Between A Rock & A Hard Place - Max Verstappen

Between A Rock & A Hard Place - Max Verstappen

Summary: With Monza seeing her brother take the win, y/n wants to celebrate. But her new husband is on his longest losing streak for years and he seems certain there's no light at the end of the tunnel. Now she has to try and balance celebrations and comforting.

Leclerc turned Verstappen!reader

Word count: 4k

No part 2 requests please

With the whole of the Leclerc family being at Monza in support of Charles in Ferrari's home race, y/n did have to apologise to Max and inform him that she would be in the Ferrari garage for the weekend just to be there with her family.

And Max, of course, understands because Ferrari hasn't looked to impressive really and no one is expecting much so the more support the better in that court.

"So skin is on show for Monza." Max hums once y/n is dressed and tries to take a picture that is showing her bra.

"You can always feel free to show skin. God know I enjoy when you do." Y/n smiles then sighing as she moves over to him. "Are you sure it's ok that I'm in Ferrari's garage?"

"Yeah, the whole family is there. It's important to Charles too." Max states earning a small nod as his hands move to start buttoning up her top. "Probably best not to have all that skin on show. Your mum definitely wouldn't be happy."

"So protective." Y/n jokes making him hum before he leans down and kisses her, an action she absolutely melts into.

There was a lot of controversy when it came to y/n and Max dating, hell even Charles thought y/n was trying to do it to hurt him. But then...then he saw the way they looked at each other. It was like y/n and Max complete a part of each other they'd not even known was missing till they became such significant people in each other's lives. And when Max proposed, that surprised no one. Mainly because he'd actually asked each of her brother's for permission and while Lorenzo and Charles said yes immediately, Arthur did slightly abuse his privilege but eventually stopped messing Max around and said yes. Of course Pascale was asked before any of the brothers and since she does actually adore the way y/n is treated by the Dutchman, she said yes not even needing him to finish the question..

"I love you." Y/n sighs dreamily as he pulls back form the kiss.

"I love you too. Even when you spend the weekend with Ferrari." Max teases making her grin at him while he holds her waist, satisfied her modesty is back intact with her bra no longer on show. "You can go back to wearing red but you'll still have the Verstappen name now."

"You'll never stop being cocky about that." Y/n snorts shaking her head.

They actually got married over the summer break, only 2 days in which definitely left a lot of room for stress over just how little time they had to actually be ready. Thought y/n wasn't in Spa since she did actually try to make the time to make sure she was ready. But she didn't want a winter wedding and that meant summer was the only other option to allow time for a honeymoon.

"The first race you're attending as a Verstappen and you're not even bothering to support me. The betrayal." Max joking cries out making her roll her eyes as she laughs. "The rest of the season and all races from now on you're officially committing to the cause."

"You have my word."

"Should've had it written into our vows." Max hums earning a snort before she shifts around.

"Shall we get going?" Y/n asks making him groan a little pulling her shirt away from her chest since he left the top few buttons undone and looks down to admire her boobs for a few seconds then moving back and smile while she looks at him with mild amusement dancing behind her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm set." Max smiles brightly then kissing her softly and linking their hands and lifting her hand as he kisses over her rings which has been his favourite gesture of affection since he gave her the engagement ring, but now the wedding band is on there too he is absolutely taking every opportunity to kiss over them as often as he can.

-

Y/n entered with Max and she did spend a couple hours with him in Red Bull since there was a lot of the team that didn't get to attend the wedding due to it really being a very private and small affair but they do have gifts and want to congratulate the newly weds.

"One less Leclerc and one more Verstappen." Daniel comments, actually having been in attendance at the wedding but he just so happened to be in the Red Bull unit talking to Helmut. "If you have like 5 kids, that could be a quarter of the grid in the future with hybrid Leclerc-Verstappen blood."

"Sounds like absolute chaos-and five kids? What kind of woman do you think I am?" Y/n chokes out making Dance;'s gaze flick to a protective looking Max.

"The type of woman who wouldn't just have kids to fill the F1 grid." Daniel states earning a small nod of approval from his friend while y/n notices his gaze and looks back at Max before taking at him.

"Don't be scaring your friend-and you-Daniel, you don't be scared of Max." Y/n laughs making Daniel laugh while Max sighs then she puffs out a breath when her phone goes off knowing exactly who it is and what and Max bounces his leg under her since she's sitting in his lap.

"Go see them. I don't need to make a bad impression after getting myself this far." Max while y/n hums. "You can take a can of Red Bull with you to remember your amazing husband by."

