made an attempt to play along with Ruben, even if he always let him win. "We're so lucky to have you Max. Me, Ruben, and baby girl, we're so lucky to have you." You told him, resting your head on his shoulder.

"I think I'm the lucky one, I don't know what I did so right to get so lucky to have such a loving family and wife," He placed a kiss on your lips, taking your hand in his and rubbing over the cold material of your wedding band. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you and the kids, our own little babies." You smiled as you nodded - You hadn't had much of a say over Max retiring, but you made sure that he knew that either way, you would support him with all that you had.

Secretly, you were relieved when he told you that he was retiring. You never told him about the endless pit of anxiety that opened up in your stomach at every race weekend, the constant fear that something bad would happen to him, and that you would be left to raise your children on your own without the love of your life. 

The thought didn't bare thinking about.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by the gentle creaking of yours and Max's bedroom door opening, followed by the soft padding of your son's feet coming into the room. Clad in his blue pyjamas, his blonde hair a mess on his head, and carrying his favourite comforter.

"Mama," He made your way over to your side of yours and Max's bed, but your heart broke every time that he wanted you to lift him up - You really wanted to try, but you couldn't risk hurting you or baby girl.

"Mama can't lift you, Rubear, come over and Daddy'll lift you up and you can sit between us," Max told the small boy, offering him a compromise on you lifting him. Ruben knew that his baby sister was growing in your tummy, but that was as much as he knew. He padded over to the other side of your shared bed, holding his arms up to his father to be picked up, to which he obliged and picked his small son up. "There's my boy, did you sleep good?" Ruben nodded and lay down against his father's chest, holding Max's t-shirt in his small hands and he clung to his father.

As the winter rain battered off the window, you, Max and your son settled down for a cosy morning in bed, you rubbing small circled on Ruben's back as he settled on top of Max.

This made Max retiring worth it. Spending time with you and Ruben as a small family of three before you gave birth to your daughter was worth it, being able to see your kids grow up was worth it, to even see you have another child - in Max's mind, everything was worth it. The daily, mundane activities would be worth it, taking Ruben to school, grocery shopping, cooking - Those things made his retirement worth it.

"Go Ruben!" Max cheered, trying not to get too excited that your daughter, Saskia, would lose her grip on his shoulders. Ruben had gotten bored of football and taken an interest in his father's hobby, and it was clear that being a champion ran in the Verstappen bloodline. "Y/N look, he's in the lead!" He cheered excitedly. You smiled at Max's excitement, he made sure that when Ruben was racing, his yelling was a sign of constant encouragement, telling his son how well he was doing - He was breaking the cycle, as the harsh words his father screamed at him at 8 years old were still prominent in his mind.

"I see, my love, I'm just scared if I get too excited, I'll go into labour," You giggled, your concern genuine at this point. You were 8 months pregnant with yours and Max's last baby, you'd told him that if he got you pregnant again, then you would give him the snip yourself. "Saskia, baby, are you not cold, do you want your hat?" You shouted up to your daughter.

"No mama, I'm okay!" She shouted back to you, a smile which mirrored your husband's present on her face as she watched her older brother speed around the track. With Max's hands occupied holding your daughter's ankles, you put your arm around his waist, to which you smiled - Max had never been known to have a little waist, but he had gained what you had affectionally called 'a dad bod'. He'd gotten insecure about it after a while, which you understood - He'd gone from being at his peak physical health, to carrying a few extra pounds.

You'd told him none of that mattered to you, that no matter how he looked, fat or thin, that you would always love him - You told him that it was a sign that he loved his children, a sign that he could indulge in their favourite treats with his kids. He had told you the exact same thing a couple of months prior, when you realised that after 3 kids, your body no longer looked the same - But that made it more special to Max, that your body bore the marks of what it was possible of, of creating and carrying life.

"Go Ruben!" You, Max and Saskia cheered at the same time, watching as your oldest son crossed the finish line in first place. He immediately gout out of his kart, instantly searching for you and Max, but spotting his little sister on his shoulders first. Max brought Saskia down and off of his shoulders, so he could meet his son's embrace as he came running to him.

"Dad! Did you see me dad?! I won! Mama did you see me too?!" He yelled excitedly, having tossed his helmet to the side of Max, who crouched down to embrace your son in a tight embrace.

"Of course we saw you! You did so good out there, we're all so so proud of you Ruben!" He cheered, lifting his son into the air as you held onto your daughter's hand. "Our winning boy, right girls?" You and Saskia nodded, your eyes filling with tears as you saw your daughter immediately run to hug her big brother.

Damn pregnancy hormones.

"Mama, can I please take Saskia up with me to get my trophy?" Ruben asked you, pulling his best puppy eyes. You looked to Max, who nodded in response, agreeing with you.

"Of course you can, honey, just be careful in case you need to help her up if the podium is too high, okay?" Ruben nodded as he ran away with his little sister in tow, and you leaned against Max as he stood beside you, his arm around you. "He's such a good big brother." You said, looking up at your husband, who watched his children with nothing but pride in his eyes.

"They're both perfect, thank you so much for bringing them into the world, Schatje."