![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theskew posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
120_minutenFandom: original - WRATH
Rating: P16/18
Team: Greif
Prompt: Angst - eingeholt von der Vergangenheit - für mich
Warnungen: side character dies, emotional turmoil
Länge: 1680
Zeit: 90
A/N: Erstaunlicher Fokus und Gedanken wie ein Wasserfall präsentieren dieses wirklich sehr lange, wirklich sehr schnell runtergeratterte Kapitel.
“They’re challenging us, Rin. I have to.”
“You won’t.”
Being both a crew leader, a driver and a boyfriend was a tough position to be in, and sometimes Rin just couldn’t make everyone happy. Especially not Diego.
The Snakeheads - stupid crew name, he thought - had been a close second place for the entire season, but the Wrath Crew had defended their pole position time and time again, sometimes just by milliseconds. There weren’t many races left until the season was done, so they had to bring their absolute best to every single one.
And for this race, their absolute best was Reyhan, even though Diego didn’t like it. She was the better of the two for long races, the best allrounder Rin had ever seen, and this next race was a marathon. And Diego was an absolute machine behind the steering wheel, an offense tactician through and through, but always at risk of losing focus after an hour or so.
Also, his vendetta against the Snakeheads was not only personal, but also emotional. He hadn’t told Rin, but Rin was very good at having his ears and eyes everywhere - and the Snakeheads had one member that knew about Diego and him. A secret they had kept for months and months, and successfully so - until somehow this Snakehead had found them out.
There were two things that Rin didn’t know, though: How exactly he had found out, and why he hadn’t made it public yet.
It wasn’t unlikely that Diego was being blackmailed. And Rin knew him well enough to know it would affect him, his emotions, his driving. As a crew leader, he couldn’t take the risk of letting him start against a Snakehead. Against that snakehead.
“Rin, please.” Diego was playing all his cards, trying everything he could. But Rin had to keep harsh, as much as it hurt him. Both of them.
“You know I can’t.” He shook his head and tried to take Diego’s hand, but Diego pulled away.
“I’ve sworn to protect this crew with all I have. I know you want to take him out, I know you have reason to.” He paused for a moment and watched for a reaction.
Diego’s eyes widened as he realized. “How-“
“Doesn’t matter.” Rin shook his head. “But as leader of this crew, I command you to help me analyze this race. Live. From the office. You will not be driving. And Diego?” Another pause, another look into the other man’s angry eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
———
Yuliya’s face was stone cold as she crossed her arms.
“You won’t.”
Rin mirrored her expression. “It’s my responsibility as crew leader to protect you, all of you. From others and yourself. And as leader of this crew, I command you to help me analyze this race. Live. From the office. You will not be driving.”
“You can’t make me.” Yuliya was fuming. She’d always had a temper, but recently it had gotten worse and worse.
His eyes narrowed. “I can.”
Rin knew she wanted nothing more than to drive tonight. A 1v1 against Bell from the Viper Crew, conveniently named after Viper, their leader. A short and fast race, not a lot of sharp corners, just speed and aggression, perfect for a driver like Yuliya.
But she had a motive, a personal one. A vendetta.
Bell had been the driver closest to Diego that night. The only one close enough to even have had a chance to touch his car, to potentially cause his crash.
The one Yuliya saw at fault for his death. And nothing and nobody was able to convince her otherwise.
But Rin knew. He knew it hadn’t been Bell’s fault, because it had been Diego’s. There was no way to prove it, but he just knew. Diego had had the experience, the knowledge of the streets and his rivals, to never even touch another car while driving. Every fix his car had gotten over the years had been purely mechanical, never even so much as a scratch. 15 years of daily racing, and all of a sudden… this?
No. Never.
But none of this would be enough evidence for Yuliya.
He knew, because he had seen that look in someone’s eyes before.
Once. 12 years ago. Right before the first death happened.
———
Rin had never seen this look in Diego’s eyes before. It was an undefinable mix between rage and… something else. Insanity? He had a bad feeling about this. Really, really bad.
Diego said nothing as he took his seat next to Rin, completely ignoring his look.
