Chapter Text
9th place
Max had once again qualified at the higher end of the grid, but still not high enough to make the climb to the podium comfortable for him. It was annoying that he could not seem to qualify higher than 5th this season so far. But it was only the 3rd race of the season, so he had the opportunity to break that streak and maybe even qualify in pole position this year.
One could only hope.
"How are we doing today, Max? Is the helmet comfortable?" Xevi asked when he was pulled into the garage.
"Yeah. The injuries on my face don't hurt with the padding." Max answered as he handed over the steering wheel.
"Great! The medics will want to do a check of them to make sure they will heal up nicely." Xevi smiled as Max climbed out of the car. "Are you also going to tell us why you were late to qualifying today? You are normally the first one in the paddock." His engineer asked.
"I am sure the reason will make himself known..." Max mumbled as he removed his helmet and balaclava, wincing slightly.
"It is not your father, is it? He should still be in police custody, and security is on high alert for any other potential threats." Xevi commented, smile dropping.
"No. Not him." Max said. "The one responsible is still on the track at the moment, but I'm sure as soon as he finishes, he will come running." He said as he removed the earphones connected to the team radio.
"We can keep him out. People from other teams are not meant to be in different paddocks anyway. He would not get far." Xevi said.
"Is there anything I need to do after the check-up?" Max asked as he placed his helmet down in the car seat.
"Other than interviews on the situation from yesterday and the driver interviews, no. So, once you have done all that, you can rest up." Xevi said, watching as Max frowned at that.
"What? Why do I need to comment on the situation yesterday?" Max asked, panic evident in his voice.
"We tried to prevent it, but a video of what happened leaked online, and it is trending. We have limited our responses, but they are asking lots of questions and all reporters will likely crowd you as soon as they get the chance." Xevi explained.
Max felt his breath quicken, all sounds slowly becoming drowned in his own panic. He did not want to talk about what his father did yesterday, especially since they wouldn't just stop at asking about yesterday. He was not ready to talk about any of that. On how it started, how it had gotten worse when he presented wrong. He was not ready to talk about any of it. He didn't even realise that his engineer had led him to the med bay in his panic until he had a medic in his face, snapping him out of it when he felt something touch one of the cuts.
"Ow! Some warning next time!" Max hit the hand away with a frown.
"I did give you a warning. You were just in a panic and didn't hear me." The medic commented as she cleaned the wounds.
~~~
During the treatment of his wounds, the stench of mint ice cream flooded the Toro Rosso paddock, and all it took was one blink for Kimi to suddenly appear at Max's side after managing to barge past the team.
"Oh. An alpha in rut is why you weren't here on time. Fair enough." Xevi said when he saw the Finn in the med bay now.
"Why are you acting like this is normal?" Max asked, looking at his engineer.
"It isn't common. But it isn't the first time an alpha has grown attached to one of the new drivers during a rut." Xevi said, chuckling a little when Max frowned. "Though this is the first time Räikkönen is the one to grow attached." He added.
"Do you think this is due to what happened yesterday?" Max asked, pushing Kimi's arms away when he attempted to wrap his arms around the teen.
"Most likely. An alpha's instinct when in a rut is to 1: Find a mate and 2: Protect the pups. He sees you as his pup and saw you get hurt. He wants to make sure you are safe and protected from anyone or anything that could hurt you. He isn't quite as clingy as a normal alpha, so I assume he was made to take suppressants so he would allow you to drive, but he will still hang around you until the rut is over." Xevi explained.
Max raised an eyebrow at that, looking between his engineer and then back at Kimi. So this was what an alpha in rut was meant to be like? Not like what his father was when he was in rut? He didn't know how to feel about it. It was far better than Kimi seeing him as a Mate and immediately getting pounced on for that. Being seen as a pup wasn't any better since now he would be coddled whenever the Finn was in rut.
But it felt nice.
It felt nice to have someone in his corner for once. His mother had done as well, but she was no longer in the picture. She had moved when he was just 11 years old, leaving him to the wrath of his father. She couldn't stand watching Jos push him further and further into karting, meaning he struggled in school and would lose any prospects of other job opportunities. When they first divorced, he visited his mother once a month. It hadn't been long, though, before his father put a stop to that as well. He didn't even have his mother's number anymore. He didn't have any parental figures anymore, with his father in police custody.
Except now.
"Kimi! Get your ass back to the Ferrari paddock right now!" Vettel shouted when he entered the med bay, grabbing both drivers' attention
"Oh, good. Take him so we can sort out our media duties." Xevi said, hearing Kimi whine a little. "Wow. He is deep into his rut this time."
"Tell me about it. Ferrari is not happy." Vettel said as he dragged Kimi out of the med bay.
"Alright. Now that that's dealt with, we can get the interviews over and done with, and then you can focus on looking at the data and resting up for tomorrow." Xevi said, seeing Max frown. "No one likes the media stuff, but every driver has to do it." He chuckled.
~~~
Max hated all of the interviews. He hated them at the best of times anyway. The one thing he wished his father had actually put him through was media training, but he never did. And now, even without having any social media, he knew there were infamous clips out there of him handling interviews and his interactions with the other drivers involved. But it had helped solidify that he was considered an alpha on the grid.
These interviews, as he predicted, never talked about the actual racing and the potential outcome of the race. It was all about what had happened after free practice and the visible stitches and bruising on his face. He kept his answers short and didn't elaborate when they were trying to ask about whether Jos had done stuff like this before. He was grateful as well that other drivers also kept their answers short when asked what they thought about the situation. Even Massa had said, 'It is not my situation to talk about it, so I will not answer.'
