Chapter Text
Ruben isn't sure how he feels when Sonny gets in the car again. Even with how convincing the smile, he felt reluctant approving Sonny's return.
He stays on the edge of his seat the whole race, outwardly worried about the future of the team, but on the inside his mind replays images of Sonny's crash. A reminder of how easily 20 years can be stolen from a person. It's only on that last lap when Sonny is p1, and Kate says, "He's flying," that something shifts within him.
He remembers those years ago, when they were still naive kids, and Sonny would talk about driving with a passion you just couldn't find in anyone else. It seemed a bit ridiculous then, comparing driving to flying, but he somewhat understood what his friend meant. Driving without limits was freeing, when you stop holding back and let your potential for greatness show. But of course Sonny had always been the more daring one in their friendship. Racing without the thought of his future or what it would mean to win. To him the drive was the reward, and while Ruben could understand, he'd always been too logical to completely relate.
Though, there was something about the accidental reminder of times long gone that made Ruben pay more attention to the race than his thoughts. Sonny was flying now. Zipping through that last lap with a sureness to his lines that settled something in Ruben's heart. For that short minute it took for Sonny to complete the lap, Ruben felt airy and light. Almost as if he could forget the last 20 years, like they'd never happened at all. Because there was Sonny, as passion driven and daring as he'd always been, surer than sure and more confident than any person ought to be. He knew he was going to win and one could tell just by watching him drive.
It was as if in the car Sonny suddenly became his old self again and something about the sight had Ruben's throat tightening, his eyes watering the smallest amount.
And then the checkered flag waved. Sonny Hayes won his first F1 race, decades after he'd initially retired from the sport. Ruben's time at APX wasn't over yet and he had Sonny back, even if just in the slightest of ways.
The podium felt like a dream. He hadn't even won himself but even so he couldn't contain his joy at seeing Sonny where he always should've been. First place and faced with the loud cheers of the crowd. It only took 20 years but the moment finally arrived.
After the trophies were dispersed, and some pictures were taken, celebrating was in order. The team packed up quickly, all eager to party the night away while riding the high of a win.
It seemed quite endearing, all the excitement everyone had at seeing all their hard work pay off, at least Ruben thought so. And while partaking in the fun might’ve sounded nice, Ruben had another thing on his mind.
For as much as Sonny lived and thrived in loud settings, parties were never really his thing. It seemed to Ruben that after a couple decades, they became even less of his thing.
The old driver had slipped away as soon as Joshua came around to organize where the team was meeting up. Sonny walked off, race suit open and hanging off his waist, and carrying a deck of cards that he fiddled with in both hands.
Taking into consideration the man’s slight limp, it didn’t take long for Ruben to catch up with him. Without mentioning anything that just happened, the two friends made their way back to the hotel in a comfortable silence.
It was when they passed Sonny’s room that Ruben finally said something, “That was a pretty good race, yeah?”
“Mmm,” Sonny hummed in agreement, “I think so.” He glanced over at Ruben, and leaned his head back in what seemed to be a calming gesture.
“Listen man, I was gonna leave soon, so if you think you’re dragging me to that party-” he ended with a slight smirk, his tone more inquiring than serious.
”No no, nothing of the sort. I’d rather see you off if you’ve really made up your mind about leaving.”
"Yeah?" Sonny turned his back to Ruben as he pushed on the door to his room.
"Yeah."
The two entered together and found themselves sitting quietly on a somewhat ornate decorative sofa, a bottle of something split between them along with a comfortable silence that left no tension in the room. The air conditioner thrummed on full blast and the curtains were parted just enough so that they could view the world outside. Ruben really spared no expense when it came to Sonny it seemed.
"So what do you plan to do after this? More racing, I suppose," Ruben decided to probe, turning his body a bit to get a better look at Sonny. The sofa wasn't all that big but it was decently sized enough to allow a modest space between the two friends.
Sonny remained silent as he propped his feet up on the coffee table, carefully avoiding knocking over their drinks. After a pregnant pause, he spoke, "It's what I usually do," he kept his gaze low as he shuffled and reshuffled the cards that had made their way into his hands once more.
"So you don't like change then?" Sonny tosses one of the cards as Ruben speaks, it just barely misses the decorative fruit bowl that sits on the opposite end of the room. Its positioned under the wall television that neither Sonny nor Ruben were eager to spoil the quiet atmosphere with. The card makes a flick sound as it flies across the open space.
"I don't mind change as long as it doesn't involve staying in one place too long." Flick.
"Which is why you're quitting the team." Flick.
"You knew this was gonna happen when you made the offer." Flick.
"I know, but I also didn't know if I was going to keep my position on this team either." Flick.
"Well you know now, so I guess you don't really need me anymore. If this teams serious about winning more you're gonna need another daring racer. The kind of talented rookie you build a team around. One that can get along with JP too." Flick. This particular card found itself wedged precariously between a banana and an orange.
"Hm,' Ruben hums, "We used to be like that." Flick.
"For a little while yeah, not long enough though." Flick.
"It's a tough job, maybe it's time we leave it up to the new kids." Flop.
Sonny snorts, "You wanna retire and go live like an old guy on a beach somewhere?" He shuffles the remaining cards.
Ruben casts a glance at the city on the other side of the window, "No, I don't."
Sonny laughs at this, "That makes two of us. A couple of stubborn old guys hanging on past their prime."
"Oh, but you love it."
"I do, seriously don't know where'd I'd be if I couldn't race."
And Ruben knows this to be true. A Sonny Hayes that wasn't racing wasn't a Sonny Hayes that was alive. That much had remained true about his old friend from before. It was then that Ruben decided he had no choice but to be content. Despite all that was left unsaid between the two, things were going to be okay, probably, and that was enough.