Chapter Text
The smell of motor oil calmed Lucy Chen the way floral scented candles soothed other women, so as she wheeled out from under her car and wiped her sweaty brow with the back of her hand, she inhaled, her nostrils welcoming the familiar surroundings.
“Chen!” Wade Grey called and motioned for her to go to him.
As the Team Principal, when Grey wanted to speak, Lucy jumped up to talk to him. She wiped the grease off of her hands with the rag that seemed to always be tucked into the back pocket of her overalls and stood from the creeper so quickly it kept rolling, but she ignored the movement to walk over to Grey. Silently, she followed him upstairs to his grand office so far away from the garage where she tended to stay.
He shut the door then walked around to sit behind his desk and motioned for her to take a seat as well. Grey exhaled then threaded his fingers together to bide time before reporting, “Smitty just quit.”
Lucy’s heart stopped. “W-what? I can’t-I can’t compete in the next Grand Prix without my Race Engineer! I…,” she started sputtering out as her mind tried to process what could be career-ending.
“I knew you would panic, which is why I already secured you a new one.”
“That fast?”
“Someone’s doing me a favor, and trust me, he’s perfect for the job. He’s going to be on the next flight to the U.K. to start working with you as soon as possible.”
“With all due respect, sir, Smitty wasn’t great, but we understood each other well enough to make it work. I have less than three weeks until the Australian GP to figure out how to partner with a complete stranger. That’s impossible.”
“Don’t worry. He’s not a stranger. You’ll be glad to work with him,” Grey assured then his phone rang. “I have to answer this. You should take the rest of the day off. Rest up before tomorrow. We’ll have to make some adjustments as a team when he gets here.” He picked up the phone and said, “Hello.”
Lucy blinked as he began a conversation with whoever had called him and then exited his office feeling numb. Her team performed well in the first two rounds of the season, but suffering such a major setback could ruin her chances for victories in the coming rounds, especially with the Australia GP so quickly approaching. She stalked down to the garage and wanted to kick a tire as she frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Angela Lopez asked, since she could tell there was an issue merely from the sound of stomping.
“Smitty quit today,” Lucy answered glumly.
Angela looked up from the sidepod she had been tinkering with as her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“He just quit! He didn’t even say anything to me.” Her lip began to quiver.
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know. I’m so confused, and-and what about the Australian GP? A reserve driver will have to compete now.”
“Hang on, Grey takes good care of us. I’m sure he’s already putting out feelers to get you a new Race Enginner.”
“Well, he said he already found one,” she replied, suspicion lacing her tone.
“That’s great! Why are you not happier about that? Smitty was a dud anyways.”
“Grey said he’s not a stranger but didn’t give me a name.”
“Let me guess, you’ve already figured out who it is?”
“Someone who’s willing to drop everything and become a Race Engineer as a favor to Grey. Someone we KNOW. Someone Grey would trust with the job and has experience,” Lucy stated the clues as if the conclusion was obvious, but Angela seemed to be completely clueless. “I think it’s Wes.”
“Crap,” Angela grumbled.
“I know you have history.”
“We don’t ‘have history’,” Angela mocked the word choice. “We didn’t get along at racing school, but it’s been seven years. I’m sure he’s still just as annoying, but I’m more mature now. I can ignore him like an adult.”
She scoffed. “Ignoring someone is not very adult-like. Look, you’re my teammate. I need you to be cool with this. If you can’t stand Wes, then I’ll talk to Grey.”
“Come on, Lucy, we’re the only all female team, women of color for that matter, in the history of F1 racing. We haven’t let men get in the way of our success before, and it won’t start now with Wes of all people.”
As much as she wanted to believe Angela, she remembered the explosive arguments between her and Wes that were practically daily when they were at racing school together. With so much more pressure in their daily lives as pro athletes, Lucy knew they did not have as much time for frivolous bickering everyday. “Grey said he’s coming on the next flight over. When he gets here, let’s see if you two can be civil.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m worried about you. A new Race Engineer, even if it’s Wes, isn’t going to be easy. You need to learn how to communicate well practically overnight, and Wes?He’s been a Technologist on a NASCAR pit crew. He hasn’t handled a real car in years.”
“Someone’s been checking up on him,” Lucy accused, amused.
“This community’s only so big. It’s hard not to,” she shrugged dismissively.
