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jaeclerc · 10 months

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you&i ; maxiel; 1.6k

maybe a little different from something i usually post but i just needed to get this out!

tw: mentions of extensive mental illnesses, slightly unhealthy relationship, disordered eating, medication

it’s one of those days for max. he doesn’t really know why, he never knows why. all he knows is that the world is pressing down on him and he’s exhausted, his body already heavy even though he just woke up. his anxiety is already clutching his throat, squeezing down hard and then harder when he attempts to soothe it. it travels down to his diaphragm and causes everything to stop for a terrifying 1..2..3..4. he gasps. he sits up.

daniel already left for the morning, having to go off and deal with the little fires that seem to be popping up everyday on his new project. it just adds to the growing pressure in his stomach. daniel always knows when he wakes up like this, he always understands without max having to verbalize. without daniel, max feels like he’s already sealed within his walls and he’s left to rot.

there’s a sticky note on max’s phone when he picks it up to look at it, to doomscroll and add to his already terrible mood.

it reads: “love u! left breakfast in the fridge 4 u. remember to take ur meds, plz.” max feels like a slight failure, his husband having to remind him to take his pills so he doesn’t freak out (again) and end up hospitalized.

max gets out of bed, his body feeling like lead. daniel has been on a mission to get max eating twice a day, as his nutritionist recommended he bump up his meal count again, so he makes him breakfast and dinner every single day. max usually eats it. today he does not feel like eating it, so he forgoes it, the curling viper of anxiety just waiting to lunge.

he’ll put it into tupperware to eat tomorrow. daniel will be sad that he didn’t eat it, but he’ll also probably be happy that max didn’t hide it. he’s been working on that, not hiding when he hasn’t eaten. his therapist said that it’s small steps on the way, but it’s big to not hide it. to be honest with his loved ones about what’s going on in his brain.

the psychiatrist at the hospital that he was forced into told him that by lying and doing the things he does, he was acting just like his father. he’s been juggling that thought since then. he’s just like his father if he lies, he’s just like his father if he continues to not take his meds.

when he told daniel the psychiatrist said that, daniel flew into a rage because who says that to someone? but max internalized that. the last thing he ever wanted to be was just like his father and he feared turning into him.

max takes his pills out of the lion themed pill box, the ones that daniel dutifully puts out for him every morning and then locks the medication back up. his therapist also suggested they did that, so max wasn’t tempted to overuse when things weren’t going well in his mind. he hated the implication. he hated that she was right.

he throws back the three pills all together, washing it down with a redbull, chugging it so he can feel like it washed all the way down. at least he managed to do one thing today, which is always an accomplishment.

daniel calls on his lunch, his voice cheery through the phone as max curls up their couch with sassy and attempts to finish his homework for his class. he has a pretty low grade in this class and feels guilty if he has to use anymore of daniel’s money to retake it.

“did you eat, princess?” daniel asks him after max told him what he was doing.

his silence was enough to answer for daniel but he allows max to take time to speak.

“no.” he admits finally. “i woke up feeling too anxious. i took the pills.”

daniel hums happily at that, walking past max not eating, which max is happy for. he reminds himself it’s just the little things. the baby steps to get there.

he hears someone come into his office and daniel’s voice grows faint before he comes back on the line and tells max “i have to go, baby, but i’ll be home before three! love you.”

max hums and says “love you too.” before they hang up and he returns to his coursework, sighing in frustration at the fact that he couldn’t figure out the problem that was being proposed to him.

when max met daniel, he tried to hide everything that was going on with him, the raging mental health disorders, the serial lying, the eating disorder, the whole dad thing.

until one day, daniel looked at him, looked him dead in the eye and said “i know, max. you don’t have fucking to lie to me.” and suddenly the curtain was pulled back and all of max’s wounds were revealed to broad daylight and he hated it. but daniel didn’t leave, he pulled max close and let him be honest, no matter how hard it was to hear.

daniel loved max and made max want to seek out help instead of desperation and clinging to a facade.

