Chapter Text
It’s early spring. It’s still cold outside, but that isn’t stopping practice. Formula 1 cars tear through the practice track, the mobian drivers refamiliarizing themselves with the routines and techniques after the previous championship. The driver with the best time is none other than McLaren’s golden boy, Charmy Bee. 20 years old and annoyingly aware of his raw talent, Charmy had climbed his way to the top with what looked like nothing but effortless charm and a special touch behind the wheel. He flew through the tracks like they were second nature. Maybe they were at this point.
Charmy pulls into the pits like a wildfire, screeching to a stop on his practice tires and climbing out of the car like it was nothing as the pit crew swarms his car. He takes off his helmet, striding over to the worktable where Miles stands, looking over his notes. Charmy tosses his helmet onto the table and grabs his water bottle, taking a good long sip of electrolytes while he leans against the table on his elbow. His eyes look up and down Miles’ tall lanky form. He grins around the straw of his water bottle. “Hey~”
“Charmy.” Miles coldly acknowledges him. Lead engineer and Charmy’s personal mechanic, Miles is the polar opposite of Charmy in every way. The tailless fox is tall, while Charmy is on the shorter side. He’s cold, stoic, and rarely shows emotion, while Charmy wears his feelings on his sleeve. When he isn’t flirting or laughing, Charmy’s covering up any solace with a flashy grin or raunchy joke. The picture of performance in more ways than one. Miles looks at him with icy eyes for just a moment before returning his gaze to his notes. “You drifted too hard on the 6th turn. Take the turn slower and you won’t need to do the extra correction on the straightaway afterward. That’ll save you around 0.4 seconds. Oh, and your left axel is off by 0.2 percent, so we’ll have to check that. Also, stop hugging the turns so closely in sectors 2 through 4. You’re bound to crash one of these days.”
Charmy just stares deadpan up at him, tonguing his straw as the information flies right over his head. He waves a hand dismissively. “Yeah yeah. Uh.. Axels. Hey listen, uhh… You get stressed, right? Bein’ my lead mechanic and all. Boss stuff.”
Miles gives him a look, quirking one eyebrow as he turns to add more to his notes. “... Yes. I do. Take a rest while we fix some things on your car. And don’t forget to watch replays. You have room to improve.” He turns to walk away.
“Wait!”
Miles turns to look at him again, his expression stoic as ever.
Charmy gets a little nervous grin, then quickly hides it with his usual suave expression. He puts his water bottle back on the table and takes a couple steps closer to Miles, his swagger severely exaggerated as he clasps his hands behind his back. “I uh.. Get stressed too. You know. Being the one behind the wheel, it’s a lot of pressure.”
“I’m sure it is. Is that all?”
“Naw.” Charmy takes one more step closer, looking up at him with a half-lidded smile. “I was wondering if you wanted to, uh… Blow off some steam~? Behind the garage?”
Miles’ ears tilt backwards as he stares at Charmy, not sure if he’s hearing him right. “What exactly are you implying?”
“Just think of it as a… Stress reliever. Just a little kissing between homies~”
Miles lets off a tiny, offended huff, recoiling. The tips of his ears turn red. “Absolutely not. You are a professional. Act like it.”
“Oh come on, ice king. It releases chemicals in the brain, right? You like science! Just this once, I promise.”
Miles is about to chew him out, but actually stops to consider it when Charmy mentions science. He does like science. He’s right that it releases endorphins to engage in physical intimacy. He has been rather stressed. And Charmy isn’t too bad to look at… It isn’t like Miles hasn’t kissed anyone before, but this would be different. Not that he hadn’t considered what it would be like to kiss the Bee before, but no one needed to know that. Especially Charmy. He glances at the rest of the pit crew. They seem to have things handled without him for a bit. The car doesn’t need too much work. All routine things. His direction at this point would be a tad overkill. He sighs and sets down his tablet on the worktable. “Fine. Five minutes. That’s it.”
“Sweet!” Charmy’s wings buzz, lifting him slightly off the ground in excitement before Miles shoots him a steely glare.
“Shut up. No one is to know about this. Just… Meet me outside in ten minutes. Behind the garage. There are some tires stacked, just- … You’ll see it. Again, not a word.”
“Aye aye, captain~” Charmy grins, saluting him as Miles slips out the back door. He sighs and spins on his heel to loiter around the garage, being nosy and bored as he pokes around the pit crew’s supplies and winks at passersby. A few times he considers just heading out there early, but if he knew anything about his engineer, he knew he would be timing this to make sure Charmy didn’t cheat. He ends up just spinning around in one of the swivel stools at a workbench, leaning his head back with his arm over his face, staring at his watch.
Finally, the ten minutes have elapsed. He hurries out the front of the garage, circling around to the back. He sees Miles waiting there, leaning against the exterior wall of the garage, his eyes trained on the ground in front of him. Charmy’s heart skips a beat. He’s so hot. Charmy shoves his hands into the pockets of his racing suit and saunters over to him, trying to hide the look of excitement on his face. “Hey~ You didn’t chicken out. Worst ten minutes of my life, by the way.”
Miles looks up, ears pricked as Charmy speaks. He immediately fixes his expression with his usual glare. “It’s stress relief. As you said. Nothing to be ‘chicken’ about.”
“Yeah~” Charmy stops in front of him, checking him out without shame. Miles makes a face of disgust.
“Get your filthy eyes off of me. Just- ….” He can’t bring himself to initiate. Why is he so nervous? It’s just a kiss, as he said. Charmy shakes his head and steps forward, closing the gap between them.
“Yeah. You want my filthy lips instead, huh fox~” Charmy stands on his toes, grabbing the lapels of Miles’ coat and pulling him down into a kiss.
At first, Miles is shocked. This isn’t his first kiss, of course, but it’s his first kiss with a man. And certainly his first kiss for no reason other than to shoo away his tension from work. But it feels… Incredible. Freeing. And most definitely distracting. Charmy smells like expensive cologne and adrenaline. He tastes like electrolytes. Miles closes his eyes as his hands find Charmy’s shoulders, pulling him closer as he deepens the kiss. He feels one of Charmy’s hands slide up his chest to the nape of his neck as he parts his lips, testing the waters to see how far Miles will go. The answer is… Further than Charmy was expecting.
Miles opens his mouth against Charmy’s, their breath mingling as he grips Charmy’s hair in his fist to keep him close. Charmy smiles into the kiss and bites Miles’ lip, scraping his teeth along it before letting go. Unfortunately for Charmy, that’s the last bit of enjoyment he gets. Miles pushes him away, breathing heavily. He wipes his mouth on the back of his hand and fixes his coat, not making eye contact with Charmy. His fur is standing on end.
“4 minutes and 43 seconds.”
Charmy lets off a winded laugh, running a hand through his hair. “You timed it??”