“Mhm,” Lucy hummed with a smirk, not at all believing her.
“I say we stop talking about boys and go out tonight. The pub is calling our name.”
“You and Nyla can go, but I want to get into some sweats, drink a beer, and try not to stress out about Wes being my new Race Engineer.”
“This is exactly why you need to go out. Turn your mind off. Better yet, pick up a guy. Nothing like ending that dry spell to really clear your head.”
“It’s not a dry spell. I don’t date during the season, and even if I did, I’m not having a one night stand. Go on without me.”
“You’re no fun,” Angela groaned. “If you change your mind, you know where Nyla and I will be.”
“See you tomorrow,” Lucy replied and waved goodbye.
🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤
The track always helped to clear Lucy’s mind. She got an early start to take a few laps in the hopes that the sound of her car’s whirring engine would drown out her thoughts, but she was unsuccessful. Two people appeared at the edge of the practice track, and she blew out a frustrated breath as she started slowing down. Once parked and out of her car, Lucy removed her helmet then played with the sleeve of her jumpsuit as she approached Grey and the man standing beside her. “Hi, Wes. It’s good to see you.”
“Great to see you, too,” Wes replied warmly. “You’ve had quite the career since our old racing school days.”
“I’m looking forward to keeping that up with you on my team. I hope we can work well together.”
Wes paused and glanced at Grey curiously before turning back to Lucy. “Wait, you think…oh, I’m not your new Race Engineer. It’s -”
She saw movement, and her eyes snapped over instinctively. Her heart stopped.
Blue eyes. Familiar, shiny blue eyes were staring at her. She could get lost in that gaze. She used to. But, Lucy had moved on in those seven years. She was stronger now. So, she blinked to fight the spell he always so immediately put her under.
“Hey, Chen,” Tim Bradford said evenly as he slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans in a move that was meant to seem nonchalant.
“Hi, Bradford,” Lucy replied as her stomach twisted in countless knots; they spent so much time apart, and the first words he said to her were “Hey, Chen”. She had dreamt about seeing him again and fantasized about that reunion, but she always thought it would be better than his very simple and neutral two word greeting.
“Okay, Hotshot, you and Bradford should head into the garage and take a look at your car together,” Grey suggested.
“We should get you in a simulator. Let’s see what you can do,” Tim suggested a change in plans.
“You know what I can do,” Lucy shot back and stood up tall.
“I watched you in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. I thought I trained you better than that.”
“Excuse me? I’ve only gotten better since you trained me, and I placed 9th in that GP.”
“We can do better than that.”
Her heart stuttered. “We aren’t a ‘we’ anymore, Tim. You made sure of that.”
Tim narrowed his eyes. “I-”
“Enough,” Grey interrupted firmly. “Lucy, the season has already started, and we both know the next round is coming up fast. We don’t have a lot of options or time. Now, I thought you got along better than this. You have about three weeks to be race ready, so figure it out.” He looked between them and their frozen expressions; for the first time, he doubted the match up, but they were desperate, so they had to make their newfound situation work.
“Yes, sir,” Tim nodded. “I want to see you on the simulator, Chen.”
“I’m better on the track,” Lucy responded.
“A simulator can better help me gauge how you drive. I’m not your teammate anymore. You have to listen to me now.”
“We have to work together. I’m in the driver’s seat, and I’m not some rookie anymore. If this is going to work, you have to remember that.”
She seemed larger than her small frame and even more beautiful than he remembered. “You’re right,” Tim acquiesced, because she did make a fair point. “Go ahead.” He motioned to her parked car.
Lucy put her helmet back on and climbed back into her car.
Within a lap, Tim could tell she had improved over the years, and he was more than a little impressed.
Nyla, who had been spying on the new members of the team, gathered enough information to report back to Angela what she had seen. She went into one of the simulation rooms and waited for Angela to finish with her course while tapping her foot.
“He’s here isn’t he?” Angela asked the second her driving simulation was over. She was not looking forward to seeing Wes again, but it seemed to be an inevitability.
“Oh, yeah. Mr. Blue Eyes is here. I guess he’s handsome if you’re into that sort of thing,” Nyla stated.
Angela rolled her eyes. “He likes to think so. Okay, let’s get this over with. He’s Lucy’s new Racing Engineer, so we’ll be seeing lots of each other whether I like it or not.”
