An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
As much as Sonic loves a good race, there are some things more important than winning and he never fails to follow his heart when it comes to that, even if it means he'll lose. Even if it means he'll let people down.
After the Babylon Rogues knock Tails off his board in the final stretch of a race, Sonic doesn't hesitate to trade first place for his little bro. But a part of Tails wishes he wasn't always the reason Sonic makes these kinds of sacrifices.
Not By a Long Shot (I'm Gonna Show You) - Chapter 3
"But just like all the other racers competing to win, the Chaotix are a formidable trio. Don't underestimate them!"
"You said it! I can't wait to see what they bring to the track!"
"Well, that's all the talk we have time for today. Thanks for tuning in for another episode of Crosstalk with Sonic and Tails. See you all at the finish line!"
"Catch ya later! That is, if you can keep up."
"Annnnd… that's a wrap!" Tails ended the recording, grinning at Sonic as the hedgehog immediately stretched both arms over his head, then ran four laps around the room. "Thanks for doing these with me. I know sitting around and talking shop isn't your favorite…"
"You kidding? I always have a blast hanging with you, partner." Sonic skidded to a stop beside him with a giddy little kick and a wink. "Besides, can't say it hasn't hurt to take a closer look at our competition. Definitely got me pumped up for Dodon Pa's grand prix."
"Speaking of… have you decided yet if you're going to use the Blue Star II or the Speedster Lightning?" Tails asked, saving their latest recorded footage through his Miles Electric 2.0 to edit later.
"No," Sonic groaned, a rare pout puffing up his cheeks.
"Sonic," Tails sighed, setting aside the M.E. Too on his sit-stand desk, which was currently set to standing height. "We race in three days."
"I know, they're both just so good." Sonic slumped forward onto the desk dramatically, his face smushed against the surface and muffling his voice. "I blame you. You spoiled me, Tails. You're too good of a mechanic and now I have decision paralysis."
"Oh please," Tails snorted, rolling his eyes. "Since when have you ever gone off anything other than instinct?"
Sonic tilted his head to the side so he could stick his tongue out at his sassy younger brother, but ultimately didn't deny it.
eeeee! I’m so glad someone picked this one! 🥹🥹 lol! I hope I can get it finished! In the meantime here’s a handful of sentences somewhere in the 9 ish realm. 🫶
~~~
Jee sat cross legged and watched Tommy examine the car with wide eyes… and a million questions.
What does that piece do? How fast can you make it go? Why number 7? How much longer before it’s fixed?!
“A long time, kiddo…” Tommy sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. He stepped back, looked at the heap of metal in front of him, and wondered if it was even worth it. What was he even doing? What was he thinking? He could just get back behind the wheel and it would feel like it did all those years ago?
He felt a small tug on his shirt and turned to see Jee beside him. “I can help!”
Her eyes had that same sparkle. That same excitement. That determination. That drive… god what he’d give to have it back.
He nodded towards his work bench, where his little blue tool box sat. “Grab that,” he told her, and she ran over to the box, picked it up and brought it back to him. “Thank you, ma’am. Okay,” he said firmly as he popped open the tool box, pulled out one of the first wrenches ever put in it and gave it to her. “Are you ready to get your hands dirty?”
I need more max verstappen x male reader from you pls love your work 👍👍
Champion & Captain
Max Verstappen x male!reader Request
Word count:0.7k
Warnings:none, it's fluff
Summary: Max had been away for three weeks. As he finally returns from his trip for Red Bull, you're more than exited
Masterlist
To say that I was exited was an Understatement. Max had been away for three weeks now, flying around the world, doing stuff and Promo for Red Bull, while the Winter break.
I was no question, that I was exited to see him again.
I was walking up and down in the hallway of our apartment. I had been waiting for his arrival for the whole day, but half an hour ago, Max had texted me, that he arrived on the airport and was now in a cab on his way home.
My thoughts were racing, as I heard how the dorr to our apartment opened. Keys were thrown away and Shoes were discarded and only seconds later, I saw Max standing in the doorway. He looked rushed and his breathing was going heavy. But the moment our eyes met, a grin appeard on his face.
"I missed you.", He mumbled.
I couldn't help but laugh. I was so happy to see him again, as I finally walked over to him.
"I missed you too, my Champion", I said as I wrapped my arms around his middle.
Max giggled at my nickname for him and I felt how he softly kissed my neck. We parted a little , so that he could plant a kiss on my cheek, before pecking my lips.
I just looked at him for a second. HIs blue eyes that observed me so intently, his strong arms that were wrapped around me, the disshelved hair and his light stuble.
