Chapter Text
"Is that near Cornwall?"
Lando spoke as he bit into his cheese sandwich. It was a little dry but he preferred it that way, his brother always had too much butter so it tasted slippery and yucky.
"What's Cornwall?"
Max sat alongside him on the ground near the grass with his own sandwich, it smelled weird but his friend seemed to like eating it. There were crumbs down his coat but Lando didn't point it out, didn't want to make his friend embarrassed or mad.
Lando thought about his question before answering. He knew Cornwall was where his family normally went on holidays. They used to go to France or Spain but since little Cisca had been born they apparently preferred closer places. He remembered feeling happy and running around with his siblings there.
"It's got beaches and ice cream." Lando settled with. It was a good description of his holidays, sand and vanilla.
Lando watched as his friend nodded with his mouth full. He was glad it wasn't raining so they could sit a bit further away from everyone under their tents. It meant the other boys wouldn't come and find them and tease them about their packed lunches. Especially the Italian boys, they always gave them judgy looks at their sandwiches.
"Well in mine there was a really nice beach and I made a huge sandcastle but then the sea came and it melted." Max replied as he wiped his face with his hand.
"Oh no," Lando said in response, frowning in sadness for his friend. He bet Max had tried really hard to make a sandcastle and the stupid sea ruined that for him. "That's really sad."
"It's okay because then my dad said I could play in the sea if I was good."
Lando smiled at that as he offered the crusts of his sandwich to Max. His friend ate them quickly and didn't even flinch at the taste, he was incredible.
"Once some seaweed touched my leg in the sea and I nearly threw up." Lando added solemnly. The memory still made him shiver. No one had warned him that the ocean was filled with slimy gunk. His brother had laughed at him as he gagged and tried to throw some of it at his head until his mum told him off.
"That's gross. Was that in Cornwall?"
"Yeah." Lando said with a nod. He briefly glanced over at his friend, not making too much eye contact so he wasn't scared off or anything, and noticed he had already opened his chocolate before he'd started his crisps. A bit weird but whatever.
"Maybe Cornwall is near where I lived 'cause I went swimming in the sea as well." Max responded. Lando loved how confident he sounded when he spoke, like he knew everything he said was right. "Let's ask your dad or something."
The two boys quickly gulped their lunches down, Lando offering Max his Cheese String and raisins. One because raisins were gross and two Lando knew Max liked cheese loads more than him.
They rushed back towards the canopies carrying their lunch boxes by their side, looking intently for an adult they knew. There were a few dads talking together near the food truck, some with chips in hand or holding massive burgers dripping with oil. Lando knew they weren't healthy and that he wasn't allowed to eat that if he wanted to do well this season.
"Hey, Lando's Dad?" Max asked as he ran up to the man wearing a black coat and pulled on his sleeve. "Hi."
Lando's father looked down at the boys with a smile and stepped a little away from the group. Lando hoped he hadn't interrupted anything important, they could have been discussing serious, adult stuff.
"Hi, Max." He said as he ruffled Lando's hair. It was so embarrassing when he did that, like Lando's hair didn't look bad enough after sitting in the humidity all morning. "You two having fun?"
Lando nodded as he thought back to the lovely, quiet moments him and Max had shared already. Having someone who put up with him made race weekends so much better than before.
He watched as his friend held his head high and took his hands out his pockets to ask their question. He was so glad Max was there to speak for him, it made him feel calm and warm like he was having a bath or something.
"Is Cornwall near to Singapore?" Max asked with his chest puffed out but with a quizzical expression. His freckles were just as dark even without the sun lighting them up.
"Huh?" His father replied in confusion.
Lando stepped next to his friend and pulled down at his own sleeves when he saw how many other adults were around.
"Cornwall. The place with the seaweed." Lando said quietly, backing up his friend's question.
His dad looked between the pair and laughed softly but not in the mean way like sometimes people did to them.
"Boys, Cornwall is nowhere near Singapore. They're in different parts of the world." He answered gently, annoying Lando again by ruffling his hair.
"Oh."
Lando was pretty sad that they weren't near each other. He thought Max might want to go on holiday with them if it was near his home country but now he'd have to find another excuse.
"But they both have beaches?" Lando tried as Max crossed his arms across his chest. Oh no, now Max wasn't happy - why wasn't Cornwall near Max's old house?
