Louis doodled on his skin with tongue out. He was like an excited kid with a new toy, and Butcher had a hard time telling if toy here would refer to buzzing tattoo-machine or to himself.

— Fffinished! — he proudly explaimed. — I'm not that good at self-portraits, but that should do.

Butcher looked at what was now part of his body. He raised his brows. He didn't exactly knew what he was expecting, but this...

— That's a gentle way of putting it, maestro.

The tattoo looked nothing like a man before him. It looked nothing like a man at all.

What it looked like was a puddle of oil with pair of stupid itty-bitty hands, but it also BURNT like real oil. And not just skin — the feeling of burning, poisoning, repressing got to his very core the moment Butcher saw it.

There was no familiar stench— and really, did he think that this bastard actually tattoed him with real oil for a second? — but he coughed anyway. No. It was not cough. He was suffocating.

Louis watched him struggling, hands in pockets, unphazed, as if waiting for a store clerk to hand him the check.

When Butcher got better, he immedeately blew his nose as loud as he could, to get back at least some control over the situation.

— Ayo, boss, the hell your needle is infected with?

— I think you know that it's not because of the needle. You understand at least that, right? Please tell me that you do. — Louis pouted like he was the one who was wasting his time here.

Butcher scoffed. He wasn't a proud man, that's how he survived. And he also wasn't a blind man, and noticed that the blood on maestro's limbs never dryed. He was going to at least try to stay on his good side.

— Why are we doing this, again? — Butcher raised his hand, showing the image and trying not to look at it. Fuck it, if picture of black snot is going to attack him each time they lock eyes, he'll adapt to that too.

— It's just a preparation for a dramatic reveal.

— I don't get it. — Butcher said it with the smugness of an old man who are for whatever reason is proud of his inability to even comprehend new stuff.

— You don't have to. Actually, the party boy won't get it EITHER! But he'll react, oh how he'll react! Emotions are sometimes more valuable then rational understanding, don't you agree?

Charlie isn't sure he'd ever want you to stop dancing. From rehearsals to recitals he was sure you would be a star. But he doesn't want to let you go... even if you're growing into your own now.

He still fusses over every little thing. Your outfit. Your hair. Your meals after practice How you plan to get there and how you get home. He takes on the responsibility of your life on his shoulders and you are sure he would do much more if he could. He loves you. But he chokes on the words stopping them from coming out.

He needs you to at least like him back but he knows he can't force you.

Charlie knows you'd do whatever he asked. It's something he's always known. But takes care to never abuse. He knows what this town does to people and if anyone has a chance of getting out it's you.

Listen I’m a survivor of rape. Yes I know it’s an ugly word look at it. If I have to talk about it I’ll say rape. I won’t water it down for anyone’s comfort.I didn’t get that comfort. If I have to live with it you have to live with feeling uncomfortable sue me lol

I’m not going to say “She SA’d me” “It made me want to off myself” I’m not going to let what she did sound any less that horrific.

max verstappen and madelena laurent (boyfriend and girlfriend)

madelena giggled the moment the camera turned on and the producer called out "action". max, madelena's boyfriend also chuckled as they then introduced themselves to the viewers who would be watching this video. 

"hello gq sports, i'm madelena laurent and i am an olympic gymnast for team greece," 

"hello, i'm max verstappen and i am the current formula one word champion with oracle red bull racing and today my girlfriend, madelena and i will be answering our fans' most burning questions so, let's go!" max finishes the introduction as madelena gets given the small tin bucket that the questions are being held in

"how do you guys feel about answering these questions?" a producer behind the camera quietly asks as the two athletes smile at each other before responding 

"umm, i think we feel pretty confident as we have had some very interesting but also boring, very generic questions and moments with fans and the media so i don't think these questions could do too much harm," madelena giggled softly as max nodded his head in agreement as madelena unfolds the first question

and it makes her giggle before speaking up, "how many siblings do you have?" madelena smiles at the question, as does max, it had felt like ages since a normal question like that was asked 

"that's a nice, easy question, it's actually really funny though because, like most european families, i have ten and max has--" 

"--so, are there eleven siblings in total or are you one of the ten?" a producer cuts in before max could tell his answer as madelena giggles before she clarifies, max also giggling

"there are eleven siblings in total, eight are biological and the other three are by techncial terms, half-siblings. so, me and my four brothers and sisters are all biologically related and then my two older brothers and one younger sister are from my mum and their dad which is different to mine," madelena giggles at the complexity of her greek family, the producers were all shocked as max then spoke up 

"and i am the oldest of five kids. i have one biological sister, victoria and then i have three that are half-siblings from my dad's other marriages," max chuckles as the producers looked even more shocked because it seemed as though european families shocked a lot of people

"next question!" max then called out as he picked out the second one

"max, if you could switch bodies with one of your fellow drivers, not just from red bull , who and why and madelena, if you could switch bodies with one of your current or former teammates, who would it be and why?" max reads out, a little laugh leaving his mouth after as madelena immediately lights up at this question, max laughing as he let her lead this question 

"ooh, this question is literally my favourite question ever! i have been asked this a couple of times by this same fan account but, it would for sure either be my former teammate aaliyah since she was my first real best friend in the squad or any of my current teammates since new ones come in and the older girls retire so we always get a relatively new stream of girls in our team regularly," madalena pauses as she thinks up of a way to explain why she'd want to switch bodies with either aaliyah or any of her current teammates