daniel made max promise to at least always be honest with him. max promised. daniel promised as well.

max only ever truly lied once after that and he was so out of practice with daniel that his husband picked up on it immediately. he saved max’s life that night and when max woke up in the hospital, he figured that there was no use in lying to daniel anyways. he always knew.

there was a psychologist that asked max if maybe he was holding daniel back, burdening him when daniel was so successful. he could have built a beautiful life and had kids by now with anyone else. someone able to hold a job, someone who graduated high school, someone who didn’t have a diagnostic sheet a mile long.

max asked the psychologist why he wasn’t worthy of that good life as well. but he couldn’t help but let that conversation get to him. max was trying, but daniel was so wonderful and deserved that good life.

he asked daniel about it.

“max emilian ricciardo-verstappen.” his eyes looked troubled “who says you don’t give me a good life? i knew what i was getting myself into the moment you walked into that club and spilled your drink on me. you give me the life i want.” and max let that get to him as well. because everyone always acts like daniel never had a choice. to date him, to love him, to marry him. daniel knew it all. and he still chose max.

max was frowning at the stain in the sink when he heard the door open, the tub of ‘pink stuff’ being dropped as the lock clicked and startled him.

he picked up the tub and set it on the counter, digging through the sponge drawer for his handy orange scrub daddy to attempt to get the stains off his beautiful sink.

he leaned back against daniel when he felt the arms around his waist and the kiss to the side of his jaw, relaxing into his husband’s arms as he continued to scrub at the sink, fighting the good fight against the forever persistent water, wine, and food stains.

“still trying to get those out?” daniel teased. max rolled his eyes, turning to peak at daniel over his shoulder.

“i will get these stains out if it’s the last thing i do.” daniel just smiled at him, nodding like he believed him.

“oh absolutely, baby. it’s only a matter of time before you will them out of the century old porcelain. you got it!” he patted his ass and stepped away before max could turn and fully glare at him.

that was another thing his therapist suggested, for max to do something that he finds fulfilling. he doesn’t think she was thinking of him finally getting those stains that have been bugging him since they moved into their house, but when he told her, she just smiled and asked him what he’s tried.

when daniel comes back downstairs, dressed in his workout clothes and holding his phone, max sets down his scrub daddy and says, loudly “you said i couldn’t work out if i didn’t eat. so i’m of course not coming.” which meant that he really wanted to go.

daniel raised an eyebrow in his direction, his lips curling up as he asks “do you want to come and watch?” max practically sprints to get his own workout clothes on, even though daniel won’t let him work out but he likes watching anyways.

daniel has a meal supplement shake in his hand for him when he’s back down, whistling at him in his sweats and baggy tee, which is cut down to his hips practically. he’s pretty sure it’s daniel’s but he just threw on what he saw.

max chugs the shake and takes daniel’s hand as they walk to the gym, swinging his water bottle on the way as they chat about the day.

max wishes daniel didn’t have such an impact on his mood but he’s come to terms with it long ago when he realized that this was long term for them. so he tries to navigate as best as he can.

when they’re laying in bed, daniel tracing shapes on max’s back, daniel asks him what he asks every night:

“how was it today?” and max tells him honestly.

“i woke up anxious, that’s why i didn’t eat. i struggled with my class, and it made me very upset, of course. but going to the gym, eating dinner, and finally being able to orgasm made it better. i feel like today was a better day than last week’s tuesday.”

daniel’s fingers pause on his back and then resume, a small laugh falling from his lips as he looks down at max, whispering “i’m glad, baby. it’s the small steps.”

