#de-aged maxiel

[magicalrocketships]

Daniel is not special!!! I am also fucked up over de-aged max 😭😭

And sometimes Daniel is very fucked up. All earlier parts can be found in this masterpost and on AO3 here (I was planning on putting the outstanding ones on AO3 tonight, but I'll do it over the next couple of days instead, including this part).

This sort of follows on from Waking Up and Max is big again.

It's You And Me (I Know It's My Destiny): In which Daniel is sad, and Max and Daniel go on holiday (this part 2.9k)

"I have sand in my shoe," Max says. 

"You can't have sand in your shoe," Daniel says, because they have been out of the car approximately 36 seconds and the beach is still the other side of the car park. All Max has stood on is the gravel next to the car. His Pikachu trainers are still tightly laced up. 

"I can," Max says. He's not been enthusiastic about this beach trip from the moment Daniel's mum suggested it. He plays with the handle on the car door as if that's miraculously going to unlock it again and let him get back inside. 

"You'll like it when we get there," Daniel says, sounding like his mum and her mum and probably every mum in the history of his family. 

"Hmmm," Max says. "When are we going home?"

There's a strange little pull in Daniel's chest. Home. Max talks about home like it's a plant with Daniel's flat in Monaco the root and wherever Daniel is right now the leafy green. His favourite thing is when they're all together, but he'll take being with Daniel so long as going home is also on the cards.

"Later on," Daniel says. "We've got some fun to have first. We can go in the sea."

Max looks decidedly dubious. "There might be sharks."

"We won't swim if there's sharks," Daniel says. He rifles through his mental compendium of fun things they can do on the beach today. "There's tomato soup?" he offers. He's got a flask of it in his bag. He's learned. "And you can take pictures with my camera."

Max blinks at him. Unimpressed. 

"My mum and dad will be here soon," Daniel says, desperate. "You can tell them all the facts out of your flag book."

"All of them?" Max asks. 

"All of them," Daniel agrees. "Come on."

"Hmm," Max says, but he slips his hand into Daniel's. 

&&&

Daniel finally acknowledges that he's hungry, so he gets out of bed and goes into the kitchen to find something to eat. It has been a week since his last supermarket delivery, and four days since he woke up to find Max gone, big again, disappeared back to a life which doesn't involve Daniel in any real way. There are apples slowly going soft in the bowl. Max likes apples. He likes them cut into slices with the core cut out. Depending on how crunchy the apple is, sometimes he likes the skin cut off. He doesn't like them when they're soft. Daniel can't be bothered to eat them, so he leaves them in the bowl. The fridge doesn't contain anything useful either, and the bread's gone bad. He stands in front of the kitchen cupboard with the crackers in and eats three of them. He follows it up with a packet of dried vegetable snack food for toddlers, significantly out of date, from when a tiny chunky three year old Max came to stay. He drinks a can of Red Bull looking at the empty cat litter trays. He needs to sweep the few remaining bits of litter up and take the bin out. 

He doesn't do it. He finishes his can of Red Bull, goes for a piss, and climbs back into bed again with the covers over his head. 

He hasn't showered in four days. He hasn't eaten a proper meal in five. He closes his eyes, buries his face in the pillows, and ignores the buzzing of his phone. 

&&&

"I'm not jumping in."

"Okay," Daniel says, zooming in on a picture of the pool. "You don't have to jump."

After their relatively unsuccessful beach day, Daniel drops the idea of renting a beach house for his parents and Max for the remainder of their trip to Monaco, and instead, goes for a gîte up in the hills. It has a pool and a pétanque court and somewhere to play badminton. It has two bedrooms up in the attics, which Daniel plans on claiming for him and Max, and one downstairs with a massive bathroom for his parents. The local village boasts two specialist bakeries. Daniel hopes they're specialised enough to do a boring sliced loaf for Max to have buttered on a daily basis. 

"You won't make me jump in?" Max asks, pressing himself to Daniel's side. He's so close that Daniel might require a spatula to get them apart. He's looking at the pictures of the gîte on Daniel's laptop. It's a last minute booking; they leave in the morning. 

"Promise," Daniel says. He hasn't actually asked if Max knows how to swim, so his mum and dad have got floats on their shopping list just in case. They've gone out to buy last minute things for their holiday tomorrow.. 

"There's no sand?" Max asks, leaning over and digging his elbows into Daniel's thigh so he can get a closer look at the pictures. 

"Not by the pool," Daniel says. 

"I don't like sand," Max says, which is something Daniel knows, after Max had refused to touch it at the beach. "I don't like it in my shoes."

Daniel ruffles his hair. "No beach trips. I know. There is a train, though. We can go for a ride on it if you like." 

"At the house?" Max asks dubiously. 

"No, we'll have to drive to it. We can take my mum and dad."

"Yes, please," Max says. "Are the Jimmy or Sassy cats coming on holiday with us too?" 

"They're going on their own holiday." A fucking expensive one too, at a luxury cat hotel. Cat ownership, even of the temporary variety associated with Go Small guardianship, is tremendously expensive. They've got the 'getting the cats into their multi storey cat carrier' experience to have later on too. They cats have clearly spotted the cat carrier and are sitting on top of the cupboards in Daniel's kitchen in protest. Daniel foresees a number of new scratches later on. A little pre-holiday gift.

"Will they poo in the cat carrier again?" Max maintains this is the funniest thing that has ever happened in his life, even beating the noises the camel made at the zoo, which he asks Daniel to imitate about three times a day. 

"Probably," Daniel says grimly. 

"Good," Max says. He leans his face against Daniel's shoulder. "Can we take the night lights? In case you are scared, Daniel."

Daniel kisses the top of his head. "Sure," he says. "We can walk around the flat and you can tell me all the important things we should take."

"Good," Max says. He's a solemn little boy sometimes, quiet and thoughtful and terribly protective of Daniel. Daniel is equally protective in return. "Pikachu won't get lost if he comes, will he?"

"No," Daniel says. "He can wear his own seatbelt in the car."

Max nods. "Good," he says. Then, "Let's pack now."

"Sure," Daniel says, who's never packed anything early in his life. "It'll be a fun surprise for my mum and dad if they come home and we're all ready to go."

&&&

The sound of the key in the lock should rouse him out of bed, but it doesn't. He's not expecting anyone, but if they've got a key it can't be all bad. Anyway, he can't be bothered to care. 

He stays where he is, in bed, and waits for whoever it is to come and find him. To tell him what they need from him. It won't be a seven year old Max come to visit, so it doesn't matter anyway. 

"Daniel?"

It's his mum. She's supposed to be in Australia. She isn't supposed to be here. He would have remembered that. 

She pushes open the door to his bedroom. It smells in here. It's been six days since he showered. He's eaten the remains of the stale crackers and there's crumbs on the sheets and on the floor. 

"Oh, Daniel," she says. 

"Hi, Mum," he says. She looks sad, and worried, but Daniel doesn't feel anything. He's had a hole in his chest for a long time now, and it's grown every time Max got big and left him again, and getting to have a Go Small Max all over again and then losing him like clockwork has just meant the hole has swallowed him up. "Did I know you were coming?"

"You didn't answer your phone," she says, coming over and sitting on the bed. He moves his legs to let her sit down. "We've all been very worried about you."