"the reason why i'd want to switch with aaliyah is that she's stunning, first thing and, i just wish i had the same confidence and oomph as her! i mean, she is the queen of floor work which is my main event and i wish i just had the same skills as her! she is so humble about her talent as well like, of course she knows how good she is but in the most humble way. so getting to know everything i do know from aaliyah has been truly magnificant and if i could keep on doing that, i'd love it. and the rest of my girls just simply because they are my family and i wouldn't be going to the paris olympics if it wasn't for the rest of my team and just how well we gel as a group!" madelena chuckles as max nods his head as he feels as though he has a solid answer to the question

"i think i'd love to switch bodies with daniel ricciardo. whilst i think i'd love to be all of the other drivers, i think i'd love to switch bodies with daniel the most. whilst i do enjoy having checo as my teammate, i really loved having daniel as my teammate as he really showed me everything i know and i truly do think he shaped me into the person i am now so, i think i'd love to just spend a day being daniel for sure. also because i'd love to be australian for a day *giggles*..."

"...like, just a singular day?" madelena interjects, her giggles matching her boyfriend's as max nods

"yeah, just one day, a whole 24 hours of being australian," max chuckles, his head moving to the side as madelena just shook her head

"madelena, what is it like going into your second-ever olympics in the hopes of defending all of your gold medals you got four years ago at your first games and max, does it ever get tiring winning all the time?"

"ooh, this is a question that we don't get asked a lot believe it or not! but, honestly, it's such an honour to be representing my country once again for a second games. and to be coming in as the reigning champion gold medalist as well for all my events is just so special. and, i hope everything i've done during training and the championships in preperation for these olympics has done enough to get me the gold medals once again so it's a lot less stressful than it was four years ago but, yeah, i'm a lot more calm about it this year for sure," madelena responded, her head nodding as she turned to max so he could say his answer to his specific part of the question

"oh wow, umm, obviously, it's always a joy to win anything but especially in a sport that is so fast-paced and adrenaline-pumping but i think i can get a little bit tiring when the same person keeps on winning because it feels like there's no competition. like, of course i want to win, it's why i'm in the sport, but i love being challenged too. i love seeing other drivers win and put up a fight against me and the others that are the leads in the races. otherwise it doesn't seem fun and it just gets boring. but, saying that, i do love the thrill of winning a race and it's truly something that i'll always love and crave the feeling of for sure!" max's answer was a little longer than madelena's but made sense as the couple moved on to the next question 

"what's one thing that max and the rest of the grid do that bothers the crap out of you, madelena. and max, what is one thing that madelena and her gymnastic squad do that annoy you?"

"oh my gosh, second best question ever!" madelena giggles as max shakes his head, suddenly feeling attacked as he jokingly crosses his arms over his chest

"one thing that max does specifically is, he'll just explain things with such intensity it's hard to even get a word in because he gets so excited that he can't stop talking. but in saying that, it's also one of my favourite things about him because he gets so into it and so happy and smiley that i can't actually have it within me to be annoyed about it. and for the rest of the grid, i'm only going to single out a few of the drivers so, lando's most annoying thing that, similar to max in the sense of i can't really have it in my heart to be that annoyed by it, is his laugh is so contagious and finds everything and nothing funny that he'll just randomly start laughing."

"i have a story about lando actually *giggles* and it was when he was visiting me in greece during summer break a couple years ago, may have been just after my first ever olympics. max fewtrell, lando, charles, oscar, carlos and a couple other drivers had flown over to greece alongside maxie and i for the summer. and unfortunately, whilst they were on summer break, i wasn't technically since i still had more competitions and meets to attend to so i was still working and training. but anyway, lando had been begging me to come with me to one of my gymnastic meets and i agreed and whilst he promised me he'd try his absolute best to not be giggly or distracting, he was. but it was my fault that he was giggly and distracting me because i had failed a trick on the uneven bars falling flat on my stomach like a starfish and he had just happened to be filming the trick i had been practising and the second i splattered on the mat below me, all i hear is just this symphony of hysterical laughter. all for me to lift my head up from the mat to see that it was lando. still filming me by the way with tears streaming down his face because he couldn't stop laughing..." madelena trailed off as max's smile and giggles hearing this story again was sweet

"...but, by the end of lando's giggle session, he actually stopped recording and did actually make sure i was okay since my spotter had turned his back for a mere second. and it was in that second that i had slipped and fell stomach first. thankfully i didn't acquire any serious injuries but it did bruise a little bit of my ego cause i remember after the hilarity of the fall had passed, i actually got really embarrassed and started to cry. and lando was a sweetheart and made sure to comfort me because he, just like the rest of the grid, hate seeing me get upset so he was trying so hard to make me smile again. especially since this had happened not long after the major injury of mine i had just finished healing from before the olympics but yeah, lando's most annoying thing that i find more sweet about him at the same time is his ability to have the best laugh in the world that it can be percieved as annoying to some people because of how much he laughs," madelena smiled as max nodded his head in agreement as she then thought up of some of the other drivers in the grid

"an annoying thing about carlos is again, another thing i love about him that i can never actually find annoying but, his big brown eyes *laughter*..." madelena gets cut off by max's hearty laughter as she also started to giggle