"There's beaches all over the world, guys. Pretty sure Singapore's ones are a lot nicer as well."
"Yeah, Singapore is great." Max said proudly, dropping his hands down and smiling brightly.
Maybe when Max's family go back to visit, Lando might be able to come. Probably not, but maybe they'd take some pictures to show him when they get home. Lando turned to face him.
"Is there seaweed though?" Lando asked wearily. He definitely didn't want to go if the seaweed was bad.
"I don't think so." His friend said after briefly thinking about it.
If Max couldn't even remember then it probably wasn't that bad. And anyway, Lando would put up with loads of seaweed if it meant him and Max could go together to Max's old house. He knew how special it was to his friend.
"Dad, can we move to Singapore?" Lando asked because obviously that was the only solution. Max missed his old home and Lando didn't want him to be alone there. "Max says it's really cool there and he said the zoo has these monkeys that sing or something?"
His dad made that face he did when he didn't want to tell him bad news. It was like when he told Flo her horsey was hurt or that time he told Lando about why he wasn't allowed to wear that pink top he liked to the track. Maybe Singapore was up North or something, his dad always said he didn't want to move up there.
"Tell you what…" Lando's father said with an enthusiastic clap. It instantly made Lando feel excited. "I'll take you both to Bristol Zoo next time there's a weekend in England, alright? There's monkeys."
"Thank you so much, Lando's Dad." Max shouted loudly, getting the attention of some of the nearby adults. Lando blushed a little as they looked over but his chest felt all light at how happy Max looked. He concentrated on his friend's smile and sure enough the others didn't matter anymore.
"Thanks, Dad."
***
"So what did you even do in Singapore? Did you have a house?"
Lando and Max were sitting together in the garden, it wasn't sunny but it also wasn't freezing. The day at the zoo had been fun, Max had taught him about something called 'evolution' and Lando taught him which flavour ice cream was the best- obviously strawberry with blue sauce.
"Duh! My house was really big and I had a bedroom that was super epic. Blue walls and everything" Max said as he drew a line in chalk in front of him.
Their game of noughts and crosses wasn't that exciting, especially because Max kept winning, but it was alright because Lando got to draw patterns on the concrete.
Lando liked watching Max using the chalk, he wasn't scared about getting a bit dusty and he never made that horrible noise with it that made Lando want to scratch his ears off. Even if he kept beating him at the game, it was nice to spend some more time together before Max's mum came to pick him up.
"Did you have to go to school?"
"Yeah, sometimes." Max replied with a nod. Lando looked at his friend in understanding, sometimes he had to go to stupid school too. He wished Max went to his school, it would make it so cool. "But I used to help my dad in his workshop lots and lots so I didn't even go that much."
"That's sick," Lando said quietly. He didn't want their day to end, tomorrow was going to be so boring without his friend to talk and play with.
Even Ollie had told him he was being less weird now that Max was around, apparently he was more normal. Lando smiled about that because he had been practising his conversations in his bedroom at night, trying to get better at talking for Max, and it maybe was actually working.
"Is your dad nice?" Lando asked casually, internally hoping Max's dad was nice because sometimes at karting parents were mean. Like, really shouting or hitting, mean.
"Yeah, he's alright. He's busy with work a lot."
Lando remembered the few times Max's dad had left him at the karting track to go off to work, just his older brother there to cheer him on.
Lando couldn't really relate because, yeah, his dad was always sending emails and taking phone calls, but he spent loads of time with him and his siblings. It was his mother who was busier but even she was never too busy for them.
There was a lull, a silence Lando ached to fill before it got awkward. There weren't supposed to be silences and stop-starts in conversations, Lando knew that. So he just said the first thing in his head.
"My dad got Swine Flu before so Ollie called him a pig and he got really mad but me and Mum laughed in secret anyway." Lando recalled to his friend, hoping to get a smile.
Max stopped his drawing and looked up.
"What's Swine Flu?" He asked.
Lando thought for a moment and then shrugged.
"I don't know but we had to be really nice to him 'cos his head hurt and he didn't wanna get out of bed. It's like some weird disease thing, everyone was worried about it."
