Work Text:
Cub properly meets Oli during the Canadian GP while looking over his notes for Scar.
Scar got knocked out of qualifying during the second round, and Cub was calculating the mistakes in his head. He’s come to learn that any mistake Scar makes can come back to him, and he’s double-checking that the early elimination isn’t his fault.
When he’s at the pit wall, he doesn’t normally get disturbed. Cub likes the time he gets to himself when he isn’t talking to Scar, when he just gets to think and do all the work that’s expected of him. Since the pit wall is packed together so tightly, he doesn’t usually think much of the occasional brush of skin.
Usually.
Today, there’s an elbow grazing his arm that he ignores, watching a replay of one of Scar’s laps and reporting the data to the team strategists. The elbow goes from slightly inconvenient to cumbersome to an elbow in his side that might actually bruise tomorrow.
Cub winces and holds his side, stopping another onslaught attack when the elbow bounces off where he’s protecting his ribs. He stares right at Oli next to him, who’s flashing him an oddly creepy smile.
When Cub got promoted to race engineer for Scar’s rookie season, he’d meet up with Joel’s engineer plenty of times. But its been in passing, casual, and he wasn’t even sure Oli remembered his name.
He wasn’t expecting them to talk much as Cub had to focus on this being his first year as an engineer to accompany the rookie, and he sure as hell wasn’t expecting Oli to try killing him via elbow to the side.
“Ow?” Cub emphasizes where he’s rubbing his side in pain.
“I bet you that one of the Shade-E-Es boys is gonna get pole,” Oli says, holding a hand out.
That’s why Oli almost launched him across the paddock with his elbow alone!? Cub raises an eyebrow, but Oli doesn’t back down from his glare. He actually sits up higher, even if Cub can see Joel coming back to the garage before Q3.
Cub narrows his eyes. He wants to bleed this guy dry after, well, nearly making Cub bleed out. “How much?”
”$10.”
He raises an eyebrow at that. “Are you making fun of me because I’m American?”
”$10 Canadian,” Oli responds simply. He had that witty comeback ready very quickly, and usually, Cub is the master of that.
He double-checks his current data, and from the looks of it, Grian’s on track to get pole. Cub wonders if Oli notices something different, but seeing as Oli is busier making bets than he is getting ready for the final round of qualifying, he decides to go with his gut.
“$20 on Sahara,” Cub says, nodding at Oli. He’s scared that if he moves his hand from its spot on his side, Oli will take advantage of the opening and attack again. “And don’t hit me, man.”
Oli’s eyes light up, but Cub assumes that has more to do with his minimal pushback about his injury. “You’re on!”
He feels a very normal touch to his shoulder, and he sends Oli a pointed look before turning to address Scar standing behind him. He takes his headset off and listens as Scar goes over some stuff with him and the strategist, discussing how he could improve the sections he lost time in today.
When Scar leaves, there’s a hand in front of his face, palm up. He rolls his eyes and nearly shoves Oli away, but he realizes that qualifying is over (and his conversation lasted way longer than he thought). Cub’s jaw drops when he sees that Etho’s on pole, just as Oli predicted.
“Pay up, Cubby boy, this is paying for my dinner tonight!” Oli beckons his fingers teasingly, and Cub scowls when the strategist starts laughing at him, too.
“What did you see?” Cub ignores Oli’s hand and stares at the screen in front of him, the numbers and the results not adding up in his mind. What could Oli have possibly noticed that he didn’t?
That’s a bit terrifying, considering his job is to catch these sorts of things, but he’ll blame it on Scar being out of qualifying.
Oli points to some numbers on the screen, and Cub squints to see them. “Etho and Bdubs were managing tires a little better, even if Grian was best in Q1 and Q2. They were setting up for Q3. Don’t hate the players, hate the game! I’d like my $20 now.”
“I’ll give you cash later,” Cub says without looking at him. He’s watching a replay of Etho’s laps from Q2 when he appeared slower to Cub. He’ll have to rewatch qualifying later with Oli’s words in the back of his mind.
“You still got a lot to learn, Cubby,” Oli smirks, and Cub gets his revenge by elbowing him back.
