This was their first full day at their holiday destination. They arrived late in the evening as they took a vista yet flight. Of course Max had bought his plane for them to travel discreetly. But since flight radar and an actual Twitter page to track his plane exists by now they felt like if they wanted to try to have a quiet holiday, there best chance was to travel unknown. Since all the attention was now pointed at them.
After they had stumbled in to the lobby of their holiday destination the girl behind the desk had looked at them with wide eyes stumbling over her words but luckily she didn’t mention it and for that the couple was great full.
As soon as they had entered the lodge they just managed to brush their teeth and take of their clothes changing it for a different shirt before stumbling in the bed and falling a sleep. The next morning they had breakfast on the patio before they changed in their swimming trunks ands that’s how they ended up on their private beach next towards a their holiday lodge.
Max had been swimming and Charles had been enjoying the sun. After warning his boyfriend for a terrible sunburn a couple of times it was Max who took Matters in his own hands. He got The tube of sunblock out of their bag and squeezed out the cold liquid over his sleeping boyfriend’s frame. Who screamed as the cold hit his skin. Cursing at his boyfriend with no heat behind it. Trying to get his boyfriend back who ran straight back in the water again as he new Charles probably wouldn’t follow him so fast.
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“What are you looking at?” Max smiles as he plopped down next to his boyfriend on his towel his hair still dripping from the salt water he just came from. The cold drops sending shivers down Charles sunburned spine.
Charles who was sitting with his legs bend in front of him , arms out around them smiled up. “Nothing, just thinking”
“About what?” Max asked wiggling his eyebrows “how hot I looked coming out of the water” he jokes as he flexed his muscles. “No” the monegasque smiled back though he couldn’t hide his dimples. “But now that you mention it” his smile turns cheeky as he leans in pulling Max towards him by his neck. One last quick glance around before he kisses him short but slowly and passionate.
Max smiles at him as they pull apart his eyes are moving, scanning his boyfriend’s for answers. “But tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours because I know what you’re doing, you are trying to dodge the subject” As he intertwines their fingers in the sand,
“It’s stupid really” Charles sighes, looking at their hands before looking up again. “It’s just- seeing you in the water like that brought back memories from our last beach holiday… though it is different, it still feels the same you know? I- I just” he stalls with a sigh as the now stares over the sea in front of them though never letting go of the Dutchman’s hand. “It’s just- we are hiding out from the press again— we did then too and we both now what happened then… I almost lost you” his eyes are now a bit watery as he looks at Max again tightening the grip on his hand. “I- I just can’t shake this feeling that something bad will happen again” he sniffs before he chuckles. “Like I said it’s stupid cause it makes no sense. We are here , we are out and proud and together so we should enjoy” he states certainly.
“Charles, babe , look at me” Max says sweet though sternly. “Your feelings aren’t stupid, you can talk to me about it, always!” He now smiles at him. “I had the exact same thoughts this morning when I woke up and you were still sleeping. It is understandable you think like that”
“Thank you Maxy and I know, thank you for reminding me. You can always come to talk with me too” he smiled back at him before leaning in for another kiss that the dutchman gladly recuperates.
One kiss turns in to two… three…four…five as things turn more heated. After a while of making out the monegasque is lifted up by the dutchman expecting to be carried in to their cabin by the strong arms holding him though he knows he was fooled as he hears the splashing of water around them and the icy cold droplets hitting his back. “MAX EMIlLIAN VERSTAPPEN DON’T YOU D-” he just manages scream while he can’t contain his laughter before Max pulls them both down under the cold surface still holding on to him. As they came up again he wrapped his arms around that Dutchman’s neck looking in to the dutchman’s eyes. “I hate you!” He said though his smile couldn’t fool anyone. Max just laughed “I love you too lieffie” as they closed the distance between them once more. Their fingers tangled in the others wet strands of hair.
After a while they parted, a faint blush evident on their cheeks as Charles bit his lower lip, looking up through his wet eyelashes. Making his dimples stand out even more. “How about we take this inside? For real this time” he says while smiling. And who is Max to ever deny him such request?
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They had spend the afternoon on the couch… on the bed… probably on every surface they met and well even longer under the shower before they finally manage to keep their hands to them self’s for a little longer then 5 minutes, also because by now they really needed to hydrate and it was almost dinner time.