"...i know a lot of people have mentioned the same thing about carlos' eyes but they just tell so much with just one look and i think i find it annoying because i wish i had eyes that were that pretty! i mean, mine are also pretty cause they're like an emerald green but, i think i just love the chocolate brown colour as well as the sweet blue colour as well! but an actual thing about carlos that can sometimes be annoying is that he just always looks so confused about everything..." madelena pauses as max laughs wholeheartedly again with a big headnod

"oh my god yes! it's like, what is so confusing every single time someone speaks to you, mate!" max chuckles as he shakes head as madelena nods her head

"literally, when you or anyone speaks to him, he just looks at you like he's in his own little world half the time! but, again, it's another thing about carlos that i find very endearing and a little bit sweet and adorable! and something about charles i find annoying, i think just how he still doesn't understand english *laughter* but yet again it is sweet because he tries so hard with english because it isn't his first language but yeah, sometimes it can get not annoying but like, i just wish he knew what he was trying to say when we speak english. even though we don't usually speak english to one another since i speak french and italian as well but, yeah..." madelena pauses as she tries to think up of something annoying about oscar as she laughs as it was so obvious

"...and the last person on the grid i'll talk about is oscar. and i think it's very obvious but, it's so annoying how calm he is. like, i just don't get it! sure, i've seen people say that it's just an australian thing but like, is it really? or is it just oscar and daniel because i don't think i've ever met any other australian that is as calm as oscar jack piastri! like, there are moments where i just want him to get angry when something goes wrong in a race! like, max will tell you, sometimes i will scream at poor oscar and like act out like i'm grabbing him by his shoulders and shaking him because i just want him to get a little angry or feel any other emotion except for his default emotion which is calm," madelena finished up as max nods his head in a little bit of agreement

"whilst we say these things that are quote 'annoying', just know it's not in a mean way! we genuinely love every single person that is in one another's respected sport and if it was something that was genuinely annoying in a negative way, we wouldn't be airing it out in public but mentioning it to that person in private. but yeah, that's just a quick little preface before i give my answer to the question!" max gives out a quick psa as madelena nods her head in agreement

"for me, the most annoying thing that madelena does is actually not really an annoying thing, similar to what she said about me, whenever she gets really passionate about something, it's like she has to tell me or someone straight away. in the way that if she doesn't tell someone, she'll forget about it or move on from the thing that got her so excited. like, example, one time we were in australia during the grand prix one year and the whole flight on the way to australia, madelena had been telling me how she wanted to learn how to surf but was too scared since straight after the grand prix she had to fly back to greece so she could return to training back at the gym. and because of that, she didn't want to risk hurting herself trying to surf for the first time. so every person we spoke to in australia, she was getting tips on how to learn how to surf in the safest way possible without hurting herself once she had explained to them that she was a world champion gymnast on her way to getting into the olympics. and yeah, whilst it wasn't really annoying per se, it was like i was listening to a broken record a little bit every time she mentioned wanting to surf but was too scared to to someone new that we had come across. but in saying that, it was more so endearing then annoying because i love it when i see her get excited and passionate about something else that isn't gymnastics or formula one," max responded as the two nodded their heads as the next question was read out

"madelena, we've all heard about the awful crash that max had with lewis hamilton in silverstone back in 2021 and how you reacted since you were there and watched it happen live. so we want to know what was your worst injury that you've ever had. whether that's come from gymnastics or a different sport since you've mentioned on previous occasions that you also did other sports growing up alongside gymnastics, so, what was your worst ever injury?"

this question made madelena think back since she's had some pretty awful injuries before remembering her worst. max already on that wavelength as the joy on his face was wiped by the fear that he still felt towards that specfic injury and accident.

"ooh, that's a loaded and tough question! but, honestly, since i've had so many, at first it was hard to pick one but now that i really think about it, i have a top three injury podium in my notes app on my iphone. and the third worst injury was when i did ice skating cause that was one of the first sports alongside gymnastics that i did growing up but this accident happened when i was seven and it was actually the reason i quit ice skating. and i had a tear in my acl which at the time was the most painful injury i had ever received in my sporting career at the time. whilst the acl tear was able to heal over and i had the chance to return to ice skating, i never did professionally because i always had the same fear that i'd make the tear worse over time."

"so that was third place, second place on the injury podium was an injury i got from the cheerleading squad in junior high so i was doing cheerleading and gymnastics at the same time since i was now like fifteen and i was starting to get into the headspace of one of these sports becoming my top sport and to do it professionally. and like ice skating, this cheerleading injury was the one that had me stop being a cheerleader. and it was a dislocated hip. i was a flyer which meant that i was obviously being thrown up and down in the air and being twirled around and doing flips and everything. and one time, it was during a dismount into the air when i was thrown up wrong and then when they tried to correct it on the way down to catch me, i didn't get caught in the proper, safe way and my hip became dislocated and it was painful. even more painful then the acl tear and i was in tears straight away. obviously, it was an accident that was never meant to happen but, it was so bad that i couldn't continue cheering the rest of the season and it was my final year at that school before moving into senior school and i was devastated. thankfully i was able to cheer for half of my senior year but i could no longer be a flyer because of the dislocated hip that i was now the captain that was also a backspotter so they had to train a whole new girl to replace me as the new flyer for that year."