Daniel hums. "It's okay," he says, although it seems like a long way to come just because she's worried about him. He's fine. "I'm just tired."

"Okay," she says. "Can I get a hug?"

She must have been travelling a long time. Daniel hugs her. He can smell himself, warm and stale and tired. She seems upset. Maybe he should be upset too. He just misses Max. He wants Max back. 

She picks Pikachu up from the floor and brushes cracker crumbs off him. She tucks him up in bed next to Daniel. "I'm going to go see what's in your fridge, and then I'll come back and run you a bath, okay? We'll get you fixed up, Daniel, I promise."

Daniel nods. He just wants to sleep. He settles down into his sheets again, pulling Pikachu in close. He smells like Max. One day he won't, and Max won't Go Small again, and Pikachu will be all that's left of the months Max spent with him, small and serious and perfect. 

His mum leans over and kisses him on the forehead. "Love you," she says. 

Daniel closes his eyes. 

&&&

Max stands on the side of the pool. Daniel's in the water, doing a very stupid dance. He's singing along, making up the words as he goes along. Max tells him he's being very silly. 

Daniel agrees. They've been here two days so far and they've barely been out of the water. They've splashed and played and made up stupid games and done piggy back rides and played water badminton and piggy in the middle and had races where the point was to come last and Max has been happy the whole time. They've blown up stupid floats and ridden a giant flamingo and floated on a palm tree and paddled a boat. He suspects his parents haven't spent this much time in a pool in their lives. 

They've made their excuses now, though, his dad getting the barbecue ready for dinner and his mum reading her book and taking a million pictures and videos of Daniel and Max together. 

Daniel's heart sings. Max is having such a good time. He'd spent about 25 minutes in his own bed on the first night, and then gravitated straight into Daniel's, Daniel coming upstairs to bed to find Max sprawled out sideways, flat out, with Pikachu in one hand and his toy otter tucked under his other arm. The nightlights were on in both rooms. Daniel had resigned himself to sleeping in Max's bed until he'd managed about seven minutes sleep and Max was waking him up because Daniel would get scared if he slept by himself. Max had assigned himself Daniel's protector a long time ago and wasn't going anywhere. So, Daniel had the edge of the bed and Max had the remaining diagonal space, and everyone was happy (but mainly Max). 

And now Max wants to jump in. He's practiced putting his head below the water, which he didn't like the first time and is now better at. Daniel's told him it doesn't matter if he decides he doesn't want to, but Max is brave and resilient and trying his best. And Daniel's ready to catch him. His mum's got the camera ready, and his dad's cheering Max on. 

"Will you catch me?" Max asks. 

"I won't let anything happen to you," Daniel says. "I promise."

Max studies his face. "Okay," he says finally. He puffs out his cheeks and jumps. 

Afterwards, when Daniel's finished parading a cheering Max up and down the pool, his mum shows them the pictures. Max is beaming. Daniel doesn't think he's ever seen a picture of himself looking happier. 

It's scary, if he stops to think about it. But he doesn't, so it's okay. 

&&&

Daniel eats a sandwich and then has a bath. He can barely find the energy to wash his hair. When he gets out, the water's gone cold and his mum's put fresh pyjamas on the chair by the bathroom door. She's changed the sheets too, swapped Daniel's gross ones for fresh ones. She's even folded up Max's Pokemon blanket that Daniel's been hugging all week and put it at the end of the bed. The window's open and the curtains are pulled back. Pikachu isn't on his pillow anymore, because Max is sitting on his bed, holding him. 

He's not small. He's big. He's just Max, normal sized, world champion Max. 

Daniel gets back into bed. He takes Pikachu from Max and tucks him under his chin. 

"Daniel," Max says. 

"I'm tired," Daniel says. Max doesn't ever stay. He gets big and he leaves. He stops needing Daniel and he leaves. 

Max's hand hovers over Daniel's arm. It rests on his elbow. "You didn't say you were not okay, Daniel."

"I'm fine," Daniel says. "Just tired. What are you doing here? You don't stay here when you're big."

Max flinches. Daniel feels it.

"I think I should not have left you," Max says. "But I am here now. Your mum has gone to the shop. You do not have any food."

"I'm not hungry," Daniel says. He doesn't feel anything. He misses Max. Max is here and he still misses Max, his Max, the one who needs him. "I want to sleep."

"Okay, Daniel," Max says. "Then I will stay here with you. So you are not alone."

Daniel nods. He doesn't believe it. Max always leaves. He takes his cats and his things and leaves a big hole behind him, and Daniel's chest swallows it up. He gets emptier. He feels empty now. "You won't stay," he says. "You don't stay."

"I will," Max says. "I will look after you. I am going to help your mum."

Daniel closes his eyes. He's tired. He'll wake up and Max will be gone. It's okay. He's good at losing him now. He'll cope. 

He sleeps. 

&&&

Max jumps in and he jumps in and he jumps in. He's delighted, excited, happy. He jumps in without Daniel holding out his hands to catch him, and lets Daniel float off to the side and just cheer him on in instead. 

Afterwards, still excited, he wears his special robe to sit next to Daniel by the side of the pool and demands Daniel's mum show them both all her pictures. Daniel, in his matching robe, sits through picture after picture of the two of them together, of Max beaming, of Daniel beaming back. Of them beaming at each other. 

Max is happy enough only to complain a little bit when Daniel reapplies sun cream to Max's flushed face. When Daniel's mum goes to help with dinner, Max buries himself in Daniel's side. 

"I love you," Max whispers, like it's a secret. He tilts his face up and kisses Daniel's cheek. 

Daniel wraps an arm around his shoulders. He kisses the top of Max's head. "Love you more," he says. 

Max shakes his head. He's steadfast. He loves Daniel the most. He can't conceive otherwise. But it's okay. Daniel knows the truth: there's no one in this world he loves more. 

&&&

When Daniel wakes up, he knows Max will be gone. He'll have left again, gone home, gone to find his real life, the one that Daniel isn't a part of. The one where he isn't needed. 

Daniel doesn't open his eyes. He can hear his mum in the kitchen. He recognises her tread, the soft sound of the radio. He recognises her. 

If he opens his eyes, Max will be gone. 

"It is okay, Daniel." It's Max. He's here. He's stroking Daniel's hair. "Your mum is here and I am here. I'm not going anywhere."

Daniel swallows. He opens his eyes. Pikachu is still tucked into bed with him, the sheets pulled up over his shoulders. Max is lying next to him. 

"I didn't want you to wake up alone," Max tells him. He's still stroking Daniel's hair. He's not very good at it. He's a little awkward and unsure, but Max doesn't stop something if he doesn't know what he's doing. He just keeps on going. 

Daniel trembles. 

"It's our turn to look after you," Max says. "We will get you better, Daniel. We'll make everything okay. I promise."

Daniel—who is desperate, exhausted, and scared—clutches at Max's hand. 

Max laces his fingers with Daniel's. He leans in to kiss Daniel's forehead, and Daniel—that hollow in his chest suddenly aching, and he's breathless, his hand hot in Max's—abruptly starts to cry. 

&&&

"Are you enjoying your holiday, Max?" Daniel's dad asks. 