Miles turns to start heading inside. “Yes. I said five minutes and I meant it.” He pauses in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder at Charmy, who puts his hands in his pockets and licks Miles’ spit off his own lips while smugly holding the fox’s eye contact. Miles’ cheeks flush and he disappears back into the garage.
Notes:
I know this is short, sorry! But I wanted to get the story started. I hope y'all like it so far! I have lots of ideas for these two idiots <3
>:3
Chapter Text
“Watch yourself on the chicane, Charmy. This isn’t the simulator.” Miles’ cold voice comes through Charmy’s earpiece as he goes around the track during his second practice session. He groans and slows down just enough to show he heard Miles, but still not enough. He brushes over the apex on one of the turns. Miles’ voice cuts through the din again.
“Charmy, copy. I know you heard me.”
“I hear ya, pretty boy. Keep your pants on. … Or don’t~”
“Charmy.”
“Yeah yeah, I copy, whatever.” He roars through a straightaway, trying to focus on the track. His hands grip the wheel as he goes around another turn. His mind keeps drifting back to Miles. The way he kissed him as if he’d been waiting for years for that moment. The feeling of his hand gripping his hair, the taste of black coffee his tongue. Charmy had kissed plenty of people before, but this felt different. Most people didn’t stick in his mind like this. But then again, most people weren’t his lead engineer. Maybe it was the forbidden aspect that made him so appealing…
“Box the lap.” Miles’ command interrupts Charmy’s daydreaming. There’s no lilt to his voice. No affection. It’s as if he’s completely unaffected by what happened. Just an hour ago, he was sharing spit with his star driver. Now he’s telling him to box just like he always does. Cold. Unfeeling. Charmy rolls his eyes.
“Yes sir~” Charmy pulls into the pits, using the pause as an excuse to steal a glance at Miles. The fox is sitting at a workbench, looking over the telemetry data from the day’s practice so far. He touches his stylus to his lips as he thinks before drawing some notes on his tablet. Charmy’s eyes linger. Is Miles thinking about the kiss too?
He reluctantly turns his attention back to the track as the pit crew releases him for the last half hour of practice. He pushes thoughts of Miles out of his mind, at least for now. If he doesn’t focus, Miles will yell at him. While that is technically attention, it’s not the same kind of attention Charmy keeps wanting more of. Besides, it’s not like he’ll ever get more. No reason to dwell on it.
Miles watches the footage as Charmy goes around the first turn, nodding to himself as the car kisses the apex perfectly. He looks down at his notes. There are far fewer than usual. Some of them are just scribbles. He hasn’t been able to focus since Charmy kissed him. All he can think about is the feeling of Charmy’s hands on his waist, the way he laughed a little into Miles’ mouth between kisses. The smell of his cologne. He’s distracted again.
Miles curses under his breath and takes a sip from his now lukewarm coffee. He needs to focus. Charmy could have been driving like shit this whole time and Miles wouldn’t have caught it because he was too busy thinking about… That. He shakes his head and writes down Charmy’s speed. He's going too fast. Again. He’ll end up burning through his tires early if he keeps this up. Miles speaks into the comms again.
“This isn’t qualifying, Charmy. This is practice.”
“You wish it was qualifying. Nyooooooom!” Charmy speeds down a straightaway, pushing the car faster than he should be.
“You’re going to wear out your tires. Focus.”
“I am focusing. This is me. Focusing.”
Miles puts his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes. “Charmy, I swear to god.”
“Haha! Fine, fine. You win. Focusing.”
Miles lets out a tiny sigh of relief as Charmy returns to normal speed, gliding around a turn without issue. He goes back to his notes, calculating percentages in his head as he writes. As the last minutes of practice pass by, Miles’ mind drifts again. He runs through the moment again. The rush of adrenaline, the press of Charmy’s lips, the fact that despite himself, he didn’t want to stop… That part scared him. If he hadn’t set a time limit, who knows what would have happened.
He’s shaken from his thoughts as Charmy comes down the last turn, his voice cutting through the vibrant imagery running through his head.
“Uhh.. Car to garage, come in garage. Am I good to pit or what?”
Miles’ mouth goes dry. He had been so busy picturing kissing his driver that he had missed his cue to call him into the pit lane. He leans forward over his notes as he speaks. “Uh- Yes. Box box box.”
“You say as if I’m not the one who reminded you. Coming in now.”
The car pulls into the garage and Charmy climbs out, hopping down from the side of the car and buzzing his wings to soften his landing. He takes off his helmet and shakes the sweat out of his hair, though some of it insists on clinging to his forehead. Miles tears his eyes away as Charmy unzips his suit halfway, leaving it hanging open as he saunters over to Miles' worktable. His undershirt clings to his chest as he leans against the table, his chest rising and falling as he slows his heart rate from practice. His helmet dangles from one hand as he leans in close to talk to Miles.
“So uh.. You seem distracted.”
Miles doesn't look at him. “I’m fine.”
“I had to call for a pit stop myself, dude. You’re off.”
“You’re going to get dehydrated. Go sit down and drink something.”
Charmy sighs, slouching with his elbows still against the table. “I dunno… I actually had something else in mind. To do. Y’know. For stress.”
Miles’ hand pauses over his tablet. Just for a moment. Then he resumes his notes as if nothing happened. “... And that is?”
“Well… I know you said one time. I said one time. We all said it. Buuuut… I kinda can’t stop thinkin’ about it.” There’s a pause. “The kiss.”
“Sh!” Miles snaps his head to glare at Charmy. “I told you not to bring that up again.”
“No one’s paying attention. Chill.”
“You don’t know that. You’re a damn celebrity, Charmy.”
“Thanks~”
“I’m being serious.” Miles turns his head back as if looking at his notes, but his eyes remain locked on Charmy. “Cameras are everywhere. Especially during race season. If you aren’t careful, you could sabotage your entire career. Watch yourself.”
Charmy’s smile fades a bit and he straightens his posture. “So? They know I’m a flirt. Who cares if I’m kissing someone? … Is it ‘cause you’re a guy? Because they already know I’m bi as hell.”
“No, Charmy. It’s because I’m your engineer. It’s inappropriate.” He watches from his peripheral as Charmy nods. Something in his gut twists. It isn’t like Miles hasn’t been tempted to do it again, too… His fear is just getting the best of him. Again. But it’s for the best… Right? Or would one more be fine? Maybe they can just keep it to today and stop tomorrow. He swallows as Charmy pushes himself away from the table.
“‘Kay. Just thought I’d ask. I’ll be in the lounge if you need me, pretty boy.”
As Charmy turns to leave, Miles mutters under his breath. “And I’ll be behind the garage.”
“What?” Charmy stops in his tracks, backing up to stand by Miles again, his eyes wide.
“I said,” Miles repeats through his teeth, as if that would prevent others from hearing him, “That I will be behind the garage. Once more, and then we’re done.”
