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Chapter Text

“What can I offer you, sir?” Max asked the next in line. He was two hours into an eight-hour shift in the coffee shop and he was already longing for a break. “An espresso and your number to go sweet thing,” the man who was wearing a black t-shirt and smelled like he didn’t know what showering meant said. 

Max smiled and turned his back to make the coffee, purring it in a cup and writing something on the lid. The man seemed pleased with himself. “I will call you,” he said and left. “Do that buddy, do that,” Max mumbled under his breath. “Did you give the ‘I am Groot’ number again?” Lando asked him. “Sure did,” Max replied and smiled. “You got a customer,” his best friend said then and Max looked up, his eyes landing on the most beautiful guy he had seen in his life.

“Was this guy bothering you?” The man asked and that brought Max out of his head. “Nothing I can’t handle, what can I offer you?” He asked, looking at the very expensive suit the man wore. “A cappuccino,” he replied. And the sweetest accent someone could ask for, Max thought, turning around to prepare the coffee. 

A few seconds later he was facing the stranger again and giving him his coffee. “Grazie,” the stranger replied, paid, and left, both the shop and Max’s eyesight. 

Six and a half hours later, Max had finally finished from work and was walking out the shop. It was quite late and he had to walk all the way to his apartment since his car was in the shop but he just shrugged and started walking. When he turned in the first corner, the guy from that evening came up in front of him.

“I don’t like being lied to,” he said and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. For fucks sake, Max thought and clenched his fist to punch him when the guy suddenly yelped and let him go, disappearing from his face. Before Max had the chance to react, the guy was out cold and the beautiful man from that evening was standing in front of him, asking him if he was alright.

“Yes, thank you, with meeting you both again here, I am starting to think I am being followed though,” Max said and went to pick up his backpack that had fallen when the guy grabbed him. “I don’t know about him but I was just passing by, I just dropped a friend over to his apartment and I was driving by when I saw him grab you. I had to intervene,” the man replied.

“I could handle him but thank you,” Max said then, smiling. “What are you doing out at that time anyway, the streets here are not the safest at this time of the night,” he asked. “Just finished work, I was just walking home when he came out of nowhere, I probably have to call the police as well, fuck!” Max said and got his phone out, ready to call.

“Leave him be, he will wake up in a few minutes and won’t even remember what happened. Do you want me to drive you home?” The man offered and Max laughed. “I am sorry man but I don’t even know your name, I can’t just get in your car and give you my address,” Max replied and the man in front of him smiled. “You are not wrong, my name is Charles Leclerc and I promise you, I won’t harm you. I just want to make sure you get home safely,” the man, Charles replied.

“And how can I make sure you are telling the truth?” Max asked. He knew he was being hard but sue him, he’d rather not get kidnapped on his way home. He had two cats and they were dependent on him to live. To his surprise, the guy brought out his ID and showed it to him. On it was the name Charles Leclerc written, alongside some other information about the man like date of birth. Huh, he is two weeks younger than me, Max thought when he read it.

“Okay, I am going to text my roommate that I am on my way, if you don’t take me home, he will know to call the police,” Max said and brought his phone out, texting Daniel that he was taking a cab and to wait for him soon. “Whatever makes you feel safe…” Charles said and waited. “Max, Max Verstappen,” Max replied. The man had shown him ID and he was about to drive him home, he could share his name with him.

“You have a very nice name, Max,” the guy said and walked him to a custom Ferrari Pista, which made Max gasp. “You are free to kidnap me, I would get in there willingly,” Max said and walked closer. “I am glad you like it but I have no desire to kidnap you, get in, I bet you are tired from work,” Charles said and opened the door for Max to get in before he walked towards the driver’s seat.

Once inside, Max shared his address and Charles started the car, driving towards the place Max mentioned. They kept chatting lightly and Charles told Max that he was a businessman who was born in Monaco but raised here, in Maranello after his parents died and he and his siblings came to live with his Godfather. Max felt like he had to share something himself, he told him that he was from the Netherlands and that he was currently doing his masters in advanced automotive engineering. Soon enough, they were under Max’s apartment and he was waving goodbye to Charles. Charles wished him goodnight and stayed there until he saw Max entering the elevator before he left.

On his way back, he took his phone out and called. “Hey Seb, sent someone to clean up an unconscious idiot from the street across Anna’s bakery and take him to the ER and tell them he saw him stumble drunkenly and fall,” he said. “I will Charles but what did you do?” Seb asked, already arranging what the man asked. “Knocked him out, he was harassing a waiter who had just left work,” he replied, not going into details.

“Oscar is on his way, how did the other thing go?” He asked then, knowing that Charles would not be that calm if it didn’t go well. “Like we thought, I warned him, if he wants our protection, he needs to treat his people well,” he replied. “I am on my way back, we’ll talk about it in detail once I arrive,” Charles said and dropped the call. 

—

“I’m here,” Max yelled and petted Jimmy who had come up as soon as he crossed the threshold. The cat purred and jumped on Max’s hug, Max walked inside the apartment just as Daniel appeared from the kitchen. “What happened, mate? Why are you back so late today?” Daniel asked and handed him a sandwich while Max dropped his backpack in his bedroom and sat on the couch. 