“They’re on the track.”
She shouldered past Nyla out of the room and went down to the track to see two sets of blue eyes she recognized: the one she expected, Wes’, and another. “Holy crap! Bradford!”
“Hey, Ang,” Tim responded without looking as he had to remain focused on Lucy.
“No hello for me, Angela?” Wes wondered.
“I didn’t see you there, Wesley, but then again, I have trouble seeing jerks,” Angela drawled.
He could not help but smirk. A part of him had missed her quips. “Hope your driving is better than your burns.”
“Definitely a better driver than you’ve ever been.”
“A driver is only as good as their car, and I’ve become quite the engineer.”
“Yeah, for NASCAR,” she said with disgust.
“Some of that translates to F1, which was my first love before working on a NASCAR pit crew.”
“Is that the only love in your life?”
“Are you asking if I’m single?” Wes stepped closer to her, intrigued.
“No, I couldn’t care less.”
“Because you’re seeing someone?” How had she gotten prettier in all those years?
“Since when do you care that I’m single?”
He took another step. “So, you ARE single.”
“Can you two take this somewhere else? We’re working here,” Tim snapped.
“Wait, YOU are the new Racing Engineer?” Angela wondered.
“Sure am. Let me focus.”
“Then, what are you doing here?” Angela glanced at Wes.
“I’m his best friend. He said he was coming to England and asked me to come with,” Wes answered.
“He was my best friend first, and then you two idiots went back to America for some huge NASCAR payday.”
“This sport is competitive. We had to do what we had to do,” Wes justified.
Lucy screeched to a stop, sprang out of her car knowing she had driven impressively, and peeled off her helmet as she smiled. “Told you I’ve gotten better.”
“You think the definition of you getting better is how you kissed the wall back there?” Tim asked gruffly.
“Don’t worry about how I kiss,” Lucy replied, flustered. She wanted him to be proud of her, but instead, he was quite upset, and he mentioned kissing, which admittedly, sent her spinning.
“It’s just a phrase.”
“Well, don’t use it.”
He pursed his lips.
She realized how her flaring anger was starting to fry her nerve endings, and she wanted the feeling to subside. “I think we should take a break from racing and try talking. You and I need to clear the air.” There were seven year old unanaswered questions swirling in her mind that she was desperate for clarity about.
“We have a lot of work to do, which doesn’t leave time for some heart to heart.”
“Is that all you have to say to me right now? After everything?” Lucy’s heart cracked.
He bent forward slightly to assure she saw his cold stare. “We can’t afford to lose focus on what really matters, which is how you race. Our past is our past, and it has no bearing on getting the work done. Now, I think we should go to a simulator and practice together.”
Feeling as if she did not have a choice, she complied begrudgingly with a slight nod.
Angela allowed Tim to go a few paces ahead towards the simulation rooms so that she could speak with Lucy more privately at a whisper, “Remember when you were so worried about me yesterday when you thought your Race Engineer was gonna be Wes? Well, now I’m a million times more worried about you. Do you really think you can work with your ex?”
“What choice do I have? Besides, he made me a better driver when I was starting out, and since then, he’s definitely gained some more wisdom considering he’s gone on to have a pretty impressive career even if it was NASCAR,” Lucy added the last part in an attempt at levity, because her stomach felt like it was made of lead.
“Guess I’m not the only one who’s been checking up on a certain someone,” Angela chided.
“So you admit you looked Wes up?” Lucy smiled.
“Isn’t your ex boyfriend waiting for you in a simulation room?” Angela asked to avoid answering that question.
“Chen!” Tim barked when he noticed how Angela and Lucy had stopped walking down the corridor and seemed to be chatting during crucial practice hours.
Lucy rolled her eyes. “God, Tim, keep your pants on,” she muttered under her breath.
“I bet you wish he wouldn’t,” Angela joked.
Her only response was a subtle pink staining her cheeks. Lucy strutted over to the open simulation room and tried not to huff or make a sassy comment every time Tim tried to back seat drive. It was incredibly draining to practice with him again, and to make it worse, he had a few decent suggestions to further madden her.
“We’re done for the day,” Tim finally said. Being around her so much for so long after so much time apart was overwhelming, and he desperately needed a break from Lucy.