As Charles got two water bottles out of the fridge he handed one to his boyfriend before sitting down next to him playing with the lid of it between his fingers. “Maybe we could go out for dinner?” He asked hesitant though hopeful. Max turned towards him. “Are you sure? I mean? If those vultures find us?”
Charles smiled softly at Max as he rested his palm on his. “Cheri, we don’t have to I- I just thought it would be nice to- you know? Go on a proper date with you” he smiled sweetly squeezing his boyfriend’s hand a bit more.
Max who on his turn laid his other hand on top of their already intertwined hands then said: “I do want to, I just don’t want them to ruin it for us” he says before breaking out a smile. “But yeah let’s go, it’s been a long time coming”
So that’s how the couple ended up in the busy and buzzing city centre. Though decked out in some sort of disguise. Caps and sunglasses they didn’t try much more. They had managed to ditch most of the attention as they walked a little bit apart and just kept walking. They found a little bistro with all the food they probably wouldn’t be allowed to eat. But it was worth it, as they had something to celebrate.
They had a lovely and relatively quite dinner. It was only when they wanted to start their deserts when the street outside the little bistro got busier and busier. It was clear they had been found. Luckily for them the owner of the bistro kept the people outside as they finished their desserts, trying to let the noises outside not bother them to much and enjoying their quite conversation. But at some point they had to leave the restaurant though. The owner had offered them the back door out but the couple decided against it as it was no use anyway. They decided it was better to give them what they wanted so they could hopefully enjoy the rest of their holiday in a bit more peace.
Before they went out they put their hats and sunglasses back on, though it was already dark outside. Max smiled tiredly at the monegasque before staring down at their hands. “Ready?” Charles  Just smiled back with a sigh “ready!” As he intertwined their fingers. As they opened the door the people outside went quite for a second before everyone started screaming for their attention and the lights of cameras and mobile phones started flashing. They walked fastly passing through the crowd as they held their heads down gripping their others hand tightly.
They kept walking until Max heard someone shout out at them. “Hé! sales pédés” his French still wasn’t fluent but he knew enough by that last word so he stopped in his tracks ready to turn around and give whoever said that a piece of his mind only to be stopped by Charles. “Cheri, don’t give them the satisfaction” he whispered as he pulled him along in to their rental car as they quickly took off to their lodge.
Max kept quiet during the ride back, gnawing at his lower lip though he didn’t let go of Charles’s hand who was driving their rental car. As they parked at their lodge he sighed before he got out of the car before he threw the door shut walking inside. “Maxy?” Charles’s tried as he followed his boyfriend inside. As he didn’t stop walking Charles took a hold of his wrist. As Max turned Charles placed his free hand on his cheek. “Maxy? Talk to me” he whispers quietly. And then Max let his fences down. “I just hate them” he sighed his hand now grabbing hold of Charles’s before looking up again. “I hate them, today and tonight were so perfect and then they have another reproach to throw at our head! And for what? Because we are in love?! It seems that nothing is ever good enough!” He says as the tears start burning behind his eyes.
He’s hadn’t talked about it much as he wanted to be there for Charles, the little voice in his head still there saying that he shouldn’t care what people said about him. But Max did care. The online bullying, death threats, booing did get to him. Add Charles’s championship heartbreak and a half forced coming out. He couldn’t stand that they were now coming after them for who they are and love, but he mostly hated them to do this to Charles too.
Charles looked at him with loving eyes before he envelopes his boyfriend in to a thight hug placing kisses in his mop of dark blond hair. After a while he pulled back resting their heads together as he looked in his eyes while holding his face between his palms. “Baby, you are enough and we are enough” as he held their intertwined hands between their chest’s. “Don’t let this one dick head get in to your head” he softly smiled. “A lot of reactions were actually really positive Max, we will be okay” he said as he kissed the top of the dutchman’s nose.
Later that night when they are cuddled close under the covers, Max head rested on Charles’s chest watching his phone were he shows him a clip of a lot of the bystanders actually shouting positive words of encouragement and getting angry of the one paparazzi that was calling them names. They smiled grateful. Of course the pictures of them hit the internet as well but they decided to not even read what was said. Their friends, family and some colleagues send them words of encouragement and for now that was enough. They wouldn’t let one asshole ruin their holiday. So they filled their days with each other’s company, good food, nice drinks, fun trips and Sex, loads of it. As they weren’t bothered much more that week, the single selfie with a fan here and there, they managed to go around rather unnoticed. Only being picked up on by paparazzi once or twice. They ended their holiday much happier then they began with.
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