He’s pretty sure it’s against the rules to hit his coworkers, but Oli laughs and shrugs it off, so he’ll go on assuming it doesn’t apply to him.
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: Bitch better have my money
Hello Cub,
I wasn’t kidding when I said you owed me $20. I look forward to hearing from you again.
Thanks,
Oli
FROM: [email protected]
RE: Bitch better have my money
Hi Oli,
Are you even allowed to curse in the subject line of these emails? Thought all work related emails get screened before being sent off to us. If so, I look forward to our meeting with HR.
If not, we might still be attending that meeting. Where did you get my email from? I don’t recall us ever exchanging addresses.
As for your $20, just add me on Venmo: @cubfan135. Not sure how you found my email and not my Venmo, but man this is a lot of work for $20.
Looking forward to your response. It may make all the difference between a CC from HR or not.
Cub
FROM: [email protected]
RE: Bitch better have my money
Hi Cub,
Thanks for getting back so quickly.
Do you not get those corporate wide phishing tests? Only stuff that comes from outside the organization is screened so I can do whatever I want in these emails. My power grows as we speak.
Also, dude. We’re CC’d in every email together. We have been for years. You’re already in my address book. You’re the rude one. I may have to file workplace bullying paperwork.
Just added you on Venmo. Looking forward to your payment. I’ll let you know when I receive it :3
Kind regards,
Oli
FROM: [email protected]
RE: Bitch better have my money
Oli,
I have a race to get ready for now, and I suggest you do the same. Your boy is in a much more precarious situation than mine is.
Cub
Get Outlook for iOS
FROM: [email protected]
RE: Bitch better have my money
Don’t tell me what to do.
Warmly,
Oli
After their first proper conversation, Cub doesn’t hear much from Oli.
He can see some of Oli’s transactions on Venmo, and that’s pretty entertaining. He doesn’t know much about the guy, so seeing ‘Tonight’s parlay’ and ‘Money to stay away from me’ from the same day gets a chuckle out of him.
Still. They only talk to each other during briefings and when Joel and Scar bring them together. They definitely aren’t friends, especially after Cub threatened him over email. That’s why it shocks him when Oli seeks him out at the end of a race weekend.
A lot of the Magical Mountain team members like to hang out in the hotel lobby after races, even if the drivers don’t always do their best. It’s how they celebrate their small wins over the weekends: the pit crew getting the fastest pit stop of the race, the strategist making great calls when a safety car is called, and Cub coaching Scar across the finish line calmly and smoothly.
Cub’s nursing a drink his friend Jevin ordered, chatting with him about the new game he downloaded on his phone, wondering what time he needs to go to bed before his flight tomorrow at three. He’s chill, relaxed, and then the loudest person he knows has to go and interrupt it.
“Cubby boy!”
He assumes that’s him, but he isn’t happy about it. Cub turns slowly as Oli approaches, holding a soda in one hand and a water bottle in the other. “Don’t call me that.”
“King, I haven’t seen you in two whole hours!” Oli sits on the barstool next to Cub, and he mourns silently when Jevin gets called over by another friend. Cub watches him go, wishing he could go too without looking outrageously rude. “Aw, don’t look so sad. I’m here now!”
“Did you just call me king?”
“You said not to call you Cubby boy.”
He prefers ‘king’ as his nickname if he must have one, so he relents. “Anything you need, Oli?”
“Scar did great today!” Oli shouts. He pats Cub on the shoulder, and Cub almost tells him not to do that. He doesn’t, though, because at least it isn’t his elbow this time. “We don’t always get the credit, but trust. Without us, these boys would be lost.”
That Cub can easily agree with him on. He knew that becoming a race engineer would put him directly on the front lines of racing without being in the car himself. He’ll be forced to make tough calls; sometimes his calls will be wrong, and he’ll take the blame for it. Sometimes, Scar will make the wrong call, and it’s his job to prevent that from happening. But at the end of the day, it’s a mix of Scar’s driving and Cub’s mind that will make or break this season. He may not always be visible, but his impact is felt with every step.
Cub is well aware of this, however. He’s been working towards this promotion for years, so he’s unsure why Oli came to him about this.
