ki ki ki rah

One more of Daniel during the ADV Padel cup in London

abigail liddiard

JURASSIC PARK (1993) Dir. Steven Spielberg

A FEW GOOD MEN (1992) dir. Rob Reiner

Or a fatal crash and failed relationships leave Max unsure how to keep going, and Daniel isn't as much help as he had hoped

It’s been, it feels like, a long time. He looks much the same. Or, at least, he looks the way that Retired Daniel has seemingly always looked, with his long hair and thick beard and clothes that hang comfortably loose over his shoulders. His smile, though every bit as frequent, an echoey thing. Sunbursts all shut up and hidden somewhere.

Here, Max offers him a wan smile, finding that it’s all he can give him for his trouble. In days past, Daniel might have made such a comment leaning in and grinning, maybe tweaking his nose like a baby. He was never afraid to touch him before, but now it is notably less frequent. If he focuses all of his concentration, he can still feel Daniel’s fingerprints over the back of his neck from just last night. The first and the last.

In his head, it is still the same. In his head, Daniel comes crowing behind him again, lean and polished with his beard only stubble over the strong angles of his chin. “Hey, shark bait!” he would say, and Max could sit in the rain and tell him the things he never had back in those days. He could tell him everything he’s learned in the days since.

Max at Hungaroring on July 26, 2026 by Sona Maleterova

Or a fatal crash and failed relationships leave Max unsure how to keep going, and Daniel isn't as much help as he had hoped

It’s been, it feels like, a long time. He looks much the same. Or, at least, he looks the way that Retired Daniel has seemingly always looked, with his long hair and thick beard and clothes that hang comfortably loose over his shoulders. His smile, though every bit as frequent, an echoey thing. Sunbursts all shut up and hidden somewhere.

Here, Max offers him a wan smile, finding that it’s all he can give him for his trouble. In days past, Daniel might have made such a comment leaning in and grinning, maybe tweaking his nose like a baby. He was never afraid to touch him before, but now it is notably less frequent. If he focuses all of his concentration, he can still feel Daniel’s fingerprints over the back of his neck from just last night. The first and the last.

In his head, it is still the same. In his head, Daniel comes crowing behind him again, lean and polished with his beard only stubble over the strong angles of his chin. “Hey, shark bait!” he would say, and Max could sit in the rain and tell him the things he never had back in those days. He could tell him everything he’s learned in the days since.

🥺🥺🥺🥺