The race was already on the monitors, the stream stable, the cars at the starting line. Sometimes they had a drone follow the cars, sometimes static webcams in strategic places. Today it was phone cameras on every corner. They had lookouts all over the course anyways, not only to signal the corners, but also to check for police activity. Setting up a phone to stream was almost zero extra work.
Reyhan’s black Audi R8 with the subtle red detailing turned on the lights, and her opponent - was it Rowan? Rouven? - in his lime green Dodge Viper was revving his engine. Not long until the start now.
“So you know, huh?”, Diego broke the silence, his voice dripping with resentment.
“Not everything, no.” Damage control? White lie? Rin wasn’t sure why he didn’t just tell Diego the truth. “I just know he found out about us. Figured he was blackmailing you.”
Diego stayed silent as the race captain took their position and raised the flag. Sure, there were more modern ways to oversee and start a race, but the crews had somehow decided to keep the tradition intact. Each race was overseen by a third crew and started by a single person lowering the checkerboard flag, as it had always been.
“He wanted me to break apart the crew from the inside”, Diego finally said.
Then the flag rushed down and the race began.
For another moment or two they sat in silence and watched the shaky phone camera footage as the cars took the first corners bumper to bumper.
“So you would have taken him out if I let you race tonight?” Rin didn’t need an answer and Diego didn’t offer one. “Is that why you got the gun?”
“Of what use would a toy gun be?” Diego’s tone of voice matched the look in his eyes earlier.
And that was the moment Rin realized that Diego didn’t just want to threaten the other guy, to get him to back off, to hold his place.
Diego would have killed him.
———
Rin knew right there and then that Yuliya wouldn’t back down. Not in a million years.
Some minds seemed to just work a little different to others, and street racing seemed to attract them. The focus on revenge, the clear enemy, the anger. The mind of someone who could kill. And, if tipped over the edge, would.
In her world view, the situation seemed to be as clear as glass. A great driver crashed and died, and it must have been someone’s fault. And the person who was at fault would pay for it. Blood for blood. Almost understandable, if it didn’t mean that someone else would lose their life.
Especially if that someone had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
But Rin had sworn to never let anything like this happen again, to never have someone lose their temper under his lead. And if it meant crossing a line he had set for himself, so be it.
It was surprisingly easy to empty a full can of fuel into Yuliya’s pride and joy, her 2016 Lada Vesta that both she and Wires had spent so much time tuning and painting and repairing.
It also was surprisingly easy to light the match that would likely change his life forever. His, Yuliya’s, the entire crew’s. But it was for the greater good, wasn’t it? He’d rather lose a cherished car than have another friend kill a person.
He had made up his mind hours ago. He just had to follow through.
The hardest part of all this was seeing his crew, his friends, so devastated. So shocked, so full of fear. Seeing Reyhan pull Wires out of the smoke, seeing Niko, their newest member, go through the second tragedy in the span of weeks. But it was for the best, it was all for the best.
Until Wires raised their voice: “Rin, what the fuck is going on?”
He took a shallow breath, then another one. He couldn’t possibly tell anyone what he had done, they wouldn’t understand. Never. He would have to…
“Rin!”, they tried again.
He sighed. He didn’t want to lie to them either, but he had to say something, answer them, anything. Maybe he could…
“Keep yourself out of this, Wires. Or I can’t guarantee you’ll be around to see the end of it.”
Wires was smart and would likely make the connection Rin wanted them to: That there was a silent crew fight going on that he had kept from his people. To protect them. To handle all this without putting them through it along him.
At least Rin hoped they would connect the dots this way.
———
Rin’s eyes watered as he stared right through the screen, not blinking, ears ringing.
The Dodge Viper was flipped on its head and burning out, and the fire would likely leave nothing but the steel frame before the firefighters would even arrive on scene.
In the middle of the race - Reyhan was in the lead by a margin - the Viper had exploded into a fireball, just like that. It had flipped from the speed, likely killing the driver on the spot - at least the poor guy wouldn’t burn to death. Caught the flames for no reason. Random time, random spot, without external influence.
According to the pictures, at least.
But Rin knew right there and then that there had been an external influence.