“There was this idiotic couple who refused to go and I had to leave half an hour later and then that moron that asked for my number while I was two hours in, I gave him the Groot one by the way, probably waited ‘till I left because he attacked me when I turned the corner from the cafe, he was mad I lied but what did he expect when he said ‘an espresso and your number to go sweetheart’ and as I was ready to punch him, this guy, gorgeous by the way, that I also served this evening came and knocked him out, and then he drove me here in his Ferrari,” he recited the most important parts of his evening.

“Does Maxie have a crush?” Daniel asked and snickered. “You are focusing on that, seriously?!” Max asked, thinking that he would get at least one question about the Ferrari first. He hoped he would. “So, rich and beautiful, when’s the date?” Daniel asked. “No date, he just brought me here and left, we did not even exchange numbers,” Max explained. “Shame, hopefully, he will come by from the cafe soon and then you can ask him,” Daniel said.

“Oh look, I am tired, I am going to bed,” Max said and stood up to go to his room, ignoring Daniel’s comments. He hoped that the man would appear again, even if he had no idea how to ask for his number. He poured some food into his cats’ bowls and went to the bathroom before he turned in for the night.

—

Charles parked his car in the underground parking and made his way upstairs, where his mentor and right-hand man waited for him. He sat on his chair and opened the mini fridge behind him to take an ice pack while Sebastian walked inside. “Do you want me to bandage it for you?” he asked and Charles grumbled. “No, I will be fine, now, did Oscar clean up?” Charles asked and fell back on his office chair. “Yes, the man woke up in the ER and he swore that he had been attacked but Oscar handed him to Russel so everything was fine,” Sebastian explained. 

“Perfect, now what about this gun shipment?” Charles asked. “They want to move the date back again, they say that the police are on their trail,” Sebastian said and Charles sighed. He started playing with his rings, a clear sign that he started getting angry. “They can’t keep doing that, it’s the third time they are asking that, and we know very well that the police ain’t trailing shit. You tell them that I better have my guns by the end of the week,” Charles said and Sebastian nodded in compliance. 

—

“Stop here, I want to get coffee,” Charles ordered to his driver and he complied, stopping right in front of a small and cosy coffee shop called “Caffe al Viale”. “Do you need me to come down with you sir?” his driver-bodyguard asked but he nodded no. “It’s safe, I was here yesterday,” Charles said and got out of the car, walking over to the cafe. Once he was inside, he went straight to the bar. “Good morning Max,” he said and smiled, ordering the same as yesterday. “I would love to add a small croissant to my order today,” he added. “Of course Charles, thanks for the ride yesterday, by the way,” Max said and moved to prepare the order. 

“It was nothing. Do you work here every day?” Charles asked while Max made his cappuccino. “Yes, I usually have classes in the mornings and I work here in the evening but today I was free and I am covering for a friend of mine who was sick, I will do that tomorrow as well,” he explained and handed Charles his coffee and croissant. “Oh, so I got lucky today,” Charles replied and Max blushed. He paid and wished Max a good shift before he left. Was Charles flirting with me he thought and did not notice his best friend sneaking up to him.

“Who is that?!” Lando asked, bringing Max out of his head. “Charles, he is a customer,” he replied, trying to appear casual. He failed miserably if the face Lando made was anything to go by. “Since when are you, mister no-first-names-on-the-job, calling a customer by his first name?” He asked and Max groaned. “I call you by your first name, ain’t I?” He replied. “It took you three months to do that, and also, I am your colleague,” he said, knowing that he finally got material to blackmail Max.

Max simply huffed and refused to elaborate. He was lucky that a new customer walked in and Lando was forced to leave. His whole shift went like this and he was exhausted when he left that evening. He grabbed his backpack and walked all the way to his favourite study cafe which was open until after midnight. He would spend the rest of his evening there, studying aerodynamics and thermal management. Once he arrived, he sat at his favourite table, pulled his laptop and books out and fell face-first into studying. When he finished, it was way past midnight and he had managed, with the help of Red Bull, to finish a big portion of the required material. He stood up and left after paying for everything he drank. 

On his way home, he felt a bit uneasy, like someone was following him or watching him but he couldn’t pinpoint anything specific. He was creeped out, and the fact that Daniel would be visiting his friend Michael for the weekend was not helping. “For fucks sake Verstappen, set your head straight and stop imagining things,” he said out loud, trying to calm himself. It didn’t help at all but he was five minutes away from his apartment at that point and he did not give a single fuck.

Once he entered his apartment, he locked it behind him immediately and went inside the living room, scooping up both his cats and getting them on the couch for some much-needed cuddles. They were not thrilled by the fact that they were forced to cuddle their human but since they noticed that he was in need of some comfort, they accepted. They stayed like that for the rest of the night, Max falling asleep with his feline friends on the couch.

—

“Are you sure this is the guy?”

“Yes, Leclerc dropped him off here yesterday,”

Chapter Text

The next morning Charles was brutally woken up by his ringtone. “Putain,” he mumbled and picked it up. “Speak,” he ordered, not in a mood to be polite. “Good morning to you too cabron,” Carlos said from the other end of the phone. “Yeah yeah, what?” He simply asked. He was lying in his bed, chest on display and his left arm covering his eyes while the thin bed sheets were draped over his bottom half. He had just woken up and he would rather go back to sleep but he knew it was not going to happen. “Okay, I get it, I called to talk about the situation with Brown,” the Spaniard said.

