Chapter Text
“[…] and you'd whisper love into my knuckles as i hummed you to sleep, because you might've learned to run but i've been hobbled with you my entire life and fuck, i'd die a thousand times over just to see you smile.”
.......
One thing you would never associate Maya Bishop with is being a nervous person. It’s not a feeling she is familiar with in the slightest. The one and only time she could recall feeling vaguely anything in that realm was when she had to deliver one, and only line in a school play, but that wasn’t because she was intimidated by the audience or her fellow classmates or even the line itself, no it was because up until the day of the play, she kept fumbling her words and just couldn’t get the simplicity of it right.
It was the first time she actually got frustrated with herself at being inadequate at something so trivial. Everyone made fun of her for reciting the line out loud and as often as she could, but she needed to get it right, she needed to be the best and she vowed that she would always do everything in her power to achieve that. She would like to think that is why she is considered one of the best motorsport drivers in the world, because she gave it her all and she doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do or how to do it. It’s all on her terms.
But like with that one damn line, she was once more being unraveled in her life in the form Carina DeLuca. She could say with absolute certainty that the stunning Italian goddess of a woman made her nervous every time she even thought about her, which was more often than not.
She’s been nervous all morning and decided to go for a run to blow off some of the initial jitters and found herself inevitably at the workshop and decided to stick around to work on the Mustang, just to keep her fidgety hands busy. She doesn’t have to pick Carina up for their date for another two hours, so that was a lot of time to kill and she needed to keep her mind occupied before she caved and decided to just go to her house before their arranged time. Maya didn’t know what was happening with her, she wanted to be in Carina’s orbit every minute of each day and if she couldn’t she thought about her constantly, which led to this day in so many ways.
She doesn’t know what possessed her to ask Carina out on a date in the first place, but it just spilled from her lips, like it was the most natural thing for her to do. Which it wasn’t because Maya doesn’t date, she has hook-ups and she has one night stands but she doesn’t date. And thinking about treating Carina like any of her usual conquests makes her shudder, because one does not just simply hook up with Carina DeLuca, those words strung together with her name does not even make sense in any language.
No, it is a visceral experience to get to even look at her. It is even more earth shattering to get to touch her and Maya fears that she was unfathomably addicted to that unknown feeling swirling around whenever she’s in Carina’s presence. Maybe it was just nerves at the end of the day, like she is trying to convince herself, because the alternative was admitting that she was falling, hard and she could never, it’s not in her to fall in love, is it? Even thinking the word causes goosebumps to appear all over her body, making her groan out of frustration.
Just as she was about to hammer the bolt that stubbornly won’t budge, not that she was even trying that hard to begin with or that she even had to loosen that exact bolt anyway, she felt pressure wrap around her ankle pulling her out from under the car, coming to a sliding stop at the feet of a figure obscured by the overhead lights, a figure she would recognise anywhere.
Maya’s eyes travel up seemingly limitless smooth tanned legs, a delicate lace trimming dreamily flowing around her knees that’s sewn into delicate orange and green flower patterned cream fabric wrapped around her body as if it was made for her. It is a simple summer dress by all means but Carina DeLuca wore it as if it came straight off the runway, the highest of fashion. Maya had to fight herself not to moan audibly at the effect the outfit has on her, or was it the person wearing it that had the effect, she wasn’t sure.
Carina steps forward, placing each leg at the side of Maya’s body, hovering over her as she blocks the light from the blonde’s eyes. Maya lightly traces her ankles with her fingertips so as to not blemish her skin with her grease stained fingers, stopping at the strap of her white sandals adorning each foot perfectly. The outfit couldn’t be more perfect, fitting for the date Maya had planned.
“Hi.” the Italian says looking down at Maya laying down on her back with a smile brighter than the sun.
Maya panics, “Shit, am I late to pick you up?” looking at her watch, seeing that there is still an hour left.
“No, no you’re fine.”