"now, saving the very best for last, my first place on the injury podium was my gymnastics injury that i am so very lucky and blessed didn't end my career as this was only a year before my first-ever olympics. i was horrified thinking this injury would force me into giving up my spot on the olympic squad that year. so being able to recover from it was amazing in the way i did. the reason why it also takes first place was because it happened a week after i had my qualifying event that actually got me into my first olympics and maxie, lando, max, charles, carlos, and so many others on the grid were all there to support me since it was during their break in the season. and it was a shattered bone in my leg that actually had me needing to relearn how to use that leg again."

"it was horrifiying cause at that time, i didn't care about the fact that i had just shattered my leg at all. it was about the fact that my boyfriend and all of our friends and family were there and had to watch it happen. that and them not being able to do anything to help me. they weren't allowed to come out of their seats and onto the gym floor otherwise the routine that i had just gotten a perfect score from would have had me disqualified and taken out my spot in the olympic team. i can remember clearly the look on their faces, especially maxie's. i mean, i had never seen him look so terrified in his entire life. and also it was the first time i had seen a group of f1 drivers not have something be in their control. cause of course, when you're in your designated sport, you control everything and that's how you know you are that little more safer because you are the one that's controlling the ship and the way it goes. however, when they are away from their cars and are watching me and supporting me, they lose that control in the snap of a finger. and in that moment, the moment they heard the loud shatter of the bone that had snapped, they knew they had fully lost control. but not just they had lost control but that i myself had ultimately lost all control..."

"...and yeah, it was just an awful time because the rehab to get back to where i was able to compete in my first ever olympic games and then win all of my events was very special but also excruiciatingly painful and emotionally draining. and i don't think anything could beat that, not even this years that i have coming up. even if i win every single one of my events this year, it won't compare to my first ever olympic games and i think that's why i'm so much more relaxed this year than i was four years ago," madelena finished her response as the producers were horrified as they looked up the images of all the injuries but that last injury was the most horrific

the entire time that madelena was mentioning her 'top three injuries' it was clear that it was affecting max. but most especially that last injury she talked about that he was actually there to witness in real time. it was obvious that hearing the love of his life talk about her injuries made the racer emotional because like she mentioned, he had never been more terrified in his entire life then in that moment he watched the love of his life go down to the floor after her leg snapped. he remembers the way she screamed and how she began to cry immediately. not because of it hurting but because she felt awful that everyone she could ever love in this world had watched it happen and were now just as traumatised by the injury as she was.

thankfully though, those emotions were only brief before the producers realised it was probably best to change the subject so they did. asking a new question, they moved on swiftly and in a new cut scene, both madelena and max were smiling again.

"max, which win was more special, your first world championship win or watching madelena win all of her events at the olympics?"

"oh wow, that is a loaded question! i mean, whilst i will always find my first wdc an emotional and special moment, i can't lie and say that watching my girlfriend win all of her events was any less important than my championship that year. because, watching her win all of her gymnastic events after the leg injury she had the year before and how brutal it was, i'd say what she went through and the way she won was more special than my wdc for sure. i mean, she had to go through so much rehab the year before to be able to use her leg again and as well as that, she had to relearn everything. from walking on that leg in general as well as all of her routines from start to finish and some of them had to even be simplified or changed in some way because whilst she had mostly recovered from her injury, she still wasn't 100% healed. i honestly think it was only recently that she was told by her medical team that her x-rays was finally starting to come back clear of any reoccurences of the injury. so this will be her first olympics without an injury and being fully healed. which just saying that completely blows my mind quite frankly because she is a superstar and i'm honoured that i have the privilege to love her every single day..." max trailed off as madelena's face softened as she cooed at him

"...aw, maxie! that's so sweet of you ayapi mo my love!" madelena cooed as she gave max a kiss to the cheek

"last question guys. do you get along with each others fellow drivers and gymnasts?"

"and, the answer, the very short, simple answer is yes, we all get along!" madelena gives the short answer as max explains it 

"we all get along amazingly! we all grew up together since even though we are in different sports and disciplines, we were always travelling for karting races and gymnastics so there would be the odd occasion i'd be seeing this little gymnast turn up to the karting circut and just watching during a break in her training with the rest of what is this year's team greece for the olympics! like, genuinely, we are all the best of friends and i know gymnastics and f1 crossover sounds so strange but it is truly the best thing in the world because we all genuinely love and support one another. like, even though we love it when our significant other wins, if that doesn't happen or there's a disqualification for one of us, we then start cheering on the other girls and guys kind of thing! like, we're family at this point, like, we all are in contact with one another, we all follow one another on social media! it's truly a fun time in the world of team greece gymnasts and f1 grid," max smiles before looking at madelena as they both smile towards the camera 

"so, that was the last question! i'm madelena laurent..." 

"...and i'm max verstappen and we just finished answering our fans' most burning questions! we hope you enjoyed this video and laughed along with us whilst also finding out an interesting fact about the both of us! bye-bye and thank you so much for having us!" max smiles as he holds his hand out for madelena as they leave the frame of the camera, laughing in the last thing heard before the video eventually ends 

max verstappen and madelena laurent (engaged to be married)

"hello gq sports, my name is madelena laurent and i am with my fiancé, max verstappen and we will be answering more of our fans' most burning questions that we may have missed the first time before we got engaged," madelena introduces as everyone cheers at the engagement announcement as the couple giggle 

picking up the first question, madelena chuckles, "what are madelena and max's middle names?" 