“Let me call you when I am woken up okay?” He said and after he got confirmation from his Spanish equivalent, he shut his phone and groaned. He got up five minutes later and got ready for the day. Half an hour later, he was inside his office and talking with Carlos. “We can’t trust him, he will screw us over,” He said while Sebastian sat on the other side of his office and offered advice when he thought it was needed. 

”Come over, we will need to talk about it face to face,” Charles offered after an hour. “I will, Fernando will contact Sebastian with details,” Carlos replied. They exchanged goodbyes and ended the call, Charles leaving his phone on the table with a sigh. “I am heading out,” he said and stood up. “Where are you going?” Sebastian asked. “To get a cup of coffee, this day seems like it’s going to be a long one” he simply replied and Sebastian snickered. “Third day in a row you go out for coffee, I need to come with you to see that coffee shop,” he said and followed him. Charles just shrugged. Soon enough they were on the road and on their way to the coffee shop Max was working. When they arrived, the driver parked the car and they went out, informing him that they would be back in an hour or so. 

 They walked inside and Sebastian looked around, trying to find what had his boss so enamoured with the place. “Hello Max, I would like the usual and a cup of tea for Seb,” Charles said to a blond boy on the counter and Seb thought Bingo! “Of course Charles, will you take it on the go or sit here?” The boy, Max, replied with a smile on his face. “We will sit,” Charles answered. “Perfect, do you want anything to eat?” He asked, head down and writing their order. “I would like something as sweet as you,” Charles said and that caught both Sebastian and Max by surprise. Max was blushing and stuttering, explaining to Charles what pastries they had today and Sebastian could barely hold his laugh at Charles’ flirting. Once they were finished with their orders, they went and sat at a table near the counter.

“He’s cute Charles, I will give you that,” Sebastian said when they were sat. “And sweet, and funny, and he studies automotive engineering,” Charles added with a smile, barely trying to contain his happiness. That made Sebastian smile more. He was glad that Charles found someone who could make him smile and be the boy he was. He deserved that in the hard world, they lived. Max brought their coffees and Sebastian found time to introduce himself properly. “Sebastian, friend of Charles,” he said and offered his hand. “Max, his coffee maker,” he said and Sebastian smiled. He was blunt and had a unique sense of humour. He liked that. Max left after that and went back to his job, allowing the two men to observe him from afar.

“You need to give me his name and address to run a background check on him. If he passes, you can ask him on a date,” Sebastian said. “I could just ask him on a date now, I don’t think anything else is necessary,” he countered but Sebastian shushed him. “You know I have to Charles. Don’t worry though, I have a feeling that he’s gonna pass it,” Sebastian replied. You can never be safe in the world they live in. “Has Fernando sent you Carlos’ travel details yet?” Charles asked and sipped from his coffee. “Yes, he’ll be here in two days, Brown is also pushing for that date change,” Sebastian explained. “Leave him hanging, we’ll get back to him once Carlos is here,” Charles said, with a tone that meant business. A lot of people saw him as someone cute and proper, incapable of causing harm. This helped him go unnoticed. But if they knew him, they knew he was anything but, he could be brutal if he wanted to and he stood on business, a man you did not want to even think of crossing. 

“Hey, your boy is coming,” Sebastian warned him and Charles looked up to see Max walking towards them with a tray full of pastries. “Enjoy,” he said and left the plates on the table. “I don’t think they are as sweet as you but to be fair, it’s an impossible feat to ask of them,” Charles said, looking Max straight (hah) in the eyes. “Tha-Thank you, Charles,” he stuttered, his face red from all the blushing. “Will you need anything else?” he asked and Sebastian nodded that no and left him to tend to his business. “You are gonna break the poor kid,” he said and Charles smiled. An hour later, they walked out after they bid Max goodbye. 

Once they left, Lando was stuck to Max’s side and did not stop teasing him for at least half an hour. “I like him, okay!! Will you let me do my job now?” Max all but screamed in the end. “Yes, for now, we are gonna have that conversation again once he asks you on a date,” Lando replied, walking back to his kitchen. “What date? Did he tell you anything?! Lando!!” Max screamed this time. There was only one customer sitting there and she was wearing headphones, there was not someone here that he cared if they listened to them. Lando just snickered and kept on with his business, leaving Max to contemplate the whole morning Charles was here with his friend.

Max had pulled a double shift and he was beyond exhausted, he was just glad that he was going home at the end of the day. He exited the shop and started walking towards his apartment. He felt those chills again. He turned around to see if there was anyone else on the road but there was none. He couldn’t explain it but he felt almost sure that someone was following him now. He turned around the corner and decided to take a different route on his way home, just in case. The feeling stayed there until he was in front of his apartment door. He fumbled with the keys and got inside, closing the door behind him fast. He couldn’t be more glad that Daniel was coming back tomorrow, the last two nights were weird. 