Oli continues, either unobservant or ignoring Cub’s confusion. “You’ve made some good calls so far, king. Get used to feeling on top of the world when you make a top-tier call that’s just so amazing, it blows your own mind.”
Cub rolls his eyes. Oli doesn’t know the first thing about him. “What makes you so sure I’m going to be that good?”
“You already are.” Oli flashes a friendly smile, and he walks away without so much as a goodbye. Unless that was his goodbye, but it feels like he just wanted a quippy line to say. Everything Oli says is quippy, so Cub can’t be too sure.
He wants to push back, but that would require seeking Oli out, and he would rather not. Still. Strangely, he acts as if he knows so much; stuff he wouldn’t know unless he’s watching Cub or something. It wouldn’t be weird–they work closely together, and it makes sense that Oli would ensure Scar’s side of the garage is running smoothly.
Cub almost hunts him down, curious to know whether he’s faking or if he is keeping tabs on him now. But curiosity killed the cat, and he plans to live out his full nine lives in peace. He searches for Jevin instead.
Cub almost doesn’t notice the fireworks.
He doesn’t notice the frantic movement next to him right away, either. The night race has just ended, and he’s busy focusing on the important notes in front of him. He and Oli are the last left at the pit wall, waiting for the briefing while Joel celebrates a podium. Cub has no reason to rush, but he left his headset on to block out the busy noise so he could concentrate before the briefing.
He only knows something is amiss when his arm is grazed by an elbow. He breathes in to calm himself down before turning to Oli, but Oli isn’t paying attention to him at all.
Cub’s a little embarrassed to think so highly of himself. He’s not one to assume he’s the center of the universe, quite used to the opposite, yet he thought Oli must be trying to get his attention again. Why, because he accidentally nudged him in the dark?
He shakes his head at himself and goes back to looking at his notes, but as he reaches for his pen, it goes flying in another direction. Oli doesn’t even seem to have noticed he’s messing up Cub’s area, checking underneath stray papers and binders for… something.
Cub addresses Oli first before any more pens go missing. “What are you doing?”
Oli doesn’t look up as he says, “I need my headset.”
Cub’s been sitting here since the race ended, but he noticed Oli left the pit wall once Joel got back to the garage. He only noticed because Oli knocked over a water bottle on his way out, not because Cub decided to stalk him back in retaliation.
(He’s kidding himself. Cub is keeping a closer eye on Oli, but that’s because he doesn’t like the idea of Oli knowing too much about him while Cub gets nothing in return.)
The point being, Cub watched Oli leave, and the headset is definitely not here. He must’ve taken it with him wherever he took off.
“We would’ve seen it by now if it were here,” Cub says. The pit wall is small, but not comically tiny. Stuff can get lost, like Cub’s favorite gel pen from the other day, but not something as apparent as a purple headset.
“Fuck, I need it…” Oli mutters to himself. Cub’s about to suggest he retrace his steps (obviously) when another firework goes off and Oli flinches so hard it shakes the entire pit wall.
Cub almost shouts at him for causing a ruckus. Something stops him, though. Something in Oli’s eyes, maybe how wide they go, or how his lips purse at the sound of the next fireworks going off. Perhaps it’s how he tenses in anticipation of the fireworks, subtly trying to cover his ears while continuing to shuffle papers. Cub shuts his mouth instead, and he realizes why Oli’s looking for his headset so frantically.
He almost doesn’t want to do this. Cub could ignore him, but he’d feel like the biggest jerk in the paddock.
Cub takes off his own headset, handing it to Oli as the fireworks continue. He wants the transaction to happen wordlessly, but Oli can’t do anything without making it loud.
Oli puts the headset on before smiling at him, very strained, yet very grateful. “Thanks. I hate the stupid fireworks at night races.”
Cub nods once, happy to help.
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: Missing headset in need of parent
Hi Cub,
Thanks for letting me use your headset the other day. Sorry I took it, but I really didn’t want to give it back :3 when can I return it? It’s asking for you and i don’t know how to be a parent.
Warmly,
Oli
FROM: [email protected]
RE: Missing headset in need of parent
Oli,
I already requested a new headset from the team. Just keep it, don’t worry about it. I’m glad I was there.
