Chapter Text
RACE WEEKEND 5: CANADA
WEDNESDAY
Grian is napping soundly when Pearl bothers him.
He mentioned wanting to get dinner with the group, and she immediately texted all their friends. He got dressed in some nicer clothes and decided to nap until it was go-time, but her rapid knocks shocked him out of his sleep.
Groaning, Grian opens the door to Pearl with her phone in hand. She lets herself in, and Grian doesn’t even try to object. He sighs and says, “Yes?”
“You made the reservation wrong,” she answers without looking at him. She’s taking her shoes off and fixing her hair in his mirror. “I was going to ask if Gem can take the extra spot, but she’s busy doing some training thing with Impulse.”
“Extra spot?” Grian furrows his eyebrows. He made the reservation for five, didn’t he?
“For five?” Pearl turns back to him. “Joel told us while we were making the plans that Lizzie wouldn’t make it.”
Now he’s more confused, because he’s confused about why Pearl is confused. “Yeah, I included Scar.”
He realizes Pearl hasn’t had the chance to properly meet Scar yet. He dismisses her worries with a wave of his hand. “Ah, you don’t know him yet. He’s the one—”
She laughs at him. Rude. “Yeah, Joel told me about your little stunt from the other week. Wasn’t Scar the one who was there for all of that?”
Grian sits back down on his bed, annoyed. He really wishes his friends would learn to let things go as he has done so masterfully. Yes, he had an episode, but is it necessary for everybody to bring it up whenever they can? He glares at her, and she glares back, but he breaks first with a chuckle.
“You’re so mean to me,” Grian complains, but he doesn’t move when she lies on his bed and throws her legs across his lap.
“I’m just making sure,” Pearl points out. Grian knows she just worries.
Grian tells her about how sweet Scar was, allowing Joel to take over when he was out of his depth, and how helpful he was in the morning. Even though Grian got most of his information from Joel, he saw how Scar acted after his episode. That guy is too kind for his own good.
F1 is going to eat him alive.
Joel’s likely too focused on the championship battle to be of much use to Scar in that regard, and really, Grian should be too. But it’s been a while since a rookie has… appealed to Grian enough to want to be his friend. They usually come and go, but Scar’s sticking around for a while. It would suck, then, if Scar got all the life sucked out of him before he could fight for a championship of his own.
“Scar was very nice after all that happened, even when Joel was acting all cryptid. I included him in our reservation, so he’s coming,” Grian says, and it’s final. He smiles sweetly at her. “If you wanted to go on a date with Gem, you should’ve planned that on your own.”
Pearl gasps like she’s been shot, but she’s laughing as she does it. “You’re the one who blew up my phone as I was going through security to ask if I could come! You, Mumbo, and Joel, you evil trio, and this is how you treat me!?”
Even when she grabs a pillow and tries her hardest to suffocate him (an idea she got after watching Joker on the plane, she later tells him), Grian can feel her care in the gentle ways she touches him.
THURSDAY
If Mumbo says one more sad, brooding word, Grian’s going to kick his ass.
While he complains about how much he’s been asked regarding an unfair penalty from the last race, Grian’s stomach has been growling since halfway through media duties. Usually, hunger wouldn’t bother him, but he left his water bottle in Doc’s car. Not only is he hungry, but Mumbo’s bad mood is killing him, and the dehydration is making his mouth dry.
“Mumbo, did the penalty even hurt you?” Grian can’t even remember the results from the last race. He narrows his eyes, tipping his bottle upside down to catch the last remnants of water on his tongue. He has half a mind to take Mumbo’s, but Mumbo might kill him in return.
Mumbo grumbles that, despite not dropping any places with his penalty, he’s still upset about the principle of it all. Grian can understand that, but he’d appreciate it a whole lot more if he didn’t feel like his stomach was turning in on itself. He sighs, looking off into the distance as Mumbo continues to rant about how he feels like he didn’t even deserve his penalty.
When they make their way back to their motorhomes, Mumbo takes a protein bar out of his backpack. Hopeful, Grian asks, “Do you have an extra by any chance?”