"He's never going to shut up about that now." Y/n comments to Daniel who smiles.

For him it's actually really nice seeing Max having found someone who he looks at with more love than he's even looked at his the title trophy with. Y/n could probably say "please quit F1 and stay home with me" and Max wouldn't even hesitate, at least that's what Daniel thinks he'd do and he's fairly confident on it.

"That's alright, I'll spread the word. It's not Max Verstappen anymore. It's Y/n Verstappen's husband." Daniel states and unsurprisingly Max is glowing over just that statement. Any mention of being her husband is like telling him the dream came true. And really it did.

"I should go. I'll find you at the end of the day, or just call me and wait." Y/n sighs as the Leclerc family group chat goes off. Max is actually part of a wider family group chat that includes all the partners, but there's the blood only group chat that is questioning where she is and when she'll be joining them.

"I will." Max nods as she stands up and leans over kissing him softly. "I love you."

"I love you too. And I love you, Daniel."

"That's right. Love you, have fun with the family." Daniel smiles giving her a one armed hug before she walks out tapping away at her phone to inform her family she's on her way. Meanwhile Daniel looks at his friend. "I mean it though, your kids will be like...the perfect combination. If people got bored of your 2023 season, they'll be crying when mini Max comes in."

"I'm actually concerned about what he brothers will do when they have to confront the fact we do actually have sex and I did get her pregnant...but that's not yet." Max admits making Daniel laugh since he completely understands that concern. "We've got some time before then."

"So it definitely wasn't a shotgun wedding." Daniel chuckles while Max hums before the two part for getting on with their days.

-

Now if there's one thing y/n is used to. It's the princess treatment. As the only girl among 3 brothers and it hasn't changed now she's married to a man who admittedly upgraded her from princess to Queen treatment, yes that's with a capital Q vs a lower case p.

However, that doesn't stop her from still getting princess treatment with her brothers in Max's absence. So Arthur is carrying y/n on his back into the Ferrari garage for qualifying and she's sitting with her family watching Charles together.

"How's Max feeling about it?" Pascale asks making y/n look at her slightly surprised of the question.

Mainly because she doesn't know.

Despite F1 being literally why they're there, the biggest part of Max's life and the whole reason they met at all. Y/n and Max really don't talk about it that much and while she is very much aware of what's happening with her husband's team and how it's looking, it just never crosses her mind to ask him when he's around.

"I don't really no. He didn't mention it." Y/n shrugs earning a frown from her mum.

Pascale loves Max like a son now and she has embraced him into the family but sometimes as much as she sees the pure love that is shared between him and y/n, the dynamic between them doesn't always make sense to her. She seems to have discussed F1 with Max more than y/n has.

But really Max prefers it that way, he likes that y/n doesn't want everything to be about work. As much as he appreciates the interest from Pascale in his career as well as focusing on supporting her actual son in his. One of the thing he loves about y/n is that she doesn't even notice that she's talking about everything but work.

"It's Max, he always get the most out the car." Y/n smiles since she never has any doubt in Max's abilities in a Red Bull.

However, she maybe is a little surprised when qualifying happens and her husband finishes ending up P7. Both McLarens, Ferraris and Mercedes were all above the Red Bull and Max's Q2 time was better than his Q3 although compared to the top 6 Q3 times, he'd still have been in P7 because of just how close the margin was. Lando on pole managed to pull just over a tenth on Oscar in P2 but P2 to P6 was less than a tenth.

Charles gets out the car almost in a Ferrari red rage. So upset that y/n has to wonder how he can be so harsh on himself. He's on the second row. It's certainly not the worst qualifying he's had this year. Y/n is much more concerned about Max really because P7 is definitely not good enough for him. He'll be brutal in interviews and he won't be taking the responsibility because really the car has started going backwards with upgrades.

They exit the garage for the day Pascale, Arthur and Lorenzo seeming to decide they don't want to discuss F1 that much anymore. After all Charles sets the mood and his mood is unhappy.

"Guess that's two moody men I'll have to deal with." Y/n sighs shaking her head as Arthur hums. "Maybe tomorrow will be better for them."

"That's wishful thinking." Arthur confirms making her wince as they step into Ferrari and despite the mood, y/n finds some of the Ferrari staff rushing when they spot to her, wanting to congratulate her in very excited Italian. "Enjoy your celebrations."

Y/n looks at her younger brother, rolling her eyes before she indulges the excited Ferrari staff since it seems to be her newly wed status is their only source of good news.

-

"I can stay with you if you need. God knows Charles won't notice." Y/n offers as they get out Max's car arriving at the paddock.