Cub
Get Outlook for iOS
FROM: [email protected]
RE: Missing headset in need of parent
Hello again,
Dude, I was asking to hang out when the weekend comes around. Headsets don’t talk, silly
Let me know
Thanks,
Oli
FROM: [email protected]
RE: Missing headset in need of parent
Oli,
I’m aware headsets don’t speak. I thought that was the joke, but maybe I’m funnier than you.
I’ll see you Friday.
Cub
FROM: [email protected]
RE: Missing headset in need of parent
:3 ????
FROM: [email protected]
RE: Missing headset in need of parent
I don’t know what that means. Explain it to me in person.
See you then,
Cub
Cub doesn’t know what he was expecting when his birthday landed on a race weekend, but it wasn’t this.
This isn’t the first time he’s spent his birthday in the garage, but this is the most it has ever been celebrated. He wasn’t going to mention anything, but his lunch with Oli earlier got interrupted by Scar bringing him a birthday gift, and Oli opened his big mouth to tell the entire team.
He opened the gift at both of their insistence, pleasantly surprised to find a gift card to an online book shop Cub found on Instagram. “I’ve been wanting to get back into reading,” Cub explained to Oli, even though he didn’t have to explain shit. It’s his birthday gift, after all.
Soon enough, the entire team is wishing him a happy birthday. Cub’s bashful when his hair gets ruffled or when people break out into song. Jevin threatened to get an a cappella group to sing to him in the middle of practice if he didn’t accept his gifts, so Cub ended up with a mountain of gifts ranging from digital gift cards sent over email to flowers delivered to the paddock.
They’re very simple gifts. Cub appreciates that as much as the team wants to celebrate with him, they’re being modest about it.
At least that’s what he thought going into the second practice session. After giving him a card, Joel, who promised him a drink later, suddenly paused.
Now, Cub’s been at the pit wall for the past fifteen minutes waiting for the next practice session to start. He hadn’t realized Oli was MIA, but the peace and quiet should’ve indicated what was going to happen next.
Joel lets out a loud laugh, the perfect second half to his engineer, and Cub closes his eyes as he senses Oli’s presence behind him.
“Happy birthday to youuuu!” Oli sings behind him, somehow sounding great yet off-key. “Happy birthday dear Cub–”
Cub whips around to face Oli as others join in the singing, ready to interrupt, but his jaw drops when he sees what Oli’s holding.
Oli has a sheet cake, and at first, Cub thinks it’s supposed to be a Lightning McQueen cake. Upon closer examination, he sees Lightning McQueen has X’s on the eyes. It’s a dead Lightning McQueen cake, and he has no idea where on earth Oli could’ve gotten this from.
“The candles are lit, make a wish, and make it about the demise of Sahara and Shade E-Es!” Oli holds the flaming candles up to Cub, his smile so bright that Cub would never know it isn’t Oli’s birthday instead.
He reluctantly gets out of his chair, planting his hands on his hips as he stares Oli down. He’s trying not to crack his own smile, determined to keep a nonchalant demeanor, but Oli’s joy is spreading across the garage. He made the entire place light up, and Cub couldn’t help but finally let out a small chuckle.
“Where the hell did you get this?” Cub asks. Don’t smile, don’t smile, don’t let him know you don’t actually hate this. “Dead Lightning McQueen has to go against some kind of policy, surely.”
Oli shrugs, thrusting the cake higher in his face. “Blow out the candles, king. The wax is dripping, and no one wants to eat candle cake.”
Cub shuts his eyes as he blows the candles, and he refuses to share his wish out loud when the others ask. He lets Oli cut the cake, and he hides his smile behind spoonfuls of cake when he realizes Oli got his favorite flavor.
It’s just a funny video.
Cub stumbled upon a video of Joe Jonas trying to parallel park, and it made him laugh, naturally. Upon laughing, he decided he wanted to send it to his friends to make them laugh, too. He sent it to Scar, and he opened his email to send it to Oli when he realized he was opening Outlook to send an email to Oli about a funny Joe Jonas video.
It was enough of a mindfuck to completely short-circuit his brain.
He sits on his bed, dropping his phone next to him. The audio from the video continues playing, taunting him, tempting him to pick it back up and send the video.