“How’d I do?” She was fishing for a compliment. They both knew that.
“There’s room for improvement.” Immediately, she looked wounded. He remembered that expression on her face quite vividly. There was nothing he could do to ease the lines on her face the last time she was so hurt on the day he left her, but there was something he could do in the present. “But, you did good.”
She felt her chest warm traitorously; Lucy’s body was not permitted to react positively to Tim under any circumstances. She whipped around and walked towards the garage, following the sound of Angela and Wes’ bickering echoing through the halls. “What’s going on down here?”
“Mr. NASCAR here thinks he knows how to improve my car,” Angela responded crossly.
“He might not be wrong,” Nyla volunteered.
“Who’s side are you on?” Angela wondered, feeling betrayed by her own Race Engineer.
“Alright, we’ve all had a very long day. Let’s go to the pub and unwind with a pint or two of beer,” Lucy suggested to broker a semblance of peace.
“Fine, but you’re not invited,” Angela replied and pointed to Wes.
“I have to move into my new motorhome anyway. Enjoy your ladies’ night,” Wes said.
Lucy saw how Angela opened her mouth, so she looped arms with her and dragged her away. “We’re changing and getting out of here.”
🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊𑁤
Nyla ordered the glasses of beer before rejoining Angela and Lucy at their usual table in the corner of the local pub they always frequented. “One of you better start talking,” she said as she handed out their drinks.
Angela and Lucy exchanged a look, and Lucy could tell that Angela was silently urging her to share. She huffed and then said, “I’m sure you already know Tim used to be on the Mercedes team with me before Angela took his place.”
“I didn’t know you were on the team at the same time. When was that?” Nyla inquired.
“Shh this is the most she’s talked about their history since it all went down. Save your questions for the end,” Angela said, hoping Lucy would not get spooked from continuing to share.
Lucy took a sip of her beer before continuing, “We weren’t on the same team for even a whole season. He quit F1 about halfway through and went over to NASCAR, which I didn’t even think was possible. Apparently, Tim signed some huge sponsorship deal that he couldn’t pass up. I drove the rest of my rookie year with Wrigley as my teammate, who was the reserve at the time, so we needed a new reserve, and Angela was brought on. Wrigley retired at the end of that season, so Angela was bumped up to my teammate, and we’ve been quite the dynamic duo ever since.”
“Okay, pause and rewind. We’re supposed to be talking about Tim. Tell Nyla how you two met,” Angela encouraged.
It was easier to stare down into her drink instead of looking at her friends as she told the story. “Angela and I started racing school together back in America about, God, it’s been nine years since then. We were kids.”
“Wes was there, too,” Angela chimed in.
“He sure was. Wes and Angela got under each other’s skin all the time. They were always competing for the number three and number four spot.”
“And who was number one?” Nyla wondered.
“Jackson West, he was Percy West’s son. He was the greatest. I was always second place to him, but I didn’t mind. He was just that good. We could all tell he was shaping up to be a racing legend just like his dad,” Lucy smiled recalling a dear friend.
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Angela added sadly.
“Percy wanted Jackson to go pro and join him on the Mercedes team when he was ready, so Percy came to our racing school offseason to help teach us, and he brought along his teammate,” Lucy said.
“The one and only Tim Bradford,” Angela smirked.
Lucy felt her lips stretch without her permission.
Nyla noticed and accused teasingly, “Somebody was hot for teacher.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Lucy blushed. “I was 18. All I cared about was racing, and Tim helped me get better. That’s all.”
“At first,” Angela noted pointedly.
“He really was just a mentor for me…at first,” Lucy said.
“Percy retired when we lost Jackson, which meant a spot opened up on the Mercedes team, and Tim pushed for Lucy to travel here to the U.K. to be with him,” Angela explained.
“We were teammates. He wanted me to be on his team,” Lucy clarified, since her friend’s choice of words could have a different connotation.
“I think a tiny part of him wanted to get under Lucy’s hood if you know what I mean.” Angela winked.
“Oh, I saw how they were looking at each other today. That was pretty clear,” Nyla grinned. “So, obviously, you became more than teammates.”
Lucy’s flush spread to her chest as her grin widened. “I was still adjusting to moving here, and everything felt different, so at night after practice, Tim would take me to an old dirt track so we could drive around and let loose. It was a fun way to remember how much we both love racing outside of the pressure, and the sponsors, and everything. We could just be us and blow off steam.”