Outside of the drivers' interviews, other reporters had surrounded him and attempted to overwhelm him with questions as well. And they had been until Kimi had found him and growled at them to back off. He had never been more grateful to have an alpha in rut feel so protective of him, at least until Kimi had wrapped his arms around him and refused to let him go again.
So much for the suppressants...
"You cannot cling to me the whole time. I have things to do." Max said as he slipped out of the alpha's arms.
Kimi had to suppress a whine at that. "Sorry. I cannot help it." He said as he refrained from wrapping his arms once again around Max.
"There you are, Kimi," Hamilton said as he approached the two drivers. "I've been looking for you since the end of the inter- Oh, hey, Max." The Brit said when he realised the teen was there.
"What do you need?" Kimi asked, turning towards the pack alpha.
"It was to talk about your disappearance and your rut starting yesterday, so we can put things in place to make you more comfortable," Hamilton explained, raising an eyebrow at the way Kimi put himself in front of Max.
"You set things up to make alphas comfortable?" Max asked, head tilted.
"Yes. Each alpha on the grid has specific needs when it comes to their ruts, so we set up the pack rooms with things they need during the ruts." Hamilton explained and frowned. "You didn't know that people did that?" He questioned.
"No..." Max mumbled, looking down.
"How have you gotten through your ruts without help?" Hamilton asked, concern in his voice.
"And now is the time to stop asking questions, and we go to the pack room to talk privately," Kimi said, holding back a growl as he led Hamilton away from the teen.
Max sighed with relief when the two walked away from him. Kimi's scent had gotten overwhelming when Hamilton had approached. Not to mention that Hamilton's scent of tomatoes seemed rotten, like he was stewing over something before he had approached the two of them. But, he didn't stick around for too long and headed back towards the Toro Rosso paddock so he could analyse the data from qualifying (and to avoid getting ambushed by reporters again).
Though he stopped when he passed the Mercedes paddock at the sight of Rosberg glaring at the floor, like it had personally offended him. He didn't know what had compelled him to stop, but it seemed like the German needed someone to rant to. And while he wasn't good at taking stuff like that with the way his father had been, he could give it a go. He made his way over to Rosberg, waving a hand in his view so he could see him coming.
"Oh. Hey Max. I didn't see you there." Rosberg said, looking up at the teen.
"I haven't been here long. You seem angry at something." Max said as he stood next to him.
"Don't worry about it. Just some team drama that you don't need to get involved in." Rosberg said with a sigh. "Trust me. You do not want to hear about it."
"Shoot," Max said as he looked up at the Mercedes driver.
"You sure? I won't be keeping you from anything, right?" Rosberg questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Other than race data, no," Max said.
~~~
Never again.
Max was never going to let Rosberg rant to him again. He never expected it to take so long and be so draining. He thought he would jump straight to the point of what had him so angry, but instead, he got a whole life story of the friendship between him and Hamilton and how it seemed to be falling apart.
"He can't seem to accept the fact that I am on the same level as him, you know? He is extremely determined to win another world championship. He already has 3! Why can't he let me just have my first one?" Rosberg ranted, gesturing as he talked. "He can get another one next year for all I care! I just want at least one, and this year is my best shot! I am already doing so well! And he is ranting to Toto like I am not around about issues with his car! He has no issues, he just wants a better car than me so he can win!"
"Why couldn't we have jumped to this from the start? Did I need to know about your bromance from the start?" Max asked, looking fed up.
"You did need to know. It is important context. I'm sure you had this kind of friendship when you were karting." Rosberg said, looking at Max
"Not really, no. Father never let me get close to any of my competitors." Max said, looking at the ground. "I just had rivalries."
"Okay. I will not bring up that sore spot again as long as you don't tell Lewis any of this, okay?" Rosberg said, watching Max nod. "Good. Now you should probably head off to Toro Rosso before they have my head for keeping you."
"I am more concerned with Kimi finding me once again and not letting me do anything," Max said with a chuckle.
"Fair enough. I'll see you on the track tomorrow, kid." Rosberg said, ruffling Max's hair.
"Maybe I'll see you in my mirrors, Britney," Max said with a smirk, running off to Toro Rosso before Rosberg even registered it.
"Hey! That's not my name!" Rosberg shouted before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "God, that kid is going to be a menace on the track for years..." He muttered.
"Good! It will be more fun racing again!" Fernando said, startling Rosberg.
"Verdammte Hölle! You need to wear a bell!" Rosberg exclaimed, holding his chest.
"Nope! It is more fun to scare you all. Except Max. The pequeño león tried to punch me last time." Fernando said with a smile as he stood next to Rosberg. "So, you and Lewis falling out? Is the romance truly dead?" He asked.
"If it is, it's Lewis' fault," Rosberg said, arms crossed. "If his ego can't handle me beating him fair and square, that is his problem."
"Hm. Yes. He had quite the ego when we were both in McLaren. That seems to have only increased since Kimi stepped down as Pack Alpha." Fernando said, leaning against the wall. "I think Max not joining the pack when asked threw him off, too."
"Tell me about it. He keeps ranting off about how Max should've joined the pack then and there." Rosberg said with a sigh. "I am glad the kid didn't join, though, after finding out about his secondary gender. Being crowded by an entire grid of alphas is probably overwhelming. And there's always that risk of everyone finding out, and suddenly he's off the grid."
Fernando nodded in agreement. So far, three people knew. Him, Rosberg and Kimi. They would be able to keep the secret as long as they kept an eye on Max and tracked his heat cycles. If the entire grid were to find out by accident, there's no telling what would happen. But Max would 100% get kicked off the grid.
He was not letting that happen.