Work Text:
The roar of the engine drowned out almost everything.
Almost.
“Gap behind is three-point-two. Tires are holding better than expected, so push through sector two.”
Nicholas grinned beneath his helmet at the calm voice crackling through his headset. Calm for everyone else, maybe. He knew better.
“Copy that, EJ,” he drawled, dragging the nickname out just enough to get on the race engineer’s nerves. “If I break the lap record, do I get a reward?”
A beat of silence.
Then, in a flat tone, “Focus on the race.”
“Mm. So that’s a “you’ll think about it and most likely say yes”, right?”
Around him, the night circuit blurred into streaks of white and neon. The car hugged the corner perfectly, tires screeching for half a second before gripping again. Nicholas lived for this feeling of speed, danger, and adrenaline pumping hard enough to make his heart race like the car he drove.
But lately, his favorite part of racing wasn’t the track. It was hearing Euijoo trying very hard to pretend he was ignoring his comments over comms.
“You’re losing time in sector three,” Euijoo said.
“And whose fault is that? You’re distracting me.”
“Wha- How am I distracting when I am literally telling you to concentrate.”
Behind his mask, Nicholas’ smirk grew wider. “Your voice sounds really sexy today. Not my problem.”
In the engineers’ booth, the entire team dissolved into poorly hidden laughter.
Euijoo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can someone mute him?”
“You’re the lead engineer,” Jo replied helpfully. “Only you can do that.”
“I know.”
“So why don’t you?” Yuma added on in a teasing tone.
Euijoo glared through the glass while Nicholas’ car flew past the pit wall again.
“…because he’ll probably crash into a barrier to make me regret it.”
“That’s something he would do,” Yuma agreed, observing as Euijoo’s ears reddened beneath his headphones.
On track, Nicholas laughed, hearing every word through the open channel. “See? EJ knows me best.”
“I think anyone would know how childish you are.”
“You love me.”
“Shut up and drive.”
“Um, I’d hate to distract you lovebirds but I’d like a little sector advice too!” Maki announced from his car which was 2 places behind Nicholas, snapping Euijoo back into reality.
Nicholas took the next corner aggressively, nearly clipping the apex hard enough to spark. The crowd thundered from the grandstands overhead.
“Okay,” Euijoo said quickly. “Nicholas, Maki, two laps remaining. Car behind is attempting undercut positioning. Defend inside next turn.”
“Yes, sir.”
The immediate obedience should not have made Euijoo’s face warm. Unfortunately, it did.
Nicholas continued, voice lower now, teasing. “You’re so good at talking me through the course, Juju. How about I show you how good I am at talking people through other things tonight?”
The comms channel erupted.
“Oh my god, chill dude,” Maki wheezed.
“Can HR hear this?” Taki asked.
“I hope not,” Harua muttered.
“It’s not like they aren’t used to their team being like this.” Fuma sighed.
Euijoo could feel heat crawling all the way up to his face. He cleared his throat and slipped back into professionalism. Or at least he tried to.
“Yixiang,” he warned.
“Careful babe, hearing my name in that voice distracts me more than you’d think. Also I’m driving at two hundred miles per hour. I could die at any second. Might as well shoot my shot.”
“You are not going to die.”
“Aw. You care about me.”
“No, I care about the 14 million dollar car that has the misfortune of you being in it.”
“You sound pretty jealous about me being in the car and not y-”
Beep! The line muted.
Euijoo nearly choked.
The rest of the team screamed.
The line immediately unmuted after Euijoo deemed it safe.
Despite himself, Euijoo couldn’t resist the smile that appeared on his face as he rolled his eyes.
And because Nicholas somehow always noticed everything, even while flying around a circuit at terrifying speeds, his answering grin came instantly through his voice.
“There it is.”
Euijoo’s smile vanished immediately.
“Focus.”
“Roger that.”
Final lap.
The car behind closed aggressively into turn one, but Nicholas defended perfectly, blocking the inside before accelerating out with brutal precision. The crowd roared louder.
