Work Text:
Racing with Sloane always gave Hurley a rush she couldn’t explain. Maybe it was the feeling of adrenaline pumping into her system, instincts kicking in with no room for thought. Maybe it was the sight of a clear road with no opponents ahead; the wind whipping around her forcing her forward faster and faster until they finally passed the finish line with not a moment to lose.
Or maybe, she thought embarrassingly, it was the Raven. The way they were both able to just leap into action together, synced as if they had done this for all of their lives. The way Sloane’s hands clasped over hers on the wheel when they needed to switch positions, squeezing gently when everything around them was the exact opposite. The way she grinned under her mask, barely visible, that made Hurley think that maybe that smile was just for her to see. Or the way she picked her up after every race they won, spinning her around until they were both on the ground dizzy and laughing, happily accepting the prize together.
Oh god, she was done for.
This wasn’t part of their deal, whatever it was in the first place. It had been months since they had agreed to it, but Hurley was damn well sure there was nothing about developing a crush in there. She shook her head furiously at the thought, feeling her cheeks warm. It was hard to admit it, but, to cut her some slack, how could she not have a crush on her?
Sloane was beautiful. Hurley even remembered gasping a little bit when she had revealed her identity to her for the first time, which should’ve been an indicator enough of how much she actually liked her. She wanted to run her hands through her hair and hug her even though her body temperature was practically ice. She wanted to eat fantasy take-out and fall asleep on the couch together and just talk late into the night until they regretted it in the morning.
Actually, not only was Hurley done for, she was fucking doomed.
Their next race didn’t go so well either. Hurley had been up all night thinking and rethinking her newly found feelings, hoping to organize them in such a way that would make her heart stop beating so fast every time she looked at Sloane. She couldn’t believe she was letting this stupid crush get the better of her. It wasn’t like her to be this indirect and hesitant. She wanted to tell Sloane her feelings and spill everything, but she just couldn’t force herself to do it. She was scared, and that wasn’t something she ever liked to admit. For once, she thought of what-ifs instead of what could be. She wasn’t sure if she could stand such a heartbreak.
And she knew she was being a coward right now, trying to relinquish feelings that would never go away in hopes of a better outcome. But this was the card she had been dealt and she needed to get a grip on it. She couldn’t just go throwing races because of all this unnecessary inner turmoil. Sloane didn’t deserve that. It wasn’t fair to her, or to anyone.
So she handled it. Or really the correct term to use here would be “repressed”, but that didn’t matter. She and Sloane would be back to normal in no time and Hurley could pretend none of this ever happened. They were easily able to win their next race, and the next few after that. She was feeling pretty good about everything, until Sloane said something that made her heart stop.
They were in the garage working on upgrading the battlewagon with some new parts. Evening was steadily approaching by tell of the rays of light slowly basking the entire place in a warm orange glow. Hurley had stayed longer than she intended to, something she wouldn’t have minded in the past, but now the guilt was coming to her in waves. She’d be done soon and then she could rush out, get home, and sleep to forget. She felt comforted by the fact as she sped up her tinkering, wanting to finish as soon as she could.
To her right, she saw Sloane still for a moment before dropping the wrench she was using onto that old rickety worktable Hurley thinks is a hazard. She leaned her back against it with her head still lowered to the ground as if she was considering something important. She only tapped her fingers like that when she was thinking hard about something, an unknown rhythm filling the room as a result. With a jolt, Hurley realized she was staring. Struggling to fight back the blush creeping onto her face, she hurriedly went back to what she was previously working on, hoping Sloane didn’t notice anything.
“… Hurley, are you mad at me?”
The tool fell out of her hands and to the ground in an instant, her eyes right back on to Sloane’s slouching figure.
“Sloane, I – where did you get that idea from?” She stammered, caught completely off-guard by the question. “I’m not.”
Sloane’s head lifted with a start at the response, her face looking frustrated. “Really? That’s not what I think.”
“What do you mean?” She asked again, hoping that all her worst fears weren’t actually coming true.
“You’ve been avoiding me. You can’t tell me you’re not, Hurley, I know. You barely talk to me outside of the race track now. You always leave as fast as you can when we need to work on the battlewagon together. You don’t even look me in the eye anymore. Please, don’t lie to me.”
“W-we’ve still been racing together, I don’t understand. Wasn’t that what you wanted?” She questioned as she tried to salvage the conversation, unable to look up at her.
“At first, yes! But then… Ugh,” she groaned. “It’s… It’s not like that anymore. At least for me. It’s different and I-I really thought you felt the same, too. God, I’m usually so good at reading people I can’t believe… I’ve been such a fool.”
“Sloane…”
“No, look. I’m sorry for losing my cool like that. I think we should just call it quits for today,” she smiled sadly. “I’ll pack everything up, you can go on ahead.”
Slowly, Hurley rose to her feet and grabbed the tool she had dropped a few moments ago, passing it to Sloane who didn’t even spare her a glance. She couldn’t leave things like this. She had to do something; anything. She had to stop lying to herself. She had to stop pretending and be honest. Their relationship would never be the same otherwise and it was time to start taking risks again. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage.
“Sloane, I should be the one apologizing, not you.”
She watched Sloane as she continued to pack their things into the toolbox. She wasn’t saying anything, but Hurley knew she was listening.
She clenched her fist, determined to finally say what she had wanted. “I can’t lie to you, Sloane… The reason why I’ve been so off lately is because… I like you. A lot actually,” she laughed weakly. “I-I thought you would never return my feelings, so I just—”
And before she could even finish her sentence, Sloane was already lifting her onto the worktable, kissing her softly as she set her down and running her fingers through her unkempt hair. Thank god Hurley had good reaction time, hooking her arms around the other’s neck to bring her even closer.
“You’re such an idiot sometimes,” Sloane murmured affectionately between kisses. “You really had me fooled for a second. I like you, too. A lot actually.”
Hurley swore she was going to cry, but Sloane beat her to it. She had never been so happy.
“I’m sorry for taking so long.”
She shook her head. “You were worth the wait.”