Mumbo digs through his backpack as he dissects the ethics of the FIA, and Grian tries his hardest not to zone off. He feels a distant pang of a headache coming on, and it’ll only get worse if he doesn’t find something to eat soon.
“...and I just have to accept it!” Mumbo comes up empty-handed, only briefly acknowledging Grian’s wish for a protein bar before moving on to the next topic.
On second thought, the headache may be Mumbo.
Grian sighs. “I need to find Pete. I’ll see you later.”
On a hunt for his lovely engineer, he runs into Bdubs briefly. Bdubs needs sunscreen, so Grian sends him to Mumbo; he didn’t want to talk to Bdubs for that long. Mumbo’s sure to have some sort of UV protection in that backpack of his, and Grian needs to have something to eat before he gets snappy with people.
Unfortunately, Joel and Scar are the next people to stop him. Grian is nearing the point of crying in frustration, but Joel and Scar appear so serious that Grian feels bad drafting a rejection to whatever it is they want.
But then Scar pulls out a bag of gummy worms, and Grian thinks all his problems are solved.
“So, Joel thinks the best gummy worms are the orange and green worms…” Scar procures a candied orange and green worm from the bag, “...but the actual best are the red and blue worms.”
They both look at Grian expectedly, but he’s staring at the bag in Scar’s hands. He almost wants to snatch it from him, but he’s more civilized than that. He waits for Scar to hand him a worm of each flavor as Joel cheers for him to pick the orange and green worm.
He accepts both worms gratefully, savoring the taste, knowing it’ll be his last snack until he manages to track down Pete. Joel and Scar eagerly await his answer, and Scar sweetens the deal at the last second. “If you say red and blue, you can keep the bag.”
“What!?” Joel sounds so betrayed that Grian almost feels bad about being bribed so easily.
“Red and blue!” Grain shouts over Joel’s betrayed cries. Scar hands over the bag. “Red and blue are the best gummy worms!”
“I know that’s right!” Scar whoops, but his smile drops quickly when Joel gets a murderous look on his face. “Uh, I’ll see you later, Grian! Thanks, bye!”
Scar takes off from Joel, weaving carefully through the hordes of people in the paddock. Grian laughs at their retreating figures, happy to have some sugar until he can get some actual food. He watches Joel and Scar until he can’t see them anymore, eating his favorite flavor of worm first.
Scar doesn’t need to know that the best is actually red and yellow.
FRIDAY
Grian is, honest to god, pouting.
BigB 🍪💘: my flight got delayed so i’ll probably miss my layover ://
BigB 🍪💘: i’ll keep you updated
Why do good things happen to good people? Grian was so excited to see BigB for this race; he even had Pete on speed dial so he could go pick up BigB from the airport if Grian got busy. But of course, a wrench had to be thrown in his plans. Of course, he could only catch BigB in between his busy spouts.
And of course, when they try to meet for one of his races, BigB’s flight is delayed. Just peachy. So fucking peachy.
He hasn’t been able to catch BigB in person since the season started, and he’s been dying to update him on all the important stuff. Most notably, about his title fight that is currently going nowhere. BigB usually makes him feel better whenever they talk, even if it’s for a single minute.
Except BigB is trapped at Frankfurt airport, and Grian’s pouting in his driver’s room with his backpack on like a little kid that doesn’t want to go to school. If Grian doesn’t want to delay BigB anymore, he needs to get a move on as well.
Grian 🏎️: alrighttttt keep me updated then stay safe <3
He sighs and sticks his phone in his pocket, disappointed. The chances of the race weekend being over before BigB even gets on a plane are probably high. He’s scared to even look at the flights coming into Montreal; if he can’t get BigB here before Sunday, Grian won’t have time to see him until after next week’s race. Dejected, he walks out of his driver’s room, dragging his feet.
Grian doesn’t say much to Mumbo when they pass by each other, or to Doc when he checks to see if he’s still up for dinner later. He just wants to see his friend! Can everyone stop talking to him for goodness’ sake!?