“What the actual fuck?” he exclaimed before he dropped his backpack on the hall and walked inside the kitchen to grab a Red Bull. He planned on pulling an all-nighter playing on the sim since tomorrow he didn't have to go to work or attend any classes. He powered the machine up and soon enough the virtual engine was roaring in his ears. He started racing, overtaking left and right and being his normal champion self on his sim. He had won a couple of championships with his team but his trophies were in a box in his sister’s house. He did not have enough space here to walk, nevermind to decorate the place with his many trophies. Slowly the anxiety from earlier dissipated and he was calmer, getting to really focus on the sim. When he saw the clock turning five in the morning, he decided it was time to sleep. He powered down the sim and stood up, his bones cracking from being five hours in the same position. 

He walked over all the empty Red Bull cans and cat toys that were covering the floor. “I really need to tidy up tomorrow,” he said and went inside the bathroom. Sooner than later he was laid down on his bed with Jimmy in his hug, Sassy being her normal diva self and deciding that she’d rather sleep alone, no touching allowed. She ended up on his head two hours later. 

Chapter Text

Charles walked inside the coffee shop and frowned. Max was not there. “Where is Max?” He asked the boy on the counter. “Hello sir, Max is on leave today, how can I help you?” He asked. “Is he okay?” Charles asked, remembering that he had been covering for a sick friend the last few days, he might’ve gotten sick as well. “He’s fine, probably spent all night sim racing and is now asleep,” the boy explained and Charles relaxed. “Oh, okay, I will take a cappuccino to go,” Charles said blankly, his good mood evaporating. “Okay, it’s coming right up,” the boy said and turned around to prepare it. He paid for it and left a few minutes later, disappointed but glad that Max was taking time to look after himself. 

On his way to the car, his phone rang. It was Sebastian. “What happened?” He asked, entering his car and motioning for his driver to go. “Sainz is coming today, Fernando called me, something came up,” Sebastian said. “Did he tell you what?” he asked. “He didn’t say, he just told me that it was urgent and it had to do with Brown,” Sebastian informed him. “I am on my way back, be there in twenty,” he said and hung up, telling the driver to go faster. His day was getting worse with each passing second.

When he was back at the mansion, Sebastian dragged him to his office, where his head of security, Kevin was waiting as well. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “We need to talk about measures regarding Sainz’s visit. We don’t know why he is coming so soon but it certainly is nothing good,” Kevin explained. “Yeah, okay, we can do that,” Charles replied and fell on his office chair with a sigh. His day did not go well. Two hours later, he could finally exit his office to grab a bite and arrange for Carlos’ and his men’s visit. Kevin would go with Oscar and Pierre to pick them up from the airport.

Another two hours later, Carlos Sainz Jr was sitting across from him, in his office. “A warehouse of mine, in which I stored the latest shipment from Brown’s guns exploded. I sent a team to investigate and it appears that someone bombed it. A lot has been happening lately with Brown and I thought we needed to talk up close,” he explained and Charles nodded his agreement. The two men kept talking and planning alongside their advisors well into the night. 

Max woke up at half past one in the evening and decided that it was too late for breakfast, so he decided to clean up the apartment a bit before he started studying. Daniel would come back in two hours and he would bring lunch, as he informed him last night via text. He grabbed a Red Bull can from the fridge and started throwing away all the used ones from the weekend before he picked up the stray clothes and cat toys. After he picked everything, he pressed the on button and Rocky, the Roomba started cleaning the floor. He loved this thing. With all that taken care of, he sat on the couch with his books and started studying.

Daniel was home two and a half hours later. Max would be angry for the delay of his dinner if Daniel did not bring kebab from their favorite place around the corner. He took a break from studying and went to help Daniel set up the table so they could eat faster. “Daniel I have so much to tell you,” Max said and Daniel smiled. “The gorgeous rich guy asked you on a date,” he said with a full mouth. “First, swallow before you speak. And second, no, he flirted with me, I think at least. He asked me to bring him something as sweet as I am and then he picked the sweetest thing we had. And when I brought it to him, he said that it would probably not be as sweet as I am and he added that that would be an impossible task to ask of it,” Max said. “Oh, has he truly met you? You are not sweet by far!” Daniel said and Max grumbled, telling him that he could be the sweetest if he wanted to. 

After they discerned the whole meet-up, Daniel told Max about his adventures with Michael, and that apparently they almost got banned from a club. It was a funny story that Max could do without but now he had new blackmail material. They finished their lunch in silence and Max opted out from saying to Daniel that he thought someone was following him, thinking it was just some stupid nerves caused by the upcoming exams. After lunch, Max went back to studying and then he played on the sim a bit more before he fell asleep.

Chapter Text

”Please tell me you do not plan on retaliating,” Sebastian asked Fernando. They were sitting inside Sebastian’s office while the two important men were either sleeping (Charles) or talking on the phone (Carlos). “You know I would never do that,” Fernando replied. “I know damn well that you would. He hasn’t done anything that bad, let it go,” Sebastian said, hoping he could reign the Spaniard in. “He is a little shit and deserves everything that hypothetically will come his way,” Fernando replied with a smirk on his face. “Mein Gott Nando, he just took one of your plants and hid it, he does not deserve your wrath,” Sebastian exclaimed.

