Gentle with me | MAX VERSTAPPEN

ii. TATIANA IV

IMPORTANT MESSAGE
After careful consideration, this story will be a Max Verstappen Fanfiction instead of Charles Leclerc fanfiction because I can already see us being on chapter 100 and still not having Charles and Tatiana interact and date each other. However, ever since Max got introduced I've always seen the possibility of having Tatia and him date. And I'm a sucker for the Friends-to-lovers trope. So, I'm sorry for you all that stayed for Charles but I hope you will continue to stick around for Max instead. Have a wonderful reading experience. Also before all of you come for my throat, please we are on chapter 33, this was a slow burn, just not a slow slow burn. So like, yes, obviously we're finally getting somewhere. Let the Lover Girl Era begin.

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Tatiana smiled as she watched Max put his hands in his pocket. She was standing a couple of meters away from where he stood. The woman continued to quietly observe him for a couple of minutes before she decided to make herself visible to him.

"Max!" She shouted, waving at him to catch his attention. Max waved back at her, flashing one of his smiles as she walked up to him.

"Hi, Tia!" He pulled her into a hug. She tightened the hug, enjoying the way her body seemed to fit so easily with his. Tatiana had missed his hugs. She wasn't afraid to admit that. It had been two months after all since she had last hugged him and had been this close to him.

"How have you been, Max?" She asked, curious to know if she had missed anything important while they were on their very much-needed break from each other.

"I don't know, I've been good I guess. What about you?" Max asked before he grabbed Tatiana's hand and led her down the street where the restaurant was.

"I've been good too. Just been shooting my shot on dating sites." She replied. What Tatiana hadn't told him though was that she had been absolutely miserable while he wasn't talking to her. In a way, her experience on dating sites where just her attempt at making time fly by and distracting her from the aching pain of not being able to talk to one of her best friends.

She'll admit that at first, it had been difficult. She had spent the first couple of weeks stalking his Instagram and Twitter accounts, keeping track of what he had posted. It wasn't until the third week that she slowly started to accept the situation and start to distance herself for her own well-being. And now, here she was, holding hands with the man who held her first love despite him being unaware of that fact.

Max raised an eyebrow towards her. "Oh. Dating sites huh?" He asked in a light-hearted voice. Tatiana couldn't understand what he wanted to say with that.

"Yeah, it isn't working that well."

"Tatiana." Max started, she could tell there was something wrong here. Her best friend only used her full name when he wanted the conversation to be taken seriously. "Delete the dating sites."

"And who are you to tell me to do so?" Tatiana asked, wondering what he would answer. Kelly and Max had broken up a few weeks ago due to some reasons he had refused to explain to her.

"Tatiana," Max replied, his voice saving no room for arguments.

"Max." She deadpanned.

"Don't fucking play with me." He muttered. Max had turned her around so she was now facing him. The blonde-haired man lifted his free hand and placed it against Tatiana's cheek.

"You move on quickly despite having dated that woman for ages." She mumbled. Tatiana knew that she should have removed his hand from her cheek but she couldn't find it in herself to do so. Max had always been clear with his boundaries and always made it known that physical touch was one of his love languages.

"Move on quickly? Tatiana, ever wondered if you should stop looking at dating sites to find yourself a man?" Max let out a laugh, although the brunette could tell that he wasn't laughing because he wanted to be mean or found it funny. To her, it almost felt like a bitter laugh.

"What is it with you?" Tatiana asked as she removed the hand that was on her cheek.

"Can't you see what's been in front of you the whole time?" Max asked.

"No." She simply stated. She wanted to know what he would say. What he would do?

"It's you. Tatiana." Max let out another bitter laugh as he glanced down at her. "It's always been you. I can't function without you. These past months without you were hell. I woke up and lost the motivation because you weren't there. You're the one for me. It was you! It was always you. You are the one for me, and it will always be you. In every lifetime I will choose you, Tatiana." He confessed, tears building up in his eyes. "I'm so sorry it took me so long to realise, but I'm here now and I'm ready to wait for you until death comes knocking on my door."

"Max," Tatiana muttered. Her heart beat heavily inside her body. It almost felt like it was going to jump out of her body. "You can't just say shit like that."

"Then kiss me." Max bluntly said, his eyes turning serious and cold as they looked at her. "Kiss me and I'll tell you what feelings were put into it."

Tatiana let out a heartbroken laugh before she pulled the man who was her first love towards her and pressed her lips onto his. They were soft, was the first thing she thought before she closed her eyes and pulled his body closer to hers. Tatiana could feel how he wrapped his arms around her body and how he deepened the kiss.

It wasn't until Tatiana felt like she needed more air that she broke their kiss. She looked at her best friend, wondering what possessed her to do what she had just done.

"Don't." Max started. "Don't you dare run away from this. From us. You want me as much as I want you. Why can't you allow yourself to be selfish for once? Why not give us a try?" He finished, his voice breaking as he spoke.

"Because, Max, you're my best friend. I don't want anything to change."

"Fat lot of shit that did." He said, his voice laced with such bitterness that it made her slightly flinch away as if she had been slapped. "It's a little bit too late for that, Tatiana."

"Max."

"Just say you'll give me one chance to prove myself romantically to you." He interrupted her. "You don't have to say that you love me not yet. But let me just prove myself to you. Let me become the man of your dreams. I want to be the man that you can proudly brag about to your friends. I want to be the one that brings all your romantic books to life and makes you feel like you live in a rom-com book. All you need to say is that I have a chance."

Tatiana couldn't help but do nothing as she watched her best friend go down on his knees while still holding her hands in his. He had done it again, she thought to herself, he had managed to make her speechless.

"I can't promise to love you forever." Tatiana began saying. "However, I can promise you that I will give you a chance. I promise you that I will show you the respect and love that you deserve and reflect the love you'll give me towards yourself." She answered. She gently pulled her hands away from his before she knelt down on both her knees to look Max in the eyes.

"From this day forward, it will yet again be me and you against the world, but this time we'll be more than just friends. Now please stand up, my knees are killing me." She said softly.