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"At the next intersection turn left."
"Got it." Zoro said, grinning as he overtook the car next to him, delighting in the person's loud growl of frustration. It was dark out, but his headlights did all the work and it was nearing dawn anyways. An empty can of red bull sat in the cup holder and Luffy's cheers of happiness in his ear piece gave the man a wake up call, making his heart beat faster and fingers grip the steering wheel, just barely containing his own whoop of laughter. The wind lashed across his face, riding with convertible top down, tucked away into the trunk. He glanced over, seeing the iconic red Chevy Camaro, skull bones and straw hat painted on the side. His best friend glanced over at the same time, and they shared a grin, saluting to one another.
"Idiot pay attention!" Nami screeched, taking him out of his thoughts and he blinked, seeing the opening fast approaching. "Now. Turn now!"
He cursed, slamming his foot on the gas and turning, twisting his wheel and letting it spin. Zoro laughed as the car began to drift, letting out a manic chuckle adrenaline spiking. He straightened back out, letting his foot off the throttle and enjoying the way gravity kept him going, riding down a hill. Nearby he could feel other cars zoom by, heading straight, vibrations thrumming through his body as he went in a different direction. The sounds of everything else faded as he went farther and he peeked into the rear view mirror, watching as the other contestants grew smaller, turning into specs before disappearing completely.
"You sure this is the right way, witch?" He asked, feeling Kitetsu purr as he pressed on the gas, engine growling, sleek black mustang speeding down the abandoned road. The wind felt nice against his skin, and reached over blindly for his shades, knowing his shades were somewhere, having been tossed haphazardly when he and Sanji has gotten a bit.. distracted. He felt the the side come in contact with his fingers, lodged in the crevice of the seat and pulled it out. With a practice flick of his wrist, he opened the other side and put on the black frames. Instantly the world was bathed in a warm brown hue.
"The only one who gets lost is you." The woman retorted, and even without her being there physically he could almost feel the slap to the back of his head and winced. "Its a short cut. I have Sanji and Luffy taking other ones. Either way, the win is ours. Which means the prize money is as good as mine."
Zoro snorted. He could care less about the cash. Despite her money grabbing tendencies, the witch always shared even if it was a shit amount, never as stingy as she portrayed. And they were going to win the next competition anyways, so it didn't matter. As long as he came in first, he was satisfied. Racing had gotten rather boring lately, and his two companions were really the only things that could spice it all up. Their situation, it always made him think of that one quote. About outrunning a bear. And not outrunning the bear, but instead outrun the person you're with. Something like that. Thats how this was. It didn't matter who they were against. They always won regardless.
Well, one of them did.
After all, it wasn't the first time they did something like this. Rigged a race.
If their competitors were the bears, then he, Luffy, Sanji, and whoever else they had on the job were the runners. With them populating the meet ups and competitions it became less about beating the bears, and more about beating each other. The winner of the race got the second highest cut, Nami always got the largest percentage. Something about being a human GPS, and free picking on the film they watched for Friday Movie Nights.
Sanji had won the last few, and if Zoro had to watch yet another chick-flick, he was going to break the tv into a million pieces before killing everyone in the room and then himself. He'd leave the blond alive to suffer through the horrible shit by himself.
"Nami-swan dear." Sanji's voice keyed in-- speak of the devil and he shall appear--, sounding both reverent and concerned at the same time. "You won't, perhaps, give Luffy a faster route will you?"
Fuck. Zoro hadn't even thought of that. He wouldn't put it past the redhead, to ensure that her boyfriend got first place, but he also knew Luffy wouldn't stand for that shit in the slightest. All about the journey, not the destination, and once even said he'd go the opposite of finish line if he had to. The kid was fucking wacko.
So the green haired man wasn't too surprised when he heard the woman respond, sounding both irritated and affectionate. "No. He's not even on an actual shortcut. I'm just making sure the idiot doesn't go off course."
The raven haired teen laughed, ringing loud and clear through the ear piece. "Shishishi, you're the best Nami."
"Yeah yeah. Tell me that again after you get me my cash." There was a devious kind of silence, one that made the racer sweat drop, uncertain that he would enjoy whatever evil plot the witch would concoct. His fears were proven right when she spoke again and he cursed, gripping his steering wheel. "If you manage to beat both Zoro and Sanji, I'll give you all the meat you want. No limit."