Max looks up from his new book of cat facts. He's been laboriously sounding out names of cat breeds to Daniel for half an hour. 

"It's my best holiday ever," Max says in satisfaction. 

He tucks his hand into Daniel's, looks up, and beams. 

(thanks to Zoe @flawlessassholes for her help with the first 7/8ths of this and to Lin @andwegogreen for her help)

[on-softs]

Clothing of Delight

Just posted the first chapter of my de-aged Maxiel fic here!

Danny bends down to gently pry the kid's hands off his legs, trying to get control over his expression because he’s pretty sure he looks like a psycho right now and doesn’t want to freak him out. “Hey, sweetheart–” He gets a good look at the little boy’s very blue eyes. His pale, round face. “What the fuck,” Danny says. “What the fuck.” — For twenty-four hours, Daniel Ricciardo's husband is changed.

[onboardsorasora]

Wanted some soft boys today. Also totally misread an anon ask from months ago lmao, this isn't what our bestie asked for but hopefully this is ok as well. Also, I haven't reread this so hopefully it reads well and there's no mistakes

Part 1 | Part 18

Max woke slowly, overwarm with hot breath puffing onto the crook of his neck. For a microsecond, in what felt like the time between all five red lights going out and the green lights illuminating, Max thought Adult Daniel had returned.

Because Daniel always ran warm, especially since he liked to bundle himself as a burrito in his sheets. But the face pressed into his skin was still small, delicate. It was still Little Daniel.

Max smiled fondly and reached a hand to stroke through wild curls. He frowned however, when he found them to be flattened, soaked with sweat. Max bolted awake, taking in the flush on Little Daniel’s skin and how uncomfortable he looked even while asleep. He pressed his palm to Little Daniel’s forehead and recoiled when his skin felt almost searing. Little Daniel whimpered a little.

Max realized instantly that he was running a fever and he felt the fright bubble up within him. 

Grabbing his phone, he did the first thing that came to his mind, call Grace.

She picked up after 3 rings, Max didn’t know what time it was in Perth. To be honest, he didn’t know what time it was right now in Monaco. But he knew that Grace had his number saved as important, so she would always answer his call. Especially now.

Her fond, soft smile melted into worry when she saw his scared face.

“Max what’s wrong?” She asked immediately.

“Daniel has a fever, I think.” Max rushed out, immediately turning his camera to show the miserable ball of child on the bed. Grace cooed.

“Have you taken his temperature? How high is it?” She asked and Max scratched his head sheepishly, he honestly hadn’t thought of that.

“My first thought was to call you, to be honest.”

“You made the right decision Max.” Grace smiled softly at the phone, even though the camera was still pointed towards Little Daniel. Max could see her in the little screen. “Now, do you have a thermometer? They normally put one in those first aid kits you buy in the grocery store.”

Max got to work, following her instruction on how to take Little Daniel’s temperature and what the numbers meant. He was running a fever, but it wasn’t high. Not enough to warrant a hospital visit. Max never felt more relieved.

With Grace’s help, got Little Daniel in more comfortable clothing, and helped him drink some juice while he waited for his rush grocery delivery order to arrive. He might have ordered all of the children’s electrolyte drinks the store had in stock, but that was no one's business.

“Maxshy, I’m tired.” Little Daniel mumbled. He’d been miserable all day but Max counted it as a win that he was alert and seeking comfort. He’d spent some time talking to Grace, letting her know that he didn’t feel nice. Max’s heart clenched the whole time.

Grace let them go when Little Daniel promised to try and take a nap. He had put the phone down and immediately climbed his little body onto the couch and sprawled himself over Max who was definitely not proud of the cooing noise he’d involuntarily let out. 

“I know Bub, do you want to watch a race and then take a nap?” Max pressed some hair back from Little Daniel’s forehead and watched as the curls sprung back into place. Little Daniel shook his head and Max raised a brow in surprised confusion. Little Daniel was always asking to watch races, he never declined an opportunity.

“Want to watch da show. Maxshy Show.” Little Daniel clarified and Max’s heart clenched. Recently Max had shown Little Daniel one of the Dutch cartoons he’d grown up with and he’d watched it intently even though Max knew for a fact he didn’t know what they were saying. It was probably clear enough by their actions.

“Ok Bub, we can watch it. Do you want to watch any specific episode?” He reached for the tv remote. Little Daniel shook his head into Max’s chest and watched as Max found the show in question.

They watched two episodes before Max felt Little Daniel go completely lax against him. His soft snores a welcome sound. Max slouched further onto the couch, careful not to jostle his precious cargo and let the background sounds of his childhood lull him to sleep as well.

[danthropologie]

Daniel stays on checos side because have we not seen what happens when he’s around max? Of course he’s relegated to the farthest point in the garage hahah

yeah if they let him on max's side of the garage, they'd probably just start humping each other and then they lose track of time, max misses quali, it's a whole thing

[watercolor-hearts]

Missing

By @fredwardart / Val1d_Vic

Max/Daniel • Carlos/Lando • 925 words • age regression/de-aging • non-sexual age play

Shit. Daniel thought. He predicted that Maxie would be unsure about his new look, but he didn't think that Maxie wouldn't recognise him.

Daniel decides to shave his beard and Max doesn't like it.

My dear friend Freddie surprised me with this sweet story today and I love it so much I wanted to make a collage to it and post it with the link because I know there are a few people here who love little stories.

He deserves all the love and support so if you like Maxiel and/or Carlando little stories, this is a perfect opportunity to read one and support the author. ❤

[fahatesyou]

De-aged!Max, short drabble. Non Explicit. (Maxiel)

The kid stares at him.

When Daniel looks down to the boy's hands he makes a pained noise and holds Daniel's helmet tighter to his chest; it's the one with the pink and glitter on it. Daniel remembers him, a vague memory inside his head that he couldn't really picture even if he tried. Daniel knows he met Max when Max was younger; they shook hands back in his torturous rookie days filled with thousands of other stupid promotions and awkward meetings. He saw the photos too, when they resurfaced from place in the bottom of the internet after Max was announced as his new team mate. 

Daniel is sure; this has to be Max. Kid Max. Boy Max. A chubby faced blonde boy standing in the middle of his living room caught red handed. 

"Hey," Daniel murmurs, not really sure if he's dreaming, or if he's dead. Or maybe Max is dead, maybe he crashed while Daniel was sleeping and his younger soul came to say goodbye. Maybe this is a visit from Max's wandering soul to say farewell to their little secret den. Maybe Max was thinking of Daniel as he lost control of his car and that's why he's stuck in this version of himself, the one Max was way before he grew up and became a man that liked women and won world championships.

"Max, a—are you, is, is it really you?" Daniel stutters. 

The boy, Max, looks at him with wild eyes after he hears Daniel say his name and drops the helmet to the floor. The loud crack of the material startles Daniel, he takes a step back, nervous and on his toes, not really knowing what the boy will do. 

"Don't tell my papa," Max whispers, pulling the end of his shirt and wiping his hands on it like he touched something dirty. "I was only looking." 

Daniel shakes his head quickly, raising both hands in truce.  

My papa. 

Shit.

If Max's father from another dimension comes out of Daniel's kitchen or something, then he may actually drop dead right in the spot. Or end up in jail. 