“What’re you doing here? I was going to come pick you up.” Maya looks disappointed. She had a whole plan mapped out. She was even going to stop for flowers along the way.
“I…” Carina blushes slightly but says what she wanted to anyway, “couldn’t wait anymore.”
“Oh,” Maya smiles at the confession, secretly loving the fact that she too was excited for their date, “but how’d you know I was here?”
“Uh, you weren’t at your place. So naturally I knew you’d be here.”
Maya looks up in awe, feeling that familiar flutter deep in her gut and reaches up for Carina’s hand with her less greased up one and moves to pull herself up, but Carina instead bends down, grabbing Maya’s t-shirt and closing the distance between them by pulling her in for a crushing kiss.
Maya feels Carina slowly lowering herself on top of her fully, only deepening their connection as she comes to sit over her lower stomach, the fabric of her dress fanning out around her.
“I hope you know to keep your hands to yourself.” Carina points her finger in mock warning looking at the charcoal smeared fingers of the blonde, itching to touch the body on top of her.
“I wouldn’t even dream of it.” Maya wiggles them playfully instead.
Carina bends down again, slower this time caressing Maya’s jaw as she molds her mouth with hers again.
“Hi.” Maya rasps as they break apart.
“ Ciao .” Carina’s mouth lifts into that signature smile of hers that Maya has come to realize is her favorite thing about the Italian.
“Can I take you somewhere?” Maya traces Carina’s features with only her eyes since the use of her hands were off limits.
“I thought you were already taking me out on a date?”
“I am, but this is like a pre-date date.”
“I would love that.” But Carina made no effort to move.
“Okay, you have to let me up for that then.” Not that Maya was complaining at all, having her essentially trapped on the mechanic’s dolly by Carina’s body wasn’t going to get any objections from her.
Once Maya is standing upright however and facing the brunette, they share a smile before Maya quickly cleans off her hands and motions for Carina to follow her around the car. She opens the passenger door of the Mustang allowing Carina to get in, curious but making herself comfortable on the leather seat. Maya sprints around the front and gets in behind the wheel bringing the muscle car to life with a roaring start. For Maya there wasn’t a better sound in the world, apart from her racing car of course and lately the laugh from a certain someone next to her, and she playfully revs the engine, the sound echoing through the garage, the vibrations rattling all around them.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” The Italian asks, looking over at Maya behind the wheel smiling wickedly.
“Yeah, I really am. Are you ready for a drive around the track?”
“Is it even safe to drive? You were just working on it when I got here. Are you sure all the parts are where they should be?”
“Trust me, there is no safer car out there. She runs as smooth as butter.”
“Okay, I trust you Maya Bishop. Just nothing faster than the speed limit.”
“You know this is a race track right? The speed limit is probably like 200 miles per hour, at least.”
“Just, slow. No funny business.”
Maya was driving out of the garage and onto the race track making her first turn onto the tar road right at the start of the line. If Carina wanted slow, she was going to oblige as much as she could, but it would take a lot of restraint not to open the throttle on the open road and show off a little.
Silence follows as she slowly drives down the track, thinking better to fill the silence as best she could, with facts.
“So, in the race car, I would probably take this first corner at around 100 miles an hour, which if you can imagine is about 100 times faster than what we’re doing right now.” Carina rolls her eyes at the slight dig while Maya takes the first turn at an ungodly slow speed, even the mustang almost struggling to go that slow. Once she’s out of the bend, Maya takes the straight part of the track at a leisurely pace, switching between gears as she slowly increases the speed without it being too noticeable.
“The hairpin bend next is where it gets tricky. You can’t go too fast, otherwise you will spin out or take the turn too wide, leaving a gap for your opponent to take, so the timing of this turn needs to be perfect. That is also when the weight-jacker would be handy.”
Carina nods, remembering Maya explaining the function of that and how it can improve a driver’s ability.
