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It was finally over. The shit show that was the Montreal Grand Prix had finally ended, and with it came a night of partying for Mercedes, half of the team at least. George however, was miserably lying in his hotel room, freshly showered, with nothing to occupy his thoughts except his terrible afternoon. He thought about the skid, the grass, standing, staring at his car while it was taken away, surely getting clipped by fans. He debated ordering dinner, the last time he ate was before the sprint yesterday, but he figured he didn’t deserve it. Grabbing a pillow, he yanked it over his head and started to scream, so caught up in his own emotions that he almost didn’t hear the knock at his door. Deciding it had to be something important, he swung open the door to see a very intoxicated, very out of breath Kimi Antonelli. Raising an eyebrow, George looked down the hallway to see Lewis and Max chasing after him, with Max going so far as to yell “Kimi don’t you dare knock; he’s probably sleeping!” George cocked his head to one side: “If Kimi hadn’t woke me your yelling would have”. The two champions realized they were too late and Kimi had already begun something that would surely end badly. Slipping from his hold on the door, Kimi would have fallen flat on his face, had George not caught his forearms and dragged him inside, motioning for the other two to follow them inside.
After situating Kimi on the cushiony armchair in the corner with a bottle of water, George sat back onto the bed, threading his hands under his legs and staring at the two of them expectantly.
“We didn’t mean to—”
“We tried to stop him—”
“He insisted—”
Lewis grabbed a water bottle and hopped onto the little dining table, sitting criss crossed and prompting Max to begin.
“He wanted to ask you why you didn’t come celebrate with him”
This confused George. Kimi..the teammate who absolutely lost his shit during the sprint yesterday at him..wanted him to come celebrate his win..after he himself DNFed? His anger must have shown on his face because Max sighed and Lewis raised his arms, attempting to explain his behavior but George wouldn’t have any of it.
“You wanted me to come celebrate with you..after everything yesterday and today? After you repeatedly treated me like shit? … Oh right I forgot; you’re only nice to me when YOU win. If I win you complain, you demand I be penalized, you basically ignore me to talk to these two, but I am expected to, not only congratulate you—which I did—but go out and spend my time celebrating you? You couldn’t even look me in the eye yesterday.”
George was panting now, catching his breath after his rant. It is only then when Kimi looks him in the eye.
“Oh now you’re crying that will fix everything”
“George don’t be cruel”
“Max don’t you dare lecture me on cruelty”
Kimi sniffled loudly, making George roll his eyes, sigh, and run a hand through his hair.
“Kimi, admit it, you didn’t want me there for any reason other than to be cruel. You barely talk to me, opting to hang out with these two”, he motioned towards Lewis and Max. “so I didn’t really see any reason for me to go with you tonight.”
The silence was deafening now. George could hear Max’s mouth open and close, unsure how to move forward.The silence was only broken by Lewis, laughing fondly.
“I’m not doing this again. Good luck you three.”
With that, Lewis turned on his heel and walked out, still chuckling to himself. George sighed again, remembering Lewis crying about that fateful year. Did it really hurt this much? George saw out of the corner of his eye Kimi’s arm, rising in the request of a hug. Biting his lip, George could already feel his anger working in tandem with his fondness for his teammate. George turned to see Max getting up from his chair to hug Kimi, and felt jealousy spark from his chest. But Kimi moved his arms away, reaching toward George with glassy eyes.
“I wanted to race with you today…please don’t be angry at me”
George rubbed his temples in exhaustion.
“Kimi, it was never about me being angry about you. I was never angry at you. I was angry because you were angry whenever you didn’t win. You only bothered interacting with me when you won.”
Kimi’s arm drooped from the effort of holding them up. He was clearly still drunk. Despite this, he moved his hands in a grabby motion, clearly still wanting his hug. George’s head hung back, already walking towards him. He felt Kimi's arms wrap desperately around him, scared he would walk away. When George shifted to address Max, Kimi’s arms tightened around his waist in fear. George raised his arms and chuckled lightly, not noticing Max looking at the two of them with an expression that could only be described as fond. Eventually, after calming Kimi down, George reached out his arm, inviting Max into their little hug. Moving one hand around George’s waist and the other through Kimi’s curls, Max couldn’t think of a place he would rather be. After a while, the two older drivers felt the younger’s breathing even out.
“I think he’s asleep,” George whispered.
“It’s been a long day for us” Max replied, gently squeezing near George’s hip bone, eliciting a smile.
The two of them maneuvered Kimi onto the bed, lying him on his side while the two of them got ready for bed.
“Do you have any extra pajamas?”
“suitcase. There’s an extra toothbrush in the bathroom too.”
The two of them got ready for bed together, softly coexisting with gestures, touches, and whispers, careful to not wake Kimi. George felt a tug at his heart. It was too domestic; they could be easily mistaken for young parents who finally got their child asleep and wanted to keep him that way. Lost in thought, he didn’t realize Max was walking by until a soft yet strong hand against his back, calmly maneuvering him out of the way. After wrinkling his nose at the way Max washed his face by simply splashing water on it, and Max inquiring about his ‘useless potions’ that George reminded:
“Keep me pretty. Don’t you want me to be pretty?”
After no response he turned, worried he had overstepped. Instead he found Max Verstappen, four time world champion, blushing and chewing the inside of his cheek. This only encouraged him, pinching his nose and kissing his cheek, making Max flush an even deeper red. Eventually they settled back into bed, lying on either side of Kimi.
“Did you eat dinner George?”
George stilled. They didn’t do this. Sure they were aware they had some additional issues that their fellow drivers didn't, but they never mentioned it to the other.
“No..”
“George..”
“I’m not hungry right now”
Max sighed, aware he was not going to win this battle, not now, this late at night.
“We are getting breakfast tomorrow, the three of us”
“Fine” George huffed, snaking his arm over Kimi and moving Max’s arms around himself. Before he fell asleep, he gently moved Max’s sleeves slightly up, softly tracing the bumpy skin on Max’s forearms, the lines too perfect to be accidental.
“I love you”
“I know”
George’s heel collided with Max’s shin, careful not to accidentally hit Kimi.
“I love you too! I love you too!”
“Better”