“Of course he does, the bastard. No one touches my plants, and he needs to learn how to prank someone. He is a Mafia boss for fucks sake and he cannot pull a decent prank to save his life,” Nando explained, laughing. He and Carlos pulled small pranks and shared jokes all the time but Carlos was poor at his execution. If they were involved in a prank war, Carlos would be the first to lose. “Don’t worry about that anymore, he will spend time with Charles, he is a conniving brat. You will go back to Spain and you will be fighting for your life,” Sebastian replied. “I know what Charles is, he is your spawn after all,” Nando replied, making Sebastian laugh.

“That’s true, I taught him everything I know, including his flirting skills,” Sebastian added after a while. “Don’t tell me…or do, I need the gossip,” Fernando said, leaning forward, invested now. So Sebastian did. He told Fernando about Max. “I found nothing weird unless we are talking about a very good racer and karting world champion. The only thing weird is why he declined all those offers from Formula 4 and Formula 3 and then dropped off the face of the earth just to appear here and study Automotive Engineering,” Sebastian wondered. He and Fernando kept talking until Charles knocked on Sebastian’s door and asked him to arrange a meeting with Brown.

Later that evening, and after a very gruelling and boring meeting, Charles dragged Carlos out for coffee. “I know this little cafe, it’s perfect, and everyone in there is so polite and nice, I am sure you’ll like it,” the Monegasque said. “Sure…” Carlos said, his hands sneaking over to the car radio. “Hey, it was a nice song,” Charles complained when Carlos managed to change it. “I am the passenger, I get to choose the music,” the Spaniard replied. Not long later, they walked inside the coffee shop and Max greeted them with a smile. 

“How was your day off?” Charles asked Max after he gave him their order, completely forgetting Carlos who was behind him. “Great, I spent so much time streaming the night before and then found some time to study and clean up. Then Daniel, my roommate came back from spending the weekend with a friend, and we talked and talked. I generally had a great day and it was most certainly needed,” Max replied. “What do you stream?” Charles asked. “Oh, I do sim racing and I stream with Team Redline on Twitch,” Max explained. “He’s too modest, don’t listen to him, he doesn’t just do sim racing, he’s a world champion,” Lando says, suddenly appearing from behind him. “Jeez Lando,” Max exclaims. “Really Max?! That seems exciting,” Charles says and Max starts yapping about it, the brunette listening with an intense focus.

Meanwhile, Lando starts preparing the order Max received since Max was too busy maxplaining to Charles about sim racing and his setup. “May I help you sir?” He asks Carlos, who is looking at the pastries. “No thanks, I am with the cabron there, he just seems to have forgotten about me,” Carlos complains. “If I was with you, I wouldn’t forget you,” Lando replies, laughing. “Are you flirting with me, coffee boy?” Carlos replied, smiling. “What? You don’t like it?” Lando asked confidently. “I never said that,” Carlos said with a smile and got his coffee. He goes to pay since Charles is already sipping his while Max says something about the different racing lines in the Hungaroring. “It’s on the house,” Lando replies.

“Already buying me coffee? I may have to buy you dinner after this,” Carlos said with a smile. “Call me later, I get off at ten,” Lando said and pointed to Carlos’ coffee cup, where he had already written his number and name. Carlos’ phone rings at that time and he picks it up. “Carlos,” he says and winks at Lando. The latter was smiling, knowing what the other was doing. He walks a few steps away and keeps talking, Lando bagging the pastries that Charles had ordered. A few minutes later, he comes back and drags Charles away, explaining that they had to go. Charles gives Max a few bucks and lets Carlos drag him away, wishing to Max to have a great day. “Nando called, the meeting with Brown is set for tomorrow,” Carlos said as they walked out of the shop, Charles complaining that he didn’t manage to get Max’s number again.

Back at the shop, Max was smiling like an idiot before Lando approached him. “You should pay attention to me, I already landed a date with a handsome man,” Lando said. “You didn’t,” Max said to Lando while the Brit turned and walked away, saying that he did. “Hey, you can’t say that and not give any details!” Max yelled. “Let’s just say that I am not returning with you tonight,” Lando said and disappeared into his kitchen. “You smooth fucker,” Max mumbled before he went to prepare a delivery that just came in. 

Later tonight Carlos came by the cafe and picked up Lando, leaving Max for the last, boring, hour alone. And a boring hour it was. He just sat there, playing a game on his phone and looking at the door every ten minutes or so. He was bored out of his mind. Who would come by a coffee shop at eleven at night?! He wondered. But his boss was adamant he had to stay until then. And just as he was to close shop, a guy walks inside. “Fucking hell,” he thought and smiled, welcoming the customer. “You are probably ready to close shop, I am so sorry, I just want a plain black coffee to go,” he said. “Coming right up,” Max replied and turned his back around to prepare it. 

Soon enough, he gave the man his coffee, he paid and left. He could finally close up and leave or else he would be late to his sim racing meeting. Fifteen minutes later, he was walking the last corner to his house and that was the last thing he remembers before the lights turned dark.