"It's okay, mate." Daniel soothes him. He tries smiling but boy Max doesn't smile back. "It's a pretty cool, right?, it's good, don't worry." 

Boy Max frowns, and then looks down at Daniel's helmet lying on the floor. Daniel thinks for a second that Max will pick it up, but the thought gets thrown out of the window soon as Max's shoe hits the visor and makes the helmet fly to the other side of the room.

"Well, shit." Daniel says, frowning back at the Max from a different timeline. "That was rude as fuck." 

"I want my papa," Boy Max grunts, crossing his arms over his chest, his face flushing pink. "Call my papa, now." He orders Daniel, like it's Daniel's fault he's here and not wherever he should be at. Or whenever. Shit.

It must be a sign from God or something, but as soon as the words leave the kid's mouth, Daniel's phone starts blasting the loud new stupid ringtone Michael installed on it as a joke a few days ago.

"Shit," Daniel curses. He stares back at mini Max trying to seem commanding and holds a warning finger towards him, "Don't move." 

Daniel runs to his room and rushes towards his phone resting on the bed; a bad habit that has cost him a few screens.

It's Max, his name written next to the tongue emoji that Max put on there when he saved his number on Daniel's phone years ago.

"Max?," Daniel whispers in panic, a weird feeling flooding his body as he considers he may be going crazy for real. It doesn't feel like a dream. The kid looked fucking real and alive. And Daniel hasn't been this awake since he was born, probably. 

"Daniel," Max says, sounding like he just saw a fucking ghost. "Daniel, you, you—you're never gonna believe me. Please, listen, ju—just, listen to me, please." 

Daniel feels a cold wind hit the back of his neck, some tingling sensation of a pair of eyes on him. He looks over his shoulder and almost faints when the kid is there, holding a small butter knife so tightly his knuckles are white. Max is shaking like a leaf, but so is Daniel, and he realizes the weapon of the boy he curses at his old self for being too lazy after eating those croissants.

"I want to go home," Boy Max says, and Daniel is so overwhelmed by the insanity of the situation it takes him a few seconds to realize the kid's face is wet with tears, "I want to go back, now." He growls at Daniel, shaking the silverware in his hand as a treat.

For fucks sake.

"I do, " Daniel sighs to the other side of the line. He presses the speaker button and holds the phone towards the Dutch murder baby in front of him. "so you better fucking believe me too. And put the fucking butter knife down." 

[magicalrocketships]

Would you ever write Daniel hugging de-aged Max? (this is a cheat, I know, but sometimes we need hugs)

Tiny bit of de-aged max (All earlier parts can be found in this masterpost and on AO3 here (although i've got a couple of bits now to update on AO3)):

Someone (Max) Needs a Hug

Daniel wakes up with the distinct impression he's being watched.

When he opens his eyes, it's to find he is. Max is standing by his bed, Pikachu under his arm. He's wrapped in his new Pokemon blanket. One of the Jimmy or Sassy cats is sitting on Daniel's foot. The other Jimmy or Sassy cat is standing on Daniel's bedside table, and Daniel's water bottle is on the floor. This, he presumes, is what woke him up. He'd learned, a couple of nights in to having the Jimmy or Sassy cats as guests, that taking a glass of water instead of a lidded bottle to bed was a risk to his electronics. And his mattress. And him. But mostly his phone and his charger.

All three pairs of eyes are staring at him, unblinking, silent.

He rubs his eyes. "Hey, buddy," he says, when Max continues not to say anything. He goes for the lamp. "Everything okay?"

Max nods. All right.

It's five am.

"You need something?" Daniel asks, trying to wake up.

"Hug, please," Max says, in a small voice.

Okay. Daniel opens his arms, still not awake enough to compute anything, and Max tumbles into them, Pikachu and Pokemon blanket coming with him. He burrows into Daniel's front. Daniel hadn't even got as far as pulling the covers back, but Max doesn't bother with niceties. He kicks his way into a comfortable position, tucking his blanket around him, and demanding Daniel hug him tighter.

"Bad dream," Max whispers, face squished into Daniel's t-shirt.

Daniel kisses the top of his head. The Jimmy or Sassy cat that was destroying his bedside table takes a graceful leap onto the pillow to curl up perilously close to Daniel's head. This is his life now. A seven year old Max Verstappen and intrusive cats. Sure.

"Everybody knows the cure to bad dreams is hugs," Daniel agrees, shifting so he can avoid Max's sharp little shoulder digging into his arm. "Do you want to tell me what it was about?"

Max shakes his head, burrowing closer. "My Daniel," he says, like that's an answer to everything, and maybe, just this once, it is.

[magicalrocketships]

hiii do you have news on baby max ?

yes, yes, I do. important news. (this was supposed to just be a few lines but it grew).

All earlier parts can be found in this masterpost and on AO3 here.

It's You And Me (I Know It's My Destiny): Daniel's Birthday Eve (1.1k)

The day before Daniel's birthday, Max wakes Daniel up at the inhumane hour of six in the morning, patiently tells Daniel he's doing secret things in his bedroom, and that Daniel isn’t allowed in.

Daniel, blearily coming to life on far too little sleep, agrees that Max isn't to be disturbed, but rather than this meaning he gets to go back to sleep, Max puts in his breakfast order instead. He would like cheerios and apple juice, please Daniel. Daniel's suggestion that this wait until a more humane time like 6.30 is met with Max's blisteringly silent disdain.

Daniel, suitably rebuked, stumbles out of bed and prepares Max a breakfast of cheerios and apple juice, and puts the milk in a jug that he's had to buy specially because Max doesn't like his cereal soggy. Max applies milk in a systematic and occasional manner as and when required, rather than all at once like a normal person. Daniel suspects that Max's particular idiosyncrasies weren't indulged the first time around and Daniel can't be fucked trying to persuade him out of it now that he’s seven for a second time, so Max has his own milk jug and smiles at Daniel over breakfast now.

Max eats his breakfast sitting at the table, then politely requests that they call Daniel's mum and dad on the iPad. He then disappears with the iPad and Daniel's parents into his bedroom, closes the door, and Daniel is left to clear up the remains of breakfast and slowly come awake over two cups of coffee. He picks at a few dry cheerios. Contemplates a shower. He knocks at Max's bedroom door and asks if everything is okay, and he's met with a chorus of responses - Max's yes thank you Daniel coupled with Daniel's Mum and Dad's tinny everything's good coming from the iPad.

Sure. Daniel will take that. He cleans up the kitchen a bit, has a very quick shower with the door cracked the tiniest bit open in case Max needs him, then wanders between the bedroom and the kitchen and the utility room failing to do jobs and wondering what Max is getting up to with his parents. He should be enjoying the peace and quiet, with no one telling him flag facts or shoving pictures of cats in front of him and getting him to guess the breed or telling him that the Jimmy or Sassy cats are trying to knock everything off the trophy shelf again, but he wants to know what's going on. There's some very industrious paper cutting and conversation going on inside Max’s bedroom.

Max pads out of the bedroom after an hour, hands Daniel the iPad and says it's running out of charge. He also asks for the glue and if it's all right if he uses all his stickers up. Daniel's mum waves at him from the iPad, which is, as Max says, running at 7%.

