[FINAL] 025 — ride or die. wc: 1.9k
the flight attendant had forgotten to give you your food. you were about 4 hours into your flight to milan when you woke up to a tall lady with a trolley asking you and jeno if you had wanted your dinner vegetarian or with meat, and now that the 5th hour had passed and there was no sign of your dinner anywhere, you were beginning to grow agitated.
“baby, why don’t you just ask?” jeno suggests from beside you, but the look you give him quickly shuts down that idea. you’ve always hated the idea of being an annoying customer.
he sighs, pulling his headphones down to rest on his neck as he stands up from his seat, wiping his tired eyes.
“where are you going?” you ask him, curiosity peaking your interest.
“to make sure you get fed.”
the rest of the flight was a lot more enjoyable after you had eaten. jeno allowed you to sleep on his shoulder, checking occasionally that you were still asleep and brushing your hair from your face every time it fell. he wanted to sleep, he really needed to, but the warmth of your sleeping figure meant that he never wanted to forget this moment, he wanted to savour it.
in all honesty, that's how he had felt this entire week. he can’t believe that he finally gets a chance to call you his after everything that has happened.
when the plane lands, he gently taps on your shoulder to wake you.
“yn, we're here..” he whispers, and a small smile creeps on his lips as he watches your eyes slowly flutter open.
during the walk from the airport to the taxi, jeno didn’t let go of your hand once, not even at the flash of paparazzi cameras or the giggling of girls as they followed you both. he just squeezed your hand with every flash of a camera, making sure that you were okay.
once you had made it to the comfort of your hotel room, you finally spoke to him.
“i forgot how famous you are..” you say, gigging. a look of concern flashes over jeno’s features, but when he remembers how everything used to be before his identity got leaked, he smiles to himself.
he brings his hand to smooth out your hair. “at least we don't have to hide. at least i can hold your hand through it all.”
you look up at him and he swears his heart melts at the sight.
he looks away, “don’t look at me like that.”
but before he could answer a knock at the door interrupts him.
“shit, it's my manager, we should have been ready, like, 30 minutes ago.” you laugh in response.
jeno swears that he has never seen you look as pretty as you do now. but he can’t tell if it's the dark emerald of your dress to match his team's colour or if it’s the fact that he’s the accessory you wear on your arm.
he could tell you were nervous. he remembers his first time on the red carpet, unsure of where to look or who to talk to. but when jeno had been asked to fill in as reserve in the milan race, he simply could not accept without taking his girlfriend with him, so he did, so long as you stayed by his side at all times.
with his hand resting on the small of your back, he slowly walked with you, occasionally stopping to pose for groups of cameras. but as the first interviewer waltzes in his direction, he tightens his arm around your waist.
“so, samo, or should i call you jeno, how does it feel to finally be out in the open?”
he looks at you before answering into the mic.
“i bet, and who is this beautiful lady you’ve brought with you tonight?”
as if on cue, the shutter of cameras increase as the word leaves his lips, and he swears he feels your muscles tense under his fingers.
“and lastly, is there anything you’d like to say about the race tomorrow?”
jeno pauses for a moment, choosing his words carefully.
“samo might not win, but jeno will.”
once you made it back to the hotel, jeno made sure you were comfortable in bed before climbing in himself, reaching his arm behind you and inviting you to cuddle into his side.
“i liked what you said earlier.” you mumble.
“hmm?” he looks down at you, shifting his arm slightly to make sure you’re comfortable.
“remember all those months ago, when you told me you prefer being samo?”
“now you don’t think that, now you’re happy being you, and it makes me happy knowing that i'm the reason you found that out.”
he kisses your forehead, soft but meaningful.
you continue, “you may have done it for me, but you did it for you too, and i'm glad you did.”
the next day, jeno felt a new found sense of confidence overlap him, reminding himself of your words the night prior, moments before you fell asleep in his arms. he wasn’t just confident knowing that you knew who he was, but he was confident knowing that he did too, and that feeling of security only pushed him on.
after saying goodbye to you in the vip box, he followed his manager to the circuit. he felt more like himself in the neoculture suit, the green and black material framing the silhouette of his body, and it only boosted his confidence further.
well, atleast until he found himself amongst the other drivers.
most notability, one driver in particular: the man in the red suit to his left.
noticing jeno’s presence, johnny turns, a look of shock plastered on his face.
“holy shit.” johnny exclaims, holding in a laugh. “samo finally decided to turn up, sorry, jeno.”
jeno doesn’t say a word, doesn’t even look at him.