It’s about to be the fifth race of the season, and he hasn’t won yet. For anyone else, this may not seem like a big deal, but Grian has so much to prove. Too much. If he doesn’t win soon, he’ll stop being counted in the title fight. The media will write him off again, the internet will dissect his performance like they know any better, and he’ll leave his fans disappointed.
Worst of all, if he can’t fight for the championship this season, then he will have wasted another year. Another year racing in this multimillion-dollar car, another year failing to cross that finish line when it matters.
What do his wins mean if he never wins the big trophy that means something? What will his career amount to if he racks up all these podiums with nothing to show for it?
Grian rubs his eyes. When he’s with BigB, his brain turns off from all this kind of talk. He can sit with BigB, give him a quick rundown of his season up to this point, then BigB brings him right back to earth when he drifts away. When he’s stuck in the air, floating aimlessly, BigB will always be the gravity that tethers him to this world.
But now he’s going to have to wait to see him again, and they’re losing precious time they could spend together. Sue Grian for being more than a little sad about the delay.
He quickly texts Pete, Doc, and Mumbo to let them know he’s heading out for the day. It’s sad to walk to his rental car when he knows he won’t see BigB in a couple of hours as planned, but it’s not like wasting away in his hotel is going to bring BigB to Montreal any faster.
While he walks, staring at his phone, willing BigB to text that he’s just kidding, he crashes into someone. He looks up and finds himself pressed up against Scar, who has now dropped the duffel bag he was holding.
Stupid Grian. Stupid, stupid Grian.
“Oh man, I’m really sorry!” Grian bends down to pick up the bag, handing it back to Scar.
Scar doesn’t say anything at first, just sort of stares at him while grabbing the straps of the bag. Embarrassed, Grian flushes again. “I should’ve been looking; I did not mean to make you drop your stuff.”
That snaps Scar back to the present, shaking his head a bit like a dog. It makes Grian chuckle under his breath when Scar rubs the back of his neck, also in embarrassment. “No, you’re good! I should’ve been… holding on tighter to my stuff.”
Grian is about to refute that when he realizes he made something fall out of the bag. He goes to bend down and pick it up when Scar notices the yellow lump first, reaching for it at the speed of lightning. Seriously, Grian doesn’t think their cars even go that fast.
When Grian finally sees what the lump is, he tries his very hardest not to crack a smile. Scar’s red face makes it obvious he’s even more embarrassed now. “Are those Ewok socks?”
Scar’s silent for a moment, and Grian even considers apologizing, but Scar’s separating the socks from each other and sticking one on each hand. “Why, yes, they are! I needed them for… my… sock puppet show…”
Huhhhhh?
The longer Scar speaks, the more defeated he sounds. Grian watches, eager to see where he goes with this. He leans forward, hoping Scar runs with the bit and doesn’t look back.
Grian doesn’t reply. He prompts him to keep talking with a raised eyebrow, and Scar continues without question.
“The Ewoks are having an affair,” Scar says. Grian wasn’t expecting that plot line. He watches the socks on Scar’s hands talk to each other in animated voices. “They met at work, and they love each other very much, but they can’t divorce their spouses… What am I doing?”
Okay, Grian can’t take it anymore. He doubles over in laughter because, as limited as his Star Wars knowledge is, he knows enough about Ewoks to know they don’t have workplace affairs. Scar shares his sentiment, laughing, but avoiding eye contact with Grian. When Grian straightens up, he stares at Scar until Scar finally looks back at him.
It breaks him again. He laughs, and Scar joins him, watching his face this time. Grian imagines he’s checking to see if he’s laughing with or at him, so he clarifies quickly. “Scar, what the hell!?”
Scar chuckles shyly, his eyes trained on the sky. “I was embarrassed by my Ewok socks falling out of my bag, but I think I made it so much worse.”
“Oh, you made it so much worse.”
Scar shrugs, but he’s smiling wholeheartedly. “That’s the last sock puppet show I'll ever produce. I’m never doing that again.”