"Oi! Bribing ain't allowed you damn gold digger!" Zoro growled, but it was much too late. Luffy had gone completely silent, which meant things had gotten a lot more serious. He clicked his tongue, imagining Nami's villainous expression.
The sun was starting to peak over the horizon, showering the roads in hues of midnight blue and orange. The streets were still empty, and would be for another few hours, courtesy of Shanks and whatever amount of police he'd managed to buy and pocket for safe keeping.
"Get ready, Zoro. The pathway you're on is about to merge. You'll be joining the rest soon."
He didn't answer, instead pushing down on the gas and grinning as Kitetsu growled in return, trees and street lights becoming nothing more than a blur. His hair flew back and the man smirked as the first rays of sunlight hit his rims, reflecting in the side mirrors. The green was loud and obnoxious, but Zoro gave less than a damn, eyeing his own wild mane. It matched his problem child of a car the most. Fucking fitting.
The sounds of engines grew louder and Zoro sped up, seeing where the side roads and main path merged. He chuckled, seeing a white Corvette with golden rims and mentally thanked Nami, knowing she put him and Sanji in the path of each other on purpose.
He crossed the grass median, too impatient to wait and longer and pulled up beside the sports car, rolling his eyes when the other tried speeding up. The racer honked his horn, wearing a shit eating grin Sanji's window rolled down, revealing a long, pale middle finger.
Zoro stuck his tongue out before yelling, "You first!" He knew he wouldn't have to worry about the wind overtaking his voice, since the ear piece worked just as well. He knew he was right when his boyfriend's face brightened, blush being highlighted by the sun.
"I hate you." The blonde muttered.
"But you loved me yesterday, what happened?" Zoro simpered, pretending to pout, even as he pulled ahead. He liked the blond, hell he was dating the guy, but no way was he losing to the pompous curly brow freak.
"You spoke." Came the blunt response. "And then I realized I much rather like you when you're so fucking needy you can't do shit but whimper."
The green haired man laughed out loud, finding their almost ritual exchange beyond hilarious. "I ain't a mirror cook. Rethink your answer."
"And this is why I give you two your own line to talk." Nami complained as Luffy laughed in the background. "Its like hearing my two brothers talk about fucking each other which is so damn weird. Whatever, the finish line is straight ahead. Even you can't fuck that up Zoro. You guys are in the lead. Good luck."
With that, she left and Zoro had to stop himself from laughing his damn ass off at Sanji's sputtering expression. "You can revenge sex later for this." he said, and sped away before his boyfriend could ask for any clarification. He drove forward, ignoring Sanji's incredulous shouts and forced his car in front of the blond's, blocking him.
The finish line was in sight by the time Sanji managed to break away, and they both made similar sounds of shock when they saw the familiar Camaro, and even more familiar redhead perched atop its hood.
Zoro contemplated ramming into her, but knew Luffy wouldn't forgive him for killing his girlfriend so he refrained.
"Shihihihi. I win!" The black haired teen cheered. "Unlimited meat!"
"You two always get so caught up in each other. It's almost cute." Nami observed, mouth hardly moving but voice coming through clearly.
He didn't answer, slowing as he passed the finish line, coming to a full stop a safe space away, as others were still entering. Through his peripheral, he saw Sanji pull in, parking on the opposite side, getting out and pulling a cigarette free from his pocket.
Zoro reached up and took out the ear piece. It really wouldn't do well for someone to see it. He turned off the car and got out, smoothing his jacket and making eye contact with the race proctor. A pale woman with long black hair. She was scantily dressed in black shorts and a mesh crop top, body inviting but ice blue eyes promising death to anyone who dared touch her without consent.
Nico Robin.
He nodded at her and she gave a minute smile in return. Zoro looked around, taking inventory of his friends, checking to make sure they were alright, but never holding eye contact for too long.
'Cause this was the hard part.
The part where they acted like perfect strangers.
Because if anyone learned that they knew each other, it wouldn't be long before they put two and two together.
And then they'd likely all be killed.