#max verstappen #daniel ricciardo #maxiel #maxiel fic #you and i au #this is genuinely just an exploration #of like #being loved unconditionally #idk i hope u like it :)

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riacte · 5 months

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not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing [what would happen between earth and the moon if the earth stopped spinning as illustrated by xkcd randall munroe]

#'your moon is here' things that make me explode like a supernova #UGHHHHHHH what if i was perpetually in your orbit. influencing the tides. protecting you from asteroids. and slowly drifting further away.#then you stopped moving and i was only pulse to your dead heart. orbiting you. right where ive been left. and so you started turning again.#ria.txt #personal #space opera au #(<- not about what you think is about)#hiiii this is gaining traction so glad we're all going insane :D your moon is here is SO fucked up. so good.#xkcd #randall munroe #space #moon #anyways xkcd comics are so good. entertaining witty and informative. check em out!

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rotisseries · 5 months

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that being said I'm not actually always opposed to conflict free fluff I am just opposed to the characters having their claws filed down for it. you can stick them in a coffee shop au it should just still feel like you sat the two worst most insane people on earth in a starbucks

#which in some cases I suppose if you did not file them down it would cease to be conflict free fluff #no matter WHAT au it was. but nevertheless

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artkaninchenbau · 3 months

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Crocodile finds a strange stray cat an 11-year old Nico Robin (AU where they met 13 years earlier. Robin's been on the run from the World Government for 3 years. Crocodile's 27 and has not set up base in Alabasta yet)

It seems like I have become possessed. By some sort of demon.

Bonus:

#My art #One Piece #Nico Robin #Sir Crocodile #Y'all the OP brainrot is BAD #According to an SBS Crocodile would absolutely spoil his child rotten if he had one. *We all know how Robin's childhood went*#Scary mofo who does not know how to parent a child but boy does he have the spirit + Child who has never had proper parent in her life #They'd make. An absolute disaster of a duo. This AU concept is so fucking funny to me okay #But also sad because I would fucking die for baby Robin she deserves the fucking world #This poor girl has never been spoiled in her entire life AND NOW PAPADILE IS HERE TO SPOIL HER #You know it's funny. I know 11 yo Robin should LOOK older than 8 year old Robin. But Crocodile is a fucking giant so she's still baby sized #Also I just had too much fun drawing Robin looking as pathetic as humanly possible lmao #She's a like a wet kitten in the rain 😭

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wasyago · 2 months

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Can you draw that snail? You know the one who got out of Grian's power and started to eat Gem's lighthouse?

little guy <3

alternatively: big guy.

#hermitcraft #grian #geminitay #my art #sketch #drawing a snail with teeth wasn't on my bingo card for this year but here we are #ALSO god can you imagine a dungeon meshi au with grian as a dm and snail as his animal? all he wished for was a mending book.......#the brainrot is strong im being tormented by the demons ( my own ideas )#ALSO 2.0. does anyone remember that snail from adventure time? i mean. cmon. i mean..? hello?

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fioleespring · 2 months

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yue the fierce moon warrior | azula the prized fire lily

#can you tell that my hand fell off when i was drawing the kimono #haha can you tell #yuezula role swap au!!!#yuezula #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #yue x azula #yue #azula #art #atla fanart #fan art #digital art #wlw #h draws

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nkogneatho · 1 month

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can't stop thinking about king!gojo who is so strict and intimidating in his court. the whole kingdom is scared of him. when he walks in the room, the chatters immediately silence as if you could hear even a pin drop clearly. when he speaks, everyone holds their breath and only exhale when the king is done with his sentence. his voice is not loud or hoarse either. it's mellow and alluring. but people know behind that sugar laced voice, is someone who shows no mercy who does him wrong. people have seen him behead his enemies within five seconds in the conversation. he spares none. he is ruthless. but you...

you are his weakness. his queen. no one knows what happens behind the castle's door. no one knows how he gets on his knees, kissing up your ankle to your thigh as he slowly lifts your night gown. no one knows how he is pleading you to let him have a taste of you. kissing it and licking it. nobody knows how their ruthless king has your thighs choking him as he eats you. the same voice that sends shivers down everyone's spine is now begging you to make a mess on his face. if someone were to glance at your window, they'd see his pale face glistening in your juices in the candlelights, blood rushed to his nose and cheeks like he has taken an aphrodisiac. your hands tugging his white strands. you take your hand back before you pull too hard and hurt him but he yanks your wrist forward, placing them back on his head. he looks up at you, parting his face from your core.