Cub is almost positive Oli wouldn’t mind. If they ever have spare time, Oli often taps his shoulder to show him a funny video he came across.
That only happens on race weekends when they’re together, and it’s Tuesday night after he’s already brushed his teeth.
If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t be doubting it. It’s not like he has reservations about talking to his other coworkers throughout the week, but he’s never seeked out Oli. Something about the recipient being Oli just feels different for some reason.
They don’t talk outside of race weekends besides the odd email. That makes it weird for him to send an email about a video he saw that made him laugh. Right? Maybe it’s weird because it’s through email.
Cub grabs his phone to open Instagram, but he thinks it’s even weirder to DM him. He doesn’t want to text him either since they’ve never texted for reasons other than work. At least emails are slightly more neutral, and he’s aware that sounds pretty backwards for the twenty-first century.
That’s fine. He can save the video, wait until next Friday for the next race, and show it to Oli then. Surely, that is the least weird option. He can act like he just saw it and play it for him under the guise of someone who hasn’t seen a funny Joe Jonas video.
Cub checks the calendar, and his heart drops when he sees how long he has to wait until the next race. That’s fine. This will stick in his mind, and he’ll absolutely remember to show it to Oli while the guys are in a press conference or something. He just has to wait… ten days!
He could skip the waiting, but that would require reaching out first. Cub contemplates it one more time, but he shakes his head. He’d rather wait the ten days, and he could even see Oli’s reaction in person.
…is he counting down the days until he sees fucking Oli again?
Cub bites his thumb at the implications, but he shakes his head. It would be weirder to send the video than it is to wait until next Friday. Right? Logically, he shouldn’t be misusing his work email anyway, so using it to send funny videos is what makes the whole situation weird.
It’s decided. Cub will wait until he sees Oli again, and he’ll make him laugh until neither of them can breathe anymore. That isn’t weird amongst coworkers.
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: Please? Parking lot
It’s another long, tense race weekend, and Joel’s lost the lead of the championship. Again.
The past couple of races have been chaotic, tough, and scary, and the championship continues to switch between three drivers. Cub is dreading the day that Scar gets to the championship level because it has Joel’s side of the garage stressed beyond belief.
That’s why he stares at the email he got from Oli, and instead of taking a shower, he makes his way to the hotel parking lot at 10 at night.
While they’re all working towards the constructors’, he knows Oli and Joel are more beat up every time Joel loses the lead of the drivers' championship. He saw how quiet Oli was during the briefing, which he never is. It’s almost enough for Cub to miss his voice.
Almost. He’s questioning why he’s even meeting him. The driver’s championship is not his circus because it doesn’t involve his monkey, but he can’t ignore Oli’s email in good conscience.
Why not? He asks himself this during the elevator ride to the lobby, and the entire time he walks to the parking lot. He can’t explain it to himself either.
All he sees are parked cars (shocking). Cub wonders if he should’ve responded to Oli’s email before coming, but then he spots a car with its lights on, flashing its high beams at him.
“Why do I do this to myself…” Cub mutters before walking to the car in question.
He lets himself into the passenger seat, and he stares ahead when Oli turns towards him. Facing Oli would feel weirdly intimate, as if all of him would be on display with a simple look. He doesn’t have much to hide, so he doesn’t know what he’s so afraid of. Cub still can’t look at him, and they sit in silence for a moment.
It’s not often they’re alone together.
As race engineers, other team members are constantly coming to them for one reason or another. Sometimes, they’ll catch each other in a hallway, but their alone time only lasts seconds at a time. Even if they get lunch together, they only have so much time and space, and other people might join in just because. They certainly have never made it a point to try to create solitude for themselves.
Cub bites his lip, and he opens his mouth to ask what the hell he’s doing here.
Oli beats him. “I think it’s my fault Joel can’t hold the lead.”
Cub almost scoffs at that. He’s sure Oli didn’t make any horrendous calls today. “Why? It doesn’t look that way to me.”
Oli pauses, and Cub finally looks at him. His hair is a mess, his eyes are sad, and he’s sporting a frown that Cub has only ever seen when Oli gets bored. “Joel has everything. There’s no reason he should be behind Etho right now. So it has to be me.”
