Archive of Our Own ^beta

Strong typhoons usually don’t reach Singapore, the last bigger one happened 15 years ago, but the Formula 1 drivers are lucky. Thanks, global warming, they are going to enjoy the typhoon which is going to hit the city in about 6 hours. There is no escape - no airplane is going to take off, the highways turned into strings of barely moving cars while sirens echo in the distance - police vehicles, emergency responders, alerts blaring from city loudspeakers repeating the same thing since the morning: Seek shelter. Remain indoors. Prepare for flooding and high winds.

“Can they shut up? Everyone knows a fucking typhoon is coming toward us!”

Lewis promptly smacks the back of Fernando’s head before Carlos can do the same. The last thing they need is littles swearing like uncle Fernando. Luckily, they don’t notice. Lance’s family owns an apartment in Singapore so he and Esteban are staying there, but Lando, Charles and George are sitting around the coffee table and color while George’s phone plays the newest album from Taylor Swift. The music isn’t enough, they can still hear the sirens and alerts and every so often, the littles glance outside. 

The sky has an unnatural shade of grey, Lewis feels as if the heavy clouds are coming closer to crush them. Oscar is back with bags full of everything from the minibars in their rooms. Carlos and Fernando tried going out to get water and food, but supermarkets were already stripped bare while people ran around to board up windows. They came back empty-handed, so at least they raided the minibars and now crowds in Lewis’s room. 

Carlos is silent, he keeps rubbing his hands together while muttering something. Fernando took every small bottle of alcohol he could find in the minibars and now sips on a drink. Oscar is nervously bouncing his knees and checks their phones if they are charging. They have a few more hours until the typhoon comes, the bathroom where they will spend the night is ready. It’s the only room without windows, they put every pillow and blanket in the room together with their supplies. The large bathtub is turned into a safe nest for the littles, but for now they stay in the large bedroom. Lewis nervously walks around the room, back and forth, back and forth, while bitting his fingernails. His private jet is waiting, he believed they could get away, but then came a command that no plane can fly. They are trapped and Lewis hates being trapped.

They don’t know Daniel is persuading another little.

“Maxie, they don’t hate you. We can be safe with them, okay? No one is going to make fun of you.”

Max is crying. The stress and fear is making everything worse and now daddy wants him to join other littles in uncle Lewis’s room. Max hates the idea, but he also hates the way the wind is beginning to scream. He doesn’t like this, he wants home! Daniel has had enough, he isn’t dealing with a typhoon on his own! They have no supplies, nothing! Daniel shoves a few things in his backpack and grabs Max’s hand before heading through the empty hallways right toward Lewis’s room.

The typhoon is getting closer with each passing minute and the group is getting ready to lock the bathroom’s door when someone bangs on the door. They look at each other and Carlos goes to open before the person outside can break the door. He says nothing after opening the door and finding worried Daniel and crying Max. He lets them inside and only glances on the cat in Max’s arms and the way he is gripping Daniel’s hand.

“Could we please stay with you?”

Of course they don’t say No. Only Fernando mumbles something about not sharing his vodka and they squeeze in the bathroom. Max clings to Daniel who tries to coax him into sitting in the bathtub with other littles. Max whines and refuses to move away until George shifts a bit to make more space for the new little. Max finally allows Daniel to sit him between George and Charles. They huddle together like scared chicks with George and Charles sucking on pacifiers. Carlos starts telling a story, some fairytale he remembers from his childhood, but then George interrupts him.

“Daddy, paci..”

George points toward his strawberry backpack, but Lewis doesn’t understand him.

“Baby, you already have one.”

George shakes his head no and gives daddy a look which clearly translates like: Daddy, are you even listening?

“Paci for Maxie.”

Lewis is a bit unsure, but hands a clean pacifier to Max who glances at daddy and then at uncle Lewis before accepting it. His eyelids immediately drop, he slowly sucks on the pacifier and enjoys the new sensation spreading in his body. Carlos continues in his story and the littles listen until the lights flicker and go dark. George and Charles cry out in fear, but Carlos is already getting Charles’s nightlight out of his bag. Soft light brightens up the room and the two small littles calm down. George peed himself when the room turned pitch-black, but Lewis quickly changed him and opens the door a tiny bit to toss the dirty diaper wrapped in a plastic bag outside in the bedroom.

Wind and rain intensify, they hear something metal breaking outside the hotel. The littles don’t listen to Carlos’s story, they are too busy pretending to be brave, but of course that George breaks down. He bursts into hiccuping tears until daddy picks him up. Lewis squeezes in the bathtub and holds sobbing George in his lap while wrapping one arm around Max.

“Nothing bad can happen, we are safe. Nothing could hurt babies like you.”

Lewis is probably persuading himself while Oscar opens a large bottle of water, it’s still a bit cold from the mini fridge and pours it in plastic cups.

“Let’s drink a bit of water, alright?”

Oscar is right, they feel a tiny bit better, even George stops crying and now only whines in daddy’s arms. The bathtub is the only comfy place in the room, the caregivers placed blankets and pillows inside and while it fits the four littles when they are sitting up, only two can lie down inside. Lewis stands up and lies George down on the couch cushions they put on the floor. Max whines a bit after loosing his friend, but then Charles tightly hugs him and it’s okay again. 

George is falling asleep, his eyelids are fluttering and he is so close to falling asleep, but then a window explodes in the bedroom and Lando leaps out of the tub. Okay, he isn’t so brave! Wind and rain enter the bedroom and debris hit the door, and Fernando finally puts his drink down. He sits down in front of the door, leans his back against the wood and smiles a bit.

“I am not a daddy, so … yeah, I am the hero.”

He chuckles and reach for his drink again, but Carlos moves the glass away.

“Heroes are sober.”

Fernando pouts, but Carlos only rolls his eyes. They try to act normal in front of Lando, Charles and Max, but their calm masks are slipping. Daniel catches tears rolling down Lewis’s cheeks while the man protectively wraps himself about sleeping George. Goosebumps raise on Daniel’s back while listening to the moaning wind coming from outside the bathroom. Rain is roaring and each drop hammers down on every surface with non-stop force. Daniel is used to Australian weather, you know - dry seasons when everything turns into dust, bushfires which turn the sky grey with smoke - but this is different. New. And especially terrifying because now he is a daddy, Max is his responsibility, his little. 

Max and Charles huddled together would be a cute sight if it weren’t for the typhoon raging outside. They are both asleep and Lando is close to falling asleep too. Carlos opens a tube of Pringles and it passes from one man to another. Good thing Lando isn’t awake, he loves potato chips and he would definitely eat all of them. Fernando drunk a bit too much, he fell asleep slumped against the door. Lewis is asleep but he still covers George using his own body. Daniel carefully stretches his body on the only empty spot on the couch cushion - his back is pressed to George’s side, but the little doesn’t seem to mind, and Daniel peers in the bathtub. 

Max is still sucking on the pacifier, his fear and anxiety made him feel really small, his stuffed cat is tucked under his chin and one of his arms is resting on Charles’s belly. Daniel sighs in relief. They are okay. Just a few more hours and the typhoon is going to be away and they can go home. Daniel closes his eyes and focuses on his breathing and on the small noises. The rustling of George’s diaper, smacking of Lando’s lips (the little one is always hungry), Max’s breathy moans and Fernando’s soft snoring. He knows that a typhoon is destroying the city, but here, in this stuffy bathroom and with his friends, he feels safe and protected.