Charles was closer to sleep than he was to consciousness, his head resting gently on Max's chest, rising and falling to the pattern of his breathing. It was in their sacred moments that the boy felt the most defenseless, unable to filter his ways of thinking or his actions. The brunette pushed his body closer to the other driver, which was nearly impossible and had him almost on top of him, looking up and smiling to himself as he noticed the blond began to drift.
"Do you think they'd notice if we didn't make it to the race today?" Max joked, his voice raspy from the tiredness that dragged him down, his eyelids feeling heavy, his body wanting to surrender into sleep.
"I don't think they'll notice at all, no one pays attention to us," he joked. They both knew that out of everyone on the grid they would be the two to make the most commotion with their absences, especially after the pictures circulating of them together after his crash. But for a moment the driver wanted to live in a reality where Max could stay with him all night and into the morning.
Charles's lips hovered over the man's neck, leaning in gently to kiss him. His own breathing picked up, and his heart beat faster as he did so. "Thank you, Max," he whispered, moving up to kiss his cheek. Charles came to the realization that he loved kissing upwards towards the man's face, wishing he could leave the trace of his lips everywhere on him—wanting the man to know where his own feelings were beginning to stand, even if he didn't feel the same.
Those quiet moments were often more intimate than sex itself. The subtle touches and soft kisses made their interaction feel like more than something casual—more than just a fun experience. The tenderness of their touch added a layer of closeness beyond the proximity of their bodies.
On Charles's naked torso, Max gently touched the side of his ribs, making sure to not add too much pressure, knowing the area was sore from his crash earlier that day. "I want you to know I'd have done what I did for anyone, I'm not a cheater," Max whispered to Charles, as if it was a secret no one else could dare to overhear, "but I'm glad it was you." he said, tilting his head to look into the brunette's large green eyes. "Plus I don't think I'd have wasted my time trying to convince anyone else of how talented they are, it's pretty annoying," the man teased, smirking at him as he ran his hand down his silhouette, caressing his fingers against his warm skin.
Hiding his face in the crook of the man's neck, Charles felt embarrassed at having needed a pep talk earlier. However, as he felt Max's fingertips softly running across his bare skin, the brunette couldn't push away the smile on his face, "are you saying that you think I'm special?" he asked, letting his face be cupped into Max's hand. Their eyes met, and despite asking the question as a teasing comment, it was clear in his eyes how much he needed to hear the answer, especially when it was coming from Max.
The playful smile faded away, his expressions relaxing as he reached out for Charles's face, cupping his cheek. "Do you want to take a shower? Before I go." He said, rubbing his thumb against his cheekbone. "I'll help you wash off."
Placing his hand on top of Max's, the boy kept him in place, not wanting anything to break the moment they were sharing. Charles avoided the shower question at first, taking the time to carefully scan every inch of the man's face, noticing the mole on his bottom lip and leaning in to kiss him softly. The kiss was airy and there was no rush to it, only a gentle peck that held an intimateness that no person without feelings for the other could ever replicate.
"I could use the help," he whispered eventually. His words landed on Max's lips from their proximity. Although he agreed to the shower, he couldn't find it in himself to get up, opting for another gentle kiss. This time, it gave him more access to his mouth, craving him deeply. Charles brought his hand to Max's chest, running his hands down to his abs and tracing the lines gently while deepening the kiss unintentionally. "Could you help me, please?" he asked, his green eyes looking at him both in a helpless manner and like he was ready to attach their mouths again if they didn't start making their way to the restroom.
"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who thinks that you're special, by the way," Max replied, gently pushing Charles away from him. "Don't you have the longest contract in Ferrari history? They really think you're the chosen one."
"You're a wizard, Harry." The blond joked, exaggerating the tone of his voice to match the speech in the quote of the movie as he stepped out of the bed. "To them, I'm probably a Malfoy kind of deal." Max suggested, reaching out for Charles's hand to pull him out of bed. "No, even worse, Voldemort!" He raised his eyebrows. "You also feel something tingling whenever I'm close, I'm sure, but it's not your forehead scar," Max said, reaching down to tease a tickle on his stomach.
Charles made an attempt to hold back his laughter but a smile quickly pierced through and then a small hiccup of a laugh followed soon after. "You talk as if it's not a mutual tingling," the boy said, staying close to Max even after he'd helped him out of bed already and there wasn't much of a reason to keep holding on to him, he told himself it was from a safety point of view since he'd been in an accident earlier but really it all had to do with not wanting to waste any of their time together.
"I do think I would have been a good Harry Potter, my nemesis is also blond and a bit cocky," he joked back, leaning against the sink while the water for the shower began to run. His injuries weren't too bad aside from the bruising, but the events that took place between them left his walking feeling a bit odd.
Once the steam began to fill the room, Charles stepped into the warm shower, which immediately relaxed his muscles. With small noises of content, Charles let the water run through his hair and then down his body. His eyes remained closed until he felt Max's presence in the shower with him, causing his green eyes to flutter open and look up into the blue ones, his hand holding into the man's arm suddenly in need of support.
