Epic (Nod x Reader)

Nod

Grimacing at the dust that kicked up from the ground as the racers charged by, I made sure to hold an arm out to protect my eyes from the dirt and debris that came from the speed of the flyers, cringing slightly at the way it left behind brown spots all over my uniform.

'How, civilized.'

My thoughts towards these races never seemed to improve no matter how many I attended. It was crowded and dusty, and the types of people crawling around these parts weren't the most...virtuous.

Nevertheless, if anyone knew anything about Nod, it was that he loved these races, and that's exactly what I kept my mind on when I found myself shoving through the sweaty crowd, my ears muffled by the cheers of the fans and the betting calls of the announcers as the various racers made their way past the starting line, eliciting all types of cries and choice words.

The announcer was starting to sound like one of Mandrake's henchmen, their shrieking only amplified as they cried out. "And that's another lap down. These racers are here to win—"

I turned to Ronin, a scowl on my face. "We couldn't have gone through the back?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow as Ronin used his broader frame to his advantage, an advantage I, unfortunately, did not possess. Ronin didn't entertain my complaints, instead of bullying his way through with the hummingbirds strapped around his hand. I stopped, groaning a little when I stood up on my toes, watching as the wave of people seemed to grow exponentially denser. The sweat on the back of my neck prickled angrily.

Absolutely not.

"I'm going around, there's no way we're getting through like this." I decided, not bothering to check with Ronin as I turned back.

Ronin whipped his head towards me and I had half a brain to laugh out loud at the disgruntled yet constipated look he had on his face. "Don't even think about cadet or I swear-" he cursed out my name, "For the forests sake, you and Nod are insufferable, absolutely ridiculous, insubordinate, stubborn little--" 

I rolled my eyes, effectively losing him with a couple of deliberate twists and turns. I had memorized the way to Toad's little 'hangout' the first time I came here with Nod, and it didn't come as a surprise when I made it to the entrance in record time. I grinned patting myself on the back, 'and you've done it again,'.

I sighed and rolled out my shoulder a tad, gingerly pressing on my cut and wincing at the tenderness. I poked a questioning gaze around the room. If I didn't know any better I would've thought it had been completely empty, but ever so subtly I could hear the familiar raspy croak of Toad's voice echoing from the back room.

"I told you to toss the race, and what do you do?" I heard a loud thump followed by a weak groan, Toad scoffing to himself. "We agreed you'd lose, but then you win."

"Now, you know I can't help that I'm fast." I could hear the arrogance dripping from Nod's tongue like honey, and I walked towards the voice trying to find the correct room. "You want me to lose, you're going to have to get me better competition."

Toad's voice piped up again. "it's called teamwork." He paused, "Maybe if you understood that the leaf-men wouldn't have kicked you out."

I hummed, setting my features as I creaked open the door. Before stepping in fully and garnering all the wanted attention my way.

I rose an eyebrow, taking in the scene in front of me, Nod waving at me from where he was being held up on both sides by Toad's lackeys. "Am I, interrupting something?"

A moth made its way towards me, "Oi, this is private business lady, it ain't got anything to do with you."

I glanced at Nod once more, noting his bruised face, "Well seeing as how you have my partner in a headlock I'd say it is my business." I turned to Toad, "And for the record, we didn't kick him out, he quit." I paused, "Not that it changes anything." I glared at Nod, triggering a nervous laughing fit from him.