And the external influence was sitting right next to him.
Rating: P16/18
Team: Greif
Prompt: Angst - eingeholt von der Vergangenheit - für mich
Warnungen: side character dies, emotional turmoil
Länge: 1680
Zeit: 90
A/N: Erstaunlicher Fokus und Gedanken wie ein Wasserfall präsentieren dieses wirklich sehr lange, wirklich sehr schnell runtergeratterte Kapitel.
“They’re challenging us, Rin. I have to.”
“You won’t.”
Being both a crew leader, a driver and a boyfriend was a tough position to be in, and sometimes Rin just couldn’t make everyone happy. Especially not Diego.
The Snakeheads - stupid crew name, he thought - had been a close second place for the entire season, but the Wrath Crew had defended their pole position time and time again, sometimes just by milliseconds. There weren’t many races left until the season was done, so they had to bring their absolute best to every single one.
And for this race, their absolute best was Reyhan, even though Diego didn’t like it. She was the better of the two for long races, the best allrounder Rin had ever seen, and this next race was a marathon. And Diego was an absolute machine behind the steering wheel, an offense tactician through and through, but always at risk of losing focus after an hour or so.
Also, his vendetta against the Snakeheads was not only personal, but also emotional. He hadn’t told Rin, but Rin was very good at having his ears and eyes everywhere - and the Snakeheads had one member that knew about Diego and him. A secret they had kept for months and months, and successfully so - until somehow this Snakehead had found them out.
There were two things that Rin didn’t know, though: How exactly he had found out, and why he hadn’t made it public yet.
It wasn’t unlikely that Diego was being blackmailed. And Rin knew him well enough to know it would affect him, his emotions, his driving. As a crew leader, he couldn’t take the risk of letting him start against a Snakehead. Against that snakehead.
“Rin, please.” Diego was playing all his cards, trying everything he could. But Rin had to keep harsh, as much as it hurt him. Both of them.
“You know I can’t.” He shook his head and tried to take Diego’s hand, but Diego pulled away.
“I’ve sworn to protect this crew with all I have. I know you want to take him out, I know you have reason to.” He paused for a moment and watched for a reaction.
Diego’s eyes widened as he realized. “How-“
“Doesn’t matter.” Rin shook his head. “But as leader of this crew, I command you to help me analyze this race. Live. From the office. You will not be driving. And Diego?” Another pause, another look into the other man’s angry eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
———
Yuliya’s face was stone cold as she crossed her arms.
“You won’t.”
Rin mirrored her expression. “It’s my responsibility as crew leader to protect you, all of you. From others and yourself. And as leader of this crew, I command you to help me analyze this race. Live. From the office. You will not be driving.”
“You can’t make me.” Yuliya was fuming. She’d always had a temper, but recently it had gotten worse and worse.
His eyes narrowed. “I can.”
Rin knew she wanted nothing more than to drive tonight. A 1v1 against Bell from the Viper Crew, conveniently named after Viper, their leader. A short and fast race, not a lot of sharp corners, just speed and aggression, perfect for a driver like Yuliya.
But she had a motive, a personal one. A vendetta.
Bell had been the driver closest to Diego that night. The only one close enough to even have had a chance to touch his car, to potentially cause his crash.
The one Yuliya saw at fault for his death. And nothing and nobody was able to convince her otherwise.
But Rin knew. He knew it hadn’t been Bell’s fault, because it had been Diego’s. There was no way to prove it, but he just knew. Diego had had the experience, the knowledge of the streets and his rivals, to never even touch another car while driving. Every fix his car had gotten over the years had been purely mechanical, never even so much as a scratch. 15 years of daily racing, and all of a sudden… this?
No. Never.
But none of this would be enough evidence for Yuliya.
He knew, because he had seen that look in someone’s eyes before.
Once. 12 years ago. Right before the first death happened.
———
Rin had never seen this look in Diego’s eyes before. It was an undefinable mix between rage and… something else. Insanity? He had a bad feeling about this. Really, really bad.
Diego said nothing as he took his seat next to Rin, completely ignoring his look.