“WOO!” Charmy pumps a fist into the air, his wings buzzing as he hovers a foot off the ground, his voice echoing through the busy garage. He yelps as Miles grabs his shoulder, pushing him back down onto the ground before he draws too much attention.
“Quiet. What did I just say?”
“You said you wanna make sweet, sweet love to these honey-glossed bee lips, baby~”
Miles’ nose wrinkles. He stares at Charmy with a look of pure disgust. “Never. Ever. Repeat that sentence. Ever.”
“As you wish~” Charmy winks and goes to put away his helmet and get some water before their next rendezvous.
Miles’ hands grip the worktable as he sits back down for a few minutes to avoid suspicion. His mind is racing. Is this even okay for them to do? It feels nice, and there wasn’t much change to their workflow otherwise after the first time, but Miles can’t help but worry anyway. He takes a deep breath, intentionally relaxing his shoulders. It’s just a kiss. Nothing more. Not a big deal.
“Boss?”
Miles looks up. One of his pit crew had been trying to get his attention. How long had he been there? “Uh. Yes, sorry, Mark. You needed something?”
The otter shrugs, pointing his thumb at the car. “Just wondering if you got the reports of what we need to update on the car.”
“Oh, yes. Here.” Miles hands him his tablet. “The notes are in here. Don’t change them.”
“Uh- Right, thanks, Miles!” He hesitates, openings his mouth and closing it again as if he wants to say more, but isn’t sure how to start. Miles doesn’t have the time or patience to find out what it is. He has other places to be. He nods to Mark as he stands up, fixing his coat.
“If that’s all, I have to… Collect my things.”
“Oh! Sure, that’s.. That’s all.”
“Good.” Miles walks off, heading out the side door of the garage. He shoves his hands into his pockets as he rounds the corner outside. There, waiting between the stacks of spare tires and unused supplies, is Charmy. He’s sipping an energy drink and scrolling on his phone as he leans against the metal wall. His hair is air drying into messy waves around his face. He's so pretty. Miles shakes his head, trying to dislodge that thought. He's convenient. That's all. As Miles approaches, Charmy’s eyes raise to meet his. He smiles, setting his can on the ground.
“Look who’s here for round two–” Charmy can’t finish teasing Miles before the fox grabs the front of his undershirt, pulling him close. Their lips crash together in a clumsy, heated mess. Miles kisses him as if he'd been starving for ages and Charmy is a mouth-watering morsel of flesh. Charmy drops his phone on the pavement at the impact and immediately slides his fingers into Miles’ hair, gasping into his mouth as Miles backs him against the wall.
Miles’ hands grip Charmy’s waist, one hand sliding up behind his back to press him closer. The kiss isn’t gentle. Miles’ teeth scrape against Charmy’s as he seeks out more and more. More touch. More taste. He licks his own spit from Charmy’s tongue, squeezing his eyes shut against the world as he drowns himself in the bee’s scent. Charmy grips his fur in a fist as he tries to speak around Miles’ desperate mouth.
“This is– Mm… Nice~”
“Shut up…” Miles kisses down along Charmy’s jaw, one hand moving up to hold his chin in place. Charmy lets off an embarrassing little sound and slides his hand up the nape of Miles’ neck to the back of his head. Miles kisses his way back up his jaw and growls against the corner of Charmy’s mouth, his words low and breathless. “This is the last time. I’m making it count.”
“Mm… What?” Charmy pushes Miles away enough to look in his eyes, breathing heavily. “I kinda… I don’t want this to be the last time.” He watches Miles’ expression for a moment before continuing. “Do you?”
He doesn’t. He really doesn’t. This secret moment, the intensity, the pull he felt back to Charmy… it’s intoxicating. It’s soothing. But it’s all he can think about. Even though they were able to get through the day without any major issues, he couldn’t focus on his work. His mind kept drifting back to Charmy’s lips. If they keep this up and someone finds out… Miles shakes his head, his words betraying him.
“No. B-But I can’t. We can’t. It isn’t safe.”
Charmy grins, not even trying to hide his delight that Miles wants this too. He bites his lip as he watches Miles flounder to explain why they need to stop, not even listening. He's staring at how red Miles’ lips have gotten from kissing him.
“Mhm~” Charmy leans his head back against the wall behind him. “But no one’s caught us yet. No harm in just… Keepin’ goin’ ‘till they get suspicious, right? Then we just blow it off like a rumor. Easy peasy.”
Miles’ ear twitches. He has a point. Or at least, Miles wants him to have a point. It's hard to disagree with him when he’s standing on his toes to run his lips along Miles’ jawline. Miles closes his eyes, sighing.
“Fine. But the second someone catches wind, this is over. It’s just stress relief, so that shouldn’t be a big deal. That means you. Don’t cry about it.”
“Ha! You think I’ll cry?” Charmy hugs his neck, kissing him again. “Miles, just because I don’t have a heart of stone like you doesn’t mean I’m a crybaby~”
Miles rubs his hands up and down Charmy’s waist, leaning into the kisses as he murmurs between them. “I saw you... mn... crying at baby animals on your… phone the other day.”
Charmy stops kissing him, his eyes lighting up as he looks up at him. “You didn’t see the birds I saw. They line up on this branch and look like little– Hold on, I gotta show you, it's called enaga dango.” Charmy pulls away to pick up his phone. The screen is cracked from when he dropped it a minute ago. “Ah shit- I dropped it when you kissed me.” He gets an extremely punchable grin on his face, looking up at Miles through his lashes. “You must like all kinda cracks, huh foxy~”
Miles recoils. “Say that again and I get you fired. We’re done here.” Miles fixes his fur and turns to go back inside.
“Oh come on! We just got started! One more?”
Miles pauses at the corner, throwing him a single half-glare over his shoulder. “Earn it tomorrow at qualifying.”
Charmy stares as Miles disappears around the corner, his heart doing flips in his chest. He does a little happy dance, his wings lifting him just off the ground, then sighs, sitting on the ground and sending several videos of baby birds to Miles.
Notes:
Oop- Just wait, he gets worse <3 (it's up to you to figure out who I mean)
Chapter Text
What was that? Miles locks the door to his hotel room, letting his bag drop to the floor next to the coat rack. He runs his hands through his hair as he walks over to his bed and sits down. His heart is still racing from earlier. He’d never kissed someone like that before. He’d never wanted to kiss someone like that before. It was intense. Exhilarating. Terrifying. Surely it was too much. He’d been so desperate to savor this… Thing with Charmy that he’d practically gone feral for fear of it ending. He'd lost control. Never again.
