Oxterionn: Of Love and Fast Cars

Kat looked over the car with increasing apprehension. It looked too small, too open and unprotected.

"And you drive how fast in this?" She asked Red incredulously and he smirked.

"About 300 km/h, or more," Red snickered at Kat's shocked reaction.

"How do you all not die?" Kat asked, and then realized the poor wording of her question. There had of course been deaths, and injuries in the past. But it had to be more than just good luck, right?

"Sometimes there are accidents, as you know, but these cars are as safe as they can be," he explained with sadness in his eyes.

It had been nearly two weeks since Kat had asked him about the crash, but could think of nothing but Charlie's crash now they were at the racetrack, and Red was about to suit up for the first time since the Australian grand prix earlier that year. He was nervous, but he had gotten his spark back, or maybe it was a new spark. A new fire that drove him to, well, drive. He and Kat were on their way to becoming an item, though exactly what that was had yet to be defined. Whatever it was, that was part of the mystery that drove him – he needed to prove himself, and reclaim what was his, but most importantly he needed to secure a place for himself on the 2016 F1 grid.

Kat gave him a quick kiss before he put his helmet on. She retreated to the back of the garage and slipped on a pair of headphones to watch Red drive around the track.

"Miss Katherine?" She heard his voice through the headphones and jumped. She felt her nerves tingle like they had been tickled by a thousand tiny feathers.

"Yes?" She replied and adjusted the mouthpiece. "Are you driving yet?"

Red laughed. "No, I am still 20 feet away from you. I just wanted to say thank you. For talking to your father and arranging this. I never would have been able to get a car to drive, here at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit none the less, on such short notice. Who exactly does your father know?"

Kat laughed and the British diplomat flashed through her head, her son's resilient smile cracking her memory. She knew her dad was trying to distract Kat from the issue of the engagement ring, and God knows how he actually arranged this, but it was working. Seeing Red smiling like a kid at Christmas was erasing some of the pain caused by Callum and her father. "I'm not sure – although I have an idea – but don't worry about it, just drive. And be safe!"

"As you wish." She heard the unmistakable sound of an engine roaring to life and Red was off down pit lane. He was not driving the Tallon-Fyste he was familiar with, but he was in a F1 car, and that was good enough. It was like taking a hit off an old drug: soothing, yet the memory of being cut off sent shivers through every nerve. As he sped through the chicane and into the hill called Eau Rouge, the calming effect of racing he loved so much returned and cleared away any remaining anxiety. This track was familiar to him and brought back memories of racing here over the last few years. Coming around the corner named 'La Source' he recalled the time he overtook Charlie right at the beginning of the race. They had started in 4th and 5th place, with Red just behind his teammate, but soon the two orange cars swapped places once the red lights went out and the race began. Turn 11 brought back memories of overtaking T-F's rivals in their sleek black and red Oxterionns.

His mind went blank and he let the track take over, pulling him into each turn and pushing him through the chicanes. It had been months since he drove this fast, and even though it was a different car with older features, he felt like he had not missed a day. Red let the sharp turns and fast straights erase his memory, and he imagined that the first race of the season had ended differently. He pictured himself on the podium next to Charlie, and imagined he went home to his to-be fiancée happily waiting for him, alone. It was perfect.

Except, there was no Kat.

When he finally came off the track and slid out of his racing overalls, he was a different person. He was almost the old Red, someone Kat had only seen glimpses of.

"I see you enjoyed yourself," she said and helped him fix his hair after he took his helmet off.

"Enjoyed myself? That might be an understatement," he gave her a passionate kiss, which surprised Kat, but she did not object. "That was the most fun I have had in months! Not that driving you has been boring..."

"I'm glad you had fun. Unfortunately, we need to go soon," she put her arm around him and ignored his pout as she led him back to change. "Maybe we can continue this elsewhere..."

Red took the hint and pulled her into his dressing room.

"You know," she said slowly after the door clicked shut behind them. "I didn't want to say this over the headphones because I didn't know who else was listening, but that was pretty hot."

Red stopped untying his shoe and looked up at her. "Really?"

"I don't know what it was, but there is something so alluring about seeing you do what you do best. Now I see why you're a two-time World Champion." She leaned in to give him a kiss, and he pulled her down next to him, quickly kicking his shoes the rest of the way off.

"I was hoping you would say that," Red murmured between kisses. He felt like he was in a dream, but Red continued to take off his racing clothes as Kat took the hint and slipped out of her dress. Red's racing high erased any nerves he might have had about having sex with Kat here at the race track. It was very 'in the moment' and clearly unplanned.

~ ~ ~

Andy left Millie's office feeling nostalgic. The few times he had worked with the Saxons had always been an adventure. The last time he was in England he had taken a boat across so he could smuggle some guns for the Saxons, and visit the old McGowans in his ancestral home in Ireland. But that was a few decades ago, and the boys who ran 'the company' were probably too young the last time he was here to remember him very much. He hopped in one of those cute black London taxis and gave an address near the club the Saxons used as a front.

"You want to speak with John?" The bouncer laughed.

"Yeah, or whoever's running things these days."

"Listen old man, I don't know who you are but, I can't let you upstairs if you don't even know who you're looking for."

