"Ready!"...
The Mitsubishi Evo purred beneath me, the crowd roared and I could feel the adrenaline pumping. It was an addiction, every second an eternity, and yet I couldn't get enough, it was never enough. It was times like this when I wondered what the hell I was doing as a cop, what the hell I was doing as anything else other than a racer. I checked the NOS reserves and set myself comfortably, content to let myself go with the flow and enjoy the thrill. That I was technically still on the legal side didn't count as much when faced with the fact that if I screwed this up, I might end up worse than dead.
"Set!"
If I were honest with myself, and I wasn't particularly inclined to do that just now, it was more than just the thrill of the race making my blood boil. Two cars to my right, Dominic Toretto roared his engine, his rising over the others, a distinctive, loud purr that spoke of fine tuning and American muscle. I checked the computer on my right- I was going to have to push the Mitsubishi Evo to its limits if I was going to stand a chance at winning against him, and even so, I had to have absolute concentration. But I was determined. Everything depended on the outcome of this particular race- including my pride.
"GO!"
The Supra rushed ahead, fighting to gain advantage, but I had the last start anyway, while Toretto all but flew ahead of us. It didn't matter. I was a better driver than the other two, and I knew it. I shifted gears but it still wasn't enough, the car just couldn't accelerate the way I wanted it to. I concentrated on the road, letting myself be driven by adrenaline, intent on winning.
When the computer was ready, I decided to relay on NOS to gain the speed that I needed. I flew past the other two ricers without problem, but Dominic Toretto was still in the lead. I wasn't surprised. His reputation preceded him, and he wasn't The Street Legend for nothing. I would have been disappointed if it had been that easy. But I wasn't done either. There was still enough of the race that I could gain the upper hand - if only I played my cards right.
I bit the inside of my cheek and then smiled. The turns were tight and driving by night was just helping to put an extra edge to the race. One last burst of NOS right before the end. I was going to win, I could do it. And then the computer board- which, on retrospective, I really should have positioned better than on the passenger seat- started going all crazy. Danger. I ignored the warnings and I pushed the button anyway. Red lights everywhere, and the car's steady pouring became less steady and more frenetic under me.
"Shut up!" I scream and close the computer with one furious move. Beeping noises started coming of and there were screws flying from the floor of the car. Sparks flied behind me and I knew full well that I was pushing it, but I couldn't stop. And then I actually lost part of the car floor. Fuck. If only I had more time to prepare, and if they'd let me do all the mods I wanted...
The finish line was right in front of me, just a few seconds away from Toretto. The rush was intoxicating and I was almost level with him, and I pushed ahead and for a split second I was sure this was it. I had won.
Then he pushed forward. In one moment of perfect clarity, I realized my mistake, what I had overlooked: he had NOS too, and he'd saved it for the last moment. And he'd won. I passed the finish line only a second or two behind him, made a sharp turn and stopped the car. I had smock coming from under the hood, evidence enough that I had pushed too hard and I was panting like I'd just run a marathon. It had been the best ride of my life. I was not sure what to do, I had lost, yeah, but fuck. This had been close, and Dominic Toretto had proven himself to be exactly what he was meant to be- the king. And I had almost had him.
I couldn't help but smile. I was high and I realized that I was up too. The race had stirred me in more ways than one, but I was way too happy to be even the slightest bit embarrassed or concerned. I had almost had the King of the Streets on a race, and thoughts of my job, or the fact that I wasn't supposed to enjoy this, that I was supposed to be the good guy, and they were all the bad guys here- all those didn't matter just now. So I turned the car, still smoking as it was, and went in the middle of the crowd and got out to cheering, still smiling madly. Almost immediately, the kid I recognized as Jesse came to examine my- Dom's- the police'?- car, and behind him, Dom came, all confidence and strength and fuck.
Blood still rushing in my ears, my erection still hard, riding on adrenaline and high from my almost-win, I had one moment of absolute clarity: I was in too deep.
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This is an old peace, and I have put it up on ao3. I had almost forgotten about it, but I've been rewatching F&F and I have remembered. It is a pre-slash, meant as a stand alone- just a little bit of fun to get me back into writing.
Let me know if you enjoyed it.
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First ride
FanfictionJust a little exercise of imagination: what was Brian thinking during that first race?