“No one’s ever given me a private puppet show before,” Grian offers. “So at least now I feel special.”
After BigB’s news, he’s not sure an Ewok workplace soap opera was what he was expecting, but he was truly sad to leave Scar standing there with socks on his hands when he bid him goodbye seconds later.
SATURDAY
Grian walks next to Scar, wondering how to phrase his question.
There are certain struggles in F1 that your teammate may not always understand. Mumbo won’t say it, but Grian knows there are times he hates conversations centered on Grian’s championship fight. Joel had the same struggle when he was teammates with Etho, and Grian wonders if Scar shares that sentiment now that Joel’s aiming for that first-place trophy.
When Grian gets the sense that Mumbo wants to strangle him over race results, he leaves him to talk to someone else about that. Frankly, it’s nice to vent to someone who isn’t a teammate when they see each other enough during a weekend.
He doesn’t know why, but Grian wants to check in and see how Scar’s holding up. Being on a team like Magical Mountain isn’t always the easiest. Maybe it would be easier to tell Mumbo to check in, but Grian wants to hear it for himself.
But are they even close enough friends for Grian to be prying like this? Scar’s already seen the pretty bad side of him after Australia, but that was never supposed to happen. Checking in on someone like this means checking in with a friend. Does Scar consider them to be friends? After the handful of times they’ve hung out and talked, is that enough for this not to sound weird? Is he prying?
He’s totally prying, but he doesn’t want it to sound like that.
Tossing the words around in his brain, nothing sounds quite right. How are you holding up? is too broad. Does Joel give you an inferiority complex? is too specific and would probably scare him off. Maybe… Are you okay with everyone’s attention on Joel?
Grian hums to himself, trying to find the most normal wording he can. Scar distracts him with a tap to the shoulder.
“Yes?” Grian turns to face Scar.
Scar grins at him. “Can you say… kachow?”
Grian stares back at him blankly. He thinks he didn’t hear Scar correctly, but Scar’s looking at him so expectantly that Grian’s positive his ears didn’t suddenly experience auditory hallucinations.
Is Scar really asking me to fucking say kachow? Grian thinks, stunned into silence. And here he was, pondering the best way to have their first real, deep conversation… where Grian wasn’t horribly hungover or sad.
As best he can, he croaks, “...kachow?”
He can tell immediately by the way Scar’s face falls that Grian didn’t live up to the expectation. He looks down at his red Sahara race suit, adjusts the red cap on his head, and does his best to capture his inner Lightning McQueen. “Kaaa… chow!”
Scar rolls his eyes. “No, you have to say it like the movie!”
Grian thought that was a pretty good impression, but Scar’s disappointment made him stop in his tracks. “What!? I thought that was good!”
“I know, but can you say it like… ka-chow!”
Grian thought his all-red getup would be enough to get him by. Then he thinks about Scar’s request a little more, and the implication hits him hard enough to make him laugh. “Scar, do you think of me as Lightning McQueen?”
Scar rubs the back of his neck, hiding a wince. He pointedly looks away from Grian as he says, “Nooo…”
Grian shakes his head at Scar playfully, planting his hands on his hips. “I see you had ulterior motives when you approached me today.”
A cackle finally tears out of his throat as Scar puts a hand on his shoulder, lifting three fingers in a scout’s honor motion. “I would never! Curiosity simply killed the cat today, that’s all.”
“A man who knows what he likes, alright,” Grian teases, turning from Scar when he hears his name called. In the distance, he can see Mumbo waving his arms at him to get his attention; it would seem he’s about to be late for a Sahara meeting.
When he turns back to Scar, his hat is pulled over his face, and Grian can’t see his eyes anymore. He’s only a little sad about that, because when Scar laughs, Grian can see it light up his entire face.
“Mumbolio’s calling me, so I guess I’ll be seeing you later,” Grian says, waving goodbye as he walks away. Scar waves back eagerly.
Okay, they’re definitely good friends at this point.
That’s why Grian tracks him down as soon as he can after qualifying.