The wind was picking up a bit more so Lando wrapped his hoodie closer around himself, confused how Max was sitting there in just a top. He hoped he wasn't too cold. Lando wanted to offer one of his own jumpers from upstairs but he didn’t know if he was allowed.
"Did he die?" Max asked worriedly.
Lando didn't want to make Max feel stupid but he was pretty sure Max knew his dad wasn't dead, he'd been walking around the zoo with him all day. Unless he was dead and only Lando could see him like in that film Ollie made him watch that gave him nightmares for ages. No, he was sure his dad wasn't dead.
"No." Lando replied, restraining the urge to call him silly just in case he didn't realise it wasn't really serious. He needed to keep Max as his friend and didn't need to mess it up by making him feel angry. "Is your mum nice?"
"My mum's the best." Max responded with a smile, he moved the chalks a bit away from them and led down on the ground.
Lando nodded, his mum was the actual best but maybe Max's was in second place.
"Does she make cakes?" Lando asked as he thought about the biscuits and stuff his mum would normally make for him. Sometimes she even let him help.
Lando led down next to Max, he shuffled closer to him so maybe his warmth would keep the goosebumps away from Max's arms.
"No but she taught me to roller-skate."
"What's that?" Lando asked in confusion. It sounded weird. He hoped it wasn't some silly adult game he didn't understand like that time his uncle tried to teach him about poker.
"Roller-skating." Max replied, turning his head to face Lando. The floor wasn't that comfortable but Max seemed to be enjoying it so Lando stayed still. "It's like you have these shoes with wheels and go really fast down hills and stuff."
Why hadn't Lando heard about this crazy sport before? It sounded like karting without the kart!
"That's epic!"
Lando imagined going around that circuit in Yeovil he liked on the shoes with wheels, overtaking Max and battling around the corners.
"Yeah and I was so good at it." Max said with his bright smile. Lando believed him because he was amazing in a kart as well. "I still have all my stuff back at my new home. Think it's in a box somewhere."
Lando didn't dare think Max would let him see it. He seemed to really care about his rolling-skatering-thing and Lando was just pleased to hear about it.
"Boys!" Was shouted from through the window above them. They both sat up and looked towards it. "Max's mummy is here."
Lando said a sad goodbye as Max got into the backseat of his mum's black car. He was going to miss him so much, but at least they had each other's numbers and BBM pins now. Lando had to ask his mum for more credit though, he'd spent all of his last week messaging Max about their planned zoo trip.
"I'll see you in Italy, right? In two weeks?" Lando sheepishly asked, a bit intimidated by Max's mum who was asking his parents about their trip. He hoped they were saying nice things about it and not mentioning that bit when Lando forgot his backpack over by the gorillas and they had to run back for it.
"Of course, Bob," his friend replied with his amazing smile. He didn't want to be weird and ask for a picture of him smiling so he just settled for a hug. They squeezed each other as tightly as they could and laughed when Lando nearly fell over into Max. "It won't even be that long, don't worry."
Max's mum came over then and checked his friend's seatbelt like he wasn't fully capable of doing it himself. Of course Lando didn't say that and, with a second to think, he was actually pretty grateful she wanted to keep Max safe.
"Mum?" Max suddenly asked, stopping the door from closing. "We need to find the box with my roller-skating shoes so I can teach Lando."
Lando's fingers felt a little numb as he smiled. Max wanted to share his shoe-wheels with him.
"Okie dokie, Maxy." His mum replied, shutting the car door as a few raindrops started to fall. Max rolled down the window and leaned slightly out of it. "We'll have to arrange for him to come over sometime soon."
Lando desperately wanted to tell her that it was alright and he didn't need to use Max's things or stay at their house - he didn't want to cause any problems. But that thing that stopped him from talking to people surrounded him, made him too scared to even nod politely. They probably thought he was rude and spoiled because he wasn't saying thank you.
"See you later, Max." Lando's dad said with a wave. It looked like he wanted to go shield from the rain inside and keep watching his fishing show in the living room. "Tell your dad I said hello. We'll have to grab a pint next time he's around."
Max waved back to Lando's parents and thanked them for the trip. Lando wasn't even jealous about his confidence, just in awe of how seemingly easy it was for him to speak to adults.