"Hello, Mum," Daniel says, rooting about in the drawer for the glue sticks at the same time as unplugging the charging cable from the wall and plugging it into his battery pack instead.

"Hello, Daniel," his mum says.

"Everything okay?" Daniel asks, handing over the battery pack, the glue sticks, and the iPad to a stern-faced Max.

"Yes, thank you, Daniel," Max says. Daniel's mum echoes it. She at least waves as Max goes back into his bedroom and closes the door.

The next time Max comes out, it's to deposit the iPad with Daniel and to ask for a drink. It's both his parents on the screen this time.

"Hello," Daniel says, plugging them into the wall and obediently getting Max a cup of apple juice.

Max comes and sits down next to Daniel, plastering himself to Daniel’s side like he's Daniel's personal protector.

"How's it going?" Daniel asks, since every member of his family is apparently being weird as fuck today.

"It's your birthday," Max says.

"Tomorrow," Daniel agrees.

"It's almost tomorrow in Australia," Max says solidly. "Isn't it?" He directs his attention towards Daniel's mum and dad.

"It is almost tomorrow in Australia," his parents say, which is a lie because it's not even fucking dinnertime in Perth.

"We're going to have your birthday now," Max says.

"Are we?"

"We are," Max says. "Stay here and don't move. Please."

He pads off into the bedroom. He'd got himself dressed even before coming to wake Daniel up that morning, in his Pokemon t-shirt and shorts and his blue socks. When he comes back he's carrying a big piece of paper from his arts and crafts set and carrying Pikachu under one arm. He unfolds the paper for Daniel to look at.

It says Happy Birthday My Daniel in big coloured-in blue letters, and underneath, love from Max. There are some cat stickers on one side and Max has carefully written the name of the cat breeds (with some crossings out where he'd spelled it wrong) next to them with arrows. He's drawn a flag in each corner. There's the Australian flag, and the Italian one, and the Dutch one, and the Belgian one. He's used up all his stickers from the zoo and glued on a picture of a camel and a train and a photograph of him and Daniel and Daniel's mum and dad from when they went on holiday and they spent five days basically living in the pool. Max has had that photo stuck to his wall ever since they got back.

Daniel looks at his birthday picture. He wants to cry.

"Happy birthday, my Daniel," Max says. "Do you like it?"

"More than anything," Daniel says, and he can't help but sound a bit choked up. When he looks up at his iPad, his parents are smiling. His dad has his phone out taking a picture of the screen. "Did you help with this?"

"We were here for artistic advice and company," his mum says. "But it was all Max."

Max looks up at him. He's beaming, pleased and happy and proud. "I made it for you," he says.

"It's the best thing I've ever seen," Daniel says, truthfully, and he asks Max if he'd like a hug.

Max nods thoughtfully, then wraps his arms around Daniel's neck. Daniel hugs back.

"Thank you," Daniel says, a little sniffly. "It's lovely."

"I used up all my stickers," Max tells him, still hugging him.

"That's very kind of you," Daniel says. He kisses the top of Max's head. "We'll have to get you some more, won't we?"

"We're going to send some from Australia," his parents say. "With koalas on."

"And kangaroos," Max agrees.

"Best early birthday present ever," Daniel says. He looks down at his picture. He'll put it on the wall, he thinks. Leave it up forever.

"Love you," Max says solidly.

"Love you too," Daniel says, and Max, smiling, gives him Pikachu to hold.

"You can look after Pikachu," Max says, and Daniel thinks, forever.

[magicalrocketships]

I just saw Max naming cat breeds and fell to the floor- is your de aged max a cat nerd too?

GOD I have had a fucking awful terrible day but WHAT IF a little seven year old Max wanted to know more about the Jimmy or Sassy cats and he got a BOOK and he followed Daniel around the flat laboriously reading out CAT FACTS and asking Daniel for help with some of the harder words and Daniel realises he's signed himself up for an intense deep dive into learning all about cats, which has literally zero impact on his life outside of looking after Max UNTIL the time when he's also given a cat quiz and he SMASHES THE OPPOSITION because he KNOWS IT ALL*

*spoiler Max beats him because he still knows more than Daniel

[magicalrocketships]

thinking about de-aged max and daniel.

every time i see pics of baby max online all i can think about is this verse! baby max is so cute and i hope he and danny are happily cuddling with the jimmys or sassys. i can’t wait to hear more when you are healthier!

p.s. I love this fic so much i check the tag at least once a day

I think Daniel is sitting through another printed out and cut out and stuck together poster presentation of cat facts with questions at the end (from Max to Daniel, rather than Daniel to the presenter). Max presents to an audience of Daniel and the Jimmy or Sassy cats and occasionally Pikachu. If Daniel doesn't get enough questions right they repeat the presentation. Daniel helps with some of the cutting and he's usually responsible for the glitter, Max is responsible for copying out his best cat facts from his cat book in different coloured felt pen. Daniel is also responsible for not swearing too loudly when the printer fails to connect to his laptop even though it connected ten fucking minutes ago, when Max said that was all the cat pictures he needed, Daniel, he can turn the laptop off thank you. Daniel's parents also receive the same cat presentation, except over Facetime, and if they get the answers wrong Max patiently coaches them until they know all the things they're supposed to know. It turns out everybody is better educated about cats afterwards. A learning experience for the whole family.

[magicalrocketships]

It's You And Me (I Know It's My Destiny) by sunsetmog

F1, Max Verstappen & Daniel Ricciardo (later will be Max/Daniel, but no underage), (19/?, an occasional series)

Going Small is relatively normal, all things considered. It happens to most people.

Max is not normal. Max is seven. Again.

AKA de-aged Max is now on AO3, and includes a little bit that hasn't been posted on Tumblr.

Thank you to Zoe (@flawlessassholes) for her banner (and sending me the close up of that Go Small business card!!!! Impeccable!!!) and for the title, which comes from the Pokemon theme song.

Here at AO3.

Includes all the currently posted fics from this verse (all these links are Tumblr links):

Max at Seven

Daniel at Seven

Max is Seven Again (for the first time)

Pikachu Shoes

The Jimmy or Sassy Cats

To Kart or Not To Kart

Nightlights

Max is Tiny Again (for the first time)

Max and Daniel go to the Zoo

Max is Seven Again (Again, Again)

Max and his Wellingtons (only at AO3)

Enchanted Light Trail

Max and Daniel Go Home

Max meeting baby Daniel again

Someone (Max) Needs a Hug

Meet the Parents

Waking Up

Max is big again

In which Daniel is sad, and Max and Daniel go on holiday

Tumblr asks not going on AO3 (a currently incomplete list)

Turning down a seat

How it ends

How Max feels about going small

Little Max gets a cat book

Cat facts presentation

and not forgetting Zoe's incredible Max and Pikachu art and accompanying ficlet in this verse, here.

[magicalrocketships]

please please please some baby max 🙏

Have a little (sort of) seasonally appropriate baby Max! It's jumping a little out of order.

To recap where we are: Daniel turned down a seat this year, Max is still running away when he's back to being grown up, and Daniel isn't dealing very well with the whole missing-Max-both-as-an-adult-and-a-child kind of a thing. This is just an excuse for writing a specific moment.

(this link shows the stuff I’ve already posted in chronological order if the tag isn't working.)