Miles looks down at his hands. His fingertips are still shaking. They hadn’t stopped since he left Charmy behind the garage. He hadn’t even thought about being caught. That’s the worst part. All he could think about was Charmy’s lips. If it had been the last time, that’s one thing. He could have left it there. Dealt with the moderate humiliation of Charmy seeing this side of him Miles didn’t even know he had in him. But now they’ve agreed to keep going. Damn these hormones, or cortisol, or whatever is going on.
He sighs, laying back on his bed as he takes out his phone and scrolls through the bird videos Charmy had sent him. They’re like little white puffballs all lined up on branches together, just like dango. Alongside the videos, Charmy had also sent Miles a picture of a tiny, fluffy bird with what looks like angry eyebrows made of feathers. He wrote, “This is you :p” in the text underneath it. Miles sniffs, the corner of his mouth twitching. It isn’t quite a laugh. Miles isn’t sure if he’s capable of that anymore. But it’s close.
He sends a quick reply. “Cute.”
Immediately, Charmy is typing. “So you admit ur cute then ;3”
Miles rolls his eyes. “I meant the birds. Do not text me again.” He sighs and puts his phone down next to him, covering his eyes with a forearm. What is he even doing? Kissing his driver? Even once is enough to get him fired. But now, he's not just hoping for more… He's planned it. If ever Miles had walked on thin ice before… This felt ten times worse. And worlds more exciting.
Charmy had just finished the third practice before qualifying. Aside from a bit of overcorrection on one of the turns, it had gone well. Better than usual, at least. But Charmy hadn’t been worried about that on the track. All he was thinking about was his prize waiting for him after the sprint. He finishes chatting with one of the other drivers before waving over his shoulder at them and walking back over to his garage to find Miles. He goes to hover at his shoulder, peeking at his tablet but not really caring about the information on it. He nudges his shoulder against Miles’ arm. “What’s the verdict, boss man?”
Miles pushes him away with his elbow, not looking up from his screen. He’s acting completely normal. His voice is even, cold as usual. But underneath his usual layers of steely focus, something feels… Different. Miles nods as he looks over the telemetry on his screen. “Your stats look good. Car is running smoothly. You’re doing well. Just try to stay that way over the weekend and remember to focus on turn 5.”
A rare moment of silence hangs between them, though it’s brief. Did Miles just… Compliment him? In his own weird way, of course, but there wasn’t an insult waiting at the end like there usually is. A confused smile crosses Charmy’s face. “Damn, you flirting with me? You’re being all nice and shit.”
This gets Miles to look at him, a grimace crossing his face, though the ends of his ears seem a shade pinker than usual as he speaks. “What? No. Go hydrate. I don’t have the energy to deal with you right now.”
“Yeah yeah, I know. You gotta save it for after~”
“Leave.”
Charmy sighs and clomps over to grabs his water bottle from the shelf he left it on, casting a dejected glare over his shoulder at Miles, who isn’t even looking. Charmy sighs again, louder this time, and wanders over to where the pit crew are prepping tires for qualifying. He leans back against a stack of tires, facing one of the crew members, Gear. The lynx had become somewhat of a family friend over the years, even more so than Mark, who Charmy had known since before he met Gear. But Mark is boring. Charmy always has more fun messing with Gear. He takes a long sip of electrolytes as he watches Gear carry over the tire warmers and place each one in its spot. Charmy talks loudly at him with his straw still in his mouth. “Yo. Gear. You ever think how ironic it is that your name matches your job?”
Gear glances up at him, brow furrowing at the question. He hesitates, then goes back to what he was doing as he responds. “Uh… I guess so. I mean, my father was a mechanic, so that's where I-”
“Chaaarms!” A familiar voice rings through the garage. Charmy looks up to see his big sister, Cream the Rabbit, hurrying in from the paddock, still wearing her Traveling Overalls™. He barely has time to step away from the tires before her arms are around him, hugging him tight. She squeezes her eyes shut as she holds him tight to her chest.
“Woah, CC!” Charmy hugs her tight, buzzing his wings to make up for that damned inch of height she has on him. He smiles, feeling his muscles relax. Her hugs always do that. She has a way of soothing people just by being there, which was really helpful for Charmy growing up, since he tended to get bullied in school. He doesn’t need to worry about that now, but regardless, a little brother always needs his big sister. He pulls back from the hug enough to hold her shoulders, grinning. “I didn’t think you’d be here until tomorrow!”
“Surprise! I wanted to come support my baby brother early, so here I am!”
“I’m younger by one year. One. We were babies at the same time.”
Cream ruffles his hair, pushing him back down so he’s standing on the ground to establish dominance. “So cute~ I can’t believe you’re getting to race with the big boys, how exciting!” She laughs as Charmy ducks to get away from her hand, pushing her arm away as she reaches out to mess up his hair again, grabbing his free arm. He plants his whole hand over her face, pushing her away.
“This isn’t my first year, even?? Ew, did you just lick my hand?? Gross! You’re such a jerk.”
Cream laughs as he pulls his hand away, throwing her a disgusted glare. She kisses his cheek as she releases him. “Love you too~”
“Ugh.” Charmy rolls his eyes, stealing a rag from one of the crew members to wipe off his hand. “Anyway. You get to the sanctuary okay?”
She nods, adjusting her tote bag on her shoulder. Since Cream works as a vet at the chao sanctuary back home, it wasn’t easy for her to leave during race season to come see Charmy drive for the first few years of his racing career. It wasn’t until he graduated to Formula 2 that she was permitted to travel between sanctuaries wherever they travelled. While the jet lag can be an issue, she’s never complained too much. Getting to watch her baby brother race makes it all worth the hassle. Besides, she also gets the chance to learn about different variants of chao and admire the beautiful scenery while she’s at it. Just remembering it makes her giddy. “Yeah! Oh, it’s beautiful, Charms. It’s giving me some ideas for things to improve at the sanctuary back home! Like they’ve got this pond with little waterfalls, but the way they stacked the stones around it is so cute~! Ugh! I’m so glad they let me head out early to get my bearings. Absolutely worth it.”
Charmy grins as he watches her get all excited about rocks or whatever. He doesn’t get it, but it’s nice to see her so happy. He nods, lifting his water bottle as if to celebrate her. “Totally! That’s awesome, sis.”
“You should come visit!” Cream giggles as Charmy’s expression falters. “But this isn’t about me. You excited for quali?”
Thank god, a change in subject. As much as Charmy loves hanging out with Cream while she’s at work, it can get… Boring. He usually only goes to vent or kill time. He raises a brow at her. “You excited you get to say that word?’
Cream tries not to grin and fails. “Yeah~”
Charmy shrugs, taking a sip from his water. His eyes accidentally wander back over toward Miles as he speaks. “It’s quali. I get to go fast, which is fun. Ferrari got some new shit though, so I’m kinda worried about them. I'll have to really push today to get past Skylar. Hate that guy.”