He was perfect in my eyes. There is nothing more that I would want in a Partner. He was all, I would ever need.
"Let's put your stuff away", I finally muttered and we were actually able to part, so that we could grab Max'suitcases.
"How was your trip by the way?", I asked, as we sorted through his clothes in the bedroom.
"I mean", Max eexplained,"It was fun i guess, but it would've been much better if you were with me."
I smiled at his words:"Next time, I promise."
"yeah sure, Captain.", Max laughed.
"Oh come on!", I complained and threw a T-Shirt at him. He had invented that nickname, since I started coaching a little athletics group here in Monaco. Which was exactly the reason, why I didn't join him on his trip. The kids took part in a tournament and what kind of Coach would I be if I left them behind?
"Did your Team at least win?", Max asked as he helped me stand up again.
"No", I mumbled and let myself fall down on the king sized bed,"But we got second place."
"You'll win next year.", Max encouraged me, as he let himslef fall down next to me.
"Oh I'm not upset", I smiled, as I turned around to face him,"the Kids had fun adn that's all that matters."
"You're right", Max agreed, as he inched closer. He raised his hand to softly caress my face.
"I truly missed you, Captain."He mumbled.
"I missed you too, Champion", I gtinned and leaned down to kiss him. For a second, I really felt at home, but then my eyes widened,as I felt how Max pulled me on top of him.
"What are you doing?!", I yelped, but before he could answer, my heaad hit his chest and I was fully lying on top of Max. I saw how he pulled a blanket over us.
"Let's just rest for a while", He explained with a smile on his lips.
"It's the middle of the day,.", I chuckled.
But Max was already closing his eyes, as he pulled me closer to him:"I don't care. I want to spend time with you"
"Yeah, you're probably right.",I agreed and laid my head down on his chest. I felt how Max breath grew calmer by the second.
"Max?", I mumbled before I closed my eyes too.
"Mmh?", he hummed.
"I love you.", I said softly and wrapped my arms around him a little tighter.
"I love you too, Captain.", Max mumbled before the two of us finally drifted of to sleep.
This lil fic was inspired by a weekend trip we had and the fact that I just love writing for Grace's brother as well as this lil chaos family. I hope you enjoy it.
Caroline was just over a year old when Grace got the idea for a family vacation. The twins were almost nine months and Hadley was four months so she knew everybody would be able to travel. She ran the idea through the wifeys group chat; they could go to the beach for a few days and then there was going to be some racing at Charlotte. While she'd just seen her brother for Caroline's birthday, it never felt like long enough. Plus she hadn't seen him race in ages, and while she knew his girls usually weren't at the track with him and she missed them terribly, she thought it would be a fun time.
She found some rooms in Carolina Beach that weren't too over the top price wise since it wasn't peak summer yet being they were going the first of May, and while she knew all her pilots would complain about flying commercial, they'd just have to get over it. No way were they driving across the country with four kids. She found flights into Wilmington and secured rental cars as well. She also went ahead and booked the flights to Charlotte and got tickets to the dragstrip event. They were only going to be a few miles from her hometown, so she thought it'd be nice to show everybody where she came from. She was so excited for this trip, and she was very excited to surprise her brother.
The beach was a blast with the babies. Caroline loved the water, the sand not so much. Marcus and Nathaniel loved the sand, and even tried eating it much to Alana's dismay. Hadley was still too little to really enjoy it, but she loved laying on any one of her favorite adults and watching the kids. Jake, Bradley, and Mickey had a blast taking Caroline and the boys into the ocean while the girls suntanned and rested. It was so relaxing to just be away and enjoy the time together.
They spent four days in total there, with plans to come back or explore one of the other Carolina beaches for a longer trip. The fifth day they flew into Charlotte, and drove down to Grace's hometown. It was a small town on the outskirts of Charlotte, but it was close to the dragstrip and speedway. She showed them around, showing them her grandparents' house where she grew up even though they'd sold it. They even swing by the cemetery so Grace can leave some flowers and introduce Bradley and Caroline to her grandparents. In all, they only spend a couple hours in the town before heading north into Concord to their room for the weekend.
Friday they explore Concord, and everybody grabs some more souvenirs and mementos to remember their trip by. They don't stay out too long during the day because of the race that night. They want to give the kids enough time to rest and nap before a late night. Grace ends up napping with Caroline because she knows these events can go late into the night, especially if Kevin is winning.