Daniel's woken by his phone after a fairly useless single hour's sleep. He considers, for a second, ignoring it. But it's Christian, so he doesn't. 

"Max has Gone Small," Christian says without bothering with anything nice like hello or how was your 18 hour flight the week between Christmas and New Year or how are you coping without a race seat for next year for the second year in a row. "How soon can you get here?"

Daniel presses his face into the hotel room pillow. "Where are you?" 

"HQ," Christian says. "Tell me your hotel and I'll send a car to pick you up."

Daniel can't remember where he's staying. 'London' probably isn't good enough. He fumbles for the room service menu on the desk, and reads out the hotel name. 

"I'll call you back with an ETA," Christian says. He's not been as nice to Daniel after Daniel turned down both Max's temporary seat cover and the AT seat for next year. He doesn't understand. "Max wants you." 

"Yeah," Daniel says. He stands, barefoot and just in his underwear, and looks at himself in the mirror. He's hollow eyed from lack of sleep. And, probably, a selection of prolonged bad choices. His heart pounds. "Tell Max I'm coming for him, okay? See if you can get him some tomato soup in a cup and something to colour. He likes both those things."

"On it," Christian says, and hangs up. 

Daniel — exhausted, underweight, jet lagged — gets in the shower with his phone ringer turned up high and the water temperature turned down low. He emerges, shivering, more awake and vaguely cleaner but not much else. He packs his stuff back into his suitcase, unplugs his charger, and checks for a message. There's a car on its way. Daniel gathers up his stuff, wheels his case back towards the lift and checks out of his hotel. He's barely been there two hours. 

He doesn't sleep in the car up to Milton Keynes. His knee bounces, and he taps out a rhythm on his thigh with his fingertips. He hasn't seen grown up Max in weeks, and little Max for longer than that. 

Daniel hasn't been right since the first time Max got big and left him. There's a hole in the middle of his chest where his heart should be. He's tried to fill it with all the normal things but nothing's worked. He's just sad. It's hard work to hide it. It's harder when he's tired. They were going to see each other this week, with Daniel fulfilling some of his puppet PR duties at the Red Bull New Year's Eve party alongside Max, but that might not be on the table anymore because Max has Gone Small again. 

His little boy. He's going to see him again. God. 

If he gets there before Max goes big again. 

HQ is mostly deserted. There are barely any cars in the car park. Christian's waiting for him at the main entrance, along with an assistant, who Daniel barely says hello to as she promises to get all of Daniel's bags out of the car. 

"Max is very unhappy," Christian warns him, as they go inside and towards the stairs. "Turned up this morning and was only here an hour before we all blinked and then he's fucking seven again. Just wants you." 

Daniel speeds up. He doesn't even know where he's going, where Max is waiting for him. "Did he eat anything?"

"Refuses," Christian says. 

They go through a locked door Christian has to wave a pass at to get through. Somewhere, far away, Daniel can hear a familiar little voice, raised. Upset. 

"Maxy-Max," he calls, hand cupped around his mouth. There is, for a moment, abrupt silence. There's a flight of stairs. Daniel takes them two at a time, but he's not fast enough because Max fucking barrels his way out of a room at the top of them and barely manages to stop himself falling headlong over a large fern in a plant pot and toppling down the stairs. 

"Daniel!" Max says, tearful and upset. "Daniel, my Daniel." He launches himself at Daniel, and Daniel catches him in a hug. Daniel drops to his knees and Max hugs him all wriggly and tight and het up and crying. He's in grown up Max's t-shirt, way too big, and grown up Max's socks, falling off his feet and making him slip-slide all over the place. Someone, somehow, has got him into a pair of Go Small shorts, but the fabric is itchy even to Daniel's hand, so Max must be hating it. 

"Hello, baby," Daniel says, kissing Max's cheek, his ear. He thumbs away a tear from Max's pink, flushed cheek. Another one. "I've missed you so much." 

Max just holds on tighter. "Can we go home now," he whispers, but Daniel can't take him home. All the Guardianship papers are in Monaco. All their Red Bull responsibilities are here, and even if Max doesn't have to put food on the table, Daniel's career is on indefinite hiatus and the money he's making now will have to last him. And Max doesn't stay like this. He doesn't stay with Daniel. 

"Not just yet," Daniel tells him. He hugs Max tighter, lifting him off the ground. Max tucks his face into Daniel's neck, wrapping his arms all around Daniel's neck. He gets to his feet, Max wrapping his legs around Daniel's waist and staying as close as possible. "Are you hungry, Maxy-Max?"

Max nods, his nose dragging over Daniel's neck. He doesn't feel warm either, and Daniel wants to find something to get him changed in to and get him something to eat. 

"Let's get you—" he says, but then he has to close his eyes really tightly. 

Max wriggles, and shifts, and when Daniel opens his eyes again, the Max in his arms is his toddler Max, his baby Max, his best little boy. He's gone smaller. 

"Hey," Daniel says softly. "Hey, baby."

Max rears back in Daniel's arms. He's pink and tearstained and very serious. He pats both his hands to Daniel's cheeks. Holds Daniel still. 

Daniel waits. He can be patient where Max is concerned. Can let him have whatever time he needs to do whatever it is he needs to do.  

"Daddy," Max says, and— 

And. 

Daniel's world is different now. It will be forever different. A before, and an after. 

"Hey," Daniel says, in the end, and Max looks at him and beams. 

Carries on here.

[magicalrocketships]

I adore your deaged max AU! Curious if while max is small, if daniel and him celebrate any holidays together? How does max feel about them? Do they establish any traditions? :)

I don't think this version of Max is particularly excited by Christmas, but he does like lights, and being with Daniel, so I've combined them together for them to have a little outing of their own. And because I personally love lights in the middle of winter.

This follows on - with a few days unaccounted for (because I haven't written them, but they've been staying with Christian and Geri) - from this part I posted yesterday. Max was a tiny toddler but now he's back to being seven.

(this link shows the stuff I’ve already posted in chronological order if the tag isn't working.)

Happy holidays, pals. 🧡

The day after New Year's Day, Daniel takes Max to visit an Enchanted Light Trail. It's only on for another couple of days, and a lot of local schools have gone back today so it's quiet when Daniel parks the car. It's already mostly dark, and Max, seven years old again and interested, almost stumbles out of the car. He's in his new wellington boots, with a puffy winter coat that Daniel has to spend two minutes talking him into getting zipped up. Then a scarf and a hat and gloves. Max is unconvinced by them all, especially the gloves, but when he sees Daniel wearing a pair too, he concedes to keep them on.

He slips his hand into Daniel's, and asks if it's going to be loud. Max doesn't always like loud. He's not loved sharing Daniel with the other people in Christian and Geri's house over the past few days, and he is not quite over being left behind with Monty and a babysitter when Daniel and the others went to the Red Bull New Year's Eve Extravaganza. So: a little treat that's just for Daniel and Max together, alone, now that Max is back to being seven.

"Not loud," Daniel says. "Just lots of nice lights, and a place to see animals, and we can have hot chocolate." He shoulders his backpack, which also has a thermos flask of tomato soup and some bread and butter in little pieces in a lunch box. He's learned from experience that Max will experiment with experiences more than he'll experiment with unfamiliar food in unfamiliar places. "But I've brought tomato soup too."

