[Team Two] F1 AU

[damagea.livejournal.com]

Continuing my F1!AU with a random hospital scene!

Shintaro, Juri | G | ~880 words

"Warning could have been nice," Shintaro said, wincing slightly and gritting his teeth as he got to the sitting position in his hospital bed. Even the smallest movement sent an annoying ache through his ribs.

The door clicked shut behind Juri, softer and calmer than Shintaro expected.

Juri didn't say anything right away. He stood there for a second too long, taking a long look in Shintaro's direction as if he was studying his condition. He was still wearing his team jacket.

"Warning?" he repeated. "I didn't know I had to book a time slot for visiting a superstar."

"Yeah, well, a heads-up would've been nice before you barged in here like some kind of prying reporter."

Juri smirked. It looked like there was no usual annoyance showing on his face. He took a step closer, looking at Shintaro with those sharp, bright eyes. Maybe those eyes looked a little bit concerned. (And no. Shintaro hadn't totally paid attention to Juri's eyes. At some point, he had just accidentally noticed them being nicely light-brownish when a certain shade of light hit them.)

"Just wanted to make sure you're alive. Which you clearly are," Juri said. He looked like he was still measuring Shintaro. Then he finally snorted dryly in his usual manner. "Although, to be honest, I was half-expecting to see you with a cast from head to toe."

"Are you disappointed?" Shintaro scoffed, but he couldn't help a faint curve of a smile breaking past his lips.

“About the cast part? A little bit. Alive part? Nah,” Juri said smoothly, shrugging. "That's non-negotiable. It would suck if my biggest rival died like that."

Shintaro groaned, shifting again to ease the pressure on his side. 

"You're impossible," he said with a sigh.

"Am I?" Juri asked. "Or do you mean that I'm the only one who cares enough to come see the dude from our team when he's lying broken in a hospital bed?"

"Did you just say care, huh?" Shintaro asked. He couldn't help feeling something warm in his chest because of Juri's words, and he wanted to tease him a little bit about it. "That's a new look for you. Smug and caring."

Juri laughed softly. That laugh was so so soft, and it was maybe the first time that it didn't sound mocking at all. 

"Why not. Having the same look all the time would be boring."

"Anyway, I'm not that broken," Shintaro said. "Concussion, a few bruises, nothing that would kill me. I'll be back on track in no time."

"Oww, too bad."

Juri walked closer to Shintaro's bed.

"Did you see the replay, by the way?" he asked with interest.

Shintaro shook his head. 

"Helmet cam cut out at Turn 14. And all I remember clearly is the last pit stop."

"You pushed way too hard in sector three. Braked late, understeered on the chicane… and boom. What a rookie mistake, I tell you," Juri said.

"Rookie?" Shintaro repeated in disbelief. "Excuse me, but I've been racing longer than you've been able to spell the word 'understeer'!"

"Maybe," Juri said lightly. "But 175 kph on worn tires? Ambitious. Too ambitious. Not to mention, too dangerous."

Shintaro grumbled. Juri was surely right that he had been way too ambitious, while he had known the risks very well. 

Juri stayed where he was, leaning against the foot of the bed now, arms crossed in front of him loosely. He didn't check his phone. Didn't pace. Just stood there, eyes drifting around the room — first to the heart monitor, then the half-finished cup of water on the tray, and the window where late afternoon light filtered in.

Then Juri mentioned tire wear and kept talking from there. Strategy calls, misread data, and how the next circuit would punish the same mistake differently. Shintaro mostly listened, offering only short comments when there was space for them. It was maybe the most normal conversation they had ever had without any bantering and all that was usually there whenever they communicated.

The ache in Shintaro's ribs was still there, but it suddenly felt easier to ignore. And only then did it really sink in how much he appreciated Juri being there at all and talking about such casual topics.

"You know," Shintaro said when Juri went quiet after his explanation. Maybe the accident had made his head all soft, but he wanted to say it out loud anyway. "If I wasn't already planning how to destroy you and wipe that smug off your face during the next race, I might almost appreciate you showing up."

"Almost?" Juri said, smirking.

"Almost," Shintaro confirmed, smirking back despite himself. "But don’t get used to it."

Juri hummed, straightening back. "Wouldn't cross my mind."

Eventually, Juri left. He muttered something about his mother visiting him. Once he was by the door, he still glanced back over his shoulder and grinned. 

"I'll see you around, dude," he said. And then he was gone.

Shintaro placed his head back on his pillow. He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a long sigh. 

He'd be alright soon, physically, he could handle that. But the fact that Juri's grin lingered in his mind even as he had left the room? That was something he wasn't sure he could handle.

shinysylver, your turn!