Lando took a breath and tried to ignore the others and just focus on Max. He walked up to the open window and hooked his fingers into it.
"Bye, Max." Lando whispered, hoping his friend could hear him over the rain that was getting heavier. "I'll miss you."
Max pushed his arms out his seatbelt and leant dangerously out the window to wrap his arms around Lando's neck.
"I'll miss you too."
***
"You're being a baby."
"No I'm not!"
"Well, even babies could do this."
"I don't think babies can walk, Max."
Roller-skating wasn't as fun as Lando had first thought. The shoe-wheels were a lot more scary in person and the dreams of overtaking Max in them were long gone as Lando struggled to even stand up.
Max had found him a pair he grew out of a few years ago that fit Lando, they were yellow and green and reminded him of a can of Sprite. Max explained that because they had four wheels it would be easier for him to balance. They also had Max's name written on the sides which Lando found super cool.
Max's mum told him to wear elbow and knee pads so he didn't cut them and one of Max's karting helmets. Lando thought he looked a bit like a robot in all the gear and with wheels on his feet... until he tried to stand up and felt just like an idiot.
"Put your arms out and bend your knees." Max instructed, standing there in his own dark blue shoes and matching pads. His wheels were in one line and smaller than Lando's which apparently meant they were pro. "Just stand up straight and don't fall over."
With a bit more advice and some assistance from Max, Lando eventually learned to stand up without immediately falling down. He couldn't really move on his own though so had to hold Max's hands as he pulled him along. It made his hands a bit sweaty but Max didn't mention it.
"You're getting better," Max said reassuringly as he tried to let go of Lando. He wasn't about to just kill himself though so Lando grabbed his friend's arm as hard as he could. "I know you can do it."
He let Max's words sink it and tried to find the bravery he got behind the wheel of his kart. It helped that he was in a helmet, maybe he could pretend he wasn't on a road by Max's house and was actually on track fighting for P1.
Lando looked into Max's eyes and breathed out slowly. He focused on his body weight and the feeling through the ground, praying his muscles gave him the balance to not make a fool of himself.
With his calming smile, Max pulled him along slightly and gently let go. This time Lando let him.
Rolling across the concrete didn't exactly feel like flying like Max described it but it made him feel weightless and a bit manic. It was thrilling to roll across the ground and even better when it was towards the open arms of his friend who was whooping and shouting praise.
"You're doing it!" He heard as he built up a little more speed. He focused on bending his legs and concentrated really hard on the pride in his friend's eyes. Max moved out of his way with a smile. "Keep going!"
Yeah, it wasn't as great as karting was but Lando really loved doing something his friend liked. Maybe when he got a bit better they could skate around together really fast on weekends and make the other competitors jealous of how cool they were.
Lando managed the bend in the road well, his father would be proud of the apex he hit, but the longer he rolled the faster he was getting.
He didn't want to seem like a baby though so kept on going, flying past the trees and parked cars with ever increasing speed as the decline got steeper. Max's voice sounded a little more distant as he went so he looked back to make sure he was still there.
That had been a mistake. He wasn't really that good enough at the whole roller-skating thing to just stop looking where he was going.
"Lando!" He heard Max shout as he turned to face him. The smile on his face wasn't there anymore which made Lando begin to panic. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be going that fast?
Before he could reply, something inside his brain told him to turn back around. He was met with the sight of a wooden fence panel a few feet in front of him.
His first instinct was to press down on his left foot like in his kart but obviously that didn't work. There was no rear axle or pedals or anything to slow him down. It just made him swerve dramatically, now approaching the panel basically sideways. The curve should have slowed him a bit but Lando knew it wouldn't be enough to stop the impact.
He braced, tucking his head to his chest and bringing his forearms up so he didn't snap his wrists trying to catch himself.
Lando could feel his elbow take most of his weight followed by his hips as they followed the slam into the panel. The explosion of pain echoed through his right arm into his shoulder as he finally came to a stop against the fence. He slid towards the ground in a pile of ouch.
The force of the wooden panel wasn't as bad as hitting a tyre barrier but it still took his breath away.
"Lando!" He heard again, louder than before now the wind wasn't rushing past. He finally opened his eyes and watched his friend running towards him. "Are you alright?"
Lando nodded as he cradled his elbow, grateful that the pad was there to protect it from worse pain. It didn't feel broken, just a bit bashed up.