They get to the dragstrip a couple of hours before the actual racing starts so they have time to walk through the pits and explore all the cars. She's hoping it will give her plenty of time to see Kevin too. She doesn't know for certain he'll be there as they hadn't talked about it last time they talked, but Grace is almost positive he will show up to race. She knows Charlotte's dragstrip will always be one of his favorite places to race since that's where he started.
The later it gets, the more nervous she gets that she drug everybody here for nothing. It was getting close to the end of tech and test and tune and her brother still wasn't there, despite her having seen a few of his Florida friends when they walked around. She left Caroline with Bradley and promised everybody she'd be right back; she had to see if they knew if he was coming or not. She just hoped they would remember her since she'd only met them a couple of times.
They were working on their cars, a crowd of people surrounding them. She knew their YouTube channels really brought in the crowds. She edged over to the side and called out to the one closest to her. "James!"
His head jerked up and looked in her direction. She gave a little wave and pointed at the shirt she had on which was one of Kevin's. "Grace?"
"Yea," she smiles when he recognized her. He let her under the rope and over into their circle. "What are you doing here?"
"Came to surprise Kev. I've got my husband and daughter with me and some friends and their kids. We'd been at the beach and I figured he'd be here when I heard about the race so we thought we'd surprise him. Except.... he's not here yet."
James looks around because Kevin had told them about the event. "Hey Ty! Yall heard from Kev?"
That gained everybody else's attention and they all noticed her. She was swarmed with hugs and welcoming greetings. "He called a few hours ago said he was still a couple out. Should be here soon."
"Thanks guys. I'll keep an eye out."
"Wait wait wait I think that's him," James smiled turning you towards where Kevin's truck was pulling in.
"Let me go get my girl."
"Bring her back here. We'll film it. His face is gonna be priceless."
"Thanks guys," she smiles. After collecting Bradley and Caroline, everybody else is gonna trail after once the video surprise is over, she returns to their tent. They had their cameras and go pros ready for different angles. Bradley tucked behind the tallest guy, which surprisingly had a couple of inches on him, while Grace carried Caroline behind James.
Kevin was unloading the car, so it ended up being the perfect setup. "Kev we have a surprise for you!" James called out once the car was beside the trailer.
"Oh yea? What now?" He chuckled as he slid out of the window. He noticed them all filming and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Surprise!" Grace squealed stepping out from behind James. Caroline was giggling and clapping even though she really didn't know why until she saw her uncle. Kevin's face was priceless and he easily took Caroline and pulled Grace into his arms for a hug.
"What are you doing here?" He asks her as they pull back from the hug.
"Figured you'd be here. Wanted to surprise you. We took a mini family vacation out to the coast and then came back this way to watch you race."
"Well you got me but....." he knocked on the side of the trailer and the side door opened revealing his three girls. "Surprise back!"
"Auntie Grace!" Grace had an armful of two girls while Sam jumped straight into Bradley's arms.
"You've got the girls?!"
"Sure do. My week so we're gonna have some fun at the track."
"Well this is a nice surprise," Grace smiles as Cara reaches for Caroline. She had a feeling there was some drama there, but she'd get it out of him later.
Everybody with cameras peeled off promising to send the footage over. Kevin gave Caroline to Cara but stayed close. Her baby ear muffs made her look adorable, coupled with her baby Kevin racing shirt and Kevin loved it. The rest of the gang joined yall by Kevin's car, which the boys absolutely admired. Kevin easily took Hadley who smiled at him and gurgled happily, as he walked around the car with Bradley, Jake and Mickey. Jake was pushing the twins in a stroller and they just wide-eyed looked at the car.
The girls talked a mile a minute to their aunt, Baylie and Alana, since they hadn't seen her since Christmas, their mom not letting them come with Kev for Caroline's party. "We actually have one more surprise," Grace smiles catching Kevin's attention once they're done inspecting the car. They'd not told him at Caroline's party wanting to wait until they knew what they were having to tell him since he couldn't be at their gender reveal.
That catches Kevin's attention. Mickey takes Hadley back as Baylie and Alana covertly grab their phones to film and take pictures. Kev easily takes Caroline from Cara when she reaches for him once more as he gives his sister his full attention. "And?" He asks when she drags out the silence to drive him crazy.
She turns sideways and tugs her shirt a little tighter around her. "Read Caroline's shirt." On the back of her shirt it says "Uncle Kev’s fav until my little brother arrives."
His eyes snap back to hers and then to her belly. "Seriously?!"
"Yea. It was a surprise to us too," she laughs. Kevin pulls her in for another hug as they explain to the girls their getting another cousin. The girls are all excited, but Kevin finally breaks them up. "As much fun as this has been, I've gotta go make a pass before the tune session is over."