Max immediately reached out for the soap, spreading it across his hands until it foamed. "You scared me today," the blond confessed, taking the opportunity that the brunette had his back turned to him to say things he wouldn't have had the courage to otherwise. "When you crashed," he added, starting to spread the soap along the Monegasque back. "I got scared that maybe you had been badly injured," he continued, his hands contouring the curves of his muscles. "That's why I chased you down to the hospital building, I had to see for myself that you were okay," he concluded, wrapping his arms around the front of his body, using the excuse of spreading the soap to touch and shape his pecs.
"I didn't want to talk to you when I saw you," Charles admitted, leaning his head back just enough to have it near Max's, "then I realized how quickly you had made it to me, the race couldn't have been over for more than ten minutes and you were already right in front of me," He recalled, the water already washing away the soap that the other man had lathered on his body but Max's hands stayed on him which made the brunette never want to move away.
There was a question in the air that he didn't have the nerve to ask but as he felt the warmth of Max's body heat behind him and the gentle movements of his touch, the boy felt that maybe he already knew the answer.
"I know I'm starting last tomorrow but just don't be surprised when you see me in front of you, I think it could be a nice challenge especially now that I'll practically be unstoppable," he teased, turning his body to face the other man and smile up at him, the water droplets running down both of their bodies .
Maybe it was true what Kelly accused him of. No matter how much Charles teased him about getting ahead, Max never truly saw him as a threat. The world champion would never fully believe in the possibility of losing, but the idea of having to fight for it excited him nonetheless.
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be a nice challenge," The blond flicked his eyebrow, answering sarcastically as a warm smile carved the corners of his cheeks, "I hope to at least see you on that podium." he whispered, the water beginning to pour over his own head as he pushed Charles to step back, giving him a turn at the shower. "If you get there I promise to invite you to my party," he proposed, running his hand over his own face, wiping the excess water away.
"If you don't get there then I guess I'll have to invite whoever else is on the podium with me," Max provoked him, stepping into him.
At the mention of others at the podium alongside Max, a spark of competitiveness flickered through Charles' green eyes and took a step closer to Max, the water dripping down both their bodies now. "I think you meant to say when I get there, not if," he whispered into the space between them, the corner of his lips up in a small smile as he teased the man.
"Were you already planning to take another driver to the bathroom with you if you thought I didn't stand a chance?" Charles asked, their faces inches apart. His eyes momentarily flicked down to Max's lips before reaching for the man's body under the excuse of washing off the soap on him. With a quick kiss to Max's lips, Charles took a step back and made sure his own body was clear.
"Let's get out of here. I'm going to need lots of sleep to celebrate my win tomorrow," he said with a smile on his face. Starting last wasn't ideal, but conversations with Max always brought back the fire that fueled his racing and made him remember that he was here for a reason.
Max picked out a towel, brushing it against his hair before he moved on to dry the rest of his body. While drying himself, he heard a phone ring and quickly moved out of the bathroom, wrapping his towel around his hips as he tried to find his own phone amongst the trashed mess of clothes.
Once he had it in his hands, the blond was relieved to see the contact name as the one of Lando. Looking across the room to spot Charles, Max picked up the call, hearing a rather unenthusiastic voice on the other side of the phone.
"Did I interrupt your fucking?" The English driver asked on the call.
"No, what is it?" Max asked, resting his eyes on the figure of Charles.
"I'm leaving, will you want the ride back home?" Lando asked.
"Already?" Max raised his eyebrow, his voice sounding slightly disappointed.
"Yeah, already, are you coming or not?" He debated.
"I'll be outside, give me five." Max stated, turning off the call.
"I need to go." The blond whispered, dropping his towel to pick up his clothes — he would leave the very same way he came in.
"Already?" Charles asked softly, moving closer to his side of the room and in that moment he despised their arrangement because he knew he'd never have the right to ask the man about his whereabouts. He had no claim over him and even if the answer was that he had plans afterwards it's not like he could beg him to stay— his mind seemed to be made up.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," he attempted to keep his voice as monotone as possible but there was a small quiver in it that could not be mistaken for anything other than sadness. "Are you sure you can't stay?" He asked, a futile last attempt at keeping him longer and using it as a subtle way to ask that his other plans be postponed for a couple more moments together— a selfish ask, but one that Charles couldn't stop himself from asking.
"Or is the person picking you up insistent that you leave now?" There was a tone of jealousy in his voice and his green eyes were wide as he watched Max's face, scanning it for any reactions.
As Max finished dressing himself up, he furrowed his eyebrows at the question. "I didn't tell you? Lando came with me," he pointed out, looking around to make sure he didn't leave anything behind.
"I kind of needed a decoy to show up here," he shrugged, placing his phone back into his pocket. "I think we both need to get some rest anyways," he said, approaching the brunette in order to hold the side of his face. "I'll see you at the track," he said, letting his touch melt to his chin before it slipped away, leaving to the door. The same way he arrived, he left.