"Listen bud," Andy gave him a push. "I'm Andy McLaughlin, of the McLaughlins in Boston, and if you don't know what that means then maybe you should read a damn history book."

The bouncer was shocked, but stepped inside to consult with someone. A few minutes later the youngest Saxon appeared and invited Andy upstairs. He had to be no more than thirty, so he definitely would not remember Andy from his last visit. "I'm Jack, by the way," he turned around to introduce himself. "I know you and dad are friends, he used to talk about you all the time, but he's not the same anymore. He's been getting sick for a long time; his mind's okay, he's totally alert, but his legs don't work anymore, his arms are slowly going too.... But he'll be happy to see you."

Andy nodded, too out of breath to respond as they climbed another flight of stairs. He hoped John was still mentally aware enough to recognize the potential for the deal he had to offer. It might be difficult to explain, but from what he had seen of Jack so far, he seemed eager and open to new business opportunities.

* * *

Red was not sure what Kat expected of him, or what they had become, exactly, but he tried to let things happen without having preconceived notions. Red understood that Kat was going through, transitioning into.... he was not sure. She didn't know either, but she was starting to feel like she did not have to hide behind the excuse of 'focusing on her studies' much longer. Something was going to change.

With his heart set on returning to F1, and with Kat supporting him, Red set about trying to re-sign with his old team. He set up a meeting with Tallon-Fyste to talk about the upcoming season. He made sure to dress nicely, although he did not feel like he should need to impress his former employers. Why would not they want him back? He had brought them two World Championships, and potentially many more in the future.

What he was not expecting, was rejection. Yes, he had brought them two World Championships and a constructors' championship title, but he had left them with a lot of unanswered questions, and many legal issues. They had spent months explaining his absence, and gave up on trying to talk to him since he disappeared for a while, and refused to return their calls once he started working for Albert. Devastated, Red returned to Switzerland the day after meeting with them. Perhaps he should have expected this reaction from T-F.

"I'll never race again," he said to Kat when she came home from school. She found him sitting in the living room with a glass of his usual Jameson. He had paused the TV when he heard her come home so she glanced at the screen to see what he was watching: an old race from 2013.

"The Red I know does not give up," she flicked off the TV and sat down next to him.

"How do you know that?" he sulked, and she took the bottle out of his hand and put the cover back on.

"I'm just guessing. And thanks for drinking my father's alcohol." She replaced the bottle on the shelf with the other barely used bottles. "There are other teams you can drive for; I'm sure they would be more than happy to have you race for them."

"No, if my own team doesn't want me-"

"They're not your team any more. You can sign with another team, and show Tallon-Fyste what they're missing." Kat tried to sound optimistic. "I heard Oxterionn is looking for a change, and you look good in black."

"Thank you," he looked at her questioningly. "And where did you hear that?"

"I, um," Kat blushed. "I may have started looking into it after I saw how excited and revitalized you were after you drove at Spa. I just want you to be happy."

Red was touched, and not just because she was looking into his F1 career. Kat cared about him perhaps the same way he cared about her. Their relationship had been seemingly physical up until now, and he wanted to tell her his feelings, but he did not know how, or if he even could. Right now it was a bit too complicated, so one of the two complicating things would have to wait – and Red did not think a F1 team would wait until he got his relationship sorted out. Kat could wait, he sighed internally, but smiled back up at her.

Girls and F1 had not always mixed well for Red, so this time, he wanted to do it right.

"You shouldn't have to prove yourself; you're two-time World Champion Redington McLaughlin – that should be enough."

"Unfortunately, that doesn't mean anything anymore; my reputation has been tainted. I can't buy my way onto a team because I don't have money anymore. I need to find sponsors, but nobody wants me to be the face of their product." He sighed and hung his head, recalling the many rejection emails he had received about sponsorships.

"They just don't know how awesome you are now. New and improved, McLaughlin 2.0," Kat smirked, and drew a slight smile out of Red.

"Improved? I'm not sure about that..."

"Hey, if they don't want to sponsor, you, I will."

He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to say 'just kidding' or to burst out laughing, but she was serious. "Kat..."

"Red, are you forgetting why Callum tried to marry me this summer? Because I'm filthy rich," she smiled despite mentioning Cal's name and tried to sound like she meant it.

"Kat...." Red winced at the memory. "I couldn't ask you to waste all your money on me. You may not even get half of it back, no matter how well I do," he looked at her skeptically, though he could not hide that spark of hope from his eyes.

She looked at him seriously, and very businesslike explained: "If I lost half of my money, I would still be a multimillionaire....and then there's daddy, of course. He could practically own a F1 team, probably."

Red chuckled at the way Kat sarcastically talked about her dad and his money. "Yeah, but he wouldn't give me a cent if he knew.... wait, he doesn't know we're sleeping together, right?"

Kat shook her head. "Are you serious? Why would I tell him that? Besides, he'd probably think I was being stupid or rebellious."

"Rebellious?" Red laughed again. "So you think I have a 'bad boy' image?" He joked and tried to put on his best 'tough guy' face, sending Kat into peals of laughter.

"No, sorry," she sat up and caught her breath. "I don't know, I just think he wouldn't like it. Although he seems to like you enough, I just think he wouldn't be happy. Why don't we take a break from this for a while and watch a movie or something? You've been so tense lately."