“That’s crazy,” Cub says. He can’t wrap his head around this logic, and he’s gotten pretty good at deciphering Oli’s crazy talk. “You’re crazy.”
“But–”
“No, listen here, crazy guy,” Cub interrupts. Oli smiles at the name-calling. “This is my first go at this whole ‘race engineer’ stuff. And…” He hesitates. Is he willing to compromise his pride just to make Oli feel better after a tough day?
Oli looks so hopeful, clinging to his words. Yes, Cub decides, and he continues. “And… I couldn’t do this without you.”
His words hang between them, and Cub wonders if he should’ve said any of that. But Oli’s small smile grows embarrassed, and he mutters, “Little ol’ me?”
Cub nods, and he focuses on something in the distance. He’s fighting his own smile when he can tell that Oli believes him wholeheartedly just by the way he’s looking at him. “Little old you.”
It takes a while for Cub to track down Oli during the championship party.
Even though he wasn't sure if he was invited, Oli made Cub promise to be at the after-party during the track celebrations. Scar got involved in the convincing, and now Cub’s hanging out with the newest F1 world champion.
Cub isn’t sure who’s paying, but he happily accepts the free champagne. It’s a great way to wind down after the chaotic season, and it loosens him enough to talk to people from Joel’s side of the garage he might not usually engage with. When he’s past tipsy and on his way to being properly drunk, he decides it’s time to talk to Oli.
He didn’t think it would be hard. Oli’s the most magnetic in the room, creating beams of light wherever he stands. He looks around, thinking he’d find him just like that, but Cub doesn’t catch sight of him right away.
It takes god knows how long.
Cub keeps getting stopped by people telling him how great he did for Scar’s rookie year, and he allows the praise to get to his head just for tonight. He’s humble enough every other day of the year, and he has a thing for people telling him how great he is.
When he spots Oli stepping onto a table to dance, he finds the quickest way out of his conversation and strolls over to his friend. Oli grins as he gets closer, waving and hurriedly hopping off the table just as quickly as he got on.
“My king, you’ve found me!” Oli’s speech is slightly slurred, and his balance is off. He holds onto Cub’s arm before he tips over, and Cub grabs him to hold him steady. “Why didn’t you find me sooner!?”
“I didn’t see you! Were you waiting for me?” Cub would never ask that if he were more sober. He wouldn’t be hanging onto Oli like this either, but he doesn’t see a problem with it now. “You were waiting for me, weren’t you?”
Oli looks taken aback by Cub’s forwardness. He stutters, and Cub takes a step closer. “No!” Oli shouts when the tips of their shoes touch.
“No?” Cub stares at the dusty pink across Oli’s nose. Oli doesn’t blush often, only during races in hot weather. Cub isn’t sure how he even knows that.
“No,” Oli repeats. “I was waiting for my boyfriend. I’m not single.”
Cub’s heart drops out of his ass when Oli waves someone over. He doesn’t make any move to step back, too shocked to consider what he should be doing. If he’s had a boyfriend this whole time… Cub doesn’t know the implications of that, and he also doesn’t know why it’s made his blood turn to ice. His heart is beating faster now, and Oli is drunkenly smiling like he hasn’t turned Cub’s world on its head.
“Yup, I’m dating Joel,” Oli states when Joel appears beside him.
“Oh my god, that’s why you called me over?” Joel rolls his eyes. “Stop telling people that. It’s the third time this week.”
Joel leaves, and Oli smiles brighter at him. “Ignore him. He loves me. My little Olipop is the world champion.” He wipes a fake tear, and Cub feels himself deflate with relief.
Wait, relief?
Cub’s not even that drunk; he’s definitely more sober than Oli.
But in the seconds before Joel showed up, his heart had stopped.
Only for a couple of seconds. That means nothing, he tells himself. He would be just as shocked if Scar came over and said he was dating someone, too. Relief probably isn’t even the right word to describe his emotions.
But you weren’t just surprised. You were terrified.
No, why would he be terrified? He’s had more champagne than he thought, apparently, because there’s no explanation as to why Oli’s relationship status should scare him. Or why it matters at all.