"pull till you see tears in my eyes. it is an order."

fuck. king's order. what choice do you have despite following it.

#i should stop yapping about gojo tbh #jujutsu kaisen #jjk x reader #gojo x you #gojo x reader #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen smut #writers #gojo satoru x reader #gojo x y/n #royal au #jjk drabbles #jjk #jjk x you #jjk x y/n

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nanaminokanojo · 15 days

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Sukuna is pissed.

The reason? You moved away from him in your sleep when he wanted to hold you close.

In your own subtle ways, you've always complained about how unaffectionate he is. You didn't explicitly say it, but he did notice how your mood would shift, your pretty little smiles barely masking your disappointment when he would do or say anything remotely cold or mean. And now that he was giving you what you wanted, you just roll away from him, depriving him of your warmth and the affection he expects you to reward him.

How you even managed to escape four of his arms to find your own corner of the bed was a big puzzle to him. You've always slept peacefully pressed to his side on most nights, and you didn't really move much once he had two of his arms wrapped around your frail form. Perhaps you were doing it on purpose after he had evidently upset you during supper by dismissing you when you asked about his day. There was nothing to tell, and though he understands that your concerns came from a good place, he still refused to tell you of the horrors of the world he found himself so deeply embroiled in.

Sukuna, however, brushed off the idea. You wouldn't dare. Or would you? He was just protecting you. Why would you hold that against him?

He chose not to entertain the thought, thinking it was just you moving in your sleep. And so, he reached for you, gently placing his arms over and underneath you to pull you closer. But it hadn't even been a minute of him holding you when you started letting out these seemingly irritated noises and shortly after, you were turning your back on him.

"What –" He stopped himself when you breathed in deeply, half expecting to hear sobs if you were truly upset with him, but then, your breathing rhythm returned to normal. You were still fast asleep.

Sukuna shrugged, already feeling his temper rising at the thought that you could sleep just fine without him. The thought of it annoyed him, and that was an understatement. He decided to move closer to you then, but as soon as he did, pressing your back on his bare chest, you started squirming, a dissatisfied groan leaving your lips.

At that, he rose slightly on his elbow, taking offense. "Woman, what is your problem?" he demanded, making you lie down flat on your back, startling you. "Is something ailing you?" This time, he spoke gently, watching as you slowly blinked up at his frowning face like you haven't got a clue what he's talking about. And then you closed your eyes before favoring your left side, going back to sleep.

"You –"

"What?" you whined without facing him, annoyed that your sleep was being disturbed.

Sukuna scoffed. You've really done it this time. Nobody dared speak to him that way. "What now? You don't want me anymore? I thought you wanted –"

In one swift movement, he found himself being tackled onto the bed as you turned around and threw yourself against him, immediately finding your spot in the crook of his neck. His two left arms instinctively wrapped around you, keeping you cradled in them as you snuggled closer, planting a kiss under his collarbone as if to appease him before you were falling back asleep.

"You could have just stayed like this –"

"Shh."

Did you just shush him? And as if to punctuate it, you raised your hand, your fingers blindly yet tenderly brushing his lips and staying there.

"Wife, you are aware I have two mouths, aren't you?" he spoke against your fingers, fighting a smile.

You moved your head back to smirk at him as you threw a leg over his abdomen right where his other mouth was, your thigh preventing it from saying anything.

"There. Problem solved."

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olasketches · 5 months

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big brother comes to “rescue”

vol. 2

#can you guys believe this is my first yuuji and sukuna brothers au?????? when I’m obsessed w them????#cause I totally can I’m super lazy #itadori yuuji #ryomen sukuna #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen fanart #my art

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bixels · 5 months

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She hates robots. She fucking hates robots and she's coming to kill you.