But as he speaks, his worries become lost on Cream. Her attention has trailed back to Gear. She watches quietly as he wipes his forehead with the back of his arm. She chews her lip for a moment, then lightly touches Charmy's shoulder, completely ignoring what he had been talking about. “I’ll be right back, hold that thought.”
Cream hurries over toward Gear, leaving Charmy to roll his eyes and go bother Miles again instead. Cream clears her throat as she approaches the lynx, fidgeting with the straps of her tote bag. “Hi, Gear?”
Gear turns to look at her, his tufted ears pricking as he wipes motor oil off his hands with a rag. Cream has always thought fondly of Gear. He’s kind, helpful, and looks her in the eye when he speaks. He’s gentle. Even now, in the thick of his work, he looks soft. He smiles, nodding a greeting to her. “Cream, hi! How was your flight?”
“Hi! It was lovely, thank you! I got to watch Scream during the flight, it was so cozy~” She watches in amusement as concern flashes across Gear’s face, but she interrupts before he can question her movie choices. “Oh, and I brought this for your sister. I hope you don’t mind.” Cream reaches into her bag and pulls out a tin of tea with an ornate green label. She offers it to him with both hands. “It’s peppermint, so it’ll soothe her nerves and any lingering nausea. How is she?”
Gear takes the tin, their fingers brushing. He studies the label for a moment. His sister gave birth to her first child only a week ago, after years of searching for doctors who could help her and her wife have a baby. He hasn’t told many people outside his close circles, but Cream and Charmy were some of the first to know. He lets off a tiny breath of a laugh. “This is perfect, wow…” Gear looks back up at her with a wide, grateful smile. “Thank you, Cream, she’ll love this! She’s doing great, and the baby is super healthy.”
“Oh that’s wonderful!” Cream beams, clasping her hands together and bouncing in place just a tiny bit. Babies and chao have always had a similar kind of hold on her heart. They are somewhat similar, after all, at least in the early stages. She closes her eyes, trying to picture how cute the little lynx-butterfly baby must be.
Gear pauses for a moment, his eyes lingering on her smile. She’s glowing. He blinks hard and nods before she notices. “Uh- Yeah! I’m really happy for her and Marie! They needed this.”
Cream sighs, shaking her head at the thought of their struggle. “More than I can even imagine. Tell them congratulations for me!”
“I will!” He smiles, watching Cream hum as she reaches into her hand-painted tote bag, taking out a very large green scrunchie. She starts tying up her ears into a ponytail. Gear looks away, realizing he was staring. He mentally scolds himself and tries to focus solely on reading the ingredients list on the tea tin. He’s interrupted from reading and not processing any words by Cream’s voice.
“Do you mind if I help out around the garage?” She quickly adds, “Just cleaning up and keeping things neat, I won’t be in the way. I promise.”
Gear chuckles and puts a reassuring hand on her arm. “You’re never in the way, Cream. You’re basically a member of the pit crew at this point, you don’t need to ask. I’m glad you’re here.”
Cream shakes her head, grabbing his hand. “I wanna be polite!”
“As if you could be anything but.” He squeezes her hand and lets it go, then nods toward the hallway where the staff lockers and the supply closet are. “I’ll go put this in my cubby. Make yourself at home.”
“Rodger~!” Cream starts picking up rags to put in a bucket to wash later. Gear smiles to himself as he walks over to his locker to put the tea with his things. He places the tin on the shelf next to his non-work gloves. Cream was so thoughtful to bring this… If only everyone were that kind.
Charmy wasted no time on the track. He zipped around his competitors on softs, the world around him becoming a subject of second nature while his mind chased something a little more enticing… His reward. It didn’t take long for him to snatch up pole position and keep it just long enough to get him the spot for this weekend’s grand prix. Skylar was a hair slower than him but he doesn’t care. He gets to go snog his engineer.
Miles shows up at the garage a couple minutes after Charmy parks. He's still in his helmet when the fox walks in, but he lifts his visor to catcall him. “Heeeyyyyyyy pretty boy~! You run all the way over from the box just for me~?”
“Charmy.” Miles ignores his teasing. “Good work. You barely made it, but… You made it. That’s what matters.”
Charmy makes eye contact with Miles and winks at him through his open visor. “Sure is, big daddy~”
Miles cringes, then narrows his eyes at Charmy, lowering his voice. “I will fire you if you don’t stop.”
“Fine, fine, jeez... Buzz kill. So, when do we get our uh…” He trails off at the dangerous look in Miles’ eyes. He knows what it means, but… Hot. “Lunch break...?”
The save seems to appease Miles for the time being. He nods. “I suppose… Five minutes from now would be sufficient. The crew needs time to get the car secure.”
“I don't gotta do that. Or you uh… Engineers.” He waggles his eyebrows at Miles, who sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to start any hierarchy drama with the pit crew. Five minutes.”
Charmy groans and flops down onto a stack of tires, ripping off his helmet and balaclava. He sulks as Miles goes back to work as if nothing is waiting for them both just around the corner.
Charmy laughs at something Mark said as he backs toward the side door of the garage. He doesn’t really care what the joke was. He’s got other things on his mind, and they don’t involve car jokes or the lovingly purchased takeout that Cream brought for him to eat. He slips out the door and around the corner to where Miles is waiting for him. The fox is sitting on the ground next to their usual wall with his jacket under him to protect his precious black pants from getting dirty. What a neat freak. He’s eating cup noodles and watching something meaningless and brainy on his phone. Charmy scoffs as he gets closer, spooking Miles with his voice.
“Cup ramen? No wonder you look like a malnourished Victorian child. I gotta show you what real food tastes like sometime, foxy.”
Miles jumps when he speaks, almost spilling his watered-down ramen broth. He stares up at him with wide eyes, his voice cracking. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
“Sorry...?” Charmy sits next to him and opens up his box of lo mein, taking a first whiff of the yummy food smell before snapping his chopsticks apart and digging in, not bothering to clean off the splinters first. He nods at Miles’ phone, speaking with his mouth full as they settle in next to each other. “Wuzzat?”
“Oh, um… It’s a video explaining different engines and how their designs have improved over the decades.” He takes a tentative sip of his broth, not used to eating around other people.
“Oh. …… Cool.” He doesn’t mean it, but he wants to kiss the guy, so he has to be nice.
Miles’ ears prick up a bit when he says that. He turns a little to look at him. “Do you want me to tell you about it?”
“Nah.” Charmy doesn’t think before he blurts it out, but clearly it was wrong. Miles looks away again, falling silent. Was that too harsh? Oops. He bumps his shoulder against Miles’. “I kinda wanna kiss you first, actually~”
Miles’ ears blush red. He doesn’t look at him right away, seemingly frozen. “You haven’t finished your food.”
“Neither have you, dumbass. Besides, don’t you wanna taste something other than crap ramen~?” He leans closer to Miles, setting his lo mein down on the pavement as his face moves close enough to smell the ramen spice on Miles’ breath.