Chapter Text

That night, when Carlos came back from his dinner date with Lando he found Charles frowning over his phone. “Everything alright?” he asked, trying to get a clue what made the Monegasque so upset. He was watching an iRacing stream on Twitch, what the hell? “No, Max was supposed to be streaming with his team, the stream started half an hour ago and he’s nowhere to be seen and he ain’t answering his phone,” he exclaimed. “He might be late, he was alone at the coffee shop when I went to pick up Lando, maybe there was a client,” Carlos tried to reassure him. 

“Why isn’t he answering his phone then mate? It’s almost midnight, he is usually back home by that time and he told me he never misses a stream,” Charles replied and stood up, walking towards Seb’s office. The German was awake and going over details for their meeting with Brown alongside Fernando. Both men were startled when a worried Charles stormed inside the office and went right over to Sebastian. “What happened Charles?” the older man asked, worried by the expression on his boss’ and mentee's face. “Max is missing,” Charles said and showed Sebastian the stream he was watching before he explained why he was so worried. His friends were really worried at that point because they had called his roommate and apparently he hadn’t returned yet. 

“I don’t have a good feeling about this Seb,” he said and the German frowned. He knew never to dismiss Charles’ instincts. “Do you want me to send someone by his apartment and check?” Sebastian asked. “No, I am going by myself, just, see if Logan can find anything by the cameras’ that are on his way home,” Charles said and went to leave, Sebastian stopping him. “I am sorry Charles but I can’t leave you to go there on your own, what if this was some plan by one of your enemies?” Sebastian tried to reason with him. “That’s what I am afraid of,” Charles simply replied and left the room. When he walked out to the parking lot he noticed a familiar figure leaning against the hood of his car. “Pierre, I didn’t know you were back!!” Charles said and went to hug his best friend. “I got back half an hour ago and I just got a call from Seb that you might need a ride,” Pierre replied.

“I told Seb I need to go alone,” Charles replied but Pierre was having none of it. “I won’t come up to the apartment but I would feel better if I was close by, you can also feel me in on all the gossip I missed, Seb did tell me he is your lover boy, should I start planning a wedding?” Pierre asked and Charles punched him lightly before they entered the car and drove away, Charles yapping about Max the whole way. 

—

Once they were in front of Max’s building, Charles jumped out and entered the building before Pierre could get a word in. He was in front of Max’s door and knocking a few seconds later. A man with curls and tattoos answered. “Are you Daniel?” Charles asked and the man looked him from top to bottom before he replied. “Are you the gorgeous rich guy?” he asked back. Charles looked at him confused. “I am Daniel, are you the guy that drove Max here in a Ferrari about a week ago, Charles?” Daniel asked and Charles nodded. “Thought so, what do you need?” Daniel asked, letting him inside the apartment. Charles immediately looked over Max’s sim setup which seemed to be left untouched. “Have you heard from Max yet or not? I was watching the stream and the guys seemed pretty confused he hadn’t appeared yet,” Charles explained.

“No, I have been calling him non-stop but his phone sent me to voicemail. I hoped you might went on a date and he didn’t tell me like Lando did with Carlos but I see he hasn’t,” Daniel said. “I, no, we didn’t,” Charles said when his phone rang. He looked at it and informed Danny that he had to take that. “Go on Seb,” Charles asked and waited. There was silence from the other side. “Seb?” he repeated. “Charles I want you to stay calm,” Sebastian said and Charles’ heart sank. He was not getting good news. “I am with Daniel, Max’s roommate,” Charles said. ” Okay, Charlie, I want you to take Daniel with you and come by the mansion, we have found something and it doesn’t look good, Pierre already has the car powered up and waiting downstairs,” Sebastian instructed him. “What do you mean Seb? Tell me!” he ordered. He was worried and anxious, and Sebastian could sense that. “It’s better if you see by yourself, now please hurry, trust me,” Sebastian said calmly and hung up. 

Charles turned to Daniel who was confused and more anxious than he was before. “Daniel, I bet you’ve heard of the Italian Mafia,” Charles said and Daniel nodded. “What do you mean Charles?” he asked, suddenly more alarmed. “I am the Italian Mafia, Daniel. I had my most trusted men search for Max as soon as I saw that he did not appear on his stream,” he explained. “Charles please do not joke about this, it’s not the time,” Daniel said but Charles could see his worry skyrocketing. “I am not, I don’t think you would like to see the gun I have on me now and I don’t know how to convince you but we need to leave, both of us, they found something and they are alarmed, can you please trust me? You can take any safety measures you deem necessary but it’s critical we leave now,” Charles said. Daniel seemed contemplating his options but in the end, he followed Charles outside the apartment. 

They were back at the mansion at record time and Daniel seemed to believe him when he saw the two guards on the gate with automatics and two more walking around the perimeter. Once they exited the car, Charles ran inside the mansion, the two men close behind him, and saw Logan, Sebastian, Carlos and Fernando looking at him with sad eyes. He grabbed the tablet from Logan’s hands and pressed play on the video that was there. 

Max was walking towards his apartment building, a Red Bull can in hand and looking at his phone. Kinda tense but Charles guessed it was from the long shift and his pent-up energy . Once he turned the last corner, he fell to the floor, the Red Bull can rolling towards the road. A minute later, a black McLaren SUV was leaving the scene, going north. 