He unclipped the helmet and pulled it off his head, carefully putting it down next to his legs.
Max threw himself down next to Lando and grabbed at him, checking he wasn't too hurt. They both took off their shoes and together pulled Lando up to his feet, thankfully more balanced on his socks.
Embarrassment burned his skin as he looked around at the houses on the road. Even though the windows weren't open and no one was really about, it felt like everyone was staring at him and laughing.
Max helped wipe some dry leaves and gravel off Lando's clothes as they started making their way back up the road. Max held the helmet in one hand and held Lando with the other. The pressure from the hand around Lando's waist was pleasant, he could feel how strong Max was and how warm he made him feel. He was thankful his friend was there to help.
"Oh," Max spoke quietly as he looked behind him.
It was difficult to twist around to follow his eyeline without getting out of Max's grip but Lando managed to turn his head just enough to see the scene.
He looked back at the sight of his crash and his mind halted.
The fence panel was cracked and split open, ugly wooden splinters in chunks on the ground beneath it. He could see through the jagged gaps into a garden with a small slide and trampoline.
"It's alright," he heard his friend say. Max’s voice sounded distorted like he was under the water in a swimming pool.
Lando thought about the children that probably lived in that house and how sad they were going to be because their fence was broken. How sad they were going to be because Lando was an idiot and couldn't even roller-skate.
He thought about the parents that lived there and how angry they were going to be. How much effort it would be to fix it and the money they would have to spend. He knew people didn't always have the money to buy new things like he could, maybe they wouldn't be able to afford to get it fixed properly and it would all be Lando's fault. Maybe the money they would use to fix it could mean they couldn't afford food or heating or something.
Or maybe an animal might get into the hole in the fence and hurt someone. He didn't want that family to be bitten by a dog or bear or something. And what if the bites got infected and they had to go to hospital or what if they died - all because of him. He didn't mean to ruin their lives.
Lando tasted the salt of his tears before even realising he had started crying. He was such a baby. He couldn't look away from the mess he made, the destruction he'd caused from being stupid and untalented.
"Don't worry..." He heard distantly from his friend, maybe he was quieter because Max had run away from him. Maybe he didn't want to be seen with Lando anymore, didn't want to be friends with someone who couldn't even skate properly. Someone that was so -
"Lando!"
He turned at the shout and was met with a worried-looking Max. Great, now he'd made his friend feel bad as well. At least he hadn't run away yet.
Lando tried to look back towards his mess but a hand pushed his face back.
"Are you alright?" Max asked as he looked Lando up and down with a cold hand against his cheek.
Lando thought about it and couldn't find an answer. Was he alright?
His hands were a bit tingly but maybe that was from the crash. His head was pounding and his chest really hurt. Oh no, maybe he had injured himself or was having a heart attack and wouldn't be able to kart this weekend and his dad would be mad and his mother would blame Max and not let him see him anymore and then he'd be sad and -
"Lando, you're really scaring me. What's wrong?"
With a dry mouth and teary eyes he looked desperately at his friend. He wished he knew what was going on. His brain was all cloudy and he felt a bit like a hamster stuck on its wheel, thoughts spinning and spinning. It wasn't giving him enough time to think about breathing.
Lando couldn't feel the tips of his fingers anymore and his legs were like jelly, like gross, sugar-free jelly with fruit in it. It felt like he couldn't catch his breath, like that moment you stop breathing before doing something exciting but… bad. Really bad.
"Mum!" He heard shouted next to his ear. He wanted to move away from the sound but his body wouldn't do anything, just kept swirling his brain around like it was in a mixing bowl.
He couldn't get any words out to reassure his friend who was looking terrified. He wished he could have a hug or hand ruffle in his hair or a Max smile or anything to make him feel better.
It felt like there was a monster's giant hand twisting his chest as he tried again to take a deep breath and failed.
This was it, he was just going to die. He was going to die wearing knee pads and no socks and his old Ben10 underwear and nobody could save him.
The sound of quick footsteps and murmured voices echoed as the world got a little darker around him.
He didn't want to die but at least he had a good last day.
***
Lando woke up, not dead, a while later.