“saw your interview yesterday. you’re pretty confident for someone who bailed out of this season at the last minute.”
he stays still, expressionless, as he remains looking ahead.
“your little girlfriend’s going to be hella disappointed when you place last.”
at the mention of you, jeno’s resolve snaps, clenching his jaw and fists in sync. as the drivers get called to their cars, jeno storms with vigour to his, swinging his helmet on in a new profound determination that johnny had somehow brought out in him.
that you had brought out in him.
and now he was certain he was going to win.
the majority of the race was smooth-sailing, in a comfortable position at 2nd, sometimes fluctuating into 3rd, jeno never felt his confidence falter.
not until johnny overtook him in the final lap.
“you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” jeno whispers to himself, anger boiling in his stomach as he imagines the look on johnny’s face as he passes him.
he knows he shouldn’t have done it, not with you watching, not with the danger that it caused, but jeno couldn’t help himself, furious as he slams his foot on the gas, aiming straight for the back of johnny’s car.
he doesn’t think, not when their cars make contact, not when johnny, though futile with jeno behind him, attempts to slow down and not even when a sharp bend approaches him. he stays at speed, hoping, praying that johnny would back out, turn away from jeno’s path and brake. because if he doesn’t, johnny would go down.
and jeno would go down with him.
the seconds began to freeze in on themselves as you watch jeno and johnny approach the corner single file. your breath remains lodged in your throat, impossible to escape. jeno doesn’t look like he’s backing out.
it takes three whole seconds for johnny to make his decision.
with almost milliseconds to spare, johnny swerves to the left, giving room for jeno to perform a dangerous sharp turn to the right around the bend, skidding in the process.
but unknown to him, he is no longer in 3rd.
and it dawns on him as he passes the finish line.
he wastes no time climbing out of his car once he has driven to safety, and almost immediately, he’s met with your smiling face, grinning ear to ear as you pull him into a hug.
“please never scare me like that again.” you wine into his shoulder, and he laughs to himself, holding your hips and gently pushing you away so he can take off his gloves.
“im sorry, baby.” he giggles.
collected by his management, you walk with him towards the main area. staying by the side, you watch as he walks towards the podium. he takes a step up, pride overwhelming him as he looks out into the crowd before him, flashing lights and cheers erupting from every direction. he pays no mind to johnny at his left, a look of distaste and anger smothering his features. he continues to look into the crowd. he’s so grateful, for everything. for you, for his friends, for his…
jeno can’t believe his eyes; in the crowd, a proud smile on his face, stands his father: the man he had hiddin all of this for, the man he had spent years trying to make proud, and here he is, smiling up at him. jeno, awestruck, can almost feel tears in his eyes as his fathers grin widens, nodding to him in approval. but just when jeno thinks he can’t get any more emotional, he looks to the people standing to his fathers right. his heart leaps out of his chest as he recognises them. there they are: jaemin, haechan, renjun, chenle, mark and winter, and of course, standing just on the edge of them, is haaland, an industrial size camera covering half of his face as he waves at jeno in excitement. jeno laughs when he sees that they’ve figured out that he recognises him, all of them waving and shouting up at him. but when he looks at jaemin, he notices that he’s trying to mouth something to him.
jeno can’t really understand what he’s trying to say, but after a few attempts, it finally clicks.
without a second thought, jeno turns to his left, calling for you to come up and join him on the podium. you look a little confused at first, but eventually you go up to stand with him, jeno taking your hand to make sure you don’t fall.
suddenly, it’s as if the crowd aren’t there, as if haaland’s camera isn’t zoomed in on him and as if johnny isn’t glaring daggers into the back of his head. he looks at you, eyes connecting with yours in a moment of ‘we made it’. ever so gently, his fingers go to rest at your cheek, wiping away the tears of happiness you didn’t know had fallen.
“thank you.” he hears you whisper.
he smiles down at you, “all you, baby.”
and at that moment, everything fits perfectly. the air around you both stills, voices growing quiet as his lips find yours.
it wasn't important that his face was showing, or that everyone knew his name. what was important is that you were next to him. you were his mask, you were his security.
you were his ride or die.
notes; well that’s it!! thank you reading this far and i hope you enjoyed <333 also thank u to those of u who stuck around with this story and stayed patient with me over my multiple hiatus’s, it’s been a very long 6 months and im so grateful to those usrs i always see still reading whenever i come back so thank u!!! u very much don’t go unnoticed! also @winwintea R U PROUD I FINALLY FINISHED IT😁 i hope u all enjoyed ride or die i loved making it sooo much and i look forward to what i have coming next hehe. ly all