#TOMMY😾MONDAY FACE…have to help Mom at gardening with a fresh start at 8 a.m.🙀. And here I am, sitting in the pushcart, ready but not amused…have a good start into the new week too you all😸🐾🆙

Daniel doesn't know when he started feeling the same way about GP.

It's not just appreciation and gratitude for support to Max when he couldn't be there for himself.

Maybe after Daniel noticed his proud look after their 1-2.

Maybe after GP congratulated the happy Max on his victory, and then found the unhappy Daniel after the defeat and hugged him tightly.

Maybe after GP listened with what seemed to be great interest about Australia, about kangaroos, about soft hoodies, about beer, about wine, about the possibility of a Big Foot.

Max is easy to love. Even after the screams on the radio and his stubbornness. It's soft and sensitive inside. He is responsible and straightforward. He loves sports passionately and hates stupid people. He thrives next to his loved ones and hardens next to his enemies.

GP doesn't know when he started feeling the same way about Daniel.

Maybe after he noticed Daniel's friendliness towards the clumsy and almost wild Max.

Maybe after he saw a soft and sleepy Daniel after a long flight.

Maybe when GP saw him in black and yellow, glowing with happiness again, cheerful, when he was himself again, real honey badger.

Daniel is calling to see how Max is doing after Silverstone, and GP needs to make sure that Daniel is okay too.

Daniel shows up at the factory and GP reaches out to him with a hug when the cameras are removed. The way Daniel clings to him in response makes something inside flutter.

Daniel sets the fastest lap, and it's not just Max who gets tears in his eyes.

He could never say "Riccardo," it was always "Daniel."

It's not easy for Max to express his feelings. As a child, he only allowed himself to do this with Victoria when no one was looking. Or at his mother's house, when he lay down on her lap and she gently fingered his hair. In his entire racing career, only two people have ever seen him for real. They were able to break down his walls, proved that he could trust them, he could rely on them. It turned out he could love them.

"I love you both. These are not just platonic feelings, I want you both in every way. I want to be able to call you when I feel bad, I want you to call me when you feel bad. I want to hug you, lie on the couch and watch this stupid movie that Daniel loves and grumble to GP, which movie is bad. I want to be able to touch you, not just my friends. And that's just what lies on the surface."

Daniel's eyes are like saucers. He swallowed nervously and pulls his hand to his lips to start biting his nails and tearing cuticles, as always. GP and Max grab his wrist at the same time. Daniel looks at their hands and exhales shakily. He wants to say something, and it's obvious from his look that it's going to be self-flagellation, because Daniel's confidence has been waning lately. GP feels a growing rage because of this and a need to protect, he sees from Max's look that he feels the same way.

"Of course you know how to be tactful, Max." Daniel snorts and looks up. GP draws a circle on his wrist. Gently, slowly, gently. Daniel looks up and realizes that everything now depends on him.

"He's Max Verstappen. Straightforwardness is in his blood. And he gets everything he wants, right?"

"Only if you want it too?"

Summary:

After setbacks from every corner: from the hardware to the software to the political, Five Pebbles is finally online. The Administrators can rest, the Engineers can toil at their leisure, the Citizens can continue ignoring the new god beneath their feet, and the Iterators can get to know their newest member. This, naturally, immediately veers sideways.

LMAO. You know, I've seen so many blurbs about Herm writing Mecha Man fan fiction, but listen. LISTEN. What about Chad writing some corrective fix-it fics in prison as part of his court-appointed anger management therapy where Mecha Man doesn't cut off his fingers, but instead, Mecha Man gets trapped under some burning rubble and Chad saves him.