"Be careful," Grace says as Bradley takes Caroline and the girls go with them back to their seats. Kev's first pass isn't the greatest; the track prep wasn't the best and he spun as soon as he took off.
"Ouch," Sam sighed seeing her dad's time. At eight she understood more about racing than most adults. The perks of being her daddy's little mini me.
"Daddy won't like that," Ava sighed after Sam explained it to her.
Grace couldn't help but giggle. "No he probably won't sweetheart, but it'll be ok."
"Uncle Bradley can we go back to Daddy?"
Bradley hides his smile at Sam's request and nods. "Yep come on racing princess. Let's go see what he's going to do to fix it."
Grace slipped Caroline into her carrier and they headed back to the pits. Racing would start in the next fifteen minutes, so they decided to let the twins run off some energy by Kev's trailer while he worked on his tune. Hadley had already snuggled into Mickey's chest in her carrier and fallen asleep. Ava ran around with the twins, making sure they didn't fall or get hurt; Cara stayed glued to her aunt's side, while Sam watched over Kevin's shoulder everything he was doing.
Once the racing actually began, they went back to their seats. Sam wasn't happy about not going to the staging lanes with Kev, but she ended up with Bradley's attention so she was happy. Grace smiled just watching them. It had already been the best night, no matter what happened with Kev's racing. She managed to ask someone near them to snap a picture of all of them.
After Kevin barely wins the first one, the girls walk back over to the pits, leaving the boys to watch some more racing. The twins are fussy, so Alana pushes them around getting them to sleep while the girls congratulate their dad. He takes Caroline once more, while he works on the tune a little more. Grace can't help but snap a pic of the cute scene. Caroline is almost asleep, her little head laying on Kev's shoulder as he just works away.
All four of the babies end up falling asleep before Kev's next pass. Mickey and Bradley take Hadley and Caroline in their carriers so Baylie and Grace can have a break. The twins are sound asleep, laid back in their stroller. They decide to stand on the fence to watch the next few passes, and once again Kev gets the victory, putting him into the final. There wasn't as many cars there that night, so they had shorter rounds. Kev easily sails to victory in his class, and the girls are so happy for their dad. Since the babies are asleep, they decide to stay for the winner's circle so Grace can grab some pics for Kev and with his girls.
They make plans to meet up with Kev and the girls in the morning for breakfast and to spend the day together. They have a late flight that night, in the hopes the kids will sleep through it, so they have all day to spend. Since Kev won Friday night, he decided to skip the Saturday passes and spend the day with his family. Overall, it was one of the best vacations any of them had been on in a really long time, and they were all looking forward to the next one, maybe even to Florida that time.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
As much as Sonic loves a good race, there are some things more important than winning and he never fails to follow his heart when it comes to that, even if it means he'll lose. Even if it means he'll let people down.
After the Babylon Rogues knock Tails off his board in the final stretch of a race, Sonic doesn't hesitate to trade first place for his little bro. But a part of Tails wishes he wasn't always the reason Sonic makes these kinds of sacrifices.
A/N: Happy birthday, Tails!! 🎂
Not by a Long Shot (I'm Gonna Show You) - Ch. 2
Air & Track Magazine (September Issue)
A Long Shot or a Liability? The Consequences of Professional Underage Racing
By Terra Harrow, Culture Writer
It's no secret that the spectacle at the Spagonia Grand Prix left its mark on the ExGearGP racing circuit in more ways than one. While the celebration of Jet the Hawk's third consecutive victory further cements a future position for him in the Extreme Gear Hall of Fame, this was, most notably, not the headline most journalists ran with, myself included.
The big takeaway from the Spagonia Grand Prix was the shocking loss of fan favorite, Sonic the Hedgehog. According to Air Gear World, a record breaking number of fans came out last month to bet on what they thought would be a surefire medalist in his ExGearGP debut, and broke a second record in the amount of money they lost. This has been the news circulating in every major motorsports headline, overshadowing even the outcomes of the Republic of Meridian Cup and the U.F. 500. If the loss had been a natural one—with Sonic the Hedgehog simply unable to contend with seasoned racers—perhaps people would be more understanding, but it's the reason behind his loss that has rankled the ExGearGP community's ire. While the outrage racing fans have felt over the past few weeks has been understandable, I can't help but take notice that everyone seems to be pointing fingers in all the wrong places.
If you ask anyone, even casual racing fans, who they think is at fault, they will point at one of three suspects. Sonic the Hedgehog himself, the top three finalists: the Babylon Rogues, or first-time racer and record-holder of the youngest participant in an ExGearGP race, Miles "Tails" Prower. Yes, you read that right. At just seven years old, Miles Prower has overtaken the previous record of ten years old, which was initially held by first place medalist, Jet the Hawk.