Euijoo’s heart pounded so hard he could feel it in his throat.
No matter how many times Nicholas raced, the fear never really disappeared. One mistake at this speed and- “Nicholas, easy on exit-“
“Relax, baby, I’ve got it.”
“This is the guy I’m letting take 1st place?” Maki laughed from his car, currently in 3rd.
Nicholas laughed so hard over comms that Euijoo could hear the smile in it.
Then the final straight opened ahead.
“Battery deployment now,” Euijoo ordered immediately, trying to recover whatever dignity he had left.
Nicholas obeyed without hesitation. The car surged forward, engine screaming at full power.
Five hundred meters.
Three hundred.
Two hundred-
The checkered flag waved.
“So, EJ,” Nicholas said smoothly as he crossed the line first, “I’ll be expecting a little reward from you.”
The garage exploded into cheers.
Euijoo dropped his headset onto the console and buried his face in his hands while everyone around him celebrated.
“Please tell me you guys are finally gonna do something after this, I can’t take this verbal edging anymore,” K patted Euijoo on the back, laughing as he moved to join the rest in celebration.
Minutes later, the garage doors burst open.
Nicholas and Maki walked in. Nicholas still wore half his race suit around his waist, curls damp with sweat, trophy already shoved carelessly into someone else’s hands. Maki immediately ran towards Harua and picked him up, stealing a kiss from him and laughing.
Nicholas walked straight towards Euijoo.
The team, even Maki who was still carrying Harua, scattered instantly.
“Cowards,” Euijoo muttered.
Nicholas stopped directly in front of him, still breathless from the race and smiling like he’d already won something better than first place.
“You never answered me.”
Euijoo refused to look at him. “Answered what?”
“The reward.”
“You got a trophy.”
“It doesn’t mean anything compared to what I want.”
Euijoo finally looked up and immediately regretted it.
Nicholas after races was unfair. Flushed cheeks, sparkling eyes, adrenaline still buzzing through him. Every emotion sat openly on his face.
Meanwhile Euijoo had spent the last six months pretending he wasn’t completely gone for him.
“Everyone can hear you making those unprofessional comments, you know,” Euijoo said weakly.
Nicholas leaned closer, voice dropping softer this time, stripped of the teasing edge he used around the others.
“I know. That’s the point.”
“That’s embarrassing.”
“For you maybe.”
“You are damaging our reputation.” Euijoo scoffed, turning to walk away.
Nicholas’ hand shot out and grabbed Euijoo’s wrist, gently holding him back.
“You know I don’t care about anything or anyone in this industry more than you.”
Euijoo’s breath caught.
Outside the garage, the celebration continued. Cameras flashing, mechanics yelling, champagne spraying somewhere in the distance.
Inside, it suddenly felt very quiet.
Nicholas tilted his head and that devilish grin reappeared on his face. “So?”
Euijoo stared at him for one long second.
Then his hand slid up the back of Nicholas’ neck, fingers threading through red hair as he tugged their faces together.
Their lips crashed- soft at first, then hungry. Euijoo’s mouth parted, a low moan escaping as Nicholas’ tongue swept inside, exploring. He gently bit on Euijoo’s lower lip.
Nicholas’ lips trailed down, leaving a wet path along Euijoo’s jaw. Hot breath ghosted over the skin of their neck before his mouth latched on, sucking lightly, tongue flickering over the pulse point. Euijoo’s head fell back, a sharp gasp cutting the quiet. He stopped when a dark purple spot bloomed on Euijoo’s fair skin, then moved back up to place another small kiss on his lips.
Nicholas pulled back looking stunned for exactly half a second before grinning helplessly.
“Oh,” he said. “So that’s what winning feels like.”
Euijoo rolled his eyes, though his face burned bright red.
“Don’t get used to it.”
Nicholas smiled wider.
“Guess I’ll just have to keep winning, then.”