He breezes past Joel, who’s celebrating his qualifying position. He waits for Scar to appear and pretends he just happened to be in the area. “Hey, Scar!”
Scar turns away from his engineer, whom Grian hasn’t formally met yet. Magical Mountain doesn’t seem to be discussing anything of too much importance, judging by Scar’s quick dismissal of his engineer.
Grian waits for him to approach, trying his best to ignore the glances he’s getting from Magical Mountain employees. Rival teams and all, right. He forgets that when said rivals are his friends.
“Hey! What’s up? What are you doing around here?”
Now, Grian feels awkward about having come all the way here in the middle of a race weekend to solidify their friendship rather than just, like, sending a text. He thought he was being nice, but considering it now, he’s not sure it was the best idea.
He makes something up instead. He should be able to transition to the topic he wants later. “Uh… do you know where I could find Oli?”
Grian bites back a wince. He hopes Scar doesn’t point out that he could’ve easily gone to Joel for this. Screw him for trying to be a good person and all. This could’ve been an email. Scar’s going to revoke his friendship card.
Scar tilts his head at him curiously. “No, I haven't seen him in a bit.”
“Right…” Grian nods. Transition time, right! “So… how are you feeling about the race tomorrow?”
Scar looks at the ground, then back up at Grian. “A little nervous, actually, but nothing too bad.”
“Oh, really?” Grian is nervous too… nervous about what his lack of wins may mean in hindsight, but he won’t make this about himself right now. “Has anything changed?”
“Just the jitters, I guess,” Scar shrugs. “I’m a little embarrassed that I haven’t scored any points yet, considering everything with Joel at the moment.”
So, just as Grian suspected. He has to bite back a knowing smile. It’s a testament to the fact that they’re slowly growing closer, and Grian can envision Scar so perfectly alongside him and Mumbo at dinner, or him and BigB at a house party Grian drags them to.
“It’s still only the fifth race weekend,” Grian tries, offering an encouraging smile. Scar’s lip quirks up momentarily, like he’s not actually listening to him. “The team would’ve mentioned something by now if you weren’t up to their standards, and I have a feeling that information like that would’ve gone public already. Teams love to humiliate rookies rather than try to fix the problem at hand.”
Scar huffs a laugh, but there’s no joy behind it. A sad sound. “That’s true. I know I’m not expected to be the best driver in the world yet, but it would be nice to have points by now.”
“You’re finishing all your races with your car intact,” Grian reminds. “I can 90% guarantee the team appreciates that a lot from a rookie with only four races under his belt.”
Scar hums, like he hadn’t considered that before. Of course he hasn’t! Joel is busy and, understandably, hasn’t made the same observations that Grian has. Lucky for Scar, Grian needs something to distract him from the terror in his mind when he remembers he hasn’t won a race yet.
That, and Grian really enjoys having a new friend around. He’d like to keep this one for as long as he can. So long as he keeps his ghosts hidden in the closet, that shouldn’t be too hard.
“Thanks,” Scar says, and his gratefulness seeps through his touch when he pats Grian on the shoulder before leaving.
It’s only a little embarrassing when he asks Pete after the race how Scar did.
He didn’t do it over the radio because lord knows Sahara would kill him if he did, but after his third-place podium, when he stole a few seconds from Pete. A quick, “Hey, how did Scar do?” was no harm and no foul. He schooled his reaction into neutrality when Pete responded, “He finished P9.”
Grian tried to keep that in the back of his mind, but he could hear the Shade E-Es' celebrations from the Sahara garage, and Scar quickly slipped his memory when going through the post-race briefing. Another podium, still no win. Mumbo got off pretty scot-free, but Grian had more to prove, and therefore more to answer for.
It bothered him that his expectations were always so high, but at least he earned those expectations. That’s what BigB says, anyway; he should be proud to be at the level he’s at, but sometimes it leaves the leftover champagne on Grian’s tongue tasting bitter.
