ʀᴇᴅ sᴛʀɪɴɢ ᴏғ ғᴀᴛᴇ; ᴍᴀx ᴠᴇʀsᴛᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ

10.

Update two days in a row??? Yes(deal with it😔)
—-

"Grace!"
He finds the shorter crouched next to the team car, her head swaying back and forth.
"Oh- did you get pole?" She asks smiling weakly at him.

He doesn't answer instead takes a seat next her, leaning down to look at her face clearly.
"Where's your watch?" He questions , catching her empty wrist in his hand.
She sighs, grumpily , pulling out the watch from underneath her and handing it to the Dutch.

Max sighs , placing it around her wrist. They both wince as it beeps loudly , and very dramatically - in Grace's opinion.
"I'm fine." She suggests waving her hand dismissively.
Max wishes he could believe her but the paleness on her face makes it extremely hard for him.

She leans her head onto his shoulder , catching him by surprise before he relaxes.
He places a hand on her shaking knee making her smile slightly. She looks over at him.

"Maybe you should go back Grace."
Her smile falls, her watch stops beeping.
"What? Why- I mean ofcourse iam sick but-"
"But what? , Grace?. I've already dragged you along in my selfishness. When you're obviously sick and should be at home."
He tugs onto the zipper of his race suit, looking down at the blues of it.

"You're not being selfish , Max." She reasons , crumpling another wrapper of the protein bar and throwing it in the pile that she had created.
"Oh yeah? How so? You're sick yet -"
"Yes I'm sick , and will be forever - as long as I'm here." She interrupts , taking a deep sigh.
"I've lived a pretty meaningless life. If I have a chance to make someone else's life better and give a little meaning to my own- I'm not going to let go of it."  She smiles at him, grabbing his fiddling hands.
"But-"
"No buts and ifs- I'm staying."
She squeezes his hands , making him look up.
"I'm not going to get rid of you anytime soon am I?"
"Absolutely not."

Wat Thai Dhammram was mostly made of ancient architecture. Religious symbols and statues were plotted everywhere as Grace and Max walked through the newly discovered territory.

The duo had made their way to Waterloo a few hours after the race where the younger had managed to score a podium for 2nd place all the way from p10- which Grace had felt guilty for.

They both tiptoed to a secluded part of the temple , hiding themselves behind the colourful strings hanging from pole to pole.
Max holds out his hand, Grace slides her own in his hold as they both close their eyes.

"Should I go first?" He asks , subconsciously swinging their hands back and forth.
"Yes but can I ask you a question this time?"
"Sure." He stops swinging their hands.
Grace takes a deep breath.
"Are you over your ex?"
The English had been curious about it even before Max and her had met. She wanted to know how it felt to dedicate so many years of your life to someone and just not have them anymore?
"No. I know I should be but - I genuinely loved her. I had decided that she was the one since our first date together. I still think she might have been the one however I respect that iam not the one for her."
"You're way too good for your own good."
"You'll know when you fall in love."

"Now can I ask you a question?"
"It's only fair."
"Do you blame the way you've been brought up on your loneliness?"
The two had been brought up in explicitly contrasting ways. With Max's dad going over the board in the heckle of "tough love" while Graces parents placed everything infront of her without her even asking; for the sake of being accomplished parents.
"I didn't before. I had grown so accustomed to my life but eversince everything happened, i do a little. I know they were just trying to give me a good life but it doesn't take a genius to know that they heavily over did it"
It only took a dying person to know so.

They both open their eyes , staring at eachother with a thin smile. Max opened his mouth to say something but before he could even mutter a word a lady strides over to them.
Her temper short just like her height.

"This is a temple! You can't be sinful here!"
A few others look over to the three , trying to understand what's happening.
"Oh no we weren't -"
"I'm not stupid!" She puts her hands on her waist, staring at Grace.
"I can assure you, It's not what you're thinking." She gestures between Max and her , as the Dutch watches her struggle with a sheepish smile on his face.
The lady looks over at Max , Grace geatures him to back her up but he just raises his hands , as if surrendering.
"Oh really? Then what were you both doing, hiding from everyone?" She shifts her weight from one foot to another.
"Uh- solving our beef with the universe?"

Max tries not to stumble over the stairs , clearing the tears from his eyes.
"Can you stop laughing? We just got kicked out of a temple!" Grace complains following after him.
"What did you expect? You told her we had "beef with the universe"" the blonde turns back, beaming at her.
She shakes her head, stepping infront of him.
"I panic when I'm put on the spot!" She nudges him slightly but that doesn't faze his uncontrollable laughter in the slightest.
"I hate you." She says , laughing along with him.

He stops laughing, smiling at her.
She rubs a hand over her face , patting down her clothes.
"What? Is something wrong?" She runs her fingers through her hair trying to get rid of the leaf she probably had in her hair.
Otherwise why would Max stare at her this way-

He grabs her hands, placing them to her side before sliding his hands up to her shoulders.
"Thankyou." He speaks slowly making Grace blink confusedly at him.
"I haven't laughed this loud in a while."
"Oh."
She pulls his hands from her shoulder and places it in hers.
"I hope you had a good one then because I won't be embarrassing myself like that ever again." He laughs softly pulling his hand back.
"We will see about that."
—-
Just another day with me probably butchering spellings of temples( probably??)
Btw if Valterri Bottas retires I will sue the world :)