"No. No. You don't want to anger the Tifosi." Max states shaking his head since he knows she has actually got a little heat online from the Tifosi for marrying the enemy. Even though many of them enjoy Charles' rivalry but they definitely didn't enjoy her marrying the opposition.

"That's true." Y/n sighs knowing he's right.

"And your family will still want you there." Max smiles then moving towards her and kissing her as he once again links their hand beginning to walk to them to the entrance. "We can have breakfast together though?"

"That sounds good to me." Y/n confirms since she loves a quieter breakfast.

Ferrari in Monza is always electric with energy and a little intense because everyone just wants things to go well. First think in the morning it can just be a little early in the day to drain all that energy.

Plus for Max's side he likes to make sure she's eating and well fed. It's just one of the protective parts of Max that he prefers to settle before she's going to leave him.

-

Y/n didn't really see Charles much until right before the race when he saw her among the rest of their family in the garage and he seemed to smile in surprise of her being there.

"I thought you might stick with Red Bull." Charles comments leaning over and kissing her on each cheek. "He is your husband."

"He said he wants me to be here with you and Ferrari-and I want to be here with you and Ferrari." Y/n states earning a small chuckle at her quick save. "Go win it so I don't regret leaving my husband in his time of need."

"What about my time of need?"

"You have the whole family, Alex and Leo all here." Y/n laughs earning a huff but he knows she's right. "Go on then, I don't want blame for you being behind on schedule."

Charles moves off while Alex makes a comment about how Charles was actually saying that he didn't think she'd be there because he expected her to prioritise Max from now on. Apparently he was a little sad at the thought of losing his little sister's undivided support.

Well that's a little heartbreaking.

Something she'll definitely have to sit down with Charles, who is the busiest man on the planet even not in Monza so it'll have to wait, and just have a talk.

The run up to the race can always feel like a bit of a drag but eventually they get to the race start and the Ferarri garage is almost silent in focus as they watch the cars line up after the formation lap.

Both Charles and Carlos are in places that could see some improvement. But this whole weekend has been hard to predict who will do well beyond the McLarens who are obvious on their own level.

And as usual with a race start, but especially the Monza race start, y/n holds her breath watching the footage of both Max and Charles with care eyes. They get off alright, nothing amazing and going through the first chicane everyone gets through and Lando breaks his bad habit of losing pole in the first corner.

Though that's quickly rectified when Oscar pulls off an over take that is beautiful but ultimately loses the team the 1-2 they could've maintained because he catches Lando off guard and Charles goes flying past him too.

Y/n almost wants to feel bad for McLaren and no doubt that move will be a talking point following the race but like the rest of her family, their blood isn't just red it's rosso corsa. So she's too caught up in cheering with the rest of the lively garage.

And then the race goes on and suddenly y/n is talking to Arthur questioning the choice of a 1 stopper given the rest of the teams are so completely dead set on a 2 stopper.

But suddenly Charles has maintained the net lead and Carlos is a little further back struggling but Charles is just flying. Y/n's hand is even linked to Alex's as they reach the last few laps where both McLarens have overtaken Carlos who tried his best to fight them to protect Charles, but Oscar is slowly cutting that gap down. However, he's not doing it fast enough.

And then Charles crosses the line, still safe by a couple seconds and the garage is in uproar. Y/n and Alex hugging before moving to hug the rest of the family before they rush from the garage.

They get out to celebrate and when Charles finally pulls up after a very slow in lap since he was relishing in the crowds adoration for the Ferrari win on Italian tarmac.

Y/n did mentally note that Max got P6, something he won't be over ecstatic about.

But what makes her melt and brings tears of joy to her eyes is watching Max walk over and congratulate Charles who hasn't even taken his helmet off. Max really was quick and he moves over to y/n afterwards kissing her softly.

"You did good."

"I'll see you later."

"Yes. You will." Y/n confirms making him smile before he lifts her hand once again kissing over the rings and giving a small wave to the crowd who seem to be shouting for both his and y/n's attention.

-

With Charles in the chaos of a Ferrari Monza win, y/n was sort of just left doing all sorts of things. Y/n, Alex and the rest of the family are huddled away in the unit just waiting.

"Do you think it'd be alright if I just snuck away to check on Max?" Y/n mumbles looking at Pascale.

"Y/n, you are a married woman and an adult. You do not need to ask to see your husband." Pascale points out making Lorenzo and Arthur laugh at their sister while y/n huffs a little.

"Was just trying to be polite." Y/n mumbles then kissing her mum on either cheek and promising not to be long before she gets up walking out and texting Rupert to find out if he's with Max and if Max is available to talk for a moment.

