This one-shot takes place in between season 1 and 2 before Layla officially joined her crew. I think it's a fun head canon that she and Tony would've run into each other at least once during the time in between Vegas and when Layla was sent to Rio, so that's what this story is. Enjoy!
POV Tony
Tony could already feel sweat dripping down his back the minute he stepped outside to head to his car. Los Angeles had been hit with a heat wave the past couple of days and he was getting sick of it. The garage didn't exactly have the best air conditioning, so working on his car had been a nightmare. Cisco had been even worse off since he always forgot to drank water- he'd almost passed out this morning from the heat.
It was the weekend now, and most of the crew had plans. Frostee had to help with an event his family's restaurant was catering, Cisco's uncle was taking him to a wrestling match, and Echo was going to some kind of festival with a friend she met at an art camp a few summers back.
Dom had mentioned that he was hosting a pool party and barbecue tonight, so Tony decided he'd stop by there to escape from the heat and hang out with Dom and his old crew. Tony didn't get to see them that often, so it would be nice to catch up.
The second he opened his car door, Tony was hit with a heavy wave of heat. The all black interior and exterior basically turned it into an oven. It was a good thing his car was so high tech air- within 30 seconds the air conditioning had already cooled things off and he was on his way, out of the heat and on the road to Dom's place.
Unfortunately, he'd picked a bad time to leave. LA traffic was always bad, but it was almost 5pm now- rush hour. Tony made it about 4 blocks away before the lineups started. Sighing, he glanced at the cars around him. There was enough space for him to get out of the lane and try a different route, but it probably wasn't a good idea. Miss Nowhere had just asked him to be more careful when driving because she'd already cleared 3 tickets for him. But as he looked around, something caught Tony's eye. Rather, someone, caught his eye.
2 cars back in the next lane over was a girl with blonde hair riding a motorcycle. Right as Tony looked at her, she flipped up the visor on her helmet and locked eyes with him.
"Layla?" Tony wondered aloud. Even though his windows were down, it was like she'd somehow heard him. Layla suddenly pulled out of her lane, setting off a chorus of honking horns, and sped off down a narrow side street.
All warnings from Miss Nowhere about not being reckless were thrown out the window as Tony pulled the same move and followed down the side street. With how narrow it was, it probably wasn't meant for a car, but Tony made it work. Layla had been MIA since Vegas, presumably laying low since she was technically still a wanted criminal. When they'd said goodbye after that mission, Tony had known he'd probably never see her again- but that didn't stop him from thinking about her.
Layla wasn't driving slow by any means, but it didn't seem like she was trying to lose him either, which was strange. Laying low for 3 months and then showing up out of the blue? Tony got the feeling Layla wanted him to follow, and here he was falling right into her trap. He should've been wary, with her criminal past and all, but right now he was just intrigued.
After training down a few more alleyways, they pulled out onto a small road right next to the old river basin that had been dried up from a dam closure. Now it was just a long stretch of cement that ran under a bunch of bridges throughout the city- and it was also the place Tony had raced Layla a few times before.
She headed down into it, and Tony followed, now certain that she'd been trying to get his attention. As he pulled up next to her, Layla flipped up her visor again and winked at him.