He was tucked in a bed with space rocket covers that were soft and comfortable. His head felt a little foggy but he could breathe and wiggle his fingers and toes.
The glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling were dull in the daylight but Lando thought they were cool anyway as he stared upwards.
As he blinked the sleepy-dust out his eyes he realised he was in Max's room, led under his space duvet. His body felt a little warmer once he realised Max might have been the one to tuck him into his own bed.
Lando could feel himself waking up a bit more and looked around the room. He was shocked to find his mother knelt next to the bed with a hand near his pillow.
"Hi, honey," she whispered, putting a hand on his forehead and smiling. "How you feeling, love?"
Lando replied the best he could, reassuring her that he was fine because he didn't want her to worry. He didn't really know why she was in Max's room or why he was asleep in the middle of the day.
He pushed himself up against the headboard and pulled the covers up to his face. They smelt like Max. It made Lando smile.
"Are you hungry?" His mother asked quietly as she fussed with the pillow behind his back.
Lando nodded even though he wasn't really hungry. He just sort of answered without thinking but maybe food would be good for him.
"Max brought up one of these earlier," she said as she gave Lando a cupcake with blue icing and sprinkles. It looked delicious. "He made them to cheer you up."
It didn't matter that he wasn't that hungry, Max had made him a cake and he would eat it. Even if it tasted yucky he would eat it all because his friend made it for him.
Lando replied with a quiet thanks as he took the cupcake. He leant over the side of the bed as he ate it so the crumbs wouldn't get everywhere and because he didn't want his mum to moan about making a mess.
"Is Max…um, is he - " Lando started when he finished the cake. He scrunched up the wrapper and put it on the bedside table next to Max's 3DS. " - Uh, is Max alright? Like, I remember he was scared, I think, and when he gets scared he likes someone to hold his hand but I can't remember if I did that or not."
His mum laughed softly and shook her head.
"Max is fine, Landobob." She replied as she moved the screwed up wrapper into the bin at the end of the bed. "He was quite worried about you though."
Lando sighed. He could vaguely remember Max asking if he was alright and looking scared but couldn't really recall much else as his brain was still trying to wake up. Before he could reply there was a knock at the door soon followed by it opening.
"Lando?" He heard his friend before he saw him. Max’s voice made Lando’s stomach hurt in a good way. "You awake?"
Max walked in and almost pounced on Lando when he saw him sat up in his bed.
Lando's mother smiled at them both and got up to leave, leaving the door ajar as she went.
"Oh my god," Max exclaimed as he rushed over to him and climbed onto the bed. He wriggled under the covers and pressed himself against Lando's side. "Mate, you're actually awake. You've been sleeping for ages, do you feel alright?"
Lando only had time to nod as his brain processed Max's words.
"I told Mum to take you to the hospital but she said no but I swear I can probably drive her Corsa there so we can just go now. Actually, you know what, maybe we should just call the ambulance to make sure because they can help you quick. Because, buddy, I thought you were dying but Theo l told me you were going to be fine but I don't believe him and I don't want you to die because you're my best friend and -"
Max gasped as Lando placed his hand on top of his.
Lando pushed his fingers between Max's and held tightly as he stared at his friend's face.
He watched as Max looked up and down his body, it made Lando blush because he could see the care in his friend's eyes. He was glad Max had calmed down a bit and that there was nothing that should worry him anymore because he was actually fine.
It was cute how Max's shoulders slumped in relief as he finished his check. Lando couldn't help pushing his face into his friend's neck with a smile.
"'m alright," Lando whispered into his friend's soft skin. He felt so comfortable with his ear resting on Max's shoulders and his forehead pressed to the side of his neck. "It's okay."
He felt Max squeeze his hand and rest his head on top of Lando's.
"You sure?" Max replied quietly. He didn't complain when Lando tried to nod and tickled his neck with his hair.
Lando could feel his own heart flutter peacefully as he curled up further around his friend. He reached up and rested his free hand on Max's arm. With a shy smile Lando slowly traced a heart with his finger on Max’s skin. Max nuzzled his head into his friend's hair in response and Lando felt him press a tiny kiss to the top of his head.
Lando closed his eyes and sighed happily.
Max was his favourite person ever.
...but maybe next time he should've taught Lando how to brake in roller-skates before sending him flying down a hill.