“It’s Brown,” Charles said and Sebastian nodded. Pierre and Sebastian dragged him over to his office while the others took Daniel aside to explain and show him the video. “What do you want to do now Charles?” Sebastian asked, knowing the Charles he had in front of him now was the Don of the Italian Mafia and not the Charles they all knew and were familiar with. “We take him down and I don’t care about his excuses. I don’t even want to hear them,” he said and the others nodded in compliance. At that point, Carlos walked inside the room with Fernando by his side. “Logan stayed with Daniel and Oscar is on his way. How can we help?” he asked and Charles looked at all of them with a cold face. He really wanted to just go in there and fuck shit up on his own but he knew that he had to ensure Max’s safety first. “Seb call Lewis and tell him to find out where he has Max, I know he can do it safely. Once we know, we go there and storm the place, kill everyone on sight but leave Brown for me, and look out for Lewis,” he ordered. 

Sebastian was out of the room not a second later, calling the man they had undercover in Brown’s gang. He was close enough to Brown that they barely contacted him so as not to raise suspicions. Charles did not care about that anymore, Brown’s organization was going to burn to the ground, and Lewis could come back home. “What’s wrong Seb?” Lewis asked when he picked up, knowing that it was bad if he got a call. “Where did Brown take the man he kidnapped today?” he asked. “At the warehouse by the docs, who was he?” the Brit asked. “Charles’ soon-to-be boyfriend. Charles is furious, Brown is a dead man walking, stay close to him and make sure the man, Max is safe, Charles is the Don now,” Sebastian said and closed the phone. Lewis knew what he had to do now. 

While he was going back to Charles’ office, Daniel stopped him and pulled him aside. “I don’t know you but you seem trustworthy. Is Max going to be fine?” He asked and Sebastian looked him in the eyes. He did not want to lie but he couldn’t promise something he was not sure either. “Charles is going to do his best to get him back, and the men who took him will suffer,” Sebastian answered and Daniel seemed content with his answer. He went back to Logan and Sebastian to Charles’ office.

Once inside, everyone was silent and Carlos was missing. “There has been an attempt on Lando but he managed to evade them, Carlos left to get him,” Fernando explained and Sebastian let it sink in. Brown had to be desperate to do something like this. “We are leaving, Kmag will meet us there with Kimi, Hulk and Esteban, gear up,” Charles said and walked out of the room, everyone following him close behind.

Chapter Text

Max woke up and he could feel his head killing him. He was lying on a wet floor and he felt his limbs bound. He tried to get up but he couldn’t. He opened his eyes after a few minutes and noticed there were two other men in the room with him. One looked like a 50-year-old white guy and the other, about ten years younger, was black and wore a lot of jewellery. “Whe-where am I?” He asked silently but they didn’t seem to care. “Hey assholes,” he yelled. The white man said something to the other one before he turned and left, ignoring him. 

The man with the jewellery waited a few seconds before he approached him and helped him sit up. “Hey, I am with Charles, you are going to be okay,” he said and asked him if he needed water. “Wha...what does Charles have to do with this?” Max asked, confused. “You don’t know who Charles is, don’t you?” the other man asked him. “He is a businessman who likes nice cars,” Max said and the other man chuckled. “He is way more than that but I am going to let him tell you, I am Lewis,” he replied. “Well, Lewis, can you get me out of these and out of here? I have a very serious conversation to do with a certain Monegasque,” Max said and tried to wiggle out of the restraints. “I am sorry, I can’t do that yet, it’s going to look suspicious but sit tight, everything’s going to be over soon,” Lewis said and stood up. Two minutes later another guy was here and Lewis had to get out of the room with him.

Max was confused now, why did this man say that Charles was more than a simple businessman? He was sure a very successful one if he drove those Ferraris and wore such expensive clothes but he doubted that this was what Lewis meant. He did not manage to brainstorm more than that because his head started aching again and he could not think shit. A few seconds later he felt something drop in his eye and it stung. “What the hell?” he asked and looked up but the ceiling did not seem to have a crack or anything that would drop water on him. He saw a broken bottle a few meters away and he tried to crawl over to it. 

Once he was there, he leaned forward and tried to look at his reflection on the glass. “Shit,” he thought when he saw the wound on his forehead. He thought about trying to cut the ropes on his legs and arms but decided against it in the end since Lewis told him to stay tight and that it was safer that way. After that, he tried to crawl back to where he was. That was when he heard people shouting and running, gunshots following soon after.

—

“Kimi I need you on a rooftop, try to cover us and look around, tell us where everyone is. Everyone else cover up and wait for my signal,” Charles said. Kimi grabbed his sniper rifle and started climbing, while everyone else wore balaclavas and grabbed their tactical gear. They were all trained and masters at this, Charles the most ruthless of them all when he wanted to. “All clear on the left side,” Kimi said to Charles over the comms and Charles motioned for Oscar and Esteban to go first, use their stealth and try to kill as many as possible without alerting anyone of their presence. Now Charles would just drive his car on the door and start shooting if there wasn’t a chance of Max maybe getting killed in the process. 