"Okay," Max says, only semi-dubiously. He's so serious sometimes. Daniel lets him think through whatever he's thinking about as they wander through the car park and up to the little ticket booth. He'd bought tickets for them online, so he only has to wave his phone screen at a bored teenager who wishes them a desultory happy new year to be given a little trail map and a token to get through the gate.

Daniel lets Max feed the token into the entrance gate, and then they're inside the farm park, and at the start of a path lined with trees wound with hundreds of tiny, coloured lights. The branches are also lined with lights, and even Daniel is almost floored by how pretty it is.

"Oh," Max says, in sheer unadulterated wonder.

Daniel for a single, desperate second, wants to cry. Every moment with Max might be his last. It had been awful enough when he'd been sitting next to a little chunky three year old Max a couple of days ago, and he'd had to squeeze his eyes shut and almost couldn't bear to open them again in case it was a grown up Max sitting next to him, desperate to get away from him.

But it was this Max, Daniel's Max, his seven year old, his favourite seven year old on the planet.

It doesn't mean grief doesn't sit, tentative and yearning, on the edge of everything he experiences.

"Do you like it, Maxy-Max?"

Max nods so hard his hat almost falls off, and Daniel has to stop to make sure it's on properly and keeping Max warm.

"Good," Daniel says, and he lets Max set the pace as they wander down the track towards the barns. The next part of the path doesn't have little Christmas lights, but the trees are lit in purples, greens, and are wrapped in starlight skies, little spotlights along the ground turning the trees into beautiful swathes of colour.

Max looks up at him in wonder. "Like the nightlight at home," he says, clutching Daniel's hand. The nightlight in Max's bedroom at Daniel's projects colours and stars across the ceiling. Max hasn't been home with Daniel in a while. It doesn't mean it isn't his home too. It'll always be his home, even if Max grows up and stays grown up and stays a long way away from Daniel like he does now.

"Just like the nightlight at home," Daniel agrees.

The Enchanted Light Trail is supposed to be a 60-90 minute experience, but it takes them almost half an hour even to reach the barns where the farm animals are. Max loves the colours, and the trees, and the lights — just like Daniel had hoped he would. Max had liked going to the zoo that time, and he likes colouring in, and he likes things that are just him and Daniel, so it had made sense when Daniel googled that this was the thing he would pick to get them out of Christian and Geri's hair for a bit.

If Max doesn't get big again in the few days or so, Daniel's taking him back to Monaco, and he doesn't care what Christian says about the pre-season work Max is supposed to be doing here. Daniel's Max's guardian, nobody else. And he wants to take Max home.

"What happens if you are scared?" Max asks, before they go into the barns. He always asks about Daniel being scared, and not him.

"If I'm scared or if you're scared," Daniel tells him, just like every time, "then we can come back out here. That's fine."

"Okay," Max says, and his face is a picture of fierce determination. Daniel's seen that face before, a hundred thousand times, before and after races. It's funny to see it reflected on such a little Max, a Max that just doesn't have any of grown up Max's competitive spirit in him. Daniel gives him a moment to acclimatise, and then Max nods and they go inside.

The barns have also been lit up in swathes of pretty colours. The animals seem quite happy, and they see the rabbits and the sheep and the goats. Max refuses to go near the goats, even though the farm staff say he can help feed them. That is a solid no, which Daniel understands entirely because the last time they met a goat together at the zoo that time, it had tried to eat Max's hair for dinner and Max had cried. Instead, they stand against the opposite wall of the barn, as far away from the goats as possible, and Trixie, who works at the farm, points out each of the goats in turn and tells Max their names.

Max puts up with this for three minutes, which Daniel counts as 150% a win, and then they say thank you and move on to the next barn. This one has cows in it, and one moos loudly as they come in. Max bravely does not nope out, but they stay away from the gates. One of the cows is called Strawberry, which Max finds hilarious. Daniel suggests some other very silly names for cows even as they go and look at the pigs and meet a horse dressed for the season in a big knitted scarf and blanket. There are chickens, and more rabbits, and a dog, which Daniel suspects isn't part of the attraction in general and that Max is very cautious of. Daniel is too, but he tries not to let it show.

Then it's time for the 'things to do' barn, which has some little tables for crafts and a cafe at the other side. Max doesn't want to make Christmas crafts and he doesn't want to join a table with other people on, but there are some tables with pictures to colour in and some crayons and pencils. He settles himself at one of the tables, and tells Daniel that it's okay if Daniel crosses the barn to get them some orange juice (Max) and some hot chocolate (Daniel). Daniel keeps turning around to find Max watching him with his little serious expression on, and so Daniel makes a series of increasingly silly faces just to make him laugh.

"You've got yourself a serious one too, then," the woman behind the counter says as he pays for their drinks. "Mine's the same."

"Yeah," Daniel says. "Best kid in the world, though."

"Fight you for it," the woman says, laughing, and that grief is back, hovering, desperate, endless. Daniel tries to smile. He wishes her a happy new year and goes back to sit beside Max, who's picked out a farm picture to colour, with lots of trees and some animals. He's got one for Daniel too. He doesn't want to try Daniel's hot chocolate, but he does like the smell. He's industriously colouring in one of the trees in purple — like the ones outside — when one of the farm staff comes over to ask if he'd like to make a tree at one of the craft tables.

"No, thank you," Max says, attention focused on his picture. "Me and my daddy are colouring."

Daniel has to swallow down an actual sob. "We're good here, thanks," he says. "But thank you."

After she leaves, Daniel has to use one of his hot chocolate napkins to blow his nose. Max looks up at him.

"Can we go home soon?" he asks.

"To Christian and Geri's house?"

"No," Max says, giving him a withering glance. "Our house, Daniel."

Daniel leans in and kisses the top of his head. "Yeah," he says. "Promise."

"Okay," Max says, content with Daniel's yes. Daniel doesn't lie to him. Except, maybe, about the growing hole in his chest. Max goes back to colouring. Daniel swallows, tries to get a hold of himself, and resorts to naming all of the animals in the picture the stupidest names he can think of, just to make Max laugh.

Later on, they walk along a little pathway through the lit-up woods, and drink a cup of tomato soup at a picnic table. Max is amazed at the idea of drinking soup outside in the dark. They don't stay at the table long because it's cold, but Daniel takes a thousand pictures of Max beaming at him, soup around his mouth, and lets Max take some of him in return.

"I love you," he tells Max as they walk back towards the car. It seems important to tell him, urgent, imperative.

Max swings their joined hands. He's got his coloured-in picture and a glowing stick with a star on it clutched in his other hand, a present from the farm shop. Daniel's got one too, and a bag with some in for Monty and Olivia and Bluebell even though Bluebell's probably too old for it.

"Love you, love you, love you," Max says back, kicking his feet in his new wellingtons. He looks up at Daniel, sleepy but happy, and Daniel's heart twists in his chest. "Can we go home now?"

"Tomorrow," Daniel says, making a decision. Fuck it all, he thinks. I'm taking Max home.

Thank you to Zoe and Lena for reading this through for me. 🧡

[magicalrocketships]

do you have any updates on baby max?

