Reassurance
AfterRiders AU Drabble!! Characters: Fleetway(AU) & Keira (w/ Runihura, Mysta, Siegfried, Scorch, & Brutus)
“All challengers, ready up!”
The crowd roared in response to the voice that bleared from the speakers. “Hurry up! It’s starting!” Amongst the crowd, a group of four: a pink cat, a blue tiger, a red lion, and a thresher shark took their respective seats. They began searching for their friends who were competing in this race — the cat’s arms flailing about as she pointed in the direction of a yellow hedgehog. “There they are!”
Fleetway exhaled. Months of training had boiled down to this very moment. He narrowed his eyes at the starting line, seeing other racers beginning to take their spots. In the midst of the crowd he could easily spot the blue quills that belonged to their most problematic opponent: Sonic. Turning his head, the yellow hedgehog merely sneered. Fleetway wasn’t afraid of anything; he’ll take down the blue blur himself.
As he glanced at his two other team members, he locked eyes with Runihura, who had just finished putting on his gloves. “Remember the plan,” Runihura mumbled in passing, giving Fleetway a fist bump as the thorny devil moved to take his position behind the starting line. Of course, Fleetway thought. No need to tell me twice.
With that, his attention rested upon a purple hedgehog, sat atop her bike. Her face was scrunched in a frown, as she slipped her helmet on. She was so deep in her own thoughts she didn’t even notice Fleetway approaching her.
“Oi Kei, chill out will you?” he bent down to her eye level, hands resting on her bike.
Flinching, Keira gave him a sheepish smile, “How can I relax when we’re going up against all of the pros? Sonic is there… Blaze is there…” Gripping her bike’s handle, she chewed on her lip anxiously.
“You’re also forgetting that they’re also going against each other,” he replied easily. “They’re not going to be barraging us with attacks all the time. And plus, you have us.”
“Mm… I guess you’re right. Raidon didn’t make the plan for us to follow on baseless assumptions either… everything was so well thought out.”
Fleetway sighed, chuckling. He put a hand on the top of her helmet, making her look at him dead in the eye. “Kei. You’re doing it again; you’re overthinking,” he grinned. “Focus on me for a bit yeah? Hear me out.”
Taking her silence as a sign to continue, he began, “We didn’t accept you into the team just because Mysta said so. It was also a matter of whether you’re capable of taking her place. Honestly, while seeing you struggle with almost every form of extreme gear was hilarious, we didn’t think you had what it took to be a part of the team.” Fleetway’s expression morphed into a more serious one, before sighing, “But after seeing you on this very bike, killing it in your first race, the deal was sealed. Before you even begin doubting your abilities, remember that you’re more capable than you think, so don’t sell yourself short, okay? The team needs you.”
Fleetway then pointed to the stands, over at the group of four that had recently taken their seats earlier. “Look. Mysta is there, Siegfried is there, Scorch is there, and Brutus is there. They’re there for us; for your very first race in the finals of the pro league,” glancing back at a wide-eyed Keira, he continued, “So show them what you got, miss I-still-can’t-use-a-hoverboard.”
Keira pushed Fleetway lightly at his tease, unamused at his unwillingness to let the joke go. The purple hedgehog then hopped off her bike, moving to tackle Fleetway into a hug. “You’re never gonna let that go aren’t you?” She mumbled embarrassedly into his chest, feeling him laugh loudly in response. “Thank you, idiot. I feel much better now.”
Fleetway returned the gesture, before picking her up and placing her back on the bike. “Though I have one last question,” Keira narrowed her eyes at the yellow hedgehog. “Did you really have to piss Sonic off?”
He leaned closer to her face with a cocky smirk, “The blue bitch needs to get his priorities straight from the get go.” Retracting, Fleetway turned tail, casually walking away to the starting line.
“THAT’S SO VAGUE!” Keira retorted, revving her bike to catch up to him. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!”
Fleetway only snickered in response, “You’ll see!”