“You need to angle the car as close to the curb as you can,” Maya dives over the slight bump causing Carina to feel the rough uneven terrain jostle throughout her body as Maya takes the turn ever so slowly but with a sharp edge to it this time, jolting them both from the action, “so you can leave no room for error and you need to get out of the bend as fast as you can as to not get caught in a pileup.”
Again, Maya increases the speed of the car approaching another straight part of the track, trying not to be stealthy about it.
“So as you know, we don’t always get to drive road courses, there are some oval ones as well, speedway and street circuits. While the oval tracks are usually for high speed wheel-to-wheel action it also allows for strategic passes. Road courses however test the drivers’ technical skills, the cars’ aerodynamics and the teams’ combined strategy. But my personal favorite is the street circuits.”
Maya has upped the speed to a much faster pace now while she was talking and since she didn’t hear any complaint from her passenger yet, Maya chances it by pressing down on the accelerator a little more, the speedometer climbing steadily.
“They are set up in cityscapes with tight turns and unforgiving concrete barriers. The pathways are tight and narrow with bumpy surfaces, and it’s usually faster, action packed races.”
Maya has been driving at a comfortable faster speed than what they started with, taking the corners with skilled precision, not relenting on the gas. Carina’s hand has been gripping the seat and arm handle for the better part of the last stretch and Maya pushes her luck by again squeezing down on the gas paddle. They were at a speed she was most familiar with, a speed she felt confident to handle, comfortable with even.
“The most important part of racing these different types of tracks is the versatile engineering it requires. The design of the car must be flexible...”
Maya takes the next turn a little too sharply, causing Carina to grab onto the dashboard for support, but Maya knew what she was doing, she’d never put anyone in danger, especially Carina.
“...in order to adapt to the high speed, high downforce,” Maya accelerates on the last word, feeling herself being pushed back into the seat, “of an oval in one week, and the technical, lower speed of the road course in the next.”
Maya slows down once she’s satisfied with the outcome of her impromptu drive around the track, bringing the car to an almost crawl, the mustang itself sputtering with satisfaction at being driven for the first time in a while.
“Some would say that the charm lies in its versatility of testing the nerve, adaptability and skill of the best drivers in the world.” Maya finishes, coming to a complete stop. She doesn’t know if Carina even listened to anything she said, but it was better than the dead silence coming from that side of the car.
Maya lets the Mustang idle as she turns towards Carina who hasn’t said a word since they started their little adventure around the track, nervous that she might have scared Carina with her driving.
“Was that too fast? Did I scare you, because I know what I’m doing. Carina, I would never…”
Maya was stopped in her tracks as Carina unfastened her seatbelt and climbed over the middle console, straddling Maya’s lap in a skilled and impressive move, not waiting for permission as she crashes her lips onto Maya’s, snaking her hand around her neck, squeezing the muscle there and bringing her impossibly closer. Maya’s hand wanders around Carina’s waist, sliding over her hips, grabbing at the soft fabric her fingers were itching to touch earlier then traveling downward, coming to a rest on her ass, pulling her in and fusing their bodies together, sinking them deeper into the leather seats.
They kiss each other like their lives depend on it while the car is still idling and vibrating underneath them. They nip and pull at each other like a bunch of horny teenagers and still it wasn’t enough. But they still had a date to get to, so Maya reluctantly pulls back as much as she can in the tight space between herself and Carina, the steering wheel and the all of a sudden too hot seat clinging to the exposed parts of her skin, both of them breathing heavily in the tight space.
“We should stop. I still need to get ready before we go out and if we keep doing this, none of that will happen.” Maya says, the dichotomy of her words fighting against the hold she has on Carina’s body, not wanting her to leave her position.
“I suppose you’re right.” Carina sighs contently, “But just know, I would’ve considered this the perfect date if it ended here.”
“Good to know.” Maya smiles sheepishly, leaning in for a quick peck on Carina’s lips, squeezing her sides one more time before Carina swings back over to the passenger side.