Work Text:
//Error. Severe impact detected//
//Main brain body connection damaged//
//Bruising detected. Rerouting Thirium//
//Thirium pump capacity affected//
// Artificial breathing capacity decreased//
//Remove obstacle.//
Kevin grunted in pain, his HUD lighting up with alert after alert. He blinked, optics focusing on the KM100 currently hanging on to a fistful of his collar. The cool metal of the garage wall behind him was painted in white, with red stylised letter Hs covering every inch of its surface. “Listen to me. Listen, you little shit.” The hiss reminded him of a cobra about to strike. Kimi shook him again, LED cycling through the spectrum of red and yellow. “If you go out there right now, you’re putting every android in this paddock at risk, you hear me? The paddock is crawling with Cyberlife! All it takes is one Deviant and they will shut us down!” His words don’t register. All that Kevin can think of is Grosjean's car in the barrier, the flames shooting up meters into the air. He doesn’t care, he decides. Not about Cyberlife, not about the paddock that never loved him, not about racing. He just wants Grosjean to be safe. And so, Kevin does what he must in order to accomplish his task. He knees Kimi in the balls.
To his credit, the other android barely reacts, hunching forward and loosening his grip only the slightest degree, his LED flashing red for only a moment. The damage is done however. Kevin is able to slip out of his grip and shoves him to the floor, bolting towards the exit of the garage and preparing to place a call to the Medcar. Closer, closer, and then he once again gets grabbed. This time there is more than one pair of hands on him. He is pulled to the ground, a hand clamped over his mouth to silence him before he can cry out. He catches a glimpse of blonde curls under a green cap, another glimpse of a bearded face and a ponytail under an Alfa Romeo cap. Then a third pair of hands joins in, synthetic skin already peeling back even before they find his skin. He feels whoever it is (LD 800 the interface ID tells him) reach deep into his brain. Someone whispers an apology into his ear. Then, between one breath and the next all is black.
When he wakes up, he’s surrounded by featureless gray walls, the boxy environment strikingly familiar. It’s his stasis pod. He blinks, wondering what he’s doing here.
//Initiate memory recall//
//Recall successful//
It hits him all at once. Being pinned by Kimi, tripped by Sebastian, and then Sebastian and Antonio piling on top of him before Lando knocked him out. Grosjean's crash. The sheer desperation winds him. Suddenly the box is far too small, its size making him feel trapped. He has to get out, has to get out, hastogetoutgetoutgetout. His hands shoot out, clawing blindly at the wall in front of him, unable to get enough breath to shout for help. His hands fail to find a grip. There is no handle. He screams in his head, though he doesn’t think it will do him any good. Had the other androids abandoned him to die here, doomed never to see Grosjean, or even the light of day again? His punishment for putting the whole paddock at risk? He lets out what feels like a shout in his head, but one that manifests itself as nothing more than a strangled wheeze. He can’t breathe. There’s not enough air. He’s going to-
The entrance to the box slides open. Daylight streams in, illuminating the gray walls. Wheezing, thankful, Kevin collapses forward and out of the exit… straight into a familiar pair of arms. Grosjean falls with him, bending his knees to take the impact of both of them. His hands and arms are bound with bandages, but he is otherwise unharmed. Grosjean holds him close as he cries, tears staining the fabric of both their Haas uniforms. Over Kevins shoulder, his eyes shoot daggers at Kimi. The older Deviants face is unreadable, looking more like a machine on standby than the sentient being he was. He meets Grosjean's gaze, unwavering. Sebastian moves to stand quietly between the two, a protective barrier. Romain makes a silent promise. Later, he would find Kimi, and he would make Kimi pay. No one hurt his android. Not him, not Cyberlife, and definitely not Kimi. And if Sebastian Vettel wanted to intervene, then Grosjean would have to teach him that fact too. For now however, he is content to run a hand gently through Kevin's hair, reminding the android that he is here, and that he is alive.