But it does.
“That’s a good bit,” Cub says, and Oli grabs him by the arm to pull him towards where some others are hanging out.
He forgets soon after why he felt that way in the first place, but a nagging voice in his head doesn’t let it slip his mind come morning. He ignores it.
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: break
Hi Oli,
Happy holidays
My best,
Cub
FROM: [email protected]
RE: break
Hi. wow, what a way to make a guy feel special. I might take your Christmas gift back to the store
Warmly,
Oli
FROM: [email protected]
RE: break
I wanted to reach out. Don’t make this any more weird than it has to be
Thanks,
Cub
FROM: [email protected]
RE: break
It’s not lost on me that this is the first time you’ve emailed me first. I wouldn’t mind if you do it more often.
Not weird at all. It’s just me, dude. Don’t be a stranger
Yours,
Oli
FROM: [email protected]
RE: break
Noted. I’ll see you after break
Warmly,
Cub
It’s Tuesday, Cub’s getting on a plane to get to testing before the start of a new season, and he feels out of his element.
He decided to fly with Jevin since most flights to Australia had a layover, and he needed someone to keep him company through it. But once it was almost time to board the second plane, Cub spots something that makes his heart race.
Someone.
There, sipping a coffee at his and Jevin’s gate, was Oli. Cub didn’t think he’d see him so soon, and after their last interaction at Joel’s party, Cub wasn’t that eager to confront him. He stalked his socials over the break, sure, and Oli’s last email quite literally said not to be a stranger, but he still turns to Jevin to see if maybe he wanted to grab overpriced coffee and risk missing their layover; anything to delay this confrontation just a little longer.
Except Jevin is overexcited and already over there, sitting right next to Oli with a bright smile detailing all the great things the team is doing this season. Cub sighs, and he follows Jevin.
Oli doesn’t see him right away, but he sits up straighter when Cub sits on the other side of Jevin. Cub pretends not to notice, though he’s questioning how he saw that in the first place. Oli waits until he’s put his backpack on the ground to greet him casually, like his last email wasn’t breaking Cub’s mind, and his simple joke didn’t nearly cause Cub to catastrophically spiral.
“Hi,” Cub says when Oli waves. “It’s nice to be all together again.”
“Yeah, I’ve…” Oli hesitates, and Cub leans forward to catch his every word. “I’ve missed you.”
“Oh, Cub, I forgot to ask you–” Jevin cuts in, unaware of the wires in Cub’s brain short-circuiting. He tries to look at Oli, but he’s positioned himself in a way that Jevin blocks his face.
He’s distracted, only absentmindedly listening to Jevin ask god knows what. Cub hums when he needs to, but he’s replaying Oli’s words while the first boarding group boards the plane. He jumps when his phone buzzes, and he discreetly checks it when he notices Oli typing away.
Oli: did you miss me
Oli: i know we don’t text and only exchanged numbers for work reasons but. don’t want this on the record
Cub whips his attention back to Jevin, but now he’s definitely not paying attention. He’s sure this is rude, but he fully pulls his phone out to respond.
Cub: I’m not answering that
Cub: You already know
He bites his lip. That sounds flirty, and he’s not trying to outwardly flirt with his coworker. That would be insane. He can hear Oli chuckling to himself, and it’s terrifying. He sent a risky text, so it’s really his own fault for his predicament, but he blames Jevin for sitting between them. Cub would’ve never said that if they were face-to-face!
“Oh, looks like we’re boarding,” Jevin says. Yes, Jevin for the win! Oli’s still in a different boarding group, thank god. Cub needs the space before he says something insane.
Oli: do i?
…what the fuck does that mean?
Cub pockets his phone while they line up. He doesn’t check it as he hands over his boarding pass, and he doesn’t take it back out until he sits. Jevin’s next to him, and he angles his phone slightly away from him.
Cub: Yeah
He needs to get better at texting.
Oli: i’d like it if you’d just answer the question
Cub’s eyes go wide, but he schools his expression when Jevin asks him to open the window cover during takeoff. He stares down at his phone, not bothering to be secretive this time. Maybe Jevin can give him some advice.
He takes a deep breath, and he decides to start this season off with a risk.