"well, first of all, for those who don't know or weren't aware, the majority of european people, similar to our families, have more than just one middle name..." madelena prefaces with a giggle as max nods his head 

"...so, after saying that, my middle names are georgette alaina," madelena answers, turning to her fiancé as he smiles 

"and mine is just emilian which people always question and wonder why i just wasn't called 'maximillian' but yeah, my middle name is emilian," max giggles as he then picks up the second question

"where were madelena and max born?" he chuckles and shakes his head as madelena jokingly rolls her eyes as she always answers this question 

"i was born in belguim but raised in the netherlands!" max answers with his short and less complicated answer then his girlfriend's

"i was born in france but was out of there before i was even old enough to know i wasn't born in greece and i was raised in greece where i grew up speaking greek as my first language followed by french and then english as well as the odd spanish word and dutch word as well!" madelena smiled with a giggle as she picks up the third question

"which races does madelena attend during the f1 season?"

"the number of times i get this question daily! but, to answer it, out of all twenty-four races i attend about four or five and it's usually one or two during the first half and then the rest in the second half with the odd surprise race attendance every now and then if i can. i always make sure i am available for the first race of the season and the last race of the season to see who wins the championship. but all the other races inbetween i sadly can't be at excluding the planned ones that fall within the four-five races because i still have to train as well. since i am also an althete that's also in an active season as well as training for some major word championships as well since we've just returned from the olympics!" madelena smiled as everyone cheered as that was the next question that max had just picked up as the fourth question

"speaking of the paris olympics, how many event medals did you win madelena at this year's olympics?"

"ooh, great question! and for those wondering, i have just returned back from the paris 2024 olympics which was so much fun and i'm so blessed that max was actually able to be there with me since it was during his summer break. so he was able to fly over to be with me in paris! but, back to the question and my answer out of all four of my women's artistic gymnastics events i got gold in all four of them! and then because i also do rhythmic gymnastics as well, i was also in that team and for my two events i got gold as well! so it was a very successful olympics for me this year which i'm enamoured by still!" madelena smiled as max nodded his head, his smile huge as madelena picked up the fifth question

"there's a new piece of jewellery on madelena's finger, is that an engagement ring and if it is, when did that happened?"

"damn, they've discovered our secret!" max sighed dramatically as madelena giggled as max shook his head and continued

"yes, it is an engagement ring and that happened after madelena won the last of all of her gold medals. i had been planning this for a while now and i had planned on doing it just us two but, because i had the ring with me in my back pocket and we had all of our loved ones there and we had just finished the podium ceremony where madelena had just been given her sixth gold medal, i couldn't wait any longer. i just ran, jumped out of my seat knowing that if i did that, i wouldn't get her in trouble or disqualified and i just cried tears of joy as i asked her to marry me! i didn't say anything else cause i couldn't and, yeah. it was a lovely moment and i'm glad i did it the way i did because it just felt magical and like we were the only ones there even though we weren't and it was being broadcasted live out to the entire world..." max trailed off with a shy smile as madelena smiled brightly as she looked at him like he was the entire world

"...yeah, i have to agree. i mean, of course, i never expected it i mean, who does really think they're going to be proposed to? especially during something as grand as the olympics? but, i mean, i do remember people thinking that if max was to propose to me, he would do it at the very last f1 race of the season but, no. he proposed after i had won my sixth olympic gold medal," madelena giggled as max got shy again but it was really sweet cause it reminded people that not only did max know that his world no longer just revolved around f1 but madelena wasn't just to be shown off at his races but also in her own sport and discipline as well

"was there ever a moment where either of you, madelena or max, wanted to throw the towel down and run back home and just lay low?" 

"do you wanna go first maxie, my answers kinda long," madelena whispered as max nodded his head, saying his response first 

"umm...in all honesty, i don't think i've had that moment yet, touch wood! i mean, of course, we take scheduled breaks during the season as well as when we were driving through the covid-19 pandemic and had many races cancelled. but, i've filled those up with visiting family or training on the simulator. but, no, i don't think i have actually wanted to give up, leave formula one yet and go back home to madelena, no," max responded as he turned to madelena so she could give her answer

"that's a very good question but, yes, there was a moment in which i wanted to give up doing gymnastics and it was a couple of times actually. the first one was when i was in my in between my high school and college gymnastics career and i was really struggling during that time because that was when we had a huge loss in the family. we actually went through the stillbirth of our youngest sibling and i was travelling around europe at the time so i wasn't back home in greece when it happened. i was actually competing at the time and it wasn't until hours later after the podium ceremony that i was told by my trainer that i was needed urgently and had to fly back home to greece. of course i was confused but i didn't mention it because at that point, i was so desperate to be home that i just didn't question it. it wasn't until i was dropped off at the hospital that i realised what had happened and it was just awful. it was the worst thing my family had gone through and there i was, waltzing into the hospital wearing my team gear with five or six gold and silver medals hanging down from my neck to be told that we had lost our newest sibling all the whilst i was winning and coming second place in my events. i was so depressed that for i think three months, i stopped doing gymnastics and didn't do anything until i was physically forced back into the gym by my parents. they knew i didn't want to stop doing gymnastics entirely but they knew it was hard for me to do it after i had been telling everyone around me how excited i was to get a new sibling..."