I have a little update about Daniel for you instead, which I hope will suffice :)

All earlier parts can be found in this masterpost and on AO3 here (and I feel weird about updating AO3 with a snippet this short, so I'll put this up whenever I write anything a bit longer in this verse!).

It's You And Me (I Know It's My Destiny): Waking Up

It's late when Daniel wakes up. The sun's shining through the windows, curving across his sheets, hitting his face. 

It's quiet. Too quiet. 

Max is always awake hours before now, and if Max isn't, then the Jimmy or Sassy cats are. 

Daniel knows before he gets up that Max is gone. That the cats are gone. But he checks anyway. The sheets are rucked up, half on and off Max's bed, Pikachu on the floor all caught up in a messy, trailing sheet. Daniel touches the bed but it's cold. Max's Pokemon pyjamas are on the floor by the wardrobe, the basket Daniel keeps on the top shelf with Max's grown up clothes has been rifled through and things taken. 

He picks Max's stuffed Pikachu up off the floor. Doesn't put him down again. 

In the hall cupboard, the cat carrier's gone. So are the cats, but not the unfinished remains of their food in the kitchen. Daniel puts the whole bowl straight in the bin. He doesn't bother to scrape it out. The litter tray hasn't been emptied either. 

In the living room, on the shelf in the corner, the little basket labelled Max has been taken down and tipped out on the counter. It's always got the contents of Max's pockets from when he went Small; his phone, his wallet, house keys. Daniel keeps his phone plugged in and charged because of all the fucking admin of being Max Verstappen's guardian. 

But it's gone now. Like Max. 

Daniel goes to sit back down on his bed. He picks up his phone and texts Max: are you ok and I'm assuming you're big again. 

He waits until the ticks turn blue. Watches the three dots appear and disappear. 

Max's message says, eventually, Yes. Thanks. 

Daniel nods, swallows, locks his phone, and buries his face in Pikachu's soft, loved fur. Then, carefully, he gets back into bed, pulls the sheets up over his head, and doesn't bother getting up again. 

[magicalrocketships]

How are de aged Max and Daniel doing?

I think about them at least once a day 🥹🥺

Me too, oh, me too. I think about them significantly more than I'm well enough to write them right now, but such is life and anyway, here is a new bit. This was part of something bigger but I think it works quite well by itself :)

All earlier parts can be found in this masterpost and on AO3 here (although i've got a couple of bits now to update on AO3).

It's You And Me (I Know It's My Destiny): Meet The Parents

Pretend you don't know anything about Pokemon, Daniel texts his mum. Max knows lots and lots. 

It might be harder if we had to pretend we did know anything about it, his mum texts back, but when Max climbs onto the seat next to him and asks if it's time to talk to Daniel's mum and dad yet, he looks nervous and a little bit shy. 

"You can go and play anytime you want," Daniel tells him, wrapping an arm around Max's shoulders. Max shakes his head. His cuddly Pikachu has come with him, Max clutching his paw under the table. 

"Are they nice?" Max asks, still holding on to his Pikachu. 

Daniel works quite hard not to let anything show on his face. "My mum and dad? I think so. I think they're very nice."

Max nods. He's been quiet all morning, following Daniel around like a little shadow. When Daniel presses the call button on his tablet, Max tucks his hand into Daniel's. The expression on his face is one that Daniel recognises from grown up Max; his bottom lip jutting out, his frown little and fierce. On grown up Max, it's determination, focus. On this Max, small Max, it's him being scared and trying not to show it. 

Daniel squeezes his hand, and Max, realising he can squeeze back, holds on for dear life. 

"I'll tell you a secret," Daniel whispers as the call rings out, "I don’t think my mum or dad can name a single Pokémon. I bet they haven’t even heard of Pikachu."

Max's eyes widen. 

"I know," Daniel says solemnly, as the call connects. "I think you'll have to tell them all about it."

Max's grip on Daniel's hand doesn't loosen, but he looks serious. He pulls Pikachu onto his knee. 

Daniel leans down and kisses the top of Max's head, and that's the first thing his parents see, Max looking up at him quizzically, Daniel grinning down at him. 

It doesn't matter. They know Daniel's fucked up over this kid. His kid. Legally his for the whole time he stays small. 

There are moments — fleeting but nevertheless there — where Daniel wishes Max wasn't ever going to go big again. 

Losing this is going to break his fucking heart. 

"Hi Mum, Dad," he says, one arm around Max's shoulders. "This is Max."

"And this is Pikachu," Max says, looking up at Daniel uncertainly. 

Daniel winks at him, and Max grins. 

Thanks to @writesharriet for a little bit of Pokemon grammar, and @andwegogreen for reviewing multiple versions of the final sentence. it takes a village etc etc even for a little Tumblr post.

[magicalrocketships]

Okay but …. I want the bit where people are worried about Daniel, even though it will cause me immense pain, because I too read this and feel worried about him and how he was after the impact of losing small Max originally and then how having small Max back is going to drag him back to that dark place all over when Max inevitably goes big again

You can have a little bit of people worrying about Daniel! This has been sitting in my file for ages but I'm not sure quite where it fitted and I was going to come back to it, so it's just a little snippet.

Similar in tone to Waking Up, where Daniel wakes up and Max is big again and he's gone. This is a different Max going big, though, from later on (hope nobody is asking for a clear timeline with some of these bits and pieces, we're jumping all over the place, and I know vaguely where they'd fit if I ever put it together into something cohesive). Also Scotty is in Monaco, which is where he lives. At this time. In this fic. Okay, cool. We're all on the same page.

All earlier parts can be found either in this masterpost or on AO3 here.

Max is big again.

Max is on his way back from playing padel when somebody grabs his elbow. 

He's half way to shoving them away when he realises it's that dickhead friend of Daniel's, Scotty. "What the fuck?" Max says, but Scotty looks urgent. 

"Where's Daniel?" he asks. 

Max makes a big show of looking around him. "Why the fuck should I know, he is an adult."

"No," Scotty says, and Scotty is an idiot, Scotty is always an idiot, but today he is being a weird idiot. "When did you stop being a kid?"

Max does not go red. He doesn't get embarrassed but he'd rather not think about that stupid baby Max. "It is none of your business."

"Fuck you," Scotty says, which is a stupid thing to say because Scotty stopped him and Scotty is still holding on tight to Max's arm. Scotty has his phone out and he's telling Siri to call Daniel except he calls him 'D.R' which is not Daniel's name. "D.R., mate, fucking call me back. I've just seen Max so I know you're not parenting it up anymore."

Max flinches. 

Scotty hangs up. He thumbs a text, but still does not let Max go. Then there is another phone call. Another grim stare from Scotty as he waits for someone to answer the phone. 

"Michelle, sorry, I know, it's late for you. Have you heard from D.R.? I've just found fucking Max in the fucking street. No. Not fucking kid Max, fucking normal sized Max. I know, fucking hell. He's not answering his phone." Scotty is not letting Max go. "Fuck. What about your parents? Max, how long have you been back?"

"Three days," Max says. His heart is beating hard and he doesn't know why. 

"Fuck," Scotty says. "Did you hear that? He's been by himself for three fucking days."

Max's entire body goes cold. They are talking about Daniel and they are scared, and Max doesn't know why.