They walked inside and when Kimi told them that the window was clear, they went in. It didn’t take them long before they started killing men left and right. But soon enough, a radio was heard, the voice of a man asking for a security check. “We are done, you need to come in,” Oscar said over the comms before he and Esteban moved further inside. Charles motioned Fernando to shoot the door with his automatic. The Spaniard did and all chaos broke loose. They stormed inside and started shooting. At one point someone had Sebastian as his target but before he managed to pull the trigger, Kimi sent a bullet through his head. “Be careful Seb,” he said over the comms and Sebastian smiled. “Danke schat,” he replied. 

Through all this chaos, Charles was moving fast, killing whoever dared stand in his way by shooting them or stabbing them and trying to find where they had Max. Pierre who was covering him, could barely get a bullet in, Charles was determined and angry. Suddenly they saw Zak Brown running behind a door and Charles started running his way. Once there, he shot the lock and stormed inside. 

Inside was Zak Brown and he was pointing a gun to Max’s head. Max’s beautiful head, that was bloody and had a huge gash on his forehead. Charles was seething. He pulled his gun up and in a matter of seconds Brown was lying dead on the floor, blood coming out of a hole in his head. Charles ran to Max while Pierre was guarding the door. “I have Max,” Charles said over the comms. “Everyone’s dead, free to come out,” Kimi replied. “Max, hey Max, are you alright mon amour?” Charles said when he pulled the balaclava off his head so Max could see his face. 

“Charles?” Max asked, looking at him confused. “It’s me mon ange, are you okay?” he asked, while Sebastian ran inside the room. Giving Charles a piece of cloth to wipe Max’s head and put pressure on his wound. “I’m okay just a little sore,” Max said while Sebastian moved to cut the ropes on his legs and Charles helped him stand up. Soon enough, they were walking out, leaving a warehouse full of bodies behind them. They settled inside the cars, and drove away, Charles sitting on the backseat with Max next to him.

Max leaned his head on Charles. “Max?” Charles asked and looked at him, Max had closed his eyes. 

—

The ride to the hospital was chaotic, to say the least. Charles was trying to wake up Max but the Dutchman wouldn’t badge. Once there, Charles jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped, Max in his hug and screaming for Russel and a gurney. The Brit came running and took Max away from him, leaving him anxious with Pierre approaching him. 

—

“Max!” Charles screamed almost half an hour later, when he saw the man walking towards him, his wounds patched up and George helping him stand upright. “You are okay, thank God! I was so worried!” Charles said and hugged him. He couldn’t deal with more ups and downs today, he was tired and wanted to go home, preferably with Max on his side. “He was fine, he just fell asleep after all the shock left his body and he relaxed,” George explained. 

“Thanks,” Charles muttered and walked Max out of the hospital where Pierre had left the car. Everyone else had left for the mansion. Pierre called Sebastian to inform him that everything was okay before he opened the door and Charles helped Max climb in and then himself. The ride to the mansion was quiet and Max was just looking out the window, not allowed to sleep but too tired to talk. So they just rode in silence the whole hour back. 

When they arrived, Daniel and Lando ran to the car and hugged Max as soon as he was out of the vehicle. “I was so worried mate, don’t ever do that to me again,” Daniel said and Lando repeated almost the same thing. Max just let himself fall against his friends and hugged them tight. Charles and Pierre walked inside and left the three friends alone. They seemed in need of some privacy.

Two hours later almost everyone had gone to their rooms. Daniel, Max and Lando would stay at the mansion for the foreseeable future since Charles and Carlos did not deem their houses safe enough for them to go. He had sent Oscar to pick up Max’s cats, who were now in the room with their owner and probably cuddling together. Charles and Max talked once Max was back after he stayed with Lando and Daniel for a while at the front door. Once Charles explained everything and answered all of Max’s questions, the Dutchman stood up and walked out of the room. They hadn’t talked since then and Charles was afraid that everything was lost. Yes, they only knew each other for about a week but he slowly and surely fell in love. While he was scrolling on his phone, someone knocked on his door. “Come in,” he said, but he did not expect Max to be the one that would cross the threshold. 

“It’s okay,” Max said after he walked inside and closed the door, looking at him but not walking further inside. “I am sorry I walked out before but I was tired and my head was killing me and I wanted to think,” he concluded and Charles looked at him in shock. “Really?” he asked after a few seconds. “Yes, really, I like you a lot Charles and I think I can get over all this if you promise to let me keep going with my life and finish my degree,” Max said and Charles smiled. “Of course mon amour, I would never want you to stop for me, I just want to be allowed to cheer on you from the sidelines,” Charles replied when he walked up to Max and hugged him. “Now, do you want to come and sleep? I am tired as fuck and I think you wallowed in your misery enough,” Max said and kissed him. 

Charles’ brain short-circuited when Max kissed him but he tried to play it cool. “What do you think Charlie?” Max said and Charles kissed him this time, replying that it would be his pleasure. “Just to warn you, Jimmy will probably get on the bed at one point, he might end up on your legs or between us and Sassy has a tendency to sleep on heads,” Max said and Charles snickered, saying that he had no problem as long as he could cuddle him. They were hugging under the sheets a few minutes later, sleeping content together.