That gets a quick response that he's in the debrief where she'd certainly be a welcome face if Max's expression reads well. So she jogs over to Red Bull and walks in greeting Christian and Helmut before she gets upstairs and finds Max with GP.

"Hey, where's my smiley husband gone?" Y/n smiles watching his face brighten from the frown, clearly not having been given a heads up of her being there and GP even seems a little relieved by her presence, which is a bad sign since usually they don't want a partner coming over."

"Are you not supposed to be neck deep in Ferrari celebrations?" Max asks as she sets herself down in his lap.

"I will be attending the celebrations for a little, but I'm not going to stay the whole time if you'd be alright waiting for me? If not it'll be fine, I'll just stay in the hotel and fly back over tomorrow."

"No. I can wait. That's fine." Max shrugs earning a small smile before she kisses him.

"How's it looking in this camp?" Y/n asks making him sigh and shake his head. "GP?"

"I don't want to comment." GP states which only makes y/n look at her husband.

"I don't have to go out celebrating, god knows Charles won't notice if I'm missing."

"He's your brother and...I'm stealing you for the rest of the season. So you have to go." Max states shaking his head while she rubs her hand through his hair. "Just call me and I can pick you up, we can head straight to the airport when you're done."

Now y/n's instinct is to offer him to join her for the celebrations. But she isn't dim. Max is in no celebrating mood. The championships are both slipping away from him. Though Ferrari did him a favour by preventing a McLaren win and McLaren did themselves a lovely job at not implementing team orders like every single other person in the world is telling them to. You know it's a bad day when F1 fans are agreeing with Will Buxton.

"Ok. Well I just wanted to come see you and make sure you at least weren't in a fist fight with GP just get some aggression out." Y/n smiles then practically reading Max's mind as a spark of perversion appears behind his eyes. No doubt thinking of ways he would like to get any aggression out and actually they include her and being alone.

If Charles hadn't won, they'd probably be gone by now and she'd be left in a bed bound state by tomorrow morning. Maybe she still will be since she's only staying out for an hour or 2.

"Still in honeymoon mode." Y/n states then standing up and looking at poor GP who looks like he doesn't want to know. "I'll see you later, you get home safe GP."

-

As y/n predicted, she was the last person Charles was thinking about in his celebrations, but Arthur and Lorenzo were there with her. Pascale had asked to go back to Monaco with y/n and Max, which Max immediately agreed to.

They stayed for a bit before finally getting to Charles and letting him know they'd be leaving and with him deep in celebration mode. He's not too shocked or hurt for their early departure.

"I think if he hadn't won, years would've been taken off my life." Pascale comments as they walk out looking for Max's car. He's not driving since he's definitely had enough time behind the wheel for now but he is coming to pick them up.

"Think about how I felt in Zandvoort." Y/n sighs making Pascale smile softly before she squeezes y/n's hand. "Ah there he is."

Y/n moves over spotting the SUV before she moves over while Max climbs out greeting the two women.

"Hey, sorry I took a little longer than intended." Y/n smiles as Pascale climbs into the front passenger seat as y/n and Max reunite. "And thank you for letting my mum come along."

"She's family. I would've offered them all a flight home if they needed it." Max states then noticing some photographers spotting the two of them. "Let's get moving."

"Ok. Are you at least feeling a little better?"

"I'll feel much better when we're home and I get to follow through on what you were talking about earlier." Max smirks before she climbs in and with her mum not being able to see Max makes a shameless grab at her ass and she gasps at the action before he climbs in after her. "You ok baby?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Y/n hums beginning to feel like bringing her mum might've actually been a mistake since Max has clearly got intentions for when they get home to help himself feel better and while she's happy to oblige. He can't getting impatient with her poor mum there as witness.

She did end up hearing from some other party-goers that Max had been very upset in the media and seemed uninterested in even suggesting that he'd have a chance at another win. And while that will please a few people, y/n knows that it's hitting Max hard. Losing his winning streak in Zandvoort to Lando who is now challenging for the title. In fact Lando's wins have both been at tracks that since on their current stint on the calendar, Max had 100% win record at.

"You need to behave till we're home." Y/n whispers earning a grin.

"I just want to celebrate your brother's win." Max shrugs innocently somewhat relieving y/n that he's not dwelling on it for now. No doubt he'll be unhappy in the coming days when he tinks about it, but he'll shake it off and be ready for Baku...which is just about one of Charles' best tracks (not counting his iconic 2019 moment) and might just see another Ferrari win if the car suits.