Miles breathes a bit harder. He messed up last time. He made a mistake. What if Charmy expects that same kind of intensity from now on? What if this goes too far? Miles isn’t even sure why he wants this. He isn’t gay. He can’t be. And surely it isn’t Charmy doing this to him, right? But what if it is? What if– He risks a peek at Charmy. The bee is just waiting. Not pushing. Just… Admiring him. Smiling. Miles gulps. “... Are you sure? Last time, I… I was too much.”
“I liked it~
“I know. But… I can’t always–... This isn’t normal for me, Charmy.”
Charmy shakes his head, taking the ramen cup from Miles’ hands and setting it on the ground next to his takeout box. He shifts closer, his hands on the ground on either side of Miles’ hips. They’re nose to nose now. “Miles. Do you want to kiss me?”
He hesitates for a long moment before he whispers, “yes.”
“Then kiss me, nerd~”
And he does. Oh, how he does. It’s as if those four–well, three, the fourth was unnecessary–words gave him that push he needed. Miles presses his lips to Charmy’s, squeezing his eyes shut as he tastes lo mein and some kind of toxic-tasting energy drink on his lips. As if by instinct, his body relaxes as Charmy teases his mouth into opening, still propped up half over his lap.
Charmy smiles against Miles’ mouth as the fox sighs, tilting his head to get a better angle as their tongues meet. Half-assed spices and coffee flavor meet Charmy’s senses. That coffee taste that Charmy used to hate now just tastes like Miles to him. He scoots the rest of the way into Miles’ lap, straddling his legs and freeing up his hands to grab Miles’ face and deepen the kiss. His fingers tangle in the fox’s hair as they practically inhale each other, their air mingling into a delicious blend of Asian spices and Charmy’s cologne.
Miles’ hands find his waist, gripping his sides though his undershirt as if unsure if he wants to drag him closer or keep him at a distance. Charmy takes his cue and shoves his tongue deeper into his engineer’s mouth, desperate for more of that bitter memory of caffeine. If Miles doesn’t want to play the powerhouse, Charmy will. Gladly. He risks a bite to the fox’s tongue.
Miles doesn’t mean to groan, but it happens. He freezes. Dear god. He’s never made a noise like that before. Charmy just laughs and kisses his jaw, making Miles even more of a nervous wreck.
“What’s wrong, baby? Scared to make a little noise~?”
“Yes.” Miles pushes Charmy back just enough to look him in the eye. “This isn’t… That. It’s stress relief. Remember? I don’t like you enough to make sounds like that.”
Charmy’s antennae droop as he stares up at him, his brow furrowing as if he’s disappointed, or just…. Confused. “You….. Then why are you making them?”
Miles hesitates. He doesn’t hate lying, but he hates how it feels to lie right now. “It was an automatic response to stimulus. Nothing more.”
Charmy nods quietly, his hands fixing Miles’ hair before he sits back. “... You done?”
No, he’s not. He wants more. More. But he nods. Charmy climbs off his lap. They finish their meal in silence.
Notes:
Whew! Finally got around to finishing this one! They're stupid <3
Chapter Text
Miles doesn't sleep much that weekend. His mind is full of buzzing wings and the smell of Charmy's cologne. The look in his eyes when Miles pulls back from kissing him stupid. The excited grin he gets when he agrees to another session of… Stress relief.
It’s become a routine. Familiar. Too familiar for Miles’ comfort. He shouldn't be this close to anyone in Formula 1, especially his own driver. Yet he can't seem to keep himself away regardless of the risks. That spot between the storage crates and spare tires behind the garage has become their spot. They don't even need to discuss where to meet anymore. Charmy just sends Miles a text:
“Ten min?”
And Miles replies with a “Five.”
Minutes later, they'd be pressed against the wall, kissing like no tomorrow. Sometimes it's hasty and desperate, but there are times–They tend to stick more in Miles' head than the prior–Where the kisses are gentler. Sweeter. Where Charmy holds Miles like a treasure in his arms rather than just an outlet, their lips meeting as if it’s as natural as breathing. It's moments like these that haunt the fox the most.
He shakes the thoughts out of his head. There's no reason he should be thinking about this now. It's the week between races. Miles hasn't had to interact with Charmy directly since his win on Sunday. Miles had been particularly rewarding that afternoon. For no other reason than getting the bee to try and drive better next time. Of course.
Maybe this can be the end of it. There’s a week in between each race this season, so Miles can just avoid Charmy until the next race weekend and tell him he’s done. Simple. No loose ends, no existential crises to haunt him. If Charmy needs someone to kiss, he has a whole crowd of fans who would be more than happy to take Miles’ place. It’s perfect. So why does the thought of Charmy’s lips on someone else make Miles feel so… Anxious?
He shakes his head. It’s just his mind forming an artificial attachment as a result of repeated displays of affection. That’s all. Not even affection, actually. Just physical contact. With his driver. Who makes him feel– No. No, Miles doesn’t feel anything. He doesn't have time for that train of thought. He’s busy.
Miles parks his car outside the gym dedicated to the Formula 1 drivers and crew. Each track has one, and they tend to be mostly empty, at least enough for Miles to find a quiet corner for his physical therapy exercises. Since he lost his tails as a kid, he’s had chronic pain and stiffness in his spine and hips where they got severed. Not to mention the phantom pains. The PT doesn’t fix it, unfortunately, but it helps.
Miles walks in with his yoga mat under one arm, giving the main room a once-over to make sure no one important is there. Or specifically, no McLaren drivers under 5’0’’. Thankfully, he seems to be alone, aside from Skylar and Travis from Ferrari, who are running on the treadmills and chatting. They won’t be in Miles’ way, so he lets himself relax. He steps onto one of the treadmills furthest from the two drivers and begins to warm up for his stretches with a light jog.
Movement has always helped Miles clear his mind. His memories have a habit of becoming loud and heavy, pulling him down into spirals if he lets them, but even just a walk in fresh air helps quiet them. At least for a while. He closes his eyes as his muscles relax into the familiar routine of exercise, the relative quiet of the room a nice change from the overwhelming volume of his workplace. Unfortunately, that relief only lasts for a few blissful minutes. He’s only gotten twenty minutes of walking in before he hears the door to the gym open and close, an obnoxious voice chattering loudly into a cellphone as it enters.
“No, CC— Santa Claus is not a power ranger! He can’t be the most powerful power ra–... I don't care what Reddit said, watch the damn show! I already told you which one to start with. You know what, I’m not arguing about this. I’m at the gym now. … Kay. Love you too, weirdo. Byyeeeee.”
Of course it’s Charmy. Miles grits his teeth, praying the bee doesn’t notice him. His prayers are in vain, but what did he expect? That intoxicating nuisance could find him in a crowd of his own doppelgangers. It only takes a moment for the treadmill beside his to start up and for Charmy to take his place there, setting his pace to match Miles’.
