this was so fun to write, thanks a lot for the ask!!
anyways, enjoy.
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Daniel knows he shouldnāt have trusted Max on this one. Not when it involved Max promising he wouldnāt get mad after a game of padel.
Because, the thing is, Max is shit at padel. Heās always been, and most likely will always be, because itās been almost ten years of playing every Grand Prix week end and he still hasnāt won a game yet. Even against Lando, which says something. But. Itās not like Daniel is any better, though he often finds himself to be flexier than Max is, catching balls that his padel-teammate would never have, and Max does have a habit of pointing it out after. That Daniel is very souple.Ā
But, anyway. All this to say, Daniel should definitely not have trusted Max when he said that padel was always fun, even if they lost. Definitely even less when Max added maybe they might even win this time. Yeah, that should have been a hint for how this was going to end.Ā
They lost. Obviously. Except now, Daniel has to deal with a very frustrated Max who, when in this state, finds rambling very relieving.
« -d you even see what he did? Fucking Pierre always with his snarky comment, distracting us. He was very obviously cheating, I cannot believe he would even do that in that way. But, he was teamed up with Charles, so really, I shouldnāt even be fucking surprised ācause those two always do weird shit when theyāre together-,Ā Ā»
Daniel always notices that Maxās accent pops out more when heās angry. His red plushy lips lets out more lisp, and all the āthā become ātā, which makes him sound a little funny, and also a little harsher than he probably means to be, though right now, Daniel thinks heād like to actually spit those ātās as Pierre and Charles. Fucking padel pair that always wins. Daniel should really, really have seen this one coming.Ā
Theyāre walking through the paddock now, about to get into their separate garages to start he Singapore qualification session, and apparently, Max still isnāt over their little game of padel last night. Heās been shooting death glares at any Alpine employee, which isnāt very fair, but itās very Max, so Daniel didnāt comment on it. Since 10pm last night, he has let Max make big ranting gestures in front of him and explain everything that has been wrong with the way Pierre and Charles have played, how their strategy were ānot fair play, and pretty fucking trying to fuck them upā - Maxās words -.Ā
And Daniel is still listening and listening, trying to get into race mode, but he canāt, because God, heās starting to understand where Max is coming from, because Pierre had made that little racket move to Daniel, that little wave just before he hit the ball, and that had distracted Daniel from the game, and god, why is Max making sense right now-
« -no, ācause, like, he should not have hit the ball this way,Ā Ā» Max is still gesturing angrily at whatever in front of him, eyes fixated on the ground, then the ceiling, then Danielās face and again on the ceiling,Ā Ā« because it made a little curve that no one could have ever thrown back! Itās so unfair, and Charles has always been this way, always throwing dirty moves that make us unable to fight back, always pushing me off track when I was beginning to win, and we were going to win last night, I felt it, but Charles with his fucking Pierre were so-,Ā Ā»Ā
Daniel kisses him. Like, hands on either side of his neck, tongue pushing past his lips and hips flush against each otherās kissing, and God, Max is still trying to speak when Daniel pulls away, so Daniel kisses him again, just to make sure heāll shut up, because Daniel canāt keep listening to this and risk getting into unnecessary fights with an impossible opponent that is Ferrari and a team thatās been at the back of the grid for most the year, heās supposed to be right at the middle, sandwiched between them. Not fighting.Ā
Max is the one to break the kiss this time, eyes big and round, breath a little panting from either his rant or the kiss, and Daniel really wishes itās the kiss, and his lips a slightly parted, red and blotchy just under the freckle that sits so prettily, but theyāre starting to move again, to form words, « Daniel, I do not-,Ā Ā» so Daniel has to kiss them quiet again. Max keeps trying to talk, gently but actually not very so, almost biting into Danielās lips as he does so, so Daniel puts a hand to his scalp, just behind the ear, rubbing soft circular motion there, and-
Max melts a bit after that. Daniel feels his shoulder slump slightly under his touch, his knees bend just a little and one of his hands settle in Danielās curls, and the other on his waist. Heās not trying to pull away anymore, not trying to speak, to argue, if anything, heās pulling in, in, in, taking Daniel in his arms fully, touching everywhere, and now Daniel pulls away again, because he suddenly remembers theyāre minutes away from qualifications and heās got to get his head in race mode, not go easy on a Red Bull that he will most likely never cross, but who knows.Ā
Daniel has got to stop being so easily distracted.Ā
ps: might do an nsfw version of this prompt to post on ao3 for kinktober, let me know if you'd be interested!!
I may have managed to accidentally unfollow you whilst trying to send this ask (I love tumblr) and promise to refollow immediately.
Anyway, re Max maintaining eye contact in contexts where eye contact is not generally recommended: Mandatory drug testing pee senarios!
āUm, sorry again. For the inconvenience,ā Daniel says, because Verstappen does not seem happy and theyāre not making anyāprogress, so to speak.
Danielās coworker, Ancient Fred, has been at WADA for too long to be bothered. Heās got his reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose, typing on his phone very slowly, like theyāre not crushed in a tiny bathroom with a Formula One driver glaring at them, dick in one hand, sample cup in the other. But itās Danielās first rodeo, so.
āItās just, you know. Procedure. You know, obviously. Ha.ā Danielās face is hot. Heās not looking at Verstappenās dick. He canāt, because heās trapped in the worldās strangest staring contest with Verstappen himself. Why he wonāt just face the wall or look down at the toilet is beyond Daniel. Daniel has to watch.
āStop licking your lips,ā Verstappen says suddenly. Daniel didnāt even know he had been; he blushes even more. Ancient Fred is silent.
āSorry, um. Iām not trying to make you, um. Uncomfortable.ā Actually if Daniel could make Verstappen take all the discomfort of this situation off his hands, heād do it in a heartbeat. He clenches his jaw, keeping his traitorous tongue in its place.
āNo,ā Verstappen says. Has he blinked even once? Danielās not sure. āItās of course that I canāt piss whenāā He laughs and gestures.
Daniel cracks. He looks at Verstappenās dick. Itās hard.
Only 3 Red Bull Academy Drivers went on to win a Grand Prix; Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. A pretty astounding stat to consider, and really puts in to perspective just how insidiously cruel and self-sabotaging Red Bull's current efforts to, in every way possible, minimise Daniel's career and achievements