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After experiencing Way’s betrayal, Charlie’s crash, funeral, Tony's master plans, getting Charlie back, another betrayal… and then… Way’s death, Babe tells himself that despite everything, he’s doing ok.
He’s fine.
The local F1 scene caught more of the public eye immediately after Tony’s scandal. With the live news coverage of the shootout and the disturbing video of Tony committing murder going viral, reporters were suddenly all over the track, asking if any members of Tony’s Red Team had anything to do with trafficking, whether they were victims themselves or knew his secret.
During the live, when paramedics arrived on scene, cameramen swarmed the barricade set up outside the foundation’s front doors to get a glimpse of the aftermath inside. None of them were able to record any footage worth using when it came to who was harmed or who else was involved, but what they could see clear as day was…Babe. His large racing portrait stood tall and proud in the center of the room, peering over the fumbling crowd of hostages getting rushed out as paramedics were trying to rush in. Babe is striking on his own, but his portrait, now sporting a few bullet holes, hit tabloid sites and papers harder than any picture of Tony.
Babe didn’t have time to process anything. From the second he left the building, he was being bombarded with questions. Police, reporters, his fans– everyone wanted to hear answers. “Why did Tony want Babe? He wanted to auction him off? What did Babe have to offer those men? How much is Babe worth? Is he that good of a racer? Kid must be special; his win rate is incredible." He refused to give anything too personal and Alpha away. Tony was deranged, a monster, an abusive guardian. Babe escaped his clutches before it was his turn on the chopping block, and Tony couldn’t handle seeing Babe prosper without getting a buck in return. He wanted to sabotage Babe’s career. He was willing to do anything to get Babe back.
Alan wasn’t sure if it was healthy, actually very sure it wasn’t healthy, and even told him so, but Babe knew he needed to get back in the car while the media spotlight was still hot. Sponsorships started pouring in; new investors were making calls and numerous international teams reached out with offers to have Babe for themselves. After winning a big televised event with an amalgamation of microphones and cameras in his face, Babe made it clear: he wasn’t leaving X Hunter.
Babe doesn’t want to let Charlie out of his sight again.
Charlie mentioned something about going to therapy, but he doesn’t have time. The world’s always asking too much of him, and besides, he’s doing fine. All he needs is his structure and routine. They would wake up, eat, go to the garage, get each other off, practice or race, come home, and fall asleep tangled together in bed, with Babe’s face tucked into Charlie’s shoulder.
Charlie’s comforting alpha scent lulls Babe into a deep sleep with such ease that you’d think it’d be a restful one, but every night Babe cries in his sleep.
Charlie keeps this to himself.
Sometimes the air hitting a tear-stained damp spot on his shoulder is enough to wake him up. Babe rolled over to his side of the bed. He’ll listen for a minute to see if Babe’s still crying, if his breathing is uneven, but Charlie knows by now that if Babe’s sleeping with his back turned to him, it means he’s out cold.
Babe will wake up the next morning as the little spoon, content with feeling a sleeping Charlie’s breath on the back of his neck, a heavy arm draped over his waist, and the warm pressure of Charlie’s hand against his chest. Charlie has a sleep habit of cupping Babe’s pecs with his hands. Babe loves it.
Sometimes Charlie will wake up to Babe sniffling and whining softly beside him. If Babe didn’t sleep in the crook of Charlie's neck, he probably wouldn’t have even heard it. Charlie always peppers him with kisses, wiping the tears from his cheeks before grounding him with shoulder rubs until Babe hums in confirmation, readjusting himself to lean into Charlie’s touch as he drifts right back to sleep.
Lately it’s been worse. Babe’s mood hasn’t been great ever since North and Sonic brought up that it’s almost Charlie’s crash anniversary when the team went out for drinks last week. Charlie knows they didn’t mean any harm by it, but after a few drinks they couldn’t stop themselves from saying how hurt they felt that Charlie lied. Alan tried to cut them off, but Sonic got emotional. They weren’t close to Charlie the same way Jeff and Babe were at the time, but they still felt the hole Charlie left behind on the team. It felt like a puzzle piece was missing.
Finding out that Charlie was alive made it difficult to build trust and be friends again. They finished off their drunk rambling by, much to Charlie’s surprise, expressing how grateful they were that Charlie was still with them, especially after losing Way. The toast they held was a happy but tearful one.
Charlie knows he deserves it, like penance, to be reminded of how much of a mistake he made for being so rash and selfish. At the time, he truly believed it was the only way to avoid Tony. He believed that he was being selfless by faking his death to save everyone. If Tony didn’t need Babe anymore, he would finally be able to live his life to the fullest. Charlie didn’t tell Jeff that he came to terms with the possibility of dying for real if the plan went wrong, but he’d do anything for Babe.
Fresh off of Way’s death, no one on the team had the space to process how they felt about Charlie’s betrayal, and it took a week or so after Way’s funeral for it to really set in. Babe had his defenses up when they finally cornered Charlie one night in the garage. He tried to get them to understand Charlie’s reason for doing so and that he’d already forgiven him, but they weren’t coming around. There was something in Babe’s voice that stood out. Charlie could hear it, and he felt even worse, using Babe’s power of senses against him. Maybe Babe doesn’t realize he’s lying to himself.
Alan stood tall over Charlie, pointing a finger at his chest, and brought up how he found Babe nearly catatonic, curled into a ball on his living room's cold floor as he held his phone in a vice grip, watching Charlie’s crash on repeat. Alan was misty-eyed as he pressed his finger hard into Charlie’s chest, explaining how Babe sobbed in Alan’s arms until the sun came up and how he needed Babe to stay at his place so he could make sure Babe didn’t hurt himself. North and Sonic would come over to Alan’s to make sure he ate. They would crowd him on the couch, tangling their limbs together to laugh and scroll through shorts on their phones so Babe didn’t feel alone. It took a few weeks for him to feel like a human again, and when he did, all he felt was anger. They knew Babe never really reached the point of being ok.
Jeff didn’t get off scott-free either; the disappointed look on Alan’s face broke Charlie’s heart for his brother. They all thought Jeff was distant from them because he was mourning his brother.
Charlie had never felt worse in his life. ‘Babe deserves better’ has sat loudly in the back of his head ever since.
Charlie was thankful that they didn’t bring that part up again specifically, but they didn't need to. Charlie glanced over to Babe while Sonic was crying, and it was like looking at a shell. He just wasn’t there anymore.
When they got home, Babe softly pulled Charlie into a hug. Charlie cradled Babe’s face in his hands and kissed him like he was the most precious thing on earth. Babe pulled Charlie into his arms again when they made it upstairs to their bed and crawled on top of him. Charlie wrapped his arms around Babe’s shoulders as he lay onto Charlie's chest. He dipped his face into Charlie’s neck, pressing kisses and breathing in his scent until he drifted off to sleep.
Babe cried in his sleep.