“Hey you~” Charmy grins, looking Miles up and down as they walk side by side. He’s wearing a tank top that shows way more skin than is necessary. Miles doesn’t look at him. He isn’t sure he’d be able to look away if he did. Besides, he can feel Skylar and Travis looking over from where they’re running further down the line of treadmills. He can’t risk this getting out. He speaks quietly to Charmy, his voice tight.
“Do not refer to me like that. I am your race engineer. Act like it.” He feels the fur on his arm stand on end as Charmy leans closer to him.
“You don’t know how I treat my engineers, then. Maybe I do this for all of them~”
Miles risks a side-eyed glare at him. “You don’t. And if you did, you wouldn’t be talking to me right now.” No, he’d be too busy with them to even notice Miles. The thought makes Miles antsy. Why does he even care? He’s mostly stopped paying attention to the driver next to him when Charmy’s voice breaks through the anxious thoughts.
“Again with the buzzkill attitude, hot pants. Tsk tsk tsk.” Charmy runs a hand through his hair as he returns his attention to his own walk and lets his bangs fall back into his face, fully aware that Miles’ eyes are lingering on him.
Miles realizes he’s staring and tears his eyes away to look at his timer. “I’m busy. Don’t bother me.”
“Sure~” Charmy obliges, letting the two of them fall into silence. Horrible, tense silence. Miles tries to avoid looking back over at him. His peripheral gives him enough of a view without sabotaging his plan to push Charmy away. Is that still too much? Maybe. Miles begins his cool down lap on his treadmill while Charmy runs faster next to him. How fitting. Charmy is always finding things to rush into, it seems.
After a couple minutes of excruciating proximity, Miles escapes. He grabs his things and hastily goes into another room to do his stretches. Since Charmy is busy now, he hopefully won’t be bothering him for a while. Besides, the bee’s “mortal enemy,” Skylar Hawk, is just a few feet away. He’s just another driver gunning for first place, but they both seem to be enjoying the show of rivalry. That should at least give him something to do. Something other than Miles.
Finally, true quiet. Privacy. Miles shuts the door to the aerobics room, taking a deep breath as he finds a corner and unrolls his yoga mat. He does some standing stretches to begin, closing his eyes as he bends over. His mind wanders back to Charmy. Is it possible to notice when a room doesn’t smell like someone? Is it normal? Surely It's just a symptom of Charmy’s overbearing cologne. Not important. Miles sits on his yoga mat and carefully pulls himself into some of his PT stretches, letting his muscles ease into it slowly. Would Charmy laugh if he saw him like this? Probably. Why is Miles thinking about that? It doesn’t matter what that foolish bee thinks. So why does it make Miles nervous that Charmy is in the next room?
He doesn’t have a lot of time to worry about it. As Miles begins his lumbar stretches, he hears the door to the room open and close. There’s that familiar scent. He sighs, keeping his eyes shut as if that would keep Charmy from seeing him. It doesn't. The bee saunters over to him, stopping next to him as he twists his knees to one side, keeping his back flat to the floor. He doesn’t say anything, probably taking a moment to check Miles out. His voice echoes through the empty room as he speaks.
“Didn’t know you were so flexible, foxy~ Who’re you doing this for?”
Miles’ brows furrow but he still doesn’t open his eyes. “My severed spine.”
“Oh.” After an extra moment of silence, Miles hears Charmy sit on the floor next to him. The fox slowly turns his legs back to a neutral position and opens his eyes to glare at him. He’s surprised to find Charmy just sitting there admiring him. He smiles, his eyes raking over Miles’ legs. “Let me know if you need a stretching partner, hot stuff~”
“No.” Miles sits up, his ears folding back as he gives Charmy a deadly look. “Don’t talk to me like that.” He adds through his teeth, “we’re in public.”
“Pshh. Technically, yeah.” Charmy adjusts himself to mimic Miles’ position next to him on the floor. “I don’t think anyone cares as much as you think they do, Miles.”
“It isn’t worth the risk.” Miles goes back to stretching, rolling his knees to the other side and wincing as his back complains at the slow twist. He sighs, forcing himself to relax. Beside him, Charmy copies his movements. He grunts, trying to keep his shoulders flat.
“How’re you doing that? You make it look so easy.”
“I’ve been doing this for nearly fifteen years, Bee.”
“Right…” Charmy taps his finger on the floor to the beat of whatever song is playing in his single earbud. Miles closes his eyes again, listening to the rhythm. Usually something like that would annoy him, but right now, with just the two of them… It doesn’t. He follows the rhythm in his head, noting when it changes with each new song. Charmy follows Miles’ movements, doing his best to copy him despite their apparent difference in flexibility.
Miles curls into child pose, letting his back rest from the other stretches. Charmy copies him, rocking back and forth as he tries to tuck his legs as far under himself as he can. He grunts again and looks over at Miles from behind his arm. His voice is startling against the quiet of the room, despite his soft tone.
“Can I ask you somethin’?”
Miles sighs, opening his eyes to watch him, their eyes meeting. “Sure.”
Charmy nods. Hesitates. Then asks, “how’d you lose your tails?”
If Miles was expecting any question, it wasn’t that one. He gulps, sitting up and turning to face Charmy on his mat, then leaning over one leg with his arms stretched over his head. His gaze once again refuses to leave the floor as Charmy copies his pose. The comfort he’d found in this silence with Charmy has disappeared, replaced with what feels like a knot in his stomach. He hates revisiting that day… But he and Charmy had known each other a bit before then, so… In some way, Miles feels that Charmy deserves to know. Even if he really doesn’t. His mouth refuses to work for a moment before he begins. “I… Mm… I was ten, um… You remember my brother and his friends? Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Shadow..?”
Charmy nods. “Yeah.”
“Yeah.” Miles swallows hard, turning and laying down over his bent knee in pigeon pose. Next to him, Charmy struggles with the pose while Miles speaks. “It’s my fault they… It’s my fault. We were fighting Eggman in space, nothing out of the norm. But he was extra powerful that day. Both Sonic and Shadow were super. I was flying with them in a little…” His mind goes blank. He shakes his head. “Like the one-man ships?” He glances at Charmy, who nods to encourage him to continue without the missing detail.
“Mhm. I know ‘em.”
“Yes, so… I thought… I thought if I used the blaster, I could save everyone. I went against orders, against our plan, I… I was impulsive… Robotnik and I were the only survivors. He ended up raising me. And during the explosion that happened, my tails got so damaged they had to be amputated. Now I do physical therapy to keep the pain from getting worse. And… That’s it.”
