Chapter Text
"I swear to God, Arthur—," Max barges into his office, thunderous expression on his face as he paces around the desk. Arthur can tell Max is seriously pissed, and with how professional he has always been, he is pretty sure the only reason he has lost composure is that... It's about Charles, his brother.
And their childhood friend. Well, his brother's really, or was, but whatever.
"What happened now?" Arthur sighs; he is not exactly looking forward to hearing Max vent about how annoying, terrible, fuckboy his brother is every time Charles does something stupid. But it must be something if Max foregoes the formality of calling him Sir as he insists on doing.
"Why is your fuck-up of a brother coming HERE?"
"...Oh." Fuck. Arthur completely forgot about that. Max looks at him with pure rage once he realizes Arthur knew about this catastrophe and didn't tell him. "Wait—Wait! Mom told me he was thinking of visiting me, but I told her to tell him no, since I will be leaving for the Palace next month. And I know you will... well, explode at that—"
"I do not explode—"
"So, what's happening right now?"
"I—That's—" Max narrows his eyes again, Arthur swallows at that, the Dutchman can be scary when he wants to be—even though he is the Royalty here. He'd terrify the whole of Monaco if he wanted to. "That's not the point. Why the fuck is he coming here? And—you know what? It doesn't matter. I am applying for emergency leave right the fuck now, until that waste of space is out of here."
Arthur shivers at the fury in his voice. And, also, at the blatant disrespect of the Crowned Prince. Not that Arthur minds. He enjoys it mostly, but not when it's directed at him; he cannot understand how Charles manages to deal with Max like this, all the time. Sometimes, he thinks Charles... enjoys it. Which is—well, not that unthinkable if it comes to how Charles is twisted inside.
"You can't do that, Max, I need you here—you were going to help me with the paperwork, remember?" Max deflates at that; he does remember, unfortunately. Arthur had rescued him from the stupid media and public crowd that had suddenly hounded him for no reason. Okay, for some reason. The whole thing was apparently chivalrous as he saved a few people in the building. But that's his job, why the fuck does he need applause for that?
"Well, I can take some home," He counters. "If I apply for pre-heat reasons, no one can stop me."
"Your heat is literally next month, Max."
"Or is it?" Max grins, eyes brightening at the best possible escape he can plan at the moment. He doesn't know when that menace will arrive, so it's better to hasten the preparation. "You can never know for sure, with biology, you know..."
"Didn't you say just two days ago, how bullshit biology is?" Arthur deadpans.
"False. Rumors."
"Verstappen, I swear to God—"
"Bonjour," A voice cuts between their argument. The familiarity brings terror in Max's eyes—which would be really funny, but not when Max looks like he is ready to burn the whole building. "It sure is lively today."
"Brother," Arthur smiles, getting up to hug him. He can see tight security behind the half-closed door as Charles saunters inside and picks a seat right in front of Max. They hug for a few seconds; it had been a while since they saw each other. Arthur pulls away and moves out of the battlefield. Shaking his head when he sees Charles innocently turning to Max, with a cheerful smile on his face.
"...Leclerc," Max grits out. He doesn't bow, like he is obliged to, hands fisted at the side, trying his best to remain calm until he can fuck off this place.
"Just as mannerless, huh?"
"Fuck you, Leclerc."
"Oh? Really? Well—"
"Why are you here, brother?" Arthur quickly intercepts; he doesn't want this to escalate. The last time, they had destroyed the dining room.
"What? I can't come to visit my little brother?" The pair of incredulous looks he receives at that makes him chuckle. Before he can continue, Max slams his hands on the desk, his smile tight as he ignores Charles.
"Sir," He says, more like orders, Arthur observes with fear, "My leave application."
"...Yeah alright, you can—"
"Actually, he cannot," Charles interrupts, "he will be accompanying me along the streets of Monaco, since it's so dangerous." Arthur snickers at that; his brother is the last person who needs protection—the power that comes with being a pureblood Alpha is a hundred times more formidable against any human. "See, got the queen to sign on it."
"You know what?" Arthur snaps, he can see Max is about to tear off the place, and Charles looks like a cat that got the cream, he doesn't have to deal with this crap. "I have work. Sort this out among yourselves."
"W—Wait, you can't leave—" Arthur slows down at that. Did he just hear Max worried? No, no, that's not possible. Why would Max be worried?
"Cool, see you later, brother." Charles smiles his best PR smile, which means he is up to no good as he pushes Arthur out of his own office—Arthur scoffs, but it's better than being stuck between them.
"So," Charles begins, as he approaches Max slowly, his sea green eyes darkening the closer he gets. "Where were we?" Max takes a step back, cursing himself when he does, for showing weakness, but Charles overpowering scent is taking over the room, and his pheromones are hard to ignore—hard enough that he bumps into the wall behind without even realizing.
“S—Stay back, Leclerc, or I will—”
“What will you do, my omega?” Max stutters at that. The intensity is too much; just that word still has the power to shake his foundation. He knows he has been running out of time, and the more he tries to avoid Charles. He knows that every successful escape is just another step closer to the inevitability of them.
“I don’t belong to anyone,” he sneers, weakly, but he does, refusing to shake in front of him—not because Charles is the most powerful Alpha in Monaco, but because he is Charles. Charles Leclerc. The one who lays ruin everywhere he goes. Then, Charles is on him, sharp smirk on his lips, eyes narrowed dangerously, bracketing him to the wall. It gets too much.
“You were mine when I first took you when we were seventeen, you were mine when you left for the war running away from me, you were mine when you came back broken and jagged, you were mine when you swore loyalty to the Leclerc Kingdom… you can hide in the deepest corner of this world, but nothing can save you from the fact that you are mine.”