While such a feat is commendable at such a young age, with the backlash that has been directed at him, one can't help but wonder, should it even be attainable?
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
As much as Sonic loves a good race, there are some things more important than winning and he never fails to follow his heart when it comes to that, even if it means he'll lose. Even if it means he'll let people down.
After the Babylon Rogues knock Tails off his board in the final stretch of a race, Sonic doesn't hesitate to trade first place for his little bro. But a part of Tails wishes he wasn't always the reason Sonic makes these kinds of sacrifices.
Not by a Long Shot (I'm Gonna Show You) - Ch. 1
The world spun 360 degrees around Sonic the Hedgehog—or rather, he was the one spinning in a dizzying freefall. After kicking off a ramp on his extreme gear, he dazzled onlookers with a series of quick flips and air tricks on his way to steal the lead with a flourish. It might have been his first grand prix—technically second since egghead's was kind of a scam and not formally recognized as one of the international ExGearGP races—but the fastest thing alive had easily won over the hearts of millions as the fan favorite, owed entirely to his reputation and knack for showboating. He flipped upside down as he glided towards the lower level of the track, chasing after the lead racer—the leader of the Babylon Rogues.
"Sonic is building momentum!" the announcer's voice echoed throughout the race track, keeping viewers informed even when the racers were well out of sight. "He makes a perfect landing and takes advantage of his speed!"
The track narrowed into a long, cement tunnel; the industrial lights they sped past flashing with an almost-cautionary yellow glow. But if anyone was being warned of their impending defeat, it was the Babylon Rogues. The tunnel quickly closed them off from the rest of the world; claustrophobic with its lack of natural light and low ceiling. But just on the other side, the finish line was waiting to crown the winners of the Spagonia Grand Prix.
Sonic breezed past Jet, coasting along his slipstream right into first place. Cutting him off from his lead, he chanced a glance back at his newest rival just so his smirk would be the last thing he saw before Sonic's tail crossed the finish line. He almost laughed out loud at Jet's visible frustration; his beak clenched hard enough that Sonic wouldn't be surprised if it cracked under the strain—probably just as brittle as his ego. Just over Jet's shoulder, he spied Storm and Wave staggered behind him, providing close coverage as they followed them through the tunnel. But sneaking along the curve, completely undetected and underestimated, Tails was quickly closing the gap. Steadily creeping up on the inside corner to snipe second place right out from under Jet's beak.
Sonic's smirk sharpened. Oh ho ho, was this bird brain in for a real surprise. The Babylon Rogues would soon learn why they should never underestimate Tails. What he lacked in pure speed he made up for in technique, infinitely more precise and patient than Sonic as he glided along Jet's slipstream.
Meanwhile, Knuckles was in a strong position on the outside, powering through the headwind and taking his turns wide in an attempt to overtake Storm and Wave with brute force. Aw yeah. Team Sonic had all but won this grand prix.
The first part of the fic is Tommy learning his dad has passed and he has to go home for the reading of the will. Buck goes with him and meets his family/learns about Tommy’s racing past. His old car (that is totaled… this is part of the angsty backstory) is still at his dad’s house, but Tommy claims he doesn’t want it.
In the second part Buck pulls a classic Buck (we love him for his ways) and has the car brought back to LA anyway. There’s a charity race coming up and between his loving and persistent boyfriend, and an equally loving and persistent Jee (who has gained a love of racing because of Tommy) he fixes up the old car and takes her for one last race.
What inspired your choice in the courses you used in Not By A Long Shot, if anything? :) I was pleasantly surprised to see Northstar Islands make an appearance.
Hi Norted! :D
Great question!! I was mostly inspired by the little launch day promo (at least I think it was the launch day promo? It was this ad in particular).
It used a lot more courses than I did, but I really like how it started out since I was kind of following the trajectory of Shadow taking Tails out of the race early, so I wanted Northstar Islands to be the first lap. Then out of the crossworld tracks, Holoska is one of my favorites, and the image of Tails going for the flight path over the water really stuck with me <3 Then since the promo ended on E Stadium, and beacuse it also made sense to me for that to be a physical place for a crowd to gather and for them to have practiced at beforehand, I picked that as the final leg of the race!
Glad you were happy to see Northstar Islands there! There are so many good courses and I thought about making the race longer to incorporate more of them, but I also felt like there was only so much I could do to make the race part as interesting to read as it is to watch or play, lol.
