Little Did You Know

Chapter 2: Papa!

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Max's reaction to the server when the sandwiches arrived worried Checo a bit, the kid had jumped startled at the knock on the door and Checo had to reassure him it was all okay and that he was not leaving when the brunet settled him at the breakfast table and went to collect the triangles, but what hit him most was that Max looked truly spooked not by the stranger but by the loud knock.

It was not hard to get Max to eat, Checo had barely set the plate before him and the little hands grabbed one of the pieces, and Checo had to react quickly to get the skewer out before the child bit on it. Sergio smiled at the child and snorted when some ketchup dropped onto the white shirt the child was wearing and Checo realized the only thing Max had on was the shirt he had gone to bed with the night before and now hung oversized on his small frame.

His phone buzzed and Checo rushed to open the door, he had asked Christian to text him instead of knocking when he arrived to avoid spooking Max again. A mix of relief and anxiety coursed through him, he swung the door open to reveal a hastily-dressed Christian with a weary-eyed Toto in tow, their expressions a blend of concern and confusion. The presence of the team principals brought a glimmer of hope – surely, they could help him manage this new situation.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Checo greeted, ushering them into the room. But as the trio entered, an eerie silence filled the air. The breakfast table, where Max had been nibbling on a sandwich just moments ago, was now conspicuously empty.

Panic gripped Checo's heart, his eyes darting around the room, "He was right here... Max?" The three men were about to start looking for the child when the Mexican spotted a tuft of blond hair peeking out from behind the curtains, a sigh of relief escaped him as he knelt beside the hiding spot. "Amor, Max, it's okay, they're friends." Little Max shyly came out of his hiding spot and rushed into Checo's arms spying on the principal duo from there.

But as Christian approached slowly, the hesitance dissolved, replaced by recognition and trust. Almost making Checo lose balance in an unexpected burst of energy, Max darted out launching himself into Christian's arms who barely managed to catch the toddler and avoid both of them falling.

"Papa!" Max exclaimed, his small voice carrying a mix of joy and reassurance. The weight of the situation was momentarily forgotten as Christian held a de-aged Max that started throwing rapid Dutch at them.

"Pa, ik erg bang, maar mijn Checo was daar, en toen was er een lelijk geluid, maar mijn Checo bracht me een broodje en nu ben je hier!" (Daddy, I was so scared but my Checo was there, and then there was an ugly sound but my Checo brought me a sandwich, and now you're here!) Max explained from his perch on Christian's arms puzziling the adults.

"He thinks you're his father." Toto cleared his throat and commented stunning Christian, with Dutch and German having some things in common he had managed to grasp some of the kid's rambling. This had Chistian's mind racing to comprehend the unexpected bond that had emerged between them. "And Checo is uh his Checo." The Austrian continued pulling a laugh from the driver.

"Well, I guess somethings never change," Max's possessive traits were nothing new for anyone, especially when it came to Checo, with age Max had learned what was acceptable behavior and what was not, and while he couldn't much help his feelings he limited himself to glaring at anyone he thought was being too friendly with his boyfriend, however little Max had no such reservations such as openly calling the man his.

Toto gently placed a hand on Checo's shoulder as they observed Max comfortably nestled in Christian's arms. 

"I've been through something similar with Lewis back in 2017," Toto began, his voice carrying the weight of experience. "During the summer break, Lewis woke up one day, and he was a child again, it only lasted about a week. These things, they don't seem to follow a strict timeline."

Everyone knew nowadays why de-aging happens, and while that meant Max had found himself in a good state of mind and felt safe enough to affront his trauma, it didn't make things easy for those around him. A three-year-old Max who had claimed his guardians was well... complicated, especially when said guardians had to travel all over the world back and forth all throughout the year while living incredibly busy lives. 

Checo felt a weight settle on his shoulders, he couldn't shake the realization that Max's less-than-ideal childhood was at the root of this unexpected regression.

The Mexican driver gazed at Max, who was now playing with the buttons on Chirstian's shirt, a fleeting smile lighting up his face. Checo had been aware of the shadows in Max's past, the scars that sometimes surfaced in moments of vulnerability. It had felt comforting to know that Max was content enough to confront those demons, but the circumstances were far from ideal.

The paddock, with its high-stakes races and relentless competition, seemed an unforgiving stage for such a personal battle. Checo couldn't help but wonder how they would navigate this uncharted territory, supporting Max as he faced the ghosts of his childhood while striving to maintain their presence in the fast-paced world of Formula 1.

But the only other option for Max's care was for them to renounce guardianship and for his biological parents to take him, and neither Checo nor Christian would ever let Max fall into Jos's hands a second time and his mom was not that much of a better option either. So they were left with having to figure out how they were going to have a toddler along for the ride as the season went on and for however long the change lasted.

The first order of business was getting the child proper-sized clothes a task encomended to Checo while Christian and Toto fixed everything to register the case and the child's chosen guardians so they'd be able to take the kid out of the country when they were ready to leave.

Sending Checo was something the husbands regretted almost immediately since...

"Mjin Checo! Nee! Nee! Nee nee nee! Mijn Checo! Ga niet!" (My Checo! No! No! No no no! My Checo! Don't go!) Max kept crying and throwing an epically proportioned tantrum from the moment the door closed with the freckled man on the other side of it. The Anglo-Austian couple was left trying to get the distressed Max to understand that Checo was coming back and not abandoning him forever.

"Max, kiddo, Checo will return, he's just getting you something to wear." At Christian's words Max tilted his head.

"Checo?" Max sniffled.

"Yeah, love, Checo, he'll come back, I promise." Consoled looking at his husband for help but Toto was already engrossed on the phone to get a representative to assess their case and liberate a temporary ID for the child.

Despite all efforts, young Max looked like there was no more hope in the world.

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Another day another chapter, don't expect this to be a normal thing but who knows.