“Mhm well, DRIVING wasn’t the only way you blew off steam, huh?” Angela jabbed sarcastically with a knowing smirk.
“One thing lead to another, and we…I had everything I needed by the time my rookie season started. I was on a great team, I was tearing up the track, and I was in love, like real love, for the first time in my life. When we weren’t practicing, Tim and I were burning up a different kind of track if you know what I mean. We were moving pretty fast, but we knew each other so well that it was so easy to shift into high gear. Seriously, it was the most amazing relationship I’ve ever been in. I’ve never been happier in my life.”
“What happened?” Nyla asked.
“I’m still not really sure. One minute we were talking about moving in together and life after F1, and the next, he was packing up his life and telling me he was going back to America to be a NASCAR driver. It’s been seven years since then.”
“Hold up. You two were hot and heavy, and he just left the hemisphere without telling you why?” Nyla was confused.
Lucy was, too. “He said he got a good sponsorship deal, but Tim never cared about the money, and he didn’t love NASCAR. He cared about racing an F1 car. I knew there was another reason why he left. I could see it in the look on his face, but he never told me the whole truth. He left me and the entire sport behind like we didn’t mean anything to him when I know for a fact that we were the two most important things in his life, and-” She could feel her blood start to boil and had to stop herself before she spiraled about Tim Bradford again for the millionth time in her life. “It doesn’t matter, because we’re both over each other. We’ve completely moved on, and we can work together now without it being a problem, or weird, or anything.”
“You’re not fooling anyone with that lie,” Angela said in her no-nonsense tone. “I think you two should hash out whatever happened back then.”
“Already tried that earlier, and he said that we have a lot of work to do, which we do, so I guess our history has to take a back seat. We should focus on the upcoming GP anyways. The past will still be there after I place in Australia.” Lucy ran her thumb down the side of her glass, catching the droplets of condensation in a line that looked like a straightaway, which was always Tim’s favorite part of a track. She had to kick herself for thinking about him again; it came in waves over the years, but seeing him again seemed to bring on a tsunami of thoughts where suddenly everything made her think of the man who broke her heart irreparably.
“We know you’re going to do great in Australia no matter which Racing Engineer’s voice is in your ear during that race, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to find time to get some closure. Might help you work better professionally,” Nyla suggested.
“This might help you actually move on from Tim, because let’s face it, you haven’t,” Angela said matter-of-factly.
“I have!” Lucy guaranteed confidently despite not necessarily believing that.
“Lucy, no one would blame you for being hung up on your first love for all these years, especially after how he just left and ended things with you like that. He’s such a grade A jerk. I can’t believe he used to be my best friend, but I definitely upgraded with both of you, and that’s what I want for you. I want you to be in a place where you can find someone better than Tim,” Angela urged.
“Better than Tim? That’s impossible,” Lucy replied, forlorn. “We were great until the end. Sometimes, I think…I think I want him back.”
“After what he did to you?” Nyla questioned, obviously surprised.
“It literally keeps me up sometimes. I remember how he said goodbye to me and told me we were through. That look in his eyes…I’d never seen anything like that before. If I knew why…if he came clean about why he really moved away, I’d try to find a way to forgive him. Right here. Right now.”
“Seriously?” Angela knew her friend was patient and kind, but she went to visit Lucy in the U.K. shortly after their breakup; she remembered seeing how shattered she was. Truthfully, Angela thought that there was no hope in reconciling after how Tim absolutely destroyed her, so hearing that Lucy was willing to bury the hatchet was a true testament to the depth of her feelings for him.
“Of course. Forgiving him would be a lot easier than being mad at him, which I currently am. Every time he opened his mouth today, I wanted to punch him. So, even if we couldn’t be together like we used to, I’d settle for being friends,” Lucy admitted.
“You can’t be friends with someone you used to be in love with,” Nyla advised.
“We’ll have to figure something out for the rest of the season. I plan to kick major ass this year, and Tim won’t get in the way of that. He’s taken enough away from me. I won’t let him take my career, too,” Lucy spoke defiantly. Easier said than done, but she had to hope it would be true, since everything she had ever worked for was on the line, and her heart was not allowed to get involved and complicate everything.