"...the second time i wanted to give up was definitely after i had that injury that i acquired just after qualifying for my first olympic games in 2021. i was absolutely distraught and i was in so much pain that i just didn't want to get out of bed. i couldn't get out of bed some days but i was very grateful to have my max with me to take care of me and to keep me going. because i seriously think if it wasn't for him, i wouldn't be sitting here with all of the medals and championships that i have since 2021. because if i had it my way, i would have left that injury pull me into an early retirement. and yeah, those were the two moments that i really wanted to throw the towel in and say i give up," madelena chuckled shyly as she picked up the sixth question

"you both mention having siblings in the first video, madelena with ten and max with six so, what are their names?" 

"i have my biological sister victoria, another two little sisters who are half-sisters, blue jaye and mila and then i have a little half-brother jason and i'm the oldest of all of us!" max answers straight away since he could name his siblings from the top of his head whilst madelena had them all written down in her notes app since she had an extra few to remember

"the eldest of my eight biological siblings is my eldest sister cora, then after her is lyra, then athena, iris and penelope are my biological sisters, then we have my four brothers, nikolas, sebastian, phoenix and george. and then, my two older half-brothers are hunter and finn and then my younger half-sister is opehlia. and, for those wondering, in age order, i am younger than lyra but older than athena, iris and penelope *laughter* but, those are all my silblings,"

"max, you mentioned that you proposed to madelena after she was awarded her final and sixth gold medal. was there any doubt beforehand that she'd say yes since you mention it was such a spur of the moment thing because you could no longer wait?"

the couple let out a collective awe at that question, it was the first one that was directed at their new engagement so, it was exciting for them. max had gone to answer first this time as madelena listened. 

"aw, that's a sweet question! umm, after the proposal to madelena when the adrenaline of everything really settled down there was no worry because i was just so relieved. however, just before i had the spotaneous idea to do it, i was absolutely terrified because i did think she'd not say anything at all. not necessarily that she'd say 'no' per se but that she'd just clamp up and not say anything which i think would have been worse than her saying no. but another thing i was terrified about was i had realised after promising myself i wouldn't if madelena won any medals was that i wasn't going to cry. but she just had to win all of her events and i was an emotional wreck and now i know how she feels when she watches me race and everything! so yeah, i was just a mess as i went down on one knee to madelena and yeah, it was quite embarrassing on my part because i think that was the most i'd ever cried whilst professing my love for my fiancée so, yeah..." max giggled as madelena nodded her head as she then spoke up

"...however, in saying that, it was clear that as soon as he placed the ring on my finger, i could tell he was relieved and he could finally breathe again because it was obvious that whilst he had planned to propose for a while like he's mentioned, he didn't mean for it to happen that sepcific day during that specific moment. but because of the adrenaline and the emotions of the moment, it just took over and that was when his mind and soul felt as though it was the right time to do it. and, i have to agree and say it was the perfect moment for him to do it," madelena smiled, reaching her hand out for max as he smiled and grabbed it as he picked out the next question

"how was the engagement announced to the public?" 

"aw, another sweet question but, do you wanna take this lena?" max responded as she nodded her head 

"sure i can, maxie. the way the engagement was announced was that because i still had a lot of media to do similar in any sport that is live to the world or somewhere, i had to do a lot of interviews. mainly on how i felt winning all of my events but the main question was that they all wanted to know my reaction to the new piece of jewellery i had on my finger *giggles*. however, before that, me and max ran back over to the drivers that had attended with him and we had a little group celebration hug that was probably the most emotional and meaningful hug that we've ever had as a group *giggles*. and then we facetimed everyone else who were watching at home and then i went and did all my media interviews and explained it to them. it was so much fun explaining to my siblings for sure, especially my sisters cause they love max so much so they were so excited and overjoyed to be told that they were finally getting max as their older brother for certain and that it was set in stone and they didn't need to worry about losing him,"

"and even though it was broadcast live, we still wanted to post about it to our social media platforms so that's what we did by posting photos and the video taken from the live recording and posted it. so, that is how it was announced to everyone else that me and my fiancé are getting married soon!" madelena giggled as she grabbed the last question which was a question in regards to her career now and max's opinion of it

"the last one and, ooh, it's a question in regards to me but for max to respond!" madelena called out as max's eyes widened 

"max, now that madelena has won her second olympic games, how do you think she can improve and do you think she'll stop anytime soon and think about taking a sabbatical for a year or two so you guys can begin to settle down?"

"oh, wow, that's a great final question! umm...madelena, can you answer it?" max chuckled as madelena shook her head no, making max answer it as he groaned but answered it anyway 

"quite frankly, it's not up to me with what madelena decides to do after this now that she has accumulated so many wins and trophies. if she does decide to step back for a little bit so we can slowly start the beginnings of settling down then i have no arguments about it in the same way that i wouldn't if she decides to keep on going for however many years she decides to. and it's the same way if she decides whilst in talks with me if we're ready for children and want to start trying for our own little family since we're now planning on getting married and on our wedding. but, it's all in the hands of madelena and it shouldn't be up to me on whether she wants to take that break or if she wants to keep on going for a little bit longer," max smiles as madelena felt her heart do a flip as she smiled proudly at her fiancé for his very intelligent and likeminded response 

"so, guys, that was the last question! i'm max verstappen..." 