Cub: Make me
He watches the text change from Delivered to Read, the three little bubbles appearing and disappearing. Cub stares at his phone long and hard, willing it to procure a response from Oli for him.
“Jevin, hi again! Do you want to switch seats with me? I got a solo seat.”
Cub freezes when he hears Oli right fucking next to him. He holds his breath when Jevin agrees with a happy, “Sold! Thanks!.”
He wasn’t expecting Oli to fucking spawn next to him, and he’s even less prepared to sit next to him. He never would’ve sent that text if he’d known! But now Jevin’s leaving him and Oli’s taking his seat, and Cub feels like his brain is going to melt out of his ears.
When Oli’s fully settled, he pulls something out of his pocket for Cub to see. “I have a dual headphone adapter, and I’m demanding that we listen to music together.”
Cub cautiously nods. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Oli raises an eyebrow, and he pulls out two pairs of wired headphones. Did he have this planned or something? “I should’ve known you’d be bolder over text. I guess I can wait until we land.”
Cub has to catch his breath before he responds. “Is that a threat?” Real smooth, Cub, great job.
Oli simply shrugs. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
Cub settles into his seat, flustered and slightly lightheaded. Oli didn’t even say anything out of left field, but Cub did. Cub started this with his text, which was way more flirty than anything Oli had sent first. He wanted to get a reaction out of Oli, and he ended up playing himself more.
This is going to be a long two weeks if he can’t keep it together.
A lot happened last season.
On track, Magical Mountain placed third in the constructors'. Cub got through his first year as a race engineer, and he didn’t cause a catastrophe. He walked out of Abu Dhabi at the end of last season knowing the team was only going to get better, which means Cub has to get better. He found his place at Magical Mountain, and now he has to continue improving until they win the elusive constructors’ title.
But off track, Cub saw firsthand what it looked like to fall in love within the season.
He didn’t keep up too heavily with the Grian and Scar drama, but after that one time when Grian asked him about Scar, he knew something was up. He followed it loosely until Scar mentioned it offhandedly, and Cub learned that forming relationships was something he was allowed to do.
Oli: lunch? 👀
Cub stares at the text that came through five minutes ago, and he wonders, Do I want to allow it?
He watched his closest peer fall in love, and he never expected it for himself. Except now he thinks he might be. He doesn’t quite know what to make of that, especially when the person in question is Oli.
They have nothing in common, but Cub finds himself relaxed in his presence anyway. Oli’s too fucking loud at times, and he likes to sing at the top of his lungs, but Cub wants to sit and listen despite it all. Cub wants to work hard and help this team climb to the top, but Oli’s contrast is a gravitational pull bringing him back to earth before he wanders too much into the empty void of space.
It’s a bad fucking idea. They work so closely together, seeing each other twenty-four weekends out of the year. Cub shouldn’t even be thinking about it; that’s how bad of an idea it is.
But does he care? He doesn’t want to admit the number of times he died waiting for Fridays so he could get back on track and see Oli again. He thinks about the Sundays when he had to say goodbye, “Until next time!”, and how it felt like getting punched in the gut.
He refused to think about it too hard.
Now he’s forced to think about it because it’s time to make a choice.
He can ignore the text. He doesn’t have to respond or get lunch with Oli despite his bravado over text. Cub can put an end to this now, and he’d be content with the fling he never had. It was fun for a minute, but he doesn’t have to entertain it anymore.
Or he could indulge. He can be greedy for once, allow himself a moment out of the shadows, and have this one thing. He’s pacing his hotel room instead of chasing something he wants, and he questions: Which would be the correct decision?
The logical thing to do is move on with his life, leaving Oli a footnote in his time at Magical Mountain. His heart tells him to text Oli to meet him outside his room, and his thumbs are texting faster than his head can catch up.
Cub: Is this a date?
Oli: it can be if you want
Cub bites his lip, unsure. He’s hesitating, but he knows deep down that he’s already accepted his fate for what it is. His life and this idiot are intertwined, and he isn’t as mad as he thought he would be. Oli solidified himself as a fixture, and Cub should’ve seen this coming. He thinks it’s better that it hit him in the face like this.
Cub: Meet me outside in five