Chapter Text
The buzz of the plane combined with the rushing of his ears made him feel as though he was underwater. All other background noise muffled and received at a delay. With each passing moment he felt as though the temperature was steadily climbing. Making him feel as though he was boiling alive. Max shifted restlessly in his seat, stretching him feet out to lay on the seat in front of him while he stared out the window begging the nausea to stay at bay. Max briefly thought about asking the temperature to be lowered a third time but didn't want to seem rude. He just wanted everything to stop. He wanted to be curled up in his bed with cats not headed for singapore.
He was brought out of his misery when he felt his feet being pushed to the side and someone drop down into the seat. He didn't turn towards his new companion but went to pull his feet down so that they could be comfortable. Surprise had him turning to whoever joined him when they caught his feet from falling and pulled them into their lap. He met the soft smile of his trainer.
"Hey" Rupert whispered to him, face gentle.
"Hi" Max croaked back, wincing at how bad he sounded.
"So you gonna finally tell me what's the matter? Or are we gonna still pretend that everything is dandy" Never in his life has Max been less grateful for Rupert's ability to pick up on his tells.
"Nothing, it's just really hot in here today" he replied. Rupert couldn't help but raise his eyebrow in disbelief.
"Max, darling it's is absolutely bloody freezing in here" Rupert said as he dropped his hands to begin massaging Max's calves. It was only then did he notice the sweatshirt that Rupert was wearing. Max couldn't help the sigh he let out. It felt amazing, his aching muscles have been screaming for relief for days now. He didn't know what to say. If he admitted to being sick Rupert won't want him to race but he absolutely hated lying to anyone close to him.
"I..." Max started "I just haven't been feeling well" He was hit with instant regret when Rupert's soft eyes went sharp and calculating, roving over him.
"How long" Rupert's voice was still soft but there was a sharpness that wasn't there before. It caused Max to tense up. He never liked being the subject of scrutiny especially when he couldn't understand if someone was mad at him. It made him anxious. Rupert must have noticed because he started kneading harder at his muscles "Its okay I just need to know what I'm working with here." Voice back to being soft and gentle.
"On the way back from Baku, I started to get nauseous. I thought it would pass" Max glanced up before dropping his gaze again.
"Did it get better?"
"A little"
"Okay..." Rupert blew out a breath. Max snuck a quick glance at him where he seemed to be nodding to himself "What else is bothering you? Other than being
hot" The urge to make a joke was strong but Max was just too tired and he wanted to spill to Rupert about how horrible he was feeling so that he could make it better but he couldn't risk the chance of not racing.
"I'm driving this Sunday" Max ground out attempting to pull his legs away from his hands but Rupert was having none of it. Instead he simply tightened his grip until Max gave up and then continued with his message, working his way up the leg.
"I never said you weren't, all I asked was what else is bothering you? This is Singapore, one of the most physically demanding races of the season. We have to be prepared"
"I just..." Max paused to finally look up again "I feel run down. My muscles ache like hell. I still feel nauseous and nothing is helping. I'm so hot just sitting here. I have a headache that won't go away" By the end Max could tell that he was whining but he didn't give a damn. He did have enough awareness to hold back the dizzy and faint feelings he had been experiencing.
"Oh Maxy" Rupert had gone back to being completely soft. The message fading to him simply rubbing up and down Max's legs trying to bring whatever comfort he could. "It's gonna be okay. We are going to figure this out. Why don't you sleep for the rest of the flight? We got 4 hours left. We will deal with the rest when we land" Max could only nod at that too tired to do much else. Max easily gave into the exhaustion quickly drifting off.
Rupert watched as Max slept, worry rooting in his heart. Max looked horrible. His under eyes were so dark they looked bruised. He knew he should have said something earlier but he knew that if he confronted Max before he was ready it wouldn't end well. Max would become agitated and withdraw onto himself. He was skittish like that. Max would wait until he was half dead or sobbing in pain before he ever alerted anyone for help. It broke Rupert's heart to know why and to watch him put himself through that.
When Max started shivering, Rupert gently shifted his legs off of him and back down to the seats so that he could grab a blanket. His heart clenched at the whine Max let out at the loss of contact.
Moving quickly Rupert alerted on the crew members to turn up the heat and grabbed the thickest blanket there was to wrap around Max. He was so out of it, he didn't even stir when Rupert moved him except to lean into the touch. Once Rupert felt as though Max was adequately covered and could feel the plane warming up finally, he settled back into his seat to text GP.
He finally admitted to not feeling well.
Oh? By himself?
Rupert cringed a little at that because GP was the one to caution him against directly comforting him.
No but he kept asking for the temperature to lowered. The plane was freezing and he looked like death. He only snapped a little.
?
Just saying that I couldn't stop him from racing on Sunday. He calmed down when I said I wasn't trying
to stop him. He admitted to feeling nauseous, feeling like he was burning up (he's shivering now), a headache, and achy muscles.
So we know there are at least 3 more things that he isn't telling us.
Also did you give him a blanket?
Yes of course I did.
He sleeping now. And yeah he's definitely holding something back.
Ok I'll warn the mechanics to keep an eye out and I'll meet you at the hotel.
Rupert hearted the message before pocketing his phone and relaxing back into his seat. He figured he might as get some rest before they landed in Singapore and he was busy for the rest of the weekend making sure Max didn't work himself into an early grave.