"...and i'm madelena laurent, you guys asked some amazing questions yet again! thank you for being here with us and for watching this video and we will see you next time for more questions when we are mr and mrs verstappen!" madelena ended as everyone cheered as the couple then left the studio after they both made funny faces to the camera as they walked off set 

mr and mrs max and madelena verstappen

"we're back gq sports!" max yells triumphantly as madelena chuckles, shaking her head 

"hi, i'm madelena verstappen and this is my husband max verstappen and we're back for the third and final instalment of our fans' most burning questions!" madelena chuckled as she picked up the first one, laughing again 

"how do you pronounce your wife's name, max and how long did it take you to pronounce it properly?" 

"even though it shouldn't be too confusing because it sounds like a relatively normal name, it is when you need to bear in mind that i'm greek, as are my whole family, but i was born in france. so because of that, they decided the best way to commemorate their only child out of all their other ones being born in france was to name me a french name rather than a greek name. and because of that along with the spelling, my name all throughout school in greece was always mispronounced as well as misspelt. however, for those who do get confused, my name is pronounced similar to madeline but it isn't. it's pronounced phonetically as mad-uh-ley-na if that makes sense *giggles*. it's just pronounced like madelene but instead of the letter 'e' at the end, it's replaced with the letter 'a' which is not the letter that is stressed but the 'ley' in the middle of my name. does that make sense? so, the 'ley' of my name is the more aunnciated phrase and it makes saying the 'na' at the end flow off the tongue a lot better and properly," madelena chuckles as she strugged to give a pronunciation lesson for her own name 

"for my answer to this question, it honestly never took me that long to learn the pronunciation of madelena's name. i mean, i don't find it that hard except for maybe when we first met because my english wasn't very good since english isn't my first language, dutch is. but the more confident i got in speaking english the easier it was to pick up even with my heavy dutch/belgian accent and pronounce it properly so i wasn't always calling her by a nickname. even though now that we''er older and i can very much pronounce her full name, she perfers being called lena over madelena because she feels like everytime i full name her that she's in trouble *laughter*." max smiled, blushing a tiny bit at the end of his answer as madelena smiled, her eyes widening as she found her husband's response sweet 

"aw, that was so sweet but yes, i do prefer it when he calls me lena instead of madelena and i call him maxie but, anyway, the next question though is..." madelena continued as she grabbed the second question 

"where was it that you two got married? the netherlands, monaco or greece?" 

"ooh, that is a very good question! we got married in greece since that is the home in which we spend the less amount of time at throughout the f1 and gymnastic season. so whilst we're training and doing our respective championships, we're based out of monaco where we spend a good majority of our time since it's our main home base out of the three countries we reside in. and then on the odd occasion if it's been too long, we'll spend two to three weeks each in the netherlands and then greece just to be closer to our families since we don't see them as often as we'd like to anymore. but, yeah, we decided very early on that we were going to get married in greece and then switch it up and have our honeymoon in monaco, the netherlands and italy during the time we'd usually be spending two to three weeks between the netherlands and greece. but after that i think we also visited ibiza for a little bit to a week as well before we had to fly back to monaco so we could get back into training again. but yeah, it was beautiful that's for sure, most magical day of our life!" max smiled as madelena nodded her head in full agreement to her husband's response as max picks up the third question

"what songs on madelena's gymnastics routine playlist are max's favourite?"

this was the question that made the husband and wife giggle, max responding as madelena smiled whilst listening intently 

"that's a tough question but i have to say, my favourite songs on her routine playlist that she dances to during routines and competitions are most definitely songs that we can also connect to formula one *giggles*. and one of the first ones that comes to mind is actually a song that reminds everyone of carlos and it's smooth operator. madelena's gold medal winning olympic floor routine from 2021 was done to that song and it's for sure up there as one of my favourites. but another one has to be another floor routine song and it's called volia by emma kok and it was just gorgeous so that was from her championship winning floor routine from this year! but, i have a lot more but volia and smooth operator are just the first two to come to my mind straight away," max smiles as madelena doesn't stop her smile from widening

"who was in your wedding party at the wedding?" 

max smiled at this question, letting his wife take over as he sat back this time, relaxing. 

"my bridesmaids were five of my sisters and the other f1 wags, luisa, carmen, alexandra, rebecca, heidi and lily zneimer and my maid of honour was shared by athena and alexandra. and the flower girl was my little sister ophelia and the ring bearers were actually one of max's nephews," madelena smiled as she turned to her husband who smiled and said his answer 

"my groomsmen were obviously the boyfriend's of madelena's bridesmaids so lando, george, charles, carlos, daniel and oscar as well as three of lena's brothers since i only have a much younger half brother and my best man was nikolas, lena's oldest biological brother," max smiled with a small giggle as the couple nodded thier head as he found the fifth question

"do you two plan on settling down to the point of thinking about wanting kids and if so, how many?"

this question made madelena chuckle whilst max's eyes widened, slightly frightened as he answered the question nevertheless 