Deciding he can’t be around Etho or Bdubs for now, he cancels his ride back with them and texts Joel that he’ll meet him at Grian’s usual hiding spot. He loves the spot behind the Magical Mountain motorhomes that he discovered when he needed to be away from him and couldn’t be spotted around Sahara. It’s been a safety net even now that his ex is long gone.
Grian texts Pearl as he walks, not paying too much attention to his surroundings. It’s why he’s shocked when he finds another figure slumped against the ground.
“Aw man, Pix never came back here,” he says to announce himself. After chasing Pix away from here, no one ever bothered looking for him here unless he wanted to be found. “Has my spot been compromised?”
Upon moving closer, he relaxes when he sees it's just Scar. This is still his spot, so Grian helps himself and sits down beside him.
“Maybe?” Scar clears his throat. “What are you doing hanging around Magical Mountain?”
“Waiting for Joel,” Grian pouts. He can feel his shoulders deflate despite himself. “I love Etho and Bdubs with all my heart, but I fucking hate sharing a podium with them.”
“So you’re the third to the Shade E-Es 1-2 finish?”
That makes it sound like Grian is about to join the couple for a fun threesome, not the worst ten minutes of his weekend. Between the awkward cooldown room where they struggle to keep their hands to themselves and his third wheeling on the podium itself, Grian couldn’t even begin telling Scar why sharing the podium was such a burden this time around.
“Podium.” Grian clenches his fist. He sounds ungrateful, whining about third place. In a desperate attempt not to sound like a child, he tries for a smile. Grian is sure it looks more like a grimace. “Podium. Again. No win yet. Now both of my rivals have won a race and I haven’t.”
They sit with that for a second, and he wonders how insane he must sound. Woe is me. I finished third. Never mind that you finished P9. “Oh, wait!” Grian sits up, turning to face Scar instead of just blankly staring at the air in front of him. “Today wasn’t horrible! You got your first points!”
He claps Scar on the shoulder as Scar asks, “How’d you know that?”
“I asked my engineer when it was over,” Grian says. He wasn’t expecting Scar’s face to fall with that. He studies him for a second, but he can’t decipher what’s behind Scar’s eyes. Grian bumps his shoulder with Scar’s. “Hey, what’s wrong? I thought your first points were a good thing.”
A laugh escapes from Scar, and now Grian has no clue what the hell he’s thinking. “I don’t know. I was so happy early that I barely got through my interview but now everything seems so…”
Ah, Scar’s at that stage. When the cars are too loud, the lights are too in his face, and the track is the last place he wants to be. It can all be so magical and fulfilling most of the time. At other times, there’s nothing better than snuggling in bed.
Now, Grian knows exactly what’s going through Scar’s head. “When I got my first win, I think I cried for a couple of hours. Not even just because I was so happy, but because everything was so much. The fans, the screaming, the team… God, the team wanted to party until sunrise and all I wanted to do was sleep.”
“I’m just…” Scar sighs. Grian’s heart drops when he thinks he spots Scar’s eyes beginning to glisten. “I’m really, really happy.”
“I can leave if you want to be alone.” I won’t even complain about leaving my hiding spot, he wants to add, but Scar’s so selfless he wouldn’t let Grian leave for that reason alone.
There’s a ghost of a touch over the hand he rests on the pavement. He doesn’t move it when Scar settles his hand fully. “I’d like it if you stayed, actually.”
Grian stays silent for a beat. “This is my usual spot.”
“Do you want me to go?”
**
Selfless.
Too, too selfless for someone in F1. Scar’s smiling like it’s a joke, but if Grian said yes, he would go in a heartbeat. Too selfless for a friend he hasn’t had for long. Too selfless to be directed at someone like Grian.
He tenses without thinking, his thoughts dragging him away from this moment until he’s in places he would really not like to remember right now. How a gentle hand over his can turn into a cold, possessive hand, pining him down until he’s given up yet another piece of his soul he’ll never get back.
But he’s not there again. Scar is his newest friend, and Scar’s lack of ties to his past is the only thing Grian has going for himself right now. He relaxes, and he can feel when Scar relaxes as well.