The race was already on the monitors, the stream stable, the cars at the starting line. Sometimes they had a drone follow the cars, sometimes static webcams in strategic places. Today it was phone cameras on every corner. They had lookouts all over the course anyways, not only to signal the corners, but also to check for police activity. Setting up a phone to stream was almost zero extra work.
Reyhan’s black Audi R8 with the subtle red detailing turned on the lights, and her opponent - was it Rowan? Rouven? - in his lime green Dodge Viper was revving his engine. Not long until the start now.
“So you know, huh?”, Diego broke the silence, his voice dripping with resentment.
“Not everything, no.” Damage control? White lie? Rin wasn’t sure why he didn’t just tell Diego the truth. “I just know he found out about us. Figured he was blackmailing you.”
Diego stayed silent as the race captain took their position and raised the flag. Sure, there were more modern ways to oversee and start a race, but the crews had somehow decided to keep the tradition intact. Each race was overseen by a third crew and started by a single person lowering the checkerboard flag, as it had always been.
“He wanted me to break apart the crew from the inside”, Diego finally said.
Then the flag rushed down and the race began.
For another moment or two they sat in silence and watched the shaky phone camera footage as the cars took the first corners bumper to bumper.
“So you would have taken him out if I let you race tonight?” Rin didn’t need an answer and Diego didn’t offer one. “Is that why you got the gun?”
“Of what use would a toy gun be?” Diego’s tone of voice matched the look in his eyes earlier.
And that was the moment Rin realized that Diego didn’t just want to threaten the other guy, to get him to back off, to hold his place.
Diego would have killed him.
———
Rin knew right there and then that Yuliya wouldn’t back down. Not in a million years.
Some minds seemed to just work a little different to others, and street racing seemed to attract them. The focus on revenge, the clear enemy, the anger. The mind of someone who could kill. And, if tipped over the edge, would.
In her world view, the situation seemed to be as clear as glass. A great driver crashed and died, and it must have been someone’s fault. And the person who was at fault would pay for it. Blood for blood. Almost understandable, if it didn’t mean that someone else would lose their life.
Especially if that someone had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
But Rin had sworn to never let anything like this happen again, to never have someone lose their temper under his lead. And if it meant crossing a line he had set for himself, so be it.
It was surprisingly easy to empty a full can of fuel into Yuliya’s pride and joy, her 2016 Lada Vesta that both she and Wires had spent so much time tuning and painting and repairing.
It also was surprisingly easy to light the match that would likely change his life forever. His, Yuliya’s, the entire crew’s. But it was for the greater good, wasn’t it? He’d rather lose a cherished car than have another friend kill a person.
He had made up his mind hours ago. He just had to follow through.
The hardest part of all this was seeing his crew, his friends, so devastated. So shocked, so full of fear. Seeing Reyhan pull Wires out of the smoke, seeing Niko, their newest member, go through the second tragedy in the span of weeks. But it was for the best, it was all for the best.
Until Wires raised their voice: “Rin, what the fuck is going on?”
He took a shallow breath, then another one. He couldn’t possibly tell anyone what he had done, they wouldn’t understand. Never. He would have to…
“Rin!”, they tried again.
He sighed. He didn’t want to lie to them either, but he had to say something, answer them, anything. Maybe he could…
“Keep yourself out of this, Wires. Or I can’t guarantee you’ll be around to see the end of it.”
Wires was smart and would likely make the connection Rin wanted them to: That there was a silent crew fight going on that he had kept from his people. To protect them. To handle all this without putting them through it along him.
At least Rin hoped they would connect the dots this way.
———
Rin’s eyes watered as he stared right through the screen, not blinking, ears ringing.
The Dodge Viper was flipped on its head and burning out, and the fire would likely leave nothing but the steel frame before the firefighters would even arrive on scene.
In the middle of the race - Reyhan was in the lead by a margin - the Viper had exploded into a fireball, just like that. It had flipped from the speed, likely killing the driver on the spot - at least the poor guy wouldn’t burn to death. Caught the flames for no reason. Random time, random spot, without external influence.
According to the pictures, at least.
But Rin knew right there and then that there had been an external influence.
And the external influence was sitting right next to him.