"i mean, we did just get married basically but, of course i'd love to have kids and, honestly i'd love to have an even amount of kids. i mean, not to the extent that madelena has with her ten siblings*giggles*. but i'd say around four or three? i'd say around three to four because whilst i do love the largness of my wife's family, i do still want a small enough family that they have siblings but not too many that it's crowded. and i have four other siblings of my own so i'd want to have relatively the same amount as well. even though i do love having a lot of people to go to for help as a plus of having a big family but not to the point that we're confusing the names of our kids and which sibling is which," max smiled proudly as madelena smield sweetly as she reciprocated the kiss to the head that max gave her

"as a small continution, i would also love to have around three or four kids but, right now, we are focused on our brand new marriage and our jobs. so, yeah, i think we'll maybe wait a few months to a year before kids are included or even thought about but, i don't know, who really knows what's going to happen until it happens," madelena smiles as she grabs the sixth question 

"who cried more at the wedding: madelena or max?"

madelena laughed as she read that question out, her head flying back as max just sighed as he shook his head, a fake angry pout on his face, chuckling as he rolled his eyes 

"well, for those curious and wondering, max did have the sweetest reaction but to confirm, he did cry first and the most. it was very sweet though because it's not a side that a lot of us, including me, get to see very often. and, it was just lovely seeing him feel so comfortable to the point he could let his guard down and be that vulnerable even on the day of our wedding. because i honestly thought that because he cried at our engagement that he wouldn't cry at our wedding *giggles*. and it is a video i watch a little too much when i feel the need of missing the wedding and wanting to watch it back," madelena smiles as max also smiles as he says his own response

"honestly, thinking back to that moment, i was a wreck the entire day. my mum has mentioned before that i am an emotional person and it was that day truthfully that mum's statement came true. i had been nervous all day just waiting to see lena and i was feeling worried that she may be panicking and not able to see each other really wasn't something we would do now if we decided to get married again. but, the moment i turned around and saw lena in the full white dress and shoes, i was out for the count *giggles*. i may as well have been on the floor because i was that far gone. thankfully though the first look we had was only between us two with a photographer and videographer with us that captured the entire thing. and it was beautiful and i'm glad we had that private moment together where we also shared our private vows which were also filmed by the videographer as well. and yeah, like lena, it's also something i love to watch as well on the occasion that i feel like i need it. just as a reminder that we actually are married now and that i get to fall further in love with her every day for the rest of my life from here on out," max finished as the whole room fell into awws and coos as madelena felt herself blushing at her husband's words

"one more question!" a producer behind the camera shouts out, rushing over to give it to max as he chuckled before looking at it

"hi lena and max, i'm about to get married and my husband-to-be and i just want to know what's the best thing about being married to the love of your life?"

"awe, this is a nice question! lena, you wanna take over?" max smiled as madelena nodded her head 

"of course! well, this was a lovely question so thank you to the upcoming bride who asked this! and for me, the best thing about being married to the love of my life is just knowing that we no longer have to worry about anything anymore. in the sense that we don't have to worry about not being together anymore. for a little while we were long distance, max in monaco and me in greece which is typically a four hour flight depending on where in greece you're going to or from and it was awful having to say goodbye to one another constantly whilst he was leaving for races and other things and i wasl leaving for gymnastics and other things. and it would be so heartbreaking because if something was to happen to one another, like our injuries for example in 2021, the silverstone crash for max and my shattered leg for me. when it came to going to the hospital, we weren't allowed to go in straight away because we weren't family nor were we married. whilst we were acknowledged as one another's partner's, it was because we were married that we weren't allowed entry to see one another before being allowed to alongside everyone else that was there that weren't family. so it just knowing that if one of us was to ever be in a similar situation again, now that we're married, we don't have to worry about getting into fights with hospital staff about wanting to see one another because they'll know and they'll see on record that we're now married! so yeah, that's my best thing other than the obvious things about being married to the love of my life but that's the first one that i think of that isn't really due to the physical things that i love about him like his eyes, hair, looks, humour or anything of the sort..." madelena cut herself off as max smiled as he then said his answer

"...and for me, the best thing about being married to the love of my life is just knowing that we'll be there for one another all the time now. we no longer have to worry about necessarily being apart from one another for too long now. because now that madelena is on her summer break, she's able to travel with me for the next two weeks that she has off before she has to return back to monaco to start training again. and the other thing is seeing that the rings that are on her finger are the ones i gave to her, no one else. i love people knowing that she's my wife and that i'm the one who gets to love her for the rest of time and no one else can," max smiled with a cheeky wink as madelena giggled and shook her head

"so, we've been madelena verstappen..." 

"...and max verstappen and those were the questions you guys have asked me and my wife for our third and final instalment of some of our fans' most burning questions on us for gq sports! we hope you guys enjoyed and we thank you guys so much for joining us for the last three videos! if you want to see more of us than you can at the upcoming formula one grand prix in singapore for me and in monaco for the gymnastics world championship meet for madelena and we'll see you soon!" max finishes the video as he chucks the paper to the camera making madelena's laugh the last thing heard before the video cuts to a black screen

fin

such a fun but weird thing to rewrite and i'm sorry that it's a little bad. i should really consider this as a little bit of a crack fic cause wtf is this lol! in saying that though, i really think i could make this into a little series and expand it cause i've seen so many of my fave f1 fic writers write olympic inspired fics and i really would like to flesh out madelena and max a lot more now that i think about it! anyway, i really need to get my flow back on track for my charles request as i feel awful for how long it's taken to start it!