**
“Nah,” Grian finally responds. “I just didn’t think I’d ever see anyone else hiding when good things happen to them. Mumbo’s the kind of person to celebrate from sunset to sunrise when these sorts of things happen. I’m there for him and I’ll absolutely party when it’s his accomplishments, but I hate doing it for myself.”
That’s only a half lie. Scar saw just for himself how much he can party when he wants, but Scar’s kind enough not to call him out on it.
“How long would your world championship party be?” Scar asks. “Hypothetically.”
Grian leans his head back against the wall, thinking back to the predetermined plans they discussed at last season’s prize-giving ceremony. “Joel’s already said that no matter who wins, him, me, or Etho, not one of us is sleeping that night. So there we go.”
“Of course Joel has plans for a party that won’t happen until the end of the season,” Scar chuckles.
Grian wouldn’t mind partying with Scar tonight. It would get his mind off things, and he could have fun with Scar without going overboard again. He would like to prove that he can handle his alcohol. "How are you planning on celebrating tonight? I think this calls for something.”
Scar checks the time on his phone with the hand not settled over Grian’s. “We’re flying red-eye tonight. Flight leaves at two in the morning, so I’ll celebrate by trying to sleep on a godforsaken plane.”
That’s disappointing. Maybe he’ll drag Pearl or Jimmy out, but that doesn’t sound as fun. “Damn, that sucks. That means I can’t bug you tonight.”
“I mean…” Scar hesitates. “You being here is less bugging and more… lovely.”
Grian raises an eyebrow. He’s pretty sure he’s never heard Scar refer to something as lovely. “Lovely?”
“It sure as hell isn’t bothering me,” Scar clarifies.
Is Scar… flirting with him? Did he sneak some champagne when Grian wasn’t looking, or is he just messing with him?
“That’s good to hear…” He wants to test it out. Scar made the move to put his hand over Grian’s, and now his sentences are sounding suggestive. Grian almost bites back a teasing remark, but if Scar is flirting with him, then that means… He’s not sure he wants to know, actually. He’s more curious than anything. “Glad to know I didn’t ruin my chances with a certain Magical Mountain driver.”
He smiles cheekily at Scar, and Scar’s face turns redder than Grian’s race suit. Oh god, Scar was flirting.
“Oh Grian, I hate to let you down like this. You’re not my type and I’m married.”
Grian could kiss Joel right now. He laughs, and it sounds hysterical to his ears, but he can’t process all of this right now. Especially not in front of Scar, who was without a doubt flirting with him!
“Waiting for me?” Joel asks skeptically. “Etho said you were riding with him after the race?”
Grian groans. He almost forgot about his woes regarding Etho and Bdubs. “He’s going to quit his job as my chauffeur any day now. He said he’d still take me back to the hotel, but I shared a podium with him and Bdubs and I don’t really want to see them making eyes at each other the entire time.”
“Yeah. That’d be horrible, wouldn’t it?” Joel’s looking at Scar pointedly. Grian narrows his eyes. That little shit. Has Scar talked to him about Grian? Gods, the possibilities running through his mind are endless. He doesn’t know which possibility is the one he wants. “Congrats on the points, by the way. I wanted to say something earlier but I was dragged by my ear to the briefing.”
“One step closer to the constructors’.” Scar winks. Grian is going to melt. What does this mean!! Is Scar aware he’s flirting with me!?
Grian turns to Joel lest he ask Scar about it to his face. “I know you guys have to leave for your flight soon but spare a ride?”
“As long as you tip well,” Joel sighs dramatically. “Come on then, we’ve got places to be!”
Grian stands quickly, and he’s about to follow Joel without acknowledging Scar when something stops him. Scar got his first points today, and outright ignoring the guy because Grian hasn’t flirted sober since he was with his ex isn’t right on his part.
He holds a hand out, and Scar accepts it immediately. Despite everything, Scar’s bright eyes force a smile out of Grian.
Scar smiles at me all the time.
Scar was flirting with me.
What am I going to do about that?