Charmy gave up on the pigeon pose early on in Miles’ story. He’s now sitting cross-legged, staring at him with big eyes. Miles returns his gaze for a moment before lowering his eyes. He realizes his own hands are shaking. He hadn’t noticed. He clenches his fists, willing them to calm down as he pushes himself back up to sit with his legs under him. He flinches as Charmy reaches out, gently taking his hands in his own. Miles looks up at him, confused.
“What are-”
Charmy leans closer, interrupting him. “You were a kid, blondie. It wasn’t your fault ‘cause you didn’t know.”
“That isn’t how it works, Charmy.” Miles tries to remove his hands from the bee’s, but that only makes Charmy cling onto them tighter.
“I don’t give a flying crap. It was Eggman’s fault for fighting you guys. If he’s involved, I blame him. Not the ten year old who wanted to help. Not to throw shade at your old man or anything.”
“I don’t care if you do. I’m not fond of him either.” Miles looks down at their joined hands. He can’t help but blame himself for it all… It was his decision that ruined everything, but… Like Charmy said, he was just a kid. He didn’t know. And even if he had, Chamy really didn’t need to be comforting him about it. He may be insufferable, but he’s kind. That’s never mattered as much to Miles as it does now. The fox sighs and slumps forward, laying his head on Charmy’s shoulder. He closes his eyes, letting the scent of cologne and sweat comfort him. “... But… Thank you.”
“Y-Yeah.” Charmy hesitates at first, as if surprised at Miles wanting to be close to him. Then he lifts one hand to rub his back, smiling softly against his fur. Miles feels Charmy kiss his cheek. “Anytime, pretty boy.”
Charmy wasn’t expecting Miles to actually tell him what happened to his tails. He’s usually so closed-off about his past that no one could get the story out of him if they begged. Then again, he also wasn’t expecting Miles to initiate contact, but here they are. Charmy feels Miles’ breath warm against his chest as he rests against him. He runs his fingers through the fox’s hair, his cheek nestled against Miles’ head. He stiffens as Miles slides his hands around his waist to hold him closer, his slender fingers tracing up his back just below his wings. Charmy speaks in a low voice against his ear, trying desperately to keep his composure.
“Thought you were worried about gettin’ spotted, foxy..~”
To Charmy’s dismay, Miles sighs and pulls away from him, leaving his shoulder cold with his absence. Charmy had hoped he would get to tease him a bit, but Miles just looks away, his voice once again cold. “Yes. You’re right. Sorry.”
Shit. Charmy grins, hoping his disappointment isn’t too obvious. “Hey nah, you know me, baby~ If it were up to me, I’d have my tongue down your throat right now.” The bee watches as Miles’ face morphs between shock, fluster, and utter disgust. He settles on the last one, moving back onto his yoga mat to finish stretching.
“Do not speak to me.” The fox mutters something about Charmy’s audacity, but Charmy doesn’t quite catch it. Instead, he shrugs and gets up and goes to grab some dumbbells. He starts doing bicep curls in front of the mirror while Miles stretches nearby. Charmy had seen Miles in the gyms before, but he’d never stopped to actually watch him until now. Aside from knowing him as kids and thinking he was hot, he hadn’t had any reason to. But now? He can’t even focus on counting his reps.
Miles is slender, probably too much for his health, but he’s athletic. Built like a dancer. He lets out a long, slow breath as he eases his muscles in a stretch over his legs, his chest nearly flat to his thighs. Charmy’s been working with Miles for years, and only now does he find out he can do that? Charmy curses himself for not getting Miles to kiss him sooner. He's incredible.
The room is so quiet, the only sound is their breathing and Charmy’s music in his lone earbud. Charmy’s mind drifts back to the story Miles told him as he lifts his weights over his head to work his shoulders. How hadn’t he known? He’d seen the news when it happened. He knew who had died. But somehow he hadn’t connected that Miles could be part of it. He'd survived, and that was all that mattered, right? Even as he and Charmy drifted apart after the incident, Miles had just seemed lost in grief. But then again, they were only kids back then. How lucky was Charmy that they’d ended up working together years later? Now they finally have a chance to talk. And, hopefully, more. He sets his weights down to take a rest between sets, turning to look at Miles as he paces. This new vulnerability from Miles has made him confident.
“Hey engineer.”
“What.” Miles turns his head to glare at him from his yoga mat.
“Wanna grab dinner later? I mean, I got a press conference at 4:00, but uh… But like after that.” Charmy’s heart races as Miles stares at him, dead silent. Is this how Charmy dies? Is it too soon for him to ask that? What if Miles doesn’t like him like that? To be fair, he does confirm that very frequently, so… Maybe this is overstepping after all. Just because Miles told him about his backstory and hugged him doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's Miles. He would probably do that for anybody he felt close to… Right? What if he’s not even gay? Naw. He’s totally gay. … Right? Charmy lets off a nervous laugh, running a hand through his hair. “Uh… Nevermind, actually. That was stupid.”
“... Yes.” Charmy’s heart skips a beat at Miles’ reply before the fox finishes with, “it was.” Oh. His gut drops. Charmy laughs again, looking away.
“Oh. Yeah, obviously. Bad idea. We’re just kissin’ buddies.”
“Mhm. For stress.” The awkward silence is nearly visible with how thickly it hangs between them. Charmy crouches to pick up his weights again. They feel heavier than before.
“Right, right... Stress. Cool.” Of course. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Idiot. Miles has gone back to his stretching, obviously making a point not to look at Charmy. He really screwed up this time. Miles was just getting comfortable with Charmy and now look what happened. Charmy does a few weak reps, but his heart isn’t in it anymore. He looks back over at Miles, his voice cracking with nerves. “Hey, um—”
Miles sighs, sitting up and turning to give Charmy a deadpan look. His voice is sharp with irritation. “No, I don’t hate you. Yet. Just shut up and finish your training. Leave me alone.”
Charmy obeys him. He heard what he wanted to hear, even if it came at him in a tone that sounded entirely contradictory to the words’ meaning. Though, he can’t be sure if Miles not hating him is the same as Miles still wanting to suck face behind the McLaren tent all weekend. Unfortunately, that means next weekend rather than this one. A whole week and a half before he can find out if Miles is mad at him enough to end their routine.
He glances at Miles again. The fox is already looking at him from the corner of his eye when Charmy spots him. Miles immediately turns his head away, the tips of his ears flushing pink. Charmy smiles to himself, nodding along with his music as he gets back into his workout. Excellent. Miles is totally gonna be kissing him next weekend. Just watch.
Notes:
The details of Miles' backstory are a reference to the Broken Future comic by Team Chilidogs! Go check it out!
The song Charmy is listening to is "Shut Up and Drive" by Rihanna by the way :3
Elhechizero2023 on Chapter 1 Tue 10 Jun 2025 05:48AM UTC
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GothamCityDog on Chapter 4 Tue 09 Sep 2025 03:44PM UTC
Last Edited Tue 09 Sep 2025 03:45PM UTC
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