#portal 2 #chell #character design #fanart #my art #portal #artists on tumblr #god i love drawing mlp au stuff but i cannot tell you what a breath of fresh air it was drawing graphic scifi art again #reminder to all my new followers that i don't draw cottage core. i'm a scifi artist thru and thru

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darlingsart · 3 months

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More of my Modern AU shenanigans featuring Achilles’ nose ring and a very grabby six month old lmao

#tsoa #the song of achilles #patrochilles #angies art #my ocs #You and I AU #not pictured: Patroclus frantically coming into the room with the first aid kit 😭#i did this instead of my hw thats due tonight lol #im playing around with different brushes and coloring and stuff and idk how im feeling about it #might just switch between sketchy and solid lines every now and then

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jaeclerc · 10 months

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through the dark ; maxiel ; 2.4k

tw: mentions of eating disorders, unhealthy behaviors, previous abuse, mentions of mental health disorders

max was trembling with the effort it took to not spill his guts out in front of daniel, to admit all the things he’d been hiding from him. he was picking at his food, his stomach turning over and over as he stared at the pasta on his plate, trying to occupy his hands as he cut it smaller and smaller. his mind was racing with a million different thoughts.

he wanted to tell him, to admit that his dad visiting was driving him into a pit, that every time he told daniel he was going to his classes, he was actually just fucking around in the public library, staring at the books he pulled on things like physics and mechanical engineering to try pretend like he was actually attending college and not a high school drop out. he felt like the clock was ticking on his honesty and every day that he lied to daniel about how normal he was, about how absolutely perfect everything was, he was just sealing the death of the best thing he ever had.

“are you not hungry, max?” daniel asked and max just shook his head, slightly pushing his plate away. he rarely actually ate when he was with daniel, but he usually managed to fake it better. this time he could not.

“you okay?” daniel looked concerned and it made max’s stomach turn even more. he felt like the guilt was seeping out of every pore on his body. he just nodded, a tight smile on his lips.

“just worried, you know? about my dad. he’s very critical of me.” daniel tilted his head just slightly and gave max a look that made him feel too seen to be comfortable. daniel always made him feel too seen to be comfortable, the only person who max let slip behind his perfectly constructed facade.

“but you’re doing well!” max just ducked his head, the rope around his neck tightening with every word and he just wishes he was never there in the first place. he wishes he never met daniel because then he would not feel this guilty, this exhausted in the need to please someone so much because he yearned for them so badly.

“max.” daniel sighed. “i know.” his tone of voice was too casual for what he was saying to him, like it was nothing. like he didn’t just say the one thing that made max fall into a deeper spiral as his head snapped up, eyes wide as he looked at him, almost bewildered.

“what?” he managed to choke out, trying to match the casualness of daniel’s voice.

“you don’t have to fucking lie to me anymore. i know.” max swallowed as those words came out. it felt like the moment that the chair finally got kicked from beneath him and it was over.

“i-i’m not.” max stammered and he didn’t sound believable at all. he knew it. the jig was up.

“yes, you are. i don’t know why, but you are. i know you’re lying, you go to the library everyday instead of class. you sell videos online. you never eat even if you pretend to, i see you get rid of it. and i don’t want you to feel the need to lie to me when i don’t care about what you do or how successful you are. i just-“ he dropped his head and max could see tears in daniel’s eyes.

“i care about you max. i care so much about you, it feels like my heart was ripped out of my chest and everyone can see how much i fucking like you. i rave about you to everyone, i think you are just so beautiful and i don’t understand why you lie to me when all i want is the you i see.” max couldn’t deal with this. he needed to get out of here, out of daniel’s apartment.

daniel was looking at him and max felt even more exposed, the curtain ripped open and here he was: wounded, broken, and a small fraction of what he pretended to be. he scooted his chair up, getting ready to bolt.

daniel knew him too well because he was already up and gently grabbing max’s arm, not tight enough to force him there but firm enough to keep max standing still for a second.

“i’m not mad. please, max. i am not mad at you, i just want you to tell me the truth of what’s going on.” daniel’s eyes were too open, too soft.

max didn’t deserve this.

he wanted it so badly.

“i can not, daniel.” max was really trembling now and daniel’s hand let go of his wrist to trail down to his hand, loosely wrapping max’s in his.

daniel knew he already had max.

max already knew he was about to expose every single fragment of pain to this man.

“let’s start with this: why are you so anxious about your dad?” that was not a small thing to start with but it was the easiest. the most rehearsed part of his story.

“whe-i started karting at 3 years old. i can’t even remember it, but there’s a picture of me in a kart as a child. i can’t remember starting but i can’t remember life without being in that kart, driving around. driving feels like freedom. karting felt like a cage, but i was good, of course i was good. i was made to be a driver. that’s what they said to me. i was offered the seat when i was 16. to start driving in formula 1 at 17 years old. i was going to be the youngest driver in the sport ever. in one of my lower races, i hadn’t eaten for a few days and i blacked out for just a second. and then i was in the wall with my front end severed and both my knees blown out.” he took a deep breath, daniel leading him to his overstuffed couch to sit down so max could gather himself.

“i hated karting. i hated it. it made my parents divorce. my dad was my mechanic, my coach. but he was not my father. every bad result meant i was restricted. from everything. when i told him i didn’t want to return after my injury, he smacked me so hard i couldn’t hear for a few hours. this was of course my entire childhood. i ran away to my mom and told her that i could not do it anymore. she moved me here with her and her new husband. they are back in belgium now but i am still here. i can’t leave. he’s trying to get me to come back and work with him, be under his thumb. again.” max felt like he was floating above his body as he spoke to daniel, his blinking, breathing, and even leg tapping automatic, precise.

daniel was quiet as max spoke, his lips pressed together as he watched max’s face. he could feel daniel’s eyes on him with every word.

“i googled you but…nothing came up.” was all daniel replied. max laughed bitterly.

“look up max v-e-r-s-t-a-p-p-e-n.” he spelled it quick and precise, unable to look at daniel as he pulled out his phone to google him. he saw daniel’s eyes widen as he saw the search results, images of max in his redbull gear, young and eyes full of anger. his racing results. the legacy he was building.

“you are-you’re brilliant.” max was surprised he didn’t say “were”. daniel said “are” like that max and this max were the same person, and not the images of before and after the great tragedy of a young superstar.

“when i got here. my mom made me go to a psychiatrist. said that i needed to talk to someone. he diagnosed me with anxiety, anorexia, and depression. when i was 19, my mom found out i was lying to everyone. she made me go again. they told me i was borderline. i don’t know why. why i am like this. why i lie so much. i lie about my name because i don’t want people to know how much i failed. i lie about everything else because it feels good, i think. to live a life where i’m not-where i succeeded.” he continued.

daniel hummed, pulling max’s hand into his lap.

“i don’t care about who max verstappen might’ve become. i care about who he is now.” he started rubbing circles into max’s hand, looking down at their contrasting fingers. daniel’s tanned hand with max’s paler one. his long slender fingers with bitten nails, max’s shorter fingers and longer palms, nails chipping and brittle.

“i want you to stay with me max. but i also want you to stop lying. i cannot deal with not knowing what’s going on with you. i worry so much about like whether or not you actually have somewhere to go, if you’re okay, if you’re actually eating or getting anything in your body.” he flipped their hands over to look at max’s hands.

“i want to care for you but you need to tell me what you need.” his voice was so quiet and max risked a glance at daniel. he looked sad and max felt like his stomach was flipped inside out. he didn’t want daniel to be sad.

“okay.” max said.

“how do you feel?” was what daniel asked him when the news came. max was surprised. he doesn’t know why he’s so surprised that daniel would ask him that. that’s all daniel asks him in their relationship: how do you feel, what are your thoughts, how was your day, where do you want to go, what do you want to do.

“it sounds like a good opportunity.” was all he replied, slumping back against the couch. daniel just looked at him, eyebrows raised. max pushed his glasses up and let out a deep sigh.

“i think it’s a good idea. for both of us. seattle is too…it’s not what we need, there’s too much history. i think i will miss seattle. i think it’s too good of an opportunity for you to pass up. i think i will follow you to the ends of the earth if that’s what makes you happy. i think i don’t want to pack everything up and move to malibu because that’s just a lot of things to do. i think i need a redbull right now.” daniel laughed, leaning down and cupping max’s jaw to press their noses together.

“and i think you’re being facetious. but i also thing it will be good for us. i think we can visit whenever we need if we miss seattle too much. i think we will hire a company to help us pack. i think that i’ll get you your redbull and we can eat dinner. i think that if you told me you hated the idea, i would just find something else.” he kissed max quickly, making his lips tick up into a smile as he watched daniel practically skip to the kitchen to grab max his redbull.

he came back, two in hand and settled beside max after handing the drink over.

“how was your class today?” max leaned his head onto daniel’s shoulder, curling into him as he inhaled his fiancé’s smell.

“exhausting. but, very lovely to start and finally graduate high school. even though i’m twenty-four.” daniel tightened his arm around max.

“hey, it’s never too late to start! plus it’s only a few months.” he protested and max rolled his eyes.

“you sound like-“ daniel cut him off before he could finish.

“i don’t sound like seb.” daniel protested.

“you do too.”

daniel playfully pushed him away before wrapping both arms around max, pressing a redbull scented kiss to his cheek.

“i’m gonna start dinner. i’m making streusel tonight, just for you.”

max wondered how someone could look so much like a mouse and still be considered one of the most perfect men in the world. charles somehow managed. triple champion and yet all max saw was that mousey boy he knew on the karting track, the boy who pushed him off.

“max!” charles said once he sat down in a whirlwind, sunglasses pushed off his tanned face. “i’ve missed you, mate. you need to come back here more, always so far in california!”

“or you can come to california. you always expect me to fly so far away to see you, when you’re the one who has the money.” charles just scoffed, but max’s smile couldn’t be bigger and neither could charles’.

charles was who max could’ve been. he used to hate charles for that. he also used to pity charles for that. to be so young and in such a position. now he was just happy for him, charles was a great driver and deserved it all.

charles was better than max. if max had stayed driving, he doesn’t think that he would have ever been able to come out, but charles did at such a young age. he faced so much backlash that max couldn’t stand watching anything f1 for months after he did it, only swiping up on charles’ story with his boyfriend and saying “thank you.”

“ah but daniel isn’t doing too bad? so i think you can fly over here to see me when i’m here.” max could see fans of charles’ looking at them through the cafe windows, staring at them. they probably thought that he was charles’ ever mysterious boyfriend. max secretly wondered how disappointed they’d be to learn charles’ actual boyfriend was a tech COO ten years his senior who wore HOKAs and bee shirts.

“is that what you tell sebastian when he complains about having to jet set just because you’re sad?” max fired back.

charles just tilted his head, green eyes dancing with mirth as he nodded.

“how is daniel? you never bring him to see me either! i miss having someone who doesn’t hold memories of me at 15 with a grudge.” charles asked as he looked over the menu.

“daniel is good as always. he’s very excited to see you win this race. told me to tell you that he’ll start a riot if you don’t.” charles’ grin became even bigger and max couldn’t help his own fond grin.

“and how are you, max?” max hated when most people asked him that, but charles was there, in the background to see it all. when they reconnected, max was honest with him, about everything.

“i’m happy. it’s always a good day with daniel and the cats, even when i wake up and it feels like i’m stuck being 15 again.”

charles tilted his head and said “yeah?”

“yeah.” max sighed, smiling as he looked at his phone, the image of him and daniel on their wedding day.

#max verstappen #charles leclerc #daniel ricciardo #sebastian vettel #maxiel #mentions of sebchal #you and i au #just little snippets of their